OPEN: In a California city, a woman rushed into a store, glanced around and took a number. Then she heard the clerk call out “87,” and she looked down and saw her own number was 8.
She was understandably puzzled, because there were only 3 other people in the store. So she went to the counter and, holding up her ticket, said, “Miss, I have number 8. Can you tell me how many people are ahead of me in line?”
The saleswoman looked at her. “Honey, that number has nothing to do with your place in line… that number is from the calendar over there you just tore a page off of.”
APPLY: Now I can understand how that woman could have made a mistake. She was in a hurry. The number “looked” like one that a store might use to indicate her place in line. And so, she took the wrong number off the wall and she made an embarrassing mistake.
I. Churches can end up doing things like that too.
Sometimes churches get in a hurry. They get in a hurry to be successful. They get in a hurry to be significant. And because they get in a hurry, they can end up “taking the wrong number off the wall.”
Let me illustrate what I mean here
ILLUS: I once read the true story a preacher related about his visit to a large city church. That congregation had just received a gift of $150,000 for a new organ from a corporate millionaire. There was an organ dedication that Sunday, and the donor was recognized with speeches, people patting him on the back, and there was a plaque of appreciation
Meanwhile, in the same church, an elderly woman living on Social Security has been faithfully giving her small weekly gift in the offering plate. She has carefully managed her resources and is able to make ends meet, but it is tough. Each week she has gladly set aside her tithe for the church. She has never been honored for her giving; she has never received a plaque of appreciation.
Tell me: Which person did that congregation prefer to have as a member of their church?
Well… it was the rich man… not the widow.
Is that the kind of person Jesus PREFERS to have in His church? Well, let’s take another look at Matthew 11:2-5.
“When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, ‘Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?’
Jesus replied, ‘Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.’”
Jesus reached out to the blind, the lame, the leprous, the deaf, the poor… and the dead
Now pardon me for saying so… but you can’t build a big, successful congregation with losers like that. You’ve got to have rich, impressive, successful people.
If you want to be THE church in town… well, you can’t waste your time on people like that.
(pause…) But Jesus did
AND it gets worse. Matthew 9:10-13 tells us:
“While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples.
When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’
On hearing this, Jesus said, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’”
Now… that’s not to say that Jesus turned rich impressive people away.
Nicodemus was a rich and influential follower of Christ’s. John 3 tells us Nicodemus coming to Jesus by night and Jesus spending a significant amount of time teaching that man.
And then there was Joseph of Arimathea gave his grave for Jesus to be buried in. He was a rich man, and very likely a successful businessman.
Jesus helped and preached to anyone who came to Him. BUT when it came to reaching out to others, Jesus sought the weak and downtrodden.
ILLUS: In a 3rd-century debate on Christianity, a pagan named Celsus told Origen - the Christian he was debating – “When most teachers go forth to teach, they cry, ‘Come to me, you who are clean and worthy,’ and THEY are followed by the highest caliber of people available.
But your silly master cries, ‘Come to me, you who are down and beaten by life,’ and so he accumulates around him the rag, tag and bobtail of humanity.”
Celsus meant that as an insult… but he was right. That’s precisely who Jesus sought.
But, that’s not always the kind of people certain churches seek.
ILLUS: I once visited a very successful congregation up north. They had at least a 1000 in worship every week and their youth program was widely known and respected. I got a chance to interview their youth minister and asked him what the secret of their success was and he candidly told me “we minister to the rich kids – no one else reaches out to them.”
Now, that is a popular formula for a successful church and a successful ministry
The only problem is… that isn’t Jesus’ formula.
There’s not a thing wrong with ministering to rich kids or to rich families. There’s not a thing wrong with witnessing to the powerful and successful of this world. In fact, if I got an opportunity to witness to Bill Gates I’d do it.
If I could witness to Adam Sandler I’d do it
If I could witness to Madonna – I’d do it.
I’d do it in a heartbeat. Not because they’re rich and famous… but because they are going to hell without Jesus.
II. Jesus didn’t focus His attention on the rich and famous
But just think of the social change He could have accomplished if He’d have spoken to the Sanhedrin and had the opportunity to sway their opinion toward God.
Of if He’d been able to witness to Herod and show the force of God and bring him to repentance.
Or if He’d spent time in the courts of Caesar and could do miracles and raise the dead. Why, He could have changed the course of human history in a moment.
I mean, after all, Jesus was God. Why shouldn’t He speak with the influential and the mighty of this world? Wouldn’t that seem to be the kind of people Jesus deserved to spend His time around?
But Jesus didn’t spend His time with the high and the mighty of this world… instead He spent his time with the lowly and meek. Jesus spent almost all of His time with the “losers”. The sinners and the prostitutes and the tax collectors. Jesus focused on people others rejected. And the church – when it’s been doing it’s job properly – does exactly the same thing.
Paul wrote the church at Corinth and said: “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
Jesus DIDN’T come to change social organizations. Jesus came to change the hearts of men and women. People who were despised and rejected and condemned to walk in shame all of their lives. He came to wash them, and sanctify them, and justify them.
ILLUS: In that debate between Celsus and Origen, Celsus made fun of Jesus by saying: “your silly master cries, ’Come to me, you who are down and beaten by life,’ and so he accumulates around him the rag, tag and bobtail of humanity."
