Yesterday was week 1 of 2 of our 100% Sundays at Orlando North (www.OrlandoNorth.com). The room was full of energy as we got together to hear a challenge to step up as a church. We looked at Matthew 5 where Jesus calls us, not Himself, the salt of the earth and the light of the world. It’s a baton He passed to His church after the resurrection. We chewed on what that really meant. To us it means the church was never intended to inhale without an equal amount of exhales. Nor are we to eat without digesting. God’s created a beautiful system where we give and we receive. Balance. Unfortunately, most of us do too much exhaling and very little, if any, exhaling. Exhaling, of course, is the act of sharing Jesus with those we know need Him.
How can we BRING glory to God if we’re not doing anything? Sitting and receiving isn’t bringing anything.
Jesus is specific in Matthew 5 about us not hiding our light under a basket when we’ve been strategically placed where the lost can see us in order that they may ultimately see Him. We have what people need, yet our insecurities and fear have driven us to shelter our light from the very ones who need it. We’ve turned our faith from being an active, two-way relationship to a trivial gorging of sermons, music, conversation, and very little change. And the worst part is we’ve called that church.
The example I used yesterday brings clarity to this thought: I’ve been running….a lot. One of the biggest changes in my life has been my appetite. I am hungry way more often than I was before I started working out and watching what I ate. When I’m hungry I’m not terribly concerned about the taste of what I eat as long as I get to eat. I’m enjoying food in an entirely different way than I was before I started running and wasn’t watching my diet at all. Saturday evening was my ‘splurge night’ and the family and I went to Five Guys Burgers for dinner. Let me tell you, it was amazing! I’ve had Five Guys before but never in the middle of serious training. It tasted so much better because of how much my body was spending during the week.
With that in mind…Is it possible that worship, prayer, relationships, etc. would all taste better if we were burning spiritual calories during the week by giving out? What if worship and relationship have grown stale simply because we’ve gorged ourselves into a spiritual coma? Remember, we were meant to inhale AND exhale. Without giving there’s no room for receiving.
Our days of petty excuses must cease. We are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Both are titles Jesus intended us to wear courageously.
Orlando North is implementing two specific outreaches to equip you to do just that.
- Friend Day (Sunday, February 28th) – On this particular Sunday we are calling everybody in our church to invite a friend to church who does not know Jesus or is not plugged into a church. It’s a call, not a request. We believe Jesus has called us to be the light and this day is simply a tool to help us do that. So, join us that day. Invite a friend. Take them to lunch if that will help. They will be presented with the Gospel in a healthy way that day.
- Serve Day (Saturday, March 6th) – ONCC is heading out into the community to serve people who need our help. Three times a year we’re going to call for a Serve Day and March 6th is our first. We have three serving opportunities for people to choose from where they will serve from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. We’re expecting 100% participation for this day. Plus, you get a free t-shirt to wear to your serving location. The three serving opportunities are:
- Packing supplies for Haiti
- Serving food to homeless people in a local park.
- Hanging out and playing games with senior citizens.
If you haven’t signed up and would like to be a part, simply email me and let me know which project you want to be a part of (rob@orlandonorth.com).
Be a part! Let’s see how it feels to exhale once in a while.
RD
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