OPEN: For people who haven’t been here for the past couple of weeks I’ve been talking about an internet social network called Facebook. It’s THE most popular social network on the internet with 400 million and people gather there to exchange pictures, ideas and dreams.
But not everybody on Facebook contributes. There are people on Facebook who just hang around. They read what people have written on their pages. They look at the pictures.
They just kind of hang around and do nothing. They don’t write anything/ they don’t share anything. They just sit there and look around.
I call them “Anonymous Facebookers.”
Now Facebook – has also noticed this trend… and they regard it as a “problem”
Why? Because Facebook needs advertising revenue to survive. And since advertisers look at the activity that occurs on the site, and since how much these advertisers pay is based upon how much activity they see there. WELL - these anonymous people are just dead weight.
These anonymous facebookers just don’t register on their statistics and so, they’re not good for the bottom line.
Just recently, Facebook has come up with a solution.
They have a new set of features intended to guilt these folks into getting involved.
Seriously. It’s supposed subtly shame people into being more interactive on the site.
(http://www.technolog.msnbc.msn.com/technology/technolog#/technology/technolog/facebook-guilt-you-posting-recent-activity-notifiers-838532) by Devin Coldewey
Now, it’s not important for us to know HOW these new features do that (I’m not sure I know myself) but the point is… that’s their objective. These features were created to shame Anonymous Facebookers into being less… anonymous.
Now, the church has had much the same problem over the years.
ILLUS: A man told of a friend of his who was walking out of church ahead of him after worship. The preacher was standing at the door shaking hands and he grabbed the friend by the hand and pulled him aside. The preacher looked him intently in the eye said to him, "You need to join the Lord’s Army, son!"
The friend replied, "I’m already in the Army of the Lord, Preacher."
The preacher questioned, "How come I don’t see you except for Christmas and Easter?"
He whispered back, "I’m in the secret service."
There are people who don’t get involved with church.
They just show up… some of the time.
And when they show up… they don’t do anything.
They sit, they read, they watch, they sing, they listen to the sermon… and then they go home.
That’s all they do.
They don’t invest themselves in God’s family.
They’re anonymous in their faith.
They’re kind of in… the secret service.
Now, Hebrews tells us that’s NOT the way God set it up.
First, it says we weren’t called to be anonymous in our faith.
Oh no, we’re called to confidence and boldness.
Hebrews 10:19 says “we have CONFIDENCE to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus”
King James translates this: we have BOLDNESS to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
And we’ve got assurance and hope.
In verse 22 it says we should “…draw near to God with a sincere heart IN FULL ASSURANCE of faith...”
And verse 23 tells us to “…hold UNSWERVINGLY to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”
We have Confidence,
Boldness.
Full assurance.
God has given us the ability to be unswerving in our Hope.
That’s not anonymous living.
That’s a bold --- powerful way of faith.
In another passage, Paul puts it this way:
“I AM NOT ASHAMED of the gospel of Christ: for it is the POWER of God unto salvation for every one that believes; to the Jew first, then for the Gentile.” Romans 1:16
We have hold of the power of God.
We have NOTHING to be ashamed of.
We have something to offer the world that no one else, and nothing else, can offer.
Why on God’s green earth would we want to be shy about it?
Why would we want to be “anonymous”?
Now, for the most part – I’m preaching to the choir here.
Most of you are involved in some form of ministry for Christ.
Most of you couldn’t be anonymous in your faith if you put on a false beard and mustache.
I’ve heard people in other churches talk about the fact that 90% of the work is done by 10% of people, but that’s not true here.
Well over 50% of you do some form of ministry.
And maybe 70% contribute in other ways.
But there are a few - even here - that just sit and watch.
Some of you here frankly don’t do… anything.
If you’re sitting here this morning and all you do is show up on Sundays you gotta ask yourself the question: WHY is that all you’re doing? If you’re not doing anything for Jesus… why?
Now, unlike Facebook I’m not into guilting you into doing stuff for Jesus.
I’m not into shaming you into it.
In fact, I’m deliberately not focusing my eyes on ANYBODY here.
The way I figure it - you are either sold out enough for Jesus that you ARE doing something or at least you’ll feel guilty about it and you’re giving it serious thought.
SO… I’m not going to belabor this.
ILLUS: One church I know of has a Bible Studies where they ask three basic questions. (If you’re part of a midweek Bible Study I’d strongly suggest that each of you make it a practice to ask yourselves this each week)
1. What have you done for Jesus this past week?
2. Who have you talked to about Jesus this past week?
3. What opportunities did you miss to serve God that you didn’t take this week?
EVERY WEEK they ask each other the same questions:
What have you done?
Who have you talked to?
What opportunities did you miss?
Now the beauty of that - is that they do this over and over and over again.
So every week – they’re reminded that this is important.
And it’s not that it’s important to me or the Elders…
It’s important to Jesus.
Jesus said: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.
