This article was shared during Transformation Connection Indonesia,
which was held in Surabaya, Indonesia on 28 October - 1 November 2008
Recorded by Dr. Sharon Ayabe from Kauai
Bob Moffitt – If Jesus Were Mayor I
29 October 2008 – TCI Surabaya
The Local Church is the Principle Organization that God has Chosen to Bring Transformation to the World
Ephesians 3:10. In verse 9, Paul writes that he is going to reveal the mystery that God has kept secret from eternity to now and I’m going to explain how that mystery is going to be fulfilled.
First of all, we know that the mystery is the healing of our communities through the blood of Jesus Christ. In Colossians 1:20, the Holy Spirit tells us through Paul that Jesus’ blood was shed not just for the salvation of our souls but for the healing of everything that was broken in the fall.
In verse 9, Paul says he is going to explain how that healing is going to take place. And, in verse 10, this is what Paul says, “It is now through the church that God has chosen to demonstrate His agenda for healing. And He is going to do that before those that observe in heavenly places.” What God is saying is “I am going to use the church more than I use the government, more than I use politics, business, education, or any other thing. I am going to use the church to demonstrate this healing. It’s going to be the administration of this healing.
What this means is the pastors and the leaders of the local church are more important to the healing of Indonesia than anything else.
The church cannot fill that role unless it understands that is its job. If the church doesn’t understand that its job is to bring about transformation, if the church doesn’t understand that the role of the church is to accomplish the healing and restoration, it will not be able to do it.
The Church Needs to Understand the Strategy
How does the church do it? Most churches thing its primary responsibility is evangelism. That’s part of the job but not the end of the job. We need to understand the task and, secondly, we need to understand how.
Let’s look at Ephesians 4:11 where Paul tells us HOW. In Ephesians 3:10 he tells us WHAT. The WHAT is that the church is going to be used by God to bring about God’s big agenda. And now in chapter 4:11-14, Paul tells us how.
Verses 11-13. In this passage, Paul gives us 5 categories of leaders in the church. Apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, and evangelists. But then Paul gives them all the same job description. Sometimes we think the jobs of an apostle and preacher are different. But here Paul tells us that the job description of everyone in the church is the same.
In the Greek the ministry is to serve. All of the leaders of the church, have one job, and that job is to equip the people of the church to serve. And when they serve, three things happen.
One is unity comes to the body of Christ. Unity will not come because we agree theologically. When we serve together, when the people are equipped to serve together, Pentecostals, non-Pentecostals, no matter what denomination, the body becomes unified.
Second thing. When we serve, we become mature in Christ. What does Paul say brings maturity? Service!
So, when we equip our people to serve they become united and matured spiritually.
And, thirdly, they express the character of Christ. It is the character of love. The main character of God is love. And, when we equip our people to serve they reflect the fullness of Christ – which is love.
Transformation is not that complicated. God says in 2 Chronicles 7:14 that when we live the way God created us to live, He will heal our land. Transformation is something that is supernatural and it happens as a byproduct. It’s a byproduct of living the way God’s called us to live.
How has God called us to live? He has called us to serve. So, how does God use the church to bring about transformation? He brings it about when we accomplish His purpose. What is His purpose? The end-purpose for the church is to equip all its people to serve.
If Jesus were Mayor, the very first place he would go would be to the church and he would help the church to understand that he has appointed them for transformation. And the way that happens is we equip every member of the church to lovingly serve his neighbor. And, when every member of the church begins to serve its neighbor they become unified and mature. They express the fullness of Christ which is love and then in response God brings transformation.
I want to illustrate that with some graphics on this slide.
When we look at the condition of the world, we see that the people are broken. We see that all the inclinations of the human heart without God are evil. Romans 3:23 tells us that all of God’s people are sinful. And in Ephesians 2:1 that in our sins, we are dead. Dead people can’t do anything. Dead people are not going to bring transformation. In our sin we are dead and hopeless.
In Romans 2:5 we see that dead people in their sin are headed for God’s wrath.
But God’s attitude towards this broken man is not to destroy him but He came to save him. In Philippians 2, Paul writes that we are to have the same attitude towards that broken man that Christ does.
Let’s look at what God’s intentions are in the future for this broken man. In Isaiah 11:4-9, God’s intention for the future is there’s going to be peace and enough for everyone. Is that good news? In Isaiah we see that we are going to participate in this Good News in the restoration of this process towards healing.
In John 14:1-4 we see that Jesus is right now preparing a place for us. Are you ready to go there? This is the future.
In Romans 8:21, we see that all creation is going to be liberated. No more tsunamis. Is that good news? Amen.
Revelation 21:1-4. No tears, no death , no pain.
Matthew 19:28, we see that Jesus is going to return as King.
When is this going to take place today or in the future? This is God’s intention for the future. If we look to the diagram to look at that future this is what we would see. No death. Peace. Enough for everyone. And best of all, God is going to live with us. And many of our churches are preaching this gospel. They’re preaching the good news of the future.
