Christians, Communists & Koinonia

Hot Topics 4: Christians, Communists, and Koinonia Allen R. Hunt 1/29/06
Mount Pisgah Acts 2.42-47 (With thanks to Max Lucado)
I. Turn to Neighbor: You look really, really familiar
Now, according to math and genealogists, we are all related to Charlemagne
Count back 40 generations – get a trillion parents – but only 15MM people on earth then
So our 40th great grandparents are the same people
Earth is one big small town

Gary Klahr and Steve Barbin discovered that – Fairfield, CT
Best friends, inseparable for 25 years
Best man at wedding, pall bearer at father’s funeral
Played ball together, friends joked they looked alike, spoke alike, thought alike
When the call came on 12/3/98 – case worker from adoption agency called Gary
She began to ask him questions – he thought she wanted to talk to him and his wife about adoption – she did, but not a new one, Gary’s adoption
News hit him hard – for 51 years had believed he was the son of Ben and Marjorie Klahr
He told the case worker – my best friend, Steve, is gonna get a kick out of this – can’t wait to call him, he’s adopted too
What he did not know was that she already had Steve’s phone number and called him next – she told Steve Barbin she had found his brother – his best friend, Gary Klahr
They were not just friends, they were family
Friends who are Family and a Family of Friends

That is what God desires for you
Friends who are Family and a Family of Friends
When you transfer your trust in life from yourself to Jesus Christ, God adopts you into His own family – He adopts you through Jesus
Become a part of His Family – the Church
Make Jesus Lord in your life – and you become part of God’s forever family
Turn to Neighbor: You’re family

I. The Church is God’s Forever Family (1 Peter 2.10: The Message)
In fact, “family” is far and away the most common description to capture how we are related to each other as believers – far more common than “Church”
220 times just between Acts and Revelation
Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters (Hb. 13.1)
Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers and sisters, love one another deeply from the heart (1 Pt. 1.22)
We are family – a forever family
God’s forever family outranks any earthly family – more important
Earthly families are not forever – some end in divorce or messes here, if fortunate enough to have a healthy family here, it ends at death
But God’s family is forever – will outlive the galaxies

And Jesus was serious about His family
Jesus went to a house to eat – and his detractors began to accuse Him of being prince of demons – even His own family came to get him because thought He was out of his mind
They stood outside house, sent someone into get Him, said, “Your mother and brothers are outside waiting for you.”
“Who are my mother and brothers? Here are my mother and brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
I.e., family is based on faith not flesh

A) Common belief identifies God’s Family (Mark 3.31-35)
We are followers of Jesus – we have been adopted by God – we belong to Him
We are a part of God’s forever family

B) Common affection binds God’s Family
Be good friends who love deeply. (Romans 12.10: The Message)
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. (Romans 12.10: NIV)
What binds us together is love
We love Jesus, He loves us, and we love each other
That is what God’s family is supposed to be
We are family – we love each other – devoted to one another in brotherly love
You didn’t pick me and I didn’t pick you
You may not like me and we may not agree
But we are a part of the same family, we have the same Father – so we stick together

And being in a family takes work, has struggles, requires patience, forgiveness, grace
Anyone who has ever been on a family vacation in a car knows that
300 miles drive through south Georgia and north Florida will seriously test any family
Jenny won’t stay on her side of the seat
Millie has her stuff scattered everywhere and her feet smell
Dad won’t turn down the CD player
Mom has to go to the bathroom again
And every one at some point on the trip is seriously tempted to just get out of the car
I’d rather hitchhike than be in here with y’all any longer
But we don’t do it
Because we can’t reach the destination alone
We’re family – we stick together

Same thing is true for Christians
Sometimes we grow weary of each other – and some make the terrible mistake of getting out of the car altogether
We bear one another’s burdens, we cannot reach the destination without each other and without the Father

What we have in common far outshines what we don’t
We kneel at the same manger, read in awe from the same Bible, saved by the same cross, headed to the same home
We have so much more in common than any other family
Listened to radio host this week - Steelers fan – was at the Denver championship game last weekend – handful of Steelers fans there – gathered together in end zone after victory waving their terrible towels, shouting, - host relayed he had never had an experience like that – total strangers who felt like family weeping with joy
Sounded a bit silly to me – never see these folks again, team changes players every year – you are crying about a uniform and a game that won’t matter in about 3 weeks
How much more we members of the forever family share in common
Just think what the Bible says we share (koinonia)
Share the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 13.13)
Share our material resources and possessions (Rom. 15.27)
Share the divine nature of God (2 Pt. 1.4)
Share ministry with and to the saints (2 Cor. 8.4)
Share sufferings of one another and of Jesus (Phlp. 3.10)
And share the body and blood of Jesus Himself (1 Cor. 10.16)

