Monthly Archives: July 2008

Church Reproof: We must protect our flocks

Posted by Matthew on July 23, 2008 None comments |

We must protect our flocks

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. John 10:1-3

The environment of a sheepfold is a protected one in which the sheep are guarded from thieves, robbers, and wolves. The sheep know each other, and they know their shepherd. Jesus tells us that a good shepherd lays his life down for the sheep. The bad shepherds on the other hand, are the “hired hands” who “care nothing for the sheep.” and “leaves the sheep and flees” when danger comes. (John 10:13) If the sheepfold is not protected by a good shepherd, the sheep will eventually be scattered. (John 10:12)

Therefore it becomes us as shepherds to know our flock and to know who is coming and going through the gate. This is the point of a “gatekeeper” (John 10:3). You don’t just let anybody into the fold. We must, in fact, beware of dangerous figures or “false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” (Matthew 7:15)

And so the duty of a shepherd is crucial and must not be taken for granted:

Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your

herds… Proverbs 27:23

As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered… Ezekiel 34:12

Therefore the people wander like sheep; they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd. Zechariah 10:2

…seek the young…heal the maimed…nourish the healthy… Zechariah 11:16

Sometimes sheep need to be carried:

He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young. Isaiah 40:11

He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep. John 21:16

Church Reproof: You can’t make yourself a pastor

Posted by Matthew on July 22, 2008 None comments |

You can’t make yourself a pastor.

If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. John 8:54

The glory of a shepherd is not found in the study or the seminary, nor is it found in any self-produced skill or ability. Those who try to mold themselves into shepherds will only disillusion their sheep and likely bring shame upon themselves.

And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. Jeremiah 3:15

Instead, shepherds are given not made. Reading from Ephesians 4:11, “He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers.” These roles are not born or bred of head knowledge, but from within the heart where the Spirit works. Because God provides these certain persons, it is distinct and certain when he does. One who is truly endowed with such giftings would recognize the inconceivable weight and glory of such an occupation and their utter inability to fulfill it apart from the risen Christ who declared, “You can do nothing apart from me.” (John 15:5) He might actually be inclined to doubt and run from the idea just as Jonah ran from God’s calling (Jonah 1:3), or as Moses doubted his calling (Exodus 3:11; 4:1,10, 13), or as Jeremiah was troubled by his calling (Jeremiah 1:6). Such a calling is a gift of the Spirit and thus provokes much wrestling with the Lord like Jacob did “for the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other.” (Galatians 5:17)

J. Oswald Chamber writes in his book Spiritual Leadership,

Spiritual leaders are not elected, appointed, or created by synods or churchly assemblies. God alone makes them. One does not become a spiritual leader by merely filling an office, taking course work in the subject, or resolving in one’s own will to do this task. A person must qualify to be a spiritual leader.[1]

One can easily become a doctor, a pilot, an entrepreneur, or a professional of many sorts, but it is impossible for one to become a pastor, apostle, prophet, or teacher of the living God. They are only from the hand of God and as Jesus says, “with man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

If one tries to make himself a shepherd (or a prophet, etc.) he deceives himself and his glory is nothing. What’s worse is he sets up his flock for disaster and disillusionment, and in the end he will have to give account for his actions.

Jeremiah continues the prophecy:

For the shepherds are stupid and do not inquire of the Lord; therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered. Jeremiah 10:21

Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard; they have trampled down my portion; they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness. Jeremiah 12:10

Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! declares the Lord. Jeremiah 23:1

Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord. Jeremiah 23:2

My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains. From mountain to hill they have gone. They have forgotten their fold. Jeremiah 50:6

And Ezekiel:

Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep?” Ezekiel 34:2

As I live, declares the Lord God, surely because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep… Ezekiel 34:8

And Zechariah too:

My anger is hot against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders; for the Lord of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah, and will make them like his majestic steed in battle. Zechariah 10:3

In contrast to the shepherds after God’s own heart:

I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord. Jeremiah 23:4

And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. Jeremiah 3:15

[1] Oswald Chambers, Spiritual Leadership, (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 1967). p.18

Church Reproof: The Church is the people and can be anywhere

Posted by Matthew on July 12, 2008 None comments |

The Church is the people and can be anywhere

The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.

