So we continue our sermon series, one of my all
-time favorite hymns, as you're going to hear
throughout this sermon series, that we have tied
where we're going in the book of Acts with a
lot of those just historical words that we've
sung for decades, some even centuries. The church
is one foundation, Jesus Christ our Lord. And
I think it's a great declarative, right? We love
to sing that. Our church is one foundation is
Jesus. Until that church does something, we...
don't like, right? Until that church makes a
decision or that church goes through the wars,
right? Now some of you are like, what kind of
wars can the church go through? The church should
never go through a war. Well, as I look back
on the history of this church, this church did.
We call it the Pew War. We call this the Worship
War. We call this the remodel war. All of us
don't probably have opinions on what things should
be painted or what color carpet should go somewhere
that's not our home until the church makes a
decision to change it. Because then all of a
sudden our opinions just come to the surface,
right? And we even try to tie it. Oh, we can't
have the red carpeting because that's a sign
of Satan. What? We all come with our own stuff.
One that I find in this church's history, right,
seven years now, I can bring this back up, is
the name change war. How this church, over the
years, and my son, while he was waiting for his
flu shot this week in Walgreens, found a history
of Munster book and was fascinated that this
church's title at one point, the name of this
church was the Holland Reform Church. And he
goes, Dad, our last name is Holland Donor. So
my son, who's 12, almost 13, still doesn't know
how to spell our last name because our last name
has an E, not an A, but he was floored by that.
And it got me thinking, this church has gone
through a lot of different names. The war that
went from First Christian Reformed Church to
Munster Christian Reformed Church. That was a
war. Then the war of Munster Christian Reformed
Church to Munster Church, a ministry of the Christian
Reformed Church. War! I don't think they dealt
with that in the book of Acts. I don't think
that the church of the way really cared. Now,
some of you are going, well, I'm offended. Because
I really was hurt by that decision. I disagreed
with that decision. Friends, the church is going
to make decisions that you might disagree with,
right? But if the church revolved around you,
then every decision would flow through you. But
it doesn't. It doesn't even do that for me. A
church that allows the pastor to make all the
decisions is not a healthy church. That's coming
from a pastor. That's why we have a council.
That's why we have committees. One of the things
that we look for in elders and deacons and council
members is that they check their agendas at the
door. Because one thing, if I ever have someone
come up to me and go, I cannot wait to be an
elder because I have so many, I've already fled
that conversation, right? I've already ran away
and secretly transferred their papers. And understand
that no. See, I can't even do that on my own
unless I forge signatures, which I would never
do. Ken, I would never do it. But understand,
Ken's our clerk, but understand when we make
the church about ourselves, then we have to sing
that hymn differently. The church's one foundation
is what Jim Holland Donor wants. Oh, I even got
an amen. Was that an amen? We'll pray for Nikki.
But understand that when we do that, we've completely
missed out on it because it's no longer Christ's
church. Because let me ask a question as we start
out. Do you want the weight of the bride of Christ
being all about you? You have to be, I'm not
going to say it that way. There's something wrong
if that's what you want. And now some of you,
you might be getting uncomfortable and go, man,
he took some shots. We're not done. But understand
that the church's foundation, As little as I
do know about building a house. So I'm going
to ask Dick Hortenhoven, right? Because you've
built some homes right in your time. What makes
a strong foundation to a home? Concrete. Absolutely.
What doesn't make a strong foundation of a home?
No concrete. Thank you, Dick. Right? That's as
easy as it is in my head. That a firm foundation
is concrete. That's why how many of you have
ever had to get your... I think they're called
footings worked on in your home because you've
had some kind of day. That's a thing, right?
Footings to, okay, thank you. How many of you?
Marilyn, was that cheap to get that done? No,
because it's foundational to the home. How many
of you have ever painted a room? Right? Yeah.
Was that expensive? Well, it depends on. the
paint your wife picks out, I'm sure, but understand
that that is much cheaper because it is not foundational
to the home. How do I know that? We bought a
house that had hot pink kitchens, right? Pink
tile bathrooms and a bright yellow bathroom.
My one, the only opinion I ever had about buying
a house was that we would not have a pink or
yellow in the home. And my wife bamboozled me
into buying this house in Munster that had three
different shades of those colors, yet within
a couple years we changed it. Actually, the first
week we changed two of them, so that was fine.
Because paint isn't foundational to the home.
Just like the foundation of church needs to be
something that can withstand the weathers and
wars of church. And guess what? The only person
is Jesus Christ, our Lord. How firm a foundation,
right? And so one of the things that we talk
about is Jesus being the foundation. And what
we're going to see today is the foundation of
the church not only is Christ, the bride of Christ,
it is the word of God through the power of the
Holy Spirit. Not your words, not my words, not
your translation, not my translation, but the
Holy Spirit and the word of God. There is no
firmer foundation for the church than that. And
friends, we can take a 10 ,000 step back and
look at the history of the church. Not all good.
Not all great. A lot of times it's very cringy
when we look at how the church has functioned
over the years, in and out of the politics, in
the different decades and eras of the church.
Yet we're all a part of it because we're all
here today. Those online, you're here online.
That's a change to the church. Was the church
virtual a thing in the first century? Not at
all. It was church via letters, right, communications
being written, but never the church virtual.
But that's exactly where we find the disciples.
Acts chapter 1, Jesus had ascended. Their teacher,
their friend, their leader was no longer standing
in front of them. One of their own, Judas, had
betrayed them. So the church had been betrayed.
Not the first time, won't be the last. The church
was betrayed. It was a time of uncertainty. They
were asking who would lead. And as we saw last
week, they have a direction to wait. Be in prayer.
Trust in God's providence. And now we see it
start to work, right? The church begins with
prayer. Interesting. It didn't begin with the
finest whatever program ever. It didn't begin
with the grandest music style ever. It didn't
begin with the flashiest preacher ever. It didn't
begin with a building. The church begins with
prayer. So let's dive in. We're going to be in
Acts, still in chapter 1, starting with verse
12. So chapter 1, verse 12. Then they were turned
to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which
is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away.
And when they had entered, they went up to the
upper room where they were staying. Peter and
John and James and Andrew and Philip and Thomas,
Bartholomew and Matthew, and James, son of Alphaeus,
and Simon the Zealot, and Judas, the son of James,
all these. So they ascend to the upper room and
they pray. We already know there was tension
there. So that's an easy sermon. When you have
tension in life about anything, take it to the
Lord in prayer. After Jesus ascends, the disciples
don't scatter in despair. They've already learned
something. Because what happened when Jesus was
arrested? They scatter. Right? Guys, an ear gets
cut off. There's a denial. They scatter all over
the place. They gather in the upper room with
Mary, the women, and his brothers. Luke says
they were of one accord. A beautiful word in
the Greek that I cannot pronounce. One heart.
One mind. The first action of the church was
not to strategize. but simply to pray. That's
why I hope there'll be a lot of you coming on
Tuesday. That room four will be packed next Sunday
at 8 .30, or it's kind of open house style, so
you can come up until the start of the service.
And if you feel called to pray down there during
the service, we're not going to put you under
church discipline for that. That's a beautiful
thing. Pray. That's fine. The first action of
the church was to pray. This is the picture of
the unity of the church, right? When chaos floods
our world, floods our lives, floods our street,
floods our rows, what should we do? We should
come together to pray. That's why every committee
meeting, every council meeting, every elders
meeting starts and ends with prayer. If you're
sitting on one of those committees and go, oh,
we don't do that, then start. Start and end with
prayer. The Belgic Confession Article 27 reminds
us, this one isn't on the screen, this church
has existed from the beginning of the world and
will last until the end of the world. Think about
that. That's an amazing thing to think about,
that the gates of hell cannot conquer the church.
The church will be the church, whether huge or
tiny, until the end, as it appears from the testimony
given by the Holy Scriptures. So the church begins
with prayer. And what does the word do? The word
directs their steps. The Word of God directs
their steps, not the latest church trend, not
some book that was written by some successful
church leader or, more importantly, failed church
leaders. A lot of them like to write books, right?
