Worship Guidance Power and Impact 1986

I'd like to read from Matthew, chapter 18, starting at verse 15. And those of you who were in Peter's class this morning have heard this already, but we're going to pick it up again here. If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.

If he listens to you, you have gained a brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church.

And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. And whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Again, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them. What we have here is simple, clear instructions about body life, about how to function together.

And these instructions were given by Jesus to his followers as he was heading for Jerusalem to lay down his life. And with them, he was pointing to a time when he would no longer be in their midst in flesh and blood. And they would have differences, and they would wrong each other, and they would have to ask for forgiveness from each other, and they would also have to deal with people who refused to repent and be reconciled.

But through all these things, they would not have to rely on their own wisdom, because he would be with them. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. If two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.

Why? Because I will be with you. Wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of that. Body life is not a technique that we learn, nor is it some kind of structure that we devise.

It is a miracle which is performed by the Lord himself. Every time we honor his presence among us, among us when we come together like this to break bread, and also among us when we come together in twos and threes and fives and sixes to seek his face and do his pleasure. Whenever we honor the presence of the Lord in our midst, four things happen.

We worship him, we are guided by him, we are empowered by him, and we are sent forth by him to make an impact on the world beyond us. Worship, guidance, power, impact. The final dress rehearsal, you could call it, for the disciples to learn how to function together when Jesus would no longer be in their midst in flesh and blood, was in the upper room the night in which he was betrayed.

And in the rather extensive account of this episode, which we have in the Gospel of John, chapters 13 through 17, we are shown really all the basic elements of body life right there. All the elements of body life which would soon be the source of their unspeakable joy and their marvelous power. First of all, there was worship, and it certainly was only at that point in an embryo.

But it was there. That night, these eleven men began to become conscious of a love for Jesus, which perhaps was stronger than they'd ever known. It was not yet worship because he had yet to rise from the dead, but it was love.

And as Jesus sat among them and opened his heart to them, they adored him. They were unashamed about adoring him. They weren't afraid to get a little emotional about it.

And then there was guidance. From the beginning of chapter 13, when Jesus gets down and starts washing their feet, until the end of chapter 17 at the closing prayer, the whole thing, the whole episode, this meal, is a teaching. Clear, practical things that they're going to need to know and do as a body.

And then there was the promise of power. Whoever believes in me, the works that I do, shall he do also. When greater works than these shall he do, because I go to the Father, I'm going to send the Holy Spirit.

And finally, there was a promise that they would absolutely make an impact. You didn't choose me, I chose you. And I ordained you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit will remain.

You're going to bear fruit. And so, as they gathered together for this final meal, before Calvary and before the resurrection, they began to practice, they were beginning to learn how to practice the presence of the Lord in their midst. With worship, guidance, power, impact.

After the resurrection, the thing becomes even more clear. And we read this, just this brief passage in John chapter 20 at verse 19. On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were for fear of the Jews.

Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, Peace be with you. When he had said this, he showed them his hands at his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

They were glad. They were filled with joy. And that joy and that gladness was worship.

It was the beginning of worship. Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I sent you.

Guidance. When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. Power.

If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. And if you retain the sins of any, they are retained. Impact.

And you can go through the book of Acts or the epistles of Paul or Peter, any place where there is any kind of description of the assembly of the believers coming together or in any way functioning together. And you will find these four elements present. The disciples come together, the believers in Jesus come together in some way.

And they wait upon them. And he visits them as they worship him. And then he begins to speak to them in some way.

And then he begins to give them power. And then he in some way sends them forth to have an impact on the world beyond them. Now all of us are aware that we are going through changes here.

And healthy changes. Changes that sometimes frighten us and sometimes excite us. But they're changes.

And if these changes that are going on in our life together as a body, if we allow them to be guided by and initiated by the Lord who stands in our midst, we can be sure that he who is among us will bring us as he desires to bring us into this kind of body life around him. That's what he desires to do. And surely that's the direction in which he wants to take us.

You know, it's his desire that we should experience the very body life that he promises the disciples then and now. And if we respond to the light that comes on among us, and if we yield to the things that he shows us, there will be obvious changes in two particular areas. One, in the assembly.

