A Call to MOVE

Introduction

Good morning church! It is good to be back with you. I want to thank Pastor Sean for allowing me to have that break by preaching for the past couple of weeks. I got to sit and be fed last week and that was one heck of a good message that really spoke to me.

To consider the power of our Lord Jesus Christ in creation and the absolute power of his love for us in the redemption plan is something very weighty and beautiful to ponder indeed. So thank you Sean.

Well, I told you when I returned to the pulpit this morning that I would continue to talk about discipleship and so that is what we are going to do this morning. In fact, as time goes on, I am becoming more and more convinced that this series I am calling Disciple, may be the last series I ever preach. Not because I think I am going to die soon, or be replaced soon or anything like that. But because I don’t think there is anything else the church ought to be focused on. I believe that out of discipleship, comes all the other things that matter.

What I want to do this morning is make a bit of a transition away from talking about the practices and move to something a bit weightier If I dare say that, something a bit more difficult perhaps, but I believe absolutely vital and necessary for any disciple of Jesus Christ. And really, these are practices as well but of a more serious nature because they are based on the actual commands of Jesus to His apprentices.

The title of the message this morning is “A Call to Move”.

Move where? Somewhere other than where you currently are in your spiritual journey. My intention this morning is to call you to do whatever it takes to proceed in your apprenticeship to Jesus.

Now I know what you are thinking. You are thinking “Well, yeah Hutch, that is what you have been doing for the past 5 months! We get it!

Okay. Then I have this question for you? Since April 28th, which is when I preached the very first sermon in this series, where are you now in your apprenticeship journey, compared to where you were then? Has there been any progress? Are you doing anything differently than you were 5 months ago? Have you seriously considered the importance of discipleship in your own life and in the life of your church family? Have you begun and made a habit of ANY of the practices we have talked about? Has your spiritual needle moved at all in the past 5 months?

You are the only one who can truly answer those questions.

Now, I know that I am by no means the best preacher you have ever listened to. But even if I was the best preacher that ever lived, nothing I say will matter to your life until you make some decisions. Until you pull the trigger. Until you make a move. All the thoughts I have put forward, all the suggestions for how you can begin to actually be a disciple of Jesus Christ, all the practices we have talked about are easy moves you could have made, and still CAN make, compared to what we are going to get into next.

Before we jump in, I want to say a couple of things by way of reminder. These are things we have talked about before but I think it will help us keep things in perspective.

The first thing is this. To be a disciple does not mean that you are advanced in your spiritual formation.

Hopefully BEING a disciple of Jesus leads you there, but the truth is, anyone can be a disciple of Jesus. You can be a disciple and be very green or “wet behind the ears” as they say, in terms of where you are in your journey. What is important is that you start the journey. That you make the moves to insure that your spiritual life continues toward maturity.

The second thing that we have talked about in this series and is very relevant to what I want to get into this morning, is that being a disciple of Jesus Christ means that we do what Jesus did.

Now when we hear that, many of us go straight to all the miracles and healings. But that is not what I am referring to, at least not for the purpose of this morning’s message. Another way we have said this, and what is more helpful to me, is to think about what Jesus would do if He were in my shoes. What would He do if He were here dealing with my circumstances.

Now the place we need to go to discover what he might do is to look into His commands to us and some of the parables He told to illustrate those teachings. But the first thing I want to do is to read a couple of passages that we will use to sort of set a a benchmark for us to work from. Both of these passages paint a picture for us of how the church is viewed from the perspective of scripture. The first comes from 1 Timothy where the apostle Paul explains to Timothy why he is writing what he has written. He writes...

1Ti 3:15 NLT - 15 so that if I am delayed, you will know how people must conduct themselves in the household of God. This is the church

(Now, that word there for church is the Greek word ekklēsia ek-klay-see'-ah, which carries the idea of a called out assembly. people who are separated from the bigger whole) Paul says the church is a group of called out people, in this case called out by a living God, and look what Paul says this group of people are to represent or set the standard for if you will....

This is the church of the Living God, (Here it is, this is what Jesus says the church HE established should be)which is the pillar and foundation of (What?)the truth.

I don’t know if you have noticed, but in my entire life, I have never seen the commodity of truth be so scarce and hard to come by as it is today.

