WHEN WE MOVE OUT GOD CAN MOVE IN Part 2
(Moving Out of Our Comfort Zone)
(All my sermons use illustrations from www.sermoncentral.com and scripture is NIV unless otherwise noted)
Last week we started a five part series entitled “When We Move Out, God Moves In” Last week we learned how important it is that we move out in humility, staying humble in all we do and say. This week I want to start out with a story from a collection of illustrations by Chuck Swindoll, about a life saving station. (The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart; Chuck Swindoll pgs. 89-91)
On a dangerous seacoast notorious for shipwrecks, there was a crude little lifesaving station. Actually, the station was merely a hut with only one boat. But the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the turbulent sea. With little thought for themselves, they would go out day and night tirelessly searching for those in danger, as well as the lost. Many, many lives were saved by this brave band of men and women who faithfully worked as a team, in and out of the lifesaving station. By and by it became a famous place.
Some of those who had been saved, as well as others along the seacoast, wanted to become associated with this little station. They were willing to give their time and energy and money in support of its’ objectives. New boats were purchased. New crews were trained. The station that was once obscure and crude and virtually insignificant, began to grow.
Some of its members were unhappy that the hut was so unattractive and poorly equipped. They felt a more comfortable place should be provided. Therefore emergency cots were replaced with lovely furniture. Rough, handmade equipment was discarded, and sophisticated, classy systems were installed. The hut, of course had to be torn down to make room for all the additional equipment, furniture, systems and appointments.
By its completion, the lifesaving station had become a popular gathering place, and its objectives began to shift. It was now used as a sort of clubhouse, an attractive building for public gatherings. Saving lives, feeding the hungry, strengthening the fearful, and calming the disturbed, rarely occurred anymore.
Fewer members were now interested in braving the sea on lifesaving missions, so they hired a professional lifeboat crew to do the work. The original goal of the station wasn’t altogether forgotten, however. The lifesaving motifs still prevailed in the club’s decorations. In fact, there was a liturgical lifeboat preserved in the “Room of Sweet Memories” with soft, indirect lighting, which helped hide the layer of dust upon the once-used vessel.
About this time a very large ship was wrecked off the coast, and the professional boat crews brought in loads of cold, wet, and half-drowned people. They were dirty. Some were terribly sick and lonely. Others were black and this made them “different” from the majority of the club members. The beautiful new club suddenly became messy and cluttered. A special committee was formed to see that a shower house was immediately built “outside” and “away from” the clubhouse so the victims of ship wreck could be cleaned up “before” coming inside the club.
At the next meeting there were strong words and angry feelings, which resulted in a division among the members. Most of the people wanted to stop the club’s lifesaving activities altogether and place all involvements with shipwreck victims somewhere else. “It’s too unpleasant,” they said. It’s a hindrance to our social life. And it is opening the doors to folks who are not ‘our kind’.”
Well, as you would expect, some still insisted on saving lives, that this was their primary objective. Their only reason for existence was ministering to “ANYONE” needing help, regardless of their club’s beauty or size or decorations. BUT, they were voted down and they were told if they still wanted to be involved in saving lives of various kinds of people who were shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own lifesaving station down the coast ! AND, so they did.
As years passed, the new station experienced the same old changes. It evolved into just another club. And yet, another lifesaving station was begun. History continued to repeat itself. And if you visit that coast today, you’ll find a large number of exclusive, impressive clubs along the shoreline owned and operated by slick professionals who have lost all involvement with the saving of lives.
Ship wrecks still occur in those waters, you understand, but now most of the victims are not saved. Every day they perish at sea, and so few seem to care . . . so very few.
Now, work with me here, this could describe any church in the world today. Many start out with little concerns for their own comfort, they will faithfully work, BOTH in and out of the church. This is what encourages others to join and be willing to give their time, energy and money to support the objective. THEN, they begin to complain, WHY? Because they are no longer comfortable, and thus the objective begins to shift. They place the original objective somewhere they can speak of it and still remain comfortable.
LET’S ANSWER SOME QUESTIONS THIS MORNING:
1. What is the objective of the church?
2. What is it that keeps us from achieving this objective?
3. What needs to change in order for us to achieve our objective?
Turn with me to Luke 15, Luke 15:1-2 Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." (OBJECTIVE)
Luke 15:3-4 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? (OBJECTIVE)
Luke 15:8 "Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? (OBJECTIVE)
Luke 15:22-24 "But the father said to his servants, ’Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. (OBJECTIVE)
Our objective is simple; we are seek and save the lost! Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." OBJECTIVE!!!
