Following and Church

How many memberships do you have?

I think I've got something like half a dozen memberships at the moment.

I'm a member at Crunch Gym.

I have a subscription to Netflix and Disney Plus at the moment.

I've been a supporter of sporting teams.

I need to become a member of the Chatswood RSL

because there's a really great Chinese restaurant up the top there.

I'm part of a wine club.

I've been part of a coffee club.

And I dip in and out of these.

I'll get rid of Disney Plus for a while.

I'll bring it back.

I'll do something else.

I'll give them my dollars.

I'll be one of their members.

I'll go on their books to boost up their numbers.

And I'll choose when I go of what I'm part of,

of what I give my time to, my attention to.

And if I don't like it, I'll vote by cancelling my membership,

not attending, those kinds of things.

I wonder if it's possible for us that we think of being a church member

as just one of any other membership.

You know, I've been signed up to St. Paul's for a couple of years,

maybe since I was baptized or maybe I was born into the church.

And I attend.

I give my dollars.

I'm on their books as a member of the church.

And I dip in and out.

I'll pause my membership as other things come up and life gets busy.

Maybe I'm still on a trial membership and I'm not really ready to commit yet.

But is it possible that we have our view of what it means to be a part of a church,

a member of church, shaped not by God, but by the world around us?

We are in our vision series.

A time to cast the vision of the church, not just for this year,

but for the next five years of who we want to be as we follow Jesus together.

And we want to be a church who is going deeper into relationship with God

and deeper into relationship with each other as we follow this Jesus.

At the start of the series, Steve told us that as we follow this Jesus,

God has given us three wonderful gifts to help us do that.

The first was the Bible and prayer.

That because we want to have a relationship with God,

God has given us relationship with Him.

We can actually talk to Him.

We can pray to Him.

We can be in relationship with Him.

The second gift is the Holy Spirit,

who opens our eyes to see who Jesus is,

to understand who God is,

who prompts us,

who calls us to be more like Him,

who is changing us from the inside.

And the third gift that God has given us to help us as we follow Jesus is the church.

People to help us as we walk towards Jesus.

Colleagues, brothers, sisters.

But to understand today, as we look at what it means to be the church,

we're going to see two things.

First of all, we're going to question, what is the church?

And second, what is the point?

What is the purpose of church?

And the challenge for us today will be to have God define who the church is

and who we are to be.

And not just to have a superficial membership of the church

defined by all of those other memberships that we have in the world,

but to take hold of God's gift of the church with both hands.

So let me pray for us as we have a look at what God has to say to us.

Let me pray.

Heavenly Father, we thank you so much, first of all,

that we get to know you,

that we get to be people who are yours,

and that you love us.

And we thank you that you have gathered us this morning.

Be with us as we look at your word.

Help us to be ready to have our hearts shaped to be like you

and to understand who we are to be as your church.

Amen.

What even is a church?

The building is often called church.

You know, we're going to church.

But the church is so much more than that.

The word means gathering.

And so in the original language,

anything was that any gathering of people was referred to as a church.

So you could have the church who meets at the side of the soccer pitch

who is made up of shouty parents on a Saturday morning.

You could have a church of oolong tea fanatics.

Whatever gathering you have,

that's where the word church comes from.

But over time,

this word has come to be associated with religious activities

and also with the building that we are in.

But how does God describe his gathering?

Have a look.

We're going to be jumping around a couple of passages

before we spend a little bit more time in that Hebrews 10 passage.

So please have your Bibles open, phones.

There is our church app, which has the outline.

Or you can grab a Bible.

If you do not have a Bible,

get a Bible from the sides,

one of the brown Bibles.

We've written in them that they are for you.

And you've just got to write your name in there.

Please take one of those and have those.

We're going to be in 1 Peter 2, verse 10.

1 Peter 2:10

So God, first of all, shows us

that the church is universal,

everywhere, and invisible.

And it is also visible and local.

In 1 Peter 2, verse 10, Peter says,

1 Peter 2:10

Once you were not a people,

but now you are the people of God.

