St Theodore's Sermon 20/9/98

	St Theodore's Wattle Park

Sermon of the Week

20/9/98

The Privilege and Responsibility of the Gospel
Acts 2:40-47
Matt 28:16-20

Seeing that today we celebrate St Theodore's Day, and we stop to thank God for what he's given us here at St Theodore's, I thought it might be good to think for a little while about what it means to be part of a church. What are the privileges that we enjoy, and what are the responsibilities that go with church membership. I thought for a framework, given the occasion, why not use our Parish Mission statement. And let's see how the things we've included in that fit with what we find in the account of the first church in Acts 2:42-47.

Know Jesus Christ as Lord.

The first part of our mission statement is that we aim to "Know Jesus Christ as Lord." I wonder how often you think about the privilege we've been given of knowing Jesus Christ personally; of making him the Lord of our lives; of having God come to dwell within us. That's what it's all about isn't it? It isn't about coming to church. It isn't about entering a sacred space. It's about forming a relationship with Christ. Listen to what Peter told his listeners on that first Pentecost Sunday: (Acts 2:38 NRSV) "Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him." The promise is to everyone whom the Lord calls to him. Repent and be baptised and you'll receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. That is, God will come to live with you. He'll make himself known to you. How amazing! What did we find when we studied Ephesians 1? (Eph 1:5 NRSV) "He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will." How can we become God's children? By God's Spirit coming to live in us, putting his seal on us, changing us to be like Christ. We find a different picture in Ephesians 4 where we read that from Christ, the head, the whole body grows and builds itself up in love as each part does it's work. That is, we relate to Christ as part of his body. Now these are just a few of the pictures the Bible gives us of how we come to experience a relationship with God and with his Son Jesus Christ. We need lots of pictures because the concept is so hard to grasp: that the unknowable God could actually be known by finite, fallen creatures like us. But this is one of the wonders, the mysteries, of the gospel: That God in his wisdom has made himself known to us in the person of his Son. What a privilege!

But with the privilege comes responsibility. First of all, there's the responsibility to be part of a church. "⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers ... ⁴⁴All who believed were together ... ⁴⁶Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts." One of the first responses of the first Christians was to join together: to learn more about Christ, that is, to get to know him better; to look after one another - that's the meaning of fellowship, I take it; to remember what he'd done on the cross; to worship him together; to pray together; and to thank God for what he'd done. The first response to coming to know Christ is to want to know him better, and the best way to do that is in company with others who are also getting to know him better, particularly if there are some who have known him longer than you do. This is a normal human response isn't it? If you meet someone who interests you, it's natural to want to find out more about them. So you ask around and find someone who knows them well so you can find out more about them. You might read their biography. If they're an author, you read what they've written. Well, if you want to know Christ better then the best place to do that is in a church where the bible is expounded regularly, where there are others who have an experience of Christ and where people are working together at being the body of Christ.

But the responsibility doesn't stop there. In 1 Timothy 4:12 Paul tells Timothy that he's to live a life that will be a model for other Christians, a model that is, of Christ: (1 Tim 4:12 NRSV) "Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity." He says the same thing in Eph 5:1,2 where he tells us to be imitators of God as beloved children and to live a life of love just as Christ loved us. The privilege of knowing Christ as Lord, of being God's adopted children carries with it the responsibility of reflecting Christ's character in the way we live.

Is this what the early church did? Well, yes. The way they shared their belongings with those who were in need was a reflection of Christ's character. What about us? Do we reflect Christ's character in our speech and conduct, in our love, and faith, and purity? If we truly know Christ then that's exactly what we should be doing.

To Make him Known.

The second part of our mission statement is the aim to make Christ known to those in the Parish and beyond. In John's gospel Jesus prays to God for his disciples and says this: (John 17:3 NRSV) "This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." If we're those who've received the privilege of coming to know Christ and enjoy eternal life with him, then a large part of our responsibility is to share that knowledge with others, so they too can experience eternal life. Certainly the early church did that. We're told that the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. And notice that it wasn't just their preaching that made the difference. We're told that "⁴⁶Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷praising God and having the goodwill of all the people." That is, the witness of their lives together commended the gospel. I don't know if you noticed the motto on the front of today's news sheet. It says "The lay people are God's A-Team". That is you're the ones whom God will use to bring people into the Kingdom. That'll happen as you share the gospel with them, but it'll also happen as you simply live out the Christian life before them, as you show by the way you live together that the gospel makes a difference in people's lives. I wonder how often you mention your life at St Theodore's to your friends and neighbours. I heard of one woman who isn't even a member here who was going around telling her neighbours what a wonderful church this was and what friendly people we were. Well, if a non-Christian can do that why shouldn't we? Or are we embarrassed about our life together? Well, if we're embarrassed about it we'd better do something to improve it hadn't we? But if we're proud of it then lets tell others about it.

