Building A Great Church Requires A Great Passion
Karl Marx looked at the church and saw an opiate for the masses. Some look at the church and they see a private club filled with people who care only about themselves. Others look at the church and see faith filled fanatics. Jesus looked at the church as saw a prevailing powerful body that the gates of death would not stand against. Building a church like that takes passion, courage, dedication and a total reliance on God.
Ephesians 3:8-21
Eph 3:8 CEV I am the least important of all God’s people. But God was kind and chose me to tell the Gentiles that because of Christ there are blessings that cannot be measured.Eph 3:9 CEV God, who created everything, wanted me to help everyone understand the mysterious plan that had always been hidden in his mind.Eph 3:10 CEV Then God would use the church to show the powers and authorities in the spiritual world that he has many different kinds of wisdom.Eph 3:11 CEV God did this according to his eternal plan. And he was able to do what he had planned because of all that Christ Jesus our Lord had done.Eph 3:12 CEV Christ now gives us courage and confidence, so that we can come to God by faith.Eph 3:13 CEV That’s why you should not be discouraged when I suffer for you. After all, it will bring honor to you.Eph 3:14 CEV I kneel in prayer to the Father.Eph 3:15 CEV All beings in heaven and on earth receive their life from him.Eph 3:16 CEV God is wonderful and glorious. I pray that his Spirit will make you become strong followersEph 3:17 CEV and that Christ will live in your hearts because of your faith. Stand firm and be deeply rooted in his love.
Eph 3:18 CEV I pray that you and all of God’s people will understand what is called wide or long or high or deep.
Eph 3:19 CEV I want you to know all about Christ’s love, although it is too wonderful to be measured. Then your lives will be filled with all that God is.
Eph 3:20 CEV I pray that Christ Jesus and the church will forever bring praise to God. His power at work in us can do far more than we dare ask or imagine. Amen.
The mountain makes the man great.
The man does not make the mountain great. The mountain makes the man great. Greatness does not come from who we are but from the task we are called to do.
People live and die; come and go. James says we are but a vapor; here and then gone. It is that which we do that makes us great. We are selves are not all that important. Oh, we each are unique and we offer our talents and skills but the work is greater than the person. The greater the work the greater our influence.
Norman Schwarzkopf (The United States General who led the coalition forces during the Gulf War) tells the story of his first class at "charm school" he attended when he became a brigadier general.
He and 35 other "one star" generals were all required to attend classes designed to help them get a broader view of their responsibilities as general officers of the army. The classes also are designed to teach them better manners and the political realities of a military that is under civilian authority. (That’s why it’s called "charm school"!)
When the 36 men gathered they for the first session they all expected to be affirmed and encourages as the best of the best the army had to offer. Instead, the teacher of the class, a seasoned general, stood at the podium and looked at them a long time before he spoke.
When he finally began he said, "If you all traveled here together in an airplane and it crashed and killed you all we would go back out into the field and get 36 more colonels just as good as you to take your place".
My dad is a preacher and he did his best to teach me the importance of serving God by serving and leading his church. Sometimes we preacher types can get the idea that we are really important. But my dad always told me that when you pull your finger out of a bucket of water that this is the kind of hole a minister leaves when he leaves a church.
That is true of every person in every situation. No one is so important that they cannot be replaced. No one is so valuable that the world will come apart at the seams if they aren’t there.
Even the apostle Paul understood himself to be small in the sight of God and men. He said in Ephesians 3:8a “I am the least important of all God’s people”. None of us are all that important but we have been called to greatness.
You and I are called to Greatness
I find it amazing the Paul says, “I am the least important of all God’s people”. Yet he was given the most important of tasks - to go and to make disciples. We are also given this same task. To do this well requires a great passion.
This Sunday we will look together at the privilege we have of being chosen by God to carry out his work. We have been given a great mountain to climb and it requires a great passion! God Provides The People
You and I are chosen by God to great things.
The task is greater than the people who are undertaking it. I’ve been reading the book “Citizen Soldier” by Stephen Ambrose. It talks about the American Army during WWII from D day to VE day. He cites story after story of unknown hero’s who gave themselves for the good of the cause.
In a very real sense this is what we have been called to do. We are in a war it is a battle and we are going to win. The very gates of Hell will not prevail against it. We have been called to serve our God.
God Provides The Task
We are chosen to undertake a great task Paul stated it this way. He said that we are “Chosen to tell the Gentiles that because of Christ there are blessings that cannot be measured.” Eph 3:8b
The word “gentile” is a code word. It refers to anyone who doesn’t understand who God is and what he is about. I call them “normal” people. They are just like those of us who follow Jesus. They laugh, they cry, they hope for a good future and they dream dreams. But they do not know the blessings that we have in God that cannot be measured.
Now - that is our task and it’s a great task! This is a fun job. We get to tell people about the blessings of God which can’t even be measured!
God Provides The Blessings
The first blessing is “Courage and confidence so that we can come to God by faith” Eph 3:12
This past week I reconnected with a friend of mine in the ministry. He and his wife had a 16 year old daughter that died this past week. I was there for the visitation and let me tell you that dealing with issues of life and death a lot easier when you have the courage and confidence to come to God by faith.
