What Kind of Church Do We Want to Be?

I want to begin a three-part series today that I'm going to call,

What Kind of Church Do We Want to Be?

And that's what it focuses on.

What kind of church do we want to be going forward?

When you lose a pastor, especially a good pastor,

and one that's been there a long time, one of the caliber of Fred Stone,

I know we'd be just lying to ourselves to tell ourselves it doesn't make us real nervous, right?

We get an anxious feeling because what's the next guy coming in going to be like?

And where is he going to take us?

And how is the church going to change?

And what's it going to look like?

And all those kind of things.

And a lot of times we worry about, well, who's going to take care of this

or who's going to take care of that?

And how are things going to fall in place in the absence of a pastor?

Because you realize I'm pretty much just a preacher, right?

I live over in Greer, and I'm here one day a week.

And Brian and the other staff members, Jeff and others,

are carrying the load for the pastoral ministry.

But one of the things that happens when pastors leave, it's a good thing.

It causes those who are in secondary roles to pick up their game.

I mean, it means that deacons have got to pick up their game.

It means the Sunday school teachers have got to pick up their game

because a lot of times when a guy's been there a long time,

we just kind of get used to that guy kind of carrying the ball and doing everything, right?

And so one of the things that happens is it makes people step up.

And I hope you're doing that today,

that you're not just leaving to the Sunday school teachers,

to the deacons, to the staff that you're saying,

boy, what can I do to advance the cause of the kingdom of Christ

here at First Baptist Church of Pickens?

There's another thing, too, though, that happens.

Churches begin to wonder, well, where are we going from here?

And what kind of church do we want to be?

And I want to tell you, whether you've lost a pastor or you have a pastor,

that's always a good question from time to time to ask yourself,

what do we want to be as a church?

So I've taken it upon myself.

I didn't consult with the deacons, the personnel committee, or even the staff.

I've taken it upon myself.

I've invited in two experts to give us some advice about where do we go from here.

And I know some of you are thinking, boy, that guy has overshot the runway now.

I mean, how did he go spend money?

It's not going to cost you a thing, so don't get all anxious and all worried and fretful.

The two I'm inviting in are the Apostle Paul,

who would know more how to start a church

and what a church ought to look like than the Apostle Paul.

And the other is James, the first pastor of the church of Jerusalem.

So we're going to see what these two guys have got to say over the next three weeks

about what kind of church should we be.

This is not an all-inclusive message.

It's not everything.

This whole series won't be all-inclusive

about here's everything you need to be as a church.

But I'm going to mention just three things

that I think are right toward the top

of what we ought to be as a church.

So if you have your Bibles, turn with me to 1 Thessalonians 3.

1 Thessalonians 3.

And let me just set up this passage for you

so you'll understand what we're about to read.

Paul is on his second missionary journey.

Okay?

He's taking his second missionary journey.

He's going to the city of Philippi.

You know, the book of Philippians was written to that church in Philippi.

You read about it in the book of Acts.

When he gets to Philippi, a lot of people come on board

and they trust Christ as Savior.

But it's not without great suffering on Paul's part.

He's beaten, put in jail.

Even there, he wins a Philippian jailer and his family to Christ.

But ultimately, he has to flee because of persecution.

When he leaves there, he goes to another neighboring town

by the name of Thessalonica.

And there in Thessalonica on the Sabbath,

the Bible says he goes and he preaches.

And he does that three consecutive Sabbaths,

three consecutive Saturdays.

He's there in the Sabbath.

He's there in the synagogue.

And he's preaching the Word of God.

He's giving them the gospel of the Lord Jesus.

And many people hear that and they believe and become Christians.

He develops in a short period of time

a real strong relationship with these people.

Only there are three weeks.

They come to him after the third week and they say,

Paul, for your safety, you've got to get out of Dodge.

And so he takes the next flat out

and he's on his way to another place, right?

At their insistence, he leaves.

He gets to the next spot, though,

and he still has these Thessalonians on his mind.

And he's wondering,

what's become of these young believers

who had come into the church?

They don't have a pastor.

What are they going to do?

How are they going to make it?

How are they going to survive?

And so he's wondering about their spiritual future.

And so he wants to go back.

And he even tries to go back.

But the words he uses in 1 Thessalonians are these.

Satan hinders him in going.

He tries numerous times,

but every time Satan blocked his ability to go back.

So I want you to read in chapter 3 and verse 1 with me

what he now does.

Look at chapter 3 and verse 1.

