Two men were out fishing on a Sunday morning and at least one of them was feeling pretty guilty, especially since the fish were not biting. He turned to the other man and said, ” I guess I really should have stayed home this morning and then gone to church.” The other man replied lazily, “Yeh, well - I couldn’t have gone to church anyway. My wife is home sick in bed.”
Why do you go to church? What motivates you to get out of bed on a Sunday morning?
One woman said to her husband on the way home from church, “Harold, did you see the new hat Mrs. Jones had on? “No, ” came her husbands reply? She chirped up again, “Harold, did you see the new dress Mrs. MacDonald was wearing today?” Again, her husband gave her a bland, “No,” to which she replied, “A lot of good it does you to go to church!”
Today I want to share briefly on the “Blessing of Belonging.” You see…I am of the very definite conviction that there are blessings associated with belonging to the Church universal and the local expression of that universal body, that will come to you in no other way.
The apostle Paul tells us that the church is an integral part of the mystery being revealed in the last days. Let me read for you from the letter to one of the local churches. The church that met in Ephesus. I’m reading from “The Message” by Eugene Petersen, Eph. 3, verses 8-10.
“And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ. My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along. Through followers of Jesus like yourselves gathered in churches, this extraordinary plan of God is becoming known and talked about even among the angels!”
Let me take you to the scriptures today and through the careful examination of an Old Testament passage and a New Testament passage, I believe we will see that there are special blessings and benifits God sovereignly gives to those who will follow His plan for association with a local group of believers.
Turn with me first to Is. chapter 5.
While you are turning there let me say that the word church is used in four major descriptive ways, all of which in their setting are correct. The church is:
- A word used to describe a building where people meet to worship God. A place where God is talked to, and about.
- The universal church or those who are born again believers, all over the world, past, present and future. We have often heard it said, “The church is not a building, it is people.”
- The church can refer to a denomination or a group of believers unified by common fundamental beliefs. ie - What church are you a part of? BIC, Anglican, Baptist or United?
- The church can refer to individual people who attend a local congregation. ie - I attend Rosebank Brethren In Christ or Roseville Evangelical United Brethren. We are the church!
The actual word church comes from the Greek word, “Ekklesia” which literally means, to call together. It is a group of people called together . The word is used several hundred times in the New Testament and most commonly refers to the local assembley of believers, such as the church at Ephesus, the church that meets in Aquilla and Pricilla’s house or the church at Sardis.
The Church is God’s idea, and as such, the church receives His blessing. I don’t believe it is possible to be a part of the Church Universal, which happens by faith, without being led or directed to relate to the church locally, where the scriptures clearly teach the maturing process takes place.
The Bible is full of word pictures to describe the church. First and foremost the church is the body of Christ.
“And God has put all things under his feet, and has given him to be the head over all things to the church, [23] Which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” Ephes. 1:22-23
So… who is the head? _______________ Who is the body? ____________________
We, the people of God are the Body of Christ, with each member metaphorically a vital component of the body of Christ. The church is the temple or building of God. The church is a priesthood of believers, a spiritual house comprised of lively stones. Some folks say the bible nowhere speaks of a written certificate of membership, and I would have to agree, that is true. However, another image of the church presented in scripture is the bride of Christ. Now listen carefully and follow my logic. I believe church membership with a written agreement, while not explicit in the scriptures, is certainly implicit. There is no place in the bible that we are specifically commanded to have a marriage certificate, and yet we accept the certificate as a public witness to an inner promise, and a binding covenant and commitment. Many people today want to enjoy the benefits of marriage without the signed certificate which speaks of the level of and type of commitment they are prepared to make to each other. In the church we see the same thing. Many people want the benefits and blessings of being a part of a church, but they don’t want the formal tie, “Just in case!”
The church is also referred to as a sheepfold with Jesus the Good Shepherd and we the sheep. Another main image we see of the church is that of a Vineyard, with Jesus as the true Vine. This image is seen in John chapter 15, and in the chapter I asked you to look up a few minutes ago, Is. 5. Let’s look at that passage now. (read vs. 1&2)
Isaiah 5:1-2
“Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: [2] And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.”
This is one of the most beautiful pieces of Hebrew poetry in the Old Testament, and part of the remarkable beauty of these words is the picture they paint for us of the provision of God for His people.
