A Living Church – Part 2 of 2

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. When a church undergoes persecution, it can still exhibit the joy of the Lord despite the trials. That's what happens when God's presence is very real, as it is during times of revival. Today, a further look at a church when God shows up. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, is it normal for long periods of time to pass during which God does not, as you say, show up?

Dave, I want to put it this way. There are times when God indeed does show up in a miraculous way where you have a revival over a geographical area. But let us also keep in mind that there are times when we don't see that, but God is nonetheless working. He is choosing people.

He is saving them. He is sanctifying believers. So what I try to do in this series of messages entitled When God Comes to Church is to show that God is working in the hearts of those who attend, those of whom are a part of the fellowship, the same time we recognize that we're always praying for something more. You know, I can't help but think that the Apostle Paul says that when someone comes into your church, he should say, surely God is among you. And of course, central to the church is a proper doctrine of Jesus Christ. That's why I've written a book entitled Don't Be Deceived, Six Lies About Jesus, and this is one of the last days that we are making this resource available for you. Now, I have to tell you that there was a very famous scholar who wrote a book about Jesus, but the Jesus that he wrote about, his view of Jesus, was not able to save him at the hour of his death.

I'll tell you that story immediately after this message. It is the Lord God who begins the church through choosing people to eternal life and what does he choose them for? To leave their sins? Yes, he chooses them out of the world, but they are for himself. You know, God wants you. It's your heart.

It's everything that you own, all of your loves. And so God chooses us for himself. And once you know that, you know that the God who chose you is not going to give up on you and he's going to be with you until the end.

And that gives confidence and pulses. Our word came onto you, not in word only. If all that you hear from me today are words and so that you conceptually understand the message and so that you can know what I'm saying, if all that happens, if that's all that happens to you, then we have failed in our prayer life and in our yieldedness because the word should never go out just in word only, should always go out with the demonstration of power, the power to convict, the power to change, the power to transform. That's the way the word of God should go out. And with much conviction, that's settled conviction that you belong to God, that God is number one in your life and that really nothing else matters about God and his promises. It is that overwhelming conviction that you should experience when the word of God is read and when it is preached.

If it goes out in word only, it's not transforming. It may challenge the mind. You may learn new ideas, new insights, but unless it is transforming to the heart, not just the emotions, but the actual heart, then of course there's a disconnect. And you and I know people, don't we, who hear the word. Called my family last night in Canada and there's a man who died suddenly, unexpectedly of a heart attack, age 75, a very, very wealthy farmer who wanted to buy up most of the land in his area and almost did. And the only thing that was said at his funeral about his spiritual life was that he attended church and he'd always say to the pastor, good sermon. Well, all right, we'll take that. Good sermon, better than I guess bad sermon. Like the woman said to the door to the pastor, you know, your sermon is like a cup of cold water to a drowning man. Think about that a little bit, folks. Think about it. But his wife says he had no spiritual interest at all.

None. Came and sat, came and listened, always left unchanged. That's the word in word only. But when it comes with the power of God and conviction, there's that settled idea of walking with God and knowing that you do even apart from arguments, even apart from the apologetics for the Christian faith. Well, anyway, Paul says it was a confident church.

It was a joyful church. You'll notice in verse six he says that, and you became imitators of us and of the Lord for you received the word in much affliction with joy. Can you put those two words together? Those two phrases, you received the word in much affliction.

I mean, the blood was running down their backs because of persecution. And yet you received the word with much joy. How do you have joy?

You can't unless God shows up. Because first of all, what God does is he takes care of the nagging conscience. Can you imagine how joyful you could be if your conscience didn't trouble you over sins that you've committed, over relationships that are broken and mistakes that you have made.

Can you imagine having all that taken away and then to be given the confidence that no matter what the fluctuating circumstances are, that you belong to God forever because he chose you to belong to him. It brings a sense of joy, even in the midst of great affliction. And this church had it because God showed up joy. There was a time when God visited some churches that I will tell you about in some future message where there was so much joy.

And because I wrote something about it, I interviewed a lot of people. Somebody said there was so much joy in my heart when I got rid of all of my sin and I began to concentrate on Jesus. He said that sometimes I couldn't sleep and I'd say, God, turn off the joy so that I can get some sleep.

You ever had to ask God to turn off the joy so that you can sleep? It was a joyful church. Let me say also number four, that it was a growing church. It says in verse eight, for not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and IKEA, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere so that we need not say anything.

How in the world did they do that? It sounded forth only place in the New Testament where that word is used. Sometimes it's translated it echoed or it's used for the blast of a trumpet sounded forth. The word of God came to you and it surrounded the entire area because of your witness. In fact, not only in Macedonia, but it went even beyond that.

You see a ships came into the harbor at Thessalonica. Everybody said, did you know what's going on in town? People are turning to Jesus Christ and the people who are turning to Jesus Christ, they treat their wives better than the rest of us. They are people of integrity. You can't get them to lie or to cheat. In fact, some of them left their businesses because they had to be cheating.

