What is Fellowship? I John 1:1-7

What is Fellowship? I John 1:1-7

    In the past I've shared some bulletin bloopers and as you hear them they will help to underscore the text and the topic I've prepared for today's message. But these were actually seen in church bulletins over the years. Bertha Belch, a missionary from Africa, will be speaking tonight at Calvary Methodist. Come hear Bertha Belch all the way from Africa. Announcement in a church bulletin for a national PRAYER & FASTING Conference: "The cost for attending the Fasting and Prayer conference includes meals."The sermon this morning: "Jesus Walks on the Water." The sermon tonight: "Searching for Jesus." Our youth basketball team is back in action Wednesday at 8 PM in the recreation hall. Come out and watch us kill Christ the King. "The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been cancelled due to a conflict. The church will host an evening of fine dining, superb entertainment, and gracious hostility. Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 pm - prayer and medication to follow. The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon. This evening at 7 pm there will be a hymn sing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin. The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday. Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use back door. Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.

    Today as we continue looking at the subject of "the purpose of the church"" we are going to look at the importance of the principle of fellowship. When a church is lacking in fellowship, the church's growth will be stunted or out of balance. . We will all miss out on the joy of growing in Christ together. We will cheat ourselves and others out of great joy. Is fellowship potluck dinners at church, it is just doing things together or is it something more?
    Fellowship does not happen on its own; it takes time and effort to happen. I want us to examine what fellowship is, why we need it and how we can encourage it in our church.
I. WHAT IS FELLOWSHIP? 3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. J.I. Packer defines fellowship as "a seeking to share in what God has made known of Himself to others, as a means of finding strength, refreshment, and instruction for one's own soul." The Greek word for fellowship KOINONEIA comes from a root meaning common or shared. So fellowship means common participation in something either by giving what you have to the other person or receiving what he or she has. But its more than just on the level of relationships with one another. Christian fellowship is two-dimensional, and it has to be vertical before it can be horizontal. We must know the reality of fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ before we can know the reality of fellowship with each other in our common relationship to God (1 John 1:3). The person who is not in fellowship with the Father and the Son is no Christian at all, and so cannot share with Christians the realities of their fellowship.

    Hebrews 3:13 describes the value of it: "But encourage one another daily, as long as it is still called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sins' deceitfulness." In other words, fellowship is required to encourage one another." When we are outside the spiritual protection God intends for us to get from fellowship, it is much easier to be deceived and to be hardened by sin. One of Satan's ways to destroy a Christian is to try to isolate him from other believers. If he can do that, and remove a Christian from contact with other believers so that his encouragement is cut off, he will. This happens because so many Christians are so busy today. We think, I just don't have time to spend with my family, much less with other people.

    Following the pattern of Jesus, and led by the Holy Spirit,, those in the early church you will notice here in Acts 4 "devoted themselves to (among other things), fellowship." Other New Testament Scriptures likewise stress the importance of Christians living life together in supportive community.
    For true fellowship to happen there must be something that ties us together with others. Going to the mall and being around a lot of people does not mean we have fellowship with them. We may all be doing the same activity, shopping, but that may be all we share in common with the other shoppers. Even when we have a covered dish dinner, Does having a covered dish dinner mean we have fellowship? It can if we share some common things we will look at. If we do not share these things in common, we are just eating together. Now, here is the rub. One of the downfalls of the modern church is that we have failed to distinquish between socializing and fellowship. Although socializing is often both a part of and the context of the fellowship that we enjoy, it is possible to socialize without having fellowship. Socializing involves the sharing of human and earthly life. Christian fellowship, that is New Testament koinoneia, involves the sharing of spiritual life. Don't misunderstand- socializing is a valueable asset to the church and we need to do it, but sometimes we go beyond giving socializing the place it deserves. In other words, we have become willing to accept it as a substitute for fellowship, almost cheating ourselves out of our Christian birthright of true fellowship altogether. Now I'm not saying that every conversation between Christians has to include references to Scripture and taking prayer requests. But I have noticed that often our conversations don't get beyond the level of socializing. Little if any authentic fellowship takes place and often we think that just because we have had a conversation with somebody in the church fellowship hall, then we think we have had fellowship, when we haven't.

II. How do you know when you have fellowship?7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.     Ok- so what kind of experience do we need to have in order to qualify that we have experienced genunine Christian fellowship?

1.. Goes Beyond Friendliness I have had people tell me, "Salem Baptist Church is a friendly church." It is a friendly church. I believe that with all my heart. And its not just that you are friendly toward the people you know, but that you reach out to people you don't know. But even friendliness doesn't mean the same thing as fellowship. I mean, it helps if we're friendly. And yet as odd as this sounds, I have been in churches that didn't seem to be very friendly and experience genuine koinoneia. Does this make sense? Authentic Christian fellowship is not just being friendly. Genuine Christian fellowship may even be somewhat unfriendly at times because it challenges us to move beyond superficial relationships to help us overcome unChristlike attitudes and behaviors in ourselves.

2. When another Christian has challenged you to grow or change beyond what you are doing, or that you have experienced godly encouragement from another Christian- that would be fellowship. Here's an example of what I'm talking about. Look with me over in Titus 2

    But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine: 2 that the older men     be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience; 3 the older women     likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine,     teachers of good things— 4 that they admonish the young women to love their husbands,     to love their children, 5 to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own     husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed. Likewise, exhort the young men     to be sober-minded, 7 in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in     doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility,8 sound speech that cannot be     condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of     you.

