What’s in Your Job description?
Ephesians 4:11-16
There was once a farmer that frequently described his Christian faith by saying, “Well, I’m not making much progress, but I am well established!”
One spring he was hauling some logs on a trailer. It has been especially wet that week and the wheels of the trailer and tractor sank all the way down to the axles in mud. He was totally stuck in deep thick mud.
He has been working with all his physical might to get the load moving again. He had even tried just to get the tractor free but, nothing he had tried had made any difference. He was covered head to toe in mud when His pastor was passing by and stopped.
After a brief discussion about the situation, the Pastor that had always been uncomfortable about the farmer’s warn out testimony about his faith said, “Well brother, I see that you are not making much progress, but you must be content; because, you are well established!”
We all get pretty comfortable being in a church that is well established. It is easy to maintain the things we are comfortable with. We have just enough resources to keep the building comfortable and well maintained. There are just enough people that make the plans, organize the events and fill out all the paperwork.
It is easy to be well established and not be going any place.
Last week part of the worship service was interrupted. It was the part that I tend to work the hardest on each week.
However, I have no grounds to complain. Those in attendance were very patient as My optimism kept me trying to make progress. But no matter how hard I tried my load quickly sank into the mud.
However, we were not so well established and content that we all stayed outside in spite of the situation. We moved on to the celebration and the afternoon of great music. We did not get stuck and unable to move. We just modified our direction.
I wish I could say that was a sign of a healthy congregation. However, I am afraid that it was really just proof that we as a church had since enough to come out of the rain. I am afraid that the discomfort that we endured only served to feed the idea that we never should have been out there in the first place.
I have a small feeling that the unfortunate path of the light rain might dampen the spirit and reason that we were meeting out in the park.
The idea was to experience what being a church without walls is like.
To experience the beauty of God’s cathedral and to listen to the natural music created by bird soloist and animal musicians. Add to that the occasional Train crescendo and it can be a powerful experience.
-- More importantly the reason we met outside last Sunday was to be seen in public as God’s little church that is Big on Jesus. To be willing to be seen worshiping in public, open to scrutiny and judgment by anyone that passed by on the road was a simple statement of faith and a nonverbal statement about our celebration of God and the Good news of Jesus Christ.
It seems to me that a church that is hidden from passersby is a church that is forgotten and has no influence or impact on outsiders, on the community.
However, meeting in the open, is not the only way that a church is visible.
Today we are meeting in the normal place, back in our comfort zone. As a church we are hidden except for the cars in the parking lot.
That is visible, and that is the normal outward statement about our faith that we portray from week to week.
Is that how this church is called to share the Message that God sent via Jesus Christ?
I have heard many people say that they come to church to be fed. I will grant that that is in a loosely translated way what Sunday School, Bible study and worship are about.
However, the bible tells us that there is more to it than that. The church is less of a service station and more of a training station.
When we become Christians we accept a job in the Body of Christ. We start our education program to allow us to work for God.
According to scripture we accept a role in the priesthood of all believers.
In the temple of Jesus’ day, there were all kinds of jobs in the temple that kept it running. There were the worship leaders and musicians in the big services. There were priest that served in individual one on one ministry offering sacrifices. There were priest that maintained the wood piles and others that cleaned and took out the trash.
In reality every position was important when looking at the proper work of the temple.
That is the key to our involvement in the work of the church.
Our scripture this morning provides us with a leadership list of jobs within the body of Christ. Christ gave gifts for some to be apostles, prophets, evangelist, pastors and teachers. These positions serve the church and offer invitations to be a part of the church.
The leadership of the early church, according to Paul, were to be prepare the church for service, to build the body up to educate the congregation so that they are unified by having a common faith. They believe the same things.
The knowledge of the Good news of Jesus Christ enables the people and the church to become mature.
We have all learned about spiritual gifts in one way or another in our time in church. We have probably heard lots of times how we can’t stay babies in faith all our lives.
As kids we always wanted to be a little or a lot older that we were. We wanted to be old enough to stay up later, to drive, to date to get married to vote.
-- Then without warning most people suddenly wanted to be younger.
We don’t want to be all grown up because it meant responsibilities. Bills, Rules…..
In our culture there are laws that define an adult.
At 18 years old you will be mature enough to commit to contracts and held to new levels of responsibility. You can start a business or do hard time in prison.
But what is considered to be an age of maturity in the church?
At what age are you expected to get a job and give back to the family, and community?
