Jump Start # 3265

1 Corinthians 1:2 “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ their Lord and ours.”

  The other day I was preaching about the role of shepherds in the church. I made reference to the typical and common view that so many have of God’s organization. They see it as a straight vertical line, a line of command and power. Jesus, of course, is at the top, then the elders, then the deacons, and at the bottom are the members. This way of thinking has led to the idea that the elders are in control and that it’s a promotion to go from member to deacon and from deacon to elder. This thinking has turned shepherds into bosses who are more interested in managing the finances and making executive decisions that everyone else carries out. The church, when this happens, models the business structure.

  The proper role of God’s organization is a horizontal line, not vertical. Jesus, of course, is above all of us, but the shepherds are out front leading the flock. We are all in this together and we are all on the same line.

  This misunderstanding about the structure of God’s organization not only leads to the CEO concept, but it devalues the members into being peons that have no say. I’ve heard people say, “I’m just a member here. I don’t count.” And, with that mentality, it’s just a step away from someone dropping out, believing, they don’t need me.

  Our verse today, opening the letter to the Corinthian church shows us how God views each of us. You are not “just a member.” Sanctified saints, is the language we find here. And, it’s good reminder for us to think about the role of the member.

  First, every Christian is washed in the blood of Jesus Christ. We all have been redeemed, justified and forgiven. That’s not a little thing. That’s not a “nothing.” That’s huge. That demonstrates God’s love for you. You belong to Christ. You are part of His body. You are in the Kingdom of God. You are Heaven Bound. You are a soldier in God’s army. “I am only a member.” Are you kidding? You are part of the redeemed. Lift your head and honor the God that saved you.

  Second, you are partnering with God in the greatest work in the world. God works with us and through us to fulfill His divine purpose. You are light in a dark world. You are a voice that points people to Jesus. Your attitude, your example, your walk with Jesus, illustrates and demonstrates to the world what the Lord can do. God has changed you. You walk by faith and have a purpose and a plan in life. You are headed somewhere, and your choices show that. Just a member? I don’t think so. God trusts you so much that He has put His word in your hands, His will in your heart and opened the doors of opportunity for you to serve.

  Third, there is not a moment in time when you cannot access God through prayer. Just a member? I don’t think so. Now, if I was to pick up the phone to call the President, I wouldn’t know where to begin, and there would be so many layers of secretaries that would prevent me from talking personally to him. If I wanted to call the Purdue basketball coach in the middle of a game, I couldn’t reach him. I never see him on the phone during the game. I often talk to the TV while my team is playing. I coach from the couch, but no one hears me, except my wife, who usually leaves the room. There are times when I want to talk to my kids, but they are busy at work and I have to leave a message. But with God, anytime, any place, any circumstance you can reach Him. He is never too busy for you. He never has angels that direct your prayers or answers them for Him. You think that you are just a member? Look what you can do? You can pour your heart out to the One who truly understands you, knows you and loves you. You can do this while you are driving down the road. You can do this while you are sitting in the doctor’s office. You can do this while you are taking a walk in the neighborhood. You can do this while sitting in a pew, on a couch or in the dentist’s chair. It is amazing that God hears us.

  Just a member? I don’t think so. Your eternal destiny has been changed because of Jesus Christ. You have salvation which the mighty people of the Old Testament could only dream about. You have what angels long to have. Weekly, if not daily, you get to praise the Lord. We don’t have to go to Jerusalem, find a priest and have him do most of the work for us. From your heart, you can thank the Lord. You can praise His great name. You can bring glory to the Glorious One.

  And, may I say a word about our sisters in Christ. So many feel like a second class citizen because they cannot preach or pray before the assembly. Some feel left out. Some are seeking new ways to define God’s word so they can work their way into serving in public worship. You are not SECOND RATE, SECOND CLASS or anything else. You are blood bought, redeemed and can honor God in a number of ways. It was a woman who was first to the empty tomb. It was women who financially supported Jesus. It was through a woman that the Christ child was born. Women don’t count? Best look through that Bible of yours one more time. Sarah. Rahab. Timothy’s mom. So many wonderful and godly women who found a way to use their talents in furthering God’s cause.

  I’m just a member and I don’t count…stop saying that. Lift your head up. Open your eyes. Stop the pity party and realize that God is counting on you to do what you can. All of us are important. All of us have a place and a role.

  Roger

Jump Start # 3162

1 Corinthians 1:2 “to the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.”

It seems as Christians that we struggle with how we see ourselves. I’ve sat through sermons that reminded the audience that we are all sinners and that being true, doesn’t make one feel very good about himself. We’ve let God down. We’ve hurt others. We’ve broken promises, ruined trust and made a big mess of things. It’s a wonder that God would have anything to do with us. And, that picture is often the state of things presently. It’s not only our past before Christ, but even after Christ, we sin.