Therefore, when we could no longer stand it,

we thought it was better to be left alone in Athens.

Now you understand,

persecution is always not far away from the door of Paul.

That's what he means when he says,

I thought even though it was dangerous,

it'd be better to be left alone.

And he sends Timothy back to get a report

on what's happening with these people in Thessalonica.

Look at verse 5.

For this reason, when I could stand it no longer,

I also sent to find out about your faith,

fearing that the tempter had tempted you

and that our labor might be for nothing.

Now what's he got in mind?

What's he fearful of?

Why is he so anxious?

You would readily understand without me even telling you

why he would be anxious in the circumstances I've outlined.

These are young believers.

He's done everything he can in the three weeks

to disciple them and give them the information that they need.

But they were like us.

Do you always get things right the first time?

Do you ever have to be reminded of anything?

And so Paul has said to them some things,

even about the second coming of Jesus,

they kind of get mixed up about.

We're going to see that at a later time.

But they were confused about some things.

And so he worries that in the absence of somebody

to preach the scripture to them

and to preach the truth to them,

they're going to just fall apart.

That's a natural concern, right?

So what does he do?

He sends Timothy back to check on them.

Look, if you will, at chapter 3 and verse 6,

and we read the report of Timothy from 6 through 10.

Now, Timothy has come to us from you

and brought us good news about your faith and love.

So look up for a minute.

Not bad news.

Timothy gets back and says,

Paul, relax.

It's good.

I mean, they're growing in love.

They're growing in faith.

It's good.

And that you always have good memories of us

wanting to see us as also we want to see you.

They miss you as bad as you miss them.

Therefore, brothers,

in all our distress and persecution,

we were encouraged about you through your faith.

For now we live if you stand firm in the Lord.

How can we thank God for you

in return for all the joy we experience

because of you before our God?

As we pray earnestly night and day

to see you face to face

and to complete what is lacking in your faith.

Boy, I cannot wait to get back with you

and all the things that you need bolstering up in.

I'm going to do that.

I can't wait for that day.

I'm praying for that day.

I anticipate that day.

And then he gives them this prayer.

And let me just tell you before we read it,

this is going to be our focus for the next three sermons.

Just these three verses, okay?

We'll bring in some other verses,

but these are the primary verses we're going to look at.

And it's a prayer.

And because we're reading it this morning, guess what?

It's a written prayer.

It's one he prayed, no doubt, verbally,

but it's a written prayer.

Now, I just want to help you

where you're thinking about that for a minute.

When I was a kid coming along,

I'm 69 years old.

When I was a kid,

and I don't think this mentality prevails today,

but when I was a kid,

if you grew up in a conservative church,

the conservative church had a kind of way

of looking down at prayers that were read.

Do you all remember that?

I can remember hearing people say,

well, you know, they just read that prayer.

They didn't mean it.

It wasn't from the heart.

They read that.

How many of you ever wrote a love letter?

Anybody here?

None of you are romantic at all.

You all have written love letters, right?

You started about third grade, right?

Sent that little note,

you love me if you ask,

check the box, you know?

Did you mean what you wrote?

Of course you did, right?

So that's just foggy thinking to think

because I write something,

and I don't mean it, you know?

That's a foolish notion.

In fact, what it reflects to me is this.

You've had a chance to think about it.

And I don't know about you,

when I start writing things,

sometimes I'll write it,

and I think, yeah, that's not it,

and I'll scratch it out,

or I'll tear it up,

and I'll start over, right?

We hit the delete key,

and we do it again.

And so Paul has the opportunity to think,

what am I going to say to these Thessalonians?

What is the prayer I really want to pray

for these Thessalonians?

This is a written prayer,

and so I've got to tell you,

to me it must be really important.

It's what he thought about

and concluded.

It's what I want to say.

So look at verse 11.

Now may our God and Father Himself

and our Lord Jesus

direct our way to you.

Let me come to you

as I've said I want to

and as you want me to.

Verse 12, and here's the heart of it.

And may the Lord cause you to increase.

What does it mean to increase?

Get more, right?

And may the Lord cause you to increase

and overflow.

You know what it is to overflow?

You start pouring something into a container

and you get to the top

and it just spills over.

There's more than even you can anticipate.

And may the Lord cause you to increase

and overflow with love

one for another.

Now, a lot of you say,

well preacher, that's us here at First Pickens.

We got it down, right?

We are having a love fest.

We just love each other.

Boy, we love one another.

We love everybody whose name is on our roll, right?

