And happy New Year we we missed some of you who are on holiday,
Mom Joyce and others. We missed you and want to say to
you welcome back. We did.
We had a wonderful time during Christmas as well as on the 28th
when we went to to the gardens just to enjoy some nice
fellowship. Welcome to you staff as well.
I didn't see you. And some good news is we have
finally moved to this side of the world and so no longer
driving to Kels River and come to church.
You'll find us somewhere in Rwanda, Bosch.
And please do pray for the sale of our house.
We've signed the contract, but please do pray that it it goes
through as well. But it's good to be close to
this side of the world. So if you have your Bibles with
you, please turn with me to Acts Chapter 20.
Acts chapter 20, We're going to read 1 passage.
Laura, by the way, it was your anniversary as well.
Happy anniversary to Laura and Greg, guys.
OK, Acts chapter 20. So what I'm going to do this
morning? This is not so much an
expository message, it's more like a topical message.
And when I draw 2 points from this particular passage, but
we'll use other passages to substantiate and perhaps to
bring my point home. So I want you to treat this more
as a topical message. As we begin the year, I felt I
wanted to speak on two things. One on the nature of the church
and then speak around what does that look like, but also what is
our role as a community and as a church as we step into 2026?
So we'll do that for two weeks and then we'll begin our new
series for the year. So I'm hoping just to launch us
into 2026. My brother-in-law is also here
with his wife Tandy today, so they're also here visiting us as
well. So welcome X20 verse 28.
We'll just read verse 28. Pay careful attention to
yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has
made you overseers to care for the Church of God, which you
obtained with His own blood. Our gracious Lord, we are so
thankful this morning to to gather this way a people
gathered under your Lordship and under Your Word.
And therefore, Lord, we ask that would you please instruct our
hearts this morning through the preaching of Your Word.
Give us, our Lord, a high view of salvation, but also a high
view of the Church. Help us, Lord, to see its
beauty, but also to see its glory.
We ask this in your name. Amen.
So I want to talk today about the nature of the church, and
I'm reading a passage that is in the book of Acts where chapter
20, verse 28. And for some of us, we may be
familiar with this particular portion of Scripture because we
know this is the famous farewell of the Apostle Paul to the
Ephesians elders. The Apostle Paul is has called
these elders and he's sharing a number of things with them.
Number one is sharing around his ministry, how his ministry 1 was
so difficult because of the plot of the Jews.
But also the Apostle Paul speaks about how he served the Lord
with all humility, but the times how he served the Lord with
tears. Amazingly, as you read Acts
chapter 20, you also realise that the Apostle Paul here, it
seems as though his life has no value and is someone that is
going to lay down his life because he knows that as he gets
to Jerusalem he is going to be imprisoned.
And so he's willing to lay down that life for the sake of the
gospel. As he instructed his elders.
He says, you know also I gave to you, I proclaimed to you the
whole council of God. It's like guys, I'm leaving,
you're not going to see me again.
I want you to remember I gave to the whole council of God and I'm
going to be imprisoned and I serve the Lord with tears.
And it gives them this part of the instruction to to the
elders. Elders are shepherds, elders are
those who feed, who care, who lead, and it gives this
instruction for them to take care of the flog of God which
the Holy Spirit has made you oversee.
In other words, you did not appoint yourselves.
The Holy Spirit has made you overseer over the people of God.
And then it says, take care of the Church of God.
And the second part, he says, why?
Because he obtained it with his blood.
And he reminds them what why this is so important because
there's others that are going to come from the outside.
As you remind that there will be wolves that are going to come
from the outside and they will lead the people of God astray.
And so he says they will, they will, they will rise up.
And some of those people that will rise up and bring in among
you twisted teachings. He said there are men that will
rise up among you, but I want you to be alert, want you to be
to be watchful. So this is a wonderful farewell
as the apostle Paul shares this with the Ephesians elders.
But there are two things I want us to draw from verse 28.
I'm not so much talking about the leadership aspect of this
passage, which we could do that, but there are two things that
are quite important. In fact, I in 28 B take care of
the church for the Church of God, which he obtained with his
own blood. I want to begin this morning by
answering the question what the church is not, what the church
is not. There are many misconceptions in
our world about what the church is and what the church perhaps
should be like. But I first want to address the
question what the church is not. Number one, I think you'll
probably see on the slide that the church is not the source of
entertainment. We live in a world where there
is danger of amusement, a change, a church that is driven
by appealing to the seeker, A church that focuses on what we
want, what we need and what satisfies us.
