Introduction:
"Church-Ah, who needs it!" "Organized religion is a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people." These are the words Jesse Ventura, governor of Minnesota. In some countries, the government sees the church as a potential threat to its sovereignty, therefore wanting more control. Here in the US, we want to separate the church from the state. In recent years, our government is encouraging the church and other faith based organization to become more involved in the caring of the poor and needy. What is church to you? To some it is a place to meet friends. Others see the physical facility being a very holy place; with utmost respect for it. There are those who see her as a place where personal needs will be met and satisfied. On the other hand, some see the church as a place where they can offer their service. In recent months, many children found it to be a place of trading Pokemon cards. We all look at church differently.
In the Apostles' Creed, after the sections on God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, the early church fathers turned to the church: I believe in the Holy Catholic Church. The word Catholic means universal. Church in the Bible is understood as those who are called out. Therefore "catholic church" includes all the believers. The word 'church' is also used to describe a particular group of Christians in a particular geographical location. So as we gather here, we are a church. And at the same time we are also a part of that universal church, consisting of all believers.
This morning we want to explore the meaning and significance of: "I believe in the holy Catholic church".
Some of my sermon ideas are from Kent Hughes' book: "Disciplines of a godly man".
I. Church is a glorious institution.
The Hebrew passage we just read is about the present status of the believers. Hebrews 12:22-24 starts with the words, "but you have come to... " and in vs23, "...to the general assembly and church of the firstborn." It talks about what it is like when believers come together. it provides us with a wealth of insight regarding the nature of the church. It listed several characteristics when the believers come together.
1. City of living God.
Vs22, "But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God." King David in the OT made Mt. Zion the religious center of his kingdom. His son, Solomon built the temple there, making mount Zion, Jerusalem, synonymous with the city of God. Here, the writer of Hebrews reminded us that the church is the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. It is God' s dwelling place. "You have come to God, the judge of all men..." Here, we can find God. Paul reminds us in I Timothy 3: 15 that this is the household of God.
Just imagine, whenever we come together, we've come into the presence of the living God. We are here for a divine appointment.
2.We meet angels.
22, "You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly." Moses described that the Laws were given to him in the midst of myriads of holy ones. David in Psalm 68: 17 wrote about "The chariots of God are tens of thousands and thousands of thousands." Here, when we come to the church we have come to a joyful assembly of thousands of thousands of angels. The book of Hebrew further tells us in 1:14 that angels are ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit the salvation.
So, when we come to church, we have come to the presence of angels who joyfully minister to us.
3. Fellow believers
23, "You have come to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven." Firstborn refers to those who have entered into a new relationship with God. We are a part of the family of God. Our faith in God has brought us together.
V23, "to the spirits of righteous men made perfect." This refers to the believers who have died and are in heaven. It means that we share a common bond with those saints who have died. We are a part of that long tradition, including Abraham, Moses, David, Calvin, Luther, Wang Ming Dao, John Sung and many others who have gone before us.
You see, whenever we come together, we are here not just with our fellow believers, but we are also reminded of the tradition before us. Yes, the church has failed many times in the past. Yet God still used her throughout the centuries, to bring thousand upon thousands of people to Him. It is a victorious church. And by being here, we identify ourselves with that long and glorious tradition.
4. To Jesus
24, "to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant. . ."Jesus is the one who brings us to God. He reconciled us to God, making peace between the two. Whenever we come to church, we come into the presence of Jesus Christ, our lord and Savior.
5. To forgiveness
24, "to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel." In Genesis, we learn that Adam and Eve's older son Cain, killed his brother, Abel. Abel's blood shouted out from the ground at sin and judgment. But the sprinkled blood is that of Christ's. Christ's blood brings forth forgiveness.
Whenever we come here, it reminds us of the forgiveness of our sins. We do not have to be constantly haunted by our past sins, for God has already forgiven us. If so, we are also reminded to forgive those who have sinned against us.
6. Pillar of truth.
1 Timothy 3:15, "the pillar and foundation of the truth." The church is more than God's dwelling place, a place where the heaven and earth meet. It is also a place where God's eternal truth is to be proclaimed, taught and protected. This is one reason why preaching and teaching God's word is so important in this and other churches.
This is what the church is. We have not just come to another social function or activity. We are not here to be entertained and expect others to make us feel good. Instead, whenever we come here, we are being reminded by the plague at the entrance: CHURCH OF THE LIVING God, THE PILLAR AND FOUNDATION OF THE TRUTH. We have come to God's dwelling place, the pillar and foundation of Truth. We meet angels and fellow believers. We have come to Jesus who forgives our sins.
Therefore, when we withdraw from or become half-hearted to the church, we become diminished. When we withdraw or are half-hearted, the church also suffers.
The writer of Hebrew has such a high view of church that he writes in 10: 25, "Let us not give up meeting together..." The church must be a priority in a believer's life.
II. The church nourishes us.
As we come to this glorious institution, what are some of the benefits?
1. Worship and hearing God's word.
In China, there are many Christians in rural areas would walk 2 to 3 hours to come to the worship service. Thirty minutes before the worship begins, the place is packed. In one place, a pastor from the city preached for one hour. When he came down from the platform, the worship leader said, "Pastor so and so is taking a break. He will continue the second part of his sermon in a few minutes." You see, the believers having walked 2 to 3 hours to a service, would not settle for an hour sermon. They treasure their worship and the hearing of God's word.