That's why my book would be more like Michael
Scott's Somehow I Manage. It's just going to
be stories of all of you, not using your names
probably, called Somehow I Pastored, right? However
long that's going to be, it's just going to be
me up there on the cover. It's a book written
in my head. Don't worry about it. but understand
that the church, the word, is directing their
steps. And so we're going to continue in verse
15. In those days, Peter stood up among the brothers.
The company of persons was about 120 and said,
Brothers, the scriptures had to be fulfilled,
which the Holy Spirit... Now this man acquired
a field with the reward from his wickedness,
and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle,
and all his bowels gushed out, and it became
known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so
that the field was called in their own language,
language, al -Qamdana, that is, the field of
blood. For it is written in the book of Psalms,
may his camp become desolate, and let there be
no one dwell in it, and let another take his
office. So we see kind of a look back to what
happened to Judas. But Peter interprets Judas'
betrayal through the Psalms. He quotes Psalm
69 and Psalm 109. He shows us that Scripture
is not an ancient book gathering dust, but a
living word that speaks into the church's present.
Friends, that's why we spend time in the Old
Testament. There are churches among us that don't.
Wow, we're a New Testament church. I don't know
what that means. Because the Word of God is all
66 books. It is the Old Testament and the New
Testament, and we get to do that kind of interpretive
dance in and through them because the Lord is
not done speaking. Guess what? He will be one
day, and we'll all be with him, those of us in
Christ. The Belgian Confession, Article 7. We
believe that this Holy Scripture contains the
will of God completely. The disciples don't guess
their way forward. They search the word. So when
we're in meetings, And someone gives an idea,
a thought, and we can't kind of back it. And
I know this can get really, really tough because
there's no, we don't see the word projectors
in here, right? We don't see what color carpeting
to put in the church. We don't see what kind
of building projects we should or should not
do in here. Yet we can look at the word. We can
discern the word because God gives. That's why
a church isn't run by one person. God gives a
counsel. God gives elders and deacons to come
together. That's where there has to be trust.
And I know for some of you, you don't. Or if
you do, it's not a lot. Because of church hurt.
And for that, I am sorry on behalf of the church
that may have hurt you. And to be fair, it might
be legit hurt, or it might be because you didn't
get your way, so therefore you're hurt. And in
that, I say with all love and compassion, that's
a you issue, not necessarily a church issue.
Yet we like to conflate the two. and we like
to hold on to that. Oh, I like Munster Church,
but I can't stand Munster Church. That's a tension
you have to live with. I hope is you can give
that up, and you can give that to the Lord, because
in the book of Acts, we don't necessarily see
that. We see it in order. We see that God is
moving something forward. For us, when we ask,
what should Munster Church do? The first place
we look is the scriptures, not cultural trends.
We go to prayer. We go to discern. That if we're
a divided room about a decision, right, that
maybe it means we don't make that decision or
we have to just continue to go to God's word
and to pray, excuse me, to prayer more. But what
we're seeing is God instructing the leadership.
Friends, there's always been leaders in the church.
The disciples were the first ones. There was
always leaders. And I guarantee you, the leaders,
they were not called by popularity. They were
called by God to their giftings. And this, ooh,
this can be a black eye in our CRC churches at
times. That this easy sentence, leadership by
calling, not by popularity, really challenges
that status quo. I've been in the church all
my life. Therefore, I am called to be an elder.
Show me where that is in here. I am really good
with money, so therefore I ought to be a deacon.
That's only part of it. Well, all deacons need
to be young guys because they need to grow up
and then have more life experience to be an elder.
Not all the time. Deacons are junior elders.
