How to Be and Externally Focused Church
Series: Will the Real Church Please Stand Up?
Oct.15, 2006
Read Rev.3:7-13
In the past few weeks, we’ve been looking at the Church as Jesus comes to her and gives her an evaluation. As we’ve seen, there’s a difference between what Jesus died for His church to be and what most of us have commonly experienced. It’s really been a study in contrasts….
· In Ephesus, it was the difference between “The Busy Church” and the “Loving Church”
· In Smyrna… Persecuted Church vs. the Accepted Church
· Pergamum… the Compromising Church vs. the Faithful Church
· Thyatira… the Tolerating Church vs. Loyal Church
· Sardis… the Healthy Church vs. the DEAD Church.
This morning as Jesus speaks to the Church at Philadelphia, (and our Church in Oakley), he wants us to see the contrast between the Internally Focused Church and the Externally Focused Church. Because there’s a huge difference.
As we’ve been studying the churches of Revelation, I’ve been amazed at how well Jesus knows His church. He knows it better than we know ourselves! Unlike in the messages to the 5 other churches, Jesus’ message to the Philly Church didn’t have one complaint or correction. Unlike the other churches, Jesus’ doesn’t use the phrase…”but, I have this against you!” That’s because
· they hadn’t lost their 1st love,
· they hadn’t caved in under pressure,
· or tolerated a message that contradicted what the bible said…
· and they certainly couldn’t be considered DEAD!
Instead, Jesus heaps on the praise… the whole tone of his message is upbeat and positive! He says, in vs. 3:8 (READ)… “I know your deeds. You have kept my Word, and not denied my name”
The reason Jesus was pleased with them is because they had obeyed his words and carried out His mission. His main message is simply this… “LOOK! I have placed before you an open door!”.-Rev.3:8a
I want an usher to go over to those doors this morning and open them. Would everyone turn around and look? Jesus says, “LOOK! What do you see? Neighborhoods, people, businesses, … people going about their business…” and Jesus is telling us this morning… “THAT’S where I want my church to be! Out there! That’s where the action is! That’s where I want you focus to be! Come in here to get refreshed and refueled, but only so you can get back out there, where people are dying to meet me!” They need to hear how I not only want to love them, and heal them, but I want to make immediate and eternal difference in their lives!” So… I give you an open door! I give you an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the 1000’s of people who make up your community.” In otherwords, Jesus wants us to be an Externally Focused Church.
Now when it comes to churches, the Externally Focused Church believes, thinks and acts radically different from the Internally Focused Church… (take a look in your notes at chart)
The Internally Focused Church…
1. Believes and Thinks… I have CHOICES… I’m a CONSUMER
You know, we’re kind of used to choices. For example, there was a time not too long ago (I know some of you may not remember it), when ordering a cup of coffee was pretty simple. The waitress would ask you, “Regular or decaf?”. That’s it!
Now if you go to “Starbucks” you’re literally provided with 20,000 mutations of coffee! Because of the iPod revolution… you don’t have to buy a whole CD (or in my teen years a record)… NO!
Now you have instant access to millions of songs that you can download to make your own individually personalized ‘playlist’ of thousands of songs. This drive for ‘personal choices’ has infected the church. “Welcome to iChurch”! Where the goal is to provide ‘religious consumers’ with as many individualized choices as possible. Now, at many churches, you can choose the worship setting that fits your personal taste…(traditional, contemporary, country, or gothic). Simultaneously, Grandma can sing her hymns, Mom and Dad can enjoy coffee and bagels in the worship café… while the teens lose their hearing in a Rock venue. In ‘consumer Christianity”, the Pastor is turned into some kind of a “Spiritual Barista”, passing out spiritual goods for people to choose from based on their preferences. “You don’t like this message? Well, maybe you can skip a few weeks until you find one that fits your needs!” In an internally focused church, you’re not as concerned with whether people growing or not, as you are that they’re satisfied! After-all “the customer is king”, right? Every pastor knows that an ‘unhappy customer’ will go to another church if they don’t get what they want.
Well, in a EXTERNALLY Focused Church… The customer isn’t king… Christ is still King! And people don’t believe “I have choices”, they believe, “I have commitments”. Taking on the character of Christ isn’t something you pick and choose. Instead, we surrender control and allow God to teach us the things He wants us to know. As a result of this belief system, we become contributors not consumers. We’re not continually asking… “What about MY needs?”… instead we’re asking, “What’s the best way to serve and meet others needs?” The Consumer driven, internally focused church exists to meet felt needs. I’ve been taught that
“I am the center of the universe”, and so I evaluate everything on it’s ability to meet my felt needs.” I know we’re the sheep and the sheep require the Shepard to feed them, but eventually there’s got to be a time when the sheep become the Shepherds, and start feeding others! Paul told the Jewish Christians in Hebrews 5:12…READ. Did you know that 60% of Americans are overweight today? We’re eating a lot, but we’re not exercising enough to burn off the calories. I believe that’s what’s been happening in our churches today. We’re so concerned about being fed, we forgot to exercise our faith.
