7 People Our Church Could Not Do Without
Philippians 1:3-7; 4:1,15
http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/7PeopleChurch.html
A) Paul organized many churches and his interest in them never ceased!
* This was only natural! He had put much blood, sweat, and tears into them.
* Some of these churches pleased him, some of them disappointed him!
B) It seems that the church at Philippi was his favorite!
[read texts]
* He felt that the church at Philippi represented the crowning work of his life, and of course, it brought him his greatest joy!
C) There are at least some people in every church like these Philippian Christians! And many in ours!
* They are a crown to their Pastor, they make his life worthwhile!
* They cause his heart to swell with joy!
D) The church could not get along without them!
* Who are they?
(1) THE CHURCH COULD NOT DO WITHOUT FAITHFUL PEOPLE!
* The Bible nowhere commends anyone for greatness or brilliance, but rather for faithfulness!
* Matt.25:21 "Well done thou good and faithful servant ......."
A) You know his name as a disease, but in 1927,
Lou Gehrig of the N.Y. Yankees was named outstanding baseball player of the year!
* During his lifetime he played in more consecutive games than any other man in the history of the sport! * He never missed a game! * They called him the "Iron Man of Baseball." You say you’re a team player…do you miss many of the games?
B) What made Lou Gehrig so great? * It was his faithfulness! [a better record than Cal Ripken, Jr.!]
* Every day he was out there on first base doing his best!
C) Now, if Christ picked out the most outstanding member of our church,
* Who would it be? * It would surely be the one who was most faithful!
* Jesus says in Rev.2:10, "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."
D) So my prayer is, "God, keep sending us faithful Christians!"
* We need people who are faithful in giving, attendance, Christian living, in serving, in witness!
* We couldn’t get along without faithful people, we have so many, and we can’t have too many of them!
(2) THE CHURCH COULD NOT DO WITHOUT WILLING PEOPLE!
* Oh, we have willing people, all right…some willing to work & others willing to let ’em!
Ezekiel 22:30
And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.
A) We have members who are willing to do the work of the world…
* But not the work of the Lord! * The job calls them and they go ...
* The club calls them, the lodge calls them, the outside organization calls them, and they are
ready and willing! * The Lord calls them, the church calls them, and they’re too busy!
B) A man said to me one time, "I don’t come to church on Sun. nights because,
* That’s the only time I have for my family." * Why?
* Because he gave all the other nights to his social life and pleasures!
* Now he felt that he could give God’s night to the family!
C) Christians ought to be willing to make some adjustments!
* The Lord and the church ought to have top priority in our lives!
* These other things will die with the setting sun, the things of Christ will last forever!
Which group are you in, the willing, or the whining? Around here, the squeaky wheel does not always get the oil! You can complain about what needs improving or you can volunteer and ask, what can I do to help this improve?!
D) The grasshopper on the fence makes more noise than the ox in the field!
* But the ox does the work! * Some people talk much, but do nothing for the Lord!
E) Those who really love the Lord, say, "Any place that I can serve suits me!"
* "I’m willing to work anywhere that I can glorify God and serve His cause!" Now, we try to place you where you want, and where you’re best suited and the most gifted…that’s only wise…but it’s still true: “The best ability is availability!”
* Are you willing to do the work or just willing to watch someone do it?
* The church could not do without willing people!
A big area of need right now: discipleship! [explain]
Our future depends upon whether we make our new people a priority or not!
Faithful, willing…
(3) THE CHURCH COULD NOT DO WITHOUT PEOPLE OF VISION!
We need first a vision of the needs ABOUT us * Prov.29:18 "Where there is no ......."
* All around us there are unsaved and unchurched people by the thousands!
* Many of them could be brought in if our people went after them seriously!
No church can grow by keeping the good news of the gospel to themselves!
* The church could not do without people of vision!
We need a vision of the needs about US!
In reach is just as important as outreach. We must care for our children, for our fellow members, and for their children, and work to meet the needs within as well as without.
(4) THE CHURCH COULD NOT DO WITHOUT OPTIMISTIC PEOPLE!
* Some people say, "We can’t do that," or "We’ve never done that before!"
Phil. 4:13
A) The optimist says, "By God’s help, we will do that!"
