Why We Go to Church - Part 2

Christian Overbrook seminars, consultants and programs focus on church growth. The gold must lead all your help with the public of the rooms and point of the Jeremiah as children with all the guys as he returns the second chapter affects the simple reason to conclude his initial message why we go to church is the and once again thank you for joining us were kind of in between time right now on Turning Point Wednesday of this week, we began the signature series of the year for this ministry, as we teach the material. It's part of a brand-new book that comes out in October of the surgeons called forward, and it's a really important series for we all are right now.

We can't allow ourselves to get into inertia and just sit around. God has called us to go forward and I will be talking about that throughout the month of October actually beginning with Sheila Walsh that will take place on Wednesday are last broadcast in the month of September. Today were going to finish up what we started yesterday's were talking about why we go to church and that's never been more relevant than it is right now is for many folks been told not to go to church.

Some people have challenged some people have worked through it here in California we found a way to go to church and not get in violation of anything because we were allowed to have church outdoors, we built an amphitheater limo parking lots and first weekend that we did that place was full yet some distancing for people since families had church still haven't missed a week and that I can imagine what this would have been like without church. Some of you say what you had online services, but that's not church that's a substitute for church when you can't have church that helps you have the essence of church and your home maybe or in one of those vulnerable situations where nukes can't go to churches and open. Some were there for you with the ultimate goal is to get back to church because church means gathering and means community means coming together in acts chapter 2 we are given the blueprint for the New Testament church as you study that you realize how vital it is that the people of God be together. The Bible says not to forsake the gathering of ourselves together, is the manner of some is how grateful we are to be going to church and we hope very soon for all of you church will be normalized will be back together as we long to be well it's jumping this. This is acts chapter 2 and it's part two of why we go to church. Not only was their exposition the teaching of the word of God. It was evangelism the winning of the lost to Christ. Even after the day of Pentecost when there were so many people who became Christians. Here's what we read in acts two and with many other words Stephen testified and exhorted them, saying, be saved from this perverse generation about day 3000 people were added to them. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. The result of Peter's preaching and Stephen's preaching was that the Holy Spirit was outpoured. Can you imagine going to church one Sunday and having 3000 people come to Christ in the service. I can imagine that but it happened.

It happened in that early day in the Bible says their names were added to the number but it doesn't say it really does their names.

It says their souls were added. Did you know that Peter had more converts on that day when he preached that Jesus had in his entire lifetime on this earth.

This made the total number of believers in the early church total up to 3120 is if you go back to the first chapter you found there were 120 disciples now 3000 more people got saved. So now the churches got 3000 hundred 20 people believe it or not, they counted them and that's how many bad so they taught the word of God and then they shared the gospel. I need to talk you about that, just for a moment because there's not anything that I know that puts most of us into fear and guilt and grief then somebody coming up to us and saying to us what was the last time you shared your faith what you mean share my faith. We have always all classes teach people to do all these little things and we've made this way too hard sharing your faith is just telling people what Jesus Christ is done for you. It's not a formula you can. Sometimes, in fact, I was reminded again that there been many people have taken the gospel and put it into little books we can just take one page at a time. Go through the book and tell people how to be safe you have to be a rocket scientist to do that. Just give them a copy of the book and you keep the book and go through the book together so you can probably people come to Christ by that because the power is in what you say. The power is books is the powers of the Holy Spirit. Just follow the Holy Spirit let him lead you probably one of the greatest tools that has been used in my lifetime campus Crusade for spiritual laws and you can debate the theology of all you want to thousands of people came to Christ.

Hundreds of thousands, probably millions of people simply because somebody came up with an idea to make the gospel simple enough that anybody could share it. Bible tells us to share our faith share tell people how Jesus is blessed your life and then when they ask you, how did Jesus get in your life without you too little books and say hey let's go through this and I'll show you how this happens so that was exposition and that was evangelism was expression.