This man and his wife stood at the casket of their daughter from 2:00 pm till 11:00 pm two days running. They greeted and grieved with literally hundreds of people with such courage and confidence.
There is a stark differenced between those who have faith and those who do not. It is a blessing from God to experience the courage and confidence that following Jesus brings to our lives.
The second blessing is “…His Spirit will make you become strong followers” Eph 3:16
His Spirit and his strength are ours. It is only by God’s Spirit that my friend and his wife were able to be such a powerful testimony to the entire community.
This young 16 year old girl and her parents had made such an impact that the school was closed for the funeral. I understand that at the service the father asked his daughter’s doctor to come up and he thanked him for helping his daughter. Now that kind of strength doesn’t come from any one but God himself.
The third blessing is “…What is called wide or long or high or deep. I want you to know all about Christ’s love, although it is too wonderful to be measured.”.
The arms of all those people who came to the visitation and the funeral were the arms of God. The tears were the tears of God. The love was the very love of God. Now how do you measure that?
I want to tell the world about these blessings. What a great task has been given to us!
God Provides The Resources
“I pray that Christ Jesus and the church will forever bring praise to God. His power at work in us can do far more than we dare ask or imagine. Amen.” Eph 3:20
We have God’s power in us. We have all we need to do far more that we dare ask or imagine to bring praise to God.
That’s the key… to bring praise to God. But this is not a limitation on life bringing praise to God is the most fun of all in life!
I have been to a PromiseKeepers Rally in the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, IN. 65,000 men praising God. What an incredible sound. Ladies, you all sing well but when 65,000 men give praise to God it is a powerful sound that starts at your ears and goes to the marrow of your bones where it resonates in your soul for hours afterwards.
We have all we need to carry out the task. We have his power. We have the people. We have the finances. He has given it all to us. We just need to use it for him. And that takes the passion.
We Provide The Passion
A Relentless Passion is required to build a great church. But it is really up to us. Will we be relentless in the quest? Or will we quit when it gets tough? When you understand what you have been chosen for and what you have received the result is a relentless passion to tell everyone.
There are times when I grow tired. There are times I grow weary. There are times that I’d like to quit but I will not quit. I will not stop. There is a fire in my belly. There is a burning in my bones. I will not let up and I will not stop. There is a passion to tell others and to do his work. My hope is that this passion will become your passion too.
A passion for...
...serving and giving
We all have a place to serve and to give. Ministry and tithing is not about money – it’s about heart and passion. It’s not about skills, talents, or bank accounts. It is very much about what we are committed to and what we are passionate about.
I encourage you to become part of the ministry team at MCC. I encourage you to settle the issue of tithing and to give your tithes and offerings to the work of the ministry here at MCC. I encourage you to get passionate about his work.
...Going and Sending
We are going and sending to the Ukraine next spring. 5-7 of our number, led by Jamie Wetzel are going over to find out what is happening there with the other side of our annual clothing drive. We’re going to find out what we can do to help. Some will be going while the rest are sending. We’ll be here praying for them before they leave and when they get back.
...Investing and Inviting
We are having our second Open House next weekend. Invite someone you have invested your life in that doesn’t know the blessings of God and invite them to come. It might be a friend or a relative. It could be a coworker. Who ever they are it is your job to tell them about the blessings of God. Invest your life and invite them to come.
We are planning other opportunities this coming year. Our Christmas Services on “The Journey”; Our Christmas Eve Service; The Winter Gathering on Leadership; In March-April we are planning Easter Celebration beginning the six weeks leading up to Resurrection Sunday. There is going to be some great stuff for kids too!
Fran Tarkenton is a man with a passion for the game of football. Fran was for many years the scrambling quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings and before that the University of Georgia. He was one of the most prolific passers in NFL history.
The son of a minister, Tarkenton has always had a good sense of who he is. As one of his teammates on the Vikings once described him, he has "a stranglehold on reality." In a recent interview, Tarkenton revealed for the first time how he became the starting quarterback in college.
The University of Georgia was playing the University of Texas. Tarkenton was the third-string quarterback on Georgia’s team with no one predicting he would advance beyond that position.
In this particular game Georgia was having a difficult time moving the ball. Indeed, late in the third quarter they did not have a single first down. Now they were backed up near their own end zone. It was third down. Suddenly, this young third-string quarterback started out onto the field. No one had told him to go into the game. However, no one tried to stop him either.
The first-string quarterback saw Tarkenton heading to the huddle and assumed that the coach had decided to replace him, so he trotted off the field. Tarkenton took charge, led the team down the field for a touchdown, and the rest is history, as they say.
He was started on one of the most remarkable careers the sports world has ever seen.
Can you imagine a player on a major college team having the passion required to step out onto a field under those kind of circumstances? That’s confidence!
That’s a feeling of chosenness and understanding what you are called to do. That is passion.
You and I can operate with that level of confidence and passion because we, too, have been chosen by God.
Just Do it
