Belonging to the Church

When we are called to faith in Jesus Christ were called not only to come to him but to come nearer to each other was the picture of the father and the family all the pictures of the head on the body of so many of these pictures of what it means to be Christian of pictures of what it means to belong to the Fellowship of the church. Welcome to Renewing Your Mind.

Thanks for joining us as we begin a new week of study Scripture tells us that he who began a good work in us will bring it to completion. That's the promise attached to our justification but we realize that our sanctification, our growth in Christ involves our cooperation and there are disciplines that help ensure a faithful journey from conversion to her going home to be with the Lord and were going to look at some of those basics of the Christian life this week.

Teacher is Dr. Sinclair Ferguson questions that keeps cropping up on sometimes it seems to me more and more people are asking this question. If I'm a Christian. Do I need to belong to the church, I think, to be honest, if you had stuck Christian in the New Testament, but question of one's attribute come from because they understood that to be a Christian and to belong to the charge are not two different things. There simply to sides of the same client wants us to try and see in this session why this is so quiet belonging to the church is so vital for us as we live the Christian life. I want to look at it in two slightly different ways from two different passages in the New Testament. The first passage is a famous passage in Matthew chapter 16 verse 18. When you remember Jesus says to Simon Peter and the other apostles Peter you have made this confession and on this rock I'm going to build my church was not statement so significant.

First of all, it comes at a very decisive point in Jesus ministry. Peter has just confessed him to be the Christ on the son of the living God. It also comes interestingly untucked tumbling point in the Gospels that we are told in Matthew's gospel, Matthew 1621 from this point onwards. Jesus began to explain to them what it meant that he was the Christ, and how it was that he would build the chart shows the one who died for our sins and rose again to be our Lord and Savior, but it's not only a decisive point in the tumbling point in the gospel is essentially the central point in the gospel because this is a kind of manifesto atmosphere to what Jesus is saying here. It's as though he's spelling out his program.

This is what I came into the world to do is say I came into the world just so that there would be individuals here and there would come and trust in what I came to do was to build a church to build an entire community of people and so I think we need to understand that the church lies at the very heart of Jesus plan for his ministry is true, but the workshop checklist see is used in the Gospels.

Only in this passage in a couple of chapters later on only three references to Clay Seo in all four Gospels and so someone might say, well, if Jesus hardly ever mentioned that it can be very important, but the truth is the very reverse because as you read through the Gospels, Jesus understands that his disciples have almost no idea what the Chukchi is going to build. Looks like because they very little idea of the kind of Messiah. He is so rather than constantly speaking about building the church.

He gives his disciples all kinds of pictures that indicate to them that he is come into the world. Yes to save individual sinners, but chiefly in saving individual sinners to bring them to God, so that there will be a new community of God's people and if you think about that so many of the New Testament pictures that describe what it means to be a Christian. I'm not individualistic but communal. The factors that we are, apparently, to pray the Lord's prayer in some form or another every single day. How do we know about because we are encouraged to pray, give us this day our daily bread selects on everyday accountants. But do you notice the pronoun that's used is not give me my daily bread. It's give us our daily bread. We don't begin our prayers by saying my father in heaven. Even when Ritalin we began our prayers on out on by saying our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name sold even the Lord's prayer teaches us that we never exist as isolated Christians that we been brought into the Fellowship of Jesus Christ to belong to one another. Think about another picture Jesus uses he is the good Shepherd and will the sheep of his flock. I don't know if you've ever lived in a rural part of the bottled of that are shepherds and sheep, but if you have you noticed something happening when the Shepherd appears on as it gathers in his sheep using his sheep dog. They not only come nearer to the shuffle, but has never brought me out of the Shepherd. They are inevitably brought nearer to one another so that when we are called to faith in Jesus Christ were called not only to come to him but to come nearer to each other or does the picture of the father and the family all the pictures of left hand on the body of so many of these pictures of what it means to be a Christian of pictures of what it means to belong to the Fellowship of the church. Remember the picture. Peter uses would like living stones being built into a temple. I think it was probably easier to put dead stones into a temple dance storms make a noise when you're chiseling but once you've chiseled them. That done forever.

That's not true of Christians is as God shows ourselves to fit together. He's constantly having to read shows a loss because he wants is not just to be isolated individuals. He wants us to be a new community.

This is something we really need to understand the 21st century because we live in the day when families are dysfunctional in communities of dysfunctional plan. Governments sometimes seem out of control and it's within that context that the church of Jesus Christ can shine.

We may be past the sale date for simply giving individual testimony to Jesus Christ because people in our postmodern culture sale if that works for you then let's find it's never worked for me and I'm not really interested in. So you see, there is no conscious sometimes in other people's lives by the testament week, but plan that is a new community man and women who watch that new community realize that is no parallel to the Senate will to be found. Let us know what else they can look to see this kind of community to see things functioning the way they function.

They may even hate what the Christian truck stands for, but in a strange way simultaneously be marvelously attracted to the product of the gospel that gives the gospel pictures on their lives so that they say what analysis the secrets of this new community on the onset is the secret is not to be funded. Secrets defined in the Savior, who came from heaven he came from heaven to restore us to a new community and that's what he is teaching his disciples when they confess that he is the Christ. But then we might ask another question rightly if Jesus said that he would build his church.

The church that Jesus built actually look like well that's a question in which the romance is the way I like to think about charges on the right counselors will how did he actually do it. Seems kind of obvious answer isn't that if we ask, how did Jesus build the church and we should keep our heads down and our noses into our new Testaments and look to see how he actually did it and it's very interesting that when you read through the acts of the apostles.

It seems that Lucas author, among other things, is intent on answering that question because every so often. As you read through the acts of the apostles, you probably noticed that Luke's video record of what's happening apparently from time to time you hit the pause button and he says okay there's a still frame. I want you to look at Mark constantly, especially the first day thought on more of the acts of the apostles is punctuated by little, still pictures of what the church was like under feuded through the acts of the apostles due to the can't help noticing this is one of the most obvious things and is very interesting, but the first of these is at the end of acts chapter 2 is intent in acts chapter 2, verse 42, following what do you find there you find here the student is being poured out this new assembly of people is being gathered 3000 people of been baptized that all of these new converts look says let's press the pause button and let's put this new community under the magnifying glass and will see what the church that Jesus builds actually looks like soul acts chapter 2, verse 42 and following are not haphazard comments. Then Luke very deliberately saying to us as readers of the acts of the apostles when Jesus builds the church. This is what the church looks like. So there's a real connection between Matthew 1618, following, and acts chapter 2 verses 42, following so did black church filled with the spirit look like well first of all, Luke tells us it was alarming community.

You remember he says they became addicts.

That's what he really means they became addicted to the apostles teaching they just couldn't get enough of it, though it did not happen because you remember when Jesus prayed for the church in John chapter 17 one of the things he prayed for was that the word of God would sanctify his people, the word of God would transform his people. I think that's hugely important to understand because we live in an age when people want to be transformed and they want to know the answer to the question what do I need to do to live this kind of Christian life in Jesus prayer explains the answer. It's not something you need to do. It's something you need to of done to you and for you by the word of God. My personal conviction is that has almost disappeared in the Christian church and we build structures in terms of what do we need to do.

People want to know what do I need to do. We live in a kind of self-made new community. On the one thing that is so often lacking is not what we do but what God does to us and us through #and we've got indications actually of what this meant to remember when there was a little division actually could be a major division in the church in the Massey ministry distribution.

There was a falling out between those who are native Greek speakers and those of a native Hebrew speakers and today the people were complaining about the apostle said no.

There were 12 of them again in Genesis place of being filled.

There were 12 of them. They said we are so busy praying and teaching the word. We cannot cope with this problem as well. So you need to appoint people who will do this this about interesting things you may belong to a congregation of 3000 people only one or two people needed to preach the mark by because the weather so infrequently expended. That's why were they so busy because they were constantly pulling the wound of the gospel into the hearts and minds of the people. Day by day is acts chapter 2 tells us that my friends is the reason for the quality of those people's Christian lives undoes a loss in the 21st century. We assume you can live a strong and mature Christian life on the basis of a 23 minute sermon, and preferably no longer on the problem is we've never been to that other country where we've seen look for duct of this kind of teaching.

When Paul was in Ephesus. We actually are given little details reported that the higher the lecture hall of our professor of philosophy name to Linus. I wonder if that was his nickname Melanie's actual name. I did the wisdom not to use his lecture hall during siesta time late morning through late afternoon and so he could make a quick buck by hiding out his lecture room to poll and so when no one else was having the siesta. Paul was gathering the Christians every single day for the period of over two years. He was supporting the wonder of God into them now. What evangelistic techniques did they need to use in order to spread the gospel will apparently they didn't use any loan wired simply spread because of this new community that was being created by the gospel that we live in different times, different social structure, but this is what we desperately need today in the church and we needed as individuals to of the wound of God poured into us so that the word of God will transform our minds and our lives will be renewed. So first of all, they would alarming community and then secondly be what a sharing community. Luke uses the word calling known media Fellowship. The apostles teaching they were devoted to the fellowship does not mean that means that they share their lives with each other and fight, they not only share their lives.

