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Up, In & Out: Our Threefold Focus – Part 2
Acts 1:1-8February 15th
In 1954, a traveling milkshake machine salesman visited one of his customers, a restaurant owner in San Bernardino, California. Amazed at the quality of food and service at this small drive-in, he spoke to the two brothers who owned the place. "I've been in the kitchens of a lot of restaurants and drive-ins selling [milkshake machines] around the country," he told them, "and I have never seen anything to equal the potential of this place of yours. Why don't you open a series of units like this? It would be a gold mine for you and for me, too, because every one would boost my [milkshake machine] sales. What d'you say?"
There was nothing but silence. Then one of the brothers turned in his chair and pointed up to the hill overlooking the restaurant. "See that big white house with the wide front porch?" he asked. "That's our home and we love it. We sit out on the porch in the evening and watch the sunset and look down on our place here. It's peaceful. We don't need any more problems. We are in a position to enjoy life now, and that's just what we intend to do."
Who were the brothers? Mac and Dick McDonald, owners of the original McDonald's restaurant. The milkshake machine salesman? Ray Kroc, who bought the rights to McDonald's and made it a household name. Today McDonalds is the #1 fast food chain in the world, with over 31,000 restaurants in 119 countries, serving 47 million customers each day.
The McDonald brothers, with their limited focus, could only see the problems that expansion would bring. Ray Kroc focused on the potential and the opportunities…and the rest is history.
Staying focused, staying on track is hard work! Churches also need to be focused. It’s imperative that we as a church, that we at Grace Church stay focused…stay on target because what we do here has eternal consequences.
We’re part of a cosmic battle, a life and death struggle. What’s at stake is not just physical but eternal life. Jesus said, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Mt. 16:18). The Church is under attack from Hell itself.
This morning as we continue our series, The Essential Church, we want to talk again about our focus, our ministry priorities here at Grace. We believe Scripture teaches there are three primary focuses for ministry: 1) Exaltation – the ministry of worship, the act of expressing to God His infinite worth and glory. 2) Edification – the ministry of encouraging one another spiritually, of love and unity within the local body of Christ. 3) Evangelization – the ministry of outreach. This includesmissions in all forms, witnessing to and winning the lost. It’s UP – exaltation; IN – Edification; OUT – Evangelization. Up, In & Out: That’s Our Threefold Focus. These focuses can be packaged several ways: upreach, inreach and outreach; or God, ourselves and others. Worship, discipleship and witnessing. Or, love for God, love for one another and love for a lost world. It’s like a three-legged stool and each leg is essential for balance.
Because this is so important and sets the direction for our church, we’ve divided this message into two parts. A couple of Sundays ago, we worked through the first part. This morning we’re going to focus on the 2nd half. This is our Threefold Focus – Part 2.
Last time, you’ll recall that we talked about the fact that, #1 This threefold focus is a constant theme in the New Testament (Acts 2:41-47; John 15). We also worked through, our first focus here at Grace -- #2. UP – Exaltation – we come together to exalt our Awesome God. We pointed out that we are to a) We are to worship God authentically and b) We are to worship God accurately. This morning we’re finishing this, so...3. IN – Edification – we come together to build each other up in the Faith. Very few people are experts in anything all by themselves. They need a supporting community. Do you know a good musician who was not trained, nurtured and sustained by the music community? Show me an athlete who achieves excellence all alone, apart from the athletic community. Medical people are more like ensembles and symphonies than soloists. What business tycoon does it all on his own without dedicated experts in finance, engineering, personnel, and marketing? Excellence requires participation in and support of a community of like-minded people. And that’s the way it is in the church. Very few believers achieve spiritual maturity all by themselves. Seldom is the Bible studied diligently without the aid of scholars and teachers. Rarely are people led to generosity by their own impulses.
God wants to help connect you with other believers through fellowship. First, God wants you to connect with Him. Then He wants you to connect with other members of His forever family and learn to love them. Fellowship is simply learning to love other people in God’s family.
1 Peter says, “God has given us the privilege of being born again so that we are now members of God’s very own family” (1:3 Living Bible). The Bible says God is love. So He wanted a family and He created us. Want to know why you’re alive? God made you to be a part of His family. That’s the whole reason you’re alive. God wants you in His family and His family is going to go on forever and ever.
Scripture also says that God wants you to learn to get along with other members of His family. Just as a parent enjoys watching his/her kids get along, God wants you to learn to love other family members. He wants us to all get along. Why? Because God is love and that’s the way we grow.
