Troop Carrier or Luxury Liner?

The language of Matthew 10 envisions Jesus as a military commander sending soldiers out on a mission.  He summoned his disciples, and then he sent them out. In light of the needs before them and the danger around them, the disciples knew they were entering into battle.

In the late 1940s, the United States Government commissioned William Francis Gibbs to work with United States Lines to construct an eighty-million dollar troop carrier for the navy. The purpose was to design a ship that could speedily carry fifteen thousand troops during times of war. By 1952, construction on the SS United States was complete. The ship could travel at forty-four knots (about fifty-one miles per hour), and she could steam ten thousand miles without stopping for fuel or supplies. She could outrun any other ship and travel nonstop anywhere in the world in less than ten days. The SS United States was the fastest and most reliable troop carrier in the world. The only catch is, she never carried troops. At least not in any official capacity. The ship was put on standby once during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, but otherwise she was never used in all her capacity by the U.S. Navy.  Instead the SS United States became a luxury liner for presidents, heads of state, and a variety of other celebrities who traveled on her during

her seventeen years of service. As a luxury liner, she couldn’t carry fifteen thousand people. Instead she could house just under two thousand passengers. Those passengers could enjoy the luxuries of 695 staterooms, 4 dining salons, 3 bars, 2 theaters, 5 acres of open deck with a heated pool, 19 elevators, and the comfort of the world’s first fully air conditioned passenger ship. Instead of a vessel used for battle during wartime, the  SS United States became a means of indulgence for wealthy patrons who desired to coast peacefully across the Atlantic.

Things look radically different on a luxury liner than they do on a troop carrier. The faces of soldiers preparing for battle and those of patrons enjoying their bonbons are radically different. The conservation of resources on a troop carrier contrasts sharply with the opulence that characterizes the luxury liner. And the pace at which the troop carrier moves is by necessity much faster than that of the luxury liner. After all, the troop carrier has an urgent task to accomplish; the luxury liner, on the other hand, is free to casually enjoy the trip.

When I think about the history of the SS United States, I wonder if she has something to teach us about the history of the church The church, like the SS United States, has been designed for battle. The purpose of the church is to mobilize a people (Eph.4) to accomplish a mission (Mt.28:18-20; 2 Tim.2:2) Yet we seem to have turned the  church from a troop carrier into the church as luxury liner. We seem to have organized ourselves, not to engage in battle for the souls of peoples around the world, but to indulge ourselves in the peaceful comforts of the world. This makes me wonder what would happen if we looked squarely in the face of a world with 4.5 billion people going to hell and twenty-six thousand children dying every day of starvation and preventable diseases, and we decided it was time to move this ship into battle instead of sitting back on the pool deck while we wait for the staff to serve us more hors d’oeuvre.

Are we willing to obey the orders of Christ? Are we willing to be like him? Are we willing to risk our lives to go to great need and to great danger—whether it’s in the inner cities around us, the difficult neighbor across the street, the disease—ridden communities in Africa, or the hostile

regions in the Middle East? Are we willing to fundamentally alter our understanding of from a luxury-liner approach that seeks more comforts in the world to a troop—carrier approach that forsakes comforts in the world to accomplish an eternally significant task and achieve an

eternally satisfying reward?

-- The above cited directly from RADICAL, Taking Back Your FAITH from the American Dream, by David Platt pgs. 340-367, Mlutnomah Books, Scripture references are my own - Jim Hartman

Dying on The Vine

Many over the years, have misunderstood what "church" is. Unfortunately, through abuse of the term, the idea of the "church" as God planned it has become many things, from a philosophy, culture, civil government, and even a business. None of these are what God intended. God intended his church to be three things - 

1. The body of His Son (1 Cor.12:27; Col.1:13-18)  
2. His administrator and ambassador of His message to the world (Eph.3:1-11) 
3. A fellowship of believers, encouraging one another toward the prize in Christ (Eph.3:1-11; 1 Cor.1:9; Ph'p.1:5; 1 Jn.1:3)

This "fellowship" is a partnership, a union and joining to which we are connected by Christ. It is the one place where of all places we should see God's will being done. The fellowship of God's church is provided to encourage us to fulfill our calling to serve others in practical ways. This is what Paul told the Corinthians, "Now you together constitute the body of the Messiah, and individually you are parts of it  (1Cor 12:27 )." He informed the Ephesians, "from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love (Eph.4:16)."  

