We Don't Only Belong to A Person, Who is Christ, But Also To A Place

Text: Acts 4:32

32  And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

33  And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.

34  Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,

35  And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.

36  And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,

37  Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

You are called NOT JUST to belief.

a.   Do you know it's not biblical for you to say I don't need anybody, I just need Jesus? God uses people to fulfill His purpose, and nobody can fulfill God's mission for their life by themself.

b.   While your relationship with Christ may be personal, God never intends for you to be private.

c.   Being a member of a church means being a vital organ of a living body, an indispensable, interconnected part of the body of Christ.

d.   The church is an organism, not an organization; it is a living breathing thing

e.   The biggest thing that God has done with us is allowing us to come together to unify, so that as a unit we can go out there and bring others from a place that is dying to a place that is living.

                             i.        As the Bible says, "A house divided against itself can't stand."

f.    John 17:9-11

10 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.

10  And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.

11  And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

                     i.        Jesus prayed that His people would be one as the Father is one. It is so important that the church learns the importance of being unified.

g.   Vs. 12-17

12  While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

13  And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

14  I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

15  I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

16  They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

17  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

                     i.        If an organ is severed from its body it cannot exist on its own, AND NEITHER CAN YOU.

h.   The first symptom of spiritual decline is usually inconsistent attendance at worship services.

1. The person who says I don't need church is either arrogant or ignorant, because there is no person in this room that doesn't need to be around a body of believers.

i.    Hebrews 10:23-24

23  Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

24  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

                     i.        Sometimes I know I'm gonna make you mad, and that’s done on purpose, not by me, but by God, because sometimes a person needs to be provoked to get right and do the right thing.

                    ii.        You can get mad at me, but the truth is still gonna be there at the end of the day.

j.    Vs 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

1. Pastor gets up at 5 o'clock every morning.  He doesn't have an excuse not to be in church. What's yours?

2. God does things for a purpose. If pastor has to be challenged to be here, then bless God, he's gonna challenge YOU.

k.   Vs. 27-30

27  But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

28  He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:

29  Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

30  For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.

                     i.        This is not talking about the lost, it's talking about the saved.

                    ii.        It doesn't matter if you have church on Saturdays or Sundays, just so long as you BE there.

l.    Vs. 31-32

31  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

32  But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions;

                     i.        Today's culture of independence has engendered many spiritual orphans.

                    ii.        When God sends you somewhere you got to stay put until HE tells you to leave.

Why do I need a church family?

1. A church family identifies you as a genuine believer.

             i.        Acts 2:14-21

14  But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:

15  For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.

16  But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

17  And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

18  And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:

19  And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:

20  The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:

21  And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

1. When we go out of here and witness, and I pray to God that every person under the sound of my voice will be a part of our outreach ministry, we need to go out as one body.

b.   2. Having a church family moves you out of self-centered isolation.

     i.        Our job as a church is to bring people out of their little self-centered world, and get them focused on something else.

    ii.        You got to get out of your house, get out there and realize that there are people out there with broken hearts.

  iii.        Biblical fellowship is being as committed to each other as we are to Jesus Christ. God expects us to give our lives to each other.

  iv.        Four of our commandments deal with our relationship with God, and six deal with our relationship with one another.

   v.        All the commandments hang on two, because they ALL really reflect our relationship with God AND our relationship with each other.

  vi.        You can't be right with God and be wrong with your brothers and sisters.

c.   3. A church family helps to build spiritual muscle.

     i.        Over 50 times in the New Testament the words "one another" are used.

    ii.        Isolation breeds deceitfulness. If there is no one to challenge you to grow, there is room for deceit to believe that you have already grown.

1.   We can all do better.

  iii.        If we don't get around people, we may start thinking that we have already arrived.

  iv.        Real maturity comes from relationships.

1.   If you get around somebody that cuss you out, you will know if you are mature by the way you deal with it.

   v.        Real maturity says, "Pastor is a man, I cannot depend on him for all of my needs."

d.   4. The body of Christ needs you.

     i.        Your local fellowship is the place where God designed for you to discover, design, and develop your gifts.

    ii.        You also may have a wider ministry, but that is IN ADDITION to your service to your local body. Your service really should be to your local church. The church cannot run on spit and sweat.

  iii.        The people of God should live by faith, not our bill collectors.

e.   5. You will share in God's mission for the world.

     i.        Soul-winning is the most important piece of His mission.

f.    6. A church family will help keep you from backsliding.

     i.        “Mind your own business” is not a Christian phrase, you know why? Because we ARE each other's business.

    ii.        Satan loves detached believers. Unplugged from the body, isolated from the spiritual family, and unaccountable to other believers, because he knows that they are defenseless against his tactics.

  iii.        People say I don’t' need to be accountable to no man, I'm accountable to God. Go to your boss and say that, see what he says.

  iv.        The difference between being a church member and a church attender is commitment, that's the only difference. You should not be a church member and not commit to your church.

1.   You could be an attender, and nobody expects you to be committed because you are a spectator. An attender is sitting on the sideline. We don't expect anything else from them.

2.   Members are supposed to get involved in ministry, members are consumers.

3.   Long-standing attenders are like people living together who don't want to commit to marriage. They need to say, I want to commit to my church.

4.   You could spend a lifetime searching for the perfect church and you will never rind it. But you CAN find a perfect church for you.

   v.        When I become a part of a church body, I need to commit to that body. I have to commit my resources and everything to that church.

The truth is, we're all blessed. There is not a person in here that doesn't have a house, a place to sleep. We're all blessed. Shouldn't we bring some of that blessing into the church?

a.   Like Paul said, not that I want to receive, but that the giver might be blessed.

The fact is, you can't out-give God.