A Vision for Church
9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 11Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 12Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. 1 Peter 2:9-12
Church – l love the biblical vision of church Peter used– chosen, royal priesthood, holy nation belonging to God. It was not original to Peter. The OT in Exodus and Deut used those words, telling the story of a good and glorious God, who delivered a people from bondage to be a blessing to the world. Peter was excited to see how these words are now a reality in the NT. So he says - Once we were not a people, now you are the people of God says the Bible! We are the people... We are the people from the Plan A of God’s playbook. It was always His plan that we are the people, to deliver us to be a people like it was in the Exodus but how are we to be a people?
Tell a story, that been imprinted burned into my heart, always remember. In chapter one of his book the Kingdom of God is a party, Tony Campolo, who was recently at Vancouver’s Missionsfest , told a story about how he was jetlagged in Honolulu. At 3:30 in the morning he was walking up and downs streets to look for a place to eat. Found a sleazy place still open, went in, when suddenly door of the diner swung open. To his discomfort, 8 or 9 prostitutes, marched in. Small place, they sat around. Talk was loud and crude, felt out of place, then overheard the woman sitting beside him say “tomorrow’s my b’day, going to be 30”
Her so-called friend responded nastily “So what daya want from me? A b’day party? A cake sing Happy B’day?”
“C’mon” said the woman next to him. “Why so mean, just telling you, that’s all. Why have to put me down? I don’t want anything from you, why would u give me b’day party? Never had one whole life, why should I have one now? Campolo heard all that, after the women left, called over to the guy behind the counter – “do they come in here every night?” “Yeah”
“One next to me, odes she come here every nite?” “Yeah, that’s Agnes, why daya wanna know?” “Because I heard her say tomorrow her b’day, what do you say that you and I throw b’day party for her –right here tomorrow night?”
That’s great! Great idea! Harry, counter guy called to his wife, told her about the plan, she said, “That’s wonderful, You know Agnes is really nice and kind, nobody ever does anything nice and kind for her.”
Next morning at 2:30 am, Campolo back at the diner, armed with decorations, made diner looked good. The word got out on the street by 3:15 am every prostitute in Honolulu was in the diner, wall to wall prostitutes and Campolo.
At 3:30am Agnes and friend swung door open, and screamed at top of lungs, “Happy B’day”
Campolo said “Never have I seen a person so flabbergasted... so stunned... so shaken. As she was led to counter, they all sang b’day song, end of song, you can tell she was barely holding in tears. When b’day cake came out with the candles, she lost it and sobbed openly.
Harry, counter guy, gruffly mumbled, “Blow out the candles, Agnes! Come on! Blow or I’ll hafta do it” Seconds later than seem like minutes, Harry blew out the candles , then hand her a knife “cut the cake agnes, we all want some cake”
Agnes looked down at the cake. “Look Harry if it’s alright with u ... keep the cake a while, not eat it right away. “Sure, it’s ok if keep cake, keep it”
“Can I” she just wanted to take it home, down the street. She got off her stool picked up cake like it was the holy grail walked slowly to the door and she left.
Stunned silence in the diner.
Campolo: “Not knowing what else to do I broke the silence by saying ‘what do you say we pray’?”
3:30 in morning here was leading a prayer meeting with bunch of prostitutes, in a diner in Honolulu. Felt right thing to do, prayed for Agnes, her salvation, life changed, God bless her.
When he finished, Harry leaned over the counter, and with a trace of hostility in his voice he said “ Hey, You never told me you were a preacher. What kind of church do you belong to?”
This is his words, in one of those moments when just the right words came, I answered “I belong to a church that throws b’day parties for prostitutes at 3:30 in the am”
Harry waited a moment and then almost sneered as he answered “no you don’t, There’s no church like that. If there was, I’d join it. I’d join a church like that!”
How are we to be a people of God? A church like that... that celebrates sinners...
Sad truth is that... many churches are not like that...but wouldn’t we all like to join a church like that? Campolo’s story is a ray of hope in world of darkness. A declaration of praise out of darkness. I hope, stir you imaginations, stir your appetite to be a church like that,
12Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. – Peter
That is why we in the EM have embarked on a journey from that 1st Visioning Night on April 27th 2009. We want to see a church just like that - reflecting an inviting celebratory graceful Jesus of the Bible. Once not a people but now a people of God.
Let me quote from the gospel of Mark, chapter two...
15While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and "sinners" were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the "sinners" and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: "Why does he eat with tax collectors and ’sinners’?"
17On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
Jesus –dinner with sinners – does not square with common notions of holiness, but Jesus began His church the way ...
Another Story of Short little chief wealthy tax collector named Zach in Luke 19
2A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. (he got rich corrupt means)3He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. 4So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
5When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." 6So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. (scandalous)
7All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a ’sinner.’ "
8But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."
9Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
Let us have a church like that in the mold of our Master Jesus, shall we?
6 For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.
7 The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Deut.7:6-8
Chosen loved, special, because you were the least, not the best, you were the littlest! It was always His plan A to get the out to lunch people into his dinner table.
Put in your mind heart that God celebrates you and so go out and celebrate others into the kingdom. Feel not special, come out it, chosen people, chosen specially out of the people, says your God. Feel useless, come out of it, says your God, for you are a royal priesthood, a people made of the Good king of kings, subjects of an everlasting kingdom, born to serve others as priests standing for others when they need God. Rejected, feel not the best, come out of it, you are royal, dignified so says your God. Not holy, come out of it, you are for Jesus did die on the cross and pay for your sins. Believe once again u r forgiven through Christ. Feel unwanted, unloved unaccepted you belong to God.
Can u Absorb that!, Live in that and then tell your story with your baptism, with your life, join the church love and accept imperfect others as Jesus did. A church that throws parties.
