Letter to the Church at Bairoil

So What Would He Say To Us?

The biblical definition of church is not a building, not a location, not a program, but it is an assembly of baptized believers who come together to worship our Lord. So what the Lord has to say, He has to say to each of us individually.

A. We have lost our burden.

() "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; {12} For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:"

1. The work of the ministry does not just take place within these walls.

2. The work of the ministry is also what we do when we are not 'in church'.

3. It has to do with the impact that we have upon the world we live in.

4. It is when we rub shoulders with a lost and dying world who need to know Christ.

5. For many of us, we have lost that burden.

6. We are satisfied to 'come to church' instead of 'being the church'.

7. We don't pray…we don't study…we don't witness.

B. We have lost our vision.

1. Jesus told the church at Philadelphia that He had set before them an open door.

2. The possibility for effective ministry in our community is wide-open, but we can't see it.

3. All too often, our focus is upon what we want to do…our life…our family…our careers.

() "Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest."

4. It isn't that we do not know how to reach the lost, we have lost our burden and our vision for what God wants to do through this church.

C. We have lost our commitment.

1. We refer to our meetings as services, but there is little serving involved.

2. Many want to come to be served, rather than to serve.

() "For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."

3. It isn't because of a lack of ability…it is a lack of commitment on our part.

4. What is the basis for serving the Lord?

a. Not in order to receive recognition.

b. Not out of fear to avoid retribution.

c. But out of love because of what our Lord has done for us.

d. Out of gratitude and appreciation for His marvelous grace.

e. Jesus told Peter, "If ye love me…feed my sheep."

() "…Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

I have folks come to me from time to time to let me know what this church needs. We need this or we need that…I believe what we need is for each one of us to listen to what the Lord is saying to us. "I know thy works…I have somewhat against thee…" We need a renewed burden for this lost world; we need a renewed vision for what God can do; and we need a renewed commitment to get involved in serving Him.