The Map Maker s Guide

Transcription

1 The Map Maker s Guide Map 7 The Church He is Building Vision Spiritual Exercise Prayer Therefore I also, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power... Ephesians 1:15-19 Father God, we believe in Your Son and we love His Body on Earth and in Heaven. Thank you for the gifts of faith and fellowship. We humbly pray that You would give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of You and your Son Jesus. We are blind without Your enlightenment. Enlighten the eyes of our understanding that we may know the hope of Your calling, our value as Your inheritance, and the power You have towards us for Your kingdom purposes. Have mercy and be gracious to us, O God. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Introduction The rebellion of Adam and Eve was devastating to mankind, and costly to God. The Creator lost His reign in the hearts of mankind; He lost His relationship with them; and He lost His habitation among them. This all happened in the first three chapters of Genesis. The rest of the Bible is the story of Him getting it all back culminated in the last three chapters of The Revelation. It is a beautiful story of love, rescue and restoration. In this lesson, we will search out one of the God s great losses His habitation with and in His children. We will discover that there is a part for us to play and a blessing that comes from pursuing the restoration of His habitation. Moreover, we will see that God s habitation is found in a plurality of people (more than 85% of the you pronouns in the New Testament are plural). There are no lone-rangers in the kingdom of God. We were made for community. Definition Church (ekklesia): From ek, "out of," and klesis, "a calling", was used among the Greeks of a body of citizens "gathered" to discuss the affairs of State; a gathering of citizens called out from their homes; an assembly. Vine s Expository Dictionary Searching Out the Matter (All Scripture references, but those noted, are NKJV; Thomas Nelson, Inc.; footnotes excluded) God s Habitation The New Testament refers to God s habitation as the Body of Christ, the Church, and the Bride of Christ. Here are a few verses that speak to the wonderful mystery of His habitation. 63

2 64 Map 7 The Church He is Building Vision Jesus answered and said to him, If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. John 14:23 The reward for every faithful follower of Jesus Christ is the habitation of both Him and His Father. And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said, I will dwell in them, and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 2Corinthians 6:16 The indwelling of the Father is a sign of His ownership. His Son paid the price for our salvation that His Father would be in us and all around us. It is important to note here that the you in this verse is plural. For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:14-19 This is high heavenly language; the language of mystery. Stop for a moment and let the last phrase sink in: that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Let us be diligent to lay hold of that for which Jesus laid hold of us. Let us surrender to the Father s habitation. Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Philippians 2:12-13 The work of God is an internal work. He is working from the inside out. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. Revelation 3:20 It is His desire to come in and abide. He is knocking and He desires to remain. Truly, the Triune God has taken up residence within each of His people, and in us corporately. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in wisdom and might, have come to abide in us. The kingdom of God has come in the vessels of born again believers. Pause for a moment and consider this mystery (since you are to be a faithful steward of it). Ask God to give you a vision and a confidence of this reality. He did for me. Like me, you may not be able to explain it to others, but you will carry it with you for the rest of your life. By coming to spiritually dwell in us, God has begun restoring His habitation in His people. That work will culminate in the physical manifestation we find at the end of His story. He has blessed us with a wonderful description of His completed work: And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Revelation 19:6-8 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. Revelation 21:1-3

3 Map 7 The Church He is Building Vision In His sovereign providence, God will complete the work of restoring His habitation. His purposes will not be denied Him. In the meantime, we have the awesome privilege and responsibility to participate in this restorative work. As with any adventure, the more we know about the journey, the better prepared we will be to participate in its purpose. Jesus said that He would build His church. It begs the question, What does that building look like? What is this Church that Christ is Building? When Jesus was here on Earth, the Romans were the superpower kingdom. As such, they set out to transform the nations under their rule by sending an assembly of Roman leaders, chosen from each segment of culture (e.g., business, arts, philosophy, government), to infuse or force Roman culture into the native country. We see this in the New Testament, where the Jewish government was a puppet to the Romans. For example, the Sanhedrin could not kill Jesus without Pilate s approval. This group of transformation leaders was called the ekklesia. The Roman ekklesia was not a sub-culture group, trying to be like the Jews. They were a counterculture group, sent to transform the Jewish culture into that of the Roman Empire. It is important to recognize that Jesus chose this word to describe the kingdom He came to build. The disciples would have understood exactly what Jesus had in mind: A counter-culture kingdom that would transform the kingdoms around it. As we know from history, both ekklesias rubbed native society the wrong way. Jewish uprisings were constant and eventually led to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Romans. It was (and is) no different for the ekklesia of Christ. Our King intends to establish His kingdom by transforming the native culture through His called out ones. From its formation, the true Church has stood against both the pagan world and the religious culture; and it has been persecuted. The Romans eventually crucified thousands of Christians; and we know the Jews played their part in the persecution of the early church. This should not deter us. We must become the called out ones. We must deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. Hebrews 13:13-14 What Christ began, He will complete. He will build His church. He has called us out to participate in the work with Him. But, what will that church look like? We have vision for its completion; namely, the Bride and the New Jerusalem. But, is there something more tangible that will guide our participation with Him? How will He build His church? Amazingly, He will build it through the very people He has come to inhabit. Christ not only died for our sins and was resurrected that we might have life, but He gave us gifts that we might be edified (aka, built up, made) into His church. And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head Christ from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. Ephesians 4:

