Christian, Get Involved!

Matthew 9: 36-37

I have read that are three kinds of church members.

There are the "Old Faithfuls." God bless them!
There are the "Once-In-A-Whilers."
They are also known as "Up and Downs."
They are the "In or Outers."
They come one Sunday, and stay away five.
There are also the "Almost Nevers."
They never come, except for Easter and Christmas.

There are various kinds of church members.
There are the active and inactive.
There are the dedicated and undedicated.
Which are you?

A well-known statistic is that 80 percent of all the work done in the church is done by 20 percent of its members.
Eighty percent of all the money given to the work of Christ is given by 20 percent of its members.
It is true that 20 percent of the members of most churches do most of the work and give most of the money.
So, there are eighty percent of the members of whom it can be said
that they are like the one in the parable, who did nothing.

There are those in every church who attend regularly, but they never get involved.
They are in church to be inspired, to come away with a good feeling.
They come away with a new insight, and they have had their batteries recharged for another week.
Now that is great!
The church could not exist without faithful attenders.
Without their faithfulness, not even one half of the pews would be filled.
Without them, there would be no preaching, no singing, no Sunday school, no church organizations,
and no church buildings.
But there has to be more than just sitting to be inspired.

God needs Christians to get involved!

There are members who think great thoughts about Jesus, about the church, and about the Holy Spirit,
but never get involved.
These members mean well.
Usually, they are vigilant at studying the Bible, praying, and dreaming great dreams
about what the church ought to be doing.

They dream about how the unsaved ought to be saved.

They think about how sin ought to be dealt with.

They think of how the leaders need to be doing this and that. But they never get involved!
They leave it up to others to roll up their sleeves, and get the work done.
Where do you fit into this picture?

Like many of you, I have been in homes where a family has experienced the loss of a loved one.
Time and time again, I have seen loving, concerned neighbors, friends, and relatives come
and offer sympathy.
They will say something like this: "If there is anything we can do, just let us know."

Rarely have I heard a grieving family say, "There is one thing you can do."
And nothing was done concerning the offer.

Then I have also seen a neighbor or friend come by, say a few words to the family,
and then go into the kitchen and begin preparing a meal or washing the dishes.
I have also seen them pick up a child and prepare them for bedtime.
These people get involved.

The Church needs people who will come in, roll up their sleeves, and get to work.
Every member is needed!
That is what the man with the one talent did not see.

There are too many who are not willing to put out.
They are perfectly content to sit in the bleachers.
They feel justified just to let the more ambitious and the more talented members get the job done.

We, Americans, are fast becoming a race of observers and attenders, rather than participants.
We hire someone to entertain us because we are losing our ability to amuse ourselves.
We take the easiest way, and let someone else work to entertain us.
These attitudes are carried over into the areas of church work.

Let Mary or John do the job; they can do it better -- anyway, they have more time to give to the church.
They have children in that department.
They can give more than we can; so let them give more.
God intends for all of us to get involved!

The world may watch from the bleachers, but Christians must be more than mere spectators.
Have you ever sat in the bleachers and listened to all the comments from the spectators.

When a Christian sits in the bleachers, he is likely to become better and critical;
maybe even booing those who are out on the field doing things that he should be doing.
The one in the bleachers will find himself saying, "If I were out there, I would do
a lot better than that."
Jealousy, fault finding, and suspicion result when Christians attempt to play the game
from the grandstand.

Get out of the bleachers and onto the playing field -- there is so much work to be done.
There is a place for you... in Sunday school... on a committee...and...
If you sit on the sidelines and never get involved, you may influence others to give up.

"Sez I to myself, as I grumbled and growled,
'I'm sick of my church, and then how I scowled.

The members unfriendly, the sermons too long;
In fact, it seems that everything's wrong.

I don't like the singing; the church -- a disgrace,
For signs of neglect are all over the place.
I'll quit going there, and won't give a dime:
I can make better use of my money and time.'

Then my conscience sez to me, sez he,
'The trouble with you is, you're blind to see
That your church reflects you, whatever it be.

Now come, pray, and serve cheerfully;
Stop all your faultfinding and boost it up strong;
You'll find you'll be happy and proud to belong.
Be friendly, be willing, and sing as you work
For churches are not built by members who shirk.' "

There are members who have their priorities confused for they are working, and working hard,
but not for the Lord.

A lady, that we will call Aunt Alice, came downstairs saying that she had a miserable headache.
She was advised to go back to bed and rest.
"But I can't, I have to be at my Saturday morning club to take the minutes.
I just have to go!
I'll just take something for my headache, and go on and bear it."

The scene changes!
It's the next morning.
It is Sunday morning.

"I simply can't go out with this headache.
Somebody else will have to take my Sunday school class.
There is no need to phone the director.
Anybody can take my class."

A little girl, that we will call Dorothy, observes these two scenes.
Dorothy learned that God's work is not as important as a club meeting.
Dorothy learned that other business and concerns should be placed ahead of God's business.
Aunt Alice was teaching that God's work is not as important.

What kind of lessons are we teaching those who watch us?

God has work for every one of us to do!

"The Lord has a job for me.
But I had so much to do
I said, 'You get somebody else.
Or wait till I get through.'

I don't know how the Lord came out,
But He seemed to get along;
But I had a feeling -- sneaking like --
Knowed I'd done God wrong.

One day I needed the Lord,
Needed Him, right away,
But He never answered me at all,
But I could hear Him say
Down in my accusing heart,
'Mose, I'se got much to do,
You get somebody else,
Or wait till I get through.'

Now, when the Lord, He have a job for me,
I never tries to shirk;
I drops what I has on hand,
And does the Good Lord's work.

And my affairs can run along,
Or wait till I get through;
Nobody else can do the work
That God marked out for you!"

We must remind ourselves that our Christian life is a stewardship.

Stewardship is a sense of personal responsibility for the highest use of what God gives us
and for the highest well-being of one's fellow men.
God has appointed us stewards of all that we have.
Everything we hold, we hold as a steward of God.

A pagan can say, "What I have is mine." He doesn't know any better.
A Christian says, "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof."

All we have is a trust from God!
We are stewards of the Great Commission.
We are stewards of our time, talents, our money, and all that we have.
What do you do to support God's church?
What do you do to make the world a little better?
Your time, talents, your ability, your money, your home is all a gift of God!

God has invested in you!

He looks for a return!
He expects a return!

Have you used what God has given you?
Have you invested it?
Have you increased it?
Or, have you done nothing?

You ask, "But what can I do for the church?"
We must not waste our lives wishing that we had someone else's work, ability, money, or talents.

Each of us has a place in God's work.
Each of us has a responsibility to learn from God's Word.
Each of us has a work to do in the church.

Start where you are!
Get out of the bleachers!
Get onto the playing field.
Stop being a spectator!
Get involved!

God is depending on us to get His work done in the world today.
No one else can fill the place of service that we are called to occupy.

"Give of your best to the Master.
Give of the strength of your youth;
Throw your soul's fresh, glowing ardor
Into the battle for truth."

It is said that Wendell Wilke asked President Franklin D. Roosevelt, when he visited
the President in his White House office:
"Mr. President, why do you keep that frail, sickly man, Harry Hopkins, at your elbow?"

The President replied, "Mr. Wilke, through that door daily flows an incessant stream
of men and women who, almost invariably want something from me.
Harry Hopkins wants only to serve me.
That's why he's near me."

Why do you serve Christ?

It should be your desire above all others -- only to serve God!

Sermon by Dr. Harold L. White