What Is The Local Church

And today I'm preaching on what is a church and how the church functions.

! And to protect myself, I have to say this is not an exhaustive list.

! One sermon cannot exhaust what the church is.

I have 12 points, however, and each of these 12 points could be a sermon in themselves.

I was commissioned by Josh to do 15 points, but I cut it down a little.

However, this sermon serves as an overview of what Christ Church believes,

as we have some new people who are coming, how we function, and how we relate to one another in the body.

Before I jump into what the church is, I wonder, do you have a working definition of what the church is?

If you consider yourself, you know, maybe you've gone to the church for years, maybe, you know, a month,

maybe like today's your first church service. What is the church?

Do you have a working definition of what that is?

If you go into a random church, you're like, oh, this is a healthy church.

And throughout church history, the church has been called many things, right?

Including rapists, pedophiles, murderers, swindlers, master manipulators, greedy, harsh, and so on, right?

All of these things throughout church history and even now.

And if you're called and striving towards apostolic ministry or even eldership,

it's not optional for you to not have a definition of what the church is.

You must have a definition.

How can you govern God's church without knowing what it is and how it functions?

And this applies to all of us who are Christians, right?

And who don't know what the church is.

How can you give a defense for the church, a defense for your faith when the occasion arises?

You don't have a definition, right?

And so without further ado, my first point, which is that we are sons and daughters possessed by God, right?

And there's a lot of Bible passages for all of these points that I'm going to skip over.

And I've just selected a few for all of them.

These are not exhaustive, but just a few.

So the first is 1 Peter 2, 9-10.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession,

that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people.

So in other words, a people who is possessed by God is owned by God.

I possess this phone.

I own this phone.

My phone.

Do with it as I please.

And that's pretty self-explanatory.

But I want you to consider what that really means for who you are and who God is.

You are no longer your own.

You belong to God.

And you are to act in accordance to how God wants you to act.

Why?

Because he bought you.

He owns you.

You are his.

You are his.

You are his.

Paul often refers to himself as a bondservant of Christ doing the will of the master.

And it's not wrong for us to consider ourselves the same way.

But not as a slave, not as a servant.

But as a servant, that's not how our father relates to us.

He relates to us as sons and daughters.

And we get to share in the glorious inheritance of our savior.

Right?

We are sons and daughters who are possessed by God.

We are owned by God.

Yet he doesn't relate to us as mere property, but as sons and daughters.

Right?

Among the few that I've already named the heinous names the church has been given in church history.

So, you know, pedophiles, thieves, murderers, master manipulators.

The question we have to ask is, if that's what the church is being given, if that's a label of the church, are those people actually possessed by God?

Right?

Right?

Christ says, if you love me, you will obey my commands.

Right?

And in your life, if there's a pattern of sin in your life that's kind of defining, are you acting in accordance to how God would possess you?

You know, are you following the father of truth, his will?

Or the father of lies, Satan, his will?

Who are you possessed by?

Right?

If we are sons and daughters possessed by God, then what we are seeking is to follow his will and not Satan's.

My second point, keep chugging along here, is family.

There are lots of churches that talk a big talk about family and the family of God, yet there's no experience of family.

None whatsoever.

I've seen it firsthand.

I've been a part of it.

And what drew me to Bellicose, the church that helped plant Christ Church, was that there was family there.

Right?

Not just a mere talk of family, but it was palpable.

You could touch it.

You could experience it.

And it's a marker of Christ Church as well.

And so we don't want to just talk big about family.

Right?

We don't want to just hold hands and sing Kumbaya.

So what does that look like?

Right?

What does family look like?

Mark 3, 31 to 35 says,

And his mother and brothers came standing outside.

They said to him and called him.

And a crowd was sitting around him.

And they said to him,

Your mother and your brothers are outside seeking you.

And he answered them,

Who are my mother and my brothers?

And looking about at those who sat around him, he said,

Here are my brother, my mother and brothers.

For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.

Right?

Jesus says if anyone does the will of God.

Right?

Very familiar.

Right?

If anyone does the will of his father and his mother, they are his family.

The scripture says, test yourself to see if you are in the faith.

Right?

What does your obedience to God's will look like?

Right?

This is related also to the first point.

Right?

Are you possessed by God?

What does your obedience look like?

If you are doing the will of God, then you are considered Jesus' brother, his sister, his mother.

