Jesus' Vision For His Church

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=50 BGCOLOR="#333366" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Jesus' Vision For His Church</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=165 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id434.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="From Grief To Joy"><U><B><IMG SRC="007151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="21"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="35" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="20" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="13"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="27"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> Previous/Next Sermon</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="www.stanbaker.org"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Biblical and Theological Studies"><U><B>Biblical and Theological Studies</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Church Ministry"><U><B>Church Ministry</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sermon Notes"><U>Sermon Notes</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Personal"><U><B>Personal</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> <div> <A HREF="mailto:stan@stanbaker.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:stan@stanbaker.org"><U>stan@stanbaker.org</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=430 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>"Jesus' Vision for his Church," </B><A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=John+17:1-26" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U><B>John 17:1-26</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>Berean Bible Church, March 7, 2004am</B></div> <div> <I>Note: This concludes the series that has been once a month </I></div> <div> <I>on the first Sunday </I><I>in celebration of the Lord's Table in our church.</I></div> <bR> <div>      Mark Twain used to say he put a dog and a cat in a cage together as an experiment, to see if they could get along. They did, so he put in a bird, pig and goat. They, too, got along fine after a few adjustments. Then he put in a Baptist, Presbyterian, and Catholic; soon there was not a living thing left (Phillip Yancey, W<I>hat's So Amazing About Grace</I>, Zondervan, 1997, p. 33).</div> <div>      2000 years since the time of Christ have brought a lot of activities in the name of Christ. People have made up their own rules and lived in evil, in the name of Christ. People have expressed love and have killed one another, in the name of Christ. In the name of Christ, people defend homosexuality and abortion and others condemn those behaviors. In the name of Christ, people fight and divide over worship, and colors of paint and carpet, and over offenses that occurred three generations back. In the name of Christ, we have neglected the least of these his brothers and sisters who needed our help. We have built fortresses around rescue stations, to keep those in need of rescue out. And we can't wait for Jesus to return, so he can tell us what a "marvelous" job we have been doing, even though we have been neglecting his direction.</div> <div>      In Jesus' prayer on the night before he died, we find him revealing the things that were closest to his heart. We see his passion, his vision, his desire for his followers. As Jesus' prayed for his followers, what did he see for them? What did Jesus see for his church, even 2000 years later?</div> <div>      If you are follower of Jesus, your life needs to be ordered around Christ's desire for his followers. What's the point of calling yourself a follower of Jesus if you are not going to follow him? If you are not yet a follower of Jesus, you might be a bit confused about what Jesus represents, because of the confusion surrounding things which have been done in his name. As a church, our work and activities need to be centered in what Christ had in mind for the church.</div> <bR> <div>      From <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=John+17:1-26" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>John 17:1-26</U></A>, we discover Jesus' plan or vision  for his people, which was:</div> <div> <B>1. To build a community.</B></div> <div>      He wanted to build a community of people belonging to him, connected together with one another, connected by a common bond with Christ himself. Being part of this community begins with the experience of salvation (vss. 1-8).</div> <div>      Jesus specifically prayed for a community that would experience three things (vss. 9-23):</div> <div>      A. Unity (vss. 11, 20-26). </div> <div>      This is the most emphasized part of the prayer. Unity is, of course, based on truth (vs. 17), and our relationship in Christ (vss 22-23). Two women, Euodia and Syntyche in <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Phil+4:2" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>Philippians 4:2</U></A>, were to "agree <I>in the Lord</I>;" whatever their differences were, they had that in common. And so do we, regardless of our other differences. Our differences may seem huge, but they are nothing compared to what we have in common in Christ, when we hold to his truth.</div> <div>      B. Protection from the evil one (vss. 11, 15). </div> <div>      We live <I>in</I> the world, but we are not <I>of</I> it (vss. 14, 16). The world is a spiritual danger zone. But the defenses of hell will not prevail against the church (Matthew 16:18). In a Peanuts cartoon Lucy demanded that Linus change TV channels, threatening him with her fist if he didn't. "What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?" asks Linus. "These five fingers," says Lucy. "Individually they're nothing but when I curl them together like this into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold." "Which channel do you want?" asks Linus. Turning away, he looks at his fingers and says, "Why can't you guys get organized like that?" We find our greatest protection from the evil one and his schemes when we are connected to one another.</div> <div>      C. Holiness (vs. 17).</div> <div>      Again, we live <I>in</I> the world, but we are not <I>of</I> it. Therefore, we live differently. We base our lifestyles and moral choices on the teachings and character of Jesus Christ (the truth of God). And we need each others' help to live like this.</div> <bR> <div>      Living in this kind of community would be easy if people were perfect. But no one is, not even you. Yet we are to live as the people of God together, in community. Romans 12:10 says, "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves." It is a very simple concept. It is not complicated. It's difficult, but not complicated. <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Matt+22:36-40" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>Matthew 22:36-40</U></A> tells us that the two great commands are to love God and love people. To think you love God if you don't love other people is to deceive yourself. You can't love God <I>without</I> loving people. </div> <div>      How can you contribute to community? 1) Get connected with people. 2) Show love by putting others first. 3) Forgive when you are wronged, and ask for forgiveness when you wrong others. 4) Use your words to build others up rather than tear them down (words are either your most powerful tool or your most dangerous weapon).</div> <bR> <div> <B>2. </B>[Jesus' plan was] <B>To build a community that would reproduce (vss. 18, 20, 23).</B></div> <div>      We don't have to have a "fortress" mentality, because Jesus prayed for our protection (vs. 15). Those first disciples told others, and eventually someone told us, and we get to go and tell others about Jesus.</div> <div>      Our community and unity with Christ and one another is the foundation of our outreach (vss. 21, 23). If we are going to make a difference in the lives of people who are not yet followers of Jesus Christ, we must <I>be the community</I> Jesus intended.</div> <div>      </div> <div>      Jesus promised his presence as we become the community he intended us to be (vss. 24-26). He is at the center of all, if we would just listen to him and follow him. Are you letting Jesus turn you into <I>an answer to his prayer</I>, or are you <I>sabotaging his efforts</I> to build this kind of community?</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> copyright, 2004, Stanley Baker</div> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> </td> </tr></table></body>