3.7.21 - We Are God's House

March 7, 2021 - We Are God's House Thanks so much for joining us for our online worship service. We are in the middle of a sermon series titled, "Why I Love My Church." where we are exploring a number of the metaphors used in the NT for the church... today - considering the church as God's house. ● Now, if you asked a random person to describe "a church" - many people would start talking about a building - whether it's an ornate cathedral or a big pole barn like we have here at the Vineyard. ● But, when the New Testament describes the church as God's house, it takes that idea in a very different direction. Look at these examples from three different New Testament writers. The Apostle Paul writes this in Ephesians 2 (Ephesians 2:20-22 NLT) ● 20 Together, we are God's house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. 21 We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. 22 Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit. The Apostle Peter outlines this in his first letter: (1 Peter 2:4-5 NLT) ● 4 You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God's temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor. 5 And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What's more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. And we read this in Hebrews 3: (Hebrews 3:4-6 NLT) ● 4 Every house has a builder, but the one who built everything is God. 5 Moses was certainly faithful in God's house as a servant. His work was an illustration of the truths God would reveal later. 6 But Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God's entire house. And we are God's house, if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ. As this last passage points to... God did have early houses: first the tabernacle in the desert, and eventually the temple in Jerusalem. The OT goes into great detail to describe the materials used and the steps it took to construct these original "houses of God." These were massive projects and we can't over-emphasize how important these buildings were. ● Think about it: ○ In the book of Exodus, we read how there was a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night that hovered over the tabernacle. ○ And when the cloud moved, so did the people. ○ When Solomon dedicated the first temple in Jerusalem, God's presence was so powerful that the priests couldn't stay standing. They buckled at the weight of God's glory. ○ During the reign of King Herod, the temple was remodeled and expanded to the extent... that in Jesus' day, it could hold tens of thousands of people within its outer walls. ○ And central to both the tabernacle and the temple was the sacrificial system. Every day and in every season, sacrifices of animals, grain, oil, and wine were offered on behalf of the people and their sin. But, as Hebrews says: even in all their significance, those earlier structures were ultimately pointing to what God would reveal later through Christ. God had something even greater in mind than a fancy building or two. The new house God wanted was a family made of people. From the OT to the NT, we see this radical shift. Previously, God said, "this is my house" and now he says "YOU are my house. Before, he said, "this building is my temple" and now he says "YOU are temples of the HS" And the construction of God's new house looks like this: the apostles and prophets are the foundation. Jesus Christ is the cornerstone, but the main building material is US! Ephesians says we are being "joined together." Peter calls us "living stones that God is building into a spiritual temple." Can you catch how dramatic this shift is? The temple - the very centerpiece of Jewish life and culture - was not sufficient to be God's dream home. He wanted something greater. He wanted us - his church. God's house is not a building. WE ARE GOD'S HOUSE. It's people - and it's in our relating to God and in our relationships with each other that we grow into all that God has created us to be. Along those lines, in today's message, we're going to unpack 3 big items about what it means... that we are God's house. Here's the first: ● We are God's dwelling place I have several friends that are in the home-buying process right now. It is exciting for them, but also a bit frustrating. The housing market is pretty wild right now in Duluth - it's common for properties to receive numerous offers over the asking price. This can be a tiring process and a lot of work - looking at houses, putting together a bid, only to have someone else get chosen as the buyer. And - not just going through those steps once but multiple times with different houses. ● Why are my friends willing to wade through all those challenges? It's because they want to find a house to make their home. ● They don't want to simply own real estate. ● The goal is to live there. To dwell there. With that story in mind, listen again to Ephesians 2:22 from the NIV. ● You are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. ● Paul writes - "you are being built together." Just like one person can't make a baseball team by themselves - we can't be joined by ourselves. It is us... together. It is by design that we need each other and that we are built together in authentic relationships. ● And as we are joined with one another... the goal is "to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit" Get this: When God went looking for a forever home, he chose you/me. His forever home is us. And He doesn't just want to visit. He wants to move in - to take up residence in our lives by the Holy Spirit. This is another one of the big shifts from what we see in the OT to what we see in the NT. In the OT, God's presence was mostly limited to the physical tabernacle or the temple. And the Holy Spirit primarily came upon particular people at particular times for particular purposes. But now through Christ, we can all experience the Holy Spirit at any time. And our lives can become on-going habitations for the Spirit's presence. Personal story: ● I remember in college when church shifted from being somewhere I went... to becoming an experience with God that I entered into. ● What that did for me then all the way up until now. When I experience God's presence, I am flooded with hope, peace, joy. I can love others with a love outside myself. That's all because of the Holy Spirit. This is one of the things I love so much about our church. We continually emphasize how the Holy Spirit is available to every one of us, and we practically train people how to recognize and receive the Spirit's presence in their lives. And we get to do this together. Even over the last month, we've seen a real uptick in the Holy Spirit's presence in our gatherings - (online, in-person and in small groups) and an increase in people's responsiveness to the Holy Spirit's work. It's been really encouraging. ● Folks, I said this a couple weeks ago - right now, right where you are - you can experience the Holy Spirit's presence - whether that is for the first time, or for the first time in a long time. That's God's goal: for our lives