However, many people today when they say they are looking for a church for their family they look for a church today the same way they are shopping for a new car.
That is, they are looking for a church that has certain features.
Such as a…
(1) Beautiful building to worship in.
If you find that hard to believe than why do many churches today spend millions of dollars on a church building because they know that some folks are looking for this kind of church to join.
(2) Some are looking for a church that has a lot of activities.
This is why many churches today have more activities than the local YMCA because they know that some folks are looking for that kind of church to join.
(3) Some are looking for a church to join that has prestigious members.
Illus: In Columbia, S.C. a business wanting to increase their business sent their salesman to join certain prestigious churches in the city.
The reason they did this they knew these kinds of churches may offer them some business contacts for their business.
(4) Some are looking for a church that has talented singers.
They know that everyone likes good singing.
I could go on and on why some people are looking for a certain kind of church they want to join.
They shop for a church the way some folks shop for a car.
Folks have some strange ideas about the church they are looking for in a church they want to join.
Yes, there are people all over this nation looking for a certain kind of church with certain kind of features.
But the question I want to ask you is this, "What kind of church is God looking for?”
Every Christian should be looking for the kind of church that God is looking for.
As we look at the scriptures, we are not without guidance concerning what kind of church God is looking for in a church.
For example, based on the scriptures we can see:
I. WHAT GOD IS LOOKING FOR IN A CHURCH
Let me tell you about Cowboy Joe who wanted to find a church that he was looking for….
Illus: Cowboy Joe was telling his friend Charlie about his first visit to the big-city church he wanted to join.
• He said, "When I got there, they had me park my old truck in the corral,"
Charlie said, "You mean the parking lot."
• "I walked up the trail to the door."
Charlie again corrected him and said, “You mean the sidewalk.”
• Joe continued, "Inside the door, I was met by this dude."
Charlie said, “You mean usher.”
• "Well, the usher led me down the chute."
Charlie said, "You mean the aisle."
• "Then, he led me to a stall and told me to sit there."
• Charlie said, “You mean PEW!"
• "Yeah, that’s what that pretty lady said when I sat down beside her, she said…PEW!”
Every born-again believer should be looking for the same kind of church the Lord is looking for.
WHAT KIND OF CHURCH IS THAT?
God is looking for a church that belongs to Him!!!
We often hear people say about the church they attend as “MY CHURCH”.
I myself have referred to this church…the First Baptist as MY CHURCH!
But really it isn’t MY CHURCH!
Notice, in our scripture reading the Lord referred to the church as, “My church”.
The Lord is looking for a church that is HIS CHURCH!!!
The reason it is HIS CHURCH is because HE DIED FOR HIS CHURCH!
We are privilege to join HIS CHURCH, but actually the First Baptist church belongs to HIM!
So, when a person joins the First Baptist, they are joining His church.
WHY DOES GOD LAY CLAIM THE CHURCH BELONGS TO HIM?
Because the Lord Jesus died for His Church.
Because the church is God’s people and God’s people belong to God.
Illus: We often hear people talk about going to church. WE DO NOT GO TO CHURCH WE ARE THE CHURCH.
The church isn’t a place; it’s people!
This congregation of believers is not my congregation, it is God’s Congregation.
For example, when the rapture takes place, He is not coming back for a bunch of church buildings, He is coming back for His church which is His people.
With the strength and wisdom, He provides us we can BUILD A CHURCH BUILDING PHYSICALLY, but only God can BUILD HIS CHURCH SPIRITUALLY.
1) He clearly states every Bible-believing church is HIS CHURCH
2) He also clearly states I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH.
However, sad to say however some church goers can refer to their church as MY CHURCH because their church is not BUILT BY GOD they are BUILT BY MAN!!!
Illus: Something our Bible Colleges and Seminaries are failing to do is teach young men who are studying for the ministry that the church BELONGS TO GOD and the church is BUILT BY THE LORD JESUS!!!
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger had a young man studying for the ministry in his church. He had a good singing voice and a excellent personality.
After several years He took a church to pastor.
Many thought because he had:
• Good singing voice
• Excellent personality
• Nice looking
• The church would flourish.
Within a year his ministry proves to be a total failure and he quit the ministry due to discouragement.
Why?
