THIS PLACE THE CHURCH
Matthew 16:18
Introduction: The plan from the foundation of the world was the church to get the gospel out to the world. It is one of the three organizations that the Lord has bought into people's lives. The other organizations from the Lord were the Family and government. These three were ordained by God and should be under submission to the Lord.
Over 40 years ago, the Lord allowed this church to be built. It has been and must be a lighthouse for those who travel the troubled seas in this town. If everyone who lives in our town would come and obey the gospel call, then we would considered to be a great success. But many people don't want to come to a simple country church. Some people like the high church ways and music and preaching. Some people just want to rely on pure emotions in their services. Some just want their ears tickled. They don't someone to expose their sin. They are comfortable with their sin and don't want their nest disturbed. Here we will preach the Word like 2nd Timothy 4:2 says: "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine." Paul told young Timothy to preach the Book where it was popular or not.
Some people don’t come any church because they do not realize that imperfect people come to churches. Others do not realize that churches are made up with ordinary people.
A preacher consulted old Dr. Joe Henry Hankins. He was a young preacher and was having some problems in his church and was asking for help from his help. He was even considering resigning. Bro. Hankins told him that he should write his resignation. Then the next Sunday morning he was to take his suitcase to the pulpit, take out his resignation out and place it on the communion table for all to see. Then he told to do one more thing. Bro. Hankins told him to lean back and PREACH. Well, this young pastor did that very thing and everything worked out without his resignation.
I want to say this once again. I am thankful that I am a part of this body of believers. To be able to pastor a church was beyond my wildest dreams over years ago. To be in this place is to be in God's perfect will for my life.
I should not be the only one who feels this way. Every person who is a member of this church ought to feel the same way. If they don't, they ought to go some way where they do.
I have found that when folks are not right with God, they find it easy to miss church. They don’t want to be around those who right with God. I get discouraged sometimes. I have prepared a message and then very few show up to hear it. Let’s suppose that you prepared a big lunch for my family and I and we just did not show up. How would you feel?
To see the hand of God working in the lives of His people is one of the greatest joys a pastor can have. To see people loving one another as the Bible commands is another great joy to my life.
This building is set apart for one major purpose and that is WORSHIP of our Almighty, Omnipotent, Omniscience, Omnipresence Lord. We call this room is called the sanctuary. A sanctuary is a sacred place or a protected place or a place that gives refuge. This is where we meet with the Lord. This is where our burning bush should be located. This is where our Ark of the Covenant is located. That is why we don't want playing done in this room. That is why we don't want people to eat in this room. That is why we are careful what activity is done in this room. It is not Holy like the Holy of Holies was in the Temple but we should give it the same respect as they did. That is why we are careful what we wear when we are in this room or when we are on these grounds. This is a special place or a set apart place unto the Lord. We should treat it as such.
There are three things that make a church go. They are as follows: Grace, Guts and Greenbacks or Time, tithes, and talent. Many times when preachers get together they discuss the ABCs of their church. That is the Attendance of their church, the buildings of their church and the cash that came into their church. I hope that I am not that shallow that this all that I want to share with other preachers.
Today I want to share with you five things that we ought to do in this place. All of them honor the Lord. If we will do these things, we are carrying out the mission of the church.
I. THIS PLACE OUGHT TO GLORIFY GOD.
Colossians 3:17
“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”
A. Our preaching should glorify God. The word “glorifies” means to honor. Our preaching must glorify His grace, greatness, and goodness. These subjects tell more about our Lord than most of subjects. Let me just touch upon them.
1. Grace Ephesians 2:4-10
“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
The unmerited favor of God is the definition of Grace. It reached to my depths of depravity and pulled me up to the position of a child of God who is under the working of the Father to make me in the image of His Son. Some call grace- marvelous, mysterious, matchless, and majestic but I like calling it mine.
2. The Greatness of God Psalm 95:3
“For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.”
