"Is This a Good Church?"            2014

Ezekiel 2:1-9, 3:1           Matthew 28:16-20

 

 

Ezekiel 2:1-9, 3:1

He said to me: O mortal, stand up on your feet, and I will speak with you. And when he spoke to me, a spirit entered into me and set me on my feet; and I heard him speaking to me. He said to me, Mortal, I am sending you to the people of Israel, to a nation of rebels who have rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have transgressed against me to this very day. The descendants are impudent and stubborn. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, “Thus says the Lord God.” Whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house), they shall know that there has been a prophet among them. And you, O mortal, do not be afraid of them, and do not be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns surround you and you live among scorpions; do not be afraid of their words, and do not be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. You shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear; for they are a rebellious house. But you, mortal, hear what I say to you; do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you. I looked, and a hand was stretched out to me, and a written scroll was in it. He said to me, O mortal, eat what is offered to you; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.

 

Matthew 28:16-20

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

 

                 The prophet Ezekiel was called to speak for God

                        during a difficult time of international upheaval.

 

By 597 BC, Babylon had conquered the remaining pieces of Israel,

               and as was the custom those days,

                        to prevent future resistance and uprisings,

                                about 10k youth and leaders considered likely to rebel

                                        were taken in exile, forced to live in Babylon.

 

Then, around  586 BC the Israelites rebelled,

            and this time Babylon destroyed all of Jerusalem,

                        including the temple that Solomon had built,

                                       and all the remaining educated and skilled artisans

                                                were taken in a massive second exile to Babylon.

 

To put it in a biblical perspective,

            Daniel   of the book of Daniel and the lions’ den

                        was taken with the first group into exile,

                                       and the prophet Ezekiel taken in the second.

 

     Ezekiel was about 30 in 593 BC when he was called by God,

            so he served speaking for God during very turbulent times.

 

His call and commissioning are described,  vs. 1-5

            He (God) said to me: O mortal, stand up on your feet, and I will speak with you. And when he spoke to me, a spirit entered into me and set me on my feet; and I heard him speaking to me.

            He said to me, Mortal, I am sending you to the people of Israel, to a nation of rebels who have rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have transgressed against me to this very day. The descendants are impudent and stubborn.

            I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, “Thus says the Lord God.” Whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house), they shall know that there has been a prophet among them.

 

The point of this text

            is that by the Spirit,  God called and sent Ezekiel to speak,

                        and even if the people refused to listen,

                                    he was to speak boldly and unafraid anyway,

                             so that as the events unfolded,

                                    they would know for sure   that the Lord had spoken.

 

As a part of Ezekiel’s call,

            the text describes him eating a written scroll,

                        which I take as a metaphor for the word of God,

                                    which he was to eat and ingest

                                                as the foundation from which he spoke and served.

 

                        What an amazing and insightful way to view Scripture.

 

Like the food we eat and digest that becomes a part of us,

   and that provides strength and nutrition for us to live,

                        so too God’s word  provides strength, courage and wisdom

                           that we need to walk in faithful obedience with the Lord.

 

Our call is to feed daily   through Scripture meditation and prayer,

   as we try to discern what God is up to in our lives and in the world,

                            and from that presence of the Holy Spirit within,

                                    grace and discipleship will flow through our living.

 

Almost 600 years after Ezekiel,

            Jesus taught and did miracles for 3 years of public ministry.

 

                        He was crucified, buried and raised from the dead,

                                    then for 40 days he appeared before many witnesses.

                                                      Then for one last time, he gathered

                                                             the 11 remaining disciples up on a mountain.

 

A mountain location is where in Matthew’s gospel,

            some very important theological things happen, such as:

                        sermon on the mount, feeding the 5000, transfiguration,

                                    and in this text, commissioning his disciples.

 

If you have ever watched a graduation from the US Naval Academy,

            then you saw the graduating senior class

                        all toss their hats in the air at the end.

            It is said that those hats are thrown up   by midshipmen,

                        but fall back down   to commissioned officers,

                                    who have been selected, trained and equipped

                                                to carry out their assigned tasks and mission.

 

So too, on the mountain the disciples were commissioned to serve.

            vs. 19-20

                        Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

 

“Go” – that is an action word, get up and do,

            or as we might shout at a sporting event, “go, go, go, go!”,

                        get active and commit to making something happen.

 

“make disciples of all nations”, that is the task, our task.

            For 3 years the disciples traveled and lived with Jesus,

                        listening, observing, absorbing and learning from him,

                                    while growing in their faith and commitment, à

 

                        à  learning to see the world more like Jesus did …

                                                … with grace, compassion, and courage

                                                            that reflects the gracious nature of God…

     …and after Pentecost,  those same disciples did change the world.

