You have your Bibles if you would join me in the book of Hebrews chapter 10 Hebrews chapter 10 and when you find your place if you would honor God's holy word and we're gonna look at some verses in Hebrews.
We've been doing a study through the book of Matthew and before we Read in Hebrews. I have been put up on the screen Matthew 16 verse 18 And let's read Matthew 16 18 together before we look at the Hebrew passage says in Matthew 16 18 and I say also unto thee That thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it now That is the first time the word church is introduced to us in the scriptures and it's Jesus who brings that word into the text and so we're gonna be looking at the church doing a Series on that as we we examine some passages now in Hebrews 10 By way of context Hebrews 10 verse 1 through 18 lays out to us why Jesus Christ is our perfect sacrifice Notice what it says in verse 14 for by one offering It says he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified those who are God's people that you've trusted in Christ He has perfected you how long? The Bible says forever isn't that is that good news? It's great news now look at verse 17 and it says in their sins and iniquities.
Will I remember how long? That's good news, too Isn't it in verse 18 now where remission that word just means forgiveness where forgiveness or remission of these is? There is no more offering for sin Anybody thankful that your sins are removed from Christ.
He doesn't remember them He doesn't hold them against us anymore and there never needs to be any more sacrifices There is no need for offerings brought to a temple because Christ is the eternal sacrifice once and for all made for his people now verse 19 goes on to say having therefore brethren boldness and notice to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus if you remember in the Old Testament only the high priest once a Year could enter into the holiest of all but here we see that as God's people We can now enter into the very throne room of God through the blood of Christ verse 20 by a new and living way Which he hath consecrated for us through the veil and that is to say his flesh and having a high priest Over the house of God Jesus being that high priest for us Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith having our hearts sprinkled with A sprinkled from an evil conscience in our body washed with pure water and then he says in verse 23 Because of what Christ has done for us Let us hold fast the profession of our faith that we have proclaimed Christ We have confessed him as Savior hold that fast and don't waiver For he is faithful that promised Christ is faithful. Therefore we should be faithful to him Now the question is how will we be faithful? What will produce that I want you to notice that is the context for the next two verses verse 24 and let us consider one another to provoke or Encourage one another is the idea unto love and to good works.
How are we going to do that? verse 25 by not here not forsaking the the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is but exhorting one another so much the more as you see the day or The return of Christ's approaching so the way that you stay faithful is to be in a community of believers namely the church Where you do not forsake that and you can encourage and edify and build one another up unto love and good works today We're going to be looking at the forsaking the church and what's going on in America in our culture and why we cannot forsake the church father. We thank you for your word today Allow it to be to us a guide Let it be our with them.
Let it be our understanding open our eyes to behold wondrous things out of thy law give your servant the Clarity of mind and power from on high to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ May anyone that doesn't know Christ be saved and may your people may we live a sanctified life We ask it all for the glory of Christ and God's people said and then you may be seated today So the Bible here tells us to not forsake The assembling of ourselves together. I was looking at some recent statistics on the church this week And it showed that 20% of Americans attend church every week 20% 41% attend church monthly irregularly or at least once a month they they attend church 57% of Americans seldom or never attend any type of church service and what they found since the year 2000 the turn of the century is church attendance has continued to decline and I have a picture here just to give you an idea Of what that looks like those who were attending weekly services in church went from 32% and Since 20 the year 2000 you can't probably read that but 2000. This is a year 2020 Has gone from 32% all the way down to 20% so a 12% decrease in weekly attendance in America those who attend once a month went from just around of Was it 13% went down to 11%?
37% but what is what is has increased? Dramatically are those who never attend church it went from 13% all the way up to 31% So we are becoming a nation of people That's quickly moving in the direction of those who are getting out of church and those who never go to church ever in their life When the pandemic came to America back in 2020 It had a big effect on the churches of our country 16% of Christians who attended church before the pandemic have now stopped attending entirely 16% what it has been shocking is Really really break breaks my heart from this is that the group known as the baby boomers? Which are those that are 60 up to 78 years old had the highest drop-off rate? So the older generation had the highest rate of attrition with 22% Reporting no longer attending church services in person or online On average American congregation since the pandemic have dropped 15% in their attendance levels They're running 85% of what they were before the pandemic it had a massive impact. I mean if you remember back Everybody was shut down there were churches When when it all kind of hit and and we closed down for about four weeks because there you didn't know what it was You didn't know, you know Some of the threats were that eight percent of your population are gonna die eight to ten percent There was a lot of concerns and so you didn't want to need you didn't want to put people in a place of just a massive outbreak and but but once once time began to unfold we began to see pretty soon that the the Fear of what they said would happen was not at the level that they they were portraying And so we assumed services back that by that June and we closed down in May for a few weeks into April into May and then we started services back up and and you came back to church at least a lot of you did and and What's interesting the average church in America has dropped 15% since pre pandemic We've actually grown by 30% So we're like a 45% curve on that And I and I think that has the testimony to the faithfulness of God to his church But it's also your passion for God and his word more than fear of a sickness Now now again, there were people who got sick and died There was the you know, kovat 19 was real but but we are not called to be a people who are defined by fear and There are some things worse than getting sick Isolation is dangerous.
