I Should Want to be FAT?

I am going to begin posting at least one of my sermons each week. My brother in Christ, Dave, has just finished a series entitled "What goes into a sermon," and has reminded me of our opportunities to share between Christian brothers and sisters the thoughts, processes, and messages that God has placed on our minds and lips.
While I hope that this could spark a "discussion board-like" page, I'm also posting these so that my lovely wife can see what I'm preaching while she is chasing children during church! :)
This is from Montrose Baptist Church's AM worship service on August 16, 2009.
Please be forewarned, this is written very closely to the way I would audibly present the message. It is Not a formal written copy free of typographical errors.

Years ago, a small Chinese boy who wanted to learn about jade went to study with a talented old teacher. This gentle man put a piece of the precious stone in his hand and told him to hold it tight. Then he began to talk about philospophy, men and women, the earth, the sun, and just about everything under the sun. After an hour, he took the stone back and sent the boy home. The same process was repeated for several weeks. The young boy began to become frustrated. When would he learn about the jade?
The young boy was too meek and polite, however, to question the wisdom of this talented old man. Then one day, as before, the old man put a piece of stone in his hands.
Before he could even think, he instinctively cried out, “That's not jade!”
Because of the boys familiarity with the authentic stone, he immediately recognized an imposter, a fake, a counterfeit.
This morning, I have relatively little concern with the feel or consistency of a piece of jade. However, I am concerned that something doesn't feel right in the church. There is something different, something foreign, with the form of Christianity that many in our country, and our churches for that matter, have embraced.
I truly wonder if God were to follow the same process as that little boy if He too would cry counterfeit as He holds the modern church in His hand.
Now, don't disagree just yet. I realize that there are scores of true believers who follow God with all of their heart and those that truly desire to please God in all that they do. I understand that there are still those that have truly surrendered their all.
However, even with that understanding, even knowing that there is still a true church, I'm afraid that there are far too many that are lost and don't even know it. I'm afraid that there are too many that have been conned into believing that Christianity is an addition, or an ammenity to be tacked on to life. And they miss out on the fact that Christianity is not “church.” It is not merely making an appearance. It is not even having a name on a roll. Christianity is an all-consuming lifestyle.
And while I believe that it is obvious, as evidenced by the state of the church, that the church has been infiltrated by counterfeit believers, we cannot merely make a condemnation. Rather, I want to try to present a concise picture of what an authentic Christian looks like. It is our goal this morning to identify three sweeping characeristics of the authentic Christian.
As we try to find that picture and definition, we are going to look at Paul's second letter to Timothy.

Read text. (2 Timothy 2:14-26)

This letter is for the purpose of “passing the baton” to Timothy. It is late in Paul's life and ministry, and he is essentially appointing a successor to carry on the work that he started. Through this letter, through his instruction to this young preacher, we actually find a model for the Christian servant- and thus a sweepting model for all Christians.
As we try to dissect this part of his instruction, we could find more to address than time would allow this morning. However, we are going to make certain that things stay simple.
If I could define an authentic Christian in any one word it would not be joyful, triumphant, blessed, or jubilant- even though it includes all of those things. If I could narrow it down to one word, I believe that a Ugandan pastor summed it up best. True Christians, authentic Christians are... FAT.
Now, if that is the case, I believe that I may be more saved than you all. And Southern Baptists would definitely fit into that category with our love of covered dish fellowships. However, that is not what he meant at all. FAT stands for Faithful, Available, and Teachable. True, authentic Christians are FAT.
I believe that our passage communicates that very truth at its core.
First, if we follow Paul's instruction to Timothy, we must be...

