(This message was delivered on February 25, 2018 by Pastor Dave Morehouse at the Allison Campus of The Journey Church)
Let me begin with with reading a simple description of the early church – how they related together.
Acts 2:42 They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers.
Brent – our teaching pastor has said if we were to translate this into our modern church situation we would say:
They devoted themselves:
To following the bible
To the life together,
To worship & the Lord’s Supper
And to the prayers.
To simplify this passage for the moment I want you to zero into on the phrase “they devoted themselves…to the life together.
Today I want us to chew on this idea – The life together. This is important as consider how to navigate relationships as God intends… especially within the church community
What goes through your mind when you come think of church? When you think of all the sorts of people who show up for a service – people who may be similar or very different from you – how do you think about relating to them?
I like how the famous C.S.Lewis responded to this question – from his book God in the Dock: Essays on Theology and Ethics, pg. 61-62
He says, “when I first became a Christian, I thought that I could do it on my own, by retiring to my rooms and reading theology…”
He further discovered “how it is extraordinary how inconvenient to your family it becomes for you to get up early to go to Church. It doesn’t matter so much if you get up early for anything else, but if you get up early to go to Church it’s very selfish of you and you upset the house.”
But as C.S.Lewis attended he went on to make this observation – “I disliked very much their hymns, which I considered to be fifth-rate poems set to sixth-rate music. But as I went on I saw the great merit of it. I came up against different people of quite different outlooks and different education, and then gradually my conceit just began peeling off.”
I realized that the hymns were, nevertheless, being sung with devotion and benefit by an old saint in elastic-side – (rubber) boots in the opposite pew, and then you realize that you aren’t fit to clean those boots. It gets you out of your solitary conceit.’”
LET’S MAKE A DEAL
Here is my observation. A lot of us might have the desire to treat each other at church the way we treat each other when we go to the grocery store.
We are all there to get something for our spiritual benefit. We recognize others might want the same thing so we are polite, greet each other with a nod and go on with our spiritual shopping.
We are calling this way of relating to church – Let’s Make a Deal. It is simply a transactional relationship. We come into a church community with a couple of simple questions:
- Does it serve me?
- What will it cost me?
Those questions make sense in so many relationships I have with others. I go to a dance class, I pay my fee. The instructor meets my need by teaching me how to line dance – if I don’t like how he/she is teaching me, or I find the cost too much…no big deal. I leave and go looking for my next dance class.
There is nothing wrong with transactional relationships. This is so deep within the culture we live. The profound difficulty is when we try to treat church like our spiritual grocery store – where I think it is primarily about serving me and the cost is not too much.
DEVOTED TO THE LIFE TOGETHER
Why would I want to do life together with people who come to church?
We are calling the relationships in church – sacred connections. I am convinced we will never really be devoted to the life together until we grasp what makes our connections sacred.
Our connections are sacred because
Christ Is Our Foundation
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 3:11, NLT)
There is a holy mystery of the church – it is the dwelling place of God. The invisible Christ is the basis of of this community. People who have by faith have opened their hearts to Jesus are now bound together – not by genetic DNA but by DNA of Christ.
Because Jesus is the foundation of our He defines our life together.
The foundation of Jesus Christ moves us from a marred identity to a new identity – we are a new creation. Because of the cross of Christ we who once were alienated from God are now reconciled. We who once were condemned are now forgiven. Once rejected are now accepted. At a chapel service in India the person starting the service said – “Welcome royalty – kings and queens of God’s kingdom!”. Therefore as we do the life together we treat one another with a profound honour. We are brothers and sisters in God’s family, we are the forgiven ones.
The foundation of Jesus Christ let us see things as they really are – what is fundamental and ultimate reality. When we look at the world’s ills it helps us understand the heart of the human condition. Therefore as we do life together we will focus on seeking to live out the things really matter – we will encourage one another to serve, to give, thirst for justice, to show mercy, work for peace, sharing the hope of Christ.
The foundation of Jesus Christ tells us what we value in this life – that all we say and do – we think, act and be like Christ. Therefore we as we do the life together we worship and love God, we love others, we love one another with a joy, humility and thankfulness.
