Christ Above All

Stay or Go?

Stay or Go? A question we face all the time.

What line needs to be crossed for you to go?

Wandering Donkey?

I don’t know the inner workings of the decision but I do know they got sideways w/ their landlord. A line was crossed. They decided to Go.

Marriages. Jobs. Churches.

Whether you’ve thought it about or not, you have a line in each of these areas in your life that if crossed, you’re out.

Restaurants. How long will you wait for your order t/b taken or food t/b delivered before you go?

Ball games. How far ahead does one team need t/b where you believe the outcome is a foregone conclusion?

Would you even go to a D-backs game?

Or, how bad does the traffic need to get for you to leave early to beat the big traffic jam?

We were first married, Sara had a client that had season tickets to Dallas Cowboys games. They invited to one.

What I didn’t realize is, every game, they leave w/ 10 minutes left on the clock, regardless of score.

Are you kidding me right now? We’re leaving?

Movies. Have you ever walked out of a movie?

Not what you expected. Bad?

We rented “Joe vs. the Volcano”. Turned it off shortly in.

Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Lloyd Bridges, Abe Vigoda, Robert Stack, Amanda Plummer, Barry McGowan, Carol Kane.

It was terrible. A bad, horrible, no good, movie.

To bloody, gory? Too sexually explicit?

I can’t do this. I’m out.

There was an article in the USA Today last week about young ppl leaving the church in unprecedented numbers. We’ve known this. Not new. A rehash of the same issues.

But, the bottom line, this country has never had such a small percentage of our population who describe themselves as members of a church, or even church goers.

More claim t/b Christian, but not as many as previous generations.

And fewer and fewer are joining and attending church.

Can you leave the church w/out leaving Christ? Many try. Many think so. But Hebrews says you can’t.

Being a member, regular participant in a local church is integral to your walk with Jesus.

Can you leave Jesus w/out leaving the church. Sure. There are plenty of ppl who know religion but don’t know Jesus.

They know when to stand up, kneel, and sit.

They know when to recite what and sing whatever.

Knowing Jesus is more than knowing church. And knowing church is part of knowing Jesus.

This is not new. It’s been going on since the establishment of the church.

When we are let down, when we don’t get what we expect or want, we are prone to go.

When we don’t like what we get, or think we deserve better, we are prone to go.

Hebrews answers this issue. If you go, where do you go? To whom, or what, do you turn?

What’s better? What will get you what you want?

And, do you know what you really want?

The answer is, there are no other options to get what you really, really want.

So, our best option is always to stay, stay w/, stay close to Jesus.

Then, why do ppl go? Why are so many young ppl not going to church?

Young or old.

It’s b/c they are not getting what they expect or want. That’s b/c their rel is w/ the wrong thing.

It might be a good thing. It might be an important thing.

But, it’s not supposed t/b the most important thing.

Hebrews was written as a sermon, not a letter. Most NT books are letters w/ a salutation, from this guy to those ppl.

There is not salutation. We don’t know who wrote it or much about who he wrote it to.

And, b/c it’s a sermon, the first 4 verses are his introduction. And like any good sermon, the main idea of the whole sermon is stated in the intro.

If you’ve been around here for any length of time you know my style of preaching. My intro always includes the big idea of what you’re about the hear and an illustration, usually from my life of the big idea.

This is the big idea of the preacher who first preached this message:

God is a communicator, His word is effective, His son is His ultimate means of communication and primary subject of His communication, and the church is the immediate recipient of His communication.

IOW, God is alive and has something to say to the Christian community and His message focuses on the person and work of Jesus, His son.

So, then my message to you is, make sure your priority and most important relationship is w/ Jesus, not me, not the org, not the membership, your friends or even your family.

These are important relationships, but not the most important.

Even if you quit these ppl you won’t be tempted to quit Jesus.

But, if any of these relationships is too important and we let you down, then not only are you more likely to quit us, you’ll quit Jesus too.

Learn what to expect from Jesus b/c He is always and only good, the only One who can give you what you need even though he may not give exactly what you want.

B/C, if you go, quit Jesus, whatever you choose to go to, will let you down deeper, faster, and worse. Nothing else can do for you what Jesus can.

This was an important message then, and still is now.

Let me illustrate with a few of my own experiences.

See if you can relate to any of these, you personally, or you know someone who struggled with the question of stay or go. b/c of an issue like this.

Personal Stories

my mom

My mom was raised by strict parents. She was born in the 30s, raised in the 40s and 50s. Rules were important.

My g-mother would regularly go thru her drawers and personal space looking for evidence of any disobedience, like a note from a boyfriend or cigarettes.

She never found anything.

So, my mom was a very obedient, rule-follower.

She was only allowed to date on weekends, not during the week.

Being raised in such strict environment, she was attracted to a bit of a bad boy in my dad. He was a little older, and she didn’t know just how bad he was till later.

They married in ‘52, had 2 kids, my sister and me. Soon she discovered that the bad boy who was my dad, who dated her on the weekends, dated her friends on weekdays.

