Laurentius was a deacon in the church at Rome in 258 A.D.  His pastor had just been martyred and Laurentius believed his own martyrdom would soon come as well under the Roman authorities. So he gathered all the poor in their church and distributed among them the “treasures of the church which had been committed to his care ” as Foxe’s Book of Martyrs puts it.   Hearing of this, the persecutors became alarmed and seized him  and commanded him to give an immediate account to the Emperor of the Church treasures.   Laurentius was happy to comply !

What he did next was not out of spite or mocking of the authorities. He did what he was told and brought many of the elderly, helpless and poor to the governor and said, “These are the TRUE treasures of the Church” !  Needless to say,the Roman officials failed to see any humor or spiritual lesson and set about to torture and execute this fine Christian servant. He died on August 10, 258 with such dignity and courage despite incredibly grueling tortures that MANY came to Christ – indeed he was a treasure of the Church himself  !!

In our church, as in many, exist even still “church treasures” .  In ours we have the many faithful souls who attend and serve EVERY week. We have Ushers, Sunday School and Junior Church teachers, Officers, the Church cleaning crew, musicians, children, elderly, encouragers. Let me park here for a moment – every Sunday almost without fail a man stops by at the end of church and tells me how much the message meant to him.  Seriously, I don’t pay him !   His is a minstry of encouragement. Something as basic and simple as that is a treasure in our church.  

I think many times we go to church with the notion of seeking out treasure. Maybe its a nugget in the Bible we havent seen before, maybe its a great friendship we long for, maybe a needed pat on the back. All good, yes, shouldn’t our motive be more to BE a treasure? As we simply strive to be what God wants us to be every day we become that treasure !  As Job was going through all his trials he wrote this, “But He knoweth the way that I take: when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as GOLD” (23:10) !!    Job was in our lingo essentially saying here “God knows how it is with me, when I’m tried, I’m gonna choose His way !”   Even in great trials you can find reason to be genuinely joyous as God is trying to develop you into a person of even greater worth. So like Job, let Him do it.  Don’t chafe against life’s twists & turns, keep going through them doing what’s right  because when you do – YOU become not buried treasure but very visible, Christlike treasure making God shine all the more !!

In the 1988 Olympics the men’s final of the 100 meters featured a major showdown. Carl Lewis of the USA versus Ben Johnson of Canada. Lewis was much heralded and had won many times but this race for the world’s fastest man took a different turn, in more ways than one !  Johnson crossed the finish line first and in record time, he cruised ahead of the vaunted Carl Lewis, America’s star, buuuuut there soon was revealed a problem. Johnson had been found out that he was “doping”. Taking performance enhancing drugs, the Olympic committee rightly stripped Johnson of his gold medal and awarded it to the silver medalist, Carl Lewis !    Johnson had run his race and brought the results but he’d chosen to ignore the rule book !!

As Paul was winding down his writing career he told Timothy, “And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.” (2Tim.2:5).   It is interesting here that the word for “strive” is the Greek athleo from which we get athletics.  The Greeks had the ancient Olympic games and they also had rules, so Paul was alluding to competing in an athletic contest and he was saying that if an athlete competed in a race, for example, and didn’t do so “lawfully” or properly or agreeable to the rules then he wouldn’t, like Ben Johnson, be “crowned” or wear the gold medal or here the “stephanos” (victor’s crown) !   

We also have a rule book in the Bible.  It tells us that today God wants His children to serve Him in and through the local church.  I have mentioned in our church often to “spell out these rules” that the overwhelming majority of even the titles of our New Testament books are about and to local churches (Acts starts by showing us how they began, Romans to the local churches there, Corinthians, Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, – you get the picture !  Even the pastoral epistles being addressed to men initially (Timothy and Titus) were written why? to organize the local churches !!). Paul didn’t spend his years as a Christian in a “Christian coffee shop”  having fun as he wanted, he helped to develop LOCAL churches and when he came back home to Antioch he reengaged in his local congregation.  So how does this apply to you and I today?  We must involve ourselves with our church.  We start by JOINING it which shows God and others your COMMITMENT to His work locally (Acts 2:41).  We FAITHFULLY ATTEND (Heb.10:25) not pick and choose when we want to show up.  We GIVE of our time, talent and tithes to support it. As God has given you a talent(s) He expects you to help build up your church with that talent.   And when we GIVE, we give our BEST as it is God’s work.  Instead of complaining about what my church doesnt have, I contribute to give it what it should have ! And I thank God for what it does have.  PRAY for your church: the Pastor, each other, the services, its outreach, its finances, etc.   

A lot of Christians give to various causes in some way, they even give to parachurch ministries (those not connected to a local church) but when it’s all said and done you’d better be giving of yourself in a way that accords with the rules. The world may think you’re a great success and you might even see people impacted for Christ but  at what cost to God? He will be the final Judge and will He say “well done thou good and FAITHFUL servant”?  Or will you lose the reward?  The local church is to be the “pillar and ground of the truth” (1Tim.3:15). Our world needs a good steady foundation of truth and they need to see it in YOU as a member of such a support !  Don’t leave God’s local church in the dust or you will be the one left in the dust in the end !

There’s a scene in the movie “The Rookie” where the leading actor who is a baseball player says to one of the other players, “We get to play baseball today !!”   He was psyched to do what he loved.  Well, it’s the Lord’s Day again and for the Christian the day should also provide a sense of great excitement.  What will I learn from the Bible today? What spiritual trait will be nurtured in me?  What truth will I need to be reminded of ? How will the Holy Spirit work today to speak to me through His Word?  What new friendships might I make or old ones cultivated ?   Will the Pastor tell me some funny story (doubt it !) or a moving illustration?

