Good morning. As we pick back up where we left off, we are looking at a few misconceptions about Christianity. A couple of weeks ago, we looked at the misconception that Baptism was not necessary. And this week we come to one of the biggest reasons why people say they don’t attend church, and that is because Christianity is Boring.
They may look at some of the churches and see that they are in a way boring, or that their picture of Heaven is boring, being good, and simply following a bunch of rules. What I want to do this morning is address the idea of Christianity being boring and challenge all of us today.
Someone once said, “There is only one thing worse than boredom, and that is the fear of boredom.”
So many people have the fear that church and Christianity is something that is boring, so they never even get involved or see for themselves. They have this fear that Heaven is going to be a boring place, so first I would like to address the idea of Heaven being a place that is boring.
In I Corinthians 2:9 it says, “However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"”
For many people, all they know about Heaven they’ve learned from movies. How do movies portray Heaven? Everything’s white; puffy clouds everywhere; it looks like you’re living inside a carton of cotton balls; apparently the only activity is strumming on harps.
This nightmare scenario of heaven sounds like a boring place to be, and if being a Christian is how you get there, I don’t want to go. That impression naturally leads to the question: Will Heaven be boring?
First of all, we need to get a key idea in our minds and it is what I am going to call the “Better Than” Principle.
This is the simple Scriptural idea that what awaits us in heaven is "better than" anything we’ve seen before. How can I say that with confidence? Well, let’s look at some scripture for this idea.
Once again in I Corinthians 2:9 it says, “However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"”
No eye has seen this, it is beyond our imagination.
Later in II Corinthians 5:1 it says, “Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.”
Now what would you prefer, this earthly tent, or an eternal house. I just spent the 4th of July at a camp with Nellie and her family, and let me tell you, a tent is miserable to sleep in compared to my nice bed at home. God’s home for us in Heaven is far from being boring, it is like comparing a tent against an eternal house.
And one more text on this is found in Hebrews 11:10 it says, “For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”
God built our Heavenly home, and He is not a boring God.
To show how the "better than" principle shows up in what we know about Heaven, let’s answer a couple of questions:
What will we do in heaven? We have the misconception that we will be in constant playing of a golden harp, well that is not what we read in scripture.
One thing we will do in heaven is worship.
In Revelation 19:1-8 it says, “1”
We will want to do nothing but praise and worship God when we get to Heaven.
In the Old Testament in Isaiah 6:3 it says, “And they were calling to one another:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; whole earth is full of his glory."”
Worshiping God will be the only focus on our minds when we make it to Heaven, not the idea that it is boring.
Now when it comes to this worship we are not talking about unending tedious church services. I want you to imagine the most glorious moment of the most glorious worship service you’ve ever been in. Feel the intensity of that moment. Now, multiply it by 10 times and expand it from just one moment to an entire time of worship. Are you interested now? Does it still sound boring?
Another thing we will do in heaven is work. Now I can see where people would look at the idea of work as something boring, but let’s first look at some more scriptures that talk about the work in Heaven.
In Matthew 25:14-30 we read, “2”
God has put us in charge of small things here on earth, but in Heaven, He will put us to work in much greater things.
We also read in Revelation 22:3 that, “No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.”
Again, we’re not talking about something tedious here. In this life, many people see their work as a necessary evil, it is something that they have to do, and it many times is boring to them.
Rather, to get an understanding, think of the thing that you most enjoy doing in this life. It might even fall under the heading of something you’d call play, because nobody pays you to do it now. You know, I wish that I could get paid to go hunting and fishing. First off, I don’t do good enough to get paid for that, and secondly, that is not a paid profession at this time. Despite those 2 facts, it is something that I enjoy doing a great deal of. Now, imagine getting to do something as fulfilling and perfect that you would enjoy as your regular work. That is the way it will be in Heaven. We will enjoy all of that and we will want to do that.
This obviously is a far cry from the tedious sitting around bored out of your mind for eternity misconception that many live with each day.
A third thing we will do in heaven is party. Now even here on earth, a party is not something that you would normally call boring, so why is it considered boring in Heaven?
You could look at scriptures such as John 2:1-11 where it talks about Jesus changing water to wine. When Jesus throws a party, it is a great party. Or how about in the text we read earlier in Revelation 19:7-9 where it says, “3”
If you would turn to Hebrews 12:22-24 it says, “4”
A joyful assembly, yeah that sounds boring.
Another verse to look at is found in Luke 13:29 where it says, “People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.”
The official church word here for party is supposed to be the word "fellowship," but that doesn’t capture the joy and celebration of the gatherings we’re going to have. Heaven is not going to be someplace that is boring, it is going to be an awesome celebration and a party.
The second question I want to look at to better understand the "better than" principle is this: Why should I look forward to heaven?
First, is that we will have full knowledge.
Look with me at I Corinthians 13:12. Here in I Corinthians 13:12 it says, “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”
In Heaven we will have full knowledge of God and other spiritual matters. Do you have questions you can’t answer? Do you have situations you can’t figure out? Do you deal with theological uncertainties you can’t unravel? Well, they’ll all be answered in Heaven.
Second, we will have our sin taken away.
In I John 1:7 we read, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”
Also in Psalm 65:3 it says, “When we were overwhelmed by sins, forgave n our transgressions”
I want you to think for a moment about that sin you have struggled with for so long: perhaps it is lust, greed, bitterness, and so on. Now imagine what it would be like to not have to deal with anymore.
Even though Christ is able to help us to overcome sin in this life, even when we gain the victory that problem is always lurking, waiting on us to let our guard down. Not so in Heaven, our sin is taken away there.
Third, it will be more beautiful and vibrant than earth.
