Connection is how life flows
I’m pretty excited about life right now, especially the work the Lord is doing in our church. After a horrible 2020 (on many levels) and a difficult start to 2021 (transition), I’m feeling like we have turned a corner and the sun is shining. (Praise God, the Son is always shining!)
God is speaking to us and leading us to a place where we can experience the wonderful promises He has prepared for us. As I read in a book recently, God “is preparing us for what the Lord longs to pour out in this next move of His Spirit, but it will not come without a fresh sacrifice on our part.”
This preparation includes our personal connection with the Body of Christ.
We were not redeemed into the family of God to remain disconnected. Nor were we saved from our life as an orphan to live life by ourselves. According to the Apostle Paul, we have been grafted into something far larger than our own plan for eternity. As Richard Tiddy says, we have become living stones that are shaped to be connected with each other. I would add, it’s in our connection that we find form, strength and function.
The current series, Connection, will speak about this from Ephesians 4:16.
From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
But I would submit to you that the context is even larger than local.
In 2019, Ps Sam Monk (ACTS Churches NZ National Leader) invited me to attend the annual ACTS Council meeting in Wellington. In that invitation Sam reminded me, “It’s not just about you, it’s about the greater good for the bigger picture – it’s for the sake of the Movement.” We must remember that we are part of something bigger and our willingness to submit in connection is often what the Lord hopes to see.
A bible teacher called Bob says this; “The Bible never conceives of anyone coming to faith in Christ apart from becoming associated with a local church and then finding your place of service to the body of Christ. Every saint should seek not only their own growth and maturity, but that of the church at large as well.”
And Paul, writing to the church in Rome says this; “…you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you.” (Romans 11: 17—18)
From this I would glean that we have a mandate from our Lord Jesus to actively connect with our local church (the branch) and the wider church, (the tree.) Therefore, I invite you to consider joining us for the ACTS Regional Gathering in Hamilton on Monday 16th August. (You can find details here)
Blessings as you connect.