Because he did not know that God said I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH!
Bible Colleges and Seminaries are not teaching young men who are studying for the ministry GOD BUILDS HIS CHURCH!
God’s church is:
• BUILT BY GOD
• BELONGS TO GOD.
We have too many in the pulpit today who feel because of their talent and education they do not need to seek God through PRAYER AND GUIDANCE to pastor a church.
THEY ARE TOTALLY IGNORANT ABOUT THE MINISTRY!!!
Illus: Have you noticed there is something strange about church doors in a church building?
Something very strange happens to men and women who walk through church doors.
For example:
• A man does not walk through the hospital doors and all of a sudden know all about how to do surgery
• A man does not walk through the doors of a restaurant and all of a sudden know how to run that restaurant
• A man does not walk through the doors of a garage and suddenly know all about how to fix a car
But yet unsaved people can walk through the doors of a church, and like magic, they know how to run a church.
I should say they know how TO RUIN A CHURCH!!!
These manmade churches operate without:
• Power of RAYER
• Power of the SCRIPTURES
• WITHOUT THE LEADING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Before we can determine what kind of church the Lord wants HIS church to be, we need to consider two Greek words that the word church comes from:
(1) The word church comes from two Greek words; the first word is "EKKLESIA" which means "Assembly".
(2) The second Greek word Church is derived from is the Greek word “KURIAKOS” (Kry-a-kios) which means "Belonging to the Lord".
If we combine the two words, we get the true meaning of the word church, which is “An assembly belonging to the Lord".
Illus: There is a denomination called the ASSEMBLIES OF GOD which has a very Biblical name for a church.
It is ESSENTIAL that we understand GOD’S CHURCH is an ASSEMBLY OF PEOPLE BELONGING TO THE LORD.
This is why you hear me as a pastor when I open the church doors of this church for church membership that I say, IF YOU ARE A BORN AGAIN CHRISTIAN AND YOU FEEL THAT GOD IS LEADING YOU TO JOIN THE FIRST BAPTIST (God’s church) PLEASE COME DOWN AND MAKE IT KNOWN.
This is why Bible-believing churches teach and preach that people that join God’s church should be PEOPLE THAT ARE SAVED PEOPLE.
Now these manmade churches that take in members that are not saved all they care about are NUMBERS and they will take in unsaved people as members as well as a saved person.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT THAT A BIBLE BELIEVING CHURCH TAKE IN BORN AGAIN BELIEVERS ONLY?
For three reasons:
(1) First, because the word Church is “An assembly belonging to the Lord".
It would be a lie to call a church full of unbeliever an ASSEMBLY BELONGING TO THE LORD.
(2) Secondly, because the unsaved is unsaved and do not live like saved people.
(3) Thirdly, because unsaved people are not led of the Lord.
God looks for churches that are filled with HIS PEOPLE TO BLESS not people who are filled with the DEVIL TO BLESS.
Illus: Now every church has problems because we cannot serve God as a church and not have a battle with the devil from time to time.
However, much of the trouble we hear about in churches today is due to taking in members that are not saved and not led of the Lord.
• They do not come to worship the Lord.
• They do not come to be led of the Lord.
They come with CARNAL DESIRES!!!
Everything we do as a church should be for the purpose of MAGNIFYING THE LORD JESUS!
That is, we are not to magnify…
• Some church member!
• Some preacher!
• Some Sunday school teacher!
• Some Deacon!
• Some singer!
God’s church is to MAGNIFY HIM!!!
If something does not magnify Him, we should not be doing it.
For example:
Illus: Every October Halloween comes around and some folks want to know why we do not celebrate Halloween.
Why?
Because having people running around dress up like the devil does not MAGNIFY THE LORD!!!
There are so many things today that are done in churches that do not magnify the Lord.
The lost world may magnify these things, but the church should not.
1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
Notice these words in that verse, “…whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
God placed the church here on earth for that purpose AND THAT PURPOSE ALONE!!!
Illus: One church in Columbia, S.C. if you attend you will hear more about college football than you will about the Lord Jesus.
• From the time you enter this church you can hear people talking about football.
• When you attend Sunday school you will hear them talking about football.
• And some time when the preacher gets up in the pulpit to preach, he wears a college football jersey.
