Back to Church Sunday: Ephesians 4:1-16
As you may know I am just back from ten days in the USA. I have been speaking about some of the causes of the Middle East conflict. About how people can play a part in achieving peace with justice for Israelis and Palestinians. And about avoiding yet another war with Iran. You know this is the longest running dispute in the history of the United Nations and in part, its being perpetuated by misguided Christians. I was invited to speak in various universities at North Carolina State, at Duke University, at Florida State, South Florida University and Palm Beach Atlantic and yes, Palm Beach is as beautiful as the name suggests. Blue skies, clear seas . Mmmmm. I made four radio programmes including one debating a Rabbi Shalom Adler and another interview that finished at 1:00am in the morning. Its the first time Ive had breakfast at 2:00am and gone to bed at 3:00am. Last Sunday I attended St Peter the Fisherman, in New Smyrna Beach, and in the afternoon shared in the UN International Day of Peace with another Jewish rabbi Rabbi Howard Schwartz. We spent most of the day together and discovered we have a lot in common. I got to speak in a few churches along the way and was encouraged by meetings with Muslim, Christian and Jewish peace activists. Thanks for your prayers. Ill post some photos on my website next week. I also got to stay with Larry and Anne Jones and they send their warm greetings. These were some of the highlights. The low light was discovering that a group of misguided Christians here in the UK had set up an anonymous blog to have a go at me.
Theyve questioned my political connections, raised doubts about my integrity, speculated over the funding for my ministry, and trawled through my sermons looking for quotes to hang me with. Although Jesus did say it would happen it still comes as a surprise. If you have had an email from the Maverick Im sorry if it distressed you. Id recommend you do three things: 1. Pray for them. 2. Sure, read what they say if you like, but dont retaliate, dont engage with them thats exactly what they want its like oxygen to a fire. 3. Ask me or one of the other leaders if you have any doubts or questions about what I get up to. Check out my website. Youll see I am transparent about where I go, who I meet with and what I say.
I have nothing to hide. Knowing I will one day stand before my Lord is more than enough incentive than needing any bunch of griefers as Bishop Christopher calls them. Ive identified some of the them and approached them directly, as Jesus instructs us in Matthew 18. Ive tried to answer their questions, and Ive sought reconciliation. But I dont read anonymous letters and I dont normally respond to anonymous blogs. Theres enough conflict and hatred in the world without fuelling it via the internet. The irony is that there should be more that unites me to these anonymous bloggers in England than with the Jews and Muslims I work with in the US and Middle East. Something is not right when we are not united as Christians.
It cuts to the core of what God intends for his people. Appropriately, that is our theme today - unity the true unity of the church. Lets look at Ephesians 4 and discover what God has to teach us about where to find unity. About what our true unity is based in. Lets discover three dimensions to unity.
1. To be United in Jesus: We need a Personal Faith
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1-3)
Notice how Paul describes himself. A prisoner for the Lord kind of an unusual description for a Christian? No, not really this is what a Christian is. Jesus died to set you free from slavery to sin and death so that you can become a prisoner for the Lord willingly and freely serving him with every breath in your body. Notice the second way he describes the Christian live a life worthy of the calling you have received. That is what it is a calling. Jesus calls us back to God. That is why we have called this Back2Church Sunday. You are not here by accident. You are here because God called you. It may have just been a week since you were here. It may have been a month, a year or a lifetime - whatever youre welcome.
If you are not sure why you are here, if you do not yet have a personal faith in Jesus then join our Christianity Explored Course beginning in October on Thursday nights come and find out what it means to follow Jesus. You know the reason the Anglican Communion is in a mess at the moment is because some of our leaders are trying to create unity by finding a form of words everyone can agree on they are looking for the lowest common denominator rather than the highest. We can only be united with one another if we are captive to Jesus. Captive to Jesus authority. Captive to Jesus teaching. Captivated by Jesus death in our place. Unity is not something we can create.
Only Jesus can unite us to one another through a personal relationship with him
first. Its those who have been united with Christ who are called to keep the
unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Peace with God leads us into be
at peace with one another. It doesnt matter how different we are because the
Holy Spirit has brought us into the same family. To be united in Jesus: We need a personal faith
2. To be United as a Church: We need a Confessional Faith
There is one body and one Spiritjust as you were called to one hope when you were called one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:4-6)
In his book, The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren tells us, You are called to belong, not just believe We are created for community, fashioned for fellowship and formed for a family, and none of us can fulfil Gods purposes by ourselves. The Bible says we are put together, joined together, built together, members together, heirs together, fitted together, and held together and one day will be caught up together. While our relationship to Christ is personal, God never intends it to be private. In Gods family we are related to every other believer, and we will belong to each other for eternity... If it feels less than heavenly here at Christ Church, sometimes, remember we are here to get some practice! Following Jesus Christ involves belonging as well as believing. We need both.
