INTRO.- ILL.- One time a young Bible college student was witnessing in the suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. As he approached one house, there was an elderly man sitting on the porch.
He said to the man, “Are you a Christian?” The man said, “No, I’m a Smith. The Christians live two doors down.”
The young man said, “No, you don’t understand. I mean are you lost?” The old man said, “Son, I’m not lost. I’ve lived here for twenty-five years.”
“But are you ready for the Judgment Day?” The old man said, “When is it going to be?” “Well, it could be today or it could be tomorrow.” The old man, “Please don’t tell my wife. She’ll want to go both days.”
That old gentleman was lost in one way, but not in another way. He knew where he lived, but he didn’t know where he was spiritually. He didn’t know anything about the great Judgment Day of God. Apparently, he was lost spiritually.
ILL.- According to Barna Research here is what those who have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ: (2004) believe about life after death.
- Of those who have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ: 60% believe they will go to Heaven because they have confessed their sins, and accepted Jesus as their savior.
- 10% believe that they will go to heaven because basically they are a good person.
- 11% don’t know what will happen when they die.
- 7% believe that they will go to Heaven because God loves all people and will not let them perish.
- 7% believe that when they die they will go to Heaven because they have tried to obey the 10 commandments.
- 2% believe that when they die they will not go to Heaven.
It appears to me that some people are confused about life after death or about how to get to heaven. Many are not sure where they are going when they die.
- 60% believe they will go to heaven because they have confessed their sins and have accepted Jesus as their savior. Basically, this is true, although Jesus indicated all we have to do is admit our sinfulness and confess Him publicly. (Matt. 10:32) As far as accepting Jesus as Savior, people see that differently. Some think all you have to do is believe in Him and ask Him to come into their heart. But according to Acts 2:38-41 those who believed in Christ as Savior were asked to repent and be baptized. Repentance and baptism are still necessities according this scripture and others.
Now if God allows some people into heaven without being baptized, that’s His business, not ours. But we are encouraged in scripture to be baptized into Christ. And every conversion account in the book of Acts the people were baptized. I would never tell someone that they didn’t need to be baptized.
- 10% said they believe they would go to heaven because basically they are a good people. WRONG. We don’t get into heaven because of our goodness, but because of the goodness of Christ! He alone is the Savior. We can’t save ourselves.
John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Eph. 2:8-10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
II Cor. 5:21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
- 11% of the people don’t know what will happen when they die. Why not? We are told in scripture the basics of what will happen.
II Cor. 5:6-9 “Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.”
When a Christian leaves this world he or she will be in the presence of the Lord and you can’t get any better than that!
- 7% of the people believe they will go to heaven because God loves all people and will not let them perish. God does love all people! He loves all people far more than we could ever imagine. If God is anything, HE IS LOVE!
As far as letting people perish, again, that’s His business. We do know that He let a whole lot of people perish during the time of the Great Flood in Genesis when man’s thoughts were evil continually. (Gen. 6:5)
II Pet. 3:9 “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
John 3:36 “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”
Rev. 20:15 “If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
We leave everything up to the Lord. He is righteous, fair, just, and move loving than we can ever imagine. If He allows anyone to perish we must trust His judgment and fairness.
- 7% of the people believe they will go to heaven because they have tried to obey the 10 commandments. We should try to obey the 10 commandments, but again, we don’t get to heaven on our goodness but on Christ’s goodness. And no one will ever be good enough to merit heaven. NO ONE.
- 2% of the people believe that when they die they WILL NOT go to heaven. All I can say is, then they better do something about it!
Which way are you going in life? And which way is the church going? I would like for us to consider the direction we are heading in life both personally and congregationally.
We all needing to be growing and the church needs to be growing, but in what ways?
PROP.- Let’s examine different types of growth that takes place in life and in the church. 1- ingrowth 2-outgrowth 3- upgrowth
I. INGROWTH
We need to think of the direction of our growth, personally and congregationally.
ILL.- Some quotes about food and health.
- "Old people shouldn’t eat health foods. They need all the preservatives they can get." -- Robert Orben
- "I told my doctor I get very tired when I go on a diet, so he gave me pep pills. Know what happened? I ate faster." -- Joe E. Lewis
- "I’ve been on a constant diet for the last two decades. I’ve lost a total of 789 pounds. By all accounts, I should be hanging from a charm bracelet." -- Erma Bombeck
All of us need to take better care of ourselves. Of course, the world says to do this because you need to “watch out for number one.” But the Lord encourages us to take better care of ourselves because we are the dwelling place of His spirit and He wants us to be able to serve better.
