FAMILY MATTERS
“God’s Forever Family”
Ephesians 2:13-22
It was way back in the 1970s before I was married in fact that I became a part of what was known as THE JESUS MOVEMENT. I drove a 1969 Mustang, candy apple red and the license plate I posted on the front of the car said just one word...JESUS. When I drove that car around I wanted people to understand one thing more than any other and that was that I had planted my faith firmly in Jesus Christ for the rest of my life.
The University I was attending was in Jonesboro, Arkansas and as I drove into town to get settled there I noticed a Christian bookstore. There’s something that happens when I pass a bookstore by the way... The wheels on my car automatically turn in. They did on my Mustang and they have on every car I have owned since that time. It was at that bookstore that I met some people with whom I became very close. They were certainly not perfect but I found them to be the real deal. They were very committed to Jesus. Most of them had altered their lifestyle to the point that they served in the ministry through that coffeehouse and bookstore for just room and board. No paycheck. I was amazed at their commitment. They worked together, they shared food together; I saw them function as a church would but they met in a building that didn’t look like a church-so do we-but that was not common in the 70s. They wore T-shirts, jeans and sandals-kind of like people do in Florida but this was what they wore to church while the rest of the church population in that day was wearing three-piece suits. Coat. Vest. Ties. Dress shoes. They studied the Bible like no group I had ever encountered. Each one of them were committed to read at least 10 chapters a day. They could quote the Scripture and the change was evident in their lives. Here’s the truth we really need to latch onto...
The church is not a building. It is a group of people who have gathered around a common purpose.
The word church in the Greek is the word ekklesia. It is used roughly 100 times in the Scripture. But I want you to understand something. A church is not about a building or a location... It is about people. God’s people gathered together to worship and carry out his purpose. So we would be more correct if we did not say as many of us do, “’m going to church today” but instead we said, “I am the church today.” You and I are the church. This is basically what Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus. He was reminding them that when we give our lives to Jesus Christ we are united together as part of God’s forever family. And in this forever family there at least four things that bring us together and hold us together.
(1) We are linked together by a common purpose. That purpose drives everything we do. 25 years ago churches did not speak much about the word purpose. It was there, we just didn’t say much about it nor did we talk about what drives us as a church. Then one day churches, including this one began to ask— who is it or what is it that sits in the driver’s seat in our church? Some examples of this include the following:
• Some are driven by tradition. For these churches most of what they do centers around what they have already done. It worked well in the past; the people love it so we continue.
• Some are driven by finances. In this kind of church, the primary focus-anytime the church is making a decision is this-how much does it cost? Nothing else is ever as important as money. Money drives everything these churches do and every decision that is made.
• Some are driven by buildings. Winston Churchill once said, “We shape our buildings and then they shape us.” We design a building thinking that building is going to serve us for the rest of our lives and then we live with it. Churches that are driven primarily by their facility, place their entire focus in this area. The building becomes more important than anything else.
There are certainly other purposes that tend to drive churches today but understand this... When a church focuses to the exclusion of everything else on one of these... Tradition, finances, the building or a certain group of people, power people, who drive all the church does; a serious mistake is being made. Churches must focus on one thing. Purpose. What is the purpose of the church? For us we put it this way...
Our purpose is to enlarge the size of heaven by making
as many disciples as possible. Making disciples is our focus.
(2) We are linked together by a common place. It is important for us to realize something here. So I want to give you a test— there’s one question on the test. No speaking out loud. No looking on your neighbor’s paper. How many times, in your estimation does the Bible tell us to go to church? How many times is that said in the Scripture?
(A) 2189 times
(B) 864 times
(C) 352 times
(D) none
How many of you said A? B? C? D? The answer is E. We tell people all the time that they should come to church—we invite people to church. And we should but the Bible never actually says it that way. That phrase going to church is not even used one time. That is because the focus in Scripture is not on going to church, the focus is on being the church. We don’t go to church; we are the church. The church would never have survived for thousands of years if it was limited to a building. The church is God’s people, gathering together around a common purpose. Yes, in a building but the building is not the focus.
(3) We are linked together by a common promise. In the 16th chapter of Matthew, Jesus approached his disciples and he asked them this question... “Who do people say I am?” Jesus had just begun his public ministry and for some, the jury was still out as to who He was... The disciples were asked this question and here is how they replied….
• Some say you are John the Baptist
• some say you are Elijah
Jesus then looks at Simon Peter and says but who do you say I am? Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said, you are Peter and on this rock, this kind of faith, I will build my church and the gates of hades will not overcome it. The Greek word here for church, ekklesia, means gathering. It means to be called out. Jesus was saying that through these disciples he would build a community of believers who would change the world. This church would be unstoppable. Satan cannot stop it, man cannot overpower it. Though its members will die, nothing can stop the church. Because it is not a building. It is God’s people.
And then he says that he will hand over to them the keys to the kingdom of heaven. And together all of us have been linked by this powerful promise.
(4) God’s forever family will one day gather together for a common purpose. And we will gather together in a common place. But there will be nothing common about it. If we go back to the Old Testament, we see that the Israelites wandered around in the wilderness. They turned what could’ve been a two-week journey into one that lasted 40 years. Because they were moving constantly, it became necessary to have a sanctuary, a place of worship that was portable. In many ways it resembled a large tent. It then became a model for a much more elaborate structure that would be built at a later time to give them a more permanent place to worship. This was called the tabernacle. It was from the beginning when it was being moved from place to place and it was later when it was stationary.
Now I want you to see something important here. In John 1:14 it says, “The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” That phrase, made his dwelling means to pitch a tent. In other words the word became flesh and pitched his tent among us. We can use the word tabernacle in at least two ways. We use it as a noun as a structure. But it is also a verb. It is an action word. God came and He tabernacled among his people. And one day we will all tabernacle together in one place. With one purpose as we put side our sin nature and move into our new home in heaven. I know that some of you do not have a lot of extended family. I have heard several of you tell me that THIS is your family. That is exactly what we want this to be. These are your brothers and sisters in Christ…get used to them because we are going to live together for a very long time.
My desire is to build a church here where there is neither rich nor poor; not Democrat or Republican, African America or white or Latino. But one body, the body of Christ with one purpose to turn this world upside down for Jesus. We can only do that one way… as a family. Linked together forever. God’s forever family.
