Our Team #3

OUR TEAM: Even when we fail 

It’s been great these past two Sundays to have an emphasis on Our team. Our team being THE church and our local - Mega! If you want more on understanding the identity and role of THE church worldwide, Christ’s Church, which we are ALL called to BE, then check out our Foundations course as it does a thorough job of breaking it down. 

Caleb got SUPER lit about men in the house being HOLY. I want to point out that just because men are CALLED to lead the way in this, doesn’t mean that if we perceive as women that they’re lacking in some area that we have a pass, or even the job of pointing out that speck.  We’re ALL called to Be holy as Jesus is holy. Not in comparative reference to any other but Christ - the ultimate example. 

Dad dug into some of our specific Mega Church factors - our vision and mission, what it means to be Meganauts - Biblical Disciples voyaging God’s omniscience mega-verse, our word for this year - Mega truth by faith with hope in love, as well as the whole integrated five fold ministry. He also gave us the hum dinger - Worship is the relational lifestyle that links; desire, purpose and wonder, and leads to prayerful obedience outworked with a servant spirit in love.

I get to share today on “Even when we fail”. Caleb’s face has been showing us all this gathering what a fail looks like. 

Share story of passenger - A pretty monumental fail. 

And yet failure is part of being human. So today’s topic is not even IF we fail, but even WHEN we fail. 

Let’s take a trip through Biblical history

  • Adam and Eve pretty famously failed in the garden when Eve trusted a snake and convinced her husband to eat what God said not to.

  • Cain killed his brother

  • Humans did was right in their own eyes

  • Noah

  • Abraham took things into his own hands

  • Jacob deceived his dad

  • Moses killed a guy

  • The nation of Israel rebelled

  • Samson forsook his anointing

  • Saul became big in his own eyes and turned to witchcraft…and tried to kill David…and basically decided to suck

  • David was disobedient, committed adultery and murdered his friend

  • Even the “good” kings had areas of disobedience throughout the ages

  • Jonah the prophet ran from God’s calling and word

  • Then even in the New Testament you’ve got Peter who even after he was saved and filled with the Holy Spirit and transformed, went back on a crazy vision from God, and John who tried to worship an angel in the middle of a major God vision, plus a number of churches that get called out by the apostles.

All of the failures basically come down to disobedience and unfaithfulness - as dad mentioned last week - in faith, we are only moving at the speed of our obedience

Most of this list is leaders failing. 

Part of our team is having a robust culture where we are a team who stand with people even WHEN they fail. That goes for leaders and volunteers and every element. 

In Revelation 1-3, John describes a scene of Jesus standing in the midst of 7 lamp-stands. The angel gives John the interpretation that the lamp-stands represent 7 churches. And then Jesus goes on to speak to 7 churches in chapters 2 and 3, giving His assessment of those churches, some praise, some warnings, and an encouragement to each church to overcome. 

The charges and praises for the churches: 

Ephesus - Hard work, perseverance, not tolerating wicked people, testing apostles (and found the bad ones false) endured hardship and not grown weary. But left first love. 

Smyrna - Afflicted and in poverty but they are rich. 

Pergamum - Remain true to Jesus name and didn’t renounce faith even though they live where Satan has his throne but some hold to teaching of Balaam who enticed Israelites to sin, eat sacrifices to idols and commit sexual immorality + hold to teaching of nicolaitans. 

Thyatira - Love, faith, perseverance, doing more than they did at first, but they tolerate the woman Jezebel. 

Sardis - Rep of being alive but dead, though they have some faithful

Philadelphia - little strength yet have remained faithful and not denied His word, 

Laodicea - Neither hot nor cold - those whom I love I discipline - so repent 

In scripture the number 7 represents completion or perfection, and looking at this in application to ourselves we can see that Jesus’ complete - church is surrounding Him, He’s in the midst of His church and these specific cities represent parts of the church, some people say it can represent ages of the church, I see evidence that if you look at the worldwide church right now, each of these praises and accusations can be applied to parts of the church. 

And I think it’s important for us to be honest with ourselves about what Jesus would say if He looked at us!

BUT it is extremely important and encouraging to know that Jesus is at the center of the Church, He’s doing His job speaking to, correcting, encouraging, strengthening and building His church and we need to do our part and that even when we fail like one of the harshest judgements for Laodicea, Jesus tells us He loves us enough to discipline His church. 

All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. But He so loved the world He Gave His only son that we might be restored to relationship with Him. When we choose to give our Lives to God, repent, get baptized, follow Him and choose a life of obedience, we are church, and Jesus gives us all the tools we need to overcome. Yes we may still fail at times, but he is there cheering us on, calling us higher, leading by example.

So, when we fail. 

REPENT

Be like the Corinthians who produced GODLY sorrow 

2 Corinthians 7:9 And now I rejoice, not because you were made sorrowful, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you felt the sorrow that God had intended, and so were not harmed in any way by us. 10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 11Consider what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what zeal, what vindication! In every way you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter

A few tips for when we notice failure in others or toward others: 

  • Get the log out of your own eye (matt 7:5)

  • Go to a brother (Matthew 5:23-24 and 18:15)

  • Cover one another in love (1 Peter 4:8)

  • Cover leaders - like Noah’s sons (gen 9:23)

  • If you bring an accusation against an elder: (1 Tim 5)

    • have witnesses (2-3), and if you don’t, don’t entertain it

    • Don’t rebuke him harshly, but like a father

  • Rebuke younger men like brothers, older women like mothers, and younger women like sisters (1 Tim 5)

BID:

Determine to be on the team (get saved) 

Determine to BE team (church) 

Set our attitudes to even WHEN we fail mode

Megamorphic Church