Building Church: Identity in Christ Alone Persian Fellowship 6.7.19
Background
Around 12 months ago my wife Donna and I made some connections with Fred and Azi and were very excited to hear about the powerful move of God amongst Persian people in Australia. After all, “if one member of the Body is honoured, all rejoice together” (1 Cor 12:26). This led me to pray over God’s purposes through you for the wider Body of Christ and our nation. Since Ephesians 3:10 says; “God’s purpose…was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places”, there is a wisdom in your fellowship to challenge the rest of the Church to a deeper submission to Christ for the purpose of discipling “nations” i.e. people groups” (Matt 28:19).However, the wisdom of the Lord in raising up widespread kingdom influence through what people would usually call a minority ethnic church presents a huge cultural and spiritual challenges. Any understanding of how this might take place must involve the favour of God the Father towards his entire family. Paul is clear about this when he says, “I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family [all social-cultural communities] in heaven and on earth is named [derive their true identity]” (Eph 3:14). Years ago the Spirit began shared with me the sort of Church he wanted (Eph 2:22) in every city through Psalm 87.
A Prophetic Vision
“On the holy mount stands the city he founded; 2 the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. 3 Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God. 4 Among those who know me I mention Rahab [Egypt] and Babylon; behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush [Nubia]— “This one was born there,” they say. 5 And of Zion it shall be said, “This one and that one were born in her”; for the Most High himself will establish her. 6 The Lord records as he registers the peoples, “This one was born there.” 7 Singers and dancers alike say, “All my springs are in you.”
I was driving along the banks of the Swan River towards the CBD. The sky was perfectly clear and bright blue, the sun was shining and dolphins were playing in the river. I had a tremendous sense of the pleasure of God our Father over the city, and that as the psalmist prophesied that the Gentile nations once hostile to Israel would finally claim a spiritual birth in Jerusalem (Psalm 87:4,5,6), so the people groups who have come to Perth will identify this as a spiritual homeland. Leadership, prophetic direction and keys to church growth will no longer depend on trends coming from places abroad but from within the local Christian communities. Everything needed for the work of God will come from within the church in this city. It will be said of the diversely wise work of God in Perth (Eph 3:10) as in the psalm, “The source of my life springs are in you!” (Psalm 87:7). There is a New Testament dimension to this beautiful picture which gives it life and unity.
Fulfilment
I was in a pastor’s prayer meeting and I could hear the Lord speaking through Galatians 4:26, “the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.”. I could sense the Church in every earthly city was being built from the Church in heaven (Heb 12:22-24). This is why the New Testament always speaks of every city as having only one Church in the Spirit e.g. “church in/of” Jerusalem, Ephesus, Corinth (Acts 8:1; Rev 2:1; 1 Cor 1:2). Jesus is primarily located with his Church in heaven (Acts 1:11) and the springs of life (cf. Prov 4:23) he sends to nourish us are the energies of the Spirit from heaven (John 7:37-39; Acts 2:33; 1 Pet 1:12). I believe you as a fellowship have much richer insight into the heavenly origins of what it means to be the people of God in the Spirit than the so-called “mainstream” Church in Australia. This is a precious gift that exists for the whole Church, but many obstacles block the sharing of such pearls and treasures (Matt 13:34-36).
Deconstructing the Status Quo
When the Father of Jesus looks down from heaven, he does not see a group he calls Indian Pentecostal, Vietnamese Evangelical, Perth Chinese Christian, Romanian Baptist, Aboriginal Evangelical and so on. He does see a Church imaging the glory revealed to the apostle John in the book Revelation of a vast multitude drawn from “from every tribe and language and people and nation” (5:9-10; 7:9). This diverse multitude is identified solely by one name, solely in terms of our mutual cleansing form sin in the blood of the Lamb of God. Only one name counts or could ever count. How stupid it was then for the supernaturally dynamic but spiritually immature Corinthians (1 Cor 1:7; 3:1) to say, “‘I follow Paul,’ or ‘I follow Apollos,’ or I follow Peter ’” Paul’s response is meant o shock them into repentance, “…Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you?” (1 Cor 1:11-13). Identification with names other than the name of Jesus always leads to confusion, division, competition and compromise. Take a name as simple as the Australian Christian Churches. Some of their churches are so driven in being relevant to contemporary Australian culture they have become laid back in their lifestyle spirituality like the secular atmosphere in our nation. Our identity is found in Christ alone to the same degree that is identity was found only in his Father. (Who is the Father of Australians, but not an Australian Father.)
Building One Church
Despite various diversities we can function as the one Church of God when we respect genuine apostolic wisdom that says, “For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor 3:11). Gifted Christian leaders will testify that Jesus is the real Church builder (Matt 16:18) but far fewer lacking the maturity of spiritual fathers will reflect on how Jesus’ own life was built. It was built not through teaching or miracles but through honouring the Father. So, the Lord’s Prayer begins with, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name.” (Matt 6:9) and Christ’s life (John 14:10) flows in the springs of the Spirit revealing to him that he is God’s Son and that with him the Father is “well pleased” (Luke 2:49; 3:22; 9:35; Mark 14:36; 23:46 etc.). Jesus’ entire identity was centred on communion with the Father. The blood of Christ as God’s the Lamb is so powerful and so infinitely able to impart to us a pure identity in him because when Jesus cried out from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”” (Mark 15:34) he was taking upon himself our failure to honour God as Father (Jer 2:27) and all the fallen ways, including language, culture, ethnicity, leadership and spirituality, through which we trt to fashion an identity for ourselves. Paul is emphatic, “Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.” (Col 3:11 cf. Gal 2:20; 3:28). To realise our purity of identity is in Christ alone so that the whole Church can function in a unity of purpose across the Church means leaving everything behind to follow Jesus.
Leaving Everything
Abraham left country, people and father’s house to be in covenant with God (Gen 12:1). The prophets left their families and hometowns (1 Ki 19:19-21; Jonah 1:1-2; Amos 7:14-15) the disciples left their nets and tax booths (Mark 1:16-20; 2:14). Hudson Taylor was a true pioneering missionary in the nineteenth century because he moved to China, learned Chinese, dressed in native clothes, shaved his head and grew a pigtail. This sort of leaving involves is a real sharing in the humility of Christ crucified and glorified (Phil 2:5-11). Jesus told us, ““If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross [“daily” (Luke 9:23)] and come after me cannot be my disciple.”” (Luke 14:26-27).
Conclusion
The Father is calling for a fellowship of outwardly diverse people whose spiritual unity in Christ’s Spirit prophetically shines light on the heavenly life to come (cf. Eph 4:4-6). The Persian Fellowship was sovereignly called into existence to fulfil this vision. You are still young enough into your history to learn a lesson missed by migrant churches across the Western world. Internal division almost always arises in ethnic churches when a generation born and raised in the new land breaks away from the tradition of their elders. If the vision of the elders is in fact the all-encompassing vision of God the Father such fragmentation over need never have to be. The vision which has gripped the Father’s heart from eternity (Rev 13:8), is to have a group of children whose great aim is to make known his Son to as diverse a range of people as possible. Living such a vision is a fragrant aroma to God (Eph 5:2), the basis of all the Father’s works of salvation and the foundation for the continual sending of his Spirit. In this vision is certain triumph over evil powers (Rev 12:11) in their endless struggle to divide and destroy. May God give you, and his whole Church, this one vision.