A
CHURCH THAT CONNECTS
2 Corinthians 5:11-21, 03/26/2017
Introduction: Robert Lewis in his
book “The church of Irresistible Influence shares a story of how a suspension
bridge came about on the Niagara River Gorge, “In 1851, many of the most accomplished
engineers in the country thought James Roebling was out of his mind. That year,
he began to work on the unthinkable: building a bridge over the Niagara River
Gorge. Disaster was nearly universally predicted. There was the sheer
mathematics of the thing: 825 feet across and more terrifyingly 200 feet
straight down. But the distance across the river paled in comparison to the
sheer power and rage of the waters below.
Across
such a chasm, Roebling believed a train could cross. History was not his ally.
Although greater spans had already been bridged, including Roebling’s own
bridge across the Ohio River, the Niagara was far more difficult. No girders or
bridge supports would ever survive the raging currents. The only possible
solution was a suspension bridge. In England and France suspension bridges had
collapsed under the mere weight of crossing humans, killing hundreds.
As
Roebling’s bridge was less than a year from completion, a smaller suspension
bridge collapsed a few miles away just five years after it was opened. Yet
construction continued and Roebling’s bridge opened in 1855. The bottom level
was for carriage and pedestrian traffic and the top was reserved for the Great
Western Canada Railroad. On Friday March 16, the first train rolled over twice
the weight of regular trains to test the bridge. Just a few days later, a
passenger train packed to capacity made the journey from Canada to the United
States. Because of his efforts, two countries which had been separated from
each other were now connected.[1]
These
days there is a lot of talk about walls, but can you imagine what our lives
will be without bridges? Can you imagine what life would have been like between
America and Canada, if it had not been for those brave efforts of John Augustus
Roebling? Similarly, we have another
kind of bridge builder between man and God. His name is Jesus, He used the cross
as a bridge to connect us with God. After his death and resurrection, he left behind
his church a ministry of building bridges to connect people with God and with
others. The title of this message “A CHURCH THAT CONNECTS.”2 Corinthians
5:11-21
BACKGROUND: What do we know
about the city of Corinth and the Church in Corinth? Corinth was an important
cosmopolitan Greek city located about fifty miles west of Athens. It was one of
the largest cities in the Roman Empire. Corinth was on a major trade route and
had a thriving economy. Greeks, Romans, Jews, and a mixed multitude of sailors
and merchants flocked to this crossroads. Corinth was known for its stylish
architecture. By the end of the second
century Corinth had become one of the richest cities in the world.
Corinth
was a sin city. Degradation, immorality, and heathen customs abounded. There were many religions represented, even a
temple with a thousand sacred prostitutes.
Pleasure was worshipped more than principles. Yet God had a plan and
purpose for Corinth so He send the Apostle Paul to Corinth to plant a Church
among a large Jewish population.
In
Acts 18:4, we read, “Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to
persuade Jews and Greeks. Paul stayed in Corinth for eighteen months and a
congregation was established. After a
while Paul received disturbing news about the Corinthian church from the
household of Chloe (I Cor 1:11). They reported that there were divisions, gross
immorality, law suits between Christians in front of unbelievers, practical
problems in living the Christian life, and marriage problems. All these and
many more prompted Paul to write a letter to the Church in Corinth.
We
will pick our story up from 2 Corinthians chapter 5. The Apostle Paul was
writing to encourage believers to be grateful for their free gift of salvation,
and to make a goal in their lives to please God as they await their heavenly abode,
the presence of God. He made it abundantly clear to them that, the Love of
Christ was the compelling factor behind everything he did or said. He also
challenged them, that they should no longer live for themselves but to live for
Christ who died for them and was raised again. He explained that two things
were necessary for them to live for Christ. I. Regeneration 2. Reconciliation.
Let’s look at these two words:
Regeneration:
When
we accepted Christ as our savior we have been regenerated which means a
thorough change of heart has taken place. We have been given a new heart in the
place of an old one. The Apostle Paul calls it in Vs 17, “Therefore if anyone
is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old is gone and the new is here.”
In
Titus, the Apostle Paul explains how ugly our old life looked like. Titus
3:3-6, “It wasn’t so long ago that we ourselves were stupid and stubborn, dupes
of sin, ordered every which way by our glands, going around with a chip on our
shoulder, hated and hating back. But when God, our kind and loving Savior God,
stepped in, he saved us from all that. It was all his doing; we had nothing to
do with it. He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it new people, washed
inside and out by the Holy Spirit. Our Savior Jesus poured out new life so
generously.”
I
am eternally grateful that Jesus saved me from my old life and given me hope
and a new way of living for Him. I am sure many of you can testify to how
miserable you were before giving your life to Christ. Some of us sitting here
may have never surrendered their lives to God, if so you too can receive
forgiveness today for your sins and begin this new way of living. We were not
only regenerated, but we were also reconciled.
Reconciliation:
What
does reconciliation mean? It is relational word. It means the restoration of
friendly relations. It is an action word which involves reuniting, reunion,
bringing together (again), conciliation, reconcilement, rapprochement,
fence-mending; pacification, appeasement, and peace. It is the act of causing
two people or groups to become friendly again after an argument or disagreement.
All of us at one point in our sinful state were enemies of God. Romans 5:10
“for if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the
death of his son.”
In Greek, a root word Katallaso means “to reconcile.” It was used to indicate the divine
work of redemption where God taking upon himself our sin and becoming an
attornment, establishing that relationship of peace with mankind. Christ
brought peace between us and God, through his death. Christ died for us so that
we might live a life of abundance. Living for Christ involves an individual
regeneration and reconciliation. But that is not the end in itself, we were also
given a message of reconciliation and a ministry of reconciliation.
I
MESSAGE OF RECONCILIATION:
What
is the message of reconciliation? It
is the good news of the gospel. In simple words: God loves us and created
us for a relationship. Our sins separated us from God. Sins
cannot be forgiven by good works. Paying the ransom for our sins, Christ died
and rose again. Eternal life to all those who believe in Christ. Life
with Christ brings abundant Joy and eternal hope. This is the message of
reconciliation that God wants us to share with our friends, family and everyone
else that we come in contact with. So, that they too would have an opportunity
to be regenerated and reconciled with God. How do we do it? It is through the ministry of reconciliation.
II. THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION
Vs 18, “All this is from God, who
reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave
us the ministry of reconciliation.” Let’s unpack this scripture. This tells
us that there was nothing we did to be saved and reconciled to God it was all
from God. Secondly, God gave to all those who were saved without any exception
a ministry of reconciliation. Many faithful church goers often carry a misnomer
thinking that only a few people are called for ministry and not everyone. While
it is true that some were called for some specific ministry, for example people
like Billy Graham, Benny Hinn, and Ravi Zacharias but all of us are given a ministry
of reconciliation.
We Christians often talk about,
Ministry, what does it mean? The Greek word used here was Diakonia. Which means labor or service which involves compassionate
love towards the needy with in the Christian community. And also, every
business, every calling, every job so far as its labor benefits others is also
a service. In I Corinthians 12:4-5 we
read, “there are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.
There are different kinds of service but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in
all of them in everyone it is the same God at work.” For example, some are
gifted in preaching, teaching, others are gifted in music worship, or
administration, or creative writing, performing arts, or serving acts of mercy,
and in certain skilled professions. Whatever gift you may have been given by
God, it is not only for yourself but you may use them and get involved in the
ministry of reconciliation. To bring people back to God. How do we do that
practically? By connecting!
III. A CHURCH THAT CONNECTS:
We have been privileged, that God entrusted
us with a message and a ministry of reconciliation. I believe that God wants us
to be a Church that Connects. A Church that builds bridges. A Church that
engages and embraces people of all ages, ethnicities, religions and all walks
of life. A church that takes the ministry of reconciliation seriously. It takes
all of us intentionally doing our part in spreading the good news. We seek for
opportunities to both preach the gospel through our words and deeds.
Ministry of Reconciliation involves connecting,
and building bridges with people that are both inside and outside of our
Church. Yesterday in our vision retreat we talked about the importance of
building relationships with people in our community. We recognized that God has
placed us in a unique place as Hope Church with a clear mandate to preach the
good news of the gospel to all people in Sharon and beyond.
Here are a few practical suggestions
as we seek to engage our community. Firstly, seek to get to know your
neighbors, know what is happening in our community, get involved in community
events. Connecting with people in our community may foster trust and relationships.
I know it is not easy, but we want to give it a try. Secondly, sign up for
voluntary service, attend social public events, serve in community projects, be
an advocate for social justice and racial reconciliation, do all these without
any agenda except to serve and build friendships. Our good works will generate
goodwill, which might open a door to preach the good news.
Thirdly, invite your friends, and
neighbors for a BBQ, a movie night, or Ice cream socials as we do that we are
sending a message of welcome and belonging. Fourthly, help our elderly
neighbors by mowing their lawn, cleaning their basement, delivering meals,
offering rides for shopping or hospital visits etc. There are over 5,500
elderly population ages ranging 55 or over live in Sharon. It is another huge
opportunity for our Church.
Fifthly, invite your unchurched
friends to our church related events:( Third Sunday Luncheon, Easter Sunday
Breakfast etc). Finally, earnestly pray to God for the salvation of your
unsaved friends, neighbors, and colleagues at work that He would soften their
hearts so that they might respond to the gospel. My prayer is that Hope Church
will become intentional in sharing the message of Hope and reconciliation to
all the people in Sharon and beyond. May the Lord empower us to become soul
winners by building bridges and through our connections. Amen.
