Staying on message

It's so easy to get "off message" as a church family and in our own individual lives.

I found this story today.

"On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks were frequent, a group of concerned citizens decided to build a rescue station. The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat manned by the few devoted crewmen who kept constant watch over the sea. Day and night these courageous men faced the dangers of the sea, risking their lives to save the lives of many who were shipwrecked.

After a while, the station became famous. Some of those who were saved, as well as others in the community, wanted to become part of this mission. They gave their time and money to improve the quality of the station. They bought new boats. They replaced the shabby emergency cots with modern hospital beds. They even tore down the crude station hut and built a new "multi-purpose" facility.

The station soon became a popular gathering place for its members. It wasn't noticeable at first, but over time, it looked less and less like a rescue station, and more like a social club. Few members were interested anymore in actually facing the dangers at sea, so they hired life-saving professionals to do it for them.

One day a large ship wrecked off the coast, and the hired crew rescued boatloads of cold, wet, frightened people. Some of them were sick. Some lost everything they owned. Some were uneducated. And all were indigent.

The influx of shipwreck victims upset many members of the club; so the issue was addressed at the next business meeting.

One leader said, "If we allow our facility to be overrun this way, it will become run-down. And we all know how expensive repairs can be."

Others nodded in agreement. But there was a handful of people who said, "Wait a minute. We are first and foremost a life-saving station. We can't close our doors to those who need us most."

The leadership said to them, "If you're not happy with the way we do things here, go start your own station down the coast."

And they did: With a small, crude hut and a single boat and a few committed workers. Then this group of dedicated workers risked their lives to save those who were wrecked at sea. They saved many lives, and soon, this second life-saving station became popular, too. They bought new equipment and built a new facility.

The members lost interest in facing the perils of rescue, but they loved to gather and talk about their sea adventures of days gone by. Soon, like the previous station, they stopped sending boats into the water.

This scenario was repeated again and again throughout the years. Today you'll find a number of exclusive clubs along the shore. Shipwrecks are still frequent in those waters, but most of the people drown."

John Macarthur calls this story "an illustration of the history of the church."

However, I would suggest that it could also illustrate our own individual lives.

There's a story in the New Testament that deals with the calling of Peter and Andrew by Jesus to become disciples and give them a vision for their lives and ministry.

Jesus said in Matthew 4:19, "Come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."

Jesus is calling us all to a life with meaning. A life of significance.

A life of vision.

This story in Matthew 4 reminds us of what that vision is.

Our vision as a church remains, "a place to belong, a place to grow and a place to serve."

Let me amplify on this:

Our mission is to change lives.

While we are in the midst of a relocation project, our mission is ultimately not about buildings, or accumulating money, or earning accolades—it's about changing lives.

Jesus said in Matthew 4:19, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."

Jesus is saying, "Instead of doing something temporary with your life, I can show you how to live a life that will have impact for all eternity."

It's this simple: if we're not involved in work that promotes positive change in the lives of others, we're not doing ministry.

We need to ask ourselves: are we reaching people for Christ? Are we helping people grow in their Christian life? Are we empowering people to be better parents, better spouses, better employees, better friends, better sons and daughters, better neighbors, and on and on?

At our staff meeting this week, we asked ourselves, "are we setting people up in our church family for success?"

Our mission is to help change lives. Primarily, that involves leading people to a life-changing connection with Jesus Christ. That's what it means to be "fishers of men."

Our mission is to heal the hurting.

Verse 23 tells us that Jesus went throughout Galilee healing every disease and sickness. Then verse 24 tells us, "And people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them."

This week I am beginning a five-part series on healing.

God still heals today!

God desire to heal us body, soul and spirit.

We have been called to do the ministry of Christ—to heal the hurting. And while we pray for their healing, we're called to offer them comfort during their affliction.

If someone in this church is fighting cancer, or going through a divorce, or facing unemployment, we are to pray for God to heal the situation, and we are to offer them encouragement, comfort and emotional support every step of the way.

If someone close to you goes off the deep and commits a foolish sin that wrecks their life, you are to pray that God will restore them and help them pick up the pieces, and you are to offer them encouragement and support every step of the way.

There are people in this community who are hurting desperately. Maybe they brought it on themselves, maybe they didn't. Either way, our mission is to do what we can to help them find wholeness and experience the fullness of God in their lives. When we stop caring about those who hurt, we cease to be a life-saving station and we become nothing more than a social club.

Our mission is to teach the Word of God.

(v. 23) Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom .

Our mission is to teach the word of God—not just on Sunday morning from the pulpit, but in our Life Groups, Sunday Bible Fellowships, children's church, and youth meetings.

We don't want the story of the life-saving-station-turned-social-club to become our story, and it doesn't have to.

But we can't allow ourselves to lose sight of the ministry to which we have been called—as a church and as individuals.

It's about people—helping them change, healing their hurts, teaching them truth. We don't do this for our glory, but for their good. It's the essential part of our mission.

Won't you continue to join me in this....