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Why Church part 1

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A little boy said, “Dad, did Grandpa make you go to Sunday school when you were my age?”

His father said, “He sure did. We went every Sunday.”

The boy said sadly, “Well, I bet it won’t do me any good either.”

Is that the purpose of the church? To make us good people?

Is the church a humanitarian organization, or does it exist for a more significant purpose?

The Bible frequently refers to the church as the Body of Christ (Romans 12:5).

Much of the emphasis today is on what the church does in relation to social change and mission rather than on focusing on God and the essence of worship.

In fact, today the church is viewed by many as being dynamic and flexible, changing with the culture and times. However, if we change the church identity to adapt to the world, rather than the church being a change agent in the world, how can we call ourselves a church that is based on the unchanging Gospel of Jesus Christ.

If the church constantly changes to adapt to the world, that church has ceased to worship God, but rather is worshipping a god of their own creation, one who affirms what they affirm and always approves of their lifestyle. That is humanism and idolatry.

The church is called the Body of Christ, and as the Body of Christ, we ought to display the power of God to our community in faith.

In Acts 2, Peter preaches the church’s first evangelistic sermon after the Holy Spirit empowered the 120 who had gathered in the upper room in Jerusalem at Pentecost. The powerful proclamation empowered by the Holy Spirit led to the salvation of 3000 people.

Peter told the people the hard truth about Jesus and their own part in his crucifixion, it was a bold word.

As the church, do we boldly proclaim the truth of God’s word?  Truth as it relates to all the issues the world is dealing with today. The truth is found in God’s word. Are we proclaiming it?

The church was born and in verse 42 we read, “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”

Devotions means dedication or commitment to a cause or a purpose. One of the greatest fears in our culture is commitment, devotion means commitment. It means showing up, being present, and being involved.

Sadly, the average person who calls themselves a Christian church goer, attends church less than twice a month.

The church devoted themselves to fellowship and breaking of bread and prayer.

“Breaking of bread”, probably refers to their regular meals, but at the close of each meal, they probably paused to remember the Lord by observing what we call “the Lord’s Supper.”

The word “fellowship” is more than simply gathering in the same room and talking. It means “having in common,” and this was a practice of sharing their possessions and material goods with one another. It was not a form of communism; it was voluntary sharing out of love for one another.

That is community, being willing to help and give even when it costs. There is a lot of talk about community and the ideal church being this 1st century church, but we as 21st century people will not be able to come close without some radical changes in our values.

We won’t attain true community because we are selfish and comfortable people who are told from an early age that we are owed possessions, comfort, and respect.

The first church was a selfless community. We want community, but we aren’t willing to be selfless.

This doesn’t mean we cannot have community; it just means that we will always fall short of what the early church experienced due to our culture and our own innate selfishness.

The early church devoted themselves to prayer.

The most powerful thing we can do with our time is prayer, and yet we neglect prayer.

Prayer is talking to God and hearing from Him. It is a conversation with the all-powerful, all-knowing creator of the universe. What an incredible privilege.

Jesus spent a lot of time in prayer, and he prayed out loud in front of his disciples. If the most powerful being in the universe prayed for himself, what makes us think we can get by without prayer?

Prayer is not about using eloquent language; it is about simple, childlike faith in coming to our Heavenly Father.

The church that was devoted to teaching the Word, fellowship, breaking bread, and prayer had powerful fruit. Verse 43 says, “And awecame upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.”

That word “awe” is the fear of the Lord. Fear of the Lord is morality, that is governed by reverence, respect and honor for God. We see an epidemic of moral failures in the church, because we have no awe, no fear of the Lord.

Why? Because there is no selfless and transparent commitment to fellowship, teaching and prayer. No true church.

This church was vibrant, effective, and powerful. Verse 43 says that they witnessed signs and wonders.

We should come together weekly with an expectation of the supernatural God doing supernatural things in our midst.

The results of this supernatural church community is spelt out in verse 47, “…And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

The entire world was turned upside down (Acts 17:6).

So why church? Our world needs the church. Our world needs a church that is vibrant, that is devoted to the Word of God, fellowship, and prayer.

The primary means by which the early church “turned the world upside down” was the authentic faith of those who followed Jesus. Displaying the power and love of the Lord Jesus Christ.

What would our world look like if the modern-day church devoted themselves to the Word, fellowship and prayer?

