The Church: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Thesis: The Lord Jesus Christ laid down his life for the church knowing completely that it would have the good, the bad and the ugly connected to it.
Texts: Ephesians 5:25-27; Acts 2:42-47; 1 Cor. 1:10-17
Video Illustration: The end of the movie The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. It’s were the three have a show down in the cemetery court yard.
This scene paints a picture for us today on how we are to deal with the Bad and the Ugly of the church. The truth is we are in a duel with both. But the Good is to shoot the Bad and do away with it. The Good needs to put the bad in the grave so that it does not go around the church killing, stealing and destroying the Kingdom of God. On the other hand the ugly side needs to be treated with grace, mercy and forgiveness.
Introduction:
Yes, it’s truth the church of America today has the good, the bad and the ugly all battling over its control. It happens on national levels and even on the local level. There is a big showdown going on in the church today. Who will win out depends on the individuals involved in the duel. It will depend on the choices they make and their commitment level to seeing the Good win out. This duel is happening all across America and the winner gets control of the church and our lives.
The church, wow, what a concept! To create a place were people are placed together to help each other grow through life. A place made up of imperfect people who are at times irritating, frustrating and manipulative. Why would God design a place like this, better yet why would God die for a place like this? One reason LOVE. God set up the church to teach us how to love. Remember God is love, Heaven is governed by love. So therefore, the church must be controlled by The Good which is Love.
Rick Warren states, “God wants you to be in regular, close fellowship with other believers so you can develop the skill of loving. Love cannot be learned in isolation. You have to be around people-irritating, imperfect, frustrating people”(124).
What is the good, the bad and the ugly parts of church? Let’s take time this morning to explore these three influences on the church and see how they influence the members in the church and the mission of the church.
1) The good side of the church is revealed in the Bible from Acts 2:42-47
a) The church in Acts reveals the good side of the church.
i) Acts 2:42-47:
42They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
(1) The church in Acts reveals a place were The Good wins the duel between the “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly”.
b) The Acts church focused on the teaching of the Word of God. This is the Good in control.
i) You see when the Good wins the focus for the church is to hear from God, learn of God and do what God wants. All of this is found in the Bible. You can not discover “How to live” outside the Bible. It is only found as you focus on it and internalize it.
c) The Acts church’s Good side practiced fellowship with one another. Fellowship is the building of relationships with one another.
i) It’s the side of the church that breaks bread together so as to remember the Lord’s sacrifice for each of us.
(1) A church with the good in control recognizes that we as apart of the Body of Christ have a covenant relationship with the Lord God Almighty.
(2) A church with The Good winning is one that knows the value of relationships with one another.
d) The Good: It’s the side of the church that prays for each other and with one another.
i) Prayer is one of the greatest weapons of the church to defeat The Bad.
e) The Good: It’s the side of the church that has a good attitude Acts 2:43.
i) Everyone is filled with awe toward God. This is a great attitude to have!
(1) Everyone has an attitude of expectancy in the ability of God to do miracles and for them to be a part of the miracle working process.
(2) They reverence God with their hearts, minds and in their lives.
f) The Good: It’s the side of the church that functions in love Acts 2:44
i) The church were the good has won the duel is governed by love and unified by love.
(1) It’s a church that knows love is how the church is to live and function.
(a) It’s a church unified around Jesus Christ their head and leader.
(i) Sad fact is today there are 38,000denominations in Christianity worldwide.
(ii) The majority do not associate with others on a regular basis.
(iii) They are islands isolated from others and doing their own things.
(iv) This is not the plan God intended for the church.
g) Acts say’s they had everything in common. Means Good was the common ground!
i) This of course is Jesus! This of course is God and God is love.
(1) Rick Warrens Quote: “Why does God insist that we give special love and attention to other believers? Why do they get priority in loving? Because God wants his family to be known for its love more than anything else. Jesus said our love for each other-not our doctrinal beliefs-is our greatest witness to the world. He said, “Your strong love for each other will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (124).
(i) They had the common ground of God’s word which is spoken by love, for love and insists upon love for God and for one another.
1. Love is the most important ingredient for the church.
h) Acts 2:45 tells us that the good side of church is “Their sacrifices.”
i) This church sold what they had –their possessions –their material stuff to help each other out.
