People the Church Cannot Do Without
Ephesians 5:1-17 / 1 Peter 2:9-10
* It was in the hill of Caesarea Philippi as recorded in the 16th chapter of Matthew where Jesus initially mentioned the church. In the everyday vernacular Jesus turned to Peter, who had just expressed a strong, supernatural faith, and said, “It is upon a faith just like you have expressed Peter that I will be my church.” Without pausing to take a breath Jesus said, “My church will be so strong and powerful that nothing on heaven or earth will prevail against it.” Jesus did not talk a great deal about the church, but when He did discuss it, He was very definitive in His words because, as we are told in Ephesians 5, Jesus loved the church so much that He died for her. The church which Jesus birthed, loved, came, and died for is an impregnable fortress which can overcome the darkness, stand down the enemy, and lift up the fallen!
* But let us never miss these truths; A) the church is made up of people, God’s people, B) the authentic church can only be empowered by the Holy Spirit of God, C) the local church is only as strong & effective as the people who make her up are controlled by God’s spirit. No amount of money, activities, ministries, or administrative restraints can make the church the powerhouse which Jesus envisioned.
* Congregations have been gathered, buildings built, & far-reaching influence gained only to discover that it all collapsed under the pressure of outside influences. The church built on the rock is a church that can withstand any pressure and stand up to any opposition. A church that is able to do this has within it a certain kind of people. Let’s read our text.
* Verse 17 speaks in large measure to this Americanize church by saying ‘don’t be foolish which is leaning on your own understanding, but be wise by knowing what the will of God is.’ The will of God is for His church to fulfill her mission & ministry by lifting the fallen, touching the hurting, and caring for those who are needy (both spiritually & physically). The church cannot & will accomplish this task without a certain kind of people.
1. Faithful People – No church would even be in existence today without faithful people. These are people who can be counted on. Ephesians 1 begins by admonishing us to be “imitators of God”, one of God’s greatest attributes is faithfulness.
a. Most of us know the name “Lou Gehrig” because of the debilitating disease which wears his name. Yet, Lou Gehrig was arguably, one of the most faithful players to ever put on a uniform. He and Cal Ripken, Jr. are mirror images of faithfulness & thus examples for faithfulness..
* Every day these guys were in their position, doing their best, and trying to make their team win.
* If God were to come down and choose the MVP among us, I believe I know who it would be. It would be a faithful person. We are told, In Revelation 2, to ‘be faithful until death’ and Jesus left us these words IN Matthew 25, ‘Well done, thou Good and Faithful servant.’
* A church simply cannot fulfill her mission & ministry without faithful people; people who’ll attend, give, pray, and can be counted on.
2. Willing People – (serving) – what every church needs is willing people. To look around this country we discover churches, by and large, are unhealthy, lack influence, and have little spiritual power. Two weeks ago we heard from a seminary president the staggering statistics that up to 85% of local congregations are dying. One quality which seems to be missing from the dying congregations is service. What I say service, I’m really talking about service to others, those outside of the body, those who have no connection to the Lord. The bible is replete with passages which call us to this kind of service. Peter rights, “you are chosen race, a royal priesthood, and a Holy nation. You have been called from darkness to light.” Paul tells us to imitate God and to walk in love. Jesus tells us as the Father is that mean so send I you. He went on to tell us that he did not come to be served, but came to serve. In the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, having the heart of Christ, and demonstrating the spirit of Christ, we should be willing people. I read this week in a sermon by another pastor who said, “We have a very willing people. Some are willing to work and the others are willing to let them.”
a. Have you ever considered the number of people who discover how they can help and then give all they have to build up the Kingdom of God? In our congregation, we have many who have taken on & do many behind the scenes type of tasks as their service.
b. The willing people must be willing to serve those outside of the church family having no desire or hope of ever being repaid. A church cannot do without people who listen for & respond to God’s voice for ministry.
c. When I think of a Biblical example for willing people, my mind wanders to Isaiah 6. In verse 8, God asked this question; “Who should I send? Who will go for us?” Isaiah gave no one else an opportunity to serve for Him, but rather said, “HERE I AM. SEND ME.” Too often we hear, “Here I am, send someone else.” Yet, the Spirit of Christ is to give, to serve, to love and to care. This is the spirit which the church must have.