They shared their possessions doesn't mean they were probably communist because we replace on Dr. people have been on private property and they had the privilege and the right to do with our private property whatever they wanted to do, but what the gospel did was make these people want to share what they have, to love one another to care for one another to use their gifts for one another to sense that although they were individuals. Actually, the more important thing about them was that they were part of a new community on this little goalie what individual families they needed to fold their family into the one family that will last forever on the lounge. This they would alarming community and they were sharing community unsightly Luke tells us that they were worshiping community. The reason they met in the temple. As you remember to do in the LA chapters of the acts of the apostles was not because they still thought of themselves as Jews, but because that was the one big space and time, and so they met in a special part of the temple.

It was a public area and away unveil. They gathered for prayer for worship because they understood this letter in worship and in prayer. They devoted themselves to the prayers and worship and in prayer. We become what God has intended us to be. You know there's an application of that sometimes people say, not least in larger churches are not the structures very large. I want to get to know people. Where should I go to get to know people. The best place to go to get to know people, as the trucks clean everything that's when you find out what the church really is what his needs really that's when you hear the hearts of your fellow members and it doesn't true in our churches today. You could hardly say that we are devoted to the clearing cholesterol. How would we get to know one another and that way well the first thing to understand is that the church is the place where you get to know God.

First of all, but paradoxically the way you get to know the heartbeat of others.

The concerns of others the needs of the fellowship.

The direction of the fellowship is when you are devoted to the worship unto the players for slick. They weld on multicultural community there would alarming community. A sharing community worshiping community and they would also multicultural community. No, that was true in part in ethnic towns. Of course I'm think of what happened on the day of Pentecost, people from all over the world becoming Christians. But most of them at least would've been dispatched by Coleman so doing mean when I say they went on multicultural community will partly but God was bringing Jewish believers and Gentile believers together, but something else God was bringing slaveowners and slaves together. God was bringing parents, children together. God was bringing rich and poor together.

And of course this is why and I would one day lift the check showing because when, of course, listen to first from context to context. When God creates this new community in Jesus Christ. New community is always going to have some kind of diverse city and it's the beauty of the way in which he brings us together in Jesus Christ. In a way that nothing else in this world can that makes the church shining in the world I'm in is not trucks once I was standing in the back. I knew that there were basically no seats left in the downstairs part of the church. I watched lady who was a very ordinary means come in and I knew there was only one seat she could possibly occupy and it was right beside a man who had been knighted by the Queen so he was somebody I watched this lady walked down the aisle sit yourself down beside the snake of the realm. Give him a hug and plant a great pick gifts on his cheek. I will say I wondered what his wife thought who was sitting on the other side.

But I also sat back and I thought this is why I love the church because this happens nowhere else in the world that we are a community brought together like this. And when that happens in the churches. 1/5 thing is a growing community and that's why this little section of acts two ends by Luke saying and by the way, do you notice that when the church is like this. The law and added daily to the church. Those who are being saved later on he tells us what I think is the most striking thing about the structure in Jerusalem in consecutive farces. He says two things that seem totally contradictory. One was this the church was so different from the world. The people didn't dare joint and the next thing he sizes people were crowding into the church and is a great lesson for us and people are saying goes you know the church needs to adopt and adapt itself to the modern world is when the church is like this church when people think I'm I'm not so sure that I could possibly belong there, but God stirs up in them the desire to have more people in the church, because when you of Jesus Christ and his church. Everything you will ever meet both time and for the time so with people say do I need to belong to the church. I think the answers to you needs to belong to the church. Think about what Jesus has made until one it's a matter of perspective is inactive if we likened church membership to a specific organization or player retail club. We have the wrong idea.

The church is God's plan for his people. It's not an option. It's the place where the Holy Spirit equips us for our journey through this earthly life.

Glad you joined us today for Renewing Your Mind, Dr. Sinclair Ferguson Georges all week to help us think through some of the basics of the Christian life. This is a great series for new believers as well as season saints will send the 12 part series on two DVDs to you when you give a donation of any amount to regular ministries. There are a couple of ways you can reach us to make a request. One is by phone at 800-435-4343 or if you prefer you can go online to Renewing Your Mind God ward. Another resource that regularly addresses the basics of the Christian life is our daily devotional magazine table talk you subscribe. Not only will you receive the monthly printed edition but you also have access to an ever-growing digital archive of past issues. You can search for articles and Bible studies by topic. Scripture reference or author. Learn more and get a free three month trial subscription when you go to try table talk.com again that's try table talk.com tomorrow. Dr. Ferguson will begin exploring the means of grace God has provided for us, his children he's going to begin by looking at God's word and think it is for us to have a Bible to be able to open the binder to say to ourselves. This is nothing lasts them the words that have proceeded through human authors from the very mouth of God. This is where God speaks to. We help you make plans to join us again tomorrow for Renewing Your Mind