So I’m a Christian, now what? – Acts various verses

11 08 2008

 Adoption

  • Gal. 4:4-5 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

  • Caney made national news when Golden Retriever adopted and cares for tiger cubs at the Safari Zoological Park.

  • The tiger cubs look nothing like the golden retriever, but she brings them in and cares for them. We don’t look like we belong to God’s family, but he adopts us in at a deepest cost. The longer we are in the family the more we start to look like we belong. We learn to love what the Father loves and hate what the father hates. Once we are a part of the family what’s next. I’m a Christian now what do I do??

1. Be baptized- 2:38-41

  • Baptism needs to occur after you believe.

  • Baptism does not happen at the exact same time as belief.

  • Acts 10:47-48 Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.

  • Baptism is not the same thing as believing. They are not synonyms.

  • If baptism and belief were the same thing you could use them like synonyms. And you would not need to use both of them at the same time.

  • Acts 18:8b And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. Aslo Acts 8:13;

  • Two different things one before the other.

  • If they are synonyms then this verse is very weird. It would be like me saying, “I got dressed and put my clothes on.” “I washed and cleaned my hands.” “We had supper and ate food.”

  • Baptism shows you are willing to obey the Lord.

  • We don’t include a person into the membership of the church until they get baptized because it they don’t want to get baptized there is a problem.

2. Read your Bible

  • You cannot defend what you don’t personally know.

  • You cannot grow spiritually without the word.

  • I hated reading until I was about 16 when I started consuming the Bible like I wasn’t going to have it tomorrow. I learned there is some good stuff in here. After I started reading it I began to grow. It was less than a year later that God called me to preach it. Just preach it.

  • When you read it he will give and maintain His purpose for you. Knowing the Bible will give you wisdom for marriage, how to handle conflict, and lead to many blessing that don’t come any other way, but by knowing his word.

  • Don’t just read it, study it.

3. Pray

  • Acts 2:42 And they devoted themselves tot he apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and and the prayers.

  • Talk to God

  • pray when you read your Bible

  • Pray for your friends

  • Pray and just be thankful some times

  • Write down your prayers. Find what works for you and do it.

4. Remember you are the church so go be together.

Acts 16:5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.

Be together to learn. (strengthened in the faith)

  • You don’t have to learn something new every time you come.

Be together to worship God.

  • You can and should worship God by yourself everyday, but you should also be part of the group worship. There is a dynamic about being there that cannot be replaced.

  • I sometimes listen to sermons on CD or online, because a friend recommended it. He was on fire about it. Then I listen to it and it’s not the same. I was not there so it didn’t impact me as much.

Be together to serve each other.

  • Acts 13:36 For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers…

Be apart of God’s work in every way you can.

  • Matt. 16:18 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.

  • People are the church. The church is everyone who believes.

  • When you believe and then show your belief by getting baptized you are a member of this church. It is my responsibility to help you grow and love, more so than any other church. It is the rest of the churches responsibility to help. If someone stumbles in the faith we should make every effort to help you get back on the right track more so than any other churches responsibility.

  • People are going to get their understanding of what a Christian is by watching you.

  • People are going to get their understanding of what this church is all about by watching and listening to us.

5. Tell others what God as done for you – evangelism

  • The whole book of acts is about saved people telling others how to be saved.

  • Saved people have a desire for others to be saved too.

  • Several people have told me I’m glad so and so got saved at your church I’ve been praying for them for years. It was there prayers that lead to the moment I was able to talk to them.

  • You pass people everyday that somebody has been praying for, for years.

 

Be on guard against people and things that will lead you away from being baptized, praying, the Bible, church, and desiring others to be saved.


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Sermon Summary 10-28-07

29 10 2007

What does it mean to be a member of a church? Part 2 What is expected of members?

“Belonging to the church is at the very heart of Christianity.” John MacArthur

Church members must have God as their God.

  • They must be the kind of people who really have God, not just put on a show.

  • The pharisees were the kind of people who put on a show.

