Skip HeitzigSkip Heitzig

Skip's Teachings > Rediscovering Our Foundations > What Jesus Wants His Church to Be - Part 2

Message:

SHORT URL: http://SkipHeitzig.com/1977 Copy to Clipboard
SAVE: MP3
BUY: Buy CD

What Jesus Wants His Church to Be - Part 2 - John 17

Taught on

Church shopping and church hopping have become one of American Christians’ favorite pastimes. We want a church that suits us, helps us, and pleases us. But since Jesus paid for it, it’s His church (Acts 20:28). So what does He want from us? What should the people of God be like? What ingredients and activities ought to be part of our makeup? In this series, Rediscovering our Foundations, we must rediscover the foundational purpose for our existence as His church.

Date Title   ListenNotes Share SaveBuy
5/25/2003
completed
resume  
What Jesus Wants His Church to Be - Part 2
John 17
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Church shopping and church hopping have become one of American Christians’ favorite pastimes. We want a church that suits us, helps us, and pleases us. But since Jesus paid for it, it’s His church (Acts 20:28). So what does He want from us? What should the people of God be like? What ingredients and activities ought to be part of our makeup? In this series, Rediscovering our Foundations, we must rediscover the foundational purpose for our existence as His church.
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD

Series Description

Show expand

Rediscovering Our Foundations

Rediscovering Our Foundations

We live in an age where truth has become a relative term. But the Bible leaves no room for doubt when it comes to the absolute nature of truth. Unfortunately, our culture is vastly biblically illiterate. In this series, Pastor Skip Heitzig gets back to the roots of our faith, looking at what the Bible has to say about God, Christ, the Trinity, mankind, the church, heaven, and hell. Learn to stand on a firm foundation in the midst of an unstable culture.

FREE - Download Entire Series (MP3) (Help) | Buy series | Buy audiobook

Transcript

Open as Word Doc Open as Word Doc    Copy Copy to Clipboard    Print icon    Hide expand

Well, let's turn in our Bibles to John chapter 17, and I want to talk to you tonight about the church once again. We're in a series as you know, "Rediscovering Our Foundations", and we left off last time really with Part 1 of this message which continues tonight as Part 2, "What Jesus Wants His Church to Be." And so I want you to tune out the cell phones, tune into the Holy Spirit.

I want to talk to you about church. We all have church experiences. Some of them are good, some of them not so good. I heard about one that wasn't so good. Seems that a couple would always come to church, but the husband, and elderly gentleman, would fall asleep. I mean regularly in every sermon. It bothered the wife so much she decided she was going to do something about it, finally put an end to it. So, they come to church. He falls asleep. She pulls some Limburger cheese out of her purse while he's sleeping and just waves it underneath his nose. Now, this guys asleep, and he's starting to come to, but you know how it is when you're in that stage of sleep. You really don't where you are. She heard him murmuring, "Helen, no, don't kiss me now."

Now, I know that joke stinks, but here's a guy that to him church was just a place of bad sermons and bad breath. And frankly, sometimes church stinks. And I mean that metaphorically, of course. Well, sometimes physically, but usually metaphorically. And it, it can become that way if we start seeing church as a place rather than as people. Here's why. If you see church as a place to go rather than a people who gather at a place, then you'll always be looking for just the right church for you. It's the place that has to have just the right ingredients for you. But if we start seeing the church as a people, we're going to want to become the right kind of person for the Lord because it's his church. Then our relationship is different. Then it's all about how can I be what God wants me to be? Then if we all thought that way, our question would be "How can the church become what Jesus, who bought it wants it to be?"

Those who see the church as a place rather than as people often have their excuses why they can't come to that place. And churches know this, pastors know this well, I often have people in the community say, "Hey, Skip, yeah, Calvary. Oh, I haven't been there in (mumble mumble) months." Always an excuse.

Well, one church ran a special called "No excuse Sunday", and they put this in their bulletin. "No excuse Sunday is coming up. Cots will be placed in the foyer for those who say Sunday is my only day to sleep in. Murine will be available for those with tired eyes from watching TV too late on Saturday night. We will have steel helmets for those who say 'The roof would cave in if I ever came to church.' Blankets will be provided for those who think the church is too cold, and fans for those who think the church is too hot. We'll have hearing aids for those who say the pastor speaks too softly, and cotton for those who say he preaches too loudly. Scorecards will be available for those who wish to list the hypocrites present. There will a hundred TV dinners for those who can't go to church and cook dinner, too. One section will be devoted to trees and grass for those who like to see God in nature. Finally, the sanctuary will be decorated with both Christmas poinsettias and Easter lilies for those who have never seen church without them."

You know what? I don't think you could much of a believer without being a "belonger" to the fellowship of the body of Christ, his church.

There's a story of a Greek sculptor who as he was making a particular statue somebody asked him, "Why do you pay so much attention to the details that nobody sees?"

And the sculptor said, "The gods, they see."

