I Love My Church

I Love My Church

Opening Illustration:

The New York Times reported this week that something unusual is happening in a small town in Kentucky. The town is Wilmore, population about 6000 residents. Wilmore plays host to Asbury University. The University has its start dating back to the mid 1800’s. So, what is this “something unusual” that is happening in Asbury University in Wilmore, KY?

Revival. That’s right, revival is happening. Not only is it happening, it is spreading. But how? How did it start? How did it begin?

It was a day like any other day. February 8th to be exact and it took place in an ordinary Chapel service. Students have to observe weekly chapel services. In fact you can go to YouTube right now and watch the message delivered by Rev. Zach Meerkreebs. Do you know what you will discover about his message? It was not that special. He pulled no rabbits from the hat. He did not perform any miracle healings. No one walked on water. Imagine a trendy youth pastor saying some quippy funny statements mixed in with strong theology and Biblical truths. That was his message. It was good. It was a strong message. Still, these students had heard hundreds of messages and sermons like it before and chances are, they would hear more moving forward.

In fact, the revival did not start during the actual planned service. Revival did not break out during the reading of Scripture. It did not explode during the preplanned worship. Nor did it happen as the students listened to Rev. Zach’s message.

Revival started when a small group of students gathered together after the chapel for prayer and private worship. It was unplanned and spontaneous. Something happened after the crowd went away and the lights were dimmed. Something took place when the sound system was turned off and all the pastors left. Something happened when those students started singing. Suddenly prayer became palpable. Students started confessing sin. They laid prostrate on the floor. They stripped away all the cultural do’s and don’ts and they earnestly sought God.

When they sought God, God responded in a powerful way. Revival. News spread around campus that something was taking place in the Chapel. Revival. Students began to come back. It was a trickle at first and then a mighty wave of humanity. Revival. The lower floor began to fill, then the balcony. Revival. Longing to stay in the presence of God, much like Peter, James, and John at the foot of the transfiguration, students brought their mattresses into the chapel so they could sleep in God’s presence…surrounded by His worship. Revival.

Samford University.

Lee University

Texas A&M

The revival at Asbury University is spreading across the country. It is just recently that the national media is taking notice.

This my friends is why I love the church. There is no revival without the church. No revival without God’s people uniting together, led by the Holy Spirit, and seeking the divine power of Jesus Christ. The church is the launching pad for revival to spread across America. God moving in and through and around the church is powerful. One of my favorite quotes about the church comes from Mike Yaconelli. He states, “the power of the church is not a parade of flawless people, but of a flawless Christ who embraces our flaws. The church is not made up of whole people, rather of broken people who find wholeness in a Christ who was broken for us.”

Isn’t that beautiful?

Today’s Thought:

Brothers and sisters, the church is God’s answer for every ill that plagues this world. The church is the answer to those who are oppressed. It is the answer to those mired in sin and suffering though addiction. The church is the starting point to every mission endeavor, it is the unique gift of God to reach every man, woman, boy and girl for the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The church is the number one conduit for God revealing His love to the entire world.

Fill in this blank for me under today’s thought. God’s love is lived out through His church.

God’s Love Is Lived Out Through His Church!

Today’s Quote:

You have probably not heard of James Aughey. I was doing some reading the other day on little known heroes of the Civil War and I ran across James Aughey. Aughey was born in 1826 in Mississippi and lived through the brutality of the Civil War. He was a pastor and missionary. He was a Southerner who spoke out against the Civil War. He spoke out against racism and boldly spoke out against injustice and oppression. Because of his outspokenness, he was imprisoned. While in prison, he was placed in irons, abused, insulted, and sentenced to death on the gallows. He twice escaped Southern imprisonment and once the war was over, he stood with his fellow Southern pastors that embraced his call for men and women to be freed. James Aughey was a brave and bold man. He was also incredibly bright, writing several books. Listen to what he says about the church.

“The church is not a select circle of the immaculate, but a home where the outcast may come in. It is not a palace with gate attendants and challenging sentinels along the entrance-ways holding off at arm's-length the stranger, but rather a hospital where the broken-hearted may be healed, and where all the weary and troubled may find rest and take counsel together.”