(1) They knew what it meant to sacrifice out of a heart of love. They understood the text in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
ii) They sold off the luxury items to help out the needy and to assist one another and also to spread the Gospel.
(1) They got rid of the surplus so that the needs of those who were in need could be blessed.
(2) They choose to support the Great Commission with their finances so others could win the Battle over The Bad.
i) The church in Acts had the good side of practicing these good “daily habits.”
i) They meet together:
(1) It says daily! Notice not weekly!
(2) They loved being around each other.
(3) They loved each others company.
(a) Today America suffers from the isolation disease-many cut themselves off from personal relationships with others.
(b) Many therapists say that America has more lonely people in it than in the rest of the world.
ii) They supported each other:
(1) They called one another.
(2) They cared for one another
(3) They were there for one another
(4) They encouraged one another
iii) They laughed together:
(1) They knew the importance of laughing with one another.
(a) The Progressive Dinner Friday night was a great time of laughter with each other.
(b) Swindoll says this about his book Laugh Again,”It’s about giving the child within us permission to look at life and laugh again “(11).
(i) He adds, “I know of no greater need today than the need for joy. Unexplainable, contagious joy. Outrageous joy…Unfortunately, our country seems to have lost its spirit of fun and laughter. Recently, a Brazilian student studying at a nearby university told me that what amazes him most about Americans is their lack of laughter. I found myself unable to refute his criticism” (19).
(2) They had glad hearts with one another
(a) They had come to a point of spiritual maturity were they could relax, release the tension of life, and refuse to let circumstances dominate their attitudes with one another. They actually had hearts filled with joy!
iv) They cried together:
(1) The most important thing you can do with someone who is hurting is to cry with them. It’s okay to cry with others!
v) They worshipped together:
(1) They worshipped together and I hear of no worship wars in this church.
(2) Rick Warren says, “Offering yourself to God is what worship is all about.”
(3) They praised God together- They sang with each other- focused on God together- held hands with each other.
(4) They understood that worship and praise to God went further than just music.
vi) They had sincere hearts with one another.
(1) In other words no facades, no playing charades just genuine authenticity with each other.
(2) No guards put up- just people being real and genuine.
j) The result of “The Good” winning the duel in the church court yard was that they enjoyed the favor of the world and of God.
(1) Then the next result was the church grew in numbers daily. Why? People wanted to be apart of a place that was doing “The Good!”
T.S. – The church of Jesus Christ must win the duel over the “The Bad and The Ugly” but we are also realists we know that some churches have “The Bad” directing it causing major heartache for the Lord and ruining it’s influence in the world.
2) The Bad side of the church is also revealed in Scripture along with the good.
a) In 1 Cor. 1:10-17 we discover the bad side of the church:
i) 10I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas“; still another, “I follow Christ.” 13Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? 14I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. 16(Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) 17For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
ii) There were divisions in the church this is bad –not good-you want to avoid this like the plague.
(1) They had fights
(2) They had arguments
(3) They had power plays going on in the background
(4) They talked about others and gossiped about them
(5) They choose sides instead of working out their issues
(6) They put others down so that they promoted their position
(7) They hurt each other with words and actions.
iii) This church had The Bad’s attitude which is rooted in pride and arrogance.
(1) Same attitude Satan had when he caused division in Heaven.
(a) Paul asked, “Is Christ Divided?”
(i) This is one of the main reasons we do not have revival today in the church.
(ii) The inability of the people in the church to get along with one another is the greatest hindrance to the church.
(iii) The inability of the church to forgive each other drives people away from the church and from The Lord..
(iv) Jesus in the Garden knew that this would be the greatest hindrance to the church. That is why he prayed that they would be one!
1. John 17: 20-23: 20“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
2. I know one day this prayer will come to pass in its fullness.
(b) Paul also asked – “Was I crucified for you?”
(i) Was the church set up by charismatic leaders? No by Jesus!
1. Truth is Jesus set up the church and the Word tells us he is its head.
(ii) I Cor. 3:1 explains this type of bad attitude like what you see in spoiled infants.
1. Infants are self centered – they want everything there way and they want it now. If they don’t get they cry, cry, and cry.
2. Spoiled children are not kids you want to be around!
a. Do you enjoy being around spoiled children?
b. Neither do people want to be involved in a church that is controlled by The Bad.
(c) In the Message James 3:18 states, “You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.”
(i) Rick Warren states this about the importance of cultivating community and protecting the community from The Bad.
1. “Community requires commitment…It takes both God’s power and our effort to produce a loving Christian community. Unfortunately, many people grow up in families with unhealthy relationships, so they lack the relational skills needed for real fellowship” (146).
2. He adds, “When conflict is handled correctly, we grow closer to each other”( 147).
3. He also states, “It is your job to protect unity of your church. Unity in the church is so important that the New Testament gives more attention to it than to either heaven or hell. God deeply desires that we experience oneness and harmony with each other” (160).
a. This means that each of us must do the duel with The Bad and we need to kill it and not allow it to affect our lives and our church.
b. If we allow it to live it will rip a church apart and wipe out The Good.
iv) This church was also bad because they allowed human reason to control their minds and ways (1 Cor. 1:26).
(1) Human reason will not create a good church!
(a) Human reason without God who cannot produce a Good environment.
(i) I received this illustration recently and it addresses the subject of Evil and asks were it comes from. It says in essence that God did not create Evil. Evil is birthed when we take away God.
1. Read “Did God Create Evil?”
v) The church that is controlled by The Bad is one that seeks to make everyone else sacrifice so that they benefit.
(1) They sacrifice the testimony of the church for their wants and demands.
(2) They sacrifice each other so that they themselves get their own way.
(3) They sacrifice the leadership for their own leadership views.
(4) They re-sacrifice Jesus over and over to manipulate things their way.
(5) They sacrifice the great commission to get what they want which is control.
vi) This church had daily habits that were from The Bad: Just read 1 Corinthians!
(1) They accepted sin as being okay.
(a) Your okay I’m okay was their view of sin
(b) They competed with each other clawing and scratching over each other to be the top dogs.
(c) They allowed pride to rule them and control them
(d) They filed law suits against each other
(e) They practiced sexual immorality
(f) They had broken marriages and their families were torn apart because of self-centeredness.
(g) They lacked the major quality of Love this is why Paul wrote 1 Cor. 13.
(i) Text I John 4: 1Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.4You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.7Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 13We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. 16And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. 18There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.19We love because he first loved us. 20If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
vii) The result of The Bad winning the duel created a bad church with no results for the Kingdom of God only black marks on the Kingdom.
(1) They tore the kingdom down-they did not build it up!
(2) The result of a bad attitude and bad behavior creates a bad environment.
(a) In an environment ruled and controlled by The Bad people are ravaged, abused, and destroyed.
(b) The church never adds to it’s number instead the church dies one horrible death after another.
T.S. – The church needs to battle it out with the Bad and kill it or it will destroy the effectiveness and the harmony of the church. Not only is there the Bad side of the church which needs to be dealt with but there are The Ugly sides of the church which need to be overlooked and forgiven.
3) The Ugly side of the church is also a reality and we need to recognize it, but deal with it differently. We are to deal with The Ugly with grace.
a) Use the illustration by Covey- Pretty lady and ugly lady.
i) On the power point slide.
ii) If you look closely at the picture you will see a beautiful lady and an ugly lady.
iii) The church has the same reflection in it. Both Good and Ugly sides!
b) The truth is the church has an ugly side. But believe it or not God knew it would.
i) Why? Because He chose to use imperfect people to do his perfect will.
(1) People will mess up and sin occasionally.
(2) Notice the difference between The Good is they never do bad and the difference between The Bad is they always do because they choose too. In the case of The Ugly it’s occasionally and usually by mistake. It’s seldom intentional and if the truth be known they really want to do things right but “To error is human!”
(a) But this is where grace enters the picture to do a make over on The Ugly.
(b) This is where mature Christians allow Grace to deal with The Ugly scenario.
(3) God knew people would be hypocrites on occasion and mess up on occasion.
(a) Once again this is where forgiveness and repentance comes into motion.
(b) We are all commanded to forgive:
(i) Matthew 6:9b-15:‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
(4) The church does have that imperfect side called The Ugly.
(a) This side is ugly but you are to deal with it with forgiveness.
(b) You are commanded by The Word to deal with it God’s way. Not your way. God chose the path of forgiveness and so should we.
(5) The church does have the ugly side of the flesh in it.
(a) The Bible to me has always been amazing because it reveals the good the bad and the ugly side of its characters. Even it’s heroes of the faith.
(b) But you must remember the theme of the Bible – Grace
(i) Swindoll states in his book Grace Awakening: “To show grace is to extend favor or kindness to one who doesn’t deserve it and can never earn it. Receiving God’s acceptance by grace always stands in sharp contrast to earning it on the basis of works. Every time the thought of grace appears, there is the idea of its being undeserved. In no way is the recipient getting what he or she deserves. Favor is being extended simply out of the goodness of the heart of the giver” (9).
(c) The truth is life in the church is no exact science and we will discover that in the church people will disagree on certain issues.
(i) Swindoll notes the 4 facts of life in the church:
1. “Disagreements are inevitable” (180).
a. Why, people are individuals with different tastes and likes. Ugly moments can arise when individuals disagree.
2. “Even the godly will sometimes disagree” (180).
a. Truth is it happens-does that mean we then have to hate each other? NO! We show grace like Jesus did!
b. Swindoll states, “In my two-by-four mind I was convinced that all godly minds held to identical conclusions. Not so! To my amazement, I soon discovered that there were not only various opinions on the same subject, but God had the audacity to bless those who disagreed with me” (180).
3. “In every disagreement there are the same two ingredients”
a. “an issue”
b. “various viewpoints”
c. He adds, “The issue is usually objective and involves principles. The viewpoints are subjective and involve personalities. And therein lies the sum and substance of a clash, which could be defined as a disagreement over an issue because of opposing points of view” (181).
4. “In many disagreements each side is valid.”
a. The way to handle these Ugly moments is to go back to Grace! God’s way is always the best way.
c) The church can get ugly when it comes to the issues of money and how to spend money.
i) Remember though how to handle these moments respect and forgiveness to others.
ii) The willingness to die to self for the sake of the community.
d) The church can be ugly when certain one’s use different methodologies in ministry.
i) Like slow or fast music.
ii) Like video clips and movie clips.
iii) Like politics.
iv) Like dress code.
v) Like musical instruments.
vi) Like ___________________? There are so many!
e) But in spite of The Ugly side of the church it has The Good at its root.
i) Story of the Elephant man (Joseph Merrick) (pictures on power point)
(1) A Quote he used:
(a) "Tis true my form is something odd,
But blaming me is blaming God;
Could I create myself anew
I would not fail in pleasing you.
If I could reach from pole to pole
Or grasp the ocean with a span,
I would be measured by the soul;
The mind’s the standard of the man."
*A poem often read by Joseph.
(2) Author: Elizabeth Batt Published on: November 12, 1999
Most of us have heard of, read about or even seen the film "The Elephant Man," a sad portrayal of a deformed man’s anguish. To even try to comprehend this intelligent, sensitive man’s suffering has to be beyond most of our capabilities. Joseph Merrick, or John* as he became known in the movie, was born at 50 Lee Street, Leicester on August 5th 1862 to Mary Jane and Joseph Merrick. Born into an age of ignorance, John lived with his Mother, younger brother Arthur, and sister Marion, until John’s Mother died in 1873, leaving John with an uncaring Father who didn’t really want him around. To make matters even worse for John, his Father remarried a woman who saw John as nothing but an embarrassment and who eventually offered the ultimatum of "It’s either him or me." John was forced to work selling shoe-black on the streets, a chore that left him an open target to scores of children who taunted him for amusement. On December 29th 1879, John Merrick was admitted to the Leicester Workhouse which he left after 6 weeks only to return a few days later because he was destitute. For the most part, John was unemployable, but he was prepared to do anything to earn money. Having pride that far outweighed his deformity, John could write and speak eloquently and he could also read, a rarity amongst the poorer classes of the 19th century. John was also noted for his wonderful imagination and despite his dignified attitude, he was often charmingly childlike. With his manners equal to, and often better than most English gentlemen, his deformity resolved to keep all social and employment doors closed to him. Desperate to take any job that would earn him a living, John Merrick left the workhouse in 1884 and took a job as a side-show freak. His manager, who was actually depicted in the movie as having kidnapped and beaten him, was not the barbarian he was portrayed as. Instead, Tom Norman took Merrick under his wing and treated him with great care and respect. Having done rather well with Norman, John moved to London and found himself a home, a home in Bedstead Square, London. Merrick caught the interest of Frederick Treves, a surgeon at Whitechapel Hospital. Treves visited John in November 1884 and expressed a scientific interest in him. This led to Treves presenting Merrick to two different medical societies before sending John back on his way. In early June 1886, John Merrick lost all of his hard earned money when he was robbed and abandoned by an Austrian showman while in Brussels, Belgium. Destitute once more, John arrives back in London and is admitted to Whitechapel Hospital to be treated for exhaustion, malnutrition and bronchitis. Treves’ work with Merrick had brought attention to his plight from all over Britain and Europe. All kinds of assistance and large amounts of money were offered to ensure that John had a permanent home. Pressure was placed on the Whitechapel hospital to give this "Child of England" an indefinite home. Finally, when the British Royal Family became involved, the hospital agreed to reverse its policy of never offering beds to those with incurable diseases, and allowed John to stay in a side annex of the hospital. There John stayed until his death at 1.30 p.m. Friday April 6th 1890, he died of asphyxiation. John suffered a great deal of torment during his lifetime, probably even more intensely felt because of his sensitive and intelligent nature. Therefore, it is somewhat comforting to know that England finally decided to take care of its own and that John died in a dwelling where he finally felt safe, the only ’true’ home he had ever known. Merrick’s skeleton remains on display at the London Hospital. Treves went on to achieve immense success. After being appointed Court Physician by Queen Victoria, in 1901 he was Knighted by King Edward VII. There is some controversy surrounding the illness that Merrick actually suffered from. It is actually stated that John did not suffer from the genetic disorder which came to be known as "Elephant Man Disease." In fact, recent studies of Merrick’s remains have confirmed theories that Merrick was the victim of a much rarer disease named Proteus Syndrome. which has only been recorded in fewer than 100 cases ever.
(3) Quote about John: ’”Women and nervous persons fly in terror from the sight of him, and that he is debarred from seeking to earn a livelihood in
any ordinary way, yet he is superior in intelligence, can read
and write, is quiet, gentle, not to say even refined in his mind.”
(An excerpt taken from Carr Gomm’s letter to the Times Newspaper on Dec 1886)
(4) Quote on John: “Anyone who has ever read the story of Joseph Merrick, could not fail to be captivated by this man’s incredible sensitivity and courage. He was an intelligent individual, not only being able to write and speak eloquently but also able to read. The ability to read was a rarity amongst the poorer classes of the 19th century and therefore one can only further admire Joseph for his inner struggle to become educated and to pull himself out of his impoverished background and circumstances.”
(5) Quote: “In my eyes and in the eyes of millions of others around the world, Joseph was a beautiful person indeed.” Dr. Treves?
(6) "The mind’s the standard of the man" - Isaac Watts
f) The true story of Joseph should awaken each of us to how we treat The Ugly side of the church.
i) We make judgments on face value about people without getting to know their hearts.
ii) We think because they are imperfect then we can mock them, abuse them and condemn them.
iii) We feel that because they are imperfect or that they look different than us then we don’t have to have anything to do with them.
iv) We fail to understand that God wants us to act like Him to forgive and to love those who are imperfect and tend to make a few mistakes in life.
v) The truth is we all deformed to a degree from the fleshly part of mankind.
vi) We need to make the commitment to show Agape love to one another in those moments when the flesh’s deformity surfaces to the top.
Conclusion:
The point of today’s message is the truth that there is a duel in the church court yard going on. The battle is between The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
Truth is some churches have “The Bad” found in them. We must all make sure that we are committed to killing it in our own lives so that we do not allow it to do damage to the church. The best way to do this is to surrender yourself to Jesus Christ. Then allow him to wipe away The Bad by his blood. Then do the next step, renew your mind with the Word of God. It keeps the Bad from resurrecting from the dead. We all choose to do this the church will keep The Bad in grave.
The next point is yes there is “The Ugly” side to the church because God chose to use imperfect people to do his perfect will. Yes, because God chose to extend grace to you and me and He then in turn expects us to show grace to others. He chose to allow The Ugly so that we could learn to act like Him and be known as dispensers of Grace.
The third and most important lesson we learned about the church is that it is rooted and designed in “The Good.” And when the church is operating in the realm of love good happens and people are saved, delivered and the church grows in leaps and bounds. When The Good wins the showdowns then a church is moving in the direction that God wants it to move. It’s moving upward into the realm of Love.