When we worship with fellow believers, it has the power to elevate our souls to God. Listening to God's word explained, our inner lives are being fed with proper food. Worshipping and hearing God's word is important to our spiritual health.
2. The Holy Communion.
Another benefit of the church is the Holy Communion. Through the bread and the cup, we remember Christ's love, death and his second coming. But the Holy Spirit also works through the elements to refresh and nourish us, touching our hearts and drawing us closer to him.
3. Vision in life
When we come to church, we are also reminded of the importance of spiritual things. The invisible world is just as important as the visible world. We learn about the spiritual dimension of life. We are challenged to look beyond how much we can achieve and accomplish materially, and to find out the real meaning of life. It points us to the direction of serving others and sharing the gospel with them.
These benefits may not be what we want, but they certainly are what we need. Can we imagine taking worship, God' s word, communion and vision out of our lives? This is why we must not stop meeting together, because it's harmful to our spiritual health.
III. Our responsibilities to the church.
One time I attended the Kindergarten's orientation meeting. After some presentations, the parents started to ask questions. 30 minutes later, the principle went up and said, "you have asked many questions, and through the questions you have expressed to us some of your expectations of the school. Now I also want to share with you what we expect of the parents." I thought: this is neat. Parents only think of what the school can do to their children. But we are gently reminded that we too have our responsibilities. Such as close monitoring of TV programs the children watch at home, and so on.
The same with the church. We are a part of this glorious institution. We benefit from coming to church, but what are some of our responsibilities? I would like to suggest four.
1. Discipline of regular attendance.
We need to learn to make Sunday worship attendance a priority in life. Through regular worship and intake of God's word, we will receive a balanced diet for our souls. If this is true, then we may want to make some adjustment to our Saturday schedule. We'll make sure adults and children alike, have adequate rest so we can get up on time to worship God.
As our children are growing up, one of the non-negotiable items is Sunday worship. This is a discipline that we want to develop in our personal lives, as well as our children's.
2. Discipline of membership.
We don't like the word commitment. We want to be independent and free. Come and go at our own wish. But being a part of this glorious institution and reaping its benefits, we also need to learn to commit ourselves to her. In this and many other churches it means being a member of this community. As a member of the church, we express our commitment to the realities of this church and her
ministries. This is not a commitment to the pastors or elders and deacons, but a commitment to God's church.
3. Discipline of giving.
As we commit ourselves to God' s church, we also learn to develop the discipline of financial giving. The Christian view of financial giving is based on our understanding that all we have is from God. Therefore as an expression of our gratitude to him and acknowledgement of his ownership over us, we return to him a portion of what he has given us. By doing this, we are indirectly supporting the ministry of this local church.
I have noticed in both this and other churches, many Christians give according to the needs of the church. The church certainly appreciates your response to her various needs at different times. Yet I think its even more important and pleasing to God, for us to give according to what God has given us. To give 10% of what we have is a good starting point. You see, we give, not because the church has a need, but because we believe that all we have is from God. Financial giving is an expressing of my gratitude towards God.
4. Discipline of participating in church's ministry.
There is a general observation among various organizations including churches. That is, 20% of the people doing 80% of the work. A Dallas church has this policy. Anyone who wants to join the church membership must be willing to participate in one ministry. So that everyone is a minister in that church.
How about you? In the area of church ministry, are you a baseball player or a soccer player? A baseball player will come and play two or three times in a game. But a soccer player is constantly moving and playing. May I encourage you to ask God and some fellow Christians how you can be more involved in the ministry of this church.
5. Discipline of love and prayer.
Last but not least, is the discipline to love and pray for the church.
When you come to this church, it will not take long for you to see her strengths and weaknesses. You see, it really doesn't take a genius to see the problem of this and other churches. But what is important is that in knowing the problems, one still loves the church. To love the church means to accept her where she is and doing one's best to help her get to where she should be.
I also want to suggest to you don't forget to pray for this church. Bring to God daily, or at least once a week all the strengths of this church, plus the shortcomings you have observed. Pray over them for months and even years. When you are certain that its God's will to share this with the church leaders, then do it with a gentle heart.
Your discipline of love and prayer for the church is the greatest gift you can offer God.
Conclusion:
It is a well-known fact that in China, there are many Christians but few churches. Consequently whenever and wherever they meet, it is always jam-packed. However, looking beyond the numbers and statistics, it also revealed the great hunger the believers have for worship and listening to God's word. Many would walk hours to the church or meeting place. Others made arrangements with their employers so they can worship on Sundays. One can catch their enthusiasm and excitement of going to church. From them, we learn the meaning of, I believe in the holy Catholic Church.
Looking at the church in the west, including this church, something seems to be missing. Yes, we come to church on Sundays, but other things in life easily distract our attendance. If I stay up late on Saturday evening because of party, or if there is an exam coming up, or a friend visiting, then Sunday worship usually becomes the dispensable item. In other words, coming to church to worship God with other believers is not a priority in life.
It' s my desire and prayer that we learn to see the church from God's perspective. When we come to church, we are coming to God's city; we come into the presence of God, Jesus our Lord and Savior, angels, fellow believers, a triumphant church and the forgiveness of sins. This is a glorious and lofty institution we have come to.
I have seen how some of us through your life-style demonstrated that you truly believe in the holy Catholic Church. Your commitment, service and faithfulness to this church, have been an example and encouragement to me. But I also feel some of us need to readjust our attitudes toward God's church, and make some changes in our lives.
Rev. William Hsueh
Jan 9, 2000 Houston Chinese Church, Houston,
Texas |