- What's amazing to me that God knew exactly what topic to talk about in the midst of the crisis that we have here in our nation and in our world. Many of you know that we have been in the midst of a series called "Unshakeable Truth," here at Rockpoint Church, covering the essentials of our faith. We had set up months ago to talk about what is the church and to do that on this Sunday and next Sunday and had no idea that the Coronavirus was going to impact so many of us. It is amazing that God in His sovereign will has given us an opportunity to talk about who we are as the church. I've oftentimes commented and joked here at Rockpoint Church that I had a drug problem when I was five years of age. I was drug to church Sunday morning for Sunday School, I was drug to church for church on Sunday, for Sunday night Sunday training, and for Sunday night worship service, for prayer meetings on Wednesday, and just about everything else during the week. My dad was serving in the church, my mom was serving in the church, and we were there all the time. I have great memories of growing up in the church. Some of you have great memories, some of you have bad memories. Some of you didn't even grow up in the church. Some of you have just tried to figure out what is a church and what is healthy. Despite all of that, the good and the bad, it's that way because the church is not a building. Church is a group of people and no matter where we are, no matter where we are meeting, it has nothing to do with the facility of Rockpoint Church or wherever you may attend, it has everything to do with God's people. That's why the situation that is before us is really giving us an opportunity and a platform to communicate the meaning of church, what the church consists of, and how we oughta live out the light of Jesus Christ in our communities at large. What we're gonna do is we're gonna talk about what the church is today with some metaphors that the New Testament gives us regarding God's family, His household. I want you to take your Bibles out, you've probably got them handy right there in your living rooms. Use your electronic version and I want you to turn to Ephesians 2 and then I want you to locate verse 11. We're gonna work our way through a couple of different passages, we'll have all the outline points on the screen. You can download the notes in the comment section on the Facebook page, as well. Go to Ephesians 2, locate verse 11, grab your pen, and you're gonna wanna jot down some notes as we work our way through our time together. We oftentimes say here at Rockpoint that we are a community of broken and imperfect people who have found hope in Jesus Christ. Somebody else said that the church is actually a hospital. Why? Because people are coming, looking for answers, and trying to find healing, not just physically, but for their soul, something that satisfies them. It is the church of Jesus Christ that is God's plan to communicate His message for the world. See, the church is God's family. The church is never referred to as a building. In the first century, churches met throughout houses. So in light of our crisis today, it's an opportunity for us to really experience how the first century church was actually serving and working and being mobilized into their community. That's why, even though it's sad with the tragic loss of individual lives through this crisis that's going on, it is an incredible metaphor and an illustration, over the next couple of weeks at least, for us as church to realize the church is not a building. It's a group of people and to experience how church was done in the first century, how we are mobilized in our community and our homes, places of business, meeting together as Life Groups, as community groups and actually moving into our community as salt and light. I think it makes us aware of the needs around us and the opportunities before us. The church is made up of a group of people. God's family is made up of all people. All of us. Now let's look down verse 11, actually let's jump down to verse 13 of Ephesians 3. Verse 13 there, he says, "But now in Christ Jesus "you who once were far off have been brought near "by the blood of Christ. "For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one, "and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall "of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments "expressed in ordinances, that He might create "in Himself one new man in place of the two, "so making peace." Then he says, "and might reconcile us both to God "in one body through the cross, "thereby killing the hostility." What Paul is talking about is the church made up of people who have come to know Christ as Savior and Lord. As a matter of fact, in chapter three of the book of Ephesians, he talks about how the mystery of the Messiah, the mystery of Jesus Christ has finally been revealed in the New Testament. There was a Savior to come, it was pointed to throughout the Old Testament, and Paul is finally saying the day is here. Jesus Christ is the Messiah. Jesus Christ is the gatekeeper for those who wanna enter into this new, incredible family called the church, made up of all people who have trusted in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. He says that through the cross and the resurrection, confessing Christ as Savior and Lord, you get to enter into this unique family. Individuals that are Jews, Gentiles from the four corners of the globe, we enter into the church. That's what's called the universal church, made up of all believers of all time, all over the globe. But there's also a reference to the local church, such as Rockpoint Church or wherever you may attend church on a regular basis. Matter of fact, Paul writes letters, that's what most of the books in the New Testament are, they're letters to churches, to help them understand how to be the church. It doesn't matter what your background is. It doesn't matter what your status is in life, what your work environment, your race, doesn't matter. Once you trust Christ as Savior, you're part of God's church. God is our Father and we are members of His household. The church is God's family and God is our Father and we're part of His house now. Look at verse 18 of Ephesians 2. He goes on and He