    Now Paul first mentions doctrine, but that's not the kind of doctrine you get from a Sunday school class or picking up from a sermon necessarily as it is the kinds of Christian values we learn by observing one another. Its instilling a responsibility in looking out for one another, and so much of that is incumbant upon the older ones. For example, you older guys- especially you all who are 40 and over. There are younger men here in this church who need your godly example and character to follow.

Its not that you have to sit somebody down and teach them a Bible study lesson, and it doesn't mean you have to be perfect. So much of what we do is caught rather than taught. When I was a young man the one whom I really looked to for spiritual guidance to show me how a Christian man is supposed to act was my father in law. Not only was he a godly man who had a lot of wisdom but I could see in that man the kind of character I wanted to model for myself. He invested a lot of that in me without him having to sit me down and lecture to me. One of the things he showed me was how a Christian man is supposed to work- to instill a work ethic in me that I hope that I have passed down to my children as well is what I learned from my father in law. Another thing I learned was how to act when he has a lot of pressure on him. This is the kind of thing we receive in the context of Christian fellowship that we wouldn't be able to find anywhere else. The same is true for Christian women. You older ladies have much you can teach by your example. I know that its different for women today than it was when you first got married and were raising your children. But the younger women today need to know how to care for their families- no one is teaching them that.

III. Fellowship is based on love and trust. Here is what I John 2:9-10 tells us He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. 10 He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.6 Romans 12:10 puts it in a postive way. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Romans 12:10 Being devoted means much more than being around people that you like. Fellowship is based on trust. You can't have fellowship apart from Christian love. In fact I'll even go as far as to say you can't love someone without making yourself vulnerable to someone else. If you say that you love them, you have got to open yourself up to them and build relationships with them.
You say, "Wait a minute now, I don't hate anybody!" No, you wouldn't hate anyone by showing someone dispect or being hostile, but one of the ways we show this and not even know it is simply out of neglect, disregard, by being focused only on ourselves that we don't make room in our hearts for each other in the body of Christ. That's where it comes down to us more often than we would like to admit.

    To cultivate Christian fellowship means we have to make time for it. Not just making time for worship but making time for each other because we experience the fellowship and communion of Jesus Christ when we make time to build relationships with other Christians. You say, "how do I do that?"

First of all, look for people with whom you might share some things in common. If you have children, for example, make an effort to get to know those couples that have kids and invite them to you home or get together with them somewhere. They may not be where you are spiritually- ok, if that is the case then maybe God has directed you to take them under your wings spiritually to help them model the best of the Christian life in you. Don't just seek to have your spiritual needs met- because they need you. They need to see how you cope with all the pressures of family life and then the pressures of this world with the love of Jesus Christ.

    As a church, we need to work hard at making sure we do not foster an environment in which we just come together Sunday morning and then detach ourselves from one another until the next Sunday. Let us show we care enough about each other to spend time with one another and to take advantage of the opportunities our church offers to help foster a true sense of fellowship. The world is keeping us isolated and alone as it is. The church can offer something to the world that nobody else is offering- a community of people who genuinely loves them and wants them to belong. The world is a lonely place, we need to be a place where the world wants to come and learn about Jesus, a place where we can develop lasting relationships.
In 1773, the young pastor of a poor church in Wainsgate, England, was called to a large and influential church in London. John Fawcett was a powerful preacher and writer, and these skills had brought him this opportunity. But as the wagons were being loaded with the Fawcetts' few belongings, their people came for a tearful farewell. During the good-byes, Mary Fawcett cried, "John, I cannot bear to leave!" "Nor can I," he replied. "We shall remain here with our people." The wagons were unloaded, and John Fawcett spent his entire fifty-four-year ministry in Wainsgate.

Out of that experience, Fawcett wrote the beautiful hymn, "Blest Be the Tie that Binds."

Evangelism: The Power of Our Witness Acts 4:1-22

Evangelism: The Power of Our Witness Acts 4:1-22
    The city of New Orleans has had its share of tragedies lately. I read one recently about what happened five years before Hurricane Katrina. It brought tears to my eyes as I read it. A party took place in New Orleans around a swimming pool, and the people were celebrating the first summer in fifty years without a drowning at any New Orleans swimming pool and in honor of the occasion, 200 people gathered, including 100 certified life guards. And as the party was breaking up, the four lifeguards on duty began to clear the pool. It was then that they discovered the lifeless, fully dressed body of Jerome Moody, age 31- in the deep end. They tried to revive him, but it was too late. Can you imagine a person drowning in the presence of 100 lifeguards? It is both tragic and ironic, that those 100 certified lifeguards didn't see this man drown in their presence? Incredulous- you say.

But is there a lesson in all that for us? You bet there is!! What about among our family and friends? IS there someone we know drowning in a pool of depression and loneliness? It is both a calamity and tragedy, when people are surrounded by Christians, and yet they die and go to a devils hell without Jesus. That's right- they die and go to hell. Every day in this country 150,000 people die. That is where most of them go. I've been preaching on the five purposes of the church. We started out with worship and how worship connects us so that we will communicate with God. Then last week we looked at Discipleship and how essential it was not just to make converts, but mature men and women of God. Today we're going to look at Evangelism-The Power of Our Witness When I was a teenager we called it witnessing. Years ago we used to call it soul winning. Before that we called it Personal work or something like that. You know what we call it now? We don't call it anything, because we its been so long since we've done it that we can't remember what it was like to tell people about Jesus.
    God had just used Peter and John to heal a beggar in his forties who had been lame from birth. The spectacle of this man walking, leaping, and praising God draws a crowd, and Peter begins to preach the gospel to them. Suddenly Peter is interrupted as the priests, the captain of the temple guard, and the Sadducees as they are upset that Peter was teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
    They arrested Peter and John, put them in jail over night. The next day they are brought in front of the Jewish Sanhedrin. Although they were on trial before this intimidating council, Peter quickly turned the tables on the Sanhedrin, showing that it was they who were on trial.
    He points out that it was not a crime to do a good deed to a cripple. Then he indicts the Sanhedrin because they had crucified Jesus, whom God had raised from the dead and in whose name this lame man had been healed. Furthermore, Peter let them know that there is salvation in no one else except Jesus Christ (4:12).
    Peter doesn't see a court; he sees a congregation. The members of the council are amazed at the boldness of Peter and John, who had not been educated in their schools. After a private conference, the council commands Peter and John not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. However, Peter and John replied that they had to obey God, because they could not stop speaking what they had seen and heard. While Peter and John had to be commanded to stop speaking, most of us need to be reminded of the command to speak to others about Jesus Christ. Many modern Christians think that Jesus' Great Commission was really the Great Suggestion. Note the characteristics of a bold witness

