How many people were there who are usually considered to be Jesus’ disciples? But how many preachers were sent out two by two preaching the gospel in Luke 10? There were seventy. How many went in with Jesus when He raised Jairus’ dead daughter back to life? But how many people were members of the Lord’s church just prior to the Day of Pentecost? When the Lord went to Gethsemane, who went with Him more deeply among the Olive trees? Is there a reasonable explanation as to why certain people were blessed by the Lord more than others?
When you get fifty Christians together, you may have fifty different degrees of faith and dedication to the Lord. Would you say that all the people in this room today are equally committed to the Saviour? Equally spiritual? Does the fact that some are not here, say something about their spirituality? I hope not. Among us, is everyone equally excited about the possible return of the Lord tonight? If we took everyone here and divided us all into an Heavenly-interested section and earthly-concerned section… Do you think that if we placed both parts on a balance that all our hearts would balance out in the same way? Depending on a great many things, every Christian has a differing interest in the things of the Lord. And this Heavenly-mindedness probably changes from week to week as well. Not every potential disciple of Christ was asked to become one of the seventy. Not all of the seventy deserved to be among the twelve. And not all the twelve were invited to the top of the mount of transfiguration.
Why were Peter, James and John invited and the others were not? Were they actually invited, or was it more of a coincidence? That might even be more to my point this afternoon. It might have been that Christ left the others with some special work to perform. On the other hands, these three might have been more physically fit and better able to make the hike. But that doesn’t explain why these three participated in other special events, while the others were left out. If you were one of the hundred and twenty, or the seventy, or the twelve, would you have wanted to be among the three on the top of the mountain?
Each of us live in our own respective COMMUNITIES.
By definition a “community” is a social group of any size which shares a number of common characteristics. For example, Post Falls is a mid-sized community, resting half way between Coeur d’Alene and Liberty Lake. We share the same kind of government, but not precisely the same government as Coeur d’Alene or Spokane. Most of us speak the same language, breathe the same air, and boil the same water for our tea and coffee. You and I are also part of another community called “Calvary Independent Baptist Church.” Our church is a lot more than a social group, but it is a social group – a different kind of social group. And obviously it is much smaller than the community of Post Falls. The community of Post Falls is not the same circle of community as is our church. Not everyone who is a part of the community of Post Falls is also in the community of Calvary Baptist. In fact there are people of this church community which are not a part of the community of Post Falls at all, because they live in Spokane or Coeur d’Alene. I suppose that we could talk about the even larger communities of the Great Northwest, or even the United States of America. We could go even beyond that to point out that the people of North America are different from the people of Europe. Whether or not any of us like the idea, we have responsibilities to both, or all, of these societies: Our city, our state, our country and our church. And the level of our commitment or responsibility to each group is different between us. For example, my commitment to the United States is different from yours. Might I say that my commitment to our church is also different from yours? Should it be? Everyone is a little bit different.
When Israel was in Egypt, they were IN that foreign country but not OF that foreign country. They had responsibilities and a commitment to Egypt, but when God said “go” they were quite willing to leave. Egypt is a figure of the world in which we reside, but one from which Christians are supposed stand apart. The world is a place where many of us must work, making bricks and pyramids. The world is one place where we leave our testimony of joy and peace through the Lord Jesus Christ. But that world, as a whole has no direct connection with our church. The word is not the place where we receive our joy and peace. When Israel left Egypt, there was a multitude of Egyptians which followed God’s people toward the Promised land. They were eating the crumbs which fell from the Master’s table. And every one of them became potential targets for the evangelistic ministry of Israel.
So here we are in two communities: Post Falls and Calvary Baptist Church. There is a community of unchurched and unsaved people, who have some connection to us. They are our neighbors and fellow taxpayers. They work at our bank and the place where we buy our groceries. They might be some of our relatives, or people with whom we work. They might have visited our church services once on some special occasion. We might have ministered to them through a wedding or a funeral or in some civic situation. These folk make up the larger list of prospects for future members. These make up the field for our work of evangelism. Ideally, the community of Calvary Baptist, ought to strive to match the entire community of Post Falls. In a community of this size, an aggressive, growing church ought to touch the lives of every resident. That is the ideal. But whatever size, we have a community in which to minister. One of our communities is Post Falls.
Within the circle of that COMMUNITY there is another circle which we might call the religious CROWD.
These are the people which attend one of the many churches of the larger community. Obviously, Calvary Baptist Church is one of the many churches within the community of Post Falls. And there are several thousand people of our community who attend those churches. The crowd attending church today, has been much larger than the average Sunday morning church crowd. Some of these people are Christians, but then many of them only think that they are Christians. What they have in common with each other is a simple commitment to attend church – any church because today is one of those few Sundays when Christians are “supposed to attend church.” Too bad that this commitment isn’t anything to boast about. There are churches of all varieties up and down this valley, and the Lord is not in them many of them. There are thousands of people committed to attend those churches, but in the process they are not actually pleasing God, because their church isn’t one of God’s churches. Commitment to assemble may or may not be good, but it’s something in which a lot of people boast.
