A0311_What is the Church
Date: 20th May 2007 (Sunday AM) Ref: A0311
Place: Kambah P.S.
Title: What is the Church
Text: & Matthew 16:18-19
Illust: Common Dreams, Progressive Religion as a Transforming Agent. In Sydney this August. This international gathering will draw together people from Australia, New Zealand and other parts of the world to explore ways that progressive religion, including progressive expressions of other religious traditions besides Christianity, can contribute positively to the common good so that religion enhances human life rather than diminishing it. Bishop John Shelby Spong and Rev Stephanie Dowrick will join with other local and international speakers offering keynote addresses and facilitating small group sessions. – Greens Leader Bob Brown will also be speaking
I. Vital Place of the Church
A. Expression of God in this Age
i. In this age of rampant materialism and “progressive religion”, many religions all claiming to be the truth, if there is a God as we claim, then how would He reveal Himself to this world?
Firstly we have the written word, the Bible a sure foundation of morals, laws and principles to base your life on in this world with its ever shifting sands of moral relativism and Progressive religion.
Secondly there is the Church; this is the body of Christ, on the earth, His representatives, We are supposed to be the reflection of His will & purpose.
Colossians 1:18 And He is the head of the body, the church, (NKJV)
The Church is not our idea it is His idea. A gathering of believers who would obey the call of the Word of God:
Hebrews 10:25 You should not stay away from the church meetings, as some are doing, but you should meet together and encourage each other. Do this even more as you see the day coming. (NCV)
ii. In this world, there are a lot of good institutions, the State, schools, various clubs & societies and it is a very real danger to see the church as just another good institution to help the community. –
Must not fall into this trap.
According to the Word of God, the church is the place of His habitation on earth through the indwelling Holy Spirit.
This makes the church the most important entity on earth. It is the only one that can claim a heavenly origin.
iii. The church is really where a group of believers, those who trust Christ for their salvation, have been drawn by the Holy Spirit to worship God and importantly to separate themselves from the world and its ways.
Can’t emphasise this last point enough, we are called to be separate, in the world but not of the world. We don’t do what everyone else does. We are the church.
1 John 2:15-16 15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. (NKJV)
2 Corinthians 6:17 Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.” (NKJV)
B. An Organised Body
i. A problem today is that many people want to be free to do what they want, they want to float from one place to another, belonging really to no place. Free to worship how they want. DVD’s from Televangelists, Worship DVD’s with lovely scenic pictures that are displayed on the TV screen.
Anything but be involved in the organised church.
A phrase many times said with scorn “organised church”.
Very real problem with this, is that it is anti logic, the world doesn’t work this way.
ii. All life requires organisation. You this AM are in reality the sum of your organised and co-ordinated parts. What happens when your parts get disorganised – very sick even unto death.
Society requires organisation, we have governments, cities, suburbs, streets. Without organisation, anarchy would be the result.
Anarchists are really fools who have not thought through the complete outflow of their beliefs.
No control over who builds where, no sewerage, electricity, roads, telephones. Sewerage outlet into your neighbour, get him offside – violence, bloodshed the end result.
Even in what we might refer to as primitive societies there is often a highly developed code of conduct and the organisation of life.
iii. In the end order can only be achieved by organisation. That is why we have organisation in the church. There is structure, there are guidelines – Ministry we don’t go to movies & have televisions. We have services at set times, prayer meetings before.
iv. Warning: ~ We need to be careful that we don’t mistake organisation for life. There needs to be a continuing realisation that our life comes from Jesus Christ indwelling His church & not from our organisation.
v. Our organisation needs to be the outflow, not the life flow. – Jesus is to be our first love. This was the problem of the church in Ephesus, labour, good doctrine – lots of organisation but drifted from life flow.
Revelation 2:4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. (NKJV)
II. A Lost Way
A. Common Dreams
i. The Common Dreams, Interfaith drivel is a case of what once were Christian churches losing their way, they have listened to the world to religions and no longer hear the voice of the Alpha and the Omega.