-James H. Aughey

Background and Context of John 13

Brothers and sisters, before we read from John 13 this morning, I would love to take a moment and set the scene for you. I want to show you what is happening in the moments because what is happening sets the tone for the future church. Jesus models what the church is to do and what business we are to be about. The disciples were celebrating the Passover Feast with Jesus. They were eating, drinking and fellowshipping with one another in Jerusalem. At this point in Jesus’ ministry, He is fully aware of what is coming. Death is knocking on His door and He has already experienced the sting of betrayal. Jesus, wanting to model love to His disciples, washes their feet. He then commands them to love one another as He has loved them. After all, the world will know them as His disciples by how they love and treat one another. This example will be seared into the minds of the disciples and it will be replayed over and over again as the church is born in the book of Acts. While there is great joy in these moments with Jesus and the disciples, all is not well. Judas has been possessed by the Spirit of the Devil and he has set out to turn Jesus over to the authorities. Jesus even dismisses him and tells him to “go and do what you’re going to do”. Jesus predicts His death and Peter begins to chastise the Master Rabbi. Following Peter’s outburst, Jesus predicts Peter’s betrayal.

John 13 is one of the most fascinating chapters in all of the Bible because there is beauty wrapped in betrayal and brutality.

There is love surrounded by lies.

You have the joy of Jesus and the judging jeering eyes of Judas.

John 13 is a paradox.

So this morning, will you open your Bibles to John 13:33-35 with me this morning? I am reading from the New Living Translation.

Statement of Belief:

We believe the Bible to be inspired, God breathed, infallible, and authoritative. We believe the Bible is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training believer’s in righteousness. God’s Word gives life. It provides peace in trouble and protection in tribulation. It is alive, active, and cuts to the core of the human soul. Since there is no other book like it, let us stand to show our reverence and respect.

Today’s Scripture:

John 13:31-35 NLT

As soon as Judas left the room, Jesus said, "The time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory, and God will be glorified because of him. [32] And since God receives glory because of the Son, he will give his own glory to the Son, and he will do so at once. [33] Dear children, I will be with you only a little longer. And as I told the Jewish leaders, you will search for me, but you can't come where I am going. [34] So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. [35] Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."

Jesus’ Model For Church Ministry!

I. The Definition of the Church vs. 33

John 13:33 NLT

Dear children, I will be with you only a little longer. And as I told the Jewish leaders, you will search for me, but you can't come where I am going.

In verse 33, Jesus uses a phrase that He often uses in Scripture when talking to His disciples. In fact, the phrase is used 9 times in Scripture. What is the phrase? Teknion (Teck-knee-on).

“Dear children”. That’s right, Jesus calls the grown men that are His disciples, “dear children”. Isn’t that interesting? Teknion was a common expression used by Jesus when He spoke to His disciples. While the New Living Translation says “dear children”, a better translation taken from the Greek is “little children”. Jesus uses this phrase for a couple of reasons. First, it speaks to the immaturity of the disciples. I think sometimes when we talk about the disciples we often think of them as superheroes. These are guys after all who drove out demons, walked on water, pulled coins from the mouths of fish, raised the dead, and performed all sorts of miracles. Still, these were just men. They were made of flesh and blood just like you and me. They put their pant on one leg at a time, just like you and me. It is sort of funny that Jesus would call big, strong, capable, intelligent men “children”. However, Jesus was not speaking to their physical maturity, He was speaking to their spiritual maturity. While they were immature in this moment, they would grow up pretty fast in the coming days after Jesus’ resurrection. They may have been fully grown men, but they were like little children, immature in their faith. I will come back to that point in just a second.

There is another reason that Jesus calls the disciples His “children” and it plays to a bigger narrative leading to the overall church. The term that Jesus is using is a term of endearment. When you look up the word in Strong’s Concordance, it actually tells us that the word is used as “a term of kindly address by teachers to their disciples”. Jesus was not being insulting or denigrating by calling His disciples “children”. No way. Jesus was essentially telling them that they were in His family. It would be like me gathering Jay, Jack and Jett in my arms and calling them my children. They are a part of my family. They are Davidson’s. They can live in my home, eat my food, drink my Diet Mountain Dew, and even share an inheritance when I am gone.

Jesus here is laying the groundwork for something larger to come. His family, at least in John 13 is only as big as the numerical value of the disciples. No more. No less. However, that family is going to grow. That family is going to be made up of Jesus’ “dear children”, His “little children”, His “teknion”. This gathering, this group of Jesus dear and little children will be called the “church”.

You see friends, the world has a misconception of what makes up the church. When people think “church” they think of a building. They think of an edifice, a structure. Think about it, several years ago, before I moved here, First Baptist Church of Fairhope burned to the ground. It was a horrible accident. Do you remember what the news reported? WKRG sent a reporter to the scene and the reporter said the following, “First Baptist Chruch lays in ruin and rubble. The church has been destroyed”.