A church that is men centered instead of Christ exalting,
gospel centered and Christ centered.
I remember in seminary as I was thinking about this, in seminary
the you do 2 courses in preaching.
You do exported to preaching but you also do what they call first
person preaching. And I remember how I did not
like that course. It was the worst course I ever
did in seminary. The reason for that is because
everything about first person preaching is about the person.
None of it is money about Christ.
You know, you can dress like a clown and all these sort of
things as a way of preaching and do all of the in order to, to
actually to appeal to man. And as you do that, you find
yourself that everything around this sermon is about man is not
about Christ. The church is never to appeal to
the seeker because the church is not a source of entertainment.
Church is meant to be Christ exalting #2 the church is not a
building. The church is not made with
hands. It is not wood, it is not brick,
it is not cement, it is not stone, it is not a building #3
the church is not it's leaders. This is important in our culture
and in our world where we have the founder mentality that I
sort of founded to this church. It is my church.
Saints, be reminded this morning there is only one founder of the
church and his name is Jesus. Every person is not called to
found. The church is called to plant
the church. We are church planters.
The church is instituted by Jesus.
The church is established by Jesus.
The elders are not the CEOs of the church, they are servants of
the church. John Piper would Simply put it
this way. Brothers, we are not
professionals. The church is not its leaders.
God gives His leaders to the church as a gift, to shepherd,
to care, to love, to feed. But the church is not it's
leaders. So #1 the church is not a source
of entertainment. The church is not a building.
Also, the church is not it's leaders.
And therefore then what is the church?
The word church, as you'll probably see in your screen, is
often translated in our Bibles. In the root word there is the
word ecclesia, which refer to a gathering and a community or an
assembly. Now for someone who lived in the
Greco Roman world, they were familiar with this term.
The Greeks were familiar with it because it had nothing special
in those days. And ecclesia would just be a
gathering, an ordinary gathering of the people in that city or in
that town. But the apostle Paul and Jesus
in Matthew 16 seem to use this word also in the New Testament.
Moses uses it to actually speak about an assembly, a gathering,
a quahal, a gathering of the people of God.
For example, in Nehemiah 13 verse one, the word is used as
an Assembly of God, the gathering of God, those who
belong to God. And so we see in Scripture how
it is used. It is used as a gathering of the
people of God. Either they gather in one
location or they gather in multiple locations, or the
people of God generally as a collective are called a church.
And so a church is not simply a building, a church is a people,
a people who gather together. And in essence, the word Church
of an ecclesia actually has the connotation or the meaning of
those that have been taken out of darkness and have been put to
the light, no longer in darkness, but now in light.
It is made-up of true believers who are saved by grace through
faith in Christ Jesus. Morgan defines the Church the
following way. The church is the people of God,
chosen by the Father, graciously bought into a relationship with
the Triune God and one another. Love this definition.
I love the fact that he he mentions the Triune God, that
the work of salvation is the work of the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Spirit, who then bring us into relationship with one
another. That is the church, an assembly,
a gathering, a community of the Spirit people who are rescued
and sanctified by Christ Jesus. The Bible affords us a number of
images of the church, what we call the metaphors or images of
the church. So as you read Scriptures,
you'll find things like the church as an army, the church as
a building, the church as the house, God's household, the
church as a family, the church as a flock of God, the church as
a planted field, wonderful images of the church.
And my favorite one is the church as a family.
Wonderful. We may even add here the church
as the bride of Christ. We may add so.
Notice then the words of Scripture from Luke.
This is the Church of God. I love that phrase.
This is the Church of God. Think about that in relation to
what the church is not that this is the Church of God says.
We have to remind ourselves over and over again that the church
belongs to Jesus, that Jesus is the founder.
Jesus created the church, He called the church, he redeemed
the church and he restored the church.
It is Jesus alone that the church is all about.
He is the centre and the very hero of the church.
It is built by Jesus, for Jesus and on Jesus.
This is important for us to to know that we are not the central
figure of the church. Yes, we have gathered this
morning to sing songs and to be in relationship with one
another, but we ought to be reminded the church is not
ultimately about us. It is about King Jesus.