Once you had not received mercy,

but now you have received mercy.

What Peter's doing is he's connecting God's saving people,

God's showing mercy to people,

with people,

with these individuals becoming part of his people.

He shows mercy,

and these Christians are now part of a greater people.

When we are saved,

when the Holy Spirit reveals to us who Jesus is

and we follow him,

we become part of something larger,

something bigger than us,

something that is universal,

something that is invisible,

the church that is across all time and space,

that goes into the past,

and that goes into the future.

We are part of something that is much larger than us.

Paul talks about this church in Romans 8, verse 15.

Romans 8:15

He says,

The spirit you received does not make you slaves

so that you live in fear.

Rather, the spirit you received

brought about your adoption to sonship.

And so the church is saved

as part of this universal group of people

who are sons,

who have the full legal standing

of a male heir in Roman culture,

who have access to everything from the Father.

And so we are part of God's family as his children

across the globe and across time and space.

And Hebrews 12 talks about this in verse 22.

You have come to Mount Zion,

to the city of the living God,

the heavenly Jerusalem.

You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels

in joyful assembly

to the church of the firstborn,

whose names are written in heaven.

And so in one sense,

the church right now is universal and invisible.

We cannot see the church at the moment.

We can see us here, sitting here.

But the church is much larger.

The church is those who have been adopted

into God's family as his children.

And also,

the church is also,

in a spiritual way,

gathering around God in heaven already.

There is this spiritual element

to the church in heaven.

And so the Bible,

just having a look at these couple of verses,

we can talk more about this if you like later,

describes the church as

one whole people

of brothers and sisters

made one family

who are already in heaven

in a spiritual way.

And this is one of the reasons

it is so encouraging

to meet another Christian.

I'm not sure if you've ever met

another Christian

in a totally random setting.

There is just something unique.

It's more than just,

oh, here's another person

who has a similar like to me.

You know, they follow a sporting team.

But it's this person

also knows the same Jesus.

They've also been loved

by the same Jesus.

And they know that

there's nothing special about them,

but they've been saved

by the living God.

There is just something

about being part of this family

which unites us.

The youth around Easter

are going up to Kik.

Kik is a gathering of youth

from all over New South Wales.

And they go to Katoomba

and there's thousands of them there.

And it's so encouraging

to be part of a youth group

of say 30 kids

and then to go and see 3,000 kids

and go, oh wow,

there are all of these other people

who follow the same Jesus as me.

This is really wonderful.

This church that we are part of

is huge.

It is massive.

It is universal.

It's invisible.

We can't see it.

But the wonderful truth of it is

it doesn't stay invisible.

It shows up in real

and physical locations.

The universal becomes local.

The invisible becomes visible.

The church has a street address.

This church is on the corner

of Fuller's Road

and View Street

in Chatswood.

And there are faces

and names of people.

There's tangible people.

There's Gary over there.

I can see Allie.

There's Leslie in front.

This church is no longer invisible.

It's local

and it's tangible.

And so Paul,

when he writes letters

to the church,

they're to specific churches.

It's to the letter,

to the church of God

in Corinth,

to the church in Galatia,

to the church of the Thessalonians

in Thessalonians.

In Thessalonians.

I can't even say that word.

It's okay.

I'll just skip it.

I'll get it later.

The church shows up

in a time and in a place.

If we're really part of God's body,

the church,

it doesn't just stay

an abstract idea

up in the clouds.

I'm a part of the church.

We don't just

get baptized into a church

and then never go again

and say,

oh yeah,

I'm a member of that church.

I was baptized there.

When we are part

of the heavenly church,

the family of God,

it shows up on earth

in a time and space

at 9 a.m.,

at 11 a.m.

on a Sunday morning

in Chatswood.

Being a member

of the universal

and invisible church

must become visible

in regular local gatherings.

The church is those

that God has called out

to be His,

to be His family.

Brothers and sisters

who show up

and meet together regularly.

I think there's a helpful way

to understand this

and this is through McDonald's.

