Our Firm Foundation | Earth, Wind, and Fire

So we continue our sermon series, one of my all

-time favorite hymns, as you're going to hear

throughout this sermon series, that we have tied

where we're going in the book of Acts with a

lot of those just historical words that we've

sung for decades, some even centuries. The church

is one foundation, Jesus Christ our Lord. And

I think it's a great declarative, right? We love

to sing that. Our church is one foundation is

Jesus. Until that church does something, we...

don't like, right? Until that church makes a

decision or that church goes through the wars,

right? Now some of you are like, what kind of

wars can the church go through? The church should

never go through a war. Well, as I look back

on the history of this church, this church did.

We call it the Pew War. We call this the Worship

War. We call this the remodel war. All of us

don't probably have opinions on what things should

be painted or what color carpet should go somewhere

that's not our home until the church makes a

decision to change it. Because then all of a

sudden our opinions just come to the surface,

right? And we even try to tie it. Oh, we can't

have the red carpeting because that's a sign

of Satan. What? We all come with our own stuff.

One that I find in this church's history, right,

seven years now, I can bring this back up, is

the name change war. How this church, over the

years, and my son, while he was waiting for his

flu shot this week in Walgreens, found a history

of Munster book and was fascinated that this

church's title at one point, the name of this

church was the Holland Reform Church. And he

goes, Dad, our last name is Holland Donor. So

my son, who's 12, almost 13, still doesn't know

how to spell our last name because our last name

has an E, not an A, but he was floored by that.

And it got me thinking, this church has gone

through a lot of different names. The war that

went from First Christian Reformed Church to

Munster Christian Reformed Church. That was a

war. Then the war of Munster Christian Reformed

Church to Munster Church, a ministry of the Christian

Reformed Church. War! I don't think they dealt

with that in the book of Acts. I don't think

that the church of the way really cared. Now,

some of you are going, well, I'm offended. Because

I really was hurt by that decision. I disagreed

with that decision. Friends, the church is going

to make decisions that you might disagree with,

right? But if the church revolved around you,

then every decision would flow through you. But

it doesn't. It doesn't even do that for me. A

church that allows the pastor to make all the

decisions is not a healthy church. That's coming

from a pastor. That's why we have a council.

That's why we have committees. One of the things

that we look for in elders and deacons and council

members is that they check their agendas at the

door. Because one thing, if I ever have someone

come up to me and go, I cannot wait to be an

elder because I have so many, I've already fled

that conversation, right? I've already ran away

and secretly transferred their papers. And understand

that no. See, I can't even do that on my own

unless I forge signatures, which I would never

do. Ken, I would never do it. But understand,

Ken's our clerk, but understand when we make

the church about ourselves, then we have to sing

that hymn differently. The church's one foundation

is what Jim Holland Donor wants. Oh, I even got

an amen. Was that an amen? We'll pray for Nikki.

But understand that when we do that, we've completely

missed out on it because it's no longer Christ's

church. Because let me ask a question as we start

out. Do you want the weight of the bride of Christ

being all about you? You have to be, I'm not

going to say it that way. There's something wrong

if that's what you want. And now some of you,

you might be getting uncomfortable and go, man,

he took some shots. We're not done. But understand

that the church's foundation, As little as I

do know about building a house. So I'm going

to ask Dick Hortenhoven, right? Because you've

built some homes right in your time. What makes

a strong foundation to a home? Concrete. Absolutely.

What doesn't make a strong foundation of a home?

No concrete. Thank you, Dick. Right? That's as

easy as it is in my head. That a firm foundation

is concrete. That's why how many of you have

ever had to get your... I think they're called

footings worked on in your home because you've

had some kind of day. That's a thing, right?

Footings to, okay, thank you. How many of you?

Marilyn, was that cheap to get that done? No,

because it's foundational to the home. How many

of you have ever painted a room? Right? Yeah.

Was that expensive? Well, it depends on. the

paint your wife picks out, I'm sure, but understand

that that is much cheaper because it is not foundational

to the home. How do I know that? We bought a

house that had hot pink kitchens, right? Pink

tile bathrooms and a bright yellow bathroom.