says, "For through Him," Christ, "we both have access in one Spirit to the Father." That's the Holy Spirit. "So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, "but you are fellow citizens with the saints," that means all believers, "and members of," and I love this phrase, "the household of God." Paul says it this way in Romans 8:15-16. He says, "For you did not receive the spirit of slavery "to fall back into fear, but you have received "the Spirit of adoption as sons, "by whom we cry, Abba! Father!" A very tender term, "Abba Father." God the Father is my daddy. "The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit "that we are children of God." Now we're part of His house and I have a loving heavenly Father. No matter what I do in my life, He doesn't love me less and He doesn't love me more, He loves me perfectly, all the time, no matter what. I don't have to live my life for His love, I'm living my life now from His love. I know here at Rockpoint Church, we emphasize the domestic family. We want to help you as families grown in your faith and understand how to disciple your kids and help them grow, but the predominate image in the New Testament is not simply the domestic family, but the church family. The reason for that is is because we come from a variety of backgrounds. Many of you came to Christ later in life. Some of you didn't even have a dad. Maybe you didn't have a mom. Maybe you were adopted into a family as a foster child and eventually a set of loving parents brought you into their home and are now raising you. We come from a variety of different backgrounds, a variety of different spirituals beliefs. That's why I love the image that once you put your trust and faith in Christ as Savior, no matter what that background is, you're now part of a new household. We are brothers and sisters in Christ, we learn to get along with one another. You're meeting in homes right now just like the first century church did which is another metaphor that we're part of the same family. Let's take a look at another one. The church is the body of Christ. I love this one. We are the personal representative of the Lord Jesus Christ on earth. That's what it means. We are the body of Christ. We are to represent Him. We are to honor Him with our own lives. We are to live differently and love radically as the hands and feet of Jesus in this world. That's why the crisis that we're entering in today, which is really the illustration all morning long, is an opportunity for us as the church meeting in homes to really take the principles that are found here, the truths about who we are as God's people, from black and white to color. Paul says in Romans 12:4-5, "For as in one body "we have many members, and the members do not all "have the same function, so we, though many, "are one body in Christ, "and individually members one of another." Paul is talking about how we are joined together as members in this new body from a variety of backgrounds, a variety of settings, but we come together to be the very body of Christ. Now you're in the book of Ephesians. I want you to go left from there and I want you to go to 1 Corinthians and I want you to locate chapter 12, verse 12. 1 Corinthians 12:12. 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12 talk about how we are one body and yet we have been given various gifts, gifts in order to unify together around a common mission and message, but those gifts also allow us to serve one another and to really be the body of Christ in the world. Look at verse 12, 1 Corinthians 12:12, Paul says this. Again he's writing to a church oftentimes meeting in homes. He says, "For just as the body is one and has many members, "and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, "so it is with Christ. "For in one Spirit," this is the Holy Spirit, "we were all baptized into one body, "Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, "and all were made to drink of one Spirit. "For the body does not consist of one member but many." Paul's entire point here is that once you've come to Christ as Savior and Lord with the variety of colors around the world, nationalities, personalities, it doesn't matter. We come together in this new, incredible family called the church. That happens because we accepted Christ as Savior and Lord and then we were baptized by the Holy Spirit. He lives, He dwells within us, and He unifies us as brothers and sisters in Christ. Then he goes throughout the rest of the chapter and he talks about how each and every believer has been given one spiritual gift, at least one spiritual gift so that we can begin to serve one another and care for one another. Some of us have public gifts, some of us have private gifts, but we are to honor individuals who serve, regardless of where they serve or the gifts that God has given to them. We are to work together in unity, uniting around a mission and a message to be God's people, the church, in our world. We're also supposed to care for one another. If you look now at verse 25 of 1 Corinthians 12, Paul says this, He unites us "that there may be no division "in the body." That means we need to get along with one another, regardless of our disagreements. Why? Because the cause of Christ is at stake. We set aside some of those petty things so we can unify around a mission and message. He says here "that there may be no division in the body, "but that the members may have the same care "for one another. "If one member suffers, all suffer together; "if one member is honored, all rejoice together." Then in verse 27, "Now you are the body of Christ "and individually members of it." Paul is saying this, we're the body and therefore we suffer together and we care for one another. What a great picture for what is happening right now. We have a chance to be the church, to care for one another in the midst of suffering and difficulties, sicknesses and in health, and care for one another in the body of Christ. Paul says it this way in Galatians 6:10. He says, "So then, as we have opportunity, "let us do good to everyone, "and especially to those who are of the household of faith." Yes, we're to serve in the community, but we need to be perceptive and aware of the needs within the body of Christ. There's a reason