SERMON: RUMORS OF REVIVAL

25 March 2018 (Palm Sunday)

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in your Bibles to John 12:12-19

John 12:12-19 (NIV)

12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.

13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the King of Israel!"

14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written,

15 "Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey's colt."

16 At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him.

17 Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word.

18 Many people, because they had heard that he had given this miraculous sign, went out to meet him.

19 So the Pharisees said to one another, "See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!"

            -- one Palm Sunday, little 5-year-old Johnny had a sore throat and really didn’t feel like going to church -- so his family let him stay home with a  babysitter -- when they got back to the house, they were carrying several palm branches -- just to let you know, on Palm Sunday a lot of the larger churches actually pass out little palm fronds and let the people wave them during the service as a reminder of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem almost 2000 years ago -- and evidently that’s what Johnny’s church had done

            -- well, when Johnny saw his family come walking in with those palm branches, he wasn’t happy -- Johnny said, "Where did you get the palm branches?  What are they for?” -- Johnny's older brother said, "People held them over Jesus' head as He walked by" -- Johnny looked disgusted and said, "That's just great -- The one Sunday I don't go to church and Jesus shows up!"

            -- well, that’s exactly what this passage in John is all about -- it’s about Jesus showing up -- it’s about God coming to town

            -- today is, of course, Palm Sunday -- it marks the start of Holy Week -- the holiest and most important week of worship in the Christian church

      -- the next important event occurs on Thursday, what many call Maundy Thursday -- we get the term “Maundy” from the Latin term "Dies Mandati" meaning the Day of the Commandment, referring to Jesus' command to us to love our neighbors

      -- this is the day of the Last Supper in the Upper Room -- the Betrayal in the Garden of Gethsemane -- followed by the trial of Jesus by Annas and Caiaphas, the high priests of Israel, and the rest of the Sanhedrin, the religious and political leaders of Israel

      -- we remember Jesus being turned over to the Romans by the Jews and Pontius Pilate eventually caving in to political pressure and condemning Jesus to death by crucifixion

      -- Friday of this week is known as Good Friday -- the day of the crucifixion -- the day of Jesus’ death and burial in the empty tomb -- a time of darkness and sadness for Jesus’ disciples as they mourned the death of Jesus

      -- but finally we reach Sunday -- Easter -- the day of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead and the pronouncement of His victory over sin and death forever

            -- this is such a momentous week, and so much is happening, that it’s sometimes hard to really understand the significance of it all and how it would have been experienced by the people in Jerusalem who lived through those events

            -- to truly understand how they would have received those events -- how they would have interpreted them -- you need to put yourself in their place and understand how the Jews would have viewed themselves during that time

            -- the Israelites recognized themselves as God’s chosen people -- out of all the people in the world, God had chosen the Israelites to be His special people -- and He had established a covenant with their ancestors -- Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob -- and promised to be their God and to bless them and all the world through them

            -- but their lives were anything but easy -- they spent 400 years in captivity in Egypt -- slaves in bondage to Pharaoh and the Egyptians -- but when things were at their darkest and the Israelites were wondering if God had finally forgotten His covenant with them -- when the people were ready to receive Him again as their Lord and Savior, He sent Moses to lead His people out of captivity and across the Red Sea

            -- God’s was present with the Israelites in their journeys through the wilderness -- He appeared as a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to show them the path they should follow -- God’s grace leading the people to salvation -- speaking to them through Moses and Joshua and the prophets -- giving them His word and His law to guide them as they settled in the promised land

            -- but familiarity breeds contempt -- and the people kept turning from God to follow after foreign gods, worshiping idols and graven images -- and although God would speak to them and call out for them to return, they wouldn’t hear His call and would continue on their path until God disciplined them and allowed them to experience the consequences of their sin

            -- and, just like in Egypt, when it seemed as if all hope was lost and the people’s hearts finally turned toward God again, God would deliver His people and restore them to the land and revive worship in Israel again

            -- this went on time and time again -- this wandering away from God -- this refusal to seek His presence -- to hear His voice -- to follow His commands -- and then, when things got bad, the people cried out again and God would save them by sending His word to the people through a prophet and reviving their faith in Him yet again

            -- the people of Israel had enjoyed their special relationship with God for a long time -- but one day, it seemed like God quit talking -- times had gotten bad again and the people were experiencing difficulty and discipline in their lives, but this time, instead of sending another prophet into the world to warn them and lead them back to Him as in the past, God just quit talking

            -- you see, God had warned the people through the prophet Malachi -- the last prophet in the Old Testament -- and told them to return and to worship Him again with all their hearts and souls and minds and strength because the end was coming -- the great Day of the Lord would soon be at hand when they would be judged for their sins -- and when Malachi wrote down all that God had told him to write and he proclaimed it to the nation of Israel, God stopped talking because the people weren’t listening and weren’t responding

