Help for the Weary

I am sitting in a South Dakota living room for the kingdom of God this morning. Weather underground says it's 4 degrees outside. Just last week I was sitting in Yangon, Myanmar, where it was at least in the 80's and where it is 7:00 in the evening rather than 6:30 in the morning, like it is here. I've been up since 4:00, because I still can't get over the time change. 16 hours in the car two days ago didn't help.

Why am I doing all this? It's not that I'm suffering much. In fact, I'm not suffering at all. I'm happy, healthy, and I have great friends around me every day. But I must be hopping all over the world for some reason. It's not tourism, because I stay too busy to see anything in any of the places where I go.

I thought about the missionaries I met in Myanmar. I thought about the people I traveled to Myanmar with. I am thinking about the people I'll meet today here in Dell Rapids, South Dakota, and the people I've talked with for the last two days. Why do I talk to them? What do I want in all the traveling and speaking I've done?

I want everyone to know the fullness of the Gospel, and almost no one does. This includes the Pentecostals and charismatics who refer to themselves as "full gospel" churches. They do exactly what everyone else does, and they get the same results that everyone else gets. They can be 'confident of this, that he who has begun a good work in them will complete it in about 10% of them...maybe.'

The Gospel is all about grace. Grace is the wonderful power of God that those under the Law did not have. It is the power to overcome sin (Rom. 6:14). It is the power to fulfill the righteousness that the Law set out to describe (Rom. 8:3,4). It is the inexplicable effluence that trains us in godly living and makes us zealous for good works (Tit. 2:11-14). It is the wellspring of spiritual power that produces the miraculous gifts of the Spirit (1 Pet. 4:10-11).

But so few know how to stay within that grace, because they don't know where it is found. The reason that they don't know where it is found is because they don't know where Christ, the source of grace, is found.

Where is Christ to be found? He is to be found in the same place you are to be found: in your body!

Sigh...there's so much to say. If I just blurt it all out, it will be confusing and boring. Let's take this one step at a time.

Where is Christ?

He's sitting at the right hand of the Father, right? Okay, sure he is, but that won't do you any good. You're sitting at the right hand of the Father, too (Eph. 2:6), but if your spouse asked me where you were and I told her that, your spouse would be mad at me. Saul of Tarsus was on his way to Damascus when he was struck down by light and blinded. Despite the fact that Jesus, the head, was right there in front of him, visible to him, Jesus did nothing for Saul. "Go to Damascus," he said.

It was there that Paul really met Christ, not on the road in Damascus. And it happened through Christ's body. Ananaias laid hands on Paul and baptized him, and thus Paul had his sins forgiven, his sight restored, received the Spirit of God, and was commissioned for his future mission.

This, I'm certain, is at least part of the reason that people came to Christ through baptism in the Bible, not through a sinner's prayer, that can be done alone in your room with a tract.

The Gospel, as I said, is all about grace, and there is one place where great grace can be found, and that is in Christ's body. Not only does Acts tell us that great grace was on the disciples when they were "of one heart and one soul" (4:32,33), but Psalm 133 tells us that it is where brothers are living together in unity that God commands the blessing of eternal life. There's reasons for all of this, my brothers and sisters. The Scriptures aren't wrong when they tell you that you and the head won't cut it. You really can't say "I don't need the eye" or "I don't need the hand." You are likely to perish without your brothers and sisters, despite your Bible and your relationship with Christ. At least, that's what your Bible says (Heb. 3:13).

We have spiritualized John 15, and we have suffered for it badly. There, our Master tells us that we have to remain in him if we are to bear much fruit. So therefore we attempt to spiritually meditate on him as though we were Hindus and not Christians. No, no, no! It's much simpler and harder than that. He is found in his body. Remaining or abiding in Christ is as simple as staying in the church, remaining in fellowship with your brothers and sisters on a daily basis. You cannot bear fruit unless you abide in the vine, the vine is Christ, and Christ, according to the Scriptures, consists of many members, not just the one in the heavens sitting at the right hand of the Father (1 Cor. 12:12).