You and I know the truth. First Baptist Church Fairhope was alive and well. The man made building that housed the church was destroyed, but the church endured. Jesus’ dear children, His little children were alive.

You see friends, the church is not the sticks and bricks, it is not the pews and paint, it is not the stained glass and sheet rock. The church is me and you. Followers of Christ. Disciples. People are the church and the church lives on even when the building is destroyed.

The Baptist Faith and Message has this to say about the church. Take a listen.

A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the two ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. Each congregation operates under the Lordship of Christ through democratic processes. In such a congregation each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord. Its scriptural officers are pastors and deacons. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.

The New Testament speaks also of the church as the Body of Christ which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages, believers from every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation.

The Westminster Confession of Faith states that the “whole number of the elect that have been, are, or shall be, gathered into one, under Christ the Head thereof”. What does that mean? It means that the church is the body of the faithful consisting of those throughout the world who profess faith in Jesus Christ as their redeemer, their Savior and their Lord. You see friends, the church is a global enterprise. The church is multigenerational, the most ethically diverse body ever assembled, and contains people from every nationality across the globe. You could destroy every church building ever created and the church would still have a healthy beating heart.

The Greek word for “church” is “ekklēsia”. The Greek word never speaks to a building but always to a people. An assembly.

The best news that I can give to you today is this, when Jesus looks at you He sees His child. You are a part of His family and He died so that you and I could be invited in. We are one body. That is what Paul tells us in Romans 12. Listen to his words.

Romans 12:4-5 ESV

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

Jesus’ Model For Church Ministry!

I. The Definition of the Church vs. 33

II. The Devotion of the Church vs. 34

Ephesians 2:19-22 ESV

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Jesus’ Model For Church Ministry!

I. The Definition of the Church vs. 33

II. The Devotion of the Church vs. 34

John 13:34 NLT

So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.

Now that you know what the church is, what does the church do? As Jesus laid the groundwork for what the church is, He also lays the foundation for the function of the church. Fill in this second point for me this morning and I will explain. Roman numeral two is the devotion of the church. What I want to explain to you is why we are all here this morning. Listen to what He says to His “beloved children” in verse 34. “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.”

Jesus tells us that He is giving us a “new commandment”. That’s interesting right. A “new commandment”. If Jesus is giving His followers a new commandment, there must have been an old commandment. An original commandment. What was that old commandment?

First off, the commandment to love one another is nothing new. Jesus sited the Old Testament in just about all of His teachings. After all, Jesus did not come to destroy or dismantle the law or another way of putting it is this way, Jesus did not come to kick out the old, no, Jesus came to fulfill the law. Again, you could put it this way, Jesus did not come to kick out the old way, He came to give definition to the old so that we could live anew. Make sense? Still, if there is a new commandment, what is the old commandment?

The disciples and Jesus for that matter would have automatically know what He was referring to without actually referring to it. Jesus was speaking of Leviticus 19:18, ““You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD”. Jesus Christ’s new command is important, it is significant. What makes Jesus’ new command new? It was not that He said that His followers should love one another, that is understood. What makes His words impactful is that He commanded them to “love one another AS I HAVE LOVED YOU”.

There it is! That’s the difference. It is not enough to love one another, we are to love one another as Jesus has loved us. How has Jesus loved us? Better question, to what extent does Jesus love us?

Jesus was willing to die and did die for us. He became the personification of John 15:13 where Jesus explains that “greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends”.

That’s the kind of love that Christ has for His Church, and through His new commandment, it is the love He expects Christians to have. In love for us He suffered and died so that we could, like Him, be resurrected and live for all eternity. He is the pioneer of our salvation.

Church, you know who you are, do you know what we are here to do? Let me attempt to answer that for you in two separate way. As the church, we have a responsibility to one another and we have a responsibility to the world. Let’s talk about the responsibility that we have to one another. We are here to follow the example of Jesus Christ. We are to worship the Lord. We are to edify and encourage one another, building one another up. We are to fellowship with one another, teach one another God’s Word, and share His love with one another.

Simple put, our first reason for existing is to love God, make Him known, and love one another. That is what makes the revival at Asbury University so special. That is why people are coming from far and wide. They are experiencing the love of God, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and redeemed by the grace of Christ Jesus. If we fail at loving one another, then we have failed Christ’s mandate and the world is condemned.