What does your obedience to God look like?

What does communing with God look like?

If you consider, when was the last time you picked up God's word and studied it?

Right?

What does your prayer time look like?

What does your intimacy with God look like?

Is it like relating to a family member?

To your father?

Right?

In other scriptures, like 1 Timothy 5, 1-2 says,

Do not rebuke an older man, but encourage him as you would a father.

Younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters in all purity.

Paul says in Romans 16, 13,

Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well.

The apostle Paul has someone who is related to him as a mother.

That's not his own mother.

She's commended for treating Paul like a son.

1 Peter 2, 17, Love the brotherhood.

Right?

These are all very familial languages.

And a family, especially a healthy family, is one that knows one another, knows their likes, knows their dislikes, how they're doing, what their struggles are.

They're open in heart and vulnerable as well.

Vulnerable to receiving correction.

And in the family of God, we must be in one another's lives so that we know one another.

Right?

I would have a very bad marriage if I didn't know my wife in that way, including with my kids.

Here's an example to think about.

Let's think about eldership.

Can you just be an elder in a vacuum?

Right?

No one knows you.

Right?

You must consult God's word and then consult the people of God.

Right?

If the people of God don't know you, who you are, what you do, how are you going to be able to tell if you're qualified or not?

We all have blind spots.

We must be in family.

Another example, if you're seeking marriage, you're a young man, but you're addicted to pornography and your finances are out of order,

right?

Right?

It is the burden of God's people to rebuke you and call you to Christ.

Right?

But you would not be able to know that if you're not in that person's life.

Sure.

Sure.

You're so dull and so distant from the church and from the body and you're not enjoying anything right now.

It is the burden of the church to pray for you.

It is the burden of the church to pray for you.

To question why you are so dull.

Why there's no joy in you.

It's the pro to understand, to commune with you.

To understand that maybe you haven't communed with God in the past five months.

And if you're celebrating an adoption or if you're having a birthday party and all things in life is going well, it is the burden of the church also to celebrate with you.

Right?

That is what a family does.

And in a family, it rings in Christ's church that the mission of our church is the kingdom of God in all of life together.

And it would be hard to do that mission if we're not rightly relating to one another's family.

I came from a very poor, very unhealthy family, a very abusive mother, very abusive father.

And we really don't communicate a whole lot.

And if we do communicate, it's very surface level.

And everyone just cares about their own interests.

That's not what we're pursuing.

Right?

A personal example at Christ Church is when Sarah and I were trying to buy our house in last November.

I got grilled so hard about all of my finances by different brothers.

Zamir, what happens if you lose your job?

How much do you have saved up?

What happens if your boiler goes out?

It's like 10 grand to replace those things.

Asking all of these questions, having multiple conversations.

And, you know, if all of those things were to happen, my finances were in order, I lost my job, my boiler goes out.

Do you know who I could rely on?

Those same brothers who were grilling me.

And that's the family of God.

And that's the family of God.

That's the expression of the family of God.

To bear one another's burdens.

And remember, there's no perfect church.

Even if there's a strong family in a church, there's no perfect church.

And even if you found a perfect church, once you joined it, it would cease to be perfect.

Because you joined them.

Number three.

The church of God is God's bride.

Christ's bride.

Revelation 19, 17 says,

Let us rejoice and exalt and give glory.

For the marriage of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready.

Revelation 21, 2.

And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from the heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Revelation 21, 9.

Then come one of the seven angels who had seven bowls full of seven, the seven last blanks, spoke to me, saying,

Come, and I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.

This bride that is being talked about is the church.

Right?

The church of God.

As Seth preached two weeks ago, Christ is the head of the church.

And if you haven't heard that sermon, I would highly recommend it.

That the church of God acts in a feminine way towards God, towards Christ.

Right?

We are his bride.

Our affections are towards him.

We are to prepare ourselves for him.

Right?

Our desires are to be for him.

And that begs the question, where are our desires?

Right?

If we are his bride, if our affections are to be for him, if our preparation is to be for him, are we making ourselves ready?

Following the commands that he left for us.

You know, namely, the great commission that he left for us.

Make yourself ready.

Go and make disciples of all nations.

Have you considered that you are his bride?

Are you making yourself ready?

When Christ returns, he returns for his bride.

Right?

Right?