I Buried young kids who committed suicide during that time doesn't get talked about a lot But I'm telling you it is a dangerous thing to isolate people but what what has saddened me is the attendance in The the older generation has not come back to the church and let me show you what this looks like Since the pandemic the next picture here is a church attendance by generation So there's three different generations listed here. The first one in the yellow there you can see are the Millennials They're 28 through 43. So I'm in that millennial generation Just at 43 then there's generation X which is 43 to 44 years old to 59 years old They are they are in this the middle there and then there's what's known as the baby boomers. They're 60 and over So this is the year 2019 to 2022 What you find is the Millennials which again? This is like the pagan generation in many ways like they were the lowest attending church before the pandemic when the pandemic hit its Peak in 2021 the attendance was the lowest but look what's happened to the Millennials They went from 21% attendance to 39% of the Millennials attending church That that is that is unbelievable. I've not heard anyone really talking about that. That's an 86% increase in the millennial generation and In the second group is gen X is 44 to 59 and they went from 24 percent Up to 31 percent, which is also a good it's a 29 percent increase in those aged 44 to 59 So those both are positive very positive statistics the thing that has broken my heart honestly as a pastor and and and I've seen This I just haven't seen statistics on it till this week But I personally witnessed this is the baby boomers 60 to 78 years old. They were at 25 percent Before the pandemic or 20 20 percent before the pandemic And they are still I should say 25 percent before the pandemic and they're still at 25 percent.
There's been a zero Increase or decrease in the baby boomer generation. What that's showing us is this we're not losing the younger generation We're actually using the older generation in church Is that the presents is that sad? I'm telling you we need older people in the church We need solid saints of God with white hair. Amen and the wider I get the more we need them Amen, so but but I thank God for the godly and I want to be careful because I'll probably get myself in trouble by saying Older and elderly or whatever baby boomer generation We need that generation to be faithful to be Courageous to fear God more than just being afraid of being out in public To not be at home sitting and comfortable in a chair and not wanting to get out of public What has broken my heart is over these years what I've learned is by going to people's homes and saying hey We've been missing you want you to come back to church. Well, you know, it's just you know it's just hard for us to get out and it's just and they give all these excuses and all these things and Sitting this morning in the front row is a man who's 95 years old who because of a back injury has to walk permanently like this He walks like this because his back is permanently damaged 95 years old still gets up lives by himself gets in a car drives himself to church walks been over I don't think my back could handle a walk from the road from out on the parking lot into here Never misses a service faithful to God. He's 95 years old I'll prepare a sermon to honor Christ first of all But it's people like that that have such a faithfulness that I have such a high Regard and respect for and it's like I better bring something to the pulpit Amen Faithful to God. I remember one precious senior lady in our church in Chillicothe years ago It was one of those mornings where we had several inches of snow It was just terrible weather, you know, and we don't if it's bad weather and you'd feel unsafe to stay home I understand that but this lady was like 78 years old She drove like 30 miles in the snow and her door was frozen so it wouldn't latch.
She held her door shut 30 miles to drive in the snow. It took her like an hour to get to church. She's like, it's church.
I'll be here I mean, that's a that is a that's a soldier right there, isn't it? And then you have some some some young buck over here He can't get himself out of bed. I'm thinking man so but but we need that baby boomers boomer generation your Courage we look up to you and I tell you as a pastor. It has been a discouragement to me when I'm trying to beg people in that generation to come to church and I'm thinking you guys are like World War two people like What is going on?
Like what I don't understand. I can't understand it And I'm thinking you would think the Millennials like we were the weak ones. I know my generation man like I know what they are not made of and Why why the courage and I praise God for the sense of revival that's happening in that younger generation And I've seen it at lighthouse We have about a dozen people getting married this year out of wedding two weeks ago wedding last Sun Saturday a wedding yesterday Wedding after wedding and you know, we have a baby soon, you know, but Last weekend in the toddlers.
We had 30 kids in the toddlers With 20 in the nursery. There's like 50 human beings back there. Praise God. They're not all in here, right? Okay, it's a lot of yelling so but but what that shows us is there is you know How the preaching is at lighthouse right?
We don't we don't water it down. We're not trying to be culturally savvy We're not trying to to be seeker sensitive We're seeking to lift up Christ lift up his word and what is wonderful to me is that younger generation says we want some truth We want some light we are tired of the lies and the deception and what this culture feeds us and they are coming to The truth and I praise God for that amen and that's that's thriving here in the church And so but but don't don't take that lightly What I'm trying to say is this if you know some people that are in that older generation reach out to them if you say Man, I haven't seen them at lighthouse for a while I know somebody staying at home reach out to them if you're at home right now and you're in that baby boomer generation Listen, you need to be here. You need to be a part of the church family. You need to plug in And Tom Rainer wrote a book called the unchurched next door and He said this after a study was done They showed that eight out of ten People that are unchurched said they would come to church if they were invited and accompanied to the church service In other words eight out of ten of your neighbors if they were not in church if you just went to them and said hey I would love to have you come to church and I will go with you Eight out of ten of them and a study showed that they would come I had 24 of my neighbors come to Christ over these years Say people getting baptized people's lives being changed. God can use your life We have some things that you can use to reach out to people out at all of our exits. There's these little cards I put these in my wallet and And I invite people out You know, there's there's multiple waitresses who got saved and are now in our church because we just passed these out now You don't want to leave a 50 cent or dollar tip, okay?
Don't do that. I'll get don't call me Cheap members don't do that. You should be the best tipper there You should you should bless them and say hey I'd love to have you come out to the church of us on the back of these have the QR code say hey The answer the life's greatest question pull that QR code up.
