By Christ's Command

We are here because of our relationship with the living God!

1 Timothy 1:1 (NIV) says, "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope."

Good morning Lakeside! We're here because of our relationship with the living God. We believe that God exists and that all things were created by him and for him. We're here because we believe that in him, everything lives and moves and has its being.

We're here because we believe that God has acted, is acting now, and will continue to act in history, revealing his plan of redemption, and drawing all men unto himself even as he's drawn us to himself. Everything we do as a church centers on the saving activity of God through Christ. God is our savior. Christ Jesus, God's one and only Son, sent from heaven above, who died, was buried, and was raised from the grave by the power of God on the third day after his death, is our eternal hope.

Ekklesia is the Greek word for Church.

We're here because we believe that God has brought us together to be his people. So allow me to introduce a few new words. The first word is ekklesia. Ekklesia is the Greek word for Church. It is a compound word that simply means, "to call out of". As believers, God has called us out of the world to accomplish something extraordinary together.

When Jesus founded his Church, he promised that we would be an unstoppable movement. In Matthew 16:18 Jesus promised that not even the gates of hell would prevail against his Church. We are not some social club. We are not a sports team. We are not a business. We are the unstoppable movement of Jesus. Clubs come and go. Teams rise and fall. Businesses declare bankruptcy. I saw that business giants Sears and Kodak may be no more after 2012. But the Church endures throughout all ages. God is our savior. Christ Jesus is our hope. Wherever Christ's Church has faced adversity, she has overcome and flourished. It's as Christ promised in Matthew 28:20 (NIV), "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

But why does God call us out of the world? The second word I want to introduce to you is apostello. This word appears in 1 Timothy 1:1 (NIV) where Paul introduces himself as an, "apostle of Christ Jesus."

Apostello means that we are to be sent.

In Greek, apostello means, "to be sent." An apostle is one who is sent on behalf of or by the authority of another. So put these together. God calls his Church out of the world in order to send us back into the world. But we don't go back the same. We go out changed, as part of the unstoppable movement of Jesus, eager to do the work of God, and to be his witnesses.

This is exactly what we see in life of the apostle Paul. Before Paul was the apostle Paul, he was known as Saul. In Acts 9 Saul is a blasphemer and a violent man. He is persecuting the early Church. He is securing letters from the high priest in Jerusalem to enter synagogues in Damascus and take Christians prisoner by force.

But when Christ calls Saul to be an ambassador for Christ, everything changes. In Acts 9:15-16 (NIV) Christ says of Saul, "This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name."

The next thing we know, Saul is baptized and then goes right on out preaching for Jesus Christ in the very synagogues where he once arrested Christians. In Acts 9 Luke describes how all who heard him were astonished. Yet he grew more and more powerful, baffling the Jews he was once aligned with!

When Paul introduces himself in 1 Timothy 1:1 (NIV) he introduces himself as an, "...apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope." Paul was called out of the world, but he did not go back the same man. He went back changed, as one under God's authority, under Christ's command.

Are the words ekklesia and apostello a point of identity for you?

We're going to keep things pretty simple this morning. When you think of the words ekklesia and apostello, I wonder if they are a point of identity for you? Consider the word ekklesia. Do you feel that God is calling you out of the world to be part of the unstoppable movement of Jesus? When you think of the word apostello, do you see yourself as one who has been sent to change your world?

If we're going to be the Church, if we're going to become an apostolic community sent by God, there is one thing we have to resolve immediately. In 1 Timothy 1:1 (NIV) Paul says that he is an apostle, "by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope." (Emphasis added)

Do you see yourself as being under the command of Christ?

Command? I wonder how many of see ourselves as being under the command of Christ? Most people, including Christians today, pride themselves in being independent. We do as we please. We think how we want to think. We act according to how we feel. Most people are governed by the thoughts and desires of their flesh. We eat, we drink, and we carry on. Most people aren't subject to anyone or anything except themselves.

Yet in 1 Timothy 1:1 Paul announces himself to be under Christ's command. He indicates the same thing to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:3-4 (NIV). "Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer." This is so foreign. I wonder how many of us see ourselves as soldiers subjected to the authority of Christ Jesus? And if we believe ourselves to be under such authority, what are the indications, or evidence, that we are?

We gain knowledge of God's will.

I want you to think back to where the Christian life begins. One of the first things we encounter is knowledge of God's will. We learn about Christ's commands. You can find these scattered throughout scripture. There are the ten commandments. There is the Law of Moses. There are the writings of the prophets. There is the sermon on the mount. The Bible is full of specific commands expressing God's will for our lives. In addition, there is our conscience, the knowledge God writes on the hearts of all men.

Knowledge of God's will in itself isn't what distinguishes the Jesus movement. Our attitude is what differentiates us from the world. To be called out of the world is to hunger and thirst for knowledge. To be called out of the world is to grow in the grace and knowledge of God and it's to learn how to please God in every way. It's to be warm to be warm to the things of God.

Romans 1:28 describes how the world doesn't think it worthwhile to retain any knowledge of God. It's an attitude that is common to those who do not believe. John 3:20 describes how everyone who does evil hates the light, and doesn't come into the light for fear his deeds will be exposed. It's an attitude. But there is more.

We submit to God's will.

When we're presented with Christ's commands, we have a choice to make. In Matthew 28:18 (NIV) Jesus says to disciples, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." What should be our initial response to Christ's authority? Well first, there is our baptism. In baptism we visibly place ourselves under the authority of Christ Jesus.

Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV) continues, "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, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

What does it mean to be baptized into the name of Christ? It means being placed under Christ's authority. And what do people under Christ's authority do? They are taught to obey everything Christ commanded! Why? Because every soldier wants to please his commanding officer.

In Jesus' day, there was no higher rank than King. When Jesus spoke of his eternal kingdom, he was defining that which would differentiate us from all the world. Baptism is a symbol of God's kingdom. More importantly, it's a symbol of Christ's authority over our lives. Our baptism is an identifying trait that shows us to be command-able. That we don't do as we please. That we're governed by a higher authority. That Christ the King holds ultimate authority over us. This is why Paul was baptized immediately. He wanted to publicly acknowledge Christ's authority over all his life.

When we're called out of the world, we first come to a knowledge of Christ authority. But then we come under the authority of Christ. We repent of our sin. We confess our new allegiance and say, "Jesus is Lord." We pledge our allegiance to Christ in baptism. We're taught to obey everything Christ commanded.

If you are interested in being baptized, you only have to tell us. We fill the baptistry at all hours of the day and night. Last year almost 35 people were baptized here at Lakeside, mostly adults. You can tell us when you are ready by indicating it on the green connection card.

We become command-able and send-able.

But then in addition to gaining knowledge, in addition to being baptized, there is a third indication of authority. It's that we'd be command-able and send-able. How many of us, like the apostle Paul, are willing to be inconvenienced in order to do what pleases God? How many of us are willing to make sacrifices in order to advance the movement of Jesus?

Over the next few months we're going to be digging deep into Paul's letter to Timothy. Timothy was a young ministry recruit who was being called out of the world in order to be sent back into the world. As a young man he faced constant opposition. The test for him was to stay in Ephesus and to take a stand for those things that mattered for eternity.

In 1 Timothy 1:3 Paul urges him to stay in Ephesus to do the hard work of building Christ's Church. In 1 Timothy 1:18-19 (NIV) he urges him to, "fight the battle well, holding on to faith and a good conscience..." In 1 Timothy 4:12 (NIV) he encourages Timothy, "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." In 1 Timothy 4:16 (NIV) he warns him, "Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers." In 1 Timothy 6:10-12 (NIV) he warns Timothy to flee a love of money and to, "pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness" and to, "fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession." Timothy was being called out of the world in order to be sent back into the world changed.

It's not just knowledge, it's our attitude toward God's will. It's not just our attitude, it's our submission to God, which is first evidenced in baptism. It's not just our baptism, it's our willingness to be send-able, command-able, to be God's instrument, and to advance the unstoppable movement of Jesus.