Greg Laurie - Why You Need the Church and the Church Needs You! (11/19/2017)
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In this message from the series "What Every Growing Christian Needs to Know," Pastor Greg Laurie stresses that active involvement in the church is essential for spiritual growth. Drawing from Acts 2:42-47, he shows the early church as a model of worship, evangelism, learning, and love, explaining why believers need the church for encouragement and accountability while the church needs every member's gifts and service. The sermon concludes with a call to commit or recommit to Christ.
Why Every Growing Christian Needs the Church
Well, let's grab our Bibles now, and we're in a series that we're calling "What Every Growing Christian Needs to Know". And the title of my message is, "Why You Need the Church, and the Church Needs You". And why don't we begin with a prayer.
Father, as we open Your Word, we ask for Your blessing, that we would understand how wonderful the church is. Your bride that we are a part of. Your bride that You love. And so, Lord, as we look at what You say about our role in this amazing fellowship and family You've put together on this earth, the only organization You ever really started when You walked this earth, Jesus, help us to get the most out of church as we bring the most to church. So speak to us from Your Word. We would ask now in Jesus' name. Amen.
Okay. Quick poll. How many of you are Christians? Raise your hand if you're a Christian. Okay. It looks like most of you. How many of you now are growing Christians? You're a growing Christian. I hope all of you still raise your hand. Because here's a radical, but I believe an accurate thought. If you are not growing as a Christian, if you are not advancing in your faith, that will begin the process of you going backwards. Because the Christian life is one of advancing or retreating. It's a life of getting stronger or getting weaker.
The Danger of Spiritual Stagnation
I read a story in the paper a while back about a trainer, a person who helps other people get into shape. And this guy was super buff and, you know, amazing physique and all that. And so he worked with a lot of clients that were very overweight. And it was hard for him to relate to excessively overweight people because this guy didn't have an ounce of fat on him. So he decided as an experiment he was going to go and gain 70 pounds to see what it was like to be an overweight person.
So he went on this crazy diet. He intentionally ate only fattening food. He stopped exercising altogether. So he was eating corn dogs and donuts. And for breakfast he had Captain Crunch cereal. For snacks he had banana bread for dinner. Chicken Alfredo pasta and so forth. And he said at first it was exhilarating to eat this way. He loved it. And there was no discernible difference. His physique remained even though he wasn't exercising. Even though he was eating the wrong foods.
But then reality kicked in. He said the first thing to go were his abs. Then the rest. Soon he was craving the bad food. And he was wondering if he could ever get that weight off. His blood pressure went up. He was tired all the time. He grew lethargic and depressed. And I think he eventually did lose that weight. I am not sure.
But to me this is a perfect picture of the slow but certain process of backsliding. You know you don't backslide overnight. You don't call up your Christian friends and say, hey dude want to backslide tomorrow night? You know. There might be some idiot that has done that but generally it doesn't happen. It is a process. It is a slow but sure process where I stop doing that which will help me. And I start doing that which will hurt me. Just like this trainer did.
And then you start finding that this world is becoming more appealing to you. And the things of God are becoming less appealing to you. So you have to ask yourself the question, am I going to be a growing Christian or am I going to go backward?
If you go backward I am going to tell you what is going to happen. Proverbs 14:14 says the backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways. And a good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways. So whatever path you choose you will be filled with that fruit. Right? The Bible says be not deceived. God is not mocked whatsoever a man sows. That shall he reap. If you sow to the flesh you will reap corruption. And if you sow to the Spirit you will reap life everlasting.
Foundations for Spiritual Growth
So this series is how we can be growing Christians. It is called What Every Growing Christian Needs to Know. Let's review what we have already seen together. Number one, if you want to be a growing Christian, a successful believer, you must read, study, and love the Word of God. Let me repeat that again. You must read, study, and love the Word of God.
Joshua 1:8 says, This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth. You shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do all that is written in it. Then you will have good success. Listen to this. A Bible that is falling apart is an indication of a life that isn't. So you show me a well-worn Bible all marked up and I will show you a believer that is probably spending time in God's Word.
Consider this. Success or failure in the Christian life depends on how much of God's Word you get into your life on a regular basis and how obedient you are to it. Let me repeat that. Success or failure in the Christian life depends on how much of God's Word you get into your life on a regular basis and how obedient you are to it.
Number two, we discovered that if you want to be a successful and growing Christian you must have a prayer life. The Bible says that we are to pray without ceasing. For this is God's will in Christ concerning us. And by the way when the Bible says pray without ceasing that doesn't mean that you no longer work and you no longer eat and you just go into a room and turn off the lights and pray all day long.
The fact is that you can pray while you are on your knees with your eyes closed. You can pray walking down the street. You can go on a prayer walk if you like. You can pray driving your car. Just keep your eyes open. You can pray by the way with your eyes open. You can pray silently. When you are talking with someone you can be having that internal conversation with God.
I love the story of the prophet Elijah. How we read that he went boldly into the court of Ahab who was the most wicked king in the history of Israel up to that point. And Elijah said, as the Lord God lives before whom I stand. Then he went on to tell the king it wasn't going to rain for quite a long time. But I love that he said, the Lord God in whose presence I stand. Elijah recognized that he was always in God's presence.
And listen. If you kneel before God you can stand before any man.
The Essential Role of Church Involvement
Okay. Principle number three. And this is what we are going to focus on in this message. To be a successful and growing Christian you need to be actively involved in the church. If you want to be a growing Christian you have to be actively involved in the church.
Now some say, well I don't need church to get close to God. You know I feel close to God when I am golfing. Or when I am surfing. Or when I am hiking. And I will read a couple of verses. And I will say a little prayer. And that is my church. I believe in the cathedral of nature. And I don't need to go into some building with people in an organized kind of a way.
But actually you are really missing the point here. Now I encourage you when you are out golfing or hiking or surfing to pray. You that are surfing especially pray if a great white is approaching. I did hear about a guy who was out surfing and a great white was approaching. Closing in for the kill. He knew because the music was playing. Dun dun dun dun dun dun dun.
So this guy couldn't get to shore. He knew he was dead. So he prayed. As any clear thinking person would. He said, Oh God help me. God save me. At least I pray Lord that it is a Christian shark. Are there Christian sharks? Meanwhile the shark is closing in. He is getting ready to bite this guy. And the shark says, Lord for this meal that I am about to receive I give you thanks. That is a true story. Not really.
So pray when you are out and about. But don't miss this point. You need to be in the church. And when I say the church I don't mean a building per se. But you need to be in a regular place where God's people are gathering together for worship, teaching, and all the other wonderful things that the church does.
You need the church. And the church needs you. And the Bible actually commands us to be a part of the church. To be a functioning part of the church. Hebrews 10:24 says, Let's consider one another in order to stir up love and good works. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some. But rather exhorting one another and so much more as the day of the Lord is approaching.
A more modern translation puts that verse this way. Let's see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out. Not avoiding worshiping together as some do. But spurring each other on especially as we see the big day approaching.
You know some will say, Well I love Jesus. I just don't love Christians. That is such an inane statement. Listen. How can you love God who you can't see when you can't love His people who you can see? No. If you love Jesus you will love His people.
In fact we are told in 1 John 3:14, We know that we pass from death to life because we love our brothers. And anyone who does not remains in death.
So God gives us a love for the people that are part of the church. And frankly not going to church is proof something is wrong with you spiritually. Because 1 John 2:19 says, These people left our churches because they never really belonged with us. Otherwise they would have stayed with us when they left us. They proved they don't belong with us. You see?
So when you leave and never come back then that just shows there is something wrong with you in your spiritual life. The closer you are to God the closer you will want to be with His people. The further you are from God the further you will want to distance yourself from His people.
So here is kind of a way to measure your life up right now. What do you look forward to more? Being at church with fellow brothers and sisters or hanging out with a bunch of non-believers. You know, if you find yourself uncomfortable with the Christians and maybe there is something wrong with you spiritually. You see?
So every Christian should be a part of the church.
The Church Is Not a Spectator Event
I think the problem is we sort of treat the church like, well, a restaurant or a theater. You know? We go in and we order our food in the restaurant. We eat our food and we leave. Or maybe the theater is even a better illustration.
Because nowadays they have these really fancy theaters. I went to one recently that you can eat in the theater. It is okay. Gone are the days. So you must smuggle your food in. Because you don't want to pay $100 for a crummy hot dog. How many of you have ever smuggled food into a theater? You know? Snuck in water bottles. I have. Because I don't want to pay $10 for a bottle of water. Okay.
So we take our stuff in. Now they have these theaters where there is a little table you can swing in front of you. And the chair will even recline. You have to pay a little more now for this. And then they will actually come up and bring the food to you. And this seems like a great thing. But you know when you are in a theater and you are watching someone have a five course meal it is a little distracting. You know.
But they are checking their texts in the theater. That is very distracting. Please don't do that. But you know the idea is well you know how long the trailers roll. You know they say the film starts at 7. But you know it really starts at around 7.18. Because all those trailers are going to roll for the film.
So you know even if you get there late you will still be able to see your what do we call it. Film. It is hard for me to come up with that. It is the film. Yes. You will see the film. And then you know if you are like me. And I have to admit I do this. That at the end I leave. I am out of there. Because I don't want to deal with traffic. And so when the credits are rolling I don't care about the credits. And I walk right out of the theater.
And my wife always wants to stay for the credits until the lights come up. And I want to go. You know. So a lot of times I bolt out and I wait for her to come. Because I am not going anywhere without her.
So. Now we can take that same mentality and come to church with it. Oh yeah. Well we don't have to get there on time. You know. They are playing the trailers. I mean the worship is happening. So we come in late for worship. And then as the service is coming to an end. Well let's leave now.
Even worse. People will get up and walk out. This drives me crazy. You want to know what drives me crazy as your pastor. I am going to tell you right now. If you want to get on my bad side. Do this. Get up and walk out when people are walking forward to accept Christ. That really bugs me. Okay.
And I will tell you why. That to me is so rude. I mean here is a person walking down an aisle to put their faith in Christ. And they have to go around you because you want to beat traffic. I mean could you be any more insensitive if you even tried? Instead of leaving early you should be praying for that person. Because imagine if that was someone you brought to church.
So. I will get off my soap box. But look. Church is not a movie theater. Church is a family. Church is a gathering of the people of God.
Avoiding the Consumer Mentality in Church
And sometimes people will sort of have a consumer mentality when it comes to church. Well you know I really like the children's program over here. But I really love the worship at this other church. The teaching in this one is good. The worship is kind of weak. But I really love the facilities over here. And so we sort of pick and choose our churches according to our tastes or our likes or our dislikes.
Here is a little news flash for you. The church is not all about you. And when we figure that out church is going to be a whole lot better for us. Well if you stop walking in saying what are you going to do for me? How are you going to serve me? There is a place for that. And we are here to serve you.
But you will know that you are entering into a state of spiritual maturity when you come in saying I don't want to be the person who is served. I want to be the person who serves. I want to be one of the people who helps.
Listen. When you go to church. Come to church I should say. And you take your children up to the Sunday school rooms. And you see those people in there. Those people aren't paid for that. Those people do that voluntarily. They are people just like you. They have jobs. They have responsibilities. But they have taken time out to minister to your children.
