THE CHURCH ON PURPOSE, PART 3

THE CHURCH ON PURPOSE, PART 3 2 Timothy 2:2 Sep 18, 2011 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introduction Opening thoughts Visional perspective Draw – Believe Disciple – Belong Develop – Become Text – 2 Timothy 2:2 First phrase describes the content of Paul’s discipling, Including all of his teaching and example to Timothy: the stuff 2 Timothy 3:10 Notice, it was in the company of others: church, world Next, Paul tells Timothy what he was to do with them: entrust them to others What he was to entrust to others was the “stuff” And don’t forget, Timothy was to both search out capable others, and trust that what he delivered made them capable to reach out and minister to still others Relationship was at the heart of the Purpose of the Church Relationship is such an essential issue in the church—it is the way God designed it. Paul became Timothy’s mentor, and Timothy his disciple Paul also saw himself as Timothy’s Father, and Timothy as his Son If the work of the Lord’s church is to be successful by kingdom definitions some basic presuppositions must be in place—and I am afraid that often they are not, neither in the church at large nor in this particular church nor fixed in the hearts of believers. We have to fix that. One, the priesthood of all believers One of the grandest doctrines in all of the New Testament is that of “the priesthood of all believers.” We are not under preists as were the Old Covenant Israelites. Each and every believer is a priest. Moses was told by God to speak prophetically to the people at Sinai: You will be for me a kingdom of priests (Ex.19:6) 1 Pet. 2:5 tells believers, you also, like living stones are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. And in the first chapter of Revelation, John writes to the church, at the behest of Jesus, To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. (1:6) The work of ministry was never to be left only to a few professionals. Ministry in the Name of Christ and His kingdom calls for the passionate involvement of every one of his disciples. Ilus: bricklayer. Story involves a bricklayer at the top of a four-story building who tried to do it alone, and suffered a freakish accident. The insurance company insisted that the bricklayer give an account of why they were responsible to pay for each of the injuries he claimed to have received in the accident. On the insurance form, here is what he wrote: It would have taken too long to carry the bricks down by hand, so I decided to put them in a barrel and lower them by means of a pulley that I fastened to the tope of the building. After tying the rope securely at the ground level, I then went up to the top of the building. I fastened the rope around the barrel, loaded it with the bricks, and swung it out over the sidewalk. Then I went down to the sidewalk and untied the rope, holding it securely to guide the barrel down slowly. But, I only weigh 150 lbs, and the 500-lb load jerked me from the ground so fast that I didn’t have time to think of letting go of the rope. And, as I passed between the 2nd and 3rd floors, I met the barrel coming down. This accounts for the bruises and laceration on my upper body. I held tightly to the rope until I reached the top, where my hand became jammed in the pulley. This accounts for my broken thumb. At the same time, however, the barrel hit the sidewalk with such a force that it blew the bottom out of the barrel. With the weight of the bricks now gone, the shell of the barrel weighed only about 30 lbs. Thus, my 150-lb body began a swift descent. And I met the barrel coming up. This accounts for my broken ankle. Slowed only slightly, I continued my fall and landed on the pile of bricks. This account for my sprained back and broken collar bone. At this point I lost my presence of mind completely, and let go of the rope. And the empty barrel cam crashing down on me. This accounts for my fractured skull. Your last question on the accident report form—What would you do if the same situation arose again?, please be advised that I am finished trying to do the job alone. Nor can any Christian servant ever say he leaves the work of the church’s ministry to a couple of paid staff, or any other group of “others” – We are the servants of Christ. Two, the willingness of each Christian to be a Timothy Timothy serves as a dynamic example of a Christian who first decided to give himself fully to the service of the Lord, then made the decision to undertake the discipline of discipleship under a mentor/discipler. He approached Paul at a young age and basically said to him: I want you to teach me all you can teach me about maturity in Christ and serving Christ and His kingdom with my whole life. Smartest thing Timothy ever did. And the smartest thing you will ever do is attach yourself to a Christian you respect and want to emulate. Take them on as your mentor, teacher and discipler. Ask them to pour themselves into your life. And commit to them that you will allow them to speak into your life. To be an effective kingdom servant you must first be a Timothy. You must learn to handle the Word of Truth with accuracy; you must learn to grow through your own character faults and immature ways. And you will do that as a child of God—He will see to it that you are conformed to the image of Christ. But He will use others in your life, and if you want to cooperate with that plan with a high level of urgency, submit yourself to being discipled by someone your spiritual senior. Three, the willingness of every believer to be a Paul There comes a time in your walk as a Christian—and it is always sooner, rather than later—that God will want to use you in the lives of others as a teacher and mentor, a discipler and an example. You are either ready to be a teacher of others, or you ought to be… There are two passages of Scripture to which I draw your attention: Hebrews 5:11-12 and Romans 15:14. You should posture yourself to disciple others, as the Spirit