            -- so for the last 460 years, the people of Israel had not heard a word from their God -- God had never left them alone so long before -- even in their sins, God would speak to them and would call them home -- but now, no one heard from God -- there had been no prophets since Malachi for almost 500 years -- and the people were lost

            -- but rather than calling on the Lord with their whole heart and opening their ears to hear from God and responding to His message through Malachi, the people of Israel just went through the motions, like so many of us today

            -- they continued to go to church -- they continued to offer sacrifices -- they continued to follow the law of God -- but it was all lip-service -- it wasn’t real -- it was just an act without heart -- and because the people did not respond to God with their hearts, God was silent -- there was no inspiration -- there was no word from God -- there was no indication that He was near

            -- for 500 years God was silent and the people suffered and wondered and hoped -- until one day, a man dressed in camel hair and wearing a leather belt appeared in the wilderness proclaiming the coming of the Lord and calling people to repent

            -- and, as John baptized people in the Jordan River, the people wondered if this could be the messenger that Malachi told them about in the last book of the Old Testament --- the one who was going to be like the prophet Elijah and who would prepare the way for the return of the Lord

            -- the faith of the people began to catch fire again -- they began to seek the Lord -- to respond to His word -- to chase after Him with their whole hearts

            -- and then Jesus appeared as a great light shining in the darkness -- a man who was more than a man -- a man who spoke with power and authority -- a man who touched the blind and the lame and the sick and they were healed -- a man who knew God and who spoke with God and who seemed to be God -- and the people wondered at this sight in their midst

            -- the nation of Israel flocked to Jesus -- they surrounded Him wherever He went -- some came for the healings -- some came for the bread from heaven -- some came to watch the show -- but others came seeking that which they had lost -- they came looking for God and hoping to hear His voice again

            -- the people began to whisper that God was back -- they began to hope and believe that God had returned -- there were rumors of a revival going on in Israel through the ministry of Jesus as the hearts of the people were turned towards God once again

            -- this is the setting of this passage -- just as in the past, the people are beginning to return to God with their hearts -- they are finally getting ready to receive God into their presence again -- and the time has come for God to return to Jerusalem

            -- this time He comes on the back of donkey

            -- look back at verse 12  

12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.

            -- the city of Jerusalem was crowded that day -- faithful believers from all over Israel and beyond had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread -- we know it better as the Passover Feast

            -- this feast celebrated the protection of Israel by God as the angel of death passed over Egypt and slew the first-born children in the land as the final plague on the Egyptian Pharaoh -- only those people who had sacrificed a lamb and placed its blood on the doorposts of their homes were protected and delivered from death on that night

            -- as commanded in the Jewish law, every year people would come to Jerusalem to remember the Passover and to worship in the temple

            -- but this year was different -- this year it seemed as if the celebration was more than just a party -- more than just a mandated gathering required in the law -- this year it seemed as if the people were truly looking for God -- remembering His deliverance in the past and, hoping beyond hope, that He might return to deliver them again

            -- so on that Sunday before the Passover, Jerusalem was filled with people who had truly come to worship God -- it was literally busting at the seams with people -- and all of them had heard of Jesus and were wondering if He was coming or not

            -- verse 13-15

13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the King of Israel!"

14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written,

15 "Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey's colt."

            -- when the people heard that Jesus was coming, they ran out to meet Him -- John says here they took palm branches with them and waved them in the air in anticipation of His coming

            -- palm fronds signified victory -- they were waved when a victorious army came back home after winning a battle -- and they were waved when the king returned back to his palace -- through their actions, the people were saying what they truly believed about Jesus -- although they might not have fully understood that Jesus was God -- they knew that God had returned and that He was speaking through Jesus -- and so the people flocked to the road to welcome the voice of God back to Jerusalem after He had been silent for nearly 500 years

            -- one thing to note here is that our actions proclaim what we believe, too -- more so than our words, what we do and how we live our lives tells others what we truly believe about God and about Jesus -- do we go through our lives proclaiming Him for the world to see -- or do we act like we haven’t heard from Him in a long time?

            -- the other three gospel writers tell us that the people also spread their cloaks on the road in front of Jesus as He passed -- this was symbolic of royalty -- it’s kind of like our red carpets that we put out today for celebrities and dignitaries

            -- this was another way for the people to show that they were offering themselves and their possessions to Jesus -- by placing these cloaks in front of Him, they were saying, “We trust you -- we believe in you -- take our lives and take all that we have -- be our King and restore Israel to its former glory”

            -- as Jesus made His way down from the Mount of Olives into Jerusalem, the people shouted at Him and said, “Hosanna! Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

            -- “Hosanna” means “Save” -- it carries with it the idea of God delivering the people just as He had done during the Passover -- it is a cry to God for salvation and deliverance and healing

            -- the phrase “Hosanna” was usually only heard during official worship services as an expression of praise -- but here, the people are shouting it in the streets to Jesus, showing that they recognized Him as worthy of their praise -- as someone who was touched by God -- as someone who might be their long-awaited Messiah -- God returning to Israel

            -- verse 16

16 At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him.

            -- isn’t this verse amazing? -- “the disciples did not understand all of this” -- isn’t that the way it always is?

