Sermon Brief
Date Written: January 07, 2014
Date Preached: January 12, 2014
Where Preached: OPBC (AM)
Sermon Details:
Series Title: Moving Ahead
Sermon Title: Moving Ahead – When You Feel There is NO Need
Sermon Text: Acts 10:1-43 [ESV]
Introduction:
Last week we started into this series on Moving Ahead as a church and we looked at the story of Ananias whom God called to go lay hand on and pray for Saul (Paul)…
We learned how ALL believers really want to serve, but when God reveals exactly what He desires from us, fear takes over and we get scared and try to get out of our initial zeal to serve God.
But last week we learned that God is insistent in His desires… and he continually pushes us forward toward obedience, even when we don’t want to go!
There was ONE thing I didn’t speak about last week and I want to share it with you today… We know Ananias did NOT want to go do what God wanted him to do, but God simply said to ‘Go’ and we saw how Ananias’ obedience radically changed the early church!
But there is something else about that gentle but firm command from God to ‘Go’ that we may overlook… we see that God told Ananias WHAT to do, but I want you to notice that God did NOT tell Ananias HOW he had to do it…
Moving ahead as a church can be a scary thing because there is lot that is unknown! God is calling us to minister to this community but His calling does not hold us to any certain method.
What we have to understand is that the methods will change but the message cannot! With that being said… this is a place where many believers and many churches get stuck when they are trying to move ahead… It is that they don’t understand that they may be required to change to be able to move ahead!
So often we get caught up in doing things the way we have always done them… and for the most part that is not a bad thing. When you find a way to cook a dish… you stick to it! When you find a way to clean a room, you usually stick to it!
But the difference here is that the target we are shooting for…this community… is an ever changing and moving target… and if we tell ourselves that one way worked at one particular time, so it should work all the time… that attitude will lead us to frustration and failure! Because our target is so fluid and changing, we too must become fluid and our methods must change to meet the need of the moment!
Our message will NEVER change, we are reaching this community with the message of Jesus Christ, but HOW we do it is always going to be subject to change. We don’t want to be guilty of falling into a rut and settling for efforts that are not our best effort… and do NOT reach our community!
I want our ministry to be excellent! I want our ministry to reflect the excellence of our Savior! I don’t want to do ministry in our community that we may say is ‘good enough’…
Have you ever heard the phrase, “that is good enough…”? I remember as a young boy growing up in South MS that my uncles would have me do a lot of work around the farm.
I was NOT a great worker; in fact I tried harder to get OUT of work than I ever did working. I wouldn’t say I was lazy, but I just didn’t see the point in a lot of things they asked me to do…
However, just because I did not SEE the point did not mean it was NOT important! I can remember that I was NEVER seeking after a ‘great job’ -- my goal was MUCH lower! I was satisfied with a “that’s good enough”…
Now you may be sitting there and thinking what wrong with that? Good enough is not bad so what is the problem preacher?
Well, let’s look at the phrase, “good enough”! The word ‘good’ is certainly a word that gives us all a positive vibe!
We want to be considered good people!
When we go to the restaurant we want to eat good food!
When we cheer for a sports team we want them to be good in that sport otherwise what is the point, right?
So ‘good’ is a word we all strive for in our lives and in the things in life that we are a part of…
Let’s also look at the word ‘enough’! ‘Enough’ is a very positive word. When we have ‘enough’ it means that we are filled, that we are satisfied, that we are complete! It also signals the finality of a situation… such as when we have ‘had enough’ of a particular thing!
Let’s say you are eating crawfish… you would say that it was a good thing and you would also say that there is going to be a time when you will have eaten ‘enough’ & you’ll stop…
So good and enough are BOTH positive words… but when we pair them together, the result is NOT an increase in the positive nature, INSTEAD when these words are combined it focuses in on ‘mediocrity’…
When we say that something is ‘good enough’ it is saying that it was OK and it will pass, but that it could really be MUCH better!
When someone tells you that your work is ‘good enough’ it means that you have met the minimum standard OR you have come close to expectations… but ‘good enough’ when it applies to your work is really nothing to be happy about…
Let’s go back to that crawfish boil one more time… If you begin to eat the crawfish and the cook asks you how do they taste? Then you answer with ‘good enough’ he is NOT going to be a happy camper! Any cook worth his or her salt wants to be told that the food is delicious…not ‘good enough’
When we say something is ‘good enough’ what we are really saying is it is not really anything special…We are not saying that it is terrible, but we are also NOT saying that it was excellent!
Now, preacher what does this have to do with our church ‘moving ahead’ in 2014? I have this phrase ‘good enough’ used about ministry here in our church and I don’t want us to be a ‘good enough’ church…I want to see us excel at ministry!
But I am not pointing my finger at anyone in particular here… I have even used that phrase about our ministries!
And as I was studying for this sermon and praying about it… the thought of my words ‘good enough’ haunted me and God convicted my heart over this attitude I have a tendency to fall into… that attitude of settling for ‘good enough’
If we, as a church, want to move OUT of our ‘comfort zone’ and away from our ‘safe zones’, then the things we do as a church are going to have to go WAAY beyond ‘good enough’!
If we are going to move ahead as a fellowship we must realize that…
1. To Move Ahead we must pay attention to God’ direction – v9-16
9The next day…Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. 10And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance 11and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. 12In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. 13And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” 14But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” 15And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” 16This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.
So often when we are in the middle of our ‘comfort zone’ we stop paying attention to the message from God. We put things in cruise control and we want to set things on auto-pilot! When we become apathetic about moving ahead we lose the ability to see the details of the situation!
Peter had been raised in a Jewish home and even though he had gone against the traditional wisdom of the Jewish faith and he had accepted Jesus as Messiah and Savior… Peter was still hanging out in his ‘comfort zone’…
You see Peter was still adhering to and insisting upon the dietary laws and rituals of the Law… those things from the OT that God had instructed the early Hebrews to follow, but that in Christ… in Jesus the Messiah, those things were rendered moot and not necessary for salvation!
One of these things was the Jewish tradition or law that said they could not consume certain meats because they were considered unclean…and it would make them unclean before God to eat such things.
Jesus presents a sheet full of food for Peter to consume but instead of being thankful and joyful that Jesus was providing for his needs… He only saw those things from which he was banned… HE only saw the things that were forbidden to him and he was determined to NOT defile himself with God.
But the vision happens several times and each time God ends it with the statement that Peter should not reject what He has determined clean! But this was WAAAY outside of Peter’s comfort zone… how could he do this!
People to move ahead in our church, we are going to be tasked by God to consider doing things that we NEVER believed we would be doing! YOU yourself as a believer may be asked by God to surrender to doing something that you would have NEVER agreed to or thought was even possible!
To move ahead as a fellowship we must be willing to pay attention to what God is telling us… We can no longer sit idly by and lose focus on what God is doing in our community!
This means that we must have our finger on the pulse of our community and that we should begin to get involved and begin to become a great influence for Christ…
What this means is that we must begin to pay attention to God’s calling for us in this community. Many believer feel God is calling us to stand here and call for them to come, but I am telling you that God is calling us to GO… just like He told Ananias… Go into the community and begin to minister to them and see what He can do!
Not only are we called to pay attention to God’s direction, but for us…
2. To Move Ahead we must take a leap of faith –be willing to do what we have never done before – v19-23
19And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you. 20Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them.” 21And Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason for your coming?” 22And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.” 23So he invited them in to be his guests. The next day he rose and went away with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him.
Now Peter was contemplating what God had just shown him and then God spoke to him… and gave him the same direction he gave Ananias… he told him to ‘go’
But there was a difference here and I don’t know if this was the author’s original intent here or not, but look at what he tells Peter… he tells him to “RISE and Go”… what I see is God telling Peter to “Get up… Stand up… and GET moving!”
When we think about those who have fallen into that ‘good enough’ attitude in their approach to ministry… this would be the exact thing God would need to say to them… “Get up and get moving!”
People when we don’t believe it is necessary… there must be a REASON for us to get moving to do something! But when it is God who is calling us, even if we DON’T understand we need to trust in Him and know He is not going to lead us astray! This is what I mean by taking a ‘leap of faith’… we must step out to where God is calling us!
Peter was NOT truly ready to step out and minister to the Gentiles… He was NOT ready to socialize with them… BUT God called him to step out of his comfort zone and to get OUTSIDE of his safety zone and go do what he had called him to do…
People I know that you think that you are either NOT ready or NOT able to do ministry in this community!! I know many of you are excited about our Parc Fontaine ministry but your approach is ‘hey that is why we have all these young, energetic interns from the Seminary…let them do the ministry… we will just fund it’
That attitude is the epitome of the ‘good enough’ attitude and it is the attitude that will kill this church if we continue thinking and acting that way…
We must be willing to take a leap of faith and venture out into the unknown for God! He is calling ALL of us to do this, not just the ministers! Are you ready to take that leap of faith?
We must be willing to pay attention to God’s direction…
We must be willing to take a leap of faith for God’s kingdom…
But finally this morning I want us to see that for us…
3. To Move Ahead we must forget prejudices/tear down barriers & Share the Gospel to ALL people – v34-39a
33Therefore I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. So now all of us are here in the presence of God to listen to all that the Lord has commanded you to say.” 34Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, 35but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. 37That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: 38how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. 39We are witnesses…
For centuries the barrier of prejudice had existed between the Hebrews and the Gentiles… The Jews believed a Gentile was no better than a wild dog, and that God truly did not love them, but only loved the Jews as they were His called people!