Our objective is to simply do WHATEVER is necessary to seek and save the lost, even if that means welcoming sinners and eating with them, going after the lost UNTIL we find them. Lighting a light, sweeping up the mess and carefully seeking them out, and celebrating when we welcome them into the body of believers. It should not be difficult to grasp what our objective is supposed to be. The church, much like the lifesaving stations in the story, have a true purpose, an objective to save anyone that is lost, helping anyone that needs help. Unfortunately, much like the club in the story, the church of today has placed this objective in the room of “sweet memories.”
So what is it that keeps us from achieving our objective? First and foremost I think it is MOTIVATION. Have you ever felt that you just didn’t have the heart for something? Late one night, a man had gone to a party and had too much to drink, so he decided it would be best to walk home. He found a shortcut through a poorly lit cemetery and, in the darkness, stumbled into an open grave. He tried to climb out but the walls were too slippery. Again and again he fell back into the grave. Finally, in exhaustion, he settled in a corner to wait for sunlight. A few minutes later, another man in the same condition was cutting through the cemetery and fell victim to the same grave. He, too, tried desperately to climb and claw his way out, and he was equally unsuccessful. As he was about to give up in hopeless resignation, he heard a voice from the darkness of his pit: "You may as well give up. You’ll never get out of here." BUT HE DID!! Properly motivated! Do you ever think about where you would have ended up had you not been found by Christ. We were all LOST once, all of us, and if NOT FOR THE GRACE of an amazing God, and the EFFORTS of someone else we would still be LOST, headed for hell. And WHY is it that our MOTIVATION changes from the day we get saved, by accepting the grace of God and being joined with Him in the waters of baptism? WHY does it change?
Well I think the scripture tells us why! Let’s go back to Luke 15:
Luke 15:2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, (UNCOMFORTABLE) "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
Luke 15:4 Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country (UNCOMFORTABLE) and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?
Luke 15:8 Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully (UNCOMFORTABLE) until she finds it?
Luke 15:25-32 "Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. (UNCOMFORTABLE) 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27’Your brother has come,’ he replied, ’and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ 28 "The older brother became angry and refused to go in. (UNCOMFORTABLE) So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ’Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. (UNCOMFORTABLE) 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ 31 "’My son,’ the father said, ’you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’"
Can you see the pattern: The Pharisee gang starts with muttering because they are uncomfortable, they can’t imagine eating with those that are NOT LIKE THEM!
The 99 sheep are left in the open country, no shepherd, no protection, the King James uses the word wilderness to describe where they were left. IN THE WILD = UNCOMFORTABLE. The woman loses one coin, and she starts some serious WORK, energy is expended, time is used up, she searches carefully, you want to lose people today, tell them there is going to be some serious work involved, it makes them uncomfortable. BUT, the greatest example comes from the son that has been with the Father from the start; He heard DANCING & MUSIC. WOW, this one makes a lot of those sons and daughters that have been with the Father UNCOMFORTABLE. “I don’t like the drums” “The music is too loud” And then the scripture says he became angry and refused to go in, this is being heard in churches worldwide today. People who are being moved out of their comfort zone are saying that they will QUIT the church, they are uncomfortable and they are angry about it. You notice the last thing the son of the Father says, ALL these years I have slaved, I have not disobeyed and WHAT ABOUT ME?
Folks it is NOT ABOUT US! Amen? The Bible is perfectly clear that it is ALL about those that are lost. It is about doing whatever we can to make them see the light of the world, the salt of the earth. It is that simple.
The objective is to seek and save the lost, the reason it is not happening is that we lack motivation because we are uncomfortable. What needs to change,
WE NEED TO GET OUT OF OUR COMFORT ZONE AND LET GOD WORK!