of God leads you. Life Group One-on-one discipleship Heart and courage ready to respond to the Spirit Four, the willingness of every believer to be a Barnabas Barnabas was the outstanding example of a brother in Christ who served as an encourager. Relationship is at the heart of God’s plan for His church, and His plan for every believer. There is no better way to begin generating these vital relationships than in a small group – a Life Group. New groups are starting within a couple of weeks. We need a couple of new leaders, and we need a houseful of openhearted believers to be vital members of the groups—to practice the New Testament “one anothers,” to learn to love and edify others, to serve others and allow them to serve you, and so on. You need the ministry of a small, spiritually-oriented group around you—to help you become all you should be in the Lord. I always ask Christian folks, During what season in your Christian life did you grow most dramatically in your walk with Christ? Every time—every time—the answer starts out like this: Well, I was a part of this small group… The other question I like to survey believers with is this one: name one area of personal spiritual growth other than personal prayer and Bible study that does not involve relationship with others. They never can. Because 90% of our personal call to holiness is all about how we interact with others: love one another, serve one another, encourage one another, forgive one another, speak the truth in love to one another, honor one another, bear one another’s burdens, prefer one another in love, be devoted to one another, live in harmony with one another, share with God’s people, live at peace with everyone, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ Need I go on? Almost every single aspect of our personal and individual growth in faith and character has to do with our relationships. How does God best cultivate healthy relationships? In a Christian concert with 5,000 other Christians who can’t even hear each other? In a convention or conference with a thousand strangers? On Sunday morning when you are meeting for Worship and Word with a hundred or more others? Or in the intimate setting of a group of a dozen or so in the warm atmosphere of a Christian home where there is time to fully discuss the meaning and application of God’s Truth, and to dialogue with others about their struggles and victories and experiences, and to pray with and for each other in meaningful ways, and to encourage one another personally? Bottom line, we believers will either take this whole community thing that surfaces in every other verse of New Testament Scriptures, and this whole relationship thing that the Spirit of God stubbornly confronts us with on a regular basis, and get serious about it, or we will be in sinful rebellion against God. Because the issues of community and relationships are so critically important in the Word of God, the leadership of this church is committed to doing everything we can to help facilitate small group ministries. We want to do our best to provide groups that encourage meaningful interaction, we will promote small group study of God’s Word, small group times of prayer and intercession, small group opportunities to worship and serve the Lord, we will support and encourage small groups in every format that edifies believers and evangelizes non-believers. We don’t consider ourselves to be a church that HAS small groups; rather, we are a church that IS small groups. If you want to look at MECF in the way that leadership sees it should be, think of Life Groups and other small group ministries as the church, and think of Sunday morning as the time when those groups come together for corporate worship and instruction. Let me return to the theme of this message: the third of four emphases in the overall direction of our ministry: to DEVELOP disciples to maturity with a view to their becoming more like Christ. This is, after all, Christ’s express purpose for us. We are predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son… (Rom. 8:29) We shall bear the likeness of the man from heaven. (1 Cor. 15:49) We are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Cor. 3:18) Paul said, We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. (Col. 1:28) Jas. 1:4 says God’s goal is that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. And Eph. 4:13 summarizes the goal of our lives: until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Here’s my pitch. Better, here is God’s challenge to you. Get serious about “becoming.” Let the brothers and sisters here in this little fellowship we call Metro-East Christian Fellowship come alongside you in love and unity to help you DEVELOP in your faith and obedience to Christ. Be teachable; be open to teaching and discipling others; identify with a small band of brothers and sisters in the faith. Join a Life Group—not just as another round of study of a given topic, but as a matter of submitting your life to Christ and the members of His church. Not just as a member of a class or a club, but as a vital member of the body of Christ, and fellow-members with others. Not just to be blessed, but to be a blessing. Not just to learn the information from the Bible, but to make it stick through obedience, in the midst of a group of others who are increasingly serious about conforming t the image of Christ in their lives—a group who are willing not only to reach out to you and help you, but also to rely on you for help in their Christian walk as well. Will you pray seriously and seriously plan to enlist in a group? Some of you ought to further consider helping to lead and facilitate a group; maybe some of you are not yet comfortable in leadership, but have gifts of hospitality and could host a group weekly or bi-weekly in your home. Maybe you are at the place where you need to enlist in some one-on-one discipleship. This is the time to get serious and do something about that nudging.     [ Back to Top]