Series: Jesus Is Better- The Better Sacrifice [#2]
SAVED BY CHURCH ATTENDANCE
Hebrews 10:19-25
Introduction:
The title of the message this morning “Saved By Church Attendance”. Now, before you have a cardiac arrest, or begin to accuse me of preaching heresy, let me clarify that title. We know that the Bible teaches clearly the only way of eternal salvation is by grace through faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ as atonement for our sin. We cannot add to that nor take away from that; but what I want us to consider today is that there is much benefit from being faithful in our church attendance. Not that a person obtains salvation by church attendance, but rather that a Christian can by saved from certain things by church attendance. Attending the house of the Lord is one of the greatest privileges that a child of God has. The reason so many Christians never become great Christians is that they don’t make church attendance an absolute must in their life.
Hebrews 10:19-25 (NIV)
“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 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.”
Saved from…
1. Doubt of salvation.
When a Christian drops out of church it isn’t long until they begin to doubt their salvation. Salvation and church attendance are woven together. God knows the importance of church attendance to the believer. That is why He established the local church.
Matthew 16:18 (NIV)
“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.”
The church is where we…
? Find encouragement to face the trials of life.
The church is where we…
? Are drawn closer to the Lord through the study of His Word.
The church is where we…
? Are drawn closer to each other in prayer and fellowship.
It is abnormal to try to separate our salvation and our church attendance. If we are not in church, we will lose that closeness of fellowship with the Lord and the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 18:20 (NIV)
“For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
Church attendance is…
? Priority if we intend to grow as a believer in Christ.
I know of no one who is consistently growing in the Lord who has no regard for attending the house of the Lord. If we stay out of church long enough, we will eventually blend in very well with the world.
Church attendance is…
? One way of witnessing that we are saved.
Not many people would believe that we are Christians if we do not attend church regularly. I know of many people that tell me, “I may not go to church, but I am a Christian.” Why do you suppose they felt it necessary to tell me that? Because they know a Christian should be in church on a regular basis. There is no continuity in our testimony if we don’t go to church. Who will believe that Christ really means anything to us if we don’t make His church a priority in our lives?
Church attendance is…
? A family matter.
Joshua 24:15 (NIV)
“But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
Obviously, if a family member is lost they will most likely do not want to attend church; but too often it is the believer who pulls away from the local fellowship. There is a place that the Lord has chosen for us to bring our family and meet with Him in worship. For my family, it is Bel Aire Baptist Church.
Saved from…
2. Defeat in service.
Defeat comes to the unfaithful Christian. It is spiritually impossible to be faithful to God in any form of service and ignore the attendance to His house. I have heard of school teachers who had taught for years and never missed a day. Many companies give rewards or incentives for faithful attendance at the work place. What does our attendance record for church look like?
We have an enemy who wants to defeat us. He wants us to fail. He will use whatever it takes to get us to go back on our commitment to God. The 1st stage toward defeat is to get us to skip church.
Satan is a master of deceit. He will try to convince us that our sin is acceptable. After all, no one is perfect. He will cause us to look at other people and say, “Everyone is doing it.” He will put barriers between the church and us. I don’t like the preacher’s messages or maybe, I don’ like the preacher. I don’t get along with “so and so”, so I will just quit. There is too much of this or too little of that. Defeat will come to the Christian who is not faithful in church attendance.
Saved from…
3. Drought of the Spirit.
Ephesians 4:30 (NIV)
“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
1 Thessalonians 5:19 (NIV)
“Do not put out the Spirit's fire.”
Lack of faithful church attendance will affect us spiritually. Every child of God is indwelled by the Holy Spirit of God and Jesus explained that He (the Comforter) would teach us and guide us into truth. However, we as believers must yield to the Spirit of God within us in order to be filled with His power and we cannot expect God’s filling and power upon us, when we continue in sin. Make no mistake about it, forsaking the assembly of believers is sin.
If we have quenched the Holy Spirit, we have effectively rendered His influence in our lives null. This is a dangerous place for the believer to be. We will make decisions without His direction and wisdom. You are apt to do something outside the will of God, and God may just let you go your way alone. To intentionally quench the Spirit of God by intentionally missing church is to tell God, “I do not need Your leadership.”
There are many examples of the tragic consequences of making decisions without God’s leadership in our lives. Many heartaches and destroyed lives witness to the folly of such behavior. God takes no delight or pleasure in such matters. The Holy Spirit will never leave us in the matter of salvation, but He will let us stumble through life miserable, defeated, and desperate, if we choose to go that way.
Conclusion:
Being faithful in attendance to our local church brings great benefits to us as believers. God established the local church for our benefit, not to cause hurt. The Scripture tells us that Christ loved the church (assembly not the building) and gave Himself for it. It is of great value to our Lord, and it is of great value to us as His children.