My one, the only opinion I ever had about buying

a house was that we would not have a pink or

yellow in the home. And my wife bamboozled me

into buying this house in Munster that had three

different shades of those colors, yet within

a couple years we changed it. Actually, the first

week we changed two of them, so that was fine.

Because paint isn't foundational to the home.

Just like the foundation of church needs to be

something that can withstand the weathers and

wars of church. And guess what? The only person

is Jesus Christ, our Lord. How firm a foundation,

right? And so one of the things that we talk

about is Jesus being the foundation. And what

we're going to see today is the foundation of

the church not only is Christ, the bride of Christ,

it is the word of God through the power of the

Holy Spirit. Not your words, not my words, not

your translation, not my translation, but the

Holy Spirit and the word of God. There is no

firmer foundation for the church than that. And

friends, we can take a 10 ,000 step back and

look at the history of the church. Not all good.

Not all great. A lot of times it's very cringy

when we look at how the church has functioned

over the years, in and out of the politics, in

the different decades and eras of the church.

Yet we're all a part of it because we're all

here today. Those online, you're here online.

That's a change to the church. Was the church

virtual a thing in the first century? Not at

all. It was church via letters, right, communications

being written, but never the church virtual.

But that's exactly where we find the disciples.

Acts chapter 1, Jesus had ascended. Their teacher,

Acts 1 · chapter mention

their friend, their leader was no longer standing

in front of them. One of their own, Judas, had

betrayed them. So the church had been betrayed.

Not the first time, won't be the last. The church

was betrayed. It was a time of uncertainty. They

were asking who would lead. And as we saw last

week, they have a direction to wait. Be in prayer.

Trust in God's providence. And now we see it

start to work, right? The church begins with

prayer. Interesting. It didn't begin with the

finest whatever program ever. It didn't begin

with the grandest music style ever. It didn't

begin with the flashiest preacher ever. It didn't

begin with a building. The church begins with

prayer. So let's dive in. We're going to be in

Acts, still in chapter 1, starting with verse

12. So chapter 1, verse 12. Then they were turned

to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which

is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away.

And when they had entered, they went up to the

upper room where they were staying. Peter and

John and James and Andrew and Philip and Thomas,

Bartholomew and Matthew, and James, son of Alphaeus,

and Simon the Zealot, and Judas, the son of James,

all these. So they ascend to the upper room and

they pray. We already know there was tension

there. So that's an easy sermon. When you have

tension in life about anything, take it to the

Lord in prayer. After Jesus ascends, the disciples

don't scatter in despair. They've already learned

something. Because what happened when Jesus was

arrested? They scatter. Right? Guys, an ear gets

cut off. There's a denial. They scatter all over

the place. They gather in the upper room with

Mary, the women, and his brothers. Luke says

they were of one accord. A beautiful word in

the Greek that I cannot pronounce. One heart.

One mind. The first action of the church was

not to strategize. but simply to pray. That's

why I hope there'll be a lot of you coming on

Tuesday. That room four will be packed next Sunday

at 8 .30, or it's kind of open house style, so

you can come up until the start of the service.

And if you feel called to pray down there during

the service, we're not going to put you under

church discipline for that. That's a beautiful

thing. Pray. That's fine. The first action of

the church was to pray. This is the picture of

the unity of the church, right? When chaos floods

our world, floods our lives, floods our street,

floods our rows, what should we do? We should

come together to pray. That's why every committee

meeting, every council meeting, every elders

meeting starts and ends with prayer. If you're

sitting on one of those committees and go, oh,

we don't do that, then start. Start and end with

prayer. The Belgic Confession Article 27 reminds

us, this one isn't on the screen, this church

has existed from the beginning of the world and

will last until the end of the world. Think about

that. That's an amazing thing to think about,

that the gates of hell cannot conquer the church.

The church will be the church, whether huge or

tiny, until the end, as it appears from the testimony

given by the Holy Scriptures. So the church begins

with prayer. And what does the word do? The word

directs their steps. The Word of God directs

their steps, not the latest church trend, not

some book that was written by some successful

church leader or, more importantly, failed church

leaders. A lot of them like to write books, right?

That's why my book would be more like Michael

Scott's Somehow I Manage. It's just going to

be stories of all of you, not using your names

probably, called Somehow I Pastored, right? However

long that's going to be, it's just going to be

me up there on the cover. It's a book written

in my head. Don't worry about it. but understand

that the church, the word, is directing their

steps. And so we're going to continue in verse

15. In those days, Peter stood up among the brothers.

The company of persons was about 120 and said,

Brothers, the scriptures had to be fulfilled,

which the Holy Spirit... Now this man acquired

a field with the reward from his wickedness,

and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle,

and all his bowels gushed out, and it became

known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so

that the field was called in their own language,

language, al -Qamdana, that is, the field of

blood. For it is written in the book of Psalms,

may his camp become desolate, and let there be

no one dwell in it, and let another take his

office. So we see kind of a look back to what

happened to Judas. But Peter interprets Judas'

betrayal through the Psalms. He quotes Psalm

69 and Psalm 109. He shows us that Scripture

is not an ancient book gathering dust, but a

living word that speaks into the church's present.

Friends, that's why we spend time in the Old

Testament. There are churches among us that don't.

Wow, we're a New Testament church. I don't know

what that means. Because the Word of God is all

66 books. It is the Old Testament and the New

Testament, and we get to do that kind of interpretive

dance in and through them because the Lord is

not done speaking. Guess what? He will be one

day, and we'll all be with him, those of us in

Christ. The Belgian Confession, Article 7. We

believe that this Holy Scripture contains the

will of God completely. The disciples don't guess

their way forward. They search the word. So when

we're in meetings, And someone gives an idea,

a thought, and we can't kind of back it. And

I know this can get really, really tough because

there's no, we don't see the word projectors

in here, right? We don't see what color carpeting

to put in the church. We don't see what kind

of building projects we should or should not

do in here. Yet we can look at the word. We can

discern the word because God gives. That's why

a church isn't run by one person. God gives a

counsel. God gives elders and deacons to come

together. That's where there has to be trust.

And I know for some of you, you don't. Or if

you do, it's not a lot. Because of church hurt.

And for that, I am sorry on behalf of the church

that may have hurt you. And to be fair, it might

be legit hurt, or it might be because you didn't

get your way, so therefore you're hurt. And in

that, I say with all love and compassion, that's

a you issue, not necessarily a church issue.

Yet we like to conflate the two. and we like

to hold on to that. Oh, I like Munster Church,

but I can't stand Munster Church. That's a tension

you have to live with. I hope is you can give

that up, and you can give that to the Lord, because

in the book of Acts, we don't necessarily see

that. We see it in order. We see that God is

moving something forward. For us, when we ask,

what should Munster Church do? The first place

we look is the scriptures, not cultural trends.

We go to prayer. We go to discern. That if we're

a divided room about a decision, right, that

maybe it means we don't make that decision or

we have to just continue to go to God's word

and to pray, excuse me, to prayer more. But what

we're seeing is God instructing the leadership.

Friends, there's always been leaders in the church.

The disciples were the first ones. There was

always leaders. And I guarantee you, the leaders,

they were not called by popularity. They were

called by God to their giftings. And this, ooh,

this can be a black eye in our CRC churches at

times. That this easy sentence, leadership by

calling, not by popularity, really challenges

that status quo. I've been in the church all

my life. Therefore, I am called to be an elder.

Show me where that is in here. I am really good

with money, so therefore I ought to be a deacon.

That's only part of it. Well, all deacons need

to be young guys because they need to grow up

and then have more life experience to be an elder.

Not all the time. Deacons are junior elders.

