Action

An Introduction

My name is Crystal Laidacker. I worship and serve with the Quest Church in Royse City, TX. I attended Sabine Creek Tres Dias #15 where I sat at the table of Rachel. This week I am privileged to sit with the ladies at the table of _____. I am here to talk about ACTION.

Many years ago I had the opportunity to fulfill my childhood dreams of becoming an actress when the company I worked for decided to make a series of TV commercials. And, they wanted me to play a role in them. I reviewed the first script and knew it was the perfect role for me. There was no way I could mess this up as my part had no speaking! I didn’t have to memorize any lines. I just had to dress up, put on my make-up, walk on the set, and wait for the director to say, “Action!” Our store manager was the star of the commercial as she showed a “customer” the product. All I did was walk over, stop between the two of them, and give an approving nod to each of them. That was the easiest “sale” I ever made! If you’ve ever worked in sales, you know there’s a great deal more effort involved in showing a product and convincing the customer they can’t live without it. Somewhere along the way many churches have inadvertently given Christians the wrong idea. They seem to think that a call to, “Action,” is a command to become a Jesus salesman. We love God. We love Jesus. We know we can’t live without him, but make no mistake, Jesus is not a product. And, our family and friends are not customers. They are loved ones who need Jesus just as desperately as we do. So, why does it seem so challenging to take action and share Jesus with them? What we need is a fresh look at the call to, “Action!”

DEFINITION: Christian Action is the power of the love of God and the love of neighbor, which moves us to the spreading of God's kingdom.

Christian Action is the natural result of the life of the believer who has experienced grace and wants others to have that same experience. Jesus said in Matthew 22: 37 and 39, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind....” And, “Love your neighbor as yourself." The Message translation says it this way, “Jesus said, ‘“Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.” And, “Love others as well as you love yourself.’”” The song summed it up perfectly, “Love God Love People!”

When we love God and direct our whole life to God in Piety, and Study God’s Word diligently, our lives will begin to pour out through Action. That is the third leg of our stool. (Screw in Action leg.)

Piety, Study, and Action are connected together in living the Christian Life. Without Piety - living a righteous life pursuing holiness - our actions will be forced and will come across as a phony sales pitch. Without Study - the knowledge of God’s word - our actions will lack focus. Without action - the power of the love of God and the love of neighbor moving us to spread God’s kingdom - our Piety and Study can lead us to becoming prideful, self-serving, and very little fruit to show for it. We need all three elements to live the whole Christian Life. James asked the question, “What good is it…if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? “ (2:14, NIV). He would answer that question in James 2:17, when he said, “…faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by ACTION, is dead” (NIV, emphasis mine). We must have all three legs to support the stool and we must have Piety with Study with Action to live out a full Christian Life.

The Need for Action

Why do we need to take Action? Action is an outgrowth of the Christian Life. Life in Grace is supported and developed by Christian Action. It is in the midst of action we grow in our understanding of Christ. Paul tells us in Philippians 2, “...in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others” (vs. 3-4). Paul goes on to detail exactly how Jesus jumped into action in the verses that follow. In verse seven he points out that Jesus, “…made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness” (vs. 7). Becoming a servant is action. Through following his example we come to know Christ more. Jesus is revealed to us in many ways and one of those ways is through our Christian brothers and sisters and through life’s trials and joys, struggles and victories.

Not only do we come to know Jesus better, we are also better able to make him known to others. Jesus loves us and we can’t keep that to ourselves. Later in that same chapter in Philippians we read that, “…it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (vs. 13). When we do that as, “blameless and pure children of God,” Paul says we, “…will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life” (vs. 14-16). Have you ever met someone who you instantly knew was a believer in Jesus because they just seemed to glow with the light of Jesus? They are shining like stars! Ladies, there’s nothing more attractive than someone with a Jesus glow in action.

The Goal of Action

There are two goals in taking action. First, we minister and serve as a way to share Christ through deeds of love and mercy. Christ demonstrated this repeatedly in various ways including feeding the 5,000 (Matthew 14:13-21), healing lepers (Mark 1:40-45; Luke 17:11-19), and comforting Mary and Martha in their grief (John 11:1-35). He also ministered by celebrating marriage at the wedding of Cana (John 2:1-11). And, ultimately, he humbly served all of us by dying on the cross (Philippians 2:8). He is the ultimate example of a servant-leader as best seen when he washed the disciples’ feet (John 13:1-17).

The second goal is evangelism. I often think the church has complicated evangelism. Let’s think back to what Jesus said in Matthew 22:38, “...’Love your neighbor as yourself.’” This begs the question Luke records, “…who is my neighbor” (10:29)? Instead of giving a straightforward answer, Jesus goes on to tell one of my favorite parables about the Good Samaritan who helps a stranger in need on the side of the road after that stranger has been assaulted and robbed. AND, two religious leaders had already passed the victim by without helping. At the conclusion of the story Jesus turns the questions back to the pompous group, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers” (Luke 10:36)? The answer, and Jesus’ reply give us a clue that we are to treat everyone, family, friends, the person next door, and even strangers as a neighbor. We can do that by simply being a friend. Jesus called us his friend when he said, “…I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15). He called us that before any of us were born. We were still strangers at that point! Edgar Guest said in his poem entitled, “Faith,” “That strangers are friends that we some day may meet” (1915). Since he penned those words, many writers have borrowed that idea, the most famous being Will Rogers, who made the line famous when he said, “Strangers are just friends I haven’t met yet” (Hansen et al, 165). So, how do we take action to move from strangers to friends?

