We're continuing our series of sermons on the theme of, I'm a church member what the Bible has to say about belonging to the body of Christ. It's based on this little book, I'm a church member by Tom rainy. And the, the ideas, the thoughts, the themes that he has. They are so solid and rooted in scripture. Joe, and I decided pastor Joe didn't. I decided we were going to do this as a sermon series. And so we continue with this.
And so this morning's sermon number three, and the title is, It's not about my desires are preferences, and I'm not a mind reader and I don't know what people's hearts and minds are but few of you might just throw, okay, I might as well leave because that's what I came for. I don't think so, but the fact of the matter is, when people look for a church, they look for very different things. There are people who come to a church that's in there. Looking for a church to go skirt
shopping. They look mainly, what's there for my children? What does this church offer my children? That's the core driving Factor when they look for a church for other people. It's what's the music? Like that's the core. Driving fact, I don't like the music where I came from and it was not good music and it was poorly done. I don't like I'm going to church where there's good music. Music is important to me. For some, have somebody else? It's the preaching. I want a church that has good
preaching. I want to church that has this style of preaching, or that style of preaching, or maybe less preaching or for others yet. It's I want to feel at home. I just want a place where I feel welcome people embrace me. Are these things wrong? No, they're not, they're not bad. In fact they're good things. Most most times. But what are they driven by? That's the question.
And then there are some people who've moved away from one Community to another Community, maybe for work or whatever. And they just look for a church. They want to call home. That's it. And these things are not sin, are not sin. They just are It's surface stuff preference based, but there's other things that we need to touch on as well. Core beliefs practices Doctrine and here, it gets more sensitive because it gets very deep and
heavy. It's weighty What does this church believed about God for instance or about heaven? Hell, eternal life for some people. These are very very big and they should be and get their slanted or they're tilted, they're not even be said that whatever. And then the discussion becomes, not so much preferences, but what's true? And Truth should be a preference, right? And here, we've become so very
different. We all know and we all believe this that there are negotiables in church and non-negotiables but we can't always decide on what's negotiable. It's non-negotiable and we don't have time this morning to go into detail list every single negotiable and every non-negotiable aspect of church. We just don't have the time but here's a few non-negotiable beliefs or truths. Jesus is the son of God. It's truth. It's really Reality, not some good profit, not some good
preacher. Not some good man. He's Jesus is the son of God. Another truth is he died for Sinners. He physically gave his life for the sins of the world. He lay down his life for his sheep. He says he rose from the dead, is another one. He came out of the Tomb, he's alive. He was seen by numerous people. His ministry was attested to by many people tested to the resurrection. Another one is a bit more fluid. We would say it's not but people would, how do you interpret?
This is supposed to love everybody. Everybody everybody even my enemies, my enemies at no point. Ever is a Christian allowed to operate from the platform of hatred. We as Believers say that and another one is moral Integrity. All our actions should be done from a foundation of moral Integrity, first, honor, God and serve Humanity. And God has moral standards, right? And wrong that are not
negotiable. Reality is not fluid and changeable, according to a different, people would like it to be. They're not multiple truths for the same reality and this is especially true when it comes to how we live life and it gets controversial because we don't agree. And then there are some very simple basic things. Like, how many times a week, should we meet? Is that negotiable or non-negotiable? Doesn't matter. I think it does but not the same for everybody.
Should we should meet more often than less often? We should meet more than less. How often should we meet bouts? Not prescribed what language should Church be hmm depending where you go? What kind of song should we sing upbeat Lively or kind of slow, and whatever? How long should the sermons be 20 minutes? The shorter, the better. We can just go on and on about
this. And our sermon this morning want to look at a few points to bring perspective to what is important Point. Number one is this, our desires and preferences must be servant. Based servant focused. the first thing we must understand as members of the body of Christ and more specifically members in a church where members for the purpose of serving This is huge when it comes to church, no one should have the mindset. I will join this place. I will join this group to see what they will do.