The bible says there will come a day when every knee shall bow before the name of Jesus and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord. The church already is ahead of the curve – because Jesus is our foundation – it changes everything about our connection with one another – we together know the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
“So welcome kings and queens of God’s kingdom..welcome!”
The Divisions of the World don’t Count
Now devoted to the life together also has a hard negative implication. Our sacred connection in Christ means the divisions of the world don’t count.
I just got back from India…with World Vision. They have work among some of the poorest of the poor children and families. We had the privilege of visiting them and seeing the work that is providing health, education, safety from violence, and hope.
In those travels I discovered that India still deeply struggles with their caste system. The caste system divides Hindus into four main categories – . Many believe that the groups originated from Brahma, the Hindu God of creation. One group came from the head, one from the arms, one from the thighs and one from the feet. But there is a fifth category called Dalits or the untouchables.
Most of the poor you see are in India are Dalits. And that is who World Vision works with…Go ahead and look up more – but the point is there are divisions in the world. We experience them too.
But look what Paul says in Galatians 3:28,
There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28, NLT)
The social divisions that exist in society are broken down in Christ and we are equal before God — saved by grace through faith. We are children of God. That is our primary status and every other status we are given in the world — beautiful, wealthy, intelligent or the insults ugly, poor, stupid — all of these with away when the God’s shout is: “This is my child.”
Let me quote Brent’s observation – The sacred connections God is creating between his children knocks down the world’s divisions and pulls us together. The segregated life may be a reality in our world but is not the Life Together.
Therefore as we do the life together let us open our lives and homes to all – not letting our status or stash define us – but rather our sacred connection in Christ.
We Are the Body
He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. (Ephesians 4:16, NLT)
One last implication of our sacred connection is that is how faith in Christ is lived out. The experience of following Christ though it is a individual decision – it is meant to be lived out in community. We are not separate chess pieces – rather we are a spiritual body that is knit together.
We are the body of Christ. The funny thing about parts of the body is that they are deeply connected not loosely associated. Anytime we remove part of the body it is a big deal. When you remove yourself from the body it is a big deal.
A healthy body is deeply connected – fitting together perfectly. If a body part starts to become detached – that is a matter of serious concern. Detached retina, a valve is detached from our heart, our hip gets detached from our leg – it affects the whole body.
But when everything is healthy and deeply connected the body can do amazing things – the Olympic athletes prove that over and over. It is a wonder and amazing to watch. Virtue and Moir winning gold in dance competition of skating was incredible!
When we are deeply connected as the body of Christ amazing things happen as well – lives get changed, God’s presence, love and truth is experienced, people find hope and healing through the Body life of Christ.
We today are seeing people come to faith in Christ – don’t you think for a minute that is all because of a single individual – it is the body of Christ working together in a healthy way – each part did its special work – God is glorified and all heaven rejoices and people find hope and eternal life.
Conclusion
When people come to church – people are simply wanting deep in their hearts to say – can I meet God?
- So we gather to hear teaching of the bible –
- we pray –
- we remember the Lord’s sacrifice for our sins as we break bread and drink the cup.
Everyone of us these 3 practices are good, right and needed. But just like a four legged table we must have one other spiritual practise in our life – doing life together.
But I don’t want to – my family matters, my work matters, my buddies at the club matters – beside these people are so not like me –
May we ask God to do one thing in our lives – fill our hearts with Christ-like love. The supreme mark of the life of Jesus Christ within a Christian is love.
Jesus speaks to us all:
This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. (John 15:12, NLT)
This is the unifying force that helps us as the church to carry out its purposes in the world. This is our one strategy – our one weapon our one force our one agenda. This love will peel away our conceit toward others. This love will be tenderhearted and forgiving. This love will lead us to live holy lives, seek God’s glory and be a witness to Christ.
This love will make our connections sacred. We will experience God more deeply as we devote ourselves to a common life in Christ – where we are present – where we give and encourage, teach and help – where we will have to practise patience, grace and forgiveness…but ultimately these sacred connections will grow great souls and we are the church as God intended…