Week TWO – What is the Church?

What is Church?

My Lesson Framework by Alistair Begg

HOW do YOU define Church???

Good Evening – let’s open with a word of prayer…

I want to pick up where we left off last week. If you remember we had just asked a series of questions concerning the testimony of this Church to the surrounding neighborhood and communities…

Please turn there with me to John Chapter 14…

John Chapter 14 verses 1 through 12 is an awesome look into Christ’s Authority through His Father. I love this passage: 1Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. 4And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. 5Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? 6Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 7If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. 8Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? 10Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. 11Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake. 12Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

In verse 12 Christ told us that WE that believe in Him, shall be enpowered to conduct works of the Spirit as well. Because He sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in us. The Freedom from the bonds of Sin, freed us to conduct works of Love, Compassion, as well as the ability to exercise Mercy and Grace. We must choose to do so, the decision to follow Christ must be total and complete! Period! Remember Laodicea!

In verse 6 of John 14, Christ proclaims His Authority by saying “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Not only does this statement proclaim His authority – BUT – it also establishes His position as King and gate keeper to any and all access to the Holy and Righteous GOD! NO MAN, NO WOMAN will ever in all eternity get to the Father but by or through CHRIST!

One of my very favorite chapters in the entire Bible is Matthew 7… At the tail end of the Sermon on the Mount, Christ told us not to judge another man’s heart. Christ told us that we should deeply, honestly and truly examines our own hearts and rid it of SIN. He told us not to cast those things that are Holy and Pure among the spiritually vial. He also told us to pray to the Father, and through faith, expecting those prayers through Faith to be answered. Then prior to Christ warning of the false prophets, He made this interesting statement in verses 12, 13 and 14.

12Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. 13Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in there at: 14Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

“Few there be that find it”!!! Part of the Church mission folks is to help all the people in the world to find it!!! We are not to be selective, we are not to be politically correct, and we are to Teach and Preach the Word of Truth.

That Word of Truth must include God as the Creator, our Fallen Condition since the Garden, and our need for payment for that Sin, which should lead to the Truth of the only acceptable payment in God’s eyes – CHRIST! If we remove the Light that lives within us and fail to live and pursue Righteousness and Godliness – what is so different that the world would want to follow? How is that adding seasoning to the world as a little salt?

Any other Gospel is not the Truth, and this TRUE Gospel should lead to True Repentance, Baptism, fellowshipping around the Lords Table, a sanctifying of ourselves for our Groom, and abstinence from the worlds lusts – but NOT its people. As we grow in the Word – we should love people more and more as Christ loved them. All walks, all creeds, all colors, all classes, all with compassion, sacrifice and service in our hearts. HE GAVE HIMSELF FOR US!!! How could we possibly give any less?

CHURCH is NOT defined by just what happens inside these four walls! Church is defined by the very Heart of Christ, in which He sent to dwell in each and every one of His true followers – The Holy Spirit! Now I want you to think about that Reality for a moment. Almighty GOD in the person of His Holy Spirit takes up residence in the Hearts of men and women that have both Repented and yielded to His Kingship / Lordship in their (our) lives.

THE Church, identifies itself with Christ, whom which identified Himself with God the Father! Who then gave the Church to His Son as His Bride – Blessing from Abba Father to the Son for OBIEDIENCE! As we are learning in our study of Joshua, God blesses many times over His peoples obedience – and just look what is on the opposite side of the obedience…. Judgment comes swiftly and totally to the disobedient!!!

Are we allowing the Light of the Truth that lives in us as a corporate body of believers shine to those around us? Or are we being disobedient? Is this congregation known by its neighbors to be loving, longsuffering, tenderhearted, charitable, kind, neighborly, compassionate, of good cheer, tempered, selfless, reliable, steadfast, and stalwarts of the Truth and the Faith in Jesus Christ? Or have we chosen another gospel message? Do we live and function as a Church in reflection of Christ’s Light to the World? Do we Honor Him and resolve ourselves to HIS Authority in our lives and this Church?

