SERMON TITLE- “The Temple and The Church”
SERMON SERIES or OCCASION- Final Words
DATE- July 26, 2015 LOCATION- Shelbyville Christian Church
INTRODUCTION:
Illustration/Story/Quote/Statistic- (Quoted from Barna Group “Americans divided on the importance of Church) What, if anything, helps Americans grow in their faith? When Barna Group asked, people offered a variety of answers—prayer, family or friends, reading the Bible, having children—but church did not even crack the top-10 list.
Although church involvement was once a cornerstone of American life, U.S. adults today are evenly divided on the importance of attending church. While half (49%) say it is "somewhat" or "very" important, the other 51% say it is "not too" or "not at all" important.
Spoken Need- Now why is that? A lot of those interviewed said that the church is irrelevant to me personally, hypocritical, or they point to moral failures and fights within the church as reasons to not go.
Why should we go? Why do we need to go to church or come together each Sunday at all? Is there a reason? Is it important?
Transition- What would you say makes Church important to you?
BODY:
Please Turn in your Bibles to...
1 Corinthians 3:5-17 New International Version (NIV) says...
5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.
10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.
16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.
Context and Background- Paul is using an illustration about construction to talk about the work of ministry in the Church. Those of us that serve God understand that we are here to see something built for God. We don’t people want people to come for us, but to come for what God is doing in their lives.
King David one day looked at his palace made of cedar and thought “It’s not fair that I live in this wonderful palace, but the Ark of the Lord dwells in the tent.” So he desired to build a Temple for the Lord. And God told him that he would not build that Temple, but that his son, Solomon, would. Solomon did build that Temple and dedicated it to the worship of God where people could come and pray and sacrifice to God there.
Incite-
A Temple is a place or structure built specifically for worshiping a deity. It is dedicated for that sacred purpose and therefore itself is considered sacred, a holy place.
Consider then the significance of saying that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, dedicated to the sacred purpose of worshiping God.
We are like that traveling tabernacle during the time of Moses in the desert. The tent of meeting where Moses and the people of Israel could go to inquire of the Lord. That is how close we are to be to God.
The purpose of those who work in the ministry is to build God’s Temple, to make disciples, to build on the foundation of Jesus Christ a people whose purpose is to be a vessel for the Lord and to bring Him glory.
The Church means the assembly of called out ones. It comes from the Greek word ekklesia, which means a calling out - a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place for an assembly. People in Jesus’ time would assemble for many reasons and they would come together for a specific purpose because they were summoned, called together for that purpose. For us Christians then, why do we gather; why do we assemble? What were we called out of?
The Bible says in 1 Peter 2:9 New International Version (NIV)
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession,that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
We are called out of darkness and into His wonderful light. God has appointed us as His Heralds, Ambassadors of Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us - Come out of the darkness and into God’s wonderful light. Be reconciled to God.
Paul says that the church is God’s field, and laborers work the field to help it grow fruit for the kingdom. Some plant the Word of God, others water that seed, but God makes it grow. But it’s GOD’S FIELD!
He also says that we are God’s building, not this is God’s building. But that we are God’s building. This is a tool for God to do construction on us, His building project. We are the house of God, His people.
That is why it says that wherever two or three are gathered in His Name, He is there in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20).
Paul says that we literally are the temple of God. That as followers of Christ, our bodies are meant to be for the purpose of worship. Plus, we are to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God.
Romans 12:1 New International Version (NIV) says this...
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
We gather or assemble then not to come to a building like a temple to worship and sacrifice, but to be the living sacrifices of praise, offering ourselves to God and to be the temple dedicated to His service.
The Bible also explains that we, the Church, are the Bride of Christ.
(Rev. 19:7; 21:2-9; Matthew 25:1-13) The Church is the Bride; Christ is the Groom. We were betrothed (engaged) to Christ at our baptism and sealed for the Day of God’s redemption where He will come for His bride. But will we be ready and waiting for that wedding day?
This speaks to our relationship with our Savior. Before you marry your earthly spouse and spend the rest of your life with them, it’s probably really good to get to know them. How much more then should we spend time getting to know the one we hope to spend eternity with?
Think of coming to church as quality time with your Savior getting to know Him. Paul said, “I have given up all things in order to know Christ and be found in Him.” (paraphrase of Philippians 3)
The Bible also says that the Church is the Body of Christ. It points out that just as our physical bodies have many parts (or members) that form one body, the Church is one body with many members (parts) that don’t all have the same function but all form one body. Each of those parts should have equal concern for one another so that the body survives and thrives. (1 Corinthians 12)
Listen, if a person’s body is sick or broken or unhealthy, that person is not able to accomplish much. For a person to be able to accomplish much, it’s important that their body be healthy and fit.
A while back I helped a friend of mine power-wash his pig nursery. Now, I’ve done some hard labor in my lifetime and I’ve also worked several years in construction, but my body was not used to this. He said I did a good job finishing in time and being thorough, but the next day I was worthless. I basically needed a day to rest and re-coop.
That’s how the Church can become if we are not used to doing the work of the ministry, making disciples, and sharing the Gospel with our Communities. Our spiritual muscles become atrophied. Our members become spiritually weak. The Body of Christ is not able to accomplish much for the Kingdom if we do not find ways to serve.
Over the past year my middle child, Michael, has undergone some changes in diet and things he can be around. He kept getting sick and unable to breath, so we took him to a specialist and found out that he has several allergies one of which is to foods with wheat in them. So a change of diet and environment and the monthly allergy shot helps him stay healthy.
The health of an individual is greatly affected by two things usually: Their environment and their diet. If they are in an unhealthy environment, their body will not be healthy. If they eat unhealthy foods on a regular basis, they will naturally be unhealthy.
In a similar way, if the Church is not striving to be a healthy environment that encourages spiritual growth and community, then the Body will be unhealthy and spiritually sick. Also, if the Church isn’t actively feasting on the Word of God for nourishment, then it’s members will most definitely be spiritually malnourished and sick.
CONCLUSION:
Summary- A healthy Church is a Body that is able to accomplish much. An unhealthy one is a Body that is hindered from accomplishing anything for God. Are we honoring God with the Body?
The Church is not a building made out of brick and mortar or wood and stone. No, this building is just a tool to help us build the Church, which is people. Which is individuals who choose to offer themselves to God to be His masterpiece, His workmanship, and His handiwork.
Are we truly the Temple of the Holy Spirit and offering ourselves to be living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God? Our loyalty should be to God. We assembly in His Name because we are called out of darkness and into His wonderful light. This is what it means to be the Church!
This morning, do you know why it is so important to come together in His Name?
Invitation- Please stand
