40 days of prayer message 3
John 10:9-10 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
The key phrase that I wanted to emphasize in that passage is, “I have come that they may have life.” Jesus came so that spiritually dead people could be made spiritually alive. He came and inaugurated the Church as a life-giving institution. The Church is to be living and vital. And not only is it to be alive, it is to be a place of abundant life. He said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
How do I know if I have abundant life spiritually? How do I know that about my church?
Signs of life
A story making the rounds concerns a Biology I examination in which the students were asked: "Suppose you could take to Mars any of the laboratory equipment used in this course. How would you determine if there was life on Mars?" One student responded: "Ask the inhabitants. Even a negative answer would be significant." The student got an A.
Carl Sagan, Other Worlds.
When a doctor examines an unconscious body that has come into the E.R., he or she looks for signs of life. The signs of life are, breathing on its own, a pulse, eye movement, blood getting to the body, body warmth.
But what are the signs of life in a church? Is it a big facility? Is it a huge budget? Is it a multitude of programs and activities for all ages? Truth be told, it is none of these. All of those things are what the outside world looks at to determine the life of a church. I don’t know if you remember the words spoken to the church in Sardis in the book of Revelation; Jesus said to this church,
3 “And to the [a]angel of the church in Sardis write, ‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive,
They had a reputation for being a living and vibrant church. They had lots of activity and many members. Influence,,,They may have had many people joining them on a regular basis. But look at what Jesus said,
“And to the [a]angel of the church in Sardis write, “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Buildings, budgets, bodies
Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart.
So, what are the signs of life in a church? Well, there are many things that we could look at, but after looking at our devotionals for this week, I decided to focus in on 3.
Humility, Love, Power
A living church, its members will manifest these 3 qualities; humility, love, and power. That’s what we are going to look at this morning.
prayer
I. Humility
You might remember the story of two of Jesus’ disciples; James and John. Mark 10 tells us that they came to Jesus and asked to be given the second and third roles of authority in Jesus’ coming kingdom. Vice presidents, audacious…In short, Jesus told them no, and then said this to all His disciples
Mark 10: 42 But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.
Dictators
43 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. 44 And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.
Rise to the top
45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
He was saying that His kingdom would not be characterized by people vying for power and position, but rather, those who are raised in position in the Kingdom would be those who humbled themselves.
The way of Christianity, the way of the Church is the way of humility and service. If there is any quality that is emblematic of a Christian who is spiritually alive, it is humility.
Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
You enter the Kingdom humble, you wait for the Kingdom humble, and enter the eternal Kingdom humble.
You enter the Kingdom humble,
Matthew 18:3 and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 23:12 And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
you wait for the Kingdom humble,
1 Peter 5:5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”
Example, what that looks like
Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
Philippians 2:8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
Did not exalt Himself
and enter the eternal Kingdom humble.
1 Peter 5:6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
Matthew 24: 43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. 45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
Casting our crowns at His feet
And humility doesn’t just extend to the Lord, but to each other.
So, one thing we have to do when considering our church and its vital signs is to check our humility. If we are asking God to breathe new life into our church, we have to have a great deal of humility. Why do we need humility?
Because, just like when you go to the doctor and he or she examines you, asking for revitalization is like that examination. You go to the doctor, your heart, lungs, internal organs, skin, everything is examined. They look at any symptoms of ill health you may be having. And when you are done, they give you a diagnosis.
But the examination and the diagnosis are not what restores your health. You don’t say to the doctor, “Oh, I’m diabetic. That’s what I am. Thank you for that, I feel so much better now.”
No, once you have the diagnosis, then comes the treatment. What is it that I need to restore my health? Medication? A change in diet, exercise, or my routine? Surgery?
There’s where the humility comes in. You have to sublimate your priorities and preferences to the doctor’s plan. You have to choose to change.
That’s why it takes humility to see church revitalization. After the 40 days of prayer, there is a diagnosis, and plan. And the church has to humble itself and follow that plan.
Sign a life, abundant life
II. Love
The second attribute of a living Christian, and church is love. When we come to faith in Christ, we walk through the door of humility, and the first gift that we are given by His Spirit is love.
Romans 5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
The first in the list of fruits of the Spirit is love.
