· Winnie the Pooh is once took an evening walk with his friend Piglet. They walked for a long time in silence, but Piglet finally asked, “When you wake up in the morning, Pooh, what’s the first thing you say to yourself?”
“What’s for breakfast?” Pooh responds, “And what do you say, Piglet?”
“I say, I wonder what exciting thing is going to happen today.”
Pooh’s first thoughts turn to his tummy, while Piglet imagines the possibilities that are before him; “What exciting thing is going to happen today?” I wonder, who are you more like, Pooh or Piglet?
I fear that too often we are just like Pooh. Like bears with very little brain, we concern ourselves with our own desires and needs. Our tummies want to be fed; our heads want a Tylenol to deal with the stress. With a singular focus our thoughts often turn to all the things we think we need. Instead of “In God we trust,” our national motto should be, “What’s in it for me?”
As believers we sometimes forget that God has promised to provide for everything we need (see Matthew 6:33). Instead of worrying about satisfying our tummies we should learn to be more like Piglet, “What exciting thing is going to happen today?”
Too often we’re thinking about what is needed “IN YOU,” while God imagines the great things He could do “THROUGH YOU.”
You have heard me say, “God has not put our church here to fail,” and “the best days for the church are ahead of us.” Great things are just around the corner if we get rid of the Pooh “IN YOU” mentality and start to think like Piglet. Rather than thinking about what think our church needs in order to be great, we need to imagine the great things God wants to do “THROUGH YOU” to make it happen!
Some of you will remember that last week I said beyond creation and the resurrection of Jesus Christ every miracle in the Bible involved a human agent. In other words, God doesn’t just show up on the scene and “poof” a miracle happens; God chooses to involve people in the process of a miracle. You tell me a miracle and I’ll show you someone God used to make that miracle happen.
God still works miracles in the same way today. God is looking for somebody who is willing to do or say something to make a miracle happen. Our church will only experience miracles as we cooperate with God.
In last week’s message “The State of the Church” we looked at four truths as found in Matthew 16:18. Jesus said, “This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out” (The Message). Quickly here are the four points from last week:
1. THE CHURCH IS ESTABLISHED BY JESUS. Jesus said, “I” (don’t miss the first word) “I will build my church.”
2. JESUS HAS A PLAN FOR HIS CHURCH. He said, “I WILL BUILD my church. “Will build”–the building of His Church continues today.
3. The church belongs to Jesus. He said, “I will build MY CHURCH.” None of us died for the church; Jesus let His blood be poured out to purchase the church.
4. JESUS WILL PROTECT THE CHURCH. He said, “I will build my church, and THE GATES OF HADES WILL NOT OVERCOME IT.” Not even the very gates of hell will be able to stand up against His Church; Jesus will protect His Church.
God is making us into a great church. You and I have the opportunity to be a part of the miracle that is Praise A/G. I was tempted to preach last week’s message again, but I want us to see from scripture what a great church really is. We are going to discover seven characteristics of great churches, and then we are going to again look at what it will take for us to become a great church.
Turn to Ephesians 4:11-16. Great churches are not measured by human standards. A great church is not measured by the number of people in the pews, the money in the bank, the programs offered, the building, or any other human standard you may think of. God says what makes a church great. My prayer is that Praise A/G will be a great church!
+ Ephesians 4:11-16 11It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (NIV)
1. GREAT CHURCHES INVOLVE LOTS OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE! (Verse 11, 12a)
Within the church God uses some people as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. If you look around you will discover that few if any pastors, evangelists, or any of the others mentioned are the same. All of those whom you might consider “church professionals” are all different, but those are not the only people God uses in great churches.
God wants to use each of you too! God’s plan is to use the “church professionals” to prepare lots of different people to do the work of the ministry. A church that is built around a renowned or famous pastor or that depends upon the pastoral staff to do all the work of the ministry is not a great church. Great churches involve lost of different people including those who sit in the pews.
2. GREAT CHURCHES FOCUS ON JESUS! (Verse 12b)
The Bible says great churches involve lots of different people in the work of the ministry in order that “THE BODY OF CHRIST MAY BE BUILT UP.” Can I put it to you simply? The church is not about you or me, it’s about Jesus!
In Ephesians 1 the Bible says, “It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for” (Eph. 1:11–The Message). The opening verses of Ephesians show us that we aren’t living for ourselves but for quote “THE PRAISE OF HIS GLORY” (verses 6, 12, 14).
Great churches know that we are not building our own little kingdoms; programs or ministries aren’t mine or yours. Everything we do is about Jesus. APART FROM HIM WE ARE NOTHING.
3. GREAT CHURCHES ARE UNITED IN CHRIST-WE’RE ONE! (Verse 13)
The Bible says that each of us who are God’s people are “to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ, until WE COME TO SUCH UNITY in our faith and knowledge of God ‘s Son that we will be mature and full grown in the Lord” (Eph. 4:12, 13–NLT).
