Involve Your Family in a Christ-Centered, Bible-Preaching Church (Part 2)

So good to have you with us this evening. We have outlines in case you want them, you know People cry and complain we need an outline. So I give you an outline that nobody takes them So they're available to you if you want to follow along if you don't want to follow along and that's okay They're just they're just there for to help you as we go through These different points that we're trying to cover. We're on point number 9 of 26 This is the second week covering point number 9.

I think it's the most important one I'm trying to explain that to you to show you how important it really is that you might come to grips with the fact that Involving yourself in a Christ centered Bible preaching church is the most important decision you will ever make in your entire life Making the wrong decision going to the wrong church. You might not ever hear the gospel You might not even know what it means to follow Christ, but to be involved in a Bible centered Christ Preaching church is to help you understand the importance of what the Bible speaks of when it comes to the body of Christ The family of God, it's so incredibly important.

In fact, it's so important. We told you last week it provides identity There's there's something about the church that provides the identity That man is so desperately seeking when you come and you and you're a part of the assembly of the redeemed and you're born again You have your identity in Christ. That's where your identity resides That's what makes you who you are You have a spiritual DNA to follow after the Lord Jesus Christ and the church is that environment to provide your identity? Because you can't be a part of the church unless you're born again and once you're born again You're part of the family of God the household of God you able to follow the Lord and therefore the Church of Jesus Christ provides identity, but number two it also Promotes maturity.

In other words, you can't grow without the body of Christ You can't grow spiritually on an island by yourself. You can't grow spiritually in isolation God never designed the body to function that way It's designed where the the members of the church are equipped by the preaching and teaching the Word of God That the members of the body would be able to come alongside one another and help build the body of Christ And so you can't grow spiritually without being a part of a vital Bible teaching Christ Center Church we are able to know what it means to walk with Christ to love Christ to serve Christ to honor Christ and to be able to Grow and you walk with the Lord Paul said in Colossians chapter 1.

I preach Christ to every man I admonish every man why because every man needs to grow up in their walk with the Lord And so when Paul wrote the letters he wrote them to churches if he wasn't writing to churches he was writing to men who were pastoring churches because they were to give attention to the Instruction and the reading and the exhortation of the Word of God according to first Timothy 4 verse number 16 and you want to make sure that people in the church know The truth of the Word of God and so there's something about being a part of a local assembly That's going to promote maturity in the life of the people that are there and it's so important to realize that And then we told you number three it prompts accountability in other words There's something about being a part of a local body that gives you the accountability that is so necessary for you to grow spiritually the Bible says in Hebrews chapter 3 Excuse me 13 verse number 17 Obey your leaders and submit to them for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account Let them do this with joy and not with grief for this would be Unprofitable for you It's unprofitable for the people of the church Not to follow the direction of the leaders that God is placed in the local body.

I Realize the the enormous task of being accountable to God For the souls of the people that are here every elder in our church realizes that there's a huge responsibility That when we stand before the Living God we are held accountable to God for the souls of the people of this church We recognize that we recognize the responsibility that God placed upon Ezekiel as a watchman That he was to make sure that he taught the truth and that if he didn't warn those who were in error Then if they died their blood would be in his hands But if he warned them when they were in error that when they died, he'd be innocent of their blood That's very important to realize that And so as elders we understand the enormous task of holding people accountable to a biblical standard It's not holding them accountable to our opinions or what we think.

It's holding them accountable to a Biblical standard and we want to be able to do that and we want to make sure that we live in light of that standard Because God holds us accountable. And so when we Meet with people and we counsel people we talk to people we're holding them accountable but there's an accountability in the whole church that we are accountable one to another and realize the the inescapability of accountability within the local body when we Dedicate a child we bring the baby up bring the parents up.