My well beloved has a vineyard. Notice the vineyard is God’s. He alone is the one who possesses the Vineyard. He holds the deed. Tell me – who owns the vineyard? _____________ It is the place of His choosing and His design.
“On a very fruitful hill” When God is the founder you can rest assured that the location is right. It is a place of fruitfulness and every provision to accomplish fruitfulness will be made. God has called you to be fruitful friend and he has provided in His vineyard,…. in the vineyard He has for you, all that you need to be fruitful. Are you bearing fruit for the Lord? One of the best starting points I can think of is to be sure you’re actually planted in the “Very Fruitful Hill” of His choosing for you. It is only there that you receive the additional blessings of belonging, so that you can be as fruitful as God intends you to be. In the N.T. reference to this Is. 5 passage, - John 15, the chapter about the Vine and the Branches, Jesus says, in verse 16, “You did not choose me but I have chosen you and ordained you to go and to bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in my name He may give it to you.”
He fenced it, dug it and cleared out the stones thereof! Success in bearing fruit only comes when the soil has been properly prepared. Notice God dug it! Who dug it?_______ He turns over the soil in his Vineyard - He is the master gardener and He works in the Vineyard. The shovel may hurt, the cultivator may scratch and seem to be abrasive, but it is all part of having prepared soil and bearing fruit, in our own lives and fruit to offer our master. He knows the kind of soil he wants in our lives for us to be fruitful. Sometimes he adds a few things to our lives we didn’t think we needed!
You may be of the opinion that there is a little to much “do-do,” going on in your life, but tell me my farming friends, so things grow better when a little “do-do” has been wisely applied? Turn with me quickly to Matthew 18:15-17
“Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. [16] But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. [17] And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.”
Please note, not only does God cultivate and prepare the soil in His Vineyard, He will remove the stones out of the midst thereof. So, who is the major “Stone Picker?” ________
Friends let’s remember that if we won’t get on with the purpose and plan of God and start bearing fruit unto Him, He is the great stone remover. He will set you aside. He will allow you to be offended so that your attitude says, “I’m out of here,” and while it may be true that a rolling stone gathers no moss, it is equally true that a rolling stone bears no lasting fruit. Jesus is the teacher here, and if you need a higher authority than your local pastor telling you membership in the local church counts for something, then please note here the master teacher who cites clearly for us the fact that the local church is a body where discipline and discipleship take place. The Vineyard belongs to who? __________ The digging is done by ______ and the stones are removed by ______?
On the day of Pentecost, when Peter preached under a new anointing, we see the maternity ward of the church. All theologians agree this was the start or beginning of what we call the “Church Age.” NOW let me ask you a question. Did the fruitfulness of Pentecost day, with about 3,000 souls being added to the church, happen just because of Peter’s sermon or was it the obedience to the call of Jesus we see in 120 disciples who went to Jerusalem to wait on God for power from on high? God – the Holy Spirit moves in the corporate body of the church. They waited together, they prayed together, they worshipped together and God came along and imbued them with the power to see the INCREASE. Eph. 4:11 tells us God gave gifts to the church. Who is - the church? _____________. Verse 12 says the gifts were given to the church for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry. It’s a package deal friends! The anointing or gifting for bearing fruit in your own life and reproducing that life in others happens in the vineyard, in the church of God’s choosing for you. Back to Is.5.
