The Church You've Always Longed For

Date: May 15th, 2011

Speaker: Pastor Kevin Snyder

Title: The Church You've Always Longer For

Text: Acts 4:32 - 35

Introduction

In January we started the year off with this message and diagram.

Getting from Here to There

Our emphasis this year was to move in 3 areas:

Connecting – Initiate, Include, and Invite – part of our culture to become a welcoming, embracing community of faith

Leadership – move in our leadership practises.

Spiritual Growth – intentional spiritual growth plan – roll out in September

Today, I want you to think about THERE as the Church you’ve always longed for…What does it look like? Act like?

To me it sounds, looks, and acts like this:

Acts 4:32 – 35

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. 34 There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.

What does this church look like:

They were on the same team not opposites (v. 32)
They were a Giving not GettingChurch (v.32, 34 – 35))
They were an Authentic not Hypocritical church (Acts 5: 1 – 11)
They Alive not dead. (v. 33)

Now the issue isn’t always picturing it…We all have a longing for what the ideal church would be like for us…it’s getting THERE. (Slide 1)

You see standing in the road of getting from HERE to THERE are 2 barriers for people.

2 basic barriers that keep people from church.

1. FAITH BARRIER

This is basically the obstacle of the cross. Paul said to some the cross is foolishness.

It’s the obstacle of Jesus. In Corinthians we read how the aroma of Christ to some is like perfume and to others death.

i.e.

Rich Young Ruler – when laid out for him what it meant to be a disciple of his, it says he went away sad.

Peter when he 1st met Jesus said “Go away from me Lord for I am a sinful man.”

i.e.

Preaching team – cross in middle of our lobby before service…walk around…before service stuck it in middle aisle…everyone had to walk around it…

Message: The Cross is always in the way

We all face the cross in getting to where we want to be…Is it what we selfishly want (our THERE) or God’s THERE ? We have to wrestle through the faith barrier.

And as a church we are wrong to remove that. We lose our salt if we do not confront our world & it’s values with the cross.

2. The 2nd barrier though is CHURCH barrier.

The problem here isn’t Jesus, it’s us. It’s how we behave, act, live, our attitudes that cause people to not want to be here. We can stand in the way and actually inhibit people from coming to FAITH and getting THERE.

Over my years I have heard many but there are 4 predominant responses: (Slide 4)

Too much Conflict – “all they do is fight.”
Money – “All they want is money.”
Hypocrisy – “They’re too many hypocrites.
Dead – “It’s boring, irrelevant.”

Question:

What can you and I do to remove the “Us” barrier. (Church barrier)?

You see, the church in Acts was so alive, so vibrant , so attractive that people wanted to be a part. It says they “enjoyed the favour of all the people.” People were added daily.

The barrier of the early church wasn’t thechurch it was faith…it was the message of Jesus.

Today in Canada we have a different problem if the stats are right. Over ½ the population claims to believe in Jesus ….there problem is with the church. Because of the things we have mentioned.

The challenfge is then:

What can you & I learn from Acts 4 church, and put into practise to remove the “US” barrier?

What do we need to give ourselves too?

1. BEING ON THE SAME TEAM

Same Team or Opposite Team?

One of the obstacles I hear is people say there is too much conflict in the church. They can’t get along.

People have enough stress these days in their homes, at their workplaces, getting a real person on the phone for warranty service, etc that the last place they want to encounter conflict is at church. Most will stay away rather than fight.

One of the things we need to aim for is as it says in v 32 “They were one in heart & mind.

Means:

One in Mind

a. passion and priorities

Statement: “What God is doing in my church is too important to be casual about.”

These folks weren’t casual. They were captured by the vision of the kingdom of God. Their priority was to live out and get out the message of Jesus. They believed he was the answer to the messy , sin-warped world.

They came together around some values – They valued the kingdom over this world’s goods.

They valued people over things.

They valued community.

They valued sharing…v. 33 – “had all things in common”

b. Similar convictions , philosophy, & purpose

i.e.

Church Of God movement started by a man who saw the church divided over minor doctrines. What divided Christians in different denominations were often reflections of our lack of charity and grace than anything else.

Started a movement that called Cns to drop their dividing denominational labels and unite around the person of Jesus Christ. Look for what could bring them together than just what could keep them apart.

We haven’t always done that well…but the idea is that we come together as one person contending for the faith of the Gospel.

i.e.

Philippians – different ones preaching – Paul celebrates that Christ is being preached.

Gospels – Disciples seek to stop a man who “isn’t one of us”. And Jesus said “Don’t for he who is not against us is for us?”

c. Heart

Speaks about relationships, heart connection

Is there relational division?

Do I hold things against people? Do I have walls of unresolved hurts & baggage?

Do I break the heart oneness by participating in gossip & bad attitudes about certain people?

Friends, when you live with ongoing division with your brothers and sisters contribute to the barrier that keeps people from Christ.

Need to ask: If your aim is to bring glory to God, Is Christ glorified when you harbour and nurse broken relationships in the church?

If we are going to aspire to thechurch we’ve always longed for, then it calls for us to seek oneness of heart and mind.

It calls for us to ask:

Is the kingdom of God too important to me to be casual about?

Do I seek to live out the message and ministry of reconciliation in my life? Do I seek to deal with the broken relationships, and walls erected in my life?

2. GIVING MORE THAN GETTING

Give or Get

One of the lines I hear “All the church wants is money.”

Impression is that we are just trying to get you to help us…to further our institutional ends. Often people see little value given back into the community by churches.

Contrast:

Church in Acts. They were perceived as giving to people. Helping those in need. Making a difference to people. They were giving themselves away.

Key Question we always need to ask:

If we weren’t here what difference would it make in this community? Who would be hurt? Who would feel a gap?