Well, you know, I hold the baby We pray for the baby but it's that that reminder as we go through the flowers and Explain the different flowers that we give to the to the to the parents that each of them represents something, right? And it's all about accountability that as a church we are holding them accountable to a biblical standard and that we are praying for them and we want to Admonish them and we want to make sure that they raise their children in the nurtured and admonition of the Lord So when when we we bring a child up here, there's nothing salvific about it But we want to let you know that this parent these parents are coming because they want to be held accountable to this body For how they raise their children That's a great thing.

That's not a bad thing That's a good thing because you want the people of the church praying for you You want the people of church coming alongside of you helping you in any way possible? And so there's a certain amount of accountability that we have within the body of Christ that if you're not a part of that You don't have it and everybody needs to be accountable, right when you raise your children, right? We're talking about the the practical principles for building a a biblical marriage and family Well, you want to raise your children on how to submit to authority?

Why because they're gonna have to go through life learning to submit to some boss Somewhere and they learn how to submit to authority where in the home. That's where they learn And so if your children are having a problem submitting to your authority You need to ask yourself a couple of questions, right? Does the wife submit to the husband's authority? Because if she doesn't she models to the children how the church doesn't have to submit to Christ Very very important to realize that so if your children are rebelling against your authority Unwilling to submit to your authority ask yourself as a wife Am I submitting to my husband's authority and as a husband?

Am I willing to submit to God's authority in my life the church that I've been a part of? You see if we as parents go home and we complain about the church and we gripe about the church and and we argue about what's Happening in the church and we don't like this person or like don't like that person all of a sudden our children then begin to take On that character and they begin to take on that attitude why because they catch those things very easily but if as parents we come home and we realize that we are submissive to a to an authority in the church and we realize that Pray for our leaders and to and to follow the direction and as Hebrews 13 7 says imitate their faith And we speak well of them all of a sudden our children grow up realizing that there's a higher authority that my parents are submissive to You see when your parent your children are having trouble submitting to authority as parents You must ask yourself.

Where are you not submitting to authority in your life? Because you see rebellion is passed down really easily, right? You don't have to teach your children to rebel they by nature rebel and so Passing rebellion down to your children is so simple so that you want to counteract that by being Obedient and submissive and accountable to authority so they learn how to be submissive and accountable to authority And I've come to realize after 44 years of ministry that what happens in the home with the parents Translates very easily over to the lives of the children And so therefore it's important that you realize that as you raise your children as you set an example for your children that in the church the body of Christ not only does it provide a identity not only does it promote maturity But it prompts accountability and all of us need to be accountable and then this one we left off last week number four It produces clarity It produces clarity You know to be a part of a local assembly where the Word of God is taught where it's a Christ-centered theology Biblical preaching is happening all throughout the assembly, right?

Then what happens is that you'll find that if if biblical preaching isn't happening from the pulpit It's not gonna happen in youth ministry. It's not gonna happen in children's ministry. It's not gonna happen in women's Bible studies It's not gonna happen in men's Bible studies. It's got to begin In the pulpit first and it translates itself everywhere else But you see people need clarity So the psalmist says these words someone that team we read it to you last week verse number 130 the unfolding of your word Gives light it gives understanding to the simple In other words, we all need clarity We need to understand what the Bible says.

It says in Psalm 104 these words of Psalm 119 it says From your precepts I get understanding Therefore I hate every false way Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light To my fat to my path in other words God's Word sheds light on the way you should go God's Word produces clarity in life And it begins theologically. Please understand this our view of life Stems from our view of God So in the church, you need to understand that What you believe about God? Determines how you believe everything else in life So it's imperative that the Word of God be taught Because the answers to your financial issues are not financial They're God-centered The issue to the answer to your marital issues are not marriage issues Primarily, they are theological issues primarily Understanding God and submitting to the authority of God in your life deals with everything else in your life So you need to understand who God is more than anything else in the world We forget that We need to be focused above remember what it says over in the book of Colossians Colossians chapter 3 verse number 1 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ keep seeking the things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God Set your mind on the things above not on the things that are on the earth For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God When Christ who is our life is revealed then you also will be revealed with him in glory Do you understand a very important principle?