Listen to my pastor He will share with you the answer the life's most important question God could use you to bring Christ to somebody this week Even today these cards here have the gospel on the back of them grab one of those put them in your purses ladies put them In your pockets men, but take these out and invite somebody what could God do with your life if you just reached out Listen, it's not only eternal blessings, but also Physical blessings what it does for their marriage what it does for their kids and their entire family what God could do in 2018 life way research found that nearly two-thirds of Protestant Christians Invite a at least one person to church over the past six months, but 30% 29% Said they didn't invite anyone if you're the person that never invites anyone you are not valuing the church enough Because if you value something you're gonna want other people to value it right when it's important to you You're like I can't help but to encourage people to be a part of this Let me ask this question raise your hand if you came to lighthouse because someone personally Invited you to come at some time in life raise your hand real high Listen, those people if someone didn't invite them wouldn't be here And so encourage you to do that be out there sharing Christ. We have a lot of people like I said getting married and I'm so thankful for that and And I told the early service I'll say it here too Listen, if you know, you're getting married to somebody you don't need to have a long engagement You know, you know people say all worrying, you know, we're engaged to get married What are you getting married on like in two years? That's not good It's not good. How many people do you know can stay sexually pure for two years? Oh This ain't something we want to talk about in church, huh?
I'll talk about it When I got engaged it was six months in the last four months. I was like, we're not kissing No kissing She may have been able to handle a little kiss here there. I was not okay with it Okay, because when you start the engine it's easier to not start the engine than to start the engine Y'all know what I'm talking about What I've been what I've been surprised by is this though we have some young couples getting married You know, they're early 20s and they're and you have somebody in their family. Oh, they're way too young to get married I'm like really it's usually somebody in and I'm not trying to beat it up on the baby boomers But I'm telling you I hear this from that group all the time. Oh, they're too young. Why cuz they're 23 You're 20. Well, how are you 15 or 16 probably 17?
Well, that was a different generation. You're right, but I can tell you their hormones are the same And and I would in what what is sad to me is they will be okay with people living together They'll be okay with a couple and I've been absolutely Heartbroken the I've had to sit down with 75 year olds 70 year olds 80 year olds who moved in together. Oh You got you guys you guys gonna get married. Ah, you know, I don't just financially it's it's too much of a financial hit If we get married So you're gonna put finances before God You're telling me what you worship by what you just decided You need to repent and get right with God what kind of example and I've sat down and had this conversation with people So what I'm preaching to you, I'm not always comfortable in the preacher's office I said listen, what would your grandkids think and I've had him break down at times say man We got it We got to move out and get this thing right and others who just stay together and they probably end up Sometimes they just get out of church because they get offended because they would rather live the way they want to than what God says Don't make decisions based on what finances benefits you the government has set up fornicators in our culture The way government and taxation and all these things and the benefits people get it's it don't don't do it Be righteous before God be clean before God I'm not here to impress people I'm not I think I didn't call me to Zinnia to make people feel good It's it called me to Zinnia to preach the gospel which he which will bring eternal salvation to uplift the truth of God's Word That's the best thing you could ever know but going back to what I was talking about here. So So we we have a lot of people getting married maybe a dozen marriages this year at church But a study was drawn from the nurses health study.
It's a massive study. It's a 14-year study They did from 1996 to 2010 and it's and it was a study done with 66,000444 married nurses and In the study showed conclusively This is a massive study that was done that those nurses who attended church regularly had a 50% less divorce rate than women who? did not 50 percent difference Another study was done to evaluate How religious services would affect the mortality among women it reported on seventy four thousand five hundred and thirty-four participants over a 20-year study The study showed that women who attended services regularly once a week saw a 33% reduction in cancer and cardiovascular mortality It was so dramatic that part of the conclusion of the research They said quote religion and spirituality may be an underappreciated resource that physicians could explore with their patients as appropriate I Can tell you it not only is it eternally impactful you can take that picture down, but it also is Physically impactful what it does to their life, you know, why because stress comes when you think you're in charge of your life and when you're in the driver's seat you carry all of that and a man who allows his family to get out of church or a lady gets out of church and and you're allowing them now to carry a lot of pressure that they could have come to church and Learn that God is sovereign and you can rest upon God and elevate prayer elevate the word elevate Christ You have the support of the church the love of the Saints the edification of the body And all of that's missed and they begin to carry that and stress is the leading cause of really all illnesses in our culture So I'm telling you you when you make light of the things of God you will fill a heavy life When you elevate the things of God life can get a lot smoother now, I want to that's all introduction Okay, now last week we looked at the importance of church and I want to ask you this Why is Church important? How would you respond to that? If somebody came to you this week and said why do you think Church is important? What would you say or if you talk to somebody and said I just don't think that church I don't think church is a big deal. I don't think it's that important. What would you say to them again? Just just by a quick recap of couple of the thoughts that we shared last week the church is important because Jesus said I am building the church if Jesus is building the church and he said I will build my church I would ask the question what else did he ever say he was going to build?
Nothing. He didn't say he's building the government. He didn't say he's building hospitals He said he's building the church those things can be good things But obviously the church is the most important in Acts 2 47 It said the Lord added to the church daily such as we're being saved Secondly, the church is important because it's the Lord Church Lord's Church He said I will build my church at a painting at the bottom of painting is always the signature of the artist The the signature at the bottom of the the picture of the church is Jesus Christ signature It's his church Thirdly the church is important because the price he paid for it The Bible tells us in Acts 20 verse 28 that he bought the church with his own blood The church is important because it talks about how he wrote the letters to the churches He's found standing in the middle of the churches in Revelation 2 & 3 Church is important because what the church is it's called the body of Christ in Colossians 1 18 It says he is the head of the body, which is the church You know, the church is called the pillar and ground of the truth in 1st Timothy 3 15 The Bible says but if I Terry long that thou mightest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God Which is the church of the Living God the pillar and ground of the truth It doesn't say the government's the pillar and ground of the truth.
It's not the schools. It's not any other organization The church is what upholds the Word of God to the world ask yourself this morning. Where would you pull in and Hear the Word of God clearly declared outside of the church Doesn't happen. It's going to be where God's people gather to assemble to elevate Christ in his word Next the importance of the church is seen by what it does When you read through the New Testament you find the church is the center of all of God's work Everything's done through the church. It's the vehicle carrying out God's mission The gospel the death burial resurrection is heralded through the church The how people people being saved baptized and discipled through the church. The Great Commission is carried out It's where churches and mission at church plants and missionaries go out to start new churches all around the world and locally You know, since lighthouse started 14 years ago with 18 people we've given over 1 million dollars to missions around the world and that Incredible starting with eight people in no money 14 years ago This last year we saw a hundred and eighty five thousand dollars go out of this church to support over 60 missions works all Around the world. That's an incredible thing. I Mean thousands of people coming to Christ.
It's got it. I got an email from one of our missionaries Who's who's in the Amazon? He's going from jungle to jungle in the Amazon I preached a sermon about two weeks ago on the encouraged like like how do we get encouraged? There were some some wonderful things that we laid out from the book Gospel of Luke chapter 18 He sent me a page-long email saying hey, I listened to that sermon. This guy's in the jungles he said I can't tell you how much I needed that sermon and what that did for my soul and Some missionaries who were taking some of our material and using that over in other places Listen, God will use this church in a dynamic way not only here but also around the world There's so many things that God's doing through the church It's where we are bringing praise to God collectively to worship and sing praises.
We edify pray for one another support one another Exhort one another to love and good works as the Bible says no wonder the Bible says don't forsake the assembling of ourselves together. I Want to ask this question What kind and I want you to ask yourself this question what kind of church would lighthouse be if Every church member were just like me Ask yourself that What if everyone at lighthouse? Was exactly like you What would become of this church? Would would it be thriving or would it be dying Would it have to go to every other week because that's the only time people showed up Would it be filled with people that are seeking and hungry for the Word of God faithful diligent or would it be found as very lacking? Would there be servants everywhere filling up the spots because everybody's serving because that's the you you come and you serve and you minister and you jump In or would it be found that all the ministries would have to come to an end because no one's willing to serve Would it be a church of prospects prospecting and just watching or would it be a church filled with participants?
It's one thing to sit in the stands. It's another thing to get in the game And so listen, you need to be a part of a church You need to join the church to be a part part of a membership of the church A member is just saying I'm committed to that local church. That's where God's placed me in all the world I feel he's placed me in that local congregation that body and I'm coming under the authority of that church And I'm being plugged into that church.
That's where I'm gonna pour my my life into the work there I'm committing to that local body that you that is what really membership is and it's and it's saying I agree with the doctrines I agree with the teachings. I line up my life with that and and you're plugging in that's so important But what would everyone you know, I think about even tonight would we have a Sunday night? Would we have Wednesday night?
Would we have any kids classes? I mean, what would become of the church? That brings me to the first thought do not forsake the church The author of Hebrews writes forsake not the assembling of yourselves together The word forsake that it means to separate connection from means to neglect or abandon something here It's talking about the abandoning or neglecting of God's Church Matthew Paul and his commentary writes that the verb here for forsake means a desertion When they should be helping Deserting it deserting the church when instead they should have been helping it He says do not forsake the assembling of ourselves together.
It's an interesting word episode ago gay episode ago gay It's epi which means upon and soon okay, which where we actually get the word synagogue from now The word synagogue means like the gathering together like assembling together to come together All through Jesus's ministry. He always attended a synagogue on the Sabbath in Luke 416 it says and he came to Nazareth where he had been brought up and as his custom was He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day Luke 6 6 and it came to pass on another Sabbath that he entered into the synagogue and taught Luke 13 14 And he was teaching in one of the synagogues Jesus set the example of assembling with God's people even before the start of the church I like what Warren Wiersbe said about this. He said it was our Lord's custom to attend public worship a Custom his followers should imitate today Jesus might have argued the religious system of his day was corrupt or that he didn't need instruction But instead he made his way on the Sabbath to the place of prayer There's people today.
So I don't go to church because it's full of hypocrites. Do you think the synagogue was not? Men Jesus was faithful. Well, you know, I already I don't feel like I'm getting anything out of it What do you think they were teaching Jesus? You think he had any growth to have happen Most the time when we say we don't get anything out of it It's because we're not going there to give anything out of it And Now sometimes there are places where the Word of God is not being taught and that Starves the sheep, but often it can be our own faults Now what is a synagogue there was only one Jewish temple There were many synagogues the synagogue was birthed out of a need for a place to have the Word of God taught after the Jews went into the Babylonian captivity in 586 BC under Nebuchadnezzar when Babylon destroyed Jerusalem burned the temple They began meeting informally and out of that birth the synagogue It was developed again out of a need for the instruction of God's Word to start a synagogue you just needed ten Jewish men and And you would have a like a synagogue a guy that was over the synagogue They would have men come in and teach the Word of God according to the Jewish Talmud there were 480 synagogues in Jerusalem sometimes people say why isn't there just one church in a city? Well, they didn't have just one synagogue in Jerusalem at 480 of them And so they they were scattered everywhere during the diaspora when the Jews were scattered all over the Roman Empire These these synagogues were birthed everywhere and you remember when acts and when Paul went out and began to launch churches He would go into the synagogue right now The synagogue is not the church, but I just want you to know that that that was what was happening That's what the Jews would go to before the church was launched now Let me let me share with you the order of a typical worship service in a synagogue This is what it looked like when Jesus went into a synagogue. They opened in prayer They would read the Jewish Shema, which is Deuteronomy 6 as well as chapter 11 Sections of those chapters they would then have another prayer The congregation would respond with the word. Amen The scripture reading would be from the Pentateuch the book of Moses through Genesis They would they would read a section from those they would read it in Hebrew.