Real maturity in Christ is not shown by how great your faith is, nor by how much you know about the Bible. Maturity is really all about unity. If you show me how well you relate with other believers, then I’ll show you how mature and grown up you really are. If there is a lot of division, unforgiveness, or bitterness in your life then you are immature, but if you show love and unity within the body of Christ, then you have really grown up.
4. GREAT CHURCHES ARE DOCTRINALLY SOUND. (Verse 14)
The church God sees as great does not preach or teach its own opinion nor does it worry about trying to be politically correct. Great churches preach and teach God’s word without compromises.
+ 2 Timothy 4:3-4 3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. (NIV)
We live in times such as Paul warned Timothy about. We must be careful to remain true to God’s word. Rather than shaping scripture to our personal preferences, we must allow the Bible to shape us into the image of Christ through the power of His Spirit.
5. GREAT CHURCHES ARE LOVING! (Verse 15a)
The Bible says that love is superior to everything else (1 Cor. 13:13). Love should be the motive for everything that we do. Loving churches are like Jesus making the love of God known to their community and world because “God is love” (1 John 4:8).
+ 1 Peter 4:7-8 7The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. [But how do we do that? Verse 8 tells us how.] 8Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. (NIV)
I want Praise A/G to be a loving church, but don’t overlook the obvious! Churches are not made up of bricks and mortar; CHURCHES ARE MADE UP OF PEOPLE. Our church will be no more loving than how much you and I are willing to love. Peter said, “above all, love each other deeply.”
6. GREAT CHURCHES REFLECT JESUS! (Verse 15b)
Great churches make Jesus known to their community and their world, not just through special programs or ministries. We are growing up in Christ in all things. Great churches will reflect Jesus daily in everything we do and say. We are His hands, His feet, His voice, His heart to those who do not yet know Him.
St. Francis said, “preach the gospel to all the world and if necessary use words.” Someone else has said that our lives may be the only Bible some people ever read. Are we living our lives in such a way as to not distort or misrepresent Jesus whom the scriptures make known?
7. GREAT CHURCHES INVOLVE EVERYONE! (Verse 16)
We have come full circle. Not only do great churches involve lots of different people, but in a great church everyone is involved as “each part does its work.” In great churches there are no spectators; no one is just warming the bench. What part are you willing to play in making Praise A/G a great church?
Now if you have not heard it before, then let me say it again, God is making us into a great church. We have not been put here by God to fail; the best is yet to come! But remember, with every miracle there is a human agent; WE MUST COOPERATE WITH GOD. What does God want us to do? What are the steps we need to take in order to become a great church?
1. PRAISE A/G MUST BE COMMITTED TO PRAYER.
We need to take some practical steps to become more effective as a PRAYING CHURCH. The church must come together for prayer; Jesus said, “My house will be called a house of prayer” (Matthew 21:13). It’s not good enough for us to just pray as individuals; we must pray corporately.
Prayer must be our #1 priority. We cannot forget that the Lord says it is “not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit” (Zechariah 4:6). Here are some ways we can do this:
▸ Development of “Pastor’s Prayer Partners.” My goal is to have 12 men who will commit to partner with me in prayer. We will begin training for this prayer team in two weeks–9:30am beginning January 19th.
▸ Corporate prayer in our worship services where we are comfortable to pray for another. In addition we need to train our leaders to pray for those with special needs at the altar.
▸ Development of four intercessory prayer teams. These teams will be trained to pray for individuals or families with special needs. Those seeking counseling or other help from the church will also be ministered to by these prayer teams. In addition to this prayer ministry to individuals and families in need, prayer teams will also each take one Sunday per month to intercede during our worship services.
▸ Effective use of a prayer chain to pray for needs within the church as well as those we receive from our community from either the internet or telephone.
2. PRAISE A/G MUST TRUST THE HEART AND WHEN NECESSARY FORGIVE THE HANDS.
The Bible tells us that our hearts are the “wellspring of life” meaning that our hearts will direct what we do and say (Proverbs 4:23). Put another way, when you examine the activities of an individual’s life and listen to what he or she says, then you will discover what is in their heart.
Trusting the heart simply means we believe in one another. Through loving relationships Christ has made us one, and we know that our hearts are beating together with His. Because our hearts are united, we join hands to work together in order to fulfill the work God has called us to do.
Unfortunately although our hearts or motives may be pure, our hands will sometimes fail us because we are human. Each of us will have times when the things we do or say doesn’t turn out the way we had hoped.
These are the times when our hearts are really tested. Will we respond with love and unity forgiving one another’s hands, or will we be divided letting go of on another’s hands because we believe the failure was intentional?
· Can I make it plain and simple for you? As your pastor I will make some mistakes. Some of my ideas may take off like a lead balloon; I will do or say some things that you think I should have done or said differently. In those times will you know my heart well enough to see that I really do love you? Will you see that in my heart I really want to please God and follow His leading? If you know my heart, then you can forgive my hands. Guess what? It’s not just the pastor’s hands that may fail his heart. Your hands may need to be forgiven too, but if we trust one another’s hearts it will be easy to forgive human hands.
Now it’s hard to trust the heart of a stranger. If we are going to trust one another, then we have to be in relationships with each other. We must build meaningful friendships which open the door to our hearts.