We share so much – we are part of God’s family
Devoted to one another in love – friendships should abound and overflow
Bound together – we stick together – forever

How does that sound to you? Have you ever experienced that kind of affection, support, friendship, grace? Friendship?
Some of you say yes – been on Walk to Emmaus, experienced what it means to be a part of family of God, shared a mission team experience with group from here and met believers in Costa Rica that changed your life, part of a small group of believers who support each other and encourage one another
But others of you say no – some of you have had really rough experiences in the Church, credit to you that you are even here today – perhaps you have been the subject of a vicious Church grapevine of gossip, perhaps only word you have ever heard in church is NO, NO, NO, NO
Perhaps your Church experience has looked like that
I can understand why you would keep the Church at arm’s length
But God has so much more in store for you

But for others, the problem is not the Church – the problem is you
You like to date the church but never commit
You say you like God but don’t like the Church
Like to enjoy the perqs of the church with occasional visit – but don’t want too much because you don’t want to “miss out” on other things in life
Please know that the Bible describes the Church as the Bride of Christ
Jesus died for His Church, His bride, His body
If you don’t like the Church, you are telling Jesus you don’t like His bride, His wife
Imagine how you would feel if someone came to you and said, “I like you but I don’t like your wife.” “I am fine with you but I don’t like your body.”

If you are not committed to the Church, because you don’t want to miss out on other things, you are already missing out
Missing out on 3 greatest things God wants to give you
II. The Church is…..
A) The Place to Find your Place
For we are God’s workmanship,
Created in Christ Jesus to do good works... (Eph. 2.10)
Workmanship – comes from Greek word poieo – create, make – where we get the word “poem” – the Church is God’s poem – we are a part of His poetry
And a poem requires all kinds of stuff – nouns, verbs, articles, adjectives, commas – and the Bible makes plain that we are different by necessity – but it takes us all
You may an upper case “I”, person may be lower case “z”, and I may be a question mark – but together we are God’s workmanship, God’s poem, apart we are nothing
When we are on the same page, it is lovely – poetry
Some lead, some serve, some give generously, some pray, some sing, some teach, some show mercy, some prophesy – apart we are nothing, together we are God’s poem

B) The Place to Heal your Hurts (Rom. 12.9-21)
If I told you about a place healthier than anywhere in world, you’d want to move there
Place where suicide rates are lowest, where divorce rates are lowest, where depression is known less frequently than any other place on earth, where life spans are the longest known to man, where fathers are more attentive and more faithful than anywhere else, and where more people report being satisfied with their lives than any place else
You would want to move there
You’re already there – it’s here - simply read the scientific journals - discover it’s true
Folks who go to church weekly – folks who make faith family a part of their lives – are more satisfied, live longer, are better parents, are depressed less than those who do not

We all have our hurts, our pain – none of us, not even the Church, is immune
But God’s chosen vessel of help and hope is the Church
Love one another, teach one another, encourage one another, support one another, pray for one another, correct one another, heal one another, honor one another

C) The Place to Come to Life (Acts 2.42-47)
Look at base passage today – believers gathered together – and they shared everything
Worship, prayer, communion, money – when they did, they found life
So for those of you raising your kids in the Church – I applaud you
Making faith family part of the fabric of their lives – good for you
Giving your kids the best – because you know the odds decrease once we reach age 18
God bless you – He will honor your effort – we cannot raise kids by ourselves

For those of you who are not flirters but joiners – who have made Church your place
I applaud you
Church and faith are your priority – your friends know, your family knows, your checkbook knows, and Jesus knows

Others of you are cautious – and rightly so
I applaud you for giving Church a second chance – take your time, be open
Allow God to write a new chapter in your life
Jesus is in business of building people and building churches – none of us are perfect yet
My hope for you is this: Friends who are Family and a Family of Friends
By the way, Gary and Steve discovered 11 other siblings – family of 13 kids all given up for adoption - including Steve’s workout partner, and a woman Gary had dated years earlier – new meaning to Friends who are Family and a Family of Friends!

God has something in store for you
Great step in that direction is two things today
1) Life group – get connected, make friends, discover your family
2) Communion – reminds us we are bound together – faith and love
Neighbor: Good to see you brother!