Thermostat or Thermometer?
In my car there is a thermometer which tells us the outside temperature
„X When we arrived at church today, I knew it was 28 degrees outside because of the thermometer
„X Inside the car though, the temperature was 22 degrees even though it was 28 outside. How come?
„X Right, we have air-conditioning
„X But if I just turn on the AC the temperature would continue to drop and drop until we are freezing in the car, so then I would have to turn on the heater to warm up and then we would be roasting
„X So a device was invented to regulate the temperature so we don¡¦t have to switch between the AC and the heater
„X Anyone know what it¡¦s called? A thermostat
„X Thermostat is a wonderful invention. I can set the climate control at 22 degrees and we can drive all day at a comfortable temperature
„X A thermostat is active it can do something about the temperature
„X A Thermometer on the other hand is passive it just reflects the temperature around it
Question I have for you today is, are you a thermostat or a thermometer?
„X Want you to think for a moment about the impression you have on those in your family, your friends at school, where you work, and at church
„X Are you someone who simply reflects the temperature or mood of those around you like a thermometer
„X Or are you like a thermostat that affects the temperature of those around you
„X Too often, we’re thermometers, aren’t we?
o If the temperature of those around us rises, so does ours, and we lash back
o If people are cold around us, we to become cold and moody
o If people are negative around us, we become negative and cynical
o If people are critical around us, we become sarcastic and divisive
o If times are tough, we give in to defeatism
„X Can you imagine how different the scene at the cross would have been if Jesus had been a thermometer rather than a thermostat
o What if Jesus would have run away in the face of the temple guard coming to arrest him like the disciples did
o What if Jesus allowed his temper to get the better of Him when he was slapped across the face at his trial
o What if he lashed out at the soldiers trying to tie him to the whipping post
o What if he got into a slanging match with the thieves and the soldiers who ridiculed Him on the cross
„X No Jesus was a thermostat, He was not going to allow himself to get caught up in the negative atmosphere of those around Him
„X Now you might say, well what would you expect, after all was the Son of God
Let¡¦s then look at a mere human example
„X We have a wonderful example of someone who was determined to be a thermostat despite the circumstanced in which he found himself
„X Story is over in Gen 39 ¡V Story of Joseph
„X Things are pretty bad for Joseph, manhandled, thrown in a pit, sold to slave traders and ends up in a foreign country
„X Ends up in the home of one of Pharaoh¡¦s top military leaders, Potiphar
„X Now let¡¦s think about this. Joseph is lined up with all the other slaves to be sold
„X Potiphar had money. He would have been able to pick the choicest of slaves
„X Do you think Potiphar would have picked Joseph if he was in a ¡§woe is me¡¨ type of attitude?
„X So then he gets to Potiphar¡¦s house and what happens
Genesis 39:3-4 "When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes. Potiphar put him in charge of his household and he entrusted to his care everything he owned."
„X Would this have happened if he moped around while he did the vacumning, and the cleaning and the cooking, homesick, strange culture?
„X Things are looking up for Joseph when suddenly Potiphar¡¦s wife takes an interest in him
„X Most men would have been flattered by the attention, just go along with the flow
„X but not Joseph, he was a thermostat
„X And in this case, like Jesus, being a thermostat caused him plenty of grief, yet he still made the choice and he ends up in prison
„X Here was another chance for Joseph to indulge in a little, ¡§Woe is me, I try to do the right thing and look where I end up¡¨
„X Is that what he does?
„X Gen 39:21-23 ¡§¡Kthe Lord was with him ... and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there."
„X Amazing. You put Joseph in a good situation like Potiphar¡¦s house and he¡¦s trustworthy, he¡¦s responsible, gets on with people, has a positive disposition, and things improve for everyone around him
„X You take him out of that, and throw him into prison and guess what, he¡¦s still the same trustworthy, responsible, positive disposition, and again things improve for everyone around him
„X That is a thermostat at work and that¡¦s what people around us need us to be
„X Godly people make a difference. They respond not to the environment around them but from something inside of them
What was it about Joseph that made the difference?
