Sadly, this week in an area near where we live, a man decided to go on a shooting spree and killed at least four people. At time of writing, there is still no clear revealed motive. It seems that in moments like these we find ourselves shocked at the evil in the world around us. May I suggest that our question should instead be, "Why does this not happen more often?"
We want to believe that people are basically good because we want to think that we are basically good. We want to think that people are generally loving and kind and think of others because we want this to be the truth. However when we examine the truth's of God's Word, we see a quite different picture.
"The heart is more deceitful than all else and is and is desperately sick; Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9, NASB)
". . . as it is written, 'There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, there is not even one.'" (Romans 3:10-12, NASB)
"Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and we were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest." (Ephesians 2:3)
And I could go on. The Scriptures present the truth about us and about the world in which we live. Apart from Christ, we are terrible people. We are only restrained by the common grace of God and apart from that common grace, we would be much worse. But the Bible clearly teaches that people are not good. We need Jesus. We need Jesus badly. And our neighbors need Jesus. And our friends need Jesus.
When bad things happen around us, we need to realize our need for Jesus more than ever. We should give thanks for the grace of God that has saved us and pray that God would extend that grace to others around us. We need to pray that Jesus would return quickly and take care of this messed up world we live in. Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Learning Lordship
"O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. . . " Psalm 8:1 (NASB)
I must confess that when I have heard the term "lord" used in our society today, it is usually as either a curse word or the beginning of a prayer. After all, we live in modern times, far removed from the unpleasantness of the middle ages. We live in a time where equality is prized and inequality is something to we strive to banish. In such a time there is no place for peasants and serfs. No place for lords and rulers. And by all means, there is no place for servants.
In our culture today we are taught from a very early age that we are to serve no one but ourselves - that we alone decide what we ought to do. And so the culture of lordship is so very foreign to us. And yet, it is a concept that we as Christians must figure out, because Christ is presented as Lord so clearly in the Scriptures. And in Psalm 8 the psalmist willingly takes ownership of the fact that he belongs to the Lord. The Lord is our Lord. My Lord. Your Lord. Our Lord.
This means that we must determine what "Lord" means. And to do so, I think we need to look back to medieval times. Times when lords and ladies were real things and Lord meant a position of honor and rule. We must willingly acknowledge that when we call Christ "Lord" we are confessing that He has a place of rule over us. We are His servants. Beneath him. We are not equals with such a Lord, but He has the sole place of rule and authority in our lives. There is no choice that we have but to serve the needs of the one who rules over our lives and who is our Master.
What a foreign concept. We use the word so casually and without meaning. How often have we started a prayer with the word and then proceeded to tell our Master everything He is supposed to do for us? We sing the word but only if it is in a song that pleases us. And in reality we have replaced our Lord with a different kind of ruler-ship in which we find ourselves to be lord. We want to rule, we want to reign, and we have very little place in our lives for anyone or anything that would challenge the totalitarian rule that we exert over our own lives.
Which is why serving our Lord is such a critical concept in Scripture and something that we must learn. You and I do not belong to ourselves. We are here for the service of our Lord and King. And the sooner that we realize our place, the sooner we will be able to recognize the glory that God has chosen to give us as he gives us some measure of rule over the world in which we live. But this rule that we exert is always mediated by our service for Him.
And so we must learn what it means to be a peasant and in so doing serve the Savior. "O Lord, my Lord." - may this truly be our prayer.
I must confess that when I have heard the term "lord" used in our society today, it is usually as either a curse word or the beginning of a prayer. After all, we live in modern times, far removed from the unpleasantness of the middle ages. We live in a time where equality is prized and inequality is something to we strive to banish. In such a time there is no place for peasants and serfs. No place for lords and rulers. And by all means, there is no place for servants.
In our culture today we are taught from a very early age that we are to serve no one but ourselves - that we alone decide what we ought to do. And so the culture of lordship is so very foreign to us. And yet, it is a concept that we as Christians must figure out, because Christ is presented as Lord so clearly in the Scriptures. And in Psalm 8 the psalmist willingly takes ownership of the fact that he belongs to the Lord. The Lord is our Lord. My Lord. Your Lord. Our Lord.
This means that we must determine what "Lord" means. And to do so, I think we need to look back to medieval times. Times when lords and ladies were real things and Lord meant a position of honor and rule. We must willingly acknowledge that when we call Christ "Lord" we are confessing that He has a place of rule over us. We are His servants. Beneath him. We are not equals with such a Lord, but He has the sole place of rule and authority in our lives. There is no choice that we have but to serve the needs of the one who rules over our lives and who is our Master.