And we need a high vision of who Jesus is.
The church is about him. It owes its origin, its
formation, and its direction. On Jesus alone, he fulfills his
very purposes in his church. Luke is clear here.
This is the Church of God. It does not belong to the elders
of the church. Church belongs to God.
It doesn't belong to any of us. We are under shepherds.
We are under leaders. But the Great Shepherd is the
very leader of the church. He founded the church, and when
Paul writes to the church at Corinth, I love how he begins in
chapter 1, verse 2. Notice how we rise to the Church
of God in Corinth. It's clear to the Church of God
that is in Corinth because this is the Church of God, a
community that belongs to God, the people of God who are God's
building and who are God's field.
Be reminded this morning that the church is not just any
religious community. The church is is the agent of
God that carries his presence into the world.
The church belongs to Jesus. And as we gather here this
morning, we are the ones that have been adopted into the
family of God, the ones that who are who and who were slaves, but
now have been brought into a relationship with a loving
Jesus. Now we sit here as brothers and
sisters in Christ, rescued by the gospel, transformed by the
by the Spirit. That's who we are gathered here
this morning as those who are loved by Christ, experiencing
his redemptive power in our lives.
Today we stand here as united in Christ, demonstrating a way of
life to the dying world for those who who are part of the
Church of God, leave contrary to the ways of the world.
When a church elevates men, it ceases to be a church.
It becomes a social club church. Let's be reminded.
Continue to lift up your hands to King Jesus as the Saviour and
as the centre and as the founder and the originator of the
Church. It belongs to him to remind
ourselves Arah Justin Martyr, who is a one of the early Church
Fathers, in fact is known as the one of the Patristic Church
Fathers. He writes beautifully about the
transformation in the early church.
Justin writes the following of all.
Would we rejoice in promiscuity but now we embrace only
self-control. Then we practice magical arts,
but now we have dedicated ourselves to the good and
unbegotten God. Then we loved above everything
the means of acquiring money property.
Now we put A to common use what we have and share with everyone
in need. Then we have hated one another
and murdered one another and become custom, and would not
even live under the same roof of those who were not the same
race. Now, after the appearing of
Christ, we eat at the same table, we pray for our enemies,
and we try to persuade those who unjustly hate.
What a wonderful picture of what the gospel brings from the 2nd
century. Those who are here this morning
have encountered this. They have encountered the love
of Jesus. When we encountered the love of
Jesus, it is impossible to remain the same.
The gospel is too powerful for us to remain the same.
The church is a transformed community, clothed with the life
of Christ, renewed by the very Spirit of Christ.
Not yet perfect, but we grow in sanctification.
We grow in Christ. This is the Church of God, but
also .1 B it is also a diverse church.
In First Corinthians 12/13 it says for we were all baptized by
1 Spirit to one form, where the Jews or Gentiles slave or free,
We were all given to 1 Spirit to drink.
Again, if you were to read First Corinthians 12/13 to the people
at Corinth at this time, they would have been shocked by this
in its cultural context and in its broader context.
This has been shocking that the Apostle Paul is speaking about
the Jews and Gentiles being baptized into one body.
This would have been shocking because the Jews and Gentiles
did not get along and it Apostle Paul says now you've all been
given 1 spirit to drink. The Church of God is made-up of
different tongues of different tribes of different nation.
It is multicultural. It is multiracial.
It reflects the very blessedness and the beauty of heaven as I
would be. That's the Church and, and, and,
and then the rite of Revelation saw this, for he writes.
After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude.
No one could count from every nation, tribe, and people in
language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.
They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches
in their hands. What a beautiful church that is,
displaying the very saving work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Again, let's get into the text when the Apostle Paul in Romans
chapter 16 as his writes to them.
I love how he writes this because he's writing about a
Jewish couple, Priscilla and Aquila, and he writes to the
church. He says this, all the churches
of the Gentiles, they give thanks to them Jewish couple,
but all the Gentile churches are giving thanks about this Jewish
couple. Amazing, because that's the
picture of God. Of bringing people who are
different, who are diverse, who are now brothers and sisters in
Christ, who are a family of God, a church that is welcoming, that
is inclusive, that disciples people to walk in the ways of
the Lord. It is a diverse church.