Then they would also read it in Aramaic They would have scripture reading from the prophets Then they would have one of the men From the congregation or perhaps a visiting rabbi who would give a sermon based off of that reading They closed the service with a prayer by a priest that was present. If not a layman closed the service in prayer How similar we find the church began to practice that same kind of model now The church is something we cannot forsake Secondly, let me give you some common excuses that can come about from missing Church and forsaking the church The author of Hebrews here says not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together and then he says as the manner of some is now the word manner there is that from the Greek ethos and It refers to something that's customary Like a habitual pattern of behavior in your life. So he says do not Make it your manner or habit of life of missing the assembling together In other words, it is a bad habit to miss church. Don't get into that routine Matthew Henry writes it is the will of Christ that his disciples should be assembled together Charles Spurgeon writes a Christian is not meant to be a solitary sheep Sheep are gregarious or sociable and so are the sheep of the Lord Jesus Christ It is a bad example for a professing Christian to absent himself from the assembly of the Friends of Christ Spurgeon told about Joseph Gabor He grew up in Czechoslovakia when it was dominated by communism and religion was despised as a weakness His father taught communistic doctrine, but his mother taught him the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ His mother would take him and her and his brother to church They would get up on a Sunday morning Take a three-hour train ride to the church Listen to a two and a half hour sermon Go eat lunch come back listen to another two and a half hour sermon and then get on a train and take it three hours back home and When they asked Joseph how he felt about that long day in his later life Spurgeon said his eyes would fill with tears About how wonderful that it was that his mother cared enough about his spiritual welfare to help him come to know and serve Christ and Joseph Gabor became a missionary to the people of Czechoslovakia.
I Just think about how People can take it so lightly today. I have several people tell me how much they appreciated last week's Focus on maximizing the importance of church when we live in a culture that seeks to minimize it You know, there are many who profess to be Christians who no longer see attending church as something necessary I asked the question do people who come to such a conclusion do so from the Bible Did the Bible bring them to that conclusion? Do people come to scriptures and learn that church is not important and the answer is no that you can't do that If you read the Bible, you would not come away believing the church is not important One of the excuses that I hear people give is this and I mentioned this very briefly last week But people will say well, I don't believe in organized religion raise your hand If you've ever had somebody say something like that to you, okay, that is a common statement I don't believe in organized religion. I asked the question what brought you to that conclusion Did you get that from the Bible? Because a lot of these people say they're Christians don't they I'm a Christian but I don't believe in organized religion I asked the question. Do you believe in unorganized religion? Do you?
Let me ask this question. What have you found in life that operates effectively if it is left unorganized is a business That's unorganized effective is a school a sports team or a family so in other words you want everything in your life to be organized except the church and My question is is that what God wants is the Old Testament God and unorganized God when you read in the Old Testament 50 chapters in the Old Testament given to the building of the temple was he Unorganized in the way he described that I mean, it's so ridiculous, isn't it? You ever read some of those chapters? You're like, oh man, you know, this is long reading right here 50 chapters, I mean Matthew is only 28 chapters But it's going you know Make this a hand breath wide and do this and put the curtains of silk and gold and you know I mean, they're just going through all the details. It's got to be just right Was that organized? Sounds like it's pretty organized to me The priests can only do this you got to have the sacrifice just like this And if you don't do it like this, they'll die and they enter in this day and it's like whoa And then you think about the New Testament were the believers all in the New Testament on their own was it unorganized? Or did they or did they continue in the Apostles doctrine and fellowship and breaking of bread and in prayers sounds pretty organized to me When the Corinthian Church began to be disorganized in the services Disorganization was erupting at the church at Corinth When people began to disrupt the services themselves, listen to what Paul said when he wrote to them 1st Corinthians 14 33 He says God is not the author of confusion but of peace as in all the churches of the Saints And then he concludes that section in verse 40 by saying this let everything Everything be done decently and in what he didn't say disorder did he? Now Paul warned of those who were disorderly 2nd Thessalonians 3 6 he says now we command you Brethren in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you withdraw yourself from every brother That's talking about every professing believer That walketh what? They don't have any organization They're a disorderly person and not after the tradition which he has received of us So remove yourself from those who have a cavalier spirit Toward an orderly church. They want to be disorderly.
They want they want to break from what is traditional what is right? What is customary what you're doing there if they keep trying to have this cavalier spirit break away from that person Colossians 2 5 he says this for though I be absent in the flesh yet. I'm I with you in the spirit Joy and beholding your order and the steadfastness of your faith now I want you to understand this the words order and Steadfastness were both Greek military terms How effective is a disorderly military? How effective is it when it doesn't organize, right?
The only way that any type of military is effective is if they have incredible order and discipline you know when that sergeant makes sure that your underwear is folded just like that and Your shoes are shined just like that and you're like, why does it matter? Well, it matters because it's not just it's not simply about that item The issue is about your focus on detail and order You have to be able to listen and follow instructions to the very details Jesus said if you love me, you'll keep my commandments Details are important orderliness is important Militaries do not function without order neither neither does a church Titus 1 5 & 6 says this Paul says for this cause I left thee in Crete Titus was a younger pastor. He says Titus younger preacher I left you in Crete why that you should set in order the things that are wanting or that are not in order Organize the disorderliness that's going on there. What do you think the disorderliness would look like in a church?