And what Paul is telling Timothy here is that in the world. In the broken and fallen world, where we currently see so much pain and fear and confusion, it is the church, the Ekklesia, that the world should be able to turn to for the truth.

Is that what we see happening in the world today? Not so much. Many people would describe the church as a place of hypocrites and mean judgmental people who know nothing about the truth. Why is that? I am gonna offer an answer to that question in a minute. First, let’s look at another passage of God’s Word. This one is found in Ephesians chapter 5. Here Pul is instructing men how they should behave towards their wives and He uses Christ’s love for the church as an example. But what I want you to notice is Paul’s description of why Christ loves the church and what His expectations for the church are. Remember, the church is you and me sitting in here this morning.

Eph 5:25-27 NLT - 25 …just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her WHY? 26 to make her holy and clean, (how?)washed by the cleansing of God's word. 27 He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.

Is the church you are sitting in today Holy and without fault?

Is that how you see the church gathered here this morning. A people who are holy and clean, without spot or wrinkle. A people who are holy and without fault. Wives, is that how you see your husbands. Husbands, is that how you see your wives. Children, is that how you see your parents? Holy and without fault. Parents? Is that how you see your children?

Better yet. Stop looking at those around you and look in the mirror. Is that how you see yourself? Holy and without fault.

Now, one could make a sound Biblical case for the fact that we are all holy and blameless IN Jesus Christ. Not because of anything we did but because of what He did for us.

But what about practically speaking? In the day to day, what kind of people are we? When we begin to look at the things that Jesus told us to do. The way He said we are to be with one another. When we look at those things, how are we doing church? And we have to ask ourselves, “Am I part of the reason the world looks at the church with disdain?”

Well first, before I start to point out fault with the church, I want you to know that I love the local church. Whenever I hear someone begin to question the need or necessity of the church I bristle. Because Jesus Himself established the church and gave Himself completely for the church. And not JUST the church, but for anyone who would desire to become part of the church. But are we the kind of people that would compel someone outside the church to want to be part of the church?

And as far as I can tell, the Father is not going to give us an alternative to the church. If the church is not what Jesus intended, that is, apprentices of Him making apprentices of His, then I am pretty confident that the problem lies with us.

So what can be done?

Well, anytime things are not as they should be, the first task is to identify the problem. And from my perspective the church in America today, well let me just make it personal, this church, has two problems.

The first problem is, we are distracted. We suffer from Martha syndrome. We are too busy with things that pale in comparison to the things that really matter, the things that Jesus has told us should matter.

Christian leader Leith Anderson said the following and THIS is exactly what I am getting at.

While the new testament speaks often about churches it is surprisingly silent about many matters that we associate with church structure and life.

There is no mention of architecture, of pulpits, lengths of typical sermons [or sermons] (it doesn't say anything about sermons. it talks about preaching), nothing about rules for having a Sunday school. Little is said about style of music, order of worship or times of church gatherings.

There were no bibles, no denominations, no camps, no pastors conferences, or board meeting minutes. None of that.

Now as I read that list, much of it fell pretty close to home didn’t it? Now please don’t get me wrong. I am not suggesting we should stop doing all of those things....well, maybe some of them I am. But we should never engage in things like that, at the expense of what Jesus actually told us the church should be doing. Being His apprentices and helping others to be apprentices.

Now what I mean by saying that one of our problems is we're dealing with distraction is precisely what Dr. Anderson (I think he is a doctor?) is pointing out here. What we wind up paying attention to is stuff that has nothing to do with what we probably, in a sober moment, would say we're really here for. And frankly, this is one reason why a lot of pastors and others involved in ministry wind up heading for the exit.

Some research has shown that within 5 years, the average graduate in pastoral ministry was out of the pastorate within 5 years, on the average. I saw this happen over and over again during the years I served in Canadian churches. Young guys, with young families, coming out of the struggle of seminary, right into a pastoral role and within a few years they were gone. Not because they were not capable, but because they were distracted, Not only them but the people they were trying to shepherd were also distracted with to many things that did not matter.

Folks, I am more and more convinced that until we learn to do what Jesus told us to do, our spiritual transformation will not get very far. In fact, I submit to you this morning that the anemic state of the church today is primarily because His followers are not doing what he told us to do.

So distraction is one problem we have. The other problem we have is TRADITION.

We wind up devoting our efforts to sustaining a tradition. We don’t make disciples, we make Baptists. Or we make “Christians”.

