(Message title and Scripture passage taken from John Maxwell’s series, MAKE YOUR MOVE)
This morning’s message title could be better stated as “Let God’s People Move Back Up.” We’re not talking about promotion, but rather restoration, as we continue in our series on The Dynamics of Church. In this series, we are looking at how God designed His Church to function, and how the church can restore God’s original design.
Ed Silvoso said, “The Church will continue to resemble a World Cup final, where 22 exhausted soccer players in desperate need of rest are being watched by thousands of overweight spectators desperately in need of some exercise…. There is no way our "pros" can win this match by themselves-every player in the Church must be active and on the field!”
Ed Silvoso is pointing to a problem of God’s Church that separates the clergy from the laity. The clergy are those who are trained in seminary or apprenticeships, and the laity are those who are untrained ordinary Christians. But we do not see this separation in the Bible. We see in the Bible the division of labor, not separation of different classes of Christians.
We do not have Christians who set up and clean up at the bottom of the rung. The Christians who bring refreshment are next in rank. Then we have those who usher. The nursery workers are above the ushers. The teachers of children are higher up on the ministry ladder. Then we have the worship team members. And above them, you have the elders. And finally, on the top of the ministry ladder is the pastor.
If you hold to this view, you are putting yourself down and lifting others up without biblical support. You are devaluing yourself in God’s economy. You are reducing your usefulness to God. You are limiting how much God’s Church can have a positive influence in your life and in the lives of those in our community.
This morning, my hope is to allow God’s Word and Spirit to help God’s people move back up to the place God intended for His Church. Our text is 1 Peter 4:7-11.
You need to know that Peter, the author of this letter, was not seminary trained. Peter was a fisherman when Jesus called him to follow. But in Acts 4:13, the rulers, elders, the high priest and his family members were amazed at Peter and his abilities as a disciple of Jesus Christ. We read, “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”
Peter was talking to ordinary Christians, men and women who trust and follow Jesus, but had no special training for ministry. Peter identifies what ordinary Christians are capable of and responsible for.
First, all of God’s people are to pray continually. We see this in verse 7.
When I first came to this church, I divided up the responsibility of leading our prayer meetings among all who came to the prayer meeting. Some people said to me, “Isn’t leading the prayer meeting the job of the pastor?” Others told me that in their previous church experience, only the pastor prayed, and they simply agreed with what he prayed.
In Luke 18:8, Jesus tells us that when he returns, he will be looking to see who is praying. He will not just look at priests, pastors and elders. He will look at His entire Church, the ordinary Christians.
Peter gives only two criteria for those who would pray. Special training is not one of them. These criteria are having a clear mind and self-control. A clear mind is in contrast to a mind filled with doubt or anxiety. Doubt and anxiety makes true prayer impossible. True prayer requires faith, and neither doubt nor anxiety can co-exist with faith.
Self-control is in contrast to one who is controlled by externals such as television, telephone or the demands of others. Unless we schedule undistracted time for prayer, we will not pray.
When Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, he gave them only four guidelines: Ask with a right view of God. If you have a wrong view of God, you will not ask. Once you have the right view of God, ask for God’s will for our lives. Once we know what God wants for our lives, we can ask God for what we need in order to do what God wants for us. For example, when God wants us to be a godly husband, we will need courage, self-control, love and forgiveness. Finally, ask God for protection from the unseen. There are unseen forces in this world from which God alone can protect us.
If God’s people are to move back up to God’s original design for His Church, ordinary Christians must pray. We must not substitute giving money, singing songs, listening to sermons for the privilege and power of prayer. We must not turn prayer over to those who are “professionals.”
Billy Graham wrote, “Every man or woman whose life has counted for the church and the Kingdom of God has been a person of prayer. You cannot afford to be too busy to pray. Jesus spent many hours in prayer. If He felt he had to pray, how much more do we need to pray?”
Do the people you work with or study with or live with know that you can and do pray? Do they come to you with their concerns and ask you to pray for them? Many will never enter the church or contact a pastor, but they are in contact with you.
Second, all of God’s people are to love deeply. We see this in verse 8.
Peter says we are to love deeply, as opposed to love superficially. To love deeply is to love even those who have sinned against us. To love superficially is to love those who love us. Anybody, except for the sick and immoral, can love those who love him or her. But only the super spiritual Christians can love their enemies.
If you believe that, you are lowering yourself in value and usefulness, and you are raising others to a place that does not exist in God’s design for His Church. The truth is, we can only love deeply when we have been deeply loved. And all Christians have been deeply loved by God.
