TITLE: THE CHURCH
SCRIPTURE: ST. MATTHEW 16:16-18 / EPHESIANS 1:22-23 / EPHESIANS 2:19-22
Who would have predicted between Christmas and Easter we would be reimagining how we do church! In the past, I’ve actually enjoyed thinking through the potential impacts of unforeseen events that could ultimately affect the church. But, in all my Contingency Planning, “PANDEMIC” was not a word that landed on my strategic grid.
The last seven months have been a strange time, personally and in the life of the Church. In early March the nation began to feel the grips of a Pandemic that has not been witnessed since the early 1900’s. This COVID-19 shut down many churches across our nation, especially in hard hit areas like – New York – New Jersey – California – Texas – Arizona - Florida.
Even here in the State of Oklahoma we have been faced with challenges, certainly not as severe as other parts of the nation. The Governor had mandated our churches move to no more than 10 in attendance. Many churches opted to have outside worship on Sundays.
• Governor eventually allowed 30 in Church attendance
• He moved to Phase-2 and opened Churches and business to maximum of 50
• Currently our Churches are free to open to full attendance with proper physical distancing
Over the past 6-7 months I have had much time to contemplate and wrestle with the importance of the Church. I pray you have taken time to think about our Worship and this building that we fondly refer to as the Church House that has been an active part of this City and Community for 132 years. Over the past several weeks, we have learned so much about what it means to be a church and how many ways there are to be a church without gathering in person or making full use of our church buildings.
• Even as we do these things, we yearn for the time when we will be back together in community
• Although we have opened the life of the Church and back to our accustomed weekly schedule, we will still miss a large portion of our membership
• Our Seasoned Saints
• Those with Medical Conditions
• Those that just don’t feel it is the right time for them to return
• We still have a portion of our membership absent and truly missed
The Pandemic crisis has drawn the curtain on many things the world and the church have taken for granted for a long time. Not to admit such, may look like denying the truth. Afterall not saying the Coronavirus has affected the church may be a misnomer. Because the most important thing the church needs now is a reset after many years of drifting from the truth of its origin and destination.
I believe it is important this morning we take some time as we re-open our Church life and campus after shutting down our ministries since March. It is important we do not return with the thought or idea of business as usual or pick up where we left off. If we have spent time with the Lord during this ongoing Pandemic, there are some lessons we should have learned. Many of which I have been Preaching and Teaching about for the past few months of our Live Streaming Worship Services.
Some Churches and Denominations have been adversely affected more than others. Every church had to prayerfully consider what they were capable of doing in response to this public health crisis and make the right decisions for their congregation and community.
• Countless churches around the country have moved to online-only events
• Others explored alternative ways to meet with those who are able
• Some Churches closed down entirely
• Digital tools and channels that were once considered optional are rapidly becoming essential
• It is likely just about every church in the US has moved to some form of online environment
The situation originally looked bleak, until after we stepped back and began to see the hand of God moving. This season has led to an unprecedented push to modernize the way we do church, and the decisions we make right now could lead our congregation to reimagine what it means to be part of the body of Christ.
Yes, I have had much time to think about the Church, as I am sure you have as well. Nowadays, it may not exactly serve the truth to say seven out of ten believers may not really know what the church is, and why the Lord formed the church in the first place. This is enough proof that there is a necessity to re-instruct the true believers of the true meaning of the Church. Since the majority has lost the real meaning of what it means to be counted as a living Church that is in conformity to the standard truth of the New Testament. It was Jesus himself who proclaimed – ST. MATTHEW 16:18 “…UPON THIS ROCK I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH; AND THE GATES OF HELL SHALL NOT PREVAIL AGAINST IT.”
Whatever else we may know about Christians, we know this - Christians are supposed to go to church. Just like –
• SURGEONS are supposed to go to the Operating Room
• TEACHERS are supposed to go the Class Room
• JUDGE is supposed to go to the Court Room
• Every Sunday, Christians gather together to worship God and spend time in fellowship
• But do we actually know why we do this?
• Do we pause to consider the purpose of the local church?
The necessity of discovering the truth of the invisible, heavenly, and the universal church cannot be overemphasized. This may be difficult to some extent to digest as one of the fruits of the pandemic crisis, as the Pandemic crisis of today has introduced a twist so humbling and climatic on the church worldwide. Therefore, there is a need for stock-taking of what has gone wrong among the churches that have brought us down to this level, and the believers worldwide.
