Acts 2.42-47
Words to describe the missional community
Assembly/Congregation
This was the word was commonly used to describe God’s people in the Old Testament.
One of the great “doing life together” stories in the Old Testament is
the story of Achan. When Joshua led the Israelites into Jericho, the
people were instructed not to take any spoils. Achan disobeyed that
instruction, and it cost Israel the second battle. As a result, Achan
and his entire family paid the price with their life. (Compare this
with 1 Corinthians 12 in the NT, which indicates that Christ-followers
are connected. What one of us does, affects the rest of us!)
Synagogue
This word means, a “gathering.”
Ecclesia
This is the Greek word for church, used in the New Testament. It’s a gathering of people who are “called out” for mission.
Fellowship/Community
This word is used in the New Testament to describe the life that Christ-followers lived with one another.
One Another
This is a highly common phrase in the New Testament, demonstrating the
importance of relationships in the body of Christ. We truly need to
think of others more than we think of ourselves, and remember, “it’s
not about me!”
Symphony
This word is not in Scripture, but I think it’s a great metaphor for
what we are about. Symphony means, “sounding together.” I love that! We
are about sounding together. When we do a better job of sounding
together, we will be more healthy spiritually, and we will truly be
missional community!
Missional Community
As you read the book of Acts, it’s obvious that “church” for the
earliest Christ-followers was not an exclusive club; it was clearly a
missional community, a community driven by a mission to extend God’s
invitation to the world!
Doing Life Together
So, let’s talk about becoming God’s symphony. How can we learn to do life together? How can we become a missional community?
Relationships
Doing life together is about relationships! Following Christ with
others in community is what it’s all about. We do life together. We
learn together; we worship God together; we discern God’s will
together; we bear one another’s burdens; we laugh together, and
sometimes we weep together.
And, there are right ways of relating and there are wrong ways of
relating. Right ways of relating are always motivated by love. If it’s
motivated by love for people and it honors God, do it! But if it
doesn’t honor God, and if it isn’t motivated by love for people, don’t
do it.
Gossip in the Valley
An example of how not to do life together took place this past week. A
woman prayed for Joleen last Sunday in her worship gathering. She
prayed for five things, including our marriage. Joleen was moved by the
whole experience, and shed a few tears. Someone asked her on the way
out if she was okay; she said they were tears of joy.
Well, we learned on Friday that there’s a rumor making its rounds here
in our rural valley — Joleen and I are having marriage problems!
Spiritual Renewal
We must experience spiritual renewal and spiritual growth! Not only
does our mission depend on it, but so does our very existence.
My tendency (maybe even weakness) is to focus on the “silver lining” in
any given situation. And I can usually see a “silver lining” in just
about any situation. That’s great, but that also means I have to work
at seeing and dealing with reality as well. That’s what I want to try
to do today.
As some of you know, I sent out an e-mail Thursday evening encouraging
you, and the people you would be in touch with, to make every effort be
here today.
I said I wanted to address our current spiritual condition from my
perspective as well as what our future looks like from my vantage
point. I wanted as many of you to be here as possible because I know
how the grapevine works – not very well!
The Silver Lining
First, the silver lining: I believe that there is so much potential
here. I believe that God can turn anything around, when God’s people
surrender themselves to God and make themselves available to God!
Reality Check: Answer those questions for yourself …
- Are we growing or declining?
- Are we making disciples? That is, are people making professions of faith among us?
- Are our members becoming missionaries to their neighborhoods?
- Are we helping people find Jesus in their own way and timing?
- Are we practicing our faith in community?
- Are we doing life together?
The Cause of Death is Always Spiritual
I want to make something clear: the cause of death in a church is
always spiritual. Churches don’t die because of declining attendance,
membership, and finances. Churches die because they lose their
spiritual vitality. Financial bankruptcy is always preceded by
spiritual bankruptcy.
Again, I believe there is so much potential for missional success here.
But we will only be successful in our mission when we experience
spiritual renewal!
Merger?
That’s true whether we exist as three churches or as one! Merger isn’t
a quick fix – without spiritual renewal and a commitment to be a
missional community (a community engaged in mission in its
neighborhoods), merging will only prolong the death of our church(es)!
If you decide to merge, it’s okay to merge in order to survive. But,
that cannot be the only reason. If the only reason you merge is to
survive, again you are only prolonging the death! There has to be more
than simply surviving. There has to be a cause, a mission. You have to
be motivated by the belief that we are better together than we are
apart!
Seeking Spiritual Renewal
Surrender to God
Salvation is a gift offered to us without price. But,
discipleship (our response to the free gift of salvation) is costly.
Spiritual growth and renewal come at a great cost – our life! Salvation
is receiving Christ’s life; discipleship is giving our life to Christ. I believe spiritual renewal begins with surrender!
“We work together as God’s partners who belong to God.” (1 Corinthians 3.9a)
Matthew 5.1-12 - The Beautitudes
Matthew 26.47-56 - Jesus’ Arrest
Bill Cosby, “Kid’s Say”
Cosby tries to explain to nine-year-old Peter what Jesus meant by “turning other cheek.” “If somebody hits you, you don’t hit him back,” Cosby begins.
Confused, Peter replies “Jesus said be a wimp?”
“No, not a wimp, a lover of peace.”
“It don’t sound too smart. Why don’t the guy who hits me love peace first.”
Cosby continues. He explains that Jesus was teaching that “You have to be bigger than the other person.”
After a moment’s thought, the boy responded, “If you’re bigger, you should definitely hit back.”
