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Prayer Transforms

Sunday, February 11th, 2007

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This entry is part 3 of 3 in the series Prayer: What we learn from Paul

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INTRODUCTION
Today I?m going to be wrapping up the series I?ve been preaching on the prayers of the apostle Paul for the churches he was ministering to. I began with looking at the priority of prayer that focuses on Christ and places him in the place of preeminence. The first priority of prayer is focus and worship of God. When we pray, it isn?t about ourselves, it isn?t primarily about the problems in the world, the focus is first on God! It is through prayer that we build that intimate relationship with God and begin to grasp the depth of His love for us and the reality of His dwelling amongst us. Along with this realization through prayer comes the demonstration of His power at work in and through us as He makes Himself known in His fullness.

Last week we looked at the purpose of prayer to help shape the practices of our lives. We learned from Paul?s prayer for the Colossians the importance of seeking God?s wisdom and understanding as we pray which results in fruit that pleases God. In turn, prayer also builds endurance and patience in our lives as it reminds us of the privilege of our relationship with God.

Today, we are going to look at Paul?s prayer for the church at Philippi and learn about transforming prayer. In this series I have not been looking at specific ways to pray but instead in examining the prayers of Paul, I?m trying to discover the principles that guided how and what he prayed and how those prayers may affect our lives in our daily walk with Christ.

So let?s begin today by looking at this prayer for the Philippian church,

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ–to the glory and praise of God.
Philippians 1:9-11 (NIV)

I want to spend a few moments and zero in on some key components to this particular prayer.

I. love may abound

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,
Philippians 1:9 (NIV)

Paul?s prayer begins with a desire to see the love that they have discovered in Christ continue to grow. It?s not just a prayer that their love would grow but that it would grow and grow. In other words, never cease to stop growing.

The love that Paul is speaking of is a love originating in God. It is agape love ? love that is unconditional and not dependent on the one receiving love which is affectionate love. Affectionate love is a when someone does something that we appreciate or that we value and in turn we love them for that. Affectionate love is the kind of love expressed for not only people, but objects as well ? things that we become attached to because of what they enable us to do, or the positive emotions they create. Agape love is different. Agape love is the kind of love given to the undeserving. It?s the kind of love that depends not on the one receiving but is a gift from the one expressing it. It is the unexplainable love. It is the indescribable love. And truthfully it is often the impossible love.

However, agape love is made possible because of it?s origination in God. God expressed this kind of love in giving us the gift of His one and only son Jesus Christ.

Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:7-8 (NIV)

Paul speaks of this love he is not speaking of a sentimental or affectionate love but is speaking of a love that has its birth in the heart of God and is passed on into the lives of his children. Paul described this love to the church at Corinth when he wrote:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NIV)

Paul?s desire for the Philippian church is that they would know and grow in agape love. It is not only Paul?s desire for the Philippian church but is also God?s desire for us. Listen to the expression of this desire in the words of Jesus,

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit–fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other.
John 15:9-17 (NIV)

Human love is almost always opposite of God?s. It is impatient, desiring to have its own needs met and to serve its own interests. Human love is most often conditional.

The love that Paul talks about that is a love that flows from the character of God and this love in the life of a believer is to overflow into every area of life.

Now notice that Paul further clarified his prayer that not only would agape love grow more and more but that it would grow more and more in knowledge and insight. Paul is writing about the kind of knowledge that comes through experiencing the love of God and participating in expressing His love to others. In other words, as we experience God?s love and grasp it in our own lives, we have a deeper understanding and insight of the heart of God. But more than that, as we in turn express God?s love to others we also grow in knowledge and insight of how agape love works. We learn to recognize agape love and we grow in this love. The more our lives are filled with the love of God, the more we are able to pass it on toward others.

This is the kind of love that really transforms us and that, friends, is why Paul prayed that the Philippians would grow in this love – a prayer that each one of us should take up as well for each other. When we not only hear about or read about God?s love but also experience God?s love it grant?s us the opportunity to reflect His love to those around us.

II. Discern what is best
Then Paul goes on to pray,

?so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ,
Philippians 1:10 (NIV)

Paul expressed in this prayer his correct understanding that the transformational power of agape love provides discernment for the things that are best and provides motivation for pure and blameless action in our lives. I don?t think there would be any disagreement here this morning that one of the most powerful motivators in life is that of love. Right? Love can cause people to do some pretty strange things can?t it?

The thing about agape love that is distinctive is that not only does it motivate us but because of its selfless nature, agape love motivates us to do the right things for the right reasons. In other words God?s love motivates us to express His love to others.

Paul writes,

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
Galatians 5:6 (NIV)

Hmm?did you catch that folks? The only thing that counts? that?s a pretty significant statement don?t you think? Really what Paul is saying is that it doesn?t matter if you?ve got all the religious rules down pat or not, it doesn?t matter if you cross all your t?s and dot all your i?s, it doesn?t matter if you go to church every Sunday or hit church once in a blue moon, it doesn?t matter if you read a can recite all the books of the Bible forwards and backwards or can be confident that Genesis and Revelation are in there somewhere! What matters, the only thing that has value, the one thing Christ looks for in yours and my life above all else is faith expressing itself through love.

Paul points out that it is the inner condition of your soul, not the external condition of your body that should motivate you to love. It should not be religion that motivates our action but a relational experience with God ? faith.

Then Paul goes on to write,

III. filled with righteousness

filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ–to the glory and praise of God.
Philippians 1:11 (NIV)

Quite simply, the product of a life that experiences God?s love and is growing in His love and is expressing His love is the fruit of righteousness. As God?s love abounds in a persons life it changes the way that person thinks and acts. It produces a desire to live righteous lives and evidence of righteousness.