We just love, love, love, love, love each other.

We're good to go.

Boy, wait a second.

That's not where he ends.

He says,

and for everyone

just as we also do for you.

Hmm.

Okay, we'll do that.

That would mean we would love

the First Presbyterian Church, right?

We're okay with that.

Presbyterians are good people.

We'll okay love the Methodist people

behind us here, right?

We'll love them too.

We'll love the Pentecostals

and the Church of God.

Okay, we're good.

We'll love the Mormons.

We'll love Jehovah's Witness.

We'll love the Charismatics.

We'll love the Catholics.

We'll even love the Jews.

We'll love the Muslims.

We'll love the Mormons.

We'll love the Jehovah's Witnesses.

We'll love the folks who frequent the bars

and never come to church.

We'll love those who stand in the streets

and say,

I'm an atheist

and I hate your God

and don't even believe He exists.

You see,

everybody's everybody.

That includes

people from Pickens,

right?

I don't know what you call

people from Pickens.

I said in the first

service,

the first service,

Picanites,

and then Tim came and said,

well,

actually they're Pekingese.

It means you love

all the people from Pickens

who grew up in Pickens.

They're born and bred here.

It also means you love

those from out of town.

You love them from Greenville,

from Greer,

from Travers Rest,

and from Anderson,

and from North Carolina,

and from Virginia,

and yes,

Yankees.

You love even Yankees.

And that's what he's praying,

right?

He says,

I pray you will love

everyone in the church

and everyone else.

Everyone outside

the church as well.

And notice what he says.

Verse 13.

May He make your hearts

blameless in holiness

before our God and Father

at the coming of our Lord Jesus

with all His saints.

Amen.

Now there are three things

he prays for.

He prays for them to

begin to love

in an increasing fashion

and for that love

to overflow

and to love everybody

including those in

and out of the church.

For them to be blameless

in holiness

before our God.

That's what we'll look at

next week.

And to be ready

for the coming

of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And we'll look at that

two weeks

from today.

Now here's the big question.

He's had a chance

to think about this

and to know

what it is

he wants to say

in this prayer

what he's asking God

to do in their lives

and what he's wanting

them to be.

And it becomes apparent

the first order

of business is

that they love

one another

and love everyone else

and you have to ask

why do you think

that was the top priority

in his prayer

for this church

at Thessalonica.

I want to share with you

three reasons

real quickly

and then I want to share

with you

some ways

in which we do

what it is

he's asking us to do.

I believe

he prays what he prays

because Jesus said

so clearly

that love

is the mark

the badge

of someone

who is a disciple.

Right before his death

in John 13

34 and 35

you know what Jesus said?

He looked at his

disciples

and this is what he said

I give you

a new commandment

that you love

one another

even

as I have loved you.

He tells them how to love

as I have loved you

I want you to love others.

And then he says this

this is how they will know

that you're my disciples

by your love

for one another.

So what you can quickly see

is this love

is the badge

of discipleship.

It's the telltale indicator.

It's the sign

of somebody

who's a believer.

Let me ask you

how do you know

somebody's a believer?

Some folks

think the way

you let them

know you're a believer

is you get a tattoo

on your arm

it's got John 3.16

and I want to tell you

something

if you've got a tattoo

of John 3.16

or anything else

that don't bother me

in the least

because some folks

will use that

as an opportunity

to be a witness

for the Lord

but understand this

having the tattoo

doesn't make you

a believer.

Do you understand that?

It's not a real sign

that you're a believer.

It's okay to have a tattoo

if you want a tattoo

put whatever

what you want

on your arm

but understand this

it doesn't translate

into you being

automatically a Christian

any more

than having a bumper sticker

that says

honk if you love Jesus

right?

You can get that

on a bumper sticker

but that don't make you

a believer

you could have

bought the car

from somebody

who had put

the bumper sticker

on the car

right?

