Opening Illustration
There was a church in a small town in Tennessee that had a most interesting name. The sign in front of it said “Left Foot Baptist Church.” There was a young man who passed by the building several times, and he always got a good chuckle from the name. Finally, one day when he was waiting on his bus, he asked someone about the church with the unusual name.
I don’t believe that he was counting on the answer that he got. He found out that several years before a great conflict arose in the church. You see, it was a foot-washing Baptist church – they washed one another’s feet as an act of worship. But the conflict broke out over which foot should be washed first. Half of the congregation thought they should start with the right foot. The other half thought that they should always start with the left foot. The conflict simmered and brewed until finally the left-foot proponents split off and organized their own church. Of course, they called it “Left Foot Baptist Church.”
(From 1001 More Humorous Illustrations for Public Speaking, Michael Hodgin, p.108.)
Most of us can testify to the fact that churches are notorious for the conflicts that they can generate. It’s pretty sad, really, how churches have become such a joke in most communities. Most of you have been there. You have been involved in the fighting over ludicrous stuff. The biggest fights in churches don’t come over doctrine or theology or even spiritual practice. They erupt over silly, insignificant details – like left foot versus right foot! I have seen a church ripped apart over the color of the carpet that was being laid in a hallway! I once served in a church where a knock-down, drag-out fight broke out because we removed the forty-year old curtains from the nursery windows and hung new ones. My former church almost split over the issue of hanging a screen in the worship center!
It is truly tragic and sad when those sorts of fights break out in churches … and they so often do. But the most tragic part is to see God’s people divided … to see them attack and reject one another. I have actually seen where churches voted to have people disfellowshiped … kicked out of the church … because of the something stupid like the color of the choir robes or the padding on the pews! They wanted to actually run them out of the church so that they could have their own way!
Transition
That sort of behavior sounds more like the world that it does the family of God. God’s people shouldn’t treat one another that way. The church should have a different atmosphere … a different environment from that of the world.
The absurd behavior that I have described sounds a lot like something that might happen on the “Survivor” TV show. Like I told you last week, someone gets voted out of the tribe on every episode. It can be for a variety of reasons. They could be obnoxious, bossy, hard to get along with, or simply weak. But on every show, someone gets the boot. In the early days of the show, it’s usually because they are just different.
I taped the episode from this past week, and I want you to actually see it. I want you to actually see the dynamic of someone being rejected and thrown out of their community.
Video Clip
Show Tribal vote from Survivor 5: Thailand (September 19, 2002).
Debrief Video
Isn’t that typical. The preacher gets voted off! Somebody else lost the contest, and the preacher got blamed for it!
Did you see the dynamics of that vote? Did you see the discomfort in the group? There was tension because they knew someone had to go! And now that we have seen it all happen, we know that there was a conspiracy going on. There was a strategic plan to remove that man! The preacher! As he left the area you could almost see the knife sticking out of his back. But did you see the emotion on some of the other people? It hurt them, too! You see, when we do evil or intentionally hurt someone, it can’t help but cost us ad hurt us also.
Transition to Biblical Application
I hope that we can all agree that this isn’t the sort of behavior that belongs in the community of the church. In fact, God’s word teaches us that this sort of behavior is completely the opposite of what He desires for us to have in His church. God does not delight in seeing His people fuss and bicker, fight, scheme, and inflict pain upon one another. He has other plans.
Today we will be studying two verses in the book of Hebrews. Hebrews is called a letter, but its form is more like that of a sermon. It was written to the early Jewish-Christian community. Apparently some of them were considering returning to Judaism and abandoning Christianity altogether. They were being persecuted by both the Romans and other Jews. Jesus had not returned yet. Things just weren’t what they expected them to be. There was apparent apathy in the church … people just weren’t attending the fellowship of the church like they used to. It seems that the church that was established among the Jews was suffering … it just wasn’t the church that it used to be.
That is the church that the writer of the book of Hebrews was trying to encourage. And in the two short but powerful verses that we are going to look at today, we can see a picture of what church ought to be. We can see in these verses the practices and characteristics of a real church … a church that will avoid strife and conflict over petty issues … a church, and a tribe, that won’t vote you out.