In the church it has less to do with age and more to do with knowledge and faith; we might use church words like spiritually mature.
So what is spiritual maturity…Christian Maturity?
The Tom definition: It is the moment that your faith reaches a point that you can act like Jesus.
Christian maturity – is the moment that you have the ability…the knowledge…
to act like Jesus.
-- Notice that I did not say that you do it….only that you can do it.
-- VIDEO CLIP – Fail to Launch
When it is our kids that fail to launch to go into the world we get frustrated. We want them to want to get a job, go to school, get off the sofa.
Our heavenly father wants us to mature to the point where we get off the pew and find a job …a place of service….a ministry.
He has provided the tools of education in preachers and teachers and the scriptures about being a gifted priest in the kingdom of God.
The exciting question is, “What is in your Job description?”
Of the jobs that Paul explains in several letters that Jesus our enabler provides via spiritual gifts for building up of the church.
Which one or ones do you have?
It seems strange but I don’t recall hearing one called pew potato. There were no positions listed in scripture that involve being only a consumer of other people’s gifts.
A mature Christian is a person that grows up and accepts, or starts working within the ministry that Jesus Christ has gifted us with and for.
The video clip showed us a person that was popular and capable that lived and established and comfortable existence.
He was selfish consuming his parents resources and giving them his presence in return.
He was happy to live in a place he lives since he was 3 years old and have his mom and dad take care of him.
He was happy being as kid and did not intend to take on the normal responsibility that was expected by his parents or society.
That is the way that 80 % of Christians decide to live their lives. They live a s a consumer in God’s house and spent the rest of time doing what makes them happy and comfortable.
-- Last week we briefly talked about how our church has taken a few baby steps toward something new, how we with God’s help we tested the waters of faith maybe waded in up to our ankles.
But, so far we have not decided that we are ready go any further. We have not decided that we will ever consider putting our face in the water or suddenly jump into the deep end of the pool.
I have a theory as to why that is the case. I believe that we have too many people that live with a Peter Pan world view…..I won’t Grow up!
We are comfortable living a life of minimum faith and limited successes. We don’t mind being a part of a church that was once a powerful tool of God’s in the community but now sits on the edge of life and death.
It is an amazing phenomena. The maturity of a church can and does change. A church is only as mature as the people that grows up and enters into service.
People that have faith/trust that God really wants them to be priest and to make a difference in this world, this community and our families.
A trust that their investment in time and money will not be in vain and are willing help transform people’s lives.
It is really easy to be a pew potato and avoid any jobs inside the church, building up the body, and it is even easier to avoid going outside of the church to offer transformation and hope.
I wonder why. Perhaps it is fear. Fear of failure. Fear of the unknown.
Perhaps, we have not been trained properly.
Maybe it is the belief that the preacher is supposed to do ministry…
Maybe we have a job and we feel that we have limits. We feel that we can decide what we will and won’t do. It’s not my job…mentality comes up sometimes. Others may believe that they have or can be retired.
Those sound like good excuses. Unfortunately they are Not Biblical.
According to Paul when we allow Christ to give us our gift, and we try to act like Christ, We aren’t children anymore.
With it we become stable and not easily misled because of our education in church and our understanding of scripture.
As a result our faith Grows and we trust Jesus and his leading even more. We speak the truth in love…Like Christ…our maturity builds up the body….as each person matures the body gains strength as the church is empowered for new and even more rewarding work.
Let me share one simple observation that I have found in my Christian walk.
There is a special joy in doing what God wants you to do. No matter how hard the work or the lack of support and recognition. There is nothing so satisfying as being a active member of the body of Christ.
There is a joy that fills you when you see God at work. Who do you think received the clearest knowledge of what Jesus did in the turning of water into wine in Cana, the people at the party or the ones that filled the jars?
All Glory be to God!
Communion
Last week As the praise team sang a call to worship, different people came forward to set up the altar and platform as representation of how we all come together brings pieces and parts and forming something unique as a simple giving of ourselves to God.
While we can worship separately, the Bible places strong emphasis on the coming together of a community for worship.
Most of us here come because of a need to make a connection to our God. We want to feel the presence, the find the assurance of forgiveness. But I wonder how often we feel limited because we only have a small picture. A knowledge of a jealous / judgmental God.
This morning we are approaching a mystery. Not a secret, it is not explainable. All we can be sure about is that Jesus called his followers to a meal and instructed his disciples to use the meal as a remembrance of His teaching about he love and grace of God.