When we come together week by week. It will be a communion with Jesus. Much more clear than it's ever been.

It will be communion. Communion so glorious that we just won't want to miss it. I mean, it won't be a duty.

It will be absolute joy. But it will also be in the second area that we will experience wonderful direction and guidance from the Lord as we come together as twos and threes, fives and sixes, tens and fifteens in smaller groups to seek guidance from him. We'll get guidance.

As an example, we find in this very familiar passage in Acts chapter 13, what happens when five people come together and wait upon the Lord and he manifests his presence. Acts chapter 13, verse one. Now, in the church at Antioch, there were prophets and teachers.

Barnabas, Simeon, who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Madian, a member of the court of Herod the Tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, stopping there. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, what they were doing was turning away from all the other things that were distracting them and fixing their attention on the pursuit of the face of their Lord.

They were expending time and strength to concentrate on the one to whom they had committed their lives. And so, they prayed. And then they sang.

And then there'd be some silence. And they'd pray some more. Somebody would sing, somebody would share something.

And it was on and on. It was just the pursuit of his face. And as they did this, it became, it was worship.

And the Lord was able to move in their midst. And the same thing is true for us here. You know, if it's true, in fact, that we are gathered this morning in his name, and that he's in our midst, the most valid thing that we can do of anything is worship him.

Praise him. Thank him. Honor him.

Glorify him. Present our bodies to him. In whatever way seems right, whatever way we may be led to just worship him and not to be ashamed to worship him.

Worship him. 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. Now here we have guidance.

The Holy Spirit spoke. When the Holy Spirit speaks, it's Jesus speaking. And when Jesus speaks to the church, to the body, everything he says really concerns two areas.

One, our life together as a body. And two, our ministry out there beyond. But it always begins in the body.

Now we see, for instance, when they were gathered together in the upper room, Jesus gets down on his knees and starts washing feet. As much as to say, in fact he does say basically this. You want to minister? This is where your ministry starts.

For every one of us. For you and for me. Your ministry begins by washing your brother's or your sister's feet.

By being a servant. That's all. Start doing that.

And everything else will follow. You know, you don't start by becoming a great evangelist or whatever that is. You know, a high profile thing.

You start down on your knees. Washing your brother or your sister's feet. Saul and Barnabas, long before they were sent out into the empire to proclaim the gospel in city after city, had become servants to the body.

Here were two men who were servants to the body of Christ. Very faithful and very diligent. Long before they're sent out.

The other Tuesday night at the annual meeting, Nancy Evans read a paper that she had written. Brief paper. Which was really a word from God.

And basically, I understood the paper to be saying that if we're going to have an impact on the world beyond us, we have to make sure that our ministry inside to our brothers and sisters is right. You know, that we're not afraid to wash feet. And then she kind of concentrated on the nurseries.

And, you know, made clear, and this is absolutely true, that the nurseries are not just some drudgely, dull, low profile duty. But they are a glorious ministry. A ministry to the body.

To these little ones that the Lord gave to us. And a ministry to these mothers who are with their children all week long. Hanging around, whether in the kitchen, every place they go, they have their little ones with them.

This is the way it is. That's part of your life. It's that way.

You know, so here, they get a chance then to be at peace, put their child in that nursery, they take their turn in it too. But then they can worship God and not be worried. And that can only be if we all participate in this ministry.

A glorious thing. And this comes down to all kinds of other things. Picking people up with our cars.

Giving them rides. Phone calls. All kinds of things.

A ministry to each other. The Lord is speaking to us more clearly than ever about the need for us to really care about each other. You know, and love each other.

And be kind to each other. Tenderhearted. Forgiving one another.

You know, to really care. And if we will do this, then the second area begins to make some sense. Then the Lord also says, I mean, it's not a matter of just sitting around loving each other and forgetting about the rest of the world.

But once we begin to see the importance of washing feet, then the Lord also says, OK, now. And the two go together. Out there and make disciples.

Go manifest the kingdom. Go out there into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, the rejected ones, the ones that nobody cares about, the ones that are the misfits, the deadbeats. Bring them to the banquet table.

Just go out there and get them. And we will be effective at that. And the more we are in unity with each other, the more effective we will be at going out there and finding the ones that he's sending us to bring.

