Long Distance Relationships
Key Verse
“So they set up for themselves Micah’s graven image which he had made , all the time that the house of God was at Shiloh.”
There are two long distance relationships that we have looked at together this week. The first long distant relationship is found in Acts 11:19-25, and the other long distance relationship is referenced in Judges 18:27-31.
In Acts, we read that a group of Christians were scattered from Jerusalem because of the persecution related to Stephen. This community gripped tightly to the doctrine, vision and leadership of their home church in Jerusalem. They propagated the vision of the Church in Jerusalem by continuing to spread the gospel to the Jews and now the Gentiles to a distant city called Antioch. There are a lot of good lessons we can learn in this portion of scripture, but I would like to focus on the Antioch Christians and their relationship to the Church in Jerusalem. The Church in Antioch reached a different group of people, but their identity with the Church of Jerusalem still was valued. The Holy Spirit did a fantastic job in planting a Church from Jerusalem in Antioch. The Holy Spirit worked through Barnabas to encourage and strengthen this Church.
Here are some things we can learn through this relationship
1) The importance of a “Home” Church in our family’s lives. We need to be planted and trained in a “Home” Church. It is in the local Church that the spiritual side of our ministry training happens. Whether you are a teacher, engineer, sales rep, or a “stay-at-home-parent”, we need trained how to produce spiritual fruit in our areas of influence. Just like the Christians in Antioch were trained in Jerusalem on how to “preach the Lord Jesus” (Acts 11:20). We also, need to commit to be properly trained so that a large number of people will believe and turn to the Lord (Acts 11:21).
So, what do I do with this spiritual training? This is a big question that is summed up well by a quote from Christian author and leadership expert John Maxwell:
When we help people get in the right circumstances to maximize their God-given talent, provide them whatever tools and support they need to be successful, make certain there is a clear understanding of expectations, share with them honest and open feedback, and finally allow them to be accountable and responsible for their own destiny…only then will we have led people successfully.
2) After reading the above quote you might be a little overwhelmed on how to accomplish this task (I was when I first read that quote). The good news is that The Holy Spirit is there is encourage us to remain true to the vision that we have received from the Lord via Local Church. It is interesting to see that the Greek word for encourage (Parakaleo) found in Acts 11:23 is the same Greek word used for the Holy Spirit.”But the Helper (Greek word: Parakletos), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. (John 14:26). As we become immersed in the Holy Spirit, He will come along side of us and empower us to get the job done.
The long distance relationship in Judges 18:27-31 is the polar opposite of the relationship between the Church in Antioch and the Church of Jerusalem. The relationship mentioned in Judges 18:27-31 is a relationship with the Tribe of Dan and Shiloh. Shiloh was the place where the ark of the covenant was kept during this time period. In other words, Shiloh was the Church. The tribe of Dan lived in the northern extremity in geographical relation to Shiloh. “They called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father who was born in Israel; however, the name of the city formerly was Laish (Judges 18:29).” The people of Dan did not identify themselves with the “Church”. Judges 18:31 explains what the result was of Dan’s relationship with Shiloh – “So they set up for themselves Micah’s graven image which he had made , all the time that the house of God was at Shiloh.”
We need to identify with a local Church so that we can be trained as spiritual leaders in our different callings in life. The Holy Spirit is there to helps us become the spiritual leaders that we need to be. If we do not identify with a local Church, we will not become properly trained and as a result we will be leading people with our own ideas and wisdom. Our leadership ideas and wisdom is as valuable as Micha’s graven images.
Karen Mack on April 4th, 2009
Thank you for reminding us that Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit to come along side to strengthen and help us. It was necessary for Jesus to return to the Father to send the Spirit of Promise to take Jesus’ place. In order to birth the Church Jesus needed seasoned leaders and the Holy Spirit to lead and guide the leaders to birth the household of Faith. The Holy Spirit was also needed to equip the early believers.