The starting point: Seeing the church with God’s eyes

Okay, we're going to have the Bible reading.

Hebrews chapter 12, verses 18 to 29.

Hebrews 12:18–29

For you have not come to what may be touched,

a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest,

and the sound of a trumpet and a voice

whose words made the hearers beg

that no further messages be spoken to them.

For they could not endure the order that was given.

If even a beast touches the mountain,

it shall be stoned.

Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said,

I tremble with fear.

But you have come to Mount Zion

and to the city of the living God,

the heavenly Jerusalem,

and to the innumerable angels in the festal gathering,

and to the assembly of the firstborn

who are enrolled in heaven,

and to God, the judge of all,

and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,

and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant,

and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word

than the blood of Abel.

See that you do not refuse him who is speaking,

for if they did not escape when they refused him

who warned them on earth,

much less will we escape if we reject him

who warns from heaven.

At that time, his voice shook the earth,

but now he has promised,

yet once more I will shake not only the earth,

but also the heavens.

This phrase, yet once more,

indicates the removal of things that are shaken,

that is, things that have been made,

in order that the things that cannot be shaken

may remain.

Therefore, let us be grateful for receiving

a kingdom that cannot be shaken,

and thus let us offer to God

acceptable worship with reverence and awe,

for our God is a consuming fire.

Well, there's two things we crave as people,

more than other things.

That is, one's identity,

and one's community.

So, identity is a sense of who I am,

and how I fit into the world.

But because we're relational beings,

we also crave community.

And these two things actually create

a curious tangle for us,

as we try to pursue both of them.

See, our sense of identity

is oftentimes very individualistic.

It's often expressed in what I do.

So, I'm a mechanic, I'm an engineer,

I'm a doctor, I'm a pastor,

and so on and so forth.

Or even more individualistic these days

is that my own expression of who I am.

That is, I am me.

What more is there to say?

I am David Calderwood.

And coming with that,

then my individualistic notion

is that I have a sense of entitlement

to be what I want to be,

and expect others to respond to me

as I should be responded to.

But here's the problem, you see,

because that sort of individualism

doesn't fit easily with community.

Because community is about being

part of something bigger than self.

It's not easy to be part of something

bigger than self

when you're driven by your own sense of entitlement.

And so we're torn.

We really are torn.

We want to be in a relational community,

but we don't want to do that

which is necessary to protect

and build the community we crave in the first place.

Because to build community,

that calls for loyalty and commitment,

and putting others ahead of our own sense of entitlement.

And so I think we get ourselves,

as I say, in a curious tangle.

We speak, and as Christians,

we speak very loudly

about the importance of community.

What we are here this morning.

But,

we act individualistically.

And so,

I think oftentimes,

community just becomes a tool

to get what we want,

or to get what we think we deserve,

as we engage in that community.

And,

I think so many Christians

are caught in the same tangle

in thinking about church,

which is what we're going to be doing

over the next nine weeks.

And,

at the heart of this series

on the church,

which we're calling

the Fortes of Heaven,

at the heart of this series

is

identity

in community.

So,

there are those two words.

We're going to have to work out

how they fit together.

Identity

in community.

You see,

as a Christian,

I am an individual.

I'm using the word individual

as opposed to individualistic.

The two are quite different.

As a Christian,

I'm an individual.

I'm saved and renewed

entirely by God's grace to me

in Christ's death and resurrection.

And so,

therefore,

my identity is now

entirely shaped

by relationship with Jesus.

I am his died-for person,

and he is my Savior and Lord.

Lord,

but then much of the language

of the Bible

is plural

and corporate.

And so,

I have to say,

I am a died-for person

as an individual

in a died-for community.

The family of God.

What we're calling

Christ's church.

And here's the heart

of this series.

God's word

doesn't allow for

identity in Christ

individualistically

with only lip service

given to identity

in Christ's community,

the church.

I'll say that again.

God's word

doesn't allow for identity

in Christ individualistically

individualistically

with only lip service

given to identity

in Christ's community,

the church.

And that's hard for us,

I think,

to grasp that

because we are naturally

inclined

to individualistic thinking.

You can reference

the second page

of the bulletin.

We're naturally inclined

to what's called

their solo flying

as Christians.

While God's word

is constantly pushing us

to community

or formation flying.

And as it says

in the bulletin there,

and I think rightly,

even our stints

of formation flying

as of this morning,

even that

can be very individualistic.

