Why Church Matters - 3rd Session

The Church Bears Witness

1 peter 1:12 / eph 6:12

High school love illustration

Jesus is in love with His church…did you guys know that? Have you ever thought about that? Not like this love that you may think you’re in with your 3rd or 4th girlfriend/boyfriend this year!

But like....real, deep, true love....love that is hard for us to even imagine. He loves it because it was His idea, it was His plan, and....

In fact…He loves His church so much that He died for it! reminds us of this....

“28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.”

Christ....eternal, the one through whom everything was made (John 1) chose to leave His rightful and eternal place and come to earth in the likeness of sinful flesh as tells us, knowing He would be rejected, knowing He would die, planning to die for your sins, so that He could redeem you and bring you into His church.

Guys…this is a phenomenal next level type of love

Even if you hear or remember nothing else from me this weekend, and you start to feel your love for the church fading one day…just remember…He died in your place with your sins and the wrath of God His Father upon Himself.... so the church could exist

God saved you, if you are a believer here today, He saved you for His own glory

That may sound weird to us, we might even think of God as a bit selfish when we hear that statement

But it’s true…God was and is and always will be all about showing Himself off…to the world and to the angels, both good and evil

But why?

Turn with me to , as we discover the answer to this question:

“3 For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— 2 assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. 4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. 6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 7 Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. 8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things,

3 For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— 2 assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. 4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. 6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

7 Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. 8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, 10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. 13 So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.

11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. 13 So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory."

Verse 10 there gives us a perfect picture of why the church is so important to God..... because through the church, so through your church and your church and your church and your church, the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places!

Through the church God is flexing His glory muscles, His wisdom muscles. Through His established church, He’s proving, to angels and demons, that He’s winning, and that His ways are so much higher and deeper and wider than anything we can even comprehend!!!

Angels…they don’t get to experience or understand grace. They never will get to sing the song “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me”

But, they get to marvel at what God is doing, at His grace, and they praise and worship Him for it

- “Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

So when you came to Christ, when you became part of His church, you were welcomed into the family of God, the angels rejoiced at the wisdom of God being displayed…it’s really pretty amazing

Mosaic at local library = God adding to His church…the picture becomes more and more clear of how infinitely awesome God is, of His wisdom, of His glory.

Demons, they’ve made their choice, the devil, he’s made his choice....there is no hope for them, and they know it

And as God continually adds to His church family…they’re reminded of how stupid they were. And God is glorified in reverse

And the demons, they want to destroy it, Satan wants nothing more than to destroy the church of God, and you know what....he can’t. It’s not possible

- “ 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

And something so special about the church is that, God has taken his original covenant with Israel, His chosen people, and He’s opened it up to everyone....and angels and demons watch in amazement, albeit in their own unique ways

That’s what Paul is saying in verse 6 - “This mystery of God, His wisdom, is that Gentiles, that’s us, you and me, anyone who isn’t a Jew, have become fellow heirs, members of the same body (the church) and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel”

So that means God, all along, His plan was to offer redemption to the world

Male/female, slave/free, Jew/Gentile, black/white, this nation/that nation....God offers it to all

And His church then was always to be a multi-cultural, multi-racial group of people who, as the church, glorify God

And the angel marvel and the demons shudder…and God receives glory from us, from the angels, in a reverse way from the demons

The church....it’s a beautiful picture of the sovereignty of God from the beginning of time in making a way to brings us back to Him so that we can do what we were originally created to do.....glorify Him

Now, everything I just said might have bored your socks off, some of you are half asleep…it’s a retreat though, the last sessions are always a bit hard to stay awake through

But if you were listening and what I said seemed odd to you, or boring, or you still don’t see how or why the church is important then I want to ask you this:

“Are you, personally, passionate about the glory of God and His ultimate victory?”

Because, remember back to Friday…what is the goal of the church?

To glorify God and make much of Jesus Christ!!!!!

Are you passionate about those two things?

Because, God is. And He’s chosen to redeem people, to bring them into His church, so that He receives glory through Jesus Christ (as verse 11 said) among all peoples, and among all rulers and authorities in the Heavenly realms

And if we become passionate about that inside the church…then we will finally be able to do and be what the church was designed to do!

