Being the Church #7

As Paul gathered church leaders together near the city of Ephesus, he advised them: 

28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. 32 And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

When I was younger, my sister gave me a little poster that said: "Be alert; the world needs more lerts." That statement is very true. We need in the body of Christ more people who are alert to what is going on, who keep an eye out for false teaching that leads to false discipleship.  When we are alert, God gives us everything we need to not be led astray: the teaching of His Word, His wonderful grace, and our fellow-followers.  Be alert. Our world needs more lerts. 

Being the Church #6

It was just last month we were in part of this passage, but we cannot help but return here when talking about Being the Church: Ephesians 2:
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 

The great truth of salvation by grace brings with it imperatives for how we should behave as the church. First, there should be a great humility when we remember we have been saved from a sea of sin. We have nothing to brag about, except in Christ.  Secondly, we need to be continually prayerful, since we have been seated at the family table with the Father and with Christ. Thirdly, we should be eternally thankful, because we now have God's storehouse of riches at our disposal; there is no room or reason to complain. May God's grace be evident in our lives today.

Being the Church #5

Sometimes it seems that the Church has a hard time figuring out what we should be doing.  This is not because Jesus did not give us clear instructions, as we seen in passages like John 13, in the Upper Room:

 31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. 33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’ 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

Here is a distinct way we can show we are Christ's followers: truly love one another, doing what is best for each other, even at our own expense.  This is no weak concept of love like in the world today, where we try to make each other feel good in our own sin. It is a strong, determined love that costs us something. It is in stark contrast to everyone positioning themselves to look good, feel good and grab all the good they can for themselves. It is recognizing that all the Good I have comes from Jesus, and I want to share Him.

Being the Church #4

As we stop and think about being the Church, it is not long before we remember the charge Christ gave to His first followers in Matthew 28:

 16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Jesus has saved us and called us to go out into the world and be and do who He instructs us to be and do. It starts with us worshipping Him where we are, here and now, reading His instructions and determining that we are going to follow them and follow Him, even if we have some fears and doubts. It means we are to believe Him and trust Him, because He really is in charge and knows what He is doing. And it requires that we interact with people - all kinds of people - believing and unbelieving, to draw others to Him, and to help each other grow closer to Him.  We do not have to do this alone; we cannot do this alone; we are never alone; He is with us and has given us one another.  Let's do this together. 

Being the Church #3

Many of the well-known passages of scripture become very clear and applicable when we think about life in terms of being the church, such as II Timothy 3:

14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

As children of God in Christ, we received salvation and new life when we responded to the Good News of the Word of God.  It only makes sense that we would continue to live out our salvation by turning again and again to His word for how to live out that new life.  It is profitable - more than just necessary - and desirable, for us to know the truth, be stopped and reminded by the truth, and corrected and redirected by the truth back onto the path of righteousness over and over day by day.  This word righteousness especially has to do with our relationships - including and in particular - those within the Body of Christ. When we all stay focused on the Word of God together, relationships in the Church family flourish. We need to be people of the Word. 

Being the Church #2

We began yesterday shifting gears from "remembering who we are as the Church" to "being the church." There is no better place to start than the beginning of the church in Acts 2:

38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.  

The first phrase used to describe what the Church did is devoted themselves. That's what God's people do. We need to devote ourselves to being God's people together: studying, praying, sharing, and never forgetting what Christ has done for us. God brought us together and will keep us together, when we get together to grow together.  Lack of such commitment allows us all to stray from Him and His will for us. We don't have to look far to see that evidenced in our society today.  Meetings and ministries are not magical, but they are meaningful when they mark our devotion to Christ and His church. May we be devoted.

Being the Church #1

 

We spent this past month remembering who are as the Church, the people of God.  Today we want to begin to explore the question: If God has made us all of those things, in Christ, what should we then be?" We begin to answer that by looking again in Ephesians 2:
19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

We are God's beautiful building project.  Now that may not sound so fantastic or romantic, but back then, Ephesus was filled with magnificent, beautiful, and highly functional buildings. It was a city to behold. There was also an attitude that their city was highly civilized and those outside were much less. Paul says: Christ's church is the most glorious building there is. Not only does it have the most solid foundation; it is a building that keeps on growing; it is alive; the One True Living God is inside.  We need to consider being a part of Christ's church a great privilege and honor and do all we can to protect its beauty and unity. When we gather together, people need to be able to look and say: "God lives there."