            -- the people closest to someone can’t always see them for who they really are -- sometimes it takes distance and a new look in order to fully see and understand just how special someone is -- let me give you an example of what I’m talking about

            -- a few years back there was a miniseries on television called, “The Kennedys,” about the Kennedy family and their political dynasty, focused primarily on the life of John F. Kennedy

            -- and during this miniseries, the director recreated a scene that you may have seen pictured before -- John F. Kennedy is at his desk in the oval office working, and peeking out of the modesty panel underneath the president’s desk is JFK, Jr.

            -- and what has always struck me about that picture is that JFK, Jr. really has no idea who his father is or how important he is because he’s so close to him -- he doesn’t understand what it means to be that close to the president of the U.S. -- the leader of the free world -- he could only understand later, when he looked at his father’s political career from a distant viewpoint, at just how privileged he was to have been ushered into the presence of the President in such a close and personal way

            -- well, that is what is going on here in this passage -- the disciples were Jesus’ closest friends -- they had come to know Him in a special way -- they had lived with Him for three years -- they had traveled together -- they had shared meals together -- they had seen Him do miracles

            -- but, because they were so close to Him, they just couldn’t see Him for who He truly was -- it was only later -- after the resurrection -- after Jesus’ ascension -- that they finally started to understand who this Jesus was that they had been with for so long and started to see Him as more than just a prophet but God Himself

            -- verse 17-19

17 Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word.

18 Many people, because they had heard that he had given this miraculous sign, went out to meet him.

19 So the Pharisees said to one another, "See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!"

            -- now here’s what I really want you to see in this passage -- word had spread about Jesus and what He had been doing -- especially after He raised Lazarus from the dead

            -- so, when news that Jesus was coming to town spread, the entire town gathered on the street to praise His name and to wave palm branches and put their cloaks in the road

            -- they had heard the stories of the miracles -- they had heard of the miraculous healings and the bread from heaven -- they had heard of the teachings and all that Jesus did -- and the people came to see for themselves if Jesus was the Messiah

            -- this is always the pattern of God’s work in our world -- when God begins to move, people respond -- when they hear rumors of revival -- the rumors of God showing up in power and presence -- people flock to be with Him and to hear His voice and experience His presence -- let me give you an example

            -- on February 3rd 1970, the students at Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky, were having their regular morning chapel service -- instead of preaching, the leader that morning gave his testimony and encouraged the students to come forward and talk about their own Christian experiences

            -- one student came -- and then another and another -- the entire altar filled up -- and students began to confess their sins and offer forgiveness to others for wrongs that had been done and offer their lives back to God

            -- this wasn’t a normal chapel service -- everyone could sense that -- everyone knew that God was truly there

            -- the service was supposed to last 50 minutes -- instead, it went on non-stop for 185 hours -- 24 hours a day -- as students and faculty poured into the chapel and turned back to God with their whole hearts

            -- just like on Palm Sunday, word began to spread about what God was doing -- and the revival grew and grew and grew -- people started flocking to tiny Wilmore, Kentucky -- seeking God and His presence in their lives

            -- they knew God was there -- they knew He was doing something special -- and they wanted to be a part of it

            -- by that summer, the revival had spread to more than 130 other colleges and seminaries and scores of churches -- there were reports of revivals occurring from New York to California and even as far away as South America

            -- that’s what happening here in this passage as John tells us about a nationwide revival that took place about 2000 years ago -- a revival that started a fire that has still not been extinguished

            -- the Pharisees, who had been hoping to capture Jesus in secret, looked at the crowd and listened to their voices of praise and said, “The whole world has gone after Him.”

            -- isn’t that the way it is supposed to be? -- why should Palm Sunday just be one day on the Christian calendar? -- why aren’t we expecting our churches and our streets to be filled with people looking for Jesus every Sunday? -- why should this be something that we just read about and not something that we are experiencing?

