“Why Are You Here?”

Rev. Jonathan Rumburg

Introduction

I would be impressed if anyone looked at the title of today’s sermon, saw that I was preaching, and thought to yourself, “Didn’t he already preach a sermon titled “Why Are You Here?”  Certainly you all remember that sermon, don’t you? 

About a day after I turned into the office my scripture and title for this week’s sermon, I had this strange notion go through my mind that I had already preached a sermon with this title.  Admittedly I started to panic, “Oh my goodness!  Am I done already?  I’ve barely been preaching five years, and not even every Sunday, but already I’m repeating myself!”

And sure enough, when I got back to my computer and looked in my files, there it was, January of 2007 a sermon I preached entitled “Why Are You Here?”

For a moment a feeling of relief washed over me—“They’ll never know.  This will be an easy week for me.  Sermon’s done.  Just have to reprint it.”  (I’m joking!)

But needing to be reminded myself of just what it was I preached about, I opened the file to my sermon entitled “Why Are You Here?” and had to read only the first line of that sermon to know how and why I had come up with another sermon with the same title.

The question “Why Are You Here?” is the question I ask those who go with me on the Ohio Delegations to Chile.  And the first sermon entitled “Why Are You Here?” was the sermon that myself, Clint Messner, Brittany Stricklen, and Kendra Matvey preached for you all after we had returned.

And so, when I realized what the sermon was about, I immediately knew why it was I was about to craft another sermon with the same title.

“Why Are You Here?” is the question I ask the Delegations who go to Chile and it was also the question I asked the Mission Team I was part of that we as a church sent to Gulfport, Mississippi for the second time in six months.

I asked the team this question on our first day together, and then I asked it again and again throughout the week.

It’s an important question to ask because when God calls you to do something, when God puts you in a place to be of use toward a particular purpose, then it becomes critically important to know and understand just what that purpose is.

So I asked this question, often, to this Mission Team, conceding however, that an answer could be arrived at quite easily.  We were there to help.  A good, fair, and appropriate response.  We were there to help the Nickerson family take another giant step toward having a completed house where they could once again live and grow as a family. 

But there were other reasons as to why we were there, and I told this mission team that those reasons would likely come to them: throughout the week, perhaps after we got back to Wadsworth, or perhaps even weeks or months down the road.

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The reasons why we are somewhere, the reason why we do something, the reason why we are part of a ministry often go far beyond and much deeper than what we see on the surface.  The reasons why are not as black and white as we might typically think. 

In fact, the reasons why we are somewhere, the reasons why we do something, the reasons why we are part of a ministry can be far reaching, having a ripple effect to points we never thought about, and may never know about. 

But this works on the contrary as well.  The reasons why we are somewhere, the reasons why we do something, the reasons why we are part of a ministry can also have much closer affects, and end up significantly impacting us as well.  We might think that we are the ones offering “help”, or offering “outreach ministry” but we ourselves are, more often than not, included in the transformation that is done.

And when that happens, then we have done what the Apostle Paul has implored us to do.  We will have built up the body of Christ, matured, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.  In others, and in ourselves.

Move 1

When our April Mission Team left Gulfport, Mississippi, the Nickerson family told our people that they had helped their “broken house” become the “healing house.”   After our team left, the Nickerson house was one giant step closer to being completed and a home again. 

Over five days of work the April Mission Team put up new dry wall, installed insulation, mudded, beaded, painted, cleaned, and continued to build back up a house, a home, that had been beaten down by winds and rains.

It was evident, upon their return, that our Mission team left the Nickerson’s with a sense of accomplishment, knowing that their work was an essential part of the transformation that house, that home, and family, had been needing, and praying for.  As a church, we helped make this happen.  And many of us won’t ever know the Nickerson family.

But there was work yet to be done.  The transformation, though very close to being complete, was not finished.  There was still some building back up that needed to be done. 

Now I know that more work was done because a colleague of mine from Heights Christian Church, in Maple Heights, took a group down the week after our team was there in April.  But even after their week was done, there was still more work needing to be done in order to finish the building back up of this house into a home again.

And that is why it was proposed to return to Gulfport just six months later to complete the building back up of this house, and put on new vinyl siding.                               

