February 20 Just Get Along… Romans 12:18
Good morning from Pastor Glen Brock, Baptist Tabernacle Church, Wendell, North Carolina… “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” (Romans 12:18)
When we come together, under the shadow of the Cross, then we should be about the “Father’s Business,” and not our own! Have you ever thought about the role of the “Church” in modern life? Have you considered that the “Church” is the “Sharp end of the Spear” for the sharing, and expressing the Good news of Jesus’ Love, to this Lost and Dying World? When an unbeliever investigates the “Church” environment, what do they see? Do they witness a culture of “Togetherness and Love,” or do they see disharmony, chaos, “us and them,” and a divide along age, affluence, and cultural differences? A few days ago, I was engaging a young man in conversation, and when I talk to people, you can believe that an invitation to attend BTC will be a part of the conversation. I have seen this young man around Zebulon, for some time, and this was the first opportunity to talk with him. His reaction to the invitation to visit our church worship services was a bit unsettling. He told me, in no uncertain terms, that “Church” was not for him. He said that he was forced to “go to church, when he was a boy, and he had gotten a “plenty” of the church life. Wow! I inquired a bit deeper into this animosity that had been created by his church experience. He shared that he and his family lacked an abundance of worldly goods and that he and his family were belittled and were challenged because of their lack of financial resources. Boy, you could tell that this was a painful memory and I attempted to mitigate this hurt by offering a pledge. “When you come to BTC, and you don’t feel welcome, well, it will be your own fault! Come, try it one time and if you don’t like it, you know that you don’t have to come back!” We continued to conversate about various topics, and when we parted, he said, “You might just see me!” Have any of you experiences “CHURCH HURT?” Have you had a negative experience with Church, and have vowed to never be hurt like that again? Church, we have a responsibility to be what God has intended for us to be and that is to represent the Love of God, His Saving Grace through Jesus Christ and NOT OUR OWN THOUGHTS AND BIAS! We are living in some unpresented times, and the Church MUST be the LIGHT into This Dark and Sinful World! Philippians 2:4 tells us: “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” Red carpet, blue carpet, white walls, brown walls, pave the lot, don’t pave the lot, help the poor, don’t help the poor and a host of other thoughts and actions within the church take second place to the Main Goal of Sharing the Love of God, by words and actions, with Lost People! As Dr. Kelton Hinton has declared for over a decade, “MAKE THE MAIN THING, THE MAIN THING!” Please, please, please commit to grow in the Grace of God and please pray that God will make you into what He truly desires! Please THINK before you SPEAK! PRAY before You HURT Someone! This World is Looking at the Church, and we MUST BE WHAT GOD INTENDS! Amazingly, just a few hours after this encounter with this young man, I was in Walgreens, and I invited another stranger to attend BTC, and he said that every church was full of hypocrites, and he would not attend a gathering of such people. You do realize that I could have expressed to him his folly and his misguided thoughts, but, in the Spirit of Love, I apologized for the church, and every believer that has ever existed, including myself, and I told him that if he would accept my apology and try BTC one time, and if he experienced the hypocrisy that he described, then I would have everyone in attendance to extend an apology for being a hypocrite! He laughed, and I shared that we all are “works in progress,” and hypocrisy is not exclusive to the church. Will he attend? I don’t know, but I do know that I am going to continue to grow in Jesus, mature in my faith and commit to being the best example for Jesus that is humanly possible! Okay, enough rambling… Please do not be the excuse that anyone would use to deny themselves the benefit of the Love of God, through Jesus! REPENT! Stay Strong, Stay Focused … THE BEST IS YET TO BE!