Well, there's probably no leadership There's no structure. They don't really know what's going on That's why he says this the next thing he says is and ordain elders in every city as I appointed you You need to have leadership and structure Everything has that that is organized and successful People say well, I don't believe I need to attend church I can have a relationship with God outside the church anybody ever had somebody tell you that you know I don't I don't I don't need to attend church. Let me ask you what brought you to that conclusion Did you get that from reading the words of God? Did you get that out of the Bible?
Do you believe you don't need to attend church based on the scriptures or your personal feelings? You know, the church is not an individual by himself The church is the ekklesia which is the Greek word for church and it means the called out assembled together They were constantly together What does God say about the importance of assembling together? After Jesus rose from the dead in Acts chapter 1 verse 4 at the very beginning of the book of Acts listen to what happens After they introduced what the book is verse 4 says and being assembled together They they were assembled together. Jesus wasn't coming to people individually He came to them as they assembled together some time passes the very next reference to them is in Acts 1 verse 6 When they therefore were come together Jesus ascends into heaven acts 1 12 through 14 says they went back to Jerusalem and they all assembled together Acts 1 15 in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples And there's about 120 disciples. They're all assembled together and he says listen men and brethren He says one we need to we need to replace Judas because he fell away and we need to replace him his His role as an apostle here and and listen to who Peter says is eligible for that role in Acts 1 21 he says wherefore these men which have accompanied with us all the time That the Lord Jesus went out in and out among us Not only was Jesus with the twelve but there were others who faithfully were with them all the time. They were constantly together There was no cavalier me by myself in Jesus thing. It was everyone worse together Acts 2 verse 1 when the day of Pentecost was fully come they were all with one accord in one place the Holy Spirit descended on them not Individually by themselves somewhere separated in their homes, but together now again, the Holy Spirit is with you you go home today He's still with you But I'm telling you the attitude and spirit of the early church was assembling constantly together acts 214 but Peter standing up with the 11 they preached on the day of Pentecost They were all together after three thousand were saved and baptized on that day acts 244 says this and all that believed Were what? They were together. They had all things in common acts 3 verse 1 now Peter and James went up together Acts 20 verse 7 upon the first day of the week when the disciples came together Why did they come together on the first day of the week? Cuz that's Sunday. It's the Lord's Day.
They all came together That's what they did. So when when somebody says well, I don't need to gather with the church To be a Christian you ever had somebody say I don't need to gather I don't need to go to church to be a Christian. You don't need to read your Bible to be a Christian You don't even have to forgive your neighbor to be a Christian Those things don't make you a Christian But because you're a Christian those are things you do right Well, you don't get saved by going to church when you don't get saved by reading the Bible either You don't give safe for loving your neighbor as yourself either, but if you're saved that's what you do Right.
It's a false statement it's something that is born out of a really a rebellious spirit a cavalier spirit that says I want to do what I want to do and I don't want to be subjected to accountability or under the under that at all Now when writing to the church at Corinth Paul says in 1st Corinthians 5 4 in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ When you are gathered together not if you're gathered But when he repeats this in 1st Corinthians 11 18 11 20 on and on Now listen, one of the signs of having sin in a person's heart is they separate themselves from the church Listen to what Jude 18 and 19 says It says how that they told you there should be mockers in the last day who should walk after their own ungodly lusts These be they who separate themselves Sensual having not the spirit I can tell you growing up when our family was not doing good spiritually. Guess what dropped in our home church attendance When we were when we were growing in the Lord, we were faithful to church. Just follow your own life.
Ask yourself the question Ask yourself the question if you feel like being here is like an unpaid job It's like a chore to you You're hanging on by a thread friend. I Can tell you this last week ask yourself this one question. How much did you make time to read the Bible? Get it I've been there You Don't make time for this you don't make time for prayer you didn't tell anybody about Jesus this week, did you Why didn't you because it's not a big deal to you and now this is like an unpaid job Satisfied my wife or kids or husband or whatever Get the preacher off my back. I can tell you When you lose a love for God, you'll lose a love for the things of God His preachers speak in truth today.
I've been there. I'm no better than anybody in this room I'm telling you at a first-hand experience But when you fall in love with Jesus you fall in love with what Jesus loved When you love Christ, let me ask you How can you be in Christ and out of church when Jesus is standing in the middle of the church? And then you justify the reason of being out of church as though you love Jesus. It's a completely deceived mindset It's foreign to the scriptures. Then the Bible says those who are sensual those who are fleshly minded They are the ones who separate themselves notice what John says in the Epistle of John about those who get out of church and away from the people of God What it evidence is about them first John 2 19. He says this they went out from us But they were not of us For if they had been of us notice he's talking not in singular here Us the church if if for if they had been of us the church they would no doubt have continued with us But but they they went out they left That they might be made manifest. They were not all of us They left the church because they weren't true believers Going to church doesn't save anybody duh Everybody knows that of course, that's true Reading my Bible doesn't save me getting baptized doesn't save me taking the Lord's Supper doesn't save me But it doesn't mean when I get saved I abandon that stuff When I get saved, I love that stuff Why isn't it so foreign? But just because I'm married doesn't mean I have to be at home with my spouse Well, yeah, you could be married and not have anything to do with her But if you're really married and you love her you'll be there unless you don't love her oh oh That's the case It's you don't love her and you want to do your own thing Because you're an adulterer right who you for indicating with.
