SUPER SUNDAY - SUPER CHURCH
INTRO.- ILL.- The new preacher was getting concerned. He told one of his deacons that he’d noticed many of the church members had colds and were coughing during the services.
The deacon replied, "As time goes on, preacher, you’ll begin to realize all those coughs aren’t colds. THEY’RE TIME SIGNALS."
ILL.- On their way home from church, a husband and wife were discussing the preacher’s sermon. The wife said, "It seems to me that he didn’t put enough fire into his sermon."
The husband replied, "IN MY OPINION, HE DIDN’T PUT ENOUGH OF HIS SERMON INTO THE FIRE."
ILL.- One Sunday after the morning worship service a certain family in Mattoon Christian church was heading to the Cracker Barrel restaurant for lunch. The father told his family that he didn’t like much of my sermon. He thought I was preaching right at him. Far too pointed.
And mother thought the Praise Team did just a "so, so" job with the music. Sister didn’t like the way Leasa played the piano. But the subject had to be dropped when little brother piped up and said, "YEA, BUT DAD, IT WAS A PRETTY GOOD SHOW FOR A BUCK!"
Many times people are not happy with their church. Consequently, they complain a lot.
ILL.- Someone said, "He who knocks all the time has something wrong within, just like the automobile engine that knocks all the time."
If you are knocking others all the time there is something wrong with you. You have a valve problem. A heart-valve problem.
ILL.- Someone else said, "Criticizing others is a dangerous thing, not so much because you may make mistakes about them, but because you may be revealing the truth about yourself."
Brother and sisters, we may well show our own colors when we color others with criticism!
Phil. 2:14-15 "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation..."
Chronic complainers do not spread the gospel. They spread the gossip. Generally, they do nothing but spread hurt. They hurt themselves, they hurt those within the church and those outside the church.
They hurt themselves because whatever you sow, you also reap. If a person is going to be mean, grouchy and gripey, it will come back to bite them. And often, big time!
Chronic complainers also hurt the people within the church. Gripers are not encouragers. They are not builders. They are destroyers.
Rom. 14:19 "Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification."
We all need to be "lovers and not fighters." We need to do the best we can to promote peace and encourage one another in the faith.
ILL.- Someone in a certain preacher’s congregation pointed out several faults in him and his preaching. Instead of retaliating, or trying to defend himself, he looked at the woman and said, "If what you say is true, would you mind praying for me?"
Instead of picking and poking, we all need to be praying.
Chronic complainers also hurt the people outside the church. They hold up a banner which reads: DON’T COME TO MY CHURCH. I DON’T LIKE IT AND YOU WOULDN’T LIKE IT EITHER! Consequently, they keep the good Word of God and the gospel from these people who need it badly!
Instead of being complainers, we need to be crusaders for Christ! We need to be commenders of the good! We need to be confirmers of the gospel!
I know this is "Super Sunday." It’s Super Bowl Sunday. It’s the St. Louis Rams against the New England Patriots! WHO IS GOING TO WIN? Jesus is going to win! He already has! And we are too!
ILL.- A church billboard recently read: "Let’s meet at my house Sunday before the game. Signed, God." Good idea.
Go to church and then watch the Super Bowl. According to I Timothy 6:7 God has given us everything good for our enjoyment. It’s all right to enjoy football, but let us not forget the God who gives us all these good things.
The early church assembled every Lord’s Day to remember and honor the Lord. EVERY SUNDAY WAS SUPER SUNDAY TO THEM!
Did they have something that we don’t have? Could be. Might not be. Let’s compare notes. Let’s compare churches. Some people say it’s not good to compare ourselves to others, but in this case, it might be very good! WE CAN LEARN FROM THE EARLY CHURCH!
PROP.- From the book of Acts let’s examine the early church to see what was so super about it. And perhaps we can learn some things.
I. A SUPER SURRENDER
ILL.- A mother spanked her daughter and made her go to bed for her ill temper which she had demonstrated throughout the day. After she got in bed she said to her mother, "It’s a bad temper when it’s me, but when it’s you, it’s your nerves." Little smart alec.
ILL.- Owen Wister, an old college friend of Theodore Roosevelt, was visiting him at the White House. Roosevelt’s daughter Alice kept running in and out of the room until Wister finally asked if there wasn’t something Roosevelt could do to control her. "Well," said the President, "I can do one of two things. I can be President of the United States or I can control Alice. I cannot possibly do both."
I’m sure that as parents we feel much like. We can do our work or we can try to control our children, but we have difficulty doing both. PARENTING IS NOT AN EASY TASK. Nor is heavenly parenting.