No one and no one else can compare to the greatness of our God. He made all things. He controls the affairs of this world. He is keeping everything in His calendar. His love is great. His grace is great. His mercy is great. His wisdom is great. The phrases could go on and should for eternity of His greatness. You and I cannot praise the Lord enough. He never grows weary of hearing it. In fact, this is going to a great part about heaven. We will never grow weary of praising the Lord and neither will He grow weary of our heartfelt praise. Some time you ought to shout out "Praise the Lord". It makes the devil upset but it glorifies our Saviour.
3. Goodness of God Exodus 34:6
“And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth”
He is good in His providing for us. He is good in His protection of us. He is good in mercy He shows toward us. We could as individual stand and tell the goodness of our God and would not finish before supper tonight. It seems that we find nothing to say when asked about taking of His goodness.
B. Our praying should glorify God. May our prayers never hazy, lazy or crazy! The “now I lay me” prayers never glorify Him. Our one-minute prayers never glorify Him. Prayers that exalt Him and His power glorify Him.
C. Our singing should glorify the Lord. This is singing that comes from the heart. Do you ever forget that there is anyone standing next to you and just sing unto Him?
It is singing that causes us to think about the Lord. Songs like “How Great thou art” are songs that make you think how good, gracious and great our God are songs that glorify God.
It is to be singing that is the right kind by the right kind of people. It grates my nerves to see men and women who sing about adulterous affairs, drinking liquor or such try to glorify God with some “Christmas” song. Or they make a CD or tape of religious music.
II. THIS PLACE OUGHT TO GO AFTER THE SINNER.
Luke 14:23
“And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.”
A. It is our command to go after the lost.
Matthew 4:19
“And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
It is not an option. It is a plain command. We are given this command five times. It is found at the end of each of the Gospels and in the eighth verse of chapter one in the Book of Acts.
The lost are not commanded to go or even come to this place but we must compel them. The word “compel” means to urge strongly. We are commanded to go.
Some people use the excuse that they are shy. But I have found that most of them will walk up to a clerk in a store and ask for help. Shyness will not be an excuse that our Father will accept at the Judgment Seat.
In Bible Institute we used to sing this little chorus many times before we went out to knock on doors.
“Souls for Jesus is our battle cry.
Souls for Jesus, we’ll fight until we die,
We will never give in while souls are lost in sin,
Souls for Jesus is our Battle Cry.”
B. It is our compulsion to go after the Lost. We do so many things compulsively. We must get back to the place that witness becomes a compulsion to us. We will never grow as a church if we don’t.
This includes giving out tracts to anyone that we come in contact. You can give them to the people at the bank or town office or such.
C. It is our compassion to go after the lost.
Jude 22
“And of some have compassion, making a difference”
We can never care too much for sinners. Here are some quotes from some preachers of the past in regards to souls:
“If their houses where on fire, thou wouldst run and help them; and wilt thou not help when their souls are almost at the fire of hell?” Richard Baxter
“Why does the Church stay indoors? They have a theology that has dwindled into a philosophy, in which there is no thrill of faith, no terror of doom and no concern for souls. Unbelief has put out the fires of passion, and worldliness garlands the altar of sacrifice with the tawdry glitter of unreality. The Holy Ghost cannot conquer the world with unbelief, nor can He save the world with a worldly Church. He calls for a crusade, a campaign, and an adventure of saving passion. For this enterprise, He wants a separated, sanctified and sacrificial people.” Samuel Chadwick
“Go for souls - and go for the worst.” General William Booth
III. THIS PLACE OUGHT TO GUIDE THE SAINT. Acts 20:17-20
“And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church. And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews: And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house”
A. Guide the saint into Biblical security.
1st John 5:13
“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
Our eternal life is not based on feelings, foolishness, or faith of others, but is based on the fact that Jesus said it and that settled it.
I researched the Bible and found that it shows that one verse in 113 talks of our eternal life. That is makes it an important doctrine to teach new believers.
