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Where Does the Church Live?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kM

Where does the Church live? Now, that is a strange question. However, I believe the answer to it or at least the effort to do so may be just the antidote needed to put the fullness of life into the Body of Christ.

I just recently saw the “youtube” video clip of the Battle at Kruger. If you have not seen it yet, please take time to view it now (click on the URL above). It is well worth the effort…As I watched this clip I was moved deeply by the actions I saw the herd of Cape Buffalo take in rescuing the little calf. Having watched the clip you now know that their were a small group of buffalo, who were separated from the herd and were attacked by a Pride of lions. The lions singled out a young calf, tackling it into the water and were preparing for a feast when a crocodile felt he might join them for lunch by clamping down on the hind quarters of the little calf. A tug of war ensued between the crocodile and the lions with the calf as the ‘pull-ee’. The lions won the tug of war and the little calf looked as though he would be lunch for the feline pride.

Suddenly, the entire herd of Cape Buffalo (approx. 100) make their way back towards the “lunch table” and they have one thing on their minds. They are going to rescue the calf. What follows is perhaps one of the most beautiful pictures of unity I have ever seen. The Herd against the Pride. The lesser against the greater. The vassals against the crown. However, you might like to put it, the buffalo abandoned all fear and with calculated abandonment they proceeded to make the hunter the hunted. They gouged, kicked, chased and snorted at the lions until…they let go and the little calf just simply stood up and disappeared into the herd of buffalo. WOW!!

As I watched the event unfold I gave pause to something. I thought how the safety of the herd was in their ability to stick together. I mused about the fact that lions live in prides, sheep live in flocks, wolves live in packs. The safety of each of these animal groups is in direct proportion to their place within their environment. With that in mind I thought, “What is the environment of the Church? Where do the people of God live? We don’t live in herds, coveys, or prides. Maybe until we find our proper living environment we will have great difficulty getting the living of the Christian life right. Then it came to me, Jesus established the Church as the environment and realm where Christians live. Now when I say church I do not mean but rather the people of God, you and me…us…we…from every tribe, nation, language and race.

Jesus’ overriding prayer in John 17:21 was “that they may all be one as you, Father are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (ESV). In order for that to take place we will have to do similarly as did the herd of buffalo. We must surrender to the will of the Alpha (Christ). We must love Him, our environment (church), and we must live in utter abandonment to Christ and His purposes. We must find ways to move together organically. We must live together, function together, die together and live together. When we do, the culture around us will say, WOW!! Until then, we will continue to be just so many Christians caught between a lion and a crocodile. We will be lunch for any and all predators of the spirit.

 

Salt and Light 2

…The previous sharing gave the Biblical challenge for being salt and light in a post-modern culture. The following is a true account of how the Lord helped Kathi and me to flavor our life in a positive way for our neighbors:

In a community where we lived there was a young couple who purchased the home next door to ours. The young woman’s father was a good man whose desire was to help his daughter and her family get settled in to their new place. On several occasions this gentleman spoke with me about what he intended to do to make sure all things were right with the property. One of the things on his list was to have a survey done on the property lines. He told me, if the neighbor’s fence directly behind me was on his line, he would be sure it was moved or their would be a law suit.

Several days later I noticed the surveyor with his transit sighting the lines. The next day my new friend came to me and he looked very concerned. He said the survey showed that his fence was so many feet on my property. He apologized and said for me to decide what I wanted for the property and let him know. As soon as he spoke I knew what I wanted for the property but felt I should check with Kathi first, since she is part owner also. I told her the story and she said, “What do you think about charging him $1.00?” I said, “That is exactly the amount I had in mind.”

The next day I saw my friend working in the yard next door and so I stopped what I was doing and struck up a conversation with him. I could tell he was uneasy so I said, “Oh, by the way, I checked with Kathi about the sale of the land and we thought maybe $1.00 would be sufficient, if you think that is ok.” He looked at me and said, “Oh that is more than alright.” He left rather abruptly, but then the next day I saw him again. He apologized for leaving so quickly but he said he was so taken aback by what we had done that he was in tears. You see, this man is not a Christian. He has made statements, letting me know of the hypocrisy he has seen in those who claim to be Christian and their behavior has hurt him so much that he wants little to do with them. He said, to me, however, what you and your wife have done will cause me to put your names on the top of the list when I think of Preachers.

