“WHERE IS YOUR LOYALTY?” 2 Kings 17:33
INTRO – Dr. Thom Rainer is Dean of Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism, and Church Growth at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY. In an article entitled, “What do numbers tell us?” Rainer shares some eye-opening information:
- Across America, we Christians reach only one person for Christ for every 85 members in our churches.
- Southern Baptists like to say that we do twice as well in that we baptize 1 person for every 40 members. But if you back out the Christians that we baptize that are coming from non-immersion denominations and re-baptisms, our numbers come pretty close to matching up w/ the national average of 1:85.
- A “growing” church is defined by Rainer as a church that is “not only increasing in attendance, but it is increasing at a pace faster than its community’s population growth rate. In a survey of 1,159 churches in America, only 6% are growing according to his definition of “growing.” In other words, 94% of our churches are losing ground in the communities they serve. (www.churchcentral.com)
I don’t know if MBC and FBCJ would be in the 6% or in the 94%. But I do know that no matter which group our churches would be in, our job as Christians and as God’s church has not changed.
- His command to love Him w/ all our heart, soul, mind, and strength has not changed.
- His commission to make disciples of all men has not changed.
- His challenge to be His witnesses in our Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth has not changed.
- His comforting promise that He will be w/ us always has not changed.
So whether we are:
- “Seeking God through authentic worship & personal discipleship; Sharing Christ with the lost of our community & world; & Serving others by our missions giving & actions” as MBC;
- Or “Loving God; loving each other; learning & obeying the Word of God; and committing our lives, talents, & resources to the task of telling as many as we can about the love of God in Jesus Christ” as FBCJ;
We must be about the task of being the churches that God has called us to be in the communities where He has placed us. And we must make sure that our loyalty to Him is steadfast and sure.
- Unwavering
- Unchanging
- Unlimited
- Unconditional
- Unstoppable
Unfortunately, this verse in 2 Kings is a pretty good snapshot of the modern-day church and modern-day Xnty. It’s a picture of divided loyalty.
- They worshipped the Lord;
- BUT they also served their own gods.
The churches in that 94% figure may well be in their declining state in large part b/c of the divided loyalty of many of their members. Christianity suffers more from divided loyalty than from any other weakness. God has clearly said that it is not enough to just declare our faith; we must demonstrate our faith with the living of our lives for His glory and His honor.
- “These people come near to me w/ their mouth and honor me w/ their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.” (Isa. 29:13)
o “Dear God, please don’t let that be true of me! My family! My church!”
More damage is done to our witness through divided loyalty than by any other means. So the simple question that I would like to pose for each of us to consider this evening: Where is your loyalty? Could it be said of you that you “worship the Lord, but also serve your own gods”?
There are 2 assertions that I would like for us to consider as we think about our loyalty to God:
I. LOYALTY TO GOD SUPERCEDES ALL OTHER LOYALTIES.
A. The first commandment that God gave to Moses was “You shall have no other gods before me.”
i. God is serious about our loyalty to Him. Are we serious about our loyalty to Him?
B. Billy Graham once published a letter that was written by a young communist to his girlfriend, breaking off the relationship b/c of his loyalty to the communist cause:
i. “We communists have a high casualty rate. We are the ones who get shot and hung and ridiculed and fired from our jobs and in every other way made as uncomfortable as possible. A certain percentage of us get killed or imprisoned. We live in virtual poverty. We turn back to the party every penny we make above what is absolutely necessary to keep us alive.
ii. We communists do not have time or the money for many movies or concerts or t-bone steaks or decent homes or new cars. We’ve been described as fanatics. We are fanatics! Our lives are dominated by one great, overshadowing factor: the struggle for world communism. We have a philosophy of life which no amount of money could buy. We have a cause to fight for, a definite purpose in life. We subordinate our petty personal selves into a greater movement of humanity; and if our personal lives seem hard or our egos appear to suffer through subordination to the party, then we are adequately compensated by the thought that each of us, in his small way, is contributing to something new and true and better for mankind.
iii. There is one thing in which I am in dead earnest about, and that is the communist cause. It is my life, my business, my religion, my hobby, my sweetheart, my wife, my mistress, my bread and meat. I work at it in the daytime and dream of it at night. Its hold on me grows, not lessens, as time goes on; therefore, I cannot carry on a friendship, a love affair, or even a conversation w/out relating it to this force which both drives and guides my life. I evaluate people, looks, ideas, and actions according to how they affect the communist cause, and by their attitude toward it. I’ve already been in jail b/c of my ideals, and if necessary, I’m ready to go before a firing squad.” (Tale of the Tardy Oxcart, p. 96)
C. Wouldn’t you love for that letter to be the testimony of your life as a Christian instead of a Communist?
i. Truth is that that should be the level of loyalty that we have toward our God.