That is unbiblical. This lays out for us how

we do what we do. And why we do what we do. Yet

in our cultures, in our many churches, and I'm

just going to use the Ileana area, many churches

in our seven mile radius sometimes fall into

the popularity. Or what is the last name? Or

what does that last name mean? Or what kind of

jobs do they do? And therefore, that makes a

good council. No, the Holy Spirit has to come

first. The way they run their house. The way

they live their life. That is part of the calling

of the leadership of the church. Men and women

called to different aspects and understandings

of how to run and how to lead churches. We have

our denominations that make the decisions. And

we are a denominational church. And if the denomination

continues to set their decisions scripturally,

we follow those. Just like submitting to the

government. We are to submit to the government

that is put above us as if the Lord is the one

that put them there. Oh, and I know a bunch of

you don't like that. But that is what the Word

says. That doesn't mean you always have to like

it. That doesn't mean you have to champion it.

But until we are called to actively sin, we are

called to submit. Oh, but we don't like that.

We don't like to submit because we're the center

of our own universe. But leadership is by calling,

not by popularity. Let's go to verse 21. So some

of the men who have accompanied us during all

the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out

among us, beginning from the baptism of John

until the day that he was taken up from us, one

of these men must become... One of these men

must become with us a witness to his resurrection.

And they put forward two. Joseph called, oh,

I can never say this. Barsabbas, thank you, who

was also called Justice, and Matthias. So right

away, we have a hole in our leadership. We've

got to fill the leadership. And we see lots,

right, being cast. We see an understanding of

we're putting names up, and one's going to get

pulled. It's one of the reasons why Munster Church

does lots. Because at the end of the day, nothing,

and I say this every summer, every time we do

this, no name's written on flypaper, no name's

written on different sized paper than the others,

and we believe that the Holy Spirit is the one

that is going to do the pulling. The apostles

knew they needed a 12th witness. Why? Because

that's what Jesus had set up. But they set qualifications.

What were the qualifications? They have a degree

in it. No. They have a lot of experience in it.

No. The church wasn't a thing yet, so no one,

you know, oh, we've got to pick a rabbi. No.

We've got to pick a Sadducee. No. We've got to

pick a Pharisee. No. There were two qualifications.

Someone who had walked with Jesus and could testify

to the resurrection. Man, as a pastor, I look

to that and go, that would be a lot easier for

due nominations if those were the two things

that we got to go by. But it's 2025, and we can't

do that. And so we go then, why do you think

Paul writes to Timothy about those qualifications?

Because they get to a point where all of those

people that walked physically with Jesus, that

physically saw him die, that physically saw him

raised, they're all dead. And those generations

have to continue. You see, leadership is not

about talent, wealth, or personality. It's about

faithful witness. So what does that look like

in 2025? Can you see the way of the Lord in this

individual? First and foremost. And we can go

to Timothy. We can go to Jude. We can go to Peter

to see what those qualifications are. We don't

have to come up with them ourselves. For this

upcoming year, I kind of put a 2025 version of

what Timothy and Jude and Peter are trying to

say. And the council is going to look to that.

Right? Because some of it is churchy language.

What does that look like in 2025 language? It's

the same, but it helps us understand to be able

to see faithful witness in people. Pause there.

The church continues because of the faithful

witness of its people. In 2025, it's not just

our elders and deacons, it's all of you. Faithful

witness. Belgian Confession, Article 31. Ministers

of the Word, elders, and deacons ought to be

chosen to their offices with election, prayer,

and in good order. That's why it's not a popularity

contest. It's not why we just put a bunch of

names on a sheet of paper and we throw darts

at it. We do it through prayer. It is a four

-month prayer process. And then when those individuals

are asked, they have to go through a time of

prayer on their own. I've said this before. I

always love, especially those that get the very

first call. Hey, so -and -so, it's Pastor Jim.

Hi. So your name came up, and we prayed through

it, and we would like you to keep your name up

for the office of either elder or deacon. Hello?

Hello? It's usually really quiet. Like, press

two if you're still there. You understand? Because

it's a wait. Instantly, they know a wait. Now,

there are some that go, absolutely, yes, I'll

do it. I go, whoa, tiger. Like, talk to your

spouse. Pray about it. Like, I appreciate that

you are excited. No one for the call of elder

has ever said, this is my destiny. If I ever

got that call, hey, so -and -so, your call to

keep your name up is elder. This is my destiny,

pastor. Click. That would scare me. But understand,

it's not about talent, wealth, or personality.

