I LOVE MY CHURCH
SHARING
Key Passage: Matthew 5:13-16
(Projected Aim: Help people see that loving the church impacts the community for the Gospel.)
Has anyone here every dreamed of going somewhere for a long time, only to be disappointed in it when you finally got to go there?
For years I worked with a guy who was a battalion chief with Chicago Fire Department. HE used to rave about the food at Luciano’s on Rush Street. Chicago isn’t a city I generally enjoy going to- just too much there, too many people, too much traffic, and just a pain to get around in. But one-time Tammie and I were down there and decided to walk along Michigan Ave and Rush street and see the shops and the sights and we came across Luciano’s and decided to eat there.
I was expecting culinary nirvana, - this is Luciano’s! Authentic Chicago Italian food.
But instead got horrible service, mediocre food, and a huge bill. If Yelp had been around, then I would have logged on and given it an unfavorable review.
It was a bad experience all around.
If we were to boil it down, A great dining experience really comes down to those two things: food and atmosphere. It’s all about what you see and what you taste. For the math people in the house, here’s the equation: Food + Atmosphere = Experience. If you hear about a new restaurant coming to town, aren’t those the two things you ask about? How’s the food? What’s the feel/look?
The opposite of Lucanio’s is almost every time we have gone to a Red Lobster- great food, great atmosphere, and wonderful service. I would eat there every day if I could afford it.
Apply this to our I Love My Church series.
Jesus has given us new lives without fences, lives that are part of the new community He is creating.
This life in this community, in His kingdom, is life as it was meant to be, giving us a new identity and a new set of values and ethics to live by.
We concluded the first week that our reputation as people of this new community should be one of love. God wants all people to know this life of salvation, forgiveness, peace, healing, purpose, and hope.
Here’s the question we have to consider in our series:
How do people come to this new life with God?
How do people hear and discover, how do they experience the kingdom of God?
Let’s look to the bible to answer some of these questions
Let’s read Matthew 5:13-16:
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
Prayer
Main Thrust- God entrusts us to create the kingdom experience.
A few moments ago we were speaking about eating establishments and what makes them appealing to a person coming in off the street. The same principles apply to how we live our Christianity and if it is attractive to those who have never tasted and seen that the LORD is good.
I. You are the salt of the earth. (Matthew 5:13)
How many people here add salt to almost everything? You can be honest, I won’t tell your doctor.
Salt brings taste. It is a flavoring agent. It brings taste to bland food. It preserves. Someone gives you a plate of food really not up to snuff and what are the first words out of your mouth? “Can you please pass the salt?”
Don’t miss what Jesus is telling us in this metaphor.
He is making it clear how necessary and important we are for the welfare of the world. Because we have experienced a transformation in our lives as we have come to the kingdom of heaven, now our presence is necessary as God’s means of influencing the world for good. Regardless of status or profession, the kingdom life that we possess is invaluable for the effect it will have in our daily circles of influence.
II. You are the light of the world. (Matthew 5:14)
In Jesus’ time they had small wicker oil lamps, which gave little light in the average home that had few windows; they were most effective when set on a lampstand. Even the smallest of lights lifted up can chase away darkness.
In the same way that Jesus’ life and message of salvation brought light to us. Then and now His disciples are a living demonstration of the arrival of the kingdom of heaven.
Light removes the darkness. We not only carry the light of the gospel of the kingdom of God, but we are that light. Because of the work of the Spirit in our lives, our transformation has produced kingdom light in us, affecting every aspect of our being, turning us into positive influencers in this sin-darkened world.
As salt and light, we bring the taste and atmosphere of Jesus’ kingdom to our world. If Food + Atmosphere = Experience, then the experience of the kingdom comes from His followers!
It amazes me to think of what God entrusts His church with!
We are to bring the taste, we are to bring the light, we are to bring the Jesus community/kingdom experience to our city so they can
know God, find Him, repent, and find new life!