4 Map 7 The Church He is Building Vision This is the church that Christ envisioned the church that would be His Bride. We are to be that church, for the LORD s habitation. This is our destiny. Every follower of Jesus Christ has a desire in their heart for the church described in this passage: Equipped; meaning to be fixed for its intended use (like a bone or net). Unity of both faith and knowledge; even unto perfection that is measured by the full stature of Christ. No longer deceived. Able to speak the truth in love. Maturing in all things. Knit tightly together; like a hug instead of a handshake, or a beautiful tapestry. Effectively working; the Greek here is energeo; the energy of ministry. Every part doing its share; no 20% doing 80% of the work. A fellowship building itself up in love. Are you having the same thought I m having? How is this possible? We are so far from this; I can t imagine how we will get there! The work required is more than we can think or imagine. For over 2000 years, we have proven, over and over again, what a mess we can make of it. Praise God, it is not up to us. In fact, things are moving along in spite of our efforts. Even in this day of apparent decline, we can be encouraged that He has not been caught by surprise. The Advantage of Workplace Ministry There are currently 30,000+ registered denominations in the U.S. Many of these sprang out of divisiveness and one-upmanship. How might Christ overcome the pride and weakness of man to create the church He has in mind? It is important to recognize all the fellowships to which God has connected us. That includes the ones God has created in the places where we spend most of our waking hours. God has not given the Workplace over to His enemies. His kingdom has come and must be established there. His Son is using the Workplace to build His church through leaders He has planted there. Building the Kingdom is about cooperation, not competition. Interestingly, this is a fundamental Workplace principle. In the Workplace, a follower of Jesus Christ can pursue fellowship with the brethren without the constraints of doctrine and denomination; and work in unity for the glory of the Father without engaging in divisive sectarianism. In the process, God will honor our agreement with His Son s prayer for unity by showing up in the work. And others will be drawn to Him there. Conclusion Denominations, and other groups that form around the doctrines of man, are not evil in themselves. Our battle is not against flesh and blood. However, it is time for us to become fierce in our fight against the spirit of divisiveness that has used our rebelliousness to interfere with God s purposes particularly His purpose in creating a habitation for Himself. Ministry in the Workplace is simply an opportunity to find unity where the church is not so confined. This is not a call for individuals to leave their current fellowships and create a type of Workplace Church. This would only increase the problem. Local fellowships are critical to the disciple-making process for every believer. Nevertheless, we must surrender to God s purpose for habitation wherever we have influence; particularly in those places where He is building. 66

5 Application Map 7 The Church He is Building Vision For many, Christ s vision for the church has not been seen, much less experienced. They may not know or believe it is possible. God has given you a vision and a desire for the church He is building in your sphere of influence. It is time to start sharing it. Reckoning Christ is building His church in the Workplace. Assignment 1. Review your notes and the Scripture passages from this week s module. Share the ones that are most meaningful to someone in your spheres of influence. 2. How do you define church? Do you believe that your organized church fellowship should provide for every area of Christian life? What if your paradigm was such that your activities in the institution were but a subset of doing church God s way? What if there was more? 3. Why do we call our congregations, denominations and institutions churches? How is this potentially confusing to those inside and outside the ekklesia? 4. Use the tool provided on our website to begin identifying your Sphere of Influence. It can be found at: InfluenceTool.pdf. Devotion The Power of Community From Rob Streetman, Marketplace Ministry Tip, Chapel Hill News and Views Magazine No man is an island. English writer John Donne made this assertion in It is a truth that has stood the test of time. No man (or woman) can survive, separate from the human collective. This has been proven by science, and witnessed day by day in our own lives. We cannot live an abundant life without others. So, why do we try? First, we try to live in isolation because we are taught that being independent is a sign of maturity. We are taught to stand on our own two feet. It is the strong man and woman that don t need anyone (e.g., John Wayne). We are encouraged to be the captain of our own ship, failing to realize that everyone else is being taught the same. Of course, the truth of the matter is we find more abundant life when we live in community. Ironically (and this is a huge point), the true sign of maturity is becoming dependable while continuing to depend on others. The Jewish community is so successful in business because this is their way of life. Secondly, relationships are hard work. Ask anyone that has taken on a business partner. It is difficult to have a partnership when ships don t normally have two captains unless those captains discover how to work together. As an Enterprise Architect at SunTrust Banks, I was constantly working on teams and it was incredibly difficult. Why? Because, in that culture, we were motivated by competition, not cooperation. It makes me sad to think back on the loss of productivity in those teams. We could have accomplished so much more in a cooperative culture. Marketplace Ministry Tip: Identify who God has put in your sphere of influence to share in your marketplace adventure. Consider that He is motivated to assist you in developing strong relationships with others peers, partners, employees, other businesses (John 17:20-23). The 67

6 Map 7 The Church He is Building Vision productivity and abundant life you will find is well worth the determination and courage it will take to forge successful relationships. 68