Does anybody love Maccas?

No, the younger people

are nodding.

Yeah, James,

yeah, James.

Thank you, dear brother.

That's why we need

to support you,

to help you.

Maccas has got a franchise model.

It's universal.

It's everywhere.

It's everywhere on the planet.

I'm sure there'll be

one on the moon soon.

Head office

sets the color scheme.

They set

what the staffing conditions

are going to be like.

They set the type

what the stores look like.

But you don't go

to the head office

to get a cheeseburger.

You've got to go

to a local store.

You've got to go

to the one in the

Chatswood Interchange

across from the train station

if you want to get

a cheeseburger.

I can't say

that I go to Maccas

unless I actually turn up.

Unless I actually,

you know,

walk in the door

and push the buttons

because you don't really

talk to the people

there anymore.

The local

and universal church

is like McDonald's.

Hopefully,

we don't make you feel sick

in 30 minutes or less.

But the church

is universal.

It's everywhere

across all time and space.

It's in heaven

in a spiritual way.

It's on every continent.

But I can't say

that I'm part of a church

unless I show up.

Being part of the church

means that I show up.

And here at St. Paul's,

we get to rub shoulders

with people

from the universal church.

not all of it

but an expression of it.

And so,

being a member

of this church

means

you're also part

of the church

everywhere.

And so,

what is a church?

A church is

universal.

It's invisible

but it doesn't

stay that way.

It becomes visible

and it becomes local

when we turn up.

It's a gathering

of God's people

in a time and space.

Now,

I know what I'm supposed

to do when I go to McDonald's.

When I go there,

I'm usually there to eat

or if I'm on a long car trip,

I'm there to use the bathroom.

And there,

that's what McDonald's is for.

But what is the church

supposed to do?

What's the purpose of it?

We're all here together

in one room.

What is the point?

That's our second point

for today.

What is the purpose

of the church?

As we saw in 1 Peter,

our God is showing

mercy to people,

calling a people

to himself.

The church is

a restoration

of the vertical relationship,

of God restoring

the relationship

with us,

his people.

It's a restoration

of the vertical.

Humanity and God

are reconciled.

But there's also

a horizontal reconciliation

that happens

as the church.

The purpose of the church

is to bring unity,

unity to a scattered,

diverse,

very different collection

of warring people.

Church is the reconciliation

between God and people,

but also the reconciliation

of people and people,

bringing people

back to unity.

And so in Ephesians chapter 2,

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

I've got a couple of passages

from Ephesians 2,

so go to Ephesians 2,

Ephesians 2:11

verse 11.

Paul says,

Paul says,

therefore,

remember that formerly

you who are Gentiles

by birth

and called uncircumcised

by those who call themselves

the circumcision,

which is done in the body

by human hands,

remember that at that time

you were separate from Christ,

excluded from citizenship

in Israel,

and foreigners

to the covenant

of the promise,

without hope

and without God

in the world.

So all people

were scattered

and divided

from each other.

There was real painful

division between people groups,

between the Jews

and the Gentiles,

between the Gentiles

and the Gentiles,

between countries

and ethnicities.

But,

verse 13,

but now in Christ Jesus,

you who were once

far away

have been brought near

by the blood of Christ.

For he himself

is our peace

who has made

the two groups one.

He's destroyed the barrier,

the dividing wall

of hostility,

by setting aside

in his flesh

the law

with its commands

and regulations.

His purpose

was to create

in himself

one new humanity

out of the two,

thus making peace.

And in one body

to reconcile both of them

to God through the cross

by which he put to death

their hostility.

And so Jesus

gathers to himself

people who now

have peace.

The dividing walls

that people have put up

between each other,

between nations,

between ethnicities,

between next door neighbours,

big fences,

these get torn down

in Jesus.

God's great plan

is to gather people

to himself

to restore that

vertical relationship,

but also

to restore people

to each other.

And so this,

so that people would know

how great God is.

God puts warring

people together,

the lion

and the lamb,

and they don't tear

each other apart,

there is actually peace.