Now, that's a Greek context. Let's take it into reality. God is in our audience tonight. In fact, truth be told, God is our audience tonight. It's his church. It's all about his glory, as we have already seen. Just to refresh your thoughts on this chapter, this is the longest recorded prayer of Jesus in the New Testament. And he is praying for his disciples, and he looks into the future, as we will see in a few minutes, and he prays for his future believers.

And there are four things that Jesus wants his church to be, wants us to be based on this prayer. The church should radiate the glory of God. We covered that. The church should reveal the truth of God. Third, and we begin here tonight, the church should rescue the enemies of God. That's evangelism. And then fourth, and finally, the church should rally over the love of God.

Well, let's go back to number three of that. That's number one for our purpose tonight. The church should rescue the enemies of God. We're going to kind of jump midstream into this chapter. I know it's been a couple weeks, but you'll get your footing. Verse 14, Jesus prays to his Father, I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world just as I am not of the world. I do not pray to take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.

We do not exist for ourselves as a church. The church is not some country club where we come to get pampered. We don't exist for us. We exist, as we've already said, for the Lord and his glory. We exist to build each other up, but then we also exist beyond that to rescue people who need to know him. You see, if we have gotten the idea that somehow the church is supposed to be a "bless me" club and me is really big in that equation, we've gotten it all wrong.

Someone once said, "The church is the only society on earth that exists for the benefit of nonmembers." That's where the rescuing part comes in. Jesus said, I send them into the world. Jesus told his followers, you remember at one time, Look at the fields, lift up your eyes. They are white and ready for harvest. They're ready to be picked. People are ready to hear the message, ready to believe. Pray, he said, that the Lord of the harvest will send out laborers out into the field.

So we're not to turn inward, and churches often do. We're to turn outward. First upward, then inreach, but were are to turn outward, and frankly, churches rarely do that.

There's a pattern I've observed for those who are healthy in Christ. Here it is. Here's the pattern. First of all, we're saved. That's the part we love. We get joy. We get peace. We get purpose. We're all excited, all, all of that happy stuff for our personal selves. We're satisfied, and we ought to be. It ought to be the most happy, satisfying experience ever. After all, you come into contact with the living God.

The second step after being saved is being a servant. We discover the fun, the joy of finding what our gifts are to build up other people, to edify other people. You know what it's like with a conversation with someone. You walk away, and you think, "Wow. I just ministered to that person, and they enjoyed it. They picked up something from it."

The third phase after being saved and being a servant is being sent. It's when it dawns on us, at whatever point in our Christian walk, that there are people out there going through right now the very things I used to go through, and it bothers us. We want to do something about it. We're not content anymore to just stay in the walls, in the "bless me" club. We want to do something. We want to rescue them.

One author described Christian maturity as this, "Christian maturity is being a responsible son or daughter of God. I think the mature in Christ are people who have stopped being concerned about their own needs and pursuits, and they have entered into the global vision of their Father, so that they may transform a hurting world to accomplish the aim of the Lord's Prayer. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. It's like a son who is being brought into the family business. Instead of racing fast cars and running around with girls, he finally buckles down and says to his father, "Dad, I'm a part of it. It's my business, too. I'm going to work hard and undertake the burden of this work." And that's always a healthy pattern when we go from being saved, to being a servant, to being sent. And we say to the father, "Hey, it's my business, too. I want to be sent. I want reach a hurting world, a world that doesn't know about Christ. I want to be a part of that." That's rescuing the enemies of God.

How do we do it? Well, I'm going to give you three words, and we'll look at it in the text. Three words that describe what it is to rescue the enemies of God. This is how we do it. We do it by knowing something, by growing, and then by going. And all of those three components are necessary. Knowing, growing, and then going.

First of all, we need to know something. We need to know what our position is in this world. Go with me to verse 16. Jesus prays, They are not of the world just as I am not of the world. Now some of you are savvy and you already know what that already means. Others of you look at that as I first did when I read it, and you go, "Huh? Okay. We're not of it, but we're supposed to be in it. What does he mean exactly? We're sent into it, but we're not of it."

The world, the word world, cosmos, means, don't think of plants and trees and people as much as an organized, orderly system of things. Just like there is the Wide World of Sports, and it doesn't mean it's a private plant that's circulating in our solar system called The Sporting Planet. I know, some of you guys wish that existed, but it doesn't. So there is a world from a scriptural perspective where everything revolves around values and ideals run by Satan. That's why he is called the god of this world. It is an organized, orderly system of values, and ideals, and practices filled with people, but controlled by Satan. That's what it means- the world.

Now, here's a warning. Much in that system, called the world, is religious, and refined, and educated, and intellectual, and at the same time anti-God, anti-Christ, and they're not too crazy about you, either, if you love God.

Now go with me, keep that thought, go with me back to verse 3. Jesus prays, This is eternal life that they may know you the only true and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I have glorified you on the earth. I have finished the work which you have given me to do.

It sure seems that Jesus saw this earth as a stopping off point. It wasn't a permanent home. He was here for a short period of time, 33 ½ years, but he was here for a specific mission. That is to rescue people, and that's the same with us. We say, "Father, I'm a part of it. I'm going to push the cars away and the women away. It's my business, too. I want to rescue souls."