But on the other hand, there are the statements from Heaven. Yes, God knows that we sin. Yes, God reminds us that we constantly need the blood of Jesus. But here in our verse today, we have the refreshing words of “sanctified” and “saints,” being uttered by the Holy Spirit. And, these words are directed to a church that most of us would run from. A divided church. A church filled with jealousy. A church that misunderstood and even abused the Lord’s Supper. A church that was suing one another. And, in all that mess, this letter is addressed to those who are sanctified and are saints in Christ Jesus.

Some thoughts for us:

First, it’s easy to walk into one chapter of a person’s life and conclude that defines his life. We all have good days and not so good days. There are some days that we are on the mountain top with Moses and the Lord. There are other days when we are in the deepest valley with the Shepherd. Busy. Tired. Stressed. My wife asked me the other day what my week looked like. I told her it was going to be one of the busiest weeks ever. She said, “You said that about last week.”

Second, it’s good to see the balance we are to have in viewing ourselves. We are saints of God, yet we also sin. Like the ole’ teeter-totter, too much one way gets things out of balance. If all we see are the sins in our lives, then we will never walk with confidence in the Lord and we will never feel like we will make it to Heaven. Doom and despair will be our dearest campions. Yet, on the other side, if all we see is that we are walking Heavenly, we might get a bit self righteous and fail to see that there are things that we need to work on in our lives. I’ve always liked the statement, “Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.”

Realizing our struggle keeps us close to the Lord and allows us to help others. Realizing God’s grace and mercy helps us to understand that God uses us in His kingdom. Every king, prophet, apostle, judge and preacher that God used not only had a past but had to deal with sins in the present. Paul called himself the “chief of sinners,” present tense.

Marred as we are, God uses us. Sanctified as we are, the world needs us. It’s a balance. We are a work in progress.

Third, once we start seeing ourselves properly, then we can start seeing others the same, especially our brethren. We can focus only upon the mistakes that some have made and come to the conclusion that they are not trying very hard. Could it be that we caught them on a bad day? Could it be that we have never seen the good and holy deeds that they do? Pointing that spiritual radar gun at others is so easy and in some ways, so much fun. We catch others doing wrong and we are ready to be the one to write out a spiritual ticket. Cuff and stuff them is the spirit that many have. And, when someone does something very good, we get jealous and try to find ways to pick apart their motive. “They are doing that just to be noticed,” we conclude. All of this comes from a spirit that fails to see someone as they really are.

I find it interesting that the Corinthian letter begins with this reminder that you are sanctified and are saints in Christ Jesus. Could it be they needed that reminder? Could it be hearing that, some of the troubles would have taken care of themselves? Is suing your brother something that saints would do? Is dividing the spirit of sanctified people? Hearing that is a reminder.

Could it be that we need to be reminded as well. If all we hear is that we are terrible people, then we will start thinking that’s the way we are supposed to be. But realizing we are citizens in God’s kingdom, and, we are part of God’s divine family, adopted by God Himself, then we might start acting more “saintly.”

God loves us and Jesus died for us. That’s what God thinks of us.

Roger

Jump Start # 1617

1 Corinthians 1:2 “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.”

  There is a circumstance today in many American cities that is unique and not found in the New Testament. When Paul wrote our verse to the Corinthians, there was but one congregation in Corinth. The same goes for Ephesus, Philippi and Rome. That idea of one congregation in an area is still true in many places. However, in many American cities, there are multiple congregations. And unlike the New Testament times, it is possible for a person to have a choice. The situation arises, “which church do I attend?” Or, “What do I look for in a church?” That presents a unique opportunity that folks in the Bible times never had. Those at the lukewarm Laodicean church could not go across town to the other congregation. That didn’t exist. Even at Corinth, with all the trouble they had, another option, another congregation was not possible. What to look for in a congregation is an experience that the early Christians never had. It presents for us some things worthy of consideration.

There was a time when most would have answered the question, “attend a congregation that is close to where you live.” That does make some sense. It’s hard to do hospitality if one lives too far away and it’s hard to invite people in your area to attend with you if it is not convenient. Convenience is high on people’s list these days. However, the congregation that may be close to where you live may not be healthy. More important than convenience, inviting neighbors, or even hospitality, is finding a church family that will help you grow spiritually, develop as you should, and be one important aspect of helping you go to Heaven. A congregation close to where you live may not be capable of doing that. They may be bent on destroying each other, sour on everything and everyone, and just going through the motions because of guilt. The atmosphere may not be good for your children. It may not be good for you. On a Monday, we ought to feel good about what happened on Sunday. If it takes us all week to recover and get over the traumatic experience then something is not right.