to become the places He dwells by His Spirit. And - God doesn't force himself upon us. He doesn't demand the keys of our lives. No - God knocks on the door - that's the imagery used in the book of Revelation. He knocks on the door of our lives & gives us the choice if we will welcome him in. ● It's really good when we make that choice... before we're done today, we'll take some extra time to open up to God's presence. Here's the second big item for today: We are God's holy priests. Look again at 1 Peter 2:5 You are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. Once again, let's explore this verse a bit at a time. Peter says... ● We are holy ○ Previously, our sin kept us separated from God's holiness. Now, through Christ, we have open access to share in God's holiness. The old barriers between us and God are gone because of Jesus' death on the cross. ● Secondly, We are priests: we minister to God and to people. ○ In the OT, a select group of priests mediated the connection between God & people through various sacrifices. Now, through the mediation that Jesus provides by the sacrifice of his blood - we can all relate directly to God. We don't need another go-between. Every Christian is a priest in God's kingdom ● 3rd - we're Holy Priests that offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. ○ You don't have to appease God. You don't have to try harder to get God to like you. It's all been done for you in Jesus. ○ There is no need for more blood sacrifices. Instead, we can offer a different kind of sacrifice that God openly receives. What does that look like? Listen to this from Hebrews 13 15 Through Jesus, let us offer a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name. 16 And don't forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God. As I read those words, I think of the two large banners we have hanging in our auditorium here at the Vineyard. One says worship, and the other says compassion. John Wimber, the founding leader of Vineyard churches, would often say "these are the two legs that we stand on." We are worshippers of God and rescuers of people. We give our wholehearted worship to God, and we extend tangible compassion to others. ● Those are the sacrifices that please God. Let's consider some specific application tied to the verses. Heb 13 says to: ● Offer a continual sacrifice of praise. That means... ○ We worship God when things are going great... and ○ We worship God even when we don't feel like it ● Proclaim allegiance to Jesus ○ Jesus gets the first say and the final say in my life ○ We can let go of any attachments that are getting in the way of Jesus being at the center. Could be a habit, even an addiction. Maybe it's a relationship. It could be a cause or an affiliation. ○ All these other things are like trying to put a round peg in a square hole. Jesus is the only one that fits at the center. ● Do good and share with those in need ○ We do this all year round, but March is a month when we give particular emphasis to serving our city in compassion. This month, here are several tangible ways you could serve: ○ Volunteer at our regular times of food distribution on Tuesday nights and Saturday morning. You can not only meet people's practical needs for food, but share your love for God with them. ○ Deliver groceries to someone's house through FOTV. We are the only food shelf in the area doing this right now, and it has been a huge blessing to many families in our city. ○ Volunteer with Prison Ministry. You can extend God's love to our brothers and sisters in prison by sending them transcripts of the sermons that we get to enjoy every week. ○ Endless ways to express compassion beyond the food shelf: ■ Get creative: Extra vehicle? Spare room? Stimulus? Whatever the case. Again... here's the point. We are God's holy priests that offer pleasing sacrifices of worship and compassion. Okay... one more aspect of being God's house to touch on: We Are God's Representatives Later in 1 Peter, we read this: ● 1 Peter 2:9 You are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. Peter says, because God has chosen us and rescued us from darkness, we can show others his goodness. We don't keep this to ourselves - we share it... so others can experience God's goodness. ● We can be God's representatives in so many different ways. ● Another word the NT uses for this concept is ambassador. In government, an ambassador communicates the message of his or her higher authority. It's the same thing with us. God already has provided the message: the good news of Jesus' love and the rescue that he offers. We get the opportunity to deliver this good news. I mentioned Alpha a couple weeks ago. The Alpha Course is a 10 week introduction to the Christian faith. Maybe Alpha is for you... but maybe it is for someone else that you know. Are there people you want to introduce to Jesus? We have in-person & online Alpha starting in just over a week. Or think about this idea more broadly. ● Have you been around someone with the gift of hospitality? When you step into their home, you immediately feel like you can relax. You let your guard down, and you can be yourself. ● What if other people could experience that through us? Where we are so overflowing with God's goodness that others can relax into his love ● Interesting that Hospitable and Hospital share the same root word ● There is healing that comes as we extend genuine relationship to others. Michael going to dig into that more in the next week or two As I think about being God's representatives - this is one my regular prayers: I want my life to be so saturated with God's goodness that it's inevitable that some of that will spill over into every interaction I have. And this is what I want for our church. As 2021 unfolds, I believe we are going to have increased opportunities to share God's goodness with others. After an extended period of isolation and dislocation, there is this stored up longing to re-engage in meaningful personal relationships. ● Friends - We can do this! With Jesus at the center, God can fit us together - building us up as the spiritual house where He dwells. As we get ready to go back into some worship and to receive prayer (if you're watching the live stream). Here's a couple things that come to mind. First, we talked today about opening up the door to the Holy Spirit's Presence...That sounds like such an amazing idea, but for a number of us, there is a barrier of shame to push past. ● Analogy of not having people over because your house is messy. ● God knows that we are messy. On the cross, Jesus purchased our lives in "as is condition." And he is ready to come in and help us sort through what our lives currently look like. Second - a number of have a deep desire to share God's goodness with others, whether that's through talking to a friend about Jesus, inviting them to something like Alpha, or extending hospitality or compassion to others. ● You could try to do that in your own strength... but it goes so much better when we are empowered by the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit Come!!!