“It is not about building our own empire. It’s about taking the power of the Holy Spirit and living a life where we are witnesses in Judea, Samaria, to the ends of the earth.”
That line from Alex’s sermon stands out so clearly. I remember the first time I realised that church was not a singular unit in a moment of time, but rather a living body that transcended time, and drew it’s leadership and direction from Christ itself. It was at that moment where I realised that Jesus was not born during the Roman Empire — the Roman Empire was raised for the arrival of Christ. The coming of Christ is the singular point by which all of history is defined!
And so we discover that church, is not like an empire. Empires rise and fall – they ebb and flow with power – but the Church is the body of Christ. This is why Christ is King of kings, and Lord of lords. He alone is above all – eternal – and his church lasts forever.
And so the realisation is that we are not in the business of building our own empires. So much of western civilisation is about collecting things for ourselves. Building a name for ourselves. Building our own legacy. But we, called to be His people, take on new roles and new identities. Clothed in His Holy Spirit, we are now anointed (chosen and empowered) to be His witnesses (in spirit, word, and deed) to all those around us. In a sense, we are limited only by our faith. If we were to really take upon the robe of his ambassadorship we would speak, live, act, with so much more boldness, compassion, and love.
As Alex asked, “Do we exist for ourselves? Or do we exist so the world will know the glory of God?”
What do you exist for?
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This was a continuation of our series for this year. You can find the notes of the message as well as the worship at the BCEC Sermon Page or listen to last week’s sermon directly – Exploring Community: Church.
ps. This website does not officially sanction the playing of Age of Empires. And if you do play it, be aware that it is a Teen Rating. And people have been known to play far too much time on it. Not me. People. Other people. You know who you are. And just because I mentioned WiiFit last week doesn’t mean that I’m somehow trying to tie videogames into every post. 🙂