Church Membership: Live up to your commitment!
INTRODUCTION
Turn to Hebrews 10: 19-25.
I want to tell you a story. Last week coming to church, a man in a pick-up truck pulled out in front of me. It was not an accident type of situation. To the contrary, he pulled out so slowly that it would better be described as meandering. He pulled out so slowly, that I was intrigued and watched him while following along behind. He drove about 15 miles under the speed limit. The I noticed that why he pulled out in front of me and never even saw me – he was looking in the rear view mirror. He stared at himself, and then began to fix the part in his hair. I laughed all of the way to the church!
I truly believe that this year is set up to be the best by a wide margin. In fact, if certain things happen and fall in line – this year will be a quantum leap over even last year’s record year. I mean that truly and ask you please do not discount that statement as “enthusiasm.”
But listen to me now very closely. One of the most dangerous places to be is in a place of great blessing. Consider this: do you remember when the church faced trouble? Everyone pulled together. Folks prayed hard, they gave, they reached out, they defended the testimony of the church.
We are now doing great. As a result, I believe many have slacked off because everything is fine and we can relax. We are like the man in that truck. We are oblivious of those all around us because we are meandering through our journey more interested in how we look to ourselves than who else is on the road. What happened to the sense of urgency that was there in our prayers when we were in trouble? Why do we not pray with that same urgency about lost folks? About growing? About all of the families we loose each year to divorce, materialism, and sinful habits?
Let me tell you again that I believe this can be the best year the church has ever known in her long history. I did not say “will”, but said “can.” Why? In order for this to happen, we must stop relaxing, stop enjoying, stop resting, and start surrendering and sacrificing.
Again, I believe this CAN be the best year of our 93 year history. That is a huge statement, but I believe it with all of my heart. But, we must prepare ourselves. I know about some things that are going to happen this year that you may not know. There are certainly things that will happen that we do not know about. There will be challenges. There will be opportunities. We must be ready.
The way to be ready is to be committed. You must be committed. You are a part of a church family, a church organization, and a church army. You must each one love, serve, and fight with a deep commitment.
You are a member of the Family of God – you must live up to your commitment! There is a very distinct “us” requirement to being a Christian and this is one of many passages teaching that truth. This is how you understand and meet your commitment.
1. You must clean up. Verse 22
The focus of this verse is holiness.
Let me show you a book I started reading over the last two weeks: Damage Control – How to Stop Making Jesus Look Bad. Most church members need to read this book. Sin is what keeps most of us from living with power. It is also destroying our witness in a world that desperately needs to see the love and victory evident only in the life of a committed Christian. Sin is not only killing you, but it is hurting body through poor testimonies. We need to become reacquainted with a sense of holiness.
God’s plan for you is holiness. God’s purpose in your life is not your happiness, but your holiness. I Thess. 4:3 states clearly, “For this is God’s will for you: your sanctification.” Let me tell you plainly that almost all of the counseling I do as a pastor would be unnecessary if we as a people responded to the call for repentance God laid before us each week during church. All of the struggles we see – financial, marriage, struggles with our kids, even most of the emotional issues such as short term depression, anger, bitterness, etc. – all of these are addressed biblically in sermons, Sunday school lessons, and in places such as your Wednesday discipleship classes. I stand here week after week to teach you His Word and plead His grace. When you fail to repent of whatever God has laid on your heart, you deeply hurt yourself. Each week I watch folks under conviction fight against the movement of the Holy Spirit. You allow the sin to continue and therefore you allow your wounds to continue.
But you also hurt the church body as well. Imagine the environment which would be created if you responded to God’s call when you were under conviction. How many more would confess if you did? If several of you got on your knees here at the altar and began confessing your sin to the Lord in brokenness, how many others would be challenged or encouraged to do so in their lives? It is time to get serious about our sin and clean up.
2. You must stand up. Verse 23
The focus here is on your commitment, or your confession. We often explain how you are saved. You place your faith in Jesus Christ as your savior by this: “If you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, then you shall be saved.” Romans 10:9.
You see in order to be saved you must openly confess Jesus as Lord and as your Lord. This is a commitment that is expressed. The confession of our hope is the confession of Jesus as our savior. You made this confession in order to be saved. If you did not surrender your life to Him as Lord, then you did not get saved. Maybe you were rebelling against what was required or maybe you just did not understand the decision yet and needed to learn more about the decision. But you must confess Him as your Lord!
This verse not only references our commitment, but commands us to hold fast to it. To anchor ourselves to it. In other words, stand up to it. Jesus is never wavering in His commitment to us. Shame on us for how weakly we walk and how much we waver in our commitment to Him.
