The Church: A contrasting society in the present chaos.
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Intro
Intro
Good morning / Glad to be back from Texas and to be with you all
Today I want to challenge you to make Jesus King and to align yourself with no other system than the Kingdom of God!
The Church of Jesus is to be a contrasting society in a world of chaos.
A city on a hill that points people to the Kingdom of God and away from the kingdoms of men.
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We live in troubled times as every institution is under question and condemnation.
It can seem overwhelming if our citizenship is found in the kingdoms of this world.
Yet as Solomon said, “There is nothing new under the sun.”
Like our times the early church lived in political and social chaos.
Constant change was the norm, starvation, disease, and political turmoil was everywhere.
Yet in the chaos a King was born - a people was delivered from the kingdom of darkness, and a new society was created, the Church.
This new society became a city on a hill, a contrast to the kingdoms of this world.
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Equity is the term for today. People have always struggled for equity.
It is a desire deep within us all that points us to a hope in a better world.
Yet, in the systems of this world it is never found.
From socialism to capitalism and all systems in between equity has been the mandate while never being realized.
Every human system has the same fault - Humanity is sinful!!!!
As Paul wrote in Romans
What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
“Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
in their paths are ruin and misery,
and the way of peace they have not known.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Yet God has a system that when obeyed creates a society of equality that contrasts the kingdoms of this world.
Yet God has a system that when obeyed creates a society of equality that contrasts the kingdoms of this world.
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Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.
Famine in Judea 46-48 AD
The Elders were the seven chosen by the Apostles to direct the feeding of the poor, widows, and needy.
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God’s System of Equity is the Church!
God’s System of Equity is the Church!
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God’s Plan Is Cross Shaped
God’s Plan Is Cross Shaped
We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.
They Gave Themselves First To The Lord
They Gave Themselves First To The Lord
The Church is to have a cross shaped ethic. First , vertical to the Lord.
You become like, what you worship.
If you worship wealth you will become Greedy
If you worship comfort you will become selfish
If you worship Jesus, you will be transformed into His image.
Jesus, is our example; not society, not governments, not politics, not systems, Jesus!
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
The Church was different than the society around them because they were focussed on Jesus, not the systems and institutions around them.
The Church was different than the society around them because they were focussed on Jesus, not the systems and institutions around them.
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They Gave Themselves To Their Brothers And Sisters.
They Gave Themselves To Their Brothers And Sisters.
A cross shaped ethic starts vertically and then stretches out horizontally through the power of God.
A cross shaped ethic starts vertically and then stretches out horizontally through the power of God.
We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints—
Grace of God - God’s unconditional benevolence.
When people are spontaneously generous to one another, Paul taught this was evidence of God’s grace working through them.
We must be transformed first through worship to God (Emotions, Mind, Body pointed towards God), so God’s grace flows from us to others in need.
Equity towards others flows out of worship to Jesus.
2. They gave out of love and not compulsion.
2. They gave out of love and not compulsion.
I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine.
For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.
Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
We are not talking socialism
We are not talking dependence on the state
We are not even talking capitalism
We are talking about a system that is based on our Love for God and our Love for our neighbor.
A love that can only take place through the worship of Jesus. (Kayla - to us - Big gifts during Covid)
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Application -
The world is in a place of fear as institutions and systems are being questioned and torn down.
The world is in a place of fear as institutions and systems are being questioned and torn down.
They are looking for a solid, unchanging footing to stand on.
They are looking for hope, help, salvation from a world that feels like it is collapsing.
The world is looking for the Kingdom of God, though they do not know it.
They are looking for a city on a hill and all they are seeing is the debris of the collapsing instituions.
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Therefore we as the Church must take on this cross shaped ethic.
Therefore we as the Church must take on this cross shaped ethic.
We must worship God with our emotions, our intellect, and our Bodies.
We must lay down our idols of greed, comfort, and safety (hoarding).
We must worship Jesus through obedience to His WAY! (If you love me…obey me.)
We must be generous to those of us in need. (I have seen a lot of this over the last 3 months)
We must be willing to give sacrificially.
We must stop depending on the Govt of this world for our needs and depend on The Lord our Provider.
But most of all we must learn that Worship is about reflecting the nature and character of God back to Himself and to our neighbors, especially our brothers and sisters in the Lord.
When the systems and institutions of this world fall, God’s worshipping Church will still be standing - Like a City on a Hill.
When the systems and institutions of this world fall, God’s worshipping Church will still be standing - Like a City on a Hill.
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
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God’s plan of human equality is the only plan that is empowered by the Grace of God.
God’s plan of human equality is the only plan that is empowered by the Grace of God.
Of course, I don’t mean your giving should make life easy for others and hard for yourselves. I only mean that there should be some equality. Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need. Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it. In this way, things will be equal. As the Scriptures say,
“Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over,
and those who gathered only a little had enough.”