Session 4 | How the Church Brings Stability

We will be taking a 1-week break from our study of the book of Daniel as we look at some things related to our conference theme this morning.

It’s been a great conference this weekend, very grateful to have Jon and his family here. I’m sad they couldn’t be here at church this morning, but understand that they had another appointment to keep and are grateful they could be here at all.

Just to recap some of what was said, our conference was titled the road back to sanity. We live in crazy times, how do we regain our own sanity, maintain that, and help others escape from crazytown, USA to regain footing among the sane?

Jon did an excellent job showing how secular philosophy and ideology has failed, and how biblical Christianity has the only solution to the problems we face both individually and societally.

He talked about the importance of developing key virtues in our lives as a means to insulate ourselves from the evils of this world.

And then he had a great session talking about how we engage with others the way that Jesus did. Cunning as serpents and innocent as doves.

Jon’s emphasis and focus was on the individual, which is what we asked him to do.

Today, my emphasis and focus will be the importance of persevering in the faith and the role the local church plays in that.

I recently came across a clip from the Emmy and Golden Globe winning television miniseries “Band of Brothers”. I have to confess I’ve never watched the show, have only seen a few clips, but, as I understand it, the series follows the experiences of a company of paratroopers (2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division) as they participate in the invasion of Europe during WWII

In one scene Lt. Richard Winters is leading his men into the heart of the Battle of the Bulge. Another Lt. is pulling back from the front line, and he gives Winters a dismal report. "Looks like you're going to be surrounded." Winters replied briefly, yet confidently, "We're paratroopers, Lieutenant; we're supposed to be surrounded."

We’re supposed to be surrounded.

I love that mindset.

So often as we live out life in this world we encounter hardships and difficulties, some of them are really even just minor inconveniences and we want to whine and and complain about how difficult things are, and we forget.

We forget several things about where we are.

We forget about the condition of this world as we await the return of Christ.

We forget that the Scriptures tell us that Satan is the prince of the power of the air, that he is the god of this world, that he prowls around like a roaring lion, that he is a strongman guarding his house, and that he has not yet, as some believe, been bound or prevented from deceiving the nations.

Which means that every second we spend on this earth there is a sense in which we are in enemy territory.

Part of what we are called to do is press in and lay hold. Part of what we are called to do as kingdom citizens is proclaim the goodness of the Gospel so that more would be transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of the believed son.

But that presupposes the reality that this is enemy territory, in a manner of speaking. And I know, the earth is the Lord’s and all its fulness. But there is a sense in which, even though it is owned by the Lord, it is ruled over by the Evil One.

Satan seems to have real authority, he has real power, he is active and his power is much greater than any of ours.

So when we see evil in the world around us, when we see wicked leaders assume office, when we see genuine injustice in the streets and in our courts, when we are faced with the reality living in a fallen, sin-cursed world....

it is good to be reminded. We’re Christians. Of course we’re surrounded.

But that reminder only carries us so far. Okay, we’re surrounded. That’s not an accident. That isn’t a mistake. But now what? What are we to do? How will we survive? How shall we then live?

The answer to that question is certainly multi-faceted.

It begins with the Gospel of Christ. If you are not trusting in Christ as the only means of your salvation, you will not stand a chance. Sure, you may live out your days, you may even have a successful life from the standpoint of the world, but in the end you will not stand, because you cannot stand before a holy God if you are not clothed in the righteousness of Christ, and that righteousness is only given to those place their trust in Him and Him alone.

Then what? What then? If I receive Christ, if I receive the Gospel for the truth that it is, then what?

Again. Multi-faceted.

The Lord has given us many things that equip us for life in this world.

One of my favorite Scripture passages is 2 Peter 1:3

2 Peter 1:3 LSB

seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the full knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

Everything pertaining to life and godliness. Everything that is needed to live a godly life has been given! What great news! But what are the things?

