Sermon                                                                                      Dan Neary

Meeting the Mission

 

The final of four weeks on the purpose, or mission, of the Church. These past three weeks have been devoted to a sort of topical, ecclesiological view… we’ve reserved today for the more practical approach.

 

Reminder: get the missed sermons.

 

We’ve used this model that we provided again in the printed liturgy.

·        Overarching mission/purpose is to glorify God

·        Three avenues or purposes

o       Worship

o       Edification

o       Outreach

 

We endeavored to keep our focus on these “circles”… these three purposes.

 

We should also have in focus that these are connected… they overlap and bleed into one another.

·        Worship connects to Edification and Outreach

o       Edification

§         The context of our service provides opportunity for most of the elements of edification.

§         Our worship service is our main gathering time as the church

o       Outreach

§         Authentic worship draws people in

§         Especially the arts/music portion of our services

·        Edification connects to Worship and Outreach

o       Worship

§         Strong personal bonds only enriches our worship

§         A safe community is freeing

o       Outreach

§         There are those who are reached best through relationship

§         Others through intellect

·        Outreach connects to Worship and Edification

o       Worship

§         Celebration is energized by new believers

o       Edification

§         Giving and sharing feed on each other

 

Maybe a better picture would be to see these circles overlapping. Embracing the fact that there is some of each in each of these three areas.

 

Three distinct purposes with the understanding that they overlap and bleed into each other.

 

 

I suppose it could be that a “balance by abundance” approach would be to see these circles grow and continue to overlap. That each of these areas in our church would be so consuming that it would be hard to distinguish them from one another… that the areas of overlap would be greater than the areas of distinction.

 

 

We reserved today for specific, practical application… but note the scriptural basis from which we are launching. The Old Testament passage is just one of many that remind us that God’s plan has always been to demonstrate His attributes through His people: Mercy, Grace, Righteousness, Victory, and Strength.

 

I want to focus for a few minutes this morning on the New Testament passage.

 

1 Corinthians 4:5-7

5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”a made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

Treasure in Jars of Clay: Looking to God

In the grand scheme of things, this is really the most important point of this passage.

 

Any lesson, world view, or ministry philosophy must first start with a right understanding of God.

 

All the ologies…

Psychology, sociology, ecology, ecclesiology…
even zoology
are best served when placed under the banner of good theology.

 

This passage states it powerfully.

 

5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”a made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. [1]

 

Paul states it plainly, saying “this isn’t our deal… we didn’t just cook these clever ideas up ourselves… we are not bringing you ourselves… we are bringing you Jesus… we are simply your servants for Jesus’ sake.”

 

This is God’s message… and not just any god… The God. The one who made light shine out of darkness. The I AM: Creatio Ex Nihilo. The one who made everything that we know… all that is seen and unseen… everything that was and is yet to come… out of nothing. This is that God’s message.

 

The God who made light… put his great light in our hearts.

 

Paul is saying: “We know God… and you can know him too… through Christ…  Jesus as Lord.”

 

Looking in the Mirror

There are great implications about how we perceive ourselves… individually, or corporately as this Church, or even in the grand scheme of things: the Church Universal.

 

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.[2]

 

This is a powerful picture of how we are to understand ourselves and our church: Jars of Clay.

 

Other translations say “earthen vessels”… I’ve heard others say “cracked pots.”

 

Whatever the words… the point here is that the extraordinary is contained in the ordinary.

 

Earthen vessels. Vessels to contain God’s gift of power working through us…
earthen to demonstrate that it is God and not us.

 

This is a counter-intuitive, even counter-cultural message. We typically think the other way around… in a slick packaging, advertising driven, image-is-everything, you only get one chance to make a first impression, spun fluffed and buffed age… we naturally think in terms of the outside being far better than the inside… we think in terms of the container being more impressive than the contents.

 

But this message of Scripture, here, is precisely the opposite. God has placed His power in ordinary vessels, jars of clay, to demonstrate just how spectacular His power really is.

 

Treasure in Jars of Clay.

 

I’ve noticed that some folks seem to emphasize the “clayness” of this message. Somehow, some people think that the emphasis needs to be on mortifying themselves… boxing themselves in to be as lowly, and common as possible. That is understandable… they think in terms of “I must decrease so He may increase” and it is right that our reputations need to be out of the competition with His reputation. They emphasize the “clayness” and forget about the “jarness.”

 

It makes me wonder… just how small do they think God is?

Is God so small in their eyes that they think they could somehow obscure His power with their expertise, or education, or skill, or wealth?

 

What kind of vessel are you intending to build of yourself? What kind of church are we building… are we willing to settle for being a Dixie Cup for Jesus?

 

Dixie Cups are great… cheap, handy, and disposable. We all ought to be Dixie Cups in some circumstances… but is that it?

 

And when I say Dixie Cup… I’m not just talking about size.

 

We need to regularly clean out stuff in our vessel that is taking-up space that is crowding-out God. We know how easy it is to let our own priorities, pride, and sin take up every available space in our lives.

 

There are all sorts of marvelous people in great organizations… lots of them are not Christians… they are great vessels, but there is no room at all for God. All they carry is themselves. One of the best ways to be able to carry more of God is to dump junk that is gobbling-up capacity in our vessel. This is the motivation for a pursuit of holiness… we strive for holiness and purity so that we can be the best possible container of God’s gift.

 

So… we can make space in the vessel we have.
The other way to carry more… is to build a bigger and better vessel.

  • Spiritual Disciplines – prayer, fasting, worship, devotion, service.
  • Educational Disciplines

 

So, in a nutshell, what I’m saying here is simply: stand up straight, wash up, put on some decent clothes, get an education, get serious with God… be the best vessel you can possibly be and then glorify God by serving well.

 

Looking Around in the Church

The passage specifically points to how this “Jars of Clay” message ties into the community of the Church. Specifically, it points to cost.

 

Whether it is through martyrs who give their lives for the Gospel, or through persecution endured by Believers on account of their faith, or more commonly… the painstaking hard work that accompanies God’s call and faces each of us… our lives are literally spent in service to others. Service to the Gospel is not easy… done well, it will cost us everything…. and it is worth it.

 

That is the plain message of this passage. The cost of bringing life to people is simply our own death. If our calling, as individual and as a church, seems to be costing us little… it is likely that it is resulting in little.

 

But I also think we can take this passage a step farther and consider looking around through this “Jars of Clay” lens.

 

As we look around, let’s be mindful of both the “jarness” and the “treasureness.”

 

When we are talking about the church, we must remember that we are always going to be dealing with some measure of “jarness” and some measure of “treasureness.”

 

We simply must take into account that, just as we are earthen vessels,
our fellow Believers, and the churches and organizations in which we arrange ourselves, are earthen vessels.

·        We shouldn’t be surprised when we see a crack or an imperfection.

·        We should expect to bear with folks when they are enduring the stress of building a bigger, better vessel.

 

The truth is… or at least my observation is… we typically don’t have any real struggle dealing with the “jarness” within our churches… but I think we often err in making room for the “treasureness.”

 

Think about it…

 

It is in our nature to critically observe the “jarness.” We plainly see the failures, the common parts, the less than perfect parts. We see where they have more or less capacity than us, or the others around. And, to our credit, we make room for “jarness”… we are generally quite forgiving by nature. Forgiveness is a great Christian attribute… but it goes beyond that… our culture is very forgiving. We see it all the time, if we admit our faults, shed some tears, and apologize, our culture is generally wired to forgive.

 

I think we have “jarness” pretty well handled.

 

But I am amazed by how little regard we often give to “treasureness.”

 

We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells every Believer. Every Christian has this treasure. Every church has this treasure. You have this treasure. I have this treasure. And this church has this treasure.

 

You see… The Church is so much more than merely a collection of like minded individuals. A collection of like minded individuals is fine… I’m all for Rotary Clubs, and Volunteer Fire Departments, and Model Airplane Clubs… that’s all good. But the Church is called to be a Body… many parts, but a Body… a whole that is much more powerful than merely the sum of its parts.

 

Christian asked the question when he opened this series “what is different about the church? What is compelling about the church.” It has to be the treasure.