That is,

I will fly

loosely associated

with formation

because at that moment

I perceive

some benefit to me

in doing so.

Otherwise,

I will just naturally

do my own thing,

fly solo.

So,

what that means is

that this series

is going to be hard

to hear

and engage with,

I think,

for many of us.

But before we get there,

let's jump into the text.

Let's jump into the series

by asking,

what picture

or idea,

therefore,

do you have in mind

when you think

about church?

Now,

picking up some

of the pictures,

most Australians

would say

that the church

is that

weird old building

down the road

that's got a cross

stuck on top of it.

or they might say,

well,

actually,

the church

is just a really

outdated institution

in our society,

well past its use-by date

even though it doesn't

realize it.

Or perhaps even more

viciously,

people would say,

well,

the church

is just a hunting

ground for pedophiles.

What about you?

What would you say?

Perhaps you might say,

well,

actually,

church is,

the church

is the place

you go to worship

God on a Sunday.

So you think of the church

as a building.

It's a location.

I'm going to church.

You might think

church is about

identifying with

a particular doctrine

or denomination.

So I'm a Baptist

or Presbyterian

or an Anglican

or a Charismatic

or an Independent Reformer

or so on and so forth.

Or perhaps

church for you

has just been

a lifetime habit

or something you learned

to do when you were a child.

Your parents always

say that's what you do

on a Sunday morning.

You go to church.

That's what our family does.

We go to church.

So therefore,

after a lifetime,

you turn up

on a Sunday morning

but don't really

think too much about it.

You don't see it

as a family community.

You don't think of it

as something really good

but costly

because it requires

loyalty and commitment

and engagement

at every level.

That's well beyond you.

You just go to church.

Or perhaps maybe

church is your social club

and your attraction

into a group like this

is common interests,

perhaps similar likes.

You want to be around

nice people

and you perceive that

well at least there's

some nice people

in a group like this.

Or you might have

similar needs.

So I want my children

to be exposed

to the values

that this group holds

or whatever.

similar stages in life.

Similar causes to fight.

And the danger

of those sorts of things

is that sometimes

people can be drawn

into a community

like ours

through those things

and they're far,

far more important

than the hearing

of God's word

or the gospel.

And so they could be

in the community,

the gospel could be removed

but as far as they're concerned

the community continues.

And perhaps

you're already writing

off this series,

this teaching series

because of the name

Church,

A Foretaste of Heaven.

I wouldn't be at all

surprised if some here

are thinking,

seriously?

That is so out of touch

with reality.

My experience of church

has been anything

but A Foretaste of Heaven

or if it is

A Foretaste of Heaven

I don't want to be

part of Heaven.

So some are so

hurt

by their experience

of church

that the whole notion

of the church

as a family of God

is just,

well,

at best

a nice theory

but it sure

doesn't work

in practice

because your

experience of church

has left you

disappointed

disillusioned

and seriously

wounded and damaged

and fearful

because some of the

most nasty behavior

you've ever been

subject to

has been from

church-going people.

And so I think

what that does

for people

and there's a huge

community like this

in Newcastle

we have lots

and lots of people

who wander

between churches,

between church communities

longing for community,

longing for a place

to belong

but keeping people

at arm's length,

not willing

to be committed

except

in their own terms

and in response

to their own fears

and ideas

of what will

make them happy.

And so people

drift in

and they drift out

again,

always searching

for that

happy community.

Friends,

that's a long

introduction

but let me

say this,

if we're to have

a correct picture

of church

in our mind

and correct

practice

and commitment

within this

local church family

then we need

to see

church,

the church

with God's eyes

and through God's eyes

and that's what

we're about this morning.

And as I said before

that might mean

I think

that this series

will be hard to hear

and engage with

for many here

this morning.

it may require

a massive

change

in your thinking

and priorities

and behaviour

especially when we

jump into passages

like Hebrews

which in spite

of its difficulties

has actually

a fairly simple message

and the simple message

is that God's church

is something

that God

has established

and it is

glorious.