for that because as we love one another, we'll see this in just a few minutes, that becomes our defining mark as a following group of Christ followers. Now we care for people here at Rockpoint through a variety of different ways. Opportunities praying for one another through our deacon fund, Life Groups, care ministry, plenty of opportunities to begin the process of caring for one another. Now Jesus' half brother, in the book of James 1:27 says this. He says, "Religion that is pure and undefiled "before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows "in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained "from the world." If this crisis does anything, it allows us to really begin to perceive the need. It raises the level of our perception of what is going on around us in our communities, those within our small groups, within our schools, within our nation. And as followers of Jesus Christ, as that becomes aware for us, we begin to pray for how God might mobilize us to be in our communities so that we can really be the church. Paul takes it a step further when he begins to talk about how we care for one another and how we suffer with one another and how we reach out and help with the variety of gifts that we have. If I have an opportunity to serve, it's my chance to exercise that spiritual gift. My daughter just got back from Zambia yesterday. She was over serving in Africa as she was with her cohort in her nursing group. It was fascinating to hear some of the stories of what she did in order to take care of people. She's not a doctor, there were doctors that are gifted to function as doctors. She's studying to be a nurse and so she was able to play her part. It's interesting that even different nurses do different things. We all have different gifts and abilities to help care for people and just like we're caring for someone physically, we have a chance now as the body of Christ to care for one another spiritually. It doesn't mean that everybody does the same thing. It means that we use the gifts that God has given to us to encourage, to be involved with one another, and to serve. It's why we encourage you to get in a small group, get in a community. Community is not developed in rows. It is developed in circles and relationships in homes. That's what we say here at Rockpoint. We want you involved so that you can learn to suffer and care for one another. But also, as we've already talked about, we serve together with various gifts. That's the entire point of Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12. We all have a spiritual gift and it's an opportunity for us to begin to unite around the essentials of the faith, as we've been talking about over the past several months. It's an opportunity for us to understand that there's diversity on the non-essentials, but in everything we practice love and charity and that's important to understand because we're all different personalities with different ideas about how things should take place, but we unite around a message and a mission. Here's the way Paul says it in Ephesians 4:11-12. He says, "And he gave the apostles, the prophets, "and evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, "to equip the saints for the work of ministry, "for building up the body of Christ." What this means is there are individuals, such as myself and others within our church, who are pastors and teachers and we seek to train and equip individuals within the church that have different gifts so that, together, as I use my gift to equip you, as you use your gift to serve in whatever capacity that might be, it is designed so that we come together and then the church grows to become, what, the body of Christ and we step in and we begin to serve. At Rockpoint Church, let me just say this, we need your help right now. I know we're not meeting here in this location and at some point the crisis is gonna pass and we're gonna have a chance to gather together in large groups again. But this summer, for instance, we've got over 140 kids already signed up for VBS and we only have 17 volunteers right now. I guarantee you, you're sitting in your home right now, I hope you feel enormous encouragement, we'll put it that way, to be a part of serving here at Rockpoint Church as we reach our community for Christ. Here's one that I'm really excited about. We embody together what a redeemed community looks like. We embody together what a redeemed community looks like. Here's the verse I was referring to earlier. John 13:34-35, Jesus says this, "A new commandment I give "to you, that you love one another just as I have loved you, "you also are to love one another. "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, "if you have love for one another." Did you notice the claim? This is our marked off, distinguishing point where people look at us and say, "Wow, they know Christ. "They are Christ followers. "They're part of the church." Why? Because they really love one another in a way that's beyond what we see happening in the world. It's our distinguishing mark as a redeemed community. This is why our current situation is such a great metaphor for what we need to understand as a church and it illustrates that the church is not found in a location. The church is a group of people and in many ways, we've been decentralized, we've been moved into our community and we have a chance, over the next several weeks really 'cause I think the crisis is gonna keep going on, to actually be the church, the body of Christ, God's people in community serving. We also have this amazing thing called the internet today, which we didn't have before. Now there's good and there's bad, but let's focus on the good. We as the people of God have been mobilized into our community, just like the first century, you're meeting all over the region. You are now in many ways a mission outpost for God's kingdom work and we can all stay connected with one another because of the technology that we have today. You're watching this online. We have an ability to connect with one another. You have the opportunity to send in prayer requests right now and at the end of our time today, we've got some staff here and volunteers so as these requests come in, we're gonna actually take some time after