Help Wanted

Many years back, I began the interviewing process to take a new job. I was 26 years old, and I was wanting to move back to Cincinnati to get married to my wife. She'd already moved to Cincinnati and found a good job. It was now my turn to return home and to find a job. So I applied for a job as an IT specialist at a growing healthcare company. It was a really small company to kind of cut to the chase. I was the seventh person hired at this company. But when I contacted them, they had an opening for their first IT hire. So I applied and came in for the interview, and it went well. Since it was a small company, I was interviewing with the president and the vice president, the big wigs, and the clinical director because we were a healthcare company. I was just 26 years old sitting across the table from them. The interview went really well, and I felt comfortable with the questions they were asking. It got to one question right towards the end. The president looks me in the eyes and says, okay, I have a scenario for you. It's five o'clock in the evening, and you've got Cincinnati Reds tickets coming up here for tonight's game. But my administrative assistant, my secretary, comes to you at five o'clock and says she's got a problem and she needs your help dealing with it. What do you do? Why, my answer was the first thing that came to my mind. How good are the tickets? I really did say that, and if you can believe that, I did say it. I quickly tried to put... and I got good laughter around the table, except for from the president. I want to ask him the question. And so I quickly picked up on it, and, okay, let's get serious. And so I went ahead and did answer it the right way, that you do have to balance priorities and sometimes you have to give up things you want to do. And so he... that answer was okay with him, and we went on and finished up the interview. And so I left, and a few days later I did get a call. They offered me the job, and I took it. It was a great blessing to have that job for so many years. It was the one I had just prior to leaving. I got that job to join the... to join United's training program. So it was really... it was a really great blessing for those many years. I don't think my answer to that question got me the job, but I don't think it hurt me either, because later in discussions with the vice president, I mean just shortly after working there, he brought that up about my response. He goes, it actually was kind of... it helped us become a little more comfortable with you, because you showed some personality. He goes, some of these IT guys who were showing, I was afraid they'd say, baseball? What's baseball? So he said, it gave... it helped. It definitely showed that you had some personality, and that you weren't just... and it was strictly an IT guy. But it was interesting as I look back on that, because the company was looking to hire me, because they wanted to grow the company. They were looking for someone who fit well with the personality of the company, and they were looking for a good fit. We sitting here today, in our extended families that are meeting today in the Sabbath, we are all part of the aqueousia. That is the spiritual body of God, believers who are called by God the Father, the aqueousia. While we would never say that we are a business or an organization, we are a group of people with a mission and with specific work that we are to do. Let's start off by looking in Matthew 28, verse 18. Matthew 28 verse 18.

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority hath been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. And, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

These are our marching orders. These are our instructions. The United Church of God has adopted a similar mission statement that reads, and this is our Church mission statement, our mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in the kingdom of God in all the world, to make disciples in all nations and to care for those disciples.

That is our mission statement in the Church. We are, in a way, an employee of God. So you may ask, what is my individual role that I have as a part of the spiritual body of God? We are ambassadors for His way of life, and we are to be an example to the world around us. I'd like us to take a look at a passage from Acts 2, and this is going to be the central focus of today's message, because we have a short description of the early Church, the early body of believers, and I believe, in a way, a job description we could use to help us create a help-wanted posting if we were to do that for members of the body.

This is in Acts 2. And as you're turning to some more background, the early Church was on fire. It was an exciting time to be a member of the Church. It was growing rapidly, and there was zeal for God in everything that they did. They were pulling together and supporting each other and spreading the gospel message. And in Acts 2, verse 42, we read this about their behavior.

Acts 2, verse 42, And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship in the breaking of bread and in prayers. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship in the breaking of bread and in prayers. The members of the early Church were creating an environment for growth within the Church. This reminds me so much of our congregations and our fellowship today. This is a central point of what we try to do here in Cincinnati in all the congregations, is we try to establish an area for growth, for new people and for us, as we sit here today and as we continue to learn.

It's this type of willingness to love and support each other while the framework or the boundaries of God's teaching within this boundary, that we can be a family that is on fire for God's way of life and on fire for each other. So I'd like to look at each one of these aspects in this scripture used here to describe the early Church and imagine for a moment that we were to use these aspects to create that help wanted poster, that help wanted posting. This in a way is part of our job requirements.

While I was looking and doing some studying around, I saw a funny help wanted posting out there that I thought fit us kind of well. So I thought it would be kind of fun to share it with you as we start to get in the mindset of a help wanted ad. So it lists and think about us today, help wanted, full-time rewarding job with flexible hours, excellent opportunity to meet new friends, be part of a great team and to have a giggle.

No experience required. Doesn't that kind of fit us pretty well? I do want to say that every analogy at some point breaks down. And this analogy breaks down in the aspect that most of the time when we want to find a job, we actively go out and we look for a job. We all know that this is not how God has grown his family. God the Father is the one who calls each member to the body.

