{"id":1154,"date":"2023-08-21T08:34:53","date_gmt":"2023-08-21T15:34:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/?p=1154"},"modified":"2023-08-21T08:34:53","modified_gmt":"2023-08-21T15:34:53","slug":"church-is-for-everyone-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/?p=1154","title":{"rendered":"Church Is for Everyone"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

(Matthew 15:21-28)<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Church is for everyone. At my church we have a tagline that expresses that: Seeking the Lost, Serving the Found.<\/em> Whether you\u2019re a non-believer or a believer, you fit into one of those categories – lost or found.\u00a0Either way, church is for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But is that really true? Is the church just towing the company line or is it really a church for everyone? Would literally anyone be welcome on a Sunday? I\u2019m guessing that even as that question is lingering in your mind, you are envisioning a person or two – perhaps even a very specific individual – or maybe just a general type of person, that you\u2019d really struggle to sit right next to in church. Would someone who has that <\/em>kind of history be welcome? Would someone who voted for that <\/em>candidate be welcome? Would someone struggling with that<\/em> right now really be welcome? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless of how much a person might struggle individually with certain people being in church, that doesn\u2019t make it any less true: church is for everyone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In that regard, Christianity is the most inclusive religion of all. No one needs to measure up or be good enough. There is no application. There are zero requirements. There is no vetting process. There is no referral needed. There is no exclusion on any basis.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Jesus did what he did, he did it for every single person. Jesus\u2019 perfect life of obedience was carried out so that every single person could claim the righteousness necessary to be good with God. Jesus\u2019 undeserving death on the cross was offered up so that his sacrifice would pay for every single sin of every single person. Jesus effectively rendered hell and condemnation powerless and death a thing of which to be unafraid. Jesus is for everyone, and because he is, so is his church. Church is for everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it isn\u2019t really for <\/em>everyone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of you know what I mean more than others. You\u2019ve probably even explained it that way to someone else before: \u201cChurch isn\u2019t really for me. It\u2019s not my thing. I\u2019m not the church-going type.\u201d You have your own reasons. Maybe going to church was forced on you as a child, and that insistence on attending church was never accompanied by any grace or compassion that was supposed<\/em> to flow from church. Maybe going to church rubs you the wrong way because it\u2019s filled with a bunch of hypocritical pretenders whose lifestyles as far as you’re concerned rarely match up with what they claim to believe. Maybe going to church seems antiquated and unenlightened in this advanced age of science and reason. Maybe\u2026 I could go on with reason after reason why church just isn\u2019t for <\/em>some people.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And you know what? They\u2019re usually right. It isn\u2019t for them. It may not be for you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But know the right reason why. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It isn\u2019t because you aren\u2019t welcome. It isn\u2019t because you don\u2019t fit some mold. It isn\u2019t because all of the things Jesus did for all people don\u2019t include you. It isn\u2019t because you wouldn\u2019t stand to be blessed by it – you absolutely would. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It isn\u2019t any of those reasons or a host of others that might be offered.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No, it isn\u2019t for <\/em>you because you don\u2019t need it. And until you realize how much you need it, it will never be for <\/em>you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Canaanite woman hounding Jesus needed him. I mean, really needed him. How much? Well, she wouldn\u2019t take \u201cno\u201d for an answer, and she didn\u2019t think twice about clapping back at Jesus after he seemed to dismiss her! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus plainly told her, \u201cIt is not right to take the children\u2019s bread and toss it to the dogs\u201d (v.26)<\/em><\/strong>. Jesus wasn’t insulting the woman, but rather laying out God’s game plan for him. He was to reach the Jewish people before the Gentiles (non-Jews).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To understand the point Jesus was making, imagine spending time in the kitchen getting dinner ready for the family. Once it’s all ready, the places are set at the table. Then the food is brought over. Then, as everyone sits down to eat, the first thing the family does is fill the puppy’s dog bowl with the food that was just prepared. Then, after he’s had his fill, the family eats whatever is left over. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is, of course, not how it happens! The family eats, and the pet gets the leftovers. And the Canaanite woman was bold enough to point that out to Jesus. \u201c\u2018Yes it is, Lord\u2019 she said ‘Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master\u2019s table.<\/em>‘”<\/strong> (v.27)<\/em><\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What prompted such boldness? She was in need. She \u201ccame to [Jesus], crying out, \u2018Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly\u2019\u201d (v.22)<\/em><\/strong>. The need was obvious: her daughter was enduring excruciating suffering as a result of possession. But it wasn\u2019t the need alone; it was also what she was asking of Jesus: mercy.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Realize what mercy is: undeserved help for the undeserving. She knew she didn\u2019t have any business pestering Jesus. But she also knew Jesus, and she knew what right she had in asking him: none. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s what mercy is. It is the undeserving asking for the undeserved from the One who can serve it. It is humbly acknowledging, \u201cI don\u2019t ask this of you because I have it coming or because I am entitled to it; rather, just the opposite. I know that I don\u2019t, but I know who you are, Jesus. Mercy is your middle name.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So then, church is not really for anyone who has no need of Jesus or his mercy. If we don\u2019t need his mercy or help, then we don\u2019t need his church where he dispenses these gifts. If we\u2019ve got our life pretty much together and lack nothing, who needs Jesus? We\u2019re good folks, good spouses, good parents, good family members, good workers, good friends, good neighbors. We don\u2019t have struggles, no addictions, no weaknesses, no regrets, no guilt. None of those things. Therefore, we don\u2019t need Jesus or his help or mercy.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But let’s consider another question: what if Jesus needs you? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know – rather absurd sounding, isn\u2019t it? If God is truly God, what need could he possibly have that he couldn\u2019t satisfy himself, right? Actually, it isn\u2019t about what God is capable<\/em> of doing, but how he has chosen<\/em> to do it. And he chooses to use people like you and me to do his work.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The way Jesus intends to dispense his help and mercy to those in need of it is through people like you. In the book of Isaiah, the Lord spoke of \u201cforeigners who bind themselves to the\u00a0Lord to minister to him, to love the name of the\u00a0Lord, and to be his servants\u201d (Isaiah 56:6)<\/em><\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does one minister to the Lord or be his servant? We often confine such thoughts to religious activities, like going to church and giving offerings. We imagine monks and nuns dedicating their lives in service to the Lord. But serving the Lord is so much bigger than any of that!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We minister to and serve the Lord by ministering to and loving others. Loving and serving my neighbor is my love and service to the Lord. When we carry out that service to the Lord, others come to know about him because they experience his loving qualities and characteristics through his people, his church.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul said it another way in the book of Ephesians (cf. chapter 2). What if Jesus is waiting to build you into his church so that through you he can bless and care for others as you speak of the peace and reconciliation they have through the cross? What if Jesus needs you to love and serve others on his behalf? Could that be possible?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think that is a stretch, let’s go a step further and consider the possibility of having a great faith like that of the Canaanite woman! How so? When you realize that you are even less-deserving of Jesus than she was, and yet still relentlessly plead for his mercy, you have what Jesus said she had: great faith.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recall in my previous post<\/a> how Peter demonstrated a similar faith. Right after his own strength left him sinking in the sea, he looked to Jesus for help and deliverance. That was great faith – faith that refocused on Jesus after self-destructing yet again.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Canaanite woman\u2019s great faith had little to do with her and everything to do with Jesus. Great faith doesn\u2019t toot its own horn or talk itself up. Great faith is revealed when Jesus is the focus, front and center.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That reminds me of what is different about our church’s school<\/a>, as it begins its 50th Anniversary this school year. It isn\u2019t merely a private school. It\u2019s way more than that. It\u2019s a school that keeps Jesus as the focus, front and center. It\u2019s a school with teachers who know something much more valuable than what any technology or textbook can teach: they know a Savior, a Jesus, whose middle name is mercy. And there is nothing more valuable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why? Because there we teach children where to turn when they are in need – and they will be in need for the rest of their lives. And the needs they have are not needs that can be met by even the most loving parents, caring friends, or professional practitioners. Sure, some of those needs can be met by some of those listed, but in other areas, only Jesus can meet their needs.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only Jesus will ever love them unconditionally. Only Jesus will forgive them without limit. Only Jesus will value and treasure them as priceless. Only Jesus will listen to, hear, and answer their every request at all times. Only Jesus has opened heaven and eternity to them. In our school, children will come to know Jesus better and better. They\u2019ll come to know that Jesus is for them.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our teachers are committed to a ministry that consists of reminding their students on a daily basis that Jesus is for them. As they teach each subject and connect with each student, in so many different ways, they have opportunity after opportunity to instill in their students\u2019 hearts and minds that Jesus is for them. Good grades and excellent test scores will serve to richly bless our students in many ways for this life, but Jesus will both enhance those blessings and add to them blessings that will last for eternal life. In our school, students will know that Jesus is for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus is also for you, and for all those who need him. Therefore, his church – our church – is for you, and for everyone who needs him.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Matthew 15:21-28) Church is for everyone. At my church we have a tagline that expresses that: Seeking the Lost, Serving the Found. Whether you\u2019re a non-believer or a believer, you fit into one of those categories – lost or found.\u00a0Either way, church is for you. But is that really true? Is the church just towing… Continue reading Church Is for Everyone<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[300,65],"tags":[62,11,5,109,36,108],"class_list":["post-1154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-church-god-wants-series","category-sermons","tag-church","tag-faith","tag-jesus","tag-preaching","tag-sermon","tag-teaching"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p842FN-iC","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1154"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1154\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1156,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1154\/revisions\/1156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}