Reverend Stephanie Dowrick was ordained as one of Australia's very few Interfaith Ministers in New York by the New Seminary at St John the Divine Cathedral in 2005 From June 2006, and with the support of the Pitt Street community and especially Reverend Ian Pearson and Jolyon Bromley, Stephanie has been offering regular monthly interfaith services at Pitt Street Uniting Church. These services combine teachings, prayers, music, talk and insights from a variety of faith traditions, focusing on and developing a particular theme, and allowing people to experience a heartfelt spirituality that is familiar but entirely non-exclusive. Stephanie's own home faith is Christian. She was raised Catholic (and "is now NOT a Catholic!"), spent years as an active member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), has had many years of experience of meditation-focused traditions, especially Buddhism, Sufism and, more recently, Raja Yoga. Her training as an Interfaith Minister drew on her love for the original scriptures of all the great world faiths, and her awe at the "power of loving revelation" across all cultures and time.
ii. Seems she has lost her awe of the One like the Son of Man.
Revelation 1:13-16 13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; 15 His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; 16 He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. (NKJV)
iii. This all sounds so nice, but in reality what this demonstrates is a church that has nothing to say to the world. Nothing unique, nothing of power or authority. What once was a dogmatic declaration is now a respectful suggestion. Instead of being the light of the world they like Stephanie have gone to the world to receive enlightenment.
B. The Subtle Siren Song
i. This hardly sounds like the church that Jesus founded through the words of our text. & The church militant that would have impact against the very gates of hell; that would bind & loose.
ii. The danger that we face is not really from the Dreamers, they are so far liberal, have so far taken on the spirit of the world that we reject them out of hand as apostate. No the danger we face is that we can subtly begin to modify our message, where yes we quote the Bible but do we quote it with authority, do we adopt the worlds methods, do we offer Jesus as a ‘religious tranquiliser’ glossing over His sovereignty and Lordship.
iii. Christians in Pentecostal churches, in our churches that are entirely ignorant of obedience, true worship (yes they can sing like Darlene closing their eyes & raising their hands swaying back & forth but that is not worship) They ignore the call to take up the cross and are totally ignorant of the serious implications of discipleship. – Christianity Lite.
Isaiah 4:1 “We will eat our own food and wear our own apparel; Only let us be called by your name, To take away our reproach.” (NKJV)
III. Mission
A. Declare, Proclaim, Witness
i. One way to guard against drifting, against allowing the tides of this world to push us subtly off course is to continue to align your life against clear marker beacons.
Sailing to Hook Island we needed to pass through a narrow channel between North & South Molle Islands. Need to have the beacons lined up directly over each other
Companies have Mission statements to continually remind everybody what the goal of the company is. It is the same for the church. So what is our mission what are we to do.
THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH IS TO DECLARE, to proclaim, to witness. She has been left on earth to be a witness to certain great eternal truths which she received from God and which the world could not possibly know unless she told it. – AW Tozer
Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, (NKJV)
ii. This was the command of Jesus given to the infant church. ~ The church was to teach and the world was to listen. We have the words of eternal life; we have the answer to all of humanities problems and challenges. We are called to Proclaim. The world is called to listen. Not the other way around.
Revelation 1:12-13 12 Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. (NKJV)
iii. Whenever the church becomes aware of the voice from He who stands in their midst walking among the golden lampstands they have stood up to echo that voice and the world has had to listen
iv. The world may not like the message, may reject the message & the messenger BUT some do receive the message, repent and follow Christ. ~ We are not responsible for the result. You are responsible to hear the voice like the sound of many waters and proclaim.
B. Declare What?
i. What are we the church called to declare:
Firstly that God is all in all. He is the great reality – God is God.
Isaiah 43:10 10 “You are My witnesses,” says the Lord, “And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me. (NKJV)
Isaiah 43:13 13 Indeed before the day was, I am He; And there is no one who can deliver out of My hand; I work, and who will reverse it?” (NKJV)
Secondly the awesome truth that we are made by God and for Him. – People are always asking the ultimate questions, why am I here? Where did I come from? – God is the answer to these fundamental questions of life
Thirdly the tragedy and majesty of our separation from God & His Love for us in sending His Only Son to pay the price that we might be reconciled to God & have eternal life
ii. This AM we are called to declare that God is, that God made them and that through their sin they are separated from God, yet God so loved the world that He gave His only son, that whoever would believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life (Jn 3:16) ~ AW Tozer succinctly put it this way:
The Christian is not sent to argue or persuade, nor is he sent to prove or demonstrate; he is sent to declare “Thus saith the Lord.” When he has done this he makes God responsible for the outcome.
iii. Let’s clearly set our mission to be the Church of Jesus Christ, to declare to this lost & dying world the eternal truth.