Your service, participation, being part of this fellowship is essential to the Body of Christ. Each of us has a role to play, and every role is important. There is no small service to God; it all matters - even the smallest part.  There are many things that are seen within the church, and just as many if not more that are hidden behind the scenes, but all are valuable and ALL important. 

What happens when one part of your body fails to function? You get sick and the rest of your body suffers, aches, hurts, or in some way misses what the other part supplied.  What happens if for instance your heart decided to start living for itself: -- “I’m tired! I don’t want to serve the body anymore! I want a year off just to be fed. I’ve got to do what’s best for me! Let some other part take over.”  What would happen? Your body would die.

Today churches are dying because of Christians who are either unwilling to serve, or are just plain stubborn and don't want to. They sit on the sidelines as spectators, and watch while the Body of CHRIST suffers. So, here are a couple of thoughts for us all to consider.

1. It is God who calls you to a service far beyond anything you could ever imagine. He created YOU for a life of good deeds, which he has already prepared for you to do (see Ephesians 2:10). If you're not listening to this call, it is to Him you shall have to answer, not to anyone else. Are you sure you want to do that?

2.) Whenever you serve others, you are serving God (Mt.25:40). If you are not....well you supply the answer.  (Hint - read vs.44,45)  Are you sure you want to be on that side of the fence?

3.) Withholding your fellowship and participation hurts only yourself. Heb.10:25 is often quoted in places like this, to remind us that every one's presence is a special and important thing ..to everyone, including God. Yes, the body does suffer because we withhold our fellowship and participation. But, God's Church will survive.  However, to abandon my fellowship, ignore participating, or neglect that...is to neglect God.  Is that something that you want to do?

Jim

"He isn't far from any of us"

"Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock.

This seed began to grow, but soon it withered and died for lack of moisture."

Luke 8:6 (NLT)

It is always interesting, that God always gets shuffled off to the dust corners until disaster happens, then people start scurrying around crying "Oh God, Oh God!" Japan's recent earthquake, the subsequent Tsunami and the Chicken Littles that go around with that show us that God gets shuffled off into the spare minutes and he is short changed with our time. The faster life goes, the more God gets missed! Out attitudes become, “Lord, speak to me but do it quickly.” Skimping on our time with God leads to a life that becomes more and more shallow. We don’t spend enough time alone with God, if at all

It is this lifestyle, where we’re always in a hurry, that represents the shallow or rocky soil in Jesus’ parable of the Sower (Mt.13). It is like living in an area that has a thin layer of topsoil over a bedrock of limestone. The soil isn’t very deep. Jesus states, "Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away (Mt.13:5,6)." The plants died out because the roots could not go deep enough to get to the moisture they needed in order to survive.

The Lord then interprets this parable for us. He tells us that this shallow soil represents a superficial mind. "As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away (Mt.13:20,21)." This person kind of listens to God’s Word, and maybe gets emotionally moved at times, but she/he never really does anything about it. They might come to church occasionally, enough to even "feel religious." Yet, there still isn't any showing of life change because they didn’t let the message sink in. Tragically, it is then only when something disastrous happens, that they remember God, and often too late.

How do you get past this? How do you change from being a shallow person to a person who knows God even in the depths of recession, illness, job loss marital trouble or tragedy?

You need two things:

1. You need time alone with God, the Bible, prayer and it might even help to keep a written journal of the things you learn.
2. You need time with other believers who are close to you and can give you a fresh perspective. Now, on this point let's stop to consider something. Meeting regularly with other believers during the week and at church is MY responsibility. Yes, they are to encourage me, but that encouragement comes from both of us rowing together (Heb.10:24; Eph.4:16), not from everyone else trying to pull me along as a boat anchor! They can give me the encouragement and accountability, but it is up to me to go deeper in my relationship with God.

Don't wait for a disaster to happen to begin looking for God. Paul reminded the people of his day, "From one person God made all nations who live on earth, and he decided when and where every nation would be. God has done all this, so that we will look for him and reach out and find him. He isn't far from any of us, and he gives us the power to live, to move, and to be who we are...(Acts 17:26-28)."

Jim