John 4:16-24

Three places of worship are brought up in this discussion between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. There was the spot on the hill where the Samaritans worshiped, the temple in Jerusalem where the Jews worshiped, and then a secret place within our hearts where true worshipers worship. Jesus said that the Father is looking for the third kind. Not only that, the temple and the hill are obsolete; they are not sacred. You are obligated to worship in the place of your heart. It is the only true worship. Those who will worship God the Father must worship in spirit and truth. A temple, chapel, or cathedral, etc., might be a place to find quietness or solitude (or a lot of other things), but the idea that you need to go there to worship God is false for “the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says: ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? Did not my hand make all these things?’” (Acts 7:48-50)

Christianity and Consumerism

Posted by Matthew on July 5, 2008 None comments |
consumerism

The rise of consumerism since World War II has had a pervasive and profound impact on the Christian religion of the West that is changing some of the most fundamental, and foundational values of the Christian Church. The typical church agenda for helping the needy and oppressed, seeking unity in diversity, and finding spiritual identity has been replaced by agendas for defending the middle class and wealthy, growth through target marketing causing segmentation, and buying into consumer identities. What is in effect happening is a paradoxical battle between charitable mentality and indulgent mindlessness. Read more….

Church Reproof: We must reach the city

Posted by Matthew on July 5, 2008 None comments |

We must reach the city.

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Matthew 22:39

But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

Jeremiah 29:7

There have always been cities—big, condensed, pliable containers of culture, neighbors, power, faith, and war. They harbor, they send out, they fortify, they spread out, they rise up, and they fall. They splurge, they protect, they seek, they isolate, and they multiply. Cities are the people. And the people are the cities. E Pluribus Unum as the American coin says, or “From many, one”. Cities are the indelible examples of how people unite, or don’t unite, and what happens in the course thereafter.

Cities have been around since the beginning. The ruins of many of the old cities of the past remain to remind the future inhabitants that a city once existed here. They remind them that a force of many minds pooled together once drastically altered life and land long before they were even born. They were our fathers and mothers, and we came from them. We identify with them as people: we have culture because they had culture; we have customs because they had customs; we have intelligence because they had it first; and sadly, we have war because they had war. We are not separate from them nor are we different from them, but we were brought forth by them—we are of them. Sons of Man. Daughters of Man. In reality, there is no “tabula rasa”.

In this vast “tree of life”, as it were, no one could measure its sheer size having grown from its roots of but one single family over the course of thousands of years. Yet it is relatively young. From the time of Noah there have only passed around 57 full 70-year generations (Since 3-4 generations can be ‘overlapping’ at the same time, there have probably been at least a couple hundred generations total). It is spectacular to realize the exponential growth from a couple parents to almost 7 billion children today in so few generations.

When the numbers grow the cities grow, and when the cities grow they become powerful. In the story of the Tower of Babel we find an example of the capability of not only those people at that time, but of any people anywhere united in mass numbers together to do something ‘great’ for themselves. Cities today are nothing new, and the ambition to grow and be great, powerful, and wealthy, is nothing new either.

In the wisdom of the Proverbs we are given some guidelines for the differences between a blessed city and a cursed city. They are lessons to teach us not only how physical cities can benefit, but also how we, as citizens of the set-apart “City on a Hill”, the Heavenly City of Jerusalem (Hebrew 12:22), can be blessed. Conversely, it shows us how we can end up as ‘ancient ruins’. But it all depends on that ‘blessing’ upon which the truth of Proverbs 11:11 hinges. Therefore we pray for and seek the welfare of the city.

By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is overthrown. Proverbs 11:11

From out of the city the dying groan, and the soul of the wounded cries for help… Job 24:12

‘A wise man scales the city of the mighty and brings down the stronghold in which they trust. Proverbs 21:22

We need to be in the cities. More importantly, we need to be wise in the cities. In our age, money has become the church’s evangelistic tool of choice. However, it has proved very little. Too much money has been thrown scandalously into hasty and foolish ideas that have not been wrought in prayer or in waiting upon the Lord. The response to such church-foolery is city mockery. The kind of witness that Jesus had on a city was starkly different—he would simply love his neighbor, and find suddenly that “the whole city was gathered together at the door.” (Mark 1:29-34)

What is the ultimate evangelistic tool? Here’s what the LORD says:

When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.

You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.

You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning. You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.

You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the blood of your neighbor: I am the Lord.

You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. (Leviticus 19:9-18)

We are not to be partial to the poor, nor defer to the great. Instead God wants his people to be wise and to minister in love to those who fit the description of “neighbor”. There is nothing very flashy or glamorous about this kind of witness, but it does show forth the great “I Am”.

Church Reproof:We must bring the Kingdom community to our homes but not forsake the assembly

Posted by Matthew on July 3, 2008 None comments |

We must bring the Kingdom community to our homes but not forsake the assembly

Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.”