What to look for in a congregation? Good question. This is something parents need to think about this summer as they plan to take their college student to the university. The congregation close to the school may be all fun and games and not serious about the Lord. It would be wise to visit a couple of times. Here is a short list of what to look for:

1. A congregation that is Biblical in pattern and practice. By this, I do not mean, “Do they read from the Bible?” Are they doing what the Bible teaches? Do they practice discipline? Do they have activities that are not a part of the N.T.? Are they overseen by elders? Are those men Biblical, visionary and engaged in the work of the kingdom? Are they visible and approachable? Popping in one Sunday may not be enough to give you those answers. Attend some Bible classes there. Do they teach the Bible? Are the classes Biblically or agenda driven? Is the teacher pushing his opinions or is he teaching God’s word? What are the sermons like? Can you see yourself listening to those type of sermons every week?  Is the preacher hard to listen to? Does he seem to know what he is talking about?

2. Is the congregation friendly? When you visit, do folks greet you and are they glad to see a new face? Or, was the experience like crashing a closed party and everyone just stares at you? Are there people your age there? During worship does it seem like people are engaged, worshipping or just waiting for things to be over?

3. What is the church doing? Read what’s on the bulletin board. Listen to their announcements. Is there any life in that place?  If you are seriously considering worshipping there on a regular basis, ask some questions. Look around. Do some homework.

Every congregation has a history. Most congregations are made up of people who have been there for a long time and several generations of their family have attended there. But most congregations also has some new faces. All congregations have problems. No congregation is perfect. All congregations have things to work on. That is true, because that is us. We are not perfect. We have things to work on. We have problems. If a congregation is growing, new people are coming in all the time. Many of these folks have a lot to learn about Jesus. Patience is a must as these new folks learn things.

4. What is the spirit of the congregation? All congregations, like every home, has it’s own atmosphere. I have been to some homes where there is plastic on the couches and everyone takes their shoes off at the door. It seemed like I was walking in a museum. I have also been to some homes where a stack of newspapers are tossed on the floor to make a space for me to sit down. Every congregation has it’s own atmosphere. Some are stiff. Some are laid back. Some hug. Some are formal. Some seem to lean to the judgmental side. A lot of finger pointing and talking about why everyone else is wrong. Others seem to learn more toward the grace side of things and spend more time talking about how each of them can walk closer to the Lord. The atmosphere of a church sets the tone for what is done. It sets the tone for worship. It sets the tone for how things are viewed. Do people like to stick around and talk or do they all leave in a hurry? A person can sense warmth, love and care. Is that there or is that missing? When someone repents, are people glad? When someone wants to be baptized, are people happy or do they sigh because it means they are going to be getting out later that day? The atmosphere of a place is set by the leaders. Cold, indifferent, out of touch leaders tend to make a cold, indifferent and out of touch congregation.

You do not want to worship with a group in which your soul starves for a lack of feeding and your spirit dies because of indifference. Likewise you do not want to become a finger pointing Pharisee that nit picks everyone and everything and becomes a real grouch in life. You want to grow. You want to love the Lord. You want to be challenged. You want to excel with the Lord. You want classes that are interesting, helpful and you learn much. You want sermons that teach and move you closer to the Lord. You want to praise, thank and honor the Lord during worship. You want elders who love your family and want to help you get to Heaven. You want them to genuinely care for what is going on in your life. You want deacons that are busy and busting it for the Lord. You want a congregation that you can call your family. You want a church where you can use your talents and that you can help others.

A dead church is made up of dead members. A lukewarm church is made up of lukewarm members. A divided church is made up of divided members. Finding a growing, active, loving congregation may mean that you and your family has to drive several miles to get to such a place. Is that a price you are willing to pay? Is that a commitment you can make? How much are you willing to do for your soul? Some will drive miles for a job but “it’s too far” to drive for worship? Why? Are you willing to allow your kids to die spiritually because the congregation that is close stinks and that is where it is most convenient for you to attend?

I am amazed at how many times I have had this conversation with families. They complain and complain about the congregation that is close to where they live. Nothing is going on. It’s dead. Yet, across town is another option but they won’t consider that. It’s too far? Really? For your soul, it’s too far? If where you attending is killing you, why stay with it? Some have no clue what they are doing. Some have no vision. Some will not change because that takes effort and no one has any spiritual effort. I have visited far too many congregations like that. After a week, I am ready to scream. I drop suggestions. They fall on deaf ears. The folks are content to be lukewarm and dead. They don’t see it but even if they did, they wouldn’t do anything about it. Those that have any life about them, generally become like everyone else or they leave. You have to do what is best for your family. If you are not getting fed spiritually, or if you are dying spiritually, it’s time to consider other options. You cannot lose your soul just because you stayed with the church that was close to where you live.

Now, here’s another thought. Before you buy that house you love, check out the congregation near by. Before you take the new job which requires a move, check out the congregation near  by. These spiritual decisions and choices ought to be part of the deal. If it means moving near a dead church and there are no other options, that ought to be a deal breaker. The salvation of your soul is more important than the new job or the new house. A criteria for our kids going to college was finding a congregation that was Biblical and active. If there wasn’t one, that college was off the list. It didn’t matter what scholarships were offered, the soul is more important.

Find a great church family. Get to know them. Be a part of them. Get active. Grow with them. Help them grow. It will pay off great spiritual and friendship dividends if you do.

Roger