The Church and Christ

Jesus never meant to separate himself from his church. When Saul saw Jesus, Jesus asked Saul why Saul was persecuting him. He didn't ask Saul why he was persecuting the church, but why he was persecuting Jesus himself. Jesus is as possessive of his body as you are of yours.

Look at 1 Cor. 12:12. It says that just as a body has many parts, but all those parts remain one body, so also is Christ. That's an important sentence. Notice that it does not say "so also is the church." We all know the church is composed of many members, but we are not used to thinking of Christ as being composed of many members. We need to get used to it, because the reason we fail so badly is because we are looking for Jesus in all the wrong places. He is found in his body.

Don't miss the fact that Jesus himself sent Saul to Ananias in Damascus. It is not what we would do today. In fact, it is the exact opposite. We, as members of the body of Christ, sit in front of people and tell them to close their eyes and attempt to envision the invisible head of the body and ask him into their heart. Not only did the apostles not do such a thing, but Jesus himself didn't, either! He didn't tell Saul to ask him into his heart, despite the golden opportunity. The head was not invisible to Saul, he was visible. Nonetheless, Jesus sent him to Ananias to have his sins forgiven by washing them away in baptism (Acts 22:16).

The Power of the People of God

I don't know about you, but I grew extremely tired of being confident that about 10% or less of the people I "went to church" with would continue maturing in Christ. Paul was confident that the whole church would! You can be, too!

How can I be confident what I'm telling you works? Because I see it work every day. I am confident that he who has begun a good work in the members of his body will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus. In fact, God continually renews my amazement at his power to transform people without missing anyone. It's really happening, right here in these good ol' United States, right in the midst of enough decadence, pride, individuality, and wealth to corrupt even the best of souls.

The growth of the church was always meant to be together. The Scriptures say that the growth of the body happens as each part does its share (Eph. 4:16). But it doesn't only say that such growth depends on every part doing its share, it also says that the growth of the body happens "together." We grow up together into the fullness of the measure of the stature of Christ (Eph 4:11-16).

Here's the catch. There's a pretty hefty cost involved.

#1: Nothing I'm saying works for those who limit themselves to the "ask Jesus into your heart and get your sins forgiven, then go to heaven" gospel. What I'm saying is only true for disciples, who deny themselves, take up their cross daily, and follow him.

#2: Nothing I'm saying works for those who consider the church to include those who limit themselves to the "ask Jesus into your heart and get your sins forgiven, then go to heaven" gospel. What I'm saying is only true for disciples in fellowship with other disciples, and anyone who will not deny themselves and take up their cross daily cannot be Christ's disciple and thus cannot be part of the church.

#3: I'm not talking about a Christian club, where people who perhaps are open to, or enjoy, or are attempting to follow Christian teachings and ideas get together a couple times a week to have a meeting to sing and talk and collect hefty membership dues that are as stiff as ancient Israelite taxes. I'm talking about a family, where disciples don't just say they are brothers and sisters, but actually live like they're brothers and sisters, being willing to share lives, possessions, and to take care of one another should any of them be in trouble. It actually has to be disciples together enough that when one hurts, they all hurt.

#4: If you even begin moving in that direction, you'll probably be thrown out of your "church" (Christian club), banned from most other Christian clubs, called a cult member, and persecuted in ways you never dreamed of by people you'd have never suspected.

#5: You'll never be able to do it alone. You'll probably need our help. It seems likely that will get us called a cult one more time, but I'd be lying otherwise. People attempt to be together in the way we see in the book of Acts all the time in the U.S., but it almost never lasts. I wish we could point you to dozens of other thriving churches, full of disciples, where we are confident that he who has begun a good work in them will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus, but since that's not the Gospel preached in the United States and since the devil thoroughly persecutes and seeks to destroy any place that begins to get light on the church, churches are RARE. If you know any, tell us about them, and we'll send others to get help from them. Of course, you'll probably still be getting help from us, because real churches love one another and stay in fellowship with one another, so you can hardly tell the difference between them.

Well, that's what I'm doing in South Dakota. I'm hoping that everyone who hears about Christ will get to grow up inside of Christ and know that remaining in Christ means remaining in his body, because that's how you bear much fruit and continue to the end...with the help of your brothers and sisters, who are really your brothers and sisters, not just in name only.

"Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen."