10.30am Sunday 6 July 2003
Rev Des Botting
Readings: Ephesians 4:1-4a; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27
(Title CHURCH ????) As we welcome new members at our service this morning, its appropriate for us to look at what it means to belong to Gods family, or what we call the church.
Very often when we hear the word church, what usually comes to mind is a building (Picture of SDFC). If we say, Were going to church this morning, we usually mean we are going to a certain place. We call this building St Davids in the Fields Church.
But that is not what the Bible means when it uses the word church. This morning we want to look at four things that the Bible teaches us about the Church. There are many more than only four things that could be said, but these are what we learn from the readings weve had this morning.
I. The Church is GODS Community. The word Church ekklesia - in the New Testament is made up of two Greek words ek, out, and kaleo, to call or summon therefore meaning called out. The church is special in that it refers to those whom God has called out to be his own. The Bible says, But you are Gods chosen and special people God has brought you out of darkness into his marvelous light. [1] Or as another version puts it, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.[2] This is what makes the church different from every other organization on earth. It is a unique and special community. You cannot be part of the church unless God has called you. If you want to be part of a sports team, or some kind of club, you can take the first step and ask to belong. In the church God takes the first step and calls you into this community. This is true of every one of those we are welcoming into membership of St Davids in the Fields this morning. So the church is not a building. It is those people that God has called to be part of his family. Jesus said, You didnt choose me. I chose you...[3]
II. The Church is a WORLDWIDE Community. If you are a Christian you become part of a huge family with members in every part of the world. It does not matter what country you are from, or what the colour of your skin is, or how much money or education you have, or what kind of work you do. All these mean nothing in Gods family. When the Bible describes what Gods family is going to be like at the end of time, it says, After this I saw a large crowd with more people that could be counted. They were from every race, tribe, nation and language, and they stood before the throne and before the Lamb.[4] Notice that the crowd will be so great that it cannot be counted. No matter where we go on earth, even in countries that claim that they have got rid of all Christians, there are still believers there. Some people have tried, and others are still trying to wipe out Gods church from off the face of the earth. But they will never succeed.
When Peter said of Jesus, You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God, and Jesus said to Peter, Ill call you Peter, which means a rock, Jesus went on to say, On this rock Ill build my church, and death itself wont have any power over it. [5] Recently I read this statement by Thomas Merton. He said, The last thing in the world that should concern a Christian or the church is survival : to be concerned with this is an implicit denial of the victory of Christ and the Resurrection.[6] Jesus said, I will build my church, and this is what is happening all over the world. We will go through hard times. It will not be easy to follow Jesus. People will hate us just as they hated Jesus when he was here on earth. We who follow Jesus must know that we are in a battle, that we face an enemy that is relentless in its opposition to the purposes of God, and that there will be no letup until Jesus returns. But victory is certain.
However, we must also recognise that
III. The Church is an IMPERFECT Community. turn to the person beside you and ask them what they thought of the sermon title for this week, (Show picture with Quote This church is for sinners only!) In this age of political correctness, I wonder if anyone would say that we are being discriminatory by that statement. The church is made up of sinful people who have been saved by Gods grace. So we need to recognise that
1. There will never be a PERFECT church. Paul in writing to the Ephesians said, As a prisoner for the Lord, I beg you to live in a way that is worthy of the people God has chosen (called) to be his own.[7] Paul is well aware of the challenges that arise in the life of a church fellowship, and on more than one occasion had to write to churches that were experiencing division, disagreements and difficulties. The way in which we order our life as a congregation is a witness to the community in which we live, and we are to live in such a way that commends the gospel to others. In the last verse of the previous chapter Paul prays that, the church will for ever bring praise to God.[8] Thats a challenge, isnt it? To do that he says, Always be humble and gentle. Patiently put up with each other and love each other.[9] There can be no place for prejudice, pride or pompousness. We are to hold one another in respect no matter if we cannot agree. It is all part of the challenge of fulfilling Gods command to love each other. Paul uses the words put up with each other, which implies that it will take effort and may not come easily. There will be times of frustration and exasperation, but conflict can be used creatively to give birth to something quite new. To get to that point involves working at the issues, and not giving up until we have arrived at a satisfactory outcome. Because were imperfect
2. We must work hard to maintain UNITY within the Church. Jesus said, no city or house divided against itself will stand.[10] Like with any family, we will not always agree with each other. What we need to recognize is that God has brought us together, that as Paul said, Together you are the body of Christ,[11] Fighting with each other needlessly saps up energy that is desperately needed for fulfilling the churchs mission, and discredits the name of Christ, whose church we are. This is why Paul says, Try your best to let Gods Spirit keep your hearts united. Do this by living at peace.[12] We are to do everything within our power to maintain the unity Gods Spirit gives, and work for peace at all times. Many forces are at work seeking to bring division within the church and wanting ultimately to destroy it. We must be alert to this, and never forget that it is Gods Spirit that unites us.
