Growing Pains

Burlington – Growing Pains. April 21st, 2024

Scriptures: 1 Peter 3:14-15, Titus 3:9, Colossians 1:15-17, 2 Timothy 3:14-17, John 4:21-24, Exodus 34:5-7, Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 2:38-39, Acts 6:4-7, Acts 8:14-17, Luke 4:10, 1 Timothy 2:12-14, 1 Corinthians 14:34, Galatians 3:25-28.

Good morning. How grateful are you to be part of God’s family. To live in a place where we can freely gather to celebrate our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for the sins of all humanity. But whom the Heavenly Father, the creator of the heavens and earth and all that is contained therein, raised Jesus from the dead by the power of His Holy spirit. Giving us victory over sin and death, if we choose to be obedient to the Lord, as Christ was obedient to His Father.

(SLIDE) The back of our Burlington t-shirts and sweatshirts says No Cliques, Just Jesus”. The Oxford dictionary defines a click as a small group of people, with shared interests or other features in common, who spend time together and do not readily allow others to join them. I have seen that this church family has a wonderful welcoming spirit here. Clearly, we are seeing that our prayers to the Lord that He will use this congregation, that He will, by the power of his Holy Spirit use us, use this space, use the home we own on these grounds, that good news of Jesus Christ will be shared. That people and families will be healed, mentally, physically, spiritually to make His glories known among the nations.

(Slide) If you’ll forgive the analogy, on the statue of liberty in New York Harbor are written the words “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” Here in the Burlington Church of God we are asking the Lord to move in our region in ways that will bring the lost, the hurting, the broken, to our doors, that they might come to know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. That God will heal their sickness, their addictions, the pain that they feel or are still carrying sometimes from decades past. Just as He has healed or is in the process of healing all of us. We have seen the Holy Spirit moving within individuals and families coming to see what’s going on in Burlington. Praise God.

Growth creates opportunities, but what else does it create? Expansion causes growing pains, doesn’t it? Last Sunday we were blessed to have Pastor Rachel Bird share from the testimony of John with us. Before we closed out in worship we anointed with oil and laid hands-on Gary, Diane, and Sandy in prayer for healing.

(SLIDE) All of those things, those practices can be unsettling to some, even if they know the Lord. Depending on how someone was raised they may know some of the bible, none of the bible or maybe they think they know a lot of the bible. But that doesn’t mean that the practices, the theology, the traditions they might know are what they’ll find here at Burlington Church of God. And that’s ok. But that can create conflict as even among family members we disagree about what the bible says or what God’s word means. We may have slightly different ideas about the nature of God, of Jesus and the Holy Spirit based on what’s happened in our lives, and who we’ve listened to in the past.

But right after our Sunday service, isn’t the time to have a confrontational discussion about the word of God with anyone is it? If someone says to you for example, that the bible says women can’t be preachers or leaders in the church. That’s just not true. In fact, believing that somehow women are less than men. Less worthy than men. Less able to be used by God, or that the Lord created women in God’s likeness, to be inferior to men, is just plain wrong. He created them equally, male and female in the image of God. Both. But the belief that women are inferior is within the teaching, the practices of some denominations, and many organizations and cultures. At the same time, as Paul also tells us in (SLIDE) Titus 3:9 9 But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.

So how do we, as a congregation, as a family of believers in Jesus Christ, and as individuals handle negative statements or beliefs that don’t align with what we believe and practice here in Burlington. This is going to be our focus, working our way through scripture as we always do, for the next several weeks. Building upon the scripture hanging in several places in the building from 1 Peter 3:15 15But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope, the joy that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect. He is Holy, so we are called to be Holy. But just as Christ came into the world to save sinners, the Father sent his son into the world not to condemn it, but to save it.

We should be feeling that hope and joy in the Lord, ready to share what God’s done in our lives when we leave here on Sunday mornings, but how are feeling Tuesday afternoon or Friday morning? Are we still carrying that hope and joy throughout the week, spending time in prayer, in studying the word, and in listening to the Lord. If we’re going to be able to share what we believe with gentleness and respect, we must have a firm foundation, an understanding of what we as the Burlington church of God believe the word of God says. We’ve been walking through what we believe every Sunday since the Lord led me here and you were kind enough to welcome me in.