What is the fruit of righteousness? Righteousness is the action and positive result of a sound relationship between God and man. It is not only doing right things but doing them for the right reasons. It is not only doing, but being. Words like integrity, character, purity, goodness, charity, generosity, kindness, and yes, love are fruit of righteousness. Paul talks about some of the fruits of righteousness a bit later in His letter to the Philippians as he writes,

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me–put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:8-9 (NIV)

To the Galatian church Paul writes,

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.
Galatians 5:22-24 (NIV)

Now friends, what is clear ? is Paul?s understanding that the fruit of righteousness is not something we can drum up ourselves! As he writes, ??that comes through Jesus Christ?. Righteousness is a product of the love of God at work in us and through us as a direct result of our relationship with Jesus Christ. It is Chris tin us that allows God?s love to flow from us into the lives of others. The desired goal is that people would see Chris tin us and would give glory to God. Listen to how these same verses are worded in the Message (a paraphrase of the Bible)

? Live a lover’s life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God.
Philippians 1:10-11 (MSG)

The more we honor God, the more we experience His love. The more we experience His love the more we seek to honor Him. It becomes a cyclical pattern of growth in our lives. God?s desire for us is to overflow with his love, pour it out into others, and honor and glorify him in our lives.

That is why Paul prayed this for the Philippian church and why we must pray this for each other. It is vital that we experience God?s love and express God?s love. This is the prayer that transforms.

CONCLUSION
Let?s quickly recap what we?ve learned from Paul in these messages.

We?ve learned the priority of prayer ? when we pray our focus must be on God, on Jesus, on the Holy Spirit. It is so easy for us to be distracted and divided in our attention but we must understand that prayer is primarily communication with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Prayer sees God in His proper position.

We?ve also learned the purpose of prayer – while there are arguably many reasons to pray, the primary purpose of prayer is to affect our actions.

Finally, today we?ve learned that truly transformational prayer is that which brings us to that place where we experience God?s love.

Let?s pray.

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Missions – the Heart of God

Thursday, December 7th, 2006

“Missions is not an action of a handful of global church advocates in a foreign land, but the loving drive of the God who is a missionary God reclaiming all of his creation from the inner cities to the suburbs to the ends of the earth.” - Jimmy Dorrell, Trolls & Truth (New Hope Publishers, 2006)

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Joseph’s Courage

Sunday, November 19th, 2006

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This entry is part 1 of 4 in the series The Nativity Story

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INTRODUCTION
When I viewed a documentary in the fall on TLC that told the story of the tragedy of the World Trade Center I was struck with just how courageous the rescuers were in the days following 9-11. In the documentary story they told of how when everyone was running out of the buildings firefighters and rescue workers were running in. This documentary also focused on the incredible courage of many of the people who helped each other in escaping the building. There was one group of office workers who ran into a heavy-set guy going down the stairs who was giving up because of the distance. Two gentleman decided to stay behind and help this guy get down even though it risked their own safety in the unknown circumstances of their escape. At any moment the massive building above and around them would topple, trapping or killing them as well.

Then there were the courageous rescuers who made their way through the rubble of the collapsed trade towers looking for survivors and doing anything they could to pull them out. They descended into perilous caverns that could collapse at without warning. They new that even the smoke and dust in the air was hazardous to their help.

And yet they did their duty. They did what they had been trained to do and what the trapped people needed them to do. The nation was right to honor them for their courage even though many of their stories may never be told.

There is a story of courage that is told every Christmas season. But it is a story we often miss because the hero of the story is usually in the background. In nativity scenes he stands silently next to the manger in which the baby Jesus is laid. His name is Joseph and he seems to play a secondary role in the nativity story. He is not even given a single line to speak! Then he disappears completely from the narrative after the teenage years of Jesus.

And yet, the courage of Joseph was what made it possible for the child to be born in Bethlehem and to survive the life-threatening early years of his life. Joseph was the man to whom God entrusted the task of protecting the mother and her child from the time she conceived Jesus. He was the rugged and brave man who led Mary safely along the dangerous roads to Bethlehem, to Egypt and eventually back home to northern Israel.

God selected this man to protect the infant Jesus in the dangerous first years of his life and as we look over the span of Joseph?s life we see that he had the courage to:

? Live a morally upright life in an immoral world
? Marry a pregnant girl who was not carrying his child.
? Protect his wife and son in their flight to Egypt and then again upon their return to Nazareth.

I believe that the Holy Spirit has included the story of Joseph in scripture to encourage each one of us to live courageously, even if it means living dangerously, in doing God?s will. Before we study his courage, we must remember that Joseph was not some kind of super being. He was an ordinary, flesh and blood man.

Joseph: Man of COURAGE

An ordinary man?
In the midst of this story of the miraculous birth of Jesus, one that features visitations from angels we find this ordinary man called Joseph. One of the themes of the Bible is that God uses ordinary people to do his work ? people like you and me.

Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things–and the things that are not–to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God–that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”
1 Corinthians 1:26-31 (NIV)

This is one of the reasons why one of the frequent sayings we use around Hanover Pentecostal Church is that we are ordinary people who are part of an extraordinary plan!

Joseph was the kind of man God could trust to be strong in the midst of a crisis. He was strong and resilient enough to protect his family during hazardous journeys to Bethlehem and Egypt, before they were finally able to return home to Nazareth years later. The reason Joseph had such courage was because of his relationship with God:

?who lived a morally upright life?

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
Matthew 1:18-19 (NIV)

Joseph was known as a righteous man. This means that he had such a strong relationship with God that he became like God in character. This means that Joseph was courageous enough to stand up against his own sin nature. He had disciplined himself to live the way God wanted him to do, not out of duty but because it was what he wanted to do.