our service and pray for you. That is made possible now because of the internet and so we can connect with one another, be God's people and then begin to understand that this is what the church is called to do, to go into our community and to be a light for those that need to hear the message of Christ. It's also an opportunity for us to begin to serve our community. Be creative. Even in your small group time after the message, this is a chance for you to begin to pray about how God wants to use this current situation in your community for you as a Life Group, a group of families within your neighborhood, to reach out to others. There's probably gonna be people living next door or right within a very short distance of your house who are not gonna be able to get out. They might be some of the most vulnerable in this situation. Well this is chance for you to connect with them and offer to go buy groceries at the store, perhaps provide that for them. You might have an opportunity to call Meals on Wheels and volunteer in order to serve your community, but again, it's to help people understand that we are a broken and imperfect people, but we are a community that has found hope in Jesus Christ. We are the hands and we are the feet of Jesus, we reflect Him to our world. There's another great metaphor for the church and that is it is the holy temple where God lives. This is in contrast to the physical temple where the Old Testament Jews were able to meet there in Jerusalem. Now what is happened is, especially based on the passages we've talked about, the Holy Spirit indwells us and now we as individuals and the church, made up of God's people, have the Holy Spirit and we are now called the temple of the Holy Spirit. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:16, "Do you not know that you are God's temple "and that God's Spirit dwells in you?" Paul is talking about the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. We've been decentralized now, we're serving in our communities, aware of the needs around us, a chance for us as a church to step in the gap and be the church for people regardless of your next door neighbor, somebody next to you in a condo or your home, doesn't matter. But we now have been given the power of the Holy Spirit to be His witnesses. Why do we need this power and what is the promise for those who serve with this kind of power? When Jesus was having a conversation with His disciples, He specifically asked them, "Who do you say that I am?" Notice what He says about this subject, "Simon Peter replied, You are the Christ, "You're the Son of the living God. "And Jesus answered him, Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! "For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, "but my Father who is in heaven. "And I tell you, you are Peter, "and on this rock I will build my church, "and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." The rock was not Peter, the rock was actually confessing Christ as Savior and Lord because Jesus Christ is the rock, He's the way we enter into the church. That's the point that He's finding there. But I want you to notice that phrase, "the gates of hell will not prevail against it." What He's talking about there is the gates of death, the gate that leads to eternal separation from God will not prevail against the message and the mission of the church. Paul then goes on and he says it this way in Ephesians 2, the book we were in earlier. He says that we are "members of the household of God, "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, "Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, "in whom the whole structure, being joined together, "grows into a holy temple in the Lord. "In Him you also are being built together "into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit." There's no single temple. We as individuals, we as the church mobilize, decentralize, we're meeting throughout the region, perhaps different states, maybe even in another country, we're the church together. We are the household of God and as we serve one another, as we've been saying, as we are the body of Christ then we begin to grow together. Why? Because there's a promise, "the gates of hell," death, separation from God forever, the power of sin has been defeated at the cross. Jesus Christ came and defeated Satan, sin, and death and now we're part of this thing called the family of God, the church, and we have a chance to begin to serve on mission with His message and the church begins to grow. Right now the church is growing more rapidly in the state of Iran, the country of Iran, than any other place around the globe right now. The stats that I just heard this past week is that those that are under some of the most intense persecution on the planet right now, in Iran in the midst of that situation, the church is growing at astronomical levels. Why? Because of the promise that Jesus Christ gave. What an opportunity for us right now in the midst of our crisis, when God brings suffering, when He brings difficulty, it's a chance for us to be spiritually aware of what God is doing so that we can be careful to understand this final concept I want you to grasp that the church is Christ's agent to fulfill the great commandment and the great commission. There is no plan B, we're it. We have a chance to be the message of Christ, fulfilling the mission of Christ to our world. Let's take a look at the great commandment in Matthew 22:37-39. We say this, "You shall love the Lord your God "with all your heart and with all your soul "and with all your mind. "This is the great and first commandment. "And a second is like it, "you shall love your neighbor as yourself." It starts by loving God, once we come into that relationship, He's our example. He's loved us with His grace and therefore we can taste it and offer that to someone else under His power and strength. That's called the great commandment. We oftentimes call this the great commission and Jesus, right before He went to heaven, He commissioned His disciples by saying, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, "baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son "and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all "that I have commanded you. "And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." What is He saying with all of these things? Well, he's saying this. He's saying we are God's ambassadors to spread the gospel, to spread the message to our world. We are his ambassadors. We are the ones that are called into this unique relationship so that Christ can move in to our world in and through us. One other passage. I want you to go to 2 Corinthians and I want you to turn to chapter five and let me read for you just a couple of verses there. You'll have a chance to talk about some of this stuff in your small groups in your homes with your kids if you're worshiping together. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says this, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. "The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. "All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us "to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; "that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world "to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, "and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. "Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, "God making His appeal through us. "We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. "For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, "so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." What he's saying here is we have a message and that message of hope in the midst of whatever situation we find ourselves in, in your homes, your community, that message of hope through Jesus Christ reconciles us, allows us to have a relationship with God the Father and also reconciles our relationship with one another so that we can be God's people. Obviously this happens through the power of the Holy Spirit and that's why Acts 1:8, Jesus promised the disciples before He left, He says, "You're gonna receive power "when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, "and you'll become my witnesses in Jerusalem "in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." It should be at the front of all of our minds to have opportunities to share Jesus Christ with those who have need. Not so that they can just enter into that relationship, but now so that they can grow and that is because we're called to make disciples who make disciples. That's the key. Our mission statement at Rockpoint Church really revolves around this concept. That we are called to share our faith, that should really be at the heartbeat of our church, but that leads to the second part of the heartbeat of our church, and that's helping people grow in their faith. That's why our mission statement is this, multiplying disciples in a healthy church. We strive to be a healthy church. Even though we're not perfect, the church is made up of people, but we want to be a part of a community that builds up individuals so that they can become followers or learners of Jesus Christ and that happens in three different ways. You saw that before I came up. First it's knowing, trusting Jesus because of His grace. Inviting people into a relationship with Jesus Christ so that they can know Him as Savior and Lord. And then it moves to growing, growing in Jesus' Word and truth. This is why you're in small groups, this is why you're in communities. This is why we gather together as God's people whether it's in one location or many locations as is gonna take place over the next couple of weeks in order to grow and to serve one another and to care for one another because, again, we're the body of Christ. Then we also must realize it's an opportunity for us to go and help others do the same. That's why we make disciples, make multiplying disciples in a healthy church. It's an opportunity for us, right now in this current crisis that we face, it's an opportunity for us a church to stand in the gap. It's a chance for us to be the church, to really understand what it means to serve, to care for one another in small groups, to develop community. Perhaps in the midst of all of this, you're gonna connect with a community of believers and you're gonna have a chance to understand what the real church is about on mission, on message, decentralized, mobilized into the community. It's a great metaphor to remind all of us that you as an individual are carrying the message of Christ on mission to your work environment. You're carrying the message of Christ in the relationships that you have. You're carrying the message of Christ as you walk down the street and interact with people as you walk your dog. The whole point of this is that the next couple of weeks is a massive illustration for us as a church to be the church, to mobilize, to move into our community and to move into it on mission and on target with the message of Jesus Christ. Here's what I want you to do. You're gonna have a chance now, as soon as I'm done, I'm gonna pray, we'll wrap it up, to begin to talk together as a family, and also perhaps in your small groups. You can access the small group notes online, you can pull those down and begin to walk through those if you are a small group leader. It's an opportunity for you to become part of sharing and caring with one another. Begin to evaluate where you are. Are you in the process of knowing Christ? Are you growing and are you really experiencing the care of the body? But then as a small group or a group of people or a family, I want you to begin to pray that God would show you how He wants you to respond in the midst of this crisis to further His kingdom work. Let's pray and let's go and let's be God's people in this kingdom. Lord, we thank You for Your goodness. We thank You for Your grace. We thank You for the opportunity that we can be Your people and even though it's the first time we've ever done this online, we're gonna learn a few things. I wanna thank You that You're moving in hearts and lives right now as we pray together from Your Word through the power of the Holy Spirit that indwells us to be Your people, to be Your body, to care for one another, to begin to pray for ways that we might grow and then we might go into our communities, Lord, on mission with Your message knowing that we have a chance to serve and point people to You. It's in Christ's name that we pray, amen.