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THE CHURCH, GOD’S “BULLSEYE” – 10c

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Now let’s go back to God’s purpose for the church on earth.

‭Ephesians 3:6 NLT‬
[6] “And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus.”

‭Ephesians 3:10-11 NLT‬
[10]”God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. [11] This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The goal of the church is to be God’s showpiece to all of creation. This includes the powers and principalities, led by God’s arch enemy, that attempted to unseat God and take the throne of the universe for themselves. The entire created order of the universe would know by looking at the church, that God’s wisdom in all its variegated facets, prevailed.

Despite all odds, God pulls off a daring plan to overcome every attempt to derail His plan. Since the heavenly powers disqualified themselves by their desire to dethrone God, He created, redeemed and perfected another race, humans, who would be His new “divine counsel”, ruling the nations with Jesus in eternity.

Even the physical world, also corrupted by sin, eagerly awaits the day when all God’s children come of age.

Romans 8:19 NLT‬
[19] “For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are.”

The church, then, has a unique and specific purpose on earth, preparing all its members for their heavenly reign. The Bible gives us three pictures of the church, each of which hones in on one of its functions on earth.

  1. Ephesians 1:23 NLT‬
    [23] And the church is his BODY; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.

On one occasion, Jesus encountered a man who wanted to join the disciples to follow Him. Jesus cautioned him with words that have been misunderstood and misrepresented in much preaching.

‭Luke 9:57-58 NLT‬
[57] As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.” [58] But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.”

Jesus was not saying He was poor. Fixes and birds don’t live in dens and nests. They have babies in dens and nests. He was explaining that, at that moment, He, the head, had no body on which to lay His head so that He could reproduce Himself.

On the day of Pentecost, the church was born and Jesus and His body were connected and completed. Through His body, He would build His church until the full number of Jews and Gentiles are called in.

Thus, the body of Christ, in union with and obedience to Him, would be His representatives on earth. The church would reveal His nature to the world and and call unbelievers to obey the gospel and become part of His body. The church’s function is to WITNESS to Jesus on earth.

‭Acts of the Apostles 1:8 NLT‬
[8] “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Through the Holy Spirit in them, they would reflect Jesus to the world.

How? By their supernatural love…

‭John 13:35 NLT‬
[35] “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

… and their supernatural unity…

‭John 17:23 NLT‬
[23]” I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.”

  1. ‭1 Corinthians 3:9 NLT‬
    [9] “For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s BUILDING.”

The second picture of the church is a building, set apart for WORSHIP. God’s building is a temple, built out of living stones, in which the Holy Spirit lives, individually and corporately. This temple replaces the physical temple in Jerusalem and becomes the ‘naos’, the Holy of Holies where God and man meet at the Mercy Seat.

‭Hebrews 10:19, 21-22 NLT‬
[19] “And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. ‭‭
[20] By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.
[21] And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, [22] let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.”

‭John 4:23-24 NLT‬
[23] “But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will WORSHIP him that way. [24] For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

‭‭ individually, we are God’s temple…

‭1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NLT‬
[19] “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, [20] for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.”

…and corporately, the church is God’s temple…

‭1 Peter 2:5 NLT‬
[5] “And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.”

  1. The third picture of the church brings us to the heart of the church – the WOMB. The womb is the centre and purpose of intimacy. A man and a woman are united in marriage to become one to reproduce through their intimacy.

‭Malachi 2:15 NLT‬
[15]”Didn’t the Lord make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are his. And what does he want? Godly children from your union. So guard your heart; remain loyal to the wife of your youth.”

Intimacy speaks of absolute knowledge, absolute trust, absolute acceptance, and absolute faithfulness.

The church is the BRIDE of Christ, the pure virgin whom He has chosen and perfected for Himself for intimacy. He nurtures her in preparation for the day when they come together as one. Marriage between a man and a woman on earth is to be a picture of the relationship between Christ and His church.

‭Ephesians 5:22-27 NLT‬
[22]” For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. [23] For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. [24] As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything. [25] For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her [26] to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. [27] He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.”

Our engagement period is a preparation for marriage during which we separate ourselves from all others and adorn our wedding gown with good works.

‭Revelation 19:7-8 NLT‬
[7] “Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his BRIDE has prepared herself. [8] She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.” For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people.”

The bridal gown is Jesus’ own righteousness which He gave His bride. She adorns her gown with the jewels of good works, every unselfish deed that shows her love by blessing others.

These three symbolic pictures of the church give us a clearer understanding of the functions of the church during her life in earth. This “composite woman”, made up of all the individuals in Christ’s body, is here to witness, to worship, and to be the womb through which God gives birth to His purposes by impregnating her with the seed of His Word.

Is it any wonder, then, that church is so precious to Jesus that He focuses all His attention on her protection, provision, and purpose in His dealings with the world!

Let me remind you again for your encouragement and hope…

‭Ephesians 1:20-23 MSG‬
[20-23] “All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.”

Jesus is working, through His Spirit, in every individual member of the church by His grace so that each one, in his/her uniqueness, becomes a replica of Himself on earth. In this way, like all the pieces in a mosaic which make up a picture, the world will catch a glimpse of the real Jesus. Every small group of people doing life together is a picture of Jesus. So, the church as a whole witnesses to the power in us to overcome selfishness and to be God’s family in the world.

