REFORMED CHURCH BELLVILLE: SUNDAY SERMON 17 OCTOBER 2004 MORNING SERVICE

Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Beloved grace and peace be to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, through the mighty working of God the Holy Spirit.
Amen

Psalm of Praise: 105:1+2
Confession of faith: Nicea
Law
Psalm: 32:3
Prayer
Hymn: 2-4:3
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 14

Text: 1 Corinthians 14:12

“So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excell in gifts that build up the church."

Many believers do not know that they themselves are the church of the Lord.

They think that the church is made up of the elders and the Minister – something outside themselves.
Hence these members of the congregation do not know what their responsibilities are and with it their obligation to participate in the church.
Perhaps our manner of speech contributes to this misunderstanding, for we say that "we go to church" as if this means that this occurs only at a certain place and when we leave that place the church remains there. That is not true.

We consider the following:

Who is the church?
What does the New Testament teach us?
Reaching out in the church.

1. Who is the church?

We are the church. We are the church every day. We remain the church of the Lord even when we are at work or at school or play at sports. That which happens in the church, as made up of us, in other words, that what we do every day, is our answer to the will of the Lord.

That leads us to a statement which is often heard – that the church "must fulfill my needs". When discussing this statement we must remember the following:

Firstly, that our needs are not necessarily correct because we are sinful people with a skewed will.
Secondly, the church is the body of Christ and must therefore do what the Lord wants it to do.
We are not the church because we decided to be it. God made us His church. Bearing this in mind we must always know that in the church the initiative is with the Lord but that I, as a member of the church, have a spontaneous responsibility which I must obey and so glorify God.

To understand this we must return to the beginning of the history of the church – we shall see how Israel was made the people of the Covenant without having a choice in the matter.

What makes this matter applicable to us is the fact that the Lord calls these people his church or congregation.
It is exactly the same word that is used in the New Testament for church/congregation.
In this we see a clear revelation that in the history of Israel the Lord described the history of His church.
The principles that applied to the relationship between God and Israel are equally applicable to us today.

Hear how the Psalmist describes it:

"Remember thy congregation which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this Mount Zion; wherein thou hast dwelt". (Psalm 74:2 Gideon's International Bible)

In the New International Version the translation does not follow the original as closely and reads:

"Remember the people you purchased of old, the tribe of your inheritance, whom you redeemed – Mount Zion, where you dwelt".

The people thus had no choice whether they wished to be the congregation (church, assembly) of the Lord or not.

The reality is that they are and must obey the Lord.
They were given rules for every facet of their lives.
If they refused to obey these rules, they were punished with death. So strict was the Lord.

Take as an example Exodus 12 where the Lord prescribes to the whole community of Israel the way in which the Passover is to be celebrated.

The Lord's command prescribes the day on which the congregation (church, assembly) must slaughter the sacrificial lamb and that all yeast must be removed from the house.
Whoever disobeys must be cut off from Israel. The whole congregation was commanded to celebrate this festival. (Verses 3, 6, 19, 47 especially)

What principles are founded here?

That the Lord demands of the church to do certain things.
Today we no longer bring sacrifices but in those days the Lord's sacrifice which was to come was still symbolically represented in the sacrifices.
Now His sacrifice is a reality and the sacrifices no longer have a place in our worship.

Other ordinances have remained such as the instruction that the Lord wants His congregation to assemble at certain times.

From the beginning there were assemblies where God was with His congregation.

There are various examples such as Exodus 16:9:

"Then Moses told Aaron, say to the entire Israelite community, "Come before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling".

At these assemblies everybody was present. Not only men or only women or only children. Each time the Lord commanded that the whole community (congregation) was to be present. (Exodus 16:9, 35:1; Leviticus 8:3+4)

There was a marked difference between these assemblies and the other gatherings of the people.
At these assemblies the Lord was present – "… and the entire assembly came near and stood before the Lord." (Leviticus 9:5)

Why did the Lord want the entire congregation to assemble before Him?

Because He wanted their worship and to address them.
Sometimes He wished to make His will known to them. See for example Exodus 35:1:

"Moses assembled the whole Israelite community and said to them "These are the things the Lord has commanded you to do".

2. What does the New Testament teach us?

It was not only in the Old Testament that the Word of the Lord was made known in the assemblies of worship.

In the New Testament it was still so and the Lord commanded the church to watch over one another to do so.
We read of an instruction given to the church of the Colossians that they must see to it that after Paul's epistle was read to them it was to be read also in the church of the Laodiceans.
And they must in turn read the letter he sent to the Laodiceans. (Colossians 4:16)

The church is also where the presbiters must pray for the sins committed by the congregation and pray the Lord for forgiveness.

We read how Moses and Aaron fell on their knees and prayed – Numbers 16:22:

"But Moses and Aaron fell face down and cried out: "O God, God of the spirits of all mankind, will you be angry with the entire assembly when only one man sins?"

Much more happens when a congregation is assembled in worship than that the congregation prays together.

They must also praise the Lord with their singing and music.
We read in the Bible that while the singers sang and the trumpeters played the whole assembly bowed in worship. (2 Chronicles 29:28)
Elsewhere we read that the priest Ezra praised the Lord, the Great God and all the people lifted their hands and responded, Amen! Amen! Then they bowed down and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground. (Nehemiah 8:6)

From the Bible it is very clear that every believer is obliged to take part in the assembly of worship and by doing so to bear witness to the glory of the Name of the Lord in the congregation and to praise the Name of the Lord in the assembly of the congregation. (Psalm 22:22, Psalm 26:12, Psalm 35:18, Psalm 40:9, Psalm 111:1)

In the New Testament it remains the same. We read that the congregation was assembled together and praised the Lord.