You know, living in this world and living for this world it doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense to put all your eternal eggs in the temporal basket called worldly pleasure is insane. It's like going to an airport and redecorating the bathroom when you're only going to be there for two hours in transit to somewhere else. You're not there really long enough to enjoy it. Our position, here we are in the physical world, in the human world surrounded by a worldly system, but we're not to be conformed to its thinking. That's what Paul said in Romans 12 when he said, Don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. In other words, we need to know our position. Same thing Jesus said here verse 14. They are not of this world just as I am not of this world.

You and I are like an astronaut. Let's go there for an analogy. An astronaut goes up in space, but he needs a space suit. If he gets out of it he'll see God immediately, because space isn't his element. Earth is his element. Or you're like a scuba diver down in the ocean. You can have a lot of fun, but you better stay connected to that regulator. Because the pressure there and the water there, it's not your element.

For the Christian saved from the worldly system, it's not our element anymore. We don't fit in it. Unless we realize that position we'll drown. And here's why. Look at verse 14. The world has hated them because they are not of the world. Did you get that? There's an occupational hazard to following Christ. If you follow Christ the way the Bible tells you to follow him, you're born again, you're sold out to him, you're obedient to Christ, the world isn't going to like that. You are now a target, because their values, their ideals is very different from theirs, and you don't share that. And because you don't share their standards, they don't like you. Because you don't share their standards, you are a narrow minded bigot in their view. That's the occupational hazard.

So, in order to rescue the enemies of God, we have to know our position.

Second, knowing our position we have to grow spiritually. That's the preparation phase. We need to be growing daily, weekly, monthly, yearly to be able to handle this world and make an impact in it. Verse 15 Jesus says, I do not pray that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil one. They're not of the world just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth.

Makes sense. We need tools to fight this battle. If we're like an astronaut, we need the suit. If we're a scuba diver, we need the suit. We need the regulator, the oxygen. We need the right tools. We need to grow spiritually. And according to Jesus the primary tool is truth, the word of God. We live in a world of lies, so we need to be constantly refreshed with truth. That's the equipment. That's what keeps us surviving.

Paul spoke of life in this world as being in a battle, and he said that we need the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. Peter would've agreed. He said to us, "As newborn babes desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby.

Why? Why is growing spiritually, learning our Bibles, being refreshed in truth on a constant ongoing basis so important and vital to rescue people in the world? It's simple. The worldly system is such an enormous pressure with all of its lures and all of its temptations it's like standing up against a tidal wave sometimes. It feels that way to us. The temptations are everywhere. They're for everyone, and I think especially for the young. Peer pressure, media pressure, value of the world pressure is so strong. Unless we're prepared, we'll cave in.

Somebody once said that the high school student today encounters more sexual temptation to and from school than his grandfather did when he was out on Saturday night looking for it. It's everywhere.

I love what one Christian wrote to a pastor. He was struggling with his walk for a period of time. He got back on course with the Lord. He was asking for Bible study books, and cassette tapes to listen to the sermons. And he said, "Please send me more ammunition. The battle lines are drawn, the trenches are dug." And he said, "When my commanding officer, Jesus Christ, comes back, I want it to be said that this officer after going AWOL, that I finally donned my armor and getting my hands on anything I could get them on, I pleased him my commanding officer."

There's a key in that. Are you doing everything you can to get your hands on truth, spiritual equipment to stay the course? Do you want the ammunition? It's everywhere. You can have it, but you got to want it.

So we need to know. We need to grow. And then finally, we need to go. We need to go. And, folks, that's the goal of this. That's the purpose of this. We can know our position theologically. Whoop-de-doo. We can be growing in grace and the knowledge, and we have vast reservoirs of theological acumen, but what good is it if we don't go and penetrate into the world with it.

Verse 18. Let these words sink in. As you sent me into the world, here it is, I also have sent them into the world. That's the proper response, isn't it? To be sent, to go. We know. We grow. But we got to go. It doesn't mean you have to get on a jet and fly to deepest, darkest India. Maybe you will. It can be quite rewarding. It could be next door. It could be next office at work or the next dorm if you're away at school. It could be someone in your own family. But the words that Jesus gave to his followers when he was about to ascend into heaven were these, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. That's the proper response.

I have observed at least five responses that Christians have. Let me go over them briefly with you. Response number one to the world is to isolate oneself. To isolate. We want to escape the world. The world is bad, and we don't like it, and it ruins us, and it ruins our children, and we need to find a little Christian village somewhere, an enclave where the store owners are all Christians, and the gas attendants are Christians, and the police are Christians, and everybody's a Christian. That's called heaven, by the way. Or, "Oh, I wish I could get out of my stinky rotten job and just work with Christians all day long." Well, that's cool. I work around Christians all day long, and it's okay. It's a wonderful experience, but I got to tell you we have our issues, too. And you can be disillusioned very quickly going down that road. In fact, every now and then working around Christians all day long I think, "Just give me a few heathen every now and then. Keep me fresh." That's response number one. You can isolate.

