Message 2: The Logos of God

INTRODUCTION: Turn to Acts 2:42

Last Sunday I introduced what I believe are the three major commitments that Christ is calling us to invest our lives in:
1. Communion – our deepening relationship with Jesus Christ
2. Community – our deepening relationship with Jesus’ people
3. Commission – our deepening relationship with Jesus’ world

These commitments comes from the example of the early church – look at Acts 2:42ff:
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:42-47

Now, I also introduced the SPECIFIC activities that helped accomplish the major commitments:
ß They built their communion w/ Christ through the WORD of God and the WORSHIP of God.
ß They built their community w/ one another through LEARNING and LOVING.
ß And they grew in their commission to impact the world with the love of Christ through SERVING and SHARING.

Today I want us to focus in on the first of the commitments – building your communion with Christ through the WORD of God. Turn to John 1:1

Most people hear the expression “The Word of God” and they think: “The Bible”. The Bible is not what we are talking about here – although the Bible helps us to experience the Word of God.

I’ll explain by reading the John text:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men.” John 1:1-4, NIV.

Question: WHO IS JOHN TALKING ABOUT? - Jesus!

Now skip down a few verses to vs 14 – which explains verse 1 & 2 in more detail:

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14, NIV.

Let me do a little GREEK word study with you – the word ‘word’ is the word LOGOS – now when you hear the word LOGO what do you think of?

Now, when John refers to Jesus as the LOGO of God, he is saying that Jesus is the REPRESENTATION of God to the earth! If you want to know God – look at Jesus!

Here’s the second Greek word I want us to examine – the Word became FLESH.

It is the Greek word ‘sarx’ and it refers to a physical body made of flesh and bones. God took on flesh. The Spirit became flesh. Theologians refer to this as the INCARNATION of Christ. ‘Carne’ means flesh. Spirit became flesh.

Look at Acts 2:43:
“Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.” Acts 2:43, NIV.

The response of the early believer’s to this reality was ‘awe’. They experienced in their gatherings and in their lives the very Presence of the Holy God. What was once impossible to man, had become possible – they could be in the Presence of God because God had come to them in the form of Jesus Christ!

And awe was the result. This sense of awe and wonder was generated not only by the miraculous. It seems that the early church sensed God’s presence even more keenly in their gatherings than at other times. And from the rest of the book of Acts it is obvious that the first Christians sensed God and heard Him speak in all manner of situations, but the gathered community of believers did seem to expect a communal sense of God’s presence in their meetings.

With all of that said – here’s the point of what God wants us to be committed to:
WE ARE CALLED TO PASSIONATELY PURSUE THE PRESENCE OF GOD IN OUR MIDST.

This needs to become a major emphasis of our gatherings: Pursuing the Presence! Hungering for Christ! More of Him and less of us!

I want to show you some biblical examples of what happens when God’s Presence is pursued:

THE APOSTLE JOHN
- Heard God’s voice: “On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,” Revelation 1:10, NIV.
- Experienced visions: “At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.” Revelation 4:2 “Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns.” Revelation 17:3, NIV.
- Saw the future: “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.” Revelation 21:10, 11, NIV.
- Received freedom from condemnation: “This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.” 1 John 3:19, 20, NIV.

KING DAVID
- Got direction and joy in the presence of God: “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” Psalms 16:11, NIV.

CORNELIUS received spiritual instruction in the presence: “So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.”” Acts 10:33, NIV.

Now – isn’t this something worthy of pursuing?

So – HOW DO WE PURSUE THE PRESENCE OF GOD? Again – look at Acts 2:43:

“Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.” Acts 2:43, NIV.

They we ‘filled with awe’ – Greek word PHOBOS – literally ‘fear’ – carrying the meaning of great reverence, respect, wonder and amazement.

Do we want to make pursuing the Presence a major priority in our church?

Here’s some suggestions to facilitate this:
1. Be PREPARED for the Presence of Christ.
2. Be GRATEFUL for the Presence of Christ.
3. Be EXPECTANT in the Presence of Christ.
4. Be CONFIDENT in the Presence of Christ.
5. Be AMAZED in the Presence of Christ.

And as God makes Himself known – look what happens – vs. 43: “and many wonders and miraculous signs we done…”

Where Christ is – things happen that transcend our power, our ability and our thinking. Things that can only be described as WONDERS and MIRACULOUS!

Jesus said in Luke 4:18-19: "The Lord has put his Spirit in me, because he appointed me to tell the Good News to the poor. He has sent me to tell the captives they are free and to tell the blind that they can see again. God sent me to free those who have been treated unfairly and to announce the time when the Lord will show his kindness." Luke 4:18-19 NCV

And this is what we are to do as well. This is our mission.

CONCLUSION: Who here hungers for more of Christ? Who here desires to move in closer to Jesus? Who wants to be in AWE of His presence?

Who needs His touch? His help? His hope? His joy? His voice? His instruction?

Then let’s – together as Christ’s family – passionately pursue the Presence of Christ!