Sports and politics is not a place for the church.
The top priority of the church should be to MAGNIFY THE LORD ALWAYS!
Illus: I like that song we sing sometime that goes like this…
Sandi Patty - O Magnify the Lord (1984)
YouTube
Cornellcrawford
24.6K views
Mar 10, 2014
Everything we do as a church should show this is our top priority as a church. We are filled with the Spirit of God, and there is no room in our life for anything but Him!
Illus: A professor of philosophy stood silently before his class, waiting for students to take their seats.
After they were all seated, he took a GALLON empty mayonnaise jar from his desk and filled it to the top with large rocks.
• When he was done, he asked the students whether the jar was full. They replied that, indeed, it was full.
• Next the professor took a box of small pebbles and poured them into the jar, shaking the jar so that the pebbles fell into the open areas between the larger rocks.
When the professor was done, he asked the students again if the jar was full, they agreed that it was.
• Then the professor poured in a box of sand, which naturally filled up all the spaces in the jar between the rocks and the pebbles.
He then began to explain the purpose of the exercise.
Holding up the jar, he said, “This is your life.”
• The rocks represent all the important things, like family, relationships, your health, whatever is so important that were it lost, you would be devastated, nearly destroyed.
• The pebbles represent the other things that matter but are important to a lesser extent, like your job, a car or a house. They matter on a smaller scale.
• The sand represents everything else. Were you to place the sand in the jar first, there would be no room at all for the rocks.
He explained it is the same with your life. If you spend all your energy and your time on the small stuff, you won’t have room for the things in life that matter.”
Many churches today have gotten their priorities all mixed up.
They have an agenda full of things they want to do, and most of them do not have anything to do with MAGNIFYING the Lord.
Illus: When we use the word Magnify, we think of a magnifying glass.
Read Psalm 34:3 O magnify the LORD with me and let us exalt his name together.
• Every song we sing in God’s church should make Him Bigger
• Every Sunday school lesson in God’s church should make Him Bigger
• Every Sermon in God’s church that is preached should make Him Bigger.
Illus: In his book, William Hendricks, “Revealing Stories Why People Are Leaving the Church” he took a survey asking folks why they no longer attend church.
Surprisingly, the most common complaint was not:
• The music,
• The facilities,
• Or that church was dull.
The most common reason given for leaving the church was that the church did not provide them an opportunity to meet with God.
In other words, the church is MAGNIFYING THE WRONG THINGS!!!
Illus: For them church was like going to an Elvis Pressley concert and there was good singing and entertainment, but Elvis was not there!
They come to church hoping to experience something of God, to be spiritually fed they left the same way they came!!!
You see if God is not MAGNIFIED in a church service everything else eventually loses its appeal.
• Manmade churches do not make God GREAT!
• The world in which live have made GOD A SMALL GOD.
But God’s desire for His church should be to make GOD GREAT!!!
WHAT GOD IS LOOKING FOR IS A CHURCH BUILT BY GOD AND BELONGS TO GOD.
That kind of church BY MAKING HIM LOOK GREAT!!!
We have look at WHAT KIND OF CHURCH GOD IS LOOKING FOR but now let us look at…
II. HOW CAN WE MAGNIFY GOD
A. BY FAITHFULLY ATTENDING GOD’S CHURCH
In Hebrews 10:25, we read, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
Listen, unless we are sick and unable to attend church anytime we do not attend CHURCH WE ARE MAKING SOMETHING GREATER THAN THE GOD WE SERVE BEFORE OUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
We are not magnifying the Lord. We are making something else greater than the God we serve.
One of the best ways to DESTROY YOUR TESTIMONY as a Christian before your family, neighbors, co-workers and friends is to put other things ahead of God in your church attendance.
OUR CHURCH ATTENDANCE WILL SHOW ONE OF TWO THINGS:
(1) God is not that important in your life.
(2) God is more important than anything in our life
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger dad use to get on to him when he was living because he would not attend the yearly family reunion THAT WAS HELD ONE SUNDAY OUT OF THE YEAR!!!
He told his dad if they would hold this annual get together on Saturday instead of Sunday he would attend it every year.
We love our family but how can we show them that God is important in our lives by putting them ahead of the Lord.