But too many times the church of Jesus Christ is only talking about the good news of the future. But God wants the people to know about the good news now. Let’s look and see what the Bible has to say about good news now.
If you belong to a liturgical church, every Sunday you say this verse. Let’s say the Lord’s Prayer together in Indonesian. We know it by heart but often we don’t pay attention to what it says. This is the only prayer Jesus taught His disciples.
And this is how it begins, “Our Father may we honor Your name.” How do we honor Your name? We honor Your name by bringing Your Kingdom. How does Your Kingdom come? By Your will being done.
The Kingdom of God equals the will of God being done. That’s what we are to bring.
“Father, may Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”
If the Kingdom of God came to Surabaya, would transformation come? How? By Your will being done. That’s how Your Kingdom comes. When God’s people are doing His will.
I have a question. Where is God’s will being done perfectly right now? Where? In Heaven. God’s will is perfectly done in Heaven. That’s why Heaven is heaven.
Next question, what does Jesus teach us to pray about God’s will? We are to pray Father, may your will be done in Surabaya as it is being done in Heaven.
Next question, what are God’s intentions for the present here in Surabaya? God wants His will to be done in Surabaya. But, what would happen if God’s will were being done in Surabaya as it is being done in Heaven? Transformation. Surabaya would be like Heaven. Let’s look and see what is God’s will for the present. In John 14:30, we see that God’s will is that we obey Him. That’s number one. God’s will in Surabaya is that His people in Surabaya obey His will.
And, secondly, this is very important. God’s people are to teach other people to do His will. . We are to obey God, we are to teach others to obey God.
That’s why it is the church that is God’s instrument for bringing transformation. Non-Christians cannot teach people how to do God’s will and they generally will not do God’s will unless it’s unintentional. But it’s God’s intention that God’s people in Surabaya do God’s will and teach others to do the same. That’s the summary. That’s how transformation comes.
Let’s take a look at whether or not we are obeying God’s will.
Let’s take a look at God’s will for our personal life.
· - Acts 14:22. God’s will is that we endure hardship.
· - Ephesians 5:17-20. God wants us to live sober, Spirit-filled lives, He wants us to be singing and thankful.
· - 1 Thessalonians 4:3,11 is that we live holy, pure and productive lives.
What is God’s will in our families? This is for Christians now.
· - Ephesians 5:21 – We are to be submissive
· - Ephesians 5:21 – We are to be respectful
· - Ephesians 6:4 – We are to train our kids in godly living
What about God’s will for our Christian brothers.
· - John13:24 - We are to love each other.
· - John 17:20-23 - We are to live in unity
What is God’s will for our relationships with our community?
· - Romans 13:10 – Love our neighbors
· - James 1:27 – Care for widows and orphans
· - Jeremiah 22:3, 15-16 – Advocate for those in need
What is God’s intention for our employees and servants?
· - Colossians 4:1 – Care for those under our authority
· - 1 Peter 2:13-15 – Respect those in authority
· - Romans 2 - Submit to one another
How do we relate to our enemies?
· - Luke 6:27, 35-36
As we look at God’s will, we become very conscious that, in general, we are not doing God’s will. Let this symbol represent doing God’s will. Doing God’s will is obedience. In summary, obedience is the demonstration of God’s love.
But there’s a problem. The problem is there is a wall and the wall keeps the broken man from seeing God’s goodness in the present and the future. What is that wall? Sin. Whose sin? Who is not doing God’s will? It’s us. When we look at what God’s will is we recognize it’s not the sin of the world that keeps the broken man from seeing God’s good news. It’s our sin. That wall is our sin. But God has put a window in that wall. And that window is the church.
That window is divided into four parts. And those 4 parts represents God’s concern in the physical, spiritual, social, and the wisdom areas of our lives. And, we get those 4 categories from Luke 2:52. “Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”
So, God gave us the church. And, as people of the world look through the church, they would be able to see the good news not just in the future but in the present.
There’s a problem. Some churches look at the physical area and say that’s not for us, that’s for the government or the United Nations. So they cover that area of the window.
Other churches look at the social area and say that’s not for the church. That’s for the social agencies. And they cover that area of the window.
Some churches look at the wisdom area and say, “No, this man needs to come into the church to experience God’s wisdom.”
And many churches look at the spiritual area and say, ah yes, that’s our job we are going to tell people about the spiritual area. And the people on the outside when they look through all they can see are God’s spiritual intentions. What do we need?
We need to wash the window. How? By demonstrating God’s love physically, socially, spiritually, and in the area of God’s wisdom.
There are many images of the church in the Scripture. The image of a clear letter of God’s love. The image of a light. The image of salt. The image of a good servant. The image of a good neighbor. These are all images that God gives us of the church, a church that demonstrates God’s love in every area of our lives.