(Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash)
I wanted to share my third reflection on the "Place" of Evangelism. (Here are the first and second installments.)
From last time, I started to explore the question, what should the "House of the Lord" look like? And using the metaphor of a home, I likened the church to three parts of the home: 1) the front yard, 2) the inside, and 3) the view. 1) The Frontyard: An Attractive Fruit Garden 2) The Inside: An Inviting Feast of the Words of Jesus 3) The View: The Majestic New Jerusalem on Mt. Zion The Inside: The Dining Room of the House of the Lord How you structure the inside of the House is incredibly important. It determines the rhythm of your household and what matters the most to your family. And usually, the biggest room is the most important room and most used room. Many times the TV room is the largest and most used room--therefore the entire life of the family revolves around the TV. Sometimes homes have many individual rooms--therefore the entire life of the family was spent individually in their private room. Sometimes homes have "the kitchen" as the centerpiece--making the life of the family revolves around cooking, eating, and talking together. What do you think is the "center piece" of the house of the Lord I'd propose it is one gigantic dining room with an Inviting Feast of the Words of Christ Jesus. Returning back to our Ezekiel 47 vision, let us see the inside fixture of this house called "church." Ezekiel 47:12 "Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary." What is important is that the fruits in the front yard (the good works of the people of God) should not bring attention to itself. The fruit should bring attention to the source of all these fruits--the river from the sanctuary. The Word and Spirit as Gourmet Feast So what is the centerpiece of the House of the Lord? It is the WORD of God where the Holy Spirit flows. I argued in the first installment that the river represents the preached Word of God, the words of Jesus Christ; therefore, the Words of Jesus Christ must be the centerpiece of the House of the Lord. I can give you thousands of references of how the Assembly of God centered itself on the Word; and in the New Testament, it should be the exact same thing.
· 1 Timothy 3:15 - "the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth."
· Ephesians 5:24-25 - "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish."
· John 21:15 - The Johannine Great Commission "Feed my lambs." With what? The Word of God.
· Matt 4:4 “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’
· John 4:34: “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his word."
Do you see that the Word of God is not only the centerpiece of the Christian life, but it is also treated as source of nourishment, joy, and life. So what would it look like in our analogy of the House?
Drawing from the Wedding Feast analogy, I imagine a huge dining table with a huge feast laid out. And Jesus at the head of the table, saying to us, "Come join us and eat and drink from the Word of God--for it will satisfy, renew, and refresh you!" Evangelism is eating, not studying, the Word. Notice, I did not say study or master the Word. I did not say hear the Word. I did not say memorize the Word. I did not say follow the Word. All of that is important--but we need to be feasting on the Word. Do you taste and enjoy the Word? Does it bring awe to your mind, joy to your heart, and action to your hands? Feasting upon the Word is what people should see when they enter into the Household of God! I imagine the Christmas potluck at KMGC (what’s that?). You can see everyone gathering so quickly to eat the food and everyone talking about how good the food is. We should see the people of God assembling because they are hungry, dependent on the Word of God for sustenance like bread and water, but they also enjoy it as the most luxurious delicacy like a slab of steak or high quality sushi. And by this feast, people are talking about how good the Word of God is and they are energized to do the will of God. Do you eat first, before you share the Word? This is not disconnected to the first point. You cannot bear fruit unless you are feasting on the Word. You can't tape on fruit onto dead branches--sometimes that’s what we try to do in churches. But we need to abide in the words of Christ--the vine--so that we may bear fruit. No feasting on the Word, No fruitful Garden. If you are not bearing fruit as a disciple that attracts your non-Christian neighbor, if you are not loving your non-Christian neighbor proactively, if you are not glorifying Christ to non-Christians, clearly, it's very difficult to imagine you doing evangelism. However, how can you bear that kind of fruit? Only through good discipleship. Discipleship of Christians in both Word and Deed is the gasoline of evangelism. You can't make more disciples without reliable disciples. For the cause of Evangelism, we are called to live fruitful Christian lives and set an example. But we cannot do that unless we devote ourselves, feast upon, and abide in the Words of Christ. Therefore, before we even think about doing evangelism, is the Word of God a "primary" fixture in our Church? When we come to the Word of God, do we treat it like a couple of pre-packed rice balls from the convenience store (US equivalent would be a microwaveable TV dinner)? Or do we treat the Word of God as a delectable feast made in a 3 star Michelin restaurant? Do we look forward to the Word of God just as we look forward to the Thanksgiving feasts prepared every year? Therefore, before we share the words of Christ--which is important--we must ask ourselves how is our personal devotion to the Words of Christ? Do we feast upon Christ? To proclaim the Words of Christ to others without tasting them and enjoying them first is using the Lord's Name and the Lord's Words in vain.