We continue in our series Hope Found Here, and this month our focus is on Hope in the Church.
Many people associate the word “church” with a building. Often something old, draughty, with uncomfortable wooden pews and a smell of damp.
I have spoken to people in Ashingdon and Rayleigh who did not know that our buildings were churches.
In fact, a number of people thought our buildings were bungalows!
Even though we have the signs outside the front door here, many of the parents of the children that attend our nursery during the week do not realise that a church meets here on a Sunday.
Some people think that church is a place where weird people go on a Sunday.
I won’t pursue that line of thought further other than saying this building is a place we come to on a Sunday.
We get up, get dressed, drive through the traffic, come in sit down, stand up, sing, sit, stand, sing, sit, pray, stand, sing, sit, listen, stand, sing, drop a few coins in a bag, pray, have a drink, and go home.
Sunday after Sunday, we can do everything on auto-pilot, and maybe we have lost sight of the fact that our church is more than just this building; we, the people, are the church.
In the Bible there are several specific terms used to define what “church” actually is:
Ekklesia which means an assembly of called-out people.
Kuriakos – People who belong to the Lord.
The local church - “the church in Jerusalem” or “the church that meets at their house”
Universal Church – e.g. “just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her”
The “Body of Christ” – Romans 12 describes how “in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others”.
“Body of Christ” is commonly understood and used to refer to both the local and universal body of believers.
Nowhere in the Bible is “church” defined as a physical structure or the leadership/staff of an organization.
In the Bible “church” is by definition either all of the disciples of Jesus Christ or a specific group of believers.
The words our English bibles translate as “church” are in the original language plurals, and “church” always applies to people, not a place.
For example in the Book of Acts, where the Church began and spread, the personal and plural nature of the word “church” is clear.
In Acts 12:5 when Peter was in prison it says, “the church was earnestly praying to God for him”
In Acts 14:27 when Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch it says “they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.”
In Acts 15:3 Paul and Barnabas and some other believers were going to travel from Antioch to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders there and “the church sent them on their way”
When they arrived in Jerusalem Acts 15:4 records “they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders”
Buildings don’t pray, gather, send or welcome. Nor was it only the Ministers and pastors and staff praying, gathering and welcoming, it was every person, the whole church was involved.
In 1 Timothy chapter 5, The Apostle Paul describes the church as people dedicated to doing whatever it takes to reach out and help others.
Paul says we have a responsibility, as the church, to serve and help others.
Caring for each other as well as those outside of the church is the quickest way to see Jesus change lives.
God gives each of us skills, abilities and opportunities to serve Him and each other.
In Timothy’s church, for example, the women ran a widows ministry (1 Timothy 5:16), and elders directed church affairs while others were devoted just to teaching and preaching (1 Timothy 5:17).
In the Bible, church is always a reference to people, not a place. The church is the body of believers that live out the Gospel in their words and actions.
The church is at its best when people inside the building take Jesus’ message outside the building and serve those they meet.
Sadly not every church in the world today follows the biblical definition of church.
Many modern churches would be barely recognizable to Jesus’ disciples and the leaders of the early church.
There are churches that have characteristics or perceptions which do not correspond to any of the terms used to define “church” in the Bible.
Church is now commonly defined as the specific place where Christians go rather than the people themselves.
Church is a place people only go to for special events like Christmas & Easter, or for a wedding, or funeral, or Christening or baby dedication. Over the years at Ashingdon there have been a number of people from outside the church who have requested we hold a dedication service for their children, not because they wanted to be part of church, but because they wanted to be able to show the dedication certificate to the local Catholic School when they applied for a place for their child.
There are people who see “the church” as an outdated Institution.
There are others who treat church like a social club, a place to visit for friendship or fun without commitment or obligation.
Some perceive the church to be like a business, a company that will have to close its doors if it does not earn enough money.
Then there are churches that fall short of what God expects them to be.
There are churches where an easy message is preached, something that has more resemblance to a a motivational talk than the message of the Gospel.
Sin is never mentioned. Hell is never heard of. Commitment to God, sacrificial discipleship, all are non-existent.
People attend with minimal expectations, no requirements, no intention of ever trying to fulfil the Great Commission and actually share the gospel with others.
There are churches where the services are designed to be an hour or less, after all who would want to spend more than an hour a week worshipping or learning about the one who was willing to die so that people could be saved from their sins.
I mean there are only 168 hours in the week, does God really expect people to give up more than an hour of the time He has given them to develop a deeper relationship with Him?
Yes, in fact one of the ten commandments that God gave us says we should have a day set apart for Him, Exodus 20 verses 8-11 says, “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.”
John Calvin the French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Reformation taught that Jesus Christ fulfilled the Sabbath.
Calvin also emphasized because we as Christians are buried with Christ in baptism and raised from the dead to the glory of God the Father (Romans 6:4), what God requires from each of us is not only one day each week, God “requires the whole course of our lives, until being completely dead to ourselves, we are filled with the life of God.”
God deserves to have some part of every day devoted to Him.
Setting apart time to spend with God is important. Making time to worship God, making time to hear the word, taking communion, to participate in public prayer, to meet together as the Church is important.
Church is not somewhere Christians go, but something Christians are.
Friends, you and I are the church
Southend Elim may exist as a building, but we are the church, wherever and whenever we as followers of Christ meet together for worship, teaching and discipleship, we are the church.
During His earthly ministry, Jesus invested His time in personal discipleship and service to those in need. We are His Church when we are following His example of discipleship and compassion. We, as the church, are the hands and feet of Jesus wherever we live, wherever we work, wherever we are.
Our dependence is on Christ and one another, not on a building.
Listen to Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Go and make disciples. This is a command from Jesus to you and I. Jesus did not say go sit in a building and wait for the unsaved to wander in.
We, as the embodiment of church, are commanded to go OUT after the “lost”.
Jesus demonstrated His love before telling people who He is, we as His church, should also be seeking to serve the local community in love.
God has called us to serve Him. We have a God given responsibility to lead other people to Christ.
Serving Christ as His church it requires us to give our lives fully to Him.
Love is at the core of our faith.
Father God loves us so much that He was willing to send His Son to die for us.
God loves us and we are to love Him.
We express our love for God by serving Him and by serving others.
Galatians 6:10 says “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”
This is one of the tests of us being the Church comes in what others think of our actions, our witness when we are not within these 4 walls.
Pastor and author Craig Groeschel expressed it this way “We don’t go to church, we are the church and we exist for the world”.
So, as I draw to a close, the question I need to ask is are we as the church, as a group of God’s people, showing love to the local community?
Are we making an impact in this community?
Are we demonstrating to our neighbours, our friends, our family, what it really means to be the church?
Be honest with yourself, when people look at your life during the rest of the week, would anyone know you are part of the church of Jesus?
The final thought is this:
Being The Church is more than coming here once a week and sitting on cushioned seats, singing and listening to a sermon on Sunday.
We will never change the world by going to church, we will only change the world by being the church.
May each of us choose to show the world the true meaning of being a disciple of Jesus and part of His church.
Amen