 

So what of this jar of clay we call The Chapel? What does this vessel look like?

 

There are distinguishing characteristics… I won’t call them non-negotiables, but they are certainly distinctive forces that shape this particular church.

  • Assemblies of God
    • W: Style
    • E: Doctrine
    • O: Missions
  • Branch of Cedar Park
    • W: Distinctive Style in a Special Facility
      •  
    • E: Breath of Service
    • O: Community Service
  • Part Time Staff
    • W: Shaped by our abilities and personality
    • E: Forces community
    • O: Typically a small-church pastor is the Outreach
  • Blended Worship (neo-classical)
    • W: Rich, but best suited for maturing believers (but we don’t necessarily put these on a continuum)
    • E: Accessible at many levels
    • O: Appealing to many… but not a crowd pleaser
      • We so easily reduce church into the terms of consumerism
      • If we replaced the cookies & coffee with popcorn & pop would this be just like a movie theater?

 

Steps to build a better vessel

  • Initiative Driven
    • Monday Prayer: Ted
    • Care Ministry w/ Meals: Jen
    • Pray for Educators: Pat
  • Broadening Leadership
    • Leadership Council
      • Regular Schedule of Meetings
      • Functioning More like Deacons in a NT Sense
    • Missions Committee
  • Specific Missions Responsibility
  • More Giving Opportunities – Especially Benevolence
  • Advertising

 

Items of Prayerful Concern

  • Evangelism
  • Music & Arts
  • Deeper Accountability & Inter-relationship

 

We believe that the Scripture is powerful… we believe that if we apply God’s word to our lives, we will be changed… but it isn’t often as easy as just waving the Bible around like some sort of magic wand.

 

This takes work… this takes commitment.

 

So what should we consider today?

 

First off… take a cue from this passage and once again, be sure to have God as priority… this worship service is always a place and a moment well suited to be certain our perspectives are right in relationship to our God and Savior.

 

Beyond that… consider “jarness” and “treasureness”

 

Look in the mirror

Look around

 

And in both cases, “Trust the Treasure”

 

When you are looking in the mirror… with confidence that you’ve done what you can to be a vessel in the hands of the Master… trust the treasure. No matter what we do to build a solid vessel… it is still common “just clay” in comparison to God’s power. Trust the treasure that is in you.

 

And when you are looking around, and you see shortcomings, or you don’t understand what drives a fellow believer… trust the treasure that is in them. Give consideration that they are a jar of clay (just like you). Consider that they are operating with a measure of “jarness” and a measure of “treasureness”… consider that they are called, just like you, to a purpose… God is working out a plan in their lives too.

 

I am convinced that God is working out a great plan here at The Chapel. People ask me about The Chapel a lot… I’m around church-people all the time. Many of them don’t really “get” what we’re doing here… so they ask… and I’m always able to give a report that indicates my personal excitement and satisfaction about what is going on here. There is something really good happening here on several levels.

 

God has been at work in and through this church…
and He will continue to work through this church.

 

And if He has brought each of us here… He must have some purpose in it.

 

Church is not a spectator sport… this is the Body of Christ… and we are each members of the Body.

 

Sometimes I wonder if the Body suffers from organ failure… that there a members who don’t or won’t perform their function. I suppose if God urges us to do something, and we won’t or don’t, then we ought to expect the Body to suffer.

 

I know, I know… some are playing this analogy out… looking up at me trying to lead this thing… and your wondering if this Body is suffering from brain damage.

 

Be that as it may… trust the treasure.

  • Trust that this vessel of a church contains God’s good presence
  • Trust that the individuals, including you, contain this good treasure

 

And my hope is that you’ll join me in prayer… but be careful.

My prayer is that God will continue to call each of us to sacrificial service.

  • To work harder
  • Pray more
  • Serve in tough circumstance
  • Give sacrificially
  • Risk our reputations for the sake of the Gospel

 

This is my continuing prayer… and the prayer I’d like to lead you in today.

Will you join me?


[1]The Holy Bible : New International Version, 2 Co 4:5-6. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984.

[2]The Holy Bible : New International Version, 2 Co 4:7. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984.