A Church Full of Taters
Text: 2 Timothy 2:19-20
2 Timothy 2:19-20 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.
This great house mentioned in verse 20 is the church. In the church there are all kinds of vessels. You are a particular vessel. I am a particular vessel. We are all different. There are no two the same.
Now, I don’t remember where I picked up this illustration, and I am not claiming it to be an original idea. But does anybody know what I am holding in my hand? Yes, it is a potato. Where I come from, some folks call this a tater. Did you know that there are no two taters alike? They are all different, just like all of us are different. In fact, we are a lot like taters. That is what I want to preach on. Maybe as I do, perhaps I might end up describing you.
The Commen-tater
The first tater I want to deal with is unfortunately all too common. The commen-taters are those who see the great need to let everybody know about everything all the time. These are the ones you can count on to have the goods on everybody. They are the commen-taters.
Proverbs 20:19 He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips.
Have you ever met a commen-tater? It’s like the brother that came up and said, “You know I wouldn’t say anything about brother so-in-so unless it was good, and boy is this good…”
That’s the commen-tater for you. Some Christians are practically known to be commen-taters. Unfortunately, oftentimes, everybody knows it but them.
Proverbs 26:20 Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth.
Commen-taters love to put wood on every fire they see. They will come up and say things like,
“I would have you to know.”
“Would you look at that!”
“Would you please pray for brother so-in-so. I heard that he…”
Always throwing wood on the fire. That’s a commen-tater.
The Hesi-tater
To hesitate means “to be doubtful as to a fact”. The hesi-tater is the Christian that’s never quite ready to serve the Lord.
1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
The hesi-tater needs to learn that verse. Really, it isn’t hard to learn the Word of God. If you are saved, the Spirit of God lives inside of you and the Bible tells us that He WILL guide us into all truth. The problem is not the Spirit of God. The problem is that we sometimes don’t give sufficient time to God’s Word. Why? Well, because we are a hesi-tater!
2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Have you ever noticed that we become an expert at everything we determine to be an expert on? Hesi-taters need to determine to spend sufficient time in God’s Word to become an expert with the Sword of the Spirit. I have a lot of taters to dig up, so I will move on.
The Agi-tater
Agitation is what the clothes washer does to the clothes during the wash cycle. The clothes get tossed back and forth, over and over. Have you ever met an agi-tater? Have you ever been around a Christian that loves to agitate people? Those Christians that love to debate little doubtful disputations are the agi-taters. They want to split hairs with you. They want to debate how Cain got his wife. They love to argue about the big toe on the left leg of image in King Nebuchadrezzar’s dream. That’s an agi-tater.
Proverbs 6:12-14 A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth. He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers; Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.
By the way, you better watch it when somebody starts winking at you. They are probably an agi-tater.
The Spec-tater
Webster’s defines a spectator as “one who looks on.” In other words, a spectator isn’t running the race, he is sitting back watching everybody else run the race. Have you ever met someone like that? They never do anything for God, but they sure do love to watch everybody else do it. Listen folks, Christianity is not a spectator sport. If you are saved, you don’t want to be a spec-tater. Spec-taters don’t receive a prize at the end of the race. They just stand around and clap at the winners. Is that what you want to do at the Judgment Seat of Christ, clap at the winners?
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
I don’t know about you, but I want to do more when I get to heaven than clap for everybody else. I want a prize. I want to rule and reign with Christ. But I can’t do that if all I am down here is what everyone else do something for God.
The Dic-tater
A dictator is someone who is always telling everybody else how to run their life. He tells the preacher how to preach, when to start, when to stop, and what to preach and what not to preach. He always has some advice for everybody in the church. And he is not just limited to being a he. There are plenty of women running around wanting to be a dictator as well. Webster’s says a dictator is, “one who prescribes rules and maxims for the direction of others.” There was a man in the Bible that was a dictater. His name was Diotrephes.
3 John 1:9 I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.
It is very rare to be in a church that doesn’t have at least one dic-tater running around, and I am not talking about the preacher. In fact, some Christians won’t join a church unless they can have some important position of authority. They are the ones that visit a church and go up to the preacher and say, “Here I am!”
I remember a time when an evangelist came in late to a meeting. He was invited to come to the meeting so that he and his family could sing. Well, he kind of thought that he was going to be the preacher that evening. So he came in through the forward side door of the church (in front of the congregation) and plopped down on the front pew. His family had already come in and they were sitting towards the back. What was funny about it was that the pastor of the church stood up after the song service and said, “It’s good to see brother so-in-so with us tonight. Brother your family is sitting right back there in the back, if you want to go ahead and join them.” That really squashed his tater!