  • D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones recalls the story of a man who was disappointed that Lloyd-Jones hadn’t given a public altar call after the previous night’s sermon. “‘You know, doctor, if you had asked me to stay behind last night I would have done so.’ “‘Well,’ I said, ‘I am asking you now, come with me now.’ “‘Oh no,’ he replied, ‘but if you had asked me last night I would have done so.’ “‘My dear friend,’ I said, ‘if what happened to you last night does not last for twenty-four hours I am not interested in it. If you are not as ready to come with me now as you were last night you have not got the right, the true thing. Whatever affected you last night was only temporary and passing, you still do not see your real need of Christ.’” Mark Dever, The Gospel and Evangelism.

Church members must love God.

  • Love means worship.

    • Worship God by making Jesus our Number One Treasure in every Area of our lives.

    • Treasure -A Treasure is something someone chooses because of its worth or its excellence; because you LOVE it. A treasure is something you love so much you’ll search for it a long time. A treasure is something you love so much that you put other things in life on hold, or completely skip so you can get it.

    • Every area – We have a tendency to love Jesus as long as we are around other people who love Jesus. We compartmentalize our life. Work, Family, play, God. If Jesus isn’t your Treasure while you work, you’ve missed something. If Jesus isn’t your treasure with your family, you’ve missed something. If Jesus isn’t your treasure on vacation, or with you hobbies, then you’ve missed something.

  • Love means serving.

    • Matt. 6:24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

    • Gen. 29:20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her.

    • Serving does not mean loving though.

    • MacArthur – “Not joining the church is saying, ‘I don’t want to serve the only institution Christ ever built.’”

    • Love means giving.

      • Mark 10:21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”

      • Jesus loved and Gave. Eph. 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

      • Giving does not mean loving though.

      • Love means obeying

        • John 14:15 If you love Me, keep My commandments.
        • 1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

        • Ps. 119:127 Therefore I love Your commandmentsMore than gold, yes, than fine gold!

        • Ex. 20:6; Deut. 11:1; Josh. 22:5; Neh. 1:5

          • Church members must love people.

          • Neighbor means each other.

            • John 13:35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

            • There is no command in the bible to love yourself. That is a given. Everyone loves themselves. Everyone wants the best for themselves. Even those who try to commit suicide do so because they think that that is better for them than having to face life.

            • They problem that we have is not that we don’t love ourselves. It is not even that we love ourselves too much. The way to know if you love yourself to much is ask, not “would I pursue this for my neighbor?” but “do I pursue this kind of good for my neighbor?”

          • Neighbor means the lost.

            • How many of you introverts, when somebody does something bad to you will be the first to speak up, but otherwise would not talk with them.?

            • When they get your order wrong at the restaurant are you kind? Or rude?

            • When you have to wait 30 min at sonic are you loving your neighbor at yourself?


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Which Church Should I Join?

22 10 2007

These are six truths to consider when joining a church.  Of course, these are not the only things to consider, but they are some important truths.  Though it is not true, someone reading this might think I am pointing them out or picking on them.   It is not just one person but many people say these same things am addressing.  I see people sacrifice the truth of the Bible on the alter of practicallity.  Therefore I lovingly offer these thoughts to help guide my churches thinking and any others who might read this post.

1. Join a church that is Biblical.

  • I will be the first to say that I believe what baptist believe is biblical. If I didn’t think I was right, I would not be a baptist. Yes, then that means I think other churches are wrong about some things. That does not mean that I don’t like them. Who would want to go to a church were the pastor did not believe he was correct in what he was saying? How could he speak with passion at all? If he did this he would be a politician not a pastor. Who would want to go to a church where the pastor thought all churches were right? A church must have a high view of Scripture. This means letting Scripture guide the church not society. Scripture is the infallible word of God and must be the only authority for guiding the life of a church.

