Revision as of 14:37, 6 May 2024

Theological Proposition/Focus:

Homiletical Proposition/Application: We must always be on guard against distractions. As a church, we are called to proclaim Christ through specific God-ordained means.

Introduction:

Image: Wells Fargo, focus on what you are good at

Between 1983 and 1994 Carl Reichardt played a pivotal role in transforming Wells Fargo into one of the largest and most successful financial institutions in the United States. His strategic vision, leadership, and focus on operational excellence helped position Wells Fargo for long-term growth and success.

Something that Carl Reichardt especially emphasized was keeping the main thing the main thing. Reichardt emphasized focusing on Wells Fargo's core competencies and strengths within the financial services industry. Instead of trying to be all things to all people, he concentrated on areas where Wells Fargo could excel, such as retail banking, mortgage lending, and commercial banking. Reichardt ensured that Wells Fargo's resources were aligned with its strategic priorities. He directed investments in areas that supported the company's core business lines and competitive advantages, while divesting from non-core assets that did not fit with its long-term strategy. By focusing on core competencies, providing clear strategic direction, aligning resources, promoting simplicity and clarity, and maintaining a long-term perspective, Reichardt helped position Wells Fargo for sustained success during his tenure as CEO.

Reichardt has been praised for employing what is sometimes known as the hedgehog principle. The concept is inspired by an ancient Greek parable delivered by the philosopher Archilochus that contrasts the behaviors of the fox, who knows many things, and the hedgehog, who knows one big thing.

Preview: There are all sorts of things that a church does but today I want to focus on three primary ways in which the church proclaims Christ. The edification of believers, the fellowship of the Lord's Supper and the picture of Baptism. These are the main things and no matter what we do, we must make sure to keep the main thing always the main thing.

Text: Various texts read after each subpoint when listed

Body

The New Testament calls the universal church the bride of Christ. We here are all part of the universal church or the bride of Christ but we are also part of a local church, a local assembly of believers. As a local assembly we must make sure that we are keeping the main thing the main thing. A key component of that is making sure that our actions here as a local assembly are consistent with the actions that Christ calls on his bride to take.

The first action I want to talk about is corporate worship.

The Bride of Christ proclaims the Lord by gathering together.

The word worship is used 79 times in 71 verses in the New Testament. However, if we restrict ourselves to the Pauline epistles then the word worship is only used 8 times in the writing of Paul. And none of those uses of the word really tell us what worship is. Since our focus is on what it means for the church to worship God we can turn instead to the book of Acts. In the book of Acts the word worship is used in 13 verses. However, again, most of these uses of the word do not provide insight into what worship in the local church consisted of. The verse that helps us the most is Acts 13:2 which states "While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.'" what we learn is that corporate worship was something the local church did. So, what was the church in Antioch doing in Acts 13:2? Well the Greek word that we here translate as worship is not the usual προσκυνέω but instead λειτουργέω which means "to render a special form of service." What I want us to understand is that the churches in the New Testament worshipped God. We too should worship God, but what exactly does that mean? Let's look at some passaged to understand what worship really looks like.

Why gather? For public edification (1 Timothy 4:13).

If you know Jesus as your personal Savior you have a personal relationship with Jesus and thus you also have a personal spiritual life. I hope that you are doing personal devotions and spending personal time in prayer. However, there is more. In 1 Timothy 4:13 Paul reminded Timothy that there was a need for Timothy to pay attention to not only his own personal private spiritual life but the public spiritual life of the church. Three elements of public ministry were vitally important, public reading of Scripture, the preaching of the Word, and teaching.

Why gather? For public song (Colossians 3:16).

Look at Colossians 3:16

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.^[1]

In Colossians 3:15 we learn that "Believers are also to let the peace of Christ rule in their hearts because they are called to peace as members of one body. The closer believers are to Christ (and His likeness), the closer they are to each other ^[2]"

Now in verse 16, we learn a key process. The Christians can let the peace of Christ dwell in their hearts by letting the message of Christ dwell richly within. When the words of Christ dwell within a person they become a part of their vocabulary and the believer cannot help but proclaim them. Often this can take the form of psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit.

In Psalm 40:3 David wrote "He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in him. ^[3]" After enjoying great deliverance David proclaimed that God gave him a new song. From where does this song come? For the New Testament believer, the song comes from letting the message of Christ dwell richly within.

I don't think it is a stretch to state that the words of Christ should permeate your mind so that you cannot help but sing. But also, notice that in verse 15 of Colossians 3 the emphasis is on the body. I don't think it is a stretch to argue that the singing of Christ should be a corporate activity.

Why gather? For public prayer (1 Timothy 2:1-8).

After discussing false teachers in 1 Timothy 1, Paul turns his attention to the broad conduct of a local church. So what is the church to do? Pray. I want to point out to you an important fact. In a typical church, a lot of people pay attention to the music, fewer people pay attention to the sermon, and a handful of people pray. This is backwards! Really, think about it, or better yet, do some leg work. Find all the verses you can that command music, then find the ones that command preaching, then find the ones that command prayer and see what you think the priority should be.

Look at the key aspects of prayer in a church

• we are to pray for all people
• this includes our leaders
• this command is not just for the Ephesian church but for all churches
• prayer should be an act of sanctifying oneself by setting oneself apart for God.

I think that overall the message is that prayer should be done by all people for all people as an act of service and devotion to God unifying the body of Christ. On a personal level, I will tell you that nothing really brings you closer to another more than prayer.

Image: Wednesday prayer the best-kept secret

I think the best-kept secret in our church is our Wednesday noon prayer service. This service is an hour-long time of prayer. I will also tell you that when you converse with God for 60 minutes with a group of people you know them better than anybody else.

We need to understand that by gathering together and emphasizing the right things we proclaim Christ. When preaching teaches the word of God, the Gospel is proclaimed. When people sing praises to God, the gospel is proclaimed. When prayer is a priority, the Gospel is proclaimed.

MTR: Make a point of emphasizing edification, song, and prayer as we gather together..

The Bride of Christ proclaims the death of Jesus through the Lord's Supper (1 Cor. 11:23-26).

The Gospel is the good news of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

In 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 we have the Gospel in just a few verses. Jesus died for our sins. Jesus was buried. Jesus rose again. However, look closely at the proclamation of the Lord's supper.

The Lord's Supper proclaims the death of Jesus.

• Jesus proclaimed that his body was broken for his disciples and that his blood was poured out inaugurating the New Covenant. This actually proclaims the death, burial and even the resurrection of Jesus. Death and burial are easy to see.

The Lord's Supper proclaims the resurrection of Jesus.

What I also want you to see is that the New Covenant is itself a proclamation of the resurrection. Look at Hebrews 9:14-15

14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

The passage continues to talk about the death of Christ but in verse 28 we see that a key component of the New Covenant is in fact the resurrection "so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him."

The practice of the Lord's supper is a declaration of the message of the cross. Dead to sins, alive to God.

MTR: Next time you participate in the Lord's Supper remember you are proclaiming the Gospel.

The Bride of Christ proclaims the Gospel through the picture of Baptism.

Baptism is symbolic of the Christ-follower’s death to sin (Romans 6:4).

Romans 6 paints a beautiful picture of what life should look like after salvation. The post-salvation life under the protection of grace but pointed toward Christ-likeness. What do I mean by that? After salvation, the Christian is called to strive toward Christ-like obedience and service to God while having the confidence that even when we fail we have the protective umbrella of grace. At the moment of salvation, we die toward sin, that is we are no longer bound by sin and are alive toward God. Paul, in Romans 6:4 explicitly reminds us that baptism paints exactly this picture; “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”

Baptism is symbolic of the Christ-follower’s resurrection to newness of life (Romans 6:4, Colossians 2:12).

In Colossians 2, addressing our need to live life in Christ, Paul again reminds his readers that in baptism we display the change that occurs in salvation; “ having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.” Again, the picture Paul paints is one of death to sin and a post-salvation life lived for God. That is, after the moment of salvation we begin a life where we are free to serve Christ and free to pursue Christ-likeness. In theological terms, we begin progressive sanctification.

The Gospel is not just forgiveness for sin but the hope of life as God intended it to be lived (2 Corinthians 5:17)!

As Paul states in 2 Corinthians 5:17,

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” Baptism is symbolic of the radical change that occurs at the moment of salvation. The act of Baptism is supposed to look like washing because we are showing that we have been cleansed and are walking renewed.

Titus 3:5 states

"he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit," We are washed, renewed by the Holy Spirit. We have new life in Christ.

Image: I love to see something made clean.

One of my favorite things to do is to wash something really well. You know that feeling when you have not just washed an item but you have renewed the item. It looks as if it is brand new. I love that feeling. I recently bought a new torque wrench from Amazon. Actually new is not the right word, it was renewed by Amazon. I will admit, when I opened the box I was disappointed by how dirty the wrench was. I returned the item. Yes, I am going to get it dirty myself, but that doesn't change the fact that this item was not renewed it was simply reboxed.

MTR: Today as we baptize make sure to celebrate your own walk in newness of life!

1. ↑ NIV
2. ↑ Norman L. Geisler, “Colossians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 682.
3. ↑ The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ps 40:3.