What a foreign concept. We use the word so casually and without meaning. How often have we started a prayer with the word and then proceeded to tell our Master everything He is supposed to do for us? We sing the word but only if it is in a song that pleases us. And in reality we have replaced our Lord with a different kind of ruler-ship in which we find ourselves to be lord. We want to rule, we want to reign, and we have very little place in our lives for anyone or anything that would challenge the totalitarian rule that we exert over our own lives.
Which is why serving our Lord is such a critical concept in Scripture and something that we must learn. You and I do not belong to ourselves. We are here for the service of our Lord and King. And the sooner that we realize our place, the sooner we will be able to recognize the glory that God has chosen to give us as he gives us some measure of rule over the world in which we live. But this rule that we exert is always mediated by our service for Him.
And so we must learn what it means to be a peasant and in so doing serve the Savior. "O Lord, my Lord." - may this truly be our prayer.
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Success!
"The God of heaven will give us success. . ." Nehemiah 2:20 (NASB)
We live in a world that is measured in how successful a person becomes. We strive to achieve and to accomplish with the goal of moving up in the world. We even hear from so called Christian pastors that God wants to make us successful and they quote passages such as this one that I preached on this past Sunday. It is true that God promises us success. The difficulty comes however when you realize that our definition of success matters a great deal, and for most of us we have wrongly defined success.
Our culture tends to define success with a relatively simple equation.
We live in a world that is measured in how successful a person becomes. We strive to achieve and to accomplish with the goal of moving up in the world. We even hear from so called Christian pastors that God wants to make us successful and they quote passages such as this one that I preached on this past Sunday. It is true that God promises us success. The difficulty comes however when you realize that our definition of success matters a great deal, and for most of us we have wrongly defined success.
Our culture tends to define success with a relatively simple equation.
Success = Accomplishments and Results
And so success in business is accomplishing goals and achieving results for your company. Success in sports is by doing things better than all those around you. It is winning the race. It is defeating the competition. It is accomplishing the goals that you set for yourself or the goals that are set for you. Successfulness is about doing stuff that brings about a better result that what you had before you did something!
And we take that definition of success and apply it to the promises God makes. He promises to prosper and do what is best for us after all. He promises to make our way straight and to work out all things for our good. And we make the faulty assumption that the definitions God is using are the same as ours. But nothing could be further from the truth. God does not define our success by achievement or results. God does not evaluate us based on what we achieve or how well our projects work out. He does not compare us to our neighbor and determine who is worth more based on the cars we drive or the trophies on our shelves. And God does not promise us success as we have defined it. In fact, God has told us that our successfulness may involve some things that we do not particularly like. Romans 8 tells us that these include: tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword and even death. And this wonderful list comes less than 10 verses after the promise that God is working out all things for our good.
God does not define success in the same way that we do. God instead defines our success by service. Romans 12:1-2 makes this clear. We are to offer our bodies to God as a living sacrifice. Success for the Christian is the sacrifice of self to serve. Success through service. In other words, so long as you are obedient to the Word of God, you are successful! And you cannot be more successful. So if you are obedient and you lose your job - success! If you are a servant and stay at the bottom of the corporate ladder - success! If you follow and God chooses to bless you with a promotion, understand that it is the obedience, and not the promotion that has made you successful. Faithfulness, not accomplishment, is the measure that God uses to define success.
So, how successful are you when measured by God's standard! God help us all to be truly successful as we obey and follow Him.
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
A Little Bit of Fun
Sometimes I get so focused on my work and my reading and my responsibilities, that I forget that God placed us here on the earth to enjoy life! I have found a corrective in laughter.
When my son was just a few years old, we loved to sit around the table and I would tell "knock-knock" jokes. I did this of course because when your children are young they think that absolutely everything you say must be funny. So it went like this. . .
Me: Knock, Knock
My Son: Who's there?
Me: Pencil
My Son: Pencil who?
Me: Pennsylvania!
And this was met of course with uproarious laughter. I thought it was cool, and he was learning geography. It went like this for some time. I would tell a lame joke and my son would laugh hysterically. When my daughters were born, they of course joined the rip-roaring laughter and we (and by this I mean of course myself) had great times around the dinner table telling all sorts of really good knock-knock jokes.