            -- I think it comes down to the condition of the heart -- looking at the history of the Jewish people, it was only when their hearts were right and they actively sought the Lord were they able to hear His voice and experience His presence

            -- when the people went their own way and tried to live life in their own power and their own strength -- when they refused to follow God’s word or listen for His voice in their lives -- it was as if God didn’t exist -- and that didn’t turn out so well for them

            -- the true message of Palm Sunday is of a God who loves to save and deliver His people -- when the people turn to Him and cry out for His deliverance, God responds -- when the people begin to seek God with their whole hearts, they begin to hear His voice again

            -- the word revival means to bring one’s faith back to life again -- it means to return -- to repent -- to remember God -- to seek Him and to trust that He is there -- to rely on Him and know that He will save

            -- this is more than just lip-service -- this is more than just going through the motions and showing up to church on Sunday mornings -- revival only comes through a change of heart

            -- in this passage about Palm Sunday, we see a change of heart in the people of Jerusalem, and the nation of Israel experienced the presence of God returning to their land

            -- as we begin this Holy Week together, let our first prayer be that our hearts might be changed through the power and presence of God -- that He would revive our hearts and renew our lives and restore our faith in Him -- that we would truly seek His presence in our lives and in this church and in this land

            -- let us pray

DOES PRAYER MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

Over the last several years, I have noticed a trend in social media among non-Christians.  When a tragedy occurs, they are quick to ridicule the common sentiment expressed after such an act, “You are in our thoughts and prayers.”  Why bother, they say.  We don’t need thoughts and prayers, they say.  We need action.  We need something tangible.  We need you to do more than just send good thoughts, because none of your thoughts and prayers makes one iota of a difference in the world today.  Your prayers to a non-existent or, at best, non-interested God didn’t change anything.  The tragedy still occurred.  The loss still took place.  Hurt was felt, and evil was expressed unchecked.  So, why pray?

“Evidence collected over many years, obtained from many locations, indicates that the power of Prayer is insufficient to stop bullets from killing school children.” -- Neil deGrasse Tyson

The tweet above from Neil deGrasse Tyson in the wake of the Parkland school shooting is just another example of these derisions of prayer, although Tyson’s comment was wrapped in the guise of science.  I respect Tyson as a scientist.  I don’t agree with his world view, but I do think Tyson has really advanced the case for scientific literacy in our world today.  I think he is influencing many young men and women to consider careers in science, which can only result in good things for the future.

However, I feel that Tyson does a disservice to both religion and God with this assertion.  The essence of his point is that the Parkland school shooting is evidence that prayer does not work.  This is not good science. 

Scientists are painfully aware that the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.  What this means is that you can’t point to an example and say, “We didn’t find X, so that means that it is not there.”  At best, you can point to your study and say, “We didn’t find X, so there is an YY% chance that X does not exist or is not present.”  And that’s with statistically rigorous studies.

“The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence”

Let me give you an example.  During my master’s research for my wildlife biology degree, I attempted to find evidence for the presence or absence of a fox parasite in Georgia and South Carolina.  I spent two years trapping rodents and examining fox feces looking for this parasite.  I did not find any, despite all my best efforts.  So, that proves that the parasite is not present, right?  No. 

It simply means I did not find the parasite in my sampling efforts.  The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.  All I could say is that based on the number of samples I examined and the negative results I found, there was an extremely high chance that this parasite was not present in my study areas.  Using the scientific method could only lead me to say that I did not find the parasite in my study, not that it wasn’t there and might not have shown up in my next sample.  Perhaps my study was set up wrong.  Perhaps I was trapping for the wrong type of rodents.  Perhaps the rodents that carry this parasite weren’t in the areas I sampled.  Perhaps the parasite has a life-stage that made it impossible to find during the time period I sampled.  There are too many factors to say definitively, “This parasite does not exist in Georgia or South Carolina.” That is the way science works.

Think about the many health-related studies you see in the news.  How many times have you seen studies saying things like, “Saturated fat causes heart disease.”  And then the next day, another study comes out saying, “Saturated fat is not linked to heart disease.”  Two studies, different results, who’s right?  We don’t know.  The only thing each set of scientists can say is “based on our study and the samples we examined, this is what we found.”  No one can say with 100% certainty that their study is correct and that saturated fat causes or doesn’t cause heart disease. 

So, what does this mean for us in the area of religion and faith, specifically, in the area of prayer?  As I noted above, the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. 

Does the fact that a school shooting occurred at the Parkland High School in Florida definitively prove that prayer does not work, as Neil deGrasse Tyson asserts?  No, it doesn’t.  Tyson cannot make that statement.  He is wrong.  And, I am willing to bet, he knows it.  He was just trying to make a point in social media that fits his personal world view about religion and prayer.

On the other hand, does the fact that only 1 out of 2,344 high schools in Florida had a school shooting on that day prove that prayer works?  Following Tyson’s example, I could assert that the fervent prayers of the saints prevented catastrophes and school shootings at 2,343 schools in Florida on that day.  I could also assert that the impact of the shooting at Parkland was lessened by God’s hand moving in response to prayer. 

Does that mean I have evidence that prayer works because none of these other 2,344 high schools experienced violence on that day?  No, although the evidence of effectual prayer would be stronger from a scientific point of view than the assertion that Tyson makes based on one tragic result.  But, I can’t prove it scientifically.  I can only take it on faith.

My whole point is that science cannot prove or disprove the efficacy of prayer or the existence of God through the scientific method.  That is outside the realm of science, and Neil deGrasse Tyson does a disservice to both science and religion by discounting the efficacy of prayer in such a flippant manner just to make a personal point in a public forum.

