"The Great Giveaway"
Dean AngellJanuary 18/19, 2003
There is a whole side to Christianity that the church seldom talks about..Well - that may be a little strong..We talk about it, but we often don't put the energy behind it like we do some other stuff..I'm talking about these fairly tough words of Jesus:
"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it." (Matthew 16:24-25)
"The last will be first, and the first will be last." (Matthew 20:16)
"'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" (Acts 20:35)
Those all speak of a philosophy or a theology that I call - The Great Giveaway. JP talked to us today about God's call on our lives to give our lives away in worship - to submit and bow down our hearts and give God His rightful place..To go about our lives, humbly following a God who is awesome in power and majesty and love and grace..that every day we would gladly submit to His leadership - a submission based on love and respect for who God is and what He has done. That's the first great giveaway.
Then we heard Chris Church talk about the call to give our lives in worship by serving..That when we give our time and our energy to serve other people and to the ministry of the church..that act of giving is exactly dead center in line with what Jesus has called us to be about with our lives..
These are the things Jesus was talking about when he said lose your life for my sake..and give of yourself and deny yourself. Don't be first - be last..It's a great giving that must happen in our lives.. That's giveaway #2 - serving..
I'd like to talk to you about another kind of giving that Jesus has called us to with our lives..This is something that our church has taken very seriously for a long long time..Listen to the mission statement of this church..This is what we are becoming: "We reach out to seeking friends as we become committed, caring followers of Jesus Christ." Let me focus on those first words..The call to share the good news of Jesus Christ with those who are seeking spiritually - the call to share the love and grace and peace of Christ with those who are not yet following him or part of a church community - the call to help people start walking on their journey towards Christ - is a key centerpiece of what Lakeview Church is all about. And many of you fall into that "just starting to seek" category even this weekend.. I eluded to this whole idea last week -but I want to emphasize it this week as well..Jesus said this - "I have come to seek and to save what was lost" (Luke 19:10). - key mission of Jesus' life!
About 15 years ago the leadership of this church decided that if Jesus said that's what he was about, well then our church should be about that as well -- that seeking people finding Jesus should be a very high priority for our community. Well, any worthy goal has some sacrifice attached to it. It's been true with us and it certainly was with Jesus..Let me show you what I read this week..Now - catch this - I've read these pages in Scripture dozens and dozens and dozens of times..These stories Jesus told are some of my favorites and very familiar. But this week, I saw a pattern I've never seen before..Let me show you:
Luke 15 - The Message
Lost Son
Lost Coin
Lost Sheep
Now a lot of you sharper Bible readers probably caught this years ago..but why did Jesus tell those stories? Well I always thought it was solely for the irreligious people that were hanging around Jesus - the tax collector - the "sinners" - the ones with doubtful reputations..And I thought because they were there - Jesus wanted them to hear about the endless love of God and His bountiful grace that He so freely pours out on those who are spiritually lost and in need of being found spiritually..And that's all true - He was speaking to them. But there were other people listening - religious folks - nice, clean cut, very devout, spiritual people. Why did they need to hear those stories? Listen again to why he told the stories..
"The Pharisees and religious scholars were not pleased, not at all pleased. They growled, 'He takes in sinners and eats meals with them, treating them like old friends.' Their grumbling triggered these stories."
Jesus told those stories not just so lost and seeking people could find God, but also so nice religious church-going people would see how much of a priority lost people are to God..In fact, the more I read what Jesus was talking about, he was driving home his point more to the religious leaders than to the so called "sinners." If you look at those stories from that angle, what was Jesus saying? Listen..If you had 100 sheep (tell the story).
Jesus said..religious people wake up - church, wake up - the 99 are okay. You can leave them in the wilderness. They're gonna be fine - they don't need rescuing - their souls are already rescued. Go after the one at all costs -- In fact, don't even count the cost - just do whatever it takes. Look under every nook and cranny. Call out his name. Invest time and energy and your life to find the one..because that one knows he's lost. And he's scared and desperately wants to be found but he's wandered off and can't get back by himself..Go and find him.
Folks, let me ask you something. Is our job individually as Christ followers or as a church to make sure the 99 are fed and watered and comfortably bedded down at night and safely out of danger? Or is it our job to pursue the one who is lost, with all diligence..and try and help his/her soul get rescued? Well - the answer is obvious..and at Lakeview Church we desperately want to make decisions based on this priority set out by Jesus. Let's make this practical..That priority is why most of our weekend services are directed at those who are seeking at an introductory level..
because we're after the one. That's why we try very hard not to use real churchy/religious language when we talk - because that kind of talk is only for the 99. That's why we say - if you really want to delve into a Bible study or into deeper theology and teaching - go to a class or join a small group or a study group - because the weekend service just won't be focused on the 99..(all the time). That's why we have a little more casual approach to our dress and why we drink coffee and why we strive for excellence in our programming. That's why our kids ministry and junior high ministry do all the zany and amazing things they do. Because we're about the one being found.