And those who are not founded in the church, and even those who despise his bride, must reconsider.

Because Christ returns for his bride.

Imagine this.

I have a group of friends who love me dearly.

Right?

Love hanging out with me.

Love talking with me.

You know, great friends.

I love talking to them.

But they hate my wife.

Or they think really ill of my wife.

What would I have to do with them?

Right?

My wife and I are one.

Right?

Yeah.

Right?

Yeah.

Yeah.

So Christ likewise loves his bride.

Do not despise his bride.

His bride is the church.

Point number four, fellowship.

The Greek word koinonia, bear with me, is meant to describe fellowship.

Right?

It's usually translated.

It can be translated fellowship.

It can also be translated partnership or joint participation.

Right?

So, Acts 2, 42.

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread,

and to prayer.

Right?

That fellowship there is koinonia.

It's partnership.

It's joint participation.

Right?

They devoted themselves, if you want to just say, they devoted themselves to fellowship.

The last word says,

I thank my God in all remembrance of you, always in the prayer of mine for you all making my

prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.

2 Corinthians 6, 14 says,

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness?

Right?

As Josh is doing a series on partnership, suffice it to say that the kingdom of darkness rages

against the church, and we cannot stand isolated fighting by ourselves.

In this partnership that Paul talks of, we need to be joined together.

Right?

There are many who believe that they can just do church by themselves.

You know, I can just go fishing, spend time with the Lord and pray and be good.

If that were true, I wouldn't be here right now.

But don't take my word for it.

Listen to what I just read.

They devoted themselves to fellowship.

Right?

That is what the church did.

They partnered together with Paul for the gospel.

They did that together.

It's not in a vacuum.

That is not how God has set up his church to be.

Elsewhere in the Proverbs, it says,

The man who isolates himself is a fool.

That's what the scripture says.

Right?

We are not meant to be isolated.

We are meant to be yoked together in partnership.

Even the common phrase, no man is an island.

Right?

Brings that every man, even unbelievers, need community.

And the nature of God himself, the triune God is one of fellowship.

We would not have fellowship if our God didn't have fellowship.

So, on to one number five, flock.

The flock of God.

Church is the flock.

In the New Testament, usually when flock or the flock of God is mentioned,

it's usually in relation to leadership or shepherding.

Right?

Acts 20, verse 28.

Acts 20:28

Pay careful attention to yourselves and to the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to care for the church of God,

which he obtained by his own blood.

Peter, 1 Peter 5, 1-5.

So I exhort the elders among you as fellow elders and a witness of sufferings of Christ,

as well as a partaker in the glory that is to be revealed.

Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you,

not for shameful gain, but eagerly, not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.

And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders.

Close yourselves, all of you, with humility towards one another.

For God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

Christ is our head. He is our shepherd. He is the great shepherd.

He's the one leading us, ultimately.

And truly, we are stupid sheep. Right?

I'd admit that.

And we need his defense, and we need his guarding. Right?

Like David, before he fights Goliath, he talks to Saul, and he talks about how he protects the flock.

He fights the lion and the bear to protect his flocks.

And there's no difference in what Jesus does for us, in how he leads us, guides us, and protects us.

He defends us from the kingdom of darkness.

He guards us. He leads us in the paths of righteousness.

In the name, in his name, darkness must flee.

And for those who are considering eldership, overseeing an epistolic ministry, this is the labor of the shepherd.

Protecting the flock.

Fierce wolves are coming.

If you're thinking, I'll just kick my feet up, I'll preach a few sermons, breakfast here, dinner there, that's not it.

You protect the flock of God by ultimately looking to the head shepherd.

By praying, by fasting, weeping for the salvation of your flock's souls.

Doing meetings at 6 a.m.

After you've been up all night.

Showing up to people's houses when they're in the middle of sin.

When they've drunk, they're filled.

And it's midnight, and you're tired, and they're calling you.

Guarding the flock from stupidity.

A foolish young man who's about to make a stupid decision.

Mothers, sisters, brothers, old men in folly and need encouragement.

That is the task.

If you don't enjoy dwelling with the sheep, if you don't enjoy smelling like the flock, then you shouldn't consider being an older.

And you, flock, me, all of us, remember, the Lord is our shepherd.

We have what we need.

Number six.

Body.

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ.

And individually members one of another, having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us.