The Externally Church has a totally different world view. It…
1. Believes… I have COMMITMENTS
it…
2. Thinks… I’m a CONTRIBUTER
and it…
3. Acts… To meet REAL needs
I read one pastor who said, “As pastors, we are tempted to build the church, so we send out postcards to targeted Zip codes and we promote church programs. But that misses the point. Our job isn’t to build the church. We’re supposed to BE the church, and build the kingdom. The best expression of the church is NOT what happens on Sunday morning. It’s what happens in the world during the week. And that’s not something you can market.” That’s what it means to be an externally focused church. READ Rev.3:7
That phrase…”the key of David” comes right out of the O.T. book of Isaiah. In Isa.22:20-22 we read… “In that day I will summon my servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah. 21 I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash around him and hand your authority over to him. He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. 22 I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.” “Eliakim”, was King Hilkiah’s trusted steward, and he was given the authority to open and close the door to the house of David. The term, “house of David” is shorthand for “the kingdom of God”, or all the riches of God the King. Here, Jesus is saying that He’s like “Eliakim”, and that he posesses the key to all the riches of the living God. Jesus has the key that opens the door of salvation. And if we’ll go through that door… not only will WE have salvation, but we’ll lead many others through that door! In Mt. 7:13-14 Jesus invites us to go through the door! “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.” God opens the door of life to everyone of us… but we’re the only ones who can decide to go through it! As an individual, and as a church, we have to decide whether we’ll go through the open door! Will we be an EXTERNALLY FOCUSED Church leading others through the door or not?
But 1st, before we make our decision, lets take a look at what the Externally Focused Church looks like. An Open Door Church that looks outside, beyond the door, is…
1st of all…
1. A SERVING Church
Externally focused churches are convinced that good deeds and good news can’t (and shouldn’t) be separated. It takes 2 wings to get an airplane off the ground, and so EXF churches use both the good news AND good works. In fact, the good news explains WHY we do the good works! The love of Christ compels us! If we say we love God, then out of necessity, we have to love His people. In Acts 10:36-38 we read that “God proclaimed the ‘good news’ through Jesus Christ, and that he went about doing good, because God was with Him”. In Luke 9:11, it says that when the crowds were following Jesus, he “welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God (good news), and healed those who needed healing (i.e. good deeds).” When Jesus sent the 12 disciples out, ‘he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God (good news) and to heal the sick (good deeds).” –Luke 9:2
Remember “Show and Tell” in 3rd grade? I never had anything worth showing! I’d say we need a little less ‘telling’ and a little more showing in the church today. A little less talking and a lot more walking! We tell real good… on TV, on radio… but people want to be SHOWN the love of God! Before we can be heard, we have to establish trust… and before we can establish trust… we have to show our love. It’s soooo true! “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care!”
I love the advise a church planter gave to me once… “Don’t go to start a church… go to serve a city.” That’s got to be our attitude if we’re going to win our city to Christ! We’ve got to find ways to love people into our church! Whether it’s handing out water at Highschool registration in the middle of August, or picking up garbage at the Almond Festival.
An externally focused church is
2. A RELATIONAL Church
The N.T. word for ‘church’ is ‘ecclesia’… it lit. means…”the called out ones”. To a lot of people that means we’re physically ‘called out’ of the world… so they separate themselves. In reality though, the church is called to be separate from the world in lifestyle, but to never become isolated from the people we’re supposed to be influencing. Jesus told us to love our neighbor as ourselves. In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, he defined our neighbor as anyone we come across who has a need. However, did you notice in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus never tells us about the result of the Samaritans good works? Why didn’t He didn’t say, “As a result of the Samaritans care, the beat up guy was wonderfully converted, and went on to start a halfway house for worn, beaten and abused travelers that impacted the world”! Why didn’t Jesus give us a good ending? I’ll tell you why, because we’re called to love our neighbor, regardless of whether those neighbors respond to Christ and clean up their act or not! Loving unlovable people is a messy, dirty business! People with addictions, emotional issues, broken marriages, and other deep problems aren’t cleaned up that easily. In fact, in most cases, they don’t WANT to be cleaned up! They like the filth they’re wallowing in! But listen… we’re not called to change people’s behavior; we’re called to love them whether they change or not. It’s up to God to change them. Externally focused people, who attend externally focused churches understand that! What they do, they do out of love!
3rdly, an externally focused church is…
3. An INFLUENTUAL Church
An internally focused church is always asking ‘How many people did we have in church services?”, but an externally focused church is always asking… “How many lives have we seen changed?” In Mt.5:13-16 (Msg) Jesus invites us to be salt and light… READ
Jesus is telling us that we were meant to be infectious in our influence… We’re light and so we’re meant to shine! I mean, what kind of a fool would light a lamp and then immediately put a bucket over it? That would defeat the purpose wouldn’t it?
Just by being who God made us to be… we’re going to have an impact on the people around us!