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Sermon Sunday May 30, 2021 – Sermon on the Mount

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In Matthew 5,6 and 7, we have the record of the greatest sermon ever preached, as Jesus taught his disciples in what is known as the sermon on the mount.

Jesus was introducing and teaching the ways of the kingdom that he wants to form in the lives of his followers. At first glance, it seemed that Jesus was giving a new law, one that seemed different to the Law of Moses given at Sinai to the nation of Israel. But, as we read these chapters, we see that Jesus is calling his followers to a radical lifestyle. As followers of Jesus, we are called to live very differently to the world around us. The words of Jesus are a call to selflessness, holiness, and a call to be set apart from the world.

Every sentence in the sermon on the mount declares a separation between living as a Christian and living as an unbeliever. As Jesus addresses every aspect of social, spiritual, and personal relationships, he is setting the bar extremely high. As followers of Jesus, we are to live differently, to speak differently, and to think differently to those who do not know Jesus as Lord.

Sadly, there are many in the church and even many churches, that look no different than the world. Churches are filled with hypocrisy, gossip, sexual immorality, greed, and fear of man. Doesn’t sound like the church of Jesus, does it?

There is often talk about nominal Christians and nominal churches. What does that even mean?

Nowhere in the Bible do we ever find reference to nominal Christianity. To be a Christian is to be all in! To be dead to our old way of life and alive to God, filled with His spirit. There is no neutral ground, you are either radically living for Jesus or you are not.

Sadly, many people today are like the person who buys a Mahomes shirt, watches every game on TV and then thinks he is part of the Chiefs team. You are not saved by going to church or trying to live a good life. Only those who have been raised to new life by the Spirit of God have been saved. Jesus spoke about this very directly in the sermon on the mount in Matthew 7:21-23.

So how do we live this radical life in a world that continues to get more and more sinful? Jesus knew it would be difficult and that is why he prayed for his disciples right before he went to the cross (read John 17:15-17).

Jesus asked his Father to sanctify his followers, that we might be daily transformed in our thoughts and actions. Jesus said this sanctifying process is done by the truth of the word of God. If you do not have a desire to read and meditate on the word of God, there is a very real possibility that it is because you have no relationship with Jesus.

The Word that Jesus is speaking about and the Law he is referring to is what we know as the Old Testament.

There is a theory in some Christian circles teaching that Jesus came to do away with the Old Testament and that the Law no longer applies to us today. They argue that we are under grace and therefore we are not subject to the punishment of God. But in verse 17 and 18 of Matthew 5 we read, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”

If you read the first five books of the Old Testament, you will see that there are a lot of laws that honestly seem quite strange and frankly impossible for us to observe in our culture.

The law that Moses received on Mount Sinai, that was given as the constitution of the nation of Israel consists of three parts.

  1. The moral laws: The Ten Commandments and the moral principles given for all mankind for all history.
  2. The judicial laws: Given as the legislative guide to the nation of Israel for their governance.
  3. The ceremonial law: The instructions regarding the offerings and sacrifices.

Jesus said that he came to fulfill the law or complete the law. If we look at the ceremonial law, we see that it all points to Jesus as the perfect sacrificial lamb, slain for the sins of the world. When Jesus died on the cross for our sins, he fulfilled the prophetic law, the law pointing to the messiah. In Matthew 5:17-18, Jesus confirms the authority and his seal of approval on the collection of books that we call the Old Testament.

Jesus didn’t abolish the moral law. Jesus went on to say that not one smallest part of the law will be abolished until it is all completed. The Moral law is the permanent and perpetual way in which we relate to God and the way we relate to each other.

The Old Testament is a rich mine with untold treasures. And the gold nuggets to look for are the ones that point to Jesus, the second person of the trinity, the Word of God. If you look carefully with the help of the Holy Spirit, you will see Jesus written all over the pages of the Old Testament.

If we cannot be saved by keeping a set of rules, why is the moral law of Moses still relevant?

The Law was never intended to save man because we could never keep the Law perfectly. Rather the law was given to us to show us the true character and holiness of God, to show how far short of the glory of God we fall, to show us how desperately we need a savior. The law of God was given to bring us to our savior, Jesus Christ.

And when we come to Jesus in complete dependence on his lordship over our lives, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit that enables us to walk in holiness as we daily are being made new.

Do you know this Jesus?