Did you know, that there is no way for me or for any other preacher to minister to all of the needs, that all of us have, through one single sermon?
But, did you know that all the needs, that all of us have, can be met, in one single assembly?
One reason that all of our needs can not be met in a single sermon, is because not one of us is aware of all the many needs that we have (Physical, Emotional, Spiritual) strugles that all of us are having to do battle with, in your lives.
But, God does. And because of that knowledge, He is able to meet all of our needs. And He is able to do that in one single assembly. Did you know that?
You see, God uses His people to minister to one another and to help one another through the many trials that we will encounter along life’s way.
He is able to do that when we ask him to come and bless his people, and then his people bless others with that same blessing.
2 Corinthians 1:3 = “Praise be to the God and Father of our lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Compassion and the God of all Comfort, who Comforts us in all of our troubles, so that we can Comfort those in any trouble, with the Comfort we ourselves have received from God”.
You see, sometimes after a sermon, somebody will come up to me and say; Leroy that was a really good sermon. But then upon further investigation, I come to understand what they really meant by that, and guess what?
Many times, it had nothing to do with what I just preached on. What I preached on and what their need was, were not even remotely connected. But I know what happened. And so do you.
It was in the context of the word being preached and the words of our prayers and the words in the songs that we sing and the hugs and the touches of Gods people, that God was able to minister to their hearts, and that’s what they were trying to say.
You see, in one single assembly, God is able to meet all of our needs, if we will let! God has left the church upon the earth to fulfill two directives.
One is to seek and save the lost. We have been told by our father to Go into all the world and to make disciples of all the nations.
We are to do that by doing good to all people and to use the many opportunities He gives us to preach Christ to those who have not yet heard of the Good News. This can be understood as being an External ministry of the church!
But, He has also left us another directive to fulfill and that is to build up the body, to keep it healthy and strong, so that we can accomplish the first directive. This can be understood as being an Internal ministry of the church!
And depending on how successful we are in accomplishing the Internal ministries of the church, will directly effect on how successful we will be in accomplishing the External ministry of the church.
These "internal ministries" are to be carried out one toward another. They are what we are to do to and for each other.
And here is another thing. Every single one of these Internal ministries are commandments. They are not optional and they are not recommendations. They are commandments, and they are just as binding on us for the salvation of our Souls as is the commandment to be Baptized for the forgiveness of our Sins.
Now why do you think God would make these Internal Ministries, these things that we are to do to and for each other so important as to make them commandments and not simply suggestions or recommendations?
It is because, by the church carrying out these Internal Ministries to and for one another, God is able to meet all of our Physical, Spiritual and Emotional needs.
He does that through the songs that we sing, the prayers that we say, the Supper that we share and the hugs that we give.
Let me read just a few of these Internal ministries to you:
MK.9:50 = "BE AT PEACE ONE WITH ANOTHER".
Speaks of the Goodness that should exist within the community of believers.
The Lord demands that among his people there must be Tranquillity, Peace.
Scripture tells us that as far as it depends on you, live at Peace with all men.
We are to Seek peace and pursue it in all our relationships, since as members of His body, we were called to Peace.
Peace among the family of God is so important to Him that He made sure, that the word “Peace” appears in every single book of the New Testament.
No other theological term does that!
(Not even the Word - Grace!)
John 13:34 = “A NEW COMMAND, I GIVE YOU, LOVE ONE ANOTHER”
In the Old Testament, it was “Love your Neighbor as Yourself” that pretty much made how you treated others dependent on how you felt about yourself that day. But in the New Testament, Jesus raises the standard and says: “As I have loved you, so you must Love one another.”
ROM.12:10 = "BE DEVOTED TO ONE ANOTHER.
HONOR ONE ANOTHER ABOVE YOURSELVES.”
When we come together in worship of God, in the Assembly, God wants us to place the needs of others above our own. Know why He wants that to happen?
Because in placing someone else’s needs above our own and everyone else is doing the same, means someone is going to be watching out for your needs.
Haven’t you found it to be true, that when you are down in the dumps, you almost, always feel better when you do good for someone else?
Sometimes it takes your mind off your own problems and reminds you that some people have it worse than you.
You know, I have often heard people tell others who are enduring a great burden: “That God won’t put more on you than you can bear”, ever say that?
That’s not true ? God does put on you more than you can handle, alone. That’s why He gave us the body, so that you don’t have to handle it alone.
What I think has happened is that we have confused one scripture for another.