Think about it like this:
Don’t like how our city is?
Ask yourself if you are salting it.
Discouraged that our culture is so dark?
Ask yourself if you are lighting it up.
If the culture is bland and dark, then we need to get to salting and lighting.
When we intentionally love one another, when we intentionally use our gifting and live out the love of God toward one another and to the world outside these walls, we are salting the bland and bringing light to the darkness. Saying “I love my church” isn’t just about us, doesn’t just impact us; it’s about everyone outside these walls as well.
III. How do we bring the I Love My Church experience to our culture?
A. People will experience Jesus’ community when we live its values.
A few moments ago we read from Matthew 5:13-16, but we can’t separate that scripture from those that precede it. Matthew 5:2-12 describe the Beatitudes- or the beautiful attitudes of the Christ follower. They are not an intro to the Sermon on the Mount.
They are part of the same thought as salt and light. IF you were to outline Matthew 5 it would look like this:
5:2-10—The Beatitudes—the values of the kingdom
5:11-12—The promise—promise of persecution and promise of reward
5:13-16—The charge, the call
The salt and light metaphors come out of the Beatitudes. If you show these beautiful attitudes of Jesus then you will be salt and light to those around you.
Jesus has brought the kingdom of God through regeneration and renewal by the Spirit. He transforms us. The Spirit produces in us poverty of spirit, mourning, meekness, righteousness, mercy, purity, and peace.
These are the characteristics of Jesus’ disciples that allow God to establish His kingdom in His way. This is the kingdom life God puts in us and that we then demonstrate to the world. The Beatitudes are a character profile of a person who says, “I Love My Church.”
So seasoning and shining isn't only about the message we declare with our lips, it’s about how we go about our lives—
lifestyle is the emphasis here.
Being salt and light is about the message we declare with our actions, reactions, and everything in between.
We can’t separate message from lifestyle (repeat)—this is about who we are and how we are.
The values in you as you live the kingdom bring flavor to a bland, rotting world. The values in you as you live the kingdom bring the light to a world of darkness. People will experience the kingdom when we live its values; this helps us realize how to be effective agents of salt and light. These show us how to love the church outside of the church.
B. We live the values of Jesus’ community in our daily ordinary.
There was a guy who almost OD’d on soy sauce recently. (FoxNews)
A young man who drank a quart of soy sauce went into a coma and nearly died from an excess of salt in his body, according to a recent case report. The nineteen-year-old who drank the soy sauce after being dared by friends is the first person known to have deliberately overdosed on such a high amount of salt and survived with no lasting neurological problems.
I share this story because it applies directly to how we live. We are called to bring salt and light to our world so that they can experience the kingdom, not so that they can be blinded by the sun or OD on sodium.
So the question we have to answer is: Are we seasoning and shining, or are we blinding and gagging?
Let me give you an example of blinding and gagging.
In the City of Kenosha, Labor Unions are huge. We are a union city, and one of the festivals we have is the Labor Day Festival in Columbus Park. Columbus park isn’t that big- about the size of the park by the hospital, but upwards of ten thousand people will crowd into that park for the bands, beer, and carnival.
One year, a very conservative and very outspoken church in the community decided to protest the event. They set up on a street corner across from the festival and with bullhorns tried to proclaim the Gospel by telling everyone there that they were going to hell and one of their sings said we were going to be kindling in the fire kept God’s feet warm at night.
Is there some truth to the message?
Yes, absolutely! But just because it is correct doesn’t mean that it is effective. I’d argue that this is pouring a gallon of soy sauce down someone’s throat. No one walked away from that message thinking, “I need Jesus.” And I’d be willing to put money on it … no one walked passed them thinking, “I want their Jesus in my life.”