In Jesus,

wars have been ended,

people who have been

divided

have been brought

back together.

together.

And so before the church

is about us,

the church is about

seeing what God

has already done

and giving him

the glory.

We are,

you only have to

look around

at the different

ethnicities in the church

and go back

a hundred years

and think about

the wars that were

fought based on

countries and nations

to realise that

our God does

wonderful things.

if the US

president,

Joe Biden,

is able to

unite his

divided country

even in a small way,

it'll be amazing.

The US at the moment

is divided on

social issues,

healthcare,

Democrats versus

Republicans,

on so many issues.

But if the US

president is able

to bring a sense

of unity back

to the United States,

they'll be carving

his face

on Mount Rushmore.

He will have

done a great job.

But what God

has done in Jesus

is far,

far greater.

He has united

people across

time and space,

different languages,

ethnicities,

personal preferences,

and he has brought

us together

in one family.

Not a family

at war with itself,

one with peace.

That is who we are

to be.

One showing

God's awesomeness

in bringing peace.

A multi-ethnic,

multi-generational,

socio-economically

diverse gathering

of people declaring

that Jesus is Lord

for God's glory.

That is who we are

to be.

And that's why

I was thrilled

to have the kids

back in church

with us this morning

because they are part

of who we are

as a church.

They are not something

we push over to one side

because they're noisy

and distracting.

They are part of

who we are

as the church.

That is the big picture

purpose of church,

of what being a part

of following Jesus

means here at St. Paul's.

The author of the letter

to the Hebrews

gets more specific for us,

more practical

about the purpose

of the church

for each other.

So please turn to

Hebrews chapter 10,

Hebrews 10 · chapter mention

starting in verse 19.

It should also be

on the screen.

Verse 19,

Therefore,

brothers and sisters,

since we have confidence

to enter the most holy place

by the blood of Jesus,

by a new and living way

open for us

through the curtain

that is his body,

since all that Jesus

has done,

since all that he has done

in his death

and resurrection,

his blood,

the author to the Hebrews

has a series

of let us statements.

Let us together

as a group

do these things.

Verse 22,

Let us draw near to God

with a sincere heart

and with a full assurance

that faith brings.

Let us draw near to God.

We follow the Lord

with faith

only because of the work

of the Holy Spirit

in our hearts

and we can understand

who this God is

by the inspiration

of the Holy Spirit

as we read his word.

And so whenever we gather,

we gather as a church

around this Jesus

and him revealed

in the Bible.

That is why,

without a doubt,

week in, week out,

we read the Bible.

When Steve or I preach

or when anybody else

is on the pulpit,

we point to the Bible.

I'm calling you

to be reading the Bible

as we read.

These are just not

my thoughts in isolation,

but I want you to see

what God's word

has for us today.

And so we draw close

to God as the church,

growing in faith

around his word.

Verse 22 continues,

having our hearts

sprinkled to cleanse us

from a guilty conscience

and having our bodies

washed with pure water.

This understanding

that we as people

have been made pure

by Jesus,

this is why often

we will say

a confession together,

acknowledging that

we are sinful people,

but we have a great God

who has dealt

with our sin.

And so we remind

each other of that.

Verse 23,

let us hold unswervingly

to the hope we profess

for he who promised

is faithful.

We remind each other

about who our hope

is in

so that we can hold

to this hope.

So at the start

of our service,

Debbie led us in

in a creed

from Colossians

to say this is who

our Jesus is

that we follow

so that we can

hold fast to him.

verse 24 continues,

and let us consider

how we may spur

one another on

toward love

and good deeds.

Let us be continuing

to encourage each other.

How can you be loving people?

How can we be doing

good deeds?

How can we be made

more like Jesus

today and every day?

These are both more

than what happens

in our church services,

but not less.

Up here,

from the pulpit,

we get to encourage

each other

to worship God,

to be in the word,

be praying,

but also after the service

as the church.

As we gather outside,

as we continue

to gather here,

as we go off for coffee,

as we stand outside

and watch our kids play,

we get to encourage

each other,

to spur each other

on to love

and good deeds,

to remind each other

of the hope

that we have.