So, if science cannot prove or disprove the effects of prayer, does that mean that our “thoughts and prayers” are of no value?  No.  It doesn’t.  It comes down to a matter of faith.

“[Jesus] said to them, ‘When you pray...’”

(Luke 11:2)

Without a doubt, God answers prayers.  He answers them in ways that may not be readily observable or testable through human perception or scientific testing.  But, God answers prayer.  Not only is this evident in the biblical record, it is evident and experienced in the lives of believers daily.

I have seen prayers answered in miraculous ways.  And, I have seen them answered in ways that some would say were coincidence or happen-stance.  I have prayed for the healing of parishioners in the hospital, not truly believing God would heal them in a physical way and that they would ever leave that hospital bed, and then been surprised when they walked through the door of the church on the next Sunday, praising God for their healing.  And, I have seen God choose to heal people by taking them home to be with Him rather than healing them physically as we had prayed.

I have seen God answer prayers by providing food and resources to people who had lost all hope, leading disparate groups of people to come together and meet their needs, all without coordination or planning or discussion.  I have seen God magnify resources to minister to the homeless and to local communities in ways that cannot be explained.  I have seen God put people together in order to have someone hear the gospel and be led to the atoning cross of Christ.

Prayer works (better to say, “Prayer causes God to intervene”).  Prayer works, but it is a mystery.  Prayer invokes the heart and presence of God and demonstrates our faith and trust in His grace and benevolence.  By offering our thoughts and prayers in the midst of a tragedy, we are affirming that we believe God knows what the best answer is and that we trust Him to work for the best in all situations (Romans 8:28). 

But, we understand that the way God chooses to answer prayer is not going to always be evident or provable by human senses.  It is a matter of faith.  It is a matter of knowing and believing and acting on the promises of Scripture that God hears our prayers,

He knows our heart, and He moves in response to our cries to Him.  His answer may not be what we want.  His answer may be long in coming.  His answer may come in ways that are miraculous, or in ways that can be explained away as coincidence.  The point is God answers our prayers.  Science cannot say otherwise.  Neil deGrasse Tyson cannot say otherwise. The absence of evidence does not prove that prayer works or doesn’t work.  The proof of prayer is in the hearts of believers. 

“Pray without ceasing”

(1 Thessalonians 5:17)

So, please, continue to send your thoughts and prayers in the face of tragedy.  Continue to pray for God’s hand to move -- for Him to intercede -- for Him to work in our lives and in the midst of what we are going through.  Trust that God hears you and will answer you, whether you see evidence of it or not.  Because it is true.  Scripture and experience affirm what science cannot prove.  Prayer works, and we know this through faith.

SERMON: FELLOWSHIP -- DOING LIFE TOGETHER

PURPOSE AND PASSION SERIES #5

18 March 2018

I.  Introduction

      -- turn in Bibles to Acts 2:42-47

Acts 2:42-47 New International Version (NIV)

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

      -- “Pachomius was an Egyptian soldier won to Christ by the kindness of Christians in Thebes -- After his release from the military around A.D. 315, he was baptized.” -- Serious about his new faith and determined to grow, Pachomius became religious hermit and began to live a solitary life of self-denial

      -- as such, his life became one of solitude, silence, and severity -- but, after time, Pachomius began to question the true value of living such an isolated life -- he began asking piercing questions that arose through his spiritual studies:

      -- “How can you learn to love if no one else is around?

      -- How can you learn humility living alone?

      -- How can you learn kindness or gentleness or goodness in isolation?

      -- How can you learn patience unless someone puts yours to the test?”

      -- he came to the conclusion that developing spiritual fruit requires being around other people -- ordinary, ornery people -- "To save souls," he said, "you must bring them together."

      -- “So Pachomius began an ascetic koinonia, where holiness was developed not in isolation but in community -- Instead of each person seeking God in his own way, with the dangers of idleness and eccentricity, Pachomius established a common life based on worship, work, and discipline.”

      -- “Pachomius, while largely forgotten in church history, points out to us that as attractive as solitary sanctification may seem, it is life amid people, busyness, and interruptions that develop many of the qualities God requires.”¹

      -- for the last several weeks, we’ve been going over a series called, “Purpose and Passion” -- renewing our passion for Christ by discovering and living out the purposes for which the church exists

      -- as you remember, this series is based on Rick Warren's book, “The Purpose-Driven Life,” where he identifies five purposes for us as Christians and for churches that he gleaned two passages in the book of Matthew where Jesus is speaking to His disciples

