Kissing Convenient Christianity Goodbye
August 21/22, 2004
Don Jaques
PROBLEM: We have many ministry needs unmet and the needs of a 3rd service coming up. Christians think that serving others is optional. Christians think that laying down your life is just something “figurative” and “spiritual”. Jesus said whoever is not willing to give up everything they have cannot be my disciple. But we think we’re disciples if we pray a prayer.
MAIN IDEA:
Following Jesus means being willing to serve and be inconvenienced for the sake of the Gospel. When we are willing to lay down our lives for Jesus’ sake, we will discover we’ve actually found the abundant life.
OBJECTIVES:
Christians will be reminded of the radical call to service that the Lord gave us.
Christians will be convicted of their failure to serve when it is inconvenient and will repent of apathy and laziness.
Christians will be motivated to serve even when it is inconvenient.
INTRO:
The following are actual responses from comment cards given to the staff members at Bridger Wilderness Area in Wyoming:
Trails need to be wider so people can walk while holding hands.
Trails need to be reconstructed. Please avoid building trails that go uphill.
Too many bugs and leeches and spiders and spider webs. Please spray the wilderness to rid the areas of these pests.
Please pave the trails so they can be snow-plowed during the winter.
Chair lifts need to be in some places so that we can get to wonderful views without having to hike to them.
The coyotes made too much noise last night and kept me awake. Please eradicate these annoying animals.
A small deer came into my camp and stole my jar of pickles. Is there a way I can get reimbursed? Please call…
Reflectors need to be placed on trees every 50 feet so people can hike at night with flashlights.
Escalators would help on steep uphill sections.
A MacDonald’s would be nice at the trailhead.
The places where trails do not exist are not well marked.
Too many rocks in the mountains.
Citation: Mike Neifert, Light and Life (February 1997), p. 27
What do all of these comments have in common? They are from people who are ready and willing to climb the mountain trails as long as they are convenient enough. Just get rid of the rocks, the hills, the spiders, the dark, the coyotes, the deer, any problems, and we’ll climb the trail!
These hikers are what I call “convenience hikers”. They want all the beauty and the joy of being out in nature as long as it doesn’t come with any cost or inconvenience.
Does this sound familiar? The Lord has been dealing with me recently on this issue. No – not when it comes to getting outdoors and enjoying God’s creation, but about my relationship with him.
Through the example of people in this church and through some challenging books I’ve read recently God’s been convicting me of being a “convenience Christian” – someone who practices what I call “convenience Christianity”.
What is convenient Christianity?
• Convenient Christianity is a false way of living in which people profess to be followers of Jesus but are unwilling to be inconvenienced in serving Him.
• Convenient Christianity is submitting to the Lordship of Jesus Christ as long as it causes no inconvenience.
I don’t want to be a convenience Christian. I don’t want to lead a church of convenience Christians. And it is my prayer that as we look at God’s word today his Holy Spirit will speak to our hearts about how we can move beyond convenience Christianity and into the real thing – costly discipleship that leads to abundant living!
PRAY
Matthew 16:24-27
24Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 27For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.
PROBLEM: We read these words. Most likely we’ve heard them before. But they’ve become so familiar that instead of taking them at their face value we “spiritualize” the meaning.
What is the clear meaning? If you want to follow Jesus it is going to cost you. If you want to find your life the only way to find it is to lose it by becoming a slave for Jesus.
But instead of really living this way we live our lives like the person in this “sort of love poem”:
If It Don’t Rain
I would climb the highest mountain
Swim the deepest ocean too
I would crawl the hottest desert
I’d do anything for you
I would leap the tallest building
I’d bear any trial or pain
There’s no limit to my love
And I’ll be over Friday night
If it don’t rain
--Dan Atkins
Don’t we say this to our Lord so often. “There’s no limit to my love – and I’ll do anything for you – as long as it won’t cost me. As long as I can still do everything with my time and my money and my life as I want to – sure I’ll do anything you need me to.”
I’ve been reading some books by K.P. Yohannan, founder of Gospel for Asia, a church planting movement raising up native missionaries to plant churches in the culture where they already live. In his book, “Revolution in World Missions”, Yohannan tells of the difficulty he had when he first came to the USA after living in India in a remote village. He reminds his readers just how fortunate and “cooshy” our lives are. He quotes economist Robert Heilbroner, describing the luxuries a typical American family would have to surrender if they lived among the one billion hungry people in the world, and as many of our Christian brothers and sisters live who are spreading the Gospel to remote villages throughout Asia:
We begin by invading the house of our imaginary American family to strip it of its furniture. Everything goes: beds, chairs, tables, television sets, lamps. We will leave the family with a few old blankets, a kitchen table, a wooden chair. Along with the bureaus go the clothes. Each member of the family may keep in his ‘wardrobe’ his oldest suit or dress, a shirt or blouse. We will permit a pair of shoes for the head of the family, but none for the wife or children.
We move to the kitchen. The appliances have already been taken out, so we turn to the cupboards…the box of matches may stay, a small bag of flour, some sugar and salt. A few moldy potatoes, already in the garbage can, must be rescued, for they will provide much of tonight’s meal. We will leave a handful of onions and a dish of dried beans. All the rest we take away: the meat, the fresh vegetables, the canned goods, the crackers, the candy.
Now we have stripped the house: the bathroom has been dismantled, the running water shut off, the electric wires taken out. Next we take away the house. The family can move to the tool shed…. Communications must go next. No more newspapers, magazines, books—not that they are missed, since we must take away our family’s literacy as well. Instead, in our shantytown we will allow one radio…
Now government services must go next. No more postmen, no more firemen. There is a school, but it is three miles away and consists of two classrooms…. There are, of course, no hospitals or doctors nearby. The nearest clinic is ten miles away and is tended by a midwife. It can be reached by bicycle, provided the family has a bicycle, which is unlikely….
