Sermon- What is the Church?
- A broad topic of what the Church should look like, or what the Church should be
doing, goes throughout the world.
- A very narrow minded view of the Church is, only a certain denomination will go to
Heaven.
> Only Baptist’s (www.abamablog.blogspot.com/2006/08/few-religious-jokes.html)
I’m sure we’ve all heard this joke, but One day a man dies, who was a devout Christian. Saint Peter meets him at the Pearly Gates and begins to give him a tour of Heaven. As the tour goes on, Saint Paul points out all the different Christians. "There's the Catholics, there's the Lutherans, the Methodists, the Presbyterians", and so forth. As they come to this one group way off to themselves, Saint Paul motions for the man to come closer and whispers. "Now, for this next group, we need to be really quiet. They are the Baptists and they think they're the only ones in Heaven."
- We know what saves us, Jesus Christ!
- There is a lot of religion coursing Throughout our world today, & it saves you no
more than lifting the tv remote is the ultimate exercise routine.
- We should be more devoted to being the church today than anything else.
Q- So, What is the Church?
- We’ve already talked about being the Ekklesia.
- Jesus describes the church to Simon Peter, & He challenges us to be that Church.
- Let’s read the account in Matthew 16:13-19
Matthew 16:13-19
13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
- Prayer
- For the religions that deny Christ is the messiah, God in the flesh, second member of
the trinity, Perfect Lamb of God, slain for our iniquities, & Savior of the world, then
they are not the Church!
Q- Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
- This question was what we base our whole faith upon.
* Our Foundation
- If Christ was not fully man & fully God(hypostatic Union) Then He Couldn’t have
been our Savior.
- If Jesus had been an ordinary man, who was sinless, He would still be guilty of
sin.
Q- Why would that be?
- It’s because He would still have the blood of His Father Adam, If he was not fully
God & fully man.
- Jesus was born of His Father, as the Holy Spirit passed over Mary.
- Here we have God wrapped in man, & in all ways tempted, but yet without sin.
Hebrews 4:15
15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
- So now, our faith is personal. Rather than going to a priest that doesn’t know you, or
what you’ve been through, He knows with intimate detail exactly what you go
through.
- Let me put it to you this way.
- Immediately after Jesus was baptized He was taken into the wilderness by the
Holy Spirit & fasted for forty days.
- In the wilderness it is recorded that Satan tempted Jesus three times.
- Now think about this. I’m sure Satan waited til day 37 before He started
tempting Jesus!
- I’m sure Satan was at the edge of the wilderness saying, hello good buddy, let’s
have a talk for awhile, the very second Jesus entered it!
- In all accounts He was tempted!
- We have a foundation that has been tried, true, & immovable.
- That’s Why we have faith, Hope, & comfort!
- These three emotions are what drive us to be the Church.
* Our Function
- In our great foundation we realize we have a goal we want to reach.
Q- What’s the goal?
- Serving our God & Savior.
- Now That’s an answer that covers a multitude of works.
- The question is related this way,
Q- What does the church do?
- James put it this way,
James 1:27
27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
- James goes on with telling us to be doers of the Word, not just hearers.
- To Watch our tongues, & the way we treat God’s creation, that was created in His
image.
- To Not Be judgmental, or prejudice, of people (Don’t judge a book by it’s cover ).
- Love your neighbor as yourself.
- Clothe The naked
- Feed the hungry.
- To Not Be a hypocrite.
- To Not covet, or be proud, but to be humble & Patient.
- These are all actions that mirror the idea of honoring/serving God.
- Our function is, we want people to see hoe great our God is!
Psalm 34:8
8 O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
- So this function of the Church produces what we would call fruit.
* Our Fruit
James 3:12
12 Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.
- The Church was planted on good, solid ground.
- God has nourished us, & is still nourishing us with His Spirit & His Word.
- So, we are sure to produce fruit.
Q- What’s fruit?
- For one it is our works, but greater still is the affects of those works.
- We can look at an Apple tree, & admire how beautiful the apples are, but it
doesn’t impress us much, until we taste the apple.
- When People truly experience the mission of the Church, that produces fruit!
- The question of what is the church, is answered simply by stating that we are a
family.
- More notably, the Family of God.
* Our Fellowship
- Which means, inside this church there’s a fellowship like no other.
> There was a joke that said,
> You might be a Southern Baptist if you think Fellowship has something to do with
food.
- That’s not what our fellowship is about. It’s about sharing the Joy we have in Christ
Jesus.
Q- Why is food often a big part of fellowship?
- We are often happiest when we are full.
Q- When we’re full, & not hungry anymore, What’s the emotion that comes that
honestly we don’t take note of?
- Well it’s the last trait, & purpose of the Church.
- We have a future.
* Our Future
- Paul wrote to the church of Corinth with words for the future,
2 Corinthians 4:17-18
17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
- Paul is saying, Church, we are steadfast, we are growing, we are multiplying in
amongst the thorns.
- We know that because the gardener has planted us, & made us to grow. He will
not leave us, but one day remove the thorns, so that we will be all that He has
desired for us to be.
Q- What is the Church?
- It is a group of people who have a future.
> A Happier Life Beyond by unknown
Grief and heartache, pain and sorrow,
That’s what’s in this life for me;
But when all of life is over
From this pain I’ll be set free.
If I walk the straight and narrow
And do the best that I can do
When I leave this life of sorrow
I’ll go home to be with you
In the paradise eternal
Where you have a place for me;
And I’ll know eternal gladness
As your reward to me;
So let me always keep my focus
On the world beyond this earth
Where in your eternal kingdom
I will have my sweet rebirth.
- The Church looks forward to the day we will see Him
- As we wait on that day, let’s strive to be His Church while we wait.