Now I am simply pointing these two things out for you to consider. To meditate on for a spell. Because these two things stand in the way of doing what we say we want this church to be about. Disciples engaging in the disciple making process. Where when we come togethe, we come with the purpose of gathering apprentices of Jesus, in fellowship with the FATHER, the SON and the HOLY SPIRIT and teaching them to do everything Jesus said.

But because of the twp problems I mentioned, distraction and tradition, we get caught up in what Dallas Willard calls the “Vessel trap”. This is where we wind up spending all our time, energy and resources on taking care of the vessel and no time focused on the treasure. What does that mean?

Well, it is not a bad thing to be a Baptist, or a Christian. Not a bad thing to have someone devoting their time to raising enough money to keep the building functional. It is good to look after the vessel.

The problem comes when the vessel begins to replace the treasure and the treasure is left begging, or isn’t really considered much at all. The result of that is you end up building a membership of people who are not formed in the likeness of Christ. And that’s where we get the multitudes of mean Christians who are ready to hurt you and spend a significant amount of their time hurting other Christians.

The fix for that is what we have been talking about. Entering into an apprenticeship relation with Jesus Christ, where we Spend Time with Jesus, Become like Jesus, and do what He would do if He were in our shoes.

So with the time we have left this morning I want to Issue a call to you to MOVE. Move in such a way that you are not sitting here a year from now, a month from now, a week from now in the same spiritual place your are right now.

We have already given you MANY practical things you can do to MOVE. I can tell you that your elder team has been working very hard to insure that WE move. That we do not stagnate in our OWN spiritual growth because we know that we cannot oversee and protect this church if we ourselves are not confident in where we are and where we want to go.

I can assure you that while we have been bringing this challenge to you, your elder team has been working hard to challenge ourselves in like manner. We are not asking you to do anything we ourselves are not also willing to do.

Yesterday morning, your elders gathered here at 6AM and did a lot of hard and honest work towards personally identifying where we are strong and where we are weak and began to develop a plan moving forward that will insure we remain aware of those things and hold each other accountable to being apprentices ourselves.

I don’t tell you that to make us look good. I tell you that so you know we are in this WITH you.

A little while ago you got to share in some of the first moves we are making in establishing a vital aspect of a healthy church in the formation of Deacon teams. There will be a lot more of that coming.

Now, with the time we have left, which isn’t much, let’s look into a couple of things that Jesus told us to do.

Now some would argue that people cannot be taught to do the things Jesus said we should do. How do you teach people to, for example, bless those who curse you? Is that easily done? Is that easily taught. Well it all comes down to obedience and the grace of God.

Some would argue that obedience ignores grace. Others would say that grace takes away the need for obedience. Both are wrong. Grace and obedience are not opposed to one another. In fact, you cannot have one without the other.

We need the grace of God at work in our lives to even begin to be obedient to the things He has called us to. And AS we are obedient, we experience more and more and more of His grace.

So let’s remember what we saw a few minutes ago.

We saw in 1 Tim 3:15 that God expects the church to be..

the pillar and foundation of the truth.

Not A pillar and foundation but THE pillar and foundation.

The only way I know that will happen is if the people of God Strive to be who He wants us to be. Not everyone else....us.

Because, by way of reminder, one day, this world and it’s present systems will pas away. Anyone who id thinking at all, even those who reject the message of jesus Christ, if they are honest, will have to admit that the way this world is going is not sustainable.

It will need to be replaced. And we are told in scripture that it WILL be replaced by a different kingdom that requires a different way of living.

Obedience to our King is what prepares us to live and move in THAT Kingdom.

So let’s look. We will start with an easy one. Turn to John 13. Jesus said to His apprentices at that time in v 34...

Jhn 13:34-35 NLT - 34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."

There you go. Easy. Right? Well compared to the next one we are going to look at this is easy!

What does it mean to love one another the way jesus loved us. Well, what are some things that come to mind when you think of the life of Jesus and His interaction with those around Him. How did Jesus love? Jesus love for us was...

Self-denying

Agape doesn’t say, “Me first,” or “I know my rights.” When you were saved, you were crucified with Christ. You’re not your own; you’re bought with a price, and He has commanded you to love. When we stop thinking about our rights and seek to bless others, our world will change.

Jesus love was ...

