UNITED WE FLY
(ALL my sermons use illustrations from www.sermoncentral.com and all scripture is NIV unless otherwise noted)
This church is about people reaching people. If a young person gets saved then they will reach 19% of their family. If a woman gets saved she will reach 32% of her family. If a man gets saved He will reach 82% of his family.
When God sends forth the Spirit amazing things happen: barriers are broken, communities are formed, opposites are reconciled, unity is established, disease is cured, addiction is broken, cities are renewed, races are reconciled, hope is established, people are blessed, and church happens.
Today the Spirit of God is present and we’re gonna‚ have church.
So be ready, get ready...God is up to something... discouraged folks cheer up, dishonest folks ’fess up, sour folks sweeten up, closed folk, open up, gossipers shut up, conflicted folks make up, sleeping folks wake up, lukewarm folk, fire up, dry bones shake up, and pew potatoes stand up!
But most of all, Christ the Savior of all the world is lifted up.
In order to be United and lift up Christ our Savior we must first be Mindful of Vision Killers.
WHAT ARE THE VISION KILLERS IN CHURCH?
John 17:20-23 "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
PRAYER
Jesus prayed for unity, he prayed that ALL people who believed through the Gospel message might be ONE. Just as the Father and the Son are ONE. It is through the glory given by Christ that we are to be ONE. Yet, with denominations, division and disagreement, the church is much less ONE then God would have it be. I have always wondered WHY? WHY, is it that with one simple plan, with one simple commission, with one simple vision, the church is not as successful as God intended it to be? It is, I believe because of VISION KILLERS.
I. VISION KILLERS ARE COMPLACENT
One group, are those that kill the vision and unity of the church by being complacent. These are the people that have a difficult time attending church for whatever the reason. Scripture tells us Heb 10:25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching. These people have allowed the world to reset their priorities and some place worldly things in front of being here whenever the doors are opened. Now I am not speaking to those, that from time to time, have to miss church due to insinuating circumstances. I am talking about those that come to church only when it is convenient for them to do so. They are usually people that create dis-unity through complaints and gripes, but are not here often enough to warrant such criticisms. They are VISION killers because they have not spent enough time with God to see the overall vision.
These are people who are also complacent in their giving to God. I mean giving to God in MONEY, in TIME, and in TALENT. People who see the problems of the church and are very quick to point these problems out, BUT are not as QUICK to offer solutions or to give freely of their own time or money. Mal 3:8-10 "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse-the whole nation of you-because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
Vision killers are those that say, “There is not enough money to do what God wants us to do.” and YET, they are not TESTING God in His promise to bless us, by giving a tenth of what they make back to Almighty God.
Nothing can kill God vision for His church faster then a church body that will not show their faith by giving back a portion of the money that God has blessed us with. So many churches today argue about what their money should be spent on. YET, it is not their money, it all belongs to GOD. God has given us His very best, His SON died for our sin, and HE in return deserves our very best.
Paul Harvey tells the story of a woman that called the Butterball Turkey hotline around Thanksgiving time. When the advisor came on the line she had only one question for him, she said, “I was digging through the chest freezer this morning and I found a turkey from 1968, it has been in my deep freeze all these years and I was wondering if it is any good.” There was a pause and then the advisor said, “Well, Mam, if the turkey has been frozen all this time and has never been thawed, it would probably be useable, but it might not be very good.” She said, “Ok, then I will just donate it to the church.”
This may be kind of funny, but it shows how people are willing to donate the less than best to God and His people, if it is not what we want or desire then we might give it to the church. BUT, God asks us to give our best.
Vision killers are complacent in giving of their attendance, money and effort. A very popular contemporary Christian music group recently wrote a song that really sums us the vision killers and the problem they cause for the unity of the church. The lyrics read: If we are the body, why aren’t His arms reaching? Why aren’t His hands healing? Why aren’t His words teaching? And if we are the body why aren’t His feet going Why is His love not showing them there is a way? Jesus is the way! We are the BODY. The Bible says, Eph 4:16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Each part does it work, WE ARE His Arms are we reaching out? WE ARE His Hands, are we healing those that are hurting in our world? WE ARE HIS feet, are we going into ALL the world? WE ARE His lips, His voice in this world, are we teaching? WE ARE the ones, the BODY that is to show the LOVE of Jesus to the world in practical ways, are we doing so?
There was a Danish philosopher named Kierkegaard whose writings are weighty and tough to read. But that deep thinker one time told a simple parable that describes how easy it is to slide into complacency.
