Inside These Walls - An Introduction

We recently did a series entitled “Outside These Walls” that focused on who Christians are supposed to be when they leave the gathering of the church & go outside the walls & engage the world that we live in.

We are going to take a nearly 180° look and explore the wonderful ecosystem of God’s Kingdom that exists “Inside These Walls”

An Analog:

Matthew 4:19 NKJV

Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Exploring the picture of fishing will help us to understand some of the significant differences between what is meant to happen Inside These Walls vs. Outside These Walls.

Outside These Walls is very much like the Lake, The Sea, The Ocean, or the River that we are fishing in.

Inside These Walls is like the boat that we are in with all of the functions, roles, activities, necessary maintenance, authority structures, and personal interactions that it takes to be successful in fishing.

The Fishing Grounds:

Matthew 28:18–20 NKJV

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Outside These Walls is where we:

Penetrate into a totally different environment with the goal of bringing something out of it

Fishing has never been about feeding the fish, it has been about presenting an irresistible offer worthy of accepting

The way you hook the bait

The Type of bait you use

The way you present & move the bait all make a difference with your rate of success in the goal of catching the prize

Find the prize we are looking for - (it’s not IN the boat)

Find fulfillment in our purpose

- Is a fisherman really a fisherman without actually fishing?

The Catch:

When a fish is caught, it goes through a massive transition from its aquatic life to being in the boat.

Mark 2:15–17 MSG

Later Jesus and his disciples were at home having supper with a collection of disreputable guests. Unlikely as it seems, more than a few of them had become followers. The religion scholars and Pharisees saw him keeping this kind of company and lit into his disciples: “What kind of example is this, acting cozy with the riffraff?” Jesus, overhearing, shot back, “Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? I’m here inviting the sin-sick, not the spiritually-fit.”

After a fish is caught it can get cleaned - not before

This is where a lot of people get it a little twisted:

A) The fish say, “Oh no, I can’t get into the boat, I’m not clean yet. I need to get cleaned up first and then I’ll fit in with the rest of the fish in the boat.”

Mark 2:17 NKJV

When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

B) The Fishermen get upset that the fish are not already cleaned up and cleaned out when they catch them & wonder why they are stinky, slimy, & full of poop & yuck.

Discipleship is the process of the fish being cleaned & then being transformed into fishermen.

If you are one of the fish that Jesus wants to catch, we welcome you into this boat no matter what you might look like or have inside. Jesus is more than enough to change everything & heal every broken thing.

The Boat:

1 Corinthians 12:18–21 NKJV

But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”

1 Peter 2:5 NKJV

you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

A functioning fishing vessel is much more than just the floating container, it is the purpose, the equipment, & especially the team that makes it successful.

According to the peasants in Monty Python, even very small rocks can float on water.

Inside These Walls is where we participate in the things that:

Make the community of fishermen successful in their purpose

Keep the community healthy (food, health, morale, etc)

Create community and maintain relationship

Maintain the vessel to be operable & even enjoyable to be on

Train others & allow us to learn from others about how to be more effective in fulfilling purpose

Help us learn to work as a team for a unified purpose

Physically move us to the locations with the greatest density of the targeted group (you won’t catch Alaskan King Crab in Shallow or Tropical Seas)

Cause us to grow in roles we have never tried before - personal & professional development

Just One Thing:

Jesus’ Church is the perfect vessel to change our lives & to win the world. Get on board and hanapa’a.

Discussion Questions:

What’s the best / worst practical joke that you’ve played on someone or that was played on you?

What is something that you learned/got from this sermon that blessed you? Share a little bit.

Please read 1 Corinthians 12:18-21 and share what this passage means to you and how you see it practically applying to your life.

How do you personally feel about Jesus’ church being a hospital? How can that understanding help you to respond to church and the people who come to church?