For me, will read this passage later on, but Jesus says, he came to serve not to be served. This is a truth. Something we must understand and embrace and put into practice In scripture, we find a lot of things that are solid truth and we're told not to deviate repeatedly, especially in the Old Testament. We find how God instructed the people of Israel to stay true to the teachings.
They had received and if they would deviate, they would suffer consequences later on. In the New Testament, we find numerous times. But to remember, to hold to the teachings that we have been given and of course, not everyone agrees on everything and it's not always clear black and white. We know that but Nothing is certain my preference cannot be me. Your preference cannot be you see, it's amazing how people go to church shopping, not with the idea. What can I bring? It's more.
What will they do for me? Maybe here I will find whatever and these things may not in and of themselves be wrong, but the motive out of which they come are self-focused, We should come to church like Lord. What do you want me to bring? What do you want me to offer? How do you want me to serve? You see folks selfish mindsets never bring peace or joy? You see some people go to church shopping like to go vehicle shopping has to have a certain features and certain Accessories
and the vehicle shopping. Like I want a high-end luxury vehicle for low base model price, Church shopping happens that way too. Sometimes customer goes to dealers lot and starts telling that it is a sales man. What he wants to buy how much the price should be and it starts at an impossible place and eventually they negotiate themselves to a what they can get along with what they.
Well, I'll throw this and I'll throw that and if you okay, with this up the price a bit, now we can have an agreement. If that's how we do Church shopping, that's all backwards. When it comes to where we go to church, and how we go to church, and why we go to church, and why we remember in the church, it has to be servant focused time Ray Turner's book puts it this way? He says, as a church member, my motivation should not be to get my preferences to the top of the
list. Yeah, the do what I say I'm supposed to be last, not first. I'm supposed to be a servant instead of seeking to be served. When it comes to church, if we're Christians, we will not try to create a church or shop for a church that will cater to us or I could take this to be conformed to my image. Want to customise design Taylor. Make it just for me my preferences, we need to seriously ask ourselves this question. As individual members, what are our motivations?
We must remind ourselves. We do not want to be selfish. We do not want to be self, preference, driven people. We want to be members, who look for ways to connect to serve and contribute. We want to be members looking to where we can add and what was being offered and done in the church where we can grow be plugged in. Point. Number two, is our desires and preferences. Must be truthful.
Focused. Paul wrote to a young, Pastor named Timothy, some instructions, and how he was to serve as a pastor of the Church of Ephesus. I was supposed to lead that church and toward the end of a second letter to Timothy. Paul gets that letter gets quite fiery or quite hot. Paul is reminding Timothy of the seriousness of scripture and how important it is to stay between the lines. So it's because stay on track, stay in stay focused on the right.
Destiny Tom Rainer and his book talks about a survey that was done and he points out how in that survey that showed where the real focus of many churches is the focus of many churches, may be on a lot of things, but not on the mission of Jesus Christ. I'll read some of these, they're not in your, in the paper. They hand out here, but I'll read some of these. He talks about worship Wars, fighting amongst themselves and are we should worship this very know. We should worship that way.
And having just this constant meetings about stuff that have no Eternal value at all, and then the focus on facilities and how we how the facilities look sure, it's important. But is that main focus program driven church services at all about events relationships, are that's another that side thing, then the financial aspect of it all, where's the money go? And where is it? Where is it being spent? And how is it being being allocated? And so on, then it extreme demands for?
I need to be taken care of. I want my pastor to take care of me. This entitlement Minds at all. About my needs, my wants my desires and really very little next to no concern about spreading the gospel at all, and then there's anger and hostility, they don't do it my way and they did it wrong. And I'm upset. And I don't like it and just this, all this Evangelistic apathy doesn't don't really care. I know this sounds discouraging and I some of you may feel.
It can just go to something else. This is too bad and I'm not saying we're guilty of all of it, but there's a real need to keep focused. On what is Jesus want me to be as a follower of him? What's he want me to do? Paul's teaching to Timothy in his letter, Paul reminds him, that he should stay with, what he learned. Not just that, the environment, with who was in Timothy, had learned made a huge impact on
him. And second Timothy chapter 3, Paul warned Timothy of hard times, that would come in the last days. Paul says, and people would not care about anything except what they wanted. Just what they wanted, people who do not care about truth. They would care about their desires and their preferences that would rule, that would be the platform from which they would operate, No Matter What God Says, what God wants? We will shape and form this to what we want.