It is a church that ought to display the very manifold wisdom
of God to this world. That word manifold, it means
multi coloured, it means diversified, a church that is
diverse, that connects people to the Lord Jesus Christ.
And so let me remind you, we are not similar acquaintances here.
We are a family. That's who we are and we ought
to treat each other like family. Do you know when your kids mess
up, you don't say get out of my house, you're no longer my son,
get out. No, no, they are still your
children. They are still part of your
family. We are family.
And in our family we must also celebrate our differences.
We must celebrate our diversity in a manner in which we live
among one another. And yes, we are different.
And sometimes we tell our difference when we invite in
each other's homes, that there are things that are about
different about us. As we have dinner, there are
things that are different about us.
We tell that, but that's beautiful.
It's that diversity, something beautiful about that.
The last thing I want to highlight here is the Apostle
Paul. Again, I believe Romans is
written by Paul. Other people said it's not.
I believe he did. So I will say this is the
Apostle Paul. He says in verse chapter 16,
verse 13, great Rufus chosen in the Lord and his mother who has
been a mother to me also. I love that this is Rufus.
I know this is your mom, buddy, but also this is my mom.
This is my mom. That's how our church should be,
that our young people in this church would find mothers and
fathers in this church, that men and women will find brothers and
sisters in this church. Just same as the language of
Paul that Rufus is now also has been a mother to me.
I'm not Rufus mother, I'm not his biological son, but Rufus
mother is a mother to me also. That's a family.
That's a church that ought to be.
So. This is the Church of God, but
also this is a diverse Church of Paul says.
Now notice the second thing he says there, that this is the
Church of God. Take care of this Church of God.
Notice the second thing he says, he says he obtained it with his
own blood, the church that has been obtained with his own
blood. Now as you can see the first
point, the 1st 28 a relates to leaders.
And so he speaks about how why leaders ought to take care of
the people of God. And then he he lays it down, the
reason the leaders ought to take care of the flock of God.
It's because he bought it with his own blood.
He purchased the church with his own blood.
The Son of Man took our nature in his incarnation.
He lived, he suffered, He died for own sins, but he was
perfect. He had no sin.
He, he purchased that he bought to the church, and the language
of bought is a language of redemption, signifying that
those who were enslaved, those who were in sin, have now been
brought in. They have been purchased by
Christ and now live in freedom in Christ.
In other words, he purchased us and he bought us.
He made us his own, a church filled with redeemed people,
restored people who are bought in by Christ Himself.
And the price to buy us the price to redeem us is very
expensive. Notice that the purchasing price
is His own blood. This is blood, in other words,
that is substitution. Jesus purchases the pledge, the
church with his own blood by dying in our place for our sin
in order to atone for us. He dies on our behalf.
He pays the debt on our behalf. He redeems us from sin, from the
wrath of God, from guilt and shame, from death.
The church is no longer in bondage, no longer slave to sin,
but we have been freed by Christ.
Therefore, church, that is the price of the of the church.
Redemption is costly. Salvation is not cheap.
It is costly. So whenever you speak bad about
the church, whenever you leave a church, any church, and said I
don't want to be part of that church, whenever we attempt to
take the church or salvation for granted, I want to remind you he
bought the church with his own blood.
He died for this. Do not take the church for
granted. The cost is too high.
The Son of Man bled for the Church.
He bought it with his own blood. What does that tell us?
Therefore, the Church belongs to him.
Not only does it belong to Him, He loves it.
He died for the church that He loves.
Christ loves the Church. He loves this gathering of the
Saints who come here together to worship and magnify His name.
Let me also say he loved the Church, even when it's
imperfect. Church believers are under
construction. We are not yet perfect.
There will be betrayal. There will be conflict, there
will be disagreements in all of these things in the House of God
because the church can be mercy. But be reminded, Jesus loves it
that way anyway. He doesn't discard this church
because it's mercy at times. No, he loves the church as is.
So those things we ought to expect.
It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when.
That one day Colin and I may have may have conflict, we may
disagree. But even when that happens, the
church remains beautiful. The church remains glorious.
Jesus loves the church, therefore we don't speak bad
about her. A low view of the church equals
to a low view of Christ Himself. The church is God's plan to
redeem the world. Church there is no Plan B, the
primary tool for God to carry out His purposes to the world.
It is true the church don't speak bad about her.
