I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW
“Let me Show you the Door”
2nd Corinthians 6:3-11
I titled our current preaching series “I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW.” My hope in this group of messages has been that all of us will see more clearly the vision God has for Eagle’s Landing. To help us get there one of the things I have hoped to communicate to you is that the church must grow in 5 areas. We said that 1st, the church grows stronger through worship. It is our first priority as believers and it is the place where we go to get strength to do the ministry God has called us to.
2nd I said that we grow warmer through fellowship. In the 97 ideas you submitted for consideration for new ministries in our church, we saw that one of the top items that you wanted was more opportunity to fellowship together. Apparently you guys love each other. That’s good.
3rd I said that the church grows broader through ministry. Are now preparing to launch a brand new ministry in November that we believe will be life changing for our church and community. It is called Celebrate Recovery and you will hear much more about it in the weeks to come. Ministry helps us grow broader.
4th I said that the church grows larger through evangelism. As we invite people to know the Lord, as we invite them to engage with our church and our people the church will grow in numbers. It is God’s will that His church should grow; that His lost children be found.
5th I said that the church grows deeper through discipleship. People are not attracted to shallow Christians. They are not attracted to a church that has a shallow faith. They are attracted to a church where lives are being changed.
If you have ever flown in an airplane and I am sure most of us have, then you know that one of the things they do is have the flight attendant give a few basic instructions. I don’t really fly that often but I will admit that when I do I don’t pay much attention to what the flight attendants are saying. I’ve already heard it.
My brother’s wife is a flight attendant and works out of the airport in Charlotte NC. You may have seen her if you watch Wheel of Fortune … she was on there a few years ago. She actually won the big prize for the night … about $50,000. I have asked my brother to consider becoming a tither to our church. But anyway she is a flight attendant.
I am told that when people are seated on the plane that the flight attendants are actually looking for responsible people to sit in certain places. If you are going to sit in an exit row there are actually 3 requirements and if you pay attention to what the flight attendant has to say it goes something like this….. If you are seated near an exit door you have 3 responsibilities. If for any reason you feel you cannot carry out these responsibilities then we ask that you move to another area. (1) You must be able to understand the instructions concerning the exit door. (2) You must be able to physically open the door. (3) You must then be able to verbally guide someone through the door.
Those are the 3 requirements for that person. Now let me ask you a question this morning, what are the requirements to be a disciple? Really the same thing. (1) you must understand the instructions. This is His instruction book. (2) you must be able to point people to the door to open it and get started in their walk with the Lord and (3) you must be able to verbally guide others through the door.
Most of us would say that we could definitely accomplish the first two. We understand the instructions (Bible) in fact as I heard someone say, it’s not the part in there I don’t understand that bothers me. It’s the part I do understand. It’s clear. It’s convicting. But some of us need to be reminded that we don’t follow instructions very well. Did you ever get one of those red marks in grade school that say “does not follow instructions?” We understand the instructions but we don’t always follow them. Most of us then can get the door open but all of us are not completely sure how we could actually convince someone to go with us on the journey.
All of us must understand that in order to be a true disciple and to go deeper as a disciple in the Christian life, we MUST be able to do all 3. Now this is where the difficulty begins in going deeper in our faith. Doing all 3 is very hard for many of us because all of us are not natural born leaders are we? In fact I’m not sure anyone is. I believe it is something that we must learn. We are not born leaders. We become leaders. And we are not born disciples. We have to be reborn actually. Now this brings me to the BIG TRUTH I want to convey to you today. Here it is.
A true disciple is a follower. A true disciple also has followers.
Going deeper is not an easy job. When we dig in we often hit things that we did not expect. We dig in our years and we can hit electrical lines that are buried, we can suddenly disconnect our cable to the TV. It happens of course because we can’t really see beneath all that dirt and it happens to us as believers because we don’t always know what is ahead of us. But to go deeper we must stay on the path no matter how difficult the path may be. AND we must always take someone else with us. Now let’s look at the path.
1. Be careful you do not become a stumbling block to others. The apostle Paul begins with these words. V.3 “We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path.” We learn right away that there are going to be obstacles in our path or stumbling blocks as Paul referred to them. Paul was not the first to talk about them. Jesus, in speaking to the teachers of the law and the Pharisees said, “woe to you because you shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces.” (Ever had a door slammed in your face?) That’s what He’s describing. Then He says, you yourselves do not enter nor will you let those enter who are trying to.
In His frustration at one point Jesus said to Peter, “satan, get behind me. You are a stumbling block to me. Move back here… because when you are here it causes me to stumble. You’re a problem on this path I ‘m traveling. Paul said you have to make up your mind NOT to be a stumbling block or obstacle in anyone’s path. Now back to v. 3, he gives us the reason we should not be a stumbling block. It is so that our ministry will not be discredited. Paul was very careful about this even to the point that he said it is wrong to eat or drink anything that causes someone else to stumble. Don’t be a stumbling block. Because if you do your ministry will be discredited. Your testimony will be weakened and people will no longer follow you.