            Mt 22:37-39 -- 1. Love the Lord w/all your heart - worship

                                     2. Love your neighbor as yourself - ministry

            Mt 28:18-20 -- 3. Go & make disciples - evangelism

                                     4. Baptize disciples -fellowship - identification w/body of Christ

                                     5. Teach them to obey - discipleship

      -- so far in this series we have looked at worship, ministry, and last week, we looked at the “Why of Evangelism” -- this week, we’re going to be looking at the next purpose, fellowship -- specifically looking at how the early church modeled the concept of fellowship in a vibrant and living Christian community

      -- fellowship is a word that we all know, but that we usually misuse -- when you hear the word, “fellowship,” in most church settings, you’ll find it is attached to a gathering of people -- usually to a meal, such as a covered dish dinner after church

      -- sometimes, you’ll hear “fellowship” used to talk about people sharing conversation with each other in informal settings

      -- and, while these can be forms of fellowship, they fall far short of what the word truly means and how Christ intended us to experience fellowship in His church

II.  The Loss of Community

      -- when we look at this picture of the early Christian church here in the Book of Acts, it seems very foreign to us -- almost unrecognizable -- because this description of fellowship lived out in a church community is so different from what we find today

      -- where the early church focused on living and doing life together, our modern churches only gather and come together once or twice a week for established services -- we then separate and go our own way -- making it through the rest of the week on our own -- until we come back together on the next Sunday

      -- it has caused us to see church as an event, rather than a community -- as something we do -- someplace we go -- rather than who we are

      -- this lack of identity and community we see in the early church -- this lack of centering our lives on our Christian families -- has caused us to experience dramatic declines that we've never seen before in the history of the church

      -- all major mainline denominations have been losing members over the past two or three decades -- and we are seeing more and more people who identify themselves as "unchurched" Christians or as simply “spiritual,” without any church affiliation

            -- in a survey by the Barna Research Group, they found that 10 million self-proclaimed, born-again Christians in America have not been to a worship service in a church building in the last six months, apart from Christmas or Easter.

-- just as a note, Barna defines "born-again" as those who say they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important today, and believe they will "go to heaven because they have confessed their sins and have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior." -- a definition that probably most of us agree with

-- now, what this means is that for these people, spiritual life has nothing to do with church -- they are seeking relationship with Jesus apart from a church setting

-- for thousands of years, the church has been the center of religious and spiritual life -- but now many people are living out an individualized spirituality outside traditional churches -- trying to find success in a virtual monasticism similar to that tried and found wanting by Pachomius -- even though they are surrounded by the world, they are trying to live out their Christian lives in virtual isolation, with no support from other believers

-- why has this happened? -- I think it’s because we’ve lost our way as churches -- we’ve forgotten our reason for being -- our purpose here on earth -- we’ve lost the sense of community -- the need to do life together that caused the early church to thrive and grow -- and because we’ve lost it, we haven’t been able to demonstrate it or give it to others -- we haven’t been helping others see how they need other believers to truly grow and mature in their faith

III.  Fellowship

      -- so, let’s talk about what fellowship should be

      -- fellowship, as the New Testament defines it, is not coming together for social activities -- it is not coming together to have a covered dish dinner -- it is not the church getting together to take a trip to amusement parks or other such trips

      -- no, fellowship is much more than that -- fellowship is community -- it is a group of believers -- a group of people who have accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior -- who come together on a regular basis to do life together

      -- this means they worship together -- pray together -- learn together -- support and encourage each other in the work of Christ

      -- they are there for each other in the good times and the bad -- they know each other in an intimate way because they are one in Christ and one with each other

            -- this act of coming together as a corporate body of believers defines fellowship -- as James Packer points out, the Greek word for fellowship -- Koinonia -- comes from a root meaning, “common or shared” -- So fellowship means common participation in something, either by giving what you have to the other person or receiving what he or she has -- Giving and receiving is the essence of fellowship

            -- in true biblical fellowship, we gather together to give praise to God -- to offer prayers to God -- to give ourselves to the building up of the church -- and we receive from others knowledge, comfort, support, and encouragement

            -- I heard a message from Dr. Dobson one time that I think speaks to the heart of fellowship -- one day his two young children were arguing and fighting with each other as children do -- Dr. Dobson said he had had enough of their fight so he called them over to him -- he led them to the window and told them to look outside -- he said, "outside of this window is a hard world -- it is a world that will tear you apart if you let it -- the only way you can survive in this world is if you have someone you can trust who will always be there to support you

            -- as brother and sister, you are called to be there to support each other so that when you go out into the world, you won't be destroyed -- you are not called to destroy each other before you get out there"

            -- this story reminds us that there’s a reason we call our church buildings, “sanctuaries” -- they are sanctuaries from the world where believers can come together in love and trust and support and encourage each other in our Christian walks

            -- fellowship has an internal focus -- it is when a church -- speaking of a local body of believers -- gathers together and focuses on worshiping God together and on supporting one another so they can go back out into the world renewed and revived

