Jump Start # 1023

Matthew 16:18 “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”

  What a wonderful promise made by Jesus. This is a promise that has been fulfilled and is lived throughout the world, even today. Christ would build His church. Christ would build His church upon, not any rock, but THIS rock. That rock was more than Peter’s confession that Jesus was the Christ, the son of the Living God. That rock is Christ. This is what the church is built upon. Christ is not establishing a hierarchy based upon Peter. Not at all. Christ toppled over hierarchies. The greatest, Jesus said, would be the servant. There was no pecking order among the apostles. There was no succession of rule or power. Those ideas do not come from the Bible.

What did Christ build? The easiest answer is to say, “the church.” Right. Now, what does that mean? We use the word “church” to mean three different things. First, we refer to the meeting house as the church. We drive by the church building and we say “that’s our church.” Second, we use the word “church” to refer to worship. Someone asks, “What time does church start?” By that, they want to know when worship begins. Jesus was not referring to these things. He was not talking about church buildings nor the time worship begins. A third way the word church is used, is to describe saved people. Saved people make up the church, the kingdom, the body, the flock and other descriptive terms found in the Bible. This is how Jesus is using this word. Upon this rock, I will build the saved. Jesus is building people. Jesus is saving people.

Groups of these saved believers met in communities that we call congregations. They gathered together every Sunday to worship, praise and encourage each other. Paul mentioned several times that the Corinthians came together. They prayed for one another. They sang together. They fellowshipped. They sensed a belonging and a spiritual connection among each other.

This was a new experience for the first century world. Pagan worship was individual. There was little bonding among the pagans. Even the Jews had a sense of isolationism. In the Temple, there were a series of court yards that limited how far a person could go. Gentiles could not go beyond the court of the gentiles. Women could not go beyond the court of women. Only the priest could surround the holy place. The synagogues were not much different. Women sat in the back and were silent. The men sat up toward the front.

With Christ all of that changed. Moms and Dads, working people, families, single people, widows, those once considered unclean and unfit to enter, would be there, blending voices, praising God, reading God’s word and teaching and preaching. What Christ did was build bridges so all could worship together. Church—it’s God’s idea, not ours.

There is a growing movement today among many younger people who claim to be spiritual but not religious. Those terms are not intended to be opposites, but folks are making them that way. Spiritual, meaning, I have a thing going on with God, often on my own terms, often without all that sticky doctrine. Me and God– praising, laughing, connecting, and making a difference. Not a part of any church. Not governed by any person. Doing my own thing as God leads me. Have you heard anything like this? It’s all over the internet and blogs. It’s the theme of far too many books today. Their fellowship is mankind. Their doctrine is love. All of this sounds pretty cool. I think there was a time in my life when I would have signed up for such a journey. I can see myself dancing to that music. There are a few problems with all of this. First and foremost, it’s not Biblical. It’s not what Jesus came to do. Those poor misguided souls who have bought into this liberal theology fail to see that Jesus had a doctrine. There was much more to it than simply love. My little New Testament is 600 pages long. There’s a lot more in those pages than simply praise God, love everyone and don’t judge. It wouldn’t take 600 pages to say that. There are pages that talk about false teachers. There are pages that discuss how to worship. There are pages about morality. There are pages about discipline.

What Jesus did was build His church, saved people. He wants us together. He wants us connected. He wants us fellowshipping each other. He wants us to want each other. We need each other. We need each other to help us, support us, encourage us and to make us accountable. We need each other to worship together. Jesus didn’t build individuals, but a church—a community of believers.

A congregation is a reflection of the members. A friendly church is the result of friendly members. A strong church comes from strong members. Laodicea, a lukewarm church, had lukewarm members. A dead church, had mostly dead members. A worldly church—worldly members. We often want the church to be different than we are. We want to do whatever we feel like, yet we expect the church to be warm, outgoing, growing and strong. It will never happen until the members are that way.

Each congregation has it’s own personality. Some are laid back and a bit causal about things. Others are very formal about things. Some congregations run like a clock. Everything is orderly, on time and never skips a beat. Others seem disorganized and a bit scattered, but they get things done in their own way.

How important is your congregation to you? It’s important to God. Have you thought about the people in your congregation this week? Have you found a way to encourage someone? Maybe a phone call, a visit or a card sent in the mail? Have you prayed about your congregation this week? What would you do if your congregation didn’t exist? Have you thought about that? The eunuch from Ethiopia, that we wrote about yesterday, may well have been the only Christian in Ethiopia. I expect before long, there were others. I can just see the eunuch telling others about Jesus. But until that happened, he may have been the only one. How hard that would be. How lonely that would be. There is something special about belonging to a congregation. There is a group of people who support you, have your back and love you. They want you to do well. They want you to go to Heaven. The more a person connects with the community of believers the greater his chances are of making it. Hearts become intertwined. Love, care and support flows easily. It’s great to be a part of an amazing congregation. The group doesn’t have to be large, only large in heart and spirit. That’s what matters.

I love the group of believers that I am connected with. They are amazing. They are so busy doing things for others. They love the Lord with all their heart. I wish every person could experience what a church ought to be like—from top to bottom. Leaders who are invested in souls. Deacons who love to serve. Teachers who love to teach. Members who come, packing the building, because they love Jesus and each other. What an amazing group of people. We have in many things in common, but most of all is Jesus. We want to do what Jesus said. We love the Lord and each other.

Those who are trying to fly solo on this journey, miss this. They miss the “one another” that the Bible speaks about so often. They miss the connection. They miss what Jesus was trying to do.

Sunday is gathering time. Will you be there?

Roger