These words are humorous coming from a child, but unfortunately they reflect an attitude that can lead to tragic results in the lives of adults.
Massachusettes Father’s Fight to Death
You may remember a story from the news just a couple of years of go. In Massachusetts, two fathers were attending a hockey game in which their young sons were playing on opposite teams. The fathers got into an argument. The smaller of two men provoked a fight which ended in his death. The other father beat him to death. One father killed another father because he was encouraging his son to be too rough. Two broken families: one father dead; the other sentenced to prison.
Unfortunately violence is too often promoted by Hollywood. And is too often commonly promoted because in our culture, we don’t want to be perceived as wimps.
Joe Somebody
There is one Hollywood movie that tells a different tale, Joe Somebody. Joe is played by Tim Allen. A co-worker takes Joe’s parking spot. Joe, standing up for his rights, sets a date and place for a fight. This co-worker is a bully, so Joe becomes the corporate hero – and he is basking in the attention, the women at work are giving him the look over, he gets an invitation to the gym on the executive floor, even his x-wife is taking notice! But, Joe is scared silly, so he seeks out some fighting lessons. Everyone makes Joe the hero, accept his daughter, who is maybe 10 years old. She sees through the whole charade. Jump to the end of the movie. Everyone is at the sight of the fight. Joe is the last one to arrive. His daughter secretly rides her bike to the spot and stands aloof. The crowd is pumped, they’ve been waiting the whole movie for this moment. You can tell the other guy, the bully, is a little nervous over this whole thing. Joe struts in. But he can’t do it. His daughter has gotten to him. He knows its not the right thing to do. He knows its not going to settle anything. Joe walks up to the “bully” and they shake hands. It’s a triumphant time. As you watch the movie you are cheering them on. But even as you are cheering, the co-workers are booing and hissing. They were up for a good fight and they walk away disappointed. They go away thinking that Joe is a loser. As a viewer, your emotions are played with: first your soaring, cheering Joe on for doing the right thing, the next moment you plummet to the depths of almost anger at these people for not getting it.
Fight or Flee
Peter, at the time of Jesus arrest, didn’t get it either. Peter stands up and is the big man. “You are not going to take my Christ” as he takes out his sword and slices off the ear of the high priest’s servant, one of the men in the crowd who has come to take Jesus away. Again this is wonderfully portrayed in The Passion of the Christ, as the sound of the movie puts this terrible ringing sound in your own ears, as if your ear had just been affected.
But in the scriptures Peter is corrected by Jesus, even reprimanded
52“Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.
And Jesus explains that he could call on a host of angels to save him, but that’s not the way it’s supposed to be. The scriptures must be fulfilled.
And the Gospel of Luke records that Jesus heals the ear of the man, picks up the ear and restores it. As Jesus, peaceably, without resistance, goes with the mob, the disciples do the only other thing they know to do: if they cannot fight they flee. This passage ends with the words:
Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.
Fight or Flee – those were the disciples choices. Those are our first responses to unpleasant threatening situations. But Jesus taught a different way: Be peacemakers.
The Way of a Peacemaker: The way of the cross
In order to be a peacemaker, Jesus went the way of the cross. It may not always feel good to be a peacemaker. The cross is ultimately the symbol of victory; but it is also the symbol of the struggle to live a Gospel of Peace in a world of violence.
Now we all know that there are injustices in the world. We have all been treated with unfairness, at the very least. To be a peacemaker does not invalidate your emotions. One may experience disappointment, hurt and even anger in the midst of some situations. It is not healthy to ignore these emotions. One can’t just shove them under the carpet and expect them to go away.
The Psalms are filled with anger. The Psalms are people like you and me expressing how they feel to God. But yet at the same time the Psalms say
“In your anger do not sin.” Ps 4.4 (Eph 4.26)
Don’t ignore your anger, but do not let it have free rein. Bring your anger to God in prayer. And ask God for the strength to be a maker of peace.
Psalm 34.14 instructs us to seek peace to pursue peace. Peace is something we actively pursue. We don’t just sit back and hope it happens. Go make peace.
Shalom
When we define peace we tend to think in opposites. Peace is the opposite of war. For a country to be at peace it is not at war. For a household to be at peace, it is the absence of bickering and nagging.
The Hebrew word for peace is Shalom. The definition of Shalom is more complete and full in meaning that what we usually think of with peace. It is more than just an opposite of something. Shalom is more than just an absence of something, but a presence of something. Shalom is wholeness. It is to be flourishing. It is delight. It is blessing.
A nation may not be at war, but there is other division or unrest or economic conditions that prevent it from being truly at peace. It is not in a flourishing state of wholeness.
In a family to have shalom is the presence of good things: love, care, concern, encouragement, enjoying one another’s presence. Again it is not just the absence of some things, but the presence of the positives. It is the fullness of the possibilities. It is what God intended. The state of things before the fall, before sin entered the world.
This is the peace we are to bring to the world. It is a kingdom peace. The second part of our verse today, the blessing is that we will be children of God. If we are God’s children we are a part of his kingdom and we live out our lives, not by living the way the world does, but as God intended.
How will you be an agent of God’s peace in this world?
How will you be an agent of God’s peace in your home, in your place of work, in your church, in your neighborhood, with your enemies?
It’s not peace by ignoring people, or staying away from those you disagree with or don’t get along with. Purse peace.
It’s not painting a smile on our face, being polite with one another. It’s seeking shalom, wholeness in our relationships.
Romans 14.19 “Let us make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.”