Number two, you can insulate. You know that there's temptation and pressure all around you in the world, and so you want to stay insulated from the world while just pointing your finger at them. "Look at all those bad people doing all those bad things out there in that bad world." Well, what are you doing about it?

"Well, I'm staying insulated from it and talking bad about it."

Okay. What good does that do? That's what the Pharisees did. In fact, did you know the word Pharisee meant "separated ones." Oh, they were so separated from the world, but what kind of evangelism did they do? Zero. In fact, they got mad at Jesus because he associated with tax collectors and ate with sinners.

A third response we can have is not to isolate, not to insulate, but it gets worse- to vegetate. Ehh, we look at the world, "Who cares? So what?" We become so apathetic we don't have a passion for lost souls any longer, because we are so concerned only about personal comfort, not about reaching the lost.

A fourth response, and I think it gets worse, is to imitate the world, to imitate them. "Well, you know, if you're going to reach the world you got to be worldly." And I've heard people say, "We have to become all things to all men, so we become just like the world. Here, want a joint, brother (inhaling noise)?" It doesn't do us any good to be like them, because what are we bringing them into if there is no difference?

It is the fifth response that I already mentioned that is the proper response, and that's to permeate or to penetrate the world, to get in among them. Not being like them, because we're not of them, but we're to be in them. And we're to be salt, Jesus said, and light. And, you know, salt needs to get out of the salt shaker. Oh, it's fun to gather Saturday nights, a great salt shaker to be in. You're a great salty people. We love that, but there's more to it than just hanging out in the salt shaker. Turn it over. Let the salt get out of the shaker and do some good out into this world. In some cases the church has lost its saltiness, and what is it good for? What did Jesus say? What good is it? Good for nothing but to be trampled under by men.

I love what one commentator wrote. "Live churches are constantly changing. Dead churches don't have to. Live churches have lots of noisy kids. Dead churches are fairly quiet. Live churches expenses always exceed their income. Dead churches take in more than they ever dreamed of spending. Live churches are constantly improving for the future. Dead churches worship their past. Live churches focus on people. Dead churches focus on programs. Live churches dream great dreams of God. Dead churches relive nightmares. Live churches don't have can't in their dictionary. Dead churches have nothing but. Live churches evangelize. Dead churches fossilize."

Listen, I'd rather be salt out of the salt shaker, and even a little bit uncomfortable than a fossil. "Great looking fossil. You look like, well. A fossil." Dead churches fossilize.

The world needs you. The world needs you in it, not of it, but in it. Different from it, but around it, because once you know, and you grow with truth, and you go—boy, that's powerful. You put salt on rotting meat, it will stop the corruption. You will make a difference. So the world needs you.

Now, let me also say you need the world. Remember I said sometimes I say, "Just give me a few heathen"? I need that, and you do, too. And so you're thinking, "I'm tired of working around unbelievers. Give me Christians." Don't do that.
Years ago when they first started shipping New England cod around the country, they tried freezing it and then shipping it. And they found that it just wasn't as flavorful after freezing it and thawing it as it was fresh. So they tried a second tact. They shipped the cod in tanks of sea water from one cost to the other, which was quite expensive. And they discovered that the fish was mushy, didn't have the firmness that it had when it was fresh and freshly caught and killed. So they decided to ship the cod, this was their third tact, and put it in the tank with its natural enemy the catfish, which means all the while it's going from one place to the next it's moving around being chased by its enemy. And they discovered it was flavorful. It had texture, and it was fresh, because it was busy getting away from its enemy. It needed the enemy with it.

You know what? I meet frozen Christians every now and then—cold and austere. No flavor. I meet some mushy Christians. No texture, because they're always in the tank, always in the Christians environment. That's where they're at. They're swimming around just kind of nice and easy. And so the world needs us, but we need the world as well to stay fresh, relevant.

So to sum it up so far. What does Jesus want the church to be? We ought to radiate the glory of God. We ought to reveal the truth of God. And we ought to rescue the enemies of God.

Fourth, and finally, and we'll close with this last point. The church should rally over the love of God.

Now, we're going to look at verse 20. Let's go down to that. This is where the prayer is the best. You know why? Because you're in it. It's the best part it, because you're mentioned in it. That's right. The subject of the rest of this prayer is for you, and I mean that quite literally. Look at verse 20, I do not pray for these alone. Who are the these? The twelve, the apostles who had been following him. But also for those. Who are the those? Well. Let's discover. Who will believe in me through their word. That's you. Somebody came and preached their word, their testimony, the Bible, the truth. It was passed down from generation to generation. Jesus looks through the lens of history/future, and he sees all those who will believe, including us. And here he prays for us. And what does he pray for us? Verse 21. Here it is. That they all may be one as you Father are in me and I in you. that they might be one in us. That the world may believe that you sent me, and the glory which you gave me I have given them that they may be one just as we are. I in them and you in me, and they, that they may be perfect in one that the world will know that you have sent me and have loved me, loved them, excuse me, as you have loved me. Father, I desire that they also whom you gave may be with me where I am that they may behold my glory which you have given me. For you loved me before the foundation of the world. Oh, Righteous Father, the world has not known you, but I have known you, and these have known that you sent me. And I have declared to them your name and will declare it that the love with which you love me may be in them and I in them.