Do our Family relationships reflect the Love of Christ? Are our relationships in this Church, Christ Like, do they have depth, love, commitment and conviction? Or are they shallow, superficial and in some cases just a façade? See if the relationship with Christ is messed up, all our other relationships will be messed up as well. If we don’t Love Him first, then we will love ourselves first, and all relationships will suffer. If this is the case in more than a few in a congregation, the Love of Christ will suffer as well. Simply because you cannot reflect something you do not have in the first place!

Energy and resources are consumed chasing and trying to repair the consequences of SIN! The Pastor cannot focus on Ministries if he is constantly putting out fires due to sin! The Church Leadership cannot focus on building up the Church if there is sin from within that is constantly tearing it down.

Focus is being taken from Christ and our purpose for being here, and is focused on those that choose not to follow the word of God. SO – Growing Disciples, Spiritual Mentoring of the congregation must become a ministry and priority of the Church to build solid foundations on which to launch other ministries – including evangelism or Out Reach!

Now, please turn with me to Acts Chapter 2.

KJV – Acts 2:37 to 40

37Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? 38Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 39For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call. 40And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.

When these men and women heard the Gospel Message, and the preaching by Peter – their hearts were pricked by the Holy Spirit. They were drawn to repentance – they turned from their everyday lives and willfully, fearfully and obediently took up the Cross of Christ. They submitted to His Authority and were baptized in obedience of the message they just heard Peter preach!

Can anybody here tonight tell me why??? (because as Peter told them, the Holy Spirit came into them to dwell as a permanent fixture to their soul and conscience) This, my dear brothers and sisters – is NOT a result of easy believism! This was a result of Almighty God fulfilling a promise, and the “hearers” of the Word yielding their academic and logical minds to a Higher Power, and exercising FAITH and TRUST! Believing in that which they could NOT see; but could sense the presence of His Holy Spirit.

Alistair Begg taught a message on the 4 distinguishing marks of a Healthy Church. Now there are obviously others marks of a Healthy Church – but; no Church is Healthy without these, and they are as follows:

(1) A Church that is Learning, and then applying what they have learned in Obedient Ministry and Service to our Lord.

(2) A Church that is Sharing, both the Truth that it has learned, and the financial and material blessing that God has provided.

(3) A Church that is Worshiping, God as God, Giving Him Praise, Glorifying Him in an Honoring and Revering fashion that acknowledges His Sovereignty and Supreme Authority in the lives of the people individually and collectively as the Body of Christ.

(4) A Church that is Growing, first and foremost Spiritually, then growing in members as God Blesses the Church doing it right.

Please turn with me to Acts Chapter 2… let’s look at verse 22. Peter is beginning to preach here… Listen to the first part of the verse for me… “Ye men of Israel hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:”

The first thing Peter did was proclaim the name of Christ… He established from the very first phrase he spoke to these people JESUS!

In this first preaching, Peter establishes his authority to speak and calls these men and women to “Listen” (hear these words). The next thing he did was establish Christ’s authority as the head of the Church.

Then he confirmed the works of Christ while He had His earthly ministry. Then he established God’s endorsement of His Son even in the midst of them – of Israel.

Peter; started the Church on the right foot by TEACHING them. Thru Peter’s preaching, teaching, application and exhortation some 3000 people came to know Christ. SO – A learning Church submits themselves to the Authority of Christ first, and then to its Church Leadership. They yielded to Christ’s teaching through His apostles – the first Pastors and Elders of the Church. Through that submission – they LEARNED that which Christ through His Holy Spirit would have them to know.