In this story, Peter is being used by God to reveal that there should be NO barriers between any of us… that He came and died for ALL of humanity! God calls Peter to pay attention and take a leap of faith… and tear down the barrier of hating the Gentile!
We know that Peter was conflicted on this issue and even after this happened we find that he was still conflicted… Paul had to take him aside at a gathering and chastise him for his prejudiced behavior in favor of his fellow Jewish brothers!
Peter had only known ONE way… Peter had been taught ONLY one way… and that was the Jews were God’s people and if you were not a Jew then you were worse off than a dog!
God wanted Peter’s attitude to change…so God called him to set aside his prejudice and to tear down the wall of prejudice so that Cornelius and his family could be saved!
Now AGAIN we probably ask the question, “Why did Peter have to go and do this?” Why didn’t God just save Cornelius without Peter going? Well I believe it was God intended purpose to further His kingdom!
I believe God’s way was best for 2 reasons…
1st reason was that it was going to open up Peter’s eyes! He was the defacto leader of the early church and it revealed to him that God does not play favorites but wants all to know Him!
The 2nd reason revealed to Cornelius (the Gentile) that God was indeed faithful and God does indeed love the Gentiles! God wants them to be a part of God’s house! It also allowed Cornelius and these Gentiles to see that there were Jews who believed that God love the Gentile as well…
Conclusion:
So we are called pay attention, take a leap of faith and forget our prejudice? But what happens when we take these steps… when we do pay attention to God’s direction, when we do take a leap of faith when God calls us and when we set aside our own petty prejudice and seek to do things God’s way… what happens then? Let’ read v44-48
44While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. 45The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, 46for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, 47“Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.
We will NEVER experience a movement of God like that or move ahead as a church if we continue to accept the attitude of ‘good enough’ in our ministries!
We have to understand that ‘good enough’ is like the common cold… it is not going to knock us out, but it will do enough to throw us off our game and NOT allow us to be effective! It makes our efforts moot and useless…
When we settle for ‘good enough’ in our ministry, we are telling God is that we are comfortable right where we are and don’t want to move ahead! In a sense we are telling God we don’t see the point… or what is the use!
Concluding Illustration:
Mr. Charles H. Duell, the Commissioner of US patent office in 1899, was quoted as saying in 1899 that the patent office would not be of much use anymore because "everything that can be invented has been invented."
Contrary to what Mr Duell believed, the 20th century experience more new change than the previous 19 centuries combined… and I can tell you those advancements in technology and medicine and other things did NOT happen by people taking the attitude of that’s ‘good enough’
Now I know that there are believers who feel like ‘everything that can be done for Christ in our community has been done’ they may feel there is NOTHING left to do. They may believe we need to do something but that we probably should just continue to do what we have done in the past, but just do it harder!
They believe that the ONLY way to get something done is the way they learned how to do it…so they do NOT try to move ahead by doing something different because they are comfortable where they are!
This ‘comfortable’ attitude leads to that ‘good enough’ syndrome! That ‘good enough’ syndrome will kill any form of church growth and ultimately lead to death for a church!
So where is Oak Park when it comes to the ‘good enough’ attitude?
Do we fall short in this area?
Do we settle for ‘good enough’ when it comes to ministry?
Do we believe there is only one way to reach this community for Christ?
Are we willing to STOP thinking with that ‘good enough’ attitude?
Are we willing to change?
Are we willing to move forward?
Are we willing to begin to think with a God-sized attitude?
Are we willing to begin to minister to this community with an attitude of excellence that leads to victory and sees God’s will being done and our community won to Christ?
But preacher, those things sound great but they are hard… how can we do that? We are just a group of older, retired people who have our own problems!
Well I believe that we can look to our Scripture this morning and see a story that will give us direction when it comes to moving ahead… especially when we feel there is NO need to move forward!
For us, as fellowship, to move forward for Christ in this community we must learn to…
Pay attention, then
Second, we must learn to take leaps of faith, but finally
We must forget our prejudices and tear down our barriers that prevent others from coming to Christ…
Are we ready for that as a fellowship? Are you ready for that as an individual believer?
Mr Charles Duell later recanted his statement and issued this statement in its place…
In my opinion, all previous advances in the various lines of invention will appear totally insignificant when compared with those which the present century will witness. I almost wish that I might live my life over again to see the wonders which are at the threshold.
I say that about Mr. Duell because he at one time held a view that nothing more could be done, but then came to the realization that more than he could imagine lay ahead in the future… he realized he would not live to see those days but longed to be there to witness them!
Many of you may be here thinking, “I’ve put in my time! I’ve done my share. I am coming to the end, so why do I need to get involved?” Well get involved because of what God is GOING to do, even if you never see it!
Pay attention to His direction and take that leap of faith that leads you to minister for Him in our community… lay aside any prejudice you may have about this community, or how things are done and let’s see what God can do! The challenge is before us… are we going to meet the challenge today?
Give invitation here – 1st to believers then to seekers
