It’s Your Move - Show Up
Message Description
Butler Campus Pastor, Brady Randall, kicks off the "It's Your Move" message series encouraging God's people to show up to church.
Message Transcript
Father God, you're already here. So, father, I pray that you would make every person that's here this weekend at Orchard Hill, the Strip District, Butler, Chapel, and those who are engaging online, that you would make us aware of your presence, that we would see and savor Jesus Christ. Father, I pray that you would be with me as I speak the words that your people need to hear this morning. Fill all of us with your holy spirit. Open our minds that we might hear from you, and we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
We've started a new series this weekend entitled, "It's Your Move." And the idea is that God moved first and now what's our response? What's our move? If you've been at Orchard Hill any length of time, you've probably heard the phrases show up, grow up, and step up. And really what this is from is, it's a restatement of the great commission. Our mission at Orchard Hill is that we want to help people find and follow Jesus Christ. And it's that last phrase of what does it look like to be a fully engaged follower of Jesus?
And what we hope that you see and experience through this series is that this is not just something that God and Orchard Hill want from you, but really this is something that God wants for you. This is really what God has in mind when he said, "I want you to live the abundant life." So, we're going to look at that over these next three weeks. And this morning, we're looking at, what does it look like to show up? And our jumping-off point is in Hebrews chapter 10. The book of Hebrews is written to a group of Christians who are being encouraged or they're tempted to go back to reject Jesus and embrace Judaism again.
And what the author of Hebrews wants to tell the people is, Jesus is better. Jesus is Supreme. Jesus is better than the angels. Jesus is better than Moses. Jesus is better than the old covenant. In the old covenant, the Old Testament, the people of God would go to a place called the tabernacle, which was basically a portable worship center. Or they would go to the temple to meet with God where the presence of God was. And in the temple was this inner room called the holy of holies.
It was symbolic of the fact that God is holy and pure, and God will not be in the presence of impurity or sin. And the only person who was allowed in the holy of holies was a high priest and only once a year where he could make offerings for the sins of the people. And what Hebrews chapter 10 says is now because of what Jesus has done, by his life and especially his death, he has now opened up the curtain into the holy of holies so that all people, sinful people, can be in the presence of a holy God.
So now it's our move. It's our responsibility to therefore show up and worship God. So, if you're here in person or you're engaged online, you say, "Brady, I've already shown up. This message must be for someone else." And yet, we know it's easy to be tempted not to show up. And my question for you this morning is, why did you show up in worship today? Why did you show up? Why do you keep showing up? My guess is there's a lot of different motivations for why we've shown up. For some of us, it's just simply a habit. It's what we've always known and done on the weekends: we show up for worship. It's what we do.
Maybe some of us have shown up because we're bored and just wanted to check out a church service. What's going on around Pittsburgh in early November? Some of us showed up because we were invited to engage online or to come in person. Some of us showed up to investigate the claims of Jesus. Is he really all that the Bible says he is? Some of us have shown up in order to use our gifts to serve so that other people can show up and experience God. I'm blown away, week in and week out, at the number of volunteers who show up in kids ministry to serve and teach kids, who show up in student ministry, show up in the parking lot to help park cars, those who show up early to bake goods and serve coffee, to be on the worship arts team, or to greet people. People show up on a week-to-week basis so that other people can experience God, maybe for the very first time.
So, I don't know what your motivation for being here is, but I don't believe it's a coincidence that you're here today, this weekend, at Orchard Hill. And even more, it's significant that you showed up. I believe it's significant because God has shown up, and God wants to meet you here, engage with you, and change and transform your life as well. We're talking about showing up, but it's become easier and easier for people not to show up and to disengage in worship. Certainly, the pandemic has accelerated what was already going on, but I was surprised to read this statistic the other day. And that is that 22% of professed Christians have stopped showing up altogether, either in person or online. And 50% of millennials, people my age, have just stopped engaging with the church altogether.