And that epitomises the struggle for the soul of the Anglican Communion at the moment. Notice Paul does not say create unity
but maintain the unity of the Spirit That is why our creedal statements are so important. In these verses we have one of the very first creeds of the early church. Unless we can agree that there is only one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all we have no unity. Only when we submit to the authority of Gods word the Bible - in all matters of faith and doctrine, can we share in the unity of the Spirit and experience Gods peace as a family. Unity doesnt come from just being nice to everybody.
Our unity is in the Gospel revealed in Jesus Christ, by the Spirit, through the Scriptures. That is why our weekly and fortnightly home groups meeting for Bible study and prayer are so important. Its the best way to learn and apply Gods word together. The Spirit of God working through the Word of God to make us children of God. Notice there is only one body - one church - and therefore only one membership. There may be many expressions of that body, both in terms of historical denominations as well as geographical locations, but there is only one body - the Body of Christ. That is why it is so important that we earth our membership, we demonstrate our membership, in and through a local church. Christ Church brings together on an average Sunday something like 20 or more different nationalities and probably even more denominations. And yet these dont divide us, usually, because what we have in common is more important. What we have in common is stronger. When we trust in Christ, we become related as brothers and sisters to everyone else who is related to Jesus. And that is why yesterday it was a delight to be with Larry and Ann in their home even though they left CC a year ago. They introduced me as their other pastor. We picked up the relationship where we left off a year ago because we are family.
A good test of my attitude is this - Have I fewer brothers and sisters than my Father has sons and daughters? All who love Jesus are welcome in membership here. The prerequisite for unity then is personal faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. That is what unites us. This is how we become members of Christs Church. We have all been called into membership. That is why completing your membership pledge and electoral roll form is a way of testifying to that fact. You are saying - I am a follower of Jesus Christ and I am glad to be part of his church here in Virginia Water.
To be United in Jesus: We need a personal faith
To be United as a Church: We need a confessional faith
3. To be United in Mission: We need a Serving Faith
But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers to prepare Gods people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:7,10-13)
The third aspect of our unity comes from knowing our purpose knowing why God has put us on this earth. To serve Him and one another with the gifts and talents God has given us. God has given each one of us a unique gift of his grace to benefit the church. Spiritual gifts are not toys to play with but tools to build with. It may be a natural talent that he wants to harness for his glory. It may be a skill you have honed and trained for over many years that he now wants back for his use. It may be a supernatural ability we were not born with. We have an amazingly gifted team of singers and musicians dont we? But that is only because they practice. If you do not think you have one or more gifts you are deceived. God says through the Apostle Paul To each one of us - Each one of us has been given an expression of Gods grace as Christ apportioned it. You know what that means? Jesus knows you. He has a personal interest in you and your development. He has given you a role in his church that no one else can do. And if you are not serving, we are all the poorer for it. Notice the role of the leaders is to equip, to train, to nurture, to motivate, to inspire, to guide, to prepare Gods people for works of service.
So when someone says to me, I didnt get anything out of that service it tells me more about their spiritual state than about the choice of hymns. The role of the leaders is to serve the servants. We are all servants irrespective of our role in Gods household. We have already seen how we are described as children of God - children of the One God and Father (Ephesians 4:6). But here we are called to serve him by serving one another (Ephesians 4:12). Isnt that what happens in a healthy family? It is not about privilege and status but about serving one another in love. We have discovered three dimensions to unity.
To be United in Jesus: We need a personal faith
To be United as a Church: We need a confessional faith
To be United in Mission: We need a serving faith
Then, [says Paul] we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Ephesians 4:14-16)
This is Gods purpose for you and for me. To become mature. To become like Jesus Christ. And the local church is the place where we grow up. We cannot grow to maturity on our own. We need each others gifts and talents. There may be more to growing in Christ, but there is not less and these are the essentials. God is intentional. He has a plan and purpose to build his church, reach the world, extend his kingdom in you and through you, one day at a time. so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Now do you see why we care about defining membership, about teaching ownership, about expecting apprenticeship, about creating fellowship. Members of the Body of Christ, we have work to do because we have not yet reached maturity! Nor has everyone in our community yet heard the good news of Jesus Christ.
Summary
God created the church to meet your five most deepest needs; a purpose to live for, people to live with, principles to live by, a profession to live out, and power to live on. There is no other place on earth where you can find all five of these benefits in one place at the same time. There is no more important membership than the Body of Christ expressed in a local church.
Gods
purposes for His church are identical to His five purposes for you. Worship
helps you focus on God, fellowship helps you face lifes problems, discipleship
helps fortify your faith; ministry helps exercise your talents; and evangelism
helps fulfill your mission.
There is nothing else on earth like the Church! This is where true unity can be
found. And when the world sees Jesus family united, it is infectious. But,
To be United in Jesus: We need a personal faith
To be United as a Church: We need a confessional faith
To be United in Mission: We need a serving faith
Homework
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3. How can I develop the gifts and talents God has entrusted to me?
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4. What frustrates me most about Christ Church?
5. How might this indicate a possible opportunity for service?
6. What does God want me to do differently as a result of this study?
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