ARE YOU THE CHURCH OR SHOULD WE LOOK FOR ANOTHER?
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: POWER OF MOTIVATION
1. Bobby Dodd, the former great football coach at Georgia Tech, tells the story of a game in which his team was leading 7-6 with just a minute to go.
2. He instructed his quarterback not to pass the ball under any conditions. He said, "Whatever you do, hold onto that football; do not pass the ball."
3. In the next 10 or 15 seconds of play, they moved the ball down the field to within 10 yards of the opposing teams goal line. As the quarterback began to execute the next play, he just couldn't resist, and he threw a pass.
4. The pass was intercepted by a player on the other team who began running toward the Georgia Tech goal line. The entire team had given up the chase -- except the quarterback.
5. He somehow tackled the runner, the ball was fumbled, and the quarterback recovered the ball. Georgia Tech won the game 7-6.
6. After the game, the losing coach said to Coach Dodd, "I will never understand how that quarterback was able to do what he did."
7. Dodd explained, "Well, it's actually quite simple -- your boy was running for a touchdown; my boy was running for his life!"
B. TEXT: Luke 7:18-23
18John's disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, 19he sent them to the Lord to ask, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" 20When the men came to Jesus, they said, "John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, 'Are you the one who was to come, or should we [“look for another”] expect someone else?'” 21At that very time Jesus cured many who had
diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. 22So he replied to the messengers, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 23Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
C. THESIS
1. John the Baptist saw the Spirit fall upon Jesus when He baptized Him in the Jordan. This was evidence to him that Jesus was the Messiah. But later, due to a lengthy imprisonment, the resulting depression, and a faltering memory, John entertained doubts.
2. Now John wasn’t the kind of guy to lose his head…so he sent disciples to confirm his former belief that Jesus was the Christ.
3. Jesus’ answer should give us encouragement. Jesus wasn’t condescending; He wasn’t reproachful. Instead, Jesus was respectful, understanding, and generous to give John extra proofs of His divinity and mission.
4. What proofs did Jesus give to confirm His divine mission?
a. Compassion for the sick and infirm;
b. Confirmation of His ministry by the supernatural;
c. The fact that He was witnessing to the poor.
5. If the Church today were asked what evidence it could supply to prove it was more than just a worldly organization, but of divine origin and fulfilled a divine mission, would we be left stuttering?
6. If people from the first century were transported to our century, would they see the same kind of church they saw in their own century? They might ask, “Are you the church, or do we look for another?”
7. I want us to look at four evidences of the true church and assess whether we meet the criterion. DO WE HAVE…
I. THE SAME LOVE?
A. NEVER HAD THE WORLD SEEN SUCH LOVE
1. Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:35
2. The Early Believers. “All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.” Acts 2:44-45.
Love was not simply a feeling they felt for each other, but a commitment. Love was a verb; it was an action.
3. Greek writer, Lucian (A.D. 120-200), said, “It is incredible to see the fervor with which those people help each other in their wants. They spare nothing. Their first legislator (Jesus) has put it into their heads that they are brothers/ family.”
4. Tertullian, an early Christian, said, “It is our care for the helpless, our practice of loving-kindness, that brands us in the eyes of many of our opponents. “Look”, they say, “How they love one another! Look how they are prepared to die for one another!”
5. Paul captured the attitudes toward others when he wrote, “When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly.” 1 Cor. 4:12-13.
6. “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 1 John 4:10.
B. THE CHURCH TODAY?
1. George Barna, a Christian pollster, did a study that asked unsaved people to use single words to describe Jesus. They responded, "wise, accepting, compassionate, gracious, humble." Then he asked them to use single words to describe Christians, they said, "critical, exclusive, self righteous, narrow and repressive."
2. Mahatma Gandhi said, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ….If Christians would really live according to the teachings of Christ, as found in the Bible, all of India would be Christian today.”
3. I don’t think this characterizes all Christians, but it certainly does many. In stead of being defensive, we should examine ourselves to see if there is any truth to their view.
4. The Apostle John believed that if a person really
lived in God, they would be full of love; “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.” 1 John 4:16.
5. Do we have the same spirit of love that Jesus had? Have we been slipping away from a close and intimate walk with Jesus and didn’t even know it? It can happen!
C. SLIPPING AWAY
1. Years ago, William Edward Perry, a famous English
explorer, was mapping an uncharted region of Antarctica.
2. He and his crew marched north in frigid conditions. After determining their new location, he was stunned to learn that even though they had journeyed north all day, that they were now further south than when they been in the morning.
3. They discovered that though they had traveled north, they were on a giant ice flow that was moving faster south than they were moving north.
4. While they thought they were going in the right direction, they were slip sliding away and did not even know it. The same can happen to us with our walk with Jesus.
II. THE SAME CONSECRATION?
A. EARLY CHURCH’S DEVOTION
1. The early church was devoted to the cause of Christ above all other worldly pursuits, and the signs of this commitment were very visible. My question will be, “Is our devotion as visible to the lost world?”
2. To consecrate is to set apart to sacred purpose; devoted to. The early church was devoted to living out the life of Jesus even in a hostile environment. Example;
3. “Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.” Hebrews 10:32-34.
4. Several things about the early seem prominent in this passage; They had
a. High level of commitment; they were
b. Willing to pay the price; and they had
c. Heavenly Priorities above all the normal earthly ones…
B. CHRISTIANS TODAY
1. Many Christians today are like the Reader’s Digest (July, 2000,p. 32) story about Bob, who was taking a walk
and got his foot caught in some railroad tracks. He couldn’t pull his foot out, then Bob spotted a train coming toward him.