 

The disciples’ mission and task was to go and make more disciples,

            to pass along all that Jesus had taught and shown them,

                            and for their lives to reflect and proclaim boldly

                                    the Good News of the Gospel’s invitation

                                        to an intimate and authentic relationship with God.

 

Their task, make them one of you, and pass it down through the ages,

            for that is the call and mission of the Church of Jesus Christ.

 

On one of the recent mission trips,

            youth from another group sat with some of us sharing a meal.

                                    I listened in to some of their conversation

                                                as the youth were getting acquainted,

                                                            and focused intently when one of them asked

*                                                                                   “Is your church a good church?”

 

“Is your church a good church?”

            I don’t recall exactly how the question was answered,

                        but I suppose it was based on having a good youth group,

                                    or an active youth program with faithful advisors.

 

Others might focus on our worship or maybe music and choirs,

            Christian education, fellowship, or Hispanic outreach,

                        missions or deacons making a difference in our community,

                                    or having a nice facility and resources for ministry.

 

All of those are very good, important and necessary things,

                        but I don’t think Jesus would agree

                                    that any of those are what makes for a good church.

 

Based on our Scripture today, Jesus is a bit more narrow-minded;

            is our focus on  making disciples?    … are we making disciples?

 

Are we inviting people to commit to following Jesus Christ,

            and helping them grow deeper and more authentic in their faith

                        toward living a life of active discipleship and service?

 

Everything we do as Christians and as a congregation

            should be a means toward that end…

                                    … Go and make disciples of all nations, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. …

                        and here’s the promise and power:                     

                                    And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

 

This is the task and mission that Jesus gave to the Church.

            It isn’t something we’re expected to accomplish on our own,

                        but by cooperating & participating with the Holy Spirit…

    … which is why they were to wait until Pentecost   to get started.

                                   

* Discipleship is really the only pertinent question and issue.

 

            A disciple is not simply a convert to our flavor of theology,

                        nor a practitioner or consumer of religious programming.

A disciple is one who follows trying to become more like Jesus,

            which requires intentional and continuing training and effort

                        to grow in faith & learning to live out God’s gracious love

                                    within a faith community that supports the journey.

 

Conversion, or accepting Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior

            is just the beginning, it’s the place  where faith begins.

                        Faithful discipleship is about helping that faith grow

                                    into an authentic and intimate walk with our God…

*                                          … which is the true task and calling of the Church.

 

So, is this a good church?   Are we intentional and committed

      to providing an environment and spiritually healthy ethos

                         that invites people into a deeper relationship with Jesus

                              and encourages and helps  toward further discipleship?

 

Here is a good example of what that looks like.

                When the last communicants’ class joined our church,

                        each of the youth were assigned an adult mentor

                            who agreed to meet and build a relationship with them

                               to help them grow in their faith and church membership.

 

            That is the call of the church and what making disciples means.

I know that

            for the adults and youth who have faithfully followed through,

                        it has been a remarkable, wonderful & enriching blessing.

            Some of them have met at the church,

                        told me about what they are doing together,

                                    and I’ve seen their faces and smiles on the way out!

 

**  When we respond and obey God’s will and call,

               when we cooperate and allow the Spirit to work through us

                        blessings, delight and joy will naturally follow & flow.

 

So, according to the criteria and measure of Jesus,

            are we are good church, and are we making disciples?

 

            In many ways I’d say definitely yes and absolutely;

                        and on other ways, maybe not so much, not nearly enough.

 

   Are there more ways we can draw more people into our fellowship?

 

            As individuals and as church members   what are some ways

                        that we can improve our serve and deepen our discipleship?

 

Over this summer,  I encourage you à

            to get specific and personal with your suggestions …

                        … drop by, call me, or send an email to the Session or me…

 

            … but not so much what you think the church ought to do,

                        instead,            focus on what you are willing to do

                                    and how you want to serve and make a difference.

 

Jesus said:

            Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

 

A 16 year old wrote this charge about making disciples[1]:

 

When you leave this place today:

                        We challenge you to speak

To speak up for what you believe is right

            To speak up for what is not easy

 

We challenge you to listen

            We challenge you to let yourself fail

We challenge you to be unafraid to talk about Jesus

            We challenge you to stop trying to impress others

 

We challenge you to do the unpopular thing 

We challenge you to be a rebel

 

We challenge you to be unabashed in affection

We challenge you to humble yourself

We challenge you to allow yourself to be humbled

 

We challenge you to avoid the path of least resistance

We challenge you not to await opportunity  But to find purpose and mission

To chart a course that your potential demands

We challenge you to find joy despite difficult circumstances

 

We challenge you to believe without seeing

We challenge you to respond with grace

 

We challenge you to live life better than you ever have before,

            and go into the world today  with God’s grace!