INTRO.- ILL.- A cartoon once showed a little boy sitting beside his father and mother at church. The little boy said to his father: “Mom wants to cook the dinner, you want to play golf, I want to play football. Why are we here?”
Why do people come to church? Hopefully, they come because they do believe in God, Christ and the Bible…because they believe in heaven and hell…because they believe in the importance of worship and fellowship. BUT I THINK PERHAPS SOME PEOPLE ONLY COME OUT OF OBLIGATION OR DUTY. They don’t really want to come to church. They would rather do other things, like: sleep in, play golf or go play at something else.
ILL.- A minister asked a little girl at the door of the church what she thought of the church service. She replied, “The music was nice, but the commercial was too long.”
One reason why some people don’t want to go to church is because the sermon, that is, the commercial may be too long or perhaps too boring.
Why is it that some churches are growing in spite of perhaps longer services and boring services? What do some churches have that we don’t have?
ILL.- Mega-churches are defined as Protestant churches that attract at least 2,000 worshipers a week. Forbes magazine recently looked at the business ventures of several mega-churches.
The 23,093-strong World Changers Ministries in College Park, Ga., pastored by Creflo Dollar, operates a music studio, publishing house, computer graphic design suite and has its own record label.
The 25,060-member Lakewood Church in Houston pastored by Joel Osteen recently leased the Compaq Center, former home of the NBA’s Houston Rockets, has a four-record deal and spends $12 million annually on TV airtime.
Brothers and sisters, obviously some large churches are doing things that we can’t begin to even think about doing. And we probably wouldn’t do them even if we had the resources.
But let’s consider our church. We are not located on the best street in town. We are somewhat hidden, but not that hard to find. We don’t have the biggest building in town, but it’s a very good building, neat, attractive, clean and with a great parking lot. We don’t have the greatest music program in the world but we’re trying to build our music program. We don’t have a computerized power point program in our church, but so what? I’ve been to churches where they had it and I didn’t consider it to be that big of an asset. We don’t have a band, but so what? We don’t bring in outside speakers for special programs. BUT WE MAY HAVE MORE GOING FOR US THAN WE REALIZE! Regardless of what we have or don’t have, we need to consider what we can do to help make the Lord’s church grow!
ILL.- What do baby boomers expect to see in a church? Boomers are those born between 1946 and 1964, between 40 and 58 years old. There are about 76 million boomers in the U.S.; which currently represent about 29% of the U.S. population.
Lyle Schaller, an Illinois consultant discovered these things: High-quality preaching, good music and social groups. Baby boomers also expect big meeting rooms, a quality kitchen, childcare, ample parking and clean rest rooms. I would say that we have at least some of those things.
What is amazing is this: THE EARLY CHURCH HAD NONE OF THESE MODERN THINGS AND YET THEY GREW! There were 3,000 baptized on the day of Pentecost, Acts 2:41. In Acts 4:4 it states that many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about 5,000. Acts 6:7 says the number of disciples increased rapidly.
What did the early church have that caused them to grow that perhaps we don’t have or need to improve on?
PROP.- I want us to consider three things they had which we need today to see the church grow.
1- Friendship
2- Fellowship
3- Followship
I. FRIENDSHIP
ILL.- A man, who never seemed to be able to make or keep friends, went to see a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist was interviewing him, but failed to catch something the man said and asked: “Would you mind repeating that please?” “I said,” replied the fellow, “for some reason nobody ever seems to like me. Why don’t you pay attention to what I am saying to you, fathead?”
You don’t need to be a psychiatrist to understand why this man never made friends. You don’t call people names or even think of calling them a derogatory name if you want to have friends or keep friends.
Prov. 17:17 “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”
A true friend loves at all times, not just when the person is doing well in life. A true friend loves even when the chips are down or the person fails in some form or another.
Jesus is called the friend of sinners in Matthew 11:19. I recall in John 8 when the woman was caught in the act of adultery. Jesus was a true friend to her. Instead of casting stones at her like everyone did or wanted to, Jesus demonstrated loving forgiveness. When people are down, they don’t need to be kicked. They need to be lifted up by a true friend who loves them.
ILL.- Someone said, “You can always tell a real friend: when you’ve made a fool of yourself he doesn’t feel you’ve done a permanent job.” A true friend loves you even when you fail.