And I hear this from people time to time, say, "Brady, I don't need to show up. I don't need to be a part of a worship service. I just need myself, Jesus, and my Bible if you want to throw in something extra. Put me out in the woods and I'm good to go." So why would you show up? And again, what I hope that you see from this text today and from this series is that when you show up, God has something significant for you. Verse 25 says, "Let us not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing."
And if we're honest, it can be easy to get into the habit of not showing up. And there are a lot of reasons for that. Sometimes we don't show up because we're just tired. We want to catch up on sleep. Sometimes we don't show up because it's inconvenient and we'd rather use the weekends to get caught up, do the chores, be productive, or catch up from work. It's just easier. Sometimes we don't show up because maybe we don't find church all that compelling, or we think it's boring. Sometimes some of us don't show up because we don't want to be convicted by what we hear if we're being honest.
We don't want to, in any sense, feel guilty or think that we have to change a certain way that we're living, so we don't show up to hear about that. Some of us don't show up because we don't want to be convicted, and because we've been previously hurt by the church, or maybe a pastor or another Christian, and it's just too painful to show up. Some of us don't show up because when we're in church, it reminds us of something that maybe we don't have or we once used to have, so there's pain associated with showing up. And you can name your reason.
But the real question for you and me is: why should I show up? What I want us to walk through in Hebrews chapter 10 is, I believe that God has at least five compelling reasons why you and I should be compelled and desire to show up, week in and week out. And the first one, and it's the most important, is this: that you can actually encounter God through Jesus Christ. Verse 22, "That we can by showing up draw near to God."
Now, that's astounding if it's true. In the one sense, God is everywhere. You don't need to come into a worship service or engage in a service online to encounter God. God is everywhere. There's no place that you and I can go in the known universe where God is not already there. But God has promised, in a very special and tangible way, to show up in the congregation of His people. In fact, the word church is the word ecclesia, which means an assembly or a called-out group or gathering.
And in the Old Testament, in the temple or the tabernacle, again like a portable worship center, that's where people would go and literally meet with God. In fact, Exodus 40:34 says, "God's glory filled the temple." That God's manifest presence was with the gathering of His people. And similarly, even in the New Testament in 1 Peter 2:5, it says, "As you come to Christ, you come as stones being built together as the spiritual house of God." In other words, the place where God would dwell.
And even if you're here this weekend and you're not convinced of God and Jesus, and you're not necessarily convinced that God is here, if, in fact, God is here, in a tangible way, wouldn't you at least want to rule it out? If there's a God and God shows up in the worship of His people, wouldn't you want to check that out and find out, is God who He says He is? Because not only when you show up, that God shows up, but the rest of verse 22 says this, "that coming to God through Jesus can cleanse us from a guilty conscience." That's amazing. When you put your faith and hope in Jesus Christ, God completely wipes out all of your sins.
And when God looks at Brady, he doesn't see all of my mess-ups. He doesn't see all of my skeletons in the closet. He sees the perfect, finished, unblemished record of Jesus Christ. And not only does He do that, but He actually cleanses our guilty conscience, so we don't have to live in shame, guilt, and fear. And that's powerful. And part of what happens when you come and intentionally gather in community and worship is you're saying, "God, the worship of you is the most significant thing that I can do in my life."
Now, worship doesn't have to happen on a Sunday morning. Worship is a life response to who God is and what he's done and what God promises to do. But the most significant reason why God put breath in your lungs and mine is that we would worship and respond to all that God is. And what can happen in a worship service is we can come together with intentionality as the people of God who have been bought by the blood of Jesus, and we get to worship the God of the universe. That's amazing. It's an overflow. So, we show up because we can encounter God.
