Lexington Church Of God, March 16th, 2003 PM Service
“Building An Attractive Church”
Text: Acts 2:41-47 (KJV)
41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
Introduction:
It should be the desire of every pastor, evangelist, music director, every elder, Deacon, and lay member to see God add to His Church.
God has chosen to build His church using man.
God has given us the blue prints! The church cannot be built by the ingenuity of man.
God gave Moses the instructions for the Portable Temple.
(1) Every careful detail was given to Moses by God.
(2) Not one thing was left for man to use his own imagination.
(3) That portable temple or tabernacle was symbolic of a better
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Temple, or tabernacle to come.
[A] Church communities spend huge amounts of money, many of them
acquiring massive debt to build a building designed by man to be
impressive and showy.
(1) There is nothing wrong with building God nice buildings.
I think we should strive to make God’s House nicer than
the houses each of us live in!
2 Sam 7:1-2 (KJV)
1 And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the LORD had given him rest round about from all his enemies;
2 That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains.
(2) But God would not allow David to build Him a building because of
the blood that He had shed.
(3) But God did allow his son to build Him a building.
“Solomon’s Temple”
[B] What really makes God happy is when we build Him a tabernacle
Of flesh.
1 Cor 6:19 (NKJV)
19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
(1) We were created to house Him.
(2) Oh let us make Him a suitable dwelling place!
(3) Building do not make a church.
(4) People, congregations make the church.
(5) You remove the people from the building and all you have is
A building.
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Eph 4:16 (NKJV)
16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
[C] Taking that into consideration we must ask ourselves;
“What kind of church are we?”
[D] You know I grew in church. My family on my mother’s side goes
back 3 or 4 generations in the Church Of God.
(1) My Grandfather Heath was a Church of God Minister.
(2) I have been in church most of my life.
(3) I was called into the ministry, then into shepherding.
(4) I have never had to move into a community and search out a
church before.
THOUGHT: “If I were to look for a church to serve as my
Church home, what kind of church would I look
for?”
Put yourself in this place; If you were looking for a church,
what kind of church would you look for?
What kind of church would appeal to you?
Are we as a church, are we an attractive church?
I tell you what kind of a church I would look for;
I. A Loving Church
[A] Some people have to live or work with the devil all week long.
(1) They need a loving church to attend.
[B] Some people have struggled to be accepted by their peers at
school, at work, and even within their families, they need a
loving church who accepts them and doesn’t expect them to be perfect.
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1 John 4:12-14 (KJV)
12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. (His Spirit that causes His love to manifest its’ self in our lives)
14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.
John 13:35 (KJV)
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
(2) People need a place where they will be loved, welcomed and
made a part of the Fellowship.
(3) I have visited other churches before, I have been to some
Where no one offered to shake my hand or introduce themselves
to me. I left with NO DESIRE to ever return!
(4) I have been to some where a few greeted me but no one made
A real effort to find anything out about me.
And so that brings me to my next point:
II. I Would Look For A Friendly Church
Prov 18:24 (KJV)
24 A man that hath friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
[A] To have friends, to make friends, to win new friends, we must be
Friendly.
(1) Have you ever seen people who you just couldn’t get close to?
(2) They keep to themselves.
(3) They have a hard time warming up to others.
[B] It is no coincidence that the writer of this Proverb both instructs
Us to be friendly and then talks of Our Friendship with the Father.
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[C] God is the friend that sticketh closer than brother.
John 15:3
13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
(1) We are to imitate Him!! Imitate His Love!
John 15:14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
(2) Jesus was a friend to the friendless
Zacchaeus, Matthew,
Samaritan Woman
Woman taken in adultery
(3) You see some of the world’s outcast were in His linage.
His family tree is most colorful!!
III. I Would Look For A Worshipping Church
[A] I want to attend a church that ushers me into His presence.
(1) God dwells in the praises of His people.
(2) His Spirit comes down where ever His worshippers are.
[B] Worship lefts me up above the shadows of my heartaches and
disappointments!
(1) Worship helps one to see Him as He is. Strong and Mighty.
John 4:23 (KJV)
23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
[C] A worshipping church is a going church.
(1) They remain focused on HIM!
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(2) When you focus on people, you are going to have troubles!
IV. I Would Look For A Spirit-filled Church.
Acts 2:17-18 (KJV)
17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
Gal 5:16 (KJV)
16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Gal 5:25 (KJV)
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
[A] God wants us to be a live church!!
[B] The Church Of Sardis had a name for being alive, but it was dead.
(1) The world approved it.
(2) People could get around them and their hearts would not be
troubled.
(3) God said I know you works!! There are only a handful of you
That have life in you!”
[C] John saw Christ standing in the midst of the seven golden candle
sticks.
(1) Jesus should be our focal point.
(2) Jesus has always been available throughout the church age.
(3) It is a shame that He is so accessible, so available,
Many churches have His name written on their buildings,
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Yet they seldom if ever mention His name.
[D] Holy Ghost filled church, where He is welcomed to interrupt the
program and anytime He chooses and turn things in a new
direction.
This is His church, not my church!
He is free to change the vision,
The message
The song list
Anytime He chooses!!
[E] A spirit filled church faces up to their shortfalls.
(1) A spirit filled church takes inventory of itself.
(2) A spirit filled church seeks to walk in His Ways.
[F] A spirit filled church is continuously seeking revival.
“REVIVAL ONLY VISITS REALITY” Tommy Tenny
V. I Would Look For A Praying Church
[A] One that prays for the pastor & leaders,
(1) One that prays for a vision
(2) One that prays over each and every service, taking every
Meeting seriously.
[B] I would look for a church that KNOWS HOW TO PRAY IN FAITH
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James 1:6-8 (KJV)
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
(1) Your spiritual well being as well as that of your family is at stake!
(2) Your physical well being is at stake.
(3) The salvation of your family and loved ones is at stake!
(4) When people pray God moves, God moves man and mountains.
VI. I Would Look For A Fighting Church
[A] Oh pastor we don’t want that!!
[B] Somethings are worth fighting for!!
Fight for: The truth---- His Word
Our Rights as Christians
Godly, Biblical Doctrine
Your Family, Lost loved Ones
Our Community
[C] We must fight the Good Fight, The Fight of Faith!!
Intercessory Prayer
Eph 6:12 (KJV) 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
1 Tim 6:12 (KJV)
12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.
God we want to be all that you would have us to be. You have saved us and called us and placed here with a purpose.
Help us understand what that purpose is. Help us to be willing at all times to change our methods, our directions and our plans and follow You with faith, knowing you will take care of the outcome.
Let us be a an attractive church, one that attracts the lost, one that attracts our new neighbors as they move to our community.
Let us be a Spirit filled church, a worshhiping church, a serving church,
A growing church, growing in spirit and in number.
Amen!