Prov. 18:24 “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” A true friend sticks closer than a brother.
ILL.- My brother Larry and his wife Sharon got married some 40 years ago. I was working in a small grocery store in Webb City, MO. Larry was working for Safeway in Joplin, MO. One day when Larry was off work he happened to stop by to see me where I worked. In the midst of our conversation he mentioned that he didn’t his rent money for that month. I asked him how much it was and it was something like $50. I don’t recall exactly. I immediately went to the cashier, cashed a check and gave him the money for his rent. IT WAS THE RIGHT THING FOR ME TO DO. I had the money and he had an urgent need. He was my brother. I loved my brother.
But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. A true friend will be a brother and perhaps even more.
ILL.- Many years ago while preaching in Missouri my children were small and I had difficulty making ends meet. Every year I had to borrow money to live, pay taxes, etc. I had an elder in my church who was the president of a bank. He not only loaned me any time I needed it, he also co-signed more than one loan for me for about $2,000. HE WAS A TRUE FRIEND WHO STUCK CLOSER TO ME THAN A BROTHER.
ILL.- Someone defined a friend this way: “What is a friend? Friends are people with whom you dare to be yourself. Your soul can be naked with them. They ask you to put on nothing, only to be what you are. They do not want you to be better or worse. When you are with them, you feel as a prisoner feels who has been declared innocent. You do not have to be on your guard. You can say what you think, as long as it is genuinely you. Friends understand those contradictions in your nature that lead others to misjudge you. With them you breathe freely. They seek to understand you. You do not have to be careful. They like you. You can weep with them, sing with them, laugh with them, pray with them, etc.”
This kind of friendship is what is needed in the church. When we demonstrate this kind of friendship toward one another we’ll see good things happen such as growth.
II. FELLOWSHIP
Acts 2:42-27 “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
This text speaks of the fellowship that the first Christians experienced. The word “fellowship” actually means “sharing with one another.”
ILL.- A kindergarten class was asked to bring a symbol of their faith to class for "show and tell." The first child to show and tell said, "I am a Muslim and this my prayer rug." Another child stood up and said, "I am Jewish and this Star of David is a symbol of my faith." A third child stood up to show and tell stating, "I am a Catholic and this is my rosary." The next child stood up and said, "I am a Southern Baptist and this is my casserole dish."
When we Christians speak of fellowship we generally think in terms of eating. Our fellowship is to “meet and eat.” And that’s not all bad. If we can’t enjoy a meal together then something is dreadfully wrong with us.
ILL.- SIGNS YOU LIVE IN THE YEAR 2004.
1. You just tried to enter your email password on the microwave.
2. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of three.
3. You call your son’s beeper to let him know it’s time to eat. He emails you back from his bedroom, "What’s for dinner?"
4. Your daughter sells Girl Scout Cookies via her web site.
5. You chat several times a day with a stranger from South Africa, but you haven’t spoken with your next-door neighbor in a year.
6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home.
7. Every commercial on television has a web-site address at the bottom of the screen.
8. You never leave your house without your cell phone, which you didn’t have the first 20 or 30 years of your life.
9. Instead of us using cash money, you use a credit or debit card.
WHAT IS HAPPENING IN OUR WORLD? We are losing the sense of personal fellowship and communication.
ILL.- Rodney Buchanan from Mt. Vernon, OH, wrote: “I often think of the stories my grandma told about the Depression era when people would pool their soup beans and eat at each other’s homes. Times were hard, but there was a closeness among people that we do not experience today. They worked together, ate together, and actually talked to their neighbors. Even the architecture of homes was different. We lived in a large city, Indianapolis, but our home was like many others, it had a front porch. We had chairs and a swing. I can still remember being on grandma’s porch swing and watching people walk by on the sidewalk. Everyone said hello because everyone knew each other. Sometimes they would stop and talk, or even come up on the porch and sit a spell, and grandma would bring out lemonade. Almost all the homes had porches, and people sat outside in the evening since they did not have air-conditioning. Friends would stop by unannounced to visit. There was a connection among neighbors and families.