The last in this list

of let us's

is in verse 25.

Let us

not give up

meeting together,

as some are

in the habit of doing,

but encouraging

one another

and all the more

as you see

the day approaching.

The author of the Hebrews

is speaking about

the tension between

the local

and the universal church.

It's the thought

that says,

I'm a Christian,

I can just stay

at St. Pillow

this morning,

comfortable in my bed.

I can just read my Bible

and pray at home,

God can still talk to me.

I'm a Christian,

I'm part of the church,

the universal church,

and this is true.

But it isn't true

in isolation

from being part

of the local church.

In previous years,

I may have encouraged you

to be more regular

at church,

so that you can be

encouraged to love

and good deeds

and you can encourage

others to love

and good deeds.

In previous years,

I may have done that.

But the problem for us

in the last year

is that we've been able

to meet,

we've been unable

to do what the author

of the Hebrews

commands us to do.

The church building

was closed.

We couldn't do

what this says.

We had to stop

meeting together.

And we adapted

really well.

We moved online.

We started streaming

our services

on YouTube.

We had community groups

over Zoom.

And now we continue

to live stream

our services.

And it's really wonderful

for those who are unable

to come and join

in person,

for those who are looking

to see what church is like.

Our dear brother,

Nick Freestone,

two weeks ago,

had surgery

and he couldn't be with us.

But as he said,

I loved that I could

still see what was happening.

I could still,

in a sense,

be part of church

by watching at home.

But since our return

from COVID,

there is a different

challenge before us.

We can face

the temptation

of thinking that

being part of a church

equals watching

a service.

Thinking that

watching a video

of church

is the same

as being part

of a church.

Now,

we actually want

to increase

the amount

of people watching.

It's one of our goals

that we want.

We want so many people

watching the YouTube

live stream

that people are getting

to know who we are

as a church

and can get to know Jesus.

But the live stream,

the YouTube videos,

have a purpose.

If you have a friend

who is interested

in finding out

about what church

looks like,

what goes on

in a service,

you can direct them

to youtube.com

slash St. Paul's Chatswood

and they can check it out.

But watching a service

is not being part

of a church.

I think for us,

our view of church

can be impacted

by TV habits.

I can watch and binge

whatever I like.

And I think

watching church

can be like

watching a sport.

So I could go

to an AFL game.

Let's say I'm going

to go and watch

the Swans play.

I think,

correct me if I'm wrong,

Rach,

the AFL season

is starting back soon.

Yes,

thank you dear sister.

I could go

to the game

and watch it play

in the rain

and in the cold

in the middle

of the winter.

Or I could watch it

at home

in the comfort

of my lounge.

The only problem

is that being

at church

might feel like

we're just sitting.

We're just watching

what's going on

up here.

But church

is actually

more like

we're on the field

together.

We're actually

doing something

together.

The author

of the Hebrews

has continuously

encouraged us,

let us

do these things

together.

Let us

hold each other

accountable.

Let us

love each other,

call each other

to love and good deeds.

And we can't do that

if we're at home.

We actually

have to turn up

in a time

and space

as the local church.

We are together

for the church's benefit

and for the individuals

as well

as part of the whole.

And we can't do that

if we stay at home.

We're actually

a man down

if we,

a person down

if we stay at home.

Together

as a church

we draw near to God

reminding each other

of what the blood

of Jesus has done.

And so let us

hold to that hope.

Let us spur

one another

onto love and good deeds

all the more

as the day approaches

when Jesus is going

to return.

And we need to do this

because times are hard.

Times are hard now.

Times are going

to be hard tomorrow.

More and more

as Christians move

to the periphery

of society

as society moves away

from its Christian foundations.

And we need each other.

It's why

this church

has the value

of treasuring

Jesus together.

It is so important.

Let me read

this value.

Every member

of St. Paul's

has been led

individually

by the Spirit of God

to receive Jesus Christ

as the Lord,

Saviour

and Supreme

Treasure of our lives.