And so

none of those things

some of you

I'm sure today

are wearing gold earrings

or a necklace

that has a cross

around it

or a cross on it

and there's nothing

wrong with that

because it says to people

man I believe in the cross

and the cross is important

it's the centerpiece

of my life

but I don't tell you something

having the necklace

having the earrings

doesn't make you a Christian

Jesus says

the way you'll know

somebody's a Christian

is because they have love

one for another

it's by how you love

now I want to ask you something

have you ever been

in a department store

in a neighborhood

you're walking

you meet somebody

and you spend

four, five, six minutes

with them in conversation

maybe not even that long

and you walk away

you didn't talk about

anything theological

but you walk away from

and you say to yourself this

I just bet you

they were a Christian

you ever had that happen?

we all have right?

again that's yes and no

y'all gonna get that down

before I leave here

you know

so

we've all had that experience

what was it

about them

that made you reach

that conclusion

did you say

I saw the tattoo

I saw the bumper sticker

on his car

I saw the

the necklace

around their neck

no

it was always this

it was something

about their attitude

something about

how they treated you

something about

how they responded

they were so helpful

they were so kind

they were so patient

they were so loving

you just thought to yourself

that guy

that guy

has got

and it was because

of their love

the very thing

that Jesus said

he said

you'll know

that they're believers

because of how they love

one another

there's a second reason

from Paul's experience

he knew this

a church that doesn't love

the way Jesus loved

it's all for naught

now

like I said in the first service

I'll say it again now

I know I'm gonna offend somebody

and this is a bigger crowd

so I know I'm gonna offend somebody here

I don't intend to do that

I'm just trying to be honest with you

okay

why would anybody

ever name a church

car rent

I know in this many people

in the room

somebody here has belonged

to a car rent

at some point in time

I have preached

in several car rents

car rent number one

car rent number two

in another place

you just wonder

is your car rent number three

and four

because they couldn't get along

with each other either

but

why would you name a church

car rent

it's like

did you not have a copy

of the bible

I mean

this is

a hot mess

of a church

I mean

they're just

they're just

a mess

and Paul writes to him

and says

man I can't believe

what I'm hearing about you

and I believe it's true

you're divided

and you're fighting

among yourselves

and there's dissension

in the church

and there's a guy

who's sleeping

with his father's wife

are you crazy

what's going on

and you're suing one another

taking each other to court

and you get upset

over the Lord's Supper

and there's all kinds

of problems

about the spirit of God

and how he works

in your life

so much so

that between chapter 12

which is about the gifts

of the spirit

and chapter 14

which is about tongues

he sandwiches in

chapter 13

that says

you can have all the gifts

in the world

but if you don't have love

it's useless

right

you're just like a

loud set of symbols

or a gong

it means absolutely

nothing

unless you have

love

now I want to tell you something

I've seen churches

that try to build ministries

around somebody

who's a great great great

preacher

or musicians

who are great great great

musicians

but I want to tell you

something

antagonism

and division

and dissension

and lack of love

always trumps all that

you can have

every bit of that

but unless you have

love in a church

unless people know

that first church

of Pickens

boy I'll tell you

this about them

their preacher

may not be much

that guy they got

for the interim

their music's okay

but I'm going to tell you

something friend

they do love people

if you will be known

as a church

that loves

I mean really loves

well people will be

the path

to your door

so I think

that's one of the reasons

Paul said what he did

there's a third reason

and it's the most obvious

of all probably

how can we represent

Jesus

and not epitomize

love

because he did

John said

this of God

he said

God is love

I've been here now

about 15 or 16 weeks

I'm not sure

but about 13 of those weeks

the first 13 of those weeks

you know if you were here

I preached just about

every message

around a narrative

of Jesus

and I did that

with purpose

because I wanted you

to see

boy

Jesus is a loving Savior

he loves harlots

he loves the lowly

he loves the down and outers

he loves the publicans

he loves every manner

of sinner

he's helpful

he's compassionate

he's healing

he's raising the dead

he's doing all these miracles

I'm going to tell you something

Jesus is the epitome

of love

how crazy is it

for us to think

that we can go into the world

and declare to the world

there's this God

who you've never seen

who is invisible

who exists

who sent his son

who you've never seen

and he came

and he lived

and he died on the cross

and he rose from the dead

and he gives you

eternal life

and he loves you

and then be angry

with the world

have you ever seen churches

that you get the feeling

when you listen

to what they say

and what they do

and how they flesh out

their ministry

boy they are angry

with the world

you know more

for what they're against

than what they're for

