Building
the right foundation part 19
Acts 9: 26-31 “Partnership in the gospel.”
When Paul came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but
they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a
disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He
told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord
had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in
the name of Jesus. So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in
Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.
He talked and debated with the Hellenistic
Jews, but they tried to kill him.
When the believers learned of this, they
took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.
Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a
time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord
and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.
New International Version - UK (NIVUK)
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This
will be the last of our studies in Acts as related to our theme of
“Building the right foundation.” The purpose of our series is to
consider how we as the church here in East Cornwall operate in the
21st
century. The church was established here in the 1960's and has been
blessed over the years. There have of course been times of great
blessing and as we know there have also been times of disappointment
and problems. It is not our purpose to dwell either on the good or
the bad times but we have the opportunity to draw a line in the sand
on all that has gone before and to start with a new beginning. The
church must never stand still because gospel witness is organic, it
is alive and is the responsibility of the church. It is through our
gospel witness that we make disciples of men, women, boys and girls.
Some
have asked when we are going to re-start toddlers, Sunday school
and a whole host of other activities. My simple answer to those
questions is that we are not doing so at this moment because there
are some fundamental issues that we have to concern ourselves with
first. I deliberately put out my little motto card before Christmas
which simply quoted Jesus' command to come aside and rest a while.
The church needs to rest in the assurance that Jesus is in control of
all that we are. He has allowed all that has gone before and
therefore has brought us to the point that we find ourselves in
today.
In
fact where we are today is a similar situation that the church in
Jerusalem and Saul of Tarsus were experiencing in our reading. By
this time Saul had been a witnessing believer for quite a while as we
discovered in our last study. The one thing that was missing was his
fellowship in the gospel with the church in Jerusalem and so Paul was
keen to join the church. The church was understandably suspicious of
Saul's motives and so the leaders had rejected his advances. There
was then logically a confusion and a stand off between the church and
Saul. Their situation and ours is not the same but of similar order
in that before the church in Jerusalem could advance and move on into
the next phase of it's ministry, reconciliation had to take place.
God had to do something to resolve the difference.
Similarly
I believe that God has to resolve a number of issues in the church
here in Callington before we can progress to the next phase of our
gospel ministry together. For this reason over the next few weeks our
ministry will be applied to the church covenant document that all
members agree to before they join the church. You should all have
received a copy of this document as you arrived this morning. The
first point in the covenant is:
In
the name of The Lord Jesus Christ. On the basis of his gospel and
the written Word, and in humble reliance on his saving grace in our
lives, we
covenant together
to be a congregation of believers, part of the global and eternal
people of God, the body or Christ and the fellowship of the Spirit.
We gather to encourage one another to grow in the grace and knowledge
of Jesus, by seeking the continual filling of the Holy Spirit for
holiness and by exercising the gifts of the Holy Spirit in ministry.
The
promise we make as members of the church is to support and encourage
each other to grow together and to encourage one another in the
gospel. This then leads to our joint ministry as led by the Holy
Spirit of God. When all of this is in place then we can develop the
work of the church together as directed by God's Spirit. It is not
about starting things but getting a secure foundation in place before
activity. It would be ludicrous to think that Roger would put the
lift in first before he has done all of the foundational work that he
is currently working on. There currently needs to be a supporting
beam put in place that is strong enough to take the weight of the
lift. That takes careful calculation and the correct purchase.
Equally the foundation of the church must be in place first for the
ministry of the church to develop. That is exactly what we see in the
passage before us.
For
the church in Jerusalem the last Apostle needed to be in place. How
did that work out? There needed to be a son of encouragement to bring
the two opposing factions together.
This
morning we will briefly consider:
- Saul's desire.
- The church's fear.
- Barnabas' ministry.
Saul's
desire:
Saul's
greatest desire was to belong, he had been commissioned by the Lord
to take the gospel to the Gentiles but he knew that he could not do
that in isolation. He needed to be a part of the church. He needed to
belong in the same way that he had always needed to belong to
Judaism. God set a pattern of belonging to each other as His people
when He called Abraham in Ur of the Chaldees. He promised that
through Abraham He would bring about a family of faith. A people who
belong together as brothers and sisters. We see that family come into
being through Isaac and then Jacob who were the forefathers of the
family nation of Israel. The fulfilment of Israel is realised by the
church which Jesus calls His family and also His body. The reality is
that Christians belong together in Christ and in covenant to each
other. I am so pleased that the church here has a covenant and that
we all as members agree to adhere to it. The only problem with it is
that we do not focus on it enough. For that reason we will be
affirming our commitment to our covenant in our next church members
meeting. For this reason we will consider the implications of the
covenant over the next few weeks.
The
first point of our covenant is how we belong to each other. Saul had
a great desire to belong to the church in Jerusalem, he wanted to be
a member of their congregation and also to be in free fellowship with
them. Church membership as many believe is not something of a modern
invention it is evident throughout scripture this passage being a
classic example. Saul set the pattern for the ongoing church and so
like him we must belong to each other but:
Do
we?