If we truly love the Lord, we will not allow anything come ahead of the Lord Jesus in our lives.
We live in a wicked world, and every Christian needs to find a Bible-believing, Bible-preaching church and attend it as often as they can that MAGNIFY THE LORD by attending it every Sunday.
Today’s Christians need to be faithful to the house of God more than ever before.
Illus: Church attendance for some is like the young man who said to his girlfriend,
• “I would climb the highest mountains to see your sweet face.”
• “I would swim the widest ocean to hold your hand.”
• “If it does not rain, I will see you Friday evening.”
Our church attendance reflects THAT HE IS WORTHY OF OUR TIME TO ATTEND CHURCH.
Someone said, SHOW ME HOW YOU SPEND YOUR TIME AND I WILL SHOW YOU WHAT IS IMPORTANT IN YOUR LIFE!!!
• You know that!
• Your family, friends and co-workers know that!
• And God knows that!!!
He is so important to us that nothing comes ahead of Him. Unless we are sick and there is a ten-foot tidal wave we ought to be in the house of God.
It is one of the greatest ways we can show the lost that the LORD IS FIRST IN OUR LIFE!!!
Illus: Listen, if you live next door to a fellow that is always talking about FISHING, but you never see him going fishing, he is not going to convince you that fishing is important to him.
In fact, if all you do is talk about FISHING but never go, they would think that you are weird!!!
But if you talk about fishing often, and every time you have a chance to go fishing you head for a fishing hole, you are going to convince neighbors and family that fishing has captured your life and it might be something they might want to consider themselves.
Whether we want to admit it or not, we are all salesmen.
And when it comes to salesmen, there are GOOD ONES and there are BAD ONES.
Illus: An inexperienced real-estate salesman asked his boss if he could refund the deposit to an angry customer who had discovered that the lot he had bought was under water.
The boss said, “What kind of salesman are you?" The boss scolded him and said, "Get out there and sell him a boat!!!"
We Christians are salesmen. And our church attendance often tells the lost world that we love our Savior with all of our hearts.
That is exactly what your church attendance does.
We are EXALTING GOD’S CHURCH or DEMOTING GOD’S CHURCH by the way we attend church.
God is looking for a church that will MAGNIFY HIM BECAUSE EVERY TIME THE CHURCH DOORS ARE OPEN GOD’S PEOPLE THAT LOVE HIM ARE THERE.
ALSO…HOW CAN GOD’S CHURCH MAGNIFY THE LORD?
B. BY FAITHFULLY GIVING TO GOD’S CHURCH
Look at Malachi 3:10, we read, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”
God’s church according to the Word of God is to operate financially by the people who love God.
God has made no provision for His church to operate financially…NONE!!!
• I told you a few minutes ago you can tell what is important to people BY THE WAY THEY SPEND THEIR TIME.
• But let me add to that list you can tell what is important to people also by THE WAY THEY SPEND THEIR MONEY.
Illus: Does your bank register show you love the Lord.
Nowhere in the scriptures can we find that God’s church should be supported by soup suppers, car washes, and garage sales.
God desires a church that can be supported by people that love Him enough to BRING HIS TITHES AND THEIR OFFERINGS INTO THE HOUSE OF GOD.
Notice, we are told to BRING not SEND His tithes to some television preacher for them to buy a new Mercedes or airplane.
Malachi 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
Also, God’s church can MAGNIFY THE LORD by…
C. BY INVITING PEOPLE TO GOD’S CHURCH
WHAT DOES IT TELL PEOPLE WHEN WE INVITE THEM TO GOD’S CHURCH?
It tells them we love the Lord, and we want to share with them something that has been a blessing to us.
Luke 14:23 And the lord said unto the servant, go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
Look at that word “Go” telling us to get up and go and compel the lost to come to my house.
Illus: Have you ever been in your car and at a red light and the light turn green and the car in front of you just sit there.
Do you feel like I do that you want to walk up and tap on the window and say, “Mister, it not going to any greener than that!”
God tells the church to GO compel the lost to come to His house.
That word COMPEL means to plead with them in the most earnest way.
Do you realize how many could get their family members and friends to attend church with them if they WOULD MAGNIFY THE LORD BEFORE THEM AND PLEAD WITH THEM EARNESTLY TO ATTEND CHURCH WITH THEM!!!!