Peaceful / Serene

Agape is not easily provoked. If you want to know what you’re full of, just see what spills out when you’re jostled. If you quickly explode, the love of Jesus is missing within.

Jesus love was ...

Sacrificial

There’s no forgiveness without someone paying a price. If you owe me $10 and I forgive it, it costs me $10, doesn’t it? Bury past hurts in the grave of God’s forgetfulness. It costs to forgive.

Jesus love was ...

Sympathetic

Agape love doesn’t rejoice when someone falls. It weeps. When you hear of someone’s hurt or failure, you’re not angry, you are heartbroken.

Jesus love involved ...

Suffering

Agape is sacrificial. It’s the love that, choosing to love, also chooses to suffer. When you love someone, you risk that they may hurt and disappoint you. You cannot love without suffering. It “Love bears all things.”

How are you doing so far? Examine your heart and ask: “Is this true in of me?” Am I indeed loving others the way Jesu loved me?

The New English Bible puts it this way: “There is nothing love cannot face. There is no limit to its faith.” There’s a burden to bear when you love like Jesus loves. His agape love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

This is the kind of love our world needs. My friend, that’s the fruit of the Spirit. it’s not about butterflies and squishy feeling. it is ALL about practically treating others with dignity and respect, despite what you think that may deserve.

Anybody think that you have work to do on your list? If so, then talk to the Lord about it. And practice loving others as Jesus would have you do. What was the command? Love like I love.

Let’s look at one more.

Mat 5:44-45 NLT - 44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.

Luke 6:28 NLT - 28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.

So the first thing we see is that Jesus says love your neighbor and by neighbor He included your enemies, perceived or otherwise and even people who curse you, who are openly coming at you. jesus says love them? How? Again, the same way He lived.

Jesus is about redefining our humanity. He is calling us to be a people HE is working on. And by these kinds of commands, it is clear that jesus is not just interested in modifying our behavior, He wants to get the the very core of who we are, our heart.

Clearly, loving someone who mistreats us and even openly curses us is clearly not something you or i can do simply by mustering up some will power and changing the way we behave. This goes to a much deeper place in each of us.

The highest value in the Kingdom of God is loving and healthy relationships with other people. But how can we possibly do this? Well, I assure you it cannot be done apart form the grace of God operating in out lives. Remember what i said a while ago. You cannot have obedience without grace. And certainly that is true when it comes to this particular command of Jesus.

One of the best pieces of advice I ever received on this matter was this. Whenever you encounter or think of a person who you have less than loving feelings about, rather that start dwelling on you you can seek revenge or somehow even the playing filed, which usually involves knocking them down, Instead, lift them up. Pray that God would do good in their life. That God would bless them in such a way that they would be dumbfounded.

This is exactly the instruction we have from Jesus in the Luke 6:28.

Luke 6:28 NLT - 28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.

A funny thing happens when you begin to pray for the good of an enemy. You begin to feel less antagonistic toward them. Your heart softens a little bit and sometimes you even get to gain a little insight as to the real reason they are opposed to you or you to them.

For sure this seems like a very counterintuitive thing to do. But the results are palpable and real in terms of the heart adjustment that takes place when you do.

In the Matthew passage...Jesus indicates that when we love our enemies, we resemble our Heavenly Father, who is perfect and merciful.

The word perfect, in the original Greek, means complete. It comes from a central word, meaning to set out for a definite point or goal. When Jesus said to love your enemy, he’s asking us to make it our goal to love as our Heavenly Father loves. Let’s look at it again....

Mat 5:44-45 NLT - 44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.

Here we see God treats everyone with equity and that is what Christ is calling us to do.

We are living in a time and a culture, especially in the current political climate, that makes it easy to harbor feelings of resentment toward others or toward a specific group of people. This is especially true regarding social media and how we use it.

But we need to watch out for feelings of resentment because resentment can turn into hatred if we’re not careful.

Since we are so divided, it can seem impossible to love your enemies. But the truth is, hating someone because they are different than you are is in fact the easy way out. It is a lot easier than trying to take the time to learn more about them and understand why they feel or believe the way they do. To become more like Christ, we need to harness feelings of love and acceptance.

There were a lot of times where we see Jesus betrayed and persecuted, and time and again, he chose forgiveness and understanding. Even when the Romans nailed him to the cross, Jesus said in Luke 23:34, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”

So, loving your enemies seems difficult on the surface, but there are a lot of ways to incorporate loving our neighbors into our lives.