But today, let’s start with this. (SLIDE) He is Risen (He is Risen Indeed). (SLIDE) Matthew 28:5-7 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.”

We believe that Jesus of Nazareth, by the power of God’s Holy Spirit was born of the virgin Mary in Bethlehem. That Jesus was the son of God, that Jesus was fully human, but also fully God. As Paul wrote to the church at Colossus. (SLIDE) Colossians 1:15-17 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Jesus was empowered by the Holy Spirit to teach, to heal, and to overcome sin and death in this world by obediently going to the cross and giving himself up as a blood sacrifice for all humanity. By that same Holy Spirit, the Father raised Jesus of Nazareth from the dead as Jesus Christ, the long awaited for Messiah.

Next, in importance, or first in importance if you prefer, in what we believe is this. (Slide) The Bible is God’s Word. If you remember we had a sermon back at the beginning of October that’s available on Facebook and YouTube about how we can fully trust in the authenticity and accuracy of the Word of God. No matter what translation you prefer to read. It is infallible and inerrant. What do those two words mean because those are two different things.

Infallible means that it is not possible for God’s word to fail. Ever. Gods word will do what He intends it to do for His purposes. (Slide): 2 Timothy 3:14–17, “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.”

God doesn’t make mistakes, despite what you might think about your second cousin twice removed, or who one of your grandchildren are dating. We are the ones who make mistakes when we’re not following the Lord according to His word, or the guidance we receive from the Holy Spirit and wander off in our own self-interests.

Inerrant means that our bibles, the word of God is free from errors. Not so hard to understand. If I believe that all scripture is God breathed. That when it was written even thousands of years ago, God through the power of His Holy Spirit inspired the prophets, the writers of both the Hebrew bible and our New Testament to write, to take dictation if you will of His words. And I believe that God does not make mistakes. Then there are no errors or mistakes in the Word of God. We also understand of course, that Bible doesn’t come to exist for over 300 years after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And the bible wasn’t written in English. It was written in Hebrew, in Aramaic, the language spoken at the time of Jesus, and Greek.

God's Word is true and authoritative. God cannot and does not lie but we must allow for some human flexibility and human error. None of us in this room that I’m aware of read Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek. It’s one of the reasons I spend a lot of time looking up the meaning of those original languages beyond what I can read in my English translation. When one person in the Bible paraphrases what someone else says in another part of the Bible, it doesn't introduce errors.

We introduce errors, or cause problems because, well, we taught something over the course of our life, interpretations, or meanings of scripture, that aren’t accurate. Or we were reading the bible, but we were not listening to the Holy Spirit, and then we put our own personal definition of what God’s word says so it meets our expectations of what we want to say, or if you’ll forgive me, so it fits our personal and political agendas. It’s not hard to find examples of men in particular, but women also, using God’s word in ways for personal and political gain that are damaging to the body of Christ, rather than building up His church.

(SLIDE) Over the past month we’ve seen or heard about the woman at the well multiple times, between watching The Chosen and what Pastor Rachel Bird shared with us last week. There are no coincidences with God, who is the same yesterday, today and forever. The creator of the universe, who remains steadfast throughout all generations from everlasting to everlasting, asking His children to be obedient to the callings He has placed on all our lives.

Picking up from where Rachel left off in the testimony of John. (SLIDE) Remembering that the Samaritans were also descendants of Jacob. Jacob, the grandson of Abraham. Who wrestled with God The father of the 12 tribes of Israel. And just a side note because we now have the genetic sciences, and DNA studies show that Israelites and Samaritans have a common Israeli ancestor. If you recall the testimony in John the Samaritan woman tells Jesus it was Jacob who had dug the well that they were having this conversation at.

(Slide) John 4:21-26 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.””

Weren’t all of us, at some point in time, the woman at the well? We believed there was some impersonal creator, God, being, whatever our minds could grasp, but we didn’t have a personal relationship with the Lord. We chased whatever our hearts desired at the moment, not thinking about consequences, or at least about eternal consequences. While God, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus Christ waited patiently for us to look up and recognize that God has always existed. From the beginning of time and creation God has always wanted to have a personal, intimate relationship with us, His creation.

