Transcript

God's Blueprint for a Churchman

Ephesians 5:32
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Pastor Randy Smith

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Two weeks ago we began with God's blueprint for marriage. Today as we conclude the series we come full circle and learn God's blueprint for a churchman. It is only appropriate that once we learn a man's role in a marriage that we will understand and appreciate our role as men in the local church.

After giving his long discourse on the role of husbands in Ephesian 5, the passage I read earlier, Paul concludes with a rather remarkable statement. In verse 32 he says, "This mystery [in reference to human marriage] is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church [spiritual marriage]." In other words, our marriages are created to point to something much higher. God has ordained human marriage so that He might show to the world a spiritual marriage, a greater marriage that Jesus Christ has with His church. So in the way we as men lead our wives and stay committed to our wives and forgive our wives and serve our wives, we show the world Jesus Christ and His faithful love for the church, which is His bride.

Jesus Christ loves the church! The church was purchased with His blood (Ac. 20:28). The church is the only institution God promises to sustain forever (Mt. 16:18). The church is the closest thing to heaven on earth! The church is a big deal in the heart of Christ. Therefore men, we cannot neglect the local church and expect to honor Him.

I have not met many Christians who would say the church is unimportant. Unfortunately their actions speak otherwise. A variety of other activities take priority, and church involvement becomes nothing more than something done when it fits conveniently into the schedule.

Men, how would your present wife have felt if you had told her prior to your marriage that you would simply like to date her the rest of your lives? She fits into your life when your buddies are unavailable. You meet with her when you feel like it. No sacrifice. No service. No commitment. Sixty years of a dating relationship. We have an epidemic of men who simply want to date the church!

Men, how would you feel if you were an athletic coach and your players rarely attended practice and dropped in for a game only when it was convenient? There would be no shared vision. There would be no improvement of skills. The team would have no chance of any success. Yet people wonder why God's church is oftentimes floundering and defeated.

Men, how would you feel if your young children only came home when they wanted to and participated with the family only when it brought them personal benefit and found more reasons to complain than encourage? Dads, you would never accept that in your homes, but too many dads mimic that behavior in the church.

Ephesians 5:25 says, "Christ love[s] the church and gave Himself up for her." Words cannot express His deep love for the church. It was a love so deep that He was willing to die for it. How can we call ourselves followers of Jesus Christ and not share in His love for the local church? How can we praise Jesus for purchasing the church with His blood and then live as though the church matters very little in our lives? How can we read His exhortation to "not forsake our own assembling together" (Heb. 10:25) and then not assemble together as if we were smarter than Him? The church is His bride (Rev. 2:19). The church is His body (Eph. 4:12).

So if you wish to honor your Savior and develop a greater love for the church, you came to the right place this morning. With the time I have remaining as we conclude this series on biblical manhood, I would like to present three ways you can develop a greater love for the local church.

1. PRAYER

First, like anything else, you need to pray. Only God can change your heart. We are told in James 4:2, "You do not have because you do not ask." You will always pray for that which is most important. How much do you desire a greater love for the church? How often are you found praying for it?

It is fascinating how this works. The more you pray for God to give you a heart for the church, the more you will begin to appreciate all that God is doing within the church. And the more you are excited to see God working in the church, the more your prayers will turn to praises. So it begins and ends with God's glory. Our prayers express a humble dependence on Him to work, and then our praises are thanking Him for His glorious work.

Prayer brings a transformation from the inside out. Affections that once went for one thing now begin to pursue something else. It is oftentimes the same kind of thing but in a different arrangement. The time with the guys around the poker table is replaced with a desire to pray with other men. Love for reading the newspaper is replaced with a love for reading the Bible. Passion to see a sports team victorious is replaced with a greater passion to see the church succeed. Once you lived for Friday nights, now you live for Sunday mornings. You get the point. Less than twenty-five years ago the only two places you would have found me on Sunday mornings were in bed sleeping or closing down the bars where I used to be a bouncer. What happened? This is the power of God through prayer to change a heart, a heart that is always in the church even when your body is not. And the more your heart is here, the more your body will naturally follow!