It's about being a faithful witness. The leaders

at Munster Church aren't CEOs and we're not politicians.

We're shepherds called by Christ, affirmed by

his people, rooted in God's word. Do we make

a mess of it? Friends, we do. We don't always

get it right. But any leadership team that I'm

going to be a part of, we also have to be humble

enough to say, wow, we messed that up. Wow, we

didn't get that right. We're sorry. A leadership

that can apologize has humbled themselves, not

exalted themselves for their people. Because

one of the things we're asking for everybody

is to trust one major thing, and that's God's

sovereignty. The church enacts the church today

should trust God's sovereignty. Verse 24. And

they prayed and said, You, Lord, who know the

hearts of all, show which ones of these two you

have chosen to take the place in this ministry

and the apostleship from which Judas turned aside

to go to his own place. And they cast lots for

them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was

numbered with the eleven apostles. The disciples

prayed, Lord, you know everyone's hearts. Show

us whom you have chosen. That's why the casting

of lots process to me is so, it's so weirdly

wonderful. Because if you remember, there's one

key piece here that we do here, not all churches

that do lots do, but I'm so thankful we do that,

is because after a four -month process, what

do we do? We offer the names to you, the body

of Christ at Munster Church. And I call it kind

of those weeks of accountability that if for

some reason one of you have legit biblical concerns

or issues or disqualifications that in a private,

confidential meeting, not anonymous email, anything

you write to us anonymous, it tends to just go

in the shredder because your yes is yes, your

no is no, put your name on it. But understand

that during those times, if someone comes and

has that, now there might be concerns. Okay,

we'll talk about those, right? But there needs

to be biblical disqualifications for those individuals.

And if that happens, right, then we have as a

council, that would be the elders, would come

together to make decisions about that. That person

would get asked. But you see, the apostles cast

lots, not as superstition, but as an act of surrender.

Lord, here are our names. Right? You remember

when we had to do that? You had Dan Blum, Dan

Arnsma, I had to get on a stool, right, and hold

that bowl up so they can pick those names. That

we had to... Offer that up as a surrender. The

outcome is always in God's hands. Why? Because

God is ultimate providence. Belgian Confession,

Article 13, reminds us, nothing happens in the

world without his orderly arrangement. Lord's

Day 1, not a hair can fall from my head without

the will of my Father, right? God's hand was

guiding then. Guess what? His hand is guiding

now. For us, when the future seems uncertain,

leadership, family life, work, We can say, Lord,

you know us. Lead us. In the coming weeks and

months, we are going to be sitting back in here

talking about a potential new building. And the

Lord's going to be, Lord, you lead us. Not, well,

I have an opinion because of this. I think the

rooms need to be this. That's all well and good,

and that can be brought. And we can discern that.

But as the body of Christ, it's funny. It's why

the CRC church is different than like your Presbyterian

churches. where the session has ultimate control.

There are four different reasons why the council

makes recommendations to the congregation in

the CRC church, because our polity is that. It's

the body. It's when you call a pastor. I didn't

just show up and start being your pastor. Y 'all

voted on me, so it's on you. Understand the calling

of the pastor, approving those for elder and

deacon, the annual budget. and any building projects.

That is in our church order, building projects.

Because the body needs to come together. Because

what could easily happen if it was just the 5,

8, 10, 15 elders or council that we have up on

our stoops not having a relationship? It could

go to their heads. It could go to our heads.

We could say, we have ultimate control. I don't

know why anyone would want that in a church.

That's way too awkward, weird, and hard. But

we have to trust in God's sovereignty. So when

the future feels uncertain, whether in church

leadership, family life, or work, we get to put

it to the Lord and say, Lord, lead us. Lead us

not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

It's part of the prayer God gave us, that Christ

gave us to connect with God. Because once you

understand God's sovereignty, you understand

Christ as cornerstone. Dick, what is the cornerstone

of a house? I mean, I know we don't really use

that term a whole lot anymore, but back then,

just help me out. What would that be? Okay, so

what we're doing in 2025, the cornerstone is

what kind of makes the house a house. Our buildings

aren't really built like that anymore. I believe

our cornerstone is in the front stoop on the

north side. You see it. It has the date. The

cornerstone, what back then is, there was kind

of one stone that was set and the rest of the

house off of it. That Christ is the cornerstone.