1.) Faithful
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and correctly handles the word of truth.”
In order to present ourselves as approved workmen that don't have need for shame, we must prove to be faithful.
Let me ask you a question, everyone of us in this room have a superior of some shape or form. It might be a congregation, a supervisor, stockholders, or even a customer base. What would it communicate to your employer or customer if you were undependable? What would they think if they really had no clue as to whether or not you were going to bother to show up, or stand behind your work?
Ultimately, it would eventually bring shame on you and your reputation.
What does it communicate to our Heavenly Father when we are swayed by every tide of society? What does it tell Him when we are not faithful to stand behind the promises that we made to Him? What does it say about you and I when we allow other things to take priority over the commitments that we made- not to each other, but to God?
Once again, unfaithfulness is cause for shame.
Now, we all understand what it means to be faithful. It means that you are dependable. You are trustworthy. You are a man or woman of you word. Circumstances do not dictate your belief or allegiance, you stand true regardless of what it costs. That is faithfulness. We, as Christians, are taught that we are expected to be faithful. However, we need to dictate a little more precisely the areas that we are called to be faithful in.
We are called to be faithful in STUDY.
Most of you are probably more familiar with this passage in the King James translation. It says, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
The KJV translation urges Timothy to study- to invest, inquire, to store up knowledge. If you and I are authentic Christians, we must be found faithful in our study.
Now, I am not saying that you have to spend eighteen hours a day in Bible study like Jonathan Edwards. However, does it say something to us when the average church member in the body of Christ doesn't even bother to bring a Bible to church?
Now, I understand that I am not the judge, and the church corporate is not accountable to me. But do we really want to pretend that we are studying at home when we don't even bother to bring God's Word to His house?
We must be faithful in our study. We must also be faithful in our SERVICE.
I'm sure that there are those of you already thinking, “The nominating committee is trying to fill positions for next year. Here goes the preacher's push for more workers.”
However, that is not my motivation. If I could be so honest, we should never have to beg and plead for people to serve. Rather, we ought to be ready to go to work out of the overflow of the joy and purpose that Christ gives to our lives.We must be found faithful in our service.
Let me ask you this simple question: What would have happened if the great men and women of old had not been faithful in their service of the gospel? What would this world look like if Billy Graham never opened his mouth or held a crusade? What would the world's landscape look like now if William Carey had not been faithful to “father modern missions?” What if he simply had not gone to India? What if translators had never bothered to translate the manuscripts into a language we can understand? What if men like Luther never stood up against corruption in the church?
We don't want to imagine where we would be had those men not been faithful in their service. However, we need to stop and consider for just a moment where we are going to be in the next twenty years if God's people do not determine to be faithful in their service of Him.
We are expected to be faithful in our service. We are expected to tell, to train, to teach, to serve. Authentic Christianity demands that we show ourselves approved and that our service should not spark shame.
In addition to being faithful in service, we must also consider our SPEECH.
Part of the faithfulness expected in an authentic Christian lifestyle is found in the control of the tongue.
Farther down in verse 23, it says, “Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.”
I understand that we are never going to be perfect. I realize that we are going to struggle with the tongue. There are still plenty of times when I will say something and realize that I should have just kept my mouth shut. There are times when I end up in a dispute that has little or no meaning. However, we are expected to be faithful in the use of our tongue.
We are expected to openly share the message of Christ through proclamation. And we are commended to learn restraint with its other uses.
We should be faithful in our study, our service, our speech, and even our STANDARDS.
While we should not waver in our actions, I firmly believe that we are expected to be fatihful to God's standard as well. We are expected to call right, right and wrong, wrong. We are expected to be faithful in our lifestyles to the fullness of His instruction.
Now, this is not a politically motivated sermon. However, I'm afraid that we have serious cause to question to authenticity of Christianity in America. And one of the ways that I know that is because of the directions that we are heading as a nation. Let me explain. 83% of Americans identified themselves as “Christian” in an ABCNews poll. However, when comparing to that 83% that claim to be Christian, did you know that according to NBC and ABC news polls, more than 55% of the country believes that abortion is OK. If we continue on, it has been suggested that 42% of the nation supports gay marriage. And if I could go even further, 53% of our nation voted for a man whose idea of government could not be farther from the Biblical model.
Now, I am not mislead about the errancy of statistics. I realize that people can make them say whatever they want. However, the fact that they can find so many Americans who call themselves Christians, but then stand against the standards of the word of God, leave me with some serious concerns.
We are expected to be faithful- in our study, our service, our speech, our standards.
While authentic Christians are faithful, they must also be...

