This Is OUR Church

“Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints;”

That goes right to the heart of what you hear us often say here at Rally Point Biker Church – “Love God and Love each other.”

The Book of Philemon is an unusual book.  Look at some of the names listed in these short 25 verses:

• Paul – God used to write 13 books of the New Testament, almost half. A       man that was greatly used of God.  A man that trained at the feet of          Gamaliel. A Pharisee of the Pharisees. If you want to talk about a far- right zealot – it was this guy, and yet God saved Paul and used him mightily to turn the world upside down for Christ.
• Timothy – whose father was a Greek, but his mother was a Jew that    believed in Christ. So, if you look at their nationality, they were very different, yet Timothy was a beloved brother and fellow-laborer!
• Philemon – A very wealthy man, a man of means, a man who had other        servants who worked for him. A man who was certainly known among   other people. He was very different from both Paul and Timothy.
• Onesimus – Down in verse 10 we find that he is a runaway servant of           Philemon’s. Through running away from his master, he has put himself in a very difficult situation. We do not know his race or        ethnicity, we only know that this is a man on the run.
• Apphia & Archippus – in verse 2.  We don’t know much about them other   than they were fellow soldiers of the Cross that helped form the      church that was in Philemon’s house.
• Marcus (v24) – John Mark. We know that early own, he and Paul had fallen out that caused Paul and Barnabas to part ways. At the end of II    Timothy, we know that Paul summoned Timothy to come shortly and       bring John Mark with him, for he was profitable for the ministry.
• Aristarchus – we know nothing about.
• Demas – we know forsook Paul.
• Lucas – The Apostle Luke, a doctor, a physician, who also wrote one of the Gospels and was penman for Paul for the Book of Acts.

You begin to get a picture in this one small book of a doctor, a wealthy man, a runaway man, a half-breed man, a man very well trained in the Old Testament Law and the ways of the Jews, you have fellow soldiers and people who just made a church in their house. And what you begin to see here is a group of people that are so unlike one another. I don’t know if you could find a similarity between the entire group – had it not been for the “tie that binds them.”

So, I just want to share this thought with you “THIS IS OUR CHURCH.”

There’s an old hymn written by a Baptist preacher many years ago titled “The Tie That Binds.” John Faucet was an orphan at age 12 – no mother, no father. John Faucet was sent to pastor a very poor, uneducated farming community in England. While pastoring there, he was contacted by a very large, well-to-do church in that wanted him to come and be their pastor. John and his family were very poor themselves by virtue of the community they were pastoring, so he decided to accept the position and go where he could better care for his family.  As they were packing to go, his wife said, “I can’t stand the thought of us leaving here.” And he replied to her, “Neither can I.” He then wrote these words:

Blessed be the tie that binds.

Our hearts in Christian love.

The fellowship of kindred minds

Is like to that above.

He is writing that about the people he doesn’t want to leave.  A poor people. Listen to the next verse:

Before our Father’s throne

We pour our hearts in praise.

Our fear, our hopes, our aims are one

Our comforts and our cares.

He is writing that to the people in front of him. He is saying “We have a kinship.” We have a bond. We’re not leaving you.

We share our mutual woes

Our mutual burdens we bare

And for each other often flows

The sympathizing tears.

You know what I’m certain of? I’m certain that John Faucet didn’t look at that congregation and say, “This is y’alls church and I’m sure you’ll find somebody.” He looked at those people and he said, “This is our church – and I’m staying right here, right where God wants me.”

He didn’t say it was “MY CHURCH,” he said it is “OUR CHURCH.” And I believe if there is a message to be found in the book of Philemon it’s that we are not to look at the church as MY CHURCH or YOUR CHURCH but as OUR CHURCH – it is something that we are doing and building together!

Let me show just a few things this morning about OUR CHURCH: IT IS:

THE CHURCH IN THY HOUSE (V2)

Notice Paul said THE CHURCH in thy house.  Paul didn’t say his house was the church, but that the church was in his house.

Let me say that Rally Point Biker Church is not this building that has so graciously been loaned to us. Listen, we are very grateful to Roy and Phyllis for allowing us to meet here – but folks, this isn’t Rally Point Biker Church.

