Three Poisons that Kill your Church Fast

Welcome

Wow…I cannot believe we are already here in the middle of October! This year is going by so quickly it is simply unbelievable. I don’t know if anyone else feels like that but I am not sure what exactly happened to summer.

Release kids to class

Welcome online extended family

Hey, we have been talking about some pretty great things as a part of our series called, I Love My Church. At least I think they are pretty amazing. This morning, I wanna introduce you to someone real quick though..Mary Ann Cotton was a 19th-century English woman who became one of Britain’s most notorious female serial killers. Jack the Ripper was more famous than Mary Ann, but Mary Ann killed more people. Over a span of two decades, she slowly poisoned as many as 21 people, including her own children, several husbands, and others close to her, using arsenic. You see, Mary Ann poisoned her victims multiple times over an extended period. This subtle method made the deaths appear natural and gave her more time to manipulate the situation. I’ll give you some closure on Mary Ann real quick. She was arrested and convicted of murder, Mary Ann was hanged in 1873, bringing an end to her deadly spree.

However, In the same way, there are subtle poisons that can seep into the life of a church. They don’t appear harmful at first—a little gossip here, a small division there, or just a lack of commitment. But over time, these things eat away at the unity, health, and mission of the church. Like a slow poison, they can kill the very heart of our church if we’re not vigilant and working together.

Today, we’re going to look at three poisons that can slowly kill a church: gossip and slander, division and factions, and complacency and lack of commitment. Each of these poisons may seem small at first, but if we allow them to go unchecked, they can, and will, destroy the unity, effectiveness, and mission of LRBC.

But, before we get there, let’s talk about how we love our church through our actions, and how we have been talking about this concept over the last few months. Really, more than loving our church through actions, we are loving God through our actions. Scripture tells us that if we love God we will obey his commandments, right? So how do we do that right here in Leaf River? Well, we’ve been talking about how the early church loved their church and how they were actually starting the church. In Acts 2 we saw how the early church was devoted to certain things like the apostles teachings, and fellowship, and breaking bread together, and being generous with one another. We saw how those concepts are lived out in various ways like missions, and evangelism, and serving as well as what it looks like to worship and praise together. We have really spent the last couple of months looking at the church together and realizing what it looks like to be the church that Apostles were commissioned to be.

So, let’s make sure we can be that church that is represented in Acts, and not the church that is poisoned slowly…Let’s go ahead and take a look at the first poison

1st Poison: Gossip

What is gossip? You know that is a question that has been asked over and over again through time. It’s one of those things that you don’t realize that you are engaging in until you are so deep in it that you suddenly feel sick and you think…uh oh. So let’s talk about what gossip is because it’s actually that important. Can I tell you something though. I don’t remember ever really hearing a teaching on gossip growing up or really as I attended different churches. That doesn’t mean there weren’t any sermons on that necessarily, but that I definitely don’t remember it. However, I can also tell you that I have seen many churches fall to this particular poison. Actually I think this poison leads to the other poisons. You see, gossip destroys trust, spreads division, and hurts the entire body of Christ. But, let’s see what Scripture says here, OK.

Proverbs 16:28 (ESV)

A dishonest man spreads strife,

and a whisperer separates close friends.

What about

Proverbs 17:9 (ESV)

Whoever covers an offense seeks love,

but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.

How about this one

Psalm 106:25 (ESV)

They murmured in their tents,

and did not obey the voice of the Lord.

A whisperer, a person who repeats a matter, a murmurer….these are referring to a person gossiping…There is not a single verse that shows something good that comes from gossiping.

Everyone has lived through being gossiped about in some way…you know that being talked about is not an uplighting thing…so why would we do it at church? I’ll tell you why we do it at church…We think that if we are doing it at church it’s covered under the Holiness Bubble…You know, I’m not gossiping, Im sharing a prayer request of something that I noticed or something that someone else told me about.

Here’s what actually happens though…You see, Gossip is like a wildfire that starts as a small spark of information, but very quickly turns into a giant uncontrollable blaze that no one can stop and it grows and takes over the whole. That giant wildfire not only hurts individuals, but very soon has left a trail of destruction in its path that surpasses this place and hurts those outside of the church as well.

So, what is Gossip, well author Matt Mitchell says this,

“Sinful gossip is bearing bad news behind someone’s back out of a bad heart” —Matt Mitchell

What do we do about it? Well, if you have something against someone, instead of talking behind their back, Matthew 18 tells you to go and talk to them…do that. Eph 4 tells us to only speak words that edify and build each other up. You know…kind of like mom used to day, If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.

Well whats next?

