Belonging to the Family of Families

You can see it already if you drive out west of town. The wheat is starting to turn. Still green at the base, but the heads are leaning, and the gold is coming up from the bottom. In about six weeks, the combines will start. Late June, somewhere around the 20th most years. The custom cutters will be working their way up from Oklahoma, and our farmers will be watching the sky, the moisture meter, and the calendar all at once.

And here is what I want us to see this morning. A farmer in Reno County can do everything right for nine months. He can plant in good ground. He can pray over it through the winter. He can watch a March rain land just right. He can baby that field through May. But if he doesn't cut it, the field rots. Wheat that sits too long shatters out of the head onto the ground. One hailstorm at the wrong moment, and a year of work is finished in twenty minutes. The harvest window is not optional. It is the whole point of the year.

So James says, "Be patient, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth." Waiting. But not passive waiting. Waiting for. The whole point of the patience is the bringing in.

Since Easter, we have been planting. We have been in Ephesians. We have looked at God’s plan, households, our individual households, how we live together, and considered appropriate priorities. Some of us have been here every Sunday. Some of us have caught two or three. Some of us have listened on a drive to Wichita. Wherever we have been, something has been growing.

This morning is not week six of the series. This morning is the cutting. This morning is when we bring it in. Or we let it shatter back into the ground and walk out of here with nothing to show for the last six weeks.

That is why a morning like this may feel different. I am going to ask us to take out the page in our handout, the one with three blank spaces. The first is the heart. One sentence about what we have actually felt these five weeks, and one prayer request that comes out of it. The second is the mind. A few convictions we can name, in our own words, that we did not hold this firmly five weeks ago. The third is life. Some decisions. Actual decisions, the kind that show up on the calendar this week. Decisions we are willing to make because of what we have heard.

Some of us will resist this. We are used to the preaching ending, the singing starting, and the doughnuts after. But I want us to feel the weight of what we would be doing if we did that this morning. We would be standing in a ripe field on the last day of June, looking at it, and walking back to the truck.

So we are going to cut. Together. Right now.

My goal this morning is to help you all consider what applying this series means to us. To state it a bit differently, we’ve been considering how the church is the family I belong to in Christ. We’ve attempted to bring together an understanding of it that leads to ordering our lives around it.

The series has been five weeks of building a frame: The Plan → The Order → Your House → Life Together → Life in the House.

I’ve developed an artifact to help us move forward.

1 Timothy 3:14–15

14 I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, 15 if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.

Paul wrote the latter letters with this context in mind: so that we may know how to behave in the household of God. Today, we consider what this means for our lives. Let’s begin with review.

If you open your handout to the middle, you can see where we’ve been.

We now understand the church as the centerpiece of Christ’s overall plan. We have seen that Christ has a plan for His church: the church is structured as a household, a family of families. And this household has a set of guidelines for both the church family and our individual families. We are to order our lives around this plan.

It is now time to pull together all of our applications from the first five sermons to affect our whole lives. In this fast-paced world, it is hard to find time to do any serious reflection. While we have benefited from the five sermons, actually integrating the truths into our lives as a whole takes extra effort. Taken together, they can become a powerful force bringing about significant change—change designed to reshape our lives.

Committing the Heart — Personal Journal

Journaling is an excellent way to reflect more deeply on the significance of what we have been learning. It forces us to express in words what has entered our hearts. It helps us identify and clarify what the Spirit has been using in the Word to enlighten our hearts, as well as to convict us.

Prayer should follow this. We should ask God to permanently transform our hearts to give us a desire and longing to grow to maturity. In this section, think back over the past five sermons and what we just reviewed. What happened in your life because of each concept? Record your thoughts and jot them down. What new convictions have you developed? What have you seen God begin to do in your life? Are there areas that you wish you had followed through on more fully? What affected you most? What convicted you most? What excited you most? How has your philosophy of life changed?