Let me give you a couple and we will be done.

1. Show genuine respect

Show your enemies the genuine respect that every human being deserves. Learn to think of them with compassion and not contempt.

This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t seek justice if someone does you or your loved ones harm. It simply means you can’t let bitterness and hatred grow in your heart. Responding to evil with more evil does not solve the problem. And Jesus knew this when he said, “Forgive them, Father.”

When we show respect to our enemies, we allow ourselves to become more like the Holy Spirit. This separates us from those who have evil and hatred in their hearts.

This also means we don’t necessarily have to stay in contact with people who have wronged us. The act of respect can often be expressed by simply saying, “Peace be with you,” and walking away.

Another thing I find helpful is to...

2. Put yourself in their shoes

Putting yourself in your enemy's shoes is one of the most effective ways to show love for them. This is a worthwhile act of empathy that anyone can do in any situation.

First, try, really try to understand their side and try hard to understand where they're coming from. Is there an underlying reason for their attitude and actions? If possible, take a look at their history and try to understand how they ended up the way they did.

You may even be surprised at what you find out. A simple way to look at it is everybody’s got something. Whether it’s a loss of a job, a loved one, self-esteem, or their own health, there are plenty of reasons people do what they do.

The next step is to accept where they are in their life. God has a different plan for everybody, and sometimes that means your path in life doesn’t match with someone else’s. The lessons for their life might not be the same as yours, and that’s okay. ‍

Next...

3. Find common ground

There's something we have in common with everybody if we look close enough. You might have similar interests or similar experiences while growing up. You could also have similar jobs, common friends or family members, or similar personality traits.

One surefire way to find common ground is by acknowledging your differences. When you acknowledge that there are differences between you, you can open the door to commonalities.

Talk about small things, like hobbies, or films you enjoy — even food you like to eat.

If you come across a topic that you disagree on, try your best to listen without judgment. Surely you’d want the person to do the same when you voice your opinion.

‍ Next. Don’t forget that...

4. Forgiveness is always an option

Can you really, truly forgive an enemy for what they’ve done in your heart?

Jesus makes it clear over and over in the Bible that we must model our forgiveness of others on God's forgiveness of our sins.

In Matthew 6:14-15, the Bible says, "If you forgive others the wrongs they've done to you, your Father in heaven will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you've done."

Like I said before. Forgiveness doesn’t mean you have to invite the person to dine at your table, though that is def an option you should consider. It simply means moving on from the past. What happened in the past cannot be changed. Either you can hate what happened in the past and not change a thing, or you can accept it and move forward.

‍Here is another...

5. Be the one to reach out to them

Address them directly. Say nice things to them, have an open discussion about what’s happened or your feelings — give them a hug, do something nice for them, smile, make a joke. These are just a few ways to go about it.

Typically, they’d expect hatred in response to their hatred, and when you respond to an enemy with kindness, it throws them off their rhythm.

The old adage, “hurt people, hurt people,” is not far off. Often our most profound need as humans is the love of God and to be appreciated by others. It’s human nature.

When you provide someone with that basic need, you can often help thaw their cold heart.

‍And always, like I have already mentioned...

6. Pray for your enemies

When in doubt, pray.

We can always pray for our enemies because praying is an act of mercy. Praying is loving, as our Heavenly Father loves. When all else fails, you can always look to God for guidance.

Let me leave you with this passage:

In 1 Corinthians 13:4–5, the Bible says, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it isn't proud. It does not dishonor others, it isn't self-seeking, it isn't easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs."

All practical things. No vaporware in that description of Biblical love.

So again, I challenge you beloved to MOVE. If you do not begin to take practical steps and become very intentional about incorporating these commands into your life....nothing happens. you stay the same. Your lack of engagement in these things can even cause the people around you to stay the same.

You can keep coming here Sunday after Sunday and check it off of your list and it will make no difference in your life or the loves of those around you. You can be a born again perfect attendance brand of Christian and fail to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. And true disciples of Jesus Christ is what this world needs now. They need the church to actually be the pillar and foundation of the truth made up of called out people, ekklesia, who are holy and without fault.

Let’s commit to showing the world around us a glimpse of what the Coming Kingdom of God will be like. Let’s covenant togather to MOVE. Amen?