Let's begin reading, second Timothy chapter 3, verse 1. He says understand this in the last days, there will come times of difficulty for people. Will be lovers of self. Lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive disobedient. Leading to their parents ungrateful. Unholy verse 3, heartless and unappeasable. Let's stop for a second. You can never please these people. It's always about the next thing. It's always a moving target. Continue reading slanderous without self-control brutal.
Not loving good treacherous. Reckless swollen with conceit lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God having the appearance of godliness. But denying its power avoid such people Paul says better to avoid such people and when they become church members and sometimes they do it spells trouble.
He does say they have an appearance of godliness but it's not real continuing in verse 6. Paul writes for among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women burden with sins and let us treat various passions. Always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. Let's stop there again, these have education letters behind their names but no knowledge of the truth. And this is not just women. By the way, men do this, too. Continue verse 8.
Paul writes, just as Janice and jambres opposed Moses, Saudis men also opposed the truth. Men corrupted in mind, and disqualified regarding the faith, but they will not get very far for their Folly will be playing to all as as was that of these two men. Paul was describing here, a religiosity driven self-focused self, preference driven group of people always about them. Just look around at our culture. Look at social media. All-time self-focus all-time
high. Just look how people behave in all areas of life, even in church. It's one thing to see selfishness in the world, it's a whole another level to see in the church and people making unreasonable demands on the church expecting. They can have the desires of selfishness and being God's grace will buy them, save them. I'm on my way to heaven. That's false. And you know what's even worse? Even worse than everything. I've said so far when pastors and Doris and cater to it, that's worse.
Our job as pastors is to comfort the broken heal the wounded, preach Grace and kindness and love and Generals and the same time call to repentance rebuke. The Aryan called to turn back
the wavered. For me, as a pastor person, I find this alarming the number of Pastors in North America, who can't change fast enough to keep up with the ever shifting values of culture to accommodate and braise and validate and affirm, every besotted sinful lifestyle, that's out there, and I don't need to go into detail to explain. This is a just come to our church. We do things here to make you happy.
As long as it's legal. Look at verse 5 again, having the appearance of godliness but denying its power avoid such people Had a conversation with a pastor friend of mine years ago. He said this, he said when the pastor builds his preaching and teaching in the whims and preferences desires of Pleasure Seekers, the church is headed for trouble. Our conversation. This was in essence, what he said. Church members.
We need to be aware if you're a follower of Jesus need to be aware the church exists to bring glory to God, by living out, the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the community, in which it finds itself. It's never about what can I get out of it. Someone once said, what you get them in with. You have to keep coming in, increasing measure to keep them. That's so true. When self-pleasure self desires when they're the point of reference. It's a sure sign troubles not
far away. And in the end there's self-driven people and in the end they leave anyway because you know what? Don't meet my needs. I'm gone. Empty and lonely. Sure they need help but they're looking in the wrong way, you see? And this is why, and I can't say this emphatically. If this is why Paul focused on nothing but the cross of Jesus Christ, he writes about that.
And second First Corinthians chapter 2 verse 1 and on, because if a person comes to these under the cross that person's and then self and all its preferences and it's Cravings has crucified and that person is a keeper. But if person joins the church under the promises of the invitations of we're here to make you happy. We're here to please you the old 1990s, Burger, King slogan, your way right away. If that's the aim, nothing good. Can come of it. It's a moving goal post and it
never stops moving. again the self-focus in verse 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power avoid such people I confess I love looking at new cars. What the next new thing is that some automaker is producing. I like to window shop online, then you have this button, you go to build your own vehicle. I love building my own vehicle online. Amazing. What you can do, the features that are available.