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Personally, I was excited that I was finally getting the chance to go to the Gulf Coast to offer my hands in the rebuilding efforts after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  I was finally going to get the chance to see first hand the effects of “The Storm” as I learned they have come to be known as, and offer myself to this massive rebuilding project.

It would take going to Gulfport, meeting the Nickerson’s, and others who have had to endure the after effects of “The Storm” to be reminded that this trip was not about me, or even about me getting the chance to help rebuild. 

Sure it was good and right for me and our Mission Teams to go there, but the reason we were there went far beyond us. 

The reason we were there was to build up the body of Christ.  It was to bring to maturity the measure of the full stature of Christ.  And that was done with each sheet of dry wall put up.  It was done as each nail that held siding to the Nickerson home was pounded in.  It was done when garbage was cleaned up.  It was done when insulation was blown into the attic of Miss Juanita’s house.  It was even done when I put a size thirteen hole in Miss Juanita’s kitchen ceiling.  (I thought she wanted a sky light!)

There were individual reasons as to why we were there in Gulfport.  Each of us encountered God in our own way, and took from the experience an experience that taught us, grew our faith, and drew us closer to God.

But, before all that, we were there because of what the Apostle Paul reminds us is our calling.  First Christian Church of Wadsworth, Ohio went to Gulfport, Mississippi, twice, to build up the body of Christ.

Move 2

Paul has spent the first three chapters of his letter to the Ephesians explaining the mystery of God’s eternal purpose for the world as its being worked out in history.  He’s given all the theory, he’s even given the prayer he prays for his converts, and now he goes on to speak about the practicalities of living out this spiritual reality all “for building up the body of Christ.”       Paul begins this chapter by reminding its readers of the calling each of them has received.  And it is a calling to be the new people of God who are bound together in unity under Christ. 

Paul goes on to outline how being the new people of God is to be worked out in the down-to-earth, concrete realities of life.  The new society that God is calling into being has two major characteristics.  First it’s to be one people, composed of both Jew and Gentile, without distinction.  Secondly, we are to be a holy people, who show, through our actions and our efforts, the transformative power of the grace and glory of God. 

That is what we are called to do.

This is who we are called to be.   That is how we build up the body of Christ. That is why we are here.

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That is why we are a church that sends mission teams to places outside of Wadsworth.

That is why we have food collections for people in Wadsworth.

That is even why we do renovations to our church.

It’s not so we can feel good about ourselves.

It’s not so we can show how we are a better, more faithful church.

It’s all for building up the body of Christ.

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The April Mission Team worked tirelessly on the inside of the Nickerson house, putting up drywall among other things, helping to make possible for that house to be a home again.

The October Mission Team worked tirelessly on the outside of the Nickerson house, putting up vinyl siding, helping to make possible for that house to be a home again.

But it was this church, and the many other churches who all worked together in unity as the unified hands and feet of Christ that built up the body of Christ while building back up the Nickerson home.           

Through our efforts within this transformative process we can see clearly just what is possible when a diverse group of faithful followers of Christ come together and unite themselves in the way God call us to.

But this is a way of living out our faith that cannot, and should not; only happen when we go on Mission Trips.  Rather it’s the kind of transformative unity we need to strive to make a reality in everything we do as a church.

Move 3

So how can a diverse body like the church continue to achieve the sort of unity that God desires? 

By using the gifts we have been given.

By equipping the saints for the work of ministry.

By building up the body of Christ. 

By becoming more like Christ as we grow into him. 

And by asking ourselves, “Why are we here?” 

Why are we here in this church, worshiping God, giving away our money, doing ministry?  Why are we here? 

Is it so we can feel good about ourselves?  Is it so we can gain notoriety and prosperity in the community?  Of course not.

So why are we here?  What is our purpose?  Well, every week it’s in your bulletin of all places.

The Purpose of First Christian Church is to glorify and celebrate God through worshiping God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  We strive to develop a personal and maturing relationship with Jesus Christ through prayer, Bible study, and fellowship.  This builds a family of believers who has the ability and desire to share Christ’s message and love with others, both locally and globally. (First Christian Church Mission Statement)

Conclusion

From Marion’s Closet to Gulfport, Mississippi. 

From the Wadsworth Salvation Army to the Shalom Center in Chile. 

From Wadsworth FISH to Camp Christian.