He's the one that is setting the rest of the

foundation. Notice how it's not me. You can look.

There's been a bunch of pastors here. None of

them were the cornerstones. Not the one that

stayed a year. Not the one that stayed 29 and

a half years. It's always been Christ. Christ

is the cornerstone. And if it's not the pastors,

if it's not the elders, if it's not the deacons,

I love you all. It's not you. It's not. It never

has been. And that's a good thing. Matthias was

chosen. Luke moves right on. The point isn't

how impressive Matthias was. The point is that

Christ is building on his church. He provides

the leaders it needs. The Belgian Confession,

Article 27, again, this holy church is preserved

by God against the rage of the whole world. Christ

is the firm foundation that will never fail.

Our confidence is not in who stands in the pulpit

or sits at the council table, but in the risen

Christ who reigns over the church. All right,

let's land the plane. So what does that mean

for us? What does that mean for Munster Church?

Well, here's five things. Make prayer our starting

place. Before we plan youth group nights, what

classes we're going to teach, our budgets, our

building projects, let's pray with one accord,

seeking God's leadership. And that's not a prayer

of, Lord, you know I'm against this, this, and

this, so please bless what I am against. That

is not a prayer to God. A prayer is emptying

yourself and saying, God, your will be done.

How can I say that with such confidence? Our

Lord did it in the Garden of Gethsemane. That,

to me, is much higher than what color the carpet

should be in a room. And we need to put it in

priority. Second, let scripture be our guide.

Article 7 of the Belgic reminds us that we all

need God's word. Are we aligning our ministry

with the gospel or with cultural trends? Third,

trust God with leadership. When we nominate elders

and deacons, it's not about who's popular. It's

about who shows Christ's faithfulness. This protects

us from building shifting ground and shifting

sand. We need to rest in God's providence. We

may not know the future of our church, the future

of our families, or even our health, but we know

the one who directs all things. And then finally,

we build on Christ, not ourselves. Let me say

that again. We build on Christ, not ourselves,

not our desires, not our wants, not our Christmas

lists of what our church should be for us. But

as we move forward in vision, our confidence

is not in what we can do, but it's the one who

said, I will build my church, and the gates of

hell shall not prevail against it. So as we do

this, and April, we're not going to go to that

next one. We're just going to go to the closing

prayer. We'll save that other part for next week.

But as we go forward as a church, as you start

hearing talk about vision, understand that it's

not just one person. This church for 155 years

has never been about one person. When this church

saw its heyday, right, whatever that looks like

in what we read in the history during World War

II under Johann Monsma or during the 70s, 80s,

90s of Reverend Buzine, it was never about them.

And to be fair, it was never about you or for

some of you, your grandparents, your great -grandparents,

your great -great -grandparents. Though I love

that that heritage and that lineage is in this

church. The church has never been about a last

name. It's been about one name, and that is our

Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So let's lean

into that. Where we disagree, let's have conversations,

right? Where there is tension, let us go to the

Lord in prayer. Because when we come together,

good things happen. The church, for what it is

for, not what it is against, is much stronger

in the world today. When Christ is our vision

and our foundation, friends, the church can weather

every storm. And we don't measure by the number

of seats on a Sunday morning or the number of

views online. Is that data we can use? Sure.

But if Christ is our vision and our foundation,

the church can weather every storm. Leaders may

come and go, as Acts tells us, but the foundation

is unshakable and the cornerstone stands firm.

Please stand if you are able. And let's close

in unison reading our closing prayer together.

Lord Jesus Christ, you are our vision and our

foundation. Gather us in your love. Guide us

by your word. Grow us by your spirit. And send

us to go in your name. Keep Munster Church firmly

rooted in you so that through every season we

may bear faithful witness to your resurrection

and reign. Be our wisdom, our strength, and our

song. In your name we pray. Amen.