PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE (5): FORMED FOR GOD'S FAMILY
i. Just about all of us understand what a family is. I think the most interesting stage of a family is when you have teenagers. Think about what teenagers are:
1. A person who cant remember to walk the dog but never forgets a phone numbers.
2. One who gets their allowance on Monday, spends it on Tuesday, and borrows it from their best friend on Wednesday.
3. Someone who can operate the latest computer without a lesson but who can’t make a bed.
4. A student who spends 12 minutes studying history and 12 hours studying for their drivers license exam.
5. One who enjoys 2 types of music…loud and very loud.
6. Someone who can sleep until noon on any Saturday that they suspect that the lawn needs mowing.
7. One who is positive that their mother was never a teenager.
i. I hope that you can see that God desires to have you to be a part of His family. He desires a relationship with you.
i. His very nature is relational – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
ii. His nature describes that He is community within Himself.
i. That is why He created mankind.
ii. That is why He created you and me.
i. Eating a pot luck at church
ii. Going to church
iii. Having a church member over to play scrabble
iv. These are generalities that really miss what Fellowship (Koinonia) is.
1. Koinonoia is the greek word that we commonly translate communion. And communion describes intimacy, community, fellowship and close association.
i. 1 Peter 2:17 Love your spiritual family (The Message)
1. What is a family?
a. You are related to them. They have the same blood as you (unless adopted).
b. You probably grew up with your relatives, and some you are closer to than others. You probably know most all of their imperfections, their bad habits, and yet for some “intangible” reason, you care about them.
2. “You can pick your friends but you can’t pick your family.”
ii. Our spiritual family is very similar to the physical families we have. And because there is a similarity, we are given a challenge from God!
1. 1 Jn 4:21 And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also (NAS Strongs)
a. “It would be easy to be a Christian if there weren’t any people to deal with.”
iii. You might notice that the writer of that passage didn’t say anything about loving and being devoted to the church building you are meeting in?
iv. This is because we find out that the church is not a building but a collection of people on the long journey toward wholeness.
i. Now that statement that bothers some people.
1. Some people see church as a kind of a club or organization that you “join.”
2. But the church is not a building, institution, organization or club.
3. Our modern American culture is molding our churches into corporate structures, packaging them, and promoting them in ways that run counter to what the Bible says.
ii. But Church is not a place you go to.
1. It is a family you belong to.
iii. The bible is clear.
1. The church was not meant to be an organization, but a living, breathing organism.
2. The church is a living entity, animated by the very life of God Himself!
a. 1 Corinthians 12:27 You are Christ's body--that's who you are! You must never forget this. (The Message)
3. An organism has organization, but its essence is life, (not just order).
4. The sole purpose for organization is to enhance the life of the organism.
iv. Webster's dictionary defines an organism as: A complex structure of interdependent and subordinate elements whose relations and properties are largely determined by their function in the whole.
1. Interdependence is the key word here for understanding the organism.
2. It leads us to our first level of fellowship, “Belonging.”
i. "You are members of God's very own family…and you belong in God's household with every other Christian" (Ephesians 2:19, LB).
ii. The Christian life is not just a matter of believing. It is a matter of belonging
1. When you were born, you became a member of the human race.
2. When you were born again, you became a member of God’s family.
iii. You may have heard people say, "I'm a Christian, but I don't want to belong to any church."
1. That just doesn't make sense.
2. The church is where you live out what it means to be a Christian.
3. That's like saying, "I'm a football player, but I don't want to be a part of any team."
4. "I'm a violinist, but I don't want to be a part of the orchestra.”
5. A Christian without a church family is an orphan.
6. God meant for each of us to be a part of a family.
7. “We discover our role in life through our relationship with others”
8. It's only in America that we have what I call floating Christians, people who go from church to church to church.
iv. You heard the term “interdependence” a few minutes ago.
1. There are three types of dependence:
a. Dependence – like a baby who needs everything from His mother.
b. Independence – those of you who have teens understand the exercise of this.
c. Interdependence – Psychologists call this level “maturity.” It recognizes the need for the individual to make choices apart from others, but also sees the impact that its choices make ON others.
v. Interdependence means connectedness.
1. If you want to grow, you need to be connected to a body.
2. None of the organs of our body can survive apart from the body
3. You are like one of those bodily organs.
4. Just as our body has essential organs, and without them, it does not function properly, so the body of believers suffers if we are missing a kidney or a liver or a heart.
5. We may never be able to be what God made us to be without YOU!
vi. The Difference between “attender” and “member” is commitment.
1. Attenders
a. Are spectators from the sidelines.
b. Are consumers of ministry.
c. Want the benefits of a church without sharing in its responsibilities.
2. Members
a. Are the players on the field, involved in the eternal work that lasts forever.
b. Members aren’t consumers, they are the contributors.
c. Members make the church happen!
vii. Why be a member?
