LORD, I MISS MY CHURCH!
Mt 16:18
Jesus had been talking to His disciples and He asked them who they thought He was. Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. And Jesus answered them....
Mt 16:18 I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
(1) He wasn’t saying that the church would be built on Peter with him as the 1st pope.
Petros = small stone. Petra = mountain peak, firm foundation.
The NT speaks of Jesus as the foundation of the church, it is His body.
(2) Here, He was stating that upon the faith of believers and the teaching of the Gospel, He would build His church. The Church is the vehicle thru which the Kingdom of God works thru in the NT age.
(3) Notice: The Gates of Hell will not overpower the church, but those who are not part of the church do not receive that same protection.
Why? What benefits do believers receive when they assemble with other believers and are part of a true Bible based Church?
1. WE EXPERIENCE HIS PRESENCE WITH US.
John 20. Shortly after the Resurrection, 10 of the disciples were gathered, all but Thomas. Thomas was not “in church” that day.
Jn 20:19-20 19 So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and *said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Thomas missed out that day because he was troubled and broken. He missed out on the encouragement that comes from the presence of Jesus. His doubts were so strong that he said he wouldn’t believe in the resurrection Jesus unless he saw and felt his scars. Later, he finally met with the others to find what was missing in his life.
Jn 20:26-28 26 After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus *came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then He *said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.” 28 Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
What did Thomas find when he assembled with the church?
(1) Peace- not the absence of conflict, but the blessed assurance that God is in control. Rest for his heart and his spirit.
(2) Faith- Thomas fell to his knees and cried out “My Lord and My God”. He may have been doubting Thomas, but from that day forward he never doubted again. He trusted in His Savior. If you honestly seek Him, Jesus will come to you and remove all of your doubt.
(3) Anointing- Thomas was so filled with the anointing of Christ that he soon left Jerusalem never to return again. He evangelized through Iraq, Iran, and on to India where he courageously gave his life as a martyr for Jesus Christ.
* If you’re not serving/worshiping in a church family, you’re missing out greatly.
Can you worship God anywhere? Absolutely. But if you’re not part of the local church then your relationship with God will never be as close as it could be and your spiritual life will be less full than you need it to be.
Why? Sin hinders our relationship with Christ.
(1) God commands our assembling together in Heb 10:25. (Sin)
(2) Most people neglect to tithe if not attending church. Another sin.
(3) The Church is the Body of Christ. If you severe yourself from the spiritual body, your spiritual life will wither and die. Also, in not being part of the church, we hinder the body of Christ because we are not doing our part.
When I was a kid, I used to like to catch lizards and hang them from my nose and my ears and scare girls with them. Quite possibly, it was one of the many reasons I didn't have my first date until college when I met my future wife. Catching lizards was fun stuff, but if you miss the body and grab the tail, it breaks off and the lizard runs away. The tail will lay there and wiggle around, but it will die without being attached to the rest of the body.
Similarly, when a believer is not a vital part of the church, his spiritual life will die and waste away.
2. WE DISCOVER HIS PURPOSE FOR US.
Before Jesus ascended back to Heaven He met with His disciples a couple of times to reveal to them His purpose for the church.
Mt 28:18-20 18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Power and authority. Jesus Christ, the King of kings, Lord of lords. He has authority over death, the grave, and Satan. And, He has authority over the church.
And, He commanded the church, all believers, to be an active participant in 3 of the church’s activities....
(1) Baptize them- share the gospel. Lead them to salvation. Baptize!
(2) Disciple them- involves teaching Scripture, doctrine, equipping.
(3) Teach them to obey Christ’s Commandments- IOW, Jesus Christ demanded that anyone professing to know Him, to live a holy life.
At the Ascension, Jesus reminded them of His purpose for the church.
Acts 1:8 you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
What I notice here.
(1) It was a Command. “You Shall”. All believers are to be witnesses!
(2) The command is not limited geographically. Jerusalem, Samaria, and the remotest part of the earth.
(3) The command broke down racial barriers. He specifically mentioned Samaria. Lot of prejudice between Jews and Samaritans.
I sometimes hear people say that they can live as a Christian and witness about Jesus Christ without going to church. Can they?
(1) Share the gospel and baptize them? I suppose, but the question is how many have you lead to Christ and baptized this year? 10 years?
(2) Without being part of the church, how many new believers have you discipled and taught to be strong, growing Christians?
(3) How effective have you been at teaching people to obey the commandments of Christ, if you are not keeping them yourself.
** When we unite ourselves with a church fellowship, though, we become an effective part of all of these things.
(1) The people we lead to Christ are brought into the Church that Christ chose to establish.
(2) Believers are taught the Word of God and discipled.
(3) We become more effective in reaching the world with the gospel thru local and international mission programs we support + go on.
3. WE RECEIVE HIS POWER AT WORK IN US.
After the Ascension, the disciples (about 120) gathered themselves together to earnestly pray and seek God’s will and to worship. On the day of Pentecost, God answered their prayers and the power of the Holy Spirit fell upon them.
Acts 2:1-4a When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
What were the results of this Holy Spirit anointing?
(1) The Awesome presence of God was obvious. The Holy Spirit swept in and filled each person with the anointing.
(2) Spiritual gifts were bestowed. Here, it mentions tongues. The believers were speaking languages they had never spoken before. As they testified of Jesus Christ, people from all over Africa, Middle East, and Asia heard them speaking, but in their own native language. God was going to use this particular gift to send these disciples all over the world and preach the gospel in a language they had never known before! But, other spiritual gifts were bestowed also and the church became the Body of Christ.
(3) The Power of God filled the Believers. Immediately, Peter stood up before a crowd of people and preached the gospel. In his past, Peter couldn’t put 2 words together without putting his foot in his mouth. But, now, under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, Peter preached his first sermon and 3000 people were saved.
(4) The Work of God was magnified.
In one generation the Gospel of Jesus Christ was being preached all over the world. In Acts 17, you can read how some opponents of the gospel complained to authorities that these Christians had turned the world upside down. That’s what the power of God can do!
** Look around you, America is falling apart. As a nation we are falling deeper and deeper into immorality. Need Christ/Need each other if we are going to make thru the difficult times to come (end).
CONCLUSION
There are many things I miss about my church family.
I miss the fellowship with each other.
I miss the good food we share together. Monty/Glen/ladies cooking.
I miss the deep teaching time on Sunday Night Bible Study.
I miss the joy/laughter/prayer we share on Wednesday nights meetings.
But, most importantly, I miss the overwhelming presence of the Holy Spirit as we gather to praise and worship the God of all Creation.
In the end, I miss you guys. My family. The Church.