Did you know that when you get to heaven there are two things that you’re going to do? One of them is to worship and love God, and another is to love the other people who are there. God says "On earth, I want you to practice learning to love Me and learning to love other people." God is love and if you don’t learn to love other people, you can never be like God.
Sadly, many of us live very self-centered lives. We live for ourselves and our own comfort. We go through life never learning relational skills or learning how to love others. We never learn about intimacy or genuine fellowship, or even just how to get along with others. When we fail “Loving People 101,” we’re missing out on one of the reasons God created us. God made us as His image bearers relational because He’s relational.
The most important lesson you can learn in life is to learn to love God. The second most important lesson you can learn, is to learn to love other people in God’s family. God didn’t put us on earth to live like pagans and be our own selfish little pigs. He put us on earth to practice loving other people in the family of God, so that you’ll be ready for heaven.
1 Tim. 3:15 teaches that God wants us to learn how “to conduct ourselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.” The church is the support and foundation of the truth. All of us know the importance of a good foundation. If you don’t have a solid foundation when storms hit, your home is going to fall apart. While no one can predict the future, I can guarantee you that you’re going to have some storms…probably in the very near future. Some personal storms or health tornadoes that will rattle your life. You’re going to have some financial tremors, some relational or emotional or moral storms that will come crashing in. If you don’t have the foundation of the truth, you’re going to fall apart. So what’s our support and foundation? 1 Timothy 3:15 says it’s fellowship in God’s family, our local church family. That’s the support and foundation of the truth.
Most of us don’t realize that we need more than truth to grow as a Christian, to grow in the way God wants you to grow. We also need the support and foundation, we need relationships. God wants us to be healthy and balanced. And to be healthy and balanced in the Christian life you must have both relationships, and you must have truth in your life.
Just as you have two legs and couldn’t walk if you only had one leg. You’d have to have crutches to walk because you can’t walk with one leg. The same is true in walking with God. You cannot walk with just truth. You also need relationships. That’s why Scripture teaches that God wants us to have relationships in our lives.
Acts 2 gives us God’s model for connecting with other believers. “Those who believed were baptized and added to the church. They joined with the other believers and committed themselves to the Apostles’ teaching and fellowship. They worshipped together regularly at the temple courts and they met together for communion in homes and they shared their meals with great joy and thankfulness.” This tells us what the church should do. It’s all in this passage…they met in small groups. Every person in the early church had a circle of intimacy. We all need a circle of spiritual intimacy.
If you want to be a healthy and balanced believer, you need both large group worship (“in the temple courts”) and you also need smaller group fellowship (they met together for communion in homes”). You need both to make it in your Christian life. If all you do is come to church and listen to the truth and worship, you’re not going to grow as a Christian. You need fellowship and you just can’t fellowship with 200 people. You can only fellowship with six or eight or ten. That’s why we nearly drive you crazy encouraging you to be part of a smaller group. That’s why we’re continually coming up with fellowship opportunities.
Why do you think that we pushed the Super Bowl Parties? Why do we put together events like our Valentines Banquet? We know that each of us needs fellowship. You need a small group for the relationships. You don’t get relationships in a crowd. You can worship in a crowd but you can only fellowship in a small group. For your spiritual growth and for you to become all that God wants you to be, you need to worship together with the whole church, and you need to fellowship in a small group. Each of us needs a Bible study or an ABF.
Why do we need a small group? When you’re going through the storms of life that we all go through, you’re greatest need is not just truth. You’re greatest need is the support and foundation of the truth. You need relationships. You need someone to pray with you, hug you and encourage you and to be there with you when you’re going through a storm.
Who do you turn to when you’re under attack? What do you do when you’re going through tough times? Do you have a small group? Close Christian friends? None of us are spiritually strong enough to make it without a group, a fellowship of other believers. God says we all need fellowship. If you don’t have anybody who’s building into your life in an intimate way, I pity you. You may have lots of shallow friendships. That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about gut level real fellowship where it’s safe, where we can let our hair down and be transparent. They’re in your life and you’re in their life, and you’re helping each other.
Mental Health experts tell us that if you isolate yourself from other people and fail to develop any close fellowship, that’s intimate relationships with a group of others, you’re three times more likely to die an early death. You are four times more likely to suffer emotional burnout. You are five times more likely to be clinically depressed. And you are ten times more likely to be hospitalized for an emotional or mental disorder.