1. Because it proves you are committed to your spiritual brothers and sisters in reality, not in theory.
a. God wants you to love real people, not ideal people.
b. There is no perfect church, you and I are called to love imperfect people just like God does!
c. If you are looking for the perfect church and find it, don’t join it because you will ruin it!
viii. Why not be a member?
1. Maybe you have been hurt, burn out, maybe you are in a place where you feel you need to just hear God for awhile before you commit.
a. If that is what God has been saying to you, then you should be obedient. But make sure that you spend that time “getting to know” and growing in your love for other believers, even if you aren’t ready to commit to this local church.
b. Offer your time, talents and treasure even as you are searching for God’s direction.
c. Here’s Hope is a Safe Harbor of God’s love…we don’t put pressure on people to join, people generally can’t wait to join!
i. And if you are in that middle road spot, we will wait with you.
d. But there is a statistic that is telling: A person who visits a church who doesn’t form (or have) at least one significant relationship within 8 weeks or get involved in a ministry in that time will generally leave the church.
e. They will feel unfulfilled.
f. We want to get to know you. We want to learn to love you. But we need your help. Let us love you and know you.
g. And that leads us to our next level:
2. ON the 21st of this month, we have a class which will follow our church service called “Discovering Hope.” It is an introduction into our church body, what we believe, why we believe it, what we value, what our hopes and aspirations and goals and vision is as a collection of God’s people.
a. This class is for anyone who is not a member of our church and who might have questions or just be curious about our church’s vision.
b. It will include lunch and run from about 1:00 pm until 3:00 or so. There will be childcare provided (but we will need reservations for the kids so we can staff appropriately).
c. There is not an obligation to join or become a member after coming to the class, but there will be the opportunity for you to commit to our body if you so choose.
d. In addition, we will be doing baptisms on Easter Sunday. If you have not been baptized, and would like to publicly proclaim your faith in Christ, you can do so at that time by seeing me or letting me know during the response time of our service today.
i. Because you were created in God's image you were made for relationships.
1. The Bible says, "It is not good for man to be alone." In other words, we were made for each other.
2. Life is not a solo act. You need friends
3. "And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything with each other" (Acts 2:44, LB).
4. Our Shepherd Ministry (explain what and why)
a. We have 6 groups, led by Shepherds, who minister to the people under their care.
b. They meet 1x a month, (4th Sunday evening of the month) for a couple of hours, to study, share, pray for, and encourage one another.
i. The church grows larger only if it grows smaller.
ii. You and I need to know a handful of people really well.
iii. We can never know everyone in our church, really well.
iv. But we can all get to know and care about 5-8 people.
c. It is a place where interdependence grows.
ii. What we share:
1. Our experiences
a. We need to share experiences together, it draws us together.
b. We learn from each other, especially in small group gatherings.
i. On Sunday nights, both in homes as well as when we meet here, we learn a lot about one another, and we hear how each of us is struggling and hearing God.
ii. There is a great deal of authenticity here on Sundays.
iii. Transparent people sharing where they succeed and fail in their walk with God.
c. You can't develop friendships without meeting together; and you can't develop friendships without sharing.
d. The more frequently you meet, the closer you're going to get.
e. Do you know why most people are lonely?
i. They don't make time for friendships.
ii. They are too busy working and aren't willing to put the time into it.
iii. Friends don't just happen.
iv. Until you make it a priority in your life, you won't develop any deep friendships.
2. Our homes
a. "Open up your homes to each other" (1 Peter 4:9, NCV).
b. You will leave this worship time in a little while probably without knowing anyone better than you did when you came in.
c. Why? The setting is too large.
d. But in our homes—that's where you can build strong friendships.
e. During the first 300 years of Christian history, there were no church buildings.
f. Worship took place in people's homes.
3. Our problems – planned adversity (remember when….)
a. "Share each other's troubles and problems." Gal. 6:2 (NLT)
b. "Let us not give up the habit of meeting together. Instead, let us encourage one another..." Heb. 10:25 (TEV)
c.
d.
i. Partnership is realizing that you have a contribution to make, that the family of God needs you.
ii. We went to see the movie, “Miracle” the other night.
1. A group of good 20 and 21 year olds beat a Soviet Hockey team in 1980 that was 10 times better than them. How did they do it?
2. They formed a partnership…it was called a “team.”
iii. Did you know that 58 times the Bible says that we partner with one another?
iv. We are partners working together for God" (1 Corinthians 3:9, TEV).
v. In the Greek, the word “fellowship” (Koinonoia) is often translated “partnership.”
1. In the church we are part of the greatest team there ever was.
2. In the church we are part of the greatest enterprise that's ever existed.
3. We actually get to be a part of God's plan for the universe.
4. There is a scene in the movie “Miracle” that really rocks you.
a. Before the game with the Russians, the coach gives his team their pre-game talk. No-one has beaten the Russians in 20 years. In fact, just 13 days before, the Russians had beaten this same American team 10-3 in an exhibition game.
b. And the coach says to them…”You were born to be hockey players. You were destined for this moment. This is one of the reasons you exist.”