They never attended the baths anymore because there was too much immorality going on there. And suddenly you have these transformed people who love each other and who are together and without a program necessarily for missions. Word begins to spread all throughout the area that something unusual is happening in Thessalonica. And Paul says, it's as if you took the word of God that we gave you and now you used it and through its transforming power, it's touched the whole area. Wouldn't it be wonderful if from the Moody church sounding forth, the gospel would go out to the city of Chicago and beyond. And of course, to some extent it is going forth to the world through our missionary witness, but we have so much that can be done. And from us, the word of God can go forth and can sound forth throughout the area.

And that's what happens when God shows up. The best advertisement for Christianity is a transformed Christian who loves, who is not judgmental, who has a different attitude of integrity. That's the best advertisement for Christianity.

The worst advertisement for Christianity is a Christian who's angry, petty, judgmental, selfish, and in other ways, difficult to get along with. If you fit into that category, don't tell people you're a Christian. All right. Do us a favor. Keep your faith private.

All right. I could tell you a story along that line where a young woman wrote a letter to someone else, wrote a note to someone else in the organization and says, I just want you to know that I'm a Christian too, but because I do A, B, C, D, I don't want anyone to know it. Well, that is a bad advertisement for Christianity, but the best advertisement are other Christians.

The best advertisement for Jesus is tomorrow morning in banks and hospitals and all throughout the Chicago area, wherever God has planted us, all being strong witnesses to our faith. Notice also it was a focused church. Paul says now in verse nine for they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you and how you turn to God from idols to serve the living and the true God and to wait for his son from heaven whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. You turn to God from idols. Did you know that you can't turn from your idols? You don't have the strength to turn from your idols. Once you begin the pathway of sin, you cannot turn around. That's why some of you are struggling so deeply with issues and addictions.

It's because you can't turn. The only way you can turn from an idol is to turn to God, the living and the true God, and that you can do in the name of Jesus and through his strength. And then you begin to understand the idols for what they are and you can turn from those idols and suddenly God becomes more important to you than the idols themselves.

I want to be clear today. If you do not value God above all other things, you may not be converted because what God does when we're converted is he gives us a love for God. He gives us a love for Jesus whom having not seen ye love, you can't turn love on and off like you can a faucet, can you? You can't wake up in the morning and say, well today I'm going to love God.

You don't have that power because we're basically desire driven and to some extent a prisoner of our desires. If we love God, it is God implanted within us when we were converted and by the ministry of the blessed Holy Spirit. And so we turn to God from idols. All the things that we've insisted upon that we need, all of the rationalizations for who we are, and suddenly we discover that in the process God has shown up and we are a different people. Well these are the characteristics of a church where God has shown up and that's why we're praying this year. That's why we are fasting this year because we're asking the question, are we ready to have God show up at Moody Church? Let me say that when God shows up, it's a, it's a terrible time and it's a joyful time.

It's always both. I've seen it. Terrible because God goes down deep into our souls and he begins to deal with all of the hidden sins and agendas that we cover and rationalize and it's painful, just painful. Talked to someone who was in a church where God showed up.

She said, for three weeks I could not do housework. I was under such deep conviction of sin. It's, it's messy when God shows up. But then the joy comes and the freedom comes because once we see God for who he is and we see sin for what it is, we begin to say to ourselves, there is no value in all the earth that can be compared to the almighty and God shows up and then there's reconciliation. Oh, the pain of reconciliation. I love to tell the story that perhaps you've heard me tell in Canada where God showed up in Western Canada in the early seventies, many years ago. What happened is there were two brothers who had not talked to each other for years because they had a different opinion of themselves.

There were family squabbles, things in their history they didn't want to deal with. And quite frankly, one walked into one door of the church and the other walked in the other and they knew where the other was so that they would never have to meet. And now suddenly God shows up.

Hmm. The pastor took them to the basement of the church and said, I'm not leaving. And he asked the elders to gather around and said, we're not leaving until the two of you are reconciled. Well, one knew that he was caught at least. And he said, okay, I'll reconcile.

Pastor said, that's not good enough. And they began to pray there. And the Holy Spirit came upon that group. And one man was under such conviction. He began to pound on the downstairs wall in such a way that they could hear him in the congregation. They could hear him upstairs. And these two brothers were reconciled.

And the next night they sang a duet. And people said, we can't believe it. If God can do that for them, why can't he do that for our family? You see, that's what happens when God comes to church.

It's painful, but it is so incredibly blessed. God showed up in the Thessalonian church. God has shown up in periods of time here in America in ways that are extraordinary, memorable, and transforming. Do you believe as a congregation here at the Moody church that God could do it again?