Now..I gotta talk music for a minute or two. (Biggest hot button in every church). If you don't like the style of a performance song on a particular week - or if you think a certain song selection was made in poor taste - or if you don't always like singing the songs we sing or the way we sing them..then write us a card..tell us your thoughts. But before you write that card, hear this. Our motivation - each and every week as a programming team is about the one, more than the 99. So if you want to sing a song that is familiar to you, ask yourself this - is it familiar to the one who is seeking? Are the words something they can relate to..or is that song solely for the 99. (It's okay to challenge our thinking - Jesus did too.)
Catch this: The principle of what Jesus was teaching was this - being about the one..is not a simple, easy, or even a natural thing..but it's the right thing to be about. The giving up of our preferences in order to see one who is searching be found is not simple..Think about it. Don't you think that shepherd thought - I'd hate to see something bad happen to the 99..maybe that one who is lost will wander back and find us..Sure, he had those thoughts..But the principle remains. The one who is lost won't be found on his own. We have to go out of our way - go the extra mile - be willing to risk and change and get uncomfortable. We gotta be willing to go out of our comfort zones and to give up our preferences in order to find the one. And when our church's mission statement says we are gonna make seeking people a priority - these are the things we're talking about..Folks, the one is what Lakeview Church is about - It's what has propelled us forward for years..
Folks, I'm calling every one of you to be about the one. Pray for opportunities to share your faith. Pray for God to open doors of relationship with seeking people. Help us develop better opportunities (as a church) for you to bring your seeking friends here. Help us develop a weekend service that would reach your friends effectively with the good news of Jesus Christ.
I want to make you a promise. For some you will hear this and get very excited. For others you won't quite grasp this. I will promise you that the leadership of Lakeview Church will always have seeking people as a very high priority -- We will sacrifice our preferences and our money and our time and our energy to see even one be found. That's who we are. Why? Because we have a God of power and majesty - a God who is clearly worthy of all the praise and worship we can muster - (no question). But He's also a God who goes out searching for spiritually lost people. He's a God who scours every nook and cranny - looks high and low - just in case there's a chance of finding someone. He's a God who goes out to the road and looks down that lane every day - waiting with open arms and just hoping one of his lost sons or daughters will come home..so He can give them the biggest, most loving and grace-filled hug they've ever had and put on a big steak and throw a party..Because the one who is lost - the one who was outside community and outside the family is now found and included and inside..That's the kind of God we've got..and that's the kind of church we've got to be.
Then one more story Jesus told -- He kinda raises the bar even more for those religious folks..Remember, lots of these guys had more money than the common folks..and they despised the poor. So Jesus tells the story..
Luke 16:19-31 - "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.' But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.' He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.' Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.' 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'"
This is why Jesus told that story:
1. The religious leaders of the day needed a jolt - a reminder of who God is and what He's about..See - they were focused solely on themselves - their needs and wants and rules and life - not focused on anyone else - they were the elite - they had money and power and position - they were the have's, not the have nots..but they also had knowledge about God - book learning. They knew their Bibles and went to church and could list every rule and law the church had..but it was only head knowledge..and their hearts were cold - cold to the poor - cold to those outside of their religious and ethnic circles..They were separate and elite and better than everyone else - especially those people that Jesus hung out with - those sinners. They weren't gonna have anything to do with them..
Well, what does Jesus do? He says .. You religious guys - don't be confused about who God is..and don't be confused about how God judges the soul. Wealth and rules and being religious have nothing to do with it! It's about your heart - and your hearts are calloused and selfish and prideful..and God has nothing to do with those things. And you know what? I think Jesus wanted to up the ante a bit for all of us as well..that life is short and eternity is forever..and what we have materially in this world means nothing - but how we live and direction of our hearts is vital.
Now, connect these thoughts to the first 3 stories. The one lost sheep - the one lost coin - and the one lost son. Folks, lost people matter so much to God because God understands eternity..And He knows that the way we live and the choices we make here on earth radically affect eternity - And folks, the reason God is so concerned about lost people being found spiritually - the reason He searches and risks and waits is so no one will spend their eternity separated from Him. Jesus was just reminding us that eternity is very real - and so is heaven, and so is hell..and the call to not worry about the 99 - but to search for the one - has an eternal impact..And folks, that's why Lakeview Church does what we do - very imperfectly, let me add. But our goal is to do whatever it takes - to sacrifice and risk and go and spend and give energy and be creative - in order to reach just one person and have their soul light up for all eternity. Who got found by Jesus and who will spend eternity in a whole new way, partly because Lakeview Church decided it wouldn't just be about the 99 - but we'd be a place where the one could come and be found. Folks - here's the picture I've got about this church and heaven. Work with me..Sometimes I think the start of heaven will be a series of really big ballrooms..with a huge party - a celebration of life and eternity and worship going on..And Lakeview Church's name is gonna be on one of those ballrooms..And all of us are gonna gather there on that day - not 99 of us, but 100. In fact, hundreds and hundreds and thousands who have been found by a God who searched and loved and waited and did whatever it took to find His children..Found because a church did what Jesus called it to do -- Let seekers seek and be found.
Close - a song about heaven. Close your eyes. Think with your heart about eternity and who you're gonna take with you to see Jesus someday.