We talked back in October about the Nature of God. That sermon again is available on Facebook and YouTube. (SLIDE) In review, God is Spirit, God exists in Personhood, God is Infinite Consciousness, God is Transcendent, God is Imminent, God is Omnipresent, God is Triune. Father, son and Holy Spirit. There’s some big word theological terms here.

Those of us who have a personal relationship with the Lord through Jesus Christ and listen to the Holy Spirit, at times that quiet whisper in the wind speaking to us, God’s nature isn’t something using large theological terms. He’s personal. He’s intimate. And He loves you. He loves all of us more than we can every fully comprehend. Moses said it well.

(SLIDE) Exodus 34:5-7a 5 The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.

God is abounding and steadfast in His love for us. (SLIDE) The Hebrew word often translated “love”, Hesed, means “wrapping up in itself all the positive attributes of God: love, covenant faithfulness, mercy, grace, kindness, loyalty–in short, acts of devotion and loving-kindness that go beyond the requirements of duty,” the love in action that surrounds us when we receive love we don’t deserve.

That level of love should move us to seek God’s face, to want the Holy Spirit to move within us and through us in service to the King of Kings and Lords. Yes? If we are believers in Jesus Christ and servants of the most high then there are responsibilities and requirements, such as spending time in the word and in prayer. Well beyond what we can receive just on Sunday mornings. I believe the Lord is moving us towards a place where the laying of hands and praying at the end of the service may become something that happens every week, not just here and there. So let’s talk about three things in particular that we believe in the Church of God as a conclusion today.

Three weeks from now we’re going to have a baptism service, where that is the focus of the entire service on May 12th. There is one Father, One Son, One Holy Spirit, and One church. After the resurrection, just before the ascension Jesus gave us the Great commission. (Slide) Matthew 28:18-20 18And 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.” Baptism is a command for all believers. Paul instructing the church at Ephesus. Ephesians 4:4-5 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all but there are many human traditions among different believers. Here we believe in Baptism by immersion. Meaning that we don’t sprinkle babies or adults. One reason for that is Peter’s instructions in Acts 2 when about 3,000 were added to their number. (Slide) Acts 2:38-39 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.”

Very simply if part of my being obedient to what the Lord calls us to do, is to repent of our sins, to confess with our mouth that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior with our mouth and believe that God raised Him from the dead, and be baptized, a baby who is not yet fully cognizant of who Jesus Christ even is, can’t do that.

(SLIDE) The mikvah, a ritual bath Hebrews used to purify themselves before Christ came, and Hebrews still do today was required to enter into the temple to make sacrifices. Jesus was ritually baptized in the Jordan river, not because he had to anything to repent, but because it was foretold in Genesis, Isaiah and Malachi that He is coming to fulfill all righteousness as the sacrifice for our sins, to bear our sins upon the cross.

So that’s why we baptize by immersion. Dead to the old self. Arising from the water, like Jesus rising from the grave to new life in Christ. There are those who in their theology believe that sprinkling is sufficient, and they interpret scripture to say so. It’s not for us to judge how other Christian’s practice baptism. There is one Lord, and one judge over all humanity, and we’re not Him. If you are feeling the Lord calling you to be baptized in three weeks, reach out to me. Don’t ignore the Holy Spirit’s prompting. Please.

Part of baptizing by immersion by the way, includes a laying on of hands as one is lowered into the water. After the ascension and the day of Pentecost we read about widows not being cared for so the 12 called all the disciples together to chose seven administrators to see to it that needs of God’s people are taken care of. (SLIDE) Acts 6:4-7 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

Just because it’s an unusual term there with Nicolaus, proselyte means they were converted from another religion that wasn’t Hebrew, or it wouldn’t have been mentioned. (SLIDE) Acts 8:14-17 14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.

Of course the example of laying on of hands and healing as the Holy Spirit moves through us as God heals those in need according to His plans and His purposes. We have the testimony of (Slide) Luke 4:40 40 Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them.

God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. That same power that raised Jesus from the grave is present here today. It is within everyone of us who has confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, believed in our heart that God raised from the dead and then welcomed the Holy Spirit into our lives. Jesus told us in John’s testimony that we would do the works that He did and even greater works than those. You know the word of God and the truth of it. Jesus made blind to see. He healed the lepers, the outcasts. He caused the lame to walk again. He brought the dead back to life. Just as spiritually we were dead before He brought us back to life. And you think how can we do greater things than that, as He promised. What’s greater than walking, or seeing, being made whole mentally, physically or spiritually?

