A Place to Belong Text: Ephesians 2: 19-22
19 So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. 20 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. 21 We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. 22 Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.
You are called to belong, not just believe. In the book of Genesis, God said, “It is not good for man to be alone.” We are created for community, fashioned for fellowship, and formed for a family, and none of us can fulfill God’s purposes by ourselves. The Bible knows nothing of solitary saints or spiritual hermits isolated from other believers and deprived of fellowship.
Vs.19 says, you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners!
God’s word says we are put together, joined together, built together, members together, heirs together, fitted together, held together and we will be caught up together!
While your relationship to Christ is personal, God never intends it to be private! I Timothy 3:14-15 I am writing these things to you now, even though I hope to be with you soon, 15 so that if I am delayed, you will know how people must conduct themselves in the household of God. This is the church of the living God, which is the pillar and foundation of the truth.
Romans 12:5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.
Rick Warren say’s "In churches, membership is often reduced to simply adding your name to a roll, with no requirement or expectations. To Paul, being a ‘member’ of the church meant being a vital organ of a living body, an indispensable, interconnected part of the body of Christ!"
Romans 12:4-5 The Message Bible say’s 4).In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we’re talking about is Christ’s body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn’t amount to much, would we?
Rick Warren say’s, Disconnected and cut off from the lifeblood of a local body, your spiritual life will wither and eventually cease to exist. This is why the first symptom of spiritual decline is usually inconsistent attendance at worship services and other gatherings of believers. Whenever we become careless about fellowship, everything else begins to slide, too.
Matthew 16:18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
The person who says, “I don’t need the church,” is either arrogant or ignorant! The church is so significant that Jesus died on the cross for it.
Eph. 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,
Here’s 6 reason’s why you need a Church family:
#1. A church family identifies you as a genuine believer!
How can I claim to follow Christ if I’m not one of His disciples! How did Jesus’ disciples travel? At least by two’s!
John 13:35By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
#2. A church family moves you out of self-centered isolation!
The local church is a lab for practicing unselfish, sympathetic love! I Cor. 12:26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
Most Christians know John 3:16, but what does I John 3:16 say? By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
#3. A church family helps you develop spiritual muscle! Maturity doesn’t happen by just attending church. Only participation in the full life of a local church builds spiritual muscle!
Over fifty times in the New Testament the phrase “one another” or “each other” is used! We are commanded to love each other, pray for each other, encourage each other, admonish each other, greet each other, serve each other, teach each other, accept each other, honor each other, bear each other’s burdens, forgive each other, submit to each other, be devoted to each other etc.
#4. The body of Christ needs you! God has a unique role for you to play in His family. This is called your ministry, and God has gifted you for this assignment!
I Cor. 12:27 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:
#5. You will share in Christ’s mission in the world!
The Message Bible say’s in Ephesians 2:10 He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.
We are His hands, His feet, His eyes and His mouth piece!
#6. A church family will help keep you from backsliding! Families encourage each other.
NKJ James 5:19-20 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.
Satan loves detached believers, unplugged from the life of the body, isolated from God’s family, and unaccountable to spiritual leaders, because he knows they are defenseless and powerless against his tactics!
In closing, God created the church to meet your 5 deepest needs: 1. A purpose to live for. 2. People to live with. 3. Principles to live by. 4. A profession to live out. 5. Power to live on.
