Each day of our Christian lives we are in a race, once we have accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior, we begin the process of growing as followers of Christ towards perfection. Through the commitment of spiritual discipleship we spend time in daily prayer, study the scripture, as well as have fellowship with other believers, so that we grow as Christians in our race for perfection in Christ.
For the early Methodists in America, the fellowship of believers was a very important and integral part of their walk with God. Each “society”, which is what referred to as the church, was made up of a body of believers and seekers. Each member of the society was essentially accountable to the rest of the body. Within the society were other bodies, such as classes, that were smaller more intimate groups within the body of the society. Each smaller group also attested to where that particular body was in their walk with God. The more closely connected to God, the smaller the band.
Could you imagine if church was like that today? Could you imagine a church where people flocked not because it was the “in-style” church, but because it was the church where one could grow closer to God?
Often times, people go to churches where there is a lot of superficial emotion and energy. The places that are more for entertainment than true heart felt Christ-centered worship. People even come to know the Lord at these churches or at spiritual events, however once the emotion has worn off or the revival has moved on, what is left? Many times, they never find support spiritually.
You see without that body of believers, that person will not be able to continue on in the race. That person could become lost. That person will not be able to grow and mature as a faithful servant of Jesus Christ.
In fact, it is the responsibility of each one of us as members of this congregation or as the pastor of this church that we ensure all our members have the means to be growing spiritually. This does not mean we are to force them to grow.
Just like livestock or crops, you can give them all the necessary food and minerals and such, but you cannot force them to thrive. That will only come from their own hearts.
However, as leaders within the church, we are accountable for all those within the body of believers of our family. We are to help them as they press toward the goal for the prize.
A church also needs to mature in its spiritual walk as well. A church cannot remain at one level. It needs to be deep and true in its beliefs as well. Listen to what Paul said to the Thessalonians in his Second letter to them.
Stand firm, then, brothers, and keep the traditions that we taught you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. (2 Thessalonians 2:15 NJB)
In other words, if the church itself is not standing firm on the Word of God, how can it expect individual members to grow spiritually? We need to be actively engaged in bringing people into better understanding of the Word. The leadership, which is comprised of not just the pastor, but all those who hold leadership positions within a particular church, need to be fully engaged in spiritual growth themselves, thus furthering the growth of the church within itself.
If a church, like an individual, becomes complacent or lax in their walk with God, they will not grow. In other words, a person needs heartfelt and deep spiritual and theological connectedness.
It is just like when we feed a child; we don’t raise them on sweets and junk food their whole lives. Nor do we cater to their every whim. We know that if this is done, the child will grow up unhealthy, and not be able to mature in a manner that is properly befitting an adult.
Well if we know this then why do we allow our church families to be brought up in the direct opposite manner? Is it more important to give our members a good floorshow, rather than the Word of God?
I am not saying that all the churches teachings must be fire and brimstone. In fact, person can only stand so much of being beaten down, in any situation, before their growth becomes stunted.
However, what I am saying is worship and sharing in God’s Word needs to be balanced. For a person to truly experience what God has in store for them, that person needs to know the whole story so that they can grow closer to God through His perfecting Grace.
The race we are involved in cannot truly be completed by us alone. In fact, it is Paul who appeals to the church at Corinth, a church that was extremely divided among its members, in verse 10 of chapter 1 in First Corinthians:
I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.
In other words whatever our differences, we need to be reconciled in the fact that in what we do for God, we are united in purpose and design. In that way, we will grow in our spiritual walk.
By the way, being reconciled does not necessarily mean that every fault we find in a person has to be fixed. Reconciliation is putting behind our differences and concentrating on what we have in common. This is why Paul insists that for a church to grow spiritually it must throw off those chains that spiritually separate then from each other and join together for the common purpose their work in Christ.
Remember, it is through our combined work in Jesus Christ that we will receive the prize. That prize is far greater and more wondrous than we can possibly ever imagine.
Sometimes, people may feel that because they watch a pastor on TV, that they are spiritually connected. Isn’t this the same as joining together with a body of believers? What about those, though while they may have a home church, choose to attend a different church each Sunday? Isn’t this okay since they are going to church somewhere?
Actually, those would be yes and no questions. For the first one it determines the nature and reasoning behind why you are unable to come to worship with your fellow believers. For some it is because of health reasons, however this does not mean that you are cut off from the body of believers of your congregation. Remember what Jesus said…..”Where ever two or more are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them”. In our case, we provide the weekly sermons in written format for those who are home bound, members of our respective congregations take the sermons to those at home, keeping them in connection.
The second question is a little more interesting, if you are bouncing from church to church. As worshippers, we need to be connected to a body of believers. This means, we need to find a church and stick with it. No church is perfect and I cannot think of a single church that is completely free of problems or conflict. However, part of our Christian duty is to stick with our church through the good times and the bad times, instead of bouncing from church to church. Also, we should come to church on a regular basis. If a believer is only coming once a month but is not feeling spiritually fed, maybe that could be part of the reason.
For example, I know a pastor who was serving a church in eastern Iowa. His regular attendees usually averaged two Sundays a month. The problem was he presenting a series of sermons on a specific topic. Each week, he had to almost start over in his sermon instruction series in order to catch up to the others who had not been there the week before. Because without the knowledge of the previous week, the sermon he had for them the present week was hard to grasp.
Having said this, I go back to my sermon title for today…we need to press on toward the goal for the prize. We need to always remember what we are coming to church for. We come to church in order to worship God. We come in order to praise His holy and wonderful name.
Sometimes, the service may not be what we thought it should have been. But, we do not need to be so concerned about pleasing ourselves as we are about pleasing God. For example, a person can be a wonderful singer and have an absolutely beautiful voice, this is a gift from God. When that person sings a song of praise to God, He is overjoyed because of it. However, what about a person who was not born with a good singing voice and who cannot carry a tune, let alone hit a right note? What happens when that person sings a song of praise to God? God is once again overjoyed because to Him, the blessing is not in how well it was presented, but rather the condition of the heart that gave it.
In this race, in this life, we are going to hit some bumps along the way. We may feel at times that we are growing at an enormous speed, and other times we are just creeping along. But in whatever situation, love your fellow believers, all of them. Be good to each other, encourage each other. Press on toward the prize and keep your eyes on it.
In closing, I would like to offer a challenge to you in this race. I challenge each of you to look within your own hearts, ask God to open them to see which ways you can better serve God, and more importantly, which ways you can be a better disciple of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In that way, you will be able to reach the goal and claim the prize of eternal life at the foot of the Throne. Amen.