You can never function Horizontally unless you are focused vertically You can never function in the earthly realm Unless you're focused on the heavenly realm Remember this world we're just passing through we are aliens and strangers in a foreign land and The only way we can possibly live in this environment is to keep our eyes focused above So when Paul says keep your your thoughts focused above set your mind on things above he's talking about being theologically focused upon God and heavenly things eternal things not temporal things And we begin to understand that when we realized Proverbs 29 verse number 18 without a vision the people perish But happy to see you keeps the law, right?

correct translation is this without a Revelation the people are unrestrained. They're out of control Okay, so the word vision is revelation The only way you can have a clear vision is to understand the revelation of the Living God So without the revelation of God, you don't know where to lead people. Therefore.

They're out of control Therefore we need to realize that how we think about God and How we think about how God is involved in our lives is so incredibly important So therefore we need clarity We need to understand exactly what the Bible says so the Bible says in Proverbs 6 verse 23 For the commandment is a lamp and its teaching is light The commandment is a lamp and its teaching is light in other words.

How can I see where I'm going? Unless I understand the clarity produced by the truth of the light of the gospel of Christ Everything that you have an app have a question about is answered in Scriptures When you measure it against the standard of the Living God Remember what Peter says over in 1st Peter chapter 1 verses 18 19 and 20 He talks about the vision that he had on the Mount of Transfiguration When he was able to behold the majestic glory of the Lord But he says these words, but we have a more sure prophetic word Peter says I had an experience on the Mount of Transfiguration When the Lord unzipped his flesh and the glory of the Lord would shine all around and there was Moses and there was Elijah Right the great lawgiver the great law protector and there they were in the Mount of Transfiguration We beheld the majestic glory of the Lord, but you know what?

We have something more sure than my experience there's something more proof positive than what I saw on the Mount of Transfiguration and That is the more sure prophetic word We have the word of the Living God It is sure It is ironclad It outweighs any experience that I ever have I subject every experience to the authority of the Word of God in my life God's Word is the ultimate authority if my experience does not measure according to the standard of God's Word It's not God's Word. That's wrong It's my experience that's wrong Because God's Word is the ultimate authority and everything is subject to the inspired inerrant infallible word of the Living God and therefore in the church in a Bible centered Christ Preaching church where the Word of God is held in high esteem What you're going to receive is clarity about life clarity about your marriage why because all viewed through the lens a theological lens that keeps you focused above and not below I cannot function in the earthly realm Unless I am focused on the heavenly realm Please understand that this is absolutely crucial to living in today's culture It's such a it's such a depressing culture.

It's such a difficult place to live But yet if we keep our eyes above focused on God, then we can begin to see our world Clearly Let me give you a few examples.

Okay first of all We need clarity on the worship of God we clear thinking on the worship of God a Bible preaching Christ in a church provides that for you because we're to worship God in spirit and in truth and To help people understand that worship is internal based on the truth of the Living God We need to understand what true worship is all about so You need to understand it from a a biblical standpoint And how do you know people don't understand that they gather together and they get people to get and they sing some songs and say okay Now we're gonna sing some song and we're gonna worship the Lord and now and now we're gonna preach the word Oh, no, that is totally wrong Because the preaching of the word is the highest form of worship in the local body of Christ You see we think that music is worship music is part of the worship service, right?

But it's not the worship singing songs and then we're gonna have the preaching of the word Oh, no, the preaching of the word is the highest form of worship in the church And therefore it provides clarity and what it means to worship God what it means to adore God What it means to have an affection for the Living God of the universe And so the Word of God Produces clarity on the worship of God it produces clarity on the will of God on the will of God Your your children will grow up in your home. They're gonna ask the question.

What is God's will for my life? What is God's will? Where do I go to school? Who do I marry? Do I buy this car? Do I buy that car? Do I buy this house in this community or move to another community and buy this house? What is the will of God for my life? Everybody wants to know what God's will is but God's will is spirit out spelled out very clearly in Scripture that once you understand the Will of God in the areas that he specifically designs you to know Everything else will fall into place For instance, it's God's will that you be saved 2nd Peter 3 verse number 9 God's not willing that he should perish but all should come to repentance, right?

It's God will they be saved So if you're not saved, how are you gonna know the will of God? You're not God's will is that you be saved. So that's where it begins Number two God's God's will is that you be spirit-filled Ephesians chapter 5 verse number 17 18 and 19 She's very carefully be not unwise but understanding What the will of the Lord is and be not drunk with wine in which dissipation but be filled with the Spirit of God God's will is that you be spirit-filled that should be controlled and dominated by the Spirit of God.

That's what God wants for you That's God's desire for your life. That's God's will for your life He wants you saved he wants you spirit-filled and then he wants you saying thanks to him on a regular basis Ephesians 5 verse number 18 for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you that you give thanks in all things That's the will of God You want another will of God there it is. Are you giving thanks to God in all things? Are you thanking God? for your loneliness Are you thanking God for your financial troubles?

Are you thanking God for broken relationships? Are you thanking God in all things fetuses 520 says give thanks to God for all things So not only you give me thanks to God in everything. You're giving thanks to God for Everything that's the will of God. You want to know the will of God? Don't ask God to direct you to the school or to the person you want to marry Unless unless you're obeying the will of God as spelled out in Scripture So God will once you saved God's will once you spirit-filled God's will says say thanks number four God's will is That you submit To those in authority the Bible says these words over in the book of Ephesians Ephesians, I'm sorry Peter first Peter to verse number 12 submit yourselves to the Lord's sake to every human institution whether to a king as the one in authority or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right for such is the will of God God wants you to live a life of submission to those in authority over you So you want to go to God and ask him Lord?

What is your will for my life and live in rebellion against the authority God's placed over you? You're not gonna know God's will you're gonna struggle finding it Because you're already disobedient to the things he's spelled out in Scripture He wants you submissive to authority. He wants you saying thanks in all things for all things. He wants you spirit-controlled Dominated by a spirit of God. He wants you to be saved. He also wants you to suffer according to the will of God first Peter chapter 4 verse number 19 Therefore Those also who suffer according to the will of God Shall entrust their souls to a faithful creator in doing what is Right Do you know sometimes it's God's will for you to suffer That's why you give thanks in and for all things But sometimes God wants you to go through difficulties that go through trials for righteousness sake So that you learn to trust him and believe in him next is sanctification God's will is that you be sanctified first Thessalonians chapter 4 Paul says this is the will of God Even your sanctification that you abstain from sexual immorality That's the will of God so if you're not abstaining from sexually immoral sins How can you ever find God's will for your life in the extracurriculars You can't because you're already disobeying what God has already said about his will So important to realize this and the Bible also according to the will of God is this that you serve him Psalm 103 verse number 20 says those who serve him by doing his will So when you serve the Lord you are doing his will So you must be actively involved in serving the Lord whether it's exercising your gifts in the church or whether it's serving your wife or your husband or whether it's Serving somebody at work or whatever the case may be you are serving others You are lifting others above yourself that you might be in service to them.

That is the will of the Lord And so therefore God's Word provides clarity it produces clarity on those issues So when someone comes to me and says, you know what? I don't know if I should marry this person This God's will for my life. I'd always I go through that list of seven things. Are you saved? How do you know you say right? Are you sanctified? Are you living a pure and holy life? Are you saying thanks to God on a regular basis? Are you dominated by the Spirit of God? Are you submissive to those in authority over you?

Are you serving the Lord daily in your life? Are you suffering for the sake of the Lord? You see all those are very very important to realize that we want to find out God's will in the temporal issues but we don't want to do God's will when it comes to the spiritual issues and Then we wonder why our lives are so confused So God's Word produces clarity Not just when it comes to the worship of God But when it comes to the will of God God's Word produces clarity when it comes to the ways of God The ways of God We need clarity on how God operates So when you go to the book of Ecclesiastes the third chapter it says this Verse 14 know that everything God does will remain forever There is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it for God has so worked that men should fear him Solomon says very clearly that God's providential sovereign will of the universe You can't add anything to it or take anything from it.