“Today it is a different story. You would feel very awkward stopping over to someone’s home unannounced with the intention of spending the evening. Most of you can’t name half your neighbors. If you visited someone, you might be interrupting their favorite TV program. Sociologists have identified a phenomenon in our culture called ‘cocooning.’ Instead of going out and being around other people, we cocoon in our homes with our ‘home entertainment centers.’ We have settled for individual entertainment rather than human interaction. We each have everything we need, and there is no need to ‘pool the soup beans’ anymore.”
Brothers and sisters, somehow we need to restore the true meaning of fellowship in our lives and in the church!
When people lose touch with one another and can’t have meaningful communication and sharing with one another something is wrong. And people are not drawn to churches that have little fellowship!
ILL.- Preacher Rubel Shelly wrote: “A scientific study was released earlier this year that showed that people without social and emotional support are more than twice as likely to die following a heart attack as people with caring friends. Our culture is losing its sense of community. Too many of us are pulling back into shells of isolation. We are losing the capacity to care for one another. God didn’t make us to live that way.”
We need more Christian fellowship whether it’s Bible study groups, Sunday School, eating meetings, cleaning the church together, or whatever. For the church to thrive and grow there must be various types of Christian fellowship inside the church and outside the church.
III. FOLLOWSHIP
ILL.- A little boy was selling postcards for ten cents each. A man asked him, “Son, what are you going to do with the money?” The boy replied, “I’m raising a million dollars so I can feed all the starving people in the world.” The man, “Do you expect to raise all that money by yourself?” The boy said, “Nope, there’s another little boy helping me.”
Brothers and sisters, that’s called heart and it’s also called “followship.” That little boy had heart in the sense of wanting to feed starving people. He also had “followship.” He had a friend who was willing to follow him in his heartfelt ambition.
In order for the Lord’s church to grow there must be “followship” in the church. That is, we must be willing to follow Jesus in whatever He tells us to do in His Word. Many people come to church, but not all are true followers.
James 1:22 “Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only.” Some people do well at listening, but that’s all.
Matt. 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
There is a difference between professing and following. The word “followship” is not exactly a Biblical term, but it’s certainly a Biblical principle.
Matt. 16:24 “Then Jesus said to his disciples, If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
It takes a certain amount of self-denial to follow Jesus in life. We may at times have to deny ourselves certain pleasures and/or comforts in order to follow Him…whether going to church or going to serve.
Matt. 4:19 “Come, follow me, Jesus said, and I will make you fishers of men."
Jesus wants us to follow Him in fishing for men. A number one priority of every church should be to reach out to people in order to win them to Christ. Life is not just about us, saving us and soothing us. It’s about reaching others!
Matt. 19:20-22 “’All these I have kept,’ the young man said. ‘What do I still lack?’ Jesus answered, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’ When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.”
Some people can’t or won’t follow Jesus because their money and material things get in the way. They treasure them more than they treasure following Jesus. But when we are willing to follow Jesus, regardless of the cost, we will find true wealth.
Matt. 26:57-58 “Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled. But Peter followed him at a distance…”
When the chips are down, many people follow Jesus at a distance just like Peter did. When Jesus is popular it’s easy to follow Him. When the movie THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST was riding a high wave we were proud to be His followers. But when Christ and Christianity are not popular, do we still follow Him?
ILL.- S. I. McMillen, in his book None of These Diseases, tells a story of a young woman who wanted to go to college, but her heart sank when she read the question on the application blank that asked, "Are you a leader?" Being both honest and conscientious, she wrote, "No," and returned the application, expecting the worst. To her surprise, she received this letter from the college: "Dear Applicant: A study of the application forms reveals that this year our college will have 1,452 new leaders. We are accepting you because we feel it is imperative that they have at least one follower."
Whether we are leaders or not, we ALL must follow our leader.
CONCLUSION----------------------------------------
ILL.- In Chicago many years ago a little boy attended a Sunday school in a certain church. When his parents moved to another part of the city the little fellow still attended the same Sunday school, although it meant a long walk each way. A friend asked him why he went so far, and told him that there were plenty of others just as good nearer his home. "They may be as good for others, but not for me," was his reply. "Why not?" she asked. "Because they love a kid over there," he replied.
There’s the real key to growing a family or a church. They love people in that church. That’s when friendship, fellowship and followship is all about.
