What Jesus Says to a Complacent Church

None of all life’s challenging assignments is greater than parenting. Nothing else comes close to demanding the energy required for this role. It’s not an accident that we call its beginning “labour”! No matter what we expect in the beginning, we soon realise our theories were wrong.

As parents, God asks us to:

(1) prepare our kids for life;

(2) protect our kids in life’s storms;

(3) play with our kids for fun; and

(4) point our kids to God.

The problem is, about the time we’ve got it figured out, they’re gone. Parenting doesn’t last that long. The truth is we only have a brief window of opportunity.  May God bless all our dads today.

If worship is an “all of life” experience, then how do we worship when we’re feeling wounded; 
because every one of us gets wounded in life. Not just physically, but emotionally, spiritually and relationally.  In fact, those can be the deeper wounds. 
 
Often, we don’t remember the physical bumps, bruises and scars we got growing up but we surely remember the put-downs.  We remember what was said to us by teachers, friends, even our parents.  Things like - “you’re not going to amount to anything …, or you’re no good …”  Those wounds stick with us.
 
Whatever the wound - emotional, relational or spiritual and whatever it’s source - a person or a circumstance, worship is the antidote. 
 
In worship we can grieve and still honour God.  We can ask God for strength and wisdom and join with others for support.  And we can persist.  Our “keeping on keeping on” is an act of worship.  

“Don’t worry about anything.  Instead pray about everything.  Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done.”  Philippians 4:6-7
 
Have you ever had one of those days when just nothing goes right?  It seemed like every single thing in your life that day just goes wrong and you think - “I’m just going back to bed!” 
 
When we do, when we feel overwhelmed, when we’re stressed out, when we’re at the end of the rope, then we’ve got two alternatives.  Worry or worship.  We’re going to do one or the other. 
 
The antidote to panic is prayer and praise.  God’s antidote to worry and anxiety is worship.
Worship which …
asks for God’s help,
believes in God’s purposeful presence,
confesses our inadequacy,
depends on God,
gives thanks to God, and
finds God blessing our circumstances.   

“Yet a time is coming, and has now come, when the true worshipers, will worship the Father, in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers, the Father seeks.” 
John 4:23 (New International Version)
 
Everyone worships something or someone.
 
We worship what we consider valuable. And it becomes obvious what’s valuable to us by how we live our lives.
 
Jesus tells His followers how we’re to worship God; how we’re to “declare God’s worth”; how worshiping brings us in line with God’s purposes for us.  
We’re to worship with thankfulness. 
We’re to worship “in spirit” (from the depth of our being), and “in truth” (with honesty and sincerity).   
 
Our worship brings God’s presence into all our life experiences and circumstances. 

“In Christ, we who are many form one Body, and each member belongs to all the others.”                  
Romans 12:5 (New International Version)
 
“…let us do good to all people, especially those who belong to the family of believers.”                   
Galatians 6:10 (New International Version)
 
Jesus describes his followers as disciples, as ambassadors, and as members. 
Following Jesus is more than just believing in Him, it’s belonging. 
Believing without belonging makes us spiritual orphans! 
 
To truly realise what it means to follow Jesus, we need to be part of a church family. 
The church is the body of Christ. 
A member is valuable when they’re connected to the body.  So, if we truly want to realise the power of Jesus in our lives, we need to be connected to a church family. 
 
Many see the church as a building or an event, but more than that, it’s a family in relationship with God.  There’s a significant difference between attending a church service and being a member of a church family.  Ephesians 2:19 tells us that as believers in Christ, we’re part of God’s family, with an obligation to meet as a church family in relationship with God.

“We are Christ's ambassadors.”  2 Corinthians 5:20
 
An ambassador is someone sent on a radical kind of mission.
They’re sent to build relationships - political, economic, goodwill, cultural, and spiritual.
Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:20 that as Christians, we’re Christ’s ambassadors. If we’re going to follow Jesus, be “all in” for Jesus, we need to understand what it means to be an ambassador

 “As Jesus was going down the road He saw Matthew sitting in his tax-collection booth, ‘Come be My disciple,’ Jesus said.  So Matthew got up and followed Him.”  Matthew 9:9
 
When Jesus was thirty years old He began His public ministry. 
The first thing He did was go gather a group of people who He could train. 
They’re called His disciples. 
 
Many times in Scripture we see that He invited everyday people to become His disciples.
 
He invites us too.

Jesus taught in the Synagogue.
 
He travelled by boat over the Sea of Galilee.
 
He taught from the boat.
 
Many healings and miracles were carried out at Capernaum.
 
Are you being fed by a personal relationship with Jesus?
 
Are you taking Jesus the light of the world into the dark places ?
 
Are you being a Fisherman?
 
Take your God given gifts and let Jesus feed the people.
 
Simon Peter answered him Lord to whom shall we go? YOU have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that You are the holy One of God

You must never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer if necessary to share the Good News. 2 Timothy 1:8
 
Daniel stood out because of his professional competence, his personal character, and his public commitment to God - so much so that he survived three kings and two empires. At the age of 82, he was still in demand and being promoted. Daniel’s success made others around him jealous.
 
When a group of them conspired against him, Daniel continued to pray and be faithful to God.

“I have heard that the Spirit of God is in you, that you possess brilliant knowledge and extraordinary wisdom.” Daniel 5:14
 
Daniel was known for his wisdom and knowledge. The measure of a person’s success can usually be evaluated by their reputation.  When we need help with something we want to call on the people who know the most about what’s puzzling us.
 
Daniel was called on to “interpret dreams, explain the meaning of mysteries and solve difficult problems” (Daniel 5:12) and he was known as having the Spirit of God in him.
We can learn from Daniel, a man of integrity who put into practice what he learned and honoured God with his life.