Kingdom Community

This is our fifth week studying the Book of Matthew.

The first week TJ introduced the book to you,

then Rico showed us Christ did not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it.

Rick then taught us how this fulfillment of the law, the forgiveness of our sins, has given us a great mission to go out prayerfully into the harvest, working to ensure other’s know of the works of Christ.

Last week, Rick taught us again what our response to this Kingdom should be.

This leads us to today’s topic, Kingdom community. The people of God are going out and growing His Kingdom, but what are we to do with this community of Believers?

Today’s main points may seem a bit obvious to you, and I hope they are to many. This isn’t going to be new information for many of you, and that is ok, because sometimes we just need the reminders of what we should be doing and how we should be doing it. So only two points today and they are…

1. The Kingdom Community is Christ Centered

2. The Kingdom community is Community Minded

1. The Kingdom Community is Christ Centered

Again, you are likely thinking, Charlie, duh.

If you have been coming to City Church for any amount of time, this should not be a new teaching to you.

I can assure you that if you continue at City Church, or if you join Hutong Church, this will be a teaching that you hear over and over again in various ways.

It bears repeating because it is a core piece of the church that must not be forgotten.

Sadly however, there are churches out there who have forgotten this and they have made social issues, politics, various programs, or even themselves as the center.

May this never be us here.

It is my prayer that City Church and Hutong Church continue the rest of their existence boldly under the teaching and leadership of Christ being the center of all that we do.

We see throughout the epistles that Christ is the head of the Church.

Colossians 1:18 ESV

And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

Ephesians 5:23 ESV

For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.

Ephesians 1:22 ESV

And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,

Martyn Llyod Jones once said….

But there is nothing that so proclaims the glory of God as the Christian Church, the body of which Christ Himself is the Head.

The Unsearchable Riches of Christ, 314

David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (Welsh Preacher and Writer)

Transition:

But why is Christ the head of the Church? Why is this the natural role that Jesus would obviously take? We get the answer to this in the conversation between Peter and Jesus in chapter 16.

A. Peter plainly confesses who Jesus is.

Matthew 16:13–20 ESV

13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

Jesus wanted to know who the disciples believed Him to be.

They first answered with an easy way out, by just saying what other people are saying.

Jesus was not satisfied with this though, so he asked them who they say He is.

Peter, the one known for saying things he should not say, got it right this time.

He knew exactly who Jesus is, and He declared it openly.

He said “You are Christ, the Son of the living God.”

This was the first confession by the apostles on who Jesus truly was.

Christ is the Greek word for the Hebrew word Messiah.

So Peter is saying that….

He was not just another great teacher.

He was not just another wise man.

He was not just another prophet.

No, He was the Christ.

The Messiah.

The anointed one.

He was the one Israel had been waiting for.

He was the one that prophecy after prophecy, all the way back to Genesis 3 was about.

This was the Son of the living God, meaning He was God Himself.

Remember, these were incredibly strict monotheist here, they firmly believed in one true god, so to refer to Jesus as the Son of God was a huge deal and something they would not do lightly.

Peter is in this one statement, declaring Jesus to be the long awaited hero who would save them, as well as being God Himself.

That is who the head of the Church is.

That is who the center of our worship is centered around.

That is who is at center of all we do at City Church, and all we will do at Hutong Church. Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God.

Transition:

But we do not just need to take Peter’s word for it. Jesus very soon after this declaration took Peter James and John up a high mountain and proved firmly who He was.

B. Jesus proves who He is.

Matthew 17:1–13 ESV

1 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 5 He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” 8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. 9 And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” 10 And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” 11 He answered, “Elijah does come, and he will restore all things. 12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

In the Church, we call this the transfiguration of Christ. This was when Jesus was shown to Peter, James, and John in His more glorified form.

They saw Him in at least part of His Glory beside two of the greatest prophets of Israel, both of whom spoke of the day when the Messiah, the Christ, the Hero would one ay come.

They stood there beside Jesus, the fulfillment of all they taught while God the Father declared this to be His son whom we should listen to.

What more evidence could they ask for?

But the transfiguration is even more than this. Oswald Chambers, a missionary and Lecturer put it this way…

The Transfiguration was the ‘Great Divide’ in the life of our Lord. He stood there in the perfect, spotless holiness of his manhood; then he turned his back on the glory and came down from the Mount to be identified with sin.

Oswald Chambers (Lecturer and Missionary)

Jesus, being shown in part of His glory with the prophets, up on the mountain in the presence of the father, turns his back to continue his mission as a humbled man.

He comes back down the mountain and what does Matthew record him doing after this?

casting out a demon of a child.

This is the greatness of Jesus, He who had it all, who was and is God, chose to walk among men, walk among their sins, in order to defeat sin once and for all.

He then tells a parable of a man who loses a sheep, and goes down the mountain to find the sheep, rejoicing when it is found.

How beautifully placed are all of these stories that connect together to show Christ as the one doing it all.

Transition:

He could have stayed in His transformed state.

He could have never have come down to begin with,

but Jesus loves those whom are made in His image.

He chose to walk amongst us, teaching us what it means to be community minded and giving us a great examples as well.

That leads us to our second point, The Kingdom Community is community minded, which is yet again, painfully obvious.