Jesus gave two great instructions to his followers while he was with them. The first was the great commandment: (John 14:34) "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another." That forms the basis for our witness, and the second is the great commission: (Mat 28:19-20 NRSV) "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." So our responsibility to make Jesus known to others, comes not just from the privilege of knowing him but from his direct command to make him known.

Occasionally people ask why God would leave us here on earth after we become Christians. Why doesn't he just take us straight to heaven and spare us from all the suffering, the sorrow, the temptation, that we experience here on earth? After all, we can worship, fellowship, pray, sing, hear God's word (much more clearly there than here!); we can even have fun in heaven. So why not take us there straight away? In fact there are only two things we can do here that we can't do in heaven. Do you know what they are? Sin and witness to unbelievers. So which do you think Christ has left us here to do? It certainly isn't to sin is it? No, we've each been left here with a mission to complete. Each one of us is part of God's A-team and part of that includes telling others about Christ.

Nurture and Disciple people in a mature Christian faith

The third part of our mission statement is to Nurture and Disciple people in a mature Christian faith. Jesus said he wouldn't leave us on our own. When he'd gone he'd send his Spirit to take his place. And one of the roles of the Spirit is to teach us how to live as Christians. (John 14:25-26 NRSV) ""I have said these things to you while I am still with you. ²⁶But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you." What's more God has given us his word to teach us and to build us up. Listen to what Paul says in 2 Tim 3:16 (NRSV) "All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness," In Eph 4 he tells us that the word gifts are "¹²to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ¹³until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ." So we've been gifted with the Holy Spirit whose role is to teach us all things, and we've been given God's word to teach, reprove, correct, train, and build us up to maturity.

But with that privilege comes the responsibility of actually using those gifts the way they were intended to be used. That is, for building people up, for making disciples. This is the second part of the great commission isn't it? To make disciples of all nations. It's what the early church did from the start: "⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship." This is one of our primary responsibilities as a church: to build up each person until they reach maturity. Paul said to the Colossians: "It is Christ whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ." (Col 1:28) Our aim is that the body of Christ should be built up "until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ." (Eph 4:12,13) How do we do that? By encouraging one another to study God's word; by encouraging one another to live out that word in our daily lives; by challenging each other in a loving and positive way when we see things that need to be improved; by reminding each other of how Christ would have us live; by being careful how we speak, that the things we say build up rather than tear down; by ensuring that the basis on which we make decisions, or give advice, is in line with the gospel of grace and freedom, not opposed to it.

In practical terms, as far as the life of the congregation is concerned it would be great if more people were involved in small groups, for example, where issues of discipleship and nurture can be handled in a way that can never be done in a large meeting like our Sunday services. Now I know that it's hard for some to find the time to be involved in a small group, but this is such an important part of growing as a Christian that I want to encourage you to find some group that you can be part of who'll provide the support and encouragement that we all need to grow as Christians.

For the Glory of God

Finally, all of this is to be done for the glory of God. In Ephesians 2, Paul describes the Christian as already seated with Christ in the heavenly realms. But when you read through Revelation and the description of heaven, what do you find the Christians doing? They're worshipping God aren't they? Bowing before the throne, singing his praises day and night. If one of our privileges as a Christian is to be included with Christ in heaven, then one of our responsibilities, if you can call it that, is to worship God, to give him the glory that's his due. And how do we do that? In Romans 12, when Paul has finished explaining the wonder of the gospel he says this: (Rom 12:1 NRSV) "I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." In response to all that God has done for us, he says, we're called to present our bodies as a living sacrifice. That is, all that we are is to be given to God for his use, for his glory. Again, the early church understood this: "⁴⁶Day by day, they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷praising God." Their lives were focused on worship and praise to God. Unless this is our motivation we'll end up doing things for our own glory or our own pride or our own selfish gain and then how could we ask God to bless our efforts? No, the glory of God is the only motivation that God will recognise as legitimate for his church. Even Christ has this as his motivation. Remember the words of Phil 2:10,11? (NRSV) "at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Even our worship of Christ on the last day will be to the glory of God the Father.

So what are we on about as a church? We're on about knowing Christ as our Lord, both personally and as a church, making him known to others both here in Wattle Park and beyond, and nurturing and discipling people in a mature Christian faith so that the body of Christ is built up, so that God is glorified. That's the standard by which we should be judging everything we do. If there's something we do that doesn't meet those criteria then we should either modify what we're doing or stop it altogether.

As we think about being the Anglican Church in Wattle Park, as we think back over 49 years of ministry, and more importantly as we look forward to the years of ministry to come, let's make sure that this is our yardstick. Does it help us to know Christ better? Does it help others to know him? Does it help us to grow to maturity as individuals and as a church? Does it bring glory to God? If not we'd better either change it or stop it.


