AAA Christians - Accelerating, growing and causing others to grow on!
An all too common sound, especially right about this time of year in our cold climate is the sound of the car’s starter turning too slowly to fire the engine - you know the sound, -- (Uugh. Uuuuugh. Click, Click, Click!) With a sinking feeling you realize, ’the battery is dead!’
If the battery in your car is about 5 years old you can be sure it is reaching the end of its usefulness and - in the scheme of things, it will choose to let you know on the coldest morning of the year! Then again it might be discharged because you just left the interior lights on all night after searching for the keys you dropped when you were getting out...
Whatever the reason, a dead battery is one of those automotive problems that is quite easily (relatively speaking, of course) remedied. Find a person with a set of jumper cables, then hunt down the battery (did you know that they are putting them under the seats in some cars?), and attach the cables - positive to positive, negative to negative - and soon your car will start. The connection allows a dead battery to be re-energized!
There are times when I feel like a dead battery - drained, without energy. Our spiritual batteries get drained, depleted from time to time. The symptoms vary, but are similar.
Prayer becomes a difficult duty, even an empty ritual!
Doubt lurks just out of sight, an unseen presence that robs us of our peace and even our sleep.
When time comes for us to be in church, we think - "I think I’d rather just stay here, alone."
Other Christians talk about the way that God is using them and instead of feeling joy, we find ourselves feeling resentful, even angry, for no reason.
In those times in life, when we experience those symptoms and more, there is a story from the OT very helpful. It is the story of Elijah. He was a prophet whose spiritual batteries were discharged by a great time of spiritual confrontation when God gave him a grand victory in front of the whole assembly of pagan priests and national leaders! The story is told in 1st Kings 18. [Pew Bible page 557]
After a long struggle with a king and queen who were leading the people to serve the regional gods called the Baals, God told Elijah it was time for a show-down. He proposed that the two factions each build an altar, prepare a sacrifice, and then ask their deity to send fire to burn up the offering.
READ 1 Kings 18:25-39
You would think this would a ’battery charging’ moment, wouldn’t you? But for Elijah, the juice was gone. He had given everything he had and his spiritual energy was at an all time low. He took off for the wilderness and a couple of days later here’s what we find him saying to God.
READ 1 Kings 19: 4b, 10
There are all kinds of reasons our spiritual batteries become discharged!
It can be the big surge that gets some grand project finally finished.
It can be a major life transition - getting married, having a baby, sending kids to college, going through a family member’s sickness.
It can be job loss.
Sometimes we grow disappointed with God, unable to grasp what He’s allowing around us and in that disappointment, our spiritual fervor wanes.
Then there are those times when we just don’t see what’s happening, when we can’t find any reason for feeling so exhausted.
But in those times we have a common need - we need an encourager. We need someone to connect with us, to pour on the encouragement so we can accelerate - and GROW ON!
The Bible says
- "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:23-25, NIV)
The Message puts that verse in these words:
- Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:23-25, The Message)
Let us SPUR ONE ANOTHER ON towards love and good deeds; and let us ENCOURAGE one another!
What a command! As might be concluded from the way it is worded there are two sides to this!
- Sometimes we need a swift kick in the rear!
That phrase so nicely translated - ’spur one another on,’ is from a NT Greek word that is also translated,
-to make sharp, sharpen.
-to stimulate, spur on, urge.
-to irritate, provoke, arouse to anger.
- to exasperate!
Do you know that an ACCELERATING Christian, one who is committed to growth in himself and in those with who he is in fellowship, can be a real difficult person to be around? She won’t let you be comfortably lazy! She will urge you to do , to be your best - sometimes with her words and sometimes by his example.
Ill.- One of the greatest challenges I faced as a Dad raising four kids was knowing when to challenge and when to comfort. I wanted my children to reach the potential God had given them, to be all that He wanted them to be. I despise mediocrity, in myself, and I didn’t want them to just ’settle.’ So I had to know what they were capable of doing, when they had reached their limits, and when they were just being lazy. I wasn’t always successful. Occasionally, I pushed too hard and caused them unnecessary pain. Sometimes, I let them slide and they didn’t make the mark they might have reached with a more encouraging.
But, I also knew that I needed to model, as much as possible, the excellence I was seeking in them!
Why? Because I knew the best lessons are not taught, but caught!
Has God put somebody in your life who cares enough for you to prod you to your potential, to tell you the truth about yourself, to hold you accountable? Are they modeling a life that challenges you, sometimes even makes you uncomfortable? Don’t resent them, thank God for them! Let their prodding, energize you, jumpstart you to a life that serves God with excellence.