2nd Poison: Division

What kind of poison is division? Well, remember I said that gossip kind of led to these other poisons? Think about it…if you are being gossiped about, you are going to separate from the group of people that are gossiping about you, or your friends, or your ministry, right? You see, division comes when we start to see our “side” as being attacked and we need to defend ourselves.

Division comes from selfish ambitions when you want what you want instead of wanting what the Lord wants, right? Think about the idea of a name change within the church…There are some that are pretty strong for one side or the other…are you strong for that side for some Biblical reason, or for a personal reason? is it about what you want, or about what the Lord wants? Personally, I’m excited to see where the Lord will lead on this deal…

Division comes from unresolved conflicts that people have between each other personally…you know…personal disagreements. I don’t like you, and I don’t like the way you laugh and so I’m gonna get others to not like you to by starting a club of people that don’t like you…Then Im gonna recruit people to be in my club and if they don’t wanna join then I’m gonna use gossip to make sure they know the reasons they should want to join my club, that’s really just an anti-you club.

Division comes from a lack of focus on Christ . . In other words, division comes because you keep thinking about yourself and what you want, or what you need, or what you said, instead of being focused on What Christ has done. When we take our focus off of Christ and turn our focus to ourselves, the result is division.

All of this just hurts the church’s mission as we try to teach the Gospel to all of those around, including to each other. Why does it hurt our witness though? Well, take a look at what Paul said when he wrote to Corinth because they had a big problem with this.

1 Corinthians 1:10–13 (ESV)

I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

See this group of believers were all fighting because they each thought their way was best…they all thought they were doing a good thing…Do you know what they weren’t doing? Listening to their elders…they were simply doing each what they wanted to do and causing divisions among the church. Do you know that I’ve seen just this exact thing happen. It always starts with that gossiping also.

Let me tell you a story. There was a person in our last church who came in and was talented musically and immediately was put into a place of authority before they were really known. Well, I noticed something this person was doing. I noticed this person was undermining everything I was saying or doing. I had been there already for 3 or 4 years, so I wasn’t knew to the church, but this person was coming in and was ignoring everything that was set as policies. Well, when he was speaking with the lead pastor he would deny all of this and he would do everything right, but then behind the lead pastors back he would do and say all kinds of things. Well, I went to the lead pastor and I warned him about what was going on. If it was just effecting me personally, I’ve got thick skin, I can deal with it…however, I saw how it was effecting the church as a whole, and that was not ok. Divisions were being built and “battle lines” were being drawn.

Now, let me just say how disgusting it is that someone would come into a church with the purpose to cause division, but that is exactly what was happening here. Anyway, I went to the lead pastor and let him know what was going on and what needed to be done. I had already told this person to stop, however, they needed to be confronted by the lead pastor. That was the only person that was going to have an impact on this person. Well…the lead pastor said he would take care of it, but sadly never did and 3 years later that individual left the church in a temper tantrum because it had finally gotten to the point where the lead pastor had to address his behavior and that person was offended that he was told to stop being divisive. So, he left loudly and took some people with him.

Why did this person do that? Because this person was focused on themselves, and only themselves the entire time they were there. They were focused on having people “look up to them” as some spiritual leader. They attempted to “help” the pastor by getting to people before they got to the pastor and take the load off…much like King David’s son Absalom did. This person did this because of pride…and that is why all divisions are built…and divisions don’t work.

Ephesians 4:3 (ESV)

eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

This is how to avoid division…you have to actively fight against it! Putting aside your personal preferences and focusing on the Gospel. Listen…if there is someone here this morning that you have a bad or broken relationship with due to gossiping or anything else, fight against division and pursue reconciliation, that’s means of course to stop believing the worst about that other person.

There’s a famous speech by a famous man. Actually it was in 1858 at the Illinois Republican State Convention in Springfield, Illinois. President Abraham Lincoln stood up and said these words.

“A house divided against itself cannot stand.” —Abraham Lincoln

The same is true for a church…a church divided against itself cannot stand.

Hey what’s next?

3rd Poison: Complacency

Ok, this ones gonna hit a little different this morning, so I’m gonna ask you to just listen to the Lord here, ok. I think the first thing we have to do is figure out what complacency is, so…let’s define it. Complacency isa feeling of smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one's achievements. OK, what about this…Complacency says, “It’s good enough” You know, the way this ministry is working, or the way this ministry is going…it’s good enough. It’s good enough to have subpar equipment because it’s cheaper that way…you know…it’s good enough for what we use it for.