Now that's a mouthful. Let me distill it into one sentence. Jesus prays for unity based upon truth and love. Jesus prays for our unity based on truth and love. In other words, that fourth and final thing Jesus wants his church to be is we are to rally around the love of God. We're to have unity.

Now what does that mean exactly? I don't think he's thinking necessarily ecumenically. I don't think Jesus has in mind that "Well, we should get rid of all little groups that believe this or believe that, or this denomination, that denomination. We need to not meet in our separate enclaves. We need to all meet in a big tent in every city no matter what the differences, and we'll have a big group hug and sing 'Kumbaya' and that's unity." I don't think he has that in mind. And I know that from the Bible, because I look at the disciples. They argued this very night Jesus prayed the prayer about who would be the greatest. The Jerusalem council a few chapters later in the book of Acts, 15, they argued about a very important issue. Peter and Paul argued in Galatia about a very important issue, same issue. And then, even Barnabas and Saul, Paul broke company because the argument was so heated between them. So there will be differences in the way we think and apply truth.

I don't think he means organizationally. And I don't think Jesus means that we should be in unity in terms of uniformity- that we all have to agree on every single issue in church, every single color of the pew, that we all have to vote exactly the same, or all have to read the King James Bible. I don't think that's the idea at all.

In any family there are differences between one kid and the next kid. Well, they're your kids. Sometimes you wonder. They're yours, but they are very different in their personality. And God's kids are, too. Some of us are very staunch pre-millennial in our position, others are a-millennial, or post-millennial. Some are pre-tribulation in our eschatology concerning the rapture. I am. Some are "post toasties". That's what I call them, post-tribulationists. Some like a certain kind of music- organ music, and robes, and candles, and stained glass. You can give another guy a guitar and granola, and they're stylin'. There's just differences in those kinds of issues, and I thank God, honestly, that there are so many different kinds of churches. Not all of them right on, but there are so many of them that just have these minimal little differences of style between us.

What does Jesus mean when he's praying for unity? I'll answer the question. Go back to verse 8. I've given to them the words which you have given me, and they have received them. They've known surely that I came forth from you and have believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I don't pray for the world. I pray for these whom you've given me, for they're yours. And all mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to you. Holy Father, keep through your name those whom you have given me that they may be one as we are.

This is what he means. He prays for unity based upon the words, the revelation that Jesus gave to them. In other words, I'm a Christian the same way you're a Christian, the same way you're a Christian, the same way that a person at another church would be a Christian, and that's by believing the truth about Jesus Christ and being born again. He's the same Savior of us all if we believe the truth about him. And that's a unity based upon truth. So, yes, we can divide over essentials, and we should. There are certain things that you draw the line in the sand, and if you believe otherwise you're not a Christian; but then on this side of the line there are so many different styles, and modes, and ideas, and little beliefs that it doesn't really warrant that we argue and part company over. We can be unified over the basic truth of Jesus Christ. And Jesus prays for that.

By the way, he prays four times for that. Four times in that little section he prays for unity, that we'd be one, that we'd rally around his love. Why? Why this overwhelming burden to pray for that? Here's the reason, verse 21, it's clear that the world may believe that you sent me. Now mark that well, even underline it if you, if you want to mark your Bible. It's a good thing to underline, that the world may believe that you sent me.

You see, unity among Christians proves the authenticity of the Christian's message. Unity among Christians proves the authenticity of the Christian's message. So my question is, What does disunity among Christians prove?

One Latin theologian said, "The proclamation of the gospel apart from the unity of the church is a theological absurdity." Think how absurd it is for churches to fight over "should we have robes or not?" "What style of music should we have?" "Well, you like that music, you're not a Christian," or length of hair or mode of baptism. And I say it's absurd, and I don't use the word lightly, it's absurd because here we are saying we're rescuing people from the world. What are they being rescued to? A family that divides, and bickers, and hates. We should be saving them to this, rescuing them to this.

A poll was taken as to why the people who don't go to church don't go to church. You want to know why? The poll revealed this: 49% said that the church is not effective in helping people find the meaning of life. Here's the reason, 56% said churches are too concerned about organizational issues rather than spiritual issues.

Folks, you know this, but you and I don't live our Christianity in the aquarium. Every now and then, even if you're a church ridden person you get out, and as soon as you get out, soon as you get in the car, soon as you, I hate to say it, soon as we drive, there's a reason I don't have a bumper sticker on my car, as soon as we go into a Starbucks, or into a store, or people hear our conversations, we're under watchful eyes, aren't we? Very carefully observed.

