Why I Love The Church
Part 2
"Why the Church?"
Part of a Series by Alan Walker
Mt. Vernon Church of Christ, Springfield, OR
Counselors, Psychologists, and Psychiatrists use varying methods of testing to discover what they are seeking to uncover in our personality. There is an ink blot test, in which you view a series of ink blots and associate them with what they remind you of, or look like to you. Another test is word association. The clinician will say a word and you are asked to say the first thing that comes to your mind.
What would come into your mind if we were to use this test and begin by using the word CHURCH? What's the very first thing that comes into your mind? I wonder, are there still some who hear the word Church and groan?
 | Is it that time again? |
| Is there something else I need to do? |
Are there still those who associate the word Church with a building? Like never before the emphasis in our Western Culture is to build majestic and expensive buildings.
I wonder, are there still some who hear the word Church and think:
| Ministry |
| Service |
| Giving of myself |
| Volunteer |
| Growing in Christ |
| Friends & Family |
| Eternity |
| Jesus |
Let's try another word: LOVE! What comes to your mind?
| Springtime |
| Weddings |
| Romance |
| Your puppy |
| Blue sky and white fluffy clouds |
In this series of messages it is not important for you to remember everything I said, every bible verse mentioned, or every story told. However, it will be successful if each of us begin to associate the two words: Church & Love
If we as Christians have a real love for the Church, I believe this will change our lives forever ~ Spiritually & Eternally! Last week I shared the first part sermon in this series: "Why I love the Church". In this message, I'd like to share more thoughts about the Church. I'll put it in question form.
The Question is: "Why the Church"?
Why should the Church be a relevant part of my life?
Why should I be more committed to the Church than any other organization
Why has the Church touched and changed so many lives?
Why should I give my life to the Church
Why The Church?
Consider these three thoughts!
I. Why The Church? Because She Belongs To Jesus.
(Matthew 16:16-18 )
The Church is so easy to love because it is Jesus'.
When we experience all Jesus has done for us, as many already have, it is so natural to love Him. And it is easy to love anything He is a part of.
One of the reasons why God's people love the Church is because it belongs to Christ. We send a check each month to the orphanage in Honduras. Why? Because it belongs to Jesus! Those are his orphans. We send money each month to a couple of Bible Colleges. Why? Because they belong to Jesus. Because they are training the leaders of today's and tomorrow's churches!
Some observations from the passage.
#1. The Church belongs to Jesus!
"I will build My Church..." The Church is His! It's not yours and its not mine, it does not belong to those of the past, nor to those who follow when we are gone! It is today, it was yesterday, and it will be tomorrow, the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ! It is His.
Everything I've constructed will simply not survive. The sermons I have written and the lessons I have taught, will be forgotten or lost, & if found someday, people will probably just shake their heads.
The Church though, my, it has been here for a long time and will be here until the Lord Jesus Christ returns to take her into heaven. It has endured, it has grown, it will not only survive, it will thrive!
Why does it last? How does it endures? Is it because of the people? No! It's because of the author! Jesus said He would build His Church, and folks He has, and nothing ever is going to close it down. It's here to stay!
#2. His Church is continually being built!
With every person who comes to Christ the Church is being built!. With every congregation that steps into new ministries, new mission area's and new structures, the Church is being built.
With every person who was a part, and has fallen away, and returns to the fold, the Church is being built. Every time a part of the Church, young or old, that has lost interest, becomes interested again, the Church is being built.
The Church at some point in time has touched your life. You are a part of a Church that is being built up and added on too all the time. You are a part of something that is never going to die, and is so very much alive.
You can see how alive the Church is:
| As you hear people share their dreams for her with you |
| When you see little children come up here and tell you how much they love Jesus, Sunday School, and how much they love the Church. |
| When you see that look in the face of a teen, as they are contemplating how they are going to use their life in the service of the King |
| As you catch that glimpse of the Senior Saint wondering what more they can do before they pass the torch on to the next generation. |
| You can see how alive the Church is when you visit a member in the Rest Home and they want to have you read the bible and pray with them. |
| You see people who normally would not tell their friends about personal things, sharing with them what Jesus Christ has done for their life. |
Because it belongs to Jesus...People have done such incredible things.