May I please be so bold as to expound this point a bit further? The Lord loves to empower His called / appointed men to teach and preach the Word to people searching. He loves to reveal Himself through the Holy Spirit… This is not a mystery, it is well documented. The Spirit of Lord absolutely loves to enable those that are prepared to say “Listen” and immediately follow it up with JESUS!!! Men and Women LISTEN, I will tell you of JESUS! As those truly seeking God find His Son Looking for them, Christ rushes His Spirit to speak to their hearts and there is a Desire to OBEY! The Church in America is selling a bill of goods, a pig in a poke. They are not teaching Jesus, and they are certainly not preaching His Commandments and Ordinances.

Peter was no different than Pastor Kilian. He was a man seeking Christ’s heart, and yielded to God’s authority and the Holy Spirit that lives within Him. Likewise our Pastor has followed the calling of God, and yielded to that calling, and in this Church hails us to LISTEN and LEARN. BUT – my dear brothers and sisters – WE MUST YIELD to LEARN. We must become a yielding Church – and then apply that which has been taught.

Look with me at Verse 42 – it shows us that they steadfastly continued in the Apostle’s teaching. They heard, they believed, they repented, they obeyed, and they followed Christ through the Holy Spirit that He sent to them. This is basic doctrine folks! It is no Mystery – the Holy Spirit is not evasive! If you truly accepted Christ as Savior and LORD, then you know the Spirit is with you, and your heart and conscience can attest to that fact. IF YOU CAN’T – then you need to go to the Pastor, a Deacon or a Teacher in our Church and have them pray with you and counsel you.

Peter did not stand up and try to sell them the Gospel, he did not pitch it like it was some sort of marketing ploy. He did not hire a minstrel or band to pump everyone up into a “Praise” kind of funk to get them ready for a message to be hit out of the park. He simply preached the message that God provided through His Son.

As a point that Alistair Begg drove home in his series, listen to this… “Christianity does not start with US!!!” “The Gospel does not start with US!!!(un-quote) The apostles never ask the people listening if they wanted something out the message. The Apostles did not ask the people listening if they wanted to get sin out of their lives, or if they needed guidance, or if they needed anything else. Peter started with CHRIST!

Teaching must start with the historical, objective TRUTH about Jesus… We must teach Jesus, people must start with the basics, and LEARN the basics. We are obligated through our bond to Christ to teach HIS message. As our Church LEARNS we can then move onto the Doctrines of the Word, and feed the congregation the real meat of the Word. Babes in Christ must have the milk, faithful Saints must feed on a mixture as Pastors learn to provide to both (or all ) Spiritual levels.

As a LEARNING Church grows, it will begin to take on a new personality, one of Holiness and Godliness. That Spiritual Maturity and Wisdom will then Disciple the newer / younger Christians. Then the congregation through the Holy Spirit becomes reproductive in bringing in new converts and growing them to maturity.

Those activities, then ushers us into the next Healthy Mark of a Church, a SHARING Church. A Learning Church will want to SHARE the gift that Christ has given us through the Holy Spirit. As we become more reliant on Him through FAITH and TRUST, the things of this earth become less important. The size of our house, the age of our car, the toys in the garage all become less important. We see the value in Sharing both the Gospel and the Blessing Christ has bestowed on us. So we find new ways to Share, and Give to our brothers and sisters in Christ. In a heart of Charity to those less fortunate than us, that possibly do not know Christ yet we may share the wealth that Christ has blessed us with...

The amount is not important, it is the obedience of the Cheerful Giver that Christ is looking for. You walk away finding yourself blessed many times over. More importantly, you may have the opportunity to Share Christ, building wealth in Heaven. Remember, what we have learned – JESUS. It is Him that we are sharing through Loving Acts of Kindness, helping the less fortunate, helping the impaired, helping the aged, helping the widows, helping the new young mothers, helping a Pastor’s wife by showing her love, compassion and loving friendship.

Next week we will close this all up by looking at how it all ties into Worshipping, Growing, Leadership and Discipleship. Let us pray that God adds His Blessing to this message and His words, so that we may apply the Learning here tonight and Share it with others.

Let’s close in a word of Prayer…