I think the Room for One More & the Center has sent a huge message to our community…message of giving to the community.

i.e.

Revenue Canada: auditor – “Why did you buy Center? Do you use it for fund-raising ? banquets?” Ruth told him we bought it for soup Kitchen….bought it for youth center. Puzzled….why would you spend all this money, with nothing to gain back, and turn young people into it?

Outside his scope of understanding….looking for some self-serving , fund-raising mechanism.

On our computer system here at the church we have what is called a “Common’ file. It is a file folder we all can share. Dave can access. Shauna. Me. Secretary. Put sermons & stuff in there we can all get at.

Question is:

What have you personally put in your shared or common file?

Have you put your money there? Time? Homes (hospitality)? Relationship circle?

Or is everything for you?

The church in Acts removed a barrier by how much they were willing to put in the common file folder?

The more of ourselves that we are willing to move from our private files into the common file the more that barrier is taken down and the more people are drawn to Christ.

3. BE REAL

Authentic vs Hypocritical

One of the comments people will say, “Don’t go because there are too many hypocrites.”

Well, there was in early church too. Ananias &Sapphira. Said one thing did another.

It will always be there. It’s not easy to be real. It means be vulnerable…open. There is risk of being hurt.

There are 2 things that go a long ways to helping us be real.

a. Relationships – There needs to be the courage and permission to speak truth into each others lives. Peter did that. He had the courage to ask: “Is this all the money?” Are you being truthful? Why have you lied?

Hypocrisy thrives where we don’t have relationship….It’s hard to wear a mask when people we let people into our lives. Easier when we keep them at a distance.

b. An atmosphere of grace & forgiveness

A judgmental atmosphere feeds hypocrisy. It’s not safe. “Don’t dare confess because scared of how I will be treated.”

The more an aroma of grace the more it is okay to be real.

i.e.

Legalistic church near us – lot of standards – no TV’s, no make-up, etc. We were seen as so worldly as a church. But interesting thing was when someone got “caught” in a sin – pregnant out of marriage, visiting a prostitute, divorce or affair….often ended up in my office. Afraid to go back because judgment they would face and ostracism. Came to “worldly’ bunch cuz they could find grace, acceptance, and forgiveness. They could be real.

I discovered they weren’t necessarily more holy, all the same stuff going on, maybe even more….it was just denied and hidden…

4. EXPERIENCE THE LIVE CURRENT

Often the reason people say they don’t go to church is it’s dead, boring….irrelevant. It doesn’t speak to my day to day life.

That wasn’t the experience of the early church.

“With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.”

The power of the Holy Spirit was witnessed in the effects that were happening in their gatherings. The presence experience of God’s grace was something they felt and knew.

There was a sense of “God moments” happening in their midst.
They saw the God’s hand and recognised they weren’t just coincidences.
They witnessed the unusual stirrings and anointing on God’s message and messengers.
They experienced the present movement of the Holy Spirit in their hearts and midst.
God was alive and moving.

Is God for you a reality to be experienced or a belief to be remembered?

What is the latest God story in your life? How far back?

i.e.

On Wed morning I did my first run outside of the spring…saw a few of you. A few of you stopped to ask if I was having a cardiac arrest and needed a ride.

Anyways, I was coming up through the park with my Ipod on and on came the George Strait song: “I Saw God Today”.

It reads this way:

Just walked down the street to the coffee shop

Had to take a break

I’ve been by her side for 18 hours straight.

Saw a flower growing in the middle of the sidewalk

Pushing up through the concrete

Like it was planted right there for me to see

The flashing lights, the honking horns

All seemed to fade away

In the shadow of the hospital at 508

I saw God today

I’ve been to chrch, I’ve read the book

I know he’s here but I don’t look

Near as often as I should…yeah I know I should.

His fingerprints are everywhere

I just slowed down to stop and stare.

Opened my eyes and man I swear

I saw God today.

Anyways, the words, the setting, and God’s spirit all converged in my heart and I just had this overwhelming sense of God’s presence. Tears just welled up (and not even the tears of pain) and I felt that grace of god so real. It was my moment . A live current happened between heaven 7 my soul.

Center continues to be a place with regular God stories.

If it isn’t 250 – 300 kids coming out on Friday nights.

It’s the family who gave $5000 for the stage lights & how that ended up being enough for a projection unit screen & 2 Tv’s for the kitchen area.

We had got a quote for a panic bar and handle for back door.- $500 installed . Had a friend in Winnipeg who got it for us for $75 and when I picked it up handed me a $100 check to cover it.

In the fall we bought a new $7500 sound system….2 weeks later it got plugged into a wrong place and the mixer board was smoking….felt all pretty sick. Anyways, got it back this week and they covered it under warranty.

Friends, is Jesus a present reality or a remembered belief?

When there is a sense of “much grace upon us” people are attracted. Where there is lifelessness the only thing attracted is flies.

Conclusion

One of the formative questions in my life and perspectives of church was this:

“Why is it that the people who hung around Jesus stay away from our churches?”

In my mind it was because

we often play like we are on opposite teams instead of the same?
we often looked to get to serve our own institutional needs than to give?

We often showed our lack of connection to God & each by our hypocrisy?

Because God was remembered belief not a present experience.

But Acts 4 tells us it doesn’t have to be that way. We can remove a major obstacle to getting there. The obstacle of “us”

What would it look like if we as a church… renewed our commitment to…

Being on the same team – believing that the Kingdom of god is much too important to be casual about
To putting more in our “common’ file - money, time, kitchen tables, living rooms, firepits, relationship circles with others
To seeking to develop deep relationships that don’t allow us to hide but let’s people speak truth in our lives, & to cultivating an atmosphere of love, acceptance,,and forgiveness.
To seeking to touch the present live wire of God’s spirit and anointing.

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