Finally, formulate these thoughts into one main prayer request. If you were to ask God to give you the ability to order your life around His plan, how would you ask it? Write the request in that space. You might transfer it to a card and carry it with you. Pray over it regularly. Over the next few weeks, record on the back of the card any ways that you see God answering your prayer.

Heart — what reflection produced. Walk through the personal journal honestly. Land the prayer request as the room's prayer too — God, my history with your people has had ups and downs; transform me NOW.

Thoughts on ordering your life around Christ's plan for His church:

God laid the foundation of the church to amaze the rulers and authorities in heavenly places. It's not to be a priority, but THE priority.

God's church is the family I am a part of now in Christ.

God transforms us in the Gospel so we can function as His people.

My life in the church isn't about me but fulfilling a role God's given me for the good of others.

The church must be a priority for me — even as a paid employee. Nurture a love for God through His people.

Prayer Request

God, my history with your people has had its ups and downs. But keep transforming me to walk in your ways NOW, so that future generations see how the family of families lives together.

Committing the Mind — Core Convictions

It is essential that we pull together what we have studied—formulating our thoughts into clear convictions. Begin by writing a paragraph, summarizing your convictions from these sermons about Christ’s plan for His church, including how He wants us to order our families and the family of God. Then, list the essential Bible references to back up your convictions.

Finally, choose at least one of these verses to memorize, record it below, and quote it by memory to your study group when you meet. Transfer it to a3- x 5-inch card—writing the verse(s) and reference on one side and your insights into the verse(s) on the other side. Review it this summer.

Mind — the four core convictions. The church is THE plan. The church IS the household. Without the Gospel, even roles in the home will turn selfish. The "older man" must model convictions with applied good works. Each one has teeth. The third one (gospel + roles in the home) is the bridge to next season's preaching on Proverbs / household formation.

1. The church is THE plan — not one among many options Christians can embrace to go deeper.

2. The church is God's household — it doesn't merely look like a family; it is a family.

3. Without the Gospel, even roles in the home will turn selfish.

4. As an "older man" in the church, I must model convictions with application of good works as I build into others.

Key Verse to Memorize

1 Timothy 3:14–15

Committing the Life — Decisions, Personal Projects, Life Habits

You might reflect on some conversations you’ve had over the past five sermons. It is one thing to think about specific applications to our lives as we move through each sermon. It is another thing to think across our whole lives and begin reshaping our life goals and lifestyles by what we are learning. This is a vital part of building our lives around Christ’s plan for His church and around these household texts.

Several things are necessary in order to integrate these principles into our lives. First, considering your work in the heart and mind sections, are there decisions that you need to make? For example, do you need to rearrange any of your current life priorities? Are you making the most of your time? Do you really understand the will of the Lord? Does your household? What kind of overall adjustments do you need to make in your life direction as a result of this study?

Life — the three decisions. Small group. Calling clarity. Healing. Each one is on the table for Crestview, not just Phil. The third — healing from hurt so convictions don't come with an asterisk — is the most pastorally honest move available, and it gives permission to anyone in the room carrying the same.

Continuing to plug in appropriately to my small group.

Work to get clear on my calling for this next season of ministry — building the next generation.

Seeking to heal from all the hurt I've experienced over the past few years so that my convictions about the Family don't come with an asterisk.

Application / Invitation

You are part of something designed by Christ. Take notes. Discuss. Apply.

Closing

"I am writing these things to you so that... you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God."

You now know. The series has done its job. The question is whether you order your life around what you know.

5/24 — Testimonials. This sermon should make 5/24 testimonials make sense — congregation members do their own integration aloud.

5/31 — He Is Not Ashamed series kickoff. Hebrews 2:11 - "For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers”. We want to build up and encourage you all in God’s great love for us, so we don’t live in shame of our God. He is honored to call us His own. The bridge: We've talked about the household. Now: how does Jesus encourage us to step in.