When you pull into our parking lot especially in this hot weather we have been having. You see someone standing out there in the blazing sun. That is not their job. They are a volunteer. They are doing that because they have chosen to do that.
And then when you see people come forward and make a commitment to Christ and you see those counselors waiting for them. These are just folks from our church who have volunteered their time. These are people that have simply discovered the joy of serving.
And I want you all to discover that. I want you all to discover that. And here is why. Because it will make your whole church experience so much richer and deeper.
The Purpose of the Church: Upward, Inward, Outward
Why does the church exist? The church exists for three reasons. The glorification of God. The edification of the saints. And the evangelization of the world. Again, the church is here for the glorification of God. We are here to bring honor and glory to the Lord. As a church and as individuals.
For the edification of the saints. We are here to build up one another. Encourage one another. And then finally we are here for the evangelization of the world.
Here is a simpler way to remember it. Upward. Inward. Outward. See. So we want to be a part of that. You need the church. And the church needs you.
The church is an oasis of hope. And a desert of hopelessness. I will tell you when the Lord called our son Christopher home to heaven seven years ago. It happened on a Thursday. And to say we were devastated is the understatement of the century. I mean how do you process something like this? You never prepare for it mentally or in any other way.
And as we went through that horrible process of the initial shock and the rest. You know the weekend came. And it was Sunday. And so we thought well what are we going to do? Well what else are we going to do? We are going to church.
I asked a friend to speak for me that day. And there wasn't any place I wanted to be but church. People said to us oh you are so strong in your faith to be at church. We were so surprised to see you at church this Sunday after your son died. So strong. What are you talking about? I was there because I was so weak. Because I need the church. I need the Word of God. I need to worship the Lord.
I am not someone that is above that just because I preach or teach. On that day I was a grieving father missing a son. And I needed a biblical perspective. And I needed to bring honor to the Lord. So. we all need it.
I mean think about the role the church has probably played in your life over the years. When a loved one died. Perhaps a grandparent. A spouse. Even a child. Where did you turn? You probably turned to the church.
The hospital tried to do what they could do. But pretty much they want their bed free. And make sure you pay your bills. The funeral home will offer their condolences. And of course give you the bill for their services as well. But where did you find help? You probably found it at church.
When your spouse walked out on you. Blindsided you. You didn't know what to do. Where did you find help? Probably at the church with your Christian friends. What about when you were having problems with your kids? Where did you seek help? Probably down at the church. And you probably thank God for that youth pastor that took an interest in your child.
Hey remember when you desperately needed direction in life? Where did you find it? Perhaps sitting in church. Hearing a message. And God just started to speak directly to you.
Where did you find your mate? Oh I think there is a good chance you found them at church. And if you didn't this is the best place to look.
That is why I always say how many of you are single? And I will do it again because I love to embarrass single people. It is really one of my joys in life. I like to try to be matchmaker. My wife tells me to stop it. But you know I have been successful two times. And these people have been married for like over 25 years.
And so I love to put single people in awkward situations. I did this recently. I saw two single people. And they were just talking. They didn't really know each other. And I said, you guys have met, right? I said, you should take her out on a date and I will pay for it. Now they are under pressure. It usually doesn't work.
But look here is my point. What better place to meet that girl, that guy, than in the church? You know I met my wife at church. And I actually saw her for the first time when I was preaching. Now don't get the wrong idea. I am not scoping chicks while I am preaching. Certainly not now. But even then I wasn't.
But I did notice her. She had a little halo over her head. You know she was there with her two sisters. And so we went out for coffee afterwards. And then we went out for coffee again. And you know, going out after church and get dessert, whatever. And then after a couple of times I said, let's go out again. And she said, let me get my sisters. I said, don't so much want the sisters. And she started getting the idea that I was interested in her.
But this is the place to do it. But sadly many times we, you know we get what we need from the church. We get married in the church or have a loved one buried in the church. But once you get what we need, well we just move on and forget about it.
It has been said people go to church three times in their life. When they are hatched. When they are matched. And when they are dispatched. The first time they throw water. The second time they throw rice. The third time they throw dirt. That is sad. Because you know what? Let the church be a part of your life.
There is even some physical benefits, I have to tell you. I read an interesting article a while back from Time Magazine. The title was, Benefits of Faith and the Church. And some of their observations included the following. Heart surgery patients who draw comfort from their religious faith have a significantly higher survival rate than those that do not.
They also noted that blood pressure of people who attend church is much lower than those who don't. Isn't that interesting? Thirdly, people with faith who attend church on a regular basis experience less depression than non-church attenders. How about this one? Suicide is four times higher among non-church goers than church goers.
So be a part of the church. It is good for your health. Both physically and spiritually.
The Model Church in Acts 2
Alright, well, let's turn over now to Acts chapter 2. And we are going to look at what God says about the church and the purpose of it. Excuse me. I guess I am not so healthy right now. How do you choke drinking water? You ever do that? I just did it. Ah, that worked that time.
Let me say one thing before we get to Acts 2. Because Acts 2 is a description of the church of the first century. This is the church that changed their world. It was said of them, not as a compliment I might add, that they turned their world upside down.
So we need to go back to this church for our example. To see how to do church right. Because you know, some churches, they don't have growth problems. Some churches have parking problems and other churches don't. Some churches have kids running around making a lot of noise. And other churches tend to be very quiet.
Some churches have more expenses than money. And other churches don't need to spend much money. Some churches are growing so fast, you don't always know everyone's name. But in other churches, everyone has known everyone's name for years.
Some churches are planning for the future. Some churches are living in the past. Okay? So when you come to our church, And you have to wait to get a parking space or you have a hard time getting into this room or whatever. Thank God that's a sign of spiritual health. Those are good signs that we should rejoice over.