God is our heavenly Father and He has to deal with us, put up with us, and try to control us and tell us how to live our lives. Sometimes we don’t listen very well. And we don’t submit very well. ALL OF US ARE STUBBORN AND REBELLIOUS. All of us.
On the day of Pentecost when the Lord’s church actually started, Peter said these powerful and penetrating words.
Acts 2:38 Peter said, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
What happened after Peter said these words to the people? How did the people respond? Did they give Peter a hard time? Did they hassle him, saying, "We can’t do that. We won’t do that"?
"We want to do our own thing." "We will do this but in our own good time. Not now. Maybe later."
No, this is not how the people responded. They were convicted. They were humbled. They were submissive. They surrendered their lives to God and Christ.
Acts 2:41 "Those who accepted his message were baptized and about three thousand were added to their number that day."
That’s what I call "Super surrender." And that’s what the early church did. That’s what 3,000 people did! If our church is ever going to be what it should be in the eyes of the Lord we need to be "super surrendered" as well!
You might think of this as being somewhat negative. To some people it might be a negative and a nuisance. But it’s a negative that leads to something very positive. IT LEADS TO THE FORGIVENESS OF OUR SINS! If that isn’t positive, I don’t know what is!
Are your sins forgiven? Do you know for sure? You can know for sure. We need to be "super surrendered" when it comes to this matter of repentance and baptism. Have you surrendered? Have you obeyed your heavenly Father? Have you turned from wrong doing and turned to Christ? Have you been baptized into Christ?
If you haven’t, you need to consider it. God is our heavenly Father. He loves us more than anyone. He lives for our good. He wants only good for us. He only tells us to do things that will help us. And we need to help Him by doing what He says.
Surrender is not bad when it comes to our Heavenly Father. It is one of the best things that we can do. The more we surrender to Him and do what he wants: baptism or whatever it is, the more He will bless us personally and congregationally.
II. A SUPER FELLOWSHIP
ILL.- At a Sunday School picnic, the minister was walking across a small bridge when suddenly he started sneezing. He sneezed so hard that his false teeth flew from his mouth and landed in the clear water below.
He was extremely embarrassed over the ordeal so he quickly removed his shoes and socks, rolled up his pant legs and started to wade in the water after his teeth.
About that time, a little gray-haired lady in the church showed up, carrying a picnic basket full of food. When she realized what had happened to the minister she quickly reached into her basket and pulled out a crispy fried chicken leg. She tied a piece of string to the chicken leg and tossed it into the water near the teeth. IMMEDIATELY, THE TEETH CLAMPED ONTO THE CHICKEN LEG AND WERE HAULED TO SAFETY.
Now I want to make something very clear: not all preachers like fried chicken, but this preacher does. BUT I LEARNED TO LIKE FRIED CHICKEN LONG BEFORE I BECAME A PREACHER. And even though I do sneeze very hard, I don’t wear false teeth! I have a false hip, but not false teeth.
Acts 2:44-47 "All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
The early church experienced a super fellowship. They cared about one another and they shared with one another. Some of the early Christians went so far as to sell their own possessions in order to help others. WHAT A RARE AND GRACIOUS THING TO DO!
We still see things like this being done in the Lord’s church. Christians sharing with one another, giving to one another and often, privately or without recognition.
ILL.- Many years ago I rolled a Plymouth Horizon while driving in southern Missouri. I was not hurt, but my car certainly was. It was nearly totaled. One of the elders of the church loaned me a used car that he had and not only that, but he also gave me $50 to put gas in it. AND HE DIDN’T HAVE TO DO THAT! He did it simply because he was my Christian brother, he had a heart to do it, and the ability to do it!
That’s a part of Christian fellowship!
ILL.- I remember when one of our families lost their home by fire while they were at church on Sunday morning. Someone came into our church services, people started whispering to one another, and suddenly men in our church jumped up and walked out of our services. I wondered, "What in the world is going on?" I was somewhat angered at these men for leaving the worship service. Of course, I didn’t know the whole story. When I found out I was deeply humbled.
Our people responded to that family in a big way. They went to help put out the fire and afterward, they helped by providing clothing, money, and whatever else they could. That’s Christian fellowship! Sharing, caring, giving, helping, loving.
The early church also enjoyed one another’s company. They ate together. AND IN OUR BOOK, THAT’S REAL CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP! In most of our churches, it isn’t fellowship if it isn’t food! Right?