So how weird is it when you read an article like this out of the newspaper: "Calvary Baptist Church in Salem, Virginia, had Harvey and Pauline Richardson, age 82 and 74, charged with trespassing when they tried to attend Sunday services in February. The feud started when the church denied the Richardsons, members for 39 years, the right to vote on church business because they had missed services for several months beginning late last year mostly due to various illnesses. Eighty-two years old, you want a fellowship. "My wife's gotten better. I've gotten better." Trespassing.

"In the name of Jesus, we're going to arrest you. God bless you. Get in the police car, sir."

"But I'm 82."

"Don't argue. Cuffs, please."

How absurd. So our challenge is to become the people of God, the church Jesus wants the church to be. People who radiate the glory of God, reveal the truth of God, rescue the enemies of God, and finally rally around the love of God.

I don't care how articulate our message is, how good we are at defending truth, if there is no visible love, you know the rest of the Scripture, we're like a clanging cymbal.

A little boy was going to sleep after Sunday's service, and he said, "Oh, Lord, I had such a great time at church today. Sure wish you would've been there, too." Don't let that happen. Come with his presence. Leave with his presence. He is the audience. He is watching.

Heavenly Father, we have for weeks, for a long period of time now uncovered week by week what are the basic foundational truths that make us believers in you. We've rediscovered our foundations, and the last couple of times that we've been together as pastor and flock, we've uncovered what you want your church to be. And we pray all else aside, the color of stucco, or style of entrance, all of that aside, what you really want is some inward stuff. And, Lord, it does begin with us individually. And so, Lord, may we be the person you want us to be, because church isn't a place. It's people who gather in a place for a purpose. And may these four things mark our purpose. And, Father, if our life has no real purpose, no meaning, if we've lost our bearings we've come to church some of us because of that, and yet we're going to soon discover that we'll never be fulfilled seeking it in a group of people, but only in the God that those people serve. And I pray, Lord, that if some have come tonight that don't know and serve you that they'd come to Christ tonight. In Jesus' name, and everybody said? Amen.

