Christian Living

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If you go to church regularly then I have a question for you. "Why do you go to church?" For those who go to church because their parents make them, or they want to keep peace with the spouse, they're probably not reading this anyway. So for those who are believers, maybe you go because it's about obedience. You might quote what God said, "don't neglect the gathering." Or maybe you go because you have responsibilities, you teach Sunday School, or you play or sing on the worship team, or you're a greeter, or an usher.

I'm guessing most believers will answer this question in some form or fashion with this thought, "I want to glorify God, or I want to praise God."

Paul said it this way, "Whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father." So going to church to worship God or to praise Him is a great thing, but, isn't this the reason for everything you say and do?

I would like to suggest that there is a better reason for you to "go to church". The Hebrew writer spells it out for us, "let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near."

Here's the reason you need to "go to church." You need the encouragement to be sent. You go to church so that you will be encouraged and trained to be sent back out to make disciples of Jesus. Here's another way the Hebrew writer put it, "You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God" You would be hard pressed to read the New Testament and believe that you don't need the church. Those who say things like this, don't know a thing about God stuff.

Jesus said the most important command from God is for us to "love God and love others." What does it mean to love God and to love others. What is the action plan? How do I do this? Jesus said in Matthew 25, that we love God and love others by serving them and blessing the needs of people. And this is definitely a part of what it means to love God and love others, Jesus said so. A lot of churches have the serve thing down, but, the Bible also says that Jesus wants everyone to be saved. He said, "I came to seek and save the lost." Jesus wants people to repent. If all we do as a church is serve the needs of folks but we don't share the Gospel of Jesus, then we haven't really loved them. We can bless people, but, we love them by sharing the message of the Gospel of Jesus with them.

Paul sums it up this way, "...faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ."

Jesus taught us that His expectations of His followers is that they will make other followers. The Bible word Jesus used is 'disciple.' The word disciple means "learner" Jesus said our job as the church is to "make disciples." If you do a word study on this phrase of Jesus in Matthew 28:19, you will make a significant discovery. This is what the Strong's Concordance says about "making disciples", "helping someone to progressively learn the Word of God to become a matured, growing disciple (literally, "a learner," a true Christ-follower); to train (develop) in the truths of Scripture and the lifestyle required, helping a believer learn to be a disciple of Christ in belief and practice."

This is why you, "go to church." You go so that you can be encouraged and trained to make disciples of Jesus, because this is how you "love God and love others."

Paul drives the point home that people must hear God's Word. And this isn't about inviting people to church so that your pastor will do it for you. The Great Commandment, "Love God and love others," drives The Great Commission, "Go and make disciples."

Sharing the Gospel of Jesus is a disciple's highest privilege and priority "And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?" Romans 10:14

If you are a follower of Jesus then you are the "someone" Paul is talking about here. There may be some who want to be mature followers of Jesus, they want to be disciples but they don't know how. The simple truth is that a person can't teach what they don't know. The first step to growing up Spiritually is to read the Bible and pray consistently. It's impossible to grow past Spiritual infancy without the discipline of reading the Bible and praying everyday. Jesus modeled this behavior for us. If you read the life of Jesus you'll notice that many times he would go off by himself to talk to God. Why did Jesus do this? For the same reason you and I need to spend time with God. This is how we grow up Spiritually.

There is a reason why babies drink milk. No mom would try to feed her baby a steak. But what would we think of a 20 year old who only drank milk? Can a person grow up drinking milk alone? As a person grows up they start adding different kinds of food and protein to their diet. The same thing is true for Spiritual development. Speaking to a group of Spiritually immature people the Hebrew writer says this, "There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen. You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food." Hebrews 5:11-12

Did you catch the benchmark of a Spiritually mature person? "You should be teaching others." But a person can't teach what they don't know. This is why it's vital to read the Bible, especially the life and teaching of Jesus and the New Testament. This is why it's vital to spend time with God in prayer. Unfortunately this what a lot of folks who go to church ONLY do. They ONLY study the Bible and pray with believers but they never leave the church building or their small group and share the Gospel with others who NEED to hear it. If all you do is study and pray then you're completely missing the point of what it means to be a disciple.

You can be a disciple who makes disciples "So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ." Romans 10:17

A Spiritually mature person increases God's church by making disciples. We make disciples by showing and sharing Jesus with people. This can be an intimidating idea. Jesus knew this. This is why he issued his challenge this way, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me." Luke 9:23

The most selfish thing any Christian person, or follower of Jesus can do is keep the Gospel of Jesus to themselves and live in such a way that no one around them recognizes Jesus in them.

I hope and pray that if you're a follower of Jesus your goal is to make more followers of Jesus. And now this weekend I hope you'll go to church with this motive.

You go to church so that you will be encouraged and trained to be sent back out to make disciples of Jesus.

darensblog

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