Let us use them.

Seth again, which is a great sermon on Christ being the head of our body.

And a body without a head is dead.

And it's dead faith, right?

If you come to church and you do all the stuff, but Christ is not your foundation, he is not your head, then you have a dead faith.

And we cannot put Christ out of order.

And according to our giftings and according to how God has called us, we also must act in accordance.

I think, as I was preparing for the sermon, of the hilarity of the liver if we're trying to take the place of the hands.

Right?

Because it wanted to be seen more.

Right?

Liver is like, I really want people to see me more.

So I want to be the hands.

Like, no liver, that's not your function.

Your function is to filter.

It's to metabolize nutrients and produce critical protein.

To take out the toxins of the blood and filter those chemicals like red dye 40 and yellow 6.

And to make the body feel better.

Right?

And the body would implode and die without the liver.

If it tried to be a hand.

And in the same way, the question must be asked for you believers who make up the body.

Your giftings, your calling, are you acting according to how you are called, according to how you are gifted?

Are you prioritizing what the Lord has called you to?

How the Lord has gifted you?

Are you acting like how you must be acting?

If you're not, then you're hurting the body.

The body is not functioning the way it's supposed to be.

Because you are not.

Don't despise the giftings and the callings that the Lord has given to you.

Like how Jonah despised going to Nineveh.

Don't despise the Lord has called you to.

But look to your master and say,

You have redeemed me.

You have purchased me.

Your will be done.

Not my own.

So onto number seven.

House, building and temple.

First Peter says,

You yourselves.

I'm just going to read four scripture verses.

You yourselves, like living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Living stones is what I want you to take hold of.

Matthew 16, 18.

And I tell you, you are Peter.

And on this rock I will build my church.

And the gates of hell shall not prevail against them.

The confession that Christ is Lord.

Mark 11, 17.

And he was teaching them and saying to them,

It is written, my house shall be called a house of prayer for the nations.

First Corinthians 3, 16 to 17.

The you here is plural.

Plural.

Plural.

Plural, by the way.

Do you know, do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's spirit dwell in you?

If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him.

For God's temple is holy.

You are that temple.

God no longer dwells in a house built by human hands.

He built, he dwells in houses bought by his blood.

Right?

His people, his possessions.

No longer do nations come to a temple to pray.

We are a house of prayer for the nations.

The greatest gift that God could have given to us is himself, which he did.

God has built his church.

And the blocks that are used for his church are living stones.

You are those stones.

And we are his temple, which leads to the next point.

Priesthood, which are, we are his priests.

Right?

We are God's house.

We are the priests in his temple.

And like I already read, we are living stones being built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood.

To offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Christ Jesus.

Not only are we temple in the house of God, but in the service of the temple, we are the priests.

However, we don't rely on the blood of bulls and goats.

The one great man has already offered himself up as a sacrifice.

No more does one man have to go behind a curtain.

He has torn the curtain.

We have full access to God.

We can go before the throne of grace, the throne of God, and not die because of Christ Jesus.

He makes us priests.

Not just sons and daughters.

We are also priests.

Take care.

Take care.

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Take care.

before obeying his commands and trusting them,

not leaning on ourselves, but leaning upon him,

leaning upon the everlasting arm.

Number nine, pillar of truth.

1 Timothy 3, 15.

If I delay, you may know how one ought to behave

in the household of God,

which is the church of the living God.

A pillar and buttress of truth.

I have no clue what a buttress is,

but it's kind of a funny word.

It's a support kind of for a wall.

It's like a triangle almost in architecture.

It supports the wall,

and it's what you'd see in really old cathedrals.

But it's a support.

It holds it up like a pillar, right?

Same word, pillar, buttress.

But the church of the living God is a pillar and buttress of truth.

John 17, 17 says,

Sanctify them in your truth.

Your word is truth.

John 4, 23.

The hour is coming and is now here when the true worshipers

will worship the Father in spirit and truth.

For the Father is seeking such people to worship him.

God is spirit,

and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth.

Do your best, 2 Timothy 2, 15.

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,

a worker who has no need to be ashamed,

rightly handling the word of truth.

We are a pillar of truth.

As a church, we hold truth.

We defend it.

Teeth and nail.

Our Father is truth.

His word is truth.

Jesus, our Savior, is the way, the truth, and the life.