On the flip side, are you willing to risk a friendship by telling another what they don’t want to hear? When you know they could do better and won’t, will you love them enough be honest? Are you ’spurring them on’?
I’m not talking about venting your rage on someone! I’m not talking about throwing your frustration onto some poor victim who happened to become the one you blame for your present pain!
The Bible urges us to ’SPUR ONE ANOTHER to love and good deeds," for God’s sake.
We are also told to "ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER."
The sense of this word is found in the actions of a coach who stands on the sideline shouting encouragement to an athlete, urging that contender to finish well. Accelerating Christians need those who will come alongside and encourage with prayer, with prayers, with shared hope!
In the books of Acts, we meet a Believer who did that. In those early days, Luke tells us that the church community was very close, even sharing their possessions and money. But one man stood out in that time. "... there was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means "Son of Encouragement"). He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus." (Acts 4:36, NLT)
What a great nickname!
An accelerating church needs several people who take up the ministry of encouragement, who are so loving that they are able to forget their own reputation, their own ministry, and celebrate the growth and gifts that others enjoy. Barnabas was a Believer who mentored none other than Paul! Paul, who was first called Saul, before his conversion, was a terrible persecutor of the Believers. After Saul was transformed when the Lord appeared to him on the road to Damascus, it was Barnabas that introduced him to the Church. When these two men first were sent out to preach, it was Barnabas and Paul, with good ole’ Barney taking the lead, but over time as Paul grew, his teaching gifts surpassed those of Barney and soon people were just naturally talking about Paul and Barnabas. But Barney kept on encouraging, even when another took his prominent place. Maybe Barney had taken his cues from John, the Baptist, who came preaching about the Messiah and when Jesus appeared on the scene, gradually faded to a background place without bitterness!
I’m in a curious place in life in relation to my children. They are growing into their own gifts and ministries. It is my tremendous joy to see them developing their gifts, but I also miss being ’the main guy’ that they looked to for advice. If I allowed myself to selfishly ’need’ to remain in charge, the ’big guy’ in our family, either their growth in ministry would be stifled or they would start to avoid me. So I pray that I will be a Barney for them - a source of encouragement, calling from the sidelines - "Go for it. Pour it on!
Take up the challenge of being an encourager. Affirm the gifts and abilities you see in others and rejoice if God sees fit to call them to wider ministry or greater prominence than you.
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God has given me a vision for our church as a place of ACCELERATING growth, but not as individual superstars! It is God’s plan that we succeed TOGETHER.
He wants us to be a fellowship where people are encouraged to grow spiritually deep, where there is in no insecurity that pulls people down to a level of mediocrity where they threaten no one. Instead, as each of us is secure in our knowledge of God’s love, we will become a TEAM that celebrates our successes together. We will be glad for those who grow on to greater things. We will be glad to do our best for God, knowing that He expects just that - nothing more, nothing less.
In 1st Corinthians 12, that oft quoted passage about church life, we are told:
The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don’t, the parts we see and the parts we don’t.
If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.
There is a lesson in the world of football for us! In the past couple of weeks the football world has witnessed a curious drama in Philadelphia with the Eagles and a gifted player named Terrell Owens, a drama that has been playing since just before the season started. T.O. is a great player, arguably one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. But he’s not a team player. T.O. loves himself, more than he loves his team. He is more concerned with how much he’s getting paid and how many headlines he’s getting than he is in helping his team to win - and he’s not shy about letting the world know that. The result is that despite his great skill, he’s sitting out the rest of the season. His showboating finally became too much for the Eagles organization and they sat him down.
God won’t allow you or me to showboat forever either! If we fail to understand that our ministries, our callings are only fruitful in the context of His church, we’ll end up on the sidelines, sitting out the game. Sadly there are thousands of Believers who could make a great contribution to the work of God in the world, but they won’t become a Team Player, an encourager, or a person who receives the coaching they need. A self-seeking Believer is a failure, no matter how great his/her gifts.
Let me urge you to set a goal of being a AAA Christian, and that together we become a AAA Church!
It starts with Authenticity - being real, honest, and transparent.
It continues with Acceptance - building bridges to others that God brings into your life without regard to race, gender, religion, or status.
And it increases with Acceleration - encouraging and being encouraged to greater growth, to excellence in all things, and to deeper spirituality.
Amen
Copyright 2005 Jerry D. Scott