The area that we have outside to park our cars and motorcycles – and even    our all-terrain vehicles and the big sign that says Rally Point Biker Church, is not Rally Point Biker Church.

The Flags we have at the road, though they state “WELCOME – Rally Point Biker Church,” they are not Rally Point Biker Church.

The sign that hangs over our refreshment area that states “Rally Point Biker Church – a little bit of coffee and a whole lotta Jesus” is not Rally Point Biker Church.

For better or worse, Rally Point Biker Church is You and it is me, collectively that form this church.

Now the folks who granted us a 501(c)3 might think that the property at 830 Dutch Creek Road, Pauline South Carolina is Rally Point Biker Church. But when God looks down at 830 Dutch Creek Road, He thinks of all the people gathered right here.

The Bible doesn’t say that where “2 or 3 buildings are gathered together.” He said, “where 2 or 3 people are gathered together in my name, there and I in the midst of them.”

That verse doesn’t say “Your church in your house.” It says, “THE CHURCH in thine house.” 

Though the church may have met at his house, ate at his table, drank of his refreshments – it wasn’t his church – it has always been the LORD’s church.

You want a lesson in humility – the church was founded on Jesus Christ – not any one of us – and that includes me!

 I Corinthians 12:12 says, “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.”

If God is going to do anything great for this church (and He is) located in this building, it will not be because I’m your preacher, or because Josh plays the guitar, or Mary Ann sings, or Kim makes coffee and brings donuts – it will be because we worked collectively together to make OUR CHURCH a beacon of hope to our community.

So, I guess the question here is, are you a part of the body, or are you just a   body part?

This is important to understand folks, what happens to a body part when it is removed from the body?

So in the book of Philemon, God brings together this rich man, a doctor, a     slave, a man that is well versed in the Law that he used to write half the New   Testament, and God doesn’t look at them individually and say it is your church, or your church or your church, but it is OUR CHURCH – “The Church in Thy House.” And everybody sitting here today is an important part of OUR CHURCH IN THIS BUILDING and when 1 part of this body is missing, this whole body suffers!

          “The Church in thine house”

LABORING TOGETHER (V1, 2, 23, 24)

          V1 – Fellow Laborer – Not carry a piece of furniture alone, but together.

          V2 – Fellow Soldier – Not trying to fight the enemy in fron and behind alone, but standing back-to-back, fighting together!

          V23 – Fellow Prisoners – Prisoners (Paul & Silas) Chained together. No where to go. They are prisoners. You know, that’s kinda what we experience now. What I haven’t shared with you is that our church gives to two separate organizations. The first is The Missionary Church International, that’s who we have our 501(c)3 through. The second is the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, which encompasses Samaritans Purse.

Folks, I don’t believe there is another ministry on the planet that does more   for the cause of Christ than the Billy Graham Evangelistic Ministries.  They   are actively engaged in ministries all over the world and in some very not so nice places.  They have missionaries that have given their lives for the ministry.

 How many of you have heard the statement that when one part of the body suffers, the whole body suffers? That statement is absolutely true.

 That’s what it means to be a fellow-prisoner.  We are locked in this ministry together.

• It’s not: I’m sorry to hear about your son or daughter that’s out in the world.
• It’s not, I’m sorry for all that you are going through.

 Folks, this is OUR CHURCH and OUR MINISTRY and it will be a good day when OUR CHURCH learns to help bear one another’s burdens!

That’s what it means to be a fellow-prisoner.

Finally, The Church in Thine House, where we Labor Together, because:

YOU ARE OUR BROTHER, OUR DEARLY BELOVED (V1)

Some folks are grouped together because of the financial stature, the neighborhood they live in, the type of house they live in or car they drive.

Some folks are grouped together because of their education level.

Some folks are grouped together because of the type of clothes they wear. Take those who were all black and identify themselves as being Goth.

Folks, it ought not be that way.  You know why? Because we are THE CHURCH – regardless of how much money you have, regardless of what kind of clothes you wear or even your education level.  We are the church of the living God.