They’re the things you would expect. The Scriptures. Spiritual disciplines of prayer and bible study. The Holy Spirit who guides, convicts, and applies the Scriptures. The armor of God

Fellow believes. The local church.

I think what is often the case is that we know what the tools are, but we don’t feel equipped to use them well.

I believe that this is the precise reason why God gave us the gift of the local church.

If churches are doing what churches should be doing, we are equipping one another with the knowledge and skills necessary to stand. We are helping one another develop good and godly habits. We are sharpening one another.

Look with me at Eph 4.

Ephesians 4:11–16 LSB

And He Himself gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ, so that we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming, but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, that is Christ, from whom the whole body, being joined and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the properly measured working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

Here we see the purpose of the gathered church. Notice the logical flow of thought here.

Why has God given leaders to the church? to equip them for service!

Why are we to engage in that service? To build up the body of Christ!

What is the goal in building up the body of Christ? To cause us to attain maturity in Christ!

What happens when we attain maturity in Christ? We are no longer tossed around.

The purpose of the church is mutual stability and maturity

It always amazes me when I talk to individuals who claim to be believers and are struggling through some difficult things and then I ask them if they have a church they attend regularly and the answer is no.

Well, I suppose the answer depends on how you define regularly.

It used to be that one would consider attending regularly to mean that you’d be at church at least 3 out of 4 Sundays, if not every week.

Here’s some interesting data for you.

Someone polled pastors and church goers what regular means.

25% of pastors surveyed say that regular attendance qualifies as at least once a month, where as 86% of attendees define it as at least once a month.

People are more disconnected from the local church than they’ve ever been and we wonder why we see historic highs of all kinds of relationship, mental, spiritual, and all other kinds of issues that plaguing our society today!

God says, the reason why I’ve given you this in the first place to help guard against that!

We want to be on the road to sanity, that road begins with the Gospel of Christ and the guardrails and mile markers are the local church!

Now I want to be careful how I talk about this.

Attending church is not a magic formula. Countless individuals have attended church weekly, and even three times a week for literal decades and are still immature and unstable in their lives. The issue isn’t just about attending a church service, but being part of the church, participating in the life of the church, serving and being served, discipling and being discipled.

I also recognize that many have had incredibly horrible experiences in some local church in the past. For my own part, I certainly know what its like to be hurt by a church and their leadership. I know what it feels like to be be let down by my church leadership.

But what’s the solution to that? Just disconnect? To walk away? say never again?

Many have gone down this road, and we are seeing it in increasing numbers.

What I would suggest to you, is that we recognize that the church is comprised of sinners, and even when those sinners sin it makes no sense to totally disconnect ourselves from the very thing God has given for your stability and growth.

It could be that you need to change churches. It could be that leadership needs to be confronted.

But the solution is not to abandon that which God has said is for your stability.

And here’s why. Turn over to Hebrew 10.

Hebrews 10:19–25 LSB

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

If you’ve been part of Pillar for any length of time, I know you’ve heard me talk through at least some portion of this text.

Because of what we have in Christ, the author to the Hebrews gives us three encouragements:

Step one. Let us draw near to God. Seek him. Pursue knowing him. Start with the assurance that comes from embracing the Gospel and draw near to him!

For so much of world history, the glory of the Lord was behind the veil, but when Jesus Christ cried out and said it is finished and breathed his last, the veil in the temple was torn in two!

We no long need mere human priests to stand between us and the Lord, for Jesus Himself is our great priest. We have access to the Father because of what Christ accomplished, so let us draw near to him!

Step two Hold fast. don’t let go. Hold fast the confession of our hope. What is our hope?

What hope is there for sinners like me and sinners like you?

Our hope, the only holy is that Jesus Christ has paid for our sin and that by grace through faith we are saved, not because of our own doing, but because of HIS faithfulness to the promise that all who believe will receive eternal life!

And let me tell you. The devil wants nothing more than to shake you from that hope. He would love nothing more than for the pressures of this world to cave in on and bury you alive in the mess.

I love the song we sang yesterday.