I never go to the price or I'll never go further because I don't want to pay anything so I just exit. But you know, that stuff does not work in God's Kingdom. We can go window-shopping and what's available. Now what new tools of the made? What kind of fashion or clothing is out there? It's not sent to look at that stuff in the sense like, oh, they're making this new Gadget or this new device, this new car, this new truck, that's fine. But Christianity is not like
that. It's not something that changes all the time. It is something continually constant, the message of the cross We live in a culture in time where everything is changeable to be modified teaching an honesty Integrity conditional on the situation at hand. People tell lies as easily as talking about the weather claiming. They're still Christians, immoral lifestyle practice anything. You name, / Christians, Changes
easy as a set of clothes. Selfish personal preference and desires are not the point of reference from which Jesus runs this church. Paul wrote to the Corinthians that Jesus the head of his church. The church is Jesus body. We're her to serve God by shining as a light for his glory being assault in our community. If we continue on and and second Timothy chapter 2 verse 10, Paul points out to Timothy how heat Paul had lived his life and how
he wants Timothy to follow him. Let's read second Timothy chapter 3, verse 10, you huh? However, have followed my teaching, he's talking to Timothy, my conduct, my aim, in my, in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions. And sufferings that happened to me at Antioch at Iconium and at lystra what persecutions?
I endured yet from them. All the Lord rescued me since you Timothy, you know this, you followed me, you've been a student and it had shape Timothy where was self preference and self desire. Even Factor in all of this. One thing Timothy knew about watching. Paul was, it's not about Paul and it's not about me, it's about God. It's about Jesus. Let's read this passage again, slowly.
My teaching my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions, my sufferings. Paul endured so much for the sake of the Gospel. Never ever one time, do we find Paul trying to wiggle his way around this? And although we'll just, we'll just take a shortcut here or we'll just modify. This will customize that? No. Being a church member is a servant matter. It's a truth matter. Let's do this is Paul's physical, time-bound Earth material.
If he's only got one, he's giving it up for Christ. Paul's Walk With Jesus had been difficult. It had been challenging in real time. In real place with real people that he had not tried to modify and customize to make it easy for himself. He endured so much. Notice verse 12 on to verse 12. Paul writes, these words indeed. He says all who desire to live a Godly life in Christ, Jesus will be persecuted while evil people and Impostors Will Go On from bad to worse deceiving and being
deceived. See this preference and selfish minded lifestyle there. He says in verse 14. But as for you, continue in what you've learned in a firmly, believed knowing from whom you learned it. If you join God's team, don't expect an easy ride on cruise control. Don't expect it. Paul had given Timothy, a solid start under some very good leadership. Things Timothy had learned from Paul were things, Paul wanted Timothy now to continue in.
At this point. Some people might think well if that's church membership, count me out, you may not be a member here, but if you're believe you're the part of the body of Christ and still applies to you, and you might feel well that's just hardship and pain. You're partly correct for the flesh. It is not just God has times of rest, and renewal and rejuvenation for his Saints. And there's times when the persecution eases and there's times of rest and those kinds of things.
But yes, the flesh has to go to the cross. That means our desires, our preferences. Go on it, too. The truth is, we will have peace in our hearts and souls and Minds. If we follow Jesus, he says, in verse 14, let's look at that again. But as for you, continue in what you've learned and firmly believe knowing who from whom you learned it, it's not. Hey Timothy. Hi, how would you like to lead? How would you like to serve what can we do for you? What kind of strategy you want
to use? No, it's not like that at all. It's like the instruction manual has been written. The direction has been Yet, there's no negotiating on the map. There's no negotiating. The destiny and no negotiating, a message that's been fixed. Verse 15 and on Paul writes and how from childhood you Timothy have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness. That the man of God, may be complete equipped for every good work. This kind of rules out every
selfish ambition doesn't it? The Bible warns us against those kinds of things, she scriptures, not a list of suggestions and preferences and desires which we can shape and form to our own craving, not some non-negotiable ideas that we can work around and so on. This passage was for Timothy reminder to stay on track, not to deviate from what he'd been taught. Let me interject here. No, wherever do we find were to compromise on the truth. Never truth is not a preference. It's a reality.