	Contact us	Preaching Program	Home		Last Week's Sermon

	Seeing that today we celebrate St Theodore's Day, and we stop to thank God for what he's given us here at St Theodore's, I thought it might be good to think for a little while about what it means to be part of a church. What are the privileges that we enjoy, and what are the responsibilities that go with church membership. I thought for a framework, given the occasion, why not use our Parish Mission statement. And let's see how the things we've included in that fit with what we find in the account of the first church in Acts 2:42-47.
	Know Jesus Christ as Lord.
	The first part of our mission statement is that we aim to "Know Jesus Christ as Lord." I wonder how often you think about the privilege we've been given of knowing Jesus Christ personally; of making him the Lord of our lives; of having God come to dwell within us. That's what it's all about isn't it? It isn't about coming to church. It isn't about entering a sacred space. It's about forming a relationship with Christ. Listen to what Peter told his listeners on that first Pentecost Sunday: (Acts 2:38 NRSV) "Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him." The promise is to everyone whom the Lord calls to him. Repent and be baptised and you'll receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. That is, God will come to live with you. He'll make himself known to you. How amazing! What did we find when we studied Ephesians 1? (Eph 1:5 NRSV) "He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will." How can we become God's children? By God's Spirit coming to live in us, putting his seal on us, changing us to be like Christ. We find a different picture in Ephesians 4 where we read that from Christ, the head, the whole body grows and builds itself up in love as each part does it's work. That is, we relate to Christ as part of his body. Now these are just a few of the pictures the Bible gives us of how we come to experience a relationship with God and with his Son Jesus Christ. We need lots of pictures because the concept is so hard to grasp: that the unknowable God could actually be known by finite, fallen creatures like us. But this is one of the wonders, the mysteries, of the gospel: That God in his wisdom has made himself known to us in the person of his Son. What a privilege!
	But with the privilege comes responsibility. First of all, there's the responsibility to be part of a church. "⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers ... ⁴⁴All who believed were together ... ⁴⁶Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts." One of the first responses of the first Christians was to join together: to learn more about Christ, that is, to get to know him better; to look after one another - that's the meaning of fellowship, I take it; to remember what he'd done on the cross; to worship him together; to pray together; and to thank God for what he'd done. The first response to coming to know Christ is to want to know him better, and the best way to do that is in company with others who are also getting to know him better, particularly if there are some who have known him longer than you do. This is a normal human response isn't it? If you meet someone who interests you, it's natural to want to find out more about them. So you ask around and find someone who knows them well so you can find out more about them. You might read their biography. If they're an author, you read what they've written. Well, if you want to know Christ better then the best place to do that is in a church where the bible is expounded regularly, where there are others who have an experience of Christ and where people are working together at being the body of Christ.
	But the responsibility doesn't stop there. In 1 Timothy 4:12 Paul tells Timothy that he's to live a life that will be a model for other Christians, a model that is, of Christ: (1 Tim 4:12 NRSV) "Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity." He says the same thing in Eph 5:1,2 where he tells us to be imitators of God as beloved children and to live a life of love just as Christ loved us. The privilege of knowing Christ as Lord, of being God's adopted children carries with it the responsibility of reflecting Christ's character in the way we live.
	Is this what the early church did? Well, yes. The way they shared their belongings with those who were in need was a reflection of Christ's character. What about us? Do we reflect Christ's character in our speech and conduct, in our love, and faith, and purity? If we truly know Christ then that's exactly what we should be doing.
	To Make him Known.
	The second part of our mission statement is the aim to make Christ known to those in the Parish and beyond. In John's gospel Jesus prays to God for his disciples and says this: (John 17:3 NRSV) "This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." If we're those who've received the privilege of coming to know Christ and enjoy eternal life with him, then a large part of our responsibility is to share that knowledge with others, so they too can experience eternal life. Certainly the early church did that. We're told that the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. And notice that it wasn't just their preaching that made the difference. We're told that "⁴⁶Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷praising God and having the goodwill of all the people." That is, the witness of their lives together commended the gospel. I don't know if you noticed the motto on the front of today's news sheet. It says "The lay people are God's A-Team". That is you're the ones whom God will use to bring people into the Kingdom. That'll happen as you share the gospel with them, but it'll also happen as you simply live out the Christian life before them, as you show by the way you live together that the gospel makes a difference in people's lives. I wonder how often you mention your life at St Theodore's to your friends and neighbours. I heard of one woman who isn't even a member here who was going around telling her neighbours what a wonderful church this was and what friendly people we were. Well, if a non-Christian can do that why shouldn't we? Or are we embarrassed about our life together? Well, if we're embarrassed about it we'd better do something to improve it hadn't we? But if we're proud of it then lets tell others about it.