Joseph was courageous enough to live a moral life in a corrupt culture. He grew up among people who were very religious but not very righteous. Even the religious leaders of the day were corrupt men, more interested in politics, power and possessions than in living for God. Friends, truly righteous people make the rest of us uncomfortable. Just by the way they live they make us aware of our shortcomings. So the people had never treated righteous men very kindly. They killed the prophets. They would later reject Jesus.

Even today, moral purity is sneered at. An example is how the movie ?The 40-Year-Old Virgin? made fun of the idea that a man could live to such an age and be sexually pure. The long line of business leaders who have gone to jail over accounting fraud and insider trading during the past few years lets us know that ?business ethics? is all too often a buzz word rather than a corporate code.

Joseph was an unusual man. The kind of man every child would wish for: a father who knows the right way to live and who follows the right way no matter what the cost!

The movie ?Cinderella Man? tells the story of a man like Joseph. He is a boxer who has lost everything and whose family is starving. His son steals a loaf of bread to help his starving family. The father rebukes his son and makes him apologize to the storekeeper from whom he stole it. This God-fearing father may not have been able to fill his children?s stomachs but he nurtured their spirits! How many of us can say we have the courage and integrity of this father?

Joseph was a man of moral courage?a moral courage born out of his Godly character.

Joseph was a man of GODLY character.
Joseph courageously restrained his anger and chose to treat Mary with love.
I can only imagine what Joseph felt when he found out that Mary was pregnant. The only way he would have been able to explain her pregnancy, since he and Mary had not consummated their marriage, was that she had been unfaithful to him with another man. That left the understanding that she was an adulteress!

Any man under such circumstances would probably respond with:

? Shock! Joseph thought Mary was a pure and chaste girl. He must have been shocked to the core!
? Deep sorrow. His dreams of marriage to this young girl now seemed to be forever shattered.
? Anger. Joseph must have felt betrayed. His manly pride would have given rise to the desire to punish somebody! No one would have blamed him if he had caused a terrible scene in the village.

But Joseph?s godly character enabled him to rein in his anger. His love for Mary, even under these circumstances, compelled him to seek for a way to protect her. Love covers over a multitude of sins!

The apostle Paul teaches that God the Spirit empowers us to do the same. When we live in the Holy Spirit?s power, the fruit of the Spirit always trumps uncontrolled human emotion, even anger and rage. And the Holy Spirit empowers us with supernatural love (Galatians 5).

Joseph faced down his own emotions and courageously chose to forgive Mary. But he also had to face down the society in which he lived?

Joseph resisted the pressure of the WORLD he lived in.
As Mary?s pregnancy became obvious to the people in their small town, Joseph knew that he also would be publicly embarrassed. To save face, Joseph would have been justified in publicly divorcing Mary. In fact, the society he lived in expected him to express outrage and to punish Mary.

But because of his godly character Joseph decided to divorce her privately and protect her from public disgrace. Then, after an angel explained to him that Mary was pregnant because of a miracle, Joseph changed his mind and decided to marry her.

Joseph obeyed God and took Mary home to be his wife.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”–which means, “God with us.” When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Matthew 1:20-25 (NIV)

When the angel told Joseph that the child was conceived by the Holy Spirit, it is possible that Joseph would have though of the role of the Spirit of God in creation?

Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
Genesis 1:2 (NIV)

By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
Psalms 33:6 (NIV)

But even now, with the Scriptures and an angel to direct him, Joseph had to make a courageous decision. He had to take for his wife a woman who was not bearing his child and, in so doing, share in the unjust shame that was heaped upon her. He would also be undertaking to provide for the child and function in a fatherly role as he raised him.

Joseph chose to do what the angel commanded him. Joseph?s faith in God was what enabled him to overcome the stigma of becoming the husband of Mary and to accept the responsibility of the child.

The writer of Scripture adds a comment that displays the integrity of this man. Although he had the legitimate right to it, Joseph didn?t have sexual relations with Mary until after Jesus was born. And this simple fact underscores the truth of the virgin birth of Jesus!

It takes courage to say no! We tend to treat our sexual urges as if they have some kind of overwhelming power. But, for the higher purposes of God, Joseph was able to restrain himself. The fact that they did have sexual relations after the birth of Jesus models that within the boundaries of real marriage, sex is a pure and beautiful gift of God.

Joseph?s courage was tested again after the child was about two years of age. Wise men from the East had visited the family and had worshipped Jesus. After the wise men had departed Joseph was again visited by an gel who commanded him to take the child and flee to Egypt for Herod was seeking to kill him.

Joseph courageously protected the child whenever His life was in danger.

When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.” So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”
Matthew 2:13-23 (NIV)

Having heard from the wise men that they were seeking for the one who had been born to be King of the Jews, Herod commanded that all boys under the age of two were to be killed.

An angel of the Lord commanded Joseph to take the child and his mother first to Egypt and then later back to northern Israel. This meant months of dangerous travel over hostile terrain. Joseph probably walked most of the way! But God knew that Joseph was courageous enough and strong to handle the task.

CONCLUSION
Next time you look at a Nativity scene and see Joseph standing in the background, think of the courage and ruggedness of this man. Remember that he was a courageous man because of his belief in God. Remember he demonstrated this courage when, despite personal embarrassment and in the face of social ostracism, he believed God and married the pregnant girl who was not carrying his baby. And also, remember how he continued to show this courage in protecting the mother and child during the life-threatening years of Jesus? childhood.

What do we learn from Joseph?