as God

sees it

and so

the gap

opens up

I think

between what

we might

think of church

how we might

see it

through our eyes

and what we're

going to hear

from God's word

about how

God sees it

through his eyes

and there's

our challenge

over the next

weeks

to realign

our thinking

to God's thinking

but first

let me give you

some background

before we jump

into Hebrews 12

and have a look

at the details

in there

the background

context

to the letter

with which

we won't

understand

the beauty

of what's

been taught

in these verses

so the letter

as a whole

was written

to encourage

Christians

who had been

converted

from a

Jewish heritage

they'd been

converted

into small

church family

units

scattered

variously

around the

Roman Empire

and the letter

was written

to assure

them

of this

that to be

in Christ

as an individual

believer

was to be

in his church

which was

to be

in community

with all

believers

and that

was

very much

a foretaste

of heaven

beautiful

precious

to the Lord

and totally

secure

now

why was that

necessary

well

because

for these

Christians

having become

Christians

with the joy

of being freed

from sin

and been renewed

into wonderful

new relationship

and the good

life with God

it seems

that many

were totally

shocked

to find

that having

become

Christians

life

became

heaps

harder

not easier

and it

became

heaps

harder

because

they were

facing

persecution

from the

Romans

and from

the Jewish

authorities

as well

and the

result of

that was

that so

many of

these

Christians

were being

tempted

to go

back

to the

old

Jewish

faith

the old

Jewish

way

of doing

things

with

its

system

of

priests

and temples

and sacrifices

and holy

days

it had

served

their

ancestors

well

and even

more importantly

it was

accepted

by the Roman

authorities

so that

would mean

going back

to that

would mean

an avoidance

of any

more

persecution

and suffering

their

little

church

families

their

little

church

communities

looked

insignificant

compared

to the

Jewish

synagogues

compared

to the

other

pagan

religions

with their

massive

temples

and their

holy

days

and their

holy

people

and their

fancy

rituals

the

church

just

didn't

look

as if

it

was

cutting

it

and

how

does

the

writer

encourage

them

then

in

their

daily

experience

of

awful

persecution

and

suffering

from

Jews

and

Romans

alike

well

he

presents

a

picture

of

God's

church

as

seen

through

God's

eyes

beautiful

precious

built

around

Jesus

and

unshakable

so

diving

into

some

of the

points

then

I want

to make

this morning

primarily

from these

verses

primarily

the

church

is

God's

gathering

of his

saved

or

redeemed

people

and

the

Greek

word

for

church

is

ekklesia

now

if you

look at

some

of these

verses

18

and

then

verse

22

the

passage

is put

together

with

lots

of

Old

Testament

pictures

to

describe

things

but

essentially

the

passage

is

just

a

series

of

really

strong

contrasts

verse

18

powerful

contrast

between

God's

gathering

or

assembling

or

churching

of his

people

at

Mount

Sinai

and

verse

22

his

gathering

assembling

or

church

of his

people

in the

heavenly

Jerusalem

it's a

before and

after

picture

but

before we

get into

the

detail

I just

want to

pick up

then the

fact that

churching

is about

gathering

that's

the

essential

concept

of

the

church

it's

God

gathering

or

assembling

or

calling

out

or

congregating

that's

where we

get the

idea of

the word

congregation

from

it's

God

congregating

or

bringing

together

assembling

his

people

and

God's

commitment

to

churching

his

people

is

evident

right

across

the

Bible

the

Bible

starts

and

finishes

with

God

speaking

about

gathering

his

church

around

him

it

starts

the

first

picture

of

churches

in

Genesis

2

Adam

and

Eve

were

gathered

from

the

world

in

general

as it

were

into

God's

special

place

at

the

Garden

of

Eden

into

special

relationship

with

God

which

was

the

good

life

the

good

life

that

God

intended

but

of

course

then

we

know

from

Genesis

3

that

sin

wrecked

all

of

that

forcing

God

to

disperse

his

people

but

as

he

dispersed

his

people

from

the

Garden

he

dispersed

them

with

the

promise

that

in

the

future

he

would

act

to

gather

them

back

into

that

same

condition

again

as

in

Genesis

2

2

that

he

would

fix

the

problem

and

once

again

call

or

summon

or

gather

his

people

into

a

special

place

in

new

relationship

with

them

and

with

the

internal

inheritance

of

heaven

and

that's

exactly

what we

see

when we

jump

across

then

from

Genesis

2

and

3

to

Exodus

19

God gathers his people out of Egypt

where they'd been in slavery

and he brings them to himself at Mount Sinai.

Gathers them to himself, new relationship,

I will be your God and you will be my people.

And once again, it's a picture of the life of blessing.

The life that God intended his people to have

as they were gathered around him and enjoying his blessing.

And that means then also that God's gathering of his people

has always been central to his purpose

and finally achieved in Christ.