The second reason we show up is to give and receive hope in a hopeless world. We see this in verse 23, "Let us hold unswervingly" ... I love that word ... "to the hope that we profess for he who promised is faithful." I probably don't have to convince you how hopeless and discouraging that sometimes life can be. And our hope in showing up is not because we showed up, but our hope is in the faithful one. And by the way, you might think, well, Brady, it's easy for you to get up there and talk about people showing up because you're paid to show up. And probably, pastors and worship leaders, they're the ones who are super encouraged more than anyone, if it's a packed house.
But if I'm honest, there are days, weekends, and Sunday mornings where I don't really feel like showing up. But I've got to show up. But I can tell you what's been true for me, especially on those Sundays where I don't feel like showing up. It was particularly on those weekends where God gave me the hope that I needed. Maybe it was out in the lobby, and someone encouraged me with an encouraging word that I needed to hear that day, that I wouldn't have had otherwise if I didn't show up. Or maybe I didn't want to show up, but Pastor Kurt said something in the message that just encouraged my soul.
Or I might not have felt like showing up that morning, but there was a lyric in one of the worship songs that just touched and filled me in such a way that I felt and experienced the holy spirit of God. That even though I didn't want to show up, God met me as I showed up, and I'm so thankful for that. So, you can show up to receive and give hope. A third reason to show up is in verse 25 because we are commanded to show up. It says, "Don't give up meeting together."
So, if you're here and you're a follower of Jesus, this is not something that's optional. This is not, "If I feel like it." That if you're a follower of Jesus, that God commands his people to show up in community and worship him. And I didn't start with this one because I know if there's some of you like me, if someone tells you to do something, it's like, "Well, I'm going to do the opposite of that." So, who are you to tell me what to do, God?
But what I want you to see with this text and this command, and really every command of God, is one, because he's worthy of it, but two, it's actually for our good to live out the commands of God. That it's not that God wants to keep us from fun, but God really wants you and me to experience the abundant life that only Jesus can offer.
But I want you to think about it. If God really is who he says he is, if God really is the king and he's reigning and he's ruling, and he's the creator of all things, sustainer of all things, and if by God's word, God can bring dead people to life, by God's word, he can bring people into His presence, by God's word, and by God's son, that He saved us, set us free from sin, death, and hell, then how could I not but be compelled to worship that God?
It might be something like this. Let's say last night or any night, there was a fire that started in my house. And the fire started engulfing my entire house and a neighbor saw that my house was on fire. She called 911. The firefighters rush out. Everybody gets out of the house except for me. My room is burning up. I'm about to meet my maker. And all of a sudden, the glass gets shattered in my room. A heroic firefighter comes up the ladder, grabs me in her arms, and takes me to safety. She saves my life.
And then the mayor hears about this heroic act, and he wants to call a celebration to honor this heroic woman. And the woman calls me up and she says, "Brady, I know this is a little bit embarrassing, but they're having dinner in my honor. Would you join me for this commemoration?" And if I'm on the phone with her and I would be like, this woman literally saved my life. And I said, "No, thanks. I've got something else to do," that'd be crazy. But God has shown up, time and time again, in your life and mine. And God invites us also to show up.
Now, I know churches across the country were forced to go online due to the pandemic. And for a season, the only way to meet, at least at Orchard Hill, was online. And we are so grateful at Orchard Hill to have such an incredible worship arts tech production team to put engaging services on, week in and week out. And I'm so grateful that if you can't be in service, or you're sick, traveling, or immunocompromised, that we have the option in the 21st century to engage in worship online. That's amazing.
And by the way, that's where things are trending. I read a couple of statistics that said 71% of baby boomers prefer an in-person worship service. I actually thought that number might be higher for baby boomers, but only 41% of generation Z, that's people who are younger than me, prefer an in-person worship experience. So, that's where it's headed, like it or not. And if I'm a wise church leader, I think that would be unwise to just totally discount what God has done and what God may yet to do through the means of technology.