According to his parable, one Spring, a duck was flying north with a flock. In the Danish countryside that particular duck spotted a barnyard where tame ducks lived. The duck dropped down and he discovered these ducks had wonderful corn to eat. So he stayed for an hour....then for the day....a week then went by and a month. And because the corn and the safe barnyard were so fine, our duck ended up staying the whole Summer at that farm. Then one crisp Fall day, some wild ducks flew overhead, quacking as they winged their way south. He looked up and heard them -- and he was stirred with a strange sense of joy and delight. And then, with all his might he began flapping his wings and rose into the air, planning to join his comrades for the trip south.
But all that corn had made the duck both soft and heavy -- and he couldn't manage to fly any higher than the barn roof. So he dropped back to that barnyard and he said to himself, "Oh well, my life here is safe and the food is good!" After that in the Spring and in the Fall, that duck would hear wild ducks honking as they passed overhead -- and for a minute, his eyes would look and gleam -- he'd start flapping his wings almost without realizing it...but then a day came, when those others would pass overhead uttering their cry -- and the now tame duck would not pay the slightest attention.
The American Church has been attacked by the diseases of apathy and complacency. It seems that like that barnyard duck -- American Christians have gotten tamed....and spoiled...in the process, we've often forgotten Whose we are and therefore who and what we're to be about. Complacency is a disease that sneaks up on us.
Spiritually Complacent Barna Research reports that since ’91, Americans have become more spiritually complacent. 40% of born again Christians do not attend church or read the Bible in a typical week, 30% are not "absolutely committed to the Christian faith" and 70% are not involved in a small group that meets for spiritual purposes. The percent-age of adults who can be classified as "born again" rose from 35% in ‘91 to 41% in ‘01. However, participation in 4 key behaviors declined; Bible reading (down from 45% to 37%); church attendance (from 49% to 42%); volunteering at church (from 27% to 20%); and adult Sunday school attendance (from 23% to 19%).
Well if complacency is one Vision Killer another is
II. VISION KILLERS ARE CARNAL
The vision of the church can be killed by those that are side tracked by the desires of the flash. Those that are willing to conform to the pattern of this world. Paul warned us in Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.
How can we test and approve of what God vision for the church is if we allow our lives to be patterned around what the world says we should do and not what God wants, what His perfect will is? How can we be UNITED if we are all about ourselves? We must ALL live a life that God has called us to live.
Eph 4:1-3 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Living a life worthy of the calling each of us has received from God, learning to be humble and gentle, learning to put the interests of others before our own.
Phil 2:3-4 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Each of us is given a task to build the kingdom, but allowing the world to tell us what is right and wrong keeps us from seeing that it is GOD we serve and not the world.
What qualifies someone for a task? There is a story of the testing of a candidate for missions work: One snowy morning at 5:00 A.M., a missionary candidate rang the bell at a missionary examiner’s home. Ushered into the office, he sat three hours past his appointment time waiting for his interview. At 8:00 A.M., a retired missionary appeared and began his questioning. "Can you spell?" Rather mystified, the candidate answered, "Yes, sir." "All right. Spell 'baker.'" "B-A-K-E-R."
"Fine. Now, do you know anything about numbers?" the examiner continued. "Yes, sir, something." "Please add two plus two." "Four," replied the candidate. "That’s fine," said the examiner. "I believe you have passed. I’ll tell the board tomorrow."
At the board meeting, the examiner reported on the interview. "He has all the qualifications for a fine missionary. First, I tested him on self-denial, making him arrive at my home at five in the morning. He left a warm bed on a snowy morning without any complaint. Second, I tested him on promptness. He arrived on time. Third, I examined him on patience. I made him wait three hours to see me. Fourth, I tested him on temper. He failed to show any anger or aggravation. Fifth, I tried his humility by asking him questions that a seven-year-old child could answer, and he showed no indignation. So you see, I believe the candidate meets the requirements. He will make the fine missionary we need."
Spirit-given abilities are needed, but Spirit-produced fruit is more significant.
Those with vision know that this is God’s vision and not ours, they know that God gives us the talents we need and ALL He really requires is our WILLINGNESS to serve Him. If we are His servants, and we are UNITED in one common cause, we can FLY. Yet those who kill the vision are following the WORLD and not our God. They see things through the eyes of the world, they see a world that says, “HAVE IT OUR WAY!” “YOU DESERVE A BREAK TODAY” “LIVE & LET LIVE”
Perhaps the world has convinced us that it is okay to speak less then the truth because it is POLITICALLY CORRECT. And yet the scripture tells us: Eph 4:25
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.
So let us call sin what it is SIN. Let us call out against the wrongs we see in our world and in our church. Let us speak with the HOPE we have in Jesus and not with the POLITICAL CORRECTNESS the world says we need to use.
