Malachi Dads: The Heart of a Father Lesson 5
Notes
Transcript
The Church
The Church
The word for church here is ekklesia. It means an assembly, congregation or group that meets together for various political, religious, and civic purposes.
15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus answered and said to 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 also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
I believe what Jesus was saying here is that His church would start with Peter. It would be built with this God-given revelation that Jesus is the Christ. Just some food for thought, people like to talk about separation of church and state. The problem with that is we’re supposed to influence the culture. We, the church, are supposed to help shape the world. The Great Commission says that we’re supposed to go into all the world making disciples right? Well if we’re doing that, shouldn’t some of those disciples include political leaders, business professionals, and all people regardless of position? People are the bricks that God uses to build the church. God’s Word is the mortar that holds us together.
9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
Purpose of the Church
Purpose of the Church
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
As the church, we are commanded, by Jesus our head, to make disciples, baptize, and teach everything that Jesus has taught us in His word.
Make Disciples
Make Disciples
31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.
35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
If you want to be a disciple of Christ, you have to obey his word. A disciple of someone in that day followed that person around. They held onto every word that the teacher said and constantly wanted to be in the presence of their teacher. So if we want to make disciples, first we have to be a disciple and in order to be a disciple, you have to abide, or stay, in His word.
The other thing you need to do if you’re going to be a disciple is you need to count the cost of discipleship.
25 Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. 27 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—
True discipleship is extremely costly. Think about that. If you want to be a true disciple of Christ, you need to trust Him with everything. When you trust Him with everything, then you need to obey. Obedience is hard when we want to do whatever we want to do, whenever we want to do it. We are a self-pleasing species. It comes natural to want to please ourselves or to feel pleasure. We want to avoid conflict or pressure, but, when you follow Jesus, that’s part of the journey. The reason I’m talking about discipleship so much is because in order for the church to serve its true purpose, it takes true disciples.
Worship God
Worship God
23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
The other purpose of the church is to worship the one true King of Kings. He is worthy of our worship and praise. Jesus said that we would worship in spirit and in truth. What does that mean? It means that we aren’t going to be faking it when we worship. We’re not going to be putting on a show for others to see how religious we are. God wants men to rise up to be worshippers. Let me tell you something men, some believe that it shows weakness to show emotion, God sees the real you. God knows you better than you know yourself and Jesus said if you’re ashamed of Him, He will be ashamed of you! The purpose of the church is to bring disciples of God together to worship Him together.
19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.