Search This Blog

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

Church Life

 We have been studying through a series called Church by the Book the last couple of weeks. It is one of my favorite sections of scripture found in Acts 2:41-47. These few verses are packed so full of rich truth and intentionality it is hard to just spend a few weeks in it. But the more I study it the more God reveals His instruction and design for a successful church. 

I was told long ago that a church that is faithful to the word will always be growing because we will be faithful to the Lord's expectations. I had others tell me that attendance is top priority, as if God takes roll call. (I will say as a pastor I have found people expect me to be there, miss a week and they think they can too. haha) All this to say that so many of the cliches that we use are actually not very good theology. They make for a good conviction but not a good reality. Of course we want to stay true to the word and if your not then your doors ought to be closed. I think of church as being the huddle where we learn more about the Lord and His teachings and then we spend the week on the field, fighting the enemy. When we come into the huddle, we are encouraged, challenged and given perspective through God's eyes through His word and His people. Those who don't know the Lord will find the Christian to be one sided, narrow minded and they desire them to broaden thier minds. But to adopt this seeker sensitive rubbish on how to do church is similar to asking the pilot of your plane to disregard the flat, hard well maintained runway for a city street, jungle animal path, or to just make your own path through a residential neighborhood. We know the significance of the runway when it comes time to land and how narrow that little strip of pavement is. Likewise if you call yourself a Christ follower, if you know Him to be your Lord and Savior than you must understand the unwillingness to compromise on God's design. 

The church has fought for years regarding deep or wide ministries. Should we teach deeply and know that many who are not redeemed in the pews will find offense, or do we shallow the waters a bit and make it an enjoyable festive welcome party, week after week? Acts would teach us that the church was a place for believers to be built up,  sent out and recieved back anxious to hear about each others ministries. At the foundation of the church in Acts 2:42 was the Apostles teaching. They were to teach what they had learned from Jesus and instruct others to go and do the same. Creating disciples with every opportunity. 

So when you turn your attention toward the political arena, Christians are sure to have a different perspective than much of the country. We seek out truth and we seek no savior but Jesus. We do not live as though a mere political figure can fix what is wrong. We live in a broken world that will continue to erode and no replacement parts can be found. You will not find the love, encouragement, and purpose from this broken world, only in the church. Yes, do your part, vote, go out and make a difference, defend lives, serve others, love without hesitation and expectancy but your weekend huddle with a church that preaches the truth and loves God and others is the only place you will find true rest.

Here is my point in all this. When a political figure claims to be Christian, who supports the murder of babies, they are lying to you. You can not have a person who stands for life and votes to kill babies, that is narrow objective truth. When you are told by a candidate that they will keep you safe but take away your constitutional rights such as bearing arms, attending church, singing hymns and go so far as to encourage the looting thugs who are under special priveledge, they are untrustworthy and not worthy to lead this country. When thier lives are full of scandals and make up fake stories to take the focus off of themselves, they are deceitful wicked individuals. Once again narrow truth, we cannot be so contradicting of our own words or actions and be genuine in what our mouth asserts we are or are not. I call upon all who call themselves Christians to defend the truth and never accept the challenge to broaden your thinking. 

The first century church did grow by thousands in its early days, hundreds all the time recorded in the first chapters of Acts, but the people were responding to the gospel and then be discipled. The 120 mentioned earlier in Acts were the ones who were among the apostles  and through the work of the Spirit around 3000 were added to thier number. They were drawn by the works of the Spirit, specifically the pentecost account. Sounded like a violent rushing wind that filled the house they sat in, and flames as if fire split and came upon each of them and they spoke in a language that was understood by different nationalities. Yet even in this remarkable event, some came up with what they felt was a reasonable explanation. "They are drunk" Thats the best they could come up with to discount the hand of God. No slurring, falling over or any of that, just a real language that was spoken to different people so that they would hear the teaching in thier native tongues. 

Its not going to get easier, we must make it a priority to grow in our faith and understanding and not accept the worlds, anything goes mentatlity. Hold fast to the truth and be assured that scripture will speek to whatever it is you run into. Be encouraged, the time draws near when the Lord will call the names of His children and we will live in peace forevermore. But until then be steadfast. 

Till next time. P.M.

Wednesday, September 16, 2020

What is church?

 We could have a room full of people, pose the question, "what is church" and have just as many responses as people. The problem is that many of the responses would be subjective and would have more to do with a persons upbringing, experience, preferences, and traditions than what the word of God teaches. Many have the view of church being a stuffy, irrelevant, "have to" when in reality it should be the highlight of the week. The joy of corporate worship, the command of our Father and the encouragement we gain from fellowship should far outweigh the inconvenience of church. 

That being said most of us already know that the church is not a building it is people. Sadly with each generation we are seeing a trend that church simply doesn't matter, after all what is God going to do if I don't go to church?

There was a pastor in the upper east part of the country who took on a dyeing church with enthusiasm and energy, he gave it his all week after week. Seeing little to no change, he ramped up efforts and to his dismay the church continued to dwindle. He had one last thought, a final shot at building the church. He ran an ad in the paper with the death notice of the church. He made arrangements for the funeral at the church with a casket in front covered in flowers and the date was set. Curiosity consumed the community and they came to see what this funeral was all about. Starting 30 minutes before service the sanctuary filled up, bringing tears to the pastors eyes as he desired to accomplish this with all the work before and now seeing all the people brought mixed emotions. By service time there was standing room only and those in the back on tip toes to get a glimpse of the casket. The service began and the pastor delivered a wonderful eulogy, but the people couldn't wait to see the casket. The pastor invited people to give their final respects as they would line up and file by the casket. He moved the flowers aside and opened the lid, moving aside so the people could funnel by. As each person walked by, soberness filled their faces. As each person shuffled by, responding in shame, they set eyes on the dying church...... a mirror that the pastor had placed inside the casket reflecting the church that had died.

Why is it people like to say they belong to a church when they seldom place priority on entering the front doors?

We see the condition of our great country and see the attacks on churches and pastors daily, but in many cases we literally don't lift a finger to change the tide of change. We know that things will grow increasingly worse, but no where in scripture does it speak to giving in, laying back and watching the destruction. You and I are called to fight the battle, serve Christ and instead of licking your wounds at home, to celebrate with the brethren that we are found worthy to pick up the sword for our Lord. The gathering, corporately, is for worshiping God, but in that we get so much out of it. Praying for one another, serving one another, encouraging one another and so much more. 

So here is my challenge. Forget what you thought you knew about the church and open your Bibles to Acts chapter 2:36-47. The first century church was bold, vibrant, unified and focused on what mattered most. Join me as we explore getting back to doing church correctly. 

Till next time.

P.M.