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. Then after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and sent them off. They laid their hands on them.

And that wasn't just a kind of a little ritual service they were going through, but it was an awesome thing. Saul and Barnabas would get down on their knees, and Madian and Simeon and Lucius put their hands upon their heads. And interesting too, quite significant to remember, here are these two and here are two men kneeling, and there are three men standing, four hands, and, um, six hands.

Sorry. But that's great now. Well, it's interesting to notice that four of the six were black.

And this was absolutely normal. This was a thing that was quite, this is the reason why that church was the center of missionary power because it was already quite inclusive and unconsciously so. I mean, nobody made a big deal of it.

This is the way it was. I mean, this is the way you do it. And we are called, and also, as we submit to him, to believe that there will be absolutely power as they lay their hands on these two men, the power of the Holy Spirit flowed through the six hands into these two heads, down into their bodies.

And there was an anointing of the Spirit that was renewed to these people that made it possible for them to exercise ministries out in the world that were absolutely awesome. And this holds for us, too, that if we are responsive and obedient to the light that is coming to us, we can be sure that there will be power, first of all, to make those nurseries a glorious ministry and cause those communion glasses to shine. You know, and to fill them.

You know, they have to get filled every week, too. Somebody has to do that. And to fill them with joy.

And for the choir rehearsals to be a blessing to everybody who goes to them. So wonderful, and everybody wants to get in the choir, even the ones who don't want to sing. And so that Sunday morning is a foretaste of heaven, of, in fact, glorious sounds going forth because the power of the Lord is at work upon us.

And then, as we respond, then the power of the Spirit of God drives us forth so that we are, in fact, a light, the light of the kingdom in the office, at the school, or the university, on the production line, in the hospital, the warehouse, the semi-truck, the kitchen, the bathroom, the living room, the bedroom, whatever I missed, that we are the light of the world out there. Impact of power then begins. The power begins to have an impact.

And this is the next thing we see. So being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews.

And when Saul and Barnabas went out there and started proclaiming the gospel, every place they went that had the impact of the kingdom was like the fire of the new covenant And so it is with us. If we take care of business, you know, and we really practice the things that He's showing us here in the body, we're going to experience impact like we've never seen. And it'll be no longer, Warren, we toiled all night and took nothing.

But it will be rather, Warren, you're here. You filled my net. You drew these people.

You broke their chains. You confirmed your word. It was 30 years ago, this month, back in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, a group of us used to have a men's Bible study on Monday nights in the basement of our new church.

It was just a little over a year old, this building we put up. And everybody was seeking together. We were all trying to really find the will of God and understand what He was showing us to do.

And this particular Monday night, there was a snowstorm, a bad snowstorm. The wind was blowing and probably seven inches of snow had come down already. And the town of Dartmouth is not like Detroit.

It's all hills, all kinds of hills, hard to walk and hard to drive. And so only six men showed up that night. And we sat around this table wondering why we were crazy enough to come through this storm.

And then we became conscious of a seventh really among us. And we began to become aware that we had been called through this storm because He had something He wanted to tell us. The atmosphere became worse.

And pretty soon, we were under the unanimous conviction that the Lord was requiring three specific things of us that night, decisions that were going to affect us for the rest of our lives. And some of these men are now on the other side of death with the Lord. First, and these things, the people here at Messiah will probably seem elementary, but for us back then, at that time, 30 years ago, they were radical.

And they were new and fresh. First, that we were going to spend no less than 30 minutes every day alone with God. And second, that we were going to take no less than 10% of our income and give it away somewhere as an offering to God.

And third, and this is the thing that everybody found the hardest, we were going to speak to no less than one person every week directly about Jesus. We went back out into that snowstorm anointed with power, and the six of us had an impact on that church and on that town that was considerable. Now, the vision and the knowledge of the Lord in this assembly is far, far beyond where we six were back then, 30 years ago.

No question about it. But, the Lord, who is among us here, desires to manifest His glory to us here in ways that will absolutely astonish us. If we will worship His presence, and if we will honestly and faithfully respond to the things that He wants to tell us, then He'll make a way if we give Him half a chance.

Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. And whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.

But where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.