This was the perfect Sunday to preach this next sermon in our "Be Contagious" Series. "Excuses" today came in the form of snowfall. Since the beginning of the year we have been averaging about 557 people in worship. (58 at 8 am, 245 at 9:30 am, and 254 at 11 am.) Today only 290 braved the weather, though I have to admit, I think the excuse of bad weather is as good an excuse as any, so go with it if you stayed home.
The scripture we read was Acts 18:9-11. In the back story Paul, possibly the model of Christian faith and evangelism, is apparently ready to cut and run due to pressures from the community of Corinth. God speaks to him in a vision and gives him the courage to get beyond the excuses he was probably fabricating.
We have a tendency to fabricate excuses that allow us to avoid sharing our faith with others. I think there is a difference between excuses and reasons. Excuses are reasons that we fabricate that, quite honestly, are not reasonable. Reasons are legit, but do not necessarily excuse our future actions.
When it comes to a sermon on excuses we tend to come away feeling a deep sense of guilt and even shame. At Good Shepherd we don't think that's how you should leave worship. So instead of abusing you for the excuses you use, I want to provide you with a reason for not sharing your faith. A reason that will encourage you to move forward in your faith.
I've been reading the book of Matthew lately. I had an impulse to outline the book with an eye toward what the disciples were learning as they progressed in their walk of faith with Jesus. It's the tendancy of the church to accept new people into our fellowship and then read them Matthew 28 and say "Go" as Jesus commanded and make some disciples. Somehow we forget that the disciples had 3 years with the Man himself and didn't get sent out for quite a while after they began following and learning. So I propose that we look at this outline as several steps on a walk of faith. Let's find ourselves on this path and then consider what we need to do to take our next step in faith. That should be a whole lot more simple and reasonable than going from visitor to chief evangelist overnight. (Not that that's not possible, just hugely irresponsible of us to expect of everyone.)
1) Repent - We all come to church for the first time for some reason. Maybe someone was kind enough to invite you. Maybe something was tugging at your heart. Maybe it was a traumatic event, health issue, divorce, death of a loved one, job loss. What ever it was that caused you to consider a faith walk, you decided, at least subconsciously, that you needed a new direction in your life. Repent is a word that simply means "to turn around." Coming to church was your first turn around. Turning around is not moving in a new direction. It's looking in that new direction and considering the possibility that what you see in that new horizon is far more promising than the direction you were headed. In Matthew 4.17 Jesus begins his earthly ministry saying "Repent for the Kingdom of God is near." Coming to church represent you hearing Christ calling out to you to check out a new horizon.
2) Follow - The first followers of Jesus were Andrew, his brother Simon (whom Jesus called Peter) and brothers James and John. Jesus' invitation was simple... Follow me and I will give you a new sense of purpose in your life. (Matthew 4:19) This is our invitation to take that first step toward a new horizon. It's a step toward the sunrise of a new day. It's full of promise, hope and possibility. It's like the New Year when you can decide to start all over. It's like a new job, a new school, or a new city, where past mistakes don't matter. Following Christ is a new slate. Consider the possibility of who you can be when you get to start all over again. Consider the possibility of who you can be when your next step is guided by the God who created all the universe with you in mind. Following Christ is a step toward a newness of life that offers possibility that is beyond imagination.
3) Learn - Matthew 5-7 record the beginnings of the teachings that these new followers were hearing. I commend these teachings to your reading. These teachings are revolutionary stuff. Even today, when we think we know what the Christian life is all about; when we assume that we live in a Christian nation; Jesus' words challenge all our notions and assumptions and draw us into a Kingdom of the one who created the world to be far different than it is today. Learning these teachings causes us to consider a new way of thinking and a new way of living with others in the world. This is still revolutionary stuff. What if we started to believe it?
4) Healing - Immediately after the teachings of chapters 5-7 comes the healings of Chaptes 8-9. In Chapter 8 we find that Jesus is the cure for what ails you. We are offered the chance to get straight spiritually and experience healing of what seperates you from God and from others.
5) New pursuits - As Jesus begins to heal people we find all sorts of fans ready to jump on the band wagon. Are you one? If so, you might find out that there is a need to make a change. Up to this point it's been all about you. You following. You learning. You experiencing health and wholeness. But now it's time for you to make a decision. In Matthew 8:18-22 we find several people saying “I’ll follow you, but first….” Jesus rebukes the "but first." If you're going to follow Christ you might have to make some changes. Are you prone to foul language? Are you known to be less than truthful? Do you have a temper? Is there an addiction, affair, habit, hobby, that isn't consistent with the teachings you've learned? It's time to draw an end to that old way of life and cross over into some new persuits in your new direction. Leave behind your old assumptions and old ways and former commitments that have caused the brokenness and pain in your life and follow in the way that leads to the kingdom.
6) Transformation - As you begin to take the step toward new persuits in life you find God working in your heart to transform you to be a whole lot like the person God created you to be and not that knock-off you were making yourself out to be. In Matthew 9 we find that, as Jesus made changes in the world through healing and teaching He found himself in a running battle with the civil and religious leaders of the day. You see, people have bought into the old you. They've become accustomed to your participation in the status quo that is their life. No one enjoys their status quo being upset. As you allow God to transform you, be cautious that others don't succeed in changing you back. What we're aiming for here at Good Shepherd is a new you. A you that brings peace in your heart and joy in your life. A you that makes sense in the world. A you that enjoys participating in the purposeful creation of the Kingdom of God and not the willful distruction of it. What we're talking about here is life transformation to become a whole person and an agent of what God is doing in the world.
Alright. It's getting late and I'm ready for bed. I'll leave you to chew on this and I'll finish it up later. There are 6 more steps to consider. Have you found yourself in one yet? Are you farther along than this. Let me know if this is resonating with you at all.
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