If you look at verse 23,

this is the verse that Matt helpfully focused on

and made me really nervous to start with.

Verse 22, you've come to Mount Zion

unto the city of the living God,

the heavenly Jerusalem,

unto innumerable ages in festal gathering,

unto the assembly of the firstborn, and so on and so forth.

Now there's a lot of remote pictures in there

that are Old Testament pictures

coming from the time of the Exodus.

But the main thing, just start with the main thing

and then we'll say a couple of things

about the other, the detailed pictures.

The main thing is that the focus of that verse

is on what Jesus has done to establish the church,

to gather God's people.

God's purpose has never changed.

Right through the Bible,

his purpose has been to gather his people,

but now the end point has been achieved.

God's people are now gathered,

are now churched,

are now finally and completely

around Jesus.

It is what he has done

that has actually brought God's purpose

to fruition.

What he has done through his death

and resurrection.

The rest of those things in there,

I don't have time to gain to,

but I can talk to anybody

who wants to talk about it.

They're just pictures,

different pictures from the Old Testament

of what Christians are

as viewed through God's eyes.

The main point being

that Jesus is the one

who has finally brought this assembly,

this church in God's people

to completion.

And verse, the end of verse 22,

second part of verse 22,

it's a festal gathering.

That is, it's a joyful,

triumphant celebratory.

Gathering and community.

Why is it that?

Because it's complete.

Because it's finally,

it is the end point

that God has been working for

right throughout history.

His people are gathered now

in Jesus around him.

It's Christ's death,

verse 24,

that achieves God's purposes

because it deals with sin

and restores his people

to perfect relationship with God

and secures the ultimate community

or inheritance of God's people

which is heaven.

Heaven tested now

in Christ died for

resurrection community

of church families.

Now,

that's complicated

in the way it's put there

but it's exactly in line

with what Jesus himself says

back in Matthew chapter 16,

Matthew 16:18

verse 18.

So,

if you want to turn back,

if not,

just mark it and check it

at home sometime for yourself.

We looked at that a few weeks ago

when we were looking through Matthew.

It's a very,

very profound statement

of church

in Matthew chapter 16,

Matthew 16:18

verse 18.

The first 16 chapters

of Matthew

has been given over

to establishing

and nurturing,

Jesus establishing

and nurturing disciples

into that final point

of saying,

okay,

who am I?

And they get to that point

where the disciples say,

wow,

you are God.

You are Messiah.

You are God's King and Savior.

The one who had been promised.

The one who had been promised

to come

and bring God's people back

into relationship with him,

into community with him.

And with that,

now that it's been established

who he is,

Jesus immediately

goes on to say

what he has come to do.

Verse 18,

he has come to

build his church,

establish and build his church.

In Matthew chapter 4,

Matthew 4 · chapter mention

it was saying

that he had come

to establish

and build the kingdom of heaven.

The two are interchangeable.

Jesus has come

to build his church.

And it would be

a precious,

unshaggable

community.

The means to that end,

Matthew chapter 16,

Matthew 16:21

verse 21.

Jesus then goes on

to speak about

his death

and resurrection

coming up

in Jerusalem.

The order

is very important.

The end point

that Jesus comes for

is the establishing

of the church.

That's the community.

The means to that end

is people being saved

individually

through the death

of Christ.

So the church,

my friends,

is God's big idea.

The notion of the church

spans the whole

of the Bible,

the whole

of biblical history,

the whole

of world history.

Now,

why do I say that?

Well,

you might think

I'm being a bit

defensive here,

but I've come across

it so many times

that Christians think

that the notion

of church

is just a notion

that's been beat up

by pastors

as a means

of controlling people

and getting them

to be committed

to things.

Now,

I'm sure pastors

have used it that way.

No question at all.

Perhaps even I've done it.

Hopefully I haven't.

If I have,

come and tell me afterwards.

Don't stand up

and wave your hand now

because that would be

terribly embarrassing

if you all stood up.

You shouldn't have been laughing.

That was a serious point.

Yeah,

okay,

anyway,

let's just move on.

Yeah,

so no doubt

some pastors

have used it like that,

but the point is

the church is God's idea,

has been from the beginning,

and it's been

such a costly idea.

It cost him

the life of his son,

and that was what

Jesus had in mind

when he died,

that he was establishing,

he was doing that

which was necessary

to bring together

a community

of God's people

as it had been

in Genesis 2

and as God had promised

it would be once again.