That is unbiblical. This lays out for us how
we do what we do. And why we do what we do. Yet
in our cultures, in our many churches, and I'm
just going to use the Ileana area, many churches
in our seven mile radius sometimes fall into
the popularity. Or what is the last name? Or
what does that last name mean? Or what kind of
jobs do they do? And therefore, that makes a
good council. No, the Holy Spirit has to come
first. The way they run their house. The way
they live their life. That is part of the calling
of the leadership of the church. Men and women
called to different aspects and understandings
of how to run and how to lead churches. We have
our denominations that make the decisions. And
we are a denominational church. And if the denomination
continues to set their decisions scripturally,
we follow those. Just like submitting to the
government. We are to submit to the government
that is put above us as if the Lord is the one
that put them there. Oh, and I know a bunch of
you don't like that. But that is what the Word
says. That doesn't mean you always have to like
it. That doesn't mean you have to champion it.
But until we are called to actively sin, we are
called to submit. Oh, but we don't like that.
We don't like to submit because we're the center
of our own universe. But leadership is by calling,
not by popularity. Let's go to verse 21. So some
of the men who have accompanied us during all
the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out
among us, beginning from the baptism of John
until the day that he was taken up from us, one
of these men must become... One of these men
must become with us a witness to his resurrection.
And they put forward two. Joseph called, oh,
I can never say this. Barsabbas, thank you, who
was also called Justice, and Matthias. So right
away, we have a hole in our leadership. We've
got to fill the leadership. And we see lots,
right, being cast. We see an understanding of
we're putting names up, and one's going to get
pulled. It's one of the reasons why Munster Church
does lots. Because at the end of the day, nothing,
and I say this every summer, every time we do
this, no name's written on flypaper, no name's
written on different sized paper than the others,
and we believe that the Holy Spirit is the one
that is going to do the pulling. The apostles
knew they needed a 12th witness. Why? Because
that's what Jesus had set up. But they set qualifications.
What were the qualifications? They have a degree
in it. No. They have a lot of experience in it.
No. The church wasn't a thing yet, so no one,
you know, oh, we've got to pick a rabbi. No.
We've got to pick a Sadducee. No. We've got to
pick a Pharisee. No. There were two qualifications.
Someone who had walked with Jesus and could testify
to the resurrection. Man, as a pastor, I look
to that and go, that would be a lot easier for
due nominations if those were the two things
that we got to go by. But it's 2025, and we can't
do that. And so we go then, why do you think
Paul writes to Timothy about those qualifications?
Because they get to a point where all of those
people that walked physically with Jesus, that
physically saw him die, that physically saw him
raised, they're all dead. And those generations
have to continue. You see, leadership is not
about talent, wealth, or personality. It's about
faithful witness. So what does that look like
in 2025? Can you see the way of the Lord in this
individual? First and foremost. And we can go
to Timothy. We can go to Jude. We can go to Peter
to see what those qualifications are. We don't
have to come up with them ourselves. For this
upcoming year, I kind of put a 2025 version of
what Timothy and Jude and Peter are trying to
say. And the council is going to look to that.
Right? Because some of it is churchy language.
What does that look like in 2025 language? It's
the same, but it helps us understand to be able
to see faithful witness in people. Pause there.
The church continues because of the faithful
witness of its people. In 2025, it's not just
our elders and deacons, it's all of you. Faithful
witness. Belgian Confession, Article 31. Ministers
of the Word, elders, and deacons ought to be
chosen to their offices with election, prayer,
and in good order. That's why it's not a popularity
contest. It's not why we just put a bunch of
names on a sheet of paper and we throw darts
at it. We do it through prayer. It is a four
-month prayer process. And then when those individuals
are asked, they have to go through a time of
prayer on their own. I've said this before. I
always love, especially those that get the very
first call. Hey, so -and -so, it's Pastor Jim.
Hi. So your name came up, and we prayed through
it, and we would like you to keep your name up
for the office of either elder or deacon. Hello?
Hello? It's usually really quiet. Like, press
two if you're still there. You understand? Because
it's a wait. Instantly, they know a wait. Now,
there are some that go, absolutely, yes, I'll
do it. I go, whoa, tiger. Like, talk to your
spouse. Pray about it. Like, I appreciate that
you are excited. No one for the call of elder
has ever said, this is my destiny. If I ever
got that call, hey, so -and -so, your call to
keep your name up is elder. This is my destiny,
pastor. Click. That would scare me. But understand,
it's not about talent, wealth, or personality.