A true disciple is a follower. A true disciple also has followers.
2. Let your life be an open book. Be as transparent as possible. v. 4. “Rather as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way.” When you commend someone for something you make them look good. You find a quality in someone, faithfulness, whatever it may be and then you commend them for it. It’s like saying, “Good job!” But it’s like Paul is saying here….commend yourself…pat yourself on the back…why? Because you’re a servant.
Then he tells us some ways to do that. Paul is a list-maker and here’s his list. This is a list of situations, difficult situations where if we handle these trials properly, people will follow. Look at the list. ---- in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses. I hate it when Paul begins with a list like this. Why can’t he say, when life is trouble free, everything’s easy and there is no stress whatsoever. I can tell you why. Because when your life is like that, if it ever is, no one will follow you.
Listen, a true disciple has followers and people will follow you in direct proportion to your ability to handle hardship and difficulty.
You see people aren’t looking to follow someone whose life has the appearance of being trouble free. Why? Because they know that life doesn’t exist. It’s fake. It’s not real. Look at the next list. V. 5. In beatings, imprisonments and riots, in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger. All of my favorite things. How about you? On this list I can only identify with about half of these. Never been beaten unless you count our church softball team…I think we were 0-10 our last season. But that’s another story. Prison and riots. Only time I’ve been in prison was to visit someone else who was in prison. And never participated in a riot. Although I did have very long hair in the 70’s. Hard work. I like to think I do that. I have had some sleepless nights and I have been hungry before but I usually knew what to do about that.
3. People will follow you if your life is a reflection of Jesus Christ. Vv.6-7. Now these two verses almost require an entire message by themselves but let me put it simply. True disciples have followers. And this is the kind of person people will follow. Disciples must be patient and kind and truthful.
Next list. V. 8. Now he speaks in opposites. Bad report, good report. Poor but rich. Has nothing but has everything. I believe what Paul is saying in this list is summed up in one word.
4. Perspective. Perspective matters. Get some. How we see things. We often call this a paradigm shift. It means we see things one way but then we suddenly see those same things in a different way. Let me show you. Do you see the white vase in this picture? How many can see it? Now look at a different picture. Do you see the two black vases? OK. You know what the difference is in these two pictures? Nothing. They are the same. It’s all a matter of perspective. It’s a matter of how you see your life.
Vv9b-10. The glass can be half full or it can be half empty. It’s perspective. When you can learn to live that way, people will want to follow. On the other hand, if you don’t live that way, no one will follow. People do not want to follow someone who is constantly negative. A disciple is a follower and a true disciple has followers.
You ever had someone say let me show you to the door. There are a couple of ways we can say that. Bouncers in bars show people the door all the time. They throw them out. Someone may show you the door by asking you to leave. But there are many other ways to show someone the door. And those are the ways Paul has described here. Through the difficulties you face, Live for Christ and every day point people to the door. When you are in despair, keep living for Jesus and you will point them to the door. In John 10:9 Jesus said, I am the door, if anyone enters through me, he shall be saved.
I read a story this week about a newlywed couple that had a disaster on their honeymoon. True story. They arrived at the hotel. They had reserved a large room with a lot of amenities. Supposed to be very romantic. But that's not what they found when they arrived. The room wasn’t furnished very well, there was no view like they were told, no flowers, a tiny bathroom, and all they had was a pull-out sofa with a lumpy mattress. Not even a bed. They tried to make the best of it but it was not a good night and so the next morning the groom stormed down to the desk clerk …. very angry. When he finished ranting and raving about all the things they didn’t have in the room…all the things they were promised that weren’t there…the clerk asked him, "Sir, did you open the door in your room?" He said no, what do you mean? He said go back to your room and open the door. He went back to his room went in and opened the connecting door and to his surprise there was a large beautiful room, a king sized bed fully furnished. Flowers. Spotless. Huge bathroom. Spectacular view. You have to wonder why didn't he try the door? Or why didn't he go down to the desk before going to bed that night.
I don't know, but I do know that there are a lot of people out there looking for a better life. But for now they just choose to hang out where they are. They take a small room in life. No extras. A limited view. Not very comfortable. Not what they hoped for but exactly what they think they deserve. And they never find their purpose, never discover what lies behind the door. And what they don't understand is that Jesus is the door you have to go through. He said I am the door. You and me…we’re the desk clerk and it’s our job to point them to show them the door. To point them to a deeper walk with our heavenly father. To turn them into real disciples. Who are you discipling right now? Who are you helping? Are you living your life in such a way that people will look at you and say that’s what I want. That’s how I want to live. People are watching. The question is what are they seeing? Disciples follow Jesus and true disciples who in turn will follow them. Who is following you today?