I. A bold witness is EMPOWERED (filled) with the Spirit (v8). To picture this scene correctly, we need to understand how threatening it was for Peter and John. The Sanhedrin was like our Supreme Court. The high priest was the most powerful Jew in the city, and the captain of the temple guard was second behind him. They were standing before powerful men.Just a few weeks before, Peter in order to avoid possible arrest had denied that he knew Jesus Christ to a lowly servant girl. But here he is before this powerful body of men, boldly reminding them that they had crucified Jesus, that God had raised Him from the dead, and that He is God's only way of salvation.
    What made the difference? Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit. Peter's witness before the Sanhedrin was not due to his natural boldness, but to the filling of the Holy Spirit
The key to everything in the Christian life is the power of the Holy Spirit The Bible teaches that we receive the Holy Spirit the moment we trust Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. The Spirit of God literally comes within our bodies and lives with us for the rest of our lives. It's a one-time event, and He never leaves. But what makes the difference in Christian living is the degree to which we are filled with His presence. To be filled with the Spirit means that we are completely controlled by the Spirit- and to do that means that we deliberately put ourselves into positions like Peter. Not in our recliners sitting in front of the TV set, but by standing on somebody's doorstep and feel your heart beating as you ring their doorbell to tell them about Christ. Peter is filled with the Holy Spirit, and the empowering work of the Spirit gives Peter a boldness that enables him to share the gospel before a powerful, intimidating group of people.
    I think of Peter Cartwright, a circuit riding Methodist preacher of the 19th century. He was to preach to a large congregation, and right before the service, he was informed that President Andrew Jackson would be in attendance. They told Peter Cartwright, "We thought you would want to know so that what you say won't be offensive to the President." Peter Cartwright said, "Thank you for telling me." He got into the pulpit and said, "I've been told that President Andrew Jackson is in the congregation, and I've been asked to carefully guard what I am going to say. I want to begin by saying that Andrew Jackson will go to hell if he doesn't repent of his sin." You could have heard a pin drop. But, immediately after the service, President Andrew Jackson walked up to Peter Cartwright and said, "If I had a regiment of men like you, I could whip the whole world."
    Here were Peter and John, just a couple of hillbillies from Galilee who should have stood with shuffling feet and downcast eyes. Instead they looked more like what they really were, ambassadors from the courts of heaven empowered with the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit transformed average men into anointed men.
II. A bold witness EMPLOYS the Scriptures (4:11). Peter quotes from the Old Testament in Acts 4:11. A confident witness will make much of the Scripture No Christian can progress very far in the Christian life or be effective in Christian service who does not make much of the Bible. The Bible is the Sword that is quick and powerful. Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
    The Bible paints the picture of the sinner The Bible presents the provision for salvation.
The Bible produces the people called saints. The Bible provides the message and produces the members of the church. ACTS 5:42 says And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.". In another translation it says, they never stopped. The difference between our day and their day is the fact that we have stopped. Instead we have gone from proclaiming the word to talking about the Bible and they are two different things. That's the difference between us telling what we think the Bible means versus what the Bible says for itself. In the filming of the movie Ben Hur, the Star of the movie, Charlton Heston, had a difficult time learning how to drive the chariot. So after a great deal of practice, he mastered the art of chariot driving but he was slow and and so he went up to the director, Cecil B. DeMille and said, "I think I can drive the chariot, but I don't think I can win. " DeMille is said to have responded- Heston, Your job is to get up into the chariot and stay in the race. I'll be the one who makes sure you will win. And that is exactly what God has said to us.. God has given us the job of using the power of Scripture, not the power of our persuasive arguments, to bring people to salvation. I'm not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. Rom. 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth;
III. A bold witness EXPRESSES what is SURE (4:20) The disciples could not stop speaking of what they had seen and heard (4:20). They had seen the risen Lord Jesus. They saw Him ascend into heaven. Peter and John knew that Jesus had changed their lives. The formerly crippled man knew that the name of Jesus had changed him. Anyone who has called upon the Lord to save him from his sins knows that He is mighty to save even the chief of sinners.

    Many years ago, in fact I think I was still a teenager, a vacuum cleaner salesman appeared at our door. My mother was not at home and my dad was at work, so I opened the door and there stood this man, trembling, standing there with a vacuum cleaner in his hand. Nervously he said, "Son, you wouldn't want to by a vacuum cleaner or anything would you?" Unless you either take great pity on this poor excuse for a salesman or you badly needed what he was selling, you would not respond positively to his weak presentation. Though there are many differences between salesmanship and evangelism, there are a few parallels. An obvious parallel is that if you want to communicate effectively, you must be confident about your subject. The best salesmen honestly believes that his product is something that people really need. The best evangelists are confident that Jesus Christ is the only Savior and that people desperately need to trust in Him or they will perish.

