(This sermon is the first from Michael Birch as the Pastor of Kingsley Church of Christ on the occasion of his induction into that ministry)
Introduction
Today we have celebrated a new chapter in my life, in my family’s life and in the life of Kingsley Church of Christ.
As we do that, we need to ask ourselves a question which is fundamental to our existence. What are we here for? What is this really all about? Why have I joined the Kingsley Church of Christ? Why are you here? For our visitors, why are you a part of the church family that you come from? For those who aren’t part of a church family, why would you join one?
Of course, the Bible has a lot to say about this! I want to read with you some words that Jesus spoke to His followers, setting the tone for everything that would come afterwards as the Church came into being. These are the words that define for us who we are and what we are about, spoken to us from the Head of the Church and recorded by Matthew as Christ’s parting instruction.
Matthew 28:16-20
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee , to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” [1]
The Church is all about making disciples of Jesus Christ!. That’s what we’re here for. That’s why I joined this church. I’m part of a church because I need to grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ, and because I need to help others to do the same.
I’ve got to tell you that I’m very excited about being a disciple of Jesus Christ! I’m excited by the idea of helping people in this church grow in their faith. I’m excited by the thought of seeing people who don’t yet know God accept His offer of eternal life in Jesus, and begin their own journey of following Him day by day.
I’m excited what God has been doing in my life, in our family, the ministry that He brought to a conclusion in Narembeen and in the new ministry which He has brought us to here at Kingsley. God is good, and He is all-knowing. It has been an exciting journey so far and I hope that you are excited when you think about what God is doing in your life, family and church also.
BUT!!!
But I want you to know that the message that God has for us today is not just for those who are pumped up and ready to go. It’s not just for people who are eager to begin a new chapter, or happy to help us celebrate our new chapter together.
God’s Word speaks to every one of us no matter what our circumstances are and no matter what shape we are in.
Some of us today don’t feel that confident about “church”. Some of us are frustrated by what we have experienced in churches. Some of us feel hurt and disillusioned because of the experiences that we’ve had in churches and how we’ve responded to them.
In the past couple of weeks I’ve spoken to people who are taking time out from church. I’ve spoken to people who have changed churches. I’ve spoken to people who are in churches but would rather not be. What is going wrong that so many people have been wounded by their involvement in churches?
The short answer is of course that churches are made up of people who aren’t yet perfect. We mess up as individuals and we mess up as groups. We should do better but we don’t.
Today I want us to come together as a group of people who have had a wide range of experiences in church, some of which have been wonderful and some of which have been terrible. I want us to come together and refocus ourselves on God’s Church. I want us to gain a fresh vision for the church not based on what we’ve experienced so far, or based on what we wish for the future or on what we think would be best; but a vision of the church based on what God promises to bring about if we will just follow Him.
Turn with me to Ephesians 3:14-21
14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Prayer:
Lord help us to receive from You the truths that You want to reveal to us today in Your Word. By Your Spirit may we understand and apply all that You want us to. Amen.
The Apostle Paul has just been writing to the Ephesians about the incredible grace that God has shown toward us in providing our salvation and bringing us together as a chosen people. Once sin destroyed our relationship with God and our relationships with others. It tainted every part of our lives, but God has saved us and restored us to Himself and to one another. That’s the background for these thoughts as Paul writes:
14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.
Have you ever seen people striving to make their church what they think it should be or keep it the way they think it should be? Have you ever seen leaders arguing among themselves or with the congregation, pulling in different directions yet all claiming to follow Christ? Have you ever seen factions and divisions in churches? Paul had! It was one of the problems he had to address from time to time.
Paul’s attitude here is what all Christians must have if we are to avoid such tragedies for our church. It’s what we need in order to experience the fulfillment of God’s promises to us.
The Church belongs to God and derives it’s identity and character from Him. Too often we jump to the question of what we should be doing instead of focusing on what we should be being. We are to be living in right relationship with our Heavenly Father and becoming more like Him in our character. That’s the secret to healthy church life.