Now let me give you an example of seasoning and shining:
I was reading recently about an email a pastor received-
“Moving back to the city I was able to start back at my old job. Many of the servers/employees were surprised to see me. Nonetheless, I was able to get back to working. About a week ago, one of them, I could tell something was on her mind. In the midst of having a slow night, I asked her how her family was doing. She started to share her troubles about her daughter leaving and that she was afraid.
I shared my testimony about how my mom and I didn't speak for two years, and how, throughout the past years, I found God and our relationship started to grow. She mentioned she wanted to go to church but hasn't gone yet. I encouraged her and said that God changed me and cares about our relationships. She got my number and we talk more at work and I am leaving the door open to share more.
Over the past two days: The servers lately have been cranky and gossiping, arguing with management during work. I won't gossip and I will respect management there regardless of how I think the place "should be run." They know I am a "faith-based" girl. However, the gossip became so bad that yesterday, during dinner rush, the manager had to call a meeting explaining how a customer overheard. I kept encouraging the management, telling them they were doing a good job, sharing with the employees that we "are a team," and building them up with words.
Also, that night, I was helping out in the kitchen, putting away dishes even though I didn't have to. One of the dishwashers said: "You are a good worker, Misha. I always see you helping out people and you don't have to." I said to him: "I am working for the Lord.” He smiled and said, "All the other servers come back here and complain, but I can tell you are believing that and acting on that." I said, "Have you ever heard this saying: ‘The joy of the Lord is my strength’?” He said, "No, where is that?" I told him it was in the Bible and that is why I am different and I did not used to be this way, sharing a little bit of my testimony. He said, "I am wanting to get back into my faith and I don't know how. I would like to know more (about the Gospel) as you told me." I said that after work, I wanted to share "the Gospel with you in a real way that is understandable, as it is life-changing." He was excited and said, "I am looking forward to talking more about the faith with you." That is how my night ended.”
It’s really easy to carry a sign around in a crowd and scream in anger about the evil in the world.
It’s a lot more difficult to be Jesus in the ordinary and in the mundane.
But it’s in the trivial day-to-day stuff, at the office, at school, at the gym, on the job that people need to experience Jesus when they experience us.
Think about your daily routine. Think about your coworkers. Your classmates. Your neighbor. The person you carpool with or give a ride to.
Know this—people will experience the kingdom from you in the normal, and in those moments the normal becomes extraordinary as people taste and see … from you … that the Lord is good.
C. Those who have truly experienced Jesus will help others experience Jesus.
“A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)
I hope that if we’ve learned anything over these last few weeks, we’ve learned that loving the church isn’t about the building
It’s about relationships—primarily our relationship with God but also our relationships with one another. But it doesn’t stop there. We also have to love those outside of these walls.
Think about the very first week when we read John 13:35, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Here’s the thing: How can all people observe us having a reputation of love if we are never around people?
You can’t season and shine when you live entirely separate from the bland darkness.
This church is meant to be a gas station. You don’t go to Kwik Trip, put gas in your car, and then only hang around there all day. You jump back into your care and continue to where you need to go in life.
The church is the same way-
Sunday Church, Sunday School, and Wednesday nights assist us to grow and become a stronger community of faith. We are strengthening our saltiness and brightness if you will. But if we never are interacting with people outside of our church, then we have failed. We are to live Jesus’ values while in connection with our world. What are ways that you can begin making connections with your neighborhood?
A question sometimes asked, one which really needs to be asked by all churches, is, “If our church ceased to exist, would the neighborhood mourn? Would they say, ‘No! You can’t go!’ Or, if we were to cease to exist, would the neighborhood even notice?”
We must be a church that they would miss—not for our own sakes or our own reputations, but because they are experiencing Jesus when they experience us.
We must be sharing with our community the love of Jesus by being salt and light.
Food Pantry
Volunteers at the hospital
Volunteers at the school
Tutoring
Big Brother/Big Sisters.
IF you ask God, He will show you what to do and where to go share the experience of Jesus through living your life among those who don’t know him.
Prayer