A confident witness is one who gives a testimony that is based on personal knowledge. He does not tell what he thinks or supposes, but what he knows. He speaks only to what he knew as fact in his own case. He focuses on what he does know and not what he does not know. A man can be bold about what he knows. Proverbs 11:30 tells us "He that wins souls is wise." 1. ...some Christians think of witnessing as an assault by a God Squad of sorts. 2. ...some sort of spiritual mugging mission. A bold witnesses EMPHATICALLY declares the SAVIOUR The Sanhedrin had asked Peter, "By what power, or in what name, have you done this?" (4:7). Peter explained it simply: JESUS (4:10, 12). Salvation is found only in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6) There is no other name. There is no salvation in any other. Peter and John were straightforward and to the point. Jesus is the only way to get to heaven, not one of the ways, but the ONLY way. If there is salvation in none other, THEN there must be ONE that is all-sufficient and His name is Jesus. Story- An accountant interviewed a few applicants for the position of a bookkeeper. He asked several respondants some basic math questions. One applicant in particular answered the question 7x3= 22, 7x5 = 34, 8x5= 41. When he checked his answers, he knew that he had gotten them wrong and did not expect to be hired for the position. He was surprised the next morning when the accountant phoned him: "Congratulations! We wanted you to know that we would like to offer the bookkeeper position to you if you are still interested." The applicant said, "Yes I'll take the job, but I'm curious. I know I got several of those math questions wrong and yet you still hired me. Why did you hire me when I got so many questions wrong?" The accountant responded: " Sir, you were the closest!" Some people have the mistaken idea that God is like the man who conducted the interview. They think it doesn't matter what you believe as long as you're close to the truth However, it does matter- it is Jesus or eternal tragedy. Jesus is the only answer you can give and receive eternal life in Heaven. Our burden is to proclaim it.

Discipleship- Growing Up in Jesus

Discipleship- Growing Up in Jesus

Acts 2:42-47

    This morning I am struck by the fact that six years ago when we first moved here our oldest son was 13 almost 14. Jared was 12 and Jinger was 10. John is now almost 20. Jared graduates in a few short weeks and will soon be leaving us. Jinger also gets her driver's license next month. Someone said to me the other day- "the empty nest is coming- I guess that makes you sad that your children are growing up?" Misty eyed- yes. Going to miss them, you better believe it. But sad? No way- because this is what is supposed to happen. Growing up is part of life. Babies are cute but if a baby never grows up that's a tragedy. Because all living things grow. We are meant to grow. Physically, emotionally, spiritually. A couple of years ago there was a movie out that called "Failure to Launch." It traced the all-too-common pattern of a man who lived with his parents even after he was 40 years old. Its supposed to be a comedy. Tragically, this happens all too often- not just in the home, but even where its more tragic is when it happens in the church. Whether it's physical growth or emotional growth or spiritual growth, if you don't grow that's a tragedy. One of the purposes of a family is to help little babies that God places in them to grow to maturity. And one of the purposes of the church is to help baby Christians to grow to maturity Now, having a grown up son or daughter who is experiencing failure to launch in your home might be difficult to deal with- but having a whole bunch of people who chronologically are mature, but spiritually are immature is one of the paramount tragedies that faces the church today. And as your parents raised you so that you would one day get out on your own Jesus saved you so that one day you would grow up and be like Him. He wants fully grown-mature- men and women of God.

I. What? Grow.
⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching You read this passage we read earlier and we see the fantastic growth of the church taking place after Pentecost. I know that you have read it and heard it preached many times. It's a great passage because it describes an idyllic time in the life of the church. A model. And did you notice that, somewhere along the line, the original disciples of Jesus became known as apostles- that is, they became leaders. It didn't really take very long for this to happen. But it marks out the steady growth of these men whom Jesus chose, who gave them an expectation. Jesus told us in the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20) that we were to go and make disciples. Not just converts- but disciples. The word that we use for that maturing process in the church is called Discipleship. Its one of the five important ships of the fleet that we began looking at a couple of weeks ago. In the first century, a disciple was a student who was a follower of a teacher- usually a rabbi. A disciple was to a rabbi what an apprentice is to a Master trademan. Those of you who are farmers can probably understand this idea as much if not better than anyone. Its plowing up the soil, treating it, fertilizing it, sowing the seed, cultivating it and harvesting it. It's a long, difficult process. It is tedious and painstaking. But most of the time it is worth it. But it operates on the assumption that when you put something in the soil, its going to grow. Mothers understand this of their babies, that is why I Peter says As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word that
you
may
grow
thereby.--1 Peter 2:2. Growing is natural. Growing is healthy. Growing means that you are alive. If you have a baby and that baby is not growing, you would have that baby into see the pediatrician the first appointment you can get. They talk about growth percentiles and all this sort of thing.

    Not long ago I read about a little girl in India who was not growing up. The article said that although she was five years old, she only weighed nineteen pounds. The problem was malnutrition. The shocking part of this article was it was a very common problem. In fact, in India it says that forty-six percent of Indian children are under nourished and under weight. Forty-six percent – that's nearly half. And thirty-eight percent of children in India have been permanently stunted in their growth. Permanently stunted! The thing that caught my eye was this: "Poverty is preventing a generation from growing up."

