Sermon Tone Analysis

M. Clugston

    April 15~/08

 

*WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE COMMITTED TO A LOCAL CHURCH?*

 

*Intro:  /~*/*Robert lives in Gilbert, Arizona.

He likes friends to call him “Fat Bob.”

He loves life and people and enjoys laughing at himself.

He’s got a good job and faithfully attends his church.

But if you really want to see Robert excited, ask him about his Jeep.

He talks about it like it’s a person.

/“She’s my baby,”/ he says affectionately.

He searched for over 2 years to find just the right yellow and black Wrangler.

/“It was spotless.

Just gorgeous,”/ he recounts.

/“Once I got the Jeep… well, of course I had to join the Jeep club,”/ explains Robert.

The local club had over 1500 active members.

It offered meetings, parties, trail runs, and a website where members could exchange Jeep tips.

/“It’s a whole Jeep community,”/ Robert says.

Through the club, Robert hooked up with guys who taught him the finer points of 4-wheeling.

As his Jeep-discipleship intensified, Robert’s commitment only deepened.

/“I was totally hooked,”/ he says.

/“Every free moment was consumed.

I was either working on a Jeep… planning a Jeep run… hanging out and talking Jeep…or going on-line to check our Jeep website.”/

/ /

/    /

 

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2

 

    One Saturday Robert went to a Christian conference with a group from his church and heard the speaker ask, /“Are you married to the church?

Or are you dating the church?”/

The question unsettled Robert.

/“God started speaking,”/ he remembers.

/“He was asking me, ‘Robert, what are you married to?’

And the only thing I could think of was the Jeep club.

It was obvious, but I’d never seen it before:  I was married to the Jeep club, and I was dating the church!”/

/ /

/    /The speaker quoted John Stott, who said, /“If the church is central to God’s purpose as seen in both history and the gospel, it must surely also be central to our lives.

How can we take lightly what God takes so seriously?

How dare we push to the circumference what God has placed at the center?”/

As his mind played back over the last 2 years, Robert realized that he had pushed the church to the outskirts of his life.

He had invested so much in the Jeep club but very little in his local church.

If a Jeep run was scheduled on a Sunday afternoon, he’d be watching the clock throughout the church service, ready to rush out as soon as the sermon was done.

And then there was the Saturday he was asked to help clean up the church property for a special conference that was being held at the building.

Pg.

3

 

     /“I totally blew it off,”/ Robert recalls.

/“I didn’t even give it a second thought.

I had promised the guys in the club that I’d help them pick up trash on a trail to prepare for a run./

/The reality is, I had no passion for the church or the people in it,”/ Robert said.

/“I would do anything for the guys in the club.

But I really struggled if I was asked to give time on the weekend to serve my church.”/

/ /

*/    So, what does passion for the church look like in your life?/*

That shouldn’t be hard to figure out?

We all have our own version of the Jeep club… some interest or pursuit that we care deeply about.

*/It might /*a hobby…  sports… a career… or education.

*/You might /*be preoccupied with technology… your health… a cause… or a relationship.

I want you to take a moment and identify your /“club.”

/When you do, there’s a good chance you’ll see a pattern of what passion looks like in your life.

*/Your passion is what you talk about… think/* */about… and dream about.

It’s what/* you give your time to without complaint… */it’s what/* you find your identity in… */it’s what/* you’re willing to sacrifice for.

So as we look at this 2nd message in the series */“Stop Dating the Church,” /*the N.T. gives us a clear and helpful teaching on */what it means to be committed to a/* */local church… what passionate involvement in a local church should look like./*

Let’s look at what you and I need to do to make a commitment to Christ and the church.

We begin with the profile of commitment.

Pg. 4

* *

*I.

The Profile of Commitment         *

 

    So what does it mean to be committed to a local church?

First…

 

 *A.

You Join    *Hebrews 13:17

 

    Just like Robert and his Jeep Club, when we’re passionate, */we want /*to sign up.

*/We want /*to belong… to be identified as a member.

*/In the same way,/* it’s not enough to just go to church or sample from several churches in the area.

*/You need /*to officially join… become a member… so that the pastor and leaders know that you’re a part of the team.

*Hebrew 13:17* urges Christians to /“obey your leaders and submit to their authority.

They keep watch over you as men who must give an account…”  /You can’t do this well if you haven’t joined a church.

Becoming a church member gives you */specific accountability… care… encouragement… and leadership./*

*/ /*

    Once you’ve joined, put down your roots… */get involved.

/*A common attitude toward the church is, /“I’m here… tentatively… at least for the immediate future…I think.”/

But this keeps people from really experiencing church.

It’s so much better for you and your church when you declare, /“I’m here, all of me, and I trust God with my future.”

/

 

   

                                                                                    Pg. 5

*/ /*

*/     ~*/*Christian martyr Jim Elliott who was killed by the Auca Indians in Ecuador once said, /“Wherever you are, be all there.

Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God.”/  */May this mindset be yours with regard to the local church./*

Henry Blackaby says, /“Watch to see where God is working and join Him.” /

* *

*    So where do *you think God is working at Harvest… or in your life?

I pray that God will open your spiritual eyes to see what He is doing.

The Holy Spirit and the Word of God will instruct you and help you know where God is working.

So once you know where He is working, you can adjust your life to join Him where He is working.

/ /

*B.

You Make the Local Church a Priority*

* *

*    *We all know, we build our lives around our priorities.

Building your life around the church means making it the kind of priority that */secondary concerns/* */flow around/*, */not over./*

Unfortunately for some, concerns like Sunday football games… hunting… sports… sleeping in… cutting grass… working on weekends… shopping… */run/* */over/* their involvement in the church.

*/~*According to our Phone Directory /*there are over */210/* people who are listed in it, but yet our average attendance so far this year is */119/*... which includes Easter Sunday in that figure.

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6

 

    Now that figure */(119)/* includes people */who are not /*included in our directory which proves we have a great number of people who claim that Harvest is their home church is really just dating the church.

Now let me give you some shocking news about these numbers… we have */91 /*or more missing every Sunday.

*/This is/* */unacceptable./*

The national average of church members and non-church members missing on any given Sunday is */30%,/* but many Sunday’s we are as high as */42%./*

Now I understand sickness… vacations… and being forced to work on Sunday, but I don’t understand */laziness… hunting… sports… shopping… sleeping in…/* coming ahead of church.

It is very obvious that Harvest is not a priority in many households.

As someone said, /“If absence makes the heart grow fonder, a lot of folks must love our church.”/

*C.

You Try to Make your Pastor’s job a Joy*

* *

*    Hebrew 13:17 *says, /“Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account.

Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”/