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I AM THE CHURCH

Introduction – January 6, 2019

On September 9, I introduced both a new sermon series and a theme for the current ministry year—BE THE CHURCH. We are getting back to that idea today. I am borrowing much of this message from September 9…but with a twist.

Many years ago, Chuck Swindoll, wrote a daily devotional titled, Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life. One of the readings is titled “Doing vs. Being.” Near the end, he penned these words: “What we want to do is not nearly as important as what we want to be… It’s possible to do lots of things and be zilch as a person.”[1]

          In the ’90s, the Acappella Vocal Band released a song titled, “You Can’t Go to Church.”   (song clip) It starts like this, “you can’t go to church as some people say / the common terminology we use every day / You can go to a building / That is something you can do / But you can’t go to church ‘cause the church is you.”

As a building, Trinity is just a mass of steel, concrete, and wood. It’s just a building, nothing more, nothing less. What makes Trinity a church is the people who choose to show up and “be the church” and I’m so glad we have folks who do that all the time.

As I spent last summer praying and studying, I sensed God give me the phrase, “Be the Church” as our theme for this ministry year. I immediately thought of many ways it could be defined and exhibited but since there’s no time to list all the things that might come to mind, I’ll settle for the overview presented in the book of Acts: ⁴² They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³ Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. ⁴⁴ All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵ They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. ⁴⁶ Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:24-47 – NIV)

          In this passage, we find five purposes for the church: worship, discipleship, fellowship, evangelism, and service.

At Trinity, we use these words to help us readily understand these purposes: worshipping, growing, belonging, sharing, serving.

In the fall, we examined what these five things mean for us collectively. Now, we’re getting more personal. This new series is titled, I AM THE CHURCH  and in it we’ll examine what these ideas mean for us individually.

Once again, we are going to distill the idea of being the church into 3 parts:

• Love God
• Love people
• Make disciples

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First, if I am the church, then I love God.

Mark 12:28-31 (NIV)  – ²⁸ One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

     ²⁹ “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.³⁰ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

To say “I am the church” does not mean I have a building to gather in week after week. While it is a great convenience, it is not a necessity because the church is people. The most important way I can “be the church” is to love God with all I am.

My love for God may be expressed by coming to this building but coming to this building does not guarantee that I love God. Do you understand? Also, loving God isn’t something I do only when the doors of the building are open. It’s what I do 24 hours a day every day of the year.

So, what does it mean to love God? Using Jesus’ own words, loving God=doing what God says – obeying His Word. But here’s the rub, while the act of obedience is important, the attitude is just as important. I obey as a loving expression of what He’s done for me, not to get him to like me or love—he already does both!

Demonstrating my love for God by obeying His Word presupposes that I know His Word or that I am actively learning about it. We’ll touch on that with the 3^rd point.

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Second, if I am the church, then I love people.

Unsolicited, Jesus included this directive with the greatest commandment – love your neighbor as you love yourself.

          I am expected and commanded to love people – to do what serves their best interest, not my own. The Apostle John put it this way, “let’s not love with words or speech but in actions and truth (1 John 3:18) We’ve all heard that talk is cheap, that’s because it is. I still love Steve Camp’s 1988 song, “Don’t tell them Jesus loves them.”  (song clip)

Don’t’ tell them Jesus loves them / till you’re ready to love them too / Till your heart breaks from the sorrow / and the pain their going through / with a life full of compassion / may we do what we must do / Don’t tell them Jesus loves them / till you’re ready to love them too.

          If I am the church, then I must love people as they are, where they are, not as I wish they were or where I think they should be. If I am the church, then I must go where people are. I cannot ignore them because they’re not where I think they should be.

Love is messy. Love is difficult, love is risky, love is costly, love is not optional!

If I am the church, then I love God, I love people, and…

          Third, I am a disciple.

What does it mean to be a disciple? In simplest terms, being a disciple means following instead of leading. It means knowing what God wants and doing it.

Mark 8:34 (MSG) – Calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am.

Luke 9:23-24 (NIV) – ²³ Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. ²⁴ For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. 

Romans 12:1-2 (MSG) – So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

          I am the church not because I go to a building but because I love God, love people, and I am a disciple. These things don’t belong to the pastors or deacons or teachers, they belong to each and every one of us.

They are informed, they are shaped, they are empowered and encouraged in this building, but they are not, they cannot be limited to this building. At most, some of you who are not staff may spend 8 or so hours here in a given week. That means you are away from this building 160 hours a week. Most of you are away from this building more than 165 hours a week That’s the way life works and that’s why we need to be the church everywhere else we go—home, work, school, athletic courts and fields, locker rooms, community organizations, restaurants, grocery stores, gas stations, convenience stores…wherever I find myself, in that place, I am the church.

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What’s the BIG DEAL about the church? Jesus had something powerful to say about it.

Matthew 16:13-18 (NIV)

¹³ When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

¹⁴ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”  ¹⁵ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”  ¹⁷ Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

          Jesus said he would build His church (not my church!!) He would build HIS church through those who confess that Jesus is the Messiah—the Savior. Not only that, but he said the gates of Hades would not overcome it.

          When we are Jesus’ church…collectively and individually…

• We are a victorious church!
• We are a conquering church!
• We are a powerful church!

Say it with me, “I am the Church!” Say it again, “I am the Church!”

Such churches don’t bow to the whining or desires of pastors or parishioners. They steadfastly pursue the purposes for which Jesus established HIS church. When I say, “I am the Church,” I’m not saying, “It’s my church, my way, right away.” I’m not saying, “I am MY Church.” I am saying, “I am HIS Church.” He is leading, I am following.

And if I don’t like the direction He’s leading, then I have a choice to make. Honestly, there are times, I don’t like the direction He’s leading.

• I wish I could tell you that I always get with the program right away.
• I wish I could tell you that I never whine and complain.
• I wish I could tell you that I am never miserable, and I never spread that misery to others.
• I wish I could tell you that I don’t fight and scheme to have my way.
• But I can’t tell you any of those things because sometimes, I blow it royally!

Hopefully, I am getting better at recognizing His way. Hopefully, I am getting better at following and not always insisting on leading. There can only be one leader…and it’s always best when it’s not me because God knows so much better than I do!

When I get with the program and choose to be the church, I choose to be the hands and feet and heart and mind of Jesus to people who are harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. I reach out to folks who don’t even realize they’re in danger of drowning. I act as speed bumps and roadblocks for those on a highway to hell. I pledge my life in word and deed to the cause of Christ whether it’s next door, across the street, around town, throughout the county, state, country, or world. I take up my cross and follow Jesus!

          I don’t know about you, but that’s what I want! What about you?

   

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     Before I wrap this up, let me tell you about something that really excites me. On June 2, we’re going to embody this idea of being the church by having a “Be the Church Sunday.” On that day, we are asking everyone who is comfortable doing so to serve the community where you live with a service or ministry project. We don’t yet know what those projects will be, but our goal is to have at least one opportunity is each area where members of our Trinity family live.

          We will still have a service here at 10 AM, but my hope is that no one shows up because everyone chooses to Be the Church on that Sunday. Afterward, we’ll gather here for lunch and share stories about our experiences.

          Remember, if I am the church and if you are the church, then we will go to where people are and we will demonstrate the love of God in tangible ways.

          I’ll be tapping some of you to help us pull off this project. I can hardly wait, and I hope you’ll also catch the fever!

I love God! Do you?

I love people? Do you?

I am a disciple? Are you?

I am the church? Are you?

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[1] Charles R. Swindoll, Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life (Portland, OR: Multnomah, 1983), p. 455.