There were of course some days that did not feel like "knock-knock" days. You know the kind - days when things did not go as expected and you felt as though you just wanted to go home, crawl into the covers and hope that tomorrow might be better. Days that you did not feel at all like laughing. Days when the responsibilities of life made you wish that you were six again and could just go outside and play. I think it was on one of those days.
We sat down to dinner and began to eat. My son spoke up and said, "Hey dad, wanna hear a knock-knock joke?" I may not have wanted to, but what do you say to your young son? "Sure son, go ahead."
My son: Knock, Knock
Me: Who's there?
My son: Peanut butter
Me: Peanut butter who (at this point, not really sure what to expect and sort of upset that I have not heard this one yet.)
My son: NUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
At this point he is nearly on the floor laughing so hard. He clearly created this joke all on his own. He clearly was so proud of the punchline. And all I could do was laugh. And in that moment none of the stress of the day mattered anymore. Of course my daughters learned quickly, and for around a year or more it seemed like all we did was tell this knock-knock joke to each other. Even to this day we sometimes bring it out. And the louder you yell the punchline, the funnier it is.
Some days we just need to remember that a little nuttiness is perfectly ok. Some days we need to be a little less crunchy and allow ourselves to be smoothed over. We forget the child like innocence of Peter Pan. And thank you for indulging me in a little peanut butter humor. Remember to have a little bit of fun today. And thank the God who put laughter and joy into the human experience. May we thank Him and give Him praise!
When my son was just a few years old, we loved to sit around the table and I would tell "knock-knock" jokes. I did this of course because when your children are young they think that absolutely everything you say must be funny. So it went like this. . .
Me: Knock, Knock
My Son: Who's there?
Me: Pencil
My Son: Pencil who?
Me: Pennsylvania!
And this was met of course with uproarious laughter. I thought it was cool, and he was learning geography. It went like this for some time. I would tell a lame joke and my son would laugh hysterically. When my daughters were born, they of course joined the rip-roaring laughter and we (and by this I mean of course myself) had great times around the dinner table telling all sorts of really good knock-knock jokes.
There were of course some days that did not feel like "knock-knock" days. You know the kind - days when things did not go as expected and you felt as though you just wanted to go home, crawl into the covers and hope that tomorrow might be better. Days that you did not feel at all like laughing. Days when the responsibilities of life made you wish that you were six again and could just go outside and play. I think it was on one of those days.
We sat down to dinner and began to eat. My son spoke up and said, "Hey dad, wanna hear a knock-knock joke?" I may not have wanted to, but what do you say to your young son? "Sure son, go ahead."
My son: Knock, Knock
Me: Who's there?
My son: Peanut butter
Me: Peanut butter who (at this point, not really sure what to expect and sort of upset that I have not heard this one yet.)
My son: NUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
At this point he is nearly on the floor laughing so hard. He clearly created this joke all on his own. He clearly was so proud of the punchline. And all I could do was laugh. And in that moment none of the stress of the day mattered anymore. Of course my daughters learned quickly, and for around a year or more it seemed like all we did was tell this knock-knock joke to each other. Even to this day we sometimes bring it out. And the louder you yell the punchline, the funnier it is.
Some days we just need to remember that a little nuttiness is perfectly ok. Some days we need to be a little less crunchy and allow ourselves to be smoothed over. We forget the child like innocence of Peter Pan. And thank you for indulging me in a little peanut butter humor. Remember to have a little bit of fun today. And thank the God who put laughter and joy into the human experience. May we thank Him and give Him praise!
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Trust
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding." Proverbs 3:5
Trust is a word that we sometimes throw out there without fully understanding what it means. The original Hebrew is fairly accurate to our modern vernacular. It simply means to be confident in something. We are to be confident in the Lord with all of our hearts. There are some things that we trust readily and do not even think about it. We sit down in a chair without inspecting it because we trust that it will hold us. We have a confidence based on experience and knowledge that the chair will hold us, even if we have had an experience of a chair crumbling under us, I have not yet met a person who require a full chair inspection before agreeing to sit in a chair that is offered to them.
We use the word trust a lot. "I'm trusting God to take care of it." I have said it myself related to the sale of our house, I have said it related to our finances. I have said it in church, I have said it to family. I have said it an awful lot. And yet, when the rubber meets the road, simply stating your trust in something does absolutely nothing. You can talk about how much you trust the chair, but until you sit, your trust is not complete. Most of the things I have said I trust God to care for I am still concerned about and still think about and worry about and even stress about. Do I really trust?