In other words, it's absolutely complete. It's concrete It's set in order from eternity past and We need to understand the ways of God how God functions Well, we realize that God's God's ways are concrete God's ways are complete because God's ways are designed to captivate every man by the fear of his name and Then it says over in Ecclesiastes chapter 7 Ecclesiastes chapter 7 Verse number 13 and 14 consider the work of God for who was able to straighten what he has bent in the day of prosperity be happy But in the day of adversity consider God has made the one as well as the other Set man will not discover anything that will be after him In other words, we need clarity on the ways of God Do we understand that God's ways are higher in our ways that his thoughts are are higher than our thoughts, right?

Sometimes we forget the fact that God is incomprehensible And yet he has a plan and the Church of Jesus Christ a Bible preaching Christ in a church is going to direct you in the ways of God That God is sovereign and that God is providentially working out everything according to his perfect plan And we need to submit to that authority in our lives that we might follow God honor him every single day and the Church of Jesus Christ Will provide clarity for you as you gather together with people who study the Word of God hold it in high esteem and search the Word of God for the answers that God wants us to have Because when you search the Word of God You get a clearer view of God and to begin to think theologically about all the things that are happening in your life And that's how God wants you to think theologically not necessarily Logically and then when it produces clarity on the work of God Being confident this very thing that he who performs a good work in you Philippians 1 6 will complete it until the day of Christ therefore It's God who is at work in you Philippians 2 13 To work out his perfect pleasure in your life God's at work in your life And sometimes we just need to gather together with other believers to be reminded of the fact that that God is working all things out in my life You see his parents when you're a part of a a Christ centered church And you hear those things you take them back and you translate them to your children You help them understand what God is doing You've heard me tell the story over and over year over and over again over the years that drew when he was six years old When I when I left my former church Church of the open door It was that Experienced in his life.

It was that time in his life that set on course that made him desire to study the Bible and to Teach the Bible and to preach the Bible What he learned at six years of age about his parents faith and their commitment to the sovereignty of God in the promise of God Working all things out together for good to those who love him and I called according to his purpose It was that event and drew will tell you today if you ask him He'll take you all the way back when he was six years old And what took place in his family and that was mom and dad learned to trust God Unreservedly, even though they had no money They had no insurance and mom was pregnant and they didn't know what God was going to do and all of a sudden Christ community Church was born and the rest is history But you see it's all about learning the ways of God and the working of God in your life To bring you to where he wants you to be and that's why the Church of Jesus Christ is so important in your life That's why you need to have that that like precious faith Union with others because those things you learn together How about learning?

Clarity on your walk with God What's it mean to walk with God? Well, how do you learn that stuff? You learn it by walking with those who walk with God Remember Enoch walked with God and and and God took him You know, there's only two people in the Bible that really are told walk with God did you know that Enoch and you may know the other one. Nope Don't know. Do you should know Hebrews 11 Noah? Noah walk with God now It doesn't mean that Elijah didn't walk with God or David didn't walk with God or Solomon didn't walk with God They all did right But there are two men specifically in Scripture that said to walk with God God exhorted Abraham be blameless and Walk with me.

All right, but we are told that Enoch walked with God. We are told that Noah walked with God and So to walk with God study the life of Noah study the life of Enoch because they walked with God and Therefore if you're not preaching and teaching the Word of God so people know how to walk with the Lord how do they leave the assembly and to go out into the community and walk with God when they when they go to work and when they go to school and His parents if we're not walking with God How do we model to our children how they can walk with the Lord and honor the Lord and submit to his authority?

