Catalyst

Continuing the series...

Catalyst Something that initiates or causes an important event to happen and is not consumed in the process

Catalyst for Change in the Church
Colossians 3
1Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is your[a] life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
5Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.[b] 7You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
12Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
When people live their lives in close proximity to one another, share their lives, and spend time growing to know each other change is inevitable. Now many of us dont like change. In fact, we fear change. However, the Bible teaches us that change is good. We are changed forever upon entering into a relationship with Jesus, and we can be further changed by the catalyst of His people and His instruction coming into our lives through His people.

Why do we need to be changed?

On the inside

Perfected?
First, we are not perfect. Now all you need is an honest friend or a spouse to point out your faults. In verses 5-9 we have what is referred to in the study of scripture as a vice list. This is a list of things people fall into apart from Christ. We all still have some rough edges. No one has completely mastered their sin nature. In fact, Paul has already conferred earlier in this letter that he still wrestles with the flesh (Romans 7). So we need to continue the war against the wrong things we fall into.

Prepared
Second, we are being prepared. God is working in us to use us to accomplish His purpose. Weve spoken on many occasions about how we are not accidents. We are creations of God for His good works (2 Timothy 2:20-21). 20In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. 21If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. As God cleanses us He also uses us.

Bring on the change

Catalyst Something that initiates or causes an important event to happen and is not consumed in the process

So how does this change occur?

Changes are brought about by a catalyst. Ordinary things are made extraordinary by the introduction of something that changes them at their base nature. The church was sprung from the mind of God with the idea that we would challenge one another, build one another up into a reflection of Christ by the changes in our lives, the teaching we have heard, and the actions we undertake. Look at verse 16. We must be a part of one anothers lives so that change occurs.

Let me say this today. There are many of you here this morning who have been believers for a long time. You have the benefit of being discipled from an early age. Yet you have never discipled anyone else. Your faith and the teaching you have received molds inside of you. You are like a sponge that has been soaked and never squished.

Others this morning are relatively new to faith. But you are slow to learn. You resist wise instruction and you allow the frustrations of your life to keep you from godly counsel. You say you want to grow in faith, but it is not a priority for your life.

Both things must change this morning. We need to begin to grow in depth as well as in width. We need to begin to disciple one another as well as support one another. Why you might ask? Because the Gospel is not just for us, it is for the world, and we need to be prepared to take it there.

Catalyst for Change Outside the Church
Isaiah 61
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, [a]
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.
On the outside

What can be accomplished by a church of transformed believers? The real question is what cannot be? Stop and think about the possibilities. How about the restoration of families? How about the repair of a neighborhood? How about freedom from hunger and homelessness? How about the economic condition of a country? (Tony Camplo story) How about a corrupt government? (Bob Roberts story- )

See the Gospel is about all of these things. It is about a relationship with Jesus and being set free from sin, but it is also about being a catalyst for change in the world. It is about serving people who do not even believe as we do and doing so in a way that they glorify God, not us. (1 Peter 2:12)

The Gospel is the Good News, as the angel said on the night of Jesus birth for all people. We are catalysts for change by taking our faith to work with us and living it in our cubicles, our work stations, behind the counter, and at every door we come to. We are catalysts for change by volunteering our time with the less fortunate, helping our neighbors, and serving those who dont even know us.

Catalyst Something that initiates or causes an important event to happen and is not consumed in the process

And we are not just called to be catalysts for local change but for global change. We are called to be nation builders through service to those in other parts of the world. And we help build nations not just by sending money, but by going ourselves, and welcoming international people into our homes and lives. We build nations by planting churches of influence in other lands and by serving the governments of other lands in building their infrastructure and helping them to leave behind corruption and embrace the Gospel.

