Riding For
the Brand
It ain’t
about you!
So we have
talked about:
·
Being a functional Church Member
o Serving
o Giving
o Being a part
of the body
·
Being a Unifying Church Member
o Not Gossiping
o Not tearing
down your brothers
o Your leaders
o Forgiving and
staying in the station Wagon
Today:
Were talking about it not being about what you need, what
you want but what the body needs and Jesus commands!
When I was
young
I fought with my own
older brother because I wanted it my way, right now, without hesitation.
I could be a selfish
brat. It’s good we grow out of that phase after we become adults. Right? It’s
even better that we never revert to that phase after we become Christians.
Right?
Wrong!
Christians can sometimes
act just like those demanding children who want things their way. Temper
tantrums in churches may not include church members lying on the floor kicking
and screaming, but some come close.
But the strange thing about church
membership is that you actually give up your preferences when you join.
Don’t get me wrong;
there may be a lot about this church that you like. But you are here to meet
the needs of others. You are here to serve others. You are there to give. You
are there to sacrifice.
Get the picture?
·
The word servant occurs fifty-seven times in the
New Testament.
·
Sometimes it
refers to a person who has that official role in a household.
·
But many times
it refers to the role we are to assume as Christians.
·
Also, serve occurs fifty-eight times in the
New Testament.
Get the picture? Serving
is important in the Bible.
Jesus said we must be last of all and
servant of all. That doesn’t sound
like all the church members we may know. Many church members demand their preferences, their desires, and the way
they’ve always done it.
But Jesus said we are to serve.
Paul Said!
Ephesians 3:7
(HCSB)
I was made a servant of this gospel by the gift of
God’s grace that was given to me by the working of His power.
·
We will never
find joy in church membership when we are constantly seeking things our way.
·
But
paradoxically, we will find the greatest joy when we choose to be last.
·
That’s what Jesus meant when He said the
last will be first. True joy means giving up our rights and preferences and
serving everyone else.
·
And that’s what
church membership means as well.
A story of not understanding what Jesus was all
about!
Mark 10:35–45
(HCSB)
35Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached
Him and said, “Teacher, we want You to do something for us if we ask You.”
36“What do you want Me to do for you?” He asked them.
37They answered Him, “Allow us to sit at Your right
and at Your left in Your glory.”
38But Jesus said to them, “You
don’t know what you’re asking. Are you able to drink the cup I drink or to be
baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”
39“We are able,” they told Him. Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink, and you will be baptized
with the baptism I am baptized with.
40But to sit at My right or left is not Mine
to give; instead, it is for those it has been prepared for.”
41When the other 10 disciples heard this, they began
to be indignant with James and John.
42Jesus called them over and said to them, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the
Gentiles dominate them, and their men of high positions exercise power over
them.
43But it must not be like that
among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be
your servant,
44and whoever wants to be first among you
must be a slave to all.
45For even the Son of Man did
not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life —a ransom for many.”
·
Wow!
Jesus did not come to be served
·
He
did not demand His way, he served
·
Why
would we think we are to be served
·
ITS
TIME!
·
Time
to serve
·
Time
to get out of the mid of the world
·
And
get to work doing Gods will!! SERVE!
·
As a church member, my
motivation should not be to get my preferences to the top of the list.
·
I am supposed to be last not
first. I am supposed to be a servant instead of seeking to be served.
What a church looks like that is inwardly focused
Tom Rainer author of the book I am A church Member
1 . Worship wars. One or more factions in the church want the music just the way they like
it. Any deviation is met with anger and demands for change. The order of
service must remain constant.
2. Prolonged meetings. The church spends an inordinate amount of time
in different meetings. Most of the meetings deal with the most inconsequential
items, while the Great Commission and Great Commandment are rarely the topics
of discussion.
3. Facility focus. The church facilities develop iconic status. One of
the highest priorities in the church is the protection and preservation of
rooms, furniture, and other visible parts of the church’s buildings and
grounds.
4. Program driven. Every church has programs even if they don’t admit
it. When we start doing a ministry a certain way, it takes on programmatic
status. The problem is not with programs. The problem develops when the program
becomes an end instead of a means to greater ministry.
5. Inwardly
focused budget. A disproportionate share of the budget is used to meet the
needs and comforts of the members instead of reaching beyond the walls of the
church.
6. Excessive
demands for pastoral care. All church members deserve care and concern,
especially in times of need and crisis. Problems develop, however, when church
members have unreasonable expectations for even minor matters. Some members
expect the pastor to visit them regularly merely because they have membership
status.
7. Attitudes of entitlement. The overarching attitude is one of
demanding and having a sense of deserving special treatment.
8. Greater concern about change than the gospel. Almost any noticeable
changes in the church evoke the fury of many; but those same passions are not
evident about participating in the work of the gospel to change lives.
9. Anger and hostility. Members are consistently angry. They regularly
express hostility toward the church staff and other members.
10. Evangelistic apathy. Very few members share their faith on a
regular basis. More are concerned about their own needs rather than the
greatest eternal needs of the world and community in which they live.
·
In almost every behavior above, church
members were looking out for their own needs and preferences.
·
I want the music my way.
·
I want the building my way.
·
I am upset because the pastor didn’t
visit me.
·
I don’t want to change anything in my church.
·
You get the picture. I. Me. Myself.
·
Luckily we don’t see much of this YET!
·
IF we aren’t carful we could very
easily fall in to this trap!
·
Church membership from a biblical
perspective, however, is about servanthood. It’s about giving. It’s about
putting others first.
We are to have the mind OF Christ!
We should all keep this
scripture close and read it often!
It brings me to tears
every time I read it!
Philippians 2:5–11 (HCSB)
5Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus,
6who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality
with God as something to be used for His own advantage.
7Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave
(servant),
taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external
form,
8He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of
death— even to death on a cross.
9For this reason God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name
that is above every name,
10so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow — of those
who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth —
11and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father.