John 21:12

“The third kind of service should be a truly evangelical order and should not be held in a public place for all sorts of people. But those who want to be Christians in earnest and who profess the Gospel with hand and mouth should sign their names and meet alone in a house somewhere to pray, to read, to baptize, to receive the sacraments, and to do other Christian work…”

Martin Luther

To accomplish the Great Commission, we must disciple all the nations and peoples. But how is this done? Can we finish the task if we limit ourselves to large theaters and preaching? This was not Jesus’ style of discipleship.  Does that mean then, that Jesus has failed in building his church like he said he would? (Matthew 16:18) Most certainly not.

Jesus is, in fact, building his church. But how? When we read the New Testament with open eyes, we can see those terms very clearly. For many centuries Christians have worked very hard in many ways in seeking the discipling of the nations. Very often however, it has been caught up in a dysfunctional mess of politics, greed, and personal agendas. Man is very capable of pouring lots of energy and resources into their agendas to make things work, but he cannot build the church no matter how hard he tries. So why are we pushing Jesus out of the picture and trying to take over his job? In a powerful picture painted by our brother Ezekiel, found in chapter sixteen of his book, we see a faithless Bride forsaking God and trying to do things on her own—and the result is a mess.

His salvation and his Holy Spirit have been made freely available to all. However his presence is conditional to the state that our hearts are in. The reality we must face is that though we may gather together in a meeting house to hear a preacher and sing songs about God and see growing numbers of attendees and increased giving God may in fact not be moving and not be present—despite what many of us in the pulpits would like to believe. God can and does make us to succeed (2 Chronicles 26:5, 1 Kings 2:3, 1 Samuel 18:14, Job 42:10-12) but success does not mean that God is moving. (Isaiah 1:12-31, Revelation 3:14-20) Part of being sleepy, lukewarm Christians is growing numb enough to our desperate need of his Spirit to the point where we accept in a mechanical way that God is moving and present when in reality he’s little more than omnipresent.  Sin and disobedience to the Gospel will hinder his manifest presence. Sacrifices and oblations do not automatically mean God shows up. God doesn’t look for the tithe or the sacrifice of your time on Sunday morning or how hard you work on your sermon or how good your music is. He looks for the obedient heart. It is a faith-obedience and not a work-obedience. (Romans 1:5; 16:26) To obey is better than sacrifice! (1 Samuel 15:22) It is in this obedience that we find Christ moving and building his church.

The Gospel of the Kingdom needs our homes. Being a church means being a Kingdom family. Consequently, the simplest and most effective way of discipling nations is by planting families of the Holy Spirit. What is increasingly being called the “next reformation” is simply a movement of God to break the old status quo and flawed worldview that sees church chapels as sacred and houses as secular. It is not a voiding of local congregations by any means, but simply bringing balance back to a lopsided tradition. You will notice that when we read in Acts about the Christians gathering together, they gathered both on Solomon’s Porch in great numbers and in houses as small close-knit families.

This is the pattern we see in the New Testament. Jesus reached out through the homes, taught in the homes, and trained his disciples to go from home to home to spread the Gospel. The Church also started in the home, and disciples multiplied throughout the homes. Of course, these families also gathered together in the temple courts for preaching, strength, unity, and witness. But at the time of Constantine, this movement of the Holy Spirit was largely undermined when the ecclesiology of Church became less of a testament to a future Kingdom and more of an earthly political empire.

Consider the ways of worldly religion with the revolutionary Way that Jesus proclaimed with the coming of his Kingdom:

Religion:

Worship is sanctioned in temples; ritual and ceremony exclusive to temples.

 The Way of Jesus:
Worship starts in your closet and consumes your entire lifestyle. (Matthew 6:6, Romans 12:1)
Set-apart hours or days, places and objects; separation between “sacred” and “secular”. Set-apart lives (the Way of life); no division of “sacred” and “secular”. All of creation is “sacred”. (Psalm 24:1, 1 Corinthians 10:25-28)

This Way of Jesus was destined to prosper on the household level of society. It does not undermine the place of vocational teachers and preachers of the word, nor does it undermine organization, structure, or liturgy. If anything, it supports those. There will always be organization, structure, and liturgy in our daily living as a family of God, small or large. This is because we are a fallen race in a fallen world. Yet, there is freedom in the Way of Jesus in all these things because it is ultimately the heart that God is after. Having a heart of worship the way Jesus described is humanly impossible just as the building of the Church is. We must worship in the Spirit and in Truth. (Jeremiah 17:9, John 4:23-24, Luke 18:27) With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.

The church…multiplied. Acts 9:31

..the number of disciples multiplied greatly… Acts 6:7