Moses sent 12 spies into Canaan, all saw it was good, but 10 of them looked for obstacles…The other two, Caleb and Joshua, looked at the opportunity and said, "This is true, but God is on our side, and with His
help we can take the land!" * The pessimists won out!
D) And as a result, Israel had to wander in the wilderness for 40 long years! [11 day journey]
* I want to be an optimist, not a pessimist! * I want to say, "I can do all things thru Christ..."
(5) THE CHURCH COULD NOT DO WITHOUT LIBERAL PEOPLE!
* Who are the liberal people? You say, I’m a conservative! Well, you should be! But not when it comes to giving! Conservative means “literal”, we don’t change the Word of God…we believe in the fundamental, foundational truths of the Word of God, including tithing, and other forms of giving. This would apply to giving of our time and talents, as well as giving of our treasure, which, by the way, is really God’s and He allows us to manage for Him.
And to be literal, you have to be liberal in the area of giving.
* The one who gives a dollar a week may be a liberal, but the one who gives a hundred dollars a week may not be, if that’s not 10% of that income. God’s system is completely fair and will more than meet the needs of His church.
The water of life flows freely here, but the plumbing costs money!
The world doesn’t work that way, tho’. It’s expensive to live these days, and there’s no consideration for those less fortunate. When you need tires, they are the same price for you as the rich guy gets charged!
But we must all do our part, share in our part of the load, no freeloading!
A) We must measure a man’s generosity by what he has left over!
Ill.—Last week Rick Warren said on CNN that it’s not a sin to be rich, but it is a sin to die rich. I agree. Do your giving while you’re living, and don’t leave much to the antichrist at the end of the world after you are taken away to your heavenly reward.
* When a millionaire gives $50,000 we say he is a liberal giver, but he still has $950,000 left over and he will not suffer financially!
* But a poor man who gives $10.00 because he only made $100 that week is obeying and making the real sacrifice!
One day Jesus was sitting by the treasury! * Some men came by and dropped in their large gifts, and some gave them in such a way that everyone could see the gifts!
* Probably someone said, "Did you see how much Mr. Abraham gave?"
* "My, he must love the Lord very much to give such a gift."
Then a little woman, a widow, slipped in some small coins!
* She was probably very sorry that she could not give more! * Nothing was said about her gift!
* But Jesus, who saw the woman and her gift, made her forever famous!
He said, "She hath given all that she had!" * He measured her gift by what she had left over!
* If you love the Lord you need not be afraid of giving too much! * He will always out-give you!
The fix for a church in need is not to try to reach some wealthy people…we’re not upheld by our wealthy people, but by our obedient people…God blesses obedience!
* God’s church can get along without rich people, but it can’t get along without liberal people!
Our God deserves so much, doesn’t he!? His house deserves to stay clean, and that costs money…He deserves to have this great youth and kids ministry continue! He deserves to have light bulbs changed and mechanical things maintained…He deserves that new parking lot and new paint from time to time [deserves more than just needs…if anyone deserves to be treated 1st class it’s our God!]
Do you love your church? We need to love our church so much, that we’re willing to give in support of it! Christ loved the church so much that He--GAVE…!
(6) THE CHURCH COULD NOT DO WITHOUT ITS PROMOTERS!
* We need boosters, we need people who are out everyday, in every walk of life…
* Telling others of the good times to be had in our church!
A) Soon they’ll know we’ve got something worthwhile for them!
* I like the slogan seen on some doors, "Come in without knocking, go out the same way."
* Remember, that if you knock the church you are knocking yourself, for you are the church!
B) If you want your church to grow and prosper, promote it!
Pr 22:10 “Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.”
Who’s the 7th person we can’t do w/out as a church?
Really 3 persons in One…
(7) Our God!
God our Father
Christ our Founder, our Foundation/cornerstone, our Friend
The Holy Spirit our Filling!
These are some people our church cannot do without!
* Are you faithful? * Are you willing? * Do you have a vision for your church?
* Are you optimistic? * Are you a promoter?
Are you liberal?
* If you are all these things, the church cannot do without you, and we cannot have too many like you!
http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/7PeopleChurch.html