"… praising God and enjoying the favour of all people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." (Acts 2:47

These assemblies of the Lord with His congregation were not voluntary occasions where people could attend or stay away as it pleased them.
Those who stayed away were punished by the Lord. Remember what happened at Mizpah (Judges 21:5). Then the Israelites asked, "Who from all the tribes of Israel has failed to assemble before the Lord? For they had taken a solemn oath that anyone who failed to assemble before the Lord at Mizpah should certainly be put to death .."

Again, it was not only in the Old Testament that this was the command of the Lord. In the New Testament the Lord repeated this.

In the epistle to the Hebrews it is clear that poor attendance at church assembly is considered to be sinful – Hebrews 10:25.

"Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

This communion that God demands between Him and His congregation should not be a forced relationship.

It must be a joyful and happy communion because it is a redeeming communion.
It is a relationship with the Lord because He has redeemed us and set us free from the bonds of hell.
The Lord wants us to carry this relationship into our communion with our fellow believers.
The assemblies of the congregation are also occasions where the Lord admonishes the people to be holy and comforts them in telling them to remember that He is their holy God. (Leviticus 19:2)

3. Reaching out in the church

There are also occasions when the Lord speaks to His people and requires of them to keep his congregation holy by expelling the sinners among them – for example Leviticus 24:14:

"Take the blasphemer outside the camp. All those who heard him are to lay their hand on his head and the entire assembly is to stone him."

(Also Numbers 15:33 and 19:20)

The principle given here is the church discipline.

Under the first covenant it was very physical – the transgressor was to be put to death as a symbol of the eternal death.
In the New Testament the principles are maintained but now spiritually and no longer physically. People who persist in their sinfulness are now cast out – Mathew 18:17.

"If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector."

The whole congregation is supposed to know one another and to care for one another. They must share their burdens.

If somebody is ill all must pray for this member and actively help where they can.
The principle is that we must help one another carry our burdens – then it is not so difficult for a person in his hardship and despair.
See for example Acts 12:5 where Peter is kept in prison but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

The congregation should not only share one another's hardship. They must also share in one another's joy. We read of Paul on his return to Jerusalem telling the entire congregation of their prosperous journey – Acts 14:27.

"On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles." (and Acts 15:4)

The church is also where people should solve their differences. Today many Christians take their brothers in Christ to court. This is wrong and should not be so.

We read of a dispute between Paul and Barnabas on the one hand and a number of fellow Christians on the other side. They decided to call on the church to resolve the question.

We read of this in Acts 15:2

"This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question."

To summarise: The Lord made us his church. In that we had no choice. Now we are his church and we are under his command.

He expects of us that we shall worship Him and to oppose with all our might the works of the devil.
He expects of us to be His church that does His will and to live on that basis.
n other words – our daily work, our marriage life, the education of our children, our friends, everything must rest on the basis that I am a member of God's church and that in all I do I execute the will of God.

This spiritual attitude can only come to full fruition in people who have a close and vibrant relationship with God, people who vigourously and ardently participate in the church of God. That is where our text which says that these matters also apply to us fits in.

We must try to excel in the gifts spiritual that build up the church.

We must lead by example.

We can only be an example to people outside the church if we act with wisdom towards people outside the congregation.
The Lord tells us to make the best use of the opportunity (Colossians 4:5).

It is a serious matter. The Lord Jesus may appear on the clouds at any moment. No one knows the hour.

The moment it occurs his work of salvation will be fully revealed and His eternal kingdom commence.
Remember that there is no power in heaven or in earth that can stop Him – Ephesians 1:22.

"And God placed all things under his feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church."

Jesus Christ is our only Head. The Bible teaches that the church is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. (Ephesians 1:23)

Let us obey Him alone, because in obedience to Him there lies a great future. Remember the Lord's promise:

"And to present her (the church) to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless" (Ephesians 5:27)

We are the bearers of this truth and in this we must persevere. Paul wrote of all this to Timothy. In his letter he explains how one must behave in God's family.

He emphasises that the household of God is the church of the living God. The church is the bearer and protector of the truth. (1 Timothy 3:15)
Through the death on the cross of the Lord Jesus the Holy Spirit was poured out on us to help us in keeping the truth. At an early stage in the modern history of our religion the believers already testified that the Holy Spirit assists them. In Acts 9:31 it is written that the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened and encouraged by the Holy Spirit. It grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.

The Holy Spirit lifts us up. Because it rounds off the work of Jesus Christ in us. In the last days it is finalized. We also confess that the Lord Jesus chose for himself a church and that through His Word and Spirit He maintains it and protects it from creation to his Second Coming.

This is exactly what happens to us.

The Holy Spirit assembles the elect in churches.
They study the Word of God and then the Holy Spirit guides them through the Word of the Lord into the facts of faith.
The Holy Spirit renders the Word intelligible to us and teaches us how to worship the Lord. He teaches us what the purpose of our life is.
The Holy Spirit guides the church to control world history in the Name of the Lord.
The Holy Spirit also works in each individual believer. This He does when we achieve insight into ourselves and know when we sin against the Lord. It is He who leads us to repentence and into a better life. In that way we partake in the gifts of the cross of Jesus Christ.

That is exactly what Isaiah says: "Come let us go up into the house of the God of Jacob … He will teach us his ways so that we may walk in his paths. The Law will go out from the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem." (Isaiah 2:3)

We know that we are sinners, but our comfort is that the Lord will never reject his church (his believers).

The Lord punishes us when we sin in that we may repent.
The Lord forgives us and our sins when we repent.
His love remains with us eternally.

Amen

Closing Prayer

Psalm: 68:8

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with your all.
Amen

Dr MJ du Plessis, Reformed Church Bellville
17 October 2004 (morning)
NIV