The Seed Blog: Shipbuilders

​This is our twelve-year anniversary! The number "12" is one of the most significant and used numbers of Scripture: How many disciples were with Jesus? How many Tribes of Israel were there? New Jerusalem will have a foundation inlaid with 12 precious stones, it will have 12 gates, manned by 12 angels, with a measured length of 12,000 furlongs square. 12,000 from each Tribe of Israel will spread the Gospel in the Tribulation. Christ's Bride (Revelation 12:1) wears a crown containing 12 stars. [We could make an entire sermon out of how many times this number is used, but this gives an idea of how special it is in Scriptures.] 

It represents God's Power, Authority, and Governmental Perfection; it represents God's Sovereignty (complete control). So, to me, this Anniversary is one of the most special and anticipated of all. We’ve spent twelve years laying a foundation for this church family now. (Twelve being the number of Governmental Perfection) And it would be good to think this is the year we come completely under God's authority and control as a family. The year we become a force to be reckoned with in the spiritual world, and at this Anniversary date, I want you to know that I have never been in a church with a crazier and closer bunch of people—who really want to know God's True Word, whatever it brings; who will be open and honest about sin, rather than holier-than-thou; who really want to get closer to God.
I have spent much time in prayer over the past weeks about this one topic we are going to discuss today on our Anniversary; because I truly see that even with all the good, this is one area in which we have fallen very short, and it is of absolute importance. We started this church as a means of healing for hurt Christians, new Christians, and non-Christians; and we've gone through a process of healing and growing as a family, (which is great), but we have not taken that next crucial step. We've gone through twelve years of basic training, and never used the skills we've learned. We've made a life out of getting more education, and never applying it to the world. We've become comfortable and happy in these four walls, with these people. That is not the way of Jesus Christ—that is the way to a slow, sad death. I know that Christ came to earth to do many things, but, there is one reason He primarily came. And that was not first and foremost to heal the sick, raise the dead, restore sight, and show righteous—all of this is awesome, and was a part of His ministry, but it was not the main part! Mark 10:45, Galatians 4:4-5: The greatest reason He came, was the Greatest Event of mankind's history: to make a way for us to be saved! Through His own death. The second part of that paramount mission: Mark 1:37-38, Luke 5:31-32: Jesus came to call those sick with sin, and lost for eternity, and He came to give them the news of their Salvation. As a matter of fact, you could just about give the Gospel Story in two simple words: come unto me (Matt. 11:28), go ye into all the world (Mark 16:15). How many of you have ever signed up for something you realized was a mistake, but you tried to follow through anyway? (A sport (baseball, track, football, dance), a club, a play)—every practice, rehearsal, or meeting was agony; every moment lost doing something you could enjoy, was painful. You probably didn't try as hard as you would have, and every added responsibility or frustration caused by someone was another immediate reason to think of quitting; because when you are not sold out, not passionate about something, it becomes a terrible burden, But, for the person who is crazy in love with what they are doing, the same practice is heaven on earth. Every moment spent there, rather than elsewhere is, "Time well spent" and they are sad to leave; every request to do more is a hungry challenge; every frustration and problem is taken in stride, if even noticed. Well, let's put this all into an illustration that will make our situation clearer: God has called us all to Himself in Salvation: come. And has put us together now, for the second part: go.
We are all here building this amazing sailing ship (the church), whose primary purpose is to travel the vast ocean in search of lost souls, and bring them aboard. (teach them of Jesus Christ's Salvation). We've been working on this vessel for years (physically and spiritually)—frankly, it has been quite a struggle at times, with workers not showing up at the shipyard; people carelessly putting the ship together; running out of wood and supplies; all the while, there is a world of people out there on the sea, waiting for us to come and save them—but we are unconcerned. Then it hit me—it is just like when we sign up for something we are not passionate about—and I realized, we do not need to hire and train shipbuilders anymore, because no matter the skills learned, no matter the talent for building, they will not be devoted or hard working if they don't care. I realized, rather than to teach people to build a ship, we need to teach people to have a passion for the sea (for all the lost souls out there). Then the shipbuilding will come natural; with no frustrations, resentments, conditions, or misery; the desire to get to sea will fuel the desire to build a great ship.
"If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea." (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
All these churches that are dead, fighting, and crooked love shipbuilding, but hate the sea. Why? Let me ask you a question, "Could God win anyone He wants without you and I?" Then why use us?  Why put us through all this?: To truly know who He is, is to learn to love as He does. He has put the salvation of broken people just like us, into our hands, so we could learn to love another over ourselves; put their needs above our own lives (as He did); so we could grow in servitude and selflessness; so we could show our love and obedience, as Christ did, by being obedient to our Father's Will; so we could have a part in saving our own brothers and sisters from the fallen hoard of demons bent on their torture and destruction, because the true test of our love and acceptance of Him, is how we love others. (Do you have any fear for the lost? If not, question your own Salvation.) His plan is perfect. It is through working to save others that we begin to renew our minds and hearts into righteousness. (Couldn't happen any other way) There are many things we are called to do as a church, but the primary thing is to, go and make disciples. That goal should be our joy, our passion, and our main focus. If you would just get a passion for God, and a passion for the sea of lost people, we wouldn't care about how good the music is here; or how much to tithe; or what ministry needs your help this time; or how much of your life it takes away from, because it would be your life; or how you might not look the best, be the best, because it's not about things that trivial—it’s about saving lives! Maybe the day to day chores of running this ship (church) would become an easy joy, if the focus was on loving others into the Kingdom. Maybe if more of your personal time was spent looking for ways to reach out to, and help others rather than look for faults in your brothers and sisters building the ship, we could save a few lives. Maybe if you treat this sermon as if it were meant for you, instead of someone else, we'd get the ship sailing. {Preach it Pastor Doss!} Who cares if it takes too much of your time? Who cares if it is an intrusion to life? Who cares if it costs you? It's supposed to! And if it is your joy and mission, rather than your thorn, you will love every minute of it. "If the highest aim of a captain were to preserve his ship, he would keep it in port forever." (Thomas Aquinas)
Do you know that Jesus Himself, God on earth, in the middle of His extremely important and busy mission of saving all of humanity, of all times, and all cultures on the planet, made it His point to go many miles out of His way, on a number of occasions, to personally touch and save one person, whom no one else cared about? Because that one person was worth everything to Him? Syrophoenician woman (Matt 15:21): Despised by disciples, humiliated as lowly; Samaritan woman (John 4:4): Rejected and unloved by society, by her mate; Possessed man in graveyard (Luke 8:26): Lost family, life, mind. We need the passion of our Master. No ship, no matter how well built, can weather the worst of storms at sea without the passion of the crew that mans her. It is time to take our ship to sea and save some lives. That means, you get to work manning a station because you want to help someone; that means, that if you come to church every Sunday of every week and never bring another lost or hurting soul on board—you are not part of the crew; that means, we need outreach from this church that is designed to meet, help, and save broken people in their world—but that can't happen if we aren't equipped to even run the ship, so we can care for the lost we find in the sea. The world is too crazy, and there are too many lost people out there for us to continue being so inwardly focused, when we claim to be the people of God. People, don’t need a church if we just use it to sit together like a bunch of corpse waiting to die. So, if you do not have a hunger for the sea, for going out there and inviting, and helping, and serving, you should just get off the ship now. Because time is short; because our Lord made it His life to reach them. Are we better than Him? Time is almost up; it is the only way we can grow & show Jesus Christ that we have His love in our hearts—do you? Matthew 18:11-14: We are supposed to be a Rescue Ship, a Warship--not a luxury liner.