Think of it this way. In Ephesians 5:1 we are called to be "imitators of God." Is God your Father? Is He a good Father? As His child, do you desire to imitate Him? God loves the church. Do you? Despite its failures, He promises never to disown or give up on the church (Heb. 13:5). He promises to nourish and cherish the church (Eph. 5:29). He always has and He always will. Are you a man after God's own heart (1 Sam. 13:14; Ac. 13:22)?

It is God's will that you love the local church. So God will give you that heart for the church if you pray for it. And when you have that heart, you will naturally spend more time praying for the church because the church will become very dear to you. And the more you pray for the church, the more God will bless all of us!

The great preacher C.H. Spurgeon believed in the power of prayer in and for the local church. The story is told about some young students who came for the first time to the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London where Spurgeon preached. The sanctuary, as always was full so Spurgeon asked them if they would like to see the heating apparatus of the church down in the basement. The students initially balked, but Spurgeon insisted. Together they proceeded to the basement where Spurgeon kicked open the door and the students observed 700 souls on their knees asking God to bless the service upstairs with great power. "Gentlemen," said Spurgeon, "This is the heating apparatus of this church."

A passion for the church begins with prayer and then results in prayer for the church. Jesus said, "Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full" (Jn. 16:24).

2. LOVING THE PEOPLE

In addition to prayer, a second way we can come to love the church is to develop a greater love for God's people. As you know, the church is not the building. It is the people. So the more I love God's people, the more I will love the church.

I am always inspired when I read about the Apostle Paul's love for God's people.

Look at what he said in Colossians 2:1, "For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not personally seen my face." To me, that is remarkable. Most pastors consider it a rare occurrence when a Christian will sacrifice for another Christian in the same church. Yet Paul said he went through "great…struggles (Gk-"agon" - Eng-"agonize") for other believers. Moreover, it was for many believers whom he never knew, or as he says, "those who have not personally seen my face." Only a great love for the church will motivate one to do this. And in the remainder of Colossians 2 Paul expresses that great love. He wanted their hearts encouraged (verse 2). He wanted them knit together in love (verse 2). He wanted them to have great assurance of their faith (verse 2). He wanted them to know Christ (verses 2 and 3). He wanted them free from deception (verse 4). He wanted them to know his heart was with them when his body was absent (verse 5). He wanted them to know he rejoiced when he saw their good discipline and stability of faith (verse 5).

Let me show you another example from the apostle Paul. Turn to 2 Corinthians 11, beginning in verse 24: "Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure." And why did he go through all of this? Because he had a great love for the people of God! That should be enough to convince us, but if you need further proof of his love look at verses 28 and 29: "Apart from suchexternal things, there is the daily pressure on me ofconcern for all the churches. Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern?"

D.C. Pastor Mark Dever once asked professing Christians: "Do you want to know that your new life [in Christ] is real? Commit yourself to a local group of saved sinners. Try to love them. Don't just do it for three weeks. Don't just do it for six months. Do it for years. And I think you'll find out, and others will, too, whether or not you love [Jesus Christ]. The truth will show itself" (source unknown).

One of the clearest marks of a Christian is a deep love for God's other children. 1 John 4:20, "If someone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen" (cf. Jn. 15:12, 17).

It is only natural that God would expect us to love the people He loves. And how do we get that love? We realize that we are all branches abiding in the same Vine (Jn. 15). And as we abide in the Vine of Jesus Christ we bear spiritual fruit. And "the fruit of the Spirit is love" (Gal. 5:22). God's love pulsates into our hearts vertically. And we extend it to others horizontally. The Vine gives us the love to love the other branches abiding in the same Vine. That is how we fulfill 1 Thessalonians 3:12 where we are to allow the Lord to "cause [us] to increase and abound in love for one another."

Jesus Christ is the greatest example. Ephesians 5:2 calls us to "walk in love."

Then it tells us how, "Just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us." If you really want to love God's people, begin by loving Jesus Christ. Consider His great sacrifice for the church. And then by God's grace follow His example. Pour out your hearts to Jesus and then your love for His people will naturally follow.