I have often felt that we Christians are at our best when we are sharing together around a meal table. Everybody is excited, having fun, enjoying themselves, yaking, yaking, and yaking.
Brothers and sisters, our churches have long had a history of good Christian fellowship. By that, I mean dinners, suppers, gospel music concerts, wiener roasts, fish fries, Sunday School picnics, youth outings, Spring Flings, and other types of fellowship times.
And these kinds of things are what make the church very special! A super fellowship! Perhaps we could say that Christian fellowship is just a foretaste of heaven! A down payment on glory! An appetizer before the main course!
III. A SUPER WORK
ILL.- An employer said to a prospective employee, "How long did you work at your other job?" "Fifty-five years." Employer, "How old are you?" "Forty-five years old."
Employer, "How in the world could you work 55 years when you are only 45 years old?" "Overtime."
Brothers and sisters, did you ever work overtime at any job? More than likely you did some time in your life or at some job. Why? Because you had to. The boss either asked you to or told you that you had to. Do you want to work overtime now? Not many do.
Col. 3:23 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men."
I believe that these words can give new meaning to our work, regardless of what we do. Whenever we realize that we are serving the Lord in our work, whatever the work is, we will do a better job. WE WILL WORK HARDER, ETC. And perhaps even overtime.
ILL.- For about three years I worked as the Assistant Manager at a home decor store in Cape Girardeau, MO. We sold pictures, flowers, furniture, novelty items, you name it. Anything that could be used to decorate inside the home, we sold it.
I had people ask me occasionally, "How do you like your job?" I would say, "It’s ok, but I’d rather be selling something else." Of course, what I meant was that I’d rather be selling Christ. Selling artificial flowers was ok, but flowers can’t save anybody. Only the Lily of the Valley can save people.
But the thing that made my job bearable and somewhat enjoyable was the fact that I was a Christian. I knew that I was serving Christ even though I was selling flowers.
The same thing holds true for you no matter what you do for a living. You are serving Christ.
The early Christians were workers. They were involved in a super work. And that work was evangelism! AND THEY EVEN WORKED AT IT OVERTIME!
Acts 8:1, 4 "On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered...." V. 4 "Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went."
The early Christians were scattered because of persecution. But that didn’t stop them from witnessing for Christ. If anything, they stepped up their pace in witnessing for Christ.
Persecution didn’t bother them. It only motivated them to do more for Christ! PERHAPS THAT’S WE NEED. Some persecution, and then perhaps we will get with the program of witnessing for Christ.
THEY WENT EVERYWHERE PREACHING THE WORD! They were working overtime at the business of witnessing, testifying and preaching!
If we ever want to be "super" in the eyes of God or perhaps become something of a "super" church in the eyes of God, we need to get involved in this super work of witnessing for Christ.
ILL.- A news item read this way last week: "Tom Cruise, an outspoken adherent of the Church of Scientology, has lobbied the U.S. ambassador to fight for the group’s rights in Germany, where it is not recognized."
I realize that many people in our world think that Tom Cruise is "it" when it comes to Hollywood, acting and movies. BUT TOM CRUISE BELIEVES IN SOMETHING THAT IS NOTHING!
I went to internet and read about the Church of Scientology and all they preach is that man himself is important. It is true than mankind is important in the eyes of God, but nothing was said about eternal life, life beyond the grave and how to get there. NOTHING WAS SAID ABOUT GOD THE FATHER AND CHRIST THE SAVIOR!
Here is what the early church believed:
Acts 4:12 "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to me by which we must be saved." And that name is Jesus!
Christ is the only Savior there is! We believe in Him and should be excited about preaching him and presenting him to others! That’s our work. That’s a super work that will produce a super church in the eyes of God!
CONCLUSION------------------------------------------
ILL.- Leonard Ravenhill said, "The world sleeps in darkness. The church sleeps in the light. The world is not waiting for a new definition of the gospel, but for a new demonstration of its power."
ILL.- Billy Graham said, "The church in America is faced with an amazing paradox. On the one hand more people are attending church than at any time in our history. Our budgets are larger than ever before. Yet never has the church lacked spiritual power as now in the face of staggering opportunity..."
Even though the church may have its negatives or negative features, I STILL BELIEVE IN HER! I believe that she, by the power of Christ, is the greatest force at work in our world today!
I believe that the Lord’s church is only divine institution that is going to do any real good in this world.
Consequently, we need to do all we can to be involved in the work of the church. BECAUSE THE WORK OF THE CHURCH IS THE WORK OF CHRIST! Super Sunday - Super Church. Be a part of her. Be a promoter.
