June 28, 2009

Why Go to Church?

Isaiah 6:1-8

Isaiah 6:1-8 1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory."

4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

5 "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."

8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"
And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

“Worship is quickening the conscience by the holiness of God, feeding the mind with the truth of God, purging the imagination by the beauty of God, opening the heart to the love of God, and devoting the will to the purpose of God.“ Those words were written by William Temple (1881-1944) and serve as the perfect backdrop for this weekend’s message.

I love the story of Francois Fenelon, who was the court preacher for King Louis XIV of France in the 17th century. One Sunday when the king and his attendants arrived at the chapel for the regular service, no one else was there but the preacher. King Louis demanded, "What does this mean?" Fenelon replied, "I had published that you would not come to church today, in order that your Majesty might see who serves God in truth and who simply wants to flatter the king." How many people do you know go to church for the wrong reason? How many people do you know don’t go to church at all?

I am not one to trust our memories. It is obvious to me. Our minds often distort the truth and our minds often leak. However, generally speaking when it come to church attendance our minds can be trusted. The statistics really are shocking. Only 44% of all Americans go to church regularly. That makes us number eleven on the list of worshipping nations. Nigeria is first at 89%, Ireland is second at 84%. Even Mexico has a higher percentage at 45%. Maybe that is one of the reasons our society has so many problems? It wasn’t always this way. There was a time when going to church was part of the fabric of America. That is not true today. Consider this fact with me. In 1924, fifty percent of all mothers wished their children would develop a loyalty to a local church. Today, only 22% of mothers long for their children to be loyal to a local church. Even people who say they go to church really don’t go to church. Forty-eight percent of self proclaimed worshippers, attend a worship service only once a month? The question is begging to be asked. Why don’t people go to church any more?

The good folks at Willow Creek wanted to know why people didn’t go to church, so they asked the question in survey form. They tell us people don’t go to church for five basic reasons.

1. Church is boring

2. Church is irrelevant

3. Churches are always asking for money

4. They are too busy to go to church

5. Church makes people feel uncomfortable

So the question I have for you today: why go to church? I know I am preaching to the choir. If you come to church on the last weekend of June then you truly are a worshipper. If we took a survey of everyone who came here this weekend, we would find many reasons why people come to church. There are many good reasons why people go to church. However, I don’t have time to look at them all, I only have time to look at three. These three things are unique to the life of the church. You will not find these three things reasons anywhere else in society. You will not find these three things in your little league baseball league, walking in the woods or in your second cup of coffee. You will only find these three things by going to church. Each one is illustrated for us in our scripture lesson. This is what Isaiah teaches us. We go to church to experience God. We go to church is to hear the truth. We go to church to discover the secret to a happier life. So if you are ready to begin say, “Amen!”

God

The first reason we come to church is to experience God. The great Italian poet Dante Alighieri failed to kneel at the appropriate moment. His enemies hurried to the bishop and demanded that Dante be punished for his sacrilege. Dante defended himself by saying, "If those who accuse me had had their eyes and minds on God, as I had, they too would have failed to notice events around them, and they most certainly would not have noticed what I was doing." I hope that is not your story. We come to church to experience God! And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

In this weekend’s scripture lesson we are told that Isaiah had a vision. In Isaiah’s vision he is experiencing God. The first four verses of the text try to explain what his divine experience was like. The Lord is seated high and exalted. His robe filled the temple and He is surrounded by divine creators. Don’t get lost in the details of the text, look at the text in general terms. Isaiah is experiencing God! I believe that is what you really want. The primary reason you came to church today was to experience God. The most basic function of the church is to help you experience God.

As the spiritual leader of this church, it is my goal for you to experience God each week. If you are not experiencing God each week then I have failed. That is why I spend hours and sometimes days writings sermons each week and not minutes. That is why we have one of the finest church choirs and organists. They set the stage for you to experience God. That is why we offer different style of worship services. No two personalities are the same. There is one reason why we do everything we do. We do them to help you experience God. The single goal of every church is to help you experience God. For once you experience God everything in your life will change.