And sadly, the verse does not end with trust. The verse gives us a more complete definition of the confidence that God requires of us. I am not even referring to the expression "with all your heart", but to the latter half of the verse. "Do not lean on your own understanding." This is astounding. The confidence that I am to have in God is to actually counter my own understanding.
I understand a lot of things (or at least I think I do). God here tells me not to rely on the understanding of things that I have. Instead I am to trust. It seems that trust is therefore something that is to go beyond my understanding. So it is more than sitting in a chair. I trust the chair precisely because of my own understanding. I understand the physics involved and the fact that due to the way the chair was constructed it is designed to hold weight by distributing it evenly to four focal points instead of one. I understand my history with chairs and that they do not break easily, and I trust based on my understanding, and sadly, I believe that this is where most Christians falter. We trust God based on our understanding. We know what He has done in the past and what He is capable of. We have an understanding of who God is, and our trust is challenged when God chooses to operate in a way that is different from our understanding of who He is and how He works.
This is why Proverbs 3:5 is such a good verse. The verse demands that I do not get complacent in my trust and only be confident in the things that my understanding allows, but demands instead that I am confident in the things that are beyond my understanding. I am to trust when I do not understand. I am to rely upon God even when I do not comprehend what He is doing and where He is taking me. This is the type of trust exemplified in the Scriptures. It is the trust of Abraham going to a place that he did not know but allowing God to lead. It is the trust of Moses allowing God to work through his own insecurities. It is the trust of David allowing God to use his mistakes. It is the trust of Joshua walking around a wall instead of building siege ramps against it. These things defy human understanding and logic. And yet God calls them and us to trust. You and I are to be confident that God knows what He is doing, even when we do not understand.
As Anselm said, "Faith seeks understanding. I do not seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand."
Trust is a word that we sometimes throw out there without fully understanding what it means. The original Hebrew is fairly accurate to our modern vernacular. It simply means to be confident in something. We are to be confident in the Lord with all of our hearts. There are some things that we trust readily and do not even think about it. We sit down in a chair without inspecting it because we trust that it will hold us. We have a confidence based on experience and knowledge that the chair will hold us, even if we have had an experience of a chair crumbling under us, I have not yet met a person who require a full chair inspection before agreeing to sit in a chair that is offered to them.
We use the word trust a lot. "I'm trusting God to take care of it." I have said it myself related to the sale of our house, I have said it related to our finances. I have said it in church, I have said it to family. I have said it an awful lot. And yet, when the rubber meets the road, simply stating your trust in something does absolutely nothing. You can talk about how much you trust the chair, but until you sit, your trust is not complete. Most of the things I have said I trust God to care for I am still concerned about and still think about and worry about and even stress about. Do I really trust?
And sadly, the verse does not end with trust. The verse gives us a more complete definition of the confidence that God requires of us. I am not even referring to the expression "with all your heart", but to the latter half of the verse. "Do not lean on your own understanding." This is astounding. The confidence that I am to have in God is to actually counter my own understanding.
I understand a lot of things (or at least I think I do). God here tells me not to rely on the understanding of things that I have. Instead I am to trust. It seems that trust is therefore something that is to go beyond my understanding. So it is more than sitting in a chair. I trust the chair precisely because of my own understanding. I understand the physics involved and the fact that due to the way the chair was constructed it is designed to hold weight by distributing it evenly to four focal points instead of one. I understand my history with chairs and that they do not break easily, and I trust based on my understanding, and sadly, I believe that this is where most Christians falter. We trust God based on our understanding. We know what He has done in the past and what He is capable of. We have an understanding of who God is, and our trust is challenged when God chooses to operate in a way that is different from our understanding of who He is and how He works.
This is why Proverbs 3:5 is such a good verse. The verse demands that I do not get complacent in my trust and only be confident in the things that my understanding allows, but demands instead that I am confident in the things that are beyond my understanding. I am to trust when I do not understand. I am to rely upon God even when I do not comprehend what He is doing and where He is taking me. This is the type of trust exemplified in the Scriptures. It is the trust of Abraham going to a place that he did not know but allowing God to lead. It is the trust of Moses allowing God to work through his own insecurities. It is the trust of David allowing God to use his mistakes. It is the trust of Joshua walking around a wall instead of building siege ramps against it. These things defy human understanding and logic. And yet God calls them and us to trust. You and I are to be confident that God knows what He is doing, even when we do not understand.
As Anselm said, "Faith seeks understanding. I do not seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand."