And so we just want to keep that in mind as we work through this analogy. He is the one that adds to the church. People don't add themselves to the church. So we'll go ahead and continue with that. So I just wanted to throw that out there so not to confuse anyone. But the first part of the job description that we want to look at today.

Needed. People who love God love what we do and will continue in it with a focus. Needed. People who love God love what we do and will continue in it with a focus. This connects to the part of the scripture that reads, They continued steadfastly in doctrine. This aspect of being solid in doctrine must be number one in our lives. Must be the first thing that we think of and that we focus on.

Without it, nothing else works. Nothing else works. In the Greek, the word steadfastly can also mean and be translated to be earnest towards. To persevere. To be constantly diligent. To continue in. Or to wait on continually. Some pretty powerful words. Steadfastly, sometimes in our modern English, we don't use that much. But we use a lot of these other words. Perseverance.

To be diligent. To continue in. And the word doctrine simply means instructions. So we are to be earnest towards instructions. We are to persevere in doctrine. It kind of sets the framework of what's being said here in Acts, verse 2. Let's look at where doctrine and where instruction comes from. Let's turn to 2 Timothy 3.16. 2 Timothy 3, verse 16. This is one of those memory scriptures that they teach at ABC. It's a foundation for what we do and what we teach. 2 Timothy 3, verse 16. Where does this knowledge, where does this instruction come from? Did you or I create it?

No. We know right here the words that are in this Bible where they came from in verse 16. All scripture, all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. All scripture is given by inspiration of God. Doctrine is what we believe to be true instructions from God on how we should live our lives and how we should love and teach each other. This is what the apostles were doing at this time.

They were teaching to others the instructions they had received with their time personally with Jesus Christ. And these new believers, they were holding fast to the teachings and responsibilities of their calling. They were holding fast to their faith. They were active in service to one another and they were a light to others who were around them. Let's turn to Matthew 5, verse 14. As we consider this aspect of lights, this is another one of those very familiar scriptures.

But I don't feel like we could turn to these too much because we need to be reminded of our responsibilities as a body and our responsibilities individually. Once again, this is Matthew 5, and we'll read verses 14 through 16. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do they light a lamp and put it underneath a basket, but on a lampstand and it gives light to all who are in the house.

Let your light so shine to four men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. I look out among a group here and other congregations where I visit of people who have held fast, held strong over many years of changes, many years of tribulation and trials in their lives, people who are strong, people who are courageous.

I don't say that lightly because we have weathered some storms. Whether they were personal or church-wide, we have held fast to the doctrine and the teachings. It's why we are here today and why we continue in this. We have been a light to the world and a light to each other and that is part of our job responsibilities. I grew up as a little kid on a blanket, listening to some of the old ministers long ago.

I was just a little guy. I remember getting together in Cincinnati downtown because it was the only place that could hold us all for the Holy Days. You'd get everybody, the only location with these big buildings downtown, the convention center or a theater. And I remember having my toys, having my blankets, having my snacks. But men and women have been diligent over all these years to follow God's ways. They laid the foundation and a path that I could grow up in and then follow myself.

And it's through that that we have this responsibility to continue in this today. This is our doctrine given to us by inspiration from God. And so we must take it and we must continue steadfastly in this doctrine going forward. This doctrine, it's not once again from us, it's from above.

It's not from our own understanding. Jesus Christ Himself said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. That is from John 14, verse 6, I am the way, the truth, and the life. When we understand these aspects and we live this way of life, it naturally creates a wonderful environment for growth. Not only for us each week when we attend, but also for new people, for new believers that come and new disciples of Christ. We really didn't wake up one day, just wake up, get out of bed and say, you know what, I don't know what I'm doing today, but I'm going to this church that meets down at a hotel.

I'm going to walk in this door and just start meeting with them. It was a gradual calling that we did eventually have to respond to. We did have our part to play in that, but God started the process with each one of us, and that is a special part of it. People are drawn to this way of life after they're called by God. They're drawn to us. They're drawn by our zeal, by our excitement. Sometimes they're drawn by our food. We were talking about that on the drive down. That's kind of a joke. But they are drawn to us because God has given us something unique in all of us that is also common in all of us, and that is special, and that's never to be taken lightly.

So to wrap up the first point, I'll repeat the needed aspect. Needed. People who love God love what we do and will continue in it with a focus. The second part of the job description. Needed. People who value relationships and have concern for others. People who value relationships and have concern for others.

This connects us to the part of Acts 2, verse 42, which reads, They continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship. And fellowship. God has given us the opportunity to interact with each other on a human to human level. He didn't just put us out on some island by ourselves.

