2002-01-01
Our Father Who loves us clearly wants us to come together in congregations, ones with Christ at the head, for the purpose of carrying out His will. Yesterday I offered my opinion that these congregations need to 1) provide a place where God’s presence can be felt with ample opportunities for worship, 2) provide opportunities for each member to grow in his/her spiritual maturity through service to God, and 3) be a force in spreading the Gospel through service to both the local and world community. My experience in finding the right “church home” for us comes from having moved around as much as I have. It has taught me that selecting the right congregation needs to be done carefully, always keeping in mind God’s will as taught in the Scriptures and through prayer. You can tell a lot about a potential “church home” from whether the Scriptures are at the central core of its activities and attitudes, how welcome you are made to feel there, your observations of how members interact with each other, and its attitude toward serving God. My experience has also taught me that great congregations can be either small or large. It can be expected that if a small congregation is really a good one, it will grow in time. Of course, there are signs of ones with the “yeast of sin” in them which we have experienced too, as I mentioned yesterday. Political wrangling, formation of factions, greater emphasis on social issues or other pursuits over God’s Word, and refusal among the members to treat each other as Christ would have it , e.g. without love, are some of the signs of a dysfunctional group. There may be times when you can come into a group like this and be part of the solution to the problem, but usually the “new guy on the block” isn’t going to be given the chance to do this unless he has been invited there for that purpose. We need to remember Paul’s admonition of 2 COR 6: 14, “Do not try to work together as equal with unbelievers, for it cannot be done…” Twice in our experience Peter and I have joined congregations which were dysfunctional in the way described here and were unable to do anything about turning things around. I am certain that our Lord wanted us to have these experiences, so we could fully appreciate what we have where we are now, but they were very painful indeed. Before turning to some of the Scriptures that will let us see the Lord’s construct for His Body of Christ, it bears mentioning that the healthiest congregations and certainly the one we attend now seem to welcome a wide variety of people with many worship styles. It is my belief that the Lord is just as delighted with those who worship in the mainstream style as He is with those who like the rock music or those who are charismatic, or those who wave their arms and punctuate the service with spoken “hallelujahs.” What matters is the content of their hearts, not the style a congregation worships. Those who have taken Bible classes from me know that I have no interest personally in denominational differences. That is why I try to simply convey the Word plainly, taking the attitude that I learn from it that unity in the Body of Christ is the Lord’s will. That leaves me free to worship in any church in which both the OT and NT are at the center of its operations. There is real freedom in living in Christ! We have been told in RO 14: 7-8, “None of us lives for himself only, none of us dies for himself only. If we live it is for the Lord that live, and if we die, it is for the Lord that we die. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” In RO 14: 13, we are reminded, “So then, let us stop judging one another. Instead, you should decide never to do anything that would make your brother stumble or fall into sin.” In the next few messages we need to look at the very clear ideal for a congregation that the Lord has given us in the Scriptures. There are many wonderful truths in these precious words that will help us to have a guide for how we should interact with the others in whatever congregation we find ourselves. Whatever we can’t finish today will be carried over to tomorrow’s message. There a lot for us to consider, and it deserves our time and patience. Let’s begin by looking at RO 12, a chapter that is rich in wonderful revelations from the Lord for us. I often cite RO 12: 1-2 and am not ashamed to be repeating it again. “So then, my brothers, because of God’s great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God dedicated to His service and pleasing to Him. this is the true worship that you should offer. Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world but let God transform you inwardly by a complete renewal of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God-what is good and pleasing to Him and is perfect.” What better way to connect ourselves to our loving Abba can we find than to dedicate our lives to His service? That is what Christ does. He has never done anything without being connected to the Father. Look at his attitude in JN 14: 10, “It is the Father living in Me, Who is doing His work.” To us He says in JN 15: 5, “I am the vine, and you are the branches. Whoever remains in Me and I in him, will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” Now, there’s a connection we can all benefit from making! PRAYER: O Lord, You have invited us to do your work and asked us to be a part of congregations. The Word with many directions on how to do this is given to us by Your grace. Help us to understand it will through the Holy Spirit and to obey You by showing our love this way. Help us to keep the Son’s direction that we should love one another in the front of our minds and hearts. We treasure the connection between You and ourselves that You made possible by the death of Your Son on the cross. Thank You, Dear Father, for the blessings of Your grace showered upon us. In Christ’s name, amen. Tomorrow, we will go on looking at RO 12 and the other wonderful directives the Father has given us about our congregations. In the meanwhile be encouraged in the knowledge that our Abba loves us and will lead us to do His will which blesses our lives if we will let Him. Peter and I also send our love. Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn