Some Assembly Required

Some Assembly Required

Pastor, Jim May

The church is a wonderful creation of God. It is here where we come together, not just on the Lord’s Day, to worship Jesus, but at all times and for a multitude of reasons. Yet every time we come together, whether it is for a regular service, a time of fellowship, a time of working together, or for the purpose of carrying on necessary business, we are assembling ourselves, building ourselves into a unified body of Christ and working toward the growth of our church.

Every person, no matter their age, or any other factor, have a unique and special place in the Body of Christ. Each of us, coming in with our own special abilities and character, have so much to offer, and it is the Lord who will take us and join us together to create a functioning body of Believers to carry the Gospel to a lost and dying world.

This year, in Victory Temple, we have seen God’s hand at work in our congregation. God has assembled a wonderful group of people here. Whether you believe it or not, you are not here by accident. God’s wonderful design is that each church, each body of Christ if you will, that He brings together will lack nothing of what is needed.

God knows that we need different people, doing different things, with different ways of thinking, to get the job done. I am so thankful to each of you for allowing the Holy Spirit to lead you to be a part of our church.

We have seen a number of people come through our doors this year. Some have come to stay for a little while and while they were here they blessed us greatly, but then for whatever reason, they have chosen to move on. We must never take their leaving as a sign that anything is wrong with our church. The simple fact is that each church has its own character and not everyone who comes will want what we have to offer.

Hebrews 10:22-25, "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 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."

I want you to notice that this scripture says that, we are to “assemble ourselves together.” When something is assembled, it doesn’t happen by accident, or by chance. The very act of assembling means that someone, possessing an intelligent plan, takes each part and puts it exactly where it fits best to create a fully functioning creation.

First of all, God leads us and draws us together, bringing every necessary part of the body into one place at one time. As each of us comes in, we search for our own special niche, a place where we can feel needed and wanted and useful to the church. Some find that place very quickly and seem to just fall into place while others may seem to take a while longer. If we will search for a work to do, and desire to be used by God, then God will reveal that place where we need to be in Him. We are to encourage one another, exhort one another, teach one another and build each other up in the faith. Every member of this church family is important and has a vital role to play.

I want to tell you about one family that I have met in a church where I once attended. They were called the “Tate Family”. Now I know that we don’t have anyone in this church by the name of “Tate” but I think that we could probably find a few who are closely related.

There is one named Dick Tate, who wants to run everything, while Uncle Roe Tate tries to change everything. Their sister Aggie Tate stirs up plenty of trouble, with help from her husband, Irri Tate. Their son Debili Tate is often a bad influence on other children.

Whenever new projects or ministries are suggested, Hesi Tate, and his wife, Vege Tate, wants to wait until the finances are right and circumstances are right. Their motto is, “Don’t do anything until you know everything.” Then there is Brother Disorien Tate who never is aware of just what is going on. Grandpa Disser Tate will talk on and on about most any subject when given a chance. Then there is Ges Tate who takes a long time to make up his mind about any new ideas. And let’s not forget Aunt Emma Tate. Why she thinks that our church should be like all the others. Of course it seems that every church has a member named Devas Tate, they always provide the voice of doom and their faith is such that it always expects the worst. There are a few black sheep in the Tate family too. Does your family have any black sheep? One of theirs is Cousin Fragmen Tate who seems to always be stirring up division, and his sister, Apos Tate who has formed her own little church within the church following her way of thinking. Oh, and let’s not forget one other member of the Tate family. His name is Ampu Tate. He suddenly decided that he knew it all and wasn’t being fed at the church so he has cut himself off from the Church!