The next day I was in the yard again and here came the man’s wife and their daughter toward me with tears streaming down their cheeks. They said some very kind words. My response…”This is how Jesus wants his people to be…” The property is not really ours. It belongs to our Lord. I thought it possible that Jesus could have allowed us to buy this home just to have the opportunity to be SALT AND LIGHT to a man who has been disappointed by professing Christians all his life. Maybe he knows now that there are some of us who live for more than the things of this world. We live, hopefully, to bring his kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

Salt and Light

The challenge of our Lord to be salt and light in a world plagued by insipidity and darkness is still at the forefront of true disciples today. Springing forth from each generation of Christians is an endless sea of ideas and methods to reach a lost and dying world. Perhaps one of the biggest hurdles the Christian witness must face in a post-modern culture is that the average person does not know he is lost and cares very little, if he is. Kathi and I observed just days ago that our immediate neighbors all around us are people who have nothing to do with the Church. There lives are filled with working, family and fun. The latter seeming to be the most vital. Little thought is given to purpose in life or what occurs after death. Life for so many in our western culture is about experiencing as much they can as fast as they can with as many people as they can and acquiring as much of it as they can. The Christian witness is then left with the perplexing assignment of finding ways of reaching such a culture.

Being salt and light, however, is still in vogue 2000 years after Jesus spoke the words on a hillside in Gallilee. This is true because it involves an eternity-old concept of relationship, which God desires from and among his people. Salt is that element which both flavors and preserves in life. Light describes the realm where God dwells and is that which displaces darkness. As our relationship with our Lord develops, our neighbors feel better when they are around us. Their lives seem more secure to them because they live near someone who knows where ‘true north’ is. Every time they are around us they seem to have more hope and see a future with more possibilities. They know the things for which we stand, not because we are always telling them but because we live our standards and do not compromise our ethics. And we do all that without a self-righteous attitude that sets us above them.

We must remember that Christians are people, who have accepted the grace of God. We are sinners, who know we have offended a holy God and deserve nothing in this life or the next. Because we have been forgiven of our offenses, and have found the way to life eternal we now possess the spiritual roadmap for others to follow. The map to glory certainly involves our knowledge of the Bible but with that in mind let us not use the Bible as a club to beat down people, who care little what we think anyway. Let us be salt…let us live life fully. May life around us be filled with joy. May the world observe us in our sorrows and trials and as they observe may they see that through our tears and frustrations we live by a faith that works. Furthermore, may the shadows in our life reveal the light that guides our steps and may the footprints we leave lead our neighbors to believe in the One who is salt and light in us.

