I recieved this idea from my mentor Jerrie Barber.
I Want the Church to Grow - But Do I Want Any More People? , #6
Luke 10:29-32
Chuck Swindoll tells about a man who went to see a psychiatrist because he was extremely depressed. After an hour together that the psychiatrist was struggling to get the man to snap out of it. So he said to the man, “Tonight I want you to go to the circus in town because they have a clown named the Great Rinaldi, he is the funniest clown I have ever seen. Whenever I go to see the Great Rinaldi it always lifts my spirits.”
The man responded. “You don’t understand doctor, I am the Great Rinaldi.”
The community and world that we live in is slap full of Great Rinaldis, people who are empty and searching for some type of meaning. There days are filled with desperation and they can’t seem to find relief.
They may put on masks of happiness, to appear fine to everyone, but when they return to their homes at night they cry themselves to sleep because their life is pointless and they long to find something in life to make them happy and give them a sense of meaning. They look at their lives and wonder what it is all about. Life must have more to offer me than this, they say.
God has given this church and the members of this church the responsibility to reach these hurting people. Wendell Winkler use to tell us that the church was supposed to be a hospital for the hurting not a museum for the saved. We need to understand that the church above all else is a place for people who have problems.
This church was designed for the single mother who works two jobs to support her kids.
This church is for the drug addict who can’t stop his habit.
This church is for the young person who struggles with self esteem.
This church is for the young couple who lives together and has never been exposed to the best way to build a home.
This church is for the man who does not respect his boss, so he steals from the company and from his coworkers.
This church is for the housewife who goes out searching for some excitement in the arms of a man that belongs to someone else.
The church is for the alcoholic who is ready to admit he needs help.
Ezekiel 34:16 we see God saying that He will, “Search for the lost, bring back those that stray away, put bandages on those that are hurt, and make the weak strong."
Those of us who claim to be followers of Christ are the ones who God sends out to bring the lost home. Because we understand that God wants all people saved, which will cause the church to grow.
Time and time again we read in the scriptures that God wants everyone us to be in a saved relationship with Him.
"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved John 3:17.
This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.1 Timothy 2:3, 4.
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, Titus 2:11
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.2 Peter 3:9.
As we have looked over the past few weeks that includes people that we are afraid of, just like God desired for Saul of Tarsus to be saved. If you remember the first century church was afraid of this man Saul who went about killing their Christian brethren. He would not have made it on anyone “10 people I want to share Christ with this week” list. But God even wanted Saul to be saved and He was able to use Paul mightily in His Kingdom.
God wants people of every color and nationality saved. It’s just like we teach our children when they are very young. Red and Yellow, Black and White they are precious in His sight.
God desires for people who have had different growth experiences than we have, and people that my friends won’t like, and even people who are not immediately responsive to the Gospel call to be saved.
Now I want you to be honest with yourself for a minute. Think about that one person who turns your stomach. Think about that one person who makes your skin crawl at the very mention of their name. You know that one person who maybe has cheated you, or who done you dirty. The one who has cause you some physical, financial, or emotional harm. The one person who when they enter a room you immediately make a run for the door.
Have you got that person in your mind? Now think about them while you listen to 2 Peter 3:9 again. .
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance
You see that person that you have in your mind, God wants them to be saved. God offers them the same forgiveness that He offers you. He wants you to invite them in, and give them your parking spot and your favorite pew; you know that one that you have been sitting in for the past 100 years. He wants you to show them that HE loves them also.
And that’s where we hit the snag.
Church, if I am truly trying to be pleasing to God than I need to constantly examine myself to see if I am following God’s will or my will. That same Saul that the first century church struggled with was led by the Spirit to write these words found in 2 Corinthians 13:5
Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?-- If you cannot tell that Jesus Christ is among you, it means you have failed the test...
More often than not it is not just those people who make our skin crawl where we fail the test. It is that so many of us often pass by the hurting souls in our world and ignore them and in doing so we miss an amazing opportunity to lead them to Christ. Because it is often hurting souls that make the best converts to Christ. They are broken and they have nowhere to turn and Jesus is the visible answer to their predicament. We need to be perceptive enough as Christians to notice the hurt in people and give them what they need and that is Jesus.
But even though we want the church to grow we may not want those hurting people, or anyone for that matter who will be an inconvenience.
Once again this struggle is not new. Look at the parable Jesus tells in Luke 10 starting in verse 29:
But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ’Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?" He said, "The one who showed him mercy." And Jesus said to him, "You go, and do likewise."
I have heard this story over 10 thousand times and I have heard people make excuses for the Priest and Levite and I have heard people vilify them. Tonight I don‘t want to do either. But what I want to do is for you and me to understand the basic truth of the story. There was someone in need and someone loved God enough to be inconvenienced.
There are so many things that get in the way, of what we want to do. And unfortunately we refuse to look at the inconveniences as an opportunity to please God. Let’s look at some first century inconveniences and see how God handled them.
The first one is found in Matthew 19:13-15
Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven. And He laid His hands on them and departed from there Matthew 19:13-15.
Now before we get to hard on the disciples let’s try to understand what was going on. It was time for Jesus to get up and teach the multitudes. They had been gathering for hours to hear these words of life that only Jesus could offer. The crowd was ready and the disciples were ready but Jesus was overrun by little kids.
In the minds of the disciples the most important thing right now was to get Jesus to the crowds and He didn’t have time to deal with the nuisance of these kids. But Jesus knew that the inconvenience was worth it.
Our second inconvenience is found in Mark 10:46-52
And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" And Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." And they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take heart. Get up; he is calling you." And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?" And the blind man said to him, "Rabbi, let me recover my sight." And Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well." And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.
Now honestly this one hurts. I am a planner, Trista calls me something else. If we are going to take a trip I want to know before we even leave how we are going to get there, where and how many times we are going to have to stop, and for what reasons. If my plans get a little catawampus then I get a little catawampus.
Can’t you just see it? Jesus and his disciples are leaving Jericho, on their way to Jerusalem to make their triumphant entry and they run into a little problem, names Bartimaeus.
The disciples are not real interested in being bothered by one man, they believe that Jesus is about to go and take His rightful place on the throne in Jerusalem. They think that He is about to lead the revolt that will place the Jews back on top. But once again they show that they don’t anything about Jesus or His plans.
You see Jesus is getting ready to be crucified. He is on his way to Jerusalem where He will be falsely arrested, tried, and convicted. It is under a pile of lies and deceit that He will be lead away to Golgotha and crucified, for all mankind, but before He makes it there is one little inconvenience that must be dealt with. One inconvenience that demands the attention of the Messiah and once again Jesus shows His love for us by taking time to love us one at a time.
Lastly in James 2:1-9 we, who make us the Church, are taught how to deal with those people who we would believe that are beneath our dignity. You know those people who are dirty, or poor, or who just don’t measure up to our standards.
My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, "You sit here in a good place," while you say to the poor man, "You stand over there," or, "Sit down at my feet," have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called? If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
I am not going to spend any more time on this point than to say that I am guilty. I have played the better than game with myself and with other people forgetting that God desires everyone to be saved even those who are dirty and poor.
God wants us to reach out to those who we might think of as an inconvenience. He wants us to reach out to the:
The single mother who works two jobs to support her kids
The drug addict who can’t stop his habit
The young person who struggles with self esteem
The young couple who lives together and has never been exposed to the best way to build a home
The man who does not respect his boss, so he steals from the company and from his coworkers
The housewife who goes out searching for some excitement in the arms of a man that belongs to someone else
The alcoholic who is ready to admit he needs help
In God’s eyes they fall into the same category that I fall into and that is a sinner whose wages are death. Whether I think of them as an inconvenience or not, God wants to show them His love.
Some of the greatest opportunities we will ever have to change this world for the cause of Christ are hidden in the little inconveniences of life. The question I must ask you and myself is are we willing to be inconvenienced for the cause of Christ?
Tonight do you have a need?
Do you need to get your life right with Christ? If so at the singing of this song please make your way forward so we can assist and study with you as we stand and sing.