How can we as a church trust the heart and when necessary forgive the hands? Here are some ways:
▸ We must pray together. There’s a saying that goes, “the family that prays together–stays together.” That’s true for churches too.
▸ We must nurture and develop small group ministries. Whether it is through Sunday School, home groups or any other ministry we need to not only come into contact with God’s word, but we must get connected with each other.
▸ We must continue to share in “koinonia” fellowships. Our monthly pot luck dinners are only the beginning of how we can build and strengthen loving relationships within the church.
3. PRAISE A/G MUST HAVE A LOVING AND GENEROUS HEART.
Love and generosity go hand in hand; you can’t have one without the other. Everything that we do should be out of the overflow of love for Christ and one another. Love will produce a giving heart that is willing to share whatever we have in order to meet a need.
Remember, if we are going to be a great church, then we will become more and more like Jesus. Jesus is the full expression of God’s love for us; “for God so loved the world that he gave.”
WE ARE MOST LIKE JESUS WHEN WE SHARE OUR LIVES WITH OTHERS; LOVE IS GENEROUS! Loving generosity is really about putting the needs of others ahead of our own needs and desires. Like Jesus we willing lay down our lives for others.
Loving generosity is not just about opening our wallet or checkbooks; our financial resources are only one way that love can be expressed. In addition to giving of our treasure, we can also give our time and our talents.
What are some ways that we can generously give of God’s love that is within us? Hold on to your seats; this is going to get very practical.
▸ We must minister to the needs of our children and youth. I’m not looking for volunteers to work in the nursery or teach a Sunday School class; I’m looking for people who are compelled by love to lay down their lives for children and teens.
➩ Loving generosity begins in the nursery, but it does not end there. We are experiencing some of the growing pains that come with growth. Will we welcome children and their families, or will we have no place for them?
➩ Each of us need to ask God how He wants us to be involved. We are the body of Christ; if one part suffers every part suffers with it. God wants to use some of you to meet practical needs within the church.
▸ We can use our time and talents to strengthen the church. Everything we do will cost us time, but where can our time be best spent? We’ll get the most for our time when it’s used according to our abilities.
➩ We need folks like Dean, Jim, or others who have used their gifts to repair or improve things around the building. We had around 20 people help to paint the sanctuary–work like that still needs to be done.
➩ We need people like the Geeslings who took the time to mow the grass. The appearance of the exterior of the church says a lot about what we think about God.
➩ We need people who will use their talents to help with administrative, financial and secretarial duties each week.
▸ We can give to establish and encourage other churches. Praise A/G is not “the church”; we are a part of “His Church.” Praise A/G is not in competition with other churches in our community, nor within the A/G. We can work together to fulfil God’s purpose with loving generosity.
➩ We can continue to give to support our missionaries around the world. I’m looking forward to the day when more than 10% of our total income is given to world missions.
➩ We can give of our time, talents and treasure to begin satellite churches in neighboring communities like Windham or Mantua. In time we could see outreaches like these become daughter churches.
➩ We can cooperate with area churches in special outreach projects–nothing is impossible if we begin to do the things that Jesus would do!
➩ We can do the simplest thing of all and commit to pray for our missionaries around the world and sister churches throughout the area.
4. PRAISE A/G MUST BE COMMITTED TO EXCELLENCE IN EVERYTHING THAT WE DO.
Remember I’ve said that I want to see us build it “THICK.” The church should be like a thick peanut butter sandwich; one bite should leave a taste that sticks to the roof of your mouth. We want people to be attracted to the ministries of the church and then get connected as a part of the church. We don’t want our ministries to be spread out so thin that everyone just gets tired and people go away looking for more.
None of us can do everything, but we all can do something. I think that’s worth repeating because we have been given the opportunity to work together to build the kingdom of God here at Praise A/G–none of us can do everything, but we all can do something.
Remember, in great churches the church “grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (Ephesians 4:16). If we are going to become a great church making Christ known to our community, then we all have to do our part.
I have been asked about what areas of ministry folks can be involved in if they are not an “official member” of the church. The board and I will be developing a ministry policy in the new year, but can I give you the simple answer now? I know that some of you would like to know the direction we are heading in. The simple answer is we want everyone to do their part; we don’t want to put a lot of restrictions on individuals who want to help build our church.
Someone may ask why will we consider letting people be involved in ministry who are not members? The reason is because our culture has changed. Years ago people would accept what you believe and then they would belong to the group. Today folks want to know that they belong and then they will be willing to believe what you believe. We want to include as many people as possible in the ministries of the church, not only nonmembers, but even non-believers. When they are included and know that they belong, then their beliefs can change putting them in a position to know Christ as their Savior.
If we are going to be a great church, then we cannot just keep doing what we have always done; some things have to change. We can’t just begin to move forward aimlessly; we don’t want to be like Charlie Brown who shot his arrows and then went and drew circles around them. We must take steady aim with purpose and vision to move in the direction God wants us to go.
God is building a great church at Praise A/G. Are you willing to cooperate with God in the building of His Church at Praise A/G?
