The Church
What do you think of first when I say the word "church"? Some will think about a 'building'. Others may think about a 'worship service' or various programs. Do you ever think of the church as 'family'?
Thinking of 'church' as 'family' may be tough for some. Maybe your experience with family hasn't always been great - or maybe you're more introverted and don't feel you need more 'family'. I get it - I've said, 'All I want to do is build a pole barn out in the woods to raise my kids - just leave me alone'. I understand - but as The Church - we do need each other!
I've talked to people, who after a traumatic event or major loss, say something like, "I don't know how I would have gotten through this without my church family". When we look at the early church of the New Testament, it's not difficult to see the concept of 'family' being lived out among those early disciples. They were extremely close and were committed with each other to the Lord.
I want us to look at the depiction in Acts 2:42-47 (NIV)...
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.
From that text, it's not hard to see that at the beginning…
I. Church was family
They considered themselves brothers and sisters in Christ. They shared their lives together. The text says, "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." They committed themselves to those things, and to each other, because those things were vitally important to the life of the Church.
Those early Christians were determined and faithful over the long haul. This was not just a one-time ministry effort - it became their very nature over the course of their lives. They understood their mission as given to them by God, and they were determined to fulfill that mission.
They would study God's Word, they would fellowship (share their lives, encourage one another), they had some form of a regular communion service to remind them of Jesus' sacrifice, and they were committed to prayer. Because of their commitment in these areas, God added new believers to their number every day. God was willing and able to bless them and cause the church to grow because of their commitment.
Now, we've seen the early church related to one another as a family. But based on perhaps some of your recent experiences with family over Thanksgiving and Christmas…
A. How can a 'church family' function?
These were brand new Christians - the very first Christians. They came from many different backgrounds and ethnicities. Some were Jewish and came with all of their Old Testament beliefs. Some were Greek or Samaritan or even Roman - whose government was currently at odds with the Church. Some of these first Christians were even previously 'pagan' with either no religious tradition at all or maybe those who had worshipped idols. This was quite a diverse 'family' to start.
Suppose that the early Church was struggling and they gathered together to figure out a plan. Imagine that someone suggested that they should get together periodically and worship God. Someone else had an idea about a monthly carry-in dinner and somebody decided that it would be nice if they could find someplace to serve communion when it was convenient. And then, instead of the apostle's doctrine, somebody said that they knew some guy who preached on a street corner in downtown Jerusalem - maybe they could get him to come and do some teaching.
So they organized meetings to select a name for the church and to set up some kind of constitution and by-laws to keep order. They decided that it might be nice to have a church board or governing denominational council so that somebody could be in control. So they set up a democratic form of government and everyone voted on what they should do and how they should do it.
And as silly, or as pointed, as that may sound – that's exactly what the Church became over a period of time when men got away from the original purpose of the early church and decided to restructure it to fit their image and understanding. When that happened – 'the church' became just an institution perpetuated by tradition rather than a family of believers directly under the Lordship of Jesus.
Let's look closely again at our text especially vs. 44-47-
Acts 2:44-47 (NIV)
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.
How could there be such a diverse group of imperfect people who worked together as family; who enjoyed being together and what's more – actually agreed and got along with one another? The Lord was very pleased by this first Church and demonstrated it by blessing them daily with new people. How was that able to happen? How can a 'church family' like that function so well...?
B. With great humility
There had to have been a great deal of humility practiced in order to function as they did. They were a body of believers whose love drew people to Christ like moths to a flame.
Does that display of love describe the church today? I'm actually happy to say, that as a general rule this congregation does a pretty good job of showing love to one another – as a general rule. But do all Churches have that 'familial love' as a prominent characteristic? In many instances, congregations become a collection of individuals each doing their own thing and living their lives separate and apart from the over-all purpose of the Church.
That happens when people become more concerned with 'going to Church' rather than 'being the Church'. When that happens, humility goes out the window - and we become less concerned with the success of the Church and more concerned with our comfort, our social group in the Church, and our authority or control over decisions in the Church. When we start just 'going to Church' rather than 'being the Church', we have a tendency to get our feelings hurt. We complain that things weren't done 'my way' and we're tempted to say, "If things don't change around here – I'm taking my ball and going home".
In the body, in the Church family - there must be an agreement of a common purpose and a commitment to fulfill that purpose, not just when it's easy or comfortable, or done the way we like it. That's hard sometimes. Few people like conflict - but it will happen if you let yourself become part of the Church family. And in dealing with that conflict - we have to remember that…
II. 'Our' church belongs to Jesus
The Church does not belong to the preacher. The Church doesn't belong to the elders. The Church doesn't belong to the board or a group of ministry teams. The Church doesn't even belong to the members. The Church is not a democracy – it's a Theocracy, in a very real sense. No congregation can ignore God's purpose for the Church and operate by majority rule and then expect to be blessed! But that's what many modern churches do when they vote to redefine and change what God has clearly stated in scripture. Many modern churches accept teachings that clearly go against God's Word.