1. Courage shows up when we least expect it and when we most need it.
Joseph had no idea that his tranquil life was going to be thrown into upheaval. But because of his relationship to God and the righteous character that was a fruit of his life, courage was nurtured in his being and was there when he needed it. How do we cultivate the growth of courage?

2. Courage is cultivated by learning that God is more powerful than any threat that may come our way!
King David learned about God from nature, from history and from Scriptures while attending his father?s sheep. That?s why he was able to fearlessly face up to Goliath, confident that the commander of the armies of heaven was with him!

Joseph had cultivated his relationship with God and so he was ready when the day of testing came.

3. Children need courageous Dads and wives long for courageous husbands!
Children want to be able to boast ?My Dad?s bigger than your Dad!? It gives them security to know that their Dad is brave enough and strong enough to protect them! One of the greatest statements of a husband?s love is when he protects his wife regardless of the cost to himself.

I want to conclude the service this morning by sharing the story of a husband and wife who display the incredible courage of Joseph as they care for their much beloved child. If anything shows the love of Christ and the courage God gives those close to Him ? this is it?

{show the clip ?The Smith Family? from Sermonspice.com}

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Get Dressed!

Sunday, November 12th, 2006

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INTRODUCTION

When he was a boy growing up in Philadelphia, Tony Campolo and his best friend devised what they considered a brilliant and creative Halloween prank ? one which, by the way, they never carried out. Their plan was to break into the basement of the local five-and-dime store (kind of like a mini-Walmart for those of you to young to remember five-and-dimes). They never planned to rob the store, but had they carried out their idea, it would have been far worse.

Their plan was to get into the store and change the price tags on all the merchandise. They imagined what it would be like the next morning when people came into the store and discovered that radios were marked at a quarter each an the price of hair pins had suddenly been raised to five dollars a package. With a great deal of delight, they wondered what it would be like in the store when no one could figure out what the prices of things really should be.

In recalling his boyhood plan of Halloween mischief, Campolo said that he often thinks that the world in which we live is trying to play that trick on all of us. At times, it appears that somebody has broken into our lives and changed the price tags ? the value ? attached to practically everything.
(quoted in ?Clothe Yourself With Christ? by William Nieporte)

What makes things worse is that so often we play along with this malicious devilment! We have a tendency to treat with great affection those things that have little worth and at the same time make great sacrifices for the things which, in the end, have no real lasting value. Even sadder is the lack of investment in the things that do matter!

Sometimes it seems that we have little notion about how to realistically assess and assign appropriate values to the contents of our lives. More often than not, this comes from a lack of understanding what is truly important.

Who switched the price tags?

In January 1996, Rev. Joe Wright, senior pastor of the 2,500-member Central Christian Church in Wichita, Kansas, was invited to offer the opening prayer at a session of the Kansas House of Representatives. Invited by Rep. Anthony Powell, Rev. Wright composed the prayer, read it at the opening of the legislature on January 23, and departed, unaware of the ruckus he had created until his church secretary called him on his car phone to ask him what he had done.
One Democrat walked out in protest, three others gave speeches critical of Wright’s prayer, and another blasted Wright’s “message of intolerance.” ? Rep. Jim Long, a Democrat from Kansas City, said that Wright “made everyone mad.” ?
Wright appeared on dozens of radio shows, received thousands of calls, and was the subject of numerous TV and print news reports, and his prayer stirred up controversy all over again when it was read by the chaplain coordinator in the Nebraska legislature the following month.

The prayer reads as follows:
Heavenly Father, we come before you to ask your forgiveness. We seek your direction and your guidance. We know your word says, “Woe to those who call evil good.” But that’s what we’ve done.

We’ve lost our spiritual equilibrium. We have inverted our values. We have ridiculed the absolute truth of your word in the name of moral pluralism. We have worshiped other gods and called it multiculturalism.

We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle.

We’ve exploited the poor and called it a lottery. We’ve neglected the needy and called it self-preservation. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. In the name of choice, we have killed our unborn. In the name of right to life, we have killed abortionists.

We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem. We have abused power and called it political savvy. We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it taxes. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us, oh, God, and know our hearts today. Try us. Show us any wickedness within us. Cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of the State of Kansas, and that they have been ordained by you to govern this great state.

Grant them your wisdom to rule. May their decisions direct us to the center of your will. And, as we continue our prayer and as we come in out of the fog, give us clear minds to accomplish our goals as we begin this Legislature. For we pray in Jesus’ name,
Amen. (from the website, ?everything2?)

This bold prayer by Rev. Wright highlighted many of the tags that have been switched ? who switched the price tags?

Many people are familiar with the famous quote from John F. Kennedy, former president of the United States. When he was president he challenged his nation with these stirring words,

Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.

Yet today people are looking toward their country, their government, their employers, and civic groups for products and services. Our culture today is plagued with a consumerist attitude and if that weren?t bad enough, people look at the church with the same sort of mentality! Rather than seeing the church as a place to worship God and a place from which to serve the world, people shop for the church that ?meets their and their families needs?!

This consumerist mentality has so infiltrated the church that we evaluate our success (pastors and church leaders are especially guilty of this) in terms of bodies and budgets rather than lives impacted for the cause of the Kingdom!

The sad reality is that somebody has switched the price tags throughout our society ? and too often those of us who are in the church are a reflection of those misplaced values, rather than illustrations of the redemptive transformation of God!

Paul addressed these mixed up values in the Romans 12 and 13. His aim and ambition in writing those words is very simple ? to encourage those whose lives have been redeemed to live as redeemed people! In other words, get dressed! Stop wearing the clothes of your sinful old nature and put on the Kingdom clothing of your redemption!