Errrrrrrk !!! (sound of brakes) — wait a minute, I’ve got the spiritual cart before the horse here.  It’s the LORD’S DAY not mine !  Yet how often do we really think otherwise, that’s its all about me?  We can disagree with the seeker sensitive type churches that they place an undue emphasis on what people want rather than what God wants (and we should disagree with that philosophy), but how about you?  Have you let church become stale & stifling to your soul because you’ve gotten in a rut of  “it’s all about me”?    

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus wound down the sixth chapter with a very familiar verse. In fact you may often quote it, think it or hear it quoted by others, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you”. (vs.33)   Though Jesus’ intent was to put the cabosh on worry (“take no thought, saying what shall we eat?. . . (vs.31) & “Take therefore no thought for the morrow”. . . (vs.34), the principle may certainly be applied to all concerns of life.  We should always put God first, especially in HOW we worship and especiallly on the Lord’s Day ! The command to “seek” here is intended that we “keep on seeking” !  God knows we have a tendency to not to do so. So stay at it Christian !!

If you go into God’s house with the mindset of giving totally of yourself to Him then watch what happens !  Sometimes we go in cranky, tired, dull of hearing, distracted, etc, etc, etc.  When you go in with the idea that this is His day, it is about Him. I am going to listen well, give well, sing well, pray well and apply it well watch what happens, all you need and even at times your wants will be added to YOU !    One of the great ironies of how God has designed life is when you really give you really receive, no where is this truer than in worship of the Lord.  So today, and everyday remember, its ALL ABOUT HIM !!  How exciting YOU can make this day for Him !!!!

Last year a great man went to heaven. E. Robert Jordan was a pastor, educator and church planter. He was my pastor, mentor and friend. We called him Chief since that was his nickname from his Navy days as a Chief Petty Officer and he never lost that “Chief” mentality, ha !  When I first met Chief he was in his prime, you didn’t sleep in his sermons and unless you had the heart of a rock you grew under his ministry.  I have carried around a sermon outline in an old Bible of mine  from one of his messages I’d like to share with you and consider very carefully. The sermon was entitled “Keys to a Victorious Christian Life” and is as follows:

                                     I.      Die DAILY, 1Cor.15:31; 2Cor.4:10     (dont allow self to rule you today but God)
                                     II.    Read the Word DAILY,  Acts 17:11: Ps.1:1,2   
                                    III.  Take up your cross DAILY, Lk.9:23; Jn.8:12   (be willing to follow God even if it means suffer)
                                    IV.   Pray DAILY, Ps.86:3; 88:9; 1Thess.5:17
                                    V.     Praise the Lord DAILY, Ps. 119:164; Job 1:21
                                    VI.   Depend upon God DAILY,  Lk.11:2,3
                                    VII. Confession of sin DAILY,  1Jn.1:9; Ps.32:5
                                    VIII. Perform your vows DAILY, Ps.61:8; Ecc.5:1-6

You can’t help but notice how DAILY is in each point. The Christian life is a disciplined life, it takes effort every single day and God can’t build you a victorious life unless YOU are willing to do your part. This is what Paul wrote about in Phil.2:12 when he said, “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling”.  Salvation here is not that act of conversion that happened the day you were saved. Here it means your sanctification, i.e. your growth after conversion.  So work on these “with fear and trembling” or what we might better say today as reverence or respect for God.

When you have that inclination to make a decision of what you WANT to do, weight it first with “Is it really God’s will?”  Has my heart truly been given to Him this day?  Have I fed my heart/mind with His Word allowing it to permeate me and transform me (Rom.12:1,2) have I “chatted” with Him yet?  Is the foundation for my choices “what’s in it for me” or “whats easiest for me”?  Or what is pleasing to God (Eph.5:10)?    Am I looking at life and complaining or praising God? There is ALWAYS a silver lining and the spiritual Christian will start to see it !   Have you asked Him yet this day for His power to live today?  And when you fail, will you confess it or excuse it?    God’s trying to make a gem out of YOU, so God says to you, “its a new day, lets YOU and I get to work !!”

 

 

Have you noticed any baby birds around your house this year that are at the cusp of learning to fly? Seems like this has been a banner year near our home for that. Just the other night our cat Abby had one cornered outside and I had to remind her mice are fair game, little birds aren’t. So I helped what was probably baby bird  number seven this season from certain doom !  With a little coaxing from a chirping mom hovering around and my herding her into a safer locale she started to get her wings. 

So here comes the lesson. Just like those baby birds we want the security of the warm “nest” and not to have to venture out and spread our wings, breakfast in bed (delivered into our gaping mouth) without having to do the digging for the prize, and sometimes even when life kicks us out to jumpstart us spiritually we still refuse to fly and scurry around on the ground even though we have wings to soar.

Peter wrote an excellent book dealing with spiritual growth in 2 Peter. The final verse summarizes the book as it states, “But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen.”      The word “grow” is not meant as an option in the mind of God, it is an imperative to Him !  Yet to us is it, really?     Growth may mean getting out of the comfort zone of your “nest” and taking to the skies to do something for Him. I’ve said it at our church many times, service is not spelled serve-us !  Growth implies we don’t depend upon the handout alone of even going to church to be fed by a great sermon, but to learn to regularly as those noble Bereans in Acts 17 and  “search the Scriptures daily”. How awesome it is to find a “buried treasure” as you read on your own !! Growth often can be a circumstance God allows to come your way that initially you don’t like. You feel “kicked out of the security of your nest” and you find yourself waddling around in panic. At those times, take to flight, you were meant to “mount up with wings as eagles”, remember?! 

So are you going to fly today or will you strut around on the ground ?  It’s your choice. God has made His, we just need to spread our wings and take off !