Where is the passion to live a faithful Christian life today? We must commit ourselves daily to the commitment we made when we trusted Jesus as our savior and Lord.
3. You must stir up. Verse 24
The focus here is serving others. Consider those around you. For what purpose? In order to stir them up. You are to impact those around you. You do not have a choice in this matter. If you are not impacting those around you to walk closer to Jesus and be more like Him, then you are failing in your duties to the body. Most likely you are influencing them away from Jesus. Now some of you do not like it when I say that. You are thinking, “I would NEVER do such a thing.” Yet you forsake the gathering of yourselves together and validate, even model, the very commitment we made to the body. You also forgo any effort to challenge or help others to grow closer to Jesus in their walk. We are responsible for each other. Go back and read Philippians 4 again this week. Every person is to work on everyone until we all look like Jesus. Begin to stir one another up!
Who are you stirring up to love?
Who are you stirring up to good works? How does the church function if you do not do it? How do we function well if you do not lead?
Let me give you some examples: [illustrations of places to get involved in our church setting]
4. You must show up. Verse 25
The focus here is attending corporate worship. You do not have the option “to blow off church.” It is that simple. The word “forsake” is clear in this passage. It could also be translated “abandon.” If you skip church, then you have abandoned your brothers and sisters in Christ on the battle field to fight alone. It is that simple.
Do you see the word forsake? In order to forsake something, you must have an obligation or duty. The same is true of the alternate word abandon. Do you see God’s choice of this word? You have a duty to these services because of your duty to your brothers and sisters in Christ. You are obligated to be at church when we worship corporately unless you are providentially hindered.
I am shocked at how clueless many are to this duty. People will just openly tell my wife and I stories about their Saturday night plans and Sunday plans that they intentionally made which kept them from church – and it never even dawns on them they are telling their pastor they sinfully and inexcusably decided to forsake the body of Christ. It never even dawns on them. That is how far we have come in walking away from our commitment to corporate worship.
I just might scream if I hear one more man tell me that he is not required to come to church because he can worship in the woods, or wherever. That is one of the most patently incorrect statements someone can make. It is simply an admission of an ignorance of even the basic and most simple truth of scripture. This passage, for one, clearly refutes such nonsense.
I am not here each week because I get paid to be here. I have spent my entire life faithfully attending Sunday mornings, evenings, and Wednesday evenings because I am a Christian and therefore have a sacred obligation to you. I am ok with missing on holidays, birthdays, major family vacations, and anniversaries, etc. This is not some ridiculous and fanatical obligation. Beyond such special events however we are simply abandoning our fiduciary obligation to the body and to our savior.
Why did God design it so? In my lifetime of going to church, I can tell you this: Anytime someone got into the habit of missing church, their spiritual life suffered and therefore they made decisions which made their life suffer. This is without exception. You need to be in church and God knew it. That is why He commanded it. You need to be here and we need for you to be here. The body is better off for your involvement as well. So show up!
5. You must build up. Verse 25
The focus of this verse is building up your church family. We need more exhorters and encouragers. You know what – there are things not perfect here. We all know that. But please tell me a time in the 93 year history of the church that it was perfect. There is no need for murmuring and tearing down the church. Listen to me – if you have a problem with something or someone then go to them. Do not stand around in the halls or go to Dixie Café and murmur. You have a responsibility to encourage those around you. There is far more right here than wrong. Everywhere around us God is at work. In fact, this is one of the best churches that I know of in this entire state.
But remember that blessings bring temptation. We get satisfied. We take for granted things around us. We get complacent and then we begin to get selfish. That is when we criticize and complain.
Praise God for what He is doing and then point that out to folks. Exhort each other to be a part of what God is doing. Encourage each other with how good God is. In fact, this verse points out that the closer we get to Jesus’ return, the more important this is. Why? Because the world around us is going to get worse and worse before Jesus’ return. Jesus told us this would happen. We need to be reminded Jesus is coming back soon. We need to be reminded we have the hope of His return. We need to be around each other and build each other up: “Hey my brother, keep up the good work because Jesus will soon be here.” “Let’s keep sharing because it will not be long before no one else will be able to be saved.” “Keep serving because Jesus is returning soon and He will reward you for your faithfulness.”
Are you a builder or a backbiter? Do you complain or complement? Do you see things that are right or things that are wrong?
Where are you? Are you driving along looking in the mirror, oblivious to all around you? Are you hindering the progress of those behind you and blocking their way because you are self absorbed?
Let me tell you again. A lot is going to happen this year in and around ESBC. I want you to be ready. I want you to be a part of the serving and sacrificing to live up to our commitment to be the body of Christ. I want you to be sowing so we can be reaping.
It takes you!!