2. The Kingdom community is Community minded.

As I just said, not only did Jesus give us examples of being community minded, but also gave us very practical teachings on how to do this.

Let’s quickly take a look at two of these.

A.Disputes in the Church

First, we have an incredibly detailed and practical formula for how to handle a situation where there is something wrong between a brother or sister in the church.

He doesn’t just tell us “ok, now go and get along for each other until I return. Ok, bye.

No, He knew that we are sinful people and problems would constantly come between people in the church, so he gave us guidelines.

So, if someone has sinned against you, or has done anything towards you that you believe was wrong, here are the steps to take.

Matthew 18:15–17 ESV

15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

1. Go to this person.

This is so incredibly important.

So often, even in the church, we want to go to everyone but the person we have a problem with.

Do not let that be us at City Church.

Don’t let that be the culture that will be created at Hutong Church.

If there is something wrong between you and someone in the church, go to that person and speak to them on it.

Let them know what they have done that you believe was wrong.

Don’t go into the situation with anger, but rather with a humbled heart and a desire for the relationship to be healed and this person to be restored fully in his or her relationship with God.

I will add here that there are times when you need to seek wisdom before going into these conversations.

As you know, not everyone in the church has the maturity to handle being told they have done something wrong, and these can be hard conversations to have.

Sometimes, seeking wise counsel on how to go about this is required, but the motives of first going to someone else is to seek wisdom, not gossip about what the other person has done.

So, If you go to the person who has sinned against you and they repent of this sin and seek to bring reconciliation to who they have wronged on earth, then you have won a brother or sister back, and there is great joy in this.

However, if they refuse to listen, refuse to repent, then you must take the next step, take two or three others with you.

2. Take two or three others with you.

This is not to gang up on on the person or come at them in any kind of force.

It is partly to yet again plead with the person to repent and do what is right,

but it is also to provide witnesses to the offense. To ensure that multiple people have seen what has taken place and knows both sides of the story.

So if the person repents and seeks reconciliation here, rejoice, for you have won a brother or sister back.

However, If this person continues to not listen and not repent, then you take it before the church.

3. Take it to the church.

We hope to never get to this point right?

This is a serious place to be,

but it is important that we follow through with the prescribed plan Jesus gives.

So you take it to the leadership of the church. You, with the witnesses, explain everything to the leadership, who should then bring them before the church, once more seeking reconciliation and repentance.

4. Remove them from the church, and treat them like the unsaved.

If the person still refuses to repent, then the last step is to remove them from the church, and treat them like any other un-repented sinner.

Does this mean we treat them badly? no.

Does this mean we no longer love them? no.

How do they treat gentiles and tax collectors in the early church?

With great love and desire for them to repent and turn to Christ.

Someone who has sinned and refuses to openly repent, is likely not a believer at all, so they should not be treated as a believer, but rather as someone to try to lovingly reach with the gospel.

If they truly are someone whom christ has saved, then to be removed from the intimate fellowship of the church is going to be like torture to them, and the desire to run towards repentance and reconciliation should come.

Transition:

During this lesson, it seems Peter caught what some of you may have caught.

Wait, I was the one sinned against and yet I am the one who needs to forgive first and then seek reconciliation? You mean I have to forgive before they even repent???

Ok, fine, but how many times am I supposed to forgive someone? 7 times? That’s a pretty big number Jesus, I’m being a pretty great guy for forgiving someone 7 times right?

But Let’s look at what Jesus response was In the parable of the unforgiving Servant Tells us.

The parable of the unforgiving servant.

Matthew 18:21–35 (ESV)

21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

What is the lesson here?

We have been forgive for much.

Think about your whole life, and all the times you sinned against the perfect and Holy God.

There is nothing that anyone on earth could ever do to me that would equal how much I have done directly against my creator.

Yet, He not only forgave me, He came down in the form of man in order to take that punishment upon Himself.

He forgave me by taking on what I deserved. I did not have to do anything at all, He desired reconciliation with me and He made a way for it, even while I was still openly in rebellion against Him.

So the analogy is this, How is Jesus going to respond when I, after all I have done and was forgiven for, refuse to forgive those who have sinned against me? This is not acceptable in the church, and is a clear showing of bad fruit.

So I ask, Is there anyone whom you have struggled to forgive? I urge you to seek counsel, find people to pray with for a forgiving heart.

It is not easy, it is actually quite difficult at times.

but the same God who defeated the cost and power of sin in your life when He forgave you, can give you what you need to forgive others.

That is what it means to be in a Kingdom Community.

Conclusion

So as we close, my questions to you is this. Are you Christ focused in your relationships? Take time today to reflect on this and write down at least one area that you can make Christ more of the center.

Also, are you community minded? Are you actively seeking community in the church? Are you in a small group?

There are small groups all over the city that would love to have you join. Hutong Church has a small group that meets here on Saturday mornings, and we would love to build community with you too.

Do you have people in the church you reach out to during the week asking for prayer, or seeing how you can pray for them?

Let us be a church that builds community with each other.

If there is anyone in the church you have been struggling with to forgive, or maybe you are the one who should seek forgiveness, go to them today, don’t wait, and make things right.

If we are going to be a church that is Christ centered, then we are going to be a church that puts the care and love of those created in His image serious.

Let’s pray