**READ HEBREWS 10:24-25**
So, how can you find a tribe (church) that won’t vote you out?
1. Look for a church where love is the focus.
Scripture: And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love …(24a)
The Greek word for “love” here is one that is familiar to many of you. It is agape. This word refers to a type of love that is selfless, even self-sacrificing. It is the type of love that puts others first even before one’s own self. It is an accepting type of love.
That is the love that belongs in Christ’s church. That is what makes us stand out. That is what shows the world that we are different! Jesus said in John 13:34-35, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
So, if the world sees a church embattled with bickering and fighting, what type of message does that send? How does the world interpret it? They look and say, “I don’t need that! I can get that at work or at home!”
In Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth, at the end of chapter 13 – which is known as the great love chapter of the Bible – he said in verse 13, “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
Friends, we must help one another attain this self-sacrificing love. Love is, by its nature, a community activity. You can practice faith and hope on your own … but not love. It takes an interaction with someone else. It takes the community of the church to practice this agape love.
This atmosphere of love and acceptance is something that we constantly strive for here at Crossroads. If you are looking for a church home where you will be loved, I believe that you have come to the right place. We won’t vote you out.
2. Look for a church that actively shows its love by serving others.
Scripture: And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward … good deeds. (24b)
“Good deeds” is simply a reference to doing good works … to serving others. I have found that many churches talk a good game about serving others, but they don’t have a track record to back up their claims. I’m afraid that many churches and many Christians don’t serve others because they just don’t know where to start.
Folks, it’s not that difficult! Serving others can be a very simple thing to do. It just requires a deliberate thinking beyond one’s own self to the needs of others.
Now, today, we’re going to have a little fun serving one another. The guys are going to bring out the offering baskets. In them you will find slips of paper. We are going to pass them around and let everyone get a slip of paper out. Then, you are all going to do the act of service listed on that paper. This is a simple, sixty-second exercise.
Instructions Include:
• Look for someone you haven’t met before and introduce yourself.
• Give a one-minute shoulder massage to someone.
• Greet one person warmly and tell them why you are glad they are here today.
• Ask someone how you can pray for them. Commit to praying for them for three days.
*Idea taken from Bore No More, Mike and Amy Nappa, pp. 47-49.
It must be the goal of any church to avoid being a self-serving entity. A church must exist to serve others. We must do good deeds for persons within the church, as well as persons in the community.
We have made selfless service a goal here at Crossroads. From our backpack project, to our Crossroads Cares ministry, to our community ministry focus in our LIFE Groups, we want serving others to be a primary task of this church. We want to live up to this encouragement given by the writer of Hebrews.
Transition Illustration
In October of 1993, in the town of Worcester, Massachusetts, police found an elderly woman dead on her kitchen floor. But this was no ordinary discovery – she had been dead for four years. Police estimate that she died of natural causes in 1979 because that was when her bank transactions ended.
But how could she become so cut off from her community? To a great extent she caused it herself. She didn’t like to be bothered by anyone. She had lived in the neighborhood for over forty years, but no one knew her very well. She never spoke to anyone.
Sao when neighbors thought that something was wrong back in 1979, they called the police. They called one of her brothers, who said he thought she had gone into a nursing home. So police stopped her mail delivery. One of the neighbors cut the grass in the yard to keep the neighborhood looking good. Another neighbor had the water cut off when a pipe froze and water came running out the front door.
And all that time, the woman lay dad on her kitchen floor.
(From Contemporary Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers, and Writers, ed. Craig Brian Larson, p.23.)
You see, folks, true community only develops when we reach out to one another and spend real time with one another. It only comes when we truly form relationships and weave our lives together.
So, if you want to find a church tribe that won’t vote you out,
3. Look for a church that makes being together (fellowship) a priority.
Scripture: Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing … (25a)
Apparently, some of the people in that Jewish-Christian community were abandoning the practice of gathering for worship and fellowship. There were probably many reasons … persecution, the influence of their practicing Jewish friends, and, most likely, apathy. So, the writer had to remind them how a real church had to be. It had to be together!