“He planted it with the choicest vine.” Now let’s not miss this - God has a Vineyard. He has chosen the location as a place where fruit can be grown. He has prepared the soil, and removed the hindrances, (all the rebels and the deadwood!) and now he says, “Here, in this place I have planted the choicest Vine. Who is the choicest vine? _______ In John chapter 15 Jesus said, “I am the true ________ and my Father is the husbandman. Friend, do you want to be close to Jesus? Do you want to be a branch from the choicest vine? Then for the glory of God and the sake of His precious Son who Eph. 5 tells us, laid down his life for the church, FIND THE PLACE OF GOD’S CHOOSING FOR YOU AND PLUG IN. God has a very fruitful, prepared place for you. A place where He is central and His life courses through the Vine. Back to our text:
“He built a tower in the midst of it,” What was the tower for? It was for protection. It was a place of oversight, so that the little foxes could not come in and destroy the vines. God ordained that through the leadership of the local church there would be a protection for you that you can enjoy in no other way. This is to me the most humbling of all of God’s provisions for our protection and ability to provide fruit. It was fine when I was just another grazing sheep in the fold, being fed, led, kept and protected, but now that I have responded to the challenge to be a Pastor, a shepherd, I sense a great weight of responsibility. Something happens when you crawl into that vineyard tower. You must be very dependant upon God. But listen, there is a mantel that comes with the call and God does quicken you in areas of concern and care for those he has entrusted to you. My boys could both tell you of times when, as a father I felt the weight of some revelation concerning my children and I would face them with what the Lord was showing me. I was very blessed a few years ago to hear my oldest son testify to others about God’s loving care for him in not allowing him to stray too far because the Lord would show dad. There is a special mantel that goes with being a father in the tower of your family, keeping watch. If you accept the responsibility with sincerity and utter dependence upon God.
Hebrews 13:17, reading from the amplified says, “Obey your spiritual leaders and submit to them - continually recognizing their authority over you; for they are constantly watching over your souls and guarding your spiritual welfare, as men who will have to give an account of their trust. Do your part to let them do this with gladness, and not with sighing and groaning, for that would not be profitable for you either.”
Friends, I would not blame you a bit if you struggled with who God has placed in the tower of this local vineyard. I struggle a lot with him! Please hear me here this morning though. When the Lord spoke to Jackie and me about coming to Rosebank, we responded to His direction and His call and submitted ourselves as an act of our will to what we believed to be God’s call and to our Canadian Bishop’s counsel. Bishop Brian Bell has a responsibility before God for me and must someday give God an answer as to his watchfulness over this local pastor. In the same way, I will have to answer before God someday for those of you who have chosen to be members of this local body. You will be in my prayers each day, and there is a mantle of care that comes from the Father, the Husbandman of the Vineyard, to enable me in that care. God does have an authority structure and guess what, … so does Satan, so he understands this principle of protection and it frustrates him! Back to Is. 5
“And he built a winepress in the midst of it” The scriptures are very clear about the quantum leap that comes in the corporate worship, and faith of the church. “One shall put a thousand to flight, two shall put ten thousand to flight.” The unifying of believers in a corporate vision will bring exponential growth. Every grape in the cluster has just a little bit different characteristic to offer. It is the willing blending together, and the willing acceptance of the Divine Press, that allows, albeit through a crushing process, the New Wine of God’s Spirit to issue forth. In the blending of the grapes and their crushing, the fruit of the Choicest Vine is revealed. Do you want to manifest Jesus? The only clear manifestation of the person of Jesus Christ to a needy world will come when we are blended and broken together by God, and for God. The apostle Paul makes this process so abundantly clear in two of his major writings. First of all in I Cor. 12 Paul speaks of the church as a body and of each on of us as members in particular. When I was at a pastor’s retreat a few years ago I met with former Bishop Shaw and told him I would be sharing the following week about membership and receiving new members. I’ll never forget his response. He said, “Be sure you mention 1 Cor.12, Tim. No thinking person can read 1 Cor. 12 without realizing you need to be connected in a local body to make the church functional. A nose off to one side on it’s own, unconnected does no good at all. God intended a nose to smell and feet to run. If we take things into our own hands we’ll end up with a nose that runs and feet that smell!”
The other passage Paul helps us with is Eph.4:16. Turn to Eph. with me and let’s stop at Eph.1:22&23 on the way to Eph.4
“And God has put all things under his feet, and has given him to be the head over all things to the church, [23] Which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” Ephes. 1:22-23 NKJV
“Under His direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts to grow, so that the whole body is healthy, and growing and full of love.” Eph.4:16 NLT.
When every part fits together the way God wants us to the world has a clear picture of who Jesus is. When the body is committed to one another and working together the HEAD is exalted and people are drawn to Christ. (vs.16) says, “When you do your part it helps the other parts grow.” Tell me - What is the Lord saying to you this morning? Are you trusting Him for fruit in your own life and fruitfulness in the lives of those you care about?