How many times do I have to say it before you get it? You need to be in a smaller group. If you’re not in a small group, you need to join one. And not next month, next year. No more excuses. No more procrastination. No more "I’m too busy..." then you’re too busy. You need time for relationships. For your own spiritual health I’m pleading with you as your Pastor, get in a group. Romans 12:5 says, “In Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” That’s what fellowship is all about. We all need each other.
God wants you to center your life on Christ. We do that through worship. God wants you to get to know other believers, to grow in learning to love and in relationship. That’s fellowship. That’s where we edify one another.4. OUT – Evangelization – we go out to reach the lost around us.
Recently, I read of a Christian who prayed this prayer every morning: "Lord, if you want me to witness to someone today, please give me a sign to show me who it is." One day he found himself on a bus when a big, burly biker type man sat next to him. The bus was nearly empty but this huge guy sat next to our praying friend. The timid Christian anxiously waited for his stop so he could exit the bus. But before he could get too nervous about the man next to him, this big guy bursts into tears and begins to weep. This monster of a man began to cry out with a loud voice, "I need to be saved. I'm a lost sinner and I need the Lord. Won't somebody tell me how to be saved?" He turned to the Christian and pleaded, "Can you show me how to be saved?" And this timid believer immediately bowed his head and prayed, "Lord, is this a sign?" Are you looking for a "sign" to start sharing your faith? Do you find that you "hate" even the thought of witnessing?
Chuck Colson writes, “When the church fails to break the [cultural] barrier, both sides lose. Those who need the gospel message of hope and the reality of love, don’t get it, and the isolated church keeps evangelizing the same people over and over until its only mission finally is to entertain itself.”
In 1 Peter 3:15 we’re commanded, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." Unfortunately, many believers are very uncomfortable in sharing their faith. How do we correct that? Let me suggest some vital elements to help us be effective witnesses.
a) We must personally have a vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ. You justcan’t share what you ain’t got. If we’re going to win our worlds, we must have an intimate walk with Jesus that’s obvious to all who know us. To impact the lost world around us, we must have a relationship with Jesus that’s so deep and so real that every moment of our lives, our daily conversation and our attitudes are sprinkled with the love of God. When Jesus Christ is your best friend, you can't help but talk about Him.
Too many believers misread Acts 1:8. Turn there with me (p. 770). They believe that God has called us to witness, to be involved in an evangelistic activity. That’s not what Acts 1:8 says. We are to be witnesses. Witnessing is not what we DO, it’s who we ARE! That involves every aspect of our being, what we are and do. Remember Francis of Assisi’s challenge: “Preach the gospel all the time; if necessary, use words.”
You and I are always testifying of something. We are either Christ’s witnesses or we are witnessing against Him. How we work? How we treat our neighbor? How we treat our mate and children is a witness either for Christ or against Him? Even how we treat the bagger at the grocery store?
Sheldon Vanauken wrote, “The best argument for Christianity is Christians: their joy, their certainty, their completeness. But the strongest argument against Christianity is also Christians – when they are somber and joyless, when they are self-righteous and smug in complacent consecration, when they are narrow and repressive, then Christianity dies a thousand deaths.” God has called each of us to be witnesses. That means that we must personally have a vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ.
b) We must have friends who are lost. It doesn't matter how vibrant our relationship with Christ is if we never get close to people who don't know Christ themselves. If we’re going to impact our world for Christ, the most effective approach will be through friendships with those who need to be reached. Yet, statistics show that within just two years of becoming a Christian, most believers have no significant relationships with a lost person. To really influence the lost we get outside the church bubble and make friendships with lost folk with whom we can share our faith.
It’s estimated that less than 3% of non-Christian people in the world ever come into our buildings. Too many churches are focused on just building beautiful buildings. They want to grow so they build a building. And when you build a new building you typically have numerical growth. But do you know who usually comes when you build a new building – Christians.
And typically, it’s Christians who are a little disillusioned with their present church so they decide to shop around, they decide to check out the new “sacred” restaurant in town. That’s not evangelism, nor is it New Testament church growth. We’re never going to fulfill the Great Commission just by building great buildings. We must remember that relationships bring people into a saving relationship with Jesus. People bring people to the Lord.
To complete our God-given mission we must go to where the people are and build relationships with them. Now, ask yourself an honest question: How are you doing at this? How many unsaved people do you know? How many of them do you have a significant friendship with?