      -- in Rom 1:11-12, Paul wrote, "I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong-- that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith." -- and in 2 Thes 5:11 he wrote, "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing" -- Paul understood the value of fellowship

            -- as Tim Stafford pointed out in an article in Christianity Today -- "People need people -- God's people need God's people in order to know God -- Life in Christ is a corporate affair -- All God's promises were made to God's people—plural -- All the New Testament epistles address Christians in churches -- The Bible simply does not know of the existence of an individual, isolated Christian"

      -- I want to leave you with one more picture of true Biblical fellowship -- remember the movie Forrest Gump? -- when Forrest was in Vietnam and was out on patrol with his buddy Bubba, they were trying to sleep in the jungle in the middle of a thunderstorm -- all they had to lie in was mud -- Bubba slid over to Forrest and said, "Forrest, put your back up against my back and you lean on me and I'll lean on you and we won't have to sleep in the mud"

      -- fellowship keeps a Christian out of the mud

IV.  Closing

      -- “Author Bunmi Laditan wrote a powerful essay a few years back called "I Miss the Village." -- In it she says that she goes throughout her everyday tasks in her "four-walled house while the world buzzes around me busy and fast." -- She talks of raising her child in her home, but missing something she calls "the village I never had."

      -- she wrote what it would feel like to live in a village -- to be in community with others:

      -- “You'd know me and I'd know you -- I'd know your children, and you'd know mine -- Not just on a surface level -- favorite foods, games and such -- but real, true knowledge of the soul that flickers behind their eyes -- I'd trust them in your arms just as much as I'd trust them in mine -- They'd respect you and heed your "no."

      -- "I miss that village of mothers that I've never had -- The one we traded for homes that...feel miles apart from each other -- The one we traded for locked front doors, blinking devices and afternoons alone on the floor playing one on-one with our little ones.

      -- “What gives me hope is that as I look at you from across the park with your own child in tow playing in her own corner of the sandbox, I can tell from your curious glance and shy smile that you miss it, too.”

      -- reflecting on this essay, Dustin Willis and Brandon Clements commented that even though she wrote this essay with mothers in mind, “she makes a poignant point about the disconnectedness that many people feel deep down -- Throughout history our ways of living have adapted and changed -- and there seems to be a growing realization that maybe some of those changes aren't for the best -- that maybe in our overvalue of isolation and entertainment -- we've actually missed out on something essential and worthwhile -- deep relationships with others.”²

      -- that’s what fellowship is all about -- living out deep relationships with others in Christian community

      -- the Bible makes it clear -- we need each other -- Christianity only works in community -- it can only be realized in relationship -- and it’s experienced through intentional fellowship

      -- living and doing life together is the heart of what it means to be in fellowship with others -- it is what we see in the early church -- it is the example Jesus gave us with the relationship He had with His disciples -- it is something we need

      -- that’s why it’s so important for us to emphasize true Christian fellowship in our church communities -- that’s why it’s so important for us to bring new believers into a church community

      -- there’s a reason why the Great Commission begins with evangelism and has as its next step as fellowship -- baptizing new believers -- bringing them into a vibrant church community where they can learn how to do this Christian life -- this is the heart of what fellowship means

      -- you have so much to offer this world -- this church has what others have been looking for -- now, it’s time for you to go and tell others about it -- it’s time for you to share the good news of Christ -- to lead others into a relationship with Jesus -- and to bring them into fellowship with you here in this place

      -- go and do that this week

      -- let’s pray

     

-------------------------

1 Marshall Shelley, "Developing spiritual fruit requires being around people—ordinary, ornery people," Leadership journal (Spring 1993)

2 Dustin Willis and Brandon Clements, The Simplest Way to Change the World, Moody Publishers (February, 2017), pages 55-56

Reviving a Dying Church

Because of the unexpected passing of their pastor, I am now ministering again at Naylor United Methodist Church (UMC) in Naylor, Georgia, at least temporarily until the Bishop and the District decide what they want to do with this congregation.  Even though I am no longer affiliated with the Methodist Church because of administrative and some doctrinal issues, I volunteered to fill in because this is a church I dearly love -- people I consider some of my best and closest friends.

I knew the church had declined in recent years through death and through membership transfers, but it was hard to truly grasp the magnitude of that decline until I walked through the doors on my first Sunday back in the pulpit.  While Naylor Methodist Church had always been a small congregation, averaging only 8-15 in worship each Sunday, their regular worship attendees had now fallen to just four, with two of the four over 75 years of age and the other couple the children of one the church matriarch.

There are many definitions of a declining or dying church.  Naylor UMC exceeds these definitions.  I left that first Sunday with a heavy heart.  What can be done to save this congregation?  To save this church?

Nothing breaks my heart more than to see a church slowly decay and die -- to see the doors of a church shuttered, never to open any more.  I have seen this time and time again in our area as smaller congregations finally gave up and just passed away. 