Is that often the case? Show me a spouse who starts separating from their spouse. There's usually some sin somewhere fornication adultery or something going on Not always, but I tell you friends all of us in here have committed adultery on God at some point with sin And the reason that we seek to break away from faithfulness to him is because we've become unfaithful to him How could I be unfaithful when he's been so faithful to me? That should bring us to our knees shouldn't it? That's why he says let us draw near Hold faster profession of faith without wavering John MacArthur said the first characteristic of unbelievers is they depart from the faithful They arise from within the church and depart from the truth. It's true fellowship. He said the ultimate test of true Christianity is endurance The departure of people from the truth and the church.
He said is there unmasking? One man said if your faith cannot get you in church. Do you think it's gonna get you to heaven? Now again, I know there's people that are saved that are not in church right now believe me I know that I get it But can you live out of the will of God and be saved your entire life? How can you be out of in God's will and out of his church? How often people say going to church doesn't save you, but that's the wrong question One of the clear evidences of being a true believer is you love the people of God First John 3 14 says we know we've passed from death into life because we love the brethren Sometimes people say you know what? I don't want to go to church because the church is so judgmental Anybody ever had somebody tell you that before? Yeah, well and I think sometimes people have had terrible experiences in churches and sometimes churches You can find a judgmental spirit in certain places. I can tell you though at lighthouse This has been the most loving gracious kind forgiving merciful group of people I have ever been with in my life There is nothing on earth that brings me closer to heaven than being in the body of Christ. It is absolutely wonderful. I Find people here I was in I was in a courtroom a few months ago and someone was forgiving someone in the courtroom For something that was so heinous, but the love of God brought them to forgive the person I've seen marriages recently forgiving one another for things that are terrible.
How do they do that? I've seen kids become lovers of their parents and parents loving their kids and families brought together and and forgiveness happening in mercy and grace poured out unbelievable kindness The church giving a hundred and eighty five thousand dollars to people. You don't know Where else is that going on? You don't go to Walmart and people are just pointing out forgiveness and grace and kindness and love and there's some kind people there But I can tell you friend This is the most wonderful place and I don't I just don't understand when people say that they must have had a it's like they Must have gone through a church of unbelievers Psalms 122 said I was glad when they said unto me let us go into the house of the Lord I feel like that every week. I don't have to come to church. I get to come to church Growing up. We never said hey kids. We got to go to church tomorrow.
No kids. We get to go to church tomorrow We get a worship Christ tomorrow. We had to go into his house and sing praises to Jesus Learn about his word What do you think it's saying if you have to constantly be talked into going to church Don't deceive yourself. If you say you're a Christian, but church and God's people are not who you want to be with What does that evidence about you?
Ask yourself. Do I love Christians? Do I love God's people? I mean people who are some separated from the church What are they going to do get to heaven and stay separated from God's people there, too We're gonna find a place out on some hillside God.
I don't want to gather to worship with the Saints there Let me have some place on the distant realm of heaven. That's that kind of sad spirit, isn't it? Well, you know what ultimately is is people who do that don't love other people enough to be with them Who are they edifying to love and good works? They're just doing whatever they want to do in life. They want to be the god of their own life They're not getting that out of the Bible They're getting that out of their read written scripture in their own heads and it should be something you should repent of if it's happened You know in Matthew 12 when they said Jesus your mother and your brother are outside.
They want to talk to you You remember what he said? He looked around at those who were inside with him and he said these are my mother and my brother They that hear the Word of God and keep it his family. It says we're standing without Jesus elevates those who stand within and listen to his truth Listen to what the late great theologian and Bible expositor Charles bridges said Charles bridges lived during the days of Charles Spurgeon Spurgeon said of bridges commentary said it is worth its weight in gold That's that's that's how high of respect Spurgeon had for bridges Bridges writes of those who missed church.
He said this quote the unsteady Professor who has no spiritual home. No church is sound enough for him None wholly molded to his taste. He's like a wandering bird He is always on the wing any one place is too straight for him the accustomed food Even though coming down from heaven like in the Old Testament manna is loathed as light bread His vitiated appetite leaves him often on the Sabbath morning Undecided who to hear his own will becomes his own guide He is anxious to hear from all and as the sure result he learns from no one he is ever learning He's never able to come to the knowledge of the truth and this self-willed delusion the form and substance of the church is destroyed The church is not made up of just a few wandering sheep But a fold and a shepherd not a heap of loosely scattered stones But stones semen it fitted together It is building thus fitly framed together grows unto a holy temple unto God the church is mighty Not in her single members But as an army with banners close in rank with each soldier keeping his own place the individual profession in The stead of the collective unity is purely schismatical spirits the essence of pride and selfishness.
I Couldn't say it more clear myself. I Just it breaks my heart when people say they love Christ and have nothing to do with his church I have to come to the conclusion either they don't know Christ Or they're just in a delusion of sin Let me give you one last point. We're gonna wrap this up the strength and support from the unforsaken church. Listen in Instead of forsaking the church. Let's make lighthouse the unforsaken church. I mean, we're not gonna forsake this place It's the unforsaken place which means when you wake up. It's like I'm not gonna forsake Church this morning I'm gonna make it a priority I'm gonna make it a priority with my life with my lips with my heart with my mind I think about Hebrews 1024.