When we got together in the church. I think there church service was pretty lively and fear came upon every soul. Many wonders and signs were done through the apostles and continuing daily with one accord in the temple breaking bread from house to house their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all men, so we went to church like I did what we do, they worshiped worship was one of the ways they expressed their faith and I think the worship wasn't all that different than what we do. The Bible says. First of all when they came to worship became a sense of all because the apostles were still in the afterglow of the presence of Christ on this earth, and they were doing signs and miracles. So would you want to church. Something happened and they came to church and they watch these things happen and then the Bible says that they begin to lift their worship. The word praising God is in the text that is evident from this passage that there were two kinds of worship in the early church. There was no formal worship or they experienced a temple worship, like what we do in the church services and then there was informal worship, which they did in the home.

All of worship have a couple of qualities I want you to see this in the text look at your Bibles to qualities that describe their worship are gladness and simplicity. You see that with gladness and simplicity. They worship the Lord. Gladness is the word from which we get the word to rejoice. Others have translated this word so unaffected joy.

Total joy when we get together to worship men and women we should all be sad. We have some somber songs we sing on occasion, but worship is primarily glad and happy and joyous experience, you come to this church and you think well there musics to up-tempo wards to guards to happy to explain to you that I don't have an answer for you.

You mean it's too happy.

How happy should you be because your sins have been forgiven and you're on your way to heaven is like this, like, but however it is you worship the Bible says it is with this in joy and I love this with simplicity. I never saw that before. One of the things you hear about modern worship is all so simple. Seven words spoken 11 times in every song. 711 worship member that worship songs are so simple. Simple doesn't mean they're meaningless.

Want to know what happened to come together in the church and they teach the word of God becoming the church and I have a desire to see other people become Christians. So they have some way that they did that they shared their faith.

I would imagine in the early church there were many bashful people and that churches there are in this church but somehow the bashfulness and begin to tell other people about Jesus. And if you can't do that, you can invite them to church at least do that and then they worshiped. They were praising God.

And when they gathered in the temple courts.

They saying Psalms and hymns.

Did you know that Christianity is the only singing religion in the world cannot others moan and groan in the mobile but only Christians sing. This is what one pastor said about this.

The fact that Christianity is a singing religion bears witness not only to the way were wired as human being, but to the kind of God we have, namely the listener that she probably didn't know this God who is one day according to Zephaniah 317 going to say over us. God is saying over us is going to lead, acquire and celebrate the fact that we belong to him and were going to join in saying that he is ours because God is so valuable and so beautiful and so multifaceted news perfections to leave out the emotional component and not let it spill over into poetry and song would be to leave out one of the most important things you could ever do to express your love for God. God is going to lead us in worship. He's going to sing over us and within the sing to him were going to spend eternity enjoying the worship of our God. One of the ways they expressed their faith was through worship. Another way they express their faith was through baptism, notice what it says in verse 41, and those who gladly received his word were baptized. Baptism such a special thing you know.I started out in the church doing what we do now. Back in 1969 in 1969 we started the Blackhawk Baptist Church is still there.

That's what we started radio and television started in baptism.

I made up my mind I was baptism become meaningless ritual where people just walked into the baptistery we don't them and then they walked out the other side and people talk about how many people are put under. During one service so would require them to give a testimony. At first it was really hard talk in front of people and then a few people didn't nephew people saw and others begin to realize what a blessing it was new and so they don't teach you to baptize. Did you know that there's no class on baptism in seminary, I have never baptize anybody in my whole life. I did not do it you can put them under what happened to me. The first person I were baptized as a young pastor was a woman named Carol stomach.