Jim Cymbala preaches at a church in the slums of New York. He tells the following story: It was Easter Sunday and I was so tired at the end of the day that I just went to the edge of the platform, pulled down my tie and sat down and draped my feet over the edge. It was a wonderful service with many people coming forward. The counselors were talking with these people. As I was sitting there I looked up the middle aisle, and there in about the third row was a man who looked about fifty, disheveled, filthy. He looked up at me rather sheepishly, as if saying, “Could I talk to you?” We have homeless people coming in all the time, asking for money or whatever. So as I sat there, I said to myself, though I am ashamed of it, “What a way to end a Sunday. I’ve had such a good time, preaching and ministering, and here’s a fellow probably wanting some money for more wine.” He walked up. When he got within about five feet of me, I smelled a horrible smell like I’d never smelled in my life. It was so awful that when he got close, I would inhale by looking away, and then I’d talk to him, and then look away to inhale, because I couldn’t inhale facing him. I asked him, “What’s your name?” “David.” “How long have you been on the street?” “Six years.” “How old are you?” “Thirty-two.” He looked fifty- hair matted; front teeth missing; wino; eyes slightly glazed. “Where did you sleep last night, David?” “Abandoned truck.” I keep in my back pocket a money clip that also holds some credit cards. I fumbled to pick one out thinking; I’ll give him some money. I won’t even get a volunteer. They are all busy talking with others. Usually we don’t give money to people. We take them to get something to eat. I took the money out. David pushed his finger in front of me. He said, “I don’t want your money. I want this Jesus, the One you were talking about, because I’m not going to make it. I’m going to die on the street.” I completely forgot about David, and I started to weep for myself. I was going to give a couple of dollars to someone God had sent to me. See how easy it is? I could make the excuse I was tired. There is no excuse. I was not seeing him the way God sees him. I was not feeling what God feels. But oh, did that change! David just stood there. He didn’t know what was happening. I pleaded with God, “God, forgive me! Forgive me! Please forgive me. I am so sorry to represent You this way. I’m so sorry. Here I am with my message and my points, and You send somebody and I am not ready for it. Oh, God!” Something came over me. Suddenly I started to weep deeper, and David began to weep. He fell against my chest as I was sitting there. He fell against my white shirt and tie, and I put my arms around him, and there we wept on each other. The smell of His person became a beautiful aroma. Here is what I thought the Lord made real to me: If you don’t love this smell, I can’t use you, because this is why I called you where you are. This is what you are about. You are about this smell. Christ changed David’s life. He started memorizing portions of Scripture that were incredible. We got him a place to live. We hired him in the church to do maintenance, and we got his teeth fixed. He was a handsome man when he came out of the hospital. They detoxed him in 6 days. He spent that Thanksgiving at my house. He also spent Christmas at my house. When we were exchanging presents, he pulled out a little thing and he said, “This is for you.” It was a little white hanky. It was the only thing he could afford. A year later David got up and talked about his conversion to Christ. The minute he took the mic and began to speak, I said, “The man is a preacher.” This past Easter we ordained David. He is an associate minister of a church over in New Jersey. And I was so close to saying, “Here, take this; I’m a busy preacher.” We can get so full of ourselves.
What needs to change is our attitude, that selfishness inside us that keeps us from achieving our objective. I for one, am willing to do whatever it takes to see as many as possible come to the Lord Jesus Christ. How about you? Are you willing to step outside of your comfort zone so that God has room to work in our church?
The job of the church is not to impact the church, but to impact the world. It’s like a huddle in a football game. 67,000 people don’t pay $25.00 a ticket to watch the Titans huddle. What if you went to a Titans game and for 2 ½ hours you watched 11 men stand in a circle and talk? That’s not what you pay for!! 67,000 people pay $25 a ticket to see what difference the huddle makes. What they want to know is, having called the play in secret, does it work in public? The challenge for the church is not what we do when we call our Sunday morning huddle, but what we do when we break our huddle and head to our Sunday morning assignment. When Satan lines up against us, what difference does it make that we are Christians?
We can achieve moving of mountains if we pray to our God and believe that He will do this. We can fulfill our objective of seeking and saving ALL the lost in our area if we are willing to work together, NOT JUST HUDDLE.
When we move out, God moves in, and He can do immeasurably more than we could ever dream or ask for. It all really boils down to whether or not we are willing to step outside our little comfort zone, our club is designed for one reason only, to glorify God by seeking and saving the lost.
With that said, I want to talk about what it will take for us to become the growing church God wants us to be. It is going to take a great deal on unity, it is going to take fellowship, the type whose focus is on Christ and the growth of the church. It is wonderful to have other people who are on our side and are willing to stand next to us, side by side. There should be a sign above the door as we exit our building here that reads “Now entering the Mission Field.”
Together we can make a difference BUT it will all start with MOVING outside of our comfort zone, it will all start with a change in our attitudes, doing what is best for those that DO NOT know our Lord, and not worrying so much about our comfort.
I am sure that many of you would love to see growth in our church, we talked a little of the vision and direction of our church yesterday at the breakfast meeting, and last Sunday evening at the congregational meeting. I know that many would like to see growth, BUT at what price? It is always easier to speak of growth than it is to actually do something about making the church grow. This morning as the musicians come forward, I want to ask you if you are willing to stand in the gap? Are you willing to do whatever it takes to see our church grow? Are you willing to step outside of your comfort zone?
This morning I open the invitation for any to come forward, saved or not. If you feel God pulling at your heart, if you have something to say, come forward. If God is telling you to dedicate your life to this cause, to devote yourself to changing things here in Fort Gibson, come forward. Let’s all stand.