Sometime to get people to do you a favor you have to do two things:
(1) First, not just ask them, but plead with them.
(2) Secondly, sometime to get people to do you a favor we have to do them a favor.
This is how the word COMPEL is used sometime.
We can come together as a church and sing, “HOW GREAT THOU ART”, but there is a lost world out there that does not know that.
And they never will if we do not START MAGNIFYIN THE LORD BEFORE THEM AND INVITING THEM TO COME TO KNOW HIM!
WHAT KIND OF CHURCH IS GOD LOOKING FOR?
He wants us to MAGNIFY HIM:
• In our church attendance
• In our giving
• In our witnessing
Conclusion:
Today there are two kinds of churches.
(1) MAN MADE CHURCHES MADE BY MAN GETTING MAN MADE RESULTS.
(2) GOD MADE CHURCHES MADE BY GOD GETTING GOD’S RESULTS.
I. WHAT KIND OF CHURCH IS GOD LOOKING FOR?
A Church that will magnify Him.
II. HOW CAN WE MAGNIFY GOD
A. BY FAITHFULLY ATTENDING GOD’S CHURCH
In Hebrews 10:25, we read, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
Listen, unless we are sick and unable to attend church anytime we do not attend CHURCH WE ARE MAKING SOMETHING GREATER THAN THE GOD WE SERVE BEFORE OUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
We are not magnifying the Lord. We are making something else greater than the God we serve.
One of the best ways to DESTROY YOUR TESTIMONY as a Christian before your family, neighbors, co-workers and friends is to put other things ahead of God in your church attendance.
OUR CHURCH ATTENDANCE WILL SHOW ONE OF TWO THINGS:
(1) God is not that important in your life.
(2) God is more important than anything in our life
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger dad use to get on to him when he was living because he would not attend the yearly family reunion THAT WAS HELD ONE SUNDAY OUT OF THE YEAR!!!
He told his dad if they would hold this annual get together on Saturday instead of Sunday he would attend it every year.
We love our family but how can we show them that God is important in our lives by putting them ahead of the Lord.
If we truly love the Lord we will not allow anything come ahead of the Lord Jesus in our lives.
We live in a wicked world, and every Christian needs to find a Bible-believing, Bible-preaching church and attend it as often as they can that MAGNIFY THE LORD by attending it every Sunday.
Today’s Christians need to be faithful to the house of God more than ever before.
Illus: Church attendance for some is like the young man who said to his girlfriend,
• “I would climb the highest mountains to see your sweet face.”
• “I would swim the widest ocean to hold your hand.”
• “If it does not rain, I will see you Friday evening.”
Our church attendance reflects THAT HE IS WORTHY OF OUR TIME TO ATTEND CHURCH.
Someone said, SHOW ME HOW YOU SPEND YOUR TIME AND I WILL SHOW YOU WHAT IS IMPORTANT IN YOUR LIFE!!!
• You know that!
• Your family, friends and co-workers know that!
• And God knows that!!!
He is so important to us that nothing comes ahead of Him. Unless we are sick and there is a ten foot tidal wave we ought to be in the house of God.
It is one of the greatest way we can show the lost that the LORD IS FIRST IN OUR LIFE!!!
Illus: Listen, if you live next door to a fellow that is always talking about FISHING but you never see him going fishing, he is not going to convince you that fishing is important to him.
In fact, if all you do is talk about FISHING but never go, they would think that you are weird!!!
But if you talk about fishing often, and every time you have a chance to go fishing you head for a fishing hole, you are going to convince neighbors and family that fishing has captured your life and it might be something they might want to consider themselves.
Whether we want to admit it or not, we are all salesmen.
And when it comes to salesmen, there are GOOD ONES and there are BAD ONES.
Illus: An inexperienced real-estate salesman asked his boss if he could refund the deposit to an angry customer who had discovered that the lot he had bought was under water.
The boss said “What kind of salesman are you?" The boss scolded him and said, "Get out there and sell him a boat!!!"
We Christians are salesmen. And our church attendance often tells the lost world that we love our Savior with all of our hearts.
That is exactly what your church attendance does.
