What Kind of Church Do We Want to Be? Part 1: "A Church That Exists for the Glory of God" Ephesians 1:3-14 When you think of "What kind of church do we want to be," what comes to your mind? Full church? Great worship team? Lots of programs to meet the needs of a variety of people? Nothing wrong with any of those dreams - as long as we keep them in proper perspective. There are factors that are much more important than any of these that need to drive who we become as a group. We have come a long way over the past 7 1/2 years in changing the culture of the church. But I believe that there is much more we can do in becoming the church that God wants us to be. As we launch into 2015, then, I believe it is crucial that we begin to once again evaluate our church. Many of us have been challenged recently with the concept of living our lives more "radically" in terms of what it means to follow Jesus, many of us have accepted the challenge of the "Radical Experiment," which calls us in 2015 to: 1) Pray for the gospel to be extended to the entire world; 2) Read through the entire Word; 3) Sacrifice our money for a specific purpose; 4) Spend our time in another context; 5) Commit our lives to a multiplying community. It only makes sense, then, that we would check the direction and focus of our church to make sure it matches what God is calling us to as individuals. That's why I have titled this sermon series for the start of 2015, "What Kind of Church Do We Want to Be?" As we are being challenged to live radically for God as individuals and as a church family, we are being asked to make a lot of difficult choices, to consider some tough sacrifices, to give up the status quo for something greater. I want to make it clear that there is only one good reason for making these kinds of changes: it cannot be because others are doing it, or that it will make us feel better about ourselves, or that David Platt or any other author wrote about it. It cannot be because Pastor Steve said we should. The ONLY reason for making these kinds of changes is because GOD wants us to. As a church, there can be only one satisfactory reason for making anything the primary goal of the church - it must match the goals, vision, and passion of God Himself. If you are a parent, think of it this way. If someone were to ask your children what it is that is more important to you than anything else in the world, how would you feel if they said, "I don't know." It would be pretty disappointing. Now, how would you feel if they said, "I don't care." Devastating, right? That's why we as a church MUST care about what is most important to our Heavenly Father. And so that is where we will start this series, seeking the heart of God. What is His driving force? What is it He wants more than anything else? What is His highest passion? The answer may frustrate you, because Scripture teaches us that God's highest passion is HIS OWN GLORY. If we desire to be the church God wants us to be, our reason for existence must mirror God's highest passion: His Glory!
Now I know that some of you, maybe all of you, are frustrated by my statement that God's highest passion is His own glory. That's okay. I can completely relate to that. That's how I felt when I was first exposed to this understanding of God. We might come up with a long list of things other than that which we would feel more comfortable saying are His highest passion. What would some of those things be? (salvation, defeat of evil, justice, mercy, love, etc.) But His own glory? Seriously? When we hear that, we get a bad taste in our mouth or feel like someone just punched us in the stomach. (Anybody feeling that right now? It's okay to be honest.) Let's take a quick look at why we feel that way. I think there are two main reasons why we feel that way. 1) It seems like arrogance and we tend to dislike arrogant people. Arrogant people are inauthentic and we see them going around trying to fill up what they lack with praise and affirmation from other people. 2) It flies in the face of how we have been taught to live. If I were to stand up here and tell you the key to the Christian life is seeking your own glory, you would have me dragged out of here in a straightjacket in about 2.5 seconds. We know we are taught to live a life of love and that 1 Corinthians 13:5 says clearly, "Love seeks not its own." Yet Scripture after Scripture tell us all the things God does for the sake of His own name and His own glory. Perhaps the most powerful Scripture that hammers home God's passion for His own glory comes from Isaiah 48:9-11. Here God was speaking to His people through the prophet Isaiah about His plan to deliver them from their coming exile in Babylonia. He said, For my name's sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another." Let's survey some other key Scriptures regarding God's glory (from John Piper's "Biblical Texts to Show God's Zeal for His Own Glory"): God created us for His glory: "bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made. (Isaiah 43:6-7 ESV) God called His people for His glory: "I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, declares the LORD, that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory" (Jeremiah 13:11). God rescued His people from Egypt for His glory: " Yet he saved them for his name's sake, that he might make known his mighty power." (Psalm 106:8 ESV) God spared His people in the wilderness for the glory of His name: " But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out." (Ezekiel 20:14 ESV)
