Building The Spirit-Filled Church - Part 5

Scripture Matthew 18:20

Sermon preached at Gospel Light Christian Church, Singapore
by Pastor Dr Paul Choo
on 29 July 2001 11 am Service

Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Introduction: Four weeks ago we learned that the traditional church, like other pagan religions, is building centered. Building-centered religions attempt to "limit" God's presence to the confines of the building and to make a distinction between the spiritual and the secular realm.

Three weeks we learned how the New Testament concept of church as "a called-out people" (in Greek: ekklesia) was gradually replaced by the concept of church as a building. We must think of people when we think of the church.

Two weeks we learned how that the traditional church not only attempts to limit God to a building but that it also attempts to limit Him to the clergy. We must think "me" when we think of ministry.

Last week we learned that the main ministry of the pastor is to help the members to discover their spiritual gifts, to develop them, to deploy them into the appropriate ministries and to delegate authority to them as they serve in those ministries. Their role is not to monopolize ministries but to multiply them. However, would we have enough ministerial opportunities for 400 ministers in a Bible church like GLCC? Today, we will look at some of the limitations of a typical Bible church and compare it with a New Testament type biblical church.

Bible church: For the first thirteen years of our existence GLCC was a typical Bible (or classroom) church. Our main ministries were preaching on Sundays and Bible studies the rest of the week. Pastor's main ministry was to prepare Bible studies and the members' main ministry was to be faithful students of the Bible. Bible churches often lack the following:

1 Ministerial opportunities - As the number of members grows, ministerial opportunities do not grow correspondingly, since one classroom teacher can teach an almost unlimited number of students.

2 Discipleship - Though members attend many Bible studies and grow in Bible knowledge, their lives are often not transformed because there are not sufficiently discipled to apply the lessons learnt into their daily lives. For example, lessons on honoring parents may be taught but many members do not know how to teach their children to obey them. Similarly, lessons on the Great Commission may be taught but most members do not know how to evangelize effectively. Unlike classroom teaching which is "mass production," discipleship is far more personal (eg. one to one).

3 Meeting emotional needs - Sin produces many "wounded hearts" even among Christians that result in emptiness, frustration, discouragement, fear and confusion. In a typical classroom church, there are few opportunities to share our deepest feelings nor for our emotional needs to be met.

4 Outreach opportunities - It is usually difficult for a person of another religion to attend church because it involves entering "foreign territory."

New Testament church: The early NT church was a persecuted church, which met in small groups without paid or trained clergy to lead them. Believers, conscious of the indwelling Holy Spirit, their spiritual gifts and ministerial responsibilities, ministered to one another whenever and wherever they came together. More importantly, they did not feel leaderless because they claimed Christ's promise that "where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (MAT 18:20). This biblical NT church offered the following advantages:

1 Ministerial opportunities - As there were no paid clergy to minister to their needs, they each ministered to each other with the spiritual gifts that they had (eg. faith, hospitality, encouragement wisdom, knowledge, teaching, evangelism, pastoring). As they ministered to each other, their spiritual gifts surfaced and the presence of the Holy Spirit became a reality. Since it was difficult for them to meet 'in large groups because of the persecution and because of the size of their homes, they split up into two groups whenever their group became too large.

2 Discipleship - Though they did not have as many opportunities to hear nor read God's Word, they learned from each other how to apply what they knew of God's Word into their lives and to minister it effectively to others. Their Christianity was more practical than theoretical. Discipling is best done by brethren who are spiritually a few steps ahead, rather than by "super Christians."

3 Meeting emotional needy - The early Christians were severely persecuted but the strong support that they received from their spiritual families met their needs for love, acceptance, encouragement, etc.

4. Outreach opportunities - it was much easier for their pagan neighbors, who were "attracted" by the lives of the early Christians, to join them in their homes than in a public place of worship. Through these widespread "house" outreaches, the Gospel spread throughout the entire Roman Empire.

Conclusion: We must overcome our fear that our little spiritual families will be spiritually inadequate, leaderless and prone to doctrinal error and believe that Christ has distributed His spiritual gifts wisely and that He is the Head of the Church.