Seriously, What’s a greater miracle than the lame walking, the blind seeing, the addicted being free from those prisons, or anyone being made whole mentally, physically or spiritually? How about that work we do, and are called to do every day, inviting someone to come join us, that they might come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. That they might become children of God and inherit eternal life. The gift of salvation is the greatest gift, and He’s already given it to everyone who chooses to believe, take up their cross daily, and follow him.

One last thing before we conclude in prayer. And that’s this. In the Church of God, we believe that we are all, male, female, black, white, red, yellow, created in the image of God the Father, the son and the Holy Spirit. As I mentioned earlier any of us, and anyone coming into this family of God, can have misunderstandings about the Word, or may have been taught differently in their life before coming here. So, in the Church of God, believing that God has created all of us equally, and endows all of us equally with His gifts by the power of His Holy Spirit for His purposes. When you read about the gifts of the spirit, it doesn’t say they’re only given to men. So teaching, prophecy, healing among the many gives includes women who are called into ministry.

Here's the problem scripture. 1 Timothy 2:12-14 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve; 14 and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. It is a complete misinterpretation of scripture, of Paul in particular, that cause some denominations and individuals to believe that women cannot hold positions of authority or become pastors and teachers in the church.

Some might also include 1 Corinthians 14:34 As in all the churches of the saints, 34 the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. 35 If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.

I want to be very polite and respectful in how I say this. Anyone, including me, can take two verses or two verses in two different books and pull them out of the context of that specific situation in the church in Ephesus and Corinth instead of looking at what all of God’s word says.

Paul also teaches us (SLIDE) Galatians 3:25-28 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Look at women in leadership roles throughout the bible. Deborah in Judges leading on behalf of God. When you read through the entire Hebrew Bible you have in many cases it’s the women God calls in solving spiritual problems that men created. And the women are honored for serving the Lord: Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah, Miriam, Huldah, Abigail, Rahab, Ester. From the woman at the well, Jesus describes her as evangelizing to the entire community. That’s preaching. The first people Jesus appeared to after the resurrection were women. In our New Testament Phoebe (Romans 16), Priscilla (Acts 18), Euodia and Syntyche (Philippians 4)

A broad overview here of why we practice what we believe in this area. First, God created us equally, male and female He created us in the image of the God. As we just read in Galatians, in Christ Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit there is no longer male and female, there is one Lord, one faith, and one body of Christ. I just shared a partial list of women who served in leadership roles for the Lord. Women were important to Jesus in his ministry and we talked about that two weeks ago. In 1stCorinthians 11 Paul gives instructions on how women are to pray and prophesy in the church. Praying and prophesying are gifts of the spirit that tie to teaching. And throughout the Hebrew bible and our New Testament there are examples of God placing women in authority, to teach, to prophesy to serve Him, according to His will for His purposes. If you’re a prophet of the Lord, whether you are male or female makes no difference. Okay.

Paul’s instructions to Timothy were specific to something that was taking place within the church of Ephesus and in Corinth that was not accurate in what was being taught, or in how both men and women were behaving. Because all of us are subject to authority. His authority. Amen? So, in closing, as we go through a period, hopefully for years, of new families coming to join us to praise and worship the Lord and hear the word of God we will run into places where some understandings of the bible don’t align with ours. Always be prepared to share the hope and joy you have in Christ but do so with gentleness and respect.

So as we continue to grow, and new faces appear, I know that we are a loving and welcoming family of believers here. But let’s be on the same page when it comes to having what some might consider difficult conversations.

Extend grace & don’t argue. Invite them to meet with me. Invite them to a bible study. Invite them back because we’re all on this journey in the Lord together.

The descriptions of who we are were written before I got here and they’re still accurate today. We are followers of Jesus Christ and part of the Movement of the Church of God in Anderson Indiana, who base all our teachings on the inspired Word of God, the Bible, and believe in the Unity of, and Fellowship with, all believers in Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.

Our Mission To love God completely, to love people compassionately, to teach and encourage others to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ through the Unity of the Body of Christ working together.

(Close).