Her friends didn’t tell her b/c they didn’t want to hurt her.

He carried those habits into the marriage and wasn’t faithful to mom; multiple affairs.

They divorced in ‘62. It was final the week of my 2nd birthday.

My mom’s world was rocked. B/C her expectations were, if you’re a good girl, keep the rules, don’t kick the dog or kill anybody, then God will make everything go good for you.

Bad things don’t happen to good ppl.

Then, the church painted the scarlet D on my mom, the other women were afraid she’d go after their men, and good girls don’t get divorced, but my mom thought she was a good girl so it didn’t compute that the church would be so hard on her.

No grace at all.

So, who would stay w/ an org where the men were unfaithful and the ppl were unkind to someone who was hurting so bad.

Today, young ppl see how their parents in the church treat ea other and want no part of it.

That’s the world and you still get to sleep in on Sundays.

My dad was a Christian. So you can marry a Christian and still get cheated on.

But, he wasn’t a mature Christian, pursuing a deeper relationship w/ Jesus.

There are no guarantees. But you can increase the odds of till death do us part if both spouses love Jesus more than ea other and are more concerned about pleasing him than ea other.

My third church

River Valley Church in Mishawaka, IN; a suburb of South Bend.

Attendance exploded over night. And the typical family that came to our church could be described like this:

Raised in church as kids, mostly Catholic.

Went to college, left the church b/c is felt irrelevant.

Started careers, got married, had kids. Now 30.

Some good memories of church came back, they wanted their kids to get some religion, they felt unqualified.

So, they looked for a church that had a good kids’ program so their kids wouldn’t fight them to go and a worship service they could tolerate.

We were 1 of 2 contemporary churches in town and our band rivaled any bar in town.

And our preacher was very good. A tri-athlete, in shape, knew his way around a weight room, both the women and men were attracted.

30 year olds come to church w/ their family. We start to teach them about what a walk w/ Jesus looks like.

i.e. giving money sacrificially and generously

They have great incomes. But they overbought their house and the mortgage pmt is big. They lease both their cars. They have no assets.

Their kids play travel soccer, baseball/softball, basketball, rugby, lacrosse, football, every other kind of ball.

Music lessons and instruments on pmt schedules.

It’s not that they don’t want to give. They can’t.

Mid-6-figure, dual income family could only afford a $20.

Then, one month after I got there in ‘99, the founding worship pastor confessed to an affair w/ one of his vocalists.

2 years later, his replacement confessed to an affair.

2 years later, his replacement confessed to an affair.

6 months later, that attractive, buff, good preacher, lead pastor was very creatively outed by God in an affair.

4 pastors in 5 years.

You’re hanging on by a thread. Struggling to make ends meat. Want to make a bigger sacrifice to God. And the men and women leading you are cheating.

The world does that guilt-free, supposedly.

A lot of churches are boring, the music is irrelevant, the sermons don’t make sense. This was different. But the leaders were worse than how ppl were outside the church.

Why would you stay for that? Many didn’t.

A friend in L.R.

I have a good friend in L.R. He’s older than me by about 25 years.

He’s been a southern Baptist all his life.

He was on the board of trustees at Baylor U. in Waco, and did a term as Chmn. of the board.

He was on the board of his church, Sunday School teacher, leader, and all around good guy.

I played golf w/ him and was part of a regular card game w/ him.

One day we’re talking and the subject of same-sex marriage comes up.

He’s old school. But on this issue he was loosening up.

He said to me, “Steve, I don’t think it’s fair that you and I as heterosexuals have the opportunity to be loved and in a loving relationship when homosexuals don’t.”

“I don’t think God would do that.”

Hot issue, emotional, changing positions in churches today.

Here’s what I told him. There is a problem w/ your premise. The assumption you’re making.

One of the names of Jesus is Adonai. That means, Master, Lord.

We are slaves. And slave have no rights.

We do not have the right to be happily married. If we are, we are blessed.

But, as soon as you start to believe you have rights, you deserve something from God, you are going to be disappointed and disillusioned when something happens and you lose what you think is rightfully yours.

“Why would God allow this to happen to me? Why would he allow my husband to have affairs?

When the most important relationship you have is w/ a person, or ppl, they will let you down.

If you are believing in your spouse, your pastor, your church, your family, your boss, to give you everything you want, and think you need, you have set yourself up t/b disappointed.

Who would stay in a relationship where something so important is taken away from you?

Why are young ppl leaving the church? B/C they see what’s going on. The Christians aren’t acting any differently than the world. And in the world you get to sleep in on Sundays.

Christian leaders who are supposed to be setting an example of godly behavior for others to follow are falling like trees in a tornado.

God is letting ppl make decisions and do things that hurt others.

The same free will you value, they get and abuse.

So, what do you expect of God?

If your car dies, do you expect God to give you a new car. It might happen. It’s rare. More likely, he’s going to give you the patience, wisdom, self-control, skills and a job to solve your transportation problem.