God's purpose

in his world

has never simply been

to save people

from their sin

as a solitary,

individualistic experience.

Yes,

every single person

here as a Christian

has been saved

as an individual.

There's no question

about that,

but God's purpose

has never been

to save people

as an individualistic experience.

People are saved

one by one,

but ultimately

this is God

gathering his church,

building

the community

of died-for people.

That is his end point.

And the church,

therefore,

point three

is also the display

of God's glory

or the verifying data

of God's grace

and salvation.

This is a,

that's a quotation

from somewhere,

but I didn't write down

who the quotation

was from,

so I have no idea

where I got it from.

I've stolen it

from somebody.

It's the verifying data

of God's grace

in salvation.

Again,

another strong

before and after

picture in these verses.

Look at verses

18 through to 21.

For you have come,

for you have not come

to what may be touched,

a blazing fire

and darkness

and gloom

and tempest,

and the sound

of a trumpet

and the voice

whose words

made the hearers beg,

no further messages

be spoken to them,

for they could not

endure the order

that was given.

If even a beast

touches the mountain,

it shall be stoned.

Indeed,

so terrifying

was the sight

that Moses said,

I tremble with fear.

Before and after picture.

It used to be,

before Christ,

it used to be

that God's people

gathered before him

in the context

of his holiness

and their unresolved sin.

And so quite naturally,

it was a terrifying context.

And God spoke his word

and his holiness

became even more evident.

If even a beast

touches this mountain,

I tell you,

it will be burned,

consumed.

Moses said,

I tremble with fear.

The scrutiny

of God's word,

threatening judgment

for his sin,

just left people

debilitated before God.

But now,

verses 22 and 23 and 24,

but you have come

to Mount Zion

and to the city

of the living God.

And then it goes on

to speak about

the gathering,

the difference

in the gathering

now in Christ.

Because of the word

of Christ

on our behalf,

God's gathered people,

God's church,

meets now

in a totally

different context.

Now it's perfect.

Now it's personal.

Now it's unbreakable.

Now it's a family

relationship with God

that's governed by joy

and assurance

and comfort

and confidence,

not fear.

God's word

no longer creates fear

but brings grace

and comfort

and mercy

to God's people.

And so therefore,

the before and after picture

with regard to church

and church itself

there becomes

a wonderful testimony

to God's grace,

to God's character.

It's in the church,

this community here,

it's in the church

that we see

God's delivery

on his promise

that he would act

to undo the effects

of sin

and bring people

into a special place

in special relationship

gathered around

the Lord Jesus.

Perfect

community

that worships him.

And when you look

around this community

and you see

the ragtag bunch

of people we are

broken,

dysfunctional

in a hundred,

thousand different ways,

that speaks

of God's grace,

doesn't it?

God's character.

And so

the title

of the series

is right.

Church is a wonderful

foretaste

of heaven.

And in this passage

the writer moves

seamlessly

between heaven,

which is the ultimate

headquarters

of God's church

or God's died

for community,

and the immediate

context of his writing.

These ordinary believers,

men and women,

boys and girls,

scattered around

the Roman Empire,

suffering daily,

bending under

persecution,

just struggling

to get through

one day

after the next.

What's said

about heaven

is said

about that

motley group

of people.

The community

have died

for people.

God's church

is expressed

in the

picture of God's

church

is expressed

in local church

families like this one.

But that comes in

Ephesians 2 and 3,

and as I say,

we'll dig into that

a little bit more

next week.

But the point I just

want to make

in passing this morning

is that

as the writer

moves seamlessly

from heaven,

the ultimate

headquarters of

God's church,

to the daily

work-a-day world

context

of God's church,

with all its

failings,

with all its fears,

with all its

imperfections,

as the writer

moves between

those two,

then what we can

say is this,

that church

for us

is not like

a third-class

waiting room

while we wait

for our

first-class

accommodation

in heaven

when we die.

I think

that's how

many Christians

view the church.

It's something

I'd prefer not

to be in,

but this is

the waiting room.

But one day

I'll be in the

real place.

There's a sense

in which that's

true,

but there's another

sense in which

it's terribly

untrue.

We are now

gathered in

this place,

God's YouTube

clip,

God's YouTube

video,

demonstrating

God's wisdom

and glory

in salvation

as we live

out in practice

the life-changing

power of the

gospel.

That's what

God,

that's how

God views

his church.

Do we do

it well?

No.

Do we struggle

to do it well?

Well,

I hope we do.

