Pastor Mark Mikels
\nSeptember 17, 2006<\/p>\n
“MY COMMITMENT
\nTO MY CHURCH”<\/p>\n
Church Under Construction – Behavioral Phase #7<\/p>\n
Intro … Today on this Anniversary Sunday we come to the conclusion of
\nPhase Two of our personal Church Construction Project – the Behavioral
\nPhase.<\/p>\n
During the past seven weeks, using our Sonlife Covenant as our guide,
\nwe have identified ourselves as “People committed to participating in
\nWorship and Word”, and as “People committed to functioning as faithful
\nStewards of God’s Resources” and as “People committed to maintaining a
\ncredible and positive Witness for Christ in the World” and as “People
\ncommitted to serving as responsible Citizens of this great Nation in
\nwhich we live” and as “People committed to standing resolutely against
\nFamily and Society Destroying Behaviors.”<\/p>\n
These are 24\/7\/365 types of commitments … they require constant
\nvigilance and diligence – they define the type of people that Christ
\nwould have us be and the type of character that Christ would have His
\nChurch possess.<\/p>\n
Today, on this 12^th Anniversary of Sonlife Community Church we come to
\nthe final commitment contained in our Church Covenant. It’s our
\ncommitment to the Church itself and it reads as follows …<\/p>\n
Our Sonlife Covenant …<\/p>\n
I will regard this local church and its various ministries as a sacred
\npriority in my life, granting it preeminence over all institutions and
\nagencies of secular origin. I will pray for its leaders, submit myself
\nto its authority and give myself to its ministry as God gives me
\nstrength. I will involve myself lovingly in the lives of my fellow
\nbelievers in this church, recognizing that we are all “one body” and
\ndesiring that we all become mature, attaining to the “whole measure of
\nthe fullness of Christ”.<\/p>\n
(1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 1 Peter 2:4-9; 1 Thess. 3:1-2; Heb. 10:25; Heb.
\n13:17; 1 Corinthians 12:7, 27; Ephesians 4:13; Galatians 6:1; Hebrews
\n10:24)<\/p>\n
Consider with me this morning … Five Key Commitments Characterizing a
\nSonlife Church Member:<\/p>\n
These are five key things that we (in effect) say that we will do each
\nyear when we sign our “membership agreement” and without these five
\nthings being done, Sonlife Community Church would be a church in name
\nonly – certainly not the place Christ would have it be.<\/p>\n
1. I Will Hold My CHURCH In Highest ESTEEM – 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 1
\nPeter 2:4-9<\/p>\n
“I will regard this local church and its various ministries as a sacred
\npriority in my life,<\/p>\n
granting it preeminence over all institutions and agencies of secular
\norigin.”<\/p>\n
That’s quite a mouthful … it’s actually a rather old-fashioned
\nstatement. It harks back to the days when the church was much more the
\ncenter of community and family life. It arises from an acknowledgement
\nthat there is something precious and unique about a local body of
\nbelievers – a group of born-again people who have bound themselves
\ntogether as fellow-followers of Jesus Christ. It arises from the
\nunderstanding that no “institution of secular origin” – no club, no
\nfraternal order, no society or fellowship – can or should replace the
\nchurch family in the hearts of its members.<\/p>\n
It’s a statement that arises from Scriptures like these:<\/p>\n
“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s
\nSpirit lives in you? God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.”<\/p>\n
(1 Corinthians 3:16-17)<\/p>\n
“As you come to him, the living Stone–rejected by men but chosen by
\nGod and precious to him– you also, like living stones, are being built
\ninto a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual
\nsacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ … But you are a
\nchosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to
\nGod, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of
\ndarkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now
\nyou are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you
\nhave received mercy.” (1 Peter: 2:4, 5, 9)<\/p>\n
There is no other body of people anywhere on earth that can compare to
\nthe Church of Jesus Christ … it’s a work of God and it’s a work for
\nGod. It stands alone in our admiration and participation. We rejoice
\nthat God has dotted the landscape of this country with thousands upon
\nthousands of such local assemblies!<\/p>\n
For us, this unique local body of believers is Sonlife Community Church
\n– for the past twelve years it has established its place in the hearts
\nof its members. We commit ourselves to recognize it as the unique work
\nof God that it is in the midst of this fallen sinful world.<\/p>\n
2. I Will PRAY For Its LEADERS – (2 Thessalonians 3:1-2)<\/p>\n
“Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread
\nrapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. And pray that we may
\nbe delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith.” (2
\nThessalonians 3:1-2)<\/p>\n
Without the prayer support of its members, church leaders frequently
\njust “muddle along” … they, like anyone else, can become discouraged
\n– they can lose perspective – they can wonder if anything worthwhile is
\nactually getting done – they can come under attack and be tempted to
\nlose heart. Our covenant recognizes that reality and calls upon us all
\nto pray for those who provide leadership for this particular church
\nbody. Those prayers are much needed and truly appreciated.<\/p>\n
3. I Will SUBMIT Myself To Its AUTHORITY – Hebrews 10:25; Hebrews 13:17<\/p>\n
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing,