I remember a story about a preacher that was called on to preach. He rose up all proud and lofty, walked up to the pulpit, and did his best to impress everyone with his preaching abilities. By the end of his message though, he realized what a fool he had made of himself, and hanging his head down low, he stepped down out of the pulpit. After the service a little old lady came up to him and said, “Preacher, if you had gone up like you went down, you would have come down like you went up.” There is a lot of truth in that.
Old Elijah had a pity party one day. God asked him what was the matter. He said:
1 Kings 19:14 And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
I’m sorry Elijah, but you aren’t that important. God told him:
1 Kings 19:15-18 And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
Not only did God choose somebody else to be the prophet in Elijah’s place, but he told Elijah that there were 7000 that hadn’t bowed the knee to Baal. The problem with dic-taters is that they sometimes think nobody is doing anything except them. So they run arouond trying to get everyone else to do what they think should be done. No Christian should be a dic-tater, not even the preacher. We should all just be servants and serve the Lord together. Amen?
The Decapi-tater
I probably don’t have to tell you what decapitation is, but let me just say that there have been occasions when I have met Christians at church that would literally bite your head off if you spoke to them the wrong way. The Bible says the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy and peace, not shove, roar and tear into pieces!
Titus 3:2 To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.
Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
We certainly don’t need that kind of tater around here. Let’s not bite one another’s heads off. Let’s life one another up. Well, I have given you 5-6 nasty taters, let me give you some good ones now.
The Facili-tater
This is a great tater. A facili-tater is one who, “lessons the burdens of others.” Have you ever met a Christian that seems to lift you up every time you are around them? The Bible calls this the gift of exhorting.
Hebrews 3:13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
A facilitator helps others live for God by encouraging them to keep on keeping on for the Lord. I’ll tell you, we need facili-taters today. Sometimes the Christian road is rough and rocky. It’s good have somebody to be there to encourage you and motivate you to live for God, especially when you don’t feel like it, Amen?
Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
You might honestly feel like you cannot do much for God. And certainly, we all have gifts that are different and we all have different abilities and disabilities. But I think it is safe to say that we can all be facili-taters. We can all motivate one another.
The Medi-tater
Here’s another good tater. To meditate means to, “dwell upon, to study, to contemplate.” The medi-tater studies his Bible. She meditates on the Word.
Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
That’s the only place in the Bible where the word success occurs. A successful Christian is a medi-tater. He or she loves to read and study God’s Word.
Psalms 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
Paul told Timothy:
1 Timothy 4:14-16 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.
The Resusci-tater
This is a great tater as well; one of the best in fact. To resuscitate means to, “To revivify; to revive; particularly, to recover from apparent death;” That’s a great definition because I am applying the resusci-tater to be a Christian that win’s souls for Christ. “To recover from apparent death”. Think about it, if a person drops down and isn’t breathing and passes out, they don’t know they are about to die. They are aware of the danger they are in until they pass out. That’s just like a lost person. They don’t really know or realize that they are just a moment away from eternity. It’s up to us to resuscitate them with the Gospel of Christ.
Paul told the Romans:
Romans 1:15 So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.
Listen, you may not be called to preach as in a calling to the ministry, but all Christians are called to witness for Christ. The great commission is given to all of us. There is no reason why you and I cannot lead someone to Christ this year. We need to be willing and we need to be telling others about the Lord. Let’s be resusci-taters! Amen?
Let me give you one more. I wish this one didn’t have to be on the list, but the fact remains that there are many who are this kind of tater.
The Imi-taters
1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
Matthew 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Imi-taters are professing Christians that really have never been born again. They say they are saved, but there is no fruit in their life. They don’t seem to love the Lord. They don’t seem to care about the things of God. They don’t seem to desire the things of God. They don’t see a need for change in their hearts or lives. The problem is, they are imi-taters! Listen, it’s one thing to pray a prayer, but it is another to mean it in your heart.
Acts 8:12-13 But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.
You know the story of Simon the sorcerer. Simon believed, but there was no real faith in his heart. Genuine faith will produce a genuine change. Oh, we may fall in the mud from time to time as Christians, but we don’t live there, nor do we want to. Are you an imi-tater? Do you come to church and smile at everyone and pretend to be saved? I hope not. I mean, I am glad you are here. But I hope everyone here today is truly born again. I hope you are not an imi-tater.
We have looked at 10 taters this morning. I am sure that you and I can identify with at least one of these. How about it? Are you a:
Commen-tater
Hesi-tater
Agi-tater
Spec-tater
Dic-tater
Decapi-tater
Facili-tater
Medi-tater
Resusci-tater
Imi-tater