Because our mission at Orchard Hill is that we want to help people, for the first time, find him, and everybody's online. I was thinking about it like this: only 60-some thousand Steeler fans can go into Heinz Field in the stadium, but many of us in this region would consider ourselves Steeler fans. In fact, there may be millions of people around the world who are Steeler fans that don't show up to Heinz Field. But they watch the games, they buy the merchandise, and they argue with their friends and coworkers about the play of the Steelers. They would consider themselves real fans, even though they're not always able to be there in person.
So, the bottom line is, wherever you engage in worship, God's design and desire are that we would engage in worship, that we would be able to do so in community, that we'd have an opportunity to use the gifts that God's given us to serve other people. Because whether it's online church or physical church, it can be really easy to view the church as a consumer. I didn't like that, I didn't like that song, and I love that. Someone told a worship pastor one day, "I didn't really like the songs that you guys were singing in the morning." And the worship pastor said, "Well, that's okay. We weren't singing to you anyway."
But how do we not disengage? And I love the idea that rather than being a critic and a consumer and being easy to click-off, acknowledging that while the church is for me, the church is not necessarily about me. So, we show up to encounter God. We show up to receive hope. We show up because we're commanded to do it. And fourthly, we show up to encourage and be encouraged. We see this as in verses 24 and 25. A primary reason why God invites you and me to show up is to be encouraged to spur one another on towards love and good deeds.
I've read that there are at least 59 "one another" commandments in the New Testament alone. And I'm no physicist or mathematician, but I know that it's really hard to enact a "one another" commandment when you're not with one another. And certainly, that can happen on a weekend, gathering in the lobby before or after church. But an even better design for community is not so much in rows but circles. And that really highlights the importance of being in a biblical community with other people in a Life Group, in a Bible study with people who can know you intimately, people who can pray for you, hold you accountable, and encourage you in your walk with Jesus or in your struggles. That's an opportunity to do that together.
But I also want to just share with you, don't discount your presence in showing up. Don't discount your presence as an encouraging factor for somebody else, that your being here may be just the encouragement that someone else needed, that your being here and submitting yourself to the authority of God's word, passionately worshipping or investigating who Jesus is, what an encouragement to you by your very presence, that you are this weekend.
Christians around the world need to know what a privilege it is to have the freedom to gather and worship. And I take for granted so often the freedom that I have as an American to do what we are doing here this morning, freely getting a chance to worship and learn about God. So, your presence matters. It matters to me. It might matter to someone else. In fact, there could be someone here today that your very presence is what has allowed them to take the next step to cross the line of faith. So, encouraging one another matters.
And by the way, you may have gifts that I need, that God intends for me to get. That's how God designed the body of Christ. I may have gifts that you need that we would only get to experience with one another when we're intentionally gathering and in community with each other. So, I would ask you to ask yourself this question: Who do I know that might need some encouragement? Who could I text or call on the phone, or send an email, or have coffee with this week that may need a sense of encouragement? Because who do you know that's too encouraged? God has called us and invited us to show up and to give and receive encouragement.
And then lastly, we should show up because the day of Christ is drawing near. We read that in verse 25. It's as important as it's ever been to show up and remind one another, or be reminded, that the day of Jesus Christ and His return is coming. That there's coming a day soon when every person will meet Jesus Christ face to face. There's coming a day soon when Jesus is going to return and make all sad things untrue. There's coming a day soon when Jesus is going to restore every justice and get rid of every form of evil.
There's coming a day, and what will that day be like when you stand before Jesus? Can you imagine that day when you're reunited with loved ones who also trusted in Jesus? Can you imagine that day when you are dancing on streets of gold? Can you imagine what your eyes will see for the first time, seeing your maker and your savior face to face? What a day that will be, when God will wipe away every single tear from your eyes. The Bible says, "No eye has seen, no mind has conceived, or no ear has heard what God has in store for those who love him."
Encourage one another because that day is coming. I was watching a video this week and these videos when military members are back and reunited with their family, they get me every time. But it reminded me, what's it going to be like to be in the arms of my father, my daddy. Take a look at this quick video. "Katherine, over here. Come over here. Come back over here. It's daddy! Daddy! Daddy!"