It's about being a faithful witness. The leaders
at Munster Church aren't CEOs and we're not politicians.
We're shepherds called by Christ, affirmed by
his people, rooted in God's word. Do we make
a mess of it? Friends, we do. We don't always
get it right. But any leadership team that I'm
going to be a part of, we also have to be humble
enough to say, wow, we messed that up. Wow, we
didn't get that right. We're sorry. A leadership
that can apologize has humbled themselves, not
exalted themselves for their people. Because
one of the things we're asking for everybody
is to trust one major thing, and that's God's
sovereignty. The church enacts the church today
should trust God's sovereignty. Verse 24. And
they prayed and said, You, Lord, who know the
hearts of all, show which ones of these two you
have chosen to take the place in this ministry
and the apostleship from which Judas turned aside
to go to his own place. And they cast lots for
them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was
numbered with the eleven apostles. The disciples
prayed, Lord, you know everyone's hearts. Show
us whom you have chosen. That's why the casting
of lots process to me is so, it's so weirdly
wonderful. Because if you remember, there's one
key piece here that we do here, not all churches
that do lots do, but I'm so thankful we do that,
is because after a four -month process, what
do we do? We offer the names to you, the body
of Christ at Munster Church. And I call it kind
of those weeks of accountability that if for
some reason one of you have legit biblical concerns
or issues or disqualifications that in a private,
confidential meeting, not anonymous email, anything
you write to us anonymous, it tends to just go
in the shredder because your yes is yes, your
no is no, put your name on it. But understand
that during those times, if someone comes and
has that, now there might be concerns. Okay,
we'll talk about those, right? But there needs
to be biblical disqualifications for those individuals.
And if that happens, right, then we have as a
council, that would be the elders, would come
together to make decisions about that. That person
would get asked. But you see, the apostles cast
lots, not as superstition, but as an act of surrender.
Lord, here are our names. Right? You remember
when we had to do that? You had Dan Blum, Dan
Arnsma, I had to get on a stool, right, and hold
that bowl up so they can pick those names. That
we had to... Offer that up as a surrender. The
outcome is always in God's hands. Why? Because
God is ultimate providence. Belgian Confession,
Article 13, reminds us, nothing happens in the
world without his orderly arrangement. Lord's
Day 1, not a hair can fall from my head without
the will of my Father, right? God's hand was
guiding then. Guess what? His hand is guiding
now. For us, when the future seems uncertain,
leadership, family life, work, We can say, Lord,
you know us. Lead us. In the coming weeks and
months, we are going to be sitting back in here
talking about a potential new building. And the
Lord's going to be, Lord, you lead us. Not, well,
I have an opinion because of this. I think the
rooms need to be this. That's all well and good,
and that can be brought. And we can discern that.
But as the body of Christ, it's funny. It's why
the CRC church is different than like your Presbyterian
churches. where the session has ultimate control.
There are four different reasons why the council
makes recommendations to the congregation in
the CRC church, because our polity is that. It's
the body. It's when you call a pastor. I didn't
just show up and start being your pastor. Y 'all
voted on me, so it's on you. Understand the calling
of the pastor, approving those for elder and
deacon, the annual budget. and any building projects.
That is in our church order, building projects.
Because the body needs to come together. Because
what could easily happen if it was just the 5,
8, 10, 15 elders or council that we have up on
our stoops not having a relationship? It could
go to their heads. It could go to our heads.
We could say, we have ultimate control. I don't
know why anyone would want that in a church.
That's way too awkward, weird, and hard. But
we have to trust in God's sovereignty. So when
the future feels uncertain, whether in church
leadership, family life, or work, we get to put
it to the Lord and say, Lord, lead us. Lead us
not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
It's part of the prayer God gave us, that Christ
gave us to connect with God. Because once you
understand God's sovereignty, you understand
Christ as cornerstone. Dick, what is the cornerstone
of a house? I mean, I know we don't really use
that term a whole lot anymore, but back then,
just help me out. What would that be? Okay, so
what we're doing in 2025, the cornerstone is
what kind of makes the house a house. Our buildings
aren't really built like that anymore. I believe
our cornerstone is in the front stoop on the
north side. You see it. It has the date. The
cornerstone, what back then is, there was kind
of one stone that was set and the rest of the
house off of it. That Christ is the cornerstone.