So now let's look at that church that turned the world upside down. Here's what they did. Acts 2:42-47. You'll notice as you walk around here that we have this scripture emblazoned on our wall. This is sort of our theme scripture for our ministry.
It says of those first century believers. This is after the day of Pentecost had happened and 3,000 people believed. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship. And the breaking of bread and prayers. And fear came upon every soul and many signs and wonders were done to the apostles.
Now all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they sold their possessions and goods and divided them among all as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those that were being saved.
We'll stop there. This church was healthy. In fact, you could sum it up in this acronym, WELL. They were well. W-E-L-L. W for they were a worshiping church. E for they were an evangelistic church. L number one, they were a learning church. And L number two, they were a loving church.
They were well, worshiping, evangelistic, learning, and loving.
A Worshiping Church
Let's start with that first principle. Number one, they were a worshiping church. Look at verse 47. Praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those that were being saved.
You know, something wonderful happens when God's people come together for corporate worship. It's just amazing. The world doesn't have anything like it. I remember years ago I went to a Paul McCartney concert. And he was in a band called The Beatles, by the way, in case you've never heard of them. And so he had his big song, Let It Be, you know, and everybody knew it.
And people pulled out their cell phones and such. And they were swaying back and forth and singing, Let It Be, Let It Be. And it almost took on a religious tone. Like, it was almost like secular worship, you know, except they were worshiping a beetle instead of God. Or maybe worshiping their past. Or whatever it is they were thinking about.
But I thought, this is as close as the culture gets to worship. We're singing a song together. We know the lyrics of the song. But it's different when God's people gather. Yeah, we're singing a song and we know the lyrics. But the Bible says, God inhabits the praises of His people.
Haven't you sensed the Lord's presence during worship? It's a wonderful time. That's why I said, you should not be late for church. Because worship is not a warm-up act. It's prayer set to song. Now why would I be late for a time of prayer?
And we're told in Scripture that we should be worshiping the Lord. Psalm 106 says, Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. And His mercy endures forever.
From Genesis to Revelation, our faith is one of worship and song. There's no faith on the face of the earth that has music like the Christian faith. I mean, you can look at all these other religions and check out their music if you like. They just don't have that much to sing about.
But the great songs come from the Christian faith. And not just songs that we've sung in the past, but new ones that are being written all the time because our faith is vibrant and it's living. And we're singing on earth and one day we'll be singing in heaven.
Revelation 15 gives us this picture of our future when John says, I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast, that would be the Antichrist, and His image and over the number of His name. They held harps given to them by God.
So we will have harps in heaven. Maybe they'll be electrified though. I don't know. And they sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb. Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages.
You'll be singing in heaven. And by the way, we'll all have good voices in heaven. You know, don't you wish you had a great voice? A funny thing is sometimes people with the worst voices think they have great voices. But God bless them, they sing with passion. And you can hear them off key and everything, but I'd rather see someone sing off key loudly than a person who doesn't sing at all.
And you know, when it's all said and done, God doesn't care what your pitch is, or if you're on key, He looks at your heart. And if your heart's engaged, then that is honoring to the Lord.
We should all participate in worship. That's why we put lyrics on the screen so you can sing along with us, so you can engage and be a part of it.
And you know, there are times we don't feel like worshiping, right? You're just not in the mood. And that's why Hebrews 13:15 says, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.
You know, it's one thing to praise God when the sky is blue and the birds are singing and the lights are green. It's another thing to praise God when all hell is broken loose, or when darkness has come down in your life, or you're facing a tragedy.
What did Job do after he found out that he had lost his possessions, his livelihood, and worst of all, his children in a series of calamities? We read, when Job heard these things, he worshiped. And said, blessed be the name of the Lord. Naked I came into this world. Naked I will go out. See, that's just worship. It's like, what else can I do? God, help.
But sometimes it's a sacrifice of praise. The Bible does not say that we should give thanks to the Lord when we feel good, but we should give thanks to the Lord because He is good. And He always deserves our praise.
Here's something maybe you've not thought about. Worship can be a witness. Your worship can actually be a form of evangelism. Look at verse 47 again. Praising God, having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those that were being saved.
There was a connection between their worship and their witness. Here's a good example. Remember when Paul and Silas were thrown into prison for preaching the gospel? And what do we read? We read, at midnight, Paul and Silas sang praises to God. They were in a dungeon. Worst conditions imaginable. And they started singing. I don't know if they were like harmonizing or what, you know, but they were singing.
And the Bible says the other prisoners were listening. And that word in the original language would be listening with pleasure. Oh, that's wonderful. See, here they were in this horrible hellhole and they were giving praise to God and all the other prisoners paid attention.
Well, an earthquake came. The walls collapsed. And the jailer, who had cruelly treated Paul and Silas, whipping them and worse, was ready to kill himself because in those days if a Roman guard lost his prisoners he'd be put to death. He was ready to kill himself.
And Paul said, Don't kill yourself. We're still here. And the next words out of the jailer's mouth show the connection between worship and witness. He said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
You see, when you go through a hard time, when you go through suffering, and your faith remains intact, non-believers pay attention to that and it's a powerful witness to a watching world.
Let me tell you something else. When a non-believer comes into our place here and joins us, they're checking things out. Do you remember the first time you came to church before you were a Christian? They're checking everything out. And they're not looking for good things all the time, by the way. They're looking for things that they can complain about so they can write all of this off.
And they're not just looking at me up here or our worship team. They're looking at you. In fact, when we're up here worshiping or the team's leading us in worship and you're checking your text or you're doing something else, they're looking at you and I guess this isn't that important to them. Or you are jabbering. Or you are doing something else.