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – WHO ARE THE REALLY BLESSED ONES?

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WHO ARE THE REALLY BLESSED ONES?

“While He was saying these things, some woman lifted her voice above the murmur of the crowd, ‘Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.’ Jesus commented, ‘Even more blessed are those who hear God’s word and guard It with their lives.'” Luke 11:27, 28.

Jesus was always realistic. Some woman in the crowd was loudly commenting on His mother’s good fortune to have a son like Him. ‘Your mom was blessed to have a son like you,’ she shouted. She was probably thinking what a pleasure it must have been to raise a son like Jesus.

Did she have sons of her own? What problems did she have with them when they grew up – teenagers perhaps rebellious, perhaps failing Beth Safar (Elementary School), perhaps not interested in going to the synagogue every Sabbath. Had they disappointed her expectations? What prompted her to call out like that? We do not know but, whatever it was, it was a cry from her heart.

Jesus did not ignore her cry. Instead he redirected her thinking to something far more important and realistic than what was on her heart. Who are the really blessed ones? Not those whose children never give them any trouble, who don’t add to their grey hairs by disappointing them or abandoning them when they need them. Not those whose earthly circumstances are ideal.

He changes the ‘blessed’ (baruch – the supernatural favour of God) to ‘blessed’ (asher – the happiness that a person experiences by making the right choices, i.e., doing life God’s way). Yes, it is true that God’s favour is a blessing but to live God’s way brings happiness now and eternal rewards in the hereafter.

Jesus consistently and persistently turned people’s attention to what really mattered in life, to embrace God’s word and obey it faithfully. To Jesus, personal obedience to God was more valuable than any earthly benefit in life.

When His own family came to ‘rescue’ Him because they thought He had lost His mind, He shrugged off their concerns by asking, ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ Pointing to the crowd He answered, ‘Those who do the will of my Father are my real family.’

The really blessed people are not those whose family life is ideal, or whose earthly circumstances are uncluttered with trouble and hardship. These may be blessings from God but, at best, they are temporary because everyone lives in a fallen world which will inevitably produce trouble of one kind or another.

Who are the really blessed people? Those who have received the gift of eternal life – the life of the spirit, connected to Jesus, the source of life, through faith in Him. Whatever happens now cannot take away the promise of life in its fullness with God in the hereafter. Earthly blessings have no influence on the life to come. It is only guaranteed to those who embrace and obey God’s word.

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – GLUES BY THE HOLY SPIRIT

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GLUED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT

“Mary didn’t waste a minute. She got up and travelled to a town in Judah in the hill country, straight to Zachariah’s house, and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby in her womb leaped. She was filled with the Holy Spirit and sang out exuberantly.

‘You’re so blessed among women,                                                                                                        and the babe in your womb, also blessed;                                                                                        And why am I so blessed that the mother of my Lord visits me?                                                The moment the sound of your greeting entered my ears,                                                            The babe in my womb skipped like a lamb for sheer joy.                                                            Blessed woman, who believed what God said,                                                                                believed every word would come true.'” Luke 1:39-45.

What a beautiful exchange between these two country women! Family they were, but now they were bound together by something much deeper than family ties. Just as John and Jesus were joined by a mission from God that prompted the unborn prophet to respond to the embryonic Messiah, so their mothers were tied together in worship of the One who had chosen them to bear their sons.

In Mary’s excitement to share her story with Elizabeth and to share Elizabeth’s joy that she no longer bore the stigma of barrenness, she dropped everything and travelled across Galilee and Samaria on foot to the little Judean town where Elizabeth lived. Newly pregnant with all the discomfort that a fresh pregnancy brings, her joy carried her across the miles on winged feet.

It was a dangerous journey and she travelled it alone. It may have taken her many days. Where did she sleep? What did she eat? Did she find shelter in the homes of friendly countrymen? What of her journey through Samaria where she would have found only hostile stares and an unfriendly reception.

None of these things seemed to bother her. Luke’s story tells only of her arrival at Elizabeth’s house. It’s almost as though Elizabeth were expecting her. What unseen bond tied the older and younger women together? The moment Elizabeth laid eyes on Mary, something extraordinary happened. For a new mother-to-be, who feels only the unfamiliar flutters of her growing child, Elizabeth felt movement so strong that she said the baby danced!

At that moment both Elizabeth and Mary, and John and Jesus, were glued together by the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth burst out with an exclamation of acceptance and affirmation. Out of her mouth poured words that were powered by the Holy Spirit. She knew nothing of the chequered life story of Mary’s boy yet to be lived, but in her heart she already knew and accepted Him as her Lord.

What an extraordinary woman she was! Five months in seclusion, alone with God to savour and enjoy the unusual favour of God who not only miraculously rescued her from the unbearable state of barrenness but had also chose her to be the mother of the greatest of all the prophets and the forerunner of Messiah.

How often we miss true greatness in the glare of fame and bright lights! It is not always the ones who occupy the stages and platforms of the world who are the truly greats. God’s opinion of greatness is simple; childlike obedience to His will. Elizabeth spoke blessing over Mary because she believed and accepted God’s word to her, whatever the cost.