I don’t need the church. I feel just as close to God outdoors. I’m already pretty good without the Church, and that should count for something. I don’t need to go through all the motions because God already knows my heart.
If those words describe your heart, I’m glad you’re here this morning, because I want to help you evaluate your thoughts in view of God’s word and God’s plans for your life. You may be here because a friend brought you, and if that’s you, welcome! I’m glad you chose to come! And along the way, I also want to visit with this church - the people of CCC - because there are some thoughts here that will apply to all of us.
For years now, I’ve known people who cling to their claim of church membership. One poll showed that 69% of Americans claim membership in some church, and that about 40% attend worship services in a given week. But another review suggested that people tend to lie when answering pollsters about their church-going habits. Actual head count studies suggest the number is really about 20% of Protestants are in church each week. In other words, it’s not just people who never join the church that must think they don’t really need the church. I’m going take that one step further this morning and challenge even the people who are here most every week!
So, hang on! Here we go. And to lay the groundwork for all of this, let’s first talk about ownership:
I. Church Ownership Was Settled by Jesus’ Blood, Not My Check
The following churches all have something in common:
• All Saints Church in Pawleys Island, SC
• St. Luke's Community Church, Fresno, CA
• Episcopal congregations, in Long Beach, Newport Beach and North Hollywood, CA
• Church of St. James the Less in East Falls, PA
• Presbyterian Church of Hull, GA
Each of these churches is just one of many that in the past few years have become involved in ownership disputes. Their stories are all basically the same: the church is upset by the direction the denomination is headed, so they choose to leave it. When they do, the denomination wants them to give up the church property and buildings. Many of these cases have gone to the Supreme Court. It’s a fight over who owns the church. I want to show you how that has already been settled.
There are clearly some people who’ve never achieved “ownership” of a church family. When I hear someone speak about this church family saying things like “the people of that church” and “those people there” their words are betraying that they’ve chosen not to be numbered with “those people.”
One alternative is to think of this as “my church” – which is a good thing, really. We need to have an emotional ownership of what goes on here. We need to not be detached from what’s being done through this group. It’s refreshing to hear someone say “My church family is so important to me” or “Our church participated in that!” Jesus said that where our treasure is, there our heart would be also. A lot peoples’ hearts are with this church, because they’ve placed their treasure here.
The problem is, when we invest ourselves into the Kingdom, when we accept ownership of the responsibilities that God sets in front of us, Satan seizes the opportunity to try to get us to develop a very earthly, very human ownership too. It’s the attitude that says, “I donated that piece of furniture.” “I established that program.” “I set up that way of doing things.” “I’ve been doing this longer than anyone else.” Somewhere, in the midst of rightly investing of ourselves in the Lord’s Church, we easily forget that’s what it is – the Lord’s Church.
So, let’s take a quick aside to revisit this idea of church ownership and make sure that we have it straight from the start.
Mt 16. Peter has just stated in no uncertain terms that Jesus is God’s Anointed One – that He is the Son of God. Jesus said,
Matthew 16:17-18 "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
Jesus not only said He would be the One doing the building, that it would prevail, but also that it was His Church. Even though Peter would help in that building, even though 10 of those 12 men would give their lives helping build that church, Jesus said it belonged to HIM.
Paul tells us just how seriously Jesus takes this ownership…
Ephesians 5:25-27 - Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
Ill - You know, it may be a tradition for people to kiss the bride as they go through the receiving line at a wedding, but I wasn’t real thrilled with the idea of just anyone coming through and kissing Carrie. She was my Bride – and I was jealous for her. And this is the way God describes the relationship between Jesus and the Church – as His Bride. He gave Himself up for her so that she would be presented to Him as His – no one else’s.
There are other ways the church is described:
Ephesians 3:14-15 - …I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.
Colossians 1:24 - …his body, which is the church.
Ephesians 1:22-23 - And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body…
Bride, family, body - Keep those word pictures in mind as we go along here. And, just one more: Paul was speaking to the elders from the Church of Ephesus when he said,
Acts 20:28 - Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.
Long before anyone ever built a church building; Long before people were picking out carpet colors or deciding on lighting or sound systems; Long before people picked names for churches or chose the times they would meet; Long before there were televangelists or wars over styles of worship; Long before there were hymnals or projection systems – before any of these things were ever thought of, Jesus bought the Church. With His own blood, Jesus bought the Church!
So what should you do? Continue to invest in it. Continue to accept emotional ownership of it. But all along the way, remember that nothing I can invest in it could possibly outshine the fact that Jesus paid the greatest price for the Church. It’s His. It’s not about me or you or our preferences. It’s His.
