Be the Church – Part 3

Mission ~ September 23, 2018

           This morning, I want us to take a trip to Pittsburgh. For our purposes, let’s pretend we’ve never been there before and we’re going to rely on GPS to get us there.

Before we get into the car, we look at Google maps on a computer. When we type in “Pittsburgh,” and indicate that we want directions, we see that we are given three choices (show 3 map pictures). What’s interesting is that as we look at the maps, we see that there are more than three possible routes to Pittsburgh. Having a general idea of the direction we’ll be going, we head to the car to start our journey knowing that the little voice from the GPS will know better than we do how to get us to our destination.

We get in the car and either access a travel app on our phone, use the onboard navigation, or an old-school GPS unit that plugs in and mounts to the windshield.

We set out and the little voice begins giving us instructions—what direction to head, when to turn, what lane to be in, and how many miles for this leg of the journey. We settle in knowing that the GPS will guide us to our intended destination.

Along the way, we might encounter slowdowns or detours. We see other travelers—some headed in the same directions and others headed in different directions. Sometimes, our paths intersect, and we must adjust our speed or lane positions.

As we travel, we can engage in conversation with others in the car with us, or with someone else by phone (hands-free, of course). We can listen to the radio, a podcast, book, or playlist (on tape, CD or digitally depending on the vehicle).

We might stop at a rest area, restaurant, or convenience store. Depending on the time of day and our condition, we might slap ourselves in the face or stick our head out the window to stay awake. Depending on how we drive, we might set cruise control or keep the pedal down to reach Pittsburgh as quickly as possible. Sometimes, we may encounter police officers who are unhappy with the way we’re driving, first responders attending to folks injured on the journey, or work crews cleaning up messes, or maintaining or fixing the roadway.

As we drive, we are processing information to make the proper decisions regarding speed, lanes, braking, inside temperature and volume, and our position relative to other travelers. All the while listening for the little voice to give us instruction.

Now, every time that little voice gives us instruction, we must decide if we’re going to follow it. What if it says “left” and we think it should be “right”? What if it says 3 miles and we think it’s 5? With each direction, we must choose whether to follow.

Sometimes, we may take too long to respond to the instructions and the little voice tells us it is recalculating or instructs us to make a U-turn. Sometimes, the little voice starts getting on our nerves and we are tempted to turn it off and figure it out on our own. What could go wrong with that, right? Even though we’ve never been to Pittsburgh before, we’re smart enough to muddle our way through and eventually get there. But I digress…

Finally, we arrive at our destination and enjoy our day in Pittsburgh. The end.

I think the journey I just described is a good illustration of the Christian life. Before I tell you how let’s first look at the Scripture.

Ephesians 4:11-16 (NIV) p. 828 – ¹¹ So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, ¹² to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

¹⁴ Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. ¹⁵ Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. ¹⁶ From him, the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

 Hebrews 5:12-6:1 (NIV) p. 848 – ¹² In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! ¹³ Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. ¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

Therefore, let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity…

2 Peter 1:5-8 (NIV) p. 860 – ⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶ and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷ and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. ⁸ For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

What’s the point of these passages? Simple, Christ followers are supposed to grow and mature in their faith. (Go back and reread highlighted portions.)

How do we grow and mature in our faith? We follow the directions God gives us.

• Most of the directions come from the Bible.
• Some directions come from impressions or leadings we sense in our spirit (Note: these directions/impressions will not contradict the Bible.)

The church has a role to play in all of this – Paul referenced it in the passage from Ephesians 4, “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, ¹² to equip his people…”

At Trinity, our mission is to help people take the next step on their spiritual journey. With that mission, we can…

• Tell you about the journey
• Encourage you to get in the car
• Teach you about the GPS
• Encourage you to listen to the GPS
• Tell you about potential hazards
• Tell you about potential detours
• Tell you about some travelers you may meet along the way
• Tell you about the police, first responders, and maintenance crews
• We can tell you about sights along the way
• We CANNOT make you get in the car. That choice is yours.
• We CANNOT make you listen to the GPS. That choice is yours.

Observations about the journey of spiritual growth:

• Spiritual growth ≠ simply attending church more frequently and being involved in more church activities.
• Spiritual growth ≠ trying harder to follow the rules (it’s not about self-improvement)
• Spiritual growth = learning to follow the directions of the GPS (God)
  • Unlike man-made technology, which sometimes fails, God can be trusted. 
  • Remember in our story when I said we are sometimes tempted to ignore or turn off the GPS and figure it out on our own?
    • The same is true on our spiritual journeys.
    • Imagine if we did that and it said, “I told you so! If you think I’m gonna help you now, you’re sadly mistaken. Find your own way.”
    • It does say that, if we ignore it, it says something like, “recalculating” or “when it is safe, make a U-turn.”
    • That’s grace…and that’s what God offers us on the journey. We aren’t just saved by grace…we also live by grace.
  • As we learn to drive, we develop habits that (hopefully) help us be effective drivers. So too, as we travel this journey of faith, we develop habits (called spiritual disciplines) that help us effectively navigate the journey.
    • Prayer
    • Bible reading
    • Worship
    • Service
  • As we drive down the road, we find that there are blind spots in our mirrors and it’s helpful to have someone else help us with those. So too in life. We have blind spots and it’s helpful to have Christian friends and family who help us with those.
  • As Christians, we are all journeying in the same direction, but our journeys are as individual as we are.
    • In God’s calculations, not only is the shortest distance between two points a straight line, but it seems he rarely leads us that way.
    • We all start from different places.
    • We are in different vehicles.
    • We learned to drive in different ways.
    • Despite all these differences, we all must learn the same lesson—listen to the GPS (God’s direction.)

Next Steps

1. Am I in the car? (Do I know Christ as Savior?)
2. Is the GPS running? (Am I listening for God's voice?)
3. Am I following directions?