In Romans 12:1-2 (which was read at the beginning of the service) Paul connected all that he had said in the first eleven chapters of Romans with all that he is saying in the remaining portions of the letter. He began in verse 1 by saying, ?Therefore, in view of God?s mercy?? In other words ? Paul is about to tell us exactly what God wants from us ? but before he does that, he wants to remind us about everything he has been teaching about God?s mercy in the first eleven chapters of Romans. A quick review reveals that those in Christ?

- are DEAD to sin?s power and control and ALIVE in Christ
- are DEAD to the law and ANIMATED by the Holy Spirit
- enjoy all of the blessings associate with NEW LIFE in the Spirit

Then Paul begins Romans 12 that in view of ALL these things (that is in the view of God?s mercy) ? present yourselves as living sacrifices, Holy and pleasing to God. Notice, Paul does NOT say: ?Make yourself HOLY and PLEASING to God!? Paul has already told us that IN CHRIST we are Holy! He has already taught in the first 11 chapters of Romans about how through Christ we are acceptable to God. So in opening Romans 12 with these words Paul is not giving us an admonition to do anything! Rather it is a call to place all that God has given to us back into His hands. It is a call to trust God. It is a call to depend on the Holy Spirit. It is a call to find our power, purpose, and provisions for living in Christ. It is a call to REST in the sufficiency of God?s grace. It?s like this story?

A beggar lived near the King’s palace. One day he saw a proclamation posted that invited anyone to come and dine with the King. Yet the beggar looked down at his filthy rags and realized there was no way he could dine with the King. He was just too poorly dressed.
The beggar thought, and went to the servant’s door of the Castle. When the King’s servant answered the door, the beggar blurted out “Do you have any clothes that I can wear? I want to go to the King’s dinner, but I can’t go this way.” The servant smiled and led the beggar into the Castle, to the King’s very chambers.
When the beggar saw the King he was so afraid that he failed to notice the loving compassion in his eyes. In a quavering voice he repeated his request, and the King said “You were wise in coming to see me.” He called the prince and told him, “Take this man and dress him in your finest clothes, get him cleaned up for the great dinner”.
The prince took the beggar off and dressed him in the best the Castle had to offer. When the beggar was fully clothed the prince said, “You can now attend the dinner without fear. And what’s more, these clothes are the best that money can buy. They will last you forever.”
The beggar thanked the prince, but, as he prepared to leave, he began to wonder “What if the prince is wrong? What if these new clothes won’t last forever?”. So the beggar picked up his old rags, put them in a bundle, and carried them with him to the banquet.
The dinner was greater than the beggar had ever imagined, but the beggar couldn’t enjoy himself. He had to hold his old smelly clothes on his lap, and spent so much time watching the old clothes that he missed some of the greater delicacies that were served.
After the dinner the beggar went out, dressed in finery, and continued to carry the rags with him. When people saw the beggar they didn’t see the fine clothes he wore, but they saw the rags that he carried. The beggar became known as “the man with the rags”, and his life was miserable.
Years later the beggar laid dying, and the King came to visit him. The King sadly looked at the bundle of rags, and, as he lay there, the beggar realized that these rags had cost him a lifetime of true royalty. He wept bitterly at his foolishness – and the King wept with him. (source: the message, ?Kingdom Clothing? by D. E. Buffaloe)

As you read the literature of the apostle Paul in the New Testament you?ll notice a pattern in all his writing. First, Paul talks about right beliefs, and then he talks about right behavior. There is this natural progression Paul teaches about his understanding of the Christian life. It starts with an understanding that in Christ we have a new identity and it is because of that new identity that we can live differently. The legalistic mindset of ancient and modern day Pharisees can never understand this aspect of New Testament theology. They are still stuck with the stinking-thinking that has switched the price tags around in such a way that behavior comes before transformation!

?Not so,? says Paul. ?Therefore, in the view of God?s mercy?don?t be conformed to the ways of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will know God?s will for how you ought to live?.

In other words, for your lifestyle to change, your thought-life must change. A sign on the office door of a guidance counselor at a high school had these words,

Be careful about what you think for that will determine your feelings.
Be careful about what you feel for that will determine your attitudes.
Be careful about your attitudes for they will determine your actions.
Be careful about your actions for they will determine your character.
Be careful about your character for with it you will build your lifestyle.
(quoted in ?Clothe Yourself with Christ? by William Nieporte)

I?m pretty sure Paul would agree. The ultimate foundation for how we live is based on what we think. If we think the wrong thoughts it will influence our feelings, attitudes, actions, character, and will ultimately determine our lifestyle. That is what Paul is saying in Romans 12:1-2 as he makes the transition from theology to ethics, knowing what we should believe to knowing how we should behave, identity to lifestyle.

With this thought in mind let?s jump forward to Romans 13:8-14 where Paul writes about what the life of a transformed person looks like. If we are thinking the way Paul is writing about, then it will work itself out in some very practical ways in how we live.

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
Romans 13:8-14 (NIV)

One of the pictures that Paul paints is the difference between light and darkness. Have you ever been in total darkness? (Have soundperson kill the lights). This is close but even this is not total darkness. Still, our visibility has decreased significantly. I?m sure some of you have kind of a creepy kind of feeling! (bring lights back up)

The darkness is a scary place to be. Paul tells us that based on our new identity in Christ (in the view of God?s mercy, remember) we should put off the deeds of darkness and put on deeds befitting the daylight. In other words, Paul is saying: ?You are not of the darkness, but the light. Live in the daylight and get rid of the deeds of the night!? Get dressed!