Do you believe that that's possible? And if he did, we would sing, in my life, Lord, be glorified. And it would be a prayer of yieldedness, of dedication, of surrender, and saying, God, whatever it takes in my life, be glorified.

Are you ready? Let's pray. And our Father, we want to thank you today for your faithfulness. Thank you that when you come to church, everything is different. Now, Lord, we have lived so long with spiritual mediocrity.

We don't know what this is about. All that we're asking is that you would grace us with your undeserved blessing. And we pray in Jesus' name that you might make us as a congregation alive with the presence and the power of our Lord God. Make us a transforming church in Chicago, in this city, and around the world, because we are desperate for your blessing.

And for those who are here today who have never trusted Christ as Savior, may they have heard what was said and know that they need to be converted. May they trust Christ and believe in Him and be saved. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Amen. Well, this is Pastor Lutzer, and perhaps you've heard me say this before, but before I get out of bed in the morning, I always pray, glorify yourself in my life today at my expense. I want to begin my day by honoring Jesus and asking that He might help me make it all about Him and not about me.

It's always a struggle, but you and I need to be focused on Christ. This is one of the last days we're making available for you, a special book I've written entitled, Don't Be Deceived, Six Lies About Jesus. There was a scholar by the name of Albert Schweitzer who began a hospital in Africa, and he wrote a book about Jesus in which he said, in effect, that Jesus must have been mentally disturbed to call himself God. Now, when Schweitzer died, he discovered that Jesus, in which he had believed, was not able to save him.

How do I know that? Well, my sister was a missionary in Africa, and she frequented that hospital, and she met a nurse there who told her about how Schweitzer died. So when it came time to die, he was filled with fear, he was filled with desperation. He asked this nurse to come over to hold his hand and to pray for him.

I hope that he ended up believing in the right Jesus, because when it's time to die, you had better know that your faith is in the Jesus who can actually save you. That's why I've written a book entitled, Don't Be Deceived, Six Lies About Jesus, and this is one of the last days we're making this resource available for you, and we do that to help you on your spiritual journey. I hope that you have a pen or pencil handy, because here's some contact info. Go to rtwoffer.com.

That's rtwoffer.com, or pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-218-9337. Right now, go to rtwoffer.com, and thanks in advance for helping us get the gospel around the world. It's time now for another chance for you to ask Pastor Lutzer a question about the Bible or the Christian life. Doing the right thing, it's always admirable, but sometimes it's not clear what the right thing is.

Melissa wrote to us posing this dilemma. With regard to the homeless, how do you reconcile verses such as Matthew 25, 35 and 2 Thessalonians 3, verses 6 through 14? I feel led to give of my time and money to the poor.

I want to be obedient to that. However, I'm beginning to feel conflicted. There are those that are homeless or poor simply because they choose to be. They would rather be idle than have to work, and they expect to be supported by the government or charitable organizations. In one way, it seems that by supporting them, we perpetuate their homeless or poor state. On the other hand, am I the one to judge these things? If my charge is to serve the homeless, should I do so without regard?

Melissa, thanks so much for your question. And by the way, the reference that was referred to there, 2 Thessalonians 3, verse 6 and following, emphasizes that Paul says that if a man does not work, neither shall he eat. And so what do we do with that verse? Well, the clear implication of course, Melissa, is that he would have opportunity to work. Remember that there are some people in this world who cannot work because there are no jobs. I'm thinking particularly of other countries, though that certainly is true in America today with our financial downturn, where people would love to work but they can't.

And so they've become poor because of the circumstances of life, not because of laziness. Now with regard to your specific question, are you the one to judge these things? My own view is this. We should not resist a generous impulse. Sometimes even on the street, I've given people money and I suspect that they probably took it to buy drink. And yet because I'm not sure, I say to myself, I'm giving this in the name of the Lord and I'm going to trust God.

And if they misuse it, that's their responsibility. I want to be sure that I have been faithful in helping the poor. Melissa, I think the best thing though to do is to work in soup kitchens, places like this that minister to the poor, where they are actually given the food and they're given the clothes and maybe a place to sleep. At least then you know that your resources and your time are valuable and they are being wisely used. That's very different than giving money to people whom you've never met who sometimes accost us on a street corner. So when we are faced with a decision, let us always be generous.

God has much to say about the poor and we should be committed to them and to their needs. I commend you, Melissa. Keep doing what God has called you to do. Thank you, Melissa. And thank you, Dr. Lutzer. If you'd like to hear one of your questions answered, go to our website at rtwoffer.com and click on Ask Pastor Lutzer or call us at 1-888-218-9337.

That's 1-888-218-9337. You can write to us at Running to Win, 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, IL 60614. Running to Win comes to you from the Moody Church in Chicago to help you understand God's roadmap for your race of life. Next time, why it is that when God comes to church, that church becomes a serving church. Thanks for listening. For Dr. Erwin Lutzer, this is Dave McAllister. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.