Let me just back us up for a moment real quick. What do we use this place and these ministries for? Oh, yeah…to worship the Son of God who died to give you and me life. If we are here to worship God, the creator of all of Earth…is there anything that is actually good enough to show our gratitude to him? No, there isn’t is there…Of course you have to be a good steward with what God has gifted us here at LRBC, but show me in Scripture where God shows us to be cheap with his worship…show me in Scripture where God shows us to have teachers that wait until last minute to put together a class…oh it’s good enough, it’s been working just fine all this time. has it though?

Listen, complacency leads to spiritual stagnation. A lukewarm faith impacts your discipleship, service, outreach, all of which simply allow the church to fade away…

Revelation 3:15–16 (ESV)

“ ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.

Let me say it this way…imagine being on a hill…It’s not a big hill, just a small hill, but your gar isn’t moving. You’ve got it in neutral and it’s sitting there just fine, you’ve got a portable flagpole holding it so no problems at all. However, the wind starts blowing pretty hard now and it just so happens to be just enough wind to catch that pole and away it goes. Well, now that the only thing that was holding your car is gone your car starts to roll backwards…right back where you don’t want it to go…into a EV dealership. Thats what complacency does. Complacency says the flagpole will work. Complacency says, wind’ll never blow here, complacency says, it’s good enough.

A.W. Tozer says it this way

Complacency is the deadly enemy of spiritual progress.

A. W. Tozer

When you first came to Christ you had a passion to tell everyone you knew. You had a passion that you wanted to get involved and make sure that you had a chance to tell people about what God had done in your life…what happened over the years? Complacency is the slowest of all poisons because you never realize its there until some annoying pastor comes around and says, hey everyone…this isn’t good enough. We’re here worshiping Jesus, and I know you all love him with everything you have…but you’re a little complacent lately. That’s why you don’t wanna sign up to serve at trunk or treat. That’s why you don’t wanna jump into the Bible reading plan. That’s why you don’t wanna sign up to help set up for various things, whatever they are…you know it’s gonna mean work and you don’t wanna do it…Listen, I get it! Do you know how much I would rather put on some shorts and snuggle on the couch? But we’re here for a reason, amen? We actually have the most important reason on the planet. More important than getting people registered to vote or getting people signed up for the latest government scam. We’re here to grow in our faith so that we can teach others about their faith so that we can all share our faith with those who have no faith and God can use us to make Heaven crowded!

We don’t want to be lukewarm…we don’t want to be cold…we want to be ON FIRE for the Lord and prepared to share that fire with everyone we come into contact with, amen?

Conclusion

Now, we’ve talked about three poisons here this morning. Three poisons we are going to not only avoid, but we are going to seek to destroy from within LRBC whenever we see these things, right….First we had gossip…then we had division…lastly we had complacency. Now here’s the deal, and this is really important so I really want you all to hear this. The health of LRBC depends directly on each and every member’s commitment to unity, truth, and Gospel passion.

We have been ending every sermon through this series with a commitment on a commitment card. Just because this is the last sermon in this series, doesn’t mean we are going to stop making commitments to the Lord. So this morning go ahead and grab your commitment cards and be prepared to write down your commitment this morning. We are going to have three areas of commitment that I am asking you to join with me this morning.

1. Commitment to Unity:

Think about an area of your life where maybe you’ve participated in or witnessed gossip. Write down one practical way you can change your behavior or actively contribute to building unity right here at LRBC. This could mean seeking reconciliation, refusing to engage in negative talk, or intentionally encouraging others.

Write that down on your card, and tell someone you trust today—ask them to help hold you accountable as you commit to fostering unity in the church.

2. Commitment to Reconciliation:

Think about a relationship or conflict in your life that needs healing. It could be a misunderstanding, disagreement, or unresolved tension. Write down your commitment to reconcile with that person and commit to praying daily for reconciliation this week. Pray for an opportunity to reach out and make things right.

Commit to taking the first step in reconciliation—whether through a conversation, apology, or extending forgiveness.

3. Commitment to Faithful Service:

Consider where you’ve become complacent in your walk with Christ or service to the church. Maybe it’s been a lack of involvement, discipleship, or growth. Write down one specific way you will recommit to being fully engaged—whether through serving, attending regularly, or getting involved in a new ministry.

Share this commitment with someone else and ask them to pray for you and check in with you as you move forward.

Let’s pray and then we will have the ushers gather your commitment cards during our final song as you reflect on your commitment to the Lord this morning.

Prayer: “Lord, we acknowledge that we are all part of this body and that we need Your grace to persevere in unity and holiness. Help us to guard our tongues, to seek unity, and to reject complacency. Empower us by Your Spirit to be a church that reflects Your love and truth. We dedicate these commitments to You, asking for Your strength to uphold them.”