If
you are not a member of the church I would ask why not? We can have
all sorts of theological and practical ideals as to why not but they
will not stand up to the scrutiny of scripture. Saul desperately
wanted to join the church in Jerusalem and therefore he made every
effort to join them. So far he had failed because the church was
unwilling to accept him.
Why
not take Saul's example and join us in covenanted fellowship?
The
Church's fear:
We
fully understand the fear of the church, Saul had done them so much
harm but he was now a changed man and he belonged with them. In fact
God had appointed him to be an Apostle and a leader in the church.
The church at that time did not appreciate that and so they had to
learn to discern and submit to God's leading in this matter.
But
it is so hard.
Accepting
the unlovely into the church has always been a great difficulty.
Peter and James interviewed Saul and were not convinced. It is always
right that the leaders interview those who wish to join and for the
leaders to make a decision. The example we have before us shows that
leaders can make mistakes. I am grateful that the church at that time
was open enough for the issue to be raised again after they had
initially made a big mistake. They could not believe and trust Saul's
testimony and therefore they acted by their conscience. In turn Saul
did not go off in a huff as some might but he waited for God to lead
in a different way and to resolve the issue.
At
times we are bound to make decisions that are wrong. We are likely to
accept some who are not yet converted and may reject others who are.
Just as the great Apostle Peter got it wrong then we are equally
likely to so. This proves that local church membership does not
guarantee the salvation of all members.
This
is where our covenant comes in once again.
We
should regularly confirm together that we agree with all that it says
and so from now on it will become a vital part of our members
meetings. It is then up to each member to honestly take stock of
their situation and to either agree to adhere to it or to absent
yourself from membership.
Saul
knew that he belonged and greatly desired to be an active member of
the church. The church could not see that and so they needed a
moderator. Enter Barnabas:
Barnabas'
ministry:
See
what happened next; Barnabas took Saul to the leaders. Barnabas could
see the problem, he knew that Saul was a converted man and he that he
could do something to bring him into fellowship with the church.
What
a man!
How
we need men and women of wisdom like Barnabas who are moderators
within the church today. Our church so needs members who are so
committed to the fellowship and to each other that they are willing
to put themselves on the line in order to bring about a right change.
Barnabas was committed to the needs of the church in Jerusalem. He
had a reputation of encouraging the church. Remember it was he who
earlier had sold a piece of land for the benefit of needy Christians,
now he is responsible for bringing Saul into fellowship. His greatest
desire was for the greater good of all the church.
That
is what church membership is all about.
I
get angry when people tell me that church membership is a closed
society akin to the Mason's. If that is your view then you must
repent of it immediately. Church membership is here in the Mustard
Seed is open to all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as their
Lord and Saviour and are living by faith in Him. If we as leaders
believe that to be the case for anybody then the church will accept
them as part of us, whoever and whatever they are. We are to
encourage them into fellowship and to help them to growth in grace,
faith and witness. We work together to encourage and build each other
up. That is what our covenant demands of us and that is exactly what
we intend to do together.
There
is also another side to the coin. Christians who are not members are
putting themselves outside of the fellowship, they are not covenanted
to us and so therefore how can we care for them properly. If you are
one of these I urge you to deal with it today. What is it that really
prevents you from joining. The scripture does not allow lone ranger
Christians, your own personal preference may do so but where personal
preference is at odds with scripture then it is sin and needs to be
repented of.
If
we want to move forward as the Mustard Seed then we must first of all
bring this most important issue to the fore and deal with it. It is
vital for us both as individuals and corporately as the church. God
has set us in this place in order that we make disciples of people,
we cannot do that if we are disunited. This does not leave room for
carping, unfair criticism, gossip and slander. If you have something
to say about a brother or sister if you have not told them first do
not dare tell others. Fellowship is all about caring for each other
which means that if another believer has done something to offend you
then you are duty bound to tell them first. Then if that does not
have the required effect then and only then it is right to go
elsewhere, not for gossip but to rightly deal with the problem.
It
is amazing that I so often hear about the things I say, or write
wrongly through a third person and often weeks after the original
error. If I spell something wrong or say or do something wrong please
do not tut in your pew and talk to your neighbour about it without
first telling me. Honesty will be build me up, gossip will destroy
me. It is the same for all of us let us put aside petty squabbles and
do what our covenant demands:
In
the name of The Lord Jesus Christ. On the basis of his gospel and
the written Word, and in humble reliance on his saving grace in our
lives, we
covenant together
to be a congregation of believers, part of the global and eternal
people of God, the body or Christ and the fellowship of the Spirit.
We gather to encourage one another to grow in the grace and knowledge
of Jesus, by seeking the continual filling of the Holy Spirit for
holiness and by exercising the gifts of the Holy Spirit in ministry.
One
final observation:
As soon as Saul joined the church, he was about his gospel ministry
in and around Jerusalem and then when things became difficult for him
the church cared for him and supported him. An amazing turn around!
From a position of stalemate to clear gospel progress. That is what
we need to aim for as the church here. Who knows what the next new
church member might bring or do to the church!
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