Christ loves the bride and one day He will perfect the bride,
but now it is not perfect, but one day he will perfect this
glorious and beautiful bride. A friend of mine who used to
live in Somerset, W As I was telling him about what I'm going
to preach about that, that we ended up having a conversation
and then he said to me, he said this.
I mean he had, he had written it also as part of his article and
then also told me then send it to me.
This is what he writes shown to Toy He says Christians are not
marked by skin colour, or by gender, or by geographical
location, or even, shockingly, by their good behaviour.
Nor are they defined by a particular type of religious
feelings they may have. They are defined in terms of the
God they worship. All other definitions of the
church are open to distortion. We need theology, we need
doctrine, because if we don't have it, something else will
come and in to take it's place and any other defining marks of
the church will move us in the direction of idolatry.
Wow, that's amazing. I said to you, I'm going to
steal that quote because it's so good.
The church is made-up of those who have turned away from idols.
We have now turned to God, no longer enslaved by sin, but
enslaved to the living and the trustworthy God.
Further considerations, perhaps practical considerations.
Let me say this. The church will not be able to
meet all your needs and all your preferences.
It is impossible the the music style might.
You may not even like the music style of this church.
Maybe you don't even like the the preacher today.
It happens because you prefer a different type of style of
preaching. It happens.
That's OK. But can I say the church will
not be able to meet all of your needs and all of your
preferences? And that ought to remind us that
in the 1st place, it is not about us, it's about Jesus.
But let us let's ask the following questions.
I think they'll put it up. So when you, when you, when you
become part of the family and become of a church, you ask
yourself a number of questions. I think you ought to ask
yourself these questions. Is the word of God faithfully
preached week in and week out? Are the sacraments administered?
Are the leaders of the church encouraging a Christ like
character? Is the local church governed by
to the by the word of God? Does it reject all that is
contrary to the word of God? Is Christ the head of that
church? Does it remember the poor?
Is it a community that is shaped and informed by prayer?
That's just my list. Maybe you could add other things
on that list. And if I think a church sticks
all of those boxes, I think you're in a good church.
I would actually attend it, no matter how far that church is
this morning. Here in this church, we have
people who live close to Mamas Bury.
These guys here, they drive all the way to Mamas Bury after the
service and they come here. There are many churches they
could go to around that side, but they choose to be here and
it's far for them. It was quite a drive to there,
but they've chosen to be here and to be part of this church.
I think we ought to ask ourselves this question.
I didn't ask you whether is the vibe of the church OK?
Is the tempo of the song OK? Because it's got nothing to do
with that. But is the Word of God preached?
Are we administering the sacraments?
The sacraments are not the suggestion.
The sacraments are a command. Baptized, take the Lord's
Supper. It is a command.
It is an imperative and all of these things that we've
highlighted here, but ultimately Christ is the head of the
church. What am I saying to us, Oh dear
ones, the church is not optional.
The church is an essential part of the Christian life.
You need the church. I need the church.
We need one another. We need one another.
Perhaps. Then we answer the last question
is why does it exist? Why is the Church even in
existence this morning? The Church exists for the for
God and His glory. It exists to make disciples
where the Word is taught and practice.
It exists to make Him known. It exists for mutual fellowship,
the to observe the ordinances of the sacraments.
It also exists to remember the poor and the vulnerable.
All of these things, they ought to be informed and shaped by
Jesus. And again, you could add other
things there, but ultimately the Church is for God and his glory.
The Christian life is designed to be lived in community.
We are now called to isolate ourselves, but we are called to
be part of a community. The right of Hebrews writes the
following. And let us not, and let us
consider how we may spur one another towards love and good
deeds, not giving up meeting together as some are in a habit
of doing, but encouraging one another.
And all the more as you see the day approaching.
That's the Church of God, a gathering community, a
transformed community, a rescued community.
John Wesley would put it this way, that the Bible knows
nothing about solitary religion. The Bible is always talking
about the gathering of God's people.
The Christian faith is communal, it requires support, it requires
growth, and we are never called to exist in isolation.
As we step into 2026, my prayer is that we would have a high
view of the church, knowing fully well that it belongs to
Christ, but also fully knowing that He bought it with his own
blood, that the cost of the church is that it's quite high.
It took the Son of Man to die in our place and for our sin.
May God bless you.