Apostles Church

New Relational Pattern. The Pattern is Love. 1Tim. 1.5   The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith. CS Lewis: If you asked twenty good men today what they thought the highest of the virtues, nineteen of them would reply, Unselfishness. But if you had asked almost any of the great Christians of old, he would have replied, Love. You see what has happened? A negative term has been substituted for a positive, and this is of more than philological importance. The negative idea of Unselfishness carries with it the suggestion not primarily of securing good things for others, but of going without them ourselves, as if our abstinence and not their happiness was the important point. I do not think this is the Christian virtue of Love. What kind of love? The love we see in the Gospel: “actively securing the good of another at cost to yourself without requiring merit or demanding payment.” This love, for those that have settled with Jesus, becomes the pattern for our relationships with each other. John 13:34. God’s actions toward us in Christ become the pattern of our actions toward others. Movement in required on our part.

From Pride to Humility. 2:3-4. Pride is preoccupation with self.  Humility is regard for God and others that seeks to promote God’s glory and others’ good even at cost to one’s self. Are your relationships marked by pride or humility? Do you think: “Here is what I will get out of this relationship;” or “Here is what I can give in this relationship.” “Here is how I can benefit” or “Here is how I can benefit the other.” OR, do I ask, how can I bless this person, serve this person, help this person…The Prideful are consumers, consumingT products and people. Humble love leads one to be a cultivator; enriching lives. Embedded in this relational pattern is risk, sacrifice, costs. If you are going to live seeking his glory and securing other’s good, then it will involve sacrifice. ***John 12:20-28. The humble see themselves as seeds with life-giving potential that is released through dying (dying to self, consumption). Objection. If I do live that way, who will look out for me? Answer: God (I will glorify it; God highly exalted him). God is for you and if he is for you, you are free to be for others.

From Waiting to Initiating. Love takes initiative. God did not wait for us to move toward him, he moves toward us. Love is always moving toward. What this means for us at Apostles Church:

*If you are in the center, move toward the margins. For those who have been at Apostles and are settled, there are others that are new that are unsettled; our family is growing. Don’t be neglectful and inward focused. If we are going to be a community of love, we must constantly be expressing the hospitable heart of God in welcoming and including those who are new to our community. Some new to faith; some new to this church; some new to this city. Patty Griffin: “We’ll grow kindness in our hearts for all the strangers among us, till there are no strangers anymore.” So what can you do to move toward those who are new in our community? 1. Get here early. 2. Open your eyes. 3. Talk to people.

*If you are on the margins, move toward the center. It can be easy to hide. Attend regularly. The church is a people not a place. So you can’t get to know our church (our people) if you attend sporadically. OBJ – I don’t know anybody there. ANSW: coming once a month is not going to help you get to know anybody. Explore other environments.  CG; CGG; Mercy Ministry (Don’t Walk By); Volunteer team (Operations Team (Ryan and now he is engaged); Media Team). There is a pride in all of us that expects everyone to come to us, but humble love initiates. It can be frightening. And not every attempt at every environment will work. But you have to keep trying. 

New Relational Pattern is also a Missional Pattern. The mission, our agenda as a church is to love to this world, like Christ loved this world and gave himself for it. Not the mission of community, but a community on mission. The Trinity (Missional Community of Love). [Two ways we will fail to love the world: Isolation & Accommodation. No one loved people far from God more than Jesus, yet he did all that was in the Father’s heart for him. Bless others and Bring the Gospel to them in the word and in deed.

What if? This year was the greatest year you have had in the area of relationships. You humbled yourself, took initiative, and moved toward others with the love of Christ? Forsaking consumeristic inclinations and giving of yourself for the good of others.