What are those deeds? I like what Paul does. He gives a sample list of what we might call ?big bad deeds? and then shares some ?little bad deeds.? Of course, that would be how we?d rank it ? but it?s not the way God does. As far as God is concerned, ?bad deeds are bad deeds.? That said, Paul knows how we think, so he first mentions things like attending orgies and participation in other forms of debauchery. Then, before anyone in the moral majority can get too smug for living such pious lives, Paul includes some other deadly deeds that seem a little less serious to our way of thinking ? things like sowing dissension and jealousy, and even anger!

Paul teaches, ?You are not the same person you once were, your old self was crucified with Christ. Your old nature was buried with Him in death through baptism. In view of this theological truth, allow your mind to be renewed and transformed so that your lifestyle will reveal the light of God, not the darkness of this world.?

You have been changed ? so live like changed people.

You?ve been transformed ? so you are now free to think and act like transformed people.

That?s just one of the pictures Paul paints.

In the other picture, Paul redeems the law from the Old Covenant and gives it a proper place in the New Covenant. Under the Old Covenant, the law was proscriptive ? declaring how a person must live in order to be acceptable and pleasing to God. In the New Covenant the law is descriptive ? declaring what the lifestyle of a person will be like when they are living out of their new identity in Christ.

The prophet Jeremiah described what would happen to the law under the New Covenant, he said,

“The time is coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NIV)

Jeremiah declares that the law will no longer remain on tablets of stone as an external motivation toward good behavior, but will be etched on our hearts and minds, revealing the internal transformation of the very nature of the individual. The prophet is saying that under the Covenant of Grace, we will be transformed on the inside in such a way that our outside lifestyle can reflect the life of Christ.

Jesus gave His life for us, to put His life in us, to live His life through us!

So what will the life of Christ through us look like? Paul uses a single word in Romans 13 to describe the difference that grace makes in our life. Do you know what that word is?

If you said, ?LOVE!? Give yourself a big pat on the back and say, ?I was paying attention when we were reading the scripture :) ?

Paul then lists just a few of the commandments ? but he says that this truth applies to all of them. For those of us under grace, transformed by Christ, and living out of our identity in Christ, the bottom-line description of our lifestyle will be that of love!

Get dressed! To clothe ourselves in Christ means to be clothed in love! It will mean that our lifestyle is different. How so? It could be in lots of ways ? but I?m going to conclude by mentioning just one. As transformed people who have clothed ourselves in Christ, we will be able to see possibilities when others seen nothing.

Let?s reflect on this example that shows how Jesus saw other people in the story of the despised tax collector Zaccheus. This guy made his living by cheating everyone (Luke 19:1-10). When Jesus came to town, Zaccheus, being very short, decided to climb a tree for a better look. Jesus noticed him out on a limb. I suppose He wondered what He should do about Zaccheus. Should He try to help him? To change him, perhaps? The townspeople would have thought the possibility of that to be completely outrageous. ?You might as well try to turn stones into bread as to change that man. That?ll never happen,? they would have said.

Therefore, to practically everyone, all the options were quite clear; a) scold Zaccheus publicly for being a scoundrel and sinner; b) ignore Zaccheus because to recognize him in any way gives tacit support to his dishonesty; or, c) laugh at Zaccheus. After all, he is quite a spectacle ? perched up in that old sycamore tree. Nevertheless, Jesus saw another possibility ? one no one else had thought about ? because no one else had the perspective of Jesus.

He asks Zaccheus to come down from the tree and then, invites himself to Zaccheus? house for dinner. The next day the story is flying all over town. ?Did you hear what happened to Zaccheus? He is a changed man. He is not only giving back what he stole. He?s giving back four times more than he stole!

One of the most certain indicators of Jesus? divine nature is not His virgin birth or His ability to perform miracles. The surest sign that He is the Son of God is His ability to see the possibilities no one else sees, to see the resources to which everyone else is blind.

When we clothe ourselves with Christ ? when our thinking is renewed and our minds open to transformation ? when we are living out of our new identity in Christ ? then we will begin to see possibilities when before we saw improbabilities. We will begin to see people?s potential IN CHRIST and that will prompt us to love them the way Jesus loves them!

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Who wouldn’t want to be a part of this?

Sunday, January 18th, 2004
This entry is part 3 of 6 in the series A Place to Call Home

Big Idea: Truly authentic biblical community is irresistible.

Read at beginning of message:


1 John 1:1-10 (NIV)

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched–this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete. 5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

INTRODUCTION

In the Bible, Acts chapter 2 records a most incredible day. Less than two months after the public execution of Jesus ? 50 days after his crucifixion to be exact ? Peter, one of the 12 most loyal and devoted followers of Jesus stands up in the crowded city of Jerusalem to make an announcement. Because it was during a religious festival during which many people made a pilgrimage to the Holy City, a diverse crowd from all over the known world was on hand.

The point of his message was simple – this Jesus that you put to death? Well, He is the Lord of everything as well as the long awaited Messiah, or “chosen one” that the prophets foretold many years ago.

And through the power of the Holy Spirit, Acts 2:41 says that 3000 people accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and savior and were baptized into Him right on the spot.

The church that at sunrise consisted of 120 devoted persons numbered 3120 by the end of the day. Now that?s some pretty explosive growth. The original members of the church were outnumbered 30 to 1.

I can just see it, can?t you? During the baptisms, one of the church members walks up to Peter and says, “Don?t you think our church is growing too fast? I mean I didn?t even really know everybody when we were running 120 ? how can we possibly get to know everyone now? And what about our meeting place? How will we have room for all these new people when we get together? And I know I?m not alone in saying this, but some are questioning if you?ve thought about the commitment level of these people. Aren?t we now going to be a church that?s a mile wide and an only an inch deep? The 120 of us were strong doctrinally, but we can?t be sure these people can even recite the books of the Law in order. We had a good thing going. How can we be sure this massive crowd will really follow through on the decision they are making today?”

