We are starting a new series asking what does it look like to be the church? The number one googled phrase when looking for a church is “church near me”. In this ongoing series we learn more about what kind of church we ought to be so that people find a good church near therm in Manchester.

We’ll take the next 4 weeks looking at these questions through the lens of one chapter in the Bible: 2 Corinthians 4. This chapter gives us a picture of what it looks like to have Jesus in our life. You can check out this message and others on our Church Near Me series page.

We are remade for a purpose

In verse 1, we learn that we have been given a ministry through God’s mercy. The Father send the Son and the Father and the Son send the Spirit out of mercy. God saw people who needed a purpose and showed His mercy by giving it to us as a gift. Paul, the author, even goes so far as to use the creation of the world as a metaphor for how our own hearts were recreated. Alongside us being remade, we are told we’re remade for a purpose: we have a ministry. Everyone!

This ministry that we all have is something as simple as our words and actions. With our words there are things we don’t do (like distort the Bible) and things we do (preach Jesus). With our actions there are things we don’t do (live in deceptive ways, hide in shame) and things we do (serve everyone regardless of their background). This is one reason why Jesus has remade us: for His purpose through us.

There is a battle

In this ministry of ours, though, there is a battle. Not everyone will be happy or enjoy or come along with what we’re about. There is a spiritual battle afoot: the god of this age has blinded people, is continuing an unjust system where people are missing out on the most of life.

This is a spiritual battle, so we fight with spiritual weapons. We don’t fight for ourselves, we fight for the Lord. And it is Him at work that we must rely on. We also have the internal battle of acting as servants instead of anything more than that. This is difficult for us because we’d rather be kings and queens.

In this battle we must take up prayer, we must bring ourselves to the Word, then and only then will we be prepared for the role God has for us to play in this fight.

We don’t lost heart

Now if that sounds too unattainable, always remember that Jesus hasn’t left us alone. He is with us and He leads us. And because it’s God Himself who is in control, we don’t lose heart. Since this ministry comes from God and His mercy, we don’t live controlled by despair or discouragement. If this was our battle and we had to create our own purpose, we would lose heart. But it’s not ours, it’s His.

When we realise that the same God who said let there be light in the beginning, is the same one who said let there be light within us, we don’t lose heart. That same God made His light shine in our hearts, and it continues to shine; through its shining we get to know the glory of God.

It’s that God who has remade us. That God who has given us a purpose. That God who has commissioned us for a battle and who gives us all we need as we fight. That God that continually works in us to be more like the Servant instead of a wannabe queen or king.

The Father, the Son, and the Spirit all work together to make this a reality. The Father sent the Son to take on our sin and give us new life. This light can shine in us because Jesus died and rose again to make it happen. This is what salvation is.

The Trinity at Work

The Father and the Son send the Spirit…to us! The Spirit gives us what we need in order to rely on God. He gives us the ability to act as servants. He gives us the words to say. This is what salvation is.

And if we don’t say these words, nobody will ever know. There is an enemy out there, blinding people to the goodness of God. You are enlisted in this fight, but not by yourself.

We have this ministry. You don’t. We do. You will lose heart if you try and go alone. And the “we” isn’t just a collection of humans. It’s God in our midst. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit all at work in this church called Redeemer in Manchester.

What are people searching for when searching for a church? We can’t be sure, but I hope this is what they will find: the Trinitarian God remaking people, mercifully giving out a new purpose, calling us to something more, keeping us so that we don’t lose heart.