II. Gathering with The Church is a Privilege, Not a Way to Earn Brownie Points
It’s almost comical the way that people approach gathering with the Lord’s Family. Some people are what they call “CE Christians” – they’re here only for Christmas and Easter. Some show up even less – thinking that the church is just for when you’re hatched, matched or dispatched – that is, when you’re born, married, or buried.
Then there’s another group, more regular about it, but who miss the point entirely. For them, being here week to week is kind of like a Quizno’s card. You know what I mean? I’ve had a couple Quizno’s Sanwich Shop cards. Every time I buy a sandwich there, I get it punched. Get enough punches, and I can turn it in later for a free sandwich.
That’s how it works, in some peoples’ minds. Coming here on Sunday morning is like getting your card punched. Attend Sunday School, you get 2 punches. Work in Kid’s worship, you get 5 punches! And some day, you’re going to stand at heaven’s gates, and if your card has enough punches, they’ll let you in.
That’s not what grace is about. That’s not what being a part of the Church is all about either.
Ill - Every May 30th, I do something special. It won’t always be the same thing, but I’ll do something. It’s not because of tradition, but because of a person and my relationship with that person. I don’t do it because of brownie points – although I’d certainly feel bad if I failed to do something special. It’s all because of a person, and my love for her – because she wants me to treasure the day that we were married to each other. Sure enough, October 2, I’ll do something else special too, because of a person and how I value the day that she was born. I won’t do it to get a card punched. I’ll do it because I have a relationship with her.
Being here, gathered with a church family each week, being involved with one another outside of here, sharing our lives together, is an outcome of my relationship with Jesus Christ. It’s not to get my card punched and hope I collect enough punches – it’s the privilege of belonging in the Lord’s family.
Listen to one of the earliest descriptions of the church and what it was like:
Acts 2:44-47 - All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Where is the talk about “attending church”? Where are the people saying, “Well, the doors are open. I guess we hafta go”? It just isn’t there, because from the start, God’s people realized that being together was a benefit, not just a duty. It was the reasonable outcome of their common devotion to Jesus, not some punch card to earn heaven. It was a privilege.
III. The Church is a Community of People, Not an Event You “Go To”
Ill - Family reunions can give you all kinds of stories to share. I heard some guy telling how they went to a family reunion at a park and were there for a good half hour before they finally figured out it was the wrong one! They’d eaten a meal and visited with several people before they casually exited. Oops!
You know, when you go to a family reunion, that doesn’t make you a part of a family, even though people might think you are.
But do you remember that when you become a follower of Jesus, you’re adopted into His Family?
Hebrews 2:11 - Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.
Wow! There was a period of time I couldn’t get my brother Ken to acknowledge I was his little brother to his friends! But Jesus isn’t ashamed to let people know I’m his brother! That makes me part of His family.
The NT knows nothing of someone accepting Jesus but not accepting His family. The Church is also called His Bride. Can you imagine telling Jesus, “Thanks for adopting me into the family. I like You a lot – It’s just Your wife I can’t stand!” Nope. Membership in the Body of Christ means just that: you become one of many members, who together form one Body. One family. One House of God.
In recent years there has been an emphasis on describing the Church as a community. That should resonate with us, because it describes so well the way the way the Church functioned from the start.
The Church is a community. You don’t “go to” a community; you belong to it. You don’t “attend” a home; you’re part of it.
The early church had no concept of “going to church.” Maybe that’s because there were no church buildings. They first met in peoples’ homes.
Romans 16:5 - …Greet also the church that meets at their house.
1 Corinthians 16:19 - …Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house.
Colossians 4:15 - Give my greetings…to Nympha and the church in her house.
Maybe it was because being a follower of Jesus, in the 1st Century Roman world was something you didn’t just “go to” and “leave” depending on where you were or what day of the week it was.
Christian Schwartz did a worldwide survey of 1,000 churches of all kinds and sizes and make-ups. The goal was to discover the elements in common that were found in effective, growing churches. For 1,000 of them, they found 8 common elements. One of those is that the members of those churches frequently spent time with each other apart from the Sunday morning setting.
Look again at Acts 2:44-47. The Church is supposed to be a biblically functioning community of believers. Being a part of a community used to mean talks on the front porch, getting together for a cookout, having someone’s kids over to your place, loaning tools to each other, hunting, fishing, hiking, shopping, walking together, knowing that if someone needed a hand, the other members of the community would be there. That’s being a community. Can you accomplish that in 60 seconds a week?