There is a passage that says:
“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful, He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
This passage speaks of “Temptations” NOT “Burdens”!
The Bible tells us in Galatians 6:2 “That we are to help carry each others burdens and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
But that does not mean everybody is responsible for your problems / burdens cause in Verse 5, he says “Each one should carry his own load.” You do what you can do, we do what we can do and together we over come it.
That is why God tells us in Ephesians 4:15 = “From Him, (That’s Christ) the whole body, (That’s Us) joined and held together (United in Love) by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does it’s work.” (That’s You)
ROM 12:16 = “LIVE IN HARMONY WITH ONE ANOTHER”
ROM.14:13 = "LET US STOP PASSING JUDGEMENT ON ONE ANOTHER".
(Not one of us has the right to place somebody on trail for something that God has already forgiven them for.)
ROM.15:7 = "ACCEPT ONE ANOTHER, JUST AS CHRIST ACCEPTED
YOU, IN ORDER TO BRING PRAISE TO GOD."
(Those who follow Jesus must live like Jesus. And Jesus Receives Sinners, including US. He commands that we do the same towards each other. The word “Accept” means to embrace, To admit to your bosom, Hold close)
ROM. 15:14 = “INSTRUCT ONE ANOTHER.” ROM. 16:16 = “GREET
ONE ANOTHER.”
1 COR. 12:25 = “CARE FOR ONE ANOTHER.” GAL. 5:13 = “SERVE ONE
ANOTHER.”
EPH.4:32 = “BE KIND / COMPASSIONATE TO ONE ANOTHER.”
EPH.5:21 = “SUBMIT TO ONE ANOTHER.”
All in all, there are over 27 direct commandments which the Lord expects his people to obey and do, TO and FOR each other.
And not one of these is an option, they are all commandments.
God has left us these instruction so that we can become a Self-healing organism, that can bind up the wounds inflicted upon us as we go out into the world and Preach the good news.!!!
"INTERNAL MINISTRIES" are just as Binding and just as Important to the Lord as are the "EXTERNAL MINISTRIES".
How did Jesus say that the world would know that we are his disciples ?
BY OUR LOVE,,, ONE TOWARDS ANOTHER.
How did Jesus say the world would believe that he was sent by God ?
BY OUR ONENESS,,, OUR HARMONY,,, OUR PEACE.
That is why it is so important for all of us to be here or wherever the church gathers together. We need each other! You may have the answer to my problems, You may have the words that will make my burdens feel a little lighter.
But I know how life really is. Sometimes you just don’t feel like coming to church, right? I know exactly how you feel, I have been there.
Kind of reminds me of the young man who didn’t want to go to church one Sunday morning. Mother comes in and says; Get up and get ready for church. He don’t want to, so she asks, Why Not? He says; People don’t like me and they never listen to what I have to say.
So, he asks her to give him a good reason why he should go. She says: OK, I’ll give you two, # 1, Your forty years old. And # 2 You’re the Preacher.
We have all been there. You get up on Sunday morning and you really don’t feel like going through the routine of getting dressed up again to come to church.
OR
Maybe you’re a mom with small children who is just tired of having to go through the struggles of getting the little ones dressed. (I remember what it took to get here with smiles on faces)
But you do, you finally arrive. Mad, tired, frustrated. But you are here. Now when that happens and after the service when you leave, aren’t you glad that you did come?
You know why? Because God touched you in the assembly of his people.
It wasn’t just the sermon, it wasn’t just the songs, it wasn’t just the prayers, it wasn’t just the Lord’s Supper, it was all of that being done together with God’s people, that He reached out and touched your heart . . . He moved you to a greater degree of love and understanding of his holy nature.
Psalm 73 was written by a worship leader called Asaph. Asaph was sick and tired of wicked people, prospering will the righteous only suffered.
Notice what he says about them Verses 3= “I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the Wicked, they have no struggles, their bodies are healthy and strong, they are free from the burdens common to man, they are not plagued by human ills”.
In other words, what Asaph is wanting to know is, why do the wicked not get what they deserve, why does it seem that their sins go on unnoticed by you O, Lord and why is it that the righteous suffer, this just doesn’t seem fair.
Have you ever felt like that?
Have you ever wondered about that very same thing?
But now listen to what Asaph says about all of that beginning in Verse 16= “When I tried to understand all of this, it was oppressive to me. Till I entered the sanctuary of God, then I understood their final destiny”.