have you ever seen that

Jesus says

I want to tell you something

or Paul says

if you want to be the church

that God would have you to be

then by all means

you've got to

be a church

that increases

in love

and overflows

with love

now let me ask you

is that

who first pickings is

well I hope it is

I really hope it is

because that's the first step

in becoming a great church

you are increasing

in love

and you absolutely

exude love

and overflow

in love

now some of you say

well we're working on it

but how do we do that

you got a sheet of paper

and a pencil

I'm going to give you

five quick ideas

and I'm done

you ready

here's five things

you need to do

if you want to be a church

that overflows

in love

and is increasing

in love

and the first thing

you may not like

you ready

you got to get over yourself

you just got to get over

yourself

you say preacher

what in the world

you mean

look with me

to Philippians chapter 2

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

and verse 3 and 4

turn there real quickly

Philippians

just a few pages

to your left

Philippians chapter 2

Philippians 2:3

verse 3 and 4

Paul is telling us

how Jesus lived

and this is what he says

do nothing out of rivalry

or conceit

but in humility

consider others

as more important

than yourselves

everyone should look out

not only for his own interest

but also for the interest

of others

now I want to tell you something

that's the way kingdom people live

but I want to warn you

about something

that's the opposite

of how people of this world live

people of this world

the biggest difference

between you and them

outwardly

as we look at your life

should be this

we should recognize quickly

that guy is a kingdom person

and so

he's thinking of others

before he thinks of himself

and I want to tell you something

that's sacrificial

that requires real humility

not fake humility

to put others ahead of yourself

but the way the world

looks at situations is this

it's me first

I take care of me first

I may take care of others later

but I got to take care of me

in fact I see commercials

I tell my wife yesterday

we were watching television

I saw a commercial

where they actually justified

that kind of mentality

it's me first

I need to take care of me

humility

is not thinking

lowly of yourself

it's not thinking

less of yourself

it's thinking of yourself

less

you see the difference

in those two ideas

it's not thinking

less of myself

that I think

poor me

how bad I am

it's just not thinking

about me

it's just not being

really concerned

so much

about me

now I'm going to

tip you off on something

if you haven't already noticed it

we're pretty self-centered

creatures

you know that

by nature

I mean

we all have this

tendency to

focus more on

our problems

than we do

other people's

problems

I'm pastoring

at Brushy Creek

years ago

there was a man

in our church

in his early 70's

he develops

what they

fearful

is cancer

he has to go in

for an operation

I'm sitting there

with his wife

in the waiting room

they do the procedure

they come out

wasn't going long

just struck a note

of fear in me

because he wasn't

in there very long

at all

and the surgeon

comes out

and he says

I've got to tell you

some bad news

he kneels down there

in front of the guy's wife

and he says

your husband

has a cancer

that's just inoperable

we got in there

and it spreads

metastasized

and he's not going

to live long

I'm real

real sorry

he pats her on the knee

asks if she's anything

she can do

she looks just

dumbfounded

and he walks out

as soon as he gets out

she turns to me

and she says to me

these are almost

her exact words

what am I going

to do

when he's gone

how am I going

to make it

who's going

to take care of me

what's my life

going to be like

when he's gone

you know what

I couldn't help

but think

he's the guy

with cancer

you're going

to be the one

living

your life's going

on

he's getting ready

from the earthly

perspective

getting ready

to end

have you ever

noticed how

when tragedies

occur so often times

we don't even

realize we do it

we make it

about us

we become

the center

of the universe

and they become

almost secondary

how does this

impact my life

not how does it

impact his life

you might think

if she really loved him

she'd be thinking

and I know she did

she's just self-absorbed

but she might be thinking

how am I going to help him

through this difficult time

well he's facing

some dark days ahead

he's facing

a real message here

when he wakes up

that no one wants

to get

that you're dying

but instead

right now in the moment

she's consumed in herself

can I ask you something

is that kind of indicative

of your life

your problems matter

so much

that other people

just don't matter

as much

so

first thing you need

to do is

get over yourself

second thing you need

to do is

empathize

begin seeing others

and their hurts

and needs

before you do

your own

now turn with me

quickly to 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12

look at 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12

and verse 26

so if one member

suffers

all the members

suffer with it

if one member

is honored

all the members

rejoice with it

you know what he's saying

he's saying

when you're in the body

of Christ

and you feel for others

the way you should

and you're not

putting yourself first

it's always about you

you've gotten over

yourself

and you learn

