"The Power of Service"

(Taken from "The Externally Focused Church" by Rick Rusaw & Eric Swanson)

Matthew 25:35-46

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Introduction: On April 24, 1990, the Hubble space telescope was launched from the shuttle Discovery. With this telescope in space, it was expected that there would be many new discoveries. The Hubble project had cost over $1.5 billion to create this incredibly powerful and accurate telescope. The size of it was amazing: the primary mirror alone was 80 feet across; it weighed nearly a ton. Because it was 353 million miles above the Earth, it had an unobstructed view and could see into undiscovered galaxies. But there was a problem. Soon after the Hubble telescope began its orbit, the engineers discovered that the main mirror was flawed. It was sending back fuzzy pictures. The problem was not the size, nor the power, but the focus. The telescope had to be repaired. So in December of 1993, astronauts aboard the space shuttle Endeavor fitted the mirror with “corrective optics.” The mission was a complete success, and the telescope began to send pictures back with unprecedented precision and clarity.

This morning, I want us to talk about the importance of having the right focus!

I. Making A Difference- (Matthew 28:19-20a)

a. Broaden the focus- Few churches would say that they are not

interested in making a difference. I know that we want to make a difference as God’s people; God’s church. But the challenge is to find a way to really make a difference. Especially when things in the community and in society change. What it really takes is to learn how to be an entrepreneur for God. You know what an entrepreneur is; right? An entrepreneur is one who is “willing to assume the management and take the risk for the sake of profit.” So, to be an entrepreneur for God means that we need to be willing to take risks so that we might make a difference.

In Matthew 28:19-20a, we are told by Jesus what kind of fruit we are to produce: Jesus says, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you…” Christians are to go out and produce fruit; fruit of disciples, fruit of new Christians who will be baptized in Jesus’ name, fruit of people who obey God.

One of the benefits of being connected with a church, is that you can have the backing and resources of the church when you go out. It is one thing to go out and help someone out on your own, but another to say that you are with Community Presbyterian Church, and you are there to help them. There is a great sense of presence in this. This is part of the mission of the church; to go and make disciples.

A good way to do this is to broaden the focus. To broaden your focus is not about adding more ministries or programs, it is about clarifying what ministries and programs are needed at this time. This often means doing away with programs that have served their time. For example, when I first came, we did our “Praise and Prayer” meeting. This was a wonderful gathering. But there came a time when it wasn’t needed in the same way. So we stopped doing it, and instead we started the Alpha Class; which has now been successful for the last 6+ years.

Another example is the Harvest Carnival. While many kids and families came to this event, it seemed that it wasn’t meeting the need we envisioned. So it was decided to not do it, and instead put the money and effort into a program at Easter time. We are now in the process of developing a VBS type program for the Saturday morning before Easter. Hopefully, this will give the children and families something wonderful, but also give the church the opportunity to minister in Jesus’ name.

b. Don’t create anew- Another important aspect of making a

difference, is that you don’t have to always create new programs. There are many ministries and programs that are doing ministry for the Lord, and we can come alongside them and help to bless what they are doing.

For example, a couple of weeks ago I had a wonderful meeting with the volunteer coordinator from WomenShelter. WomenShelter is an organization that helps women (and their children) who are suffering from domestic violence. There are times when women come to our church who have suffered domestic violence. It would be difficult, with the limited resources we have, to try and set-up a program that could meet the needs of these women and their families. Instead, we can refer them to the WomenShelter (or Su Casa), and get them the help they need.

These partnerships enable us to be good stewards.

Another wonderful partnership is with Food Finders. We have seen the need in the community for people who struggle with not having enough food to eat. It is pretty obvious that we don’t have the resources at this time to be a soup kitchen, or to provide enough food for even one family to eat for a week. But we can give families a bag of food to help them for a day or two, and then direct them to other agencies who are set-up to meet their needs more long term. For a fee of $100 per quarter (which is paid for by a member of our church), we get extra food and items from Food Finders. This helps us to give some basic help to the people in our community.

c. Opening the door to others- If you were to look at the history of

the church, you would see that there was a time when the church was once at the heart of the community. The church would provide the entertainment, the community socials, or the community dance. But not only is the church no longer at the heart of the community, in many ways we have alienated ourselves from our community. The social climate around us often puts us at odds with the community.