Being a community doesn’t mean that the scope of our relationship is for 1 hour a week where we sit in a large room, listen, sing, pray and greet each other for 1 minute. Do you realize, if we were to spend just 1 minute with each person here on Sunday morning, in this one worship setting – about 150-200 people, it would take well over 2 hours to touch base for just 60 seconds with each person? Increase that to around 400 people, and you’re looking at close to 7 hours. 7 hours for just 1 minute with each person! That’s not a deep relationship! That’s not being involved in one another’s lives! That’s why, if the extent of your involvement is this event, right here, Sunday morning, no SS, no small group, no ministry together, no getting together outside of these walls, you’re not living as a part of a family – a community of believers.
IV. Corporate Worship is About Pleasing God, Not Myself
I love to fish. I enjoy being outdoors. I’ve seen some beautiful sights because of it. I’ve watched the east face of Pikes Peak turn purple then orange in the sunrise. I’ve smelled the scent of pine sap hanging in the chilly morning air. I’ve listened to mocking birds whistling their heads off – poor things, they can never decide what to sing! I’ve drunk ice-cold clear water from mountain streams. I’ve tasted wild blueberries off the ground in the woods in No. MI. There have been all kinds of experiences in the outdoors that have made me think of God and have left me just speaking with Him – especially the time I was caught on a mountainside in an electrical storm! And I know there are some who reason that these experiences actually make you feel closer to God than being together with a group of people in a church building. You say, “Being on a lake, being out on a golf course, walking through the woods, being up in a tree stand – these things make me feel just as close to God, or closer even, than being in a worship gathering.” I understand that. And if that’s where you’re at, I refer you to point 1 again: It’s not all about you!
Has it occurred to you that maybe God doesn’t want you to worship just because it makes you feel close to Him? Could it be that God wants our worship because He’s God and we’re created to honor Him and to please Him and to serve Him? Is it possible that the correct way to measure worship isn’t by how close I feel to God, but rather by how much I honor and please Him? It gives worship a whole different outlook when we change our starting point.
We should worship God alone. That’s part of the relationship. But that can’t be all we do! Jesus wants us to remember Him together. That’s what the LS is about. It’s a community expressing its allegiance to their Master.
God likes crowds! Why do you suppose He made people to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth?
Jesus tells the parable of a Master having a banquet, and all his invited guests make excuses for not coming.
Luke 14:23 Then the master told his servant, “Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.”
God wants a full house! He has already surrounded Himself with tens of thousands of angels, and the scene in the book of Revelation confirms it: God intends for there to be a large crowd of people, together, worshiping Him. We’re just previewing that when we worship together here.
It’s too easy for us to slip into thinking that somehow worship is for us. Sure, it affects us, impacts --us, changes us, challenges us – but that’s only when it’s first and foremost about God and what He wants.
V. The Commands for One Another Are Met In Our Togetherness, Not Separation
Ill - As Constantine become ruler of the Roman empire, persecution of Christians dropped off. As more and more people joined the Church, the standards were also lowered. To combat the lowering standards, there were some who determined to uphold holiness at any cost. It started the monastic movement – monks. Monks were convinced that living in the world hindered pure living, so they separated themselves – to an extreme. They went and lived in isolated places, off by themselves in the desert. The idea was to pursue holiness through separation.
They had a good idea – to pursue holiness; to pursue a personal walk with God. That’s good. What isn’t good about it is that God meant for His followers also to be involved with one another.
I did a search and counted the “one another” commands in the NT - verbs telling us how we’re to act toward each other in the Family of God. A bunch were repeated, but there were at least 25 unique commands. Then, I went through and asked, “So how many of these commands a person can keep without being involved in a church family?” In other words, do I have to be here, do I have to have my life involved with yours to do these things? Out of 25 there were 3 where maybe you don’t:
• Pray for each other – of course, you won’t know I’m praying for you, and I won’t know what to pray for
• Forgive each other – of course, you won’t know I have forgiven you
• Agree with each other – of course, how can you tell if we agree with each other if we aren’t sharing our hearts?
Here’s the bottom line – Unless you’re deliberately involving yourself in the lives of fellow-believers, you’re choosing to disregard over 22 direct commands from God about His Church. You need the church in order to do the “one anothers!” I refer you again to point 1 – it’s not all about you. Maybe the issue at hand isn’t whether or not you need the church. Maybe instead we should be considering that the church needs you. If you’re serious about pleasing God by your obedience to Him, isolating yourself from the family of God just isn’t an option. These commands are met by our togetherness.
Conclusion:
Finally, there’s just one last text to look at:
Hebrews 10:23-25 - Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
I need you. And you need me. We need to help each other, to hold each other up, because the rest of people aren’t. That’s what Jesus invites you to be a part of…