We are EXALTING GOD’S CHURCH or DEMOTING GOD’S CHURCH by the way we attend church.
God is looking for a church that will MAGNIFY HIM BECAUSE EVERY TIME THE CHURCH DOORS ARE OPEN GOD’S PEOPLE THAT LOVE HIM ARE THERE.
ALSO…HOW CAN GOD’S CHURCH MAGNIFY THE LORD?
B. BY FAITHFULLY GIVING TO GOD’S CHURCH
Look at Malachi 3:10, we read, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”
God’s church according to the Word of God is to operate financially by the people who love God.
God has made no provision for His church to operate financially…NONE!!!
• I told you a few minutes ago you can tell what is important to people BY THE WAY THEY SPEND THEIR TIME.
• But let me add to that list you can tell what is important to people also by THE WAY THEY SPEND THEIR MONEY.
Illus: Does your bank register show you love the Lord.
Nowhere in the scriptures can we find that God’s church should be supported by soup suppers, car washes, and garage sales.
God desires a church that can be supported by people that love Him enough to BRING HIS TITHES AND THEIR OFFERINGS INTO THE HOUSE OF GOD.
Notice, we are told to BRING not SEND His tithes to some television preacher for them to buy a new Mercedes or airplane.
Malachi 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
Also God’s church can MAGNIFY THE LORD by…
C. BY INVITING PEOPLE TO GOD’S CHURCH
WHAT DOES IT TELL PEOPLE WHEN WE INVITE THEM TO GOD’S CHURCH?
It tells them we love the Lord and we want to share with them something that has been a blessing to us.
Luke 14:23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
Look at that word “Go” telling us to get up and go and compel the lost to come to my house.
Illus: Have you ever been in your car and at a red light and the light turn green and the car in front of you just sit there.
Do you feel like I do that you want to walk up and tap on the window and say, “Mister, it not going to any more green than that!”
God tells the church to GO compel the lost to come to His house.
That word COMPEL means to plead with them in the most earnest way.
Do you realize how many could get their family members and friends to attend church with them if they WOULD MAGNIFY THE LORD BEFORE THEM AND PLEAD WITH THEM EARNESTLY TO ATTEND CHURCH WITH THEM!!!!
Sometime to get people to do you a favor you have to do two things:
(1) First, not just ask them, but plead with them.
(2) Secondly, sometime to get people to do you a favor we have to do them a favor.
This is how the word COMPEL is used sometime.
We can come together as a church and sing, “HOW GREAT THOU ART”, but there is a lost world out there that does not know that.
And they never will if we do not START MAGNIFYIN THE LORD BEFORE THEM AND INVITING THEM TO COME TO KNOW HIM!
WHAT KIND OF CHURCH IS GOD LOOKING FOR?
He wants us to MAGNIFY HIM:
• In our church attendance
• In our giving
• In our witnessing
Conclusion:
Today there are two kinds of churches.
(1) MAN MADE CHURCHES MADE BY MAN GETTING MAN MADE RESULTS.
(2) GOD MADE CHURCHES MADE BY GOD GETTING GOD’S RESULTS.
I. WHAT KIND OF CHURCH IS GOD LOOKING FOR?
A Church that will magnify Him
II. HOW CAN A CHURCH MAGNIFY THE LORD?
A. In our church attendance
B. In our giving
C. In our witnessing
Illus: Have you ever thought what kind of thoughts you would have one seconds after you stand before God. I CAN TELL YOU, YOU WILL WISH YOU HAD:
• Prayed More!
• Gave More!
• Witness More!
• Did More!
God’s church is the only institution on the face of the earth that is here to MAGNIFY THE LORD.
Illus: Our country has embassies in other countries. Those embassies are there not to represent those countries they are in but to represent the countries they are from.
The church is IN THE WORLD but we are not here to represent the world we are in, but the world from which we are from.
God’s church is that embassy in the world representing heaven where we are from.
I. WHAT GOD IS LOOKING FOR IN HIS
CHURCH
II.HOW CAN WE MAGNIFY THE LORD
A. IN OUR ATTENDANCE
B. IN OUR GIVING
C. IN OUR WITNESSING
Sandi Patty - O Magnify the Lord (1984)
YouTube
Cornellcrawford
24.6K views
Mar 10, 2014