Accountability

In these days of the Church where there seems to be an awakening towards the Biblical concept of Body life and every member ministry, it becomes more imperative than ever that a concise account be developed on the subject of both corporate and personal accountability. Without such a foundation the Church would be doomed to ultimate destruction, since every member would be an end unto himself, and there would be virtually no way of “discerning the spirits” to see if they be of God (I John 4:1). Interestingly, this problem does not seem quite so prevalent within the more liberal parts of the Church, but rather poses a question among the more conservative and evangelical branches. Interestingly, among the charismatic renewal groups and those who claim total independence from any protestant denomination, and where the gifts and callings of the Church are expanded to include such offices as: Apostle and Prophet, the concept of submission and authority has become a subject of paramount importance. Unfortunately, such a teaching in the hands of men can easily become a tool to be used to “feather one’s own nest”, and to get others to do what one wants them to do. It is a known axiom that “absolute power corrupts absolutely”, and never has this been more true than within the perimeters of the Body of Christ. All across the earth and throughout the ages it has been proven beyond any doubt that men cannot handle very much power. Most ministers of the gospel begin with the most sincere of intentions, but with every step of freedom comes the added responsibility that one must also take steps to insure the gifts given by God are used strictly for His glory and not for the building of one’s own kingdom. In that great and glorious “Day of the Lord”, those who have been given much are also those of whom much is required. Sadly, I fear many of us with this awesome responsibility are in danger of failing our accountability, because our concern has been more with our performance than with His glory. The Old Testament concept of the authority of the man of God is a marvelous example of respect for authority. Saul’s awe of Samuel, and David’s fear and honor of the same laid the groundwork for the New Testament authority of the Church. Commands such as: “Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm” (Ps. 105:15), or “Honor my prophets and you will prosper…” add to the weight of evidence that the honor and treatment of “the man of God” invokes the pleasure of God. Conversely, to treat such ones with disrespect may incur the displeasure of God. Such was the case with Miriam, the sister of Moses, when she was stricken with leprosy because she felt the power of God ought to be dispersed among others rather than resting upon just one man. One might say that Miriam was ahead of her time. It was not that she was wrong in her concept, but her motive was wrong. On another occasion, Eldad and Medad were prophesying in the camp of Israel. Joshua, defending the authority of Moses, asked that they be rebuked. Moses’ response was to offer a wish that “all of God’s men were prophets…” It was vital that a proper respect for the authority of God’s representative be laid in the Old Testament. Although the New Testament certainly teaches that, persons of God are to be honored, I believe the more weighty evidence rests with the corporate Body rather than the individual. However, for the corporate Body of Christ to function in a proper manner, it is necessary that each individual view himself/herself as a part of a whole rather than an isolated unit. Just as a burning ember removed from the roaring fire soon looses its energy, so does the Christian isolated from the rest of the Body become ineffective and self-serving. One need only look at the life of Jesus to find evidence of the importance of accountability. When dealing with Jesus, one would think that surely here is one who would not be required to answer to anyone. True! However, within the sovereignty of the Godhead a decision was made that though equal, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit would also be mutually responsible to one another. This is evidenced in scripture in many ways. While conversing with the Pharisees on one occasion, Jesus said, “…By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me…” (John 5:30). Earlier in the same conversation He told them, “…the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.”(John 5:19). Here we have a divine illustration of mutual submission, with which Paul was later to challenge the Churches at Ephesus and Philippi. To the one he said, “Submit to one another…” (Eph. 5:21), and to the other he instructed, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves…” (Phil. 2:3). These are powerful evidences of the voluntary accountability of both our Lord and some of the earliest of New Testament Churches. Additional examples from the life of Jesus are found in such passages such as John 2:4 where Jesus speaks to his mother concerning the shortage of wine at the wedding at Cana, and says, “Woman! What have I to do with you?” He, who had been perfectly obedient to his parents to that point in his life, identified a greater one to whom he must now be accountable. Of course, no discussion on the subject of accountability would be complete without Jesus’ experience in the Garden of Gethsemane, when dealing with the fact of separation from his Father and the taking on of sin he said, “…not as I will, but as you will…” (Matt.26:39) In addition, it would seem that Jesus left some of His most powerful words until the final hours of His life. Upon leaving the upper room and walking the rather short distance to Gethsemane, He paused to bring to the hearts of his confused disciples the essence of His message and the key to the Christian life. Looking at a vine growing in a vineyard, Jesus called to mind the historical significance of Israel as a “vine”, and her failure to bear the fruit of her calling. In John 15, He illustrated the interdependence of the disciples’ lives when he said, “I am the true vine…and you are the branches…” It is this interdependence that would best characterize the ecclesia of God. The point of the matter is that the entire universe is made by Him and for Him, and dwells within Him (Col.1:15-20), therefore, for man to establish his independence from God is futile at best. Furthermore, the fact that we all are a part of the vine predicts mutual responsibility and accountability. Jesus said, “Without me ye can do nothing…” (John 15:5). Students of the Bible quickly recognize the voluntary submission of Jesus. For example, note Him who was God of Very God, and who had all authority in heaven and earth making a statement such as: “I only do what I see my Father doing…” (John 5:19), or “I only speak what I hear my Father saying…” (John 5:30). The Apostle Paul adds greater weight to the theme of accountability in Phil.2 saying that Jesus, “who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with god something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant…and became obedient to death…on a cross…” What does all this have to do with accountability in the Church? What does Jesus’ humility and submission have to do with me being accountable to my brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ? The answer should be obvious. If He, our Lord and Master, has made himself accountable to the Father, should we not do the same? Of course, there will be those who fear the confrontation of the Self and, who wish to answer to no one but God. While this has the initial sound of deep spirituality, it fails the tests of the Laws of love, and humility. It was James and John, who got their mother to request of Jesus that they be permitted to sit on the right and left hand of Jesus in His kingdom, betraying the utter selfishness of their hearts and identifying them as ecclesiastical climbers rather than partners in service. It was in dealing with situations such as this with the disciples that Jesus taught them that the greatest of them would be the servant of all of them (Mark 9). In doing so He was laying the groundwork for their interdependence. The letters of Paul establish for us the foundation of Biblical New Testament government as well as any writings of the Holy Scriptures. According to Galatians, one of the earliest of New Testament writings, Paul sets the standard by which all Christian leaders should measure themselves and their ministries. Paul wrote to these young believers in the faith because his “thorn in the flesh”, a man or a group of men dedicated to requiring believers to follow the works of law rather than the gift of grace, was saying that Paul was not a legitimate Apostle. Paul first established the fact that His message of grace was given not by men but by “revelation of Jesus Christ”. He said he initially did not consult any man concerning his preaching, but after three (3) years he went to the Jerusalem elders and presented his gospel, “for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain. (Gal.2: 2). Here we arguably have the greatest of all the apostles, who recognized himself as a part of the Body of Christ and voluntarily submitted himself and his teaching to other brothers. On another occasion he was writing to the Church at Corinth concerning the offering being taken for the saints in Jerusalem. In 2 Corinthians 8:20-21 Paul says we want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. ^21” For we are taking pains to do what is right not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men.” Certainly this would seem to be a perfect example of accountability for every believer in every calling and in every generation to make himself accountable for the protection and the testimony of the gospel. The early Church lived the life of accountability. Paul purposely programmed his churches with the method of personal and corporate accountability built into the very fabric of her existence. The Christian life is best lived in community with the brothers and sisters being mutually responsible to one another. For that reason, Paul commanded the believers in Ephesus to “(submit) themselves one to another in the fear of God.” This method recognizes God as the final arbiter in all things, and requires the Christian family to place themselves under His authority. Since the Church is the earthly fullness of Him (Eph.1: 22-23), and since behavior towards the Church is tantamount to behavior towards Christ (Matt.25: 40; Acts 2:47; Acts 9:4), and since the Church is the Body of Christ, it would seem foolish for one part of the Body to try to act apart from the other parts. Rather, the more perfect testimony for our Lord is for the world to see the Body of Christ flowing in perfect harmony and beauty with the abiding result that “the world might believe…”(John 17:21). This has been an effort to give a brief defense for the unity of the Church and to offer some alternative to the dangerous emphasis being place upon callings to the exclusion of the more paramount message of the centrality of Christ and the unity, ministry, and service of His Body. Gifts and callings are essential to a healthy Body of Christ. However, to emphasis the hand as of more value than the foot is nonsense, since both are needed and both must work in concert with one another to make the body move as a unit. So it is with Christ. Let us, who live and dwell inside of and make up the Body of Christ, consider one another of more value than ourselves, and let us consider the more excellent way of love and voluntarily submit ourselves to Christ. When we do, we also submit ourselves to one another.