You see just it just trickles down From from the church to parents to children to the grandchildren and you want to make sure that happens So the the Word of God is so important it produces Clarity, that's why you need to part of be a part of a strong Bible preaching Christ centered church Because you need to think theologically about everything theologically about my finances Theologically about my relationships Theologically about my marriage Theologically about what's happening in society And if you're not a part of a church that emphasizes that You're not going to be able to think properly about much of anything number five the reason is so important that you're part of a Christ centered Bible preaching church is That it promises Community it promises Community Listen to what the Bible says in Acts chapter 2 after Peter preached a sermon and 3,000 people were saved verse 42 They were continually devoting themselves to the Apostles teaching and to fellowship to the breaking of bread and to prayer verse 43 Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe and many wonders and signs were taking place through the Apostles and all those who had believed were together and had all things in common and they began selling their property and possessions and were Sharing them with all as anyone might have a need day by day Continuing with one mind to the temple and breaking bread from house to house They were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart Praising God and having favor with all the people and the Lord was adding to the number day by day those who were being saved You see the church promises community and it begins with the Apostles teaching That's first on the list Not fellowship.

Not the Lord's table. Not prayer. It's the Apostles teaching Why is that? Because these are all new believers, right? What do newborn babies need more than anything else? They need the pure milk of the word first Peter chapter 2 verse number 2 They need to be fed.

I Mean you can you can hold babies you can change babies. You can buy your babies the nicest clothes Give them the nicest crib put them in the nicest room But if you don't feed them, they're gonna die You got to feed them, right? They need food Newborn babies spiritually they need food And so the first thing on the list in the community of believers in that first church Was the Apostles teaching?

Because they needed to know what God said These are these are Jewish people giving their life to Christ Believing in Christ is the Messiah And so they didn't know This God they they put their faith in and so they're committed to the Apostles teaching It says they're committed to fellowship the opportunity and beauty of a shared life Well, they're partnered together Fellowship is not bagels and coffee and doughnuts and apple juice in the fellowship hall That's not fellowship. Those are nice to have but that's not what the fellowship is It's a partnership Partnered together in ministry and that's what they had and they partook at the Lord's table the simplicity and dignity of the Lord's table where they were gathered together because that's what made them all one and They were to celebrate the the finished work of Christ on Calvary's cross And it all it all took them back to the same starting point And then they were committed to prayer the necessity and the urgency of prayer so important and Then you notice what happens with the body They begin seeing needs and they begin to meet those needs See the church and only the church promises Community and Within that local assembly you begin to realize the life of Organism the life of the body That functions in unique and special ways Listen I love the church.

I Love the body of Christ. I Specifically love the body of Christ local here at Christ Community Church. I've been here for almost 30 years. I love the church There's something about the uniqueness of the body that you can experience anywhere else on the planet That is so unique to the body of Christ It's so important and you realize that when you understand that the community the community requires that you and I Gather together Physically This is very very important The church is committed to a personal presence The physicality of our gathering is so incredibly important For first Corinthians 1133 says that they were to partake of the Lord's Supper when they came together Listen you don't partake of the Lord's table Virtually You can only do it when you come together You're designed to be together as a local assembly That's why Paul says that Hebrews 10 or the right of Hebrews says in Hebrews 10 24 and 25 Don't forsake the assembling of yourselves together Some are doing that he says as it as the day of Christ draws near it's coming closer and closer You can't afford to be apart from one another You must be together You have to be physically present to enjoy the fellowship the community Let me illustrate it for you If you're a soldier and you've gone to war And you've been overseas for six months a year 18 months two years and you have the opportunity to to FaceTime your wife and kids That's a great thing, but that's not enough Because you can't touch their faces you can't hold their hands You can't embrace them Because virtually that doesn't happen Or put it this way let's say you want to get engaged Why don't you just text a picture of the ring To the person you want to be engaged to and then FaceTime them and ask them to marry you Why don't you do that?

It's not the same You want to be able to be in her presence Kneel before her Show her the ring place it on her finger, right? Physically place it on her finger And as she begins to to cry to embrace her and to hold her and as her tears run down her cheek onto your cheek That there's this physical Attraction that we have one for another that cannot be replaced virtually and That's nothing compared to the Church of Jesus Christ our Lord and Yet we want to do church Virtually we want to watch it on TV We want to watch it on Instagram or or FaceTime or however it is our YouTube wherever it is We want to and think that that's church.