Turn to 1 Thessalonians

The Gospel moves through the church

Paul is writing this to a church in Thessalonica, so it’s very relevant to what we are talking about this weekend

Listen to what he says here:

You guys, you know that all the book of Acts, we read verses that say something like this:

“2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.”

“And the Lord was adding to their number day by day”

“They were increasing in number”

“It continued to increase”

“A large number who believed turned to the Lord.”

And there were times where those numbers were thousands of people being saved and joining His church

And every time someone came to Christ, the angels rejoiced and marveled at God’s redemptive plan.

It literally knocked their angelic socks off

And the demons sank farther into despair and anger

But, why do you think that was?

It’s because they were passionate about the glory of God and making so much of who Christ Jesus was!

They understood that the church was the means for the gospel of Jesus Christ to spread throughout the world…from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria to the ends of the earth!

They understood that the Great Commission would move at a greater speed through the church.

Through a body of believers who were passionate about the glory of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ

So they would come together, as tells us, for teaching, for fellowship, for prayer, for encouragement, for helping each other..and then they would launch out with a passion for spreading the name of Jesus

And like when you throw a rock in a lake and you watch the ripples move out…that’s what God designed the church to do

The church is absolutely vital to the spread of the gospel

The church is the spearhead of missions around the world!

But too many churches have resigned themselves to just being these places we go and we no longer carry out the missions side of the church

We assume that’s for missionaries....when God intended it to be the main function of the church

Like, there’s no point in going to church, learning all about God, spending time together, praying together, if we’re not going to carry out the Great Commission....is there?

You can ask Hayley, the number one thing I talk about is missions and the Great Commission in my youth group

And I am so pumped because I’ve got a senior who’s going to Bible college this fall to study to be a missionary nurse one day!!!!

But here me here....you guys, you, your church, your group that’s here today....can do this now

Your group on mission

And do you know what I think would be phenomenal. What I thought about all last night?

What if these 4 separate groups, from four separate churches.....

What if they went home and decided that their groups were going to do what we talked about this weekend

They were going to buy in, and get the others in their group to buy in.

They were going to love each other selflessly

They were going to grow in their faith

They were going to persevere

What if that happened, and then your groups, they start doing what the church was meant to do.....and glorifying God by making much of Jesus around their churches

They start living on mission, reaching their local neighborhoods, reaching their schools

Start talking about Jesus outside of the church walls because they’ve realized that they are to be the church wherever they go?

Imagine the impact if you guys realize this is literally your job.

God designed the church to live on mission

God designed you to live on mission

And so, in closing, I want to ask you.....

Do you find church to matter? Like honestly?

We’ve looked at a few reasons this weekend as to why it should:

Being part of a local church where you love other believers shows your love for God

Being part of a local church helps you to grow in your faith

Being part of a local church helps you to persevere in your faith

And today, we talked about how being part of a local church is the greatest witness…to the heavenly beings AND to the watching world

But for you, on a Sunday morning, when it’s cold outside and warm in your bed…are you going to get up, get dressed, and head to church…not because you have to, not because you feel like its the right thing to do....

But because you are all about the glory of God and making much of Jesus!

Are you going to choose to remain faithful to your local church when something else comes up…whether it’s sports, work, friends, etc....

Is your local church a non-negotiable for you?

And hear me here very clearly....if you are a believer....then you should be all about the glory of God in your life and making much of Jesus in your life

And if that’s you....as we’ve seen today, from a Biblical point of view....the greatest way that God makes Himself known (so…receives glory) and the greatest way Jesus is preached to the watching world (so making much of Jesus) is through the church

The church that He designed

The church that He founded

The church that He loves

The church that He will come back for

And the church that He gave it all for!

As Paul closes with he says, “ 14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Closing salvation pitch

Who are they?

They are two fold…we read about these rulers and authorities in other places in Scripture:

- “11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

- “12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.”

And we read this text, and you may be scratching your head and asking....well, that seems odd, why is God concerned with showing off His glory to the angels and the demons?

Don’t the angels in Heaven already see Him and glorify and worship Him?

Well, yes, they do

And didn’t the demons and devil refuse to glorify God, so they’re not ever going to worship Him

Correct, they won’t

Well, then what’s the point?

Angels

Angels have been servants and worshipers of God since they were created, right? They have been…and they’ve been seeing God