Finally, money. We will allow our family a cash hoard of five dollars. This will prevent our breadwinner from experiencing the tragedy of an Iranian peasant who went blind because he could not raise the $3.94 which he mistakenly taught he needed to receive admission to a hospital where he could have been cured.
Under these kinds of conditions, native missionaries serve with joy to spread the good news of Jesus. They go without food, without shoes, without shelter, without entertainment, without STUFF and FLUFF. Why? Because they believe that Jesus is the only hope for this world and for the eternal destiny of the people of this world. They believe that hell is real and judgment awaits those who die outside of Christ. They believe that this life is just the training ground for LIFE.
The question that has been running around in my mind these last couple of weeks is this: Am I willing to suffer for Jesus Christ? Or does my willingness to serve Jesus Christ and his kingdom stop the moment it becomes inconvenient?
ILLUS: Giving God the crumbs.
Brownies: represent our time. Slips of paper for school, work, driving kids around, eating, sleeping, watching TV, doing yardwork, personal reflection, going to movies, going on vacation, going out to coffee, worship, serving God.
Giving god the crumbs
We are too often content to give God the crumbs of our lives. The leftovers. When he wants to be Lord. Who is on the throne of your life? Who gets the first and best pieces? Who gets the crumbs?
Now, I don’t want this message to be a big downer – and I don’t want to use guilt to induce you to a life of serving God whole heartedly, so let my remind you of a couple of things.
First - the same one who said “Unless a man gives up everything he has he cannot be my disciple” said “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” And “I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.”
The miracle news is that if we give God the first piece, the rest of the pieces of our life fit together the way they were designed.
Remember this story?
Mark 6:30-44
30The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."
32So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
35By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. "This is a remote place," they said, "and it’s already very late. 36Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat."
37But he answered, "You give them something to eat."
They said to him, "That would take eight months of a man’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?"
38"How many loaves do you have?" he asked. "Go and see."
When they found out, they said, "Five--and two fish."
39Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42They all ate and were satisfied, 43and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.
The need was daunting – feeding those thousands of people. And when the disciples took stock of what they had – they didn’t have near enough to meet the needs. But when someone had the faith to give the little that they had, and to sacrifice their own needs to help meet the needs of others – that’s when the miracle happened.
What’s our application today?
The needs in our community are great. There are thousands of people who are going to hell without Jesus. There are all sorts of needs we have in our church for people to step forward and SERVE!
We have said and will continue to say that this church is for two types of people. People who serve and people who can’t. We just don’t have room for people who just want to come and enjoy the benefits of being a part of this church but will not support the work of the kingdom with their time and their energy.
Our problem is that, unlike the native missionaries I’ve been reading about, too often we give the Lord a bit of our time, a small bit of service that we can just barely manage to fit into our already overcrowded schedules, and we consider we have done our part.
Let me tell you – the mission of this church is to reach the unchurched and to change the spiritual landscape by turning doubters into disciples. But this will NEVER happen as long as we are unwilling to suffer for the sake of the gospel. Honestly, we’re not even talking about suffering. We’re talking about being willing to be inconvenienced. To give up some of our weekend plans or time. To give up a couple hours of watching TV.
Am I the best example here? No – honestly I’m not. But I’ve been challenged in my spirit and I’m laying down that challenge to you.
I must be honest. The needs are daunting. The challenge is great. We need every person to be involved, and to step up their level of involvement. Can I share with you candidly?
We have many in our church who have come from other churches where something was going wrong, or who have come back to church after a long absence, or who have never really been involved in a church. And so that means we have a lot of people who are a little nervous about really getting involved in helping us change the spiritual landscape of our community. I implore you – if you’re not serving somehow – we need you!
We have many people who serve in some way, either by greeting, making coffee, setting up or tearing down our equipment, serving in a kids class – who do it once a month and consider that you have done your part.
I am extremely thankful for the large number of people who do serve in some way or another. But I must say that as we make the preparations for expanding to 2 Sunday morning services, we as a church are in need of more people like Mark Richards, Mike and Diana Guernsey, Roy and Penny Andrukat, Roxanna and Charlie Moser, Paul Girouard. We need people willing to serve more than just a token – who will sacrifice and give wherever it is needed as often as it is needed!
But along with that comes a joy! Along with that type of commitment come results! Along with that type of sacrificial service comes the multiplication of the Kingdom of God. Along with that type of service will come the words of the Father “Well done good and faithful servant – enter into your rest.”
How many of have ever been a part of a team of any kind (sports, work, music) that has had to lean in and give an extra effort? We know that there is a level of fulfillment that comes from being a part of something great. I’ve got news for you – there is nothing greater in all the earth than the Kingdom of God. God is waiting to empower. He is waiting to give you the thrill of being a part of the greatest team in the world. But it will not come without sacrifice. It will not come without cost – financial, time, personal agendas.
Matt. 6:33
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
PRAY
Lord we want to kiss convenient Christianity goodbye. We repent of laziness…and apathy…and of giving you the crumbs of our lives.
We want to change – by the power of your holy spirit. And we are going to do things differently. We are going to serve you first. We’re your slaves. We’ll do what is needed when it is needed. We want to change the spiritual landscape of our community and we are willing to sacrifice to make it happen. For the glory of your name, Lord Jesus. Amen.