That is not church it's not and God never designed it that way But somehow we think that that's enough that that satisfies But it never ever does listen to what Paul said in Romans chapter 1. He said I Long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you that you may be Established that is that I may be encouraged together with you while among you each of us by the others faith both yours and mine You say well pastor that was written Times have changed Let me set the taste up if if the virtual Replaces the physical all you're left with is the superficial Write it down mark it down if the virtual Replaces the physical all you're left with is the superficial It's not real It's superficial Whatever this is why we stopped live-streaming our our Sunday morning services Because see I don't think that you can do church that way so I'm not gonna do that I don't allow that to happen the others didn't want that to happen either We want people to actually be here Because you can't experience the presence of people on a screen you don't need a virtual pastor right Because if you have a virtual pastor Then you don't understand your pastor and Paul says these words in 1st Timothy chapter 4 he says this Verse 12 let no one look down on your youthfulness Timothy But rather in speech conduct love faith and purity show yourself an example of those who believe Until I come give attention to the public reading of Scripture to exhortation and teaching do not neglect the spiritual gift within you Which was bestowed on you through the prophetic utterance with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery Take pains with these things be absorbed in them so that your progress will be evident to all Play close attention to yourself and to your teaching persevere in these things for as you do this you then Will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you in other words Timothy you need to provide yourself as an example People need to see not just hear your speech is see your purity They need to see your conduct.

They see your love not on a screen but on a regular basis So a virtual pastor is not a pastor He's just a person behind a screen and the church Promises community as you gather together to celebrate the common life that you have in Jesus Christ Listen what one author says he says this He says Christians need fellowship They need relationships with other believers to strengthen challenge rebuke and courage and practice the distinct one another's in the New Testament The Bible commanded Bible command to love one another finds its most immediate application in local churches When your church gathers you converse greet and rub elbows with those whom God has providentially placed in the same local congregation as you in Fellowship, you are called not to minister only to the people who have the same common interest who come from the same social circles Who have a similar economic background or who are from the same generational demographic?

fellowship is grounded in the love of God and Rooted in the work of the Holy Spirit it transcends all Circumstantial commonalities the unifying work of the Holy Spirit and the love of God in which fellowship is rooted transcends all other divisions that it does One of the beauties of Christ's community church is the ethnic backgrounds of the variety of people that come to this church. I would assume to believe that we have almost every ethnicity that I can think of in this church because we live in Southern, California And we reach we want to reach everybody we possibly can We don't just have a certain sector of people.

We have a wide variety of people and Therefore we want to minister to all those people You know that goes on to say this he says this what happens when you walk into a church building that does not happen when? You log in to a virtual church You notice a dear sister's countenance is falling So you talk to her and that leads to a conversation about her ailing mother or you see a brother who looks upset So you approach him to offer encouragement?

ministry to others begins with visual physical observations that are an ordinary part of human interaction But are impossible in a virtual setting That is so so true And we need to realize what the Bible says concerning the one in others we forget that the Bible says that the church is the household of God, right and Therefore because it is the household of God and this let me list a couple of them for you It says that we're to love one another in John 13.

We're to live in peace with one another in Romans 12 We're to stop condemning one another in Romans 14 except one another in Romans 15 And in Colossians 3 teach and admonish one another in Romans 16 and 1st Corinthians 16 We're to greet one another with the Holy Kiss. How do you do that virtually? How do you greet one another with the Holy Kiss virtually you don't First Corinthians 1 agree with one another 1st Corinthians 9 serve one another 1st Corinthians 12 have equal concern for one another Galatians 5 do not be conceited provoking and envying one another How about this Galatians 6 1 restore one another and hold up one another How do you hold up somebody through a screen you don't?

