The Line has four major values that guide how we do church: Longevity, Movement, Dwelling, Thriving. We discuss vision for these monthly. Below are some notes from this month’s session: Movement.
SYNOPSIS
God’s people are always moving.
While essential Christian beliefs may be static, Christian mission never is. Obedience itself is continuous movement away from sin and towards Jesus. As a church, we are the sent people of Jesus, moving out into the world.
PRINCIPLES
1. Jesus often moves us internally, then externally. We see, for instance, that Jesus’ command to be His witnesses is predicated on the movement of his power (Acts 1:8; c.f. 2:1-41). The apostle Paul is thrown from his horse before being thrown into the mission field (Acts 9:3-20). Paul later writes to the church in Rome that all of our right action (or movement) as a church is based on internal gratitude toward Jesus, who made the first move to save us (Romans 12:1-2).
2. Jesus often moves us externally, then internally. Many times, however, Jesus uses our external circumstances to train, sharpen, and grow us. Moses tells the Israelites that God’s intentions in commanding them to wander in the wilderness was to humble them, and train them to be dependent on His word (Deuteronomy 8:2-3). We read in Jeremiah 17:5-10 that God moves us into uncomfortable circumstances to test our hearts and to train us to trust Him. Paul tells the church in Corinth that building a missionary movement in Asia almost made him suicidal, yet this was to teach him to rely solely on God (2 Corinthians 1:8-10).
3. Jesus moves first. Regardless of how hard we try, nothing will happen unless Jesus moves first (Psalm 127:1-2). Unless Jesus first shines in the darkness, it will not be overcome (John 1:5). If Jesus had not moved to the earth to reveal God to us, we will never seen His glory (John 1:14). It is God who draws men to himself (John 6:44). We do not send ourselves, we are moved by Jesus (John 17:18).
4. That which is stationary is stagnant. Those who move under God’s direction are secure. Finally, the Bible tells us that a lack of movement is often a sign of death. A poignant example of this is found Babel’s rebellion against God’s command to fill the earth (Genesis 11:1-9), which is contrasted with God’s call to Abram to go to a new land (Genesis 12:1-2). The author of Hebrews gives us special insight into these events, telling us that security is not to be found in settling, but in seeking God’s city, which alone has foundations (Hebrews 11:10; 13-16).