Either of those

two things are

irrelevant because

that's to God's

view of his

church.

And the final

point I want to

make then is

that God's

church is a

permanent

gathering.

In fact,

it's not too

much to say

it's the only

unshakable

reality in

this world.

Now,

that's a big

call,

isn't it?

But I believe

that's what's

been said here.

If you look

again at

verse 26,

27,

28,

there's a

contrast.

Contrast in

the imagery

of shaking.

So you

remember back

in Exodus,

Mount Sinai

is said to

have shaken

when God

gathered his

people.

Why?

It was a

sign of

God's

presence,

of God's

holiness,

God's

awesomeness

in his

world and

among his

people.

But that

shaking back

at Mount

Sinai was

nothing to

the shake

up that was

experienced in

the world when

Jesus died and

was resurrected.

because in

the death and

resurrection of

Jesus,

God, as it

were, has

put a massive

condemned

sticker on

all the

apparently

strong and

lasting things

in this

world.

And he's

put an

unbreakable

sticker on

his kingdom,

the church.

So

Torah may

think their

youth are

unbreakable,

but they're

not.

At least

that's not

true.

Yep.

The only

thing that's

unbreakable in

this world is

God's church.

So there's

shaking at

Sinai,

shaking when

Jesus died and

was resurrected,

but there's

another shaking

to come in

these verses at

the end of

the world.

And the

picture there

is one of,

well, I

don't know if

you see, I've

never been

through a

serious

earthquake,

so you

see everything

just jangling,

buildings crumbling.

Well, that's

the picture here.

The shaking of

God's world is

going to be so

severe and so

continuous that

when it

finishes, when

the dust

settles, the

only thing that's

going to be

left is God's

church.

church.

All the

things in the

world that

look strong

and lasting

and worthwhile

will one day

crumble and

fade.

It's a big

thing today to

talk about being

on the right

side of

history.

I get sick

and tired of

hearing it.

Everybody wants

to be on the

right side of

history, but

nobody has any

idea of how to

get on the

right side of

history.

And here it

is here.

If you want

to be on the

right side of

history, be in

God's church

through salvation

by grace alone

in the Lord

Jesus Christ.

Christ's church

currently despised

from those on

the outside,

apparently weak

and unstable

and even

despised by

those on the

inside.

will last

forever.

Why?

Because that's

God's plan and

purpose.

When God has

finished shaking

his world in

judgment, there

will only be

the church.

Maybe hard for

us to believe,

maybe hard for

us to grasp,

but the only

really secure

thing in God's

world is being

part of God's

glorious church.

So let me

wrap up then by

two or three

questions.

One question

really in a

couple of

illustrations.

The question

then is,

whose eyes

are you

viewing the

church

through?

Is it our

society's eyes?

Is the

church past its

use-by-date,

as it is often

portrayed?

Well, I think the

answer is yes.

If we think of

the church as

some sort of

antiquated

organization,

expression, or

as buildings.

Yeah, absolutely

past their use-by-date,

if that's where

people's confidence

is.

But if you're

speaking about

God's living

organism, God's

community, the

gathering of God's

people around the

Lord and His Word,

then nothing could

be further from the

truth.

in spite of

appearances

sometimes.

So for my

friends, the

size of the

congregation, the

state of the

building and the

carpets even,

has no relevance

to the health of a

church.

or working

out how we

think about and

value the church

of God.

And can I say

that even our

own lived

experience of

church with its

failures and

hurts, even

that is irrelevant

to how we think

about and value

God's church.

Saying the

church with

God's eye is to

have a great

sense of

privilege in

being part of

that which God

has planned and

acted to make

glorious and

permanent in

heaven and which

has given real

visible expression

in local church

assemblies like

ours.

Seeing the

church with

God's eyes,

through God's

eyes, is to

act passionately,

to show the

watching world

through how we

relate together

and live together

here.

that we are

God's renewed

people, to

show people the

changing power of

the gospel, that

the gospel actually

works, and that

people who crave

identity and

community can find

both in such a

harmonious and

meaningful way in

the Lord Jesus

Christ.

Seeing the

church through

God's eyes is

recognizing that

God has brought

you into this

local church

family, and

he has.

If you're here

this morning, God

has brought you

here.

Why has he brought

you here?

Because it's a

good and necessary

place for you to

be.

And like any

family community,

it therefore

requires, it will

be costly, it

will require loyalty

and commitment and

hard work, because

family members always