When I left the church that morning, I couldn’t help but think about the Christian witness of that church in the Naylor community over the years.  That church was founded in the late 1800s, and for over 125 years, this church has represented and presented Christ to that community.  Those empty pews had once been filled with vibrant worshipers.  That altar and chancel rail had once been filled with lives being transformed and hearts being changed, as repentant sinners came to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior and faithful saints cried out to God for help in their circumstances.  This church had given Bibles out to every home in Naylor.  They had passed out water to strangers on hot days, allowed homeless travelers to spend the night in the sanctuary, and ministered to friend and family and stranger alike.  Closing these doors forever is just not something I am comfortable with.

What can be done to revive a dying church in a rural community of 500 people?  What can be done to make this church a light for Christ again in Naylor, Georgia?  I honestly don’t know.

But, I believe in a God who has the power to do the impossible.  I believe in a God who can transform the hardest heart and heal the sickest sinner.  Who can raise the dead to life, and who can raise churches as sacrifices of praise to Him, as well.

In near-by Valdosta, about 9 miles away from Naylor, there are several large congregations of various denominations, congregations with over 1,000 members on the rolls and multiple services.  One idea I had was to put out a call for Christian missionaries who were willing to leave these large congregations -- who find themselves just a face in a crowd on Sunday mornings -- and ask them to consider coming to Naylor UMC where their gifts and talents could be used to revive a dying congregation, to build a new church from the ashes of the old.  One problem we have at Naylor UMC is that we just don’t have the people to do the ministry of the church, and if we can get more people, then the church can begin to heal and to expand and to grow.  If we can get a committed group of believers to bring their gifts and talents from their large congregations to put them to work in our church, I believe this would help this little church start to grow.  A new influx of energy, gifts, talents, and people can only help this congregation.

Can Naylor UMC be revived?  Does God want this church to be revived?  I don’t know.  But we’re going to try.  And I’ll let you know how it progresses.

If anyone has any ideas or suggestions on what we might do to revive this church, please comment below or send me an email.

Pastor Greg

55 Maxims for Christian Living

[Borrowed from Reddit Christianity]

"Fr. Thomas Hopko was an Orthodox priest and prolific teacher, speaker, and writer. He served as the dean of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary before his retirement."

This is his list of "55 Maxims for Christian Living." "I think these suggestions are useful for everyone. Even if you aren't a Christian or are a Christian for which some of these don't make sense, I think we can all find ways in this list where we could be better."

1. Be always with Christ and trust God in everything.
2. Pray as you can, not as you think you must.
3. Have a keepable rule of prayer done by discipline.
4. Say the Lord's Prayer several times each day.
5. Repeat a short prayer when your mind is not occupied.
6. Make some prostrations when you pray.
7. Eat good foods in moderation and fast on fasting days.
8. Practice silence, inner and outer.
9. Sit in silence 20 to 30 minutes each day.
10. Do acts of mercy in secret.
11. Go to liturgical services regularly.
12. Go to confession and holy communion regularly.
13. Do not engage intrusive thoughts and feelings.
14. Reveal all your thoughts and feelings to a trusted person regularly.
15. Read the scriptures regularly.
16. Read good books, a little at a time.
17. Cultivate communion with the saints.
18. Be an ordinary person, one of the human race.
19. Be polite with everyone, first of all family members.
20. Maintain cleanliness and order in your home.
21. Have a healthy, wholesome hobby.
22. Exercise regularly.
23. Live a day, even a part of a day, at a time.
24. Be totally honest, first of all with yourself.
25. Be faithful in little things.
26. Do your work, then forget it.
27. Do the most difficult and painful things first.
28. Face reality.
29. Be grateful.
30. Be cheerful.
31. Be simple, hidden, quiet and small.
32. Never bring attention to yourself.
33. Listen when people talk to you.
34. Be awake and attentive, fully present where you are.
35. Think and talk about things no more than necessary.
36. Speak simply, clearly, firmly, directly.
37. Flee imagination, fantasy, analysis, figuring things out.
38. Flee carnal, sexual things at their first appearance.
39. Don't complain, grumble, murmur or whine.
40. Don't seek or expect pity or praise.
41. Don't compare yourself with anyone.
42. Don't judge anyone for anything.
43. Don't try to convince anyone of anything.
44. Don't defend or justify yourself.
45. Be defined and bound by God, not people.
46. Accept criticism gracefully and test it carefully.
47. Give advice only when asked or when it is your duty.
48. Do nothing for people that they can and should do for themselves.
49. Have a daily schedule of activities, avoiding whim and caprice.
50. Be merciful with yourself and others.
51. Have no expectations except to be fiercely tempted to your last breath.
52. Focus exclusively on God and light, and never on darkness, temptation and sin.
53. Endure the trial of yourself and your faults serenely, under God's mercy.
54. When you fall, get up immediately and start over.
55. Get help when you need it, without fear or shame.