Why You Need the Church & the Church Needs You: A Blessing to Believers

The following message from Pastor Greg Laurie is made possible by some special friends of this ministry. Pastor Greg?

I wanted to say a special word of thanks to the Harvest Partners who make this ministry possible. Next time you're online, check out Pastor Greg's personal blog at blog.GregLaurie.com. Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie points out church isn't so much something we attend, it's something we're a part of. You don't come to church like the consumer going to the theater, but you come to the church like the congregant wanting to glorify God. You come to the church because you have something to bring to the table, gifts that God has given you. And you discover the joy of serving.

Listen, you were blessed to be a blessing. Think of your last family gathering. Did you watch from a distance or were you part of the conversation? Were you seated at the table or did you observe from the next room?

Did you stay for dessert or sneak out early? Family gatherings aren't spectator sports. Everyone is a part. And today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie points out church is a family gathering of believers and everyone has a part to play. We'll see how we need the church and the church needs us. Let's turn over now to Acts chapter 2 and we're going to look at what God says about the church and the purpose of it. It says of those first century believers. This is after the day of Pentecost had happened and 3,000 people believed. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship and the breaking of bread and prayers. And fear came upon every soul and many signs and wonders were done to the apostles. Now all who believe were together and had all things in common. And they sold their possessions and goods and divided them among all as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house. They ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those that were being saved.

We'll stop there. This church was healthy. In fact you could sum it up in this acronym well. They were well. W-E-L-L. W for they were a worshiping church. E for they were an evangelistic church. L number one they were a learning church. And L number two they were a loving church. They were well, worshiping, evangelistic, learning, and loving.

Let's start with that first principle. Number one they were a worshiping church. Look at verse 47. Praising God and having favor with all the people and the Lord added to the church daily those that were being saved. You know something wonderful happens when God's people come together for corporate worship.

It's just amazing. The Bible says God inhabits the praises of his people. Haven't you sent the Lord's presence during worship?

It's a wonderful time. Number two they were an evangelistic church. That's E in our acronym of well, worshiping, and evangelistic. There was a constant flow of new believers coming into the church. You show me a church that does not have new believers coming in and I will show you a stagnating church.

Why? Because new believers are the lifeblood of the church. So if we are not evangelizing we will soon be fossilizing. Ok so now L number one they were a learning church. So they were worshiping. They were evangelizing. And they were learning. They were learning. And you look at that early church and they were into God's Word. Verse 42.

Look at it. They continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine. Underline those two words. Continued steadfastly. Those words mean they did it with a real passion. There was a passion.

There was an excitement. I think we need more anointed preaching today. Don't you think? More anointed preaching. But I also think we need more anointed listening. You should listen to the Word of God as though your life depends on it because it does.

Do you realize that? Your life depends on it. Not only your after life. You want to make sure you are right with God and you know you are going to heaven because you put your faith in Christ.

But then just life in general. Life before you. How to live as a follower of Jesus Christ. That is how the early church listened and that is how we ought to listen.

And now our final point. They were a loving church. Verse 42.

They continued steadfastly in fellowship. I love that word. Fellowship. It comes from the Greek word koinonia. And it is translated many ways. It is actually kind of a hard word to translate.

There is not a specific English word that correlates with it. So we translated fellowship. We translated communion. It talks about that something special that happens when God's people get together. You know in Malachi 3.16 it says, Those that feared the Lord talked with each other and the Lord listened and heard. That is a fascinating statement because that phrase listened and heard means to prick the ear or to bend down so as not to miss a single word. In other words God says, When my people talk to me I like to eavesdrop. When my people speak my name I like to hear what they are saying.

I am really interested. You know if I am talking to you and we are having an interesting conversation I have got to just tell you if one of my grandchildren come up to me and grab me on the leg and say, Papa your conversation with me it is effectively over. Because a grandchild is calling. That is relationship.

I am sorry. See they have that relationship. God is saying, I listen when my children talk to me. I bend down.

I pay attention. And when we fellowship and by that I mean after the service and we are talking of the things of the Lord and we are sharing things that God has done in our life and verses that are meaningful. And even joking and having fun. All of it can be a wonderful thing that God will bless. That is why you should not rush out of church.

See because they were a learning church and they were a loving church. And I can hear it. But this isn't a classroom. And we are not just here to absorb X amount of data and walk out. We are here to learn. But then we are here to encourage one another. You might have just the right word for someone that needs to hear it after church today. Or they might have just the right word for you. But when you find yourself out of fellowship with God you will find that you are out of fellowship with other believers as well. Some will say, well I don't know. You know the church is so full of hypocrites. I am so sick of that.

Please. Hypocrites. Ok. Yeah there are hypocrites in the church. But as I have often said, still who cares.

There is always room for one more. But you understand. There are hypocrites.

And that is not good. But sometimes people will say, I feel judged when I go to church. I feel people are judging me. Let me say something in response to that that will surprise you and even offend a few. Maybe you need to be judged. Do you ever think about that? Oh judge not unless you be judged.

You didn't say it fast enough. Oh we love to quote that verse that we don't understand. We use that verse as a sword to keep people away. That means condemn not lest you be condemned. I am in no position to condemn any person. But listen I will tell you something. I am to judge. And you are to judge.

The Bible says judgment must begin at the house of God. If I see something in your life that I think is dragging you down spiritually I love you enough to tell you the truth. And if you see something in my life that is hurting me and you come and bring it to my attention I recognize you do that because you care about me. That is not judging.

That is loving. And that is evaluating. And we have to be looking at each other and looking out for each other.

That is called accountability. And this is why people church hop. Church hop. You know what I mean by church hop? They go to all kinds of churches. Oh on Sunday mornings we go to this church and the other Sunday mornings we go to this other church. And then midweek we go to this thing and then on Sunday nights we sometimes go to that thing.

And they think that is so wonderful. And I am telling you that is a bad thing for you spiritually. And you might be surprised to know that most pastors would agree with me on this. I would rather you be a part of another church actively involved attending, serving, giving, and all the rest. Then come here and go there and go to another place and go to another place. Because really what you are saying is I don't want to be accountable to anyone anywhere.

I don't want people to know me well enough to say, How are you doing? I haven't seen you in church. Well I was at four other churches.

Don't judge me. Well maybe you ought to be in one church. And maybe you need a pastor. And maybe you need a consistent theology.

And maybe you need a group of friends that you meet with on a regular basis. And it is not a bad thing to visit another church. I am just saying you need a home church. You need your own church. You need your own pastor. And you need a place where you belong.

A place where you can grow and learn and serve and develop your spiritual gifts. That is what the church is for. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. Well Pastor Greg continues now with his message why you need the church and the church needs you. We want to get to the place where we discover the joy of serving.

I touched on this earlier. But I think a real mark of spiritual maturity is when you don't come to church like the consumer going to the theater. But you come to the church like the congregant wanting to glorify God. You come to the church like a member of the body of Christ to use biblical verbiage. You come to the church because you have something to bring to the table.

Gifts that God has given you. And you discover the joy of serving. Jesus said if you want to be first you need to be a slave. And the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve. And then you start realizing it is a blessing to serve. It is a joy to help other people out.

Listen. You were blessed to be a blessing. And we recognize that God has given us spiritual gifts. Romans 12 verse 5 Paul says, We being many are one body in Christ, every one members one of another, having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us. Every believer has a gift or gifts plural that have been instilled in their life. You say, well Greg how do I discover my spiritual gift? This answer might surprise you because it might sound unspiritual but it actually will work. Sometimes it is process of elimination. Sometimes finding out what I am good at begins with finding out what I am not good at.

So here is what I would say. Volunteer for everything. We need help over here in Sunday School. I will help. We need help over here in the ushers. I will be an usher.

We need new convert counselors through the crusade. I am in. I am in.

I am in. You are just there. Then you go do it and you go, I am not very good at that. The kids tied me up and set me on fire. They just didn't respect me.

OK. Out on the parking lot I was hit by three cars that I ran into. I don't know why I do that. They probably shouldn't use you there. I tried to help on the worship ministry but actually I don't know how to sing.

I found out what I was not called to do by doing it once. This is in the very early days of the Jesus movement. 1971 probably. And all these bands were forming. Christian bands forming. You would see them over at Calvary Chapel and Chuck would come out. This band just formed one week ago and they are going to come sing for us now.

We would say that is amazing. I was at a home Bible study once and we were singing some song. One of the guys there was a good musician and wrote a song. Another gentleman that was with us was an amazing flutist. Someone who plays the flute. I found out it is a flutist.

The guy is amazing. So he is playing the flute. My friend is singing a song and we are all just kind of singing along. And we thought we sounded pretty good. So I started kind of pounding the table.

A little beat in the table. And they said, let's form a band. Before you knew it we had a name. So we go over to Calvary Chapel and we say we want to play tonight. I forgot what our name was. Idiocy.

Something like that. And so we were told it was ok. And so I couldn't take a coffee table up there on the stage with me. So someone gave me a conga drum. So I am up there with this band. Guitarists. Flutists.

Singers. And me with a conga drum. So the band starts and I am kind of realizing I have no rhythm.

I really can't do this at all. And this may be the most embarrassing moment of my life. And this song is like a year long. And just went on. Well I walked out there and I knew I am not called to music.

Well strike that one off the list. And I was really shocked when I was called to preach it. Because that was the last thing I ever expected. But I found that God gave me an ability. Some would question this. Usually my wife after every sermon.

No I am kidding. It is not every sermon. It is most sermons occasionally.

But the point is you never know. Who would have ever thought that. I mean I would have never volunteered to speak. I will speak. No way.

No one wants to speak. But when I did it I realized oh this is a gift. See it is not a natural ability. It was a gift. I am not talking about natural ability.

Some people are artistic. Some people are more technical in their thinking. Others have this skill and that skill. I am not talking about that.

I am talking about spiritual gifts from heaven planted in your life by the Holy Spirit. You say well like what? Ok.

Here is a list. Here is Romans 12 from the New Living Translation. Just listen. Just as God has given our body different parts and each part of our body has a function the same is true of the church. If God has given you the ability to prophesy that means that you would share a word given to you from God. An inspired word. It could be preaching.

It could be one on one. Just some like a revelation from heaven about something. If you are called to prophesy speak out when you have faith that God is speaking through you. If your gift is serving others serve them well. So if you are called to serve, serve well. Whatever it is just do it well. If that means preparing a meal do the best job preparing the meal. If that means cleaning up after do the best job cleaning up.

If that means setting a chair up, tearing a chair down, praying for someone. Whatever it is just serve them well. If you are a teacher do a good job of teaching.

A teacher should prepare. A preacher should know his text. If you are called to encourage others do it. If you have money share it generously. So if God has blessed you with money and He has called you to give and there actually is a gift of giving every Christian should give. Every Christian should give financially. Every Christian I believe should tithe. But then there are those that have an actual spiritual gift of giving.

The Lord has just blessed them in that way. Do it generously Paul says. If you have a gift for showing kindness to others do it gladly. Don't show kindness reluctantly.

Oh how are you? I love you. A gift for showing kindness. Do it gladly. Don't pretend you love others.

Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of good. Love each other with genuine affection and take delight in honoring each other.

I like that. Take delight in honoring each other. You know it doesn't always have to be about you. Somebody else is used by God and instead of sulking or saying well that should have been me you should say I am so glad God blessed you and I just want to thank the Lord for how He is using you. And I will tell you when you honor others the Lord will honor you.

Don't worry about it. Lift others up. We lift each other up as we all lift the Lord up.

That is the way to do it. So if you want to be a growing and successful Christian read the Bible. Pray. Be an active part of the church.

Let me close by asking this. Maybe you need God tonight. We have talked about non-believers joining us and maybe you are that person. You have come here checking this out. Maybe a friend invited you.

Maybe they bribed you with food after the service which you would hope would end really soon. You are going to have taken this all in and you are contemplating it but you can't say right now that you know that you are going to have it. Maybe you come here with a problem with addiction to something. Drugs or alcohol. Maybe you come here with a problem with your wife or your husband or your kids or your parents or you are having a problem over here or a problem in your work. Whatever your problem is I will tell you what the solution is. You need Jesus Christ in your life.

That is what you need. Jesus Christ. Because He will forgive you of your sin. And He will come and take residence in your heart and transform you.

Man when you have the big things taken care of other things manage to sort themselves out. When you know you are going to heaven whatever pressure you are under or stress you are facing it kind of puts it in perspective. Do you know you are going to heaven? Are you sure right now that if you were to die you would go to heaven?

I hate to break this to you but the only other alternative is hell. And the last thing God wants is for any man or woman made in His image to end up in hell. And that is why He sent Jesus Christ His own Son to die on the cross for our sin and to pay the price for every sin we have committed. And if we will turn from our sin and put our faith in Jesus God will forgive us. And we can have the guaranteed assurance of heaven. And then we have Christ living in us. Have you done that yet? In a moment we are going to pray and I will extend an invitation for you to believe in Jesus.

Listen. Becoming a Christian doesn't take years. It doesn't take months. It doesn't take weeks. It doesn't take days.

It doesn't even take hours. It can happen just like that for you. Jesus stands at the door of your life and He knocks. And He says if you will hear His voice and open the door He will come in. He will come into your life.

But you must ask Him in. I will give you an opportunity to do that. Let's all bow our heads. Father thank You for Your Word to us tonight. Lord Jesus thank You for coming to this earth on a rescue operation to die on the cross for our sins. Now I pray for any who do not know You.

Help them to see their need for You. And help them to come to You we pray. Amen. Pastor Greg Laurie with an important prayer. And if you would like to make a change today in your relationship with the Lord, Pastor Greg will help you do that in just a moment before today's edition of A New Beginning concludes. Did you hear all of today's study here on A New Beginning? If not you can catch up by going online to harvest.org. Look for the title Why You Need the Church and The Church Needs You. Or to get a CD call our 24 hour phone number 1-800-821-3300.

That's 1-800-821-3300. And then what a privilege it is to have baseball great Darrell Strawberry with us today. Darrell has just released a new book called Turn Your Season Around.

The subtitle is How God Transforms Your Life. You know Darrell, you've made a U-turn from so many issues in your life. What counsel do you have for others who need to turn their back on drugs or drinking or immorality? But they just find themselves being pulled back into all that stuff, especially during this pandemic. If they were sitting right across the table from you, what would you say to them?

I would say to them that they really should be able to accept the help from someone who truly loves them. You know, I think of my life how I made the turn. It was because of my wife Tracy.

Like over 18 years ago, I was in dope houses, South Florida, shooting dope, smoking crack. And she was banging on doors, kicking them down and coming and pulling me out. And she actually was loving me through the whole process when I couldn't love myself. And I would just say to someone that's struggling with that, when you see someone loving you through the process when you can't love yourself, allow that help to help you in that period of time.

I mean, I know it's a lot of confusion going on. You feel hopeless at that time. But one thing I've learned through this process of change of life, my life didn't change by myself. God used people to help people. And when we can understand the importance of other people encouraging you and walking with you and not tolerating, which Tracy didn't, she didn't tolerate my my madness. But she still encouraged me to help me that God had a plan for me. You don't have to accept, you know, what the person is going through. But at the same time, you still show love and compassion. So I would just I would just encourage anyone that's struggling with somebody showing you some love and compassion. Trust the process is not an overnight miracle. It just doesn't happen like that.

It's a process. And once I went through the process and accepted the help from somebody else, I started getting on the other side. Because when you think about everybody that God used in the Bible, they all had struggles and issues, too, just like all the rest of us.

And, you know, those those struggles and issues, they only get on the right side with other people helping you and encouraging you through your faith. So if you want to get a copy of Darryl Strawberry's brand new book that he feels is the most important book he's ever written, you can get it from us here at A New Beginning. Again, the title is Churn Your Season Around How God Transforms Your Life. And we'll send you this book for your gift of any size to help us to continue on here at A New Beginning to teach the Word of God and to preach the gospel that changed the life of Darryl Strawberry.

Yeah, that's right. It's the gospel that continues to change lives anywhere, anytime, even in a pandemic, even in a time of uncertainty. And your investment helps that kind of outreach happen. Could we ask you to partner with us now? And if you can send an investment right now, be sure to ask for Darryl's book, Turn Your Season Around. You can write A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514. Or call 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300.

Or go online to harvest.org. And we won't be mentioning this much longer, so contact us soon. Well, Pastor Greg, just before we go, would you mind praying with the person listening who wants to make a change today in their relationship with the Lord? I'd be happy to, Dave. You know, as you've been listening to this today, maybe you've heard another voice. By that I mean, yeah, you heard me say a few things, but you heard God's voice speak to you, deep in the recesses of your heart. And it suddenly dawned on you, this is what I need. Or to state it more accurately, this is who I need. I need Jesus, and I want Jesus.

But maybe you don't know how to make that connection. Let me help you. Pray this after me right now if you want Jesus Christ to come into your life. Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner, and I am sorry for my sin, and I need your forgiveness right now. Would you come into my heart and my life as Savior, as God, as friend?

I choose to follow you from this moment forward. Thank you for calling me, and accepting me, and forgiving me. In Jesus' name I pray.

Amen. I know that was a relatively short prayer. Maybe you felt something as you prayed it.

Maybe you felt nothing. That doesn't really matter, because God's word says, these things we write to you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. It doesn't say, so you may think you have it, or you may hope you have it if God's in a good mood.

No, that you can know it. And I want you to know, if you pray that prayer in a minute, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has come into your life. So congratulations. You're now a Christian. Now continue to follow the Lord. And to help you, we'd like to send you some resource materials we call our New Believers Growth Packet.

It'll answer many of the questions you might have, and get you started off right in your new relationship with the Lord. So get in touch and ask for it. We'll send it free of charge. Write A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514. Or call 1-800-821-3300.

We're here to talk with you around the clock, so call now 1-800-821-3300. Or go to harvest.org and click the words, Know God. Well next time, Pastor Greg continues with his insights from the series, What Every Growing Christian Needs to Know. With a look at the trials we face. Why does God allow them? Some encouraging insights coming next time. The preceding message from Greg Laurie was made possible by Harvest Partners, helping people everywhere know God. Sign up for Pastor Greg's free daily email devotions at harvest.org.