Community

Preached on community this morning- the need for people to participate in a church community and for people to serve the community around them. Check it out.
Abs

Community- Journey Fellowship seeks to bless the community surrounding us as well as the community of believers who call our church home
Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is deadShow me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. James 2:17-18 (NIV)

Romans 12:9-21

Community of Believers
When we start talking about the community and taking care of people, my first thoughts often go to what goes on in this church. I have never been a part of a group who is more thoroughly devoted to serving one another. I see this in so many ways. People come here with needs and people meet them, and not with a pious Ill pray for you. But in real tangible ways as well as spiritual ways.

Over the past 2 years we have seen people give of their time to help marriages in trouble, people visit the hospital after a serious car accident, house warming showers, baby showers, celebrations of life and death. Its a beautiful thing to see the Body of Christ be like this.

9Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

We have fulfilled these commands of Christ in many ways. Now we are far from perfect. We have failed in some ways. We struggle with honoring one another above ourselves. We have conflicts and disagreements from time to time. I want you to know this morning that those things you have against others in this room this morning need to be dealt with. There needs to be forgiveness and putting the past in the past this morning- from the simple slight to the very real broken relationships, it all needs to be dealt with. This morning we need to come together as the Body.

14Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[c] Do not be conceited.
17Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,"[d]says the Lord. 20On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."[e] 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Listen to these words- live at peace, do what is right, bless, live in harmony, overcome evil with good. These commands not only set you free from bitterness and anger, and hate, but they set the church free to be the best it can be. Holding back your gifts, and talents, and resources because you are angry at someone or feel you were slighted is not only hurting you, but hurting others who might depend on you and who you might serve with.

This morning I think God is calling us to repentance and recommitment as a church community. We are the Body. We have a responsibility to live at peace with and love one another.

What if

What if the community came to the church first?
What if the church welcomed the community inside the walls first, and asked them to believe later?
What if the meeting of physical needs led to the meeting of spiritual needs?
What if the church did not exist in this community?
Would anyone notice except those who are already here?

Matthew 25:31-46- sheep and goats

A few weeks ago I was asked the following question by a book I was reading and it has not left me alone sense. If your church shut down, who would miss you besides the people who go to your church? For the past few weeks, that question has kept me up at night, been the forefront of my prayers, and has vexed everyone I have asked, both from our church and others. It leads me to a conclusion I do not like. We have missed something vital.

When Jesus is preparing the disciples for His crucifixion, He spends an extended amount of time telling them to be looking for Him, to be prepared to encounter Him. And then He tells them of His return. How He will come with His angels, on a throne, and that He will have all of humanity gathered before Him and then He will separate them on His left and right. It will be a glorious day. And then He will speak to both groups, sending one to eternal glory and one to eternal punishment. The criteria is interesting.

The group going to eternal glory will be those who served then needy, the broken, the imprisoned, the sick, the hungry. Those going to eternal punishment will have failed to do so. Thats when I started to get a little queasy.

See we started Journey Fellowship with the idea of doing these things. Helping those in need, serving the poor, being a refuge for the hurting. We still pay lip service to those ideas. Somewhere along the way it was the work that got lost. We talk about it, but fail to do it. Or, we do it when it comes to us. But that is not what we are called to do or be.

Believers in Community

The church is supposed to be a vital part of the community, not another optional activity. We have ceded our influence to politics, social services, and private agencies. We say, They are better equipped. They know the system better. They have specialized training and manpower. But they do not have Jesus.

See the church was the original source of all of these ministries. We took in the hurting and needy. We helped people get back on their feet. We fed people who were hungry. We sheltered the homeless. We visited those who were in prison. We provided educational opportunities.

The task of rebuilding this influence seems overwhelming. It is easy to do nothing. It will require work to do something. And were small right now. But we must do something. This passage has three themes of provision- hunger, hope, and home.

Providing for the Hungry- we need to build an emergency food closet for needy families
Providing Home- we need to provide the means for people to build a home for themselves by going to work- SS cards and state IDs
Providing Hope- we need to provide a way for the many struggling families in our area to have a source of pride for their community- children are a parents greatest source of pride and enjoyment- PCO football team