This morning we’re wrapping up this short series we’ve been calling: “I Love My Church.” We don’t say these words glibly. Our Creator God who so faithfully loved Israel. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who so faithfully bled for, died for, and established His Church—is calling us to be His people together in this time and in this place serving this generation. This Church is first and foremost Christ’s Church, but it’s also “my church.”
Week 1 was about being wholly devoted (in faithful covenant love) to God’s purpose, and to one another. Week 2 was about Christ’s call that we love one another. That, by this all people will know we’re Christ’s disciples—“IF” we deliver on Christ’s command to love as Christ loved. Week 3 was about realizing our calling, gifts, and ministry to fill the universe with the glory of Christ. God has ordained Christ’s church—this church—our church—your church—my church—and not just this church alone… (along with godly marriages and godly families) to be his instrument!
Listen, no other institution is going to be raised up on this earth to serve God’s purpose of redemption. If this church loses its way, God will remove our lampstand and raise up other churches and other people. Israel lost its way, so God raised up the New Israel the church. The Jews lost their way, so God called the Gentiles. The Pharisees lost their way, so Jesus went to the sinners and tax collectors. If mature adults cannot grasp God’s purpose and plan, he will raise up babes. If not, even babes will cry out, God will even make the stones cry out.
This isn’t a matter of whether God’s purpose will prevail—In Matthew 16:18 Jesus tells Simon… I will build my church and the gates of hades will not prevail against it! We might also consider Philippians 2:9-11 which describes the manner in which Christ will reign victorious over all history, “For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— in heaven and on earth and under the earth— and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
If you are in Christ, if you are part of Christ’s Church, we are the champions! We are the winners, the victors. In that day we’re going to shine with Christ having been faithful, having been loving, having been his servants. I want to be on the right side of history—so that is why I LOVE MY CHURCH! I want God to say to me, “well done good and faithful servant.” I want to hear, “This is my son. . . he listened. . . he lived his life on mission. . . with him I am well pleased!”
I saw this crazy verse this week--one I’d never paid attention to before. It’s tucked away in the last chapters of Romans. In Romans 15:16 Paul describes himself as “minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, serving as a priest of the gospel of God. God’s purpose is that the Gentiles may be an acceptable offering, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.” “Gentiles” is just another word for “Nations.” Paul has set his sights on offering entire nations of Gentiles to God on the last day. Most Christians are content at the mere thought of being personally saved. I wish more Christians would say, I want to see my spouse saved… one day I want to offer my children as an acceptable offering to God. I want to offer up my coworkers, my colleagues, my peers, my neighbors. I want to offer up my neighborhood, my burrow, my city, my state, my country, a nation… or how about nations!
This verse made me think about Jeff and Laura Wilhoit, and the ministry of Pioneer Translators… translating the Bible for unreached people groups. Could you imagine one day hundreds of thousands of people celebrating salvation in heaven knowing that you were a vital link in the chain? You were a faithful, loving, servant of Jesus, a priest of the Gospel… you made your life matter! You brought the word to this people group, or that people group. Most Christians (sadly) think cash, visa, mastercard is the only way to make an acceptable offering to God. But what about spending yourself in service to God’s capital “P” Purpose?
I want to wrap this series up with a challenge. The challenge is that right now—in this place, at this time, for this generation… you and I launch a Disciple-Multiplying Movement. Many pastors are obsessed with the size of their church. Attendance. I’m obsessed with the size of our discipleship and disciplemaking! How can we (like Apostle Paul) realize our nations changing capacity?
Our first concern is for the Great Commission, or what we like to call “Going Wide.” In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus tells his disciples, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Going Wide is all about Helping People Find God. To fulfill the commission, we must radically orient our lives to “go” where people most need God. This is as much an interpersonal call as a geographical call. Geographically we can think in concentric circles. There is our Jerusalem (people like us who live where we already live), Judea (people near us with same worldview), Samaria (people by us who we identify as “other”). But there is also Athens (spiritually minded people who don’t profess Jesus as Lord and Savior). And there is Rome (those who are powerful but also hostile to the things of God).
A key strategy to going wide is to maximize Conversations. We must learn to really spend time with people. Practice hospitality. Share meals. Share stories. Listen. Understand. Explore people’s relationship with God as Father, Jesus as Savior, the Holy Spirit as Mentor, the Church as a God’s Kingdom, and their challenges living life in God’s world.
Our second concern is for the Great Commandment, or what we like to call “Going Deep.” In Matthew 22:36-40 Jesus is asked, “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?” And Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”
Going Deep is all about Helping People Follow Jesus. To fulfill the great commandments we must radically orient our lives to “love” everyone Jesus loved. To be his Church! The highest aspiration is to love God with the totality of our being. Not just our head, but our heart and hands. It doesn’t stop there. Our greatest aspiration is to also love people as just as Jesus loves them.
A key strategy is to maximize Circles. Love doesn’t happen in a vacuum. A circle is a space where intentional Kingdom living manifests itself. The most vital circle to exude Christ’s kind of love is our marriages and family. But other circles include spiritual relationships, where iron-sharpens-iron, and true accountability can inspire Kingdom living. As our love grows, our influence grows. How deeply are we reflecting Christ’s kinds of love in our social circles? Church circles? Work circles? Play circles? Neighborhoods? Community?
Our third concern is for the Great Collaboration, or what we like to call “Going Long.” In John 17:20-23 Jesus says, “I pray . . . for those who believe in me through their word. May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us, so that the world may believe you sent me. I have given them the glory you have given me, so that they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me, so that they may be made completely one, that the world may know you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me.”
Going Long is all about Helping People Fulfill Purpose. Our lives are filled with many purposes. But how oriented is our lives around God’s capital “P” Purpose? Jesus supreme desire is that all people not be reconciled to the Father, but that people would share the same intimate “oneness” with God that Jesus has enjoyed from all eternity!
A key strategy is to maximize Cohorts. It’s been said if you want to go fast, go alone. But it you want to go far (or long), go together with others. When it comes to making disciples, neither Jesus nor the Apostles were lone rangers. They surrounded themselves with a cohort of like-minded people for mutual learning, prayer, and impact. Though we all have individual experiences and expertise to lend to others, we must enlarge our cooperation and unity to achieve the world-wide dream of Oneness with God through faith in Jesus. We can facilitate “cohorts”—collaborative partnerships—who make disciples, strengthen marriages and families, multiply groups, lead and plant churches, and network with God’s people to the ends of the earth.
Two Vital Keys are the Word and Prayer. In John 17:17-19 Jesus also prays, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. I sanctify myself for them, so that they also may be sanctified by the truth.” We don’t fulfill God’s Capital “P” Dream without anchoring our understanding of these things in God’s Word. Nor do we get much traction without prayerfully seeking Christ’s sanctifying presence and power to be with us always, to the very end of the age. In fact, apart from God’s Word and prayer the whole dream collapses in upon our generation. Like King David, we want to be faithful to our generation.
What Conversations are you engaging?
What Circles are you engaging?
What Cohorts (learning communities) are you engaging?
Faith Catalyst… Disciple… Mission… Group… Leader… Church…