Paul goes on to stress this point…
16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
Where does Paul pray for God to be at work? In their inner being, not in their frantic doing! Paul doesn’t ask for God to show His power in making their efforts to grow the church effective, he prays for God to work in their inner being so that more and more they will experience the reality of Christ within them – that they would be being changed from the inside out to be more like Christ and to reflect Him with increasing glory.
So often we ask God to bless what we are doing for Him. Paul realizes the best thing to pray for is not what God wants us to do, but for what God wants to do in us. When God first works in us then He can work through us.
I’ve often been to conferences and read books about powerful things that God is doing through certain people and in certain places. Their success seems to gather a crowd around asking “What are you doing? How are you doing it? How can we do it?” As if spiritual fruitfulness could ever be manufactured or reproduced by us in our cleverness.
I love learning from others, but I hope we all realize that when God does a powerful work it starts through His Spirit in the inner being of those who are willing. That’s why nearly every revival I have ever heard of has started with repentance within the Church. People have sought God together in unity, usually confessing their own sins which had kept them from doing so in the past.
The powerful work that we long to see God do in the world and in our churches starts in the inner being of those who are His. Want proof?....
And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
If you are a Christian then you, like the Ephesians, have been rooted and established in love. That means that God has brought you into his family and made you a part of it. Once you were alienated from God and hostile toward Him, but God has reconciled you through the death of Jesus Christ, paying the penalty for your sin and destroying it’s power over you. He did this because He loves you as you were and as you are now. But He loves you too much to leave you as you were then and even as you are now. Having established you as His child He wants you to grow in love so that you can be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
None of us are there yet. None of us love God perfectly with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength. None of us really comprehend how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ for us and in us. But we must be moving in that direction if we are to be the people He wants us to be so we can do what He wants us to do.
And here is where it gets really exciting…
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
This is the vision – the picture - of the Church that I believe the Bible paints for us. The church is the community of God’s people who are experiencing Him doing more than we could have asked for or imagined according to His power at work within us.
I want to see God doing immeasurably more in this church than I can ask for or imagine. I want to see His power at work within us, and I want to see Him getting the glory for it.
I want to see people who are without hope and without Christ receive new life in Christ as they believe the message of the gospel.
I want to see people whose lives are overflowing with “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control”. I want to see people choosing to not take offense with each other, forgiving one another, encouraging one another, building each other up in Christ.
I want to see this church shining like a city on a hill, a lamp on a stand – not because we do a bunch of stuff that impresses people, but because our people go into all the world and shine brightly with the glory of lives transformed to be like Jesus. Because we boldly proclaim the word of truth in who we are, what we do and what we say.
I want to minister to people not on the basis of what they want from me or what I think they need from me but what God is doing in me to equip me to love them well.
So this is the promise that I make to you today:
I will love you as you are now, warts and all! I will do all I can by the power and grace of God to help you grow in Christ so that you may know His presence and his power at work in your inner being. I’m grateful that you will do the same for me!
Next week I’ll share with you some of what the Bible says about how I as a Pastor and Elder in this church can go about doing that.
Prayer
Lord God, I want to thank you for saving us, for establishing us as Your much-loved children. Help us to understand and experience Your love more and more each day.
Lord when we read in Your Word about the Church we discover just how wonderful it really is, yet our experience so often falls short of that. We acknowledge today how we ourselves have fallen short of your ways and your character. We have not loved others as You have loved us. We have not been loved by others as You have loved us. We thankyou for the promise of Your word that when we confess these sins to You that You are faithful and just and do forgive us and You also cleanse us from all unrighteousness. You don’t leave us trapped with the same sinful attitudes and behaviours, but You change us to be more like Jesus. You shape Your church so that it shares Your character.
For this reason Father I kneel before You, from whom your whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of Your glorious riches You may strengthen us with power through Your Spirit in our inner being, so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith.
And I pray that we, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that we may be filled to the measure of all Your fullness.
[1]All Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids