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
God-Centered Prayers
When it comes to prayer, I think that sometimes we wish that there were some magic formula or "How-to" guidebook that would instruct us in our prayers. I am grateful however that our prayers are heard by God regardless of what formula they follow and that Romans tells us that God even hears and understands the prayers that we are unable to pray thanks to the work of the Holy Spirit. As I study the Scriptures, while there is no "how-to", there are certainly numerous examples of people praying, one of which I spoke on this morning in Nehemiah 1. There are a few things that these prayers seem to have in common that I think that we can learn from. These include the fact that these prayers seem to come from genuine hearts. These include the fact that they are not limited to times of need or blessing, but can be raised to the throne of God at any time. I would encourage you to look at some of these prayers. They can be found throughout the Old and New Testament. Jesus prays, Paul prays, Nehemiah prays, the prophets pray. . . people in the Bible pray. And the one thing that seems to be most instructive to me at this time is the fact that in their recorded prayers the people of the Scripture pray prayers that are centered on God. Nehemiah prays and spends most of his time in Nehemiah 1 praising God for who He is, and confessing his own sinfulness. And then at the very end of the prayer he gives his request - that God would give him success as he approached the king. He focused on God.
I know with certainty that my prayers are not as God-centered as was the prayer of Nehemiah. In fact, other than the introduction ("Dear Heavenly Father, . . .") and the conclusion (". . .in Jesus name, Amen."), my prayers are suspiciously focused on me. I focus on what I want. I ask for what I think needs to be done. I let God know how much I would appreciate all that He would do for me and for those close to me. But, at the end of the day I have spoken more about me than about my God.
Not all of this is bad. God commands us to cast our cares and anxieties upon him. He asks us to talk to Him. I wonder however when I center so much on myself if I miss the blessing of the peace that comes from focusing on who God is. And so, as a form of corrective, I try and think of all of my requests and the reasons that I take them to God in the first place.
After all, I go to God with requests for healing because God is the perfect Healer.
I go to God with requests for provision because God is a God who provides.
I go to God asking for comfort because He is a God of all comfort.
I ask for peace because God is a God of peace.
For blessing because God blesses.
For salvation of the lost because God saves.
. . .
and the list goes on and on.
For each request that we have there is a corresponding quality of God that motivates us to go before Him in prayer. And in focusing my mind and heart on these qualities of God I have found that my prayers have become more centered on God. I still ask that God would sell my house, but I pray that the God whose timing is perfect and who provision is constant would help my patience while He sells my house. And when I am able to pray in this way I find that I am more centered on who God is and not simply what I want Him to do for me.
Perhaps as you evaluate your prayers you find that they are centered on you. May God help us to continually focus more and more on Him as we pray, that His glory might increase, and we might be used by His powerful hand to proclaim His wonder and majesty!
I know with certainty that my prayers are not as God-centered as was the prayer of Nehemiah. In fact, other than the introduction ("Dear Heavenly Father, . . .") and the conclusion (". . .in Jesus name, Amen."), my prayers are suspiciously focused on me. I focus on what I want. I ask for what I think needs to be done. I let God know how much I would appreciate all that He would do for me and for those close to me. But, at the end of the day I have spoken more about me than about my God.
Not all of this is bad. God commands us to cast our cares and anxieties upon him. He asks us to talk to Him. I wonder however when I center so much on myself if I miss the blessing of the peace that comes from focusing on who God is. And so, as a form of corrective, I try and think of all of my requests and the reasons that I take them to God in the first place.
After all, I go to God with requests for healing because God is the perfect Healer.
I go to God with requests for provision because God is a God who provides.
I go to God asking for comfort because He is a God of all comfort.
I ask for peace because God is a God of peace.
For blessing because God blesses.
For salvation of the lost because God saves.
. . .
and the list goes on and on.
For each request that we have there is a corresponding quality of God that motivates us to go before Him in prayer. And in focusing my mind and heart on these qualities of God I have found that my prayers have become more centered on God. I still ask that God would sell my house, but I pray that the God whose timing is perfect and who provision is constant would help my patience while He sells my house. And when I am able to pray in this way I find that I am more centered on who God is and not simply what I want Him to do for me.
Perhaps as you evaluate your prayers you find that they are centered on you. May God help us to continually focus more and more on Him as we pray, that His glory might increase, and we might be used by His powerful hand to proclaim His wonder and majesty!
