The Church as Family

March 27, 1994 pm

Philippians 1:7 "I have you in my heart."

If you never guessed it before, "family" is pretty big with me. I hear a lot about the family under attack in our country, and I believe it. My family is far from perfect, and we made lots of mistakes in raising our four sons, I'm sure. There have been real hard times, and there have been real good times across the years. But the deepest human satisfaction I know is the love and belonging that comes with being "family."

One thing that has made our family relationships special has been the fact that while we are related by human blood, we have also very much been a part of a great family where the ties that run even deeper than blood. Not every member of our family has always been in the good graces of the church at all times, but every one of them has known that there is a real love that God's people know that lies deep.

As Bill Gaither has told us with his song, "I'm So Glad I'M a Part of the Family of God!" It is great to belong to God's family!

Every heart craves a sense of belonging. And every local church ought to foster that sense of belonging because in Father God's eyes, His church is family.

I. THE CHURCH IS FAMILY

Paul's letter to the Christians at Philippi is a "love letter" to the family of God. That idea of community in faith, of the church as family, of belonging, is more than coincidental to the lessons and commands of the letter.

Community in faith is central not only to Paul's letters, but to the entire New Testament. It is absolutely essential to any church that wants to carry out Christ's mission.

There are some places where people go to worship where the atmosphere is about as friendly and cordial as the "friendly supermarket." People are civil, even "nice" to one another, but the welfare or needs of each worshiper is no one else's business.

This is not the way vital Christians worship. Paul reminds us at the very beginning of the letter that God is our Father: ("Grace to you, and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ . . . " vv 1,2 ) Jesus taught it, this same emphasis, in the Pattern Prayer. When we come to Jesus for life, we are adopted into the family, and we are related to one another in Him. The people with whom we worship regularly become dear to us. Even more, there is a blood-relationship with every other born-again believer!

One way of fostering the sense of belonging, and the reality of "family" in the church is learning to pray for one another.

II. THE FAMILY WILL PRAY FOR ITSELF

We Christians are family by birth— but even in families love is never automatic. The most rewarding and passionate love will die unless it is nourished. God intends that we pray for one another! Paul writes " ( v3-5) I thank my God in all my remembrance of you . . ." Paul wrote to remind the Philippian Christians, "I am praying for you!" And he asked the Ephesians (see the chapter just preceding) "Please pray for me!" (Ephesians 6:19)

If you need a deeper sense of "belonging" begin to pray for the Body! Pray like Paul says he prayed("I thank God for you every time I think of you") rather than first of all being critical or fault-finding. In verse eight Paul says: "When I think of you I get warm feelings in my insides!" Prayer enhances love. I question whether it is possible to pray consistently for someone and hate him/her at the same time.

III. THE FAMILY PRAYS SPECIFIC PRAYERS

HOW do we pray for each other? What really IS God's will for you? for me? Is it enough to mention a name and say, "Bless her!"? "Bless him!"? What do we mean by "bless"? Perhaps when we have prayer lists our mind passes along the list, we think of those people with kindness— but then there are times when the Spirit draws and leads us to pray for a certain person, or a specific need.

Paul prayed specific prayers. He says (v 9-11) "And this I pray ."

  1. For increasing love! We never dare to take love for granted at any level. We need to tell our family— our children, our wives our husbands often. We need to tell our little children with our faces and with hugs. And when they are not so cute or cuddly we need to tell them then, too. Especially then!

    [I had a dear Christian father. But this week I recalled an incident when my dad was extra harsh with me when I was about sixteen— over a small thing like how I should wear my tie. It really hurt— because I thought— I knew he was more interested in what people would think of him than he was in how I felt. He never knew then— and he will never know now because I have forgiven him long ago. He didn't mean anything evil— but I still remember with some pain 48 years later!]

    This is true in your family; it is also true of the family of God. We need to thank God for one another. Certainly we have our faults. We know each other's weaknesses. A good team covers and plays to strength. A group of individuals shows each other up so they will look better. But we are family! [Paul also prayed. . . ]

  2. For discernment to choose between good, better, and best. The pressure is always on to simply "settle" for what we can get away with. but Paul always had in his mind that he would give an account for his life to God. So in the light of judgment Paul prayed that the church family would have discernment to choose the very best! [Last, in this particular prayer Paul Prayed . . . ]
  3. For fruitfulness! Paul wanted the family of God to know the pure delight of pleasing God. "Fruit" is mentioned in at least two ways in the New Testament in reference to believers. One aspect is the fruit of the Spirit, and has to do with the quality of the inner life, as well as the love with which we fill out our relationships to God and to each other. Paul certainly wanted the family to be "quality people," with this fruit of the Spirit manifested in our daily lives.

IV. A CALL OF OUR CHURCH FAMILY TO PRAYER

{Ephesians 6:18,19 "Be on the alert for all the saints, with perseverance and petition...")

I take liberty (homiletically) to move back into Ephesians to get the actual challenge from Paul in this final word on the church as family, which is a call to family prayer. Paul calls for prayer for the entire church— and then he humbly asks (6:19) "Pray for me, too, please!" The great apostle needed, asked for— even begged for prayer!

Maybe we already do pray for each other a lot. But with the pressures of springtime coming, and with the challenges the enemy would give us when w= e begin to see victory along some lines I wonder if you would accept a word of concern from your pastor?

  1. I would ask you to become a committee of one to pray for the peace of our church family between now and when the work and witness team leaves for Holland in June. I would ask you to be a committee of one to pray for the small groups that are meeting to seek Christ-likeness— that they will be folded into the purpose of Christ for the entire church, and not just for their own spiritual satisfaction.

    IF EVERY LAST ONE OF US DOES OUR VERY BEST BEFORE GOD WE WILL UTTERLY FAIL IN ACCOMPLISHING WHAT GOD HAS IN MIND FOR OUR CHURCH! The key in that surprising statement is "OUR very best!" For IF WE ALL SEEK GOD'S VERY BEST FOR THE CHURCH THEN TOGETHER WE CAN SEE VICTORY WE NEVER DREAMED POSSIBLE!

  2. Pray in a specific way for:. Anyone who is difficult for you to understand or love. I am not even suggesting that you go to her or him, for you might well be misunderstood. but I challenge you to pray God's very best will be done, that salvation and Christ-likeness may be hers or his!
  3. Pray for Your immediate family, for loved ones and dear friends. Maybe someone that you love but don't usually think of as needing extra prayer.
  4. Finally, pray for Yourself— for an opportunity to talk about Jesus— just the opportunity and the leading of the Spirit when it comes to take advantage of it in the Spirit of Jesus Himself.

Conclusion

The kind of prayer we need will not necessarily come in one great night of effort, although along the way there may be those extra pushes. But when the entire family of God begins to get in the habit of "Thank God every time we remember one another . . . " and when we "Pray that one another's love may abound in every good work . . . " God will answer those prayers in ways we never dreamed possible. It is HIS church, HIS family. If we will forget about individual glory and praise, and be His Body He will answer our prayers and equip us to carry forward as we have never done before!

Prayer

Hymn No. 512 Take Time to Be Holy