We had to recognize to embrace and accept and live out. We can adjust our lives to it but we can never customize it or tailor, make it to fit our desires and preferences. Truth cannot be changed to fit us, we can change to fit it. And yet, when it comes to truth, this is exactly where our culture has completely gone off the rails. I have my truth. You have your truth. They have their truth. We have our truth.
And when that happens only a matter of time in the whole thing falls apart and as I said before, is there ever a time of confusion? Well, that's now our culture's become like a ship in the night adrift at Sea in the fog with no GPS. No Compass, no sense of
direction. Just drifting along I don't have time to into it but honestly, our culture is literally lost What I find interesting is in, even in Jesus day, how the people of this time, especially religious leaders, they messed with him trying to get him to see, you know, what, how about this? How about that? At one point in time, the Pharisees came to Jesus and I won't read the scriptures. Takes too long.
Matthew 19, and they had their own cultural preferences, their own cultural mechanisms, how they work with this and that, and one was the issue of marriage and hey, hey, Rabbi is it is, it, is it okay? For a man to divorce his wife for any never reason? It's Matthew, 19, Jesus, have you not read? The one who created the made them male and female. What did Jesus do? He was God in human form, yet, he focused on scripture on the
written word. He was truthful focused, not culturally, Focus, not preference, Focus, not desirable. Well depends what you desire. Well then why did Moses and so on and on it goes but sadly they had missed the mark and here's where it gets and it's I could talk about whole slew of topics a whole slew of ideas. And here's the problem us, Evangelical Pastors in many cases, embrace it. Well, how do you feel about it?
What would you like? No, if scripture is not guiding us than something shaky is. And this teaching, just we talked about false teachers some time ago, the falls into that. Again, let me just a personal preference and desire driven. Involvement is just a moving Target, never stops never ends. Always shifts to tell moves to destruction. So what is the way forward that leads to, right, living them? We must stand on the word of God and we must go to the Cross.
We must surrender our life to Jesus. This includes our desires and our preferences. And before we look to the other while you should change, you should change. Let's look at ourselves. How selfish am I? How desired driven am I? And if you and I surrender to Jesus, if we get right with God that will not make the culture go away, it'll still be there but will put us into relationship with God and give
us Direction, destiny. It'll give us peace and something solid to live by and will be a light in the dark and faltering world. Last Sunday, I ask this question, I'll ask it again. If everyone would do, is you do how would the church be? What kind of member am I are you years ago? And I were new in pastoral Ministry and there was a couple that came to our church. They had left a particular church and they could no longer attend for various reasons and it was maybe valid.
I didn't dig into it too deeply, but it was very confusing after a little while. You see. They all of a sudden were starting to push us to become what they had left because it was comfortable. It was predictable. They were used to that but they don't like it the way it was done, but if you do that thing here in our church that would work, maybe let's let's change this to that so that we can have at least something that's we're
familiar with. We didn't do that and they moved on and went elsewhere and I don't know where they are today or anything like that, but it was sad to see because Their hearts and Minds were yes, we it doesn't work here, but maybe if we go to a different church and change that church into this, then maybe it'll work again. It was all about desire and preference. It was not too much that was evil as it was totally selfish. These desires that they had were
important to them. But they were culturally based and legalistically based and basically, hey, we come here and we want you to become what we were and are. And so on. I remember years ago as a public event, there was a speaker talking about how people move to Canada their people immigrate to Canada from different countries. They want a better life than want freedom.
They want success what Canada offers is it but the strange thing is then a lot of these immigrants that come here and they want to change this into what they just left, which wasn't working, but hopefully we can Implement that here. Hopefully work here is that Doesn't work. You see the greater the self preference factor is the greater. The self desire factor is the harder it is for person to change at all.
In any meaningful way. This is true everywhere and especially in church membership in an art. And what's strange is our time attending church is considered a right since. When is it a right? And you have to make me happy and if you don't, you're not a
good church, here's the truth. If my desires and my preference are not based on the word of God service to Jesus Christ and if they're my desires, my professor more important than getting right with God than fellowshipping with Jesus Christ. Then I need to repent. There's many stories as I said before and I won't have time to go into them. But let me tell one story Genesis chapter 13 and 19 I have I won't read the scriptures. The Bible tells how Abraham and lot live close together.