• Prior to the Pandemic there has been a 20 year decline in church attendance and an increasing proportion of Americans with no religious preference
• Young adults have rejected a religious identity or affiliation
• Large Denominations are losing ground to new Non-Affiliated Church Plants
In line with that, many local churches have started to question their core beliefs - practice - activities according to the Standard of God’s Word.
• With the aim of destroying every ROOT OF SUPERIORITY - INDIVIDUALISTIC - STAND-ALONE CONCEPT that men have put up to separate the body of Christ
• The scale is finally coming down on the existence of the MAN-MADE DOCTRINES that call for the doctrinal separation of believers along doctrinal lines and all such that denies the headship of Christ
• As many as ONE IN FIVE churches could permanently close as a result of shutdowns stemming from the Coronavirus Pandemic
• The Pandemic just revealed the crisis facing many local small and large congregations that have been there for years and should have been addressed years ago
• Many issues facing churches today should have analyzed and addressed their decline and implemented a plan years ago. I am not suggesting these churches should suffer and close, or should no longer be a Church – if that were the case –
• GALATIAN CHURCH that practiced circumcision should not be a church in any sense
• Also, the CORINTHIAN CHURCH with her many tongue talkers, divisions, heresies should be denied fellowship with other churches
• And the THESSALONIAN CHURCH that was caught in the web of a wrong doctrine concerning the second coming of Christ should be taken off the list
• Then perhaps APOSTLE JOHN SHOULD NOT HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH DIOTREPHES mentioned in the Third Epistle of John
In accordance with that, believers are realizing it is time to do away with the church's cultural habits and traditions that oppose changes in our churches in line with the truth. The majority of believers are beginning to take a second look at the doctrines they have been taught by the church about what a church really stands for. Resulting in so many turning to the study of theology in the desire to improve on what they have received. Theology is the ‘Study of God.’
• All these months of the Pandemic should have challenged us Spiritually
• Many Christians have not been simply staying home twiddling their thumbs
• Many Christians have spent this time thinking more deeply about their Salvation and what that means
• Study of Theology is a wonderful starting point
However, the study of theology is a good starting point in the training of believers to search the scriptures, while questioning every doctrine offered by the church. In the long run, it helps believers to grow spiritually to the end of arriving at a workable theological conclusion in all matters of concerns.
• Doctrines should not divide the Churches
• Doctrines should not cause us to not fellowship with others
• We have a Church right across the street we don’t hardly ever go worship with
• We will drive all the way to WYNNEWOOD – PAULS VALLEY – DAVIS – but won’t go across the street because of Doctrinal differences
The study of theology is fashioned to help believers stay alert and thoughtful about every teaching they hear.
• It enables the church to proclaim the old truths afresh and new in every generation
• In no other area is this imperative than in the doctrine of the church called ECCLESIOLOGY
Ecclesiology means the study of the church.
• EKKLESIA is the proper Greek word that means Church in English
• The Greek word "EKKLESIA" means the gathering of the called out, or assembly of called-out ones
• Hence the church, the EKKLESIA, is the gathering of all people who God has called out of the world
Today people have many strange ideas, concepts of what the church is, and what it should be. The question then is what is the church according to the Bible?
• Is the church a building where believers meet?
• Or the church meets in a building?
• Is the church an organization?
• Or a living organism?
• These are some of the questions we should wrestle with during this season of reflection
The church is the place where God calls out - collects - joins those people together in a proper and harmonious way for His purpose and good pleasure.
• The church is not a physical building
• It is a people called out by God
• Besides it is a living organism that has life, growing up to reach the statue of the fullness of Christ
• But the Church can only grow when believers are connected or joined with the Head, Christ Jesus, and one another
The church is involved in a continuous process of transformation in conformity with true changes to reach the full nature of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Therefore, the visible church does not enjoy the immutable nature of God as the invisible church since changes are going on simultaneously in it as in time past.
If we truly love Christ, shouldn’t we want to be committed to what He is committed to?
• If His major commitment until He comes again is to be building His church, we should want to be used by Him in His work that will never fail
• If we deeply love Christ, we cannot be indifferent to His body, which is inseparably joined to Him
• If we say we love Christ, how can we not love what He loves?
Ephesians 5 says it was the church in particular that Christ loved and gave Himself up for her, He even nourishes and cherishes the church, His highest affection and attention is poured into the Church. Some of you might be skeptical -- cynical -- critical about the church because of past experiences or because of how someone in some church treated you, but we know that is not the attitude of Christ.