Those would have been some legitimate questions. Imagine Hanover Pentecostal Church growing from 80 to 3080 by the end of service this morning!

But think about it. Were those who were baptized that day destined to simply stand alone? Did they just show up for worship once a week in order to live out the new commitment they had made to Jesus? NO!

I?m convinced that the early church was far more prepared to incorporate 3000 new converts in one day than the average church today is to involve just 30 new people in a year.

That?s because the first church immediately involved these 3000 new people in what they had been doing all along. And the average church has yet to do what they were doing with just 120.

Let?s do a quick recap. We?ve been learning about what it means to live out this vision of becoming a church where no one stands alone, where it?s a place to call home, a church that is a city on a hill.

Two weeks ago we examined God?s essential nature is a fellowship or community. He exists as three equal yet distinct persons in one being. His favorite word is “one.”

Last week we read from Genesis and considered how we are made in God?s image ? in part that means we were made to reflect God?s essential nature of community ? yet the image has been marred because of sin.

Today we will look at the first ever Christian church ? over 3000 strong ? and see how they sought to recapture that image of community.

What does authentic biblical community look like?

In his book, The Connecting Church, Randy Frazee lists the 3 biggest obstacles to authentic biblical community:

1. Individualism ? thinking of ourselves ahead of others

2. Isolation ? fencing ourselves in and shutting others out to maintain our privacy

3. Consumerism ? spending on ourselves to please ourselves

Authentic biblical community counters each of these obstacles with three characteristics displayed by the early church.

Let?s read about them: READ ACTS 2:41-47

Acts 2:41-47 (NIV)

41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

First church overcame these obstacles of individualism, isolation and consumerism?

TRANSITION: We see that these first Christians had a?

COMMON PURPOSE

The very first church was an exciting, dynamic, rapidly growing community. Something special was going on. People were being irresistibly drawn to them. Their group was unique, full of life, and radiant with joy. What they had, people wanted.

This was due in part to their common purpose. They had a set of shared beliefs and values that defined who they were. Anyone who wished to be a part of their community could easily discover what it was that they held to be most important.

Acts 2:42 reveals their common purpose:


Acts 2:42 (NIV)

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Their purpose was to be disciples of Jesus. Plain and simple. They existed to follow Jesus in all aspects of their lives.

Look over at Acts 4:32:


Acts 4:32 (NIV)

32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.

They were united. United around a common set of shared beliefs and values.

They had:

Shared authority ? God?s Word ? Spiritual leaders who taught it ? Readily agreed on who was in charge

Shared beliefs ? agreed on what was true

Shared practice ? agreed on the essential activity that united them (Communion ? breaking bread)

Shared mission ? agreed on what God had called them to do ? grow in Christ and make more disciples

It was a place of unparalleled unity and harmony.

If church were like this, who wouldn?t want to be a part of it?

Things are different in a lot of churches today.

The church has become a collection of individuals. Mirroring our culture, we tend to bring our day to day individualism into the body of Christ and somehow still expect the church to function at optimum levels.

But until we change, the results won?t either.

Why? Because individualism is one of the primary obstacles to community.

Like the early Christians we need a common purpose ?

Shared authority ? We need to agree on who?s in charge ? At HPC Jesus Christ is in charge and we believe that and that he Has granted spiritual authority by His spirit through the leadership of our church found in the pastors and Board of Deacons who function as elders of our local body of believers. (1 Peter 5:1-4)


1 Peter 5:1-4 (NIV)

1 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers–not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

But in many Canadian churches, individualism is so pervasive that many feel justified in standing apart from what the Word says or living at odds with their church leadership.

Shared beliefs ?

The Barna research group recently conducted an extensive survey in the twelve largest Christian denominations in the U.S. What they uncovered was shocking. Only 41% of all adults surveyed believed in the total accuracy of the Bible. Only 40% believed Christ was sinless. And just 27% believed Satan to be real. (Pulpit Helps, February 2002, p. 1). I really don?t things are much different here in Canada

We need shared beliefs ? in our guest packets and on our church web-site we have printed up a section that states “What We Believe”

We need a Shared practice

Here at HPC we observe the Lord?s Supper on the first Sunday of each month to model the practice of the early church.

We need a shared mission

We know that Jesus said the greatest commandments are to love God and love people. Out of this a life of devotion to Jesus begins. Our Church purpose statement is very simple:

The purpose of Hanover Pentecostal Church is to help people mature into the likeness of Jesus;

by modelling Jesus in teaching and caring, and

by providing a warm and friendly atmosphere in which to worship and operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit

As a church we can emphasize all these things, but it still doesn?t mean each individual will be a part of community. It is an individual choice.

Yet, the mission of the church cannot be accomplished without community.

It is inevitable that differences of opinion with arise among human personalities. If handled with grace these can actually be helpful. But what is still essential is spiritual unity – commitment and love for God, his Word, his church, and those to whom he has entrusted its leadership. Without this kind of oneness, the church could not survive.

The church will not fulfill God?s purposes if it sinks to the level of simply being a group of individuals.

In your bulletins this morning there is a little “score card” for rating yourself in different areas this morning if you would like too. Rate yourself on this scale:

Highest rating would be 10

10 ? I am loyally committed to and in love with God, His Word, my church family and my church leadership

Opposite extreme would be 1:

1 ? I make no attempt to be loyally committed in these areas

Where would you rate yourself on this scale?

