March 8, 2020
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Why do we gather?
To BUILD each other up. – thru prayer and encouragement
To GLORIFY God. – lift up His name
To HEAR & OBEY God’s Word. – listening
Why do we leave?
1Cor. 13.1 (NKJV) Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
1Cor. 13.2 (NKJV) And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
1Cor. 13.3 (NKJV) And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
Pete Greig wrote:
“Christ is not a passive Savior sitting in some comfy
chair. Our God is dynamic; He is a creative force, the ultimate visionary, always on the move, and if we want to know Him and be with Him, we will have to follow Him wherever he is
going next.”
Over the next few weeks, I want to explore together WHO WE ARE as a community. I believe it is important to understand WHY God has brought us together and to grasp BOTH the community role and the individual role He has given us within His Kingdom.
The church is NOT supposed to be a place where “good” people gather. It’s supposed to be a place where the guilty gather to be reminded that because of what Jesus has done for us, we are safe from the judgment we deserve AND are loved by an amazingly gracious Father.
We are all interconnected.
God has for a reason intertwined us together.
He knows we can accomplish more together than we can alone.
Eph. 4.16 (NLT) Under His direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
1st and foremost New Day is a place of healing… Similar to a hospital but a hospital coupled along with a rehab facility.
“Let us be carried into the inn (the church) to be healed.”
—St. Augustine
I’m all about the importance of theology. But I know people whose theology is spot on and yet they are pompous and graceless. I also know people whose theology is questionable but they are humble, love people well and are full of grace. 1 Cor. 13:1-2 says something about this.
A community of believers like New Day is a place of healing and care. The church is where people who are wounded by sin, life and others can experience Christ’s healing and His grace.
Luke 4.18 (NLT) “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors,
Luke 4.19 (NLT)and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”
Remember We are a Pit Stop church.
One of the striking aspects of early Christian interpretations of Scripture is a tendency to understand the biblical text in relationship to the church. Whereas we are inclined today to read scripture in individualistic terms, early Christians were inclined to read Scripture in corporate terms. They were eager to discern what a particular text had to say about the nature of the church.
Specifically regarding the story or parable of the good Samaritan.
the inn in the story is a symbol of the church (a community of believers), for the church is the community where Christ the Physician heals wounded, broken and hurt people.
The church is where people receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and are thereby transformed into people of love.
Luke 10.25 (NKJV) And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
Luke 10.26 (NKJV) He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”
Luke 10.27 (NKJV) So he answered and said, ““You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
Luke 10.28 (NKJV) And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”
Luke 10.29 (NKJV) But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Luke 10.30 (NKJV) Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
Luke 10.31 (NKJV) Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
Luke 10.32 (NKJV) Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.
Luke 10.33 (NKJV) But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion.
Luke 10.34 (NKJV) So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
Luke 10.35 (NKJV) On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, “Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’
The two denarii given for the man’s healing symbolize to Augustine the double command of Jesus to love God and neighbor.
Christ heals wounded people by giving them the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enables wounded people to love God and neighbor. In doing so, wounded people are healed.
Luke 10.36 (NKJV) So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”
Luke 10.37 (NKJV) And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
I see New Day As a “GO and DO likewise” church not a “come and See” church.
Jesus didn’t leave us with a system he left us with his Spirit. He gave us his Spirit as a guide instead of a map.
The church’s true nature is best seen by the life that Jesus modeled: He took the life of the kingdom everywhere that he went—out into the world that he was ministering to. In the process of going, he healed, loved, delivered, and shared good news.
God’s heart is missional at the core as he seeks to recover his children who are lost to him.
Luke 19.9 (NKJV) And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham;
Luke 19.10 (NKJV) for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Jesus came to “seek and to save the lost.” This is not a sidebar. God, because of his love, is a caring, reaching God.
The church is becoming unleashed as Christians are rediscovering the daring adventure of “going” and taking the presence (love, life, and power) of God everywhere that they are going. Jesus called us to a lifestyle that would take us out of our comfort zone and into the adventure of miraculous living as we
extend ourselves to extend his kingdom.
Jesus, however, introduced the term “church” with a very different meaning in mind. He used a word “ekklesia” that simply described a group or assembly of believers.
Jesus did not spend much time describing how to organize his people together or how to do meetings. Rather, his focus was on a lifestyle of loving others and obeying Him: “Go into all the world…” “Let your light shine…” “Do what you see the Father
doing…” “Love one another…” Church, as defined by Jesus, was simply his followers living life for and with him.
Church is not a building.
Church is not an event that takes place on Sundays.
I know, it’s how we’ve come to think of it. Church is where Christ lives, not the place where we meet. It is Christ-empowered people, a kingdom of priests for the purpose of winning against the works of the devil and establishing God’s Kingdom.
Christianity is not about doing church, but being the church.
The church is not someplace to go to participate in, but it is about being who you are in Christ and thus experiencing His real life in you.
Christianity was never defined by attending a particular church. It is defined by Christ in you. In other words, you are a Christian 24/7, not because you participate in a two-hour worship service, but because Christ lives in you every minute of every day.
Go and do likewise church.
1. REACH. Reaching others right where they are. Loving others with no strings attached. A “movement of love.”
2. DISCIPLE. Influencing others relationally and contagiously. Producing other disciples.
3. GATHER. Experiencing a dynamic, participatory gathering with others.
4. EQUIP. Empowering others. To lead, to be ready to reach others effectively.
5. MULTIPLY. Reproducing yourself. Becoming seed that brings
forth a multiplied harvest.
REACH. Reaching others right where they are. Loving others with no strings attached. An “movement of love.”
John 13.35 (NKJV) By this all will know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another.”
Christians are re-discovering that the heart of the Jesus-way of life is not church-attendance and a smug attitude toward others, rather it is truly embodying the love of Christ—anywhere and
everywhere—in a world that is desperately in need of this love. It is a type of reaching out that is marked by an authentic concern for
people.
1Cor. 13.1 (NKJV) Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
1Cor. 13.2 (NKJV) And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
1Cor. 13.3 (NKJV) And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
1 John 4:7-12 (TPT)
7 Those who are loved by God, let his love continually pour from you to one another, because God is love. Everyone who loves is fathered by God and experiences an intimate knowledge of him. 8 The one who doesn’t love has yet to know God, for God is love.[a] 9 The light of God’s love shined within us[b] when he sent his matchless[c] Son into the world so that we might live through him.[d] 10 This is love:[e] He loved us long before we loved him. It was his love, not ours. He proved it by sending his Son to be the pleasing sacrificial offering to take away our sins.[f]
11 Delightfully loved ones, if he loved us with such tremendous love, then “loving one another” should be our way of life! 12 No one has ever gazed[g] upon the fullness of God’s splendor.[h] But if we love one another, God makes his permanent home in us, and we make our permanent home in him, and his love is brought to its full expression in us.