Thinking, Acting, Being like Jesus
The Church and you
Ephesians 4:15-16
Introduction-
Turn to Ephesians 4:15-16, that will be our text this morning.
Last week we looked at our identity in Christ.
As believers, we become the children of God by faith in Christ and enjoy the benefits of the family of God.
We saw that we are significant in the eyes of the Lord.
We saw that our worth is not based upon what others think of us but what God thinks of us.
Again I tell you that God is crazy about you and I.
He has provided a way that in our loss state we can find salvation through Christ.
We will look this morning that He has also provided a place where we can and should be nurtured in the things of God. It is called the church.
We must realize that the church is not a building alone.
This building is not the church.
We the people of God are the church and gathers together in this building. We can have service in a fire hall and we would be the church. We can gather in a movie theater and we would be the church.
The church is simple and complicated and I believe most have the wrong idea of the church.
Most people think of the church as a place they go when they feel like fitting it in their schedule to hear a message from the preacher, that message should uplift them and make them feel better than when they came in.
Most people think the church gets its money and it volunteers and the services are put together by the church fairy, because they think it just happens magically and will always be there when they need it, and when it doesn’t happen as they feel or expect it to operate, they are critical and decided to leave.
Some are always shopping and never buying because society today has no loyalty to anything or anyone.
3 questions I want to answer this morning concerning the church of God.
What does God think of His Church?
What part do believers play in His Church?
What happens if you are not a part of His Church?
If we get these questions answered correctly, the church becomes all the God intends it to be for our lives.
First question, what does God think of His Church?
God instituted the children. It was God’s idea to create and establish the church. Jesus said to Peter upon his confession of faith in Jesus as Lord that He (Jesus) would build His church and that the gates of Hell will not overcome it.
The bedrock foundation of the church is
(1) Jesus Christ- His life, death, resurrection for our sins.
(2) Our confession of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord
(3) Christ teachings through God’s Word for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
“I will build my church”
Why did God go to so much trouble to build and maintain and keep all influences from destroying the very church He created. Because He loves you and I. he knew we could not survive this world without His intervention in our lives and being our strength at tough times
Holy Spirit of God dwells within us and empowers us to live lives as Jesus commanded. We cannot do that without His Spirit and each other.
Ecclesiastes
“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor, if either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.”
The primary function of the church is to nurture God’s people, (the body of Christ) and send them out to accomplish His purpose here on earth.
The first part of that is that each one of us needs a place to grow in our knowledge of the Lord and be equipped to walk with God and accomplish His purpose.
The second part is the church is a place where those seeking god will be able to find Him and begin a relationship with Him. That will change your life.
It is true that a person can receive salvation and never step foot in a church, but the absence of belonging to a community of believers is like a train without tracks or a bike with no wheels. You may have identity in Christ, but you have no purpose yet.
I will go as far to say that the church at times does not look the way Christ intended it to look, but that is not the Lords fault, it is man making mistakes. If you understand what the church was intended to be, you would play apart to maintain it instead of tearing it down.
We are always one generation away from extinction, but God will not abandon His church. We as God’s people have to remember that Christ put everything into His church and we have a responsibility to Christ as Lord and Savior.
Answering the question- what does God think of the church?
He created it. He died for it.
He is crazy about the people of the church and the future believers who will come through those doors.
Second question- What parts do we play in His church?
The church functions as a place to worship, a place to mature and disciple believers, a place that teaches others to spread the gospel to those around us and around the world.
Believers play a part in that because we all need that, and God uses us to do that. We each have a responsibility to do our part in the kingdom of God.
“Just as one body though one, has many parts, but all its many parts from one body, so it is with Christ.”
Over the past 20 years, the church universal has been in decline. Thank God we are growing!
The church has watched people walk away when they go off to school, off to work, and begin a family. The trend for a long time was “When they settle” they would come back. Today we see a new trend, they are not coming back.
The reason for that is very simple. They never understood the function of the church. They tried to fit church into their fast-paced lives, all of their activities and they were too tired or didn’t see the church as relevant.
You want to know how that plays out in our lives? For those that have always put church 2nd, third, forth choice on a Sunday Morning, have always struggled with priorities in other areas of their lives as well.
As a pastor, I watch people everyday not understand why so many things happen in their life that they say is not their fault.
It comes down to bad decisions, not listening to “God or Gods word and they are in rebellion.
I have watched many who for a while give God a try, and in time just drift back away from God and never allow Him to accomplish all he wants to do.
They never understand what is available to them as children of God because they never read the agreement (Bible) they never know what is missing because they have never experienced it.
The difference is you will or should feel connected.
You are a part of something that is bigger than you are.
In the body of Christ you will grow faster in your walk with God than if you do it on your own.
Jesus says this in John 14:12-13
“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing, He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father and I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the son may bring glory to the Father.”
We have no idea the power that we have in the name of Jesus.
Being connected to Jesus pays dividends in our lives and can and will impact those we come into contact with.
Can we do more than Jesus on our own? Of course not! What he is saying that within us is the power of God and in Him we can do great things, in fact great things because we are connected to Him and we are connected to each other. There is power in multiplication in Christ 1+1=3.
Answering second question- what part does each of us play?
We are to be connected to His church. It is not a place to visit, it is a place to belong. It is more than just having your name on membership, it is a place under the authority of God, you grow and are nurtured in Christ. It is a place where believers at all different levels in their journey can safely come and serve God.
Final question this morning- what happens if you are not connected to His church?
Most people do not make their plans around what is happening in God’s house. There are some every Saturday night and Sunday morning wrestle wither they are coming to church. I want to tell you that if you do not settle that issue and be in God’s house, you will always be justified finding other places you need to be. Take your vacations, but Gods people need to be in God’s house.
We are a part of something bigger than we are and when you are gone it may be the Sunday that God had his answer for things going on in your life. It may be the Sunday that what keeps you up at night is answered. We need God and we need each other.
Illustration
Close,
If you have received Christ as Savior, Do you rest in your new identity in Christ.
Do you realize that as a child of God we have a responsibility to grow in Christ and show the love of God to others.
God has instituted the church to be there to accomplish these things in our lives because we cannot do it ourselves.
The church is the primary place where God gathers his people together and leads them to accomplish the “greater things” in Christ.
So if you are to think like Jesus, you must believe and act upon the fact that each one of us has a responsibility in the church of God to accomplish His purpose for our lives in His church.
Amen.