Don't give up hope. What's that going to be like, to be in the arms of your daddy? Encourage one another all the more as you see the day approaching. What a day that's going to be. I've heard it said that we should live for that day and this day. And that day is coming. But oh, what a day that will be, for those who have rejected Jesus Christ. I can tell you; I think there's nothing more frightening in all the earth than to one day stand before your maker and judge, and for Him to say to you, "I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoer." That day is coming when every motivation and thought indeed will be laid bare. And what will you and I say on that day?
But I can tell you that you can know for sure what you will say on that day. You can know for sure that your savior will wrap Himself in His arms if you acknowledge your need for the savior. If you turn from your sin and your self-sufficiency and place your hope and your trust in what Jesus Christ has done for you on the cross and with His resurrection, you can look forward to that day, which is coming soon. But we've got to be ready. Ready or not, it's coming.
You may have heard the phrase, "Sometimes showing up is half the battle." Or you may have heard this phrase, "Success is 2% talent, 8% luck, and 90% just showing up." And I don't know about that percentage. I personally don't believe in luck. But I know there's something to be said just for showing up. You can probably think of examples in your own life when showing up made all the difference.
I think, sometimes, when I plan to exercise in the morning, like, man, I'd rather have the extra hour of sleep than work out. And yet I begrudgingly work out. And almost every time, I'm glad that I did. I feel better about it after having done it. I shared with you Sunday mornings where I don't always feel like showing up in church. And yet, it's often those particular Sunday mornings where God shows up and gives me just the word and hope and encouragement that I need. My son is taking piano. He's six and he has piano recitals. And if I'm honest, sometimes listening to four and five and six-year-olds try and play the piano is not what I most look forward to.
But afterward, having seen his face, that his daddy was there and showed up, makes all the difference. Sometimes showing up is just the very first step that you and I need to take. And my prayer is that that will be true for you. That even if it's not typically your habit, that you would take the first step and the next step. And maybe you're not sure about Jesus, but for you, that first step is just showing up. And then, showing up next week, and then showing up the week after that, and asking questions and getting involved in the community.
And by the way, even if Orchard Hill is not your church home, I encourage you to get part of another Bible-believing church and community and keep showing up. Because God's here, but it takes intentionality. And by the way, if you say, "Well, Brady, one of the things that actually keeps me from showing up is, there's this part of the church that I don't really like, or it's really not up to snuff." Could I encourage you that rather than complaining and being a critic about that area of ministry, maybe God's calling you to get involved in that area of ministry, to make it better?
So, this is the idea. We don't have to show up, but we get to show up. We get to be in the presence of almighty God, the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords. What an opportunity in celebration that we have. And wouldn't you want to be a part of that? To experience that. Wouldn't you want to invite someone else to experience that as well? Because showing up can change your life. It can change their life, today and for eternity.
Would you pray with me? Father God, I'm so grateful for all those this weekend at Orchard Hill and all across the world who have shown up in worship of you. God, it's not just significant that we've shown up, but it's significant because you've shown up to meet us here. Father God, so many of us have different motivations for why we're here, but God, I believe it's no coincidence that we are here. I pray, God, that whatever life stage we're in, that you would've spoken to us clearly today.
God, I pray, if there's someone here who's right on the edge of faith, that maybe today, by showing up, they would place their hope and faith in you. Father God, I pray that for every person here this weekend, that we would remind ourselves that, that day is coming when we will stand before you face to face. Father God, I pray that that day would be such an encouragement because you are going to show up in power and make everything right.
But God, until that day, I pray that you would encourage all of us to keep showing up, to keep engaging, to keep developing our relationship with you, to keep using our gifts so that other people can experience you as well. Father, I pray that you would do this for your kingdom and your glory. And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Thanks, and have a great rest of your weekend.