They chose to have no living or dining room furniture so they could support a mission sharing Jesus with hundreds of people. Why would they do this?
Recently, I had lunch with a young man who is hoping to spend 5 years in Guinea with a tribe of people who do not have a written language. He and a team will learn their language, write it down, and translate the bible for them so they can understand the Jesus & His Church. That's five years before his furlough, then he will return for 10 years. This project will take 15 years. Tell me, why would he do this?
When their church was being built, they sold their home and gave the profit to the building fund to assist. Why would they do this?
They are just a few. There are hundreds of men and women, young and old who on a weekly basis weed flower beds, mow yards, plant flowers, clean roof's, lay tile, clean bathrooms, prepare lessons, write sermons, hand out bulletins, prepare the Lord's Supper, offer an offering talk, pray at the table, pray with someone, answer telephones, pastor, serve.. Why? Because they love the Church Jesus built!
Why the Church?
Why should you even consider it? Because it belongs to Jesus Christ! Men and women may have constructed this building, but the Church, She's constructed by Jesus!
II. Why the Church? Because She Is Pictured As The Bride of Christ.
The pictures Jesus uses to paint a picture of His Church are not by accident.
(Revelation 19:9 ; Revelation 21:2; Revelation 21:9 )
I recognize there are differing interpretations of this prophetic and figurative book. I believe the Bride of the Lamb, John refers to is the Church. I understand this to mean we are the bride of Christ!
He does not say the Church is the...
| The sister of the lamb |
| The friend of the lamb |
| The mother of the lamb |
| The girl-friend of the lamb |
| The child of the lamb |
| The best friend of the lamb |
| He says, "The bride of the lamb..." |
This Church, built by Jesus of which I hope you are a part, is the wife, the bride, the newlywed, of the Lamb.
I love weddings! There is something absolutely radiant about a bride and a groom as they stand before an official and commit for the rest of their lives in the presence of God to remain together! Wow!
When I realize you and I are figuratively the Bride, I am amazed....
#1. This is a picture of COMMITMENT!
Marriage is about a lot of things, but one of them is commitment. When we stand with our intended and vow to be faithful until we are dead, that's commitment.
This picture of a bride and groom is one of commitment. It's a picture of our commitment to the groom, i.e., Jesus the Lamb, but it's also a picture of the commitment of the groom to the bride. Jesus is committed to His Church. He is committed to us.
#2. It's a picture of LOVE!
That's something else marriage is about! Usually, when people marry it is because they have love for each other. That's a wonderful emotion.
As the groom, Jesus loves His Bride.
"And you husbands, show the same kind of love to your wives as Christ showed to the Church when he died for her" (TLB) -Eph 5:25
When we become a part of the bride of Christ, part of the reason is an overwhelming sense of appreciation and love for Jesus who has done so very much for us.
We love the groom because of His love for us...I Jn 4:19
"So you see, our love for him comes as a result of his loving us first." (TLB)
#3. It's a picture of INTIMACY!
There is no other relationship as intimate as the relationship between husband and wife. The husband and wife have a different type of relationship, then they will ever have with any one else, no matter how close a friend, no matter how special they are.
While we may have several members in our family, and be blessed with many close and personal friends, the marriage relationship is different. The bible instructs us we are to be one women men, and one man women. Marriage is a unique relationship ~ one of a kind! There is nothing to compare it too, except our relationship as the bride of Christ.
We have access to a intimate and personal relationship with God our Father, through Jesus Christ and the Church. It is not accidental God refers to the Church as the Bride of the Lamb. We are to be as close to Christ spiritually as we are to our spouses emotionally and physically.
Why the Church? Well, that's easy. It's the only avenue open to us to have an intimate and personal relationship with Jesus. If that's lacking in your life, if your relationship isn't as close to Jesus as you would like it to be, while there may be many area's you might consider looking into, one might be your relationship to the Church, for it is the BRIDE of Jesus the Lamb!
III. Why The Church? Because The Church is Eternal.
The Church is here to stay...
It began with power ~ it has existed all these years with power ~ and it is going to be taken up to glory just as surely as Elijah was taken away in the whirlwind. Jesus Christ is going to return to take the Church, His bride into eternity.
Until He returns to take us home, the Church will stand. It may grow rapidly, it may suffer intense persecution and go into decline. It has and it will see again governments that have granted it freedom while other governments have tried and failed to shut her down.
We've been hit hard...
During the Dark ages, the Church was persecuted, hunted down, and Christians killed.
Darwin suggested we evolved from a lower order of the species ~ yet God has said we are created in His image.
They have told us God is dead ~ yet I still feel his presence
We've been portrayed as radically strange people because we do not believe in the slaughter of the innocent children in the womb, because the bible condemns homosexuality, and because we believe in a God we cannot see. Yet, I know many people who like you who would say, I've seen God.
We will be hit hard again! But the Church is here to stay, because Christ is here to stay!
Long after the Darwinian Fish is gone, the Church will still be here in all her wonderful glory!
I'm so glad the Church is eternal...
When Danny Henry, a brother in Christ you may not know, exhaled his last breath a week ago and went into glory and was welcomed by the angels, the Lord Jesus, or one of the apostles....I know he was happy the Church is eternal. His wife and children, while they will grieve and mourn his passing, they are glad the Church is eternal. While the congregation he served as a Deacon, a very small congregation will miss him and his friendly smile, his warm hand-shake and his enduring faith, they too are rejoicing the Church is eternal.
Tomorrow evening at abut 10:00 p.m., will be a week since Paralee Barton passed from this life into eternity. I'm so glad someone took the time years ago to share with her Jesus Christ. I'm so thankful, someone, whoever they were, and we may never know, took the time to share with her what the Church was all about. I am so thankful to God for whoever it was that shared with her when she was probably young, that one day, when she died, life did not have to end at the grave, but through Christ she could have eternal life. I don't know who shared Jesus with her. They may be gone themselves now. But, as she rejoices with the angels and the residents of the Holy City, I know she is grateful that the Church is eternal.
Like Danny and Paralee, and so many before them, some so very young, and others so much older, we too will pass from this life. When that happens, and I hope it is along ways down the road, we will rejoice in the truth this Church of Jesus Christ, this wonderful bride of Christ is eternal! That there is life after this life. That it's all so real, more real than we ever imagined.
Don't miss out on the eternality of the Church. Be a part of the Church! Commit yourself to Christ! Live for Him. Make Him the Lord and allow Him to be your Savior!
IV. Personal Application.
"Why The Church?"
Let me ask: "Why not the Church?"
If She belongs to Jesus...
If She is the Bride of Christ...
If She is eternal...
Then again I ask, "Why not the Church?"
What would happen if we were to give ourselves wholeheartedly in the service of Christ and His Church?
What would happen in we allowed the Church to be the focus of our life?
What would happen if we who have been dragging our feet, were to make a fresh and new commitment to Christ to use me and my talents for Your Kingdom!
What would happen if every young person, were to commit themselves to the Church of the Lord Jesus, and serve Him for the rest of their lives.
Again I ask, "Why not the Church?"
Would our Country be worse off than it is today?
Would the crime problem be worse?
Would teen-age pregnancy and the whole issue of morality be worse?
Would the divorce rate increase?
Would your life have less meaning?
Would your family be worse off?
Again I ask, "Why not the Church?"
This time, I'll let each of us answer this question ourselves...
Alan Walker is editor of The Preacher's Corner and Minister of Evangelism at the Mt. Vernon Church of Christ in Springfield, OR. He may be reached at adwalker@pond.net.