Additional Messages in this Series

Show expand

 
Date Title   Watch Listen Notes Share Save Buy
9/15/2002
completed
resume  
Does the Truth Really Matter?
2 Timothy 4
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Today I begin a new series I am calling Rediscovering Our Foundations. I am concerned about the vast biblical illiteracy that exists in our country in general and in our churches in particular. Truth is commonly seen by our culture as relative and not fixed. Often sentiments such as, "Well, that is your truth, but it's not my truth," are expressed by many. But if truth is absolute, then why not stand up for it? Why be embarrassed about it? What do you really believe about God, the Trinity, Christ, mankind, the church, heaven, and hell?
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
9/22/2002
completed
resume  
Is Anybody Up There?
Hebrews 11:1-40;Romans 2:1-29
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
We all remember the scene in The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy and her three friends come to approach the Great Oz. Out of the corner of their eye they notice a man pulling levers behind a curtain, working the mechanical, smoke-breathing Oz. The man then reacts by announcing, "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!" But how can they not? The man is the explanation for everything to them. They discovered that Oz didn't really exist! So how do we know that God exists and isn't a fabrication or projection of our own imaginations?
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Study GuideTranscript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
9/29/2002
completed
resume  
The Bible - From God or From Men? - Part 1
2 Timothy 3:15-17
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
In this series, Rediscovering Our Foundations, it's time to consider your own personal foundation. What is the final resting place for your cares, concerns, griefs, surprises and sorrows? Where do you turn for answers to life's deepest questions? What is your authority? How sure are you that the Bible is the inerrant and inspired Word of God? Can you articulate to others the difference between the Bible and other "sacred" religious works?
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
10/6/2002
completed
resume  
The Bible - From God or From Men? - Part 2
2 Timothy 3:15-17
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Last week, we discovered exactly what the designation "Scripture" referred to and how books of the Bible were considered as part of the inspired text. We also learned what inspiration means and how God used humans in His process of having exactly what He wanted written down. But anyone can claim inspiration for their work. Yet how do we know that the Bible is the authentic Word of God? Moreover, how can we share with others its uniqueness so they, too, may listen to its message and apply it?
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
10/13/2002
completed
resume  
The God Who Knows It All!
Psalm 139:1-6
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
A little boy climbed his neighbor's apple tree when he saw their car leave. He didn't realize that while he was stuffing his pockets full of apples, another neighbor was watching through a pair of binoculars and saw the whole thing! God isn't spying on people, trying to catch them doing something wrong; but God is aware of everything. Such a truth has a profound effect on us: it can either be very comforting or else extremely unsettling.
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
10/20/2002
completed
resume  
Are You a Big-Godder or a Little Godder?
Psalm 139:7-24
Skip Heitzig
  Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
11/10/2002
completed
resume  
Wholly Holy!
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
In this current series, Rediscovering Our Foundations, we've considered some key attributes of the God we know and love. He is omniscient (knows everything); He is omnipresent (everywhere present); He is omnipotent (operates at full power). But there is another key attribute that is seldom considered, yet is fundamentally key in understanding the Bible—God's holiness. Let's observe one man's encounter with this holy God and what it means to us.
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
11/17/2002
completed
resume  
Good Man, Mad Man, Con Man, or God-Man?
Matthew 16:13-17
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
No other person from history has generated so much controversy and speculation, as well as written literature, as Jesus Christ. Theologians, philosophers, poets and pundits have all weighed in concerning who Jesus is. What is often forgotten is that Jesus can never be overestimated! John said that the, "world itself could not contain the books that should be written" (John 21:25) about His accomplishments.
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
12/1/2002
completed
resume  
A King Among the Critters
Luke 2:1-7
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
In our current series, Rediscovering Our Foundations, we've come to the person of Christ. Last time, we considered His identity; today, we contemplate His nativity. For the next few weeks, we'll look closely at Jesus' birth, His early years, ministry, and death on the cross, which was the very purpose of His birth. It's my hope that we'll all emerge with a fuller understanding of Jesus and a deeper desire to worship and serve Him. Today, let's look at the strange circumstances of His birth.
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
12/8/2002
completed
resume  
Jesus - The Boy With a Purpose - Part 1
Luke 2:1-52; Matthew 2:1-23
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Jesus' upbringing and boyhood has been the subject of much speculation and endless controversy throughout the centuries. Myths have developed about Jesus based (interestingly enough) on what isn't written. The Bible gives us five cameo glimpses of Jesus from early boyhood to age 30. We'll look at three of these today and then two more next week. We discover that Jesus' whole life was marked with purpose.
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
12/15/2002
completed
resume  
Jesus - The Boy With a Purpose - Part 2
Luke 2-3
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
We don't give much thought to Jesus growing up, developing into adolescence and then into manhood. But of course He did. Luke is really the only New Testament author who gives us information about these early years. He speaks generally about Jesus' growth as well as specifically about Jesus' capacity as a young boy of 12. At each stage of His life, Jesus demonstrated He knew His purpose for His life on earth.
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
12/22/2002
completed
resume  
A Lamb at the River
Matthew 3:1-17; John 1:1-51
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
When Jesus turned 30, He presented Himself to the nation of Israel in public ministry. His first appearance, however, seemed so out of character for the kind of Messiah that people were anticipating. What was He doing getting baptized in a river with everyone else? John was about to find out—and so was everyone else.
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
1/12/2003
completed
resume  
The Holy Spirit: Invisible, Personal, Powerful
John 14-16
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Today in our series Rediscovering Our Foundations, we consider the Holy Spirit. Most of us have heard of Him, but who is He exactly? What does He do? How important is the Holy Spirit to your personal life, your family life, your work or your leisure time? Perhaps A.W. Tozer was right when he said, "For multitudes of Christians profess today the Holy Spirit is not a necessity. They have learned to cheer their hearts and warm their hands at other fires." It is my sincere prayer that will change for us in the few weeks ahead.
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
1/19/2003
completed
resume  
The Gracious and Holy Hound of Heaven
John 16:5-11
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Having understood Who the Holy Spirit is (Person, not just power; Deity, not just dignitary), we now find out what He does, specifically what He does in the world of unbelievers. Since the greatest gift God ever gave to the world was His only Son (John 3:16), it stands to reason that the greatest sin one can commit is to reject the Son (John 16:9). How does the Holy Spirit both sentence the world as prosecutor and yet lead people away from judgment? And what role do we play in all of this?
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
1/26/2003
completed
resume  
I Need Somebody, Help! Not Just Anybody
John 14-16
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