Next, as our reading from 1 Corinthians says,
IV. The Church is a DIVERSE Community. Paul uses the illustration that the church is like a body made up of many parts, and says that each part has been put together in the way that God decided is best.[13] Our human bodies are a marvel of Gods creative work. Has anyone ever been able to improve on Gods creation. I never cease to marvel at how we are made, and agree with the Psalmist when he says, I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.[14] The way our bodies function is a very helpful way to understand how the church is to operate. It provides a picture that highlights both the unity of the church, as well as its diversity. Every part is different. Every part is essential. But it is only together that we are the body of Christ.[15] All of us have a part to play. There wasnt time to read this whole chapter from 1 Corinthians, but in the earlier verses of this chapter Paul reminds us that, The Spirit has given each of us a special way of serving others.[16] This emphasises that every Christian has been given a gift, and that it is not given for our personal benefit, but to benefit the whole body, that is for the common good.[17] We are to faithfully and diligently use what we have been given in the service of others.[18]
I want to finish with some stories of what can happen when we use the gifts and opportunities that God gives us.
The first is The Apostle Paul. (Picture of Paul) Paul was a devout young man, zealous for God, but was fighting against what God was doing. It was only after he met Jesus on the road to Damascus that he realised his mistake, and from that time onwards gave all his energies to obey Christs command to take the good news of Jesus to the non-Jewish peoples of the world. He suffered all kinds of hardships numerous imprisonments, floggings, shipwrecks, persecution, sleepless nights, hunger, thirst[19] - in the process, but nothing would divert him from his calling. God used him powerfully to help establish the Christian Church outside of Jerusalem prior to the fall of that city to the armies of Rome in 70AD. This was crucial to Gods purposes. Jesus had come to be the Saviour of the world, and so Christianity had to leave its Jewish home in Palestine to fulfill its mission to humankind. Christianity was never to be a national religion like Judaism was. It is for everyone. God gave those 40 years between the resurrection and ascension of Christ and the Fall of Jerusalem to allow the church to be independent of Palestine for its survival. It was a crucial time. We owe a tremendous debt to him, both for the work he did, but also because of his writings that make up a good part of our New Testament. He diligently used the special way God had given him to serve others, and the fact that the church survived those early turbulent years owes much to that one man.
An example from last century is that of a Jewish surgeon named Boris Kornfield. Probably because of the fact that he was Jewish he had been sent to one of the Russian prison camps in Siberia where thousands and thousands lost their lives under the rule of Stalin and other Soviet rulers. While in prison he treated both staff and prisoners. There he met a Christian who daily recited the Lords Prayer. This had a profound impact on Boris Kornfield. One day while repairing the slashed artery of a guard, he seriously considered suturing it, so that the guard would die slowly of internal bleeding. His thoughts so shocked him that he found himself praying, Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us. After that he became a secret believer in Christ as it was dangerous for Jews to change their religion. As a Christian he refused to obey any of the inhumane, immoral, prison camp rule, even though doing so, could cost his life. One afternoon while examining a patient whod undergone an operation, Kornfield saw in the mans eyes such a depth of spiritual misery, that he told him his entire story, including his secret faith in Christ. That night Boris Kornfield was murdered as he slept. But his testimony wasnt in vain. The patient who heard it became a Christian as a result. That patients name was Alexander Solzhenitsyn, (Picture of Solzhenitsyn) who later was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and whose writings exposed the horrors of Russian prison camps. The Christian who daily recited the Lords prayer was used by God to help Boris Kornfield become a Christian. And Boris Kornfields testimony led another person to believe whose writings ultimately saved the lives of possibly millions of people. Each of these three people in their different ways was used by God to bring blessing to others.