In II Corinthians 5:1 again it says, “Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.”
Also in Hebrews 11:10 it says once again that, “For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”
And another text on this would be found in John 14:1-4 where it says, “5”
This is a home that is far better than a tent, and it is very vibrant and beautiful. White puffy clouds aren’t much to look at. However, Heaven will be even more colorful, glorious, beautiful, and vibrant than the best this world’s wonders have to offer.
So, now that we know that Heaven is not going to be a place that is boring, let’s now take a look at the idea that because Christianity and church is the way to Heaven, then it must be boring as well.
Sometimes yes- it’s the church’s fault, we can make it boring from time to time. It can be so hard to know when to stand and when to sit. At times it can be like a library! Shhhhh! You have to be quiet. We can make church a very boring event.
Oscar Wilde once said, “The church is viewed as an aging grandmother, surrounded by memorabilia and odd musty smells. Lovely to visit, but intolerable to live with.”
Are we making church something that is intolerable to live with? Many churches get stuck on ideas of tradition and on things that they do not want to change, and at times the church becomes boring to people who are not accustom to that type of church.
Perhaps it is the music, that is one thing that I feel we do a good job with. I think that a lot of churches are opposed to even the use of guitars, and that can for some people be a big deterrent from church.
Without an interesting worship service, for some church can be boring. Music is to do with style and culture, not spirituality. It is good to worship God in different ways, but to make Jesus boring to seekers is a sin.
In II Corinthians 4:2 it says, “Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.”
As a church, it is our job to make Jesus attractive to the lost. We have to ask ourselves how can we communicate Jesus in a better way? In a new package, but the same gift. We need to try to make Jesus and His message attractive and true at the same time. In Titus 2:10 it says, “and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.”
So, church can be boring at times, but if we are focused on the lost, we need to make it attractive to them. Jesus in scripture would leave the 99 to look for the 1 lost sheep. As a church are we doing things to find the lost, or are we just feeding the 99 sheep and making them fatter? What is our focus?
How many of us can tolerate the phone ringing without answering it? How many of us have an answering machine so we won’t miss any calls? In order for the machine to work, it has to be plugged into the outlet, connected to the line.
How many of us can stand to let Jesus call without answering Him? How many of us have our answering machines- our hearts and our minds- connected to His line and plugged into an outlet? We’ve got to plug ourselves into an outlet- a means by which we can reach out to our community to answer His call.
Imagine that our answering machine had faulty wiring. Our commitment is the key to making a solid connection. If we carefully consider the true meaning and responsibility in the words found in John 15:16 “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.” We will be determined to provide a well-connected answering machine when Jesus calls.
So, why do I share that illustration with you? Perhaps the reason you may feel that church is boring or people around you may feel that it is boring is because you are not connected. Maybe if we find church to be boring, we can’t get anything out of it, we get caught up on the music or other areas of the service it says more about us.
II Corinthians 13:5 tells us to test ourselves, examine ourselves and see whether we REALLY are in the faith and following Jesus.
I Corinthians 2:14 says you need the Spirit to understand… so logically… if it bores you and you don’t understand it, you need to make sure that you are not spiritually dead!
When you realize what it’s truly about it’s not boring at all!
Moving on, church needn’t be boring, because Jesus isn’t!
Okay, there ARE some occasions when it’s boring or it takes work and commitment! But everything in life is boring at times! Love can be ‘boring’, spots can be boring at times. Anything in life, at times can be boring. But Jesus isn’t, so church and Christianity shouldn’t be either.
When you know the ONE who it’s all about. Your best friend. The one who loves you. He watches over you. He has a purpose for your life then it’s not boring at all!
Wrapping thins up, what should church be?
Here’s the truth about what church should be.
First, the church is about Jesus and relating to HIM. There isn’t anything boring about that relationship.
Second, church is about PEOPLE… the ‘gathering’… and relating to them to Christ. It’s about a relationship with one another and with God. Again, there is nothing boring there!
And if it IS boring- then may I ask if it’s because you’re holding yourself back? You come… occasionally… and feel isolated from God and others, where MIGHT the problem lie? It isn’t because it’s boring, there is more to it then that.
And third, Jesus loves her! In Ephesians 5:25 it says, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her”
It says Christ loves her as a husband loves a wife. Husbands don’t like it when you criticize their bride! They may even be blind to her faults because they love her. The same is true with Christ and the Church. Despite the fact that she may be boring at times, Christ still loves her, and we should love her too!
So, church is not something that is boring, that is simply a misconception about Christianity. In closing I have this story from Our Daily Bread to share with you. In Psalm 46:8 it says, “Come, behold the works of the Lord.” At prayer meeting a man shyly admitted that he read the entire Bible every year. Many asked how he did it. He explained that he took the number of pages in the Bible, divided them by 365, and found that if he read 3 ½ pages a day plus a psalm for 150 days, followed by one chapter of Job and then Proverbs, he finished reading the Bible in 1 year. He went on to say, “it keeps me reading every day. If I don’t have a schedule, I will sometimes procrastinate for weeks.”
“But don’t you get bored?” a lady asked. “Not really,” he told us. “I find the Bible like the Pacific Ocean; if I travel all my life I will still find a little hidden island that I didn’t know was there. Every time I read the Bible I fond something new- something I missed before.” This man has read the Bible 11 times and still loves it!
You see, if you are truly connected to it, it never becomes boring because you are constantly learning something new. An interesting thing was told to me recently about what the word Bible stand for. B. I. B. L. E. stand for Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth.
Heaven, Jesus, church, Christianity, the Bible, none of it is boring if we are connected to the line or the source of God.
Let’s pray
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