Series: You are the Church 1. You are the Church!

Started new year talking about what it really means to follow Jesus…

-and let me be very honest why we started there and I shared this a few weeks ago

-as your shepherd I have one fear…

-I don’t want, even one of us, to one day, come face to face with Jesus

-and hear the words, “Depart from me, I never knew you!” (read matt 7:21-23)

We can’t miss this, according to Jesus – this is not Ed’s opinion (acc. to Jesus)

-there will be “many” men and women, who say they are his followers in this life

-men and women who call Jesus “Lord” (say Jesus is my Saviour)

-men and women, who do things in his Jesus’ name (even prophecy/miracles)

-so probably men and women who are visible and active in their churches

-but who in the end, Jesus says to them, “depart from me, I never knew you.”

-let me say, you don’t have to live in fear (am I/not going to make it?)

But we must ask the question, why? How can that happen? And Jesus tells us…

-he says that it’s not in just calling him Lord / not in just saying Jesus is my saviour

-it’s not just doing things in Jesus’ name that gets you into the Kingdom

-so what is it? Jesus says – only those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven

Again, you don’t have to live in fear, “am I/am I not going to make it?”

-but it should make us stop and ask ourselves, am I/are we doing the will of the Father?

-and what is that will? You find it in simple statements like this…

-love God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength

-love one another as Jesus has loved us

-seek first the kingdom of God and all his righteousness

-and if you allow me to wrap that up into what we’ve been talking about

-let’s follow Jesus, together, the way he calls us to follow him

And so we’re crystal clear on what that looks like we spent last 6 weeks unpacking it

-to follow Jesus is first to recognize who he is and surrender ourselves to him

-to accept that on the cross he did everything to make us right with God

-and because he did – we’re to make following him our first priority actions/relationships

-it is to know the full cost of following and to give him all of our lives knowing the cost

-to follow Jesus is to say no to anything that would hinder us following

-to follow is to bear the mark of his love and to allow him to bear his fruit in/through us

-be a blessing to those who don’t know Jesus, so they can know and find God

-and we’re promised that those who follow him this way, will be rewarded (this/next life)

-again, that’s not Ed’s opinion, that’s straight out of the mouth of Jesus

What’s the difference between true X-followers and those turned away? (read vs.16-20)

-bad fruit

The thing that gets these people on God’s bad side seems to be …

-they say they are Christ-followers, they probably prayed prayer, baptized, members

-they go to church and they’re even pretty involved

-they’re the big guns, they prophesy, drive out demons, they do miracles in Jesus’ name

-but the rest of the time, which is most of the time, when no one’s looking

-their lives are marked by choices that go against Jesus’ desires!

-at those times they’re priority is to follow their own plans

-at those times put the cost of following Jesus aside to do what they want to do

-at those times: choose to say yes to the things they know will hinder their following

-their love is conditional because what they want is most important

-their life is very individualist and so they’re have very little Xian influence on other’s lives

-they’re looking forward to God’s rewards, but it’s still all about them

-worst of all, they convince themselves that their ways are God’s ways!

If I can say it the simplest way possible – Christ-follower bears good fruit!

-the true Christ follower’s life is devoted to the journey of letting Christ live in/through them

-they always seeking to get closer to Christ

-allow Jesus to challenge their safety zones & stretch them to new places of obedience

-as they follow (journey) - their life stops being about them and what they can get out of it

-& they get on a journey of letting Christ use them as agents of his Kingdom

-the point – following Jesus is not a passive, make a decision/pray a prayer and all’s good

-following Jesus is about letting Jesus rule your every moment of every day

-plans you make, how you react when you’re hurt, angry, when someone cuts you off,

when you don’t get your way, put others first, love, peace, patience, kindness,so on

Are we clear on this stuff?

-good because this is foundation for where we’re going next!