„X the Lord was with him v.3, 21
„X This is what made Jesus a thermostat, this is what made Joseph a thermostat, and this is what makes you and I a thermostat
„X When we have the God of the universe living in us which we do, we become a thermostat, we become positive agents of change and affect those around us
„X ¡§Instead of cursing the darkness, we light a candle¡¨
Let¡¦s apply this lesson to our present church environment for the moment
„X We can look back and see the glory days of the past when we were considered ¡§successful¡¨. TV Programs around the world, magazine circulation in the millions, colleges etc ¡V tempted to get a little down in the mouth, a little discouraged, even a little cynical about our present situation
„X Or we see our battered little group limping along when there are big successful churches down the road and it would be easy to say, ¡§Why not close up shop and join the big, successful church down the road?¡¨
„X That is thermometer thinking
„X Someone recently said to me, ¡§What we need is someone rich to come to our church and that would solve all our problems!¡¨
„X I surprised them by saying, ¡§No we don¡¦t! We don¡¦t want a church that relies on money, we want to be a church that relies on Jesus Christ¡¨
„X What do you think we are going to rely on if we get a bucket full of money?
„X Its human thinking to assume God is only working in our lives when times are good, or He is only working in big ¡§successful¡¨ churches
„X In contrast, the testimony of scripture is one example after another of God doing his greatest work in times of difficulty
„X God¡¦s greatest work is done when peoples backs are against the wall ¡V that¡¦s when we rely on him the most
„X When Peter was drowning, what did he call out for? Lord, I need a bucket full of money, bigger church, the other apostles in the boat to help him?
„X What part of Joseph¡¦s life did God record for us? All he achieved as Prime Minister of Egypt or the tough times getting there?
„X That ought to tell us what is important to God
„X What do the gospels emphasize as the greatest part of Jesus¡¦ ministry? All His miracles or His greatest failure, the cross?
„X When history looks back on our church, what will we be remembered for? Our TV programs, our magazines, our colleges?
„X No, my guess is it will be remembered for our willingness to follow the lead of Jesus Christ and allow him to change our church into the type of church HE wants us to be
„X ¡§Unless the Lord shall build the house, the weary builders toil in vain¡¨ (Psl 127:1)
„X Our journey is unique and God is looking for the Joseph¡¦s, the Peter¡¦s to stand up and be counted as he rebuilds our church
„X In Zech 4:10, we are told ¡§not to despise the day of small things¡¨
„X God is looking for thermostats that have willing hearts, who are willing to take a stand, to go against the flow, and most importantly be willing to follow His lead
„X And guess what, in all these cases where the individuals relied on God, there was a happy ending
„X Peter didn¡¦t drown, Joseph became Prime Minister of Egypt, Jesus didn¡¦t stay dead, He was resurrected to glory
„X Who knows what God has in store for our little church? It might be prominence or on the other hand it might be smallness
JUST BE FAITHFUL
Stephen J. Cole writes... One day I was jogging in the forest near my house when a question popped into my mind: What about John Spurgeon? I admit, not many people are losing sleep over that question, but I had been reading the autobiography of the famous British preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon. I was asking the Lord to bless my ministry like his. And then that question hit me, and I began thinking about John Spurgeon. Ever heard of him? Until my recent reading, I never had. He was the father of Charles. He was himself a pastor and the son of a pastor. Yet if his son had not achieved such fame as a preacher, John Spurgeon would have served the Lord faithfully, gone to his grave, and we never would have heard of him. Hundreds of pastors like him have walked with God, shepherded his flock for a lifetime, and gone to their reward without any notice in the sight of the world. As I jogged, I thought, would I be willing to serve God faithfully and raise up my children to serve him, even if I never achieved any recognition? Even if no one but my own small congregation knew my name? The more I thought about it, the more I realized, Yes! That’s really what I want: to be faithful to the Lord in my personal walk, in my family, and in my shepherding of God’s flock. The Lord never says, "Well done, good and famous servant", but he does say, "Well done, good and faithful servant." If God makes me as famous as Charles Spurgeon, that’s his business. My business is to be as faithful as John Spurgeon.
-- Steven J. Cole in Leadership, Vol. 7, no. 3.
Our success in ministry should never be measured in dollars terms or size
„X Rather it should be measured by our faithfulness to the message of the gospel and our faithfulness to love those who share our journey
„X The point Jesus is with us in the great places as well as the in the awful places
„X Thermostats act in the same godly manner whether times are good or bad ¡V they are faithful followers of Jesus Christ and they have a positive influence on all they associate with