You want to know what happened to Asaph? I’ll tell you what happened to him, Asaph got himself to church.
And it was in the worship assembly, that he was able to get back that eternal perspective about his problems and his life and of those around him.
Now, it does not say that when he left that day, the wicked weren’t still prosperous, but it does say, that in the context of worship he got his thinking straight and that must have made him feel a whole lot better.
You know what that means? It means that if you are feeling lousy and plagued with bad attitudes, negative feelings, lousy moods , , , get yourself to church!
Because worshipping God with His people will do a job on you and it will fix the way you see things.
Because you know what God does to you when you come to worship Him? He reminds you of the fact that not one single day has gone by that he did not put food on your table.
He reminds you of the fact that there has not been one single day that he did not provide clothes for you to wear.
He reminds you of the fact that there has not been one single day that you did not have a roof over your head.
And in reminding you of all of that, you know what He does? He makes all of our burdens seem a little lighter. And you know something else?
He can lift your burdens, revive your faith, renew your spirit, without having anything to do with the sermon that I preach. That’s right, he can do it through songs, through prayers, through people.
I have been in worship services, where the singing was so good that I didn’t want to preach. Let’s just sing on, because God is doing a number on me through those words.
That’s why we offer the invitation song at the end of each sermon. It’s not just for you to come down and confess sin. That’s what a lot of us think and that’s what makes it so hard for people to respond to the invitation song.
We have come to believe, that if a person responds to the invitation song, then it is some how connected to what the preacher just preached on. Let me tell you something about that.
One thing, I have learned through the years of my preaching is this: God, continually, refuses to be limited by what I am preaching on.
He is just going to go off and do what He wants to do in your life during the worship service and it may have anything to do with what I just preached on.
And you want to know something else? He will do that without even asking for your permission or mine. He will do a number on you, if you will let Him. If you want Him too.
Oh you can come down front in response to what I just preached on. But, it doesn’t have to be. You see, because God is working on you through the service and not just through the sermon.
It used to be when I first started preaching that I thought if I didn’t do a good job in delivering the sermon, no one would respond.
or
If no one did respond, it was because of the way I delivered the sermon.
Not anymore, cause sometimes I have preached some really bad sermons and low and behold wouldn’t you know it, people would respond to those things.
I have come to understand, that what I preach on, may have something to do with people responding to the invitation song, but more often than not, it doesn’t have a thing to do with it and that’s OK with me.
Because God has shown me that he is working in the lives of His people and in His church and He will do that anywhere and anytime he wants to.
So the invitation song is sung for that purpose.
To let God have His way with You
If God has lifted a burden from your heart during the worship service, let us know about, so that we too can rejoice with you.
If during the worship service he has made known to you a ministry that he wants you to initiate in this congregation, then come down and let us know about it, so that we can help you.
If during the worship service God has put it on your heart, that someone in your family or in this family needs prayer, (Right here, Right now) then come on down and tell us so that we can pray for that person.
If something has happened during the worship service that makes you want to finally ask for help with something or someone that is hard for you to deal with alone, then please understand that you are not alone, we are here and we want to help.
If you are here today and have not been baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and God has nudged you to do that, well then why wait, do it! We will be so happy for you and it may very well be the thing that God uses to revive us again.
For whatever reason, all we want to know is this: Did God come to visit His people today? Did He touch your heart? Did he move you in any way?
The only reason why we offer the invitation song, is so that you can let us know these things.
Because remember, it’s not just through the singing or the prayers or the Lord’s Supper or even the sermon , , , that God has been trying to reach you, this morning.
It has been through all of that together, through Worship, that God has been trying to touch someone here today!
Is that person you?
Is God wanting you to do something new with your life?
Has He been tugging away at your heart for some time now?
Why don’t you let Him lead you, don’t be afraid, trust Him.
Some of you have come to this assembly today with incredible burdens and I know that the pain of some of those burdens will not go away just by you coming down front.
But I do know one thing, if you do come down front or in some other way (Raise your hand, I’ll come to you) let us know how we can be of help, that burden will feel a little lighter.
I know that God wanted ( ) to sing the songs he sang today.
To reminds us of what He has done and is doing in our lives.
And I know that God would have him sing the song which he is about to lead us in, just so that you can have some time to think about all that I have said.
And possibly, maybe, even to let us know what He has revealed to you about Himself this day.
Won’t you tell us? Come to the Lord this morning.
As we stand and Worship Him.