how to empathize

with others

when they rejoice

guess what

you get happy

with them

and when they're sad

and they're broken

and their heart aches

man your heart aches

right along

with them

because

you put yourself

in their shoes

that's what it means

to empathize

I take myself

out of my life

and I insert myself

into somebody

else's life

I'm going to tell you

when you begin

to do that

well you'll begin

to feel for people

and love people

in a way

you never have before

here's the tragedy

most times

we see people

with needs

who are hurting

and we just go

oh that's bad

that's bad

boy

I wish I could

do something

about that

and we just

walk right on

I'm pastor

of Western Avenue

Baptist Church

when this happened

I'm about

34 years of age

there was a lady

in our church

who was chronically

going in and out

of the hospital

all the time

and she wasn't

sick a whole lot

of times

she just loved

doctors and hospitals

and so she's about

45 miles away

and I got to go see her

and it's been

one of the most

horrendous weeks

in my life

to that point

in time as a pastor

so I'm just

wore slap out

I've slept very little

this week

and I'm in my car

and I'm driving

to Winston-Salem

and I can remember

the conversation

it's been many many

years ago

about half a lifetime

ago

and yeah I remember

very distinctly

I'm having a pity party

have any of y'all

ever done that

I'm the only

invited guest

and I'm just

wallowing in it

I'm just thinking

poor me

I'm so tired

I'm hungry

I haven't slept

they're just running

me ragged

I'm going over

to see somebody

who I need

the bed worse

than they need it

and I'm riding

over there

and I pull up

into the parking lot

and I have to park

two floors up

and that's an

aggravation

and I get out

and I'm walking

a long way

to the hospital

big huge hospital

in Winston-Salem

and I get to the

back door of the hospital

and it's got these

electric doors

you know

and I'm in a hurry

because I just want

to get in there

and see her

and get out of there

bless the Lord Jesus

and I'm just

I'm just getting in

and getting out

and just doing my job

right

and just as I start

in that door

and the electric door

opens

there's a lady

with a kid

in a wheelchair

and she's pushing him out

and I just nearly

run right over

the top of him

so I did like

any of you

I stop

I apologize

and I back up

and I just get out

of there

and wait

and wait

and she pushes

this little boy out

she's about my wife's age

and the little boy

is about the age

of my little boy

about seven years of age

and he's sitting

in this wheelchair

and he's got

hospital gown on

but a baseball cap

one of these

plastic baseball caps

and you can't help

but notice

all his hair is gone

and he's got those

marks that indicate

he's a radiation

treatment patient

and so

I just stand back

and she pushes him out

and they go out here

to that divider

and there's a little wall

and she sits on the wall

and he's there in sunshine

and they're just out

soaking up sunshine

and I stand there

for about 30 seconds

and watch that lady

I remember

just big tears

just pouring down

my face

and I thought

you big baby

you're complaining

about this

and about that

and how hard you got it

you don't know

what trouble is

that's trouble

or can you put yourself

in that mama's shoes

she's sitting there

saying nice things

and smiling

and trying to cheer up her boy

but on the inside

can you imagine

the turmoil

and the heartache

and the hurt

and the fear

and the anxiety

that's going on

inside that lady

and that's what

empathy looks like

it's when you don't

just see it

when you stop long enough

to just insert yourself

in their place

and I'm going to tell you

something

every one of you

got friends right now

who've got cancer

they got a heart problem

they don't have money

a lot of us in this room

most of us in this room

you may have had

this experience

at some time

where you didn't know

where your next check

was coming from

your next meal

was coming from

how you're going to pay

the rent

at the end of the month

but most of us

get through life

without that

it may have happened

once or twice

but most of us

we live free of that

but I'm going to tell you

something

there's some folk

out there

they live that way

every day of their lives

there are folk out there

who have prescriptions

this morning

that they need

to have fill

but they can't get them

filled because

they don't have

the money to do it

they're making choices

about do I do this

or do I do that

and that's something

a lot of us

we just don't know

anything about that

and that's the beginning

of love

if you want to have love

that increases

and overflows

you've got to get

the place you can

empathize with people

you see them

and you live

in their shoes

for just a few minutes

until you can get

your head around

here's what I need to do

here's the third thing

I think you can do

if you want to increase

in love

and overflow in love

and that's to pray

for one another

James

remember I mentioned James

we're going to look at it

more closely next week

but James in chapter 5

and verse 16 says

pray for one another

do that continually

and look up and listen

I don't want to beat up

on anybody this morning

but you know so often

what we take that to mean

that in Sunday school

we hear about somebody

who's sick

and we say yeah

I'll pray for them

oh yeah I'll pray for them

a lot of times

we never give it