This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” John 15:5-8
IF we are His disciples… we WILL bear fruit.
IF we bear fruit… people will KNOW who we belong to.
And WHEN we bear fruit… that will give glory to your Father in heaven.
Jesus said “Let your light so shine before men, that they see your good deeds and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16
So, bearing fruit is important to Jesus?
Do you all agree?
Good.
So, how do we go about doing that?
Well, Hebrews 10 goes on to say:
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”
Hebrews has just got done saying that we have Boldness/ Confidence/ Full assurance/ and an unswerving in our Hope. Then it says that this boldness/ confidence and assurance should lead us to do what???
Spur each other on to love and good deeds.
OH… isn’t that interesting?
We just got done reading that bearing fruit is
* important to Jesus.
* it advertises who we belong to…
* and it glorifies our Father in heaven.
And here in Hebrews it tells us that our boldness in our faith should lead us to spur each other to bear that very fruit!!!
But it doesn’t stop there.
It goes on to say that God has given us a tool to use.
A tool to channel our boldness into fruitfulness.
Do you know what that TOOL is?
“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.” Hebrews 10:24-25
Really?
Let us not give up meeting together – as some are in the habit of doing?
Where would we possibly meet???
Why Church! Bible Studies! And in home gatherings!
Now, as much I love the idea that many of you have gathered to come hear me preach… that’s not the purpose of church. Church was designed by God to be a place where we interact and challenge each other to do more good works and great deeds of love in God’s name.
ILLUS: Now on Facebook, I’m part of a couple of groups that talk about theology.
In one of those groups I’ve encountered a couple of guys who flat out say:
… that church isn’t important
… they don’t belong to any church…
… and they have no intention of going to a Church
They’re convinced they are good enough Christians without it.
Now, these are nice enough guys… but they’re idiots.
Ephesians 5:25 says
“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it”
Jesus loved the Church.
He gave Himself up for her.
Husbands ought to love their wives in the same way.
But here these guys are saying is
* husbands can obey this without ever spending time with their wives.
* and - husbands can love their wives without even having a wife.
They’re saying they don’t have to be part of Christ’s bride.
They don’t have to spend any time with her.
BUT Jesus died to establish His church.
And Paul, and Barnabas, and Silas, Timothy and Titus… and whole host of heroes of New Testament spent a great portion of their lives establishing local congregations, building them up and strengthening them, selecting Elders to oversee the people in those churches.
Paul (for example) tells of how much he had to endure to get this job done.
He was imprisoned, and stoned, and beaten and run out of town.
He was in constant danger.
He was often cold and hungry and thirsty and lonely.
AND he endured ALL THAT, so he could establish local churches for Jesus.
But here are these guys on Facebook saying it doesn’t matter to them.
Christ’s sacrifice to establish His church doesn’t make in difference to them.
The sacrifices men like Paul and others endured to establish local congregations is irrelevant.
Because … they’re good enough without it.
No. They’re not!
If Christ established His church, and great men and women struggled to build His church… there’s a reason it exists.
And that reason is to help us be bold for Christ.
To help us be unswerving in our Hope.
And to help us have other Christians around us who can spur us on to love and good works.
Those guys don’t have that.
Be cause they don’t have a church that create that kind of atmosphere for them.
They want to be anonymous Christians.
They want to be in the secret service in the Army of the Lord.
And that just won’t fly with Jesus.
Now, one more thing.
As I was researching for this sermon, I typed “Anonymous Christian” into the search box, and I found it kind of I kept running into articles about a theologian who taught that you didn’t have to be a Christian… to be a Christian.
He wrote: “Let us say, a Buddhist monk — who, because he follows his conscience, attains salvation and lives in the grace of God; of him I must say that he is an anonymous Christian.” Karl Rahner, Jesuit Theologian.
This teaching says:
NOT ONLY do people not need the Church… they don’t need Jesus either.
They can become anonymous Christians by how they live.
They can be so anonymous, that not only will you and I not know they’re Christians, they don’t even know they’re not Christians!
Sorry… that doesn’t work either.
Peter preached “Jesus Christ of Nazareth … Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." Acts 4:10,12
Or as Jesus put it
"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
There is no promise of salvation in any other religion.
There is no promise of salvation in any kind of works or good deeds.
There is no promise of salvation in the words of any theologian or great preacher.
There is NO OTHER NAME under heaven by which you can be saved.
The promise of salvation can only be found in the name of Jesus Christ.
And you can’t stumble into that.
You can’t become an anonymous Christian.
You have to deliberately, consciously and purposefully BELIEVE.
You have to believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the Living God.
You have to believe you are a sinner in need of forgiveness and you need to change your life.
You have to believe you need Jesus to be in charge of your life. You have to confess that Jesus is Lord.
And you have to be willing to believe that you need to join Jesus in His death, burial and resurrection by being buried in the waters of Christian baptism and rising up to be a new Creature in Christ.
Do you believe?
(Give Invitation.)