Romans 5:6-8 reminds us, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
“Michael N Hart, the historian, says that Christianity enjoys its greatest uniqueness in this, for no other great religion tells its adherents to love their enemies. In most religions, revenge is not only justified but commanded (You and Your Network by Fred Smith).”
But how do we love someone who has betrayed us? How do we love someone who has rejected us? How do we love someone who has hurt us beyond our imagination? How do we turn this deep love on when we need it? The only way we can love deeply is if we know we are deeply loved.
That’s why Paul prays for the Ephesians, “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:17-19).” In other words, when we need to love our enemies, our first step is to ask God to show us how deeply He has loved us.
Do people at your work, school or home know you as a person who loves deeply? Do they see you as one who hold grudges or as one who forgives their sins against you? Deep love can cover sins.
Third, all of God’s people are to offer hospitality. We see this in verse 9.
When Peter wrote this, he was probably referring to the provision of food and shelter for those who were passing through, especially traveling evangelists and missionaries. He probably was not thinking about entertaining a party, but even a meaningful party can be a form of hospitality.
Yet, some might think, “My apartment is too small.” Or, “I don’t know how to cook.” “I’m embarrassed about mess.” “I don’t know how to entertain.” “I don’t like other making a mess of my home.” If these and other reasons keep you from opening up your home and lives to others, you are lowering yourself and lifting others without biblical support.
Six months after Susan and I were married, my pastor and his wife invited themselves over to our home. They called it a six-month check-up. Susan and I were trying out a new lasagna recipe, and somehow, we got upset at each other. Five minutes before the pastor and his wife were due to arrive, the pastor called to tell us he was stuck in traffic.
About five seconds after I hung up the phone, the doorbell rung. My pastor had called us from his cell phone outside our door. He had tricked us, and Susan and I didn’t have a chance to make-up yet.
Offering hospitality can be very stressful. Grumbling and arguing can arise because hospitality puts a strain on our time, our talents and our resources. Also, we may be concerned about what our guests will think about us. Yet, Peter calls us to offer hospitality without grumbling.
The last book in our Servant Leadership Course is Henri Nouwen’s Wounded Healer. In the final chapter on being a wounded healer, Nouwen identifies the need for concentration and community to offer hospitality. By concentration, Nouwen means paying attention to our guests, not focusing on own needs, even the need to impress with our cooking, cleanliness or cleverness. By community, Nouwen means being honest about our imperfections but also pointing to our hope in God’s promises.
Are you known as one who offers hospitality, or are you known as a private Christians? Private and Christian should never be in the same sentence. If your classmate, coworker or relative is discouraged, you can offer to listen or to treat him or her to a can of Coke. You can encourage them as one whose life is being changed by God, but yet having much room for growth.
Fourth, all of God’s people are to reflect God’s glory. We see this in verses 10-11.
Instead of listing all the things that ordinary Christians can do, Peter closes his thoughts by summarizing that we are to reflect God glory by using the gifts and talents God has given us in our words and deeds. Some of us can use words to glorify God. Others of us can use our hands and skills to help and make things to glorify God.
We are not called to speak for God, but to speak words that are truthful, biblical and timely. In each situation, we need to think before we speak, and we might ask ourselves, “What would Jesus say in this situation or to this person?” And the only way we can answer this question is to be familiar with the Word of God, the Bible. We don’t need a college degree; we just need to read and study the Bible regularly to do this.
When Peter says we are to serve with the strength that God provides, Peter assumes we will ask God for His strength in order to do what He tells us to do. Many of God’s people do not move up because we are incapable of moving up with our own strength. But God intends for us to we move up with His strength.
In Rick Warren’s new bestseller, The Purpose Driven Life, he writes, “If you’re not involved in any service or ministry, what excuse have you been using? Abraham was old, Jacob was insecure, …, Joseph was abused, Moses stuttered, Gideon was poor, Samson was codependent, Rahab was immoral, David had an affair and all kinds of family problems, Elijah was suicidal, Jeremiah was depressed, Jonah was reluctant, Naomi was a widow, …, Peter was impulsive and hot-tempered, Martha worried a lot, …, Thomas had doubts, Paul had poor health, and Timothy was timid. That is quite a variety of misfits, but God used each of them in his service. He will use you, too, if you stop making excuses.”
Fred Smith Sr. said, “We know God is all-powerful, because even with us on His team, He still wins.” But we will only win, if we call on His strength to do what He calls us to do.
Bob Jones Sr. said, “I have known God to use people who never had a chance, but I have never known God to use a person who has had a chance and will not take it.”
Not one of us is here by accident, and none of us have heard or read this message by accident. This is your chance to make your move back up to the original design for God’s people. Pray continually. Love deeply. Offer hospitality. Reflect God’s glory in your words and deeds.