We're not each on our own little Caribbean island, just with one-way communication to God. We do have that personal relationship with Him, but He also gave us personal relationships with each other. And so we have a family here. We have an opportunity for fellowship. We share in all of our beliefs, all of our hope. We share in our conviction with each other, not just being together, just like people sitting in a room, but really together, really getting to know each other. I don't know if you have shared an apartment with other friends or people before.

I have a few times. And occasionally, those times, I never got to really know some of the people that I lived with. You lived with them, you never really get to know them. Maybe it was in the military. Maybe it was back in elementary school. You might have even stayed summer camp, where you got to know some people, but you never really got to know them. That's not like it is here for us. We're different in that we live together and we want to know more about each other. We want to learn and understand how God is working in each of our lives.

We want to learn about trials and difficulties, maybe that others are going through, so we can add them into our prayer list or encourage them with similar stories, maybe times when we've gone through similar trials. We want to learn what makes who you are who you are. That's a special opportunity that we have as the body of Christ. Let's turn to John 13 verse 34, as we consider this point. John 13 verse 34. Where does this start from?

What is at the core of why we desire for these relationships and why we desire and put the time and the energy into them? It's right here in John 13 verse 34. A new commandment I give to you that you love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this, all will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. This is where everything that we do starts from. Is this love for one another? The love you have for me, the love I have for you.

This is why we want to invest the time in our fellowship. That's why we actually view it as special and important to us. Because of this, it creates a wonderful environment for growth. We've all had jobs where people just kind of clock in and clock out at the end of the day. They do their work, they may be good at it, they may show up every week. They don't really want to be there. They're not really enjoying what they do. And that comes out in how they interact with others a lot of times. A lot of times those type of jobs are kind of cold. They're sterile places to work. They're not some place that a lot of people say, you know what, I want to make a career. I want to come for 40 years to this location. Because I get, this feels good. It's usually not that way of those types of jobs. But maybe we've had jobs that were exciting, where people wanted to laugh at times with you. You got some good projects done. The company had growth. And then it was actually a joy to get up and to go to work. That's what we're shooting for here, is that joy aspect that we want to be here. And we normally do. That's the beauty of the body. That is the beauty of our fellowship that we have. Let's look at Hebrews 10 as we continue with this point.

Hebrews 10 and verse 24 and verse 25.

I'm going to, I'm mostly reading from the New King James version today, but I'm going to actually interject a little bit from the New Living Translation as I work through these two scriptures. So that, because I like how the New Living Translation kind of emphasizes a little bit of a different wording that helps, I think, us to understand this a little more deeply.

This is Hebrews 10 verse 24.

Let us, and let us consider one another. The New Living Translation says, think of ways to motivate each other. Think of ways to motivate each other. Continuing on, in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as in the manner of some, but exhorting one another. The New Living Translation says, encourage one another. And so much, and it finishes up by saying, and so much the more as you see the day approaching. To motivate each other. To encourage one another.

What is it that makes us and our assembling together this way? Why do we want to have this approach? It's only the Holy Spirit inside of us that makes us who we are and makes us desire these types of things. This power is living and it's strong in our lives, as we motivate one another, as we encourage one another. This gives us the power and the ability to overcome fears and doubts that life brings in. It plants in us the joy and hope for God and for His Kingdom. A healthy, loving Church is contagious to one another. How many times have we walked in here and immediately you get smiles on your face and it feels warm to be here and you feel like I'm home. I'm home. That's powerful. And when others who are being called by God come into our fellowship and they're welcomed that way and they see this sense of community, that is powerful. It is contagious. That's a knownness we want others to catch. That's one that we do want to spread as far as we can and that is an awesome opportunity that we get. Developing the fruit of the Spirit provides us the ability to fellowship in this perfect way as well, in this perfect way that God wants us to do.

Actually, why don't we turn to Galatians 5? Another common, common scripture, but one that I don't feel like we could go to too much. Because each time we read through Galatians 5, we're at a different point in life. Things are hitting us and affecting us differently. So it's good that we work through the fruit of the Spirit from time to time and consider. You could even say that these are some of our additional job requirements that we would put on this Help Wanted posting.

Ones that we desire for ourselves today as we are part of the body of Christ.

This is in Galatians 5 verse 22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law, and those who are Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and its desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Continuing steadfastly in doctrine and fellowship also leads to an environment where disconnected relationships can be restored. Some of us have been in the Church long enough to realize that some people no longer are with us because they've chosen to walk a different way. And then for reasons only they know. For reasons only they know. But that is the nature of when we are in Church long enough, that's going to happen from time to time. But sometimes people reconnect. Sometimes people reach back out and say, you know what, I want to say hi to you again. I want to know what you're doing. Something is just still itching. Something is still working in their lives. A strong, vibrant, healthy Church is a place where disconnected relationships can again be established. This opportunity provides a time where we can rejoin and build on the fellowship that God has given us again. Where those of like mine...