The Bible says bear with one another be kind to one another Ephesians 4 sing to one another Ephesians 5 submit to one another Ephesians 5 21 Colossians 3 do not lie to one another 1st That's why it's for comfort and encourage one another Hebrews 10 spur one another to good deeds James 4 do not slander one another James 5 do not grumble at one another James 5 again Confess your sins to one another 1st Peter 4 offer hospitality to one another 1st Peter 5 clothe yourself with humility toward one another 1st John 1 fellowship one with another Matthew chapter 18 confront one another All that is done in the physical presence of one another That's why we say the church promises Community and that's why it's so important that you're a part of that local assembly is able to grow together.

I was talking to Joanne Cruz Monday in the hospital and She was so grateful for the church in the church's ministry in her life And her husband's life has raised been down the hospital for five weeks trying to figure out what's what's going on in his life But my son drew his little girls been in the hospital Riley's Children Hospital in Indianapolis But his church family has rallied around to babysit his his other girls his other four girls why he and Teresa are an hour and a half away in Indianapolis have been there for the last four days Because the body wants to function that way My parents who who were in part of the church for 46 years My dad contacted ALS The church rotted around my mom and dad and they they brought meals to them and took care of my father when he died My mom was all alone But the church would come over every day and someone would minister to my mom someone remember she couldn't drive begin to pick her up and take her to where she needed to be and People in the church would come and minister to her because that's how the body of Christ functions None of that was done for the TV screen It was done because people wanted to contact one another and show a physical presence with them And they were able to experience the community of body life Not only was it promise.

It was enacted in their lives And being a part of the church for 30 years. I can name Hundreds of illustrations of people's lives who have been ministered to by the people of the church who reach out to them assist them meet their needs whether it be physical needs whether it be Spiritual needs whether it be financial needs material needs and looking for ways to meet the needs of the body It's just a remarkable thing to watch But you see you don't get that if you're not part of the local assembly See, well, I've been here and I've experienced that Well, you need to come and do more than just sit here.

You need to be involved with the people of your church, right? You serve one another And God begins to use people in your lives And the great thing about the body of Christ is that we are partnered together where people of like precious faith And we pray together And when we cry together, we weep with those who weep we mourn with those who mourn we laugh with those who laugh in The beauty of the assembly is such a great thing Now I grew up in the church You know and I went to church my parents were even saved You know, we all went to church together unsaved Went to United Methodist Church the Presbyterian Church.

We never heard the gospel, but we went And then all of a sudden my parents got saved right And all of a sudden we began to live at church That's what we did. And then I got saved and my sister got saved in our teenage years And and all we knew our family was the church You know, I played sports in high school I played sports in college But but the bottom line it was the church was the family and whenever I went back to my church It was it was my family And and and I still even when I was in my 50s I was calling so-and-so mr.

Colson mr. Colson His name was less but I'm 55 years old to me. He's still mr. Colson, right? His wife was mrs Colson and and her name is Betty, but she used to listen to my Bible memory verses every week How to recite 15 of them a week for 15 weeks. Oh, it drained my brain the boy she was there every Sunday at the church and I had to say those verses and I I rolled up and down the aisle And on the on the pew trying to rack my brain to get those verses, but no she was family to me You know and and and so all those people those stalwarts in the church were like other fathers and grandfathers to me And now sadly They've all died.

They've all gone home to the Lord But whenever I went back to Delaware, I went back to the church. They were my family still Why because they invested in me as a young young boy in the church And I grew In my walk with the Lord because of those men who taught those men who led and they were my spiritual fathers and They were my family And you know We want that for everybody in the church. We want everybody experience that Because when you're a part of a Christ-centered Bible preaching church Not only does it produce clarity It promises community and I wanted to finish my outline but Got to come back next week to face the rest of the points Let's pray together father.

We thank you Lord for tonight the opportunity you give us to be together Truly Lord. You are a great God and we thank you Lord for this assembly. I Pray father that every man and woman in this room would realize the importance Of being a part of a church that is vital To their spiritual health in Jesus name. Amen