See, you are a witness out there as much as anyone who is standing on the platform is a witness. People are watching. Is this real? Is this authentic? Are these people for real? Or are they crazy? I mean that is what I thought when I first encountered Christians. I thought they were nuts. But they intrigued me at the same time.
Because I had never seen anyone like them. And I had to admit that some of them used to be my friends from the old days. And they had changed dramatically. And I was drawn to what they were doing. And eventually I gave my life to Christ.
And so worship is a wonderful way to get things in perspective. Remember we talked about prayer last time. And Jesus and the Lord's Prayer, which is really a template for all prayer, taught us to pray. After this manner, therefore pray. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil or the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
But it starts with an acknowledgement of the greatness of God. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done. You know, if you start your prayer thinking about the greatness of God, it will bring everything into perspective.
And in the same way, when you have a big problem and you are grappling with it and you are trying to figure out something, sometimes when you come into church with God's people worshiping, all of a sudden you get a perspective you did not have before. You understand what I am saying?
In fact, Asaph talks about this when he was grappling with the question, why do the wicked prosper? Then it dawned on him. He got perspective, worshiping with God's people in God's house. And he says in Psalm 73:16, When I tried to understand it all, it was oppressive to me until I entered the sanctuary of the Lord, and then I understood.
So thinking about it in God's presence, contemplating the greatness of God helps me see things as they should be seen.
An Evangelistic Church
Number two, they were an evangelistic church. That is E in our acronym of well worshiping and evangelistic. There was a constant flow of new believers coming into the church.
You show me a church that does not have new believers coming in and I will show you a stagnating church. Why? Because new believers are the lifeblood of the church. So if we are not evangelizing, we will soon be fossilizing.
That is why we should always be bringing out our friends and our neighbors and our loved ones and co-workers to church and pray that they will come to Christ. Because I think you know me well enough to know, and other pastors here, that after a message is done, I am usually going to give an opportunity for people to come to Christ.
Even if it wasn't what we might call an evangelistic message, we are going to give that opportunity and people respond. But they are not going to get here unless you bring them here.
A Learning Church
Okay so now, L number one, they were a learning church. So they were worshiping, they were evangelizing, and they were learning.
They were learning. Now this is important because some people will say, well I don't need to go to church to hear a Bible study, and I just like to watch church online. And I listen to Christian radio, and I watch Christian television, and I read Christian books, and I don't really think I need to be in church.
Well listen, you know, I am glad you use those tools. Of course we have our Christian radio program, A New Beginning. We have a TV program. And then we have devotions we put out every day. We have a little thing called the Harvest app, that you can download for your iOS device, your iPhone, or an Android device. You can put it on a tablet, and it's just chock full of spiritual information. And you can watch messages on demand. When we have our services, it goes live out on the Harvest app. And a lot of people use it, and that's fantastic.
In fact, I just received a letter today. This kind of pulls some of these loose ends together. Kind of gives you a sense of how God can use these things. It says, Hi Pastor Greg, I'm writing you because you said you wanted to hear from us on your radio broadcast, A New Beginning. I'm a correctional officer for the state of Washington, and I want to thank you for all you do.
I gave myself to the Lord at a young age and was devoted to the Lord for some time. However, my parents got divorced. My dad moved away. I started to hang out with the wrong crowd, etc. I'm sure you've heard this story many times. And I had been without God for a long time. I was becoming a very angry and bitter person. The smallest things would set my temper off. And I couldn't figure out what was wrong.
Well anyway, we live so far from work and we have a carpool Van that a bunch of guys use to carpool together for the hour drive that we do every day to and from work. And there happened to be a few Christians I work with and ride with. And we would talk a little bit about Jesus. And what I didn't realize was Jesus was calling me back to Him.
A few months back during our hour long Van ride we started listening to our local Christian radio station. And I enjoyed the Christian music. And then we listened to the message that we are playing during our drive. And one of those is you. And we listened over and over. And from listening to that message it brought me and several of us back to Christ.
We listen every night. I've even downloaded the Harvest app on my phone. And we listen to your extended messages that I'm able to download and listen to from my phone. One of the guys invited me to his church. And now several of us even belong to the same church. And we go every Sunday.
Everything around me, everyone around me notices the change in me. And I've got to tell you it feels so amazing to be walking with the Lord Jesus again. Praise God. Isn't that a great story?
So we are thankful for that technology that got to that guy. But the best thing about that letter is here is a guy who has fallen away. He discovers it. He gets around believers that are on fire for the Lord. It shows him something is wrong in his life. He hears our show and commits his life to Christ. But best of all he is in the church.
See that is kind of my point. Those things are fine to help you. But you have got to be in the church. It makes such a difference.
The Importance of In-Person Bible Teaching
And this brings us to point number three. They were a learning church. They were learning. And listen every time we have a service here. I was going to tell you. We are going to have a Bible study. Now next Thursday night is a rare exception. We are going to show a movie. But that is a rare exception.
We will have worship. We will have a guest artist occasionally. But then we are going to open the Bible. Because that is our focus. We offer theology without apology. Really what else could I do for you? I mean who cares about my stupid opinions on anything? And my jokes are the lamest ever. What do I have to say? Really nothing. Nothing that is more important. Nothing that would be more important than any other person.
That is why we open up the Word of God. Because we care about what this has to say. And we want it to become a part of the woof and warp of our life. And I don't even know what woof and warp are. But I want the Bible there.
Our mission statement at Harvest is knowing Him and making Him known. And that first century church continued in the Apostles' Doctrine. There is a trend in some churches today where they are moving away from Bible exposition. They have all kinds of things going on. It might be drama. It might be skits. It might be some other thing.
I have even heard of churches. They have dance. You know whatever. I am not here to criticize all those things in their place I suppose. Though you would never want to see me dance. I have no rhythm whatsoever.