Church, sometimes it is very hard to love one another isn’t it? I am not always the most lovable person. I can be difficult. I can be combative. I can be harsh. Still, I am so thankful when you, my brothers and sisters in Christ, choose to love me as Christ loved me. The church is a lot like a family after all the more you know someone, the hard it can be to love them. The closer that we get to one another, the more aware of each other’s flaws and failures we become. Furthermore, the more we get to know one another, the more we begin to realize why people act the way they do. Have you ever heard the statement, “hurt people hurt people”? It is so true and the church is filled with hurt people.

Do you remember when I said that Jesus called His followers children because they were immature? Those disciples had a great propensity to be knuckle heads did’t they. They were hypocritical.They lied. They suffered from anger issues. They came from broken places. Did Jesus ever toss them out? Absolutely not. That is the beautiful thing about the church. The church is made up of a bunch of flaw failures. We struggle. We battle. We have sin. There is not one perfect person in this place. Not one.

We have a responsibility to one another, that is very true. But we also have a responsibility to God. What has God commanded us to do? If Jesus has called us to love one another, He has commanded us to do something requiring our total allegiance. We are to take the Good News of the Gospel to the furtherest reaches of the world no matter the cost. Matthew 28 captures the last words of Christ, we call this the great commission. “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

But friends, if we fail to live out the call one one another, we cannot achieve the command of Christ to take the Gospel of repentance and forgiveness to the world. The church is God’s primary way of reaching the world for the Gospel. Listen to what Paul tells us about how the church is to be made up in Ephesians.

Ephesians 2:19-22 ESV

Jesus’ Model For Church Ministry!

I. The Definition of the Church vs. 33

II. The Devotion of the Church vs. 34

III. The Development of the Church vs. 35

John 13:35 NLT

Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.

Here is our last point this morning. It will be brief. Fill in this last blank for me this morning. The Development of the Church.

So the church is you and me. We are the body of Christ. We are to love one another as Christ loved us. We should be willing to love each other so deeply that we are willing to give our very lives for one another. We have a responsibility to love one another. We also have responsibility to the world to advance the Gospel.

Jesus states that “your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples”. So, if we know what the church is, if we know why we are here, how does the church grow?

The church grows when they see the love that we have for one another.

Thursday afternoon Jared Tarant Smith Brady, age 21, broke into his family’s residence. He shot his brother, his mother, her best friend, and then killed his grand father. When the police arrived, Brady was waiting in the driveway. He confessed his guilt later that day.

Brothers and sisters, this murder took place less than 5 miles from this church. When people heard about this tragic, senseless crime, they recoiled in horror. What could we have done? How could this have been stopped?

We could play the what if game for days but I will tell you what the answer is. Come in close and listen.

The church is the answer. The church is the answer because Jesus is the solution. Jesus I the peace giver. He is the life renewer. He is the agent of true change. He is the answer. Friends, when the church grows, heaven grows.

This morning we are going to do something a bit different. It is time for the church to be the church. It is time for the church to pull off the mask and start being real with one another. If you are not a believer in Christ, then I challenge you to watch these next few moments with an open heart. If you honestly know that you’re a believer in Christ, then I invite you to serve and mister to your brothers and sisters.

With eyes open, raise your hand this morning if you are burdened. Are you needing help? Needing grace?

If that is you, I want to ask for confident Christians to go to that person and place their hand on you and pray for you.

If you need to confess sin this morning I want you to boldly get up and come to this alter and pray here at this alter.

But preacher if I come to that alter people will know that I have sin. BROTHER AND SISTER, WE ARE AILL SINNERS. YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

This is going to be our invitation this morning. We are going to develop this church today by being devoted to one another. I am going to ask Chris to come and play during this invitation. If you want to join the church, if you want to talk to me about baptism, if you want me to pray for you, then come.

I will remind you of Hebrews 10 this morning. Let’s follow this example.

Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

We Are The Church…The Body of Christ

Bibliography:

Websites:

https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/what-is-the-church

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g5040/esv/mgnt/0-1

https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/biblical-laws/new-commandment/

https://bfm.sbc.net/bfm2000/#vi

https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/18/us/asbury-revival-christian-what-is-cec/index.html

https://www.fox10tv.com/2023/02/23/daphne-pd-investigating-shooting-lake-forest/

https://www.foxnews.com/media/asbury-university-student-emotional-story-regaining-christian-faith-revival-god

https://www.faithward.org/what-is-the-church/

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