God richly bless these two men Abraham and nephew lot and eventually get the herds got so big to have to separate each go their own way because just there were two too many animals to feed in one. Local area, Abrams says about, you choose where you want to go, and I'll go the other direction. Lock chose from self. The land near the city of Sodom and Gomorrah and the Bible says it was a beautiful place, Lush grass green and city of Sodom Gomorrah have a very evil lot.
Followed his preferences lot, followed his desires, And in math and Genesis 19 have the story, what happened? He lost everything his desires and preferences were his ruin. How many people do that today? And I could go expand. And that is why we must be so careful when we become a member of the church. Why am I joining? Why am I joining He's had a lot to say about people put themselves first and others. Last The last point I want to make is our desire. And some preferences must be
self-denial focused. Am I a person who always has to have it about me my way or the highway? It's my preference. It, I'm not comfort with that, so I'm not going to do it. If it's biblically-based, we must serve. Jesus disciples were plagued with selfish motives and then Route 9, verse 46 to 48.
This little passage here, there's an argument Rose among them as to, which of them was the greatest but Jesus knowing the reasoning of their hearts took a child and put him beside by aside and said to them, whoever receives this child in my name, receives me and whoever receives me receives him who sent me for, he who is least among you as the greatest Jesus. You want to know the definition of greatness forget about yourself, it doesn't mean that you think nothing of yourself.
It just means don't put yourself at the top and these disciples they were bickering amongst themselves. Who's the who's the top guy? There was Pride involved, they were human. We're human, they needed to repent. Maybe we do too, but let's let this sink in in God's eyes. Who is the greatest person? The greatest person is the one who at the end of the day. It's forgotten about themselves and just just focus on serving your fellow neighbor. Tom returned his book rights.
No quote this again. He says so if we approach church membership from the perspective of entitlement, we have it upside down. You always ask first, what you doing, you what you can do for your church, then you would have discovered the joy of being last. And if this is something that doesn't taste good, there's something wrong with our taste buds.
Jesus himself said, Mark 10:45 for even the son of man came not to be served but to not to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many nobody ever served more than he did. There were people early on in Jesus day on Earth are they? Oh here's the Messiah. He's gonna he's gonna he's gonna make the economy great. He's going to set the Romans straight. He's going to kick them out of our land. We're going to be the place we were when King David was King and Israel.
Maybe he's going to restore everything and they have this idea and Jesus said, no, it's not what it's about. They need more Enlightenment and the book of Acts chapter 2, we find it, we won't go into that this morning. And today, we know the Church of Jesus spread in so many countries in the world and it's not stopping, and it may not look exactly the same, but there's one core Central truth. Jesus is Lord. We are his servants. The gospel is spreading. So are you a member of the body
of Christ? Are you a member of the church locally? Are you a follower of Jesus? How well are you embracing it? How well are you serving? Let's ask ourselves. What kind of numbers are we? Are we sell focused, self desired driven, our Wee Ones who say, you know, your if this is glorifying to Jesus, I'm going with it. If this is honoring God, I'm with it. If this lifts up the name of Christ, I'm with it. Oh no, I want it my way. I feel better this way. May God help us.
To be members of his body, who in healthy ways, add to the value of the body and living lives of helping one, another living and truth and Grace and denying ourselves for the sake of others. Let's pray. Lord, we know you're the Creator and sustainer of the universe. We are your creation created for Glory. Help us Lord Jesus in our lives to reflect your glory. Back to you, help us to do it in a way that the models what you did. When you walk this Earth, help
us to love one. Another truly, maybe be attentive and careful not to follow the world to trap us and cause us to stumble. If there are people here, Lord, have not yet. Made that commitment. Not just come to you and faith. We pray that they will experience this. Grace, they will sense you drawing them and they will repent and they will return to you and experience New Life, Jesus name we pray. Amen.