REDEEMED HUMANITY

There is nothing like the Church! One of the most glorious things there is about the church, I think can be seen in a little rhyme we learned when we were little. Do you remember how we interlocked our fingers together making a little hand church, with our two pointers making a steeple? And then we would recite the rhyme that went like this: "Here is the church and here is the steeple. Open the doors and see all the people." I think one of the most glorious things about the church is all the redeemed humanity that is contained within.

When people connect with God,… and God gets a hold of a life through Jesus, there is a glorious thing that begins to happen. Starting way, way back, there was a guy by the name of Simon, just an ordinary, insecure guy, who becomes a rock named Peter. Then there was a guy named Saul who was a murderous and superior acting religious zealot who becomes a missionary to the very Gentiles he used to oppose so much. We find a story about a little widow woman named Dorcas who becomes a hero. And, then there was Mary Magdalene who has her life turned around. Through the centuries, there was Francis of Assisi, the Wesley brothers, Martin Luther, and in our day Mother Teresa, and Billy Graham…people who just shine like stars in our world…as well as ordinary people like you and me. One of the glorious parts of the church is all the redeemed humanity.

But, we can’t sit back in our pews thinking “Well, I have the heaven job done. I got out of Jesus what I needed from him. Oh, I might want to do a little extra credit work here and there, but basically I got out of him what I need from him.” That’s not the relationship with Jesus to which we are called. We are called to a transforming relationship. We are called to a mission. Jesus says, "Go to all the world, make disciples of all peoples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit." We want to lead our generation into a transforming relationship with Jesus Christ.

I don’t know about you, but I love being a part of the redeemed humanity. But, I want more. I want to be a part of a glorious army of redeemed humanity on a mission…a mission given to me by my Savior…to make disciples of all peoples. How about you?

HOW'S YOUR BREATH?

Lately, God keeps confronting me with the power of words. Have you ever had a conversation with a friend, or your spouse, that included some critical words that you later regretted?

In the New Testament Book of James, we read in the third chapter, about the powerful ways our speech can give life or destroy it. It can draw people towards Jesus or push them away.   It tells of how out of the same mouth our speech is truly an unruly evil…it goes about boasting, cursing, gossiping, making promises…and out of the same mouth we praise God.

Well, in the middle of all this, God has reminded me of a couple of things that have been helpful at least to me. This morning I read Proverbs 10:32, “The speech of a good person clears the air; the words of the wicked pollute it.” This verses makes me think of someone who’s eaten garlic or onions and has bad breath. In the same way, that which we fill our minds and hearts with can affect the aroma of our speech. Then Matthew 12:34 says “Out of the heart the mouth speaks.” So I have to ask, what’s my “diet” like? What am I filling my mind and heart with that impacts my “breath”?

Maybe God is reminding me of a litmus test for my speech. Before I speak, maybe it would be a good thing to ask myself:
Is it true?
Is it necessary?
Is it kind?
Is it loving?
Does it build up or tear down?

It was just a reminder I needed this week. What about you?   How’s your breath?

TERRIBLE AS AN ARMY WITH BANNERS!

C.S. Lewis wrote a great book called “The Screwtape Letters.” The book is like letters written by a senior demon tempter named Screwtape, that he writes to a junior tempter about how best to pry a human being away from faith in God. This is what Screwtape writes: "One of our great allies in this is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see her, spread out through all time and space and rooted in eternity, terrible as an army with banners. That, I confess, is a spectacle which makes our boldest tempters uneasy, but fortunately, it is quite invisible to these human beings.” It is a great book.

Part of what Lewis is to make a fundamental distinction. There is, on the one hand, what might be called the Church (capital C)…the body of Christ… "spread out through all time, and space, and rooted in eternity, an army with banners," and what we often see is what might be called the church (little c)…the buildings, pews, programs, and people going to services. The danger is if the “little c church,” is all we see…we miss the vision of the great Jesus-fueled mission in the world.

In Luke 9, we read this, “And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. And he said to them, 'Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics. And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart…And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.’”

When Jesus first called these 12 guys, they got a front pew seat to hear Jesus teach, and see him perform great miracles. They thought, “When it comes to Jesus, we get to watch.” That is until Jesus said one day, "That's not the plan. You get to GO. This is not actually a come-and-watch movement; this is actually a go-and-do kind of movement."  And, what do they take? Jesus says, "Nothing…no staff, no bag, no money, not even an extra tunic… because now my Father (the God of manna, the God of our daily bread) is involved and He'll provide. And, you're going to see stuff, Church, you won't believe."

It’s a funny thing…generally, through history, you will find the Church flourishing mostly where people do not have many staffs, or bags, or tunics. When people have a lot of bags and a lot of tunics (and a lot of us have a lot of bags, a lot of tunics),…every once in a while, we get really generous, and really humble, and really good stuff starts to happen. But more often, we get kind of self-sufficient and we start thinking to ourselves, “Man, if God had all of MY resources, and all of MY skills, and all of MY stuff,…any church would be really lucky to have MY help.” …and, we miss out on the miracle of the Church… "spread out through all time and space and rooted in eternity, terrible as an army with banners."

Jesus did not say, "I am looking for some spectators who will come to some little building once a week and watch." He said, "I'm looking for followers who will go and do." Some did… and something great started. Something started with nothing, no money, no bag, no staff, no extra tunic, and no power. Something was starting that God would use to touch the world,… something that would "spread out through all time and space and rooted in eternity, terrible as an army with banners."

There has never been anything like the Church! There is nothing like the Church!