This mornings message is titled - “Jesus loves the organized Church”
Now that might to some sound silly. Perhaps you would respond of course he does Pastor where his children, his joint heirs, his body.
• That’s not the response that I believe God finds troubling, but there is a second response that would fall under “ doctrine that tickles ears” or end time heresy and that’s that Jesus is totally opposed to organized church, but rather he is more concerned with a euphoric one on one me and you and the skies of blue, kind of relationship.
And there is an element of truth even in that- It is about a one on one personal relationship with Him. No man comes unto the Father but by him. There is no other name under heaven and earth by which a man can be saved.
Now here is the BUT principal – In almost all cases when we say something that expresses a particular view and then interrupt the sentence with the word But, everything on the left-hand side of the But gets tossed in the trash to make the right sides answer the real answer.
EXAMPLE: Luke 9:59
Quoting from - An Honest Response: “I love Jesus but hate Religion” The writer asks -Can you really love Jesus, but hate Christianity, Christians, or the Church?
He continues - You either love the biblical Jesus and his biblical religion, or you love the Jesus and religion you’ve replaced them with. To balk at either Jesus or His religion is to engage in a sleight of hand. The problem here is that you aren’t fooling anyone but yourself.
YOU CAN”T SAY:
• “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians”
• “I’m a Christ-follower, but I oppose organized Christianity.”
• “I’m spiritual. I think Jesus was a great teacher, but the church is no longer relevant.”
There are almost endless variants of this core message. “I like Jesus. I hate organized Ekklesia.”
The problem is that people who make this statement don’t really believe either point.
It’s a logical sleight of hand, but one in which the illusionists only fool themselves.
Jesus said, if you love me you will keep the things that I commanded. That would include the great commission.
That included the unity he spoke of in John 17 in His great High Priestly prayer for believers.
20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
That is the very reason we are called THE BODY OF CHRIST.
We were never meant to be seen as appendages of Christ but as a body, we know that because of Pauls writings to the Corinthians. I Cor. 12
12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by[c] one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
From there, in a series of verses he dispels the I don’t need the rest of the Body lie
One in particular - 15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.
He continues - 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?
But if any verse should drive home that we are a body and not an appendage it would be vs. 18
But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.
One only need to think about the days and months prior to the official start of the Organized church in Acts Chapter 2
So lets look at what scripture says about organized vs. free wheeling Individual in the church.
IN MARK 3:13-15 Jesus places 12 men atop the leadership of His Church
13 Jesus went up a mountain, called those whom he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve whom he called apostles.[a] They were to accompany him and to be sent out by him to spread the Good News. 15 They also had the authority to force demons out of people.
Jesus placed a hierarchy of leadership in the church – Those to whom the rest of literally the world wide church would look to for leadership. - That structure in our day and age still exists in varying forms. Some more Biblical than others.
Catholics have a Pope, Cardinals, Arch Bishops, Bishops, etc.
Some denominations have Elders, Bishops etc.
The Assembly of God has 4 Executive Officers, Supt. Assn. Supt. Treasurer, and Secretary, they have Executive Presybters, General Presbyters, Sectional Presbyters and so on.
They are there in the purest sense to keep the Body of Christ on Track with what Jesus called us to.
But Jesus interaction or shall I say organizing doesn’t stop there.
We have already heard in I Cor.12 that its God himself who places us in the body where we are. That is when we yield to His leading.
He was the one who appointed the hierarchy over the entire body of Christ.
And Its Him who provided offices or perhaps better said postions of leadership in local church bodies.
Paul explains to the Ephesian Church Unity and Maturity in the Body of Christ.
4 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
AND THEN IN VS 4 He explains to them:
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called;5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
But then to even further clarify Jesus love for organized Christianity, Paul says this.
7 But to each one of us, grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.8 This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.”
Paul explains what those gifts are – They are organized positions within a local church.
11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, pastors, and teachers,
And he explains why they are important:
12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
And to be honest to those who cry I don’t need the church I think these next verses speak.
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.
15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him, the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Church that’s organization placed there by Jesus in His Church.
From its very inception, the Church was called to be a place of support, prayer, the word, fellowship and even the miraculous.
The last thing Jesus did before returning to heaven was to instruct the believers to assemble in Jerusalem together.
He was going to fulfill the promise of sending the Holy Spirit and it would happen in a gathering of the Ekklesia in koinónia.