another thought

we say sometimes

when we say

I pray for you

it just means

you crossed my mind

I thought about you

but I didn't really

pray for you

and even how we pray

when James says that

he didn't mean just

to let them pass

through your mind

to allow their name

to fall for your lips

okay I mentioned them

I'm done with that

you know how I think

he meant for us

to pray

that we stop

and put ourselves

in the shoes

and right now

well I got a lot of

friends that have cancer

I'm getting older

and a lot of my friends

are getting older

and they're getting sick

I mean close friends

to me

and I'm going to tell you

every night when I pray

and in the morning

when I pray

I try to think

what's it like to be

and I won't call their name

but this particular person

what's it like

to be their wife

what's it like

to have to go get

chemotherapy

and radiation

what's it like

to be so sick

you think you're going to die

and then you're fearful

you might

what's it like

to be like

what's it like

to see your spouse

slipping away

from you

what's it like

and to pray

from that perspective

God

give them peace

let them think

of something

other than their cancer

or their problem

or their sickness

or whatever it is

that's wrong in their life

they got problems

with their children

or their marriage

is falling apart

God just let them

get free of that

for a few minutes

would you do that

would you intervene

somehow

and help them

I'm going to tell you

if you'll begin

to do that

more folks

will begin to notice

the first baptist

picking the boy

those folks

they don't just say

they pray for

they really pray for you

they really love you

they're growing

in their life

and they're abounding

in their life

which leads me

to the fourth thing

and this is something

I really like

it's pretty simple

you ready

do something

do something

I want you to listen

as I read

1 John chapter 3

1 John 3 · chapter mention

and verse 17

listen to what

John says

1 John chapter 3

1 John 3 · chapter mention

and verse 17

if anyone has

this world's goods

and sees his brother

in need

but shuts off

his compassion

from him

how can God's love

reside in him

boy

I don't know

how you'd make it

any clearer than that

Bob Goff

remember that book

I mentioned

four, five, six weeks ago

Bob Goff

I'm telling you that

again so you can

write it down

Bob Goff

Love Does

is the book he authored

I told you about

that book several weeks ago

one gentleman

in the crowd came

and said to me

the following

he said

I bought that book

I'm not a reader

I want to tell you something

I finished it in two days

he said

one of the greatest books

I've ever read

if you haven't read it

you ought to get that book

I'm telling you

you'll laugh

you'll cry

it's a great

great great read

Love Does

and the whole basis

of it is this

that love is not

something you look at

somebody and say

with goo goo eyes

when you love somebody

you act

love is an action

it's not a thought

it's not a suggestion

it's not a word

it's not a proposal

it's an action

you love

folk by doing

so do something

go cut somebody's grass

if you love them

take them a meal

this afternoon

if you love them

pay their light bill

if you love them

take care of that

prescription for them

if you love them

keep their kids

and give them a night

on the town

if you love them

you understand what I'm saying

that's what real love

looks like

it acts

it does something

the church

every day

it exists

has tons

of opportunities

to show the world

to demonstrate

the world

that we love them

but can I tell you something

we just seldom

take those opportunities

we let them come

and we let them go

instead of seizing

the moment

and I'm going to tell you something

every time I see the church

be the church

boy my head swells

with pride

and every time I see

the church

not be the church

as a pastor

it always broke my heart

I'm preaching revival

about 23

or 24 years ago

best I can remember

in a community

a number of miles

from Greer

the guy who calls me

and asks me to preach

I've never met

pretty unusual

I got a few invitations

like that

but usually there were guys

that I knew

guys like Fred

would say

would you come over

and would you preach for me

this guy that I'd never met

didn't know his name

didn't know anything about it

he calls me out of the blue

and he says

I've heard about you

could you come and preach

I said yeah

he gives me the dates

I'm going to be there

Sunday night

through a Wednesday

so I go and I preach

I preach Sunday night

Monday Tuesday

and when Wednesday comes

I get there

and he comes over to me

and sits down

and he says

tells me he's enjoyed it

and he says

could you go with me

to supper tonight

after this is over

I said I'd be glad to

so when it was over

his wife couldn't be there

that night

and he and I

go to supper

in this little fish camp

we're sitting there

we're ordering our meal

and we're just waiting

on the waitress

to bring our food

it's kind of awkward

it's just real

unusually silent

and he says

has anybody told you

about me

my situation

I said no

I felt a little bit odd

I said no

I don't know

what you're talking about

he says you don't know

anything about my situation

at all

no

he says you're probably

the only preacher

in South Carolina

who doesn't

I want to tell you something

I really didn't

I didn't know him

from Adam

other than I'd met him

for those three days

he says

can I tell you my story