\nbut let us encourage one another–and all the more<\/p>\n
as you see the Day approaching.<\/p>\n
Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over
\nyou as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will
\nbe a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.<\/p>\n
Simply showing up on time and on the right day shows submission to the
\nauthority of the Church. Here at Sonlife Community Church it also
\nmeans being willing to “do church” the way that we “do church” …
\nworship and cell group.<\/p>\n
(Illustration: Just this week a couple that had been in our fellowship
\nalmost from the beginning informed me that they had started attending
\nsomewhere else because they just didn’t feel “connected” … now they
\nwere a couple who absolutely refused to become involved in any cell
\ngroup – they attended Sunday morning only … though the years, I have
\nbeen actively involved in shepherding them through a serious of
\ndifficult moments – but they had never actually bought into the way
\nthat we “do church” here at Sonlife.<\/p>\n
They had never (to use our phrase of the morning) consciously submitted
\nthemselves to our authority – that is, to the way that we do things and
\nas a result they didn’t experience what so many of this congregation
\nexperience – close personal caring supportive relationships with their
\n“cell-mates”. I wished them well though it was hard to see them go.<\/p>\n
I know that there will be others – I know that when we open our new
\nbuilding, there will be numerous ones who will come to visit who will
\nnot stay because they will chose not to submit themselves to our way of
\n“doing church” as a “Cell-Based Church”.<\/p>\n
Recognizing that we present a somewhat unique approach to church life
\nis one of the reasons we have adopted the concept of a “one-year
\nrenewable membership”. Each year, each one of us makes the decision
\n(among other things as well) whether or not to “submit ourselves to the
\nauthority” that is, to the unique ministry style that characterizes
\nSonlife Community Church. It’s a day that will never cease to excite me
\nand frighten me as Pastor of this Church.<\/p>\n
And now having made that commitment to submit to the authority, we then
\ncome to this fourth commitment contained in this portion of the
\nCovenant …<\/p>\n
4. I Will GIVE Myself To Its MINISTRY – 1 Cor. 12:7, 27; Eph. 4:13<\/p>\n
This commitment grows out of a recognition that every believer has
\nsomething to offer to the rest of the body. Hear these scriptures …<\/p>\n
“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the
\ncommon good. … Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is
\na part of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:7,27)<\/p>\n
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be
\nevangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s
\npeople for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built
\nup until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the
\nSon of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the
\nfullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-13)<\/p>\n
It seems to me that if we read that passage properly, Paul is saying
\nthat the leaders of the church are to prepare the people of the church
\nfor “works of service” and that the first and possibly even primary
\nfocus of those works of service is “the members of the church itself”
\n… and the end goal is that the entire congregation of believers – all
\nof them – become fully mature and functional as Children of God and as
\nFollowers of Christ.<\/p>\n
To that end every member of the congregation has been given by God
\ncertain “gifts” or “ministries” of the Holy Spirit … and the first
\nuse of these gifts is to bless and build-up the members of the body.<\/p>\n
Here at Sonlife Community Church we believe that our Cell Group
\nStructure provides the environment in which that kind of ministry can
\nhappen or at least be stimulated. In the Cell Group, knowledge of one
\nanother and understanding of one another’s life circumstances is gained
\n– we get to know one another. And in the Cell Group genuine bonds are
\ncreated – we get to care about one another.<\/p>\n
And as a result, emotional momentum is built that carries into the
\nfulfillment of this fifth and final commitment …<\/p>\n
5. I Will INVOLVE Myself Lovingly In The LIVES Of Its MEMBERS –
\nGalatians 6:1-2; Hebrews 10:24; Hebrews 12:15; Hebrews 13:1<\/p>\n
“Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should
\nrestore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.<\/p>\n
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of
\nChrist.” (Gal. 6:1-2)<\/p>\n
“Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good
\ndeeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of
\ndoing,<\/p>\n
but let us encourage one another.” (Heb. 10:24)<\/p>\n
“See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root
\ngrows up.” (Heb. 12:15)<\/p>\n
“Keep on loving each other as brothers.” (Heb. 13:1)<\/p>\n
People who know each other and who care about each other will just
\nautomatically get involved in each other’s lives!<\/p>\n
And with that observation having been made we make the transition next
\nweek into the Third Phase of Our Church Construction Project … the
\n“Relational Phase” where we will carefully examine the way the Bible
\nsays we are to “One Another one another” that is, get lovingly involved
\nin one another’s lives.<\/p>\n
Final Thot … It’s PEOPLE who make or break the LOCAL
\nCHURCH. Resolve to be a MAKER not a BREAKER!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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