	Jesus gave two great instructions to his followers while he was with them. The first was the great commandment: (John 14:34) "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another." That forms the basis for our witness, and the second is the great commission: (Mat 28:19-20 NRSV) "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." So our responsibility to make Jesus known to others, comes not just from the privilege of knowing him but from his direct command to make him known.
	Occasionally people ask why God would leave us here on earth after we become Christians. Why doesn't he just take us straight to heaven and spare us from all the suffering, the sorrow, the temptation, that we experience here on earth? After all, we can worship, fellowship, pray, sing, hear God's word (much more clearly there than here!); we can even have fun in heaven. So why not take us there straight away? In fact there are only two things we can do here that we can't do in heaven. Do you know what they are? Sin and witness to unbelievers. So which do you think Christ has left us here to do? It certainly isn't to sin is it? No, we've each been left here with a mission to complete. Each one of us is part of God's A-team and part of that includes telling others about Christ.
	Nurture and Disciple people in a mature Christian faith
	The third part of our mission statement is to Nurture and Disciple people in a mature Christian faith. Jesus said he wouldn't leave us on our own. When he'd gone he'd send his Spirit to take his place. And one of the roles of the Spirit is to teach us how to live as Christians. (John 14:25-26 NRSV) ""I have said these things to you while I am still with you. ²⁶But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you." What's more God has given us his word to teach us and to build us up. Listen to what Paul says in 2 Tim 3:16 (NRSV) "All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness," In Eph 4 he tells us that the word gifts are "¹²to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ¹³until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ." So we've been gifted with the Holy Spirit whose role is to teach us all things, and we've been given God's word to teach, reprove, correct, train, and build us up to maturity.
	But with that privilege comes the responsibility of actually using those gifts the way they were intended to be used. That is, for building people up, for making disciples. This is the second part of the great commission isn't it? To make disciples of all nations. It's what the early church did from the start: "⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship." This is one of our primary responsibilities as a church: to build up each person until they reach maturity. Paul said to the Colossians: "It is Christ whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ." (Col 1:28) Our aim is that the body of Christ should be built up "until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ." (Eph 4:12,13) How do we do that? By encouraging one another to study God's word; by encouraging one another to live out that word in our daily lives; by challenging each other in a loving and positive way when we see things that need to be improved; by reminding each other of how Christ would have us live; by being careful how we speak, that the things we say build up rather than tear down; by ensuring that the basis on which we make decisions, or give advice, is in line with the gospel of grace and freedom, not opposed to it.
	In practical terms, as far as the life of the congregation is concerned it would be great if more people were involved in small groups, for example, where issues of discipleship and nurture can be handled in a way that can never be done in a large meeting like our Sunday services. Now I know that it's hard for some to find the time to be involved in a small group, but this is such an important part of growing as a Christian that I want to encourage you to find some group that you can be part of who'll provide the support and encouragement that we all need to grow as Christians.
	For the Glory of God
	Finally, all of this is to be done for the glory of God. In Ephesians 2, Paul describes the Christian as already seated with Christ in the heavenly realms. But when you read through Revelation and the description of heaven, what do you find the Christians doing? They're worshipping God aren't they? Bowing before the throne, singing his praises day and night. If one of our privileges as a Christian is to be included with Christ in heaven, then one of our responsibilities, if you can call it that, is to worship God, to give him the glory that's his due. And how do we do that? In Romans 12, when Paul has finished explaining the wonder of the gospel he says this: (Rom 12:1 NRSV) "I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." In response to all that God has done for us, he says, we're called to present our bodies as a living sacrifice. That is, all that we are is to be given to God for his use, for his glory. Again, the early church understood this: "⁴⁶Day by day, they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷praising God." Their lives were focused on worship and praise to God. Unless this is our motivation we'll end up doing things for our own glory or our own pride or our own selfish gain and then how could we ask God to bless our efforts? No, the glory of God is the only motivation that God will recognise as legitimate for his church. Even Christ has this as his motivation. Remember the words of Phil 2:10,11? (NRSV) "at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Even our worship of Christ on the last day will be to the glory of God the Father.
	So what are we on about as a church? We're on about knowing Christ as our Lord, both personally and as a church, making him known to others both here in Wattle Park and beyond, and nurturing and discipling people in a mature Christian faith so that the body of Christ is built up, so that God is glorified. That's the standard by which we should be judging everything we do. If there's something we do that doesn't meet those criteria then we should either modify what we're doing or stop it altogether.
	As we think about being the Anglican Church in Wattle Park, as we think back over 49 years of ministry, and more importantly as we look forward to the years of ministry to come, let's make sure that this is our yardstick. Does it help us to know Christ better? Does it help others to know him? Does it help us to grow to maturity as individuals and as a church? Does it bring glory to God? If not we'd better either change it or stop it.

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