I'd be glad to

to listen

he tells me

short as I can make it

a few years back

a couple years back

from when this happened

years ago

he said

I got a 19 year old daughter

she just got out

of high school

she's dating

our youth minister

and

she suddenly

begins to develop

these health problems

my wife

asked her

what's going on

she just

evades it

leads us down

this rabbit trail

but she's not

changing in size

any

that we can tell

she's camouflaging

it with her clothes

and one Saturday night

she's so deathly ill

we think it must be

a gallbladder

appendicitis

so at 3 in the morning

when we can't

manage it anymore

we rush her to

the hospital

local hospital

we get there

and she's back

there just a few

minutes

and this doctor

comes out

and he says

pastor can I

talk with you

he says yes sir

and he sits down

he says I don't

know how to tell

you this

he said but your

daughter is about

8 months pregnant

and she's in labor

and she's going to

have this baby

tonight

he said me and my

wife look at each

other and we cannot

believe what we're

hearing

and I'm going to

tell you I've sat

across from a lot

of people

pretty good about

telling me

telling when people

are telling me the

truth and they're

telling me a lie

I've done this so

long

I can look in his

face and just tell

I don't understand

that but he's telling

me the absolute

truth

he says we're

grief stricken

he said we're just

in shock the baby's

born a few hours

later

it's a Saturday

night so I haven't

been to bed all

night long

I've been up with

my daughter now I

have a baby about

8 in the morning

I show up at church

and the clothes I

worn to the hospital

the church service

begins but I tell

the guy I'm going

to take charge and

I just got something

I got to tell the

congregation he

stands up and he

tells the congregation

just what I told you

and he says I want to

tell you I didn't know

about this I'm

embarrassed about this

but I understand if

you want me to

resign

he said we haven't

tried to hide anything

from you but I'm

just I'm finding this

out for myself and I'm

tired and I can't do

this this morning

so there's not going

to be any preaching

brother so and so

is going to come

and he's going to

lead us in a song

or two you're going

to pray and then

you're going home

but if you want me

to resign I'm not

going to be here you

can talk openly about

it among yourselves

and I'm going to leave

and go back to the

hospital be with my

wife and daughter

he walks out the

door he goes to

the hospital he stays

till about 3 3 30 in

the afternoon he gets

in his car and he and

his wife are going

home they're just dead

tired he says when I

get to the pastoral

I start turning in

the driveway and as

I turn in the driveway

I look and they're

under our carport it

looks like the whole

church has gone to

Walmart and they

bought out everything

Walmart had to sell

on babies he says the

carport is just packed

from top to bottom with

things that baby could

use he said I can't

tell you how I felt in

my heart I'm going to

tell you I sat there

listening and I just

began to cry I mean

I'm emotional I just

began to cry you know

why I cried not for the

hardship he endured I

cried because I thought

to myself what a

beautiful picture of

what the church ought to

be that's when the

church acts like the

church right I've seen

it so many times be so

judgmental and we

want to just preach to

people and beat up on

people and tell them

how you shouldn't have

done this and you

shouldn't have done

that when many of us

ourselves have found

ourselves in sin's path

boy we need the mercy

and the grace of God

bestowed on us and

thank God he showed us

mercy but why is it we're

so slow sometimes to show

mercy and grace to other

people it's a beautiful

thing when the church

acts like the church

it's a sad thing when

the church doesn't seize

the opportunity it's been

given to be the church

there's one last thing

and I close with this

if you want to love to

increase in your life and

in your church and to

overflow begin forgiving

people who have hurt you

now Brian has not had a

single conversation with

me and I had dinner with

Fred Stone about 10 days

ago or nine days ago

Fred has not said a

single word to me I

don't know if anybody

in this church has had a

riff with anybody else

that's the honest truth

before God but I want

to tell you something in

a church this size it

would seem almost

impossible to me that

you could be members

here for a long long

long time and somebody

not get crosswise with

somebody else and I'm

asking you if you want

love to abound to

forgive them

right now today to make

a choice that going

forward I'm forgiving

them I'm going to live

as though that never

happened I'm going to

put it out of my life

and some of you are

thinking already I know

what you're thinking

because I've been where

you are you don't know

what they did you don't

know how inexcusable

their action against me

was and boy I get that

because I'm going to

tell you I've had some

folk do some pretty mean

stuff to me through the

years hard to get by

hard just to get past

that I don't tell you

something they nailed

Jesus to the cross and

as they're nailed him to

the cross the first words

out of his mouth were

these father forgive them

for they know not what

they do I think that

prayer included pilot who

like a coward found him

guilty when he should have

found him innocent I think