We worship the Father in spirit and in truth.

This world with its woke ideologies and lies about so many things,

especially about who men and women are,

about how to find our value and dignity,

about how to find worth.

Search for work, not work possessions,

not possessions, riches,

not riches, go smell the roses.

Brothers and sisters, we hold the truth of the Bible,

which is the great sword to defend against these lies.

Right?

Do you recall who Satan is?

What's the name?

The Father of Lies.

If we're actively defending and fighting for truth

and holding on to what is truth,

the Father of Lies seeks to deceive us.

He seeks to deter us like Adam and Eve.

You're naive to think if he's not.

So how do we guard against Satan's schemes?

How do we safeguard against despair in the midst of temptations,

in the midst of believing lies?

We turn to God and His word,

and we worship Him in spirit and truth.

Very simple.

Where there's confusion,

where there's gray,

where there's deception,

we must turn to God.

Satan seeks to deceive,

but God seeks to bring clarity and truth.

We have to be strong in the Lord

and the power of His might.

That's the only way.

Number 10.

A holy nation.

There's three things.

A holy nation,

light of the world,

and salt of the earth.

Okay?

Three heavy hitters.

I put these three together,

mainly because I think they convey the same idea,

which is,

though we are in the world,

we are not of the world.

And first would be nations, right?

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ,

making His appeal.

God making His appeal through us.

We implore you on behalf of Christ

to be reconciled to God.

An ambassador is someone from another country, right?

We are,

these churches are like little embassies.

Embassies of the heavenly kingdom.

Philippians 3.20

says the same idea,

but our citizenship is in heaven,

and from it we await a Savior,

the Lord Jesus Christ.

No longer are we

just people of the earth,

people of heaven, right?

We are a new creation.

Born again.

We are in the world,

but we are not of the world no more.

And so,

being in the world,

and not of the world,

we seek

to fight against the darkness,

the kingdom of darkness,

which means that we are the

light of the world.

Right?

You are the light of the world.

A city on a hill cannot be hidden,

nor do people light a lamp

and put it under a basket,

but on a stand,

and gives light

in all the house.

In the same way,

let your light shine before others,

so that they may see your good works

and give glory

to your Father who is in heaven.

Right?

We are in this world

as ambassadors

to shine the light,

this new creation,

this gospel

that is inside of us,

to proclaim it

and bring light

to this kingdom of darkness

that Satan has corrupted.

And then on top of that,

we are also salt.

You are the salt

of the earth.

But if salt

has lost its taste,

how shall it

saltiness be restored?

It is no longer good

for anything

except to be thrown out

and trampled under feet.

Right?

There is nothing so good

as salt on a stake.

Right?

Like,

if I just had a stake

with no salt,

ugh.

Right?

But we are to be different.

We are not to conform

to this world.

We are to overcome this world.

Christ has already

overcome this world.

We are to be the light

of this world.

Right?

We are to God

and proclaim

His mercies.

His mercies are more.

Right?

Onward.

We are a field.

Number 11.

1 Corinthians 3, 5-9.

What then is Apollos?

What then is Paul?

Servants through whom

you have believed.

As the Lord assigned to each,

I planted,

Apollos watered,

but God gave the growth.

So neither he who plants

nor he waters

is anything,

but only God

who gives the growth.

He who plants

and he who waters

are one.

Each one will receive

his wages

according to his labor.

For we are God's

fellow workers.

You

are God's field.

God's building.

Right?

This field that

Paul and Apollos

and we also

are working in

is God's field.

Right?

And we are also

in God's field.

Right?

Planted by God.

By the use of our

someone who preached

the gospel to us

planted

and being grown

by the Lord.

Right?

You know,

that shows that

this field

that's being talked about,

it's God's field.

He plants the seed.

You know,

are you stuck

in despair?

Tired of the mundane

of lies?

And no longer

feeling joy

in your salvation?

Do you know

who gives growth

in that?

God.

Ask him to grow

you up in the faith.

Ask him to grow

your salvation.

Not salvation,

but your joy.

Ask him to grow

your pleasures.

If God's word

has been planted

deep in your heart,

then it takes root

everywhere.

Right?

There's no longer

a secret part of your life

that you want to keep.

Right?

It takes root everywhere.

And you must give

those secret things

up to the Lord.

Have you been

seeking to grow?

How have you been

seeking to grow?

Right?

Have you sought

discipleship?

Have you sought

to be father?

Have you sought

to prepare yourself

by listening

and receiving

teachings of doctrine?

Have you sought

to know God

and his word?

God is generous

to give growth.

I know.

He's given me

tons of growth.

And anything

that is healthy

grows.

He is the owner,

he is the gardener,

and he protects

the garden.

He guards,

but he also

prunes you.

The word says,

no discipline

seems pleasant

at the time,

but painful.

Later on,

however,

it produces

a harvest

of righteousness

and peace

for those

who have been

trained by it.

We need pruning.

We need discipline.

It's God

who prunes.

Do not despise

his discipline.

Number 12.

Almost there.

The church

is God's army.

Right?

I think it's way

cooler to think

of an army

like a Spartan army

like a Roman army

like a sword

and shields

than like an army

with guns.

I just think

it's way cooler.

Maybe I'm a romantic

of swords and shields,

but I just think

it's so much cooler.

And Paul agrees

because he's never

seen a gun before.

But there are

three foes

that we fight

against

in the army

of the Lord.

Right?

There's two external

foes

and one internal

which is our own

flesh.

Right?

Paul tells us

in Ephesians 6,

finally,

be strong

in the Lord

and in

the strength

of his might.

Put on the whole

armor of God

so that you may

be able to

withstand the schemes

of the devil

or stand against

the schemes of the devil.

For we do not

wrestle against

flesh and blood,

but against the rulers,

against authorities,

against cosmic powers

over this present

darkness,

against the spiritual

forces of evil

in the heavenly places.

Therefore,

take up the whole

armor of God

that you may be able

to withstand

in the evil day

and having

done all

to stand firm.

We are in

these evil days.

These days are evil.

Right?

And our battle,

we must remember,

is not against

flesh and blood,

but the cosmic powers.

We need to see that.

We fight against

Satan

and his lies

who tempts us

away from the

Father of Truth.

So what do we do

in his lies?

We fasten

the belt of

truth.

And we wrestle.

And as we wrestle

in the world

of unrighteousness,

we must wrestle

with the

breastplate of

righteousness.

Right?

The two foes

that are external

is the world

and the devil.

Right?

And then our flesh

loves

the devil.

Loves the world.

When Satan tempts

us,

our flesh is like,

oh,

bro,

just give it.

You know you want it.

That is your old man

coming out

and saying,

you used to be like this.

You can be like this again.

Remember how sweet it was?

But we must beat

that old man

in submission.

We must take up

our cross

and crucify our flesh

and follow Christ.

I recently read

The Old Man in the Sea.

Good book.

I dropped out of high school

so I didn't get to read

it in high school.

But most of you

have probably read it.

But there's

there's a

the scene

that I want to describe

is when

he's fighting

against

the marlin.

This great big fish

that's 18 feet long.

Right?

And

it's just himself

in a small skiff

and his left arm

is cramping

the entire time

and

his back

like

he has the cord

on his back

and he's wrestling

against this great fish

day and night

and he seeks

the glory

and the prize

of getting this fish.

So we must wrestle.

So we must fight.

But our prize

is not a great fish.

And the great fish

ends up being eaten.

Our prize

is an eternal crown.

Crown of glory.

And as the old man

wished

throughout the entire story

for

that boy

who would help him

a lot

we have

men and women

who must

link arm

with us

in this army

of God.

Right?

We are not

in this army

by ourself.

Right?

We must fight together.

We must be praying

for one another.

We must be communing

with one another.

That's why family

is so important.

Finally,

point number 13.

The ekklesia.

Sorry for all the Greek.

Ekklesia

is the word

that is

often translated

church.

church.

Right?

And I want to

put in parentheses

legislative body.

Right?

But before

anything

I want to read

Acts 19

23

and 38

to 41.

And I want to read

this mainly

to show

that ekklesia

was a common

word that was used.

Right?

Acts 19.

Now some

cried out

one to another

some another

for the assembly

was in confusion

and most of them

did not know

why they had

come together.

If therefore

Demetrius

and the craftsmen

who are with him

have complaint

against anyone

the courts are open

and they are pro-council.

Let them bring

charges against

one another.

But if you are

seeking anything

further

it shall be

settled in the

regular assembly

the regular

ekklesia.

for we are really

for we really

are in danger

of being charged

with rioting today

since there is no

cause

that we can give

to justify

this commotion.