You know, the people we associate with have a tremendous influence in our lives … whether it is a good or bad influence. And for believers to hold on to the Christian hope and stay focused upon the faith, fellowship with other Christians is absolutely vital. We must have the accountability and encouragement that comes from being together. We are social creatures. We cannot succeed in the faith just as well on the lake or golf course as we can in the community of the church. We have a corporate identity. One part of the body cannot exist without any other.
This is, I believe, the one area where our church needs some attention. We do just fine in gathering for worship and church. But I believe that the true measure of fellowship in a church is the amount of fellowship that occurs outside of Sunday morning. I am convinced that our LIFE Groups are already changing and growing that level of fellowship. So, I want to encourage you, if you have not become an active member of a LIFE Group, you need to start tonight! You need the fellowship and accountability of that small group of believers. They will truly become your tribe that will lift you up … not vote you out … when life gets you down.
Lead-In Illustration
In June 1993 the police of South Windsor, Connecticut pulled over motorists in larger numbers than usual, but not because they were breaking the law. One person stopped by a patrolman was a lady by the name of Lori Carlson. As the officer approached her car she wondered what she had done wrong. To her amazement the officer handed her a thank-you ticket and said, “You’re driving great! We appreciate it!”
You see, on Wednesday June 9 the authorities in the city started a new program to give safe drivers a two-dollar reward ticket for observing the speed limit, wearing safety belts, using turn signals, and having their children in safety seats. What an interesting idea! (From Contemporary Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers, & Writers, by Craig Brian Larson, p. 58.)
You know, none of us likes to see those flashing lights. The first thing you expect from a policeman is a rebuke and a ticket … the last thing you expect is encouragement. And, you know, it’s pretty sad that a lot of people think the same thing about church. When they go, they expect to be rebuked and brought down … they don’t expect to be lifted up and encouraged.
So, if you’re looking for a church tribe that won’t vote you out,
4. Look for a church that provides an atmosphere of encouragement.
Scripture: …but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the day approaching. ( 25b)
I’m sure that many of you have been in situations in church where the word encouragement is the last thing that comes to mind. It’s so sad that often times the most discouraging people in the world are the ones who attend church. You know the people I’m talking about … those who are always critical of everything. Those people who never have a kind word to say about anything … especially the pastor. Those people who are so miserable in their own lives that they cannot be happy until everyone is just as miserable as they are!
But, folks, that’s not the way Christian people are supposed to be. God wants us to be encouraged by the fellowship of church. Contrary to much church thought, we are supposed to feel better when we leave than we did when we came. And we must be more encouraging as we see that day approaching when Jesus will come back. Do you realize what that means? It means that life is too short! Jesus is coming back someday! So until he does, followers of Christ must band together in the fellowship of the churches and love, serve, and encourage one another.
Closing Illustration
Do you recognize this picture? (Show a photo of giant redwoods on the screen.) It is a photo of a giant redwood tree from the Western United States. It’s one of the largest trees on the planet. But you probably didn’t know that these huge trees have a relatively shallow root system. In fact, if they had to stand alone on their own roots, they may not have the support that they need to stand. But in those giant redwood forests their enormous weight is supported in part by the interlocking of the tree’s roots with the other trees around it. They work together to hold one another up.
(From The NIV Application Commentary: Hebrews, by George H. Guthrie, p. 352.)
Friends, we believers need to lock our roots together within the church to hold one another up and help one another bear the enormous weight of life. God has designed for us a system of solid support. It’s called the church. But not every church follows God’s plan. In fact, sadly, there are many churches in this land that are focused upon self. Do you want to find a church tribe that won’t vote you out? Then look for a church where love is the focus, a church where people actively show their love by serving others, a church where being together in fellowship is a priority, and a church that provides an atmosphere of encouragement.
I believe that you will find all of those things right here at Crossroads Fellowship. I invite you, if you have not already, to consider making this your church home.
Prayer and Challenge
Gospel Presentation – Joining the “Tribe” of God
Life Application
Remember, it is so difficult to succeed in this Christian walk as a lone ranger. You need to be a member of a church. Find the “tribe” where God wants you to be and make a commitment!