TRANSITION: The second thing present in the life of the very first Christian church was a:

COMMON PLACE

These 3000 new Christians did not go off and live in isolation. Instead they found circles of new believers open to their involvement all around them. There was no need, and I would even say no desire among them to avoid intensely close contact with other followers of Jesus.

Listen again to Acts 2:46:


Acts 2:46 (NIV)

46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,

One thing that stands out about these early Christians is that they saw each other a lot. They crossed paths daily. They were in and out of each other?s homes. They frequently sat down to share meals with other Christians.

If church were really like this, who wouldn?t want to be a part of it?

Met in homes ?

Hebrews 10:25 says:


Hebrews 10:25 (NIV)

25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Today we might say “as most are in the habit of doing.”

Our world is marked by isolation. Canada has been described as the loneliest nation on earth. We are surrounded by people, but by and large lack many, if any meaningful relationships.

Consider the popularity of the TV shows Seinfeld and Friends.

What both shows have in common is a small group of friends who go in and out of each other?s lives and apartments more times in a half hour than most “real” people experience in a year.

Some of us look back to college as a great time in our lives. It was a time when we were in and out of each other?s dorm rooms or apartments. We crossed paths often. Then we went our various ways, pursuing careers and raising families.

As we attempt to maintain those relationships, we frustrate ourselves. All the while being surrounded by countless numbers of people in our own neighborhoods!

What we need to recapture the community of the early church is a small band of people who frequently go in and out of each other?s lives.

We regularly need to meet in little circles. That?s how the early church involved 3000 people immediately. They understood common place.

Let me challenge you with something:

As Christians, either being the body of Christ is the most important thing in the world or it?s not. Which is it?

God in His essential nature is a fellowship. We are created in His image. The Great Commission given to us by Jesus Christ commands us to incorporate more and more people into the Body of Christ through teaching, baptizing and more teaching.

Make all kinds of rationalizations for why we aren?t regularly meeting in little circles.

Time is one.

There is the tyranny of business that we so often quote to each other (and I?m guilty of this too), “I?ve been so busy” It?s important that we evaluate just why we are so busy. Are we busy amassing wealth for our earthly security, or to sustain our pleasure-orientated lifestyle? Or are we busy investing in heavenly treasure that involves community, relationships, and God?s love? So many people put on hold the oneness of the body because their priorities don?t involve the kingdom of God but the kingdom of me and mine.

We live out an isolated form of Christianized individualism that is a direct result of the fall of humanity in the Garden.

Yet as Christians, either being the body of Christ is the most important thing in the world or it?s not.

Which is it?

As Christians, either being the body of Christ is the most important thing in the world or it?s not. Which is it?

Rate yourself:

10 ? I meet with a circle of believers weekly

1 ? I only meet with other believers in a Sunday worship service

TRANSITION: The first Christians didn?t just limit their experience of community to common purpose and common place. Even with the greatest attention to those two characteristics, there was still ample room for selfishness and self-dependency. That?s why a third very important aspect of life in the first church is mentioned. They shared:

COMMON POSSESSIONS

Verse 45 of Acts 2 makes it plain:


Acts 2:45 (NIV)

45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.

And chapter 4 spells it out in greater detail, beginning with the second half of verse 32:

Acts 4:32-37 (NIV)

32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. 34 There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need. 36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), 37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.

This doesn?t mean they simply pooled all their resources together. It appears everyone maintained ownership of their particular possessions, but they were more than willing to share or sell what they had so those in need could be cared for.

They readily helped one another.

If church were really like this, who wouldn?t want to be a part of it?

Our world is marked by consumerism. We spend on ourselves like no other people group in the world.

A note in the Life Application Bible says?

“It is tempting ? especially if we have material wealth ? to cut ourselves off from one another, each taking care of his or her own interests, each providing for and enjoying his or her own little piece of the world. But as part of God?s spiritual family, it is our responsibility to help one another in every way possible. God?s family works best when its members work together.” (Life Application Bible note on Acts 2:44)

Randy Frazee writes:

“We do not begin to experience true community just because people give up their resources for others. But when people give up their resources because the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ has penetrated their lives, it overwhelms them with the grace of giving.” (Randy Frazee, The Connecting Church, p. 187).

The concept the early church displayed was interdependence. Interdependent people could be strong and self-sufficient because of their plentiful resources. But instead, they choose to make their resources available to others.

The average Canadian can build a life for themselves in which they don?t need anyone ? but that doesn?t mean they should. We need each other.

Rate yourself:

At level ten you could say:

10 – My possessions are available for use and being used interdependently

At the opposite end of the spectrum is level one:

1 – My possessions are mine and are being used on me and my

family only.

CONCLUSION

Add up your score

Score ______________

21-30 You are attempting to live out the basics of community. Keep at it!

12-20 You see the need for community, but more action will be required to enjoy its benefits

0-11 No significant attention is being given to community in your life. Without change you will become an isolated individual struggling with consumerism.

Randy Frazee has a son who was born without a left hand. One day in Sunday School the teacher was talking with the children about the church. To illustrate her point she folded her hands together and said, “Here?s the church, here?s the steeple; open the doors and see all the people.”

She asked the class to do it along with her ? obviously not thinking about his son?s inability to pull this exercise off. Then it dawned on her that the boy wouldn?t be able to join in.

Before she could do anything about it, the little boy next to his son, a friend of his from the time they were babies, reached out his left hand and said, “Let?s do it together.” The two boys proceeded to join their hands together to make the church and the steeple.

This hand exercise should never be done again by an individual because the church is not a collection of individuals, but the one body of Christ.

And when we are truly the body or the community God calls us to be ? the church becomes irresistible! Who wouldn?t want to be a part of it?

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