The healthier we are, the better and more effectively we can serve Him.
I Cor. 6:19-20 “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”
ILL.- Last year my only aunt passed away. While we were there in the Carthage, MO, for the memorial service my family (brother and sister and their spouses) got together to eat several times. My twin sister Sharon said, “Steve, I had a colonoscopy done and you need to have one too.” I said, “Did yours turn out all right?” She said, “Yes.” And I said, “Then I’m ok too.” BUT, OF COURSE, EVEN THOUGH WE ARE TWINS I KNOW IT DOESN’T WORK THIS WAY. So I had a colonoscopy done last year and I am FINE! The doctor said keep eating that fiber.
But the point is this: we all need to take better care of ourselves. And as we all know, as we age we don’t get better physically so we need to take care of ourselves with a better diet, exercise, sleep, etc. That’s ingrowth.
What about the church? Some ingrowth is both good and needed. We need to take care of people in the church.
Acts 2:44-45 “All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.”
Also, in Acts 6 we see the church selecting seven men to serve widows who were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. What’s that? They were watching out for their widow ladies! That’s ingrowth.
James 1:27 “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
We need to take care of one another in the church. When there is a need we must try to take care of it as best we can. What are we talking about? People needing prayer support, physical help, when they’re sick and/or in the hospital, etc.
We pray for one another, we literally help one another when it’s possible, and we call on the sick and shut in people. These are things we all can do and should do.
ILL.- At Iberia, MO, we had two different families lose their homes/houses to fire on Sunday morning. What did our people do? They responded quickly with money and clothing. And our church board even gave each of these families cash money. That’s inward ministry and growth! We must minister to one another.
Gal. 6:10 “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, ESPECIALLY TO THOSE WHO BELONG TO THE FAMILY OF BELIEVERS.”
II. OUTGROWTH
ILL.- Two men were traveling together when a bear suddenly met them on their path. One of them climbed up quickly into a tree and concealed himself in the branches. The other, seeing that he was going to be attacked, fell flat on the ground, and when the bear came up and felt him with his snout he held his breath, and gave the appearance of being dead. The bear soon left him, because it is said he will not touch a dead body. When he was gone the other man got down from the tree and asked his friend what it was the bear had whispered in his ear. "He gave me this advice," his companion replied. "Never travel with a friend who deserts you at the approach of danger."
The moral of the story is that most people are self-centered. We are always watching out for ourselves more than the other guy. Of course, I’ll admit that if a hungry bear was coming at you and me, I dare say I would outrun you!
Rom. 12:10 “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.”
Gal. 6:2 “Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
Phil. 2:4 “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
There are times when we need to stop thinking about ourselves and think about others, how to love others, how to minister to others, etc. That’s outgrowth. Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve.
Paul said in II Cor. 12:15 “I will very gladly spend and be spent for you.” That’s outgrowth! That’s considering others.
Occasionally, we should do something different. Call someone and say, “Is there anything I can do for you?”
ILL.- I called a phone company with a problem one time. The lady on the end of the line answered, “How can I make your day more pleasant?” I thought, “Wow! How different that is! And how great!” Perhaps we all should do something like that some time. We may not particularly ask the person, “How can I make your day more pleasant?” but perhaps we should be thinking and acting that way. That’s outgrowth.
We also need to consider outgrowth in the church. All ingrowth and no outgrowth is bad. In fact, it’s debilitating, deafening and death to a church.
Churches that seek ONLY to minister to one another and never think in terms of outreach or reaching out to people outside the church will limit themselves, cripple themselves and possibly kill the church.
Acts 2:41 "Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day."
Acts 4:4 "The number of men grew to about five thousand."
Acts 5:14 "More and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number."
Acts 6:7 "The Word of God spread. The number of disciples increased rapidly."
Acts 16:5 "The churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers."
These scriptures are examples of outgrowth. The early church continued to reach out to others with the gospel of Christ. And as a result many people came to believe in Christ and the church grew. That’s outgrowth!
If a church is thinking about maintenance all the time and never in terms of reaching outsiders, the church will die. Much of what we do in our churches is for ourselves and not outsiders.
Somehow we need to think more in terms of reaching outsiders.
ILL.- P. H. Welshimer preached at the First Christian Church of Canton, Ohio, for about 56 years. And at one time, they had one of the largest Sunday Schools in the world. Welshimer said, "If we don’t go, we’re goners. If we want them coming down the aisle, we’ve got to go down the street. They will not seek. They must be sought."
ILL.- Dr. Kermit Long said, "With all our education, our fine buildings, our image of the church, we are doing less to win people to Christ than our unschooled forefathers did. We’re no longer fishers of men, but keepers of the aquarium, and we spend most of our time swiping fish or swapping fish from each other’s bowl."
We are not interested in swapping fish or in swiping fish. We should be interested in catching fish that have been caught before.
ILL.- A certain preacher called his leaders together and said he was about to resign his ministry at that church because he hadn’t seen anybody won to Christ for a considerable period of time. They begged him to stay, saying that they were greatly edified by his preaching. He said, "Edified for what purpose?" Turning to one leader, he asked him if he had ever won a soul to Christ. "No," was the answer. And the question was put to the next leader and the next and the next. And they all answered that they had led no one to Christ.
Finally, the preacher got all the leaders to promise that they also would resign with him, if within a short period of time they personally led no one to Christ. By Monday morning one leader had led a fellow worker to Christ and to be baptized. And by the next Sunday a total of 11 people had been led to Christ and to the baptistery!
Brothers and sisters, if we want to see the church grow then we must "go" in some form or another! That ‘s outgrowth.
III. UPGROWTH
II Pet. 3:18 “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.”
I Pet. 2:1-3 “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
Upgrowth is upward development. It’s spiritual growth versus worldly activity and guess which wins most of the time?
Most of us are far too busy for our own spiritual good. We are on the go all the time and often, it isn’t even good going. It’s just busyness that sometimes amounts to little. It doesn’t benefit others or us. It’s just busyness.
ILL.- Someone put it this way. How would you like to spend 2 years making phone calls to people who aren’t home? Sound absurd? According to one time management study, that’s how much time the average person spends trying to return calls to people who never seem to be in. Not only that, but we spend 6 months waiting for the traffic light to turn green, and another 8 months reading junk mail.
Some activities or busyness is unavoidable, but some of it can be cut out and replaced with something far more meaningful.
Ps. 37:7 “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him….”
Ps. 1:1-2 “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.”
We all need to get a life, a spiritual life that is. How? By being alone occasionally. By getting alone with God in prayer and study. We all need to talk to Him and we need to allow Him to talk to us and if we don’t get alone, it may not happen.
ILL.- Martin Luther said, “I have so much to do today that I shall spend the first 3 hours in prayer.”
ILL.- C. S. Lewis said, “The moment you wake up each morning, all your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists in shoving it all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other, larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in.”
Listening to that other voice is a matter of listening to God in His Word and through prayer.
ILL.- John Bunyan said, “He who runs from God in the morning will scarcely find Him the rest of the day.”
It’s not that we run from God in the morning, it’s just that we have so much running to do that we don’t have time for God and this must change if we are ever to experience any “upgrowth” or any spiritual growth in our lives and in the church.
ILL.- When Robert Louis Stevenson was a boy he once remarked to his mother, "Momma, you can’t be good without praying." "How do you know, Robert?" she asked. "Because I’ve tried!" NUFF SAID?
CONCLUSION-----------------------------------
ILL.- Is something wrong with Mother Earth? That’s the title of a news article I read. The violent Indian Ocean earthquake and the resulting tsunami that left parts of 11 nations devastated and killing over 160,000 people. Then there was November’s powerful 6.2 earthquake in Costa Rica that killed eight people. Three volcanoes in Guatemala all simultaneously active for the first time in 31 years. Should we be worried?
NASA scientist Dr. David Adamec said, "The world is not coming to an end. Things are fine." Oh, are they now?
Brothers and sisters, planet earth is not fine. Things are changing. Earth is wasting away somewhat. And we humans are wasting away too. But there is only one constant and that’s the Lord.
Malachi 3:6 “I the LORD do not change.”
Heb. 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
Even though everything around us is changing, the Lord does not change. He is God. He is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and does not treat us as our sins deserve. We need Him! All people need Him! We must live for Him and point people to Him. It’s only way to live forever!