In the scriptures, we see very clearly that Jesus Christ established and owns the Church by what He says in Matthew 16:18 (NIV)...
And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
As Christians, we each are a part of the body of Christ, His Church.
Ephesians 4:16 (NIV)
From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
That analogy implies an intimate relationship, a familial relationship, every Christian, part of the whole - working for the same purpose and united to fulfill that purpose. Paul describes it again as a functioning body in I Corinthians 12:12-18 (NIV)...
The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. (13) For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body - whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free - and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. (14) Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. (15) If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.
(16) And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. (17) If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? (18) But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.
And then let's jump ahead to I Corinthians 12:24b-27 (NIV)...
But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, (25) so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. (26) If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. (27) Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
And notice those words there - there should be no division. That can only happen when every member of the body humbly accepts that 'this' is not our Church - but God's.
Even though the word 'family' isn't used here, the concept describes the life of the early church. It was an essential part of their life. It was that characteristic of 'family' that empowered the Church to thrive and grow. When one person in the body loses sight of their vital role in the body, dissension starts. - When any of us place more value on our own agendas, or egos, or opinions over the good of the body, of the Church – that's wrong.
I've said this before, and I don't mean this to sound harsh – but God doesn't need any of us to accomplish His goals. Out of a deep love for you He invites you to be a part of His plan for His Kingdom, but He doesn't need you. God won't be the one to suffer if you choose to ignore humility and pull out of service or break fellowship with the body because you disagree with a fellow brother or sister.
How do we keep our focus? We need to set aside our desires of what we think the family should do or be, and we need to follow…
A. Jesus' purpose for the church
It's vitally important that the Church get back to being the Church that was established and founded by Christ. That doesn't mean that today's church is going to look identical to the 1st century church. There were political, social, economic and spiritual factors in place that helped shape the church of that day in that culture. Those things affected how they would approach their mission and the methods they used - but it's their purpose that we need to hold on to.
The Church of Jesus Christ has always had the same purpose as it had from the beginning - a purpose consistent with Jesus' Great Commission found in Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)...
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (19) Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Churches have not always acted in a way consistent with that purpose - but that purpose has never changed. That purpose shouldn't be controlled or influenced by popular culture or modern values. It's the same wherever you find the church - whether in Africa, Asia, Europe, or America. That purpose, simply stated, is to win the world for Christ!
Not only has the purpose of the Church not changed, but the mission of the Church has not changed. We need to follow…
B. Jesus' mission for the church
That mission is to teach, baptize and teach some more, to lead people to become genuine disciples of Jesus. The mission is the means by which we fulfill our purpose. We at Deep River have restated our mission in the words KNOW GROW GO. Our God given mission is to KNOW Jesus Christ, to GROW in our relationship with Him and with each other, and to GO out and serve each other and to GO share the message with anyone who'll listen.
Notice - Jesus didn't say it was our mission to grow the Church. That's God's job to bless His Church. If we do our part, and continue our mission to fulfill our purpose, God will do His part - and the Church will grow!
So we will still work to win people by teaching, baptizing and then teaching them how to be disciples. - But how people are taught, led to be baptized and 'discipled' is going to differ from generation to generation and from culture to culture.
So What?
As a congregation, we need to re-commit ourselves to fulfilling God's purpose and mission in our community to this generation and in this culture. As we do that – I guarantee that we will have differences of opinion as to how to accomplish that. We will have different ideas and priorities, and that's okay – as long as we make sure that we have the same purpose and mission and treat one another in love.
And we can't let anything get in the way of the Church accomplishing its God given mission. Whether it's a prideful attitude, a negative spirit, procrastination, or even leadership or a preacher - nothing should distract us from our purpose. We need to continue to step out in faith and allow God to lead His Church. I promise that God cares infinitely more about the success of this Church than any of us do.
We are a family made up of imperfect people. Please let go of the things that might be getting in the way of your service, your ministry. I'm asking you to once again surrender yourself to Jesus. Don't let the devil get a foothold with any of the petty things that can divide us as we seek to serve God!
"But you're asking me to give up having my own way." Yes, I am – for the sake of the family and for the sake of Jesus' mission. And when we do that – God will bless us and we WILL grow in faithfulness and in numbers! May God bless Deep River in 2024!