But. I think the thing is I want to come to church and hear the Word of God. And I think when a church is not doing that they are missing the purpose that God has put them on this earth for.
And you look at that early church and they were into God's Word. Verse 42. Look at it. They continued steadfastly in the Apostles' Doctrine. Underline those two words. Continued steadfastly. Those words mean they did it with a real passion. There was a passion. There was an excitement.
I think we need more anointed preaching today. Don't you think? More anointed preaching. But I also think we need more anointed listening. More anointed listening.
You know it is very easy to dismiss the preacher. Oh he is boring tonight. Got a good nap though. Okay. I mean there are boring preachers. I will admit that. And there are some preachers I mean listening to them speak is like watching paint dry. All right. I know.
But then there are times when you know it is really not the fault of the preacher. It is your fault. Or it is my fault. Because I am not really paying attention.
1 Peter 2 says like newborn babies you should crave and desire spiritual milk. You crave it. You come to hear the word of God.
Let me put it another way. It is attention with intention. Remember I was on a flight a number of years ago from Miami. I had just spoken there. And I was coming back. And so the flight attendants going over the whole you know the routine they go through. Should we have a water landing you know under your seat as a life vest that you can pull. And there is this little whistle and a tiny little light. And you can use your seat as a flotation device.
And we are all thinking phew. No way would I survive with that stuff anyway. And so you are watching them and they you know they go you don't pay attention. Most people flip through a magazine or they are sending last minute texts.
So the flight attendant did their thing. And I was not paying attention for the most part. I just know oh there is the exit there. There is the exit there. That is all I need to know.
Well then we are flying for a while. And we are about 40 minutes outside of LA. And the flight the voice of the captain comes on the intercom. Ladies and gentlemen we are having some engine difficulties. And you are thinking this isn't happening. It was happening.
And we don't know if one of our engines is going to keep working. So we are going to go through again. I forget the verbage you used. But you know go through what you need to know in case of an emergency landing.
This time I listened. Oh I listened to every word. I memorized it. Because they were telling us we may have a crash landing and we need to reach down and grab our knees and say goodbye to life most likely.
So a flight attendant came up to me and said will you help me open the emergency door. I said yeah I'll help you. And he is telling me how to do it. You know well thankfully the engine worked and we landed fine.
But my point is you listen differently when your life depends on it. You should listen to the Word of God as though your life depends on it. Because it does. Do you realize that? Your life depends on it. Not only your afterlife. You want to make sure you are right with God and you know you are going to heaven because you put your faith in Christ.
But then just life in general life before you. How to live as a follower of Jesus Christ. That is how the early church listened. And that is how we ought to listen.
A Loving Church – The Power of Fellowship
And now our final point. They were a loving church. Verse 42. They continued steadfastly in fellowship. I love that word fellowship. It comes from the Greek word koinonia. And it is translated in many ways. It is actually kind of a hard word to translate. There is not a specific English word that correlates with it.
So we translate it fellowship. We translate it communion. It talks about that something special that happens when God's people get together.
You know in Malachi 3:16 it says, those that feared the Lord talked with each other and the Lord listened and heard. That is a fascinating statement because that phrase listened and heard means to prick the ear or to bend down so as not to miss a single word.
In other words God says when my people talk to me I like to eavesdrop. When my people speak my name I like to hear what they are saying. I am really interested.
You know if I am talking to you and we are having an interesting conversation I have to just tell you. If one of my grandchildren come up to me and grab me on the leg and say, Papa your conversation with me it is effectively over. Because a grandchild is calling. That is relationship.
I am sorry. But that is just the way it is. I mean I may get back to you if it is a big deal. But otherwise I will probably just walk away from you. I don't know. But you know. See they have that relationship.
God is saying I listen when my children talk to me. I bend down. I pay attention. And when we fellowship. And by that I mean after the service. And we are talking of the things of the Lord. And we are sharing things that God has done in our life. And verses that are meaningful. And even joking and having fun. All of it can be a wonderful thing that God will bless.
That is why you should not rush out of church. See because they were a learning church. And they were a loving church. And I can hear it. But this isn't a classroom. And we are not just here to absorb X amount of data and walk out. We are here to learn. But then we are here to encourage one another.
You might have just the right word for someone that needs to hear it after church today. Or they might tonight I should say. Or they might have just the right word for you.
But when you find yourself out of fellowship with God you will find that you are out of fellowship with other believers as well.
Dealing with Hypocrisy and Judgment in Church
Some will say, well, I don't know. You know, the church is so full of hypocrites. I am so sick of that. Please. Hypocrites. Okay. You know, there is hypocritical people who are dentists. Does that stop you from going to the dentist? There is hypocritical people. Sorry to pick on dentists. But, you know, there is hypocrisy in every field and everything. But we still are a part of it.
Yeah, there is hypocrites in the church. But as I have often said, still, who cares? There is always room for one more.
But, you understand. There are hypocrites. And that is not good. But sometimes people will say, I feel judged when I go to church. I feel people are judging me.
Let me say something in response to that that will surprise you and even offend a few. Maybe you need to be judged. Did you ever think about that? Oh, judge not unless you be judged. He didn't say it fast enough.
Oh, we love to quote that verse that we don't understand. We use that verse as a sword to keep people away. That means condemn not lest you be condemned. I am in no position to condemn any person.
But listen, I will tell you something. I am to judge. And you are to judge. The Bible says judgment must begin at the house of God. If I see something in your life that I think is dragging you down spiritually, I love you enough to tell you the truth.
And if you see something in my life that is hurting me, and you come and bring it to my attention, I recognize you do that because you care about me. That is not judging. That is loving. And that is evaluating. And we have to be looking at each other and looking out for each other. That is called accountability.
The Problem with Church Hopping
And this is why people church hop. Church hop. You know what I mean by church hop? They go to all kinds of churches. Oh, on Sunday mornings we go to this church. And other Sunday mornings we go to this other church. And then midweek we go to this thing. And then on Sunday nights we sometimes go to that thing.
And they think that is so wonderful. And I am telling you that is a bad thing for you spiritually. And you might be surprised to know that most pastors would agree with me on this.
I would rather you be a part of another church, actively involved, attending, serving, giving, and all the rest, than come here and go there and go to another place and go to another place.
Because really what you are saying is, I don't want to be accountable to anyone anywhere. I don't want people to know me well enough to say, how are you doing? I haven't seen you in church. Well, I was at four other churches. Don't judge me.
Well, maybe you ought to be in one church. And maybe you need a pastor. And maybe you need a consistent theology. And maybe you need a group of friends that you meet with on a regular basis.
And it is not a bad thing to visit another church. I am just saying you need a home church. You need your own church. You need your own pastor. And you need a place where you belong. A place where you can grow and learn and serve and develop your spiritual gifts. That is what the church is for.
Maybe the problem isn't the church. Maybe the problem is you. I mean, maybe you are the issue. And we want to look out for each other and love one another.
Discovering the Joy of Serving in the Church
One last thing I would like to say, and I will close with this. Notice it is a last thing, not a last statement, a last thing. Things can be long. But I won't go too long. I think we want to get to the place where we discover the joy of serving.
I touched on this earlier. But I think a real Mark of spiritual maturity is you don't come to church like the consumer going to the theater. But you come to the church like the congregant wanting to glorify God. You come to the church like a member of the body of Christ. To use biblical verbiage.
You come to the church because you have something to bring to the table. Gifts that God has given you. And you discover the joy of serving.
Jesus said if you want to be first you need to be a slave. And the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve. And then you start realizing it is a blessing to serve. It is a joy to help other people out.
Listen. You were blessed to be a blessing. And we recognize that God has given us spiritual gifts. Romans 12:5. Paul says, We being many are one body in Christ. Everyone members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us.
Every believer has a gift or gifts, plural, that have been instilled in their life. You say, Well, Greg, how do I discover my spiritual gift? This answer might surprise you because it might sound unspiritual but it actually will work.
Sometimes it is a process of elimination. Sometimes finding out what I am good at begins with finding out what I am not good at. So here is what I would say. Volunteer for everything.
You know, we need help over here in Sunday school. I will help. We need help over here in the ushers. I will be an Usher. We need you convert counselors to the crusade. I am in. I am in. Wait. I am in.
You are just there. Then you go do it and you go, I am not very good at that. The kids tied me up and set me on fire. They just did not respect me. Okay. Out on the parking lot I was hit by three cars that I ran into. I do not know why I do that. Okay. Probably should not use you there.
I tried to help on the worship ministry but actually I do not know how to sing. You know, I found out what I was not called to do by doing it once.
This is in the very early days of the Jesus movement, 1971 probably. And all these bands were forming, Christian bands forming. And you would see them over at Calvary Chapel and Chuck would come out, this band just formed one week ago and they are going to come sing for us now. And we would say, that is amazing.
So I was at a home Bible study once and we were singing some song and one of the guys there was a good musician and wrote a song. And another gentleman that was with us was an amazing flautist. Someone who plays the flute. I found out it is a flautist. And so the guy is amazing.
So he is playing the flute. My friend is singing a song. And we are all just kind of singing along. And we thought we sounded pretty good. So I started like kind of pounding the table. A little beat, you know, kind of a little beat in the table.
And they said, let's form a band. Before you knew we had a name. So we go over to Calvary Chapel and we say, we want to play tonight. I forgot what our name was. Idiocy. Something like that.
And so we were told it was okay. And so I couldn't take, you know, a coffee table up there on the stage with me. So someone gave me a conga drum. So I am up there with this band, guitarist, flautist, singers, and me with a conga drum.
So the band starts and I am kind of realizing I have no rhythm. I really can't do this at all. And this may be the most embarrassing moment of my life. And this song is like a year long. And this went on. Well I walked out there and I knew I am not called to music. Well, strike that one off the list.
And I was really shocked when I was called to preaching. Because that was the last thing I ever expected. But I found that God gave me an ability. Some would question this. But usually my wife, after every sermon. No, I am kidding. It is not every sermon. It is most sermons. No.
But the point is, is you never know. Who would have ever thought that? I mean, I would have never volunteered to speak. I will speak. No way. No one wants to speak. But when I did it I realized, oh, this is a gift.
See, it is not a natural ability. It was a gift. And I am not talking about natural ability. Some people are artistic. Some people are more technical in their thinking. Others have this skill and that skill. I am not talking about that. I am talking about spiritual gifts from heaven planted in your life by the Holy Spirit.
Spiritual Gifts According to Romans 12
You say, well, like what? Okay. Here is a list. You want to hear the list? No, I am going long. You want to hear the list or not? Say yes. Okay. I am going to do it anyway.
Here is Romans 12 from the New Living Translation. Just listen. Just as God has given our body different parts and each part of our body has a function, the same is true of the church. If God has given you the ability to prophesy, that means that you would share a word given to you from God, an inspired word. It could be preaching. It could be one on one. Just some, like a revelation from heaven about something.
If you are called to prophesy, speak out when you have faith that God is speaking through you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. So if you are called to serve, serve well. Whatever it is, just do it well. If that means preparing a meal, do the best job preparing the meal. If that means cleaning up after, do the best job cleaning up. If that means setting a chair up, tearing a chair down, praying for someone, whatever it is, just serve them well.
If you are a teacher, do a good job of teaching. A teacher should prepare. A preacher should know his. If you are called to encourage others do it. If you have money share it generously. So if God has blessed you with money and He has called you to give and there actually is a gift of giving. Every Christian should give. Every Christian should give financially. Every Christian I believe should tithe. But then there are those that have an actual spiritual gift of giving. The Lord has just blessed them in that way. Do it generously. Paul says.
If you have a gift for showing kindness to others do it gladly. Don't show kindness reluctantly. Oh, how are you? I love you. No. A gift for showing kindness. Do it gladly. Don't pretend you love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of good. Love each other with genuine affection. And take delight in honoring each other. I like that. Take delight in honoring each other.
You know, it doesn't always have to be about you. You know? Somebody else is used by God. And instead of sulking or saying, well, that should have been me. You should say, I'm so glad God blessed you. And I just want to thank the Lord for how He's using you. And I'll tell you what. You honor others. The Lord will honor you. Don't worry about it. Lift others up. We lift each other up as we all lift the Lord up. That's the way to do it.
So, every one of us should be a functioning part of the church.
In our next study, we're going to talk about the role of trials and temptations in spiritual growth. And yes, they have their place. But if you want to be a growing and successful Christian, read the Bible. Pray. Be an active part of the church.
Closing Invitation to Christ
Let me close by asking this. You know, maybe you need God tonight. We've talked about non-believers joining us. And maybe you're that person. You've come here checking this out. Maybe a friend invited you. Maybe they bribed you with food. After the service, which you would hope would end really soon. You're going to have taken this all in and you're contemplating it.
But you can't say right now that you know that you're going to heaven. Like that guy who wrote me that letter that's a correctional officer. And you know, he was raised believing. But he drifted from it. He was becoming angry and upset and irritable. And he said, I didn't read this part, but he tried to fix himself. He couldn't fix himself. He kept getting worse. And what he realized was he just needed Jesus. Who could change him and get to the source of all of his problems.
And really, that's what you need. You need Jesus. You may come here with some particular problem. Maybe you have a problem with addiction to something. Drugs or alcohol. Maybe you come here with like a problem with your wife or your husband or your kids or your parents. Or you're having a problem over here. Or a problem in your work. Or a problem... Listen, whatever your problem is, I'll tell you what the solution is. You need Jesus Christ in your life. That's what you need. Jesus Christ.
Because he will forgive you of your sin. And he will come and take residence in your heart and transform you. Man, when you have the big things taken care of, other things manage to sort themselves out. When you know you're going to heaven, whatever pressure you're under or stress you're facing, it kind of puts it in perspective.
Do you know you're going to heaven? Are you sure right now that if you were to die, you would go to heaven? I hate to break this to you, but the only other alternative is hell. And the last thing God wants is for any man or woman made in his image to end up in hell.
And that's why he sent Jesus Christ, his own son, to die on the cross for our sin and to pay the price for every sin we've committed. And if we'll turn from our sin and put our faith in Jesus, God will forgive us. And we can have the guaranteed assurance of heaven. And then we have Christ living in us.
Have you done that yet? If not, why don't you do it tonight? In a moment we're going to pray. And I will extend an invitation for you to believe in Jesus.
Listen, becoming a Christian doesn't take years. It doesn't take months. It doesn't take weeks. It doesn't take days. It doesn't even take hours. It can happen just like that for you.
Jesus stands at the door of your life and he knocks. And he says, if you'll hear his voice and open the door, he will come in. He'll come into your life, but you must ask him in. I'll give you an opportunity to do that right now as we pray. Let's all bow our heads.
Father, thank You for Your word to us tonight. Lord Jesus, thank You for coming to this earth on a rescue operation to die on the cross for our sins. Now I pray for any who do not know You. Help them to see their need for You. And help them to come to You this night, we pray.
And while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we're praying together, how many of you would say tonight, "Greg, I want Jesus Christ. I want my sin forgiven. I want to know that when I die, I will go to heaven. I'm ready to say yes to Jesus. Pray for me."
If you want Christ to come into your life, if you want him to forgive you of your sin, If you want your sin removed and your guilt taken away, if you want to go to heaven when you die, would you raise your hand up right now and let me pray for you. Just raise your hand up or I can see it. Saying, I want Jesus Christ and I'll pray for you.
God bless you there in the back. God bless you. Raise your hand up or I can see it. You want God's forgiveness there in the corner. God bless you as well. Anybody else? You are ready to say yes to Jesus Christ. Let me pray for you. Raise your hand up wherever you are. God bless you. Anybody else? If you haven't raised your hand yet, lift it now. Let me pray for you tonight. You want to go to heaven when you die. You want Jesus Christ in your life. Let me pray for you. God bless you. Little girl there. God bless you. God bless you too.
Anybody else? One final If you haven't lifted your hand yet, lift it now. Let me pray for you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you too. And you.
While our heads are still bowed, maybe you are a little bit like that man I talked about who wrote me that letter, the correctional officer. He was raised believing in Jesus, but he walked away from his faith. And his life began to slowly unravel. And then he made a recommitment to Christ. And the joy came back because he was right with God.
Do you need to come back to Jesus tonight? Is your life kind of a mess because of a lot of bad decisions you have made? Will you return to the Lord tonight? He will forgive you.
If you need to come back to Jesus, raise your hand up. Let me pray for you. God bless you. Anybody else? Raise your hand up. Let me pray for you. God bless you. God bless you. Anybody else? If you haven't If you haven't lifted your hand yet, lift it now. You want to come back to Christ. Recommit your life to Him. Raise your hand up. God bless you.
Father, thank you now for every one of these. And I pray you'll give them the strength to follow you. And to discover your plan for their life. And we thank you for them, Lord. And we commit them to you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.