I set my hope on Jesus.

When this life of trials tests my faith

When the questions come and doubts remain

For the deepest wounds that time won’t heal

There’s a joy that runs still deeper

There’s a truth that’s more than all I feel

I set my hope on Jesus

Though I falter in this war with sin

When I fail the fight and sink within

Though the shame would drown me in its sea

And I dread the waves of justice

I will cast my life on Calvary

I set my hope on Jesus

Though the world calls me to leave my Lord

Though it offers all its vain rewards

Though this heart of mine is prone to stray

Give me grace enough to finish

Till I worship on that final day

I set my hope on Jesus

I set my hope on Jesus

My rock my only trust

Who set His heart upon me first

I set my hope on Jesus

People will fail us, but hope must be in Christ.

Step three. Stimulate one another.

I find it interesting. This word for stimulate is only used two times in the Scriptures, and the only other time its used it speaks of a sharp disagreement. We are meant to engage each other. We are meant to sharpen one another. Sharpening one another often creates friction. Its hard to hear truth sometimes. Its hard to receive truth from someone that you know very well isn’t exactly a perfect individual either.

But it’s what we are called to do.

How do we do this?

How? by not forsaking

As is the habit of some. Some indeed are forsaking. Some are choosing to walk away from the church. Some are choosing not to engage.

But hear me on this. That is at the peril of their very soul.

Why do I say that?

This stimulating to love and good deeds has a preservative effect on us. It sharpens us, refines us, and leads us out of sin and into righteousness.

Here’s the why. Why is this important? The author of Hebrews gives us a warning.

I have to say, most people stop at vs 25 when talking about the need to be part of a local church, and I have done the same as well, but vs 26 begins with a causal clause. For. Or we could say, because.

This is why stimulating and assembling is so important. Because if you don’t. If you choose your sin over the Gospel, choose your sin over the life that God has called you to live. Then here is where it leads.

Hebrews 10:26–31 LSB

For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy by the mouth of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has regarded as defiled the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

This is one of those passages that makes you sit up straight. It’s a warning.

Now, I have to let you know that Hebrews contains several warning passages and there are different ways that people have interpreted them. We simply don’t have time to go into all the ins and outs of that, but it’s noting a couple of things.

I don’t believe anyone can lose their salvation. Once saved always saved.

I do believe it is possible to be part of a church for years and never know Christ as savior.

I do believe that those who abandon that faith and never repent did not do so because they lost their salvation but because they were never saved to begin with.

These warning passages I believed are aimed at individuals who have been exposed to truth and they should know the Gospel, but they have yet to truly trust Christ and these warnings speak of what happens if they fail to embrace him.

Why is it important

Forsaking the church risks forsaking your soul

If you go on sinning wilfully. If you don’t stimulate one another you will have no one to challenge you in your sin. If you continue in sin, and you forsake the assembling as is the habit of some, you will find yourself persisting in sin.

And if you persist in that sin you will find yourself in a vicious cycle of pushing yourself further and further away from the local church and further and further into sin.

I cannot tell you how many times I’ve observed this in people that I know and have been close to.

So often drifting from a commitment to gathered worship coincides with a failure to address sin. Before you know it, they have completely apostatized from the faith. They reject the truth.

And this is very dangerous ground.

You think you will escape the judgment of God? You who know the truth but choose to reject it in preference of your own sin? You who choose to reject and walk away from the very thing God has given for your sanctification, stability and growth?

This is a terrifying reality!

I have yet to meet a person who has departed from the local church who has not been caught up on sin and false ideologies. All the things that Jon spoke of yesterday that don’t answer life.

There is always some sin, always some embracing of things that God says are not harmful.

Engagement in a biblical local church fortifies you for longevity in Christ

If you are stirring others that is going to wonders for you.

If you do not stand with others you will not stand at all.

We need to do a better job as the church working with people who have questions.

“typical Christians doing nothing but watch as their own get devoured.”

And I thought. you know. there is something to be said about that.