Now let me say that in English and not Greek - a gathering of those who were called out by the Lord and who were in Fellowship together. That’s the church.
Where the power of the Holy Spirit could be poured out.
And the Word of God preached and sinners saved. That’s what Acts 2 tells us
But that’s not all it tells us. Let's read it ourselves.
3 thousand were saved hundreds were Filled with the Holy Spirit. And then we read:
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
THAT’S ORGANIZED CHRISTIANITY – Not sitting at home, or marveling at the gulf sailing through it or watching the sunset.
And if that’s not enough God wasn’t done bringing order to the Body of Christ.
Chapter 6 of Acts gives the command to institute Deacons into the church to help the elders by lifting administrative responsibilities off their shoulder.
I Tim. 3 gives a list of requirements for both the Deacons and Elders of a church and for their wives.
I Cor. 12 just before the earlier text we read concerning us all being a part of the body as Christ placed us, explains something seen increasing less and less in this day where the purpose of the church, the gifts of the Holy Spirit and what they are and how they function.
12 Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers, and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
Vs. 7 through 11 explain what they are.
Then after spending the next chapter walking through the importance of love in all of the workings of the church. He goes on to explain the use of the gifts, the way of assuring what is or isn’t of God, what should be expected.
One verse should stand out - 1 Corinthians 14:40 (NKJV) 40 Let all things be done decently and in order.
For time's sake, I'm not going to read the chapter but suffice to say it shows Gods concern for a carefully structured church.
But I want to share 2 more verses with you.
One that you have heard me use many times - Hebrews 10:25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
But the second one key to this mornings topic likewise.
I TIMOTHY 4:1 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.
• One is a warning not to fall for the idea of going your own way, separating from a common fellowship with believers.
• The second is a clear warning that we should expect such things in the advanced stage of time in which we are living.
The last passage I want to read this morning is directly from the mouth of Jesus talking about the closing days of time.
Matt 24: 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.
12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,
This is the report of a recent CNN article
(CNN)At its core, Christian life is set of sacred traditions linking generations of sacraments and Sunday school lessons, youth ministry morals and family gatherings sanctified by prayer. An unbroken circle, in the words of an old hymn.
But In modern America, that circle may not be completely shot, but it is wobbly and badly bent, according to a new landmark study conducted by the Pew Research Center.
A recently released survey shows the Christian percentage of the population dropping precipitously, to 70.6%. In 2007, the last time Pew conducted a similar survey, 78.4% of American adults called themselves Christian.
Almost every major branch of Christianity in the United States has lost a significant number of members, mainly millennials are leaving the fold. More than one-third of millennials now say they are unaffiliated with any faith, up 10 percentage points since 2007. Their exodus surprises even seasoned experts.
"We've known that the religiously unaffiliated has been growing for decades," said Greg Smith, associate director of religion research and the lead researcher on the new study. "But the pace at which they've continued to grow is really astounding."
It's not just millennials leaving the church. Whether married or single, rich or poor, young or old, living in the West or the Bible Belt, almost every demographic group has seen a significant drop in people who call themselves Christians, Pew found.
Church its no co-incidence that for 2000 years the body of Christ grew according to the teaching of Scripture, many of which I have shared with you this morning.
In all of that time church direction or order was honored, revered and followed and the church grew.
But as far back as the 60’s that all began to unravel. Man began to think they could define God and what He required of us.
And now we have arrived at the place that in spite of His Word and commands many have walked away from the truth. Probably the most common excuse is that they got hurt in the church.
The truth is people do get hurt in churches. Scripture talks of that, of reconciliation, forgiveness. Working towards unity.
But something else has changed during that time. We have become a nation more driven by our emotions than we are by Truth.
We see that in the political world around us today in pretty much every area. But in the church, it leads to the poison that I can be a Christian but without the church or those offices that Jesus gave to the body, void of the gifts, no one with whom to be accountable. All based on two words “ I Feel.”
We have all the warnings of scripture of a great falling away, of hearts growing cold, but there is one last thing that Jesus said in Matt. 24 that I present to you today:
In vs. 13-14 Jesus said 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
We are called to not forsake the gathering. We are called to hold to the Truth. To proclaim Christ to a hopeless world.
To not be rattled when Scripture unfolds.
Altar Call