2. Bob began to pray, "Please, Lord. Get my foot out of this track and I'll stop drinking." But it remains stuck. "Please! Help me and I'll stop drinking and cussing." Still nothing.
3. "I'm begging you, Lord," Bob plead. "Let me live and I'll stop drinking, cussing and I'll give all my money to the poor." Suddenly his foot slipped free and Bob lunged to safety as the train thundered past.
4. "Whew," said Bob. "Thanks anyway, God. I took care of it myself." That’s like many today.
5. How are we in the areas which test our willingness to be different from our society; do we witness? Do we pay our tithes? Do we take a stand for righteousness when people around us begin to talk of doing ungodly things?
6. If people around you were looking for a Christian, would your actions/ habits make you visible as one? The lost are asking the question, “ARE YOU THE CHURCH, OR DO WE LOOK FOR ANOTHER?”
III. SAME MIRACULOUS EVIDENCE?
A. PROOF OF AUTHENTICITY
1. When John the Baptist sent disciples to ask Jesus if he was the Messiah, Jesus answered, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised….” The miraculous was the confirmation that Jesus was from God.
2. In Acts chapter five, the apostles had been working many miracles. The Jewish leaders arrested the apostles, and attempted to tell them that they were off track theologically.
3. Peter stood and declared the truth about Jesus, and concluded with the most visible proof of its authenticity, “We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him." Acts 5:32.
4. Peter was referring to the miracles that were being performed. The Jews had no such miracles, and became
furious.
5. 2nd Century Christian, Tertullian (A.D. 160-220), confronted heretics in his time with the challenge that the orthodox Christians had the gifts of the Spirit operating among them – he mentioned prophets, words of knowledge, Spirit-produced songs, visions, and prayers, and interpretations of tongues. He stated that the heretics had no such gifts among them and they ought to wonder why.
B. WE’RE ALL GIFTED & TALENTED
1. If we are to be the kind of church that Jesus founded, then we should be a church with the gifts of the Spirit operating among us.
2. And it shouldn’t be relegated to a few. Peter said, “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another” 1 Pet. 4:10. We all are gifted and talented and have some gift to be useful in.
3. We should let God use us on Tuesday morning, or have a word of knowledge for a co-worker on Friday morning. The gifts of the Spirit are convincing proof that the Living God is working among us.
IV. SAME BOLDNESS IN WITNESS?
A. WITNESSING – A LEADING PROOF
1. The second proof that The Lord Jesus sent to John the Baptist that His ministry was from heaven, was that the gospel was being preached to the poor; His ministry was a witnessing ministry.
2. MORE POWER FOR LIGHT
a. Anybody can talk, but it takes the H.S. to witness!
b. A student took his car over to Chick’s Garage and told the mechanic, “Something’s wrong. I don’t have any lights.”
c. The mechanic suggested, “The battery is probably dead.” “No,” the student explained, “My horn still blows; it can’t be the battery.”
d. The mechanic replied, “It still might be the battery because it takes more power to give light than it does to blow a horn.”
e. An interesting point, isn’t it? It’s easier to toot than to shine.
B. HOW’S OUR BOLDNESS?
1. It would be difficult to characterize the church of today as “bold” in their witness. Bold is defined as “fearless
before danger, adventurous, standing out prominently”.
2. It’s noteworthy that Jesus only pointed out two markers of true gospel ministry, and one of those was witnessing. This begs the question, “If we’re not witnessing,
are we where we should be with Christ?” He said if we follow Him we’ll be fishers of men. Are we?
CONCLUSION
A. CALL TO ACTION
1. “ARE YOU THE CHURCH OR SHOULD WE LOOK FOR ANOTHER?”
2. To gauge our spirituality accurately, we must gauge it against the original – Jesus and the early church. How do we measure up against the four tests of authentic Christianity? Do we have the…
a. SAME LOVE?
b. SAME CONSECRATION?
c. SAME MIRACULOUS EVIDENCE?
d. SAME BOLDNESS IN WITNESS?
3. God’s not looking for super stars, just for ordinary people to do extraordinary things through.
4. Will you be the church the lost world is looking for? When we all stand before God one of these days, will He say “Well Done”?
5. You say, “I can’t do much”. God says, “Do what you can”. Listen to this story.
B. ILLUSTRATION: "And where were you?"
1. In the early days of World War II, Winston Churchill called Britain’s coal miners together. A great crisis had arisen. The miners were not getting out enough coal to fuel the factories that produced the planes, ships, etc., so desperately needed.
2. When the Prime Minister arose he said, "(Hitler) [says he’s] coming with a million men, and I said to myself, ’The British Navy will put five hundred thousand of them to the bottom of the channel, but what will we do with half a million of them ashore?’"
3. For an hour and forty minutes, he outlined the desperate situation confronting Britain. Then in stirring
language he said, "When at last it is all over, we’ll parade these streets again and as you go by people will call out, ’And where were you?’
4. Someone will answer, ’I marched with the Eighth
Army,’ and someone else will say,’ I was in the skies over Britain.’ Another will reply, ’I was in the Merchant Marines pushing the ships through the sea.’
5. Then I shall be standing there and I will call out, ’And Where were you?’ I will hear you answer, ’We were down in the black pits right up against the face of the coal!"
6. Then, thousands of coal miners (who’d never been recognized) arose and with tears streaming down their faces, cheered the Prime Minister, and the coal came out! They had caught a fresh vision of the importance of their work.
7. I thought, when at last it is all over for us, We will parade the streets of Heaven. And it may be that someone will call out, "And where were you?" Many impressive answers may be given, but none more important than to say, "I was a faithful member of my church, working to reach my town with the Gospel of Jesus Christ!"
C. ALTAR CALL
