How a Church gets from Here to There

How a Church gets from Here to There; NV 2/29/04 a.m. (1 Peter 4:7-11)

OS: A A man was watching the news one night when it was reported that a car was going the wrong direction on the freeway. The man knew his wife was on that freeway and became very concerned so called her on her cell phone. She answered and he said, "Dear, there’s one car going in the wrong direction on the freeway." She exclaimed, "One car! There’s hundreds of them!"

I.       Proper directions are important if you’re going to get from here to there!

A.     In fact you need good directions and the ability to follow good directions to get from here to there.

II.    Today is our New Years Eve Sunday.

A.     Yearly changes and adjustments have been made.

B.     Title: How a Church gets from here to there. Where is “there”?

                       1.       A place where we are more effective at helping people know Jesus, grow to be like Him, and show Him to the world.

                       2.       “There” is 300 in Sunday morning attendance, and new and improved bible classes for all ages, new and improved small groups, new and improved everything.

                       3.       “There” is a historic move into a new facility on Amity Hill Road.

                       4.       “There” is becoming the church that God wants us to be.

C.     “There” brings with it challenges, struggles, difficulties, rewards, and benefits beyond all we can imagine at this time.

III. 1 Peter 4:7-11 is a passage that gives us some insight in how to get from here to there.

A.     Peter is writing to a lot of different congregations, and he is encouraging them to hang tough in tough times.

B.     This particular passage is fitting for today in so many ways, and it is also filled with ideas and principles from God that can have a profound effect on your life if you will listen with your hearts.

C.     B Remember in 2 Peter 1 3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.  4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

                       1.       God is not going to let us down! He will provide and has provided all we need.

                       2.       Our world is corrupt! Our community desperately needs His people to step up to the plate and make a difference in the lives of people.

                       3.       That is “There”

TS] How does a church get from here to there? C 1 Peter 4:7-11

I.       D Clear your mind to pray

A.     eij" proseuca"  "The idea is not simply 'so that you can pray' (NIV) but 'in order to pray more effectively, more appropriately'.  Christians should be alert to events and evaluate them correctly in order to be able to pray more intelligently."  Grudem.

                       1.       Davids comments, "This is what is meant when he said 'Watch and pray' (Matt 24:41-42; Mark 13:35, 38; cf. Acts 20:31; 1 Cor 16:13; Col 4:2), for proper prayer is not an 'opiate' or escape, but rather a function of clear vision and a seeking of even clearer vision from God."

                       2.       We need to have a clear mind. If our minds are filled with concerns, to-do lists and wrong values, we are not going to become prayers. We may think that prayer is for the preacher, elders, deacons or the super-spiritual. We might think that prayer is chitchat and rolling up your sleeve to do work is true service.

                       3.       A.C. Dixon wrote, "When we depend upon organizations, we get what organizations can do; when we depend upon education, we get what education can do; when we depend upon man, we get what man can do; but when we depend on prayer, we get what God can do."

B.     Someone made the comparison between a church that prays and a church of prayers:
"A church that prays, prays at its convenience. A church of prayers prays at God’s command.
"A church that prays, prays when there are problems. A church of prayers prays when there are opportunities.
"A church that prays fits prayer in somewhere. A church of prayers gives priority to prayer.
"A church that prays uses God. A church of prayers is used by God."

C.     There is only one way to become a church of prayers.

                       1.       Each individual member to make prayer a priority in their lives.

                       2.       That is the greatest thing you can do to help this church go from here to there.

TS] How does a church get from here to there? Through prayer…

II.    E Love one another.

A.     Love is at the bottom of how we treat one another, and how we treat one another is at the bottom of getting us from here to there.

                       1.       “We aren’t good enough to judge. Can the hungry accuse the beggar? Can the sick mock the ill? Can the blind judge the deaf?” In the same way, can the sinner condemn the sinner? Absolutely not! “Be careful! The Peter who denies Jesus at tonight’s fire may proclaim him with fire at tomorrow’s Pentacost. The Samson who is blind and weak today may use his final strength to level the pillars of godlessness. A stuttering shepherd in this generation may be the mighty Moses of the next. Don’t call Noah a fool, you may be asking him for a lift.”

                       2.       Love covers over a multitude of sins.

B.     F Notice these passages

                       1.       Proverbs 10 12 Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs. 

                       2.       :James 5 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

                       3.       "Where love abounds in a fellowship of Christians, many small offences, and even some large ones, are readily overlooked and forgotten.  But where love is lacking, every word is viewed with suspicion, every action is liable to misunderstanding, and conflicts abound.

C.     Where do you get this kind of love? You can’t buy this kind of love. You get this kind of love from God.

                       1.       Romans 5:8 tells us, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." And 1 John 4:19 tells us, "We love because he first loved us."

                       2.       Love is like a hosepipe… God’s forgiveness and love can flow through us.

D.     There is a story about a man who was walking down the street.
He passed a used-book store, and in the window he saw a book with the title, "How to Hug."
He was taken by the title and, being of a somewhat romantic nature, went in to buy the book.
To his chagrin, he discovered that it was the seventh volume of an encyclopedia and covered the subjects “how” to “hug.”
Everyone knows that the church is a place where love ought to be manifested, and many people have come to church hoping to find a demonstration of love—only to discover an encyclopedia on theology.

E.      If we are going to get from here to there it will be because we are a church of prayers, and a church filled with deep love for one another.

III.  G Use your gifts for others.

A.     Have you notice how many times others are mentioned in these few verses?

                       1.       Love each other, offer hospitality to one another, serve others,

                       2.       H Philippians 2 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

B.     “Gifts discussion”

                       1.       Each believer is equipped by God to perform some aspect of ministry in the church.

                       2.       "There are five different lists of spiritual gifts in the New Testament (Rom 12:6-8; 1 Cor 12:7-11; 12:28-30; Eph 4:11; 1 Pet 4:10).  Since the lists are all different (no one gift is on every list, and no list includes all the gifts), and since 1 Cor 7:7 indicates two gifts that are not on any list (marriage and celibacy, which Paul calls charismata), it is legitimate to conclude that they are not exhaustive. 

                       3.       In fact, since there are various types within any one gift (people with the gift of evangelism may differ in the kinds of evangelism they do best; similarly with teaching, helping, etc.), one could say there is an almost limitless variety of different spiritual gifts, all manifestations of the richly varied and abundant grace of God." 

                       4.       I Purpose – Ephesians 412 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up  13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

C.     Notice the assumption in the text: Every person has a place.

                       1.       God is the center of what you do in ministry.

                       2.       We need every part of the body to be involved.

CS] J How are we going to get from here to there?

By being a church filled with prayers, and loving one another so deeply that we cover over our rubbing each other in the wrong way, and through using our God given gifts to serve God through serving people.

So, Deacons begin your ministry with prayer, love your work and your people, use your abilities and the abilities of other members.

Close with Prayer