Now I know how to say this rhymes imitation was the thinnest woman I have ever met in my life. She could hardly have waited 80 pounds baptistery and I'm trying to be real fight about this. I go to put her under what I put it under that's fine but I couldn't set her back up. She didn't have enough body weight to come back up her feet Coming to the top was a little frustrating. Ladies and gentlemen, I floated her out of the baptistery when my favorite stories about baptism is a story about Jerry Falwell. I know a lot of stories about Jerry Falwell character and his church in Lynchburg Virginia was one of those churches back in the days when there was a bus ministry buses going everywhere. Even out of the state of Virginia that buses going everywhere, and these kids will get on the bus and come to Sunday school and some of those kids were rowdy, some of them would come to church and then after Sunday school did slip off the campus instead of going to junior church and go downtown and mess around downtown Lynchburg and the word got out. The church is pretty upset because her pain owes money to fuel these buses bring his kids to camp with the savable services, but some of them were coming to Sunday school and then flaking out and they figured out how long they had before the bus left after the service and the snake back on campus get on the bus to go home like everything the deacons found out about it and the deacons were furious so the deacons decided way to handle that was to get the biggest means looking deacons, they had put them around the perimeter of the church every few feet. There was a and if somebody look like they were sneaking out those deacons grab them by the national and and took them into the main service and put them in the front row of the adult service that was there punishment for trying to sneak out coming here the adult service pastor. One Sunday to deacons come down the front row with a kid on each arm problem in the front row.

Have a great service ball gets up and he preaches the pain off the walls and they hear the gospel and these guys get saved and so they practiced what we call immediate baptism is saved and baptized before they were out before the cool off getting baptized so they would waited. After the service they would baptize all or convert. So these kids get saying that they baptize them.

After the baptism.

One of the deacons came and said were going to have to figure out a way to get you home because obviously your buses about he left as you state the baptismal service consumer know anything about that were walking by this church this morning, some two guys grab this eroticism, back in the Falwell got more people saved and baptized by accident than most people do on purpose. Baptism when we practice baptism because it's a great blessing just like the early church did. The Bible says they baptized those who believed so there's a good time for me to say to you if you're not baptized missing out on one of the things we do in church. One of the things the church is all about being baptized is coming out and saying I'm not ashamed that I'm a Christian and that I'm on my way to heaven. And I've been a Christian now and I'm going to be baptized and have the Lord's supper. They worshiped that baptism and the Lord's supper says in verse 42. They continued steadfastly in the breaking of bread from house to house, and this is kind of technical term in the Scripture for communion. Let me tell you one thing that's really interesting. I say that the Lord's supper is an evidence of expression. You know what the Bible says about the Lord's supper. It says as long as you eat this bread and drink this cup, listen to me you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. And the word proclaim is the same word that is used for preaching the Bible says when we take the bread and the cup reach we proclaim the gospel in the early church. They worshiped baptized and they preached they preached communion.

The shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is pretty interesting because as we follow the directions of the early church we find that God blesses our church and got involved with one another. So far we've looked at exposition and evangelism and expression. Number four is engagement how to engage through partnerships it says and they continued steadfastly in fellowship with the word Fellowship is the same word that is translated by the word partnership income church partnership become partners with each other. They also engage through prayers. The Scripture says, and the prayers were special prayers that they played in the early church. It wasn't just normal playing but prayer was a big part of the church truck.

If you go back and study the early documents of the church. Many of the prayers were printed out carefully crafted and the people joined in the prayers while there you have it. The curriculum. The curriculum for the early church. Notice what it says it says that when they had these things happening in their church. The church grew. I hear so much about church growth these days. I want to just tell you that my take on church growth is real simple. If the church is God's church and its connected with him as the head of the church.

The church will grow. The only thing we ever do to make the church grow is get the barriers out of the way.

Church growth is the hyper needle to the church grow churches can grow all we need to do is get the stuff out of the way to keep them from growing in God's church will just keep growing.

That's what happened in this church doesn't say here that they had church growth meetings in the early church.

They just did the church the way the church was supposed to be done and the result was that it grow.

Church growth is the product it's a byproduct.