3. Courageous People – Blanket emails are common among friends.
a. This past week several of us received an email entitled, “Would you run from church if this happened to you?” One Sunday morning, in a 2000 member congregation, 2 men entered covered in black and carrying submachine guns. One man spoke and said – “Anyone willing to take a bullet for Jesus remain where you are.” Immediately the choir fled, the deacons fled, and most of the congregation fled. Out of 2000 worshippers only about 20 remained. The man who had spoken now removed his hood and said, “Okay Pastor, I got rid of all the hypocrites, now you may begin your service.” Then the two turned & walked out.
b. In the USA, we grin at stories like this because we have been so free for so long. Yet, the question becomes, just exactly how courageous are we for the Lord? Can we stand on truth against the forces of evil? (External or internal?) Peter and Paul (along with the rest of the first century disciples had to be courageous to stand against the very group who crucified Jesus, again the attempted infiltration of sin (Acts 5), and certainly against the forces of evil. There is a saying that “getting old is not for wimps”, I submit that ‘being disciple of Christ is not for wimps.’ Consider the number of times scripture tells us to be ‘strong & of good courage.’ Our Ephesians passage says, “Let no one deceive you”, in 1 Corinthians Paul takes the church to task by allowing sin to reside within the fellowship telling us to “clean out” the sin – this takes courage.
4. Generous People – Have you ever considered the many reasons ‘why’ God’s people must be generous? Peter tells us that we are chosen, royalty, valuable, and holy. Paul admonishes us to walk as Children of Light who imitate God, and to walk in love by walking wise. He also tells us about the generosity of Christ – who gave HIMSELF, in a sacrificial way, for us. If our Lord is a generous Lord, would it not stand to reason that He expects us to be generous. The word generous moves everyone’s mind to money, and certainly that is one aspect of generosity. Malachi tells us to ‘Bring the Tithe into the storehouse’ and Jesus followed with “I didn’t come to destroy the law but to fulfill it”. In I Corinthians 16 Paul tells the people to lay aside (bring it in) gifts according to how ‘they’ have prospered. The huge part of giving for me comes in the picture the scripture paints for us in Mark 12 & Luke 21. By the way, there is no indication that this was a “Special Emphasis Offering”, rather she was giving to the Lord all she had. Jesus also gave us the principle that wherever your treasure is, that’s where your heart is (Not reverse). In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus speak of private giving.
* We have some of the most financial generous people around – “WHEN” it comes to special project. I commend you. Jesus didn’t respond to special needs, His generosity covered every need.
* There is much more than money in this thing of being generous. We have a culture which demands a great deal of time and we are generous with our time to the many activities. But how generous are we with our time for the Lord…Do we give to Him out of our surplus or out of our poverty? God gave us all He had. Giving is an evident quality of His. The church cannot be the church of God without exhibiting this quality.
5. Optimistic People – (Read Eph 5:15-16) HCSB tells us to ‘make the most of the times” while KJV tells us to “redeem the times because the days are evil.” In the history of this land, there has never been a more critical time than today. Take any subject and discover the USA in a critical posture (I.E. truth, morality, ethics, honesty). God calls people to not only see things as they are but also how they CAN BE when we surrender to Him. In the Old Testament, when David was on Saul’s hit list, supporters came to David to help and protect him. IN 1 Chronicles 12 we read of the ‘men of Issachar’ who understood the time and knew what Israel should do. These are the optimistic people. They are the ones who understand where we are, where we can go, and what we should be. These are redeemed people who are looking to redeem the land. These are the ones who have one eye on today and the other on eternity. To keep one eye on eternity is to be reminded of the work that we are called to do here. Too often we get so caught up in things of this world that we forget our divine assignment of redeeming the world. The church that does not have people who have, hold to & keep this vision will become a recluse culture and ultimately pass away. Why? Because the scripture says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
6. Saved People – While it is true that apart from ‘saved people’ no real church exists, it is equally that that Jude & Peter teaches us that in the last days, unsaved people will creep into the church causing chaos. Scripture goes on to say that the love of many will wax cold. When Jesus said, “I will build my church” He put His divine currency in place to do the construct. His currency was & is His blood and His life. A saved person is one who had come face to face with His own sin, guilt, & destination. He has also come face to face with Jesus. At that moment, He is faced with a personal decision, “Will I or Won’t I?” It you don’t repent, trust, and believe, there is no place in Christ Church for you. If you do respond, then you can become one of those the church cannot do without.