1. We should be fanatical!
2. It ought to be a cause we are willing to fight for – to die for!
3. It ought to be our purpose in life!
4. It ought to be our life, our business, our religion, our hobby!
5. Its hold on us ought to grow, not lessen, as time goes on!
D. We can see in the life of Jesus that our loyalty to God should supercede all other loyalties.
i. “I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of Him who sent me.” (John 6:38)
ii. “The one [His Father] who sent me is w/ me; He has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases Him.” (John 8:29)
iii. “…the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.” (Jn. 14:31)
E. We can see in the life of the apostles and early Christians that our loyalty to God should supercede all other loyalties.
i. They faced constant persecution and death if they chose to remain loyal to God. Yet they did!
1. Peter and John – “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19-20)
F. We can see all throughout Scriptures that our loyalty to God should supercede all other loyalties.
i. “Abide in me
ii. “Be faithful, even to the point of death” – Rev. 2:10
iii. “Therefore, dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you.” – 1 Cor. 15:58
II. DIVIDED LOYALTIES SUPPRESS OUR GROWTH AS CHRISTIANS.
A. Divided loyalties make the work of the Holy Spirit impossible in our hearts.
i. He cannot teach.
ii. He cannot guide.
iii. He cannot bring His assurance to our hearts.
iv. He cannot produce faith.
v. He cannot empower us to pray.
B. If the Spirit’s work is suppressed in our lives, our growth as a Christian grinds to a halt.
i. We become dead weight spiritually.
ii. We lose the joy of our salvation.
iii. We become bitter, doubtful, visionless people.
iv. We become unstable b/c we are double-minded (James 1:8).
C. We must make sure that our loyalty is to God and God alone so that our growth as Christians can move forward.
i. Phil. 2:12-13 – “Continue to work out your salvation w/ fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.”
1. Notice that Paul said for us to “work out” our salvation.
a. When we work out, we are building up muscles that cannot be seen – biceps, triceps, heart.
b. Yet the results of our working out can be seen as we lose weight, or gain a more muscular build, or have more stamina.
2. When we “work out” our salvation, we are building up our internal loyalty to Christ.
a. Cannot be seen.
b. But the results of our working out of our salvation can be seen as our lives and our loyalty to Christ brings honor and glory to God and God alone.
D. Many times, our growth as Christians is suppressed b/c our divided loyalties cause us to be less active in the church.
i. Back to that 94% of declining churches.
ii. Many people live their lives in such a way that they will be loyal to God and His church as long as it doesn’t interfere w/ other pursuits in their lives.
1. They worship God – or at least say they do.
2. But they serve their own gods.
iii. Are not fed regularly from the teaching and preaching of God’s Word.
iv. Do not truly worship God w/ all their hearts.
v. Do not experience the joy of true Christian fellowship b/c they are not active other than an occasional Sunday AM worship service.
CONCLUSION – I read a story of a soldier in WWI who was so distraught w/ the war that he deserted. Tried to find his way to the coast so he could catch a boat make his way back home to England.
In the darkness of the night he stumbled on a road sign. So dark and he was so lost, he had no idea what the sign said. Decided to climb the pole. When he got to the crossbeam, he held on to read the sign. Took out a match, lit it, and looked directly into the face of Jesus. He had climbed an outdoor crucifix!
Stunned by what he saw, he realized the shame of his life. He was looking into the face of the One who had endured it all and had never turned back. The next morning, the soldier was back in the trenches.
You and I tonight need to look into the face of the One who endured all the punishment and shame of our sin and never turned back. And as we look into His face, we must ask ourselves, “Am I totally loyal to the One who is totally loyal to me?”
