More than a Meat Shield
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Do you want to be in a men’s basketball league?
I played church ball before - old men with knee braces and goggles
I coached basketball, still young, I can hang!
Get some exercise, do ministry, talk a little trash, go home!
During warm-ups we got 6’5” dudes ally-ooping to each other
I made a HUGE mistake
Basketball in North Carolina is a religion
UNC, Duke, NC State, Wake Forest… all in NC!
I finished the season with like 8 points - 4 minutes per game!
Needless to say, I didn’t play again after that!
I had a false image of what church basketball in NC was!
But once I learned the truth, it changed everything for me!
Today, we’re looking at our understanding of the church
It might just change everything for you!
YouVersion: More than a Meat Shield - explain
We’re in Acts 2:42-44
What is the church?
What is the church?
We tend to play games in the church!
Largely because we don’t know what the church IS
So we make it up!
What IS church?!
Let’s look at the beginning
Jesus is resurrected and then ascends
120 Disciples waiting in Jerusalem
Feast of Pentecost comes
Jerusalem was PACKED more than other feasts
Holy Spirit comes and they speak in tongues
Everyone understood and were amazed
Peter gets up and shares the gospel
They go from 120 to 3,120 or so
Just like that, the church is off and running!
Then we read this:
42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common.
Fantastic description of the early church
There are 6 words here in the text to examine:
1. THEY - The church is not the building
1. THEY - The church is not the building
Some think the church is a building - or a place
Church - ekklesia (eck-luh-see-uh)
Means “an assembly” or “called-out ones”
It means its about PEOPLE - the BODY of Christ!
In English, the building is called a “church”
In Scripture I don’t know anywhere “church” used as anything other than the body
5 Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia.
Church IN the house, not THE house
Who is part of the body?
13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
If you have recieved salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, you are part of that ONE BODY
That is called the UNIVERSAL CHURCH
But there is also a LOCAL CHURCH
2 and all the brothers who are with me,
To the churches of Galatia:
Churches (plural) in an area
We’re supposed to be focused on our local body
AND on our universal body
But in both contexts, it’s about the people!
Let’s say you walk in this morning
No sermon, no worship, no building...
How do you feel about CrossPoint Church?
That’s not church!
But if it’s all of us, and nothing else - IT IS CHURCH!
I’ve been convicted of buildings this week:
Statistically, church stops growing at 80%
We’ve been SRO 2nd service (and 3rd) quite a bit
When COVID is done, seating is 120
With 2 services, we statistically stop at 190 IF equal
That’s not that far away!
More than that, people don’t know each other
Part of that is midwest culture
But usually, Oh, they go to 2nd? Don’t know ‘em
I wanted a place we could all gather! We don’t have room...
So, we’ve been looking hard at buildings
Antique mall, new building, expansion...
Paul Cone and others have done a lot of great work...
I’m kind of glad God’s delaying this!
Buildings can become gods
I admit I’ve had thoughts - build it they will come
If we got on this, people would be excited
If things were nicer, people would want to be here
I REPENT of those horrible thoughts!
The early church grew by 3,000 people in one day from someone’s house!
Why do we think we need something more fancy?
All those people needed was to see God working through His people!
The CHURCH (people), not the church (building)
So what did they say the church was doing?
2. DEVOTED - Membership is important
2. DEVOTED - Membership is important
So many people walk in, don’t say a word
Go to the same seats every week
Sing a little, listen to me talk, sing one more song, off to Cracker Barrel
THAT is not church...
Luke writes about being DEVOTED to each other
Today, we measure devotion with “membership”
If you have recieved salvation through faith in Jesus Christ
YOU are part of “big C” (universal) church!
But if you have recieved salvation through faith in Jesus Christ and are a member of CrossPoint (or other)
YOU are also part of “little c” (local) church!
Argument: Scripture doesn’t say “membership”
But descriptions of widows are “enrolled” making them members
Matthew 18 people are put “out” meaning they were once “in”
Why is membership important?
Richard: I like not having membership
It’s weird to sign on the dotted line, just go to church!
Why would I want to have a covenant?
And that’s it right there
Why would I want to get married, just shack up
Why would I want to be in a cell phone contract, just pay monthly
Why would I want to buy a house, just rent
What do all of those reasons have in common? You can get out of it!
But each of those have a cost!
Just shacking up, you’ll never get a tax break
Monthly cell plans, have to buy the phone outright
Renting a house, you can’t renovate
Membership means you dedicate yourself to all of us!
This particular CrossPoint local body
And in turn, we are dedicated to you!