In August of 2006, Fox News featured a television special titled, "Can Rick Warren Change the World?" Throughout the show, reporters interviewed Warren concerning The Purpose Driven Life, his ministry at Saddleback Church, and his leadership in the church growth movement. They also spotlighted his attempts to move beyond the boundaries of this country and use a global network of churches to revolutionize the way we tackle what he believes are the five biggest problems facing the world today: poverty, disease, illiteracy, spiritual emptiness, and egocentric leadership. At the time of the interview, Warren was getting ready to implement his P.E.A.C.E. plan in the war-torn nation of Rwanda. As the interview progressed, a nagging question seemed to taint the ambitious pastor’s hopes and plans: Can it really work? Can one man—or one church, or one network, or one nation—really heal all of the hurts of the world? Warren wasn’t ignorant of the presence of this question, however, and he wasn’t shy about answering it. At the very end of the interview, he identified the four words that he would like written on his tombstone: "At least he tried."
When it comes to being an EXF church, size doesn’t matter… it’s FOCUS that matters! When the CEO of Blockbuster Video was addressing a group of pastors once, somebody asked him, “What does it take to get a ministry off the ground? What’s the critical mass? He responded… “Critical mass is one person with a vision!” For our church do make a difference in this community, it doesn’t take a lot of people… it just takes one! That person might be you!
4. An IRRESISTABLE Church
READ Mt. 5:16 Did you catch the significance of that statement from Jesus? Jesus is telling us that our job isn’t just to build bigger churches, but to make Him irresistible! But that’s not the case today. I know of churches who are nationally recognized among Christians, but are lit. strangers in their own communities. Every statistic tells us that instead of growing in influence, the church in America today is becoming less and less influential. Church attendance in the U.S. has dropped from 49% to 43% in the last 10 years, while the population has grown by 9%! Much of the perceived growth that we see is actually transfer growth. People leaving small churches to go to bigger churches.
According to Jesus, our job is to do so much good in our communities that they don’t know what they’d do without us! Right now, that’s not the case…our cities see churches as a thorn in their flesh. There was a time when communities valued churches so much that they’d actually give them land when they built a new subdivision. Anybody see them doing that now? Why not? Because they don’t see us of any worth! We’re like salt, that’s lost our saltiness and just as Jesus predicted would happen… we’ve been thrown out… “no longer good for anything, except to be trampled by men”. But that’s not Jesus’ vision for His church… His vision is that because of our good works… people in the community ‘praise our Father in heaven’. They actually come to a saving knowledge of God, because they see His love in our actions! WOW! Is that the kind of church you want to be a part of? I do! In fact, that’s the kind of church I want to lead!
The door is open, the opportunities are there before us. The choice is ours… will we go out that door, or will we stay inside where we think it’s safe, secure and die in the process? If we’ll go through the door and become the victorious, outward reaching church that Jesus wants us to be, He promises to bless us in 3 very tangible ways…
1. HONOR
1st He says in 3:12a,“…I will make a pillar in the temple of my God.”
The city of Philadelphia used to honor their hero’s by engraving their names on the pillars of it’s pagan temples, so that everyone who came to worship would see and remember them. Jesus is saying that if we’ll be an outward thinking and acting church… He’ll put our names on the pillars of a temple that will last forever. His temple in heaven!
Jesus also promises us…
2. SECURITY
He says, in 3:12b… “Never again will he leave it.” The city of Phil. was built on the edge of a volcano, and so they were in constant danger of earthquakes. So whenever a quake would strike, they’d flee the city for their lives. So they were always fleeing the city and then returning the next day. Jesus knew that that was a fear they dealt with and so he says… “If you’ll remain faithful to me, you’ll enter the City of God and never have to leave it! He’s saying… “A church that’s interested in reaching their community for Me doesn’t have to worry about their survival. I will be your security. I’ll be your unshakable foundation. You won’t have to fear for your finances. I’ll will make sure that you’re secure, so you can carry on My work!” The only time we have to fear is when we stop reaching out!
3rdly, Jesus promises
3. IDENTITY to the Church of the Open Door…
He says in Rev.3:12c… “I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem…” In A.D. 17, an earthquake actually DID level the city. The Emperor Tiberias extended kindness by canceling their taxes so they could rebuild. Out of gratitude they re-named themselves, “Neo-caesarea” which lit. meant “the new city of Caesar”. Jesus picks up on this and says, “If you’ll be my representative in the world. If you’ll serve your world in my place…out of gratitude, I’ll re-name you too! I’ll give you the name of My God!” What could be a greater honor than that?
You know what? The truth is…we may never be a mega-church with 1000’s of people wanting to enter our doors. And I’ve pretty much given up the idea of being a famous TV evangelist. (I wouldn’t look good in the big hair anyway)…but, whether we’re known as a mega-church or not doesn’t really matter. What really matters is what Jesus thinks of us! What is HIS estimation of our value? What is HIS evaluation of our ministries and our works. See, because in the end, whether we’re famous or not…we’re His church, and we’re here to please an audience of ONE! I want His identity! To the point that when people think or Summit Church, they think of God and His love for them!
