The value of a local congregation

1. Flip Wilson was an American actor and comedian; he died in 1998.

2. One of Wilson’s comedy routines involved religion.

3. A friend would ask him about his religious preference.

4. Wilson would reply, “I am a Jehovah’s bystander.”

5. The friend would then try to correct him: “Don’t you mean a Jehovah’s Witness”?

6. Wilson would say his first response was correct and then got to the punch line.

7. He had been asked to be a Jehovah’s Witness but he did not want to get involved.

8. Since he wanted to be on the sidelines he became a Jehovah’s Bystander.

WHEN WE THINK ABOUT CHRISTIANITY WE FIND THAT IT IS PORTRAYED AS A PLACE OF INVOVEMENT.

a) For our Scripture reading we heard Acts 9:26.

b) Saul the Jewish persecutor had left behind his religious faith and become a Christian.

c) When he came to the area of Jerusalem one of the first things he did was seek out the people of God.

d) He wanted the fellow of Christians even though many of them were afraid of him.

2) Acts 9 presents to us a man seeking out a local congregation.

3) If time continues to progress, some of the people in this room will move.

4) It may be a young person who goes off to college.

5) It may be a job transfer. If and when we move, we will need to locate some new things.

a) Housing will be a priority.

b) A store for groceries will be on our list.

c) On our “I need to find this list” should also be a place to worship.

d) The local congregation is designed to do some very specific things.

e) Tonight we want to consider a number of things provided by the local church.

6) We could entitle this lesson, “the value of the local church.”

7) I have 11 points about why the local church is valuable, and the list begins in the Old Testament.

8) By the time I finish my last sermon I do not know if I will have cited every verse in the Bible or not.

9) I can say that I have never appealed to Ps. 102:6, a reference I will be reading.

a) The writer of this psalm was in trouble; he felt awfully low.

b) The writer began his remarks by calling out to God – HEAR MY PRAYER was his cry.

c) He begged for God to not hide His face and to provide a swift answer (verse 2).

d) His health was bad and it seemed like his life was passing away like smoke (verse 3).

e) His heart felt like it had been treated like trampled on grass, verse 4.

f) Then we come to verse 6 – READ.

g) If we were a pelican in the wilderness we would be a pretty lonely creature.

h) An owl in the desert (his second illustration) would also not involve too much company.

i) People can be lonely; they can feel like they do not have any friends.

j) That is especially true during this time of year. Holidays are is depressing for many people.

k) Reflecting upon this passage brought to mind a college professor.

l) This man was busy six days a week; that 7^th day was always a lonely day for him.

m) Finally that single weekly day of loneliness got to him and he took his life.

n) In the church (the local congregation), God offers a solution to loneliness.

o) Acts 2:42 says God’s people “continued steadfastly in fellowship.”

p) Acts 4:23 says they “came to their own company.”

q) Then in Acts 5:12 the Bible says “they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch.”

r) In the church of the New Testament, loneliness should not be a problem.

s) We may be different in many ways and at various stages of life, but we have some key things in common.

t) What we have in common is the basis for relationships to drive off loneliness.

10) In a local congregation we find a second benefit: it is a place of separation.

11) Our world knows a lot about this concept.

a) People are separated by all kinds of things. Some of it is good, and some of it is bad.

b) God intended for the church to also be a place of separation.

c) Not separation by skin color, race, class, or personal abilities.

d) God intended a separation from the way of and the problems in the world.

12) Paul said the church is to be ultimately presented to Christ “without spot or wrinkle” (Eph. 5:27).

a) God intended for the church to be separate from the world.

b) In many religious groups there are those who think we need to bring the world into the church.

c) The more the church is like the world the happier some are.

d) If the world is that great and good, we don’t need the church—just stay in the world.

e) The church is a place of separation.

f) 1 Tim. 3:15 calls the church the “house of God.”

g) The church is God’s house and the world is Satan’s playground.

h) Would we not say that having a place to temporarily depart from the life of the world is a good thing?

13) God says yes to this question, and we agree with Him. Sometimes we want to relax.

14) We want to separate ourselves from activities that are busy or stressful.

15) A wife usually wants to at one point or another to separate herself from the kitchen.

16) Children want to separate themselves from their duties.

17) Dads want a separation from their work.

18) We recognize the value of having a place where we can leave some things behind.

a) In the church we have a place where we can turn our back to the world.

b) It is not a permanent, but it is a temporary form of rest.

c) I recently had to answer an e-mail from someone who is facing a difficult time (not from here).

d) A family member said about a local church, “I get nothing out of it so I am not going.”

e) I have an idea as to what the person who made that statement is seeking.

f) It is likely not the type of thing God intended the local congregation to provide.

g) Our view of the local assembly should include the concept of it being a place of safety/refuge/rest.

19) Item three on my list is based upon 1 Cor. 1:2 and a verse from Acts 26.

20) Paul spoke about the “sanctified” in the church.

a) When someone says the local church has limited value, point them to Acts 26:18.

b) Paul spoke about being “sanctified” in Acts 26.

c) We want to consider several of the things said in the 18^th verse of this chapter – READ.

d) A sanctified person has “had their eyes opened.”

e) If we can help a blind person see, is that a worthy endeavor?

f) Is helping a blind man to see a good thing or a bad thing?

g) It is a good thing, and this is associated with sanctification, a benefit attached to Christianity/the church.

h) Consider another thought in this verse.

i) When we are joined to Christ and His church we have turned from “darkness to light.”

j) A lot of people were recently without power for an extended period of time.

k) They were glad when the lights and power returned.

l) Through the local church we enjoy some of God’s divine light.

m) In this same text we read about being moved from the “power of Satan to the power of God.”

n) If adults are going to escape the clutches of Satan, they need a place of refuge (the church).

o) Is a place of safety and shelter from the worst foe man will ever know valuable or meaningless?

p) Through the local church we are involved with a system that provides great gifts.

21) A local church shows its value and use in another way: it is a place to show our love for God.

22) Our love for God is not limited to what happens in a local congregation.

23) Neither is a local congregation detached from expressing love for and to God.

24) Heb. 13:15 says “let us” do something. To whom does the writer refer? A local congregation.

25) What is the local congregation in Heb. 13 to do? Offer up praises to God; sing.

26) Singing is a way to honor God; it is a way God has authorized and it is a command.

27) A local congregation is charged with doing this and in so performing this task it honors God.

28) In the local congregation we have one forum to worship God.

29) Thus, we may contend that a local church has value in that it glorifies God.

a) We see the value of a local because it has teachers that teach, reason # 5.

b) In 1 Cor. 12:28 this statement is made.

c) God put apostles “first” in the church. What did the apostles do? They taught.

d) This same verse says God put prophets “second” in the church.

e) What did much of their work involve? Teaching.

f) Whom did God put “third” in the church? A group of people specifically called teachers.

g) One gets the idea that teaching is to be done in a local congregation.

h) What is part of the value of the local church?

i) It offers to all people who are teaching the most important message man will ever have access to.

j) If we taught people how to make money, the accumulated wealth would eventually fail.

k) If we turned our attention to job skills, those people would eventually retire.

l) We deal with something that has eternal value.

30) Within a local church we find a place that should be dedicated to prayer.

31) Peter was imprisoned (Acts 12:5) and the church came together to pray for him.

32) You have probably heard about the senator that has just had brain surgery.

a) The news was on, Teresa was in the room, and I told her we had better start making some phone calls.

b) The family of this senator said they were asking for people’s prayers.

c) My comment was we needed to call and object; we can’t have that. Separation of church and state.

d) Even the government says prayer is okay when someone is sick or there is a disaster.

e) Because the local church is to be a place of prayer even the world sees its value.

33) We affirm the value of a local congregation because it is a place full of examples.

a) In it we find people who are really trying to follow the will of God.

b) Eph. 4:1 says “walk worthily of the calling wherein we have received.”

c) In 1 Thes. 4:1 the apostle said, “walk (live) to please God.”

d) Lots of people want someone to look up to in life. Children do this almost naturally.

e) Parents want good role models for their children.

f) Grandparents want positive role models for their grandchildren.

g) We can find some decent people in the world; some are definitely good role models.

h) We can also find some outstanding role models on the planet in the church.

i) Some of the finest people we will ever meet are Christians.

j) Ounce for ounce and pound for pound, the best models for all are in the Lord’s church.

34) Staying with this thought brings to mind my next point.

35) What is the value of the local church? It reminds us that the best Christians are still human beings.

a) According to Gal. 2:11, Paul “resisted Peter to the face.”

b) The word “condemned” is joined with Peter’s name in this verse.

c) Imagine this. Jesus had gone back to heaven. Peter had been around the block a few times.

d) He knew the rules. He failed to do what was right and it was no small slip.

e) The local church reminds us that no one is beyond the ability to sin.

36) Slightly removed from this thought is another—the local church shows its value because of what it produces.

37) In Col. 3:10 Paul spoke about becoming a “new person.”

38) That is what happens when a person is added to Christ’s church. They have a changed life.

39) Not all the changes occur at once; renewing is a process (Tit. 3:5).

40) As years pass, a local congregation helps create some of the most desirable people in the world.

41) People will look at a young person reared in a Christian home and say, “I want to meet/date him/her.

42) A man will look at a Christian woman and say, “What a magnificent woman.”

43) A woman will look at a Christian man and think, “What a great guy.”

44) Here is the last point: the church demonstrates its value because it provides a security force.

45) Our world believes in security; it knows that security is a valuable asset.

46) God has set up the church so there are people who are charged with watching over our spiritual welfare.

47) Here is the first part of Heb. 13:17 – READ.

48) Just one of the reasons given is sufficient to prove the value of a local congregation.

49) Three would have been plenty. Far more than three reasons have been given.

50) The local church has value for many reasons; it is too valuable to not be a key part of it.

51) Have we understood the value of the local congregation and have we applied that fact to our lives?

52) Do live, think and act in a way that shows we know the value of the local congregation?