    I could be wrong but I suspect that this is what is happening to our churches as well as individual believers. We're pretty good at getting a sinner to pray the sinner's prayer and maybe even get him to be baptized. But after that, we kind of leave them alone. Yes I know that its hard to encourage a full grown man that he needs to grow in Christ- to set down with you and go over Scripture together, teaching him how to pray how to read his Bible, helping him understand the necessity of it. But if he can see it in your life- it's a whole lot easier. But we are so conditioned instead of growing, learning, becoming more and more like Jesus. We want and come expecting to be entertained. I think somehow we have gotten caught up in the idea that we got to do what the world does and bring in the world in order to entertain one another. Come and see the show. Come listen to the choir sing, come hear the pretty music- give us a reason to get out of this warm bed on Sunday morning. Come watch the preacher knock himself out up there preaching and strutting around- couldn't tell you what he said as soon as you get to your car but oh how good he looked up there saying it. People come expecting to be entertained, and we feel the pressure to have to keep up with all the other churches are doing just to keep our doors open. Entertain us, but don't expect me to do anything about it, and for sure don't require me to go any deeper than where I am. That attitude reminds me of what Paul taught in 2 Timothy 4:3. He was telling Timothy to preach the Word, to be instant in season and out of season- why? "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; ⁴ and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables." Now friends, doesn't that sound like our generation today? Listen dear ones- those who complain about the present generation of people forget who raised them! Why do you come to church anyway?

    Sort of reminds me of the family who came to church got out of there just as fast as they could as soon as the service was over. As soon as they got in the car to head to the Golden Corral they all began to complain about the service. Mama spoke up first and said, "Did you ever in your life hear so many sour notes our organist was playing. She did nothing but mess up the whole way through." Sister said, "Yea and the choir sounded so bad all I wanted to do was to cover my ears!" Daddy said, "Well the reason we're having to take off out of here so fast is because Pastor Jeff just goes on and on and on. I couldn't tell you what he said, because I feel asleep three times!" But then brother said, "Well you know, Daddy, for what I saw you put in when the offering plate came around, I thought it was a pretty good show for a dollar!"

II. Why Grow? ⁴⁴All the believers were together and had everything in common. The fact is that story would be really funny if it were not so true. And it points to the heart of what is happening to so many Christians and Christian families today. It's the reason why so many churches are closing their doors and why we have to prop up so many others is because we Christians are not wanting to grow. Probably its because they never took the time to ask why? This is what we have in common with each other- the need to grow as disciples of Jesus Christ. Look with me over into Ephesians 4 for a moment, beginning at verse 11:

    And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, ¹² for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, ¹³ till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; ¹⁴ that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, ¹⁵ but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— ¹⁶ from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. (Ephesians 4:11-16).
I know that was a lengthy passage but bear with me. Did you catch on to what Paul was saying here? At least three times Paul mentions the word growing or maturing- in fact in several different ways he expresses the same idea. Notice he says till we all come …to a perfect man. Does he mean perfect like you think he means perfect? Not at all- that word perfect means mature- growing, maturing in Christ. Doesn't mean sinless, but growing, learning- not just stuffing his head full of factual knowledge, but his character is being transformed. He is a changed man- he's different than he was when he got saved. In fact he is different than he was a month ago. That's what discipleship is all about- change. Changing. Transforming yourself with the Holy Spirit's power to be more and more like Christ. That's why we grow. I know a lot of people in the Baptist denomination don't like change. You can see that in our architecture. You can see that in the way we run our worship services, the songs we sing. We haven't changed a thing in years, preacher- and they are proud of it. Dr. Elmer Towns, my church growth professors up at Liberty says "we are so stuck in the past that if the year 1957 rolled around again, we'd be ready for it!" If we are not maturing, growing, learning, you know what we would be? (tell the story of the 85 year old widow who went out with a 95 year old man. Daughter worried, "Did you have a good time?" Mother said No- in fact I had to slap that old boy three times!" Daughter- "O I was afraid of that, he didn't try to get too frisky did he?" Mama said, "No." Well why did you slap him three times?" Mama: "Because each of those three times I thought he was dead!" If you are not growing, being a disciple, examine your heart. Paul said we should no longer be children…but grown up

III. How to Grow? (v.47) And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved In other words, how do we know when we get to the point of maturity? .When we have children ourselves. When we start bearing fruit. Jesus said in John 15:5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.But many of us are afraid we're going to be like the nursery rhyme about the old woman who lived in the shoe, she had so many children, she didn't know what to do! And so they start practicing spiritual birth control, and never produce because new Christians are too much bother. Friends new Christians don't cause problems (in churches). They just reveal the problems that already exist."--With so much to know and so much to learn- its kind of overwhelming, isn't it? How do you know when you ever get to that mark of being a disciple? I would have to say, you know when you are mature when you start winning and helping others to grow in Christ?

    I think back to my own life- when did I start becoming a mature person, and start thinking seriously about life and growing up? Its when our children came along. And our children came along a lot later than most people's did we were married 7 years before our first child came. A lot of our friends are grandparents now. My wife's sister who is 5 years younger is a grandmother. But that's ok. We were so busy in college and seminary days and then we birthed a new church before we ever started birthing babies. In three years God graced our home with three children. Ha! Be careful what you pray for. You'll get three kids in pampers all the same time. I Cor 13 but then I became a man, I put away childish things.

    Look over in Hebrews 5:12-13, the writer of Hebrews tells us this as well: For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. ¹³ For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. ¹⁴ But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

    Do you need milk? Its time for solid food. It's time to open up your mouth for the meat of the word of God. We had some friends over to have dinner with us. They said- "We want to have you folks over next time," Then he said "Do you like T bone steaks!" We exclaimed- "Yes!" Then he said, "Well, bring 'em!" We here at Salem serve up we serve up the equivalent of a two inch thick T bone steak, spiritual food that's going to help you to grow- and us to grow as a body of believers. Making disciples. That's what we're about. That's why we grow. And how is by producing and nurturing other believers to be mature in their faith and that makes us mature ourselves.

[Worship: The Flagship of the Fleet

Worship: The Flagship of the Fleet John 4:19-26

    There is an old story about a Catholic priest, a Baptist pastor, and a rabbi. Their respective congregations were all complaining that preaching to people was easy. They said if they really wanted a challenge, the ministers should try preaching to a bear. So, the Catholic priest, the Baptist pastor, and the rabbi decided to take their congregations up on the challenge. They all agreed to go out into the woods, find a bear, preach to it, and try to convert it.So, a week went by and the three ministers met up again to talk about how things went. The priest was on crutches and he had one arm in a sling. He said, "I went into the woods to find a bear. And when I found one, I began to read to him from the catechism. But the bear didn't want anything to do with me and he began to slap me around. So, I grabbed my holy water and I sprinkled him and, sure enough, the bear became as gentle a lamb. The bishop is coming out next week to give him first communion and confirmation." The other two ministers were nodded that they were impressed. Then it was the Baptist pastor's turn to speak. He was in a wheelchair, with an arm and both legs in casts, and he had an IV drip. He said, "Well brothers, you know that we Baptists don't sprinkle! So, I went out and I found me a bear. And I began to read to him from God's holy word. But that bear didn't want anything to do with me. So, I took hold of him and we began to wrestle. We wrestled up one hill and down another until we came to a creek. And as quick as I could, I dunked the bear and baptized his hairy soul. And just like you said, he became as gentle as lamb. We spent the rest of the week fellowshipping together and praising Jesus." The priest and the pastor looked over at the rabbi. The rabbi was lying in a hospital bed, with a full body cast and all sorts of tubes and wires running out of him. And looking up at the other two, with a weak voice, he said, "Looking back on it now, circumcision may not have been the best way to start things out."

That joke makes you appreciate being a Baptist, doesn't it? But you know, Christians of all denominations are becoming less conscious of their distinctive and are trying desperately to understand their purpose and relevance- both to God and to the people they have been called to reach. So Today I'm going to begin a series of messages entitled, "The church, what's it all about?" And in the Word of God we find five different reasons for what we're all about: worship, discipleship, evangelism, ministry, and fellowship. Sounds like a lot of ships, doesn't it? In fact, its a whole fleet.

I. If there were the most important ship in this fleet of ships that I could name, I would have to say that its worship. And the first ship we're going to get on is worship and as we do we're going to explore part of our purpose about why Christ established His church and the part we play in it as we get on the worship. Jesus talked to a woman one day about what it is to worship. Ask a hundred people what is worship....and you'll probably get 100 different answers. The Bible doesn't give a formal definition of worship. But perhaps we can start by seeing what various words for worship mean. The English word "worship" comes from two Old English words: weorth, which means "worth," and scipe or ship, which means something like shape or "quality."

. The Samaritan woman said We worship up here on this mountain, where you Jews worship down in a temple in Jerusalem. But Jesus wasn't asking whose denomination did worship better Instead Jesus said, God is spirit, and he that comes to Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. The reason why is because its all about God. They that worship Him. The Hebrews had a certain word for worship in the Old Testament- the most common word for worship is the Hebrew word hishtahvah . Its basic meaning is "bow down," with the sense of reverence and respect and honor. It occurs 171 times. In the Greek Old Testament, 164 of those instances of this Hebrew word are translated by the Greek word proskuneo. When worshippers would come to the Temple, they would literally bow down or protrate themselves as But you will notice that Jesus says "There is one greater than the Temple is here."

The Samaritan woman's idea of worship was much like our idea of what worship is today. Have you ever wondered if we are more concerned with what worship does for us and less concerned for the object of our worship? I mean, it seems like we are more concerned with what we get than what we give. Its like taking a present to a birthday party, and then keeping the present for ourselves. I like what A.W. Tozer, great Christian theologian, once said "If you are bored in a worship service, you are probably not ready for heaven!" But all too often we hear people describing the worship service like they would a restaurant or a grocery store- "I really got a lot out of the service today" Really? I think I know what people are trying to say in a situation like that, but I'm always half-tempted to say, "Yea, well I wonder what did God get out of it? Because that's who its for. They that worship Him- Jesus tells the Samaritan woman what worship is all about. Its all about, its for God. The focus of our worship is upon no other one but God alone. Its not the building, its not the pastor, its not the singing, its not the choir. Its not the style of our worship. Its not even about our comfort. But the focus of our worship is on God. Psalm 45:11 Because He is Your Lord, worship Him. The Bible has given us a command, as well as an opportunity to respond.

Henry Ward Beecher was a great pastor of yesteryear. He had to be absent from the pulpit once Sunday, and so he asked his brother Thomas Beecher to fill in. When many of the folks saw that the famous Henry Beecher was not going to be preaching that Sunday.....they begin to leave. Undisturbed, Thomas simply said......would those who came to worship Henry Ward Beecher please leave, but those who came to worship God please be seated. Beecher revealed a lot about what those folks thought worship was all about. It wasn't about them and its not about us, its all about God. But you go to your typical Baptist church and it gives the impression that its more about them. About their comfort, about their pew, about their time- about what hymns they want and how long they want the sermon to be. I'm convinced that the more we make worship about God, and less about ourselves, the more God we are going to get.

II. God Is Seeking Those Who Will Worship In The Spirit. Now Jesus makes an interesting point here. He says that God seeking those who worship Him in spirit- why? Because God is spirit. Phil 3:3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. What happens when we worship in the Spirit.......? How do you know when the Spirit is there? The Spirit Produces Life. The services will come alive. This is true whether there is organ music or guitars and drums. The instruments themselves don't determine whether our worship will be vibrant or not- its the Spirit. The sermons will come alive.
Story about a church....had a man in the choir who couldn't sing. Others tried to help him find other places of ministry in the church without hurting his feelings but with no success. The choir director became so desperate that he went to the Pastor. The music director told the Pastor that he had to do something or he would quit, and half the choir would as well. After trying to beat around the bush, and make a point unsuccessfully....the Pastor finally told the man that he needed to leave the choir......why asked the man......Several people have told me you can't sing That's nothing....fifty people have told me you can't preach.....but you're still here !

The singing will come alive. And that's true whether we're singing traditional hymns or contemporary praise choruses. It makes no difference. If our worship is focused on God He wants to hear it all, and His spirit will mess with our spirit. The souls will come alive.You read over in the book of Genesis and you'll find that the first thing that moved on the earth was The Spirit of God.....but it seems to be the last thing moving in the church today. We walk in looking like our father in heaven died, and didn't leave us a cent. The Spirit Provides Liberty.

2 Cor. 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Liberty means freedom- free to express ourselves to God the way that God has made us to worship Him. Not in the stilted, constricted way that we try to do it sometimes, but in the freedom to express our worship to God without strings attached. Don't take this the wrong way, sometimes I would like to just take this order of service and just tear it up so that we could be free to worship the Lord, free from the institutions of people. Free from the conformity to the past. Free from the confines of the clock. Sometimes, believe it or not, we get in the way of real worship. We give people the idea that you have to get dressed up in a suit and a tie or a dress in order to worship God. Listen, my Jesus didn't get dressed in a coat and tie. And when He went to church, He wore a first century pair of flip flops. Now if you were born before 1970, Now I know its a cultural, generation idea that you were taught to wear a suit and tie because that went along with the idea that you wore a suit and a tie because people, and God deserves the respect that you give them when you dress that way. But does that mean God won't accept your worship if you don't come dressed for church that way? No- not as long as you are giving Him your best.

III. God Is Seeking Those Who Will Worship In Sincerity. That's what Christ means when He speaks of truth. It means true- true motives, sincere, honest, authentic. Have you ever gotten a limp-wristed handshake, where the person doesn't look you in the eye or insincere about having made your acquaintance? How does that make you feel? Diminished, embarrassed, angry? Then you will know how God feels when our worship of Him is not made in earnest.

1. Sincere in Purpose. I love what David said in "I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart;I will shew forth all thy marvellous works. I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High," Psalm 9:1-2. "Praise ye the LORD. I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation," Psalm 111:1. "Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise," Psalm 98:4.

Now that is sincerity in worship. David had the right idea about how to approach the Lord, right motive.....the correct purpose for his worship ! We need to be sincere in our purpose or motive for worshiping. Old song......I don't know what you came to do.......people come to worship services for different reasons. The Pharisees of Jesus day just wanted to be seen, and heard ! They wanted to make a name for themselves.....and they did. Jesus called them hypocrites ! What a difference it would make if the believers all came together with singleness of purpose, and we turned our heart heavenward and worshipped the Lord !

2. Sincere in Praise. True praise begins in the heart....the pure heart. God gets no satisfaction from those who shout in the church.... but wont speak of him or for him in public. He is not blessed by lips that honor him when the heart is distant. Psalm 122:1 I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord.

3. Sincere in Prayers. God is not interested in how long our prayers are......or how good our vocabulary is......I've heard some folks pray as though their trying to impress those around with extensive knowledge of the English language. Pardon me.....but God isn't interested in what we say if it comes from a heart that is not sincere ! Are you worshipping as God desires ? Perhaps, we need to evaluate our worship. Are we spirit-filled ? Are we sincere, genuine in our worship ?

Worship is the flagship. When you walk up the gangplank of a boat or a ship you have to either get on board or get off. Because when that ship starts to sail either you will be on the deck, on the dock, or in the drink. God takes on no halfhearted passengers who want to experience Him.

john

John

    My name is John. I was the youngest of Jesus' disciples. I along with my brother James Jesus called us "The Sons of Thunder!" That's because we were loud, and maybe a little bit obnoxious- and sometimes even arrogant. There wasn't anything we thought we couldn't do. It really made the other disciples mad when our mama asked Jesus if we could sit on the right and on the left of Him when He came into His Kingdom. But you see, for the first time in my life I saw a man I really looked up to and respected, a man who could do anything, one who said "nothing shall be impossible for you!" I wanted what He had, and that's why I stayed as close to Jesus as I possibly could.

    Then came that fateful night when Jesus gathered us for the last time. None of us knew it, though. He started talking about us having greater power than He had and doing greater things than He did and I couldn't understand what He was talking about when He said He was going away! I felt ashamed of myself that night after the Passover, when Jesus asked us to watch and pray. What did I do? I fell asleep when I should have been watching. I woke from my slumber again as the Jews came and they took Him. I was so scared I didn't know what to do. I followed along as close as I dared to get while they did all kinds of terrible things to Him. They beat Jesus with a cat of nine tails and struck Him so many times I thought my heart would break. Then they led Him up to Golgotha where they stripped Him and nailed Him to that terrible cross. It made me want to vomit, the things that they did to Him. But Jesus had been there for me, so many times! I knew I could not leave Him, especially now when He needed me.

Jesus looked down at me as He hung there on that Cross. He looked first at His mother who stood there and said, "Woman, behold your son." And then He looked at me again and said, "Son, behold your mother." For some reason Jesus entrusted His own mother into my care. I felt so unworthy- after all, I had run out on Jesus when He needed me the most. How could I look after His mother when I could not even look after myself?

I was too horrified to look as I saw Jesus breathe for the last time. If that day was bad, the next few nights were worse as I shook in fear for my life, wondering if the next knock at the door would be the soldiers coming to carry me away and crucify me just as they had done to Jesus. I stayed with Peter until when that knock at the door came. I decided, I would be brave, remembering how brave Jesus was when He went to the Cross. However, the knock at the door revealed only Mary Magdalene, our friend and follower of Jesus. She cried, "He is not here, He is risen just as He said!" Peter and I just looked at each other, dismissive of Mary's claims until suddenly Peter bolted up and ran out the door. It took me a minute to figure out where Peter was running until it occurred to me that Peter must be running to the tomb where Jesus lay.

As I said, I was the youngest. That also meant I was the fastest and ran just as hard as I could and flew by Simon Peter like a flash. I got to the tomb first. The stone was rolled from the entrance, just as Mary said. But I feared to go in. Simon Peter caught up with me as I stood there doubled over, panting hard to get my breath. Simon Peter went on in. The grave clothes were there, but no Jesus! That was when I realized that Jesus had risen. I knew it had to be the way He said it would be. I saw and believed!

Mary magdalene

Mary Magdalene

My name is Mary. I came from the village of Magdala not far from Jerusalem and this is my story. I was the first to arrive at the tomb of Jesus very early in the morning before the sun even came up. I did not go there alone. I had Mary, the dear mother of Jesus with me, and another friend by the name of Joanna with me. Why were three women out late at night, trying to get into a tomb, knowing that what we were doing was very dangerous?

Jesus, my Lord and my Master, had been crucified. In horror we watched Him die that day! If that was not horrifying enough, we watched as the Romans bundled his body up and started dragging it away. If it weren't for Joseph, they would have thrown Jesus' body away like so much garbage. There wasn't much time. Joseph went to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body so that it could be buried properly in his family tomb. Sundown- and the Sabbath was coming. All Joseph could do was to hurridly throw some sheets on Jesus' body and place him in the tomb. But us women knew that this would never do. It was bad enough to see him have to leave this world the way He did. The very least thing we could do for Him was to give Him a decent burial.

Mary, Joanna, and I prepared the spices, gathered some clean linen, and aloes, and made our way to the Garden where Jesus was. It was so early, but we couldn't sleep anyway. We were so frightened. It was after dark. What if robbers would attack us on the way? And another thing, what were we going to do when we got to the tomb. We knew the soldiers were guarding it. How were we going to persuade them to let us in. Would they roll the stone away for us or would we have to do it? How were we supposed to do that? These nagging questions persisted, but it was our faith- and our love for Jesus that urged us on. So many times we had seen Jesus do the impossible- we felt guilty for these doubts, especially after we arrived at the tomb that morning.

Imagine our shock after we got there, standing there looking at the open grave with the stone already rolled back! Who could have done this? We saw the low flicker of torches glowing up above- no sense in asking the soldiers what was going on- they were sound asleep! Could someone have taken Jesus' body away and they not know it?

Joanna and Mary ran home weeping. They left me standing there thinking the worst. Tears blinded my eyes for several moments when someone called out my name. "Mary!" he said. Who was this? The gardener? But how could he have known my name? "Why are you crying?" he asked. It didn't occur to me how strange this was, "Because they have taken my Lord away and I don't know what they did with Him. If you know tell me please so I can go get Him!"

Through my tears, and through my doubts I saw Him. It was no gardener! It was Jesus- come to life again! All I could do was to want to throw my arms around Him. I couldn't believe my eyes! He was alive!

But Jesus said to me, "Touch me not, for I have not yet ascended to my Father. But go and tell my disciples that I am alive again just as I said."

Simon peter

Simon Peter

My name is Simon Peter. I am one of Jesus disciples. Many looked up to me but I don't know why, because all I did when they put my Lord on trial was to deny I ever knew Him. I followed Him a far off, even when they crucified Him I could not bear to watch them do it. Yes, every one looked up to me, but all I could do is to run and hide like some coward. For three days I hid out, fearing for my life. That last night was the worst- I could not sleep. The knock at the door startled me. "O God! Have they come for me, too?"

The knock was not like a man would do it. Who could it be so early in the morning before daybreak? John got up from where he was-at least he had the fortitude to answer the door. There stood Mary, Joanna, and Mary Magdalene! What on earth were they doing, standing there so early in the morning?

Then they all started talking at once- "He's alive, He's alive, we saw Him. Come and see where they laid Him, Jesus is risen from the dead!" Hush, hush now, ladies- please! You are all beside yourselves. Women! They can be so emotional. They got themselves so worked up that they were no longer making sense. It was like a dream, or maybe some cruel joke. Who could have stolen Jesus' body? I lit out of there- wait till I get my hands on whoever did this! When I get there, they will know that I, Simon Peter, had been there.

I ran as fast as I could. I used to be pretty fast on my feet but I'm not as young as I used to be. From out of nowhere a man rushed past me. IT was John. He is always such a show-off! Anyway, he got to the tomb before I did and stood there at the entrance. I was out of breath by the time I arrived, but I saw the stone rolled away from the entrance, just as Mary had said. I also went on in, and saw the place where Jesus lay, but nothing was there but grave clothes right there where Jesus had been. Surely this was some kind of a joke. If they stole His body, why would they not have kept Him in the grave clothes? Something really strange was going on here! John then came in. We stood there totally bewildered as to what had happened that morning!

I had forgotten. I had completely forgotten what Jesus said that He would be crucified and in three days He would rise again. I put Him down for it. I told Him, "Not so, Lord!" I remember how He pursed His lips and said, "Get behind me, Satan!" I never knew how much like Satan I could be until I denied Him. All those feelings of guilt and remorse and sorrow came over me until I heard Jesus say to me Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"

  "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you."
Then He said to me "Feed my sheep."