There are a great many things that will make a person doubt that they are saved. Most of the time is one of two things basically. It is teachings of the past or worse it is sin in the life of that person.
B. Guide the Saint into Biblical Separation.
2nd Corinthians 6:17
“Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you”
Biblical Separation is a two-fold process. In the sixties and the seventies, many people separated from a long list of activities. They did not dress in clothing to reveals or portrays worldliness. There was old saying in Bible Institute that we used to use. “I don’t cuss, smoke or chew or go with the girls that do”. This list of things that they did not do was a long list. But they forgot the other side of the coin. When you separate from something, you separate unto some thing or someone. We turn from worldliness and turn unto the Lord. If you turn from worldly music, you better have something to turn. If not, you will find yourself in a vacuum and there are no natural vacuums in this world.
It is our desire that we guide you toward separation. But Biblical Separation is supposed to be taught and not forced down your throats. Here is the truth. I am responsible to tell you and you will be responsible to act upon it. But separation is not optional. To not practice separation from things unto the Lord is sin.
C. Guide the saints into Biblical Service
Romans 12:1-3
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”
It is my desire that every member of Freedom Baptist Church sees the importance of every member being a minister. It is not unreasonable that for to be done. After all, Christ gave His very life so that we may have life in Him. Should we not do so also? If I die in the service of our glorious King, what glory it brings to Him who is worthy of such devotion? This is not my body and life but His!!! We as believers must do more than ever before to further the cause of Christ.
IV. THIS PLACE OUGHT TO GUARD THE DOCTRINE.
2nd Timothy 3:16-17
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”
The one way that you can know if truth is being taught and preached in this place is to follow the command given by Paul in 2nd Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
A. Guard against men's opinions
B. Guard against men's oppression
C. Guard against men's orders
D. Guard against men's offense to doctrine.
E. Guard against men's omissions.
F. Guard against men's ordinances.
We are living in a time when doctrine is not so important according to some religious gurus of today. Doctrine is so important that Paul listed it first in the profitable list in 2nd Timothy chapter three.
Doctrine given by the Lord astonished the crowd in Matthew chapter twenty-two. As A. W. Tozer said, “Great saints have always been dogmatic. We need a gentle dogmatism that smiles while it stands stubborn and firm on the Word of God.”
Quoting A. W. Tozer again, he said, “A doctrine has practical value only as far as it is prominent in our thoughts and makes a difference in our lives.”
Doctrine can be divisive. Doctrine must be definitive. Doctrine is to be Persuasive.
V. THIS PLACE OUGHT TO GREET HIS COMING.
1st Thessalonians 4:13-18
“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”
Matthew 24:44
“Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.”
Luke 19:13
“Occupy till I come.”
A. His second coming should be our favorite topic of conversation. People love to talk about the weather, wages, Washington but we need to be talking and yearning of every believer. Our prayer should be like the Apostle John as he had seen heaven and its beauty, the lake of fire and its fierceness and finality, the Lord and His grace, mercy and wrath “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”
B. His second coming should be our faithful teaching of the church. We ought to be motivated to do more for the Lord than ever before know that He is coming soon.
C. His second coming should be our fearless truth of this church. There are scoffers who mock of this doctrine of the Bible. Jesus said that He would come again. John 14:1-3
“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
Conclusion: This place ought to be all these things and more. Are we really glorifying the Lord in this place or should I say, am I glorifying God in this place? Are I going after the sinner as we ought? Not like we could but we are making progress. Our #1 concern should be for souls to be saved in this place.
Do you feel like that you are guided like you want to be in this place? Or are you allowing us to help guide you in this place? You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink. But you can give him some salt so he will want water.
How are you helping guard doctrine? Are you reading God's word faithfully so you will know what is truth or not?
Are we ready for Christ to come back? Are we watching for Him to come? If we are not, it will catch us off guard and doing those things that we know that we ought not to do.
Pastor Mike Walls
Freedom Baptist Church Smithfield, NC