Starting a new series…what did Jesus intend when he established the church

-what church is supposed to be / what it isn’t

-where do you fit in, what does God have for you/ expect from you

-and how does Port of Grace/we, together, continue to become that church

If this is your 1^st time here…

-please don’t hear this as criticism on people who don’t go to church

-this is not a guilt trip to get you more involved or out more often

-but just like we wanted to get to the heart of what it means to follow Jesus

-want to get to the heart of & become what Jesus had in mind when he said

-“I will build my church”

This part might make us a little uncomfortable, and I’ve said this before, but…

If the sum/totality of our following-Christ = show up at church 1½ hours a week

-if being a Christ-follower doesn’t impact what happens on Monday to Saturday

-if being a X-follower doesn’t impact how we think, decisions we make, relationships

-there’s a really good chance we’re just a church goers, religious, playing church

Just going to church is dangerous! DANGEROUS WHEN…

-it becomes an action that doesn’t involve/engage your heart & soul (the real you)

-when it doesn’t cause shifts and changes in your life from Monday to Friday

Read Rev. 3:14-22 We usually misread this passage (Jesus knocking on heart)

-but this was written to a church – God saying - “you’re not getting this church thing”

-you’re doing church in such a way that you left me out, so, let me back in

When Jesus arrived on earth…

-this was what the religious people were all about

-don’t miss this, they weren’t this way intentionally – weren’t trying to mislead others

-just been this way for such a long time – actually believed this was true spirituality

So, Jesus said to them…(read Matthew 23:27,28)

Jesus didn’t leave heaven, experience God’s judgment on our behalf, rise from the dead…

-just so we’d commit to showing up somewhere for an 1½ hour a week minus holidays

-sing a few songs, pray a little, and listen to a message we forget in a few days

-Jesus left heaven, gave up his life for us, and rose from the dead – why?

-so that we could/would be his followers – be his Church!

First thing I want you to walk away with this morning – WE, together, ARE THE CHURCH

-Romans 16:5 – Apostle Paul sending greetings to the church in Rome says this

“Please give my greetings to the church that meets in their home”

What do you think that tells us about what or who the church is?

-the church is people together! Buildings are not church!

-the buildings we call churches are only the places where ‘we’, the church, meets

WE ARE THE CHURCH!

-group of people God brings together to accomplish his purposes in our lives

-and through our lives; in Port Colborne and to the ends of the earth

-this building can burn down today and tomorrow we’ll still be? the church

Okay, let’s move on – we are the church – and if “WE” are the church, then…

YOU CAN’T BE THE CHURCH BY YOURSELF!

This, in my belief, is one of the greatest things holding the church back

-many of us have bought into a Jesus and me Christianity

-faith is just between Jesus and me (nobody else’s business)

-fits in well with our individualistic nature & culture

-problem - goes against everything the scriptures teach about the church/following Christ

-Read Romans 12:3-11

When Jesus dreamed of the church, he dreamed of a faith community

-a community of people tied together through relationship & Kingdom purpose

-gifted differently & coming together to join Jesus on his mission (visual aids of God)

-community whose strength and impact came from their togetherness & connection to

Jesus

-a group of people connecting, sharing life & working together for God’s purpose

-of reaching the world so that all people might know him

-that’s what Jesus created you/I & all of us together will experience & be as his Church

So how should we respond to this message…

-first it’s about you and Jesus – and us and Jesus

-have you surrendered your life to Jesus so you can follow him the way he calls you to?

-& have we surrendered our life to Jesus so we can follow him the way he calls us to?

Second it’s about us being the church…

Most churches want your name down – it’s called membership…

-some of you are members, some of you have said you want to be members

-typically membership in church means – privilege

-you want to serve/vote/participate – you have to be a member

-as we consider being the church together I want to challenge the concept of membership

As we go forward, we want membership at Port of Grace to be about partnership!

-we want you to partner with us on mission for God

-partnership means we’re in this together

-partnership means that we can count on one another

-partnership means that the gifts that God’s built into you are available to God/community

-partnership means that you want to be an active part of this faith community

-so I invite you to partnership with us

That’s what I believe God desires from all of us as we go on

-so I invite you to partner with us

-partner with us as we follow Jesus as he calls us to follow him

-making following top priority, giving all for him, bearing his marks

-partner with us as instruments of blessing to each other, Port Colborne & our world

-partner with us as we continue to become the church

This series is all about how that can look, but first we have to get the basics straight

-church is not a place we go to – it’s not a building

-church is us, partnering together, allowing God to use us to accomplish his purposes

Stand - Let’s pray!