Welcome to FUEL the church online. Today, we are continuing our FUEL series.
FUEL stands for Faith in Unity Engaged in Love. Last week we talked how honor is the key to unity and how we have to be willing to get past people’s dirt to reveal their treasure. And we began the series talking about how faith works like being on a football team. First, you have to learn the playbook and then you have to be willing to run the plays by faith. We also said that the enemy will hit you to try and discourage you from engaging in the play. Today we’re going to talk about being engaged and why you have to stay engaged even after you’ve been hit and maybe even gotten injured. We have all experienced some level of hurt or trauma in our lives. Each of us deals with it in different ways, but one thing that remains true for a lot of us here in the south, is this: Dealing with a major hurt is one of the main reasons people start looking for a church. We are drawn to a place where we will find support and healing. But what happens to us when the hurt has been caused by someone in a church? We have to recognize the source
Ephesians 6:12 “12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” When we encounter an attack, we have to focus on understanding who the source of the attack was, and not allow ourselves to become bitter with the delivery guy. Satan will use anyone around you who is open to being used to hit you and cause you to get off track. Co-workers, friends, family and even a brother in faith can allow themselves to be an instrument of attack. Have you ever allowed yourself to be an instrument of attack for the enemy? I have. I once said said something very hurtful to a good friend who was just trying to warn me of a situation I needed to be careful of. My reaction was disbelief. This couldn’t possibly be true. I was hurt, so I responded by attacking him verbally. Well, it turns out he was 100% right about the situation and I lost a good friend for years because I allowed the enemy to use my tongue for 10 seconds. The saying “hurt people, hurt people” is very true. In other words, People who are in pain are likely to cause pain for others. That’s why it’s so important for us to always recognize the source of the hurt and pain. It’s a spiritual battle, not a physical one and it can only be fought and won in the spirit. After a spiritual injury, what we do next determines if we heal and re-engage with life or if we withdraw and decide it’s not worth engaging with people.
When we get hurt physically, where do we go for healing? A hospital. I believe there is a direct comparison between a hospital and a church. Let’s look at what Jesus had to say about this topic. Jesus said in Mark 2:17 “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” The CHURCH is Called to Be A Hospital Jesus is using hospital language when talking about getting better. When he saves us He doesn’t take us to heaven immediately. He actually talks about moving into an abundant life, He’s not talking about just waiting to die. He has called those of us who are “the church” to be a hospital that works to heal the sick and injured, regardless of how difficult the recovery process is. We are not called to be a hospice that has transitioned people to a comfort phase and given up on the idea of people actually recovering. I believe that most churches fit into one of these 2 categories: they function as a Hospital or as a Hospice. Let's first define the difference between a hospital and a hospice. Hospital: A place where you go to receive healing and a plan to move forward with your life. Hospice: A place you go to be comfortable while just waiting for your life to be over.
When it comes to church, if we are honest, most of us start by looking for a hospice not a hospital. The main reason is because being comfortable is what our flesh wants, but we all know that being comfortable all the time is not good for us. We look for a church that makes us happy because it looks right, has music we enjoy hearing and doesn’t talk about the Holy Spirit or anything else that religious folks have deemed “strange” or inappropriate. In other words, we are looking for a church where we are comfortable to just sit and soak it in. The problem with sitting and soaking is that eventually you sour, and then you have to go find another place to be comfortable. Most churches are founded because of a pastor’s desire to fulfill “The great commission” given by Jesus. Matthew 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Sharing the message of salvation through God’s love is vitally important, it is the first step in the process. The idea that God loves us so much that He would give His Son to take our punishment, is a very comforting thought. But the instruction Jesus gave in verse 20, which is of equal importance, requires we take it beyond the comforting part and “teach them to observe all He has commanded”. If we haven’t done this, we haven’t fulfilled the great commission.