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
The attribute that is said to distinguish Christians is love.
1 John 3:14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
The two greatest commandments according to our Lord concern love. Loving the Lord, and loving our neighbor as ourselves.
The reason God chose to save the world is that He loved it.
So, if we want God to revitalize our church we have to look at our love. And the love of God, as a sign of spiritual life has to be visible between brothers and sisters in Christ.
1 John 4:20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
There got to be love, or it is a sign of no life. A church with little love is the sign of ill health. And as I said before, that love is shed abroad in our hearts. So, it manifests itself in all parts of our lives. It’s like a spring of water bubbling up out of the ground. There’s no spicket to turn it off. We can’t turn it off.
So, the healthy Christian will have a great love for God, for His church, and for the lost people of the world.
Think about our church.
You might say, preacher, I love God, but I don’t feel any love for people. Well, here’s a beautiful verse that was the topic of one of the devotionals this week.
1 Thessalonians 4:9 9 But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another;
Paul was saying to the members of the church at Thessalonica that they exhibited great love toward each other. But the significant phrase that I wanted to point out from that verse is, “for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another;
They were taught by God. If you struggle with loving people in general, or some people in particular, God can teach you. And the first step toward cultivating that kind of love, is to begin acting like you love that person.
Newspaper columnist and minister George Crane tells of a wife who came into his office full of hatred toward her husband. "I do not only want to get rid of him, I want to get even. Before I divorce him, I want to hurt him as much as he has me."
Dr. Crane suggested an ingenious plan "Go home and act as if you really love your husband. Tell him how much he means to you. Praise him for every decent trait. Go out of your way to be as kind, considerate, and generous as possible. Spare no efforts to please him, to enjoy him. Make him believe you love him. After you've convinced him of your undying love and that you cannot live without him, then drop the bomb. Tell him that you’re getting a divorce. That will really hurt him." With revenge in her eyes, she smiled and exclaimed, "Beautiful, beautiful. Will he ever be surprised!" And she did it with enthusiasm. Acting "as if." For two months she showed love, kindness, listening, giving, reinforcing, sharing. When she didn't return, Crane called. "Are you ready now to go through with the divorce?"
"Divorce?" she exclaimed. "Never! I discovered I really do love him." Her actions had changed her feelings. Motion resulted in emotion. The ability to love is established not so much by fervent promise as often repeated deeds.
J. Allan Petersen.
We have to have love for revitalization. Why do we need love? Because we have to love God so much that we want to see Him glorified, more than we want to remain comfortable in our church. We have to love our brothers and sisters in Christ enough to serve them above ourselves. And we have to have an abundance of love for the world.
We have to love the lost world so much that we will set aside our preferences because we want those lost people to know Christ. And we are willing to give up anything, except God’s truth, to see the lost saved.
III. Power
The third sign of life in a believer, and a church is power. As believers we have all been given the gift of God’s indwelling Holy Spirit.
Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you:
Matthew 10:1 And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.
Acts 4:33 And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.
The healthy Christian will have spiritual power. A healthy church will have power in their assembly. Not some feeble, weak group just barely hanging on
1 Corinthians 4: 20 For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.
Now I’m not talking about our outward appearance.
Well, how will that power show itself?
The powerful inner life of the believer
Colossians 1:11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;
Romans 15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
The powerful witness of the believer
The prayers
Ephesians 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
The message
1 Corinthians 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
What is the power? It is the power of resurrection!
Ezekial 37: 4 Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. 6 I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”
We need the power of God to be revitalized. Why do we need God’s power? Haven’t we all seen churches that were in decline, or almost dead, and they changed some things. They updated the facilities, they changed the service style, they improved their marketing, they added desired programs, and now, instead of a few coming, they have a crowd. Can we not do some things, without God’s power, that will revive the church?
Yes, a church, just like a mall, can attract more customers, without God being a part of the mix. And I am not saying that those things I mentioned are evil.
A crowd can be gathered by providing free loaves and fish, but only the Lord can resurrect the dead by His power.
If our church is going to be an abundant life church, it will be a church that is used by God to resurrect the spiritually dead. And only God can do that.
Church vital signs; humility, love, and power