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
The Importance of the Body
The body is important. I am not for the purposes of this blog talking about our bodies that we move around in, and that we seem to be more concerned about for the first two weeks of January. Instead I am talking about the body that we have as a church - the body of Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:12-13 says, "For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether salves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit." (NASB)
I was reminded of this text at the beginning of 2016 as we had the privilege at our church of baptizing four people. They were baptized into the body of Christ. The passage goes on to talk about the importance of each individual member and how no one member can do it alone. It is sometimes easy to think that the church has "important" members and "regular" members, but this is not the case. The Pastor and Deacon's are not more important than the other members, they simply serve a difference function - a function that could not be accomplished without the help of many.
May I illustrate this using the baptism itself as an example. As the Pastor, I am the one who gets in the water, speaks and baptizes the candidates. However, what you may not know is that this was the effort of multiple members. I was not the one who filled the water and made sure it was warm, that was done by another who was taught by a third. A fourth set up all of the carpet that was to keep us from slipping. A fifth and sixth helped by assisting those who were preparing for baptism and making sure they came up in the proper order, kept safe, had changing rooms, etc. Another assisted by attending the baptism classes with one of the candidates, and two helped by becoming Bible Study leaders to assist in following up after the baptism. That morning, someone other than me came and turned on the lights, even more people assisted on the praise team to help set the tone for the baptism and one set the order of service incorporating songs for the baptism, the sermon, and even communion. The deacons (5 other men) helped to hear the testimonies of the candidates and approve them for membership into our church. The candidates themselves helped by attending classes and inviting family and friends. And the whole church functioned as a witness to the event and welcomed the four new members into our fellowship.
What seems like a simple event - the immersion of four people, is really at its core a family function - the work of multiple members of the body of Christ for the glory of God. What a privilege we have to work together to accomplish His glorious purpose.
May I challenge you that if you are not a member of a local church that you are missing a great deal as you are choosing not to participate fully with the body that you should be serving? May I challenge you that if you do not attend church at all and instead think that your salvation is all about you and God that you are missing this truth of the Scriptures? Or perhaps you are coming and are a member, but are not serving in an area that God has gifted you. All of these are tragedies that miss the benefit of being a part of the body of Christ!
Praise the Lord that we are by One Spirit baptized into the body of Christ. And you will find no fuller expression of this glorious truth than looking at your local church. The body is important.
PS - thank you to my local body of Christ with whom I get to serve joyfully. I am privileged to serve our Savior with you.
1 Corinthians 12:12-13 says, "For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether salves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit." (NASB)
I was reminded of this text at the beginning of 2016 as we had the privilege at our church of baptizing four people. They were baptized into the body of Christ. The passage goes on to talk about the importance of each individual member and how no one member can do it alone. It is sometimes easy to think that the church has "important" members and "regular" members, but this is not the case. The Pastor and Deacon's are not more important than the other members, they simply serve a difference function - a function that could not be accomplished without the help of many.
May I illustrate this using the baptism itself as an example. As the Pastor, I am the one who gets in the water, speaks and baptizes the candidates. However, what you may not know is that this was the effort of multiple members. I was not the one who filled the water and made sure it was warm, that was done by another who was taught by a third. A fourth set up all of the carpet that was to keep us from slipping. A fifth and sixth helped by assisting those who were preparing for baptism and making sure they came up in the proper order, kept safe, had changing rooms, etc. Another assisted by attending the baptism classes with one of the candidates, and two helped by becoming Bible Study leaders to assist in following up after the baptism. That morning, someone other than me came and turned on the lights, even more people assisted on the praise team to help set the tone for the baptism and one set the order of service incorporating songs for the baptism, the sermon, and even communion. The deacons (5 other men) helped to hear the testimonies of the candidates and approve them for membership into our church. The candidates themselves helped by attending classes and inviting family and friends. And the whole church functioned as a witness to the event and welcomed the four new members into our fellowship.
What seems like a simple event - the immersion of four people, is really at its core a family function - the work of multiple members of the body of Christ for the glory of God. What a privilege we have to work together to accomplish His glorious purpose.
May I challenge you that if you are not a member of a local church that you are missing a great deal as you are choosing not to participate fully with the body that you should be serving? May I challenge you that if you do not attend church at all and instead think that your salvation is all about you and God that you are missing this truth of the Scriptures? Or perhaps you are coming and are a member, but are not serving in an area that God has gifted you. All of these are tragedies that miss the benefit of being a part of the body of Christ!
Praise the Lord that we are by One Spirit baptized into the body of Christ. And you will find no fuller expression of this glorious truth than looking at your local church. The body is important.
PS - thank you to my local body of Christ with whom I get to serve joyfully. I am privileged to serve our Savior with you.
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