The Holy Spirit

gathers us

from all variety

of individual backgrounds

and unites us together

as one body of Christ.

We believe

the people

whom Jesus

has called

into relationship

with himself

from every tribe,

language,

nation and generation

are his church

and not an institution

or building.

In an age

of individualism,

we value

vigilance

and accountability

in treasuring

Jesus together

as his diverse people.

this is who

we want to be

as a church.

Going deeper

in discipleship

and in relationship

with God

and deeper

in relationship

together.

It's about

our togetherness

as a dynamic

spiritual community

hand in hand

following

and treasuring

Jesus together.

For those

who are unable

to gather

who are watching

this right now,

I don't mean

to make you feel guilty.

I just want

to point out

that you are

missing something

about being here

as part of this church.

You are missing out

on how God

has designed

us as people

and how God

has designed

the church

to be together.

Because there is

something unique

about this

universal church

which becomes local.

Let me encourage you,

don't stop

gathering together.

This vision series

is not meant

to be a hammer blow

to make you feel

guilty about

how much you

don't read the Bible

or how much you pray

or how close you feel.

But four weeks ago

Steve set out

the vision

that we want

to be people

who are following

Jesus.

Reading the Bible

and speaking to God

because they are

wonderful things

that God

has gifted us with

by the power

of the Holy Spirit

and we get to do

this together

as the church.

With colleagues,

with close friends,

dear brothers

and sisters

to walk with you

towards Jesus

in all of life.

In December 2020,

Kenyan runner

Abel Mutai

was the first

to cross the finish line

in a cross-country race

in Spain.

At least,

he thought he was

the first

to cross the line.

Ivan Fernandez Anaya,

who is the man

you can see behind him,

a Spanish competitor,

was right behind Mutai

and he knew better.

He knew

that the Kenyan runner

Abel hadn't actually

finished the race.

He thought he'd finished

but he hadn't gotten

across the line

and Ivan,

the Spanish man,

had a chance.

He thought,

I could have taken over.

I could have won

but instead of taking

advantage of the situation,

he plowed into him,

ran into him

and he gestured.

He urged him forward

to finish the race.

He could have stolen it

but he encouraged him on.

We are not quite

like those two runners.

We are more like

the runners in this photo.

We are part of a pack,

a big group of people,

different ages,

ethnicities,

genders.

We are more like

the people running

in this photo,

running together

to Jesus,

urging one another on.

Come on,

you've fallen over.

Get up.

Let me help you get up.

I'm not going to leave you.

The finish line is here.

Jesus is here.

Let's go together.

Are you part

of this church?

Are you part

of this church

maybe with a trial membership?

Are you deeply connected

to people in this church?

Have you opened

your life

to actually allow

other people

to come in

so that they can

urge you on

when you fall down

so that you can

urge others on?

First of all,

get connected

into a community group.

Come and see me.

Join a team.

Join a team

to serve

with other people

as we follow Jesus.

Go and drink coffee.

Invite somebody out.

The person sitting

next to you,

if you don't know them,

get to know them.

We can try

to run this race

following Jesus

on our own,

but our God

hasn't designed us

that way.

He has given

to each of us

each other.

The church,

one body,

local

and universal,

showing the world

how good this God

is in uniting us

as we charge

towards him.

Let me pray.

Amen.

Heavenly Father,

we ask that we

would be that type

of church.

That we would not

try to go it

on our own

in faith,

thinking that we

are an island,

but Lord,

you have given us

each other.

Lord,

we ask that you

would help us

to walk together,

run together,

to be people

who are aware

of the needs

of the community

of believers

around us

so that we can

spur each other on.

Father,

give us much

patience and compassion

to love each other.

Lord,

help us to get

to know each other

deeply.

Lord,

help us to be

a community

that welcomes

people in,

but also

wants to know

each other,

to walk together

so that we

can follow you

with all of our lives

and all of our hearts,

Lord.

We ask this

in your son's name

and for your glory.

Amen.