I want to close this portion of our service by saying, God is the one who owns the Vineyard. Jesus, in fact said, “I will build ___ church.” He owns it, he bought it with His precious blood. God tills the soil and removes the stones, so if you feel like you have been turned inside out at times and cultivated ’til you are soft receptive soil, …. guess who’s been working on you? Jesus Christ is the choicest vine and he is in the midst of this local congregation of believers. In the Matt.18 portion of scripture we referred to earlier Jesus spoke of discipline within the local church and immediately spoke of delegated authority to that church. He said,
“Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven. If any two of you shall agree on earth concerning anything you ask, it shall be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in the midst of them.”
Friends, the last line of Is.5 I want to look at today is,
“So He expected it to bring forth good grapes.” After all he has done in the way of providing for fruitfulness, God expects grapes!! What do you bring to God today in the way of fruit from your own life? Are you developing in the fruit of the Spirit. Are you changing from glory to glory into the image of Christ. Are you contributing to the unified composite picture of the body of Christ? Are you bearing the fruit of reproduction? Are you living proof that you are connected in the fertile hill of God’s choosing?
In just a moment we are going to welcome our new members into the Rosebank family. I would like our deacons, Jeff Sallans and Richard Dorsch along with their wives to join me at the front now. I believe God has a place of identity and connectedness for all of us. I believe that commitment to and within a local body is clearly God’s idea and part of His plan and therefore blessed by Him. Yes, the commitment to a local body brings with it responsibilty, but it also brings about a mantle of very real blessing.
Would Joyce Rolston, Florence Hunt, Dean Cober, Stephen Weber and my wife, Jackie please join us at the front here: Since my membership is being transferred to Rosebank today, I will ask Richard to lead us through the covenant of membership. And then I will ask Wally to pray for God’s blessing on those who have joined the local church here today.
Let’s sing, I’m so glad I’m a part of the Family of God and I’d like to ask all of those who are currently serving on the church board to come and greet these friends as they become members today.
Maybe you’ve come today and you have a clearer picture of what it means to be a part of a local congregation in a committed covenant of membership. Maybe you’re here and you’ve been a member for a long time but you realize today that you’ve not been connected the way you’ve needed to be. You have all the working parts to be light, but you just sit there week by week and you don’t shine. You’re good works are not on clear display so that others are drawn to Christ by your light.
Matthew 5:16
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
Maybe there is something today you recognize that you need to commit yourself to in a fresh new way if you are going to be part of the city on the hill that shines a light on the way that leads to eternal life.
Matthew 5:14
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill that cannot be hid.”
Although the great hymnwriter, Frances Havergal, 36 years of age had been involved in Christian music and church for many years, she felt something was missing from her Christian experience. Then one day in 1873, she received as a gift a little book, “All for Jesus,” which stressed the importance of being connected with Christ every day and in every way. Soon thereafter, she made a fresh and complete consecration of her life to Christ.
Years later, when asked about it, she replied, “I remember it well, it was advent Sunday, Dec. 2nd 1873, I saw clearly the blessedness of true consecration of all that I am to all that my Saviour is. I saw it as a flash of electric light once I was connected to him, and what you see you can never un-see. There must be full surrender, before there can be full blessedness. Not long afterward she found herself spending several days on a retreat with 10 people, most of them unconverted. A few were Christians but not fully surrendered. “Lord, give me all in this house,” she prayed and then she went to work witnessing to God’s goodness in her life. Before she left all ten had surrendered their lives and their wills to Christ. On the last night of the retreat, too excited to sleep, Frances wrote the great consecration hymn we are about to sing. “Take My Life and Let it Be.”
In the years that followed, Frances frequently prayed the words of the hymn in her own devotions, especially every Dec. 2nd on the anniversary of her complete dedication.
On one occasion as she meditated on the words, “Take my voice and let me sing, ever only for my King,” she felt moved to resign her very profitable career of singing with the Philharmonic. From that moment forward she sang only for the Lord, what she believed to be songs glorifying Him. On another occasion she was pondering the words, “Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold,” and she remembered that she had accumulated a very considerable collection of jewellery. She felt convicted to give it to the Church Missionary Society and wrote that she never packed a box with such excitement and pleasure.
Friend why not make the first Sunday of 2007 a time of complete and total dedication to the will and the work of the Lord? Why not consecrate your life to him totally today?
Let’s pray.