We love all, but we FOCUS on our body
Being a member of a church provides certain things
If you’re a member...
You can vote on certain things
You can be an elder/deacon
You can receive financial help or vouch for others
AND you can get kicked out! Wait, what?
Let me explain...
Something called “church discipline”
As a member you are held accountable
If you engage in habitual sin and refuse to listen, Scripture tells us to cast that person out
Not because we’re mean and power hungry...
Because you will want to return!
I am SO thankful for that! I WANT to be held accountable
If you’re not a member, we won’t call you out
The truth is, in immaturity, many of us don’t like that
How dare you! I’m a victim! You’re supposed to be loving!
Actually, when a church does this right, it IS loving!
Church discipline can be done spitefully, but it shouldn’t be
It’s done to pull you back in (like prodigal son)
Problem is, we don’t take it seriously
I’ll go down the street!
We’re so desperate for growth we’ll take anybody!
Actually, many churches call the old church to find out
If it was church discipline, you can’t join unless you have repented!
Then, praise God! It worked!
This idea of devotion to body is important
As we go through these other things, we’ll see why you would want to be a member of a church!
So, what things were they devoted to?
3. TEACHING - We need discipleship through the Word
3. TEACHING - We need discipleship through the Word
Give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day
Teach a man to fish, he’ll eat for a lifetime!
I’m here to support the pastor
I appreciate that, but that’s wrong...
I’m here to support YOU!
Some of us only crack a bible and pray on Sunday
Peter Pan - We all know the story - little boy doesn’t want to grow up
Men that don’t want to grow up suffer from “Peter Pan Syndrome”
So do a lot of Christians!
I don’t want to be mature, I just want to be a surface level Christian and have fun!
12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
Some think you’re serving God by coming here and letting me talk to you
That’s not being devoted to teaching...
Being devoted is actually DOING what the teaching says!
Howard G. Hendricks: “The Bible is the divine means of developing spiritual maturity. There is no other way.”
Imagine if I said I was devoted to my wife
Tell me about her!
I don’t know… I never met her!
She lives in Texas and I drive around sleeping with other women...
But we’ve been married every week for 30 years!
Um, that’s not devotion!
Saying, “I go to church every week, so I’m devoted to teaching.”
But you’re not paying attention, serving the church or honoring God in your home
That’s not devotion either
And so, the church is dedicated to the teachings that come from the Word of God
Here’s the other thing they were devoted to:
4. FELLOWSHIP - The church is built on relationships
4. FELLOWSHIP - The church is built on relationships
12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
This is the hardest part of church!
Anyone have “church hurt”? That’ll mess you up!
But church is SUPPOSED to be messy!
Abigail Van Buren: “The church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.”
My best work in church isn’t done up here!
I’m a task-oriented person - love doing projects
As much as I love building sets, designing logos and building sound systems...
My job is about the people, not the production
I spend a TON of time in meetings
Staff meetings, elder meetings, marriage counseling, coffee, breakfast, lunch...
I want to be invested in your lives… all of you!
There’s a problem… I can’t!
I’ve had to limit my weekly evening meetings to 3 or it’ll become 5 like that!
Thank God we have Mark who invests in our kids and young at heart
Tim and his youth leaders invest in our teens
AND all of you who invest in each other!
If you’re not spending time with the church, you’re missing out!
I know, many are introverted… blah, blah, blah
I can’t tell you how often people tell me they struggle feeling isolated
Do you talk to anyone? No, I’m an introvert!
So they sit and wait for someone to come to them!
Come on folks, get involved! Get in a Life Group! Mentor someone! Join a bible study! Go to Young at Heart! Volunteer with the youth!
Just be around people!
Why? Look at this next part - it runs together:
5. BREAKING BREAD - Doing life together is vital
5. BREAKING BREAD - Doing life together is vital
Barbara Coloroso: “There is something profoundly satisfying about sharing a meal. Eating together, breaking bread together, is one of the oldest and most fundamentally unifying of human experiences.”
When was the last time you had a meal (or cup of coffee) with someone at church?
I know COVID, but that’s not going to be forever!
You have to sit down and talk about life!
What are your struggles? Where are you at with God? What do you need help with?
We often try to do everything with a program
5 easy steps to holiness
Take this class, then this conference
What does Paul say? Just grab lunch!
Here’s what is does:
13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
If you’re not spending time being encouraged by other Christians...
You WILL fall into sin - specifically deceitfulness!
When you’re struggling, you start lying to yourself
You need believers who are not in that place to see and shake you into reality!