2.) Available
“If 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.”
Paul urges Timothy to cleanse himself and to be prepared to be used as an instrument in God's hand. He basically tells him, you need to be pure and ready. You need to be available for God's purposes.
Now, we know through history that Timothy proved himself to be ready and available. The success and growth of the church was due in some parts to his ministry and availability.
As fellow believers, we are not only expected to be faithful in our service- to be steadfast in it, but we are also expected to be available for it.
I know that you have probably heard my story until you are “blue in the face.” You can probably almost quote my own testimony back to me. However, I am a prime example of a believer that overlooked the expectation of availability.
Sure, I was substituting in Sunday school classes. Sure, Emily and I were teaching the youth's Sunday night class. I was at the church for every function that you could possibly imagine. But for all practical purposes, I was not available.
You see, God had not directed me to take all of those different positions. He was not calling me to serve on fourteen different committees- or to direct this and that. Rather, He was calling me to the gospel ministry. He was calling me to preach and, for all practical purposes, I told God, “I'm busy.”
I kept responding with, “As soon as I finish school, as soon as Emily and I are set, as soon as Emily graduates and finds a job, I'll serve you.”
Here is the problem: He did not instruct me to serve Him at my convenience or even according to my plan. He simply demanded that I be available.
Now, I realize that there are many of you in this room whose schedules are infinitely more crowded than mine. I understand that you have jobs and families and responsibilities. However, authentic Christianity demands that you be available for His service at any time.
Catch that! It means that you be available for His service at any time. It does not mean that you must serve on a committee beause you've been guilted into it. It does not mean that because the preacher thinks you need to do something that the answer ought to be “Yes!” Rather, it means that when God calls, we must be ready and willing to go to work- at that moment.
Just look at the calling of the disciples. Look at what Christianity meant for them. It translated into what we've been talking about. It meant availability.
Matthew 5:18-20 is that record. It says, “As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 'Come, follow me,' Jesus said, 'and I will make you fishers of men.' At once, they left their nets and followed Him.”
When Jesus called them to come after Himself- which is the essence of Christianity, they were expected to be immediately available.
The problem is that much of the church- not just Montrose, but the Christian church is checked out to lunch. They are not available for service. We've taught people that the Christian life is all about them and what they can get out of it. We've raised a generation of pew-fillers that don't realize the necessity of service.
We could nearly pick a church at random to fit our example. For example, there are churches that run between 250-300 on Sunday morning that have debated whether or not to cancel childrens' and nursery programs because they cannot find anyone willing to work! Now, there is something wrong with that. In fact, as Christians, we should consider that downright shameful!
Unfortunately, we cannot point a finger. The fact is that it is the same here as everywhere else.
If we hope to be found true Christians, we must be available.
We should be faithful, available, and lastly...

3.) Teachable
“And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.”
While this passage does not expressly state that we are to be teachable, all of the imagery points to that overriding characteristic.
Let me explain. It says that the Lord's servant must not quarrel. Why do we tend to quarrel? Because we believe that we have nothing to learn, and we are right.
He says he must not be resentful. Why do so many Christians- particularly clergy become resentful? Because they wish that other people knew as much as they did. Rather than teaching and helping, it becomes a matter of superiority and self-righteousness.
The passage does directly say that you should be able to teach. Now, this is going to take a few more moments to deal with. Certainly not everyone is given the spiritual gift of teaching. Not everyone in this room is called to serve as a Sunday school teacher, nor will we all organize a seminar where we teach other people.
With that being said, the reality is this: As a Christian believer, you should have the ability to teach- in some measure, because of the life and experiences that you have enjoyed in Christ Jesus.
Just a couple of weeks ago, Carl Gene made the comment in our opening assembly as he looked around that he didn't see one person in the room that was not capable of filling a role. As believers, we must all be willing to teach when God presents that opportunity.
With the understanding of our qualifications to teach- in some fashion, there is another understanding we must have when it comes to the instruction “able to teach.”
Let me make this statement, and you fill in the blank. Before you can be a leader, you must learn to ______ (follow). Before you walk, you have to learn to _______ (crawl). Before you can teach, you must first be ________ (taught).
Paul encouraged Timothy that he must be able and ready to teach. However, in order to serve in that faculty, he had to first spend time as a student. He had to learn before he could teach.
Much of this morning, you've already heard before. However, I believe that there are times when we need to be reminded.
My favorite professor in my serminary experience, Dr. Pratt, once told us, “If you stop learning today, you stop teaching tomorrow.”
If we are called to serve God faithfully, if we are going to be available and willing to be teachers of His word, we must not abandon our quest for spiritual growth. We must have a teachable spirit.
Let me ask you, do you know someone that just knows it all? You know, that person that apparently needs not to spend any more time in study because they have all the answers.
Unfortunately, that is rampant within the church. After all, if we truly understood our need for guidance and growth, we would be more faithful in our searching of God's Word.
I'm afraid that too much of the church has gotten comfortable on what they've been taught, and don't feel as if they need to dig anymore.
If we are going to be God-fearing, Christ-pleasing, authentic Christians, we must possess that teachable Spirit.
Authentic Christians are faithful. They are available. And lastly, they are teachable.
Like we suggested earlier, authentic Christians are fat.
Let me ask you this morning, without considering your figure or your eating habits, how FAT are you?
Are you proving faithful? Are you actively available? Are you still teachable?