Rick Gray, a missionary from Uganda, said it well: "Unless I maintain a Jesus-centeredness in the midst of ministry, I will be unable to love people well and bring glory to God. Only as I realize my self-worth is determined by how awesome is the Savior's love for me, and not by how productive my work is for Him, will I be free from my drivenness and need to accomplish tasks. When I gaze upon His nail-pierced hands and believe that they are actually reaching out to embrace me, then I am empowered to reach out with similar compassion and care to those around me" (Gray, Quoted in: Chapell, Bryan. Holiness by Grace, 79).

3. GIVING

So to get our hearts to love the church we need to pray, we need to love the people which starts with loving God and finally, we need to start giving with sacrifice. This one may sound strange, but I will support it with Scripture.

In Matthew 6:19-20 Jesus said, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal."

The context obviously speaks about money and our Lord's point is very clear. I have a choice as to where I will spend my money. I can invest in the things of this world and leave them behind when I die (there will be no U-Haul behind your hearse!), or I can invest in the things of heaven and enjoy my investment for all of eternity. So Jesus is asking us a logical question: Where do you want your treasures? Don't be a fool! It is simply a call to pursue your greatest gain!

But what does this have to do with developing a greater love for the church? In the very next verse our Lord says, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Mt. 6:21).

Hmmm, so I do not have a heart for the church. Could it be that my treasure is not here? As Jesus said, His words not mine; our hearts will always follow our treasures. For example, you may care less about Burger King, that is, until you buy stock in Burger King. Now that restaurant wins out over the Golden Arches! You may care less about a political candidate, that is, until you start investing in his campaign. Now you're putting up those little lawn signs all over town! You may care less about God's work the Grace Tabernacle, that is, until you start sacrificing for God's work at the Grace Tabernacle. Your heart will follow your treasure.

I find it interesting that there are many passages that warn how money has the possibility to keep our hearts out of heaven (Mk. 10:25). Yet here, we see how money has the possibility to get our hearts in heaven. Not that we are saved by our financial investments! We are saved solely by faith in Jesus Christ. But sacrificial financial investments in the things of God as we are commanded not only reveals our true citizenship, but it also breaks our love affair with the world.

The great theologian, Augustine, said it well, "Where your pleasure is, there is your treasure; where your treasure is, there is your heart; where your heart is, there is your happiness."

Where is your happiness? What are you most excited about? Does the local church even make the top 10? Your answer is revealed in your conversations, Facebook entries, time spent and checkbook. You want a heart for the church? Then invest in the church like you invest in other things, and as Jesus said your heart and happiness will follow!

Acts 20 is another example where the apostle Paul speaks of his love for the church. There he talks about the "tears" he shed and the "trials" he endured (Ac. 20:19). And his motivation? The words of Jesus Christ, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Ac. 20:35). He gave all he could for the local church, but he could never out-give Jesus Christ. Our faith is following His example. The blessedness of giving to others so that we might receive the most satisfying gains. And the most satisfying gains in our hearts is always loving the things that are deepest in God's heart.

There can be no doubt that God wants us to love His church, and there can be no doubt that those who invest the most in the church, whether it be through finances or attendance or serving or prayer, seem to have the greatest love for this church. Again, your hearts will always follow your treasures.

Men, just like being a good husband and father, loving the local church is the mark of a godly man. In a moment many of you will be signing the "Courageous Resolution." And on that Resolution is a clause that reminds us of the need to be faithful to the local church. And in my humble opinion, just that alone in today's age takes courage.

Running away is easy. Popping in and out is simple. But it takes courage to join a local church and lay down your selfish desires, considering those around you more important than yourself. It takes courage to humble yourself and acknowledge that you need your brothers and sisters in Christ. It takes courage to stop complaining about what's wrong with the church and become a part of the solution. It takes courage to really commit to God's church when so much around us in the world is pulling us in a different direction. Jesus Christ had the courage to die so we can be here. Do we have the courage to live for that which He purchased with His precious blood?