Two more examples and then Ill close. Nicky Gumbel, the person who speaks on the ALPHA Videos, shares a number of personal experiences in his talks. (Play video segment of the following.) (One that particularly comes to mind is when he was at a healing meeting and the person leading the meeting was bringing words about particular needs that people had in the audience that God wanted to heal. One was of ten people who had athletics foot. Nicky wasnt going to go through the embarrassment of letting everyone know that he was one of those ten, but after nine people had gone forward and no one else, he knew that it was him. However, when asked if he would like prayer for his feet, he still didnt want to admit it, and said, No. When asked if there was anything else he would like prayer for, he said, for More power in his life. The person helping him began praying for this, until Nicky was so overwhelmed by Gods power coming on him that he began to pray himself, No more power, Lord. No more power. He got so noisy that the leader of the meeting told the helpers to take him from the room, but as he left the leader said to the audience, God is going to use that man powerfully as an evangelist.) When you think of the impact that the ALPHA courses have had around the world, and of how many people who have come to Christ as a result, God has certainly used, and is continuing to use this man powerfully to bring people to Christ. Through his willingness to be used, thousands of people have heard the good news and believed. He has done what he could, and God has taken it and multiplied it abundantly.
Two weeks ago we had Peter and Merilyn Fieckert (show picture of them) here sharing at our Miss. n Chip tea and Sunday services. It was amazing to hear of how God took an ordinary kiwi couple, and the expertise and experience they had gained, and used them to help poverty stricken farmers in Mainland China, to such an extent that their work and of those with them received recognition by the leaders of the worlds most populous nation. But that wasnt what gave them the greatest thrill, but rather the opportunity of sharing with those they helped the reason why they came, unpaid and at their own expense, that God had sent them to help. They were willing to go and use what they had, and God has blessed whole communities. Who knows what the outcome will be in eternal terms?
The Christian Community is made up of ordinary people like you and I. But by His Spirit he has gifted us with talents and abilities that he wants us to use. We cannot do very much on our own, but as part of his community, we can continue the work that Christ began, and become his hands and feet, to make him known through love in action. As St Francis of Assisi said, Always share the gospel. When necessary, USE WORDS.
Do you want to become part of Gods family? You cant do anything to make yourself worthy. It is what God has done. He is calling you today to come out of your darkness into his marvelous light, through Jesus Christ, his Son. Why not come today?
There are three things you need to do:
1. Admit that you have sinned, ask for Gods forgiveness, and turn from all wrong-doing.
2. Believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave to pay the penalty for your sins and to purchase a place in heaven for you which he offers as a gift.
3. Confess to others that you are a follower of Christ. Do not be ashamed to tell others you are a Christian. God can use your testimony as He did Boris Kornfields to help others to know him, too.
The following is a prayer you can pray:
Jesus Christ, I know that I am a sinner and need your forgiveness. I turn from all wrong-doing and want you to be Lord of my life. I believe you died on the cross and rose from the grave to pay the penalty for my sins and to purchase a place in heaven for me. I now invite you to come into my life and take control. Forgive my sins. I confess them and now place my trust in you for salvation. I accept your free gift of eternal life, and thank you for it. Amen.
[1] 1 Peter 2:9a (All Bible references are from the Contemporary English Version unless otherwise stated.)
[2] 1 Peter 2:9b NRSV
[3] John 14:16a
[4] Revelation 7:9
[5] Matthew 16:16,18
[6] Thomas Merton, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander (Garden City, NY: Image Books, 1968) p. 126
[7] Ephesians 4:1
[8] Ephesians 3:21
[9] Ephesians 4:2
[10] Matthew 12:25b NRSV
[11] 1 Corinthians 12:27a
[12] Ephesians 4:3
[13] 1 Corinthians 12:18
[14] Psalm 139:14a
[15] 1 Corinthians 12:27
[16] Ibid., 12:7
[17] Ibid., 12:7 NRSV
[18] 1 Peter 4:10
[19] 2 Corinthians 11:22-29