Greater Works

The following is a response to a question by a young Christian asking for clarification on the passage of scripture from John 14:12 where Jesus predicts that the disciples will do greater works than he has done.  The question has to do with the apparent lack of “greater works” in 21^st Century Church.

 This certainly is an interesting passage and one that can bring conviction upon a Church that appears to be Christian in name only.  However, let me say first that it would be impossible for mere humans to do greater miracles than Jesus did when he was on the earth.  To interpret this passage correctly one has to keep it in the context of the moment it was spoken.  Jesus was attempting to bring comfort to disciples who had just been told that he was going away.  Their fear was that they would be orphaned.  His comfort was that He was going to the Father and because he was going to the Father He would send another comforter (the Holy Spirit – Christ within us).  The term “greater” can also be translated as “larger”.  The works that they would do and that we have the opportunity to do would have a larger scope and therefore be “greater”.  Reading the book of Acts it is easy to see how Jesus’ words were fulfilled.  Peter’s first sermon gained 3000 converts, then later there were a few thousand more and on and on.  By the end of the 3rd Century the world was effectively evangelized, not all of it was perfect but the influence of Christ had “exploded” throughout the  world.  Unfortunately, religiosity entered in, Church and State became one and the Dark Ages brought in a millennium of spiritual tragedy.  But that is another story…Notice in John that Jesus told the disciples that anything they asked in his name he would do.  The key is “in his name”, “according to his will”.  A significant part of Jesus’ ‘greater works’ has to do with the fact of his living in the heart of each believer and among the Church.  In a real sense when we do his will on earth it is Christ doing his own will.  We are each portions of Him, connected to Him by a scarlet thread of Fellowship.  While He was in human flesh he was bound by time and space, but now living in us he can be thousands of places at one time and throughout the ages.      Having said that I agree that the power of the Church is lying dormant.  We have the resurrection power abiding in us but it lies powerless because of a lack of surrender both individually and corporately.  The latter being the most important.  In a religious culture where we have symbols, icons, liturgy, ministry, preaching, ordinances, affluence, talents, gifts, callings, men of God and women of God, missions and money we cannot say “Silver and Gold have I none” but neither can we say, “Rise, take up thy bed and walk”.  My observation is that we have lost our passion, our connection with our Lord. A husband and wife can perfunctorily make love but when there is a deep fellowship obtained the love overflows and is deepened.  Very possibly the best  picture of “greater works” is in ‘the dance’.  There is a leader and a follower. The observer cannot tell who is leading and who is following.  The participants each have surrendered their personal desires to the beauty of the dance.  There is little that compares to the power of two people in the unity of the dance.  The gliding, the soaring of the couple is transferred to the observers and the “greater work” is done.  In the Church  of the 21st Century we must concentrate on knowing Christ intimately, surrendering our wills to Him.  The first Christians got it and Luke recorded some of it in Acts.  Throughout history their have been flickers of His light and moments of greater works.  The untold millions of people born again certainly are greater works. But Christ’s desire is the Fellowship of love and the beauty of the dance…  

What about Healing…?