What's it say here? He said let us consider one another to provoke one another to love and good works The Bible says it's iron sharpens iron. So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend the church father Christensen said this for if a stone rubbed against a stone sends forth fire how much more souls mingled with souls Several years ago a former American prisoner of war several prisoners of war were interviewed to determine what were the methods of the enemy that really broke their spirit and What they found that the researchers found it wasn't the physical deprivation It wasn't the physical hardships, but it was the solitary confinement that broke them They said when they were in the collective unit, they found such strength with one another But when they were broken away from that unit by themselves it broke them down and it was these observations that give incredible insight into the Christian body that Our strength comes from one another that we would love one another and provoke one another to love and good works There is strength from the body of Christ and you need to understand this it is dangerous to separate yourself from the church first Peter 5 8 says this be sober be vigilant that Word vigilant means to be aware be alert he says because you're adversary the devil and what's he compared the devil to a Roaring what a lion and he's walking about seeking whom he may devour. Here's a picture of a real lion Chasing down its prey you see that If you think that looks terrifying, what do you think Satan looks like when he's pursuing one? Here God's Word says Satan is like a roaring lion and he says Seeking whom he made of our whom is singular pronoun Seeking the individual he made of our you ever see the the the Lions on a hunt When they get the whole herd moving, you know what they do. They don't attack the herd They try to get Fred to break off from the herd Fred's like You ever see that?
It's dumb a whole Fred. He's over there. Like I'm gonna I'm gonna leave the herd.
I think it's safe over here. He bounds off And it's usually a wilder beast. It's like what is a wilder beast? You know, it's like, you know, you get to heaven one day You got what is a winter base that is like all the body parts of the animals left over We put it together and made a wilder beast and let all the Lions eat them, right?
But they're you know these things but they don't attack the herd You never see them like jumping on all the big middle of the pack because it's too dangerous. It's too powerful the Gates of hell can't prevail against that but when it isolates one It seeks whom it may devour it seeks the individual and I can tell you first-hand experience When our family got out of church, he devoured us It wasn't long till my parents marriage went way downhill me. My brothers went way off track and Our family was being devoured by Satan just devoured You ever been around teenagers that the only way you can keep them bound is if you chained them up I mean we were so rebellious Just out of control Satan will destroy you if he can the only reason you're not destroyed today is because God's protecting you You would be dead today if Jesus removed his head of protection from you. You understand that just read job one and two Satan would kill you yesterday that lion is is kept from you because there's a greater lion among us and Greater is the lion in me than he that is in the world and so when you are with the body there is strength and protection and Fortitude Roman soldiers had shields that locked together and when the army came against them They could not penetrate it. It was like a wall of forts and That's what the body of believers provides I want to close with the story because I have to be done But there was a pastor who had a faithful man that was in his church Any And he noticed this man began to miss and after several weeks. He said man. I need to go visit visit this individual so he goes out to his house and After they greeted one another they sat down in front of the fireplace neither one talked very long because The old man that he went to visit knew why the preacher was there and the preacher knew he knew why he was there so they just sat in front of the fireplace and so the preacher reached the Got the tongs and pulled one of the coals out of the fire and he set it by himself It was just a few minutes later that that Coal began to quickly die off.
It was totally black again. It had no heat of the red heat that was burning in it a Few minutes later the pastor reached forth and grabbed that with the tongs again He put it back inside the embers and wasn't long till the fire was just burning back on that coal And he looked at his watch he said well it's about time for me to go friend He says and that man stood up and smiled at him and said preacher. That was a great sermon He said I'll see you next Sunday. I I Can tell you friend there is safety in the pack There's safety and there's strength in numbers We need to hold each other accountable.
We need to hold each other up the Bible says be faithful do not be wavering because God is faithful to you and How do you do that provoke one another to love and good works? I can tell you if Pam wasn't here for a number of weeks. She she'd get a call within a week Because so many people have poured into her. She lost her husband. She didn't lose her husband her husband's with the Lord Amen, but but she has found that support and that encouragement I talked to a precious lady visitor this morning in the service Set in the early service in the back and said thank you for being here and she said, you know, I just lost my husband a few months ago and She was sharing with me a little bit and I said boy we have some precious ladies that would love to come around you You Understand how important that is You know when we had one of the precious ladies in our church who? Debbie Holt and her husband passed away The morning that he passed away before I found out I was there or as quick as I could I mean it was like nobody else was there like me Debbie Brad who's passed away at home before I could even get there. Guess who was there Pam?
Pam beat me through the house. She's already there. She's ministering You know what? They've become such great friends and sisters in Christ to support the strength. I can tell you there is nothing like it This we need one another the church is a one another ministry and when you're here, it encourages me when you're gone It it's it's it I can I feel it as a pastor. We pray for the people that are not here We reach out minister, but listen friend.
There are people today and a lot in that baby boomer generation. They're watching on you're watching me right now And Then you need to come we love you enough we have a seat for you and then we want you to be here Amen, let's tell them a right. Yeah, we want you to be here Listen times running out life is short. Jesus is coming back seeing his return The Bible says so much more as you see the day approaching Let's be faithful to the things of God when you and I leave here today Let's grab a couple of these and say God who this week Can you put in my pathway?
What neighbor? What person could I go and and you could use my life to pull that person and maybe it's a safe person They just need encouragement, you know, one of the reasons they say people don't get back in church after getting out as they're embarrassed They feel uncomfortable. It's hard to take that step anybody ever felt that way It was just kind of hard to get back in and it's like even hard even raise your hand about it But if you feel that way, but when you come back, you're like man, they all welcome me They you know, it's just wonderful and so reach out say hey, I'll pick you up Can I bring you in and I'll go to lunch Mel Garber's one of the best people at that He'll pick people up. Say I'll take you to lunch afterward pour your life in you can save a marriage You could save a family. God could do incredible things in your life just by reaching out with an invitation I'm telling you my aunt invited us to a church that transformed the Bevin family and we're feeling the benefits of that 30 years later and so God can do that in your life. We're gonna be