So we have some people of the larger community who attend church regularly and once in a while even our church. Does that mean that we’re not happy that they attend, just because they aren’t members? We encourage their attendance, and would like the community group to become the church Crowd. But more particularly, we’d like them to become part of our church, having been saved by the grace of God. Those who attend the house of God regularly are more likely to be touched by the Spirit of God than those who attend only twice a year. Those children of members or friends who come regularly are more likely to be convicted unto salvation than those who have no commitment to attend at all.
While an unbeliever cannot truly worship the Lord, he can watch, learn and be blessed by witnessing worship. I am convinced that genuine worship is a powerful testimony to unbelievers, if it is done in spirit and truth. And if an unbeliever commits himself to attend Calvary Baptist Church regularly, it is likely that he will eventually be redeemed.
It is our goal that people come to salvation and then to commitment to become a part of the next smaller level.
The third level – a smaller level – of community we’ll call the circle of CONGREGATION.
Of course all these titles mean nothing. But for the sake of illustration, this third circle is what makes up the membership of our church. It would be equivalent to the twelve disciples at this point in the Book of Matthew. These are the people who have made a profession of faith and of their love in the Lord Jesus Christ. Then they have been baptized by immersion under the authority of a scriptural New Testament Baptist church. They have made a commitment to support, enlarge and fellowship with this church. They are not just attending and enjoying – things which we encourage – but they are committed to the furtherance of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ through this church. They may not be directly and personally involved, but they are a part of the “corporate” involvement. The commitment involved in this third community is not a matter of simply trusting Christ. This is a more critical commitment, not to be taken lightly. In addition to believing, in this circle there is a matter of belonging and bettering the Lord’s church.
But speaking of Baptist Churches in general, there are some members, who really should only be a part of the crowd, and not the congregation. We appreciate their attendance, but it’s obvious that they are not committed to the furtherance of the church. Their bodies are a part of the ministry, but their hearts really aren’t. They don’t try very hard to invite others to join them in their worship of the Lord. Despite dropping a bit of money into the offering box, they know nothing of sacrifice for the Lord. And they are absent when there is a need for genuine involvement. There were hundreds of people like that who followed the Lord Jesus to see or be blessed by His miracles. In any church, including ours, if there are less people attending than there is membership, then perhaps membership itself ought to be redefined. Church membership is a matter of commitment.. It is not a right that any old backslidden Christian can demand. It is a privilege which ought to be revoked if the proper involvement is not maintained. Remember – Jesus’ church had a relatively small membership compared to the many who followed Him and who called themselves “disciples.”
The fourth community we will call the COMMITTED.
These are the people who are serious about their Lord, their faith, their church and their discipleship. They care if the bills of the church are being paid. They are concerned if visitors come and why those visitors didn’t return. They can be found in our various prayer meetings. They are concerned about the welfare of their fellow members and the spiritual condition of their brethren.
Like the congregation, they pray, and give, and learn, and participate, but there is an additional earnestness and intensity in these people that is lacking in the general membership. Not only are they ready to walk to Mount Hermon, but they are ready to hike up to the top if invited. These folk have a daily devotional time, and strive to memorize scripture. They have a growing library of Christian books, and despite enjoying the preaching of their pastor, they want more, so they are reading and studying on their own..
In the church that Jesus pastored, this committed group was made up of only eleven men and one fraud. I am not aren’t putting down the importance of the seventy or of the hundred and twenty. But these eleven were the real future of the Lord’s church – they became the apostles of Christ. It is out of this small circle of commitment that the Lord will raise up future pastors and missionaries. This is the real future of the Christianity.
And within the COMMITTED we find the CORE.
Peter, James and John were the core of the Lord Jesus’ church. They represent the deepest level of commitment to the Saviour and to the Saviour’s on-going work. These are not only continuing to grow in their Lord, and continuing to be discipled, But they are one step beyond that, by being dedicated to ministering to others, and striving to be walking at the elbow of Christ. These people really want to see the people of the Community become people of the Crowd. They yearn and strive to nurture people of the Congregation to become people of Commitment. These are those who take responsibilities with great dedication and determination. These are the real backbone of the Lord’s church. Peter became the evangelistic leader of the church in Jerusalem. James became its first martyr, and John was the heart and soul of the church.
The Lord Jesus recognized and blessed the spirituality of each of these men. He didn’t put down those who were only a part of the Crowd; He didn’t minimize anyone. The Saviour sought to draw a deeper level of commitment out of every disciple. And it can’t be denied that the greater blessings of Christ fell on those who did mature in their commitment level. Maybe we should say that their commitment level became more focused. And with each blessing these men became more dedicated, more spiritually alert and more Christ-like. Can you imagine the thrill that they felt when they saw the Lord Jesus transfigured before them?
In which community are you content to dwell? Would you prefer to be at the foot of the mountain, getting emotionally beaten up by an unbelieving mob? Or would you prefer to be on top of the world with the glorified Saviour? Remember that to be on the top of the mountain, it will take a couple hours of strenuous labor. We can have something to say about the place where we stand.