TITLE: BE THE CHURCH
SCRIPTURE: ROMANS 16:1-2
I want to continue with Part-iii of our series entitled “THE CHURCH SERIES.”
• First message of this series was entitled “The Church”
• Last Sunday message entitled “The Church Has Left the Building”
• This morning I want to tag this message “Be the Church”
• We will end the series with the final installment next week
Few years ago, I read about a Mega-Church – Mega Church is defined as having 2,000 active membership or more. This particular mega-church was located in Vista, California. It made national headlines when they canceled all of their worship services over the weekend. Rather than meeting together in an air-conditioned comfortable, state of the art sanctuary, North Coast Church closed its doors for what they called a “weekend of service,” providing churchgoers the opportunity to actually show the love of Jesus in their community.
Of the 7,000 believers who attend North Coast Church, over 5,500 of them showed up Sunday morning to live out their commitment as they tackled 139 community service projects at 70 different sites all throughout North San Diego county.
Pastor Larry Osborne, who is the Senior Pastor of the Church, said, “our weekly service projects and our weekend of service is simply one more way to help our members understand that church is what we are, not just something we go to… what we tell people is — this week, we’re going to be the church instead of just going to church.” -- Now, there is a congregation that understands what church is all about. They are committed to Be the Church.
There are simply far too many Christians out there who have this mistaken belief that church is just something that you go to for an hour or an hour and a half on Sunday morning. The truth is — you don’t go to church; you are the church!
• The church isn’t a place
• It’s people!
• Jesus said --
o You are the salt of the earth
o You are the light of the world
o You are a city set on a hill
We are the church! It’s up to us to be the Mouth - Hands - Feet of Jesus — to Be the Church! Of course, getting involved in the community and doing service projects — like those at North Coast Church — is only part of what it means to Be the Church.
• Being the Church also means being like Jesus
• Being a part of God’s family
• Giving of ourselves and our means
There are some requirements for us to “Be the Church.” Just like raising our children there were requirements made on both sides as Parents and our Children.
• As Parents
o We are choosing to bring that child into the family forever
o We are willing to bear the great cost
o We are willing to take the risks that come with raising a child
o We give that child the family name
o We invest a large portion of our life and time into that child
o And then make that child an heir to all we own
o That's not a small thing
o It isn't a trivial decision
• As Children
o Expected to be manurable
o Expected to follow the rules
o Expected to earn good grades in school
o Expected to be appreciative
That's exactly what God has done for and expects in us as ‘The Church.’
• He has adopted us into His family
• Bore the cost for our redemption at the cross
• Takes the risk of being grieved with our decisions
• Gave us His name
• Makes continual investments in our growth
• Designates us heirs of His Kingdom
• And He does this all with great love
• This isn't just a legal or technical reality
• It's an expression of divine love
• All God expects in return is that we “BE THE CHURCH”
I don’t believe there is anybody in all of Scripture that exemplifies what it means to Be The Church more clearly or concisely than an often-over-looked woman named in our text for examination -- This unassuming woman by the name of PHOEBE. While there are no examples in the Bible of the perfect Christian — because “ALL HAVE SINNED AND FALL SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD,” there is this one woman, mentioned briefly in ROMANS 16:1-2, that I believe gives us some insight into what God wants from us and what it means to Be the Church.
We know very little about this godly woman who carried Paul’s letter to the Romans.
• We just have the brief mention of her name and service
• She was named after the Moon-Goddess of the Greeks
• The goddess ARTEMIS, known commonly as Phoebe, was supposedly identified with the light of the moon
• But the Phoebe whom Paul so highly commended shone as a light for Jesus, the “Light of the World!”
In a fifty-three-word parade of praise -
• Paul gives a beautiful cameo to this saintly servant of Jesus
• But what can we learn from someone mentioned only so briefly?
• We can learn a lot — especially about what it means to “BE THE CHURCH”
• Paul, in these two verses, uses three powerful words to describe Phoebe
o Sister
o Saint
o Service
The whole church can be grateful to this woman for her faithfulness. She bore and preserved this letter all along that hazardous journey from Corinth to Rome. She is called by the Apostle a servant of the church in Cenchreae.
• Cenchreae was the port of Corinth, located about nine miles east of the city
• Evidently, a Christian church had grown up there
• Phoebe was a deacon in it
• That does not mean she held some governmental office in that church
• We sometimes read present-day meanings into these words
• It means she had assumed a ministry on behalf of the church
• She represented them in some labor
• Whether it was MATERIAL – PHYSICAL - SPIRITUAL
• She was very faithful in it
• COLOSSIANS 3:23 “AND WHATSOEVER YE DO, DO IT HEARTILY, AS TO THE LORD, AND NOT UNTO MEN”
Paul commends Phoebe to these Christians in Rome, and asks them not only to receive her, but to help her. She has been a help to many others, he says, and to me. From what we can gather she is a single woman of independent means who housed the church at Chenchrea in her home. She undertook this missionary trip to Rome on behalf of Paul, who thought highly of her ministry - loyalty - support.