Church growth is goal is a result of doing what you should do in the church. If you look in the New Testament. What you will find this over and over. This church early church that we read about an extra two was growing on the numbers by giving the adjectives that are in the Bible and use listen to how this is described church was adding to their number day by day multitudes of men and women were being saved number of the disciples increased greatly. Many believe the large number of a great multitude a great number of Greeks and a number of leading women were saved. Many believe almost all of Asia believed many thousands believed this was a church.

It was on fire. Having classes on how to grow the church.

They were just doing the church. The church like the church will grow true, it's true. If we keep doing that many don't get lost when I get off on the sidetrack and get caught up in something else beside what were supposed to do, God will church because there is a hunger in the culture today for church as it was meant to be finished with this Rodney Stark is an expert in the rise of Christianity, and he estimates that by the year 350, 52% of the Roman Empire worshiped Jesus Christ as Lord church was so vibrant and so powerful and pastor Kevin DeYoung has challenged us all with these words. I hope you will listen carefully if we truly love the church we will bear with her and her feelings endure her struggles believe her to be the beloved bride of Christ and hope for her final glorification.

He said I still believe the church is the hope of the world, not because she gets it all right but because she is a body with Christ for her head. Don't give up on the church.

The New Testament knows nothing of church source Christianity the church is for you. The church is for me so I guess this is my advice. He wrote, find a good local church and get involved, member stay there for the long haul. Go to church this Sunday worship there in spirit and in truth the patient with your leaders rejoice when the gospel is proclaimed there with those who hurt you, and give people the benefit of the doubt while you're there saying like you mean it. Say hi to the teenager.

No one else notices welcome the blue hairs in the nose ring volunteer for the nursery once in a while. And yes, bring your fried chicken to the potluck. Like everybody else invite a friend church take the new couple out for coffee to the Christmas offering be thankful someone backing the carpet.

Enjoy the Sundays that click for you put extra hard on the Sundays that don't and do not despise the day of small things were not a consumer driven organization. If your attitude is what I'm looking for a church that meets my needs.

God bless you in the wrong place about we want to do what God called us to do what we do that it will meet your needs were not here to satisfy every whim and desire of everybody who comes interesting to me that I meet some people periodically not very many who come here and they give the impression that we are on trial there trying us out were on trial trial. We are who we are, by the grace of God, we could be a whole lot better and we're led by flawed people, including the pastor. Most of all, but this is God's church and I've given my life to it and I hope I have a lot more years to get to and I hope you do too.

And this year let's make this the church, God wants us to have church. Someone said that you don't know how much you appreciate something intense with help from you and I have feeling many of you love church more than you ever did before because you know this church been part of my life. I don't remember any time not going to church every weekend and I witnessed any even to the coronavirus and yet it's been different, has been hard and we long for the services to be back to normal. I have a bit of a challenge for that because as you know, our church services are recorded and then there reproduced in their on television and so on television now are the church services that were being held before we go to church and so every time I watch that almost brings me to tears thinking about how much I miss being in church as it was meant to be for us as members of shadow Mountain. I'm sure many of you feel the same way we think God for his done. Thank God for what he's doing. We know what he's going to do and I were grateful for the privilege we have of being the church.

The church of Jesus Christ.

So tomorrow were going to talk about forward to listen to an interview that I had was Sheila Walsh as she helps us introduce the new series that begins tomorrow and occupies the month of October 1 less time know if you have an calendar for 2021. This is going to mention it again and get this calendar for gift of any size during the month of September. September is almost over so make sure you sit down day.

Send your gift and when you do ask for the 2021 calendar colors of creation. This message originate from Shadow Mountain Community Church and senior pastor Jeremiah would love to hear how to impact your life is and tell us if San Diego, CA 92163 visit our website at Jeremiah.old/lady 1420 21 calendar colors of creation.

Jeremiah study new international visions standard a large print from his study, Jeremiah Jeremiah, I'm very tomorrow is lotion. Jeremiah discussed his series on