It still amazes me, almost 25% of all marriages will end in divorce. That means one out of four marriage covenants will be broken, tossed to the sidelines and forgotten. Families will be torn apart.
Interesting is the typical reasons given for ignoring the marriage covenant.
communication problems
incompatibility
changed lifestyle desires
and less common, plain infidelity.
One study said the main reason given was simply that the couple (family) simply “grew apart”.
I have a more direct answer that probably explains the deterioration of covenant relationships. The family members stopped protecting their unity as a family. They slacked off on their responsibilities to their partners. Being served became more important than serving others.
And finally, there was no one or nothing left to actually support the relationship. The foundation, the commitment, the covenant was gone, ignored.
The result: the tragedy of a broken family. It’s witness and testimony is gone.
Over the past weeks we have been talking about what it means to really be a member of the family. Though we have been speaking directly to the issue of our church family I think you can see the striking parallels to your home life.
Together we have laid out the four foundational commitments that make up our church covenant. The very reason these four statements or commitments make up our covenant agreement is that they are the foundation of every long lasting, growing, healthy relationship – especially Christ’s church, FirstFamily.
This morning as we conclude this series on our FirstFamily Covenant I want us to read it together.
I will protect the unity of my church
by acting in love,
refusing to gossip
and following Biblical Church leadership)
I will share the responsibility of my church
by praying for it’s growth,
inviting the unchurched to attend
and warmly welcoming those who do come
I will serve the ministry of my church
by discovering my gifts and talents
being equipped to serve by my pastors
and developing a servant’s heart
I will support the testimony of my church
by attending faithfully,
living a godly life
and giving regularly
Some of you may not yet have come to a place in your commitment to God’s plan for your life where you are willing to make such a covenant with His church. But this morning I want to remind you how important such a commitment is and how beneficial it is to your walk with God and your testimony about God to others.
To protect, share, serve and support…
Imagine with me if you will a man or woman who says they love their family. On top of that they say they really care, they want to see their family succeed. They talk about the wonderful blessings of having a family, but…
they seldom if ever come home
they rarely show up for meals or family times
in fact they don’t even act like their part of a family at all. They certainly don’t act married.
And what would you think of a husband or wife, father or mother who keeps all of his paycheck for himself while the family suffers from neglect. His or her hobbies, desires and interests are always first?
What would you think of a family member who refuses to really support their family? Here’s what the Apostle Paul said, (and these are his words, not mine)
“If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (1 Timothy 5:8)
When someone refuses to support his or her family it is one of the most ungodly thing they can do!
Now, think about your church family. How do you suppose a person who is unwilling to genuinely support their church would be described?
A person who seldom if ever attends his or her church?
A person who lives an ungodly life – that means a life that does not reflect God?
A person who refuses to give to the needs of his or her church?
Don’t ask me as a Pastor…ask any typical person on the street. A person who doesn’t know God or attend church.
Ask that person and they will tell you – a person who refuses to attend, lives ungodly and refuses to give – they would say that person probably isn’t a true believer!
Don’t get me wrong, my point is not to say that those three factors make you a believer – they don’t.
You can attend church every day, live a good life, give all you have and none of those things will get you into heaven. Only a covenant relationship with Jesus Christ can do that. Only by accepting God’s free offer of forgiveness and by making Him the Boss of your life can you gain His eternal life.
But when a believer refuses to support the testimony of His church – his own testimony is diminished.
Hebrews 10:25 says it this way: “Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the day of his coming back again is drawing near.”
Did you catch that? Some had actually gotten in the habit of avoiding worshipping together. And others had forgotten why we gather to worship.
We gather - not for what we can get out of it alone, but for what we can given. When we attend church we support each other! How?, by encouraging love and helping out, by spurring each other on.
One of these days Jesus is coming back to take us to heaven – and you and I need all the encouragement we can get to love and live right! And it’s awfully hard to encourage someone you’re not with!
Frankly, I’ve yet to meet a believer who had much of a real testimony for God who didn’t attend church. How can you say you are a believer and not fellowship with His Body, the church? If you don’t attend church often, if you get in the habit of missing worship, you will soon find yourself with little real Christian testimony.
Let me share with you another vital mistake a lot of believers assume they can get away with. I call it “Sunday morning Christianity”.
Sunday morning Christianity says “I can act godly on Sunday and live like the devil the rest of the week…. Well, maybe I don’t live like the devil, but I certainly don’t make living for God a priority.”
Listen to this verse:
“live in such a way that you are a credit to the Message of Christ. Let nothing in your conduct hang on whether I come or not. Your conduct must be the same whether I show up to see things for myself or hear of it from a distance.” (Philippians 1:27)
Romans 14:23 says it this way,
“and whatever is not from faith is sin.”
Far too many people actually think they can live a “part-time Christianity” and get away with it not hurting them. It doesn’t work that way. People see us 24/7.
I tell my children that no matter where they go, no matter what they do, they will always be representing our family.
And, as a believer, no matter where you go, no matter what you do, you are representing Christ and His Church. If we are going to support the testimony of our church we have to live like we actually “go to church”, like we are actually a part of God’s family!
One final thought, if we are going to support the testimony of our church family – then we have to give.
So far we’ve talked about giving of our presence (attending faithfully) and giving with our practice (living a life that honors both Christ and His church. However, we also must give with our pocketbooks and purses.
“On every Lord’s Day, each of you should put aside some amount of money in relation to what you have earned and save it for this offering.” (1 Corinthians 16:2) “A tenth of the produce of the land, whether grain or fruit, belongs to the LORD and must be set apart to him as holy.” (Leviticus 27:30)
What good is faithfulness of presence and practice if we are selfish with our purses? Jesus said “Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be.” (Matthew 6:21)
If a father or mother says they care about their family but refuses to provide for them financially – I’m sorry, it’s hard for me to think of them as “good parents”.
If a believer comes to church, says all the right things, but refuses to give God his tithes and offerings – I’m sorry, but I just don’t buy it!
It’s not about the money, it’s about the heart.
That’s why when we commit to supporting the testimony of our church it means that we not only attend and live for our church – we also give so the needs of our church will be met, so the ministries of our church can go on.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that giving financially is a primary test of whether you are a good family member or not – that’s what Jesus said! He said, “where your treasure is, there your hearts and thoughts will also be”. Those are His words, not mine.
I know it’s true personally. Whenever my heart begins to drift away from God’s church. Whenever I begin to put my desires, my wishes and my wants ahead of my family and my church – the first area I’m tempted in is my giving!
Why? Because my testimony is first affected by my feet and my finances. When I’m living right before God – in right relationship with my family and my church – I go and do the things He calls to do, and I give as He asks me to give.
For some this area of “support” is a touchy subject.
For some, it’s touchy because they simply have not learned how much of a blessing giving to God through His church is. For a few, it’s because they are fighting God for the very possessions of their lives.
But when we commit, covenant together
to protect,
to share,
to serve
and to support
our church – we begin to see God’s blessings in ways we never could have anticipated.
I will…
Will you?
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