And when he had

said all these things

he dismissed

the assembly

the ekklesia.

Ekklesia

is simple

in definition

can be translated

assembly

which is what

it was there.

It is not a word

that was invented

by Paul

not a word

that was invented

by Jesus

but a very

common word

that was being

used already.

And in antiquity

the Greeks

would use the word

ekklesia

for political events

right?

It would mean

there

an event

that occurred

for the meetings

of citizens

where they would

vote on various

things.

I bring this up

because

the word

ekklesia

is also

translated

to mean

church

right?

But the word

church

truly didn't

start being

used until

about the

12th century.

And I've

met many

people

who have

used the

argument

that ekklesia

means assembly

right?

So where

two or three

are gathered

there Christ

is

right?

On a Sunday

morning.

So every

Sunday morning

you know

what I do?

at 9 a.m.

I go out

to the golf

course

with my buddies.

It's the

ekklesia baby.

But I really

want to fight

against this.

It's not just

assembly.

It's an

assembly

of people

who are

coming together

who are

common

and yoked

together

for the

body of

Christ.

right?

And even

if we

read

Matthew

18

15

to 20

which

also has

the word

assembly

in it

it says

if

if your

brother

sins

against

you

don't

tell him

his

faults

between

you

and

him

alone

if

he

listens

to

you

you

have

gained

your

brother

but if

he does

not

listen

take one

or two

others

with you

that

every

charge

may be

established

by the

evidence

of two

or three

witnesses

if he

refuses

to listen

to them

tell it

to the

church

the

ecclesia

the

assembly

and if

he

refuses

to

listen

even

to

the

church

let him

be to

you

as a

gentile

and tax

collector

truly I

say to

you

whatever

you

bind

on

earth

shall

be

bound

in

heaven

and

whatever

you

loose

on

earth

shall

be

loosed

in

heaven

again

I

say

to

you

if

two

of

you

agree

on

earth

there

are

two

or

three

gathered

in

my

name

there

I

am

among

them

this

text

is

giving

christ

is

giving

permission

for

those

two

or

three

to

what

is

bound

on

earth

shall

be

bound

in

heaven

right

he's

giving

authority

to

the

church

to

be

able

to

do

such

a

thing

as

expelling

a

brother

from

the

church

who

is

not

obeying

his

commands

and

it

says

if

he

refuses

to

listen

to

them

tell

it

to

the

church

right

the

assembly

one

thing

to

consider

here

is

that

it

means

that

there's

someone

who

knows

this

brother

right

it's

not

a

random

group

of

people

it's

people

who

knows

his

brother

who

knows

his

life

and

who

knows

these

other

brothers

that

are

coming

tell

it

to

the

regular

assembly

who

gather

together

they

know

one

another

right

it's

a

connected

people

and

they're

accountable

to

one

another

and

and

just

some

more

on top

of

this

in

the

book

of

Acts

there's

an

assembly

of

people

that

happens

and

there's

a

group

of

120

people

gathered

in

the

upper

room

they're

assembling

together

right

and

there's

some

way

that

someone

knew

that

there

was

120

because

they

knew

everyone

right

it

wasn't

just

a

random

gathering

even

more

when

they

were

meeting

in

the

temple

there

were

3,000

who

were

gathering

how

could

you

know

if

there

was

3,000

if

you

didn't

know

these

people

right

someone

is

keeping

track

of

who

these

3,000

are

right

if

people

belong

to

the

church

right

the

ecclesia

then

they

are

regularly

gathering

together

and

know

one

another

!

point

13

got to

the

conclusion

but

just

in

conclusion

I

have

a

quote

from

the

great

scholar

and

pastor

Brian

Pirtle

in

in

the

context

of

the

local

church

there's

clarity

there's

healthy

order

and

there's

a

shared

responsibility

none

of the

leaders

are

perfect

and

none

claim

to

be

but

they

are

grounded

in

the

gospel

aiming

to be

spirit

led

aiming

to be

bible

soaked

people

aiming

to be

clear

with

one

another

you

might

agree

but

have

your

labors

grown

dull

in

the

pursuit

of

the

church

do

your

labors

need

to be

refreshed

are

you

seeing

God's

church

the way

that

God

sees

his

church