If you remain alone, you slip further down that path
See it all the time - even in our church right now!
6. PRAYER - The church seeks God first
6. PRAYER - The church seeks God first
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
We have to get our hearts right with God!
In Scripture, virtually every church starts to decay
So has the modern American church
When many of us hear, that we jump on it!
Glad we’re not one of them!
No, no, no, no, no, no....
When I open Scripture, I see so many things we don’t do that we should
And so many things we do that we shouldn’t
I’m not foolish enough to stand here and pretend I have it all together...
But thanks to God I’m smart enough to admit that I’m messed up
I want to talk about those things, but first I want to say this
Jesus is patient, and he is kind to His bride (the church)
Read Hosea, read Jeremiah, look back at our study of the churches in Revelation...
God loves us! And He wants us to do well!
I don’t want to sit here and just bash the church
But I do want to get us to admit when were wrong
Can we do that? Look at truth and ask, is this really where we are?
To the Christians in Corinth
There’s sexual immorality and you’re proud of it?
You shouldn’t even eat with those people!
There are divisions among you?
I follow Paul, I follow Apollos...
NO! You follow Jesus!
You are suing each other?
Isn’t it better that you get a bad deal than to turn on your brother?!
To the Galatians, Paul says, “What has bewitched you?!”
You think YOU’RE the ones earning your salvation?
You’re denying the resurrection now?
Are you kidding me?!
And we read this stuff like, “Yeah, yeah. Those dumb Laodiceans…!”
Then I wonder, what would Paul write to US?!
Do we think we’ve got it all figured out - we fixed the problems?
We don’t need to worry about orgies, worshipping idols, stoning people...
We have turned our churches into something that worships something that isn’t God the Creator!
We come to a building once a week for an hour
We sit here and listen, and then give a mental star rating and a review like a restaurant
I didn’t like the message, I didn’t like the songs, I didn’t like the lighting...
Then we just go down the street!
You don’t give me what I want, I’ll go somewhere else
I know a guy who literally said, “If you take away my position I’ll go elsewhere and take my tithe check with me!”
He’s an ELDER in his church!
People in THIS CHURCH have said very similar things to me!
That song was boring, that guitarist isn’t very good, I didn’t like the slide graphics
WHAT?! We’re supposed to be singing to the king!
In Isaiah 6 the angels are singing to God in His throne room HOLY, HOLY, HOLY!
They’re voices are shaking the room when Isaiah sees it!
Smoke is filling the temple!
When they go home do they say, “Yeah, worship wasn’t very good today...”?
Michael was singing too loud and Gabriel kept making a weird face...
NO WAY! They KNOW they’re in the presence of God
They’re worshipping Him! It’s all about Him!
And here we stand on earth singing to the EXACT SAME God!
And only worshipping one thing - ourselves...
Rick Warren: “The most common mistake Christians make in worship today is seeking an experience rather than seeking God.”
So how can we back up and go “Wait a second, let’s fix this...”
Simple, start with prayer
Start by seeking God first and in everything we do!
43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common.
When God is working, things change
You will find yourselves in awe and wonder at what God is doing
You will find yourselves doing things you never thought you could
And you will let go of things you thought were important!
I always look at the “all things in common” and wonder at that
Would I put everything I own in a basket and only take what I need?
In a sense, I already do that!
You guys stop giving, I don’t get a paycheck!
But why don’t we all put our stuff in a basket, and only take what we need?
I think the answer to that question is powerful - it can be an indicator of the whole church today
To clarify, we don’t have to do that
Paul never says it’s a requirement to do that
I’m also not saying we should do that
BUT why would we not?
Simple, we want to keep what we have to ourselves
We don’t trust others to distribute to us
And we’re simply not that dedicated
I’d say those aren’t very good reasons...
You know why the early church did it?
They loved the church!
They WANTED to be a part of something important
They were devoted to each other
My goal - our goal - isn’t to put all of our stuff together
It’s to work on the things that would make us want to do that
It’s to remember that WE are the church
To be DEVOTED to one another
To DISCIPLE each other
To STUDY the word daily
To FELLOWSHIP with each other
To do LIFE together
And to PRAY with each other
If we’re doing that, I could care less what we do with our money!
I just want to honor God and keep loving you guys!
Closing
Closing
Do me one favor - if the body of Christ has made an impact on your life, would you stand?
It’s important to remember that, isn’t it?
God is still moving church - and He’s moving in the church
That’s how we know Jesus loves us so much
Would you pray with me?
Prayer
Prayer