That is why it is Satan’s goal for you to never experience God. He doesn’t want you to change, he likes you just the way you are. He doesn’t want you to experience God so he promotes secondary things in the life of the church to a primary position. Have you ever been so preoccupied during worship about some secondary thing in the life of the church that you didn’t experience God? The temperature isn’t quite right. The sound system is too loud. The usher isn’t wearing a tie. The greeter didn’t know your name? The person next to you is annoying. The tables and chairs have to set up for the next dinner. I could go on but you get the point. Satan doesn’t want you to experience God so he promotes secondary things. How many secondary things have you attention right now? You came to church today for one reason, to experience God! And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

Truth

The second reason we come to church is to hear the truth. We go to church to learn about God. Look at the text with me one more time. Isaiah is having a vision. In his vision he is experiencing God. When you experience God one thing happens every time. As you stand next to the perfection of God, your imperfections become obvious. The contrast is shocking. Look at the text. Isaiah identifies his own imperfections. Verse 5 says, "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." Verses six and seven are key because in these verses Isaiah learns something about the very nature of God. God does not strike him down because of his imperfections. God has a solution to his imperfection. The hot coal is placed on his lips and his guilt is taken away. Isaiah learns that God is not a judging God, God is a loving God! If he never would have experienced God then his poor theology would have remained uncorrected. One of the reasons we have a poor national theology is that only 44% of all Americans go to church. In church we learn the truth about God. If you don’t go to church then you will learn about God from other unreliable sources. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

Consider these two quotes with me. Augustine once said, “Our hearts are restless until we find our rest in God.” The great theologian of yesteryear Rudolph Bultmann once said, “Within each one of us is a faint recollection of Eden calling us home.” What do those quotes mean? They mean that within each person there is a spiritual hunger that must be satisfied. If people no longer go to church then they will find their spiritual food in other places. Let me ask you a few questions. You can answer them in your heart.

1. How many people do you know have built their theology on some Hollywood production? (No, Moses did not look like Charlton Heston and Jesus did not have blue ears.)

2. How many people do you know are fascinated with angels? They are the core of their beliefs but they are only bit players in the Biblical narrative. Angels are messengers, not saviors or protectors.

3. How many people do you know occasionally wander into the local foreign teller or medium? They are becoming more popular all the time. (They just wanted to check up on grandpa.)

4. How many people do you know still believe in works righteous? You can not earn your way into heaven by your good works. Basic Christian theology teaches us we are saved by grace and by grace alone.

5. How many people do you know read their horoscope religiously but haven’t read their Bible in years?

The second reason people come to church is to hear the truth. We come to church to learn about God and his plan of salvation for the world. How much do you know about God? How much of your personal theology is built on something you found outside of the church? If you could learn a little more about God say, “Amen!”

Life

The third reason people come to church is to learn the secret to a happier life. You were born to be more then a consumer. You were created for a purpose.

The great missionary to China Hudson Taylor was scheduled to speak at a Large Presbyterian church in Melbourne, Australia. The moderator of the service introduced the missionary in eloquent and glowing terms. He told the large congregation all that Taylor had accomplished in China, and then presented him as "our illustrious guest." Taylor stood quietly for a moment, and then opened his message by saying, "Dear friends, I am the little servant of an illustrious Master." I hope that is your story.

The scripture lessons ends with the famous words of verse 8, “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’” Isaiah hears something in his vision that we often forget. Life is not about you, life is about others. The world tells us the key to a happy life is making yourself the star of your life. (Look how happy Elvis and Michael Jackson were at the end of their lives!) The church reminds us the key to a happy life is serving others. Researchers have told us time and time again. People who serve others live longer happier lives. Wouldn’t you like to live a longer happier life? Our world is filled with problems, God expects you to make a positive difference. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!” Let me end with our opening quote and a challenge.

William Temple once wrote, “Worship is quickening the conscience by the holiness of God, feeding the mind with the truth of God, purging the imagination by the beauty of God, opening the heart to the love of God, and devoting the will to the purpose of God.“

When was the last time you invited someone to go to church with you? Our society is filled with non-worshippers. You must know someone. Inviting someone to church maybe the kindest thing you every do. Because when you invite someone to go to church you are giving them the opportunity to experience God. When you invite someone to church you are giving them the opportunity to hear the truth. When you invite someone to church you are giving them an opportunity to hear the secret to a longer happier life. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”