A small-town prosecuting attorney called his first witness to the stand in a trial -- a grand-motherly, elderly woman. He approached her and asked, "Mrs. Jones, do you know me?" She responded, "Why, yes, I do know you, Mr. Williams. I’ve known you since you were a young boy. And frankly, you’ve been a big disappointment to me. You lie, you cheat on your wife, you manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs. You think you’re a rising big shot when you haven’t the brains to realize you will never amount to anything more than a two-bit paper pusher. Yes, I know you." The lawyer was stunned. Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, "Mrs. Williams, do you know the defense attorney?" She replied, "Why, yes I do. I’ve known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster, too. I used to baby-sit him for his parents. And he, too, has been a real disappointment to me. He’s lazy, bigoted, and he has a drinking problem. The man can’t build a normal relationship with anyone, and his law practice is one of the
shoddiest in the entire state. Yes, I know him." At this point, the judge rapped the courtroom to silence and called both counselors to the bench. In a very quiet voice, he said with menace, "If either of you asks her if she knows me, you’ll be jailed for contempt!"
Our talk, our speech needs to be truthful and it needs to be kind, considerate and wholesome. Eph 4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
Positive talk, full of hope and kindness that others that hear what we say might benefit from understanding our commitment to Christ.
We have been taught about our former way of living, of living a worldly life:
Eph 4:22-24 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Finally the last group of Vision Killers are want to talk about this morning are:
III. VISION KILLERS ARE CRITICS
Vision killers are those that are critical of everything they see, they may not have solutions to problems but they sure are quick to shoot down anyone that has a vision.
A pastor thought God gave Him an idea, and he presented it in the monthly elders meeting. After giving his most impassioned plea and really “selling” the idea to the elder board, the board voted and voted down the pastors proposed changes 12-1. The head elder looked at the pastor and said, “Well pastor, it’s 12 votes to 1. Looks like you’ve been out voted. Looks like time is up for the evening, so will you please close in prayer.”
The pastor, not wanting to give up yet on what he felt God was leading him to do then lead in prayer. As he prayed, he lifted his hands up to heaven and prayed, “Loooorrrdddd - I know my brothers here do not have the same vision you have given me. Please help them to see that this is not MY vision, but YOOOOUUUUURRRR vision!”
At that exact moment, a lightning bolt with a loud clap of thunder burst in through the window in the meeting room, striking the table, splitting it in two and knocking all the elders to the floor. As the dust cleared, the pastor looked at the head elder and said - so, what do you think about that?
The head elder, dusting himself off, sighed and said, “Well, I guess that’s 12 votes to 2, then...”
The job of the church is not to impact the church, but to impact the world. It’s like a huddle in a football game. 67,000 people don’t pay $25.00 a ticket to watch the Titans huddle. What if you went to a Titans game and for 2 ½ hours you watched 11 men stand in a circle and talk? That’s not what you pay for!! 67,000 people pay $25 a ticket to see what difference the huddle makes. What they want to know is, having called the play in secret, does it work in public? The challenge for the church is not what we do when we call our Sunday morning huddle, but what we do when we break our huddle and head to our Sunday morning assignment. When Satan lines up against us, what difference does it make that we are Christians?
Vision killers will TALK things to death, God wants us to GO, to MOVE, and to give Him room to work in our church. God has a vision for His people, the Bible tells us Proverbs 29:18 in the King James Version says “where there is NO vision, the people perish” We cannot allow anyone to kill God’s VISION for His church.
This morning we need to ask ourselves if we are responsible for KILLING God’s vision for His Church. Are we complacent, not doing as God has asked of us. Do we attend every chance we get. Or do we set our priorities according to our own needs and desires? Do we give of our time, talents and finances as God commands or have we become complacent, thinking others will take care of these needs? Do we follow the path that God has set out for us to follow, or are we carnal, following the ways of the world? Have we lived life, worthy of the calling God has put on our lives, or are we being conformed by the patterns of this world? Are we a positive people or are we critical, seeing only the negatives in our church?
Only if we are UNITED can we fly, if we are willing we can lead, if we can not lead we should follow, if we are not able to lead and are unwilling to follow, we SHOULD GET OUT OF THE WAY!!!
This morning as the ladies come forward and we offer an invitation, let me say this: I am not here to cast judgement on anyone, I know that I myself have at times been complacent, carnal and critical. I know that we all have, BUT I am here this morning using ONLY God’s word to show how a church can get grounded and never fly. I speak the TRUTH of God’s Word when I say that each of us must look deep inside and decide if we will be the wind beneath the wings of the church, or the storm that prevents it from ever leaving the ground.
Our invitation song is page # 144 “Only Trust Him”
INVITATION