First, we make a friend. Look for opportunities to make a friend and be open to building new relationships.

Second, be a friend. Once you become friends with someone, you need to develop that relationship that responds to your new friend when they are in need. Be there for them to celebrate the joys and walk through the trials of life.

Third, bring your friend to Christ. As Christians who love others, we naturally want to introduce them to our best friend, Jesus. So, make a friend, be a friend, and bring your friend to Christ.

Characteristics of Action

In order for our action to be effective, it needs to have several characteristics. First, it must be authentic and God-inspired. Jesus set the pattern for us when he made friends with his disciples. I have a couple of very talented nephews who lead worship at their churches. I can brag on both of them, but for this example I want to share with you how my nephew, Cole, turned his ministry of worship leading into an intentional action of making a friend, being a friend, and bringing a friend to Christ. He and his buddy started going to the local diner after Worship practice every Thursday night. They befriended a waitress there, we’ll call her Sally, and they recognized an opportunity to reach out to Sally. They were just being themselves, two hungry guys hanging out at the diner, but they were inspired by God to make the most of this new friendship with Sally. They made a plan that was balanced with the environment in which this new friendship began. So, they began asking to be seated in Sally’s section every Thursday evening. With each passing week they learned more about Sally and she shared some of her struggles as a single Mom trying to survive on a waitress’ salary. Cole and his friend responded to Sally with brotherly love, care, and respect. When we treat others with love, care, and respect, they have the opportunity to respond without feeling pressured. Cole and his friend persevered in showing up every Thursday until one day, Sally’s curiosity about what made these guys different caused her to begin asking questions. After months of hanging out at the diner, the right opportunity presented itself and they invited Sally to come meet their best friend, Jesus, and come worship with them at church. Sally and her daughter not only come to church now, they even sit on the front row with a whole group of new friends!

Forms of Action

Action may take a different form for you. How your plan of action takes form may develop by moving from the individual level, to an informal group, and then in an organized body. Individually, we are the friend who moves in their environment to make a friend. Our greatest impact is often at the individual level. We may invite our new friend to meet other friends in an informal group setting. This gives them a chance to meet other like-minded Christians for them to form additional bonds. And, together our group can be a friend by watching for those opportunities to introduce them to Christ. In an organized body, specifically, the body of Christ, we as the church can help that friend make the commitment to become a follower of Christ.

Where your plan of action takes place then is not only in the church, but also in the world. In the church there are many opportunities to take action. As Paul says in Galatians 6:10, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” Our actions, our service, to the body of Christ impacts believers and non-believers. Many years ago our church family had a visitor come through our doors who had one request. She was extremely ill and in need of a liver transplant. She was alone and didn’t know where to turn, so she came to the closest church. Immediately our church family befriended her. Some of the men started mowing her lawn. And, some of the women started going to doctor’s visits with her. Soon we discovered the hospital was requiring a large financial down payment in order to move her up on the transplant list. Our church family jumped in and hosted a series of fundraisers and many of her non-believing family members were amazed at all the church was doing for her. The impact of that action plan had a personal affect on her and it impacted her entire family.

Your plan of action make take place beyond the church walls. It may be somewhere else around your community or around the globe. For several years now our church has hosted a meal packing event to fill boxes with meals to feed families in impoverished nations. Usually volunteers spend a couple of hours or a half day helping to fill bags with beans or rice with seasoning (and it includes critical vitamins and nutrients). One year I had the opportunity to go to Haiti and the missionary had just received several of those boxes. I was blessed with the rare opportunity of helping distribute those bags of beans and rice. Some of the women cried with gratitude as they received the pre-packaged meals. That brought tears to my eyes. They didn’t just receive food, they also received the bread of life as they heard Bible lessons that day. I was privileged to see the impact those meals made, but without the many people back home in the church who volunteered to help pack meals for the friends they haven’t yet met, the opportunity to be a friend, and share the life-giving love of Jesus by passing out life-giving food may not have presented itself. We may not have had the chance to bring our Haitian friends to Jesus and plug them in to the local church if it wasn’t for many people living out their faith and taking action.

Conclusion

In conclusion, if others had never taken action, you may not have become a believer. We came to know Jesus because somebody - maybe several somebodies - took action to make YOU a friend, be YOUR friend, and bring YOU to Christ. Action is a natural result of knowing Christ, an outgrowth inspired by Piety, and dwelling with Christ, as directed by Bible Study. Piety and Bible Study will lead to our faith being lived out vibrantly through Action.

So, when the director says, “Action,” remember to keep it simple. Love God. Love people. Make a friend, be a friend, and bring your friend to Christ.

DeColores!

Gokey, Danny. “Love God Love People.” Haven’t Seen It Yet. Capitol Christian Music Group, 2019.

Guest, Edgar A. “Faith.” The Boston Globe, Detroit Free Press, August 19, 1915.

Hansen, Mark Victor, Barbara Nichols, and Patty Hansen. Out of the Blue: Delight Comes Into Our Lives, HarperCollins, 1996.

The New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011. Print.

Peterson, Eugene H. The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2005. Print.