It may not be a new car. It might be a moped. But isn’t that the issue?

The book of Hebrews was written as a sermon to ppl who lived in and around Rome, had a Jewish background, had become Christians, and then life wasn’t working out they way they expected.

They struggled w/ the question of Stay, or Go?

Return to their Jewish roots. Turn to angels or Pagan gods.

If you stay w/ Jesus your life is not going to go as you expect. You’re not going to get all that you want. But, you will get what you need.

If you go, you might get what you want right now, but you’ll regret it later.

Regret is not being able to get what you want b/c you got what you wanted.

The fist 4 verses are his introduction.

Before I get into the into the book, let me give you a little background.

Background

This was written in the mid to late 60s. Persecution was ramping up but the Jewish temple had not been destroyed yet and Christians being executed for their faith hadn’t started yet.

But they were losing jobs, friends, their synagogue and worship experiences.

The pressure to quit Jesus and the church was mounting. Peer pressure and cultural pressure was intensifying.

They were discouraged. Jesus was long gone. The expectation of his soon return was fading. They were not getting what they hoped for and not getting what they thought they were sold when they joined the faith.

Commitments were waning.

For those who stayed w/ the church, how could they keep it going w/ so many leaving?

Times were tough, and the message to endure thru them was wearing thin.

When the going gets tough, the tough got going; See ya! We’re outta here.

But they left Judaism. Jews were waiting and watching for the Messiah. Jesus is Him.

But if you leave Him, what or who do you turn to?

Back to the religion you left b/c you bel’d Jesus completed it?

Or, try something else?

So, what options are there?

There is not other option. At least, no other option to believe in other than Jesus.

Maybe we all need to make sure we are believing in Jesus, the real Jesus, all of Jesus to get what we really need.

This is the argument of Hebrews. And, this is his introduction.

All of the Real Jesus

Hebrews 1:1–4 NIV

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

In the Greek this is 1 sentence.

In the past, God spoke thru the prophets and various other means.

In the present (c.1), God spoke thru Jesus, his son.

The message hasn’t changed. The prophets, the epiphanies, burning bushes, angels, dreams and visions all spoke of someone who God would send later.

Jesus is Him. He didn’t change the message. He completed the message.

But, God spoke. He is alive and he communicates w/ us.

If you’re around someone who doesn’t talk much you always wonder what they are thinking.

Ladies, do you know what your men are thinking about?

Typically, men don’t us many words. Hence, we don’t say very much.

God has communicated w/ us from the beginning and the message has been consistent.

Jesus is the one we’re waiting for. But He’s been here before.

He is the heir of all things. But he created all things. They were his to begin w/.

Jesus is the one who spoke and created everything.

He is the Creator. He has the power to make something out of nothing by simply speaking it.

“Cheeseburger”

“Street Taco”

That gift would have been helpful today.

Since we can’t, Agee’s had to cover for us w/ BBQ.

He is God. When it says he is the exact representation, or reflection of God, it means, He is God.

We tend to think of our reflection in a mirror as less than us.

But, Jesus reflects everything of God.

His work on the cross fixed us. I didn’t know I was broken.

I didn’t until I met Jesus and compared my life to perfection.

I didn’t know my relationship w/ God was broken. He fixed that too before I knew what had happened.

Now He sits at God’s right hand, an honored position.

No one else has this resume’. If you go away from Jesus, it would be like replacing the best coach in history or the best actress in history w/ Bozo the clown.

This makes Christ the only one who can do what desperately need to have done.

Future, he is the only one who can guarantee we get into heaven.

Present, he is the only one who can provide the peace, patience, self-control, goodness, kindness, power, giftedness, and purpose to get us thru tough times and to the end.

God is a communicator, His word is effective (it changes us), His message focuses on the person and work of Jesus, His son.

Jesus is both the ultimate means of his communication and the primary subject of His communication.

The Christian community desperately needs to make sure our highest priority is our relationship w/ Jesus and not anyone else. And we have to be committed to studying and knowing the word of God to get the message of His communication.

The real Jesus. All of Jesus. And only Jesus.

Application

There is only 1.

Is Jesus the most important relationship you have?

Who are you more afraid of losing, disappointing, missing out on?

You can’t lose Jesus. He won’t disappoint you. You won’t miss out on anything.

These other relationships are important and should be worked on.

Make sure your priority and most important relationship is w/ Jesus, not me, not the org, not the membership, your friends or even your family.

These are important relationships, but not the most important.

Even if you quit these ppl you won’t be tempted to quit Jesus.

But, if any of these relationships is too important and we let you down, then not only are you more likely to quit us, you’ll quit Jesus too.

Learn what to expect from Jesus b/c He is always and only good, the only One who can give you what you need even though he may not give exactly what you want.

B/C, if you go, quit Jesus, whatever you choose to go to, will let you down deeper, faster, and worse. Nothing else can do for you what Jesus can.