This is where our true calling and responsibility as a hospital comes in. It’s also the place where things start to get uncomfortable. Jesus did not call us to a life of comfort. In Luke 19:23 He said “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me”. Does that sound comfortable to you? What does it look like to pick up a cross and follow Jesus? When Jesus was carrying His cross, He was on the path toward crucifixion and death. In this passage, Jesus is calling us to live a life filled with death. If you’ve picked up a cross, it’s because you headed towards death. In other words, dying to yourself is what is required... every day. So, Jesus is saying if you want to follow Him, you have to pick up your cross and follow Him to a place where you crucify your fleshly desires. Let me ask one more time, does that sound comfortable to you? Let’s look at what happens at a hospital. When you arrive at a hospital the first thing they do is to stop the bleeding deal with the pain. They put you in a bed to make you comfortable while your condition is evaluated and tests are being done. However, being comforted isn’t the end goal. Getting better and getting your life turned around is the end goal for the doctor.
This is where things get a little more challenging, because we normally don’t like what the doctor says when he comes to our room and interrupts our comfort with some uncomfortable news. The test results he gives us are then followed up with a prescription for medicine and diet and lifestyle modification advice. The recommendations we get from the doctor will certainly make us uncomfortable, but the problem is that it’s so easy to just not act on them and stay comfortable. We know the doctor told us these things for our benefit. It wasn’t because he enjoys saying things that we don’t like to hear. On the contrary, these things are intended to heal our issues and allow us to get back to a full and productive life, but it’s up to us to follow his instruction. Being confronted with the truth can be very uncomfortable. But if we decide not to follow the doctor’s instruction, we can expect to be back in the hospital very soon with the same issues. One of the main reasons we don’t do it, is because it requires us to do things that are uncomfortable. Personally, I deal with it every time I go to the doctor’s office. On more than one occasion I’ve been told: Stop eating junk...start getting some exercise...lose some weight. None of those things are comfortable...but they will produce better test results. Here’s something that won’t be a shock. As humans our flesh will resist anything that makes us uncomfortable and be attracted to anything that offers the promise of comfort. For a minute, let’s pretend that both of these things are free. Going to a gym and going to a spa. Which one would you go to more often?
Why is it that getting people to go to a spa would be easier than getting them to go to a gym? I could give you several reasons why going to a gym regularly is a better idea than going to a spa regularly, but the fact remains that we would all normally choose the spa. The reason can be summed up in one word: Comfort. Going to the spa should be a special once in a while treat, not something you do every day, even though we would enjoy going. As soon as you enter a spa the atmosphere is set with ambient music that promotes a sense of calmness and the air is filled with aromas that please your senses. The goal of the spa is to make you comfortable, but the reality is that it’s just a short term fix for stress, not a long term fix for what causes the stress. On the other hand, going to the gym is most certainly not a special treat or something we would look forward to doing. Working out is the opposite of comfort. It’s actually painful. The pain caused by working out is created because our muscles are literally being torn a little. But those tiny tares allow our muscles to regrow stronger and larger. No pain, no gain. Even though it’s painful, it’s good for us to have a discipline that will increase our strength and endurance. The long term benefit outweighs the temporary discomfort. 2 Corinthians 4:17. “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory”
Going to the gym and working out is designed to take us to another level. So, here’s our challenge: We can believe with all of our heart that working out is good for us, but until we take action and actually go, we will never be changed. It’s not the belief that changes us...it’s the action. James 2:14-26 ”What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. Faith without works is dead. It’s not enough to just believe, you have to act on that belief. I absolutely 100% believed, and told people, that if I stopped eating carbs, I’d lose weight...but that belief didn’t do me any good at all, until I acted on it. Believing and talking is comfortable, but action is uncomfortable. That’s why people say “It’s easier said, than done”. So, going back to the idea of our church being either a hospital or hospice, I want us to understand that in our relationship with God, the things we believe, say and then act on are literally a matter of life and death.
John 15:2 “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” A Christian who is concerned with their comfort at a hospice church will not bear any fruit. Jesus says the end result for that branch is that it will be taken away. But a Christian who is actively following doctors orders in a hospital church can expect to be pruned, which can be very uncomfortable, but the end result is more fruit. If FUEL is called to be a fully functioning effective spiritual hospital, then we must view the pastors and leaders as doctors who are giving life saving recommendations, that if followed, will get you moving toward an abundant life in Christ. But it’s up to us if we decide to do more than just believe what they say. It’s time to take acton on what we have heard and move away from our comfort zone. Let’s start taking personal spiritual responsibility for our growth. It’s time to ENGAGE!
Comments