Sunday October 14, 2007

Why Should I Be a Part of the Church?
Colossians 1:13-20

I. Introduction

One Sunday morning, the preacher noticed little Billy was staring up at the plaque that hung in the foyer of the church. It was covered with names and small American flags were mounted on either side of it. The seven-year-old had been staring at the plaque for some time, so the preacher walked up, stood beside the little boy, and said quietly: "Good morning, Billy."

"Good morning, Preacher," replied the young man, still focused on the plaque.

"Preacher, what is this?" "Well, son, it's a memorial to all the young men and women who died while in the service."

Soberly, they stood together, staring at the plaque.

Little Billy's voice was barely audible when he asked: "Which service, the 9:45 or the 11:00?"

Lately I have been wrestling a lot with the nature and purpose of the church.

Why do we “do” church? How come we expect you to show up on Sundays and to participate in other activities throughout the week?

Is how we do church today the most effective way to reach our community?

Funny thing is – I am not going to answer the questions that relate to how we do church, even though that is what I am really wrestling with. Hopefully, we will discuss more of that later.

Today, I want share a few thoughts about church that I believe are unchanging, no matter what methods we may use or what culture we are in.

These are the things I can hold on to no how much I may struggle with forms, methods and expressions of the church.

So what are these unchanging values of the church? I am going to share four with you today.

II. The Eternal Nature of the Church

“For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14
who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. 15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, 16 for through him God created everything in
the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. 17 He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. 18 Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. 19 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20 and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on
the cross.” (NLT)

We have just read together one of the most powerful verses on the nature of Jesus Christ that you will find in the Bible.

But how does that relate to the Church?

A. The Supremacy of Jesus Christ.

First, this passage addresses the reality that Jesus is Lord of His Church. (Read again verses 15-18.)

I would consider this the number one value in the church. Jesus Christ is everything to us! He is the beginning, the end,
and everything in between.

It is the supremacy of Christ that prompts our worship. And that is one of the reasons we are a part of the church – to join with others who also seek to make Jesus Lord of their lives and worship Him together. Singing, encouraging and edifying each other are all aspects of worship.

When we acknowledge that Jesus rules over all, this answers the question of who’s in charge.

It answers the question of where we’re going – wherever He says we’re going!

It also answers the question of what we are doing, because if Christ is in charge, He tells us what we should do.

Why is this so important? Because every one of us was born with a problem, a very serious problem that is, at its core, a control issue. Sin is essentially about control. You and I, as Christians, need to relinquish control (if you haven’t already)
to become true followers of Jesus Christ.

There are a lot of people who say they believe in Jesus but don’t follow Him—this is what is known as an oxymoron (something that is made up of contradictory or incongruous elements). Biblical faith leads to a surrendering of our will so
we can follow Him.

We need to truly be followers of Jesus Christ – because He is Lord of all.

This idea of the supremacy of Christ is a non-negotiable in the church.

B. Transformation

Let’s look at a portion of chapter 2 in Colossians:

“And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. 8 Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. 9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. 10 So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority. 11 When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away
of your sinful nature. 12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.” (NLT)

When you genuinely acknowledge the supremacy of Christ in your life, this should result in fundamental changes to the
way you live your life.

The second unchanging value of the church is transformation. (Read again verses 11-12.)

We talk a lot about being changed into the people we were created to be, but we will not change until we have made Jesus the Lord of our life.

The idea of transformation is a non-negotiable in the church.

C. Community

Colossians then moves on to describe the beauty of the church community in Chapter 3.

“In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. [All those distinctions that tend to divide humans are gone in Christ.] Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. 12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. 16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.” (NLT)

First and foremost we are called to be followers of Christ; as followers of Christ we will be changed (transformed), but as followers of Christ we are also called into community.

Being a part of the church is not an option if you are a Christian.

This eternal value of the church answers the question of who we are as a group. We are the church universal.
Not only are we the church universal, but we are the church local, along with others who gather together in St. Johns. You connect with the person sitting in the seat next to you or across the aisle. “Where are you from? What’s your name? What do you do? Where are you going?”

You do whatever it takes to get to know them: You invite them into your home. You join a small group. You join a Sunday school class. You get involved in a ministry. You do whatever it takes to avoid being just a lonely participator!

You may struggle with how we do church, or you may be struggling with the changes in how we do church, or you may have trouble with the institutional nature of the church, but the reality is that we are the church of Jesus Christ. He is the head; we are the body. That’s a fact; that’s the way it is.

The idea of community is a non-negotiable in the church.

D. Multiplication

This value is tucked away in the verses we read above. Looked again at Colossians 3:16-17:
“Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the
wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you
do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.”

We are to allow the message of Christ to fill our hearts and lives so that it naturally flows out of us and impacts the
lives of others.

It is God’s desire for His family to grow, and for the church one of our unchanging values is that we should do everything possible to help others find their way home.

How we do that may change over the centuries and may depend on what culture we are in, but whether we are to reach out to others is something that never changes.

The idea of multiplication is a non-negotiable in the church.

III. Application

Our first call is to follow Christ and we consider that to be the primary value of what it is to be a Christian – Jesus said: “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the greatest and first commandment.” (Matthew 22:37-38, NRSV)

It is out of this love for God and our acknowledgement of His Lordship in our lives that we allow the Spirit of God to transform our lives:

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God — what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1-2, NRSV)

As we follow Christ and experience His transforming power in our lives we are called to build community together:

“And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, 25 not neglecting to meet together,
as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
(Hebrews 10:24-25, NRSV)

The result of all this will be the increase of God’s family as we reach out to others.

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39, NRSV)

These are four rock solid, unchanging, eternal purposes for you to fulfill personally and for the church to fulfill corporately.

I am convinced that if we focus our lives on these four principles we will have invested ourselves into things that
really matter.

By the way, do these sound at all familiar to you?

The Supremacy of Jesus Christ – passionate worship
Transformation – strategic discipleship
Community – loving fellowship
Multiplication – intentional outreach

You may say one is missing, but we could put “joyful service” under any of the four listed above. (If I put it under outreach I could ask Rose to take over all those ministries again ?)

In conclusion:

Is Christ in control? In what areas of my life is He not in control?

Am I allowing Jesus Christ to transform my heart and life through worship, the Scriptures, prayer and fellowship?

Do I love and value His church? Do I think His church is important, or is it just another thing in my life?

Do I care about others? Am I concerned about their eternal well-being? If not, why is my heart so unconcerned? Or why am I afraid to share with others?

Finally, if these values are so important, shouldn’t we orient our lives around them?