5. Last week, on Sunday night, I shared with those who were here, that Henry Blackaby who spoke at the Evangelism Conference which I attended, clearly stated that he believes very strongly that the next great revival that breaks out in the United States will begin in Ohio. He underlined that with the fact that Ruth Graham Lotz believes it also. Then someone in the audience piped up and shouted, “It’s already started in Northeastern Ohio.”
6. I don’t know if you know what revival is.
a. It is what happens when God reveals Himself and His holiness in such a way that Christians become convinced that they are not living totally for Him.
b. And they change their lives so that they begin living totally for Him. When it happens, His Spirit begins to work so powerfully, that people everywhere begin seeing something different about God’s people and begin to ask how to be saved.
7. But it has to start with me. It has to start with you.
a. It requires that we understand and believe that God has a destiny…that maybe you being here today, in this church, is to surrender in such a way to God that He has the full use of your life to change this world.
b. It requires that you be willing to lay down everything that stands in the way of your serving God and giving God everything in your life.
c. And it takes every Christian in this room to make such a commitment.
i. If one of us holds out, the whole team will fail to accomplish its destiny.
ii. We cannot fulfill our destiny as a local church if all of us aren’t sold out, if we aren’t working and living our lives before God with selfless dedication.
d. Are you ready to do that? Are you ready to partner with one another as THE CHURCH!
i. Kinship literally means your closest relationships, your closest family. When somebody has an accident, they say, "Notify the next of kin." They don't mean go find Aunt Ethel. They mean for you to find the person the injured cares about the most.
ii. Paul also refers to the church as ‘the household of God’ (Ephesians 2:19, 1 Timothy 3:15).
1. The biblical concept of a ‘household’ is wider than our modern nuclear family. The New Testament oikos, ‘household’, was an extended family
2. If the church is God’s family, then this is bigger than our modern concept of a family.
3.
iii. This level of fellowship means that you are completely committed to the family of God.
iv. Describing the early church, the Book of Acts says, "They were like family to each other" (Acts 2:42, CEV).
v. Another verse says, "Be devoted to each other like a loving family" (Romans 12:10, GW).
1. What is this like?
2. What happens?
3. In ministry, I have been at the bedsides of people who are dying. They never say, “I want my diploma,” or “bring me my old football trophy.”
4. What they want is their family and friends nearby.
vi. "Your strong love for each other will prove to the world that you are my disciples" (John 13:35, LB)
i. That question has been asked by searching men and women for centuries.
ii. Being born again describes the process of moving from spiritual death to spiritual life.
1. We are all born into this world “spiritually dead”…that is, separated from God spiritually.
2. That is why Jesus came into the world, to rescue us from our spiritual separation from God that is the result of a self-led, self run life.
3. And when we place our faith in Jesus and turn from our self-led, self-run life, God does something miraculous in us.
a. God forgives us for our self-led life.
b. We are reconciled to God…that is, made right with Him because of what Jesus did.
c. We become spiritually alive as God Himself takes up residence within our spirits!
4. And we experience what Christians for centuries have called the “new birth.”
iii. We become children of God!
i. They have come to an experience of faith in Christ that has begun to transform their lives.
ii. Perhaps you have been watching.
1. But you are reluctant to give up the self-run life, you don’t want to give God control.
2. As long as you hold out, you will be miserable.
3. You will not know this wonderful peace and joy that God provides when He places His Spirit within you.
iii. God’s children hear God’s voice…they have direction for their lives. Imagine that!
1. Being able to hear the maker of the Universe’s voice!
2. Sound pretty far fetched? It is the promise for every believer in Christ!
iv. If you have never heard God’s voice, you are missing one of the great joys of being a child of God.
v. You can change that today.
1. Before I go on to our next topic this morning, I want to give you an opportunity to let God become your God.
2. Bow your heads please as I pray for you. If this prayer expresses the prayer of your heart, then I encourage you to pray it with me. Tell God that you want to be his child.
3. “Dear God, I have been living a self-led life. I have been trying to do it on my own. I don’t know what it is like to have you for my best friend or to even hear your voice. But I want to. I am tired of a life of dead end streets. I surrender my life to you right now. I ask Jesus to come into my life, for Your Spirit to fill me, and transform me. I want to experience this new birth today. Change me God, today. ”
4. With every eye closed and head bowed, if that was your prayer, would you please just slip your hand up and let me know. I want to be able to encourage you and pray with you and for you.
5. Thank you. You are a member of God’s family starting today! And this message we have ahead is for the members of God’s family!
6. John 1:12 – “But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God.”
a. Welcome to God’s Family.
b. I have a little booklet for those of you who have taken that step today.