We find Phoebe did not toot her own horn. Neither do we find her bragging on her accomplishments or boasting in the light of her accolades.
• Her NATURE was more important than her NAME
• All she touched was simply a reflection of her character
Therefore, it is by the mere fact she exercised her ministry on his behalf that she became Paul’s recommendation to the church in the house at Rome. Perhaps, Paul reminds them that church is not about
• Large edifices
• Soft pews
• Bright chandeliers
• It’s about Servanthood
We see this reiterated all throughout the Bible -- JOHN MARK’S MOTHER had a HOUSE IN JERUSALEM WHICH WAS KNOWN AS THE CHURCH IN THE HOUSE, and often the Women met for prayer down by the riverside.
• This is, I believe, the essence of the Negro spiritual, “I’M GONNA LAY MY BURDEN, DOWN BY THE RIVERSIDE AND STUDY WAR NO MORE”
My brothers and my sisters, if we were in the helping profession, i wonder if Paul would have recommended us to the church in the house at Rome?
• In other words, when was the last time you helped somebody?
• When is the last time we went out of our way to serve somebody else?
• When is the last time you spent a full day of service to others?
It was because of Phoebe’s reputation that Paul recommended her as one who exercised the gift of helps.
• Paul does not say Phoebe cast out any demons
• Neither does he mention any great wonders of her wisdom
• Phoebe has no great titles
• Neither does she have great credentials
Perhaps Paul is saying, it’s good to be what you are and who you are and live out your life for the Lord.
• The church has gone from volunteer believers to the paid staff
• When you mention gifts, everybody wants to SPEAK IN TONGUES - GREASE FOREHEADS - LAY ON HANDS
• In other words, there are some, every time you see them, they have a Word from the Lord
• But God is not seeking your revelation as much as He needs your willing heart and your working hands
God has given certain gifts to each one of us. While these gifts are not all the same, we need to figure out what gifts we have and use those gifts to glorify God. Paul said Phoebe "herself has also been a helper of many, and of myself as well." The word translated "helper" means "patroness" or "benefactor."
• Phoebe was evidently a woman of means, who used her wealth support the Church and the Apostle
• While we certainly are not all of great wealth, the Church is a functioning body with many members, and we need to exercise our abilities
• The only place where SUCCESS COMES BEFORE WORK IS IN THE DICTIONARY
• If we want to grow as a church and succeed as individual Christians, we’ve got to start working
• We must BE THE CHURCH
Phoebe was a real servant – she was not Playing Church.
• She was a servant of the Church at Cenchrea
• She was busy doing the work of the Lord in a Church
• She was not waiting for someone to ask her to do something
• She was using her abilities for the work of the Lord
• She did not just sit in church every Sunday
• She knew she was saved to serve!
Robert J. Morgan once told the story of a preacher who was approached by a man who wanted to join the church. “BUT,” the man said -
• I have a very busy schedule
• I can’t be called on for any service, like committee work, teaching, or other such things
• I just won’t be available for special projects
• Or to help with setting up chairs or things like that
• I just want to sit through Sunday worship and then go on about my business
The minister thought for a moment, and then replied --
• I believe you’re at the wrong church
• The church you’re looking for is three blocks down the street, on the right
The man followed the preacher’s directions and soon came to an abandoned, boarded up closed down church building. it was a dead church — gone out of business.
• That’s what happens to churches that don’t have servants
• Being the church means being a servant
• Phoebe was a servant of the church
• She had a servant heart
• We would all do well to live by her example
• Be the Church
--Church isn’t something that opens or closes with a prayer
--Church isn’t just something you attend
--It’s something you are
--Church isn’t a place - it’s people
--We were created to become like Christ and learning to have a heart like His
--Be the Church
--Whatever you Do
--Wherever you Go
--Whether it’s Sunday, Saturday or any day in-between — remember to BE THE CHURCH
--BE THE CHURCH BECAUSE
--Our children are being consumed by the scourge of drugs
--Our families are being destroyed by the devastation of divorce
--Our city is being attacked by the monster of moral decay
--Our schools are being victimized by the venom of violence
--BE THE CHURCH BECAUSE
--The Church - still holds the keys to the kingdom of God
--The Church - is still the place where jagged lives can be made smooth
--The Church - is still the place where those sick with sin can come and be healed
--The Church - is still the place where captives can still be set free
--The Church - is still the place where those who are broken can be put back together
--The Church - is still the place where those who are lost can still be found
--The Church - is still the place where those who are bound can still be loosed
--The Church - is still the place where those who are hungry for the living bread can find the Bread of Life
--The Church - is still the place where those who are thirsty can find living water
--The Church - is still the place where the greatest story that has ever been told can still be heard
--Yes, my Brothers and Sisters – BE THE CHURCH