The following is a second response to some questions on healing and how it seems to be so absent today compared to when Jesus was here.  He healed with seemingly little effort.   The issue with healing was simple for Jesus primarily because of his “oneness” with the Father.  He had surrendered to the “dance”.  He said, “I only do what I see my father doing”. “I only speak what I hear my father speaking”.  There were times when Jesus could do no mighty works among people because of their unbelief.  As you mentioned, in foreign countries there is often a greater evidence of God working in the miraculous.  I have experienced this as I have ministered in Haiti.  I know a missionary lady who got on a ‘tap-tap’ (an S-10 pickup with benches in the back, sort of like a taxi).  When she got on, there was a Voo-Doo Witch Doctor on it who cursed her and told her she would die when she got off the Tap Tap. She said, “No, in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, when you get off this Tap Tap you will die.”  He got off and dropped dead.  I asked a brother about it and he said that God often works that way in Haiti because there is so much superstition and He combats the superstition to gain a hearing among the people and to show himself strong.  In the New Testament the word for “miracles” is better translated, “miraculous signs”.  In other words Jesus did them and gave the power to his disciples in order to announce and innaugurate the coming of the Kingdom of God.  Of course, even Jesus had trouble with people following Him only for the loaves and fishes.  It seems that 21st century America is a culture that really likes “loaves and fishes”.  We gravitate to the miracles but, if the miracles do not lead us to a deeper knowledge of him they can harden our hearts. I remember reading and preaching several years ago from Luke ch. 7 where Jesus was in a healing meeting and disciples from John the Bapt. came with the question, Are you the one or should we expect another?”  He gave them the answer, “the blind see, lame walk, lepers are cleansed “and the gospel of the kingdom is preached.”  Jesus closed down the healing meeting with many standing in line  I thought, what if I were next in line?  The teaching of the passage is: Will you serve a God who does not do what you want him to do?”   There are many passages where Jesus heals all who are present but there are others where he heals “many”.  There are others like in John where he went to the pool of Bethesda and only healed one.  I’m not sure I have a simple answer to your (our) dilemma.  Why don’t we see more of his healing today? I still maintain that it has to do greatly with our fellowship with Him.  If we are properly connected with him, our hearts are in tune, in sync, with his will.  Otherwise, we have deceptions in our hearts as to  why we want someone healed that we know little about.  There is ultimately only one good reason for God to heal and that is…that it is his will.  From my human perspective it is my assignment to be as clear a channel of his grace as I possibly can.  I must maintain my passion for him, spend quality time with him, be utterly his; then, he might choose to move through me.  What he would prefer, however, is to find another one similar to me and have us pray together for his will to be done.  I believe there are times when we have prayed for something, maybe a healing or miracle, and we think God did not do it.  But, He may have taken that prayer to another place on the earth to someone else in the Body of Christ and used it there.  I preached Sunday from Mark 6 where Jesus sent the disciples into their boat and told them to cross the lake.  He stayed behind to pray.  About 6:00 in the evening he came to the shore and watched them rowing in the storm till about 3 in the AM. He watched them struggle for about 9 hours before he came walking on the water to them.  He could have come at any time. But he watched them from shore.  The issue seems to be that the trip across the lake was as important as their arrival on the other side.  There was a faith that needed to be put in them that they were going to need on the other side and Jesus let them struggle to put ‘iron’ in their souls.  Our Lord is strange. There are times when he comes right away.  There are times when he does not come for a while and there are times when he seems to not come at all.  Wonder what the early martyrs thought?  They prayed to be delivered and were not. What about the Martyrs today in Arab, Hindu and Buddhist nations, who give their lives in confusion as to why Jesus did not deliver.  I have no answer only that He is God and He is lovingly working all things after the counsel of His own will.  I deeply appreciate your honest questions.  It has been my contention that the Church is living in perpetual powerlessness.  I think Jesus is grieved with us.  I think He wants to work His mighty works through us so much more than he is able, because of our unbelief.  I think we certainly must leave behind our religious garb and seek…just…Him.