He's the one that is setting the rest of the
foundation. Notice how it's not me. You can look.
There's been a bunch of pastors here. None of
them were the cornerstones. Not the one that
stayed a year. Not the one that stayed 29 and
a half years. It's always been Christ. Christ
is the cornerstone. And if it's not the pastors,
if it's not the elders, if it's not the deacons,
I love you all. It's not you. It's not. It never
has been. And that's a good thing. Matthias was
chosen. Luke moves right on. The point isn't
how impressive Matthias was. The point is that
Christ is building on his church. He provides
the leaders it needs. The Belgian Confession,
Article 27, again, this holy church is preserved
by God against the rage of the whole world. Christ
is the firm foundation that will never fail.
Our confidence is not in who stands in the pulpit
or sits at the council table, but in the risen
Christ who reigns over the church. All right,
let's land the plane. So what does that mean
for us? What does that mean for Munster Church?
Well, here's five things. Make prayer our starting
place. Before we plan youth group nights, what
classes we're going to teach, our budgets, our
building projects, let's pray with one accord,
seeking God's leadership. And that's not a prayer
of, Lord, you know I'm against this, this, and
this, so please bless what I am against. That
is not a prayer to God. A prayer is emptying
yourself and saying, God, your will be done.
How can I say that with such confidence? Our
Lord did it in the Garden of Gethsemane. That,
to me, is much higher than what color the carpet
should be in a room. And we need to put it in
priority. Second, let scripture be our guide.
Article 7 of the Belgic reminds us that we all
need God's word. Are we aligning our ministry
with the gospel or with cultural trends? Third,
trust God with leadership. When we nominate elders
and deacons, it's not about who's popular. It's
about who shows Christ's faithfulness. This protects
us from building shifting ground and shifting
sand. We need to rest in God's providence. We
may not know the future of our church, the future
of our families, or even our health, but we know
the one who directs all things. And then finally,
we build on Christ, not ourselves. Let me say
that again. We build on Christ, not ourselves,
not our desires, not our wants, not our Christmas
lists of what our church should be for us. But
as we move forward in vision, our confidence
is not in what we can do, but it's the one who
said, I will build my church, and the gates of
hell shall not prevail against it. So as we do
this, and April, we're not going to go to that
next one. We're just going to go to the closing
prayer. We'll save that other part for next week.
But as we go forward as a church, as you start
hearing talk about vision, understand that it's
not just one person. This church for 155 years
has never been about one person. When this church
saw its heyday, right, whatever that looks like
in what we read in the history during World War
II under Johann Monsma or during the 70s, 80s,
90s of Reverend Buzine, it was never about them.
And to be fair, it was never about you or for
some of you, your grandparents, your great -grandparents,
your great -great -grandparents. Though I love
that that heritage and that lineage is in this
church. The church has never been about a last
name. It's been about one name, and that is our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So let's lean
into that. Where we disagree, let's have conversations,
right? Where there is tension, let us go to the
Lord in prayer. Because when we come together,
good things happen. The church, for what it is
for, not what it is against, is much stronger
in the world today. When Christ is our vision
and our foundation, friends, the church can weather
every storm. And we don't measure by the number
of seats on a Sunday morning or the number of
views online. Is that data we can use? Sure.
But if Christ is our vision and our foundation,
the church can weather every storm. Leaders may
come and go, as Acts tells us, but the foundation
is unshakable and the cornerstone stands firm.
Please stand if you are able. And let's close
in unison reading our closing prayer together.
Lord Jesus Christ, you are our vision and our
foundation. Gather us in your love. Guide us
by your word. Grow us by your spirit. And send
us to go in your name. Keep Munster Church firmly
rooted in you so that through every season we
may bear faithful witness to your resurrection
and reign. Be our wisdom, our strength, and our
song. In your name we pray. Amen.