• It was while we were enemies and yet sinners that He died for us His Church
• He knows the church is not perfect, and that doesn’t cause Him to abandon the Church
• It causes Him to commit Himself to help the church be all it is intended to be
• EPHESIANS 3:21 “UNTO HIM BE GLORY IN THE CHURCH, BY CHRIST JESUS THROUGHOUT ALL AGES, WORLD WITHOUT END, AMEN”
I listened to a sermon last week that discussed how churches are driven by a lot of things other than their biblical purpose --
• PAST -- tradition, no change, we’ve always done it this way
• PERSONALITY -- Pastor or influential persons that dominate
• POCKETS -- money, payments, finances, heated budget meetings
• POLITICS -- or social agendas, are these the church’s focus?
• PEWS -- whatever they can do to fill the seats
• PAGANS -- what do unbelievers want church to be like? Let’s survey them
• PROGRAMS -- fad-driven church, latest and greatest
According to one survey, when asked, “why does the church exist?”
• 89% of church-goers said, “The church’s purpose is to take care of my family’s and my needs”
• Only 11% said, “The purpose of the church is to win the world for Jesus Christ”
The Bible does not leave us uninformed when it comes to the purpose and the centrality of the local church.
• The local church exists for God and for His Glory
• CHARLES BRIDGES says -- “The Church is the mirror, that reflects the whole effulgence of the Divine character. It is the grand scene, in which the perfections of Jehovah are displayed to the universe”
When we understand the local church exists by God and for God, we see that God’s Glory, not the needs of saved or unsaved people, is meant to be the ultimate determining factor for all the church does.
• The Church does emphasize Reaching the Lost
• The Church does emphasize Edifying the Saved
• But it does so in ways that are honoring to God and consistent with His will
• It ensures that both the METHOD and the MESSAGE of the Church bring Glory to His name
The local church exists to glorify god through worshipping Him. We gather together to worship God in the ways He has revealed in the Bible. This distinctly Christian worship is not based on the whims of believers or unbelievers, but carefully drawn from and centered upon the Bible. We can define and summarize the basics of Christian worship in the simplest terms --
• Read the Bible
• Preach the Bible
• Pray the Bible
• Sing the Bible
• See the Bible
• Our worship services are a means of Grace through which God speaks to us and transforms us by His Word
A pandemic of this magnitude is an opportunity to ask ourselves --
• What is the true function of the Church Community?
• Does a community function just to meet together?
• Or does it function to serve one another, to put one another first?
If a community is based solely on seeing one another weekly, that’s more of a meet-up group than a community. There’s an opportunity, and an invitation, for growth into a more dynamic, loving group of people who –
• Share one another’s burdens Financially and Emotionally
• Who are willing to disrupt their own routines and make sacrifices to prioritize the health of someone else
• Who will fight for one another in both the short and long term
When we shift into this perspective of community, not only are we mutually nourished by both giving and receiving support, but the tight grip on routine begins to loosen in favor of sacrifice for one another.
• Our priorities shift
• In a pandemic, this priority shift is extremely important
COVID-19 forces the Church to push back against the narrative of individualism and remember that we all depend on each other. In the face of this, churches can mobilize to meet both the physical and emotional needs of their congregants and their communities, as well as to practice the perspective of putting the most marginalized, vulnerable people at the center of decision-making.
--This pandemic will reveal who we are
--Prayerfully it will reveal that we are Love
--Because GOD IS LOVE
--All these other things the Church has Erroneously focused its attention on
--You don’t have this
--You don’t have that
--You are not changing with the times
--REVELATION 2:4 “NEVERTHELESS I HAVE SOMEWHAT AGAINST THEE, BECAUSE THOU HAS LEFT THY FIRST LOVE”
--The Church must be about Love and Service
--Everything else is just The Icing on the Cake
--The church is the place where the Holy God meets with sinners washed in the Blood of Jesus
--It is the fellowship of a Perfect God with a Perfect Nature with a people imperfect with a dual nature
--The duality of believers is expressed in the Natural and Spiritual dimension of believers
--The Church must be about the Love of God
--The Church is called the HOUSEHOLD OF GOD - THE HOME OF GOD - THE FAMILY OF GOD - comprising all fellow citizens of the heavenly Kingdom of God
--Belonging to the household of God is a family affair
--It is the relationship of being in God's family
--Thank God for ‘The Church’
--I can give up on a whole lot of things during this Pandemic
--But I will never give up on ‘The Church’