One study asked 10,000 Christians how they came to Christ – 79% said they came to Christ because they were invited to do so by a friend! This means that almost 80% of the people who respond to Christ do so through an already established relationship. And here's some more pertinent info. A recent article in Leadership revealed that 80% of the people won to Christ through relationships become actively involved in a local church.
c) We must clearly communicate the Gospel. In Matthew 5 Jesus said that if light is to have it's intended effect, it must not be covered up or obscured in any way. In order for us to have the powerful influence on this world, we must have a firm handle on the Gospel and be ready to communicate it concisely and clearly. It only makes sense that any time we have a message to communicate, we must do so in a way that it is clearly understood by the people with whom we are communicating. Paul wrote, "And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should” (Col. 4:3-4).
We’re here to serve as God's agents of reconciliation who will first catch His love, and then urgently and infectiously offer it to all who are willing to consider it. This morning will you commit to sharing your faith? Will you pledge to always have a relationship with at least one non-Christian?5. There are two obstacles for this ministry balance. The teaching of this threefold focus in ministry is clear in Scripture but we’re not home yet.
a) We will have to fight obsession. Most of us struggle with being too focused on one or two things. Some believers love worship. Others just love fellowship. And some just can’t enough outreach. The key is balance.
True story – One Pennsylvania woman spent the better part of an hour shopping at a neighborhood grocery store without realizing that a passerby had stuck a knife into her neck. Darlene Jones, 62, set out from home on foot before 7 a.m. when a running passerby slapped her on the back of the neck – or so she thought. She kept on going, as if nothing had happened. She walked to the Acme supermarket and bought a package of Oreo cookies and a newspaper before making the half-mile return trip to her house. Only after she got home did her daughter notice the handle of a kitchen knife sticking out of her mother's neck.
But that’s not the end of the story. Half a dozen people walked right past her without even noticing. Supermarket surveillance cameras later showed the woman strolling through the aisles of the store, past clerks and customers, with the knife handle clearly visible. And Jones could not give police a description of her assailant, she was too focused on getting to the store.
Individually and corporately we must work for balance of worship, fellowship and evangelism. Most of us find that one or two are usually easier and more appealing. To be a healthy church, we must have balance. As believers, we need to continually ask ourselves: What have I done today to worship God in awe and wonder? What have I done today to help a brother or sister in Christ, to comfort, confront, teach, disciple? What have I done today to be a witness to someone outside of the household of faith?
And as a church, we must plan for all three aspects of ministry. We must plan worship services to focus on the person and praise of God. The same service could and should be clearly edifying, giving occasion to express love and concern within the body and to present the basics of salvation clearly. At another meeting, the primary emphasis will be fellowship or meeting body needs. Then, there must be meetings planned for evangelism, using multiple means of attracting and holding the attention of the lost so the Gospel can be clearly proclaimed. The key is balance.
b) We must have the right motivation. If we seek to do this because we’re afraid of God, or we just feel that we should, or even that we just know that it’s the right thing – we’ll fail. Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15).
When Jane and I were first married, we both owned cars – very old, high mileage, rusting cars. I had an El Camino I’d used in roofing that we sold as we went to our first church. Jane owned a Chevy Nova that was on its last legs. We were serving the Lord in a church in Danville, IL. Jane’s Uncle, Uncle John, called me up one day and said, “I just bought a new car and I want to give you my old one.” He didn’t want to sell it and make some extra bucks. He wasn’t going to trade it in. He wanted to invest in us, in our lives and our ministry. It was a Volare Station Wagon that Uncle John had been nearly fanatical about keeping in good shape. He could have easily gotten a few thousand for it.
Though nearly twenty-five years ago I remember it like it was yesterday. I don’t remember anyone ever caring and doing something like that before for me. Uncle John certainly didn’t owe us anything. And he could have used the money. His generous act of love for us filled me with love and gratitude for him. Though he was my “Uncle” by marriage, I would have done anything for Uncle John. But what Uncle John did for us is so small compared to what God has done for us and what He has given us.
When you and I truly see ourselves, our sin, guilt, our deserving of Hell. When we truly see the holiness of God and our deserving His wrath. But then we see the love of God on an old rugged Cross where He gave His only Son for us. Then, we’re motivated! Out of love and gratitude we want to exalt Him. Out of love and gratitude we want to be with His family. We want fellowship. We want to edify and build up our brothers and sisters.
When we see that old rugged cross and we realize that every person we meet is either going to Heaven or Hell – and we know how undeserving we are and how much God loves us – we have to share it. We have to be involved in God’s evangelistic mission to our world.
That’s what God has called us to do! It’s our mission and must be our focus – Up, In and Out. Our focus is Up, In and Out because we’re consumed by love and gratitude for God!
Jesus gave His life for us…can we give Him any less than our worship, our witness and our work on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Christ?