God restored His people from exile for the glory of His name: " It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name" (Ezekiel 36:22-23). God s plan is to fill the earth with the knowledge of his glory: " For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea." (Habakkuk 2:14 ESV) Lest we think this is just an Old Testament issue... Jesus sought the glory of his Father in all he did: " The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood." (John 7:18 ESV) Jesus told us to do good works so that God gets glory: " In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16 ESV) In fact, God instructs us to do EVERYTHING for His glory: " So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV) " in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever." Amen. (1 Peter 4:11 ESV) Ephesians 1:3-14, one of the classic passages of the Christian faith, " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:3-14 ESV) So what are we to think? Is God arrogant? Is He unloving? OF COURSE NOT!! Why, then, does He act in such a way that we would find reprehensible in another human being? Why is He so consumed with His glory? Because it is the most loving, God-like thing He can do. Think about it this way. How do we define God? God is the greatest possible being in the universe, right? One the greater than which we cannot even imagine. If He did not exalt Himself, if His focus were not on extending His glory to the ends of the earth, He would not be God. Who else would we have Him exalt
or glorify? What other being is worthy of His praise? By being the greatest possible being and by glorifying Himself and demanding all creation to glorify Him and by saving us to glorify Himself, He is simply giving us the greatest possible God to worship and praise and adore and love and magnify and enjoy forever and ever. If that doesn't make sense to you, just let it simmer for a while. Ask God to reveal Himself to you in this area. But let's take the Bible's word for it that God's highest passion is His glory. Let's assume that we belong to a God who desires, deserves, and demands absolute devotion in our lives and in our church. Wouldn't we want to give God our absolute best? Wouldn't we say He is worthy of everything we have and everything we are our lives, budgets, ambitions, programs, relationships, possessions, careers and trust? If God's exists for His glory, we as a church, a gathering of His people, must also exist for God's glory. We must become, in the words of David Platt, selfless followers of a self-centered God. The problem is that many churches in America today are instead self-centered followers of a selfless God. Are we looking for programs that meet our own needs and preferences or do we find deep and abiding pleasure in the denial of self and utter dependence upon God? If we want to make sure we continue to be a church that exists for the glory of God, there are a few things we can do that will make a huge impact. 1) Constantly Humble Ourselves and Exalt Him This one is done primarily at an individual level because you cannot really humble anyone besides yourself. Remind yourself on a regular basis of your desperate need for Him and of His incredible greatness. As you are reading through the whole Bible this year, be on the lookout for passages and stories that speak to how utterly amazing God is. And when you come to worship, make sure you come to praise HIM and not simply meet your own needs. 2) Constantly Express Our Dependence on Him Through Prayer Prayer is one of the primary ways we can express our selflessness and God's self-centeredness. In prayer we should not be saying to God, "Here is how you can meet my needs in my way," but rather, "How can you use me to help accomplish YOUR purposes in the world." Prayer must be a non-negotiable for a church that exists for the glory of God. In the book of Acts, we read three different times that the church was devoted to prayer. We see that they were utterly dependent on God's power. We discover that every major breakthrough in the church happened as the direct result of prayer. As a church, we can carry on business as usual in our own strength. We don't need prayer for that. But if we want to really be a part of what God is doing in the world, we need to find ways to make prayer a priority. 3) Constantly Evaluate Everything We Do as a Church Is it for us or is it for Him? If you take a close look at our Mission Statement, you will see that God's glory is at the center of it: "Because he has given his life for us, the Seventh Day Baptist Church of Boulder will impact the world for Jesus Christ one life at a time, by developing mature, reproducing disciples who are:
Reaching Up: Responding to God's glory through faith, worship and growth in Him Reaching In: Reflecting God s glory by investing in the life of His Church Reaching Out: Representing God s glory by serving the world in order to reach others for Jesus Christ" Responding to God's glory, reflecting God's glory and representing God's glory; that's what we have said is the mission of our church. If we really believe this, we need to use this as an evaluation of what things we do as a church and how we go about doing them. If we as a church are surrendered together to the will of God and committed to bringing Him glory in everything we do, the sky is the limit in what God can accomplish through us. The things we talk about over the next five weeks will be "no-brainers." And we will be well on our way to becoming not only the church we want to be, but more importantly the church God wants us to be.