And Origen replied: “Yes, they are the rag, tag and bobtail of humanity. But Jesus does not leave them that way. Out of material you would have thrown away as useless, he fashions men, giving them back their self-respect, enabling them to stand on their feet and look God in the eyes. They were cowed, cringing, broken things. But the Son has set them free”
When the church grasps that reality they can build the kind of church Jesus wants. But when they don’t they miss out on stupendous opportunities:
ILLUS: In his autobiography Ghandi noted that during his student days he was interested in the Bible. Deeply touched by reading the gospels, he seriously considered becoming a Christian. Christianity seemed to offer the real solution to the caste system that was dividing the people of India.
One Sunday he went to a church to see the minister and ask for instruction on the way of salvation and other Christian doctrines. But when he entered the sanctuary, the ushers refused him a seat and suggested that he go and worship with his own people. He left and never went back.
You see… that church misunderstood it’s mission. That church misunderstood why it existed.
And I believe that church would have given their eye-teeth to have influenced the mighty Ghandi when he was in charge of India. They would have spend untold missionary dollars to send missionaries to have an audience with him when he was a popular leader in a foreign land. But when he was a mere foreigner in their midst they ignored and shunned him. They missed a great opportunity because they took the “wrong number” off the wall.
III. God isn’t interested in the mighty, the powerful, the rich and the successful of this world.
Paul wrote to the church at Corinth:
“Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things— and the things that are not— to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.” I Corinthians 1:26-29
God chose the foolish things. The weak things. The lowly and despised…
ILLUS: You know, I grew up in one of those big “influential” churches. It was THE church in town. It was THE church where all the “in” people went to worship. There were people there who were rich. There were people there who were politically influential.
And you know what that taught me? It taught me that people in those kinds of churches can end up being impressed by who THEY are. They end up being impressed…
… by how much money they have
… by how much influence they have
… by how much power they have
… instead of being impressed by who Jesus IS.
They become seduced by power, and prestige and influence.
It’s kind of like the warning in those Star Wars movies – like the one at the box office right now: “Beware the power of the ‘dark’ side.”
Those whose faith is in the power that money and influence and popularity can have for their church end up struggling for that power. They become consumed by the “dark side” and feel they must overcome in the pursuit of control in their church. And they struggle to obtain that control because - once they come to believe that the success and strength of their church lies in THEIR OWN power and influence – then true success for their congregation lies in their personally wielding that control.
They believe the influence and success of this world is where the power lies… and they forget who really has the power.
Zechariah 4:6 tells us “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.”
God chooses the foolish things, the weak things, the lowly and the despised… because He wants His church to always look to HIM for their strength and success. The only power that will obtain the success God wants for His church is the power of His Spirit.
That what I’ve always liked about this church. That’s been the focus you’ve had from the very beginning. I’d love to take credit for the love and concern this congregation has had for the kind of people Jesus would have loved, but that attitude was in place long before I got here.
I remember when a group of poor black men from Chicago came here for the first Sunday. They’d been street people hired by IBP (a hog slaughterhouse) and shipped down here because they’d promised to be cheap labor. They were good looking men, but they weren’t like us. We were a whitebread congregation with entirely different backgrounds than they had, and I was concerned about how these men would be welcomed. What impressed me was how you embraced them and made them part of our family. They had need of furniture, food and clothes and you literally mobbed them desiring to help. Granted, they don’t go here anymore, but that’s not because of you. They just moved on to other communities. But I’ve had opportunity to speak with a few of them and they still look on this church as “their” church, because you showed them that they were part of US.
I remember when a couple of brothers broke into our church building a while back. Once they were captured and in jail, they called us and apologized. They repented, and we later baptized one of them. You made them feel welcome. You helped out financially and sought to encourage them on several occasions. One of them got out of prison last week and came to worship here, and his brother will get out in a few months and this is where he’ll worship too. As far as they’re concerned… this is “their” church.
Because you’ve focused on people that are important to Jesus God has granted us influence far beyond what a church our size ought to have.
· For a number of years we’ve helped send a team of short term missionaries to Honduras.
· We have one of the strongest youth groups in town
· Brad is a driving force with the Christian Rock hour on 102.3 FM
· God has granted us our own Southern Gospel Quartet (The SonShine Boys)… and our own Christian Heavy Metal band (Cross-eyed)
· We have a close relationship with a Christian School and Christian day care. We’ve helped them get on their feet and we’re exploring ways in which we can do joint ministry together.
· And the list could go on and on.
There’s no way a church our size should have that kind of influence in this community. But we do… because God has granted us influence and power by His Spirit… not by our strength.
CLOSE: This is Memorial Day weekend. It is a weekend to remember the sacrifices our soldiers have made for the sake of our freedom. This is a great country. It’s worth defending and standing up for.
Back in the 1830’s, Alexis de Tocqueville toured America. When his tour had been completed, he made this observation:
"I have toured America, and I have seen most of what you offer. I’ve seen the richness of the fields and the wealth of your mines. I’ve seen your industrial might, the beauties of the rivers, the streams, the lakes, and the grandeur of the mountains. I’ve noticed the abundance of the forests and the marvelous climate with which you are blessed.
In none of these things did I see the cause for the greatness of America. It wasn’t until I went into your churches that I saw the reason for America’s greatness. America is great because America is good; and as long as America is good, America will be great. If it ever ceases to be good, it will cease to be great."
Likewise, the greatness of this church lies in its trust of God’s power, and God’s riches and God’s influence. And as long as we trust in God, we’ll be great, we’ll be powerful, we’ll be influential.
SERMONS IN THE “MEETING JESUS” SERIES
The Son Of God - Matthew 16:13-16:20
Knowing Who You’re Looking At - John 12:20-12:36
Whose In Charge Here? - Colossians 1:10-1:20
WWJD In Worship - Luke 4:14-4:21
How Jesus Ministered - Matthew 11:1-11:6