To live one's life for God in an ungodly world sounds like mission impossible, right? It would be as if we had to do it without help. But be strengthened by this thought: God never intended for us to do it alone! That's why He has provided His people a Helper, the Holy Spirit. This ever-present divine Person is very busy helping God's people become all He wants them to be.
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
2/2/2003
completed
resume  
Brand-Spankin' New Apostles!
Acts 1:1-8
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
The legendary missionary to India, William Carey, didn't see obstacles; he saw opportunities. He was the "Let's go for it!" kind of guy. In fact, one of his most famous sayings was, "Attempt great things for God; expect great things from God." Carey did both and saw results! The Holy Spirit can take ordinary men and women and do extraordinary things with them. He is the God who "makes all things new" (Revelation 21:5). Such a truth can only create a sense of wonder and excitement in the heart of a child of God. After all, what new thing could God do through you?
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
2/9/2003
completed
resume  
Unholy Responses to the Holy Spirit
Ephesians 4:30
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
You might say that we live in the "Age of the Holy Spirit." Jesus promised Him to us after He was done with His own earthly ministry. We have seen that He is very active both in the world among the unconverted and in the church among God's own people. But He has one overriding goal-to bring glory to Jesus Christ in every life. What does that mean to us? It means a total surrendering to Him. As Oswald Chambers said, "The Holy Spirit cannot be located as a guest in a house. He invades everything." But what happens when people don't respond to Him rightly? Then what?
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
2/16/2003
completed
resume  
How Can Three Be One?
Matthew 28:16-20
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
1+1+1=1. Is this new math? No, it's the doctrine of the Trinity. The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. At the very heart of the Judeo-Christian faith is the belief that there is only One God. Yet the Bible clearly teaches the plurality within the Godhead—three persons who are distinct from one another yet perfectly One in essence. What are we to make of all this? Why is it important? And more fundamentally, how should it affect us personally?
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
2/23/2003
completed
resume  
The Exceedingly Un-Holy Spirit
1 John 5:19
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Satan, the prince of darkness, has been around a long time. He has studied mankind for thousands of years, marking his strategies according to what he sees in us and what God's plan for the world is. He hates what God loves; he fights what God establishes. And let's remember, he's got help! Other spirit beings have joined his rebellion and control the system known in Scripture as the world. John even said, "the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one" (1 John 5:19). What should we know about this arch-nemesis of God in order to stand against him?
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
3/2/2003
completed
resume  
Touched by an Angel
Luke 1-2
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
As even the title suggests, angels have become popular in modern culture. But whether we know it or not, we've all been "touched an angel." Martin Luther helped us to understand their role by remarking, "An angel is a spiritual creature created by God without a body, for the service of Christendom and of the church." He was partially correct, but angels serve an even greater role than being strictly for the church. Their ministry goes beyond us and is principally concerned with the glory and majesty of God.
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
3/9/2003
completed
resume  
Man, Has God Got a Plan For You!
Genesis 1-3
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Alexander Pope once remarked that, "the chief study of man is man himself." That may be true, especially in our culture, but this could also be the reason why mankind is so desperate and spiritually thirsty. Looking only to ourselves rather than beyond ourselves can get pretty lonely! But why are we here? What is the purpose of mankind inhabiting this planet? How can I fulfill the God-given destiny that He originally designed for me?
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
3/16/2003
completed
resume  
From Creation to Corruption
Genesis 2-3
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
How did we, as the human race, get into the colossal mess we find ourselves in? Was it always this way? And what do Adam's actions, acted out so long ago, have to do with us in this modern technologically advanced age? Am I at all responsible? Can the effects ever be undone? Let's look at these issues in the opening chapters of Genesis.
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
4/27/2003
completed
resume  
Church-Building 101
Matthew 16:13-20
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
The church was God's idea; it was never man's notion. Jesus Christ is the founder, director, architect, owner and builder of the church. But there is an awful lot of confusion about what a church is supposed to look and function like. Today, we look at the first New Testament mention of the church and look at our spiritual origins. As we are Rediscovering Our Foundations, let's also rediscover our spiritual roots as the people of God.
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
5/4/2003
completed
resume  
What Jesus Wants His Church to Be - Part 1
John 17
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
The church is not a place, but a people (a called-out assembly of people who gather together and whose heartfelt conviction is that Jesus is Lord). Jesus laid claim on the church—it belongs to Him ("I will build My church"). So then, what does He want His church to be like? What should mark us overall? In Jesus' longest recorded prayer before His crucifixion, He prays for four characteristics that are to mark the people of God. Today we look at the first two.
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
6/1/2003
completed
resume  
How to Build a Beautiful Body
1 Corinthians 12:3-22
Skip Heitzig
  Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
6/22/2003
completed
resume  
The Last Days
2 Peter 1-3
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
On October 30, 1938, the day before Halloween, the novel War of the Worlds was made into a radio broadcast featuring Orson Welles. As millions of Americans were listening, the play was performed so it would sound like a news broadcast about an invasion from Mars. Many thought they were hearing an actual news account of an invasion from Mars and concluded this was the end. Some even committed suicide as their final fatal act! In Rediscovering Our Foundations, what can we know about the last days of this world and what can we do to prepare?
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
6/29/2003
completed
resume  
I'll Be Back
John 13:31-14:6
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
A little boy was trying desperately to tell his friends about what Jesus' return would be like. He described Jesus' coming in glory as being "greater than Superman, Batman, and the Power Rangers put together!" Of course even that would be an understatement. Jesus came here 2000 years ago and then left; but He promised to return. What will it be like? What difference should it make to us right here, right now?
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
7/6/2003
completed
resume  
The Burning Question
Revelation 20:11-15
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Hell is an eternal and biblical reality that has been relegated to the junk pile of modern myths. Woody Allen once said that hell is the abode of all people who annoy him. The word hell is used on a daily basis in people's dicey language patterns—usually as a fill-in expletive. Of all the Christian doctrines unfolded in Scripture, hell is the toughest one to handle. Most love the notion of a blissful heaven awaiting them; few cling to the idea of a literal hell to punish the lost.
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
7/13/2003
completed
resume  
Heaven: Our Final Frontier
Revelation 21:1-27
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Captain Kirk and his starship Enterprise weekly traversed the galaxies on the famed Star Trek episodes. That was fiction! But one day you will inhabit the recreated millennial earth in a glorified body and then explore the vast kingdoms of heaven in the eternal state. That is reality! It will be so different than what you're used to that it's linguistically impossible to convey its vastness. But there's enough here to whet the appetite for heaven!
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
There are 29 additional messages in this series.
© Copyright 2024 Connection Communications | 1-800-922-1888