To offset this and begin to make a difference again, it is good to open our doors to the community. And we have found ways to do this. We currently allow the Neighborhood Watch to meet here at the church. For a time we had a Girl Scout Troup meeting here, but they had to disband. Now, however, my daughter’s brownie troop will be meeting here a few times over the next 6 months. While we can’t let an unlimited amount of groups use our facilities, we can be wise in allowing our facilities to benefit our community.

From the time our computer classes were started, there was always a sense that it would benefit those in the community. In fact, at the beginning, I remember having a meeting with the head of Oasis (who sponsored our classes), and Val Lerch (the councilman for our ninth district) to tell Val about the classes. Since then, he has promoted our class in various settings, and to many people, as an example of community involvement.

To continue to do this, we should ask the question: what does the community need? As we understand this more, it will help us in determining what groups we might allow to use our facilities. It will also help us in determining what groups we might partner with. It is amazing how just providing meeting space for a group can make a big difference. And as we make a positive impact in this group, they then are more able to make a difference with what they bring to the community.

By doing this we are following the example of other churches who are externally focused; who have found that connecting themselves with the community makes a positive impact for them and those around them.

d. Innovative partnerships- A key to making this happen is

understanding that this can’t happen just with the church leadership. Initiating service opportunities and partnerships can happen through any church member. In fact, the connection with WomenShelter came from a suggestion from one of our church members. Because you are out in the community, you have as many, if not more opportunities to see what possibilities for partnership there are.

As we move outside of our church walls, it is amazing to see how we weren’t only touching the lives of those we were serving, but the lives of those in our church who served. I can’t tell you how many times people have come back from a service experience, and commented to me how good it felt to make a difference.

I encourage you to get involved whenever we do our service projects. I wish I could make it a requirement for membership. I believe it affects people that profoundly. As I said last week, we will not fully grow in our Christian faith until we involve ourselves in service. Example- Last February I was at a conference in San Diego. While at the conference I went to a session called: Developing a Spiritual Formation Strategy for your Congregation. This session was led by Randy Frazee, a minister at Willow Creek Church in Chicago. Now Willow Creek is a 15,000 member church. Randy Frazee was given the task of determining how to help their members fully grow in their faith. Frazee said this: We determined that “going to church and Bible study only work in the beginning of formation. To further growth they need to be involved in service and mission!!”

II. The Power of Service- (Psalm 127:1; Jeremiah 33:9; Isaiah 65:17-25;

John 13:1; Luke 18:41; Matthew 25:35-46)

a. A healthy community- If you have ever had the opportunity to

stay at a nice hotel, or go to a nice restaurant, you know the pleasure of experiencing good service. EX. I had this experience when Tami and I went to a restaurant called Roy’s, in Maui. Someone had told us about this restaurant, and so we were thinking about wanting to go there. It so happened that when we stopped at a McDonald’s for lunch, just down the street from the condo we were renting, Roy’s was right next to the McDonald’s. So we went over and made a reservation, and the first dinner of our vacation was at Roy’s. The food was some of the best I have ever eaten. But it wasn’t just the food that made the experience wonderful. The service was the best I had ever had. After I finished my salad, I looked over to say something to Tami, and when I looked back at my plate, it was gone! I accidentally dropped my fork, and within thirty seconds someone was there to replace it. As I have learned more about Roy’s, I have discovered that people not only go there for the food, they go there for the service.

This act of service has transformed the restaurant business. And like restaurants, the church should seek to transform its community through service. To do this, we need to be concerned with 3 aspects: the needs and dreams of the city; the desires of God; and the call and capacity of the church.

1. Every city has needs and dreams. In fact, with a city like Long Beach,

there are needs and dreams in each part of the city. The needs and dreams of north Long Beach will be different than in downtown Long Beach... Not too long ago I was at a meeting with our councilman Val Lerch and some other ministers. Val was sharing how he desired to see the churches in North Long Beach work together and partner together. I think it is great to see that a councilman feels that churches are a vital part of the community, and that partnerships are important. Some of the dreams we have for the city (like having it be safe, having people be neighborly, and being a place where you can raise a family) are the same as what others in this community would have.

2. Along with our desires, God has desires of what He wants for a healthy

city. As I talked about last week, God cares about cities, and calls the church to help the city be prosperous. But how do we know exactly what God wants for North Long Beach? Psalm 127:1 says, “Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.” God can also bring health and healing to a city. In Jeremiah 33:9 we are told, “Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.” And in Isaiah 65:17-25 there are six characteristics listed for a healthy community: public celebrations and happiness; public health; housing for all; food for all; family support systems; and absence of violence. How great it would be if we could help even one of these happen in our community!

3. However, no church can or should do it all. With every church, there is a

limited capacity. The capacity of the church is what it can do well for its community. If a church tries to do too much, it will probably end up not doing anything well. We need to find a way to do a few things that bring the love, mercy, and power of God.

b. Looking at the intersections- If we were to think of each of these

aspects, the most interesting part of it is how the 3 intersect. To describe the area of the intersection, they use the term “Sweet Spot” in the book The Externally Focused Church. Service is the “sweet spot” where all 3 intersect. Service is something that the community needs, God desires, and the church has the capacity to do.

Churches that seek to serve in the community are actually being invited by others to do it more. EX. When a teacher at Jordan High School was thinking of taking her biology classes to the Huntington Library, she discovered that she needed a ratio of 4:1 for students to chaperone’s. She realized she needed more adult helpers. So she called churches in this area, believing that churches might be willing to serve others…. This opportunity of connection can in time provide opportunity for the church to be a bridge of salvation to people in the community, and maybe even the community itself.

As you enter into the life of the city through service, the opportunity to engage people with whom you would not normally come into contact with increases. Because of our computer classes, I had the opportunity to meet and get to know Val Lerch. Because of this, I have now had several opportunities to meet and talk with him in a variety of settings! Through offering our service to Grant elementary, I hope to have an increased opportunity for contact with the children and parents of the school as well. Because we allow the Neighborhood Watch to meet in our Fellowship Hall, we have opportunities to connect with the people in our community. This happens because selfless service gets people’s attention.

c. Incarnational ministry- On the night before Jesus was to be

crucified, He met with His disciples for a Passover meal. But even more, the Bible tells us that Jesus wanted to show the disciples the “full extent of His love” (John 13:1). Even though Jesus had been with the disciples for 3 years and loved the disciples, He wanted to show them how much He loved them. So, to show them this, Jesus decided to play the role of a servant, and wash their feet. Jesus washed their grimy, dirty, muddy feet.

Service is always about meeting others’ needs. When Jesus met the blind beggar, He asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” (Luke 18:41) In asking this, Jesus was demonstrating the heart of a servant. Service is the action that causes us to move toward others in love. Through Jesus’ example, we see that God is a servant. To be more like God we too must be servants. For our church to be a church of God, we must be a church that serves others.

You might not have heard of the word “incarnational,” but it is a word that describes God taking on flesh and coming to this earth for us to see. Through Jesus Christ, we see who God is. Likewise, the phrase “incarnational ministry” means that the church is to go out into its community so that by our lives and actions the people will see God. Jesus gives us a profound example of this in Matthew 25:35-46, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' ³⁷"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' ⁴⁰"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' ⁴¹"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴²For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' ⁴⁴"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' ⁴⁵"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' ⁴⁶"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Conclusion: Often times churches are kept from serving by raising these questions: “But what if we serve and nothing happens? What if we do all this stuff for people and they don’t respond?” Galatians 6:9-10a gives us a good answer: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. ¹⁰Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people…” You have probably heard the saying: “No good deed goes unpunished.” God will bless us and reward us for faithful service. We serve first and foremost for God. Let us seek to reach out more and more for the Lord, and seek to be a blessing to our community. Amen.