2. Join a church where you believe what is being taught.

  • Don’t join a church that you believe is biblically in error, especially salvation. Those who do this are saying that there are other things in a church more important than what God says. Going to a church which you disagree, but hope to change a few people is like marrying a lost person hoping they will get saved (something the Bible forbids). The leaders in the church will always have more sway than you. Going to biblical church will make more of an impression than going to the one you disagree with in order to influence them.

3. Join a church that cares more about making God happy than making people happy.

  • This does not mean that you have to go around making people mad all the time. The Bible teaches us that “as far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all” (Rom. 12:18).  Join a church where you get challenged and your toes get stepped on. I don’t know about you, but I need the conviction of the Holy Spirit that comes through the preaching of the Word of God.

  • Some preachers today will openly admit to not preaching against sin or even saying the word sin. Some do not preach on Hell. To do this is to be more worried about making people happy than God happy.  I believe that God’s plan is to use His church to declare his glory, but how can that happen when the Bible takes a back seat to people.

4. Join a church that cares about the lost being saved.

  • The Bible tells us that one of the churches purposes is to evangelize or do missions. It is not right to be apart of a church that does not care about lost. A church that does not care about the lost is an unbiblical church. The reason we ought to care about the lost is that we care about the glory of God. If we truly want God to be glorified, we will want more people to glorify God. The glory of God is the motivation for missions.

5. Join a church that helps you and your family grow spiritually.

  • If a church cares about being biblical, then the members will be concerned about helping each other grow spiritually. The church should care about the spiritual development of all ages. If you join a church like this then, you should also care for the spiritual growth of others by at least praying for them.

6. Join a church where you can serve God by serving others.

  • Don’t join a church that just benefits you. Join a church where you can be a blessing to others by serving.

 Josh Eaton


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Sermon Summary 10-21-07

22 10 2007

What does it mean to be a member of a church? Part 1

What the church does for you.

Why preach on this?

  1. because members don’t know sometimes

  2. because members need reminding

  3. some do not see the need for membership 

  4. some simply do not know about membership

The Bible assumes that people join local congregations

  • James 5:14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

  • 1 Peter 5:2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly;

  • Matt. 18:17And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.

How does the Bible refer to the church?

Flock

  • 1 Peter 5:2 Shepherd the flock of God that is among you.

  • Acts 20:28 Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

Building

  • 1 Cor. 3:9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building.

Body

  • 1 Cor. 12:27 Now you are the body of Christ.

  • Rom. 12:4-5 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

Family/household

  • 1 Tim. 3:15 but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

A sheep who will not join the flock is a wayward sheep. A body part that is not part of the body is lifeless. A brick that is not in the building is one that is tossed anywhere. A (husband) family member who never comes home to his family is considered strange at best and a good for nothing slob at worst.

What are the benefits of joining the church for me?

1. You get encouragement.

  • You get a flock of believers that are fed the word together. A building that uniformly stands together. Other member of the body that make you function better.  When you obey the Lord by joining one of His local churches it encourages you.

2. You get protection.

  • You get protection from sin. Falling into sin against God should be our greatest fear as Christians. If it truly is our greatest fear, then we should join God’s church to have protection. The church is God’s accountability program.

  • The church is like your fellow soldiers in the war against Satan. When you are down behind enemy lines the church will come after you. When you join a flock you get a shepherd to protect the flock. When your in the building you don’t get kicked around just anywhere. When your in the body you have life in you.

  • When a person leaves the church it is like taking down the surveillance system, and shutting off the alarm system.

3. You get the satisfaction of knowing you obeyed God.

  • When you obey the Lord by joining one of His local churches it encourages you. When I do what the Lord has told me to do, it feels as though a weight has been lifted. It is pleasing to obey the Lord. It bring joy to the heart.

  • Charles Spurgeon said, “I know there are some who say, ‘Well, I have given myself to the Lord, but I do not intend to give myself to any church.’” “Now, why not?” “Because I can be a Christian without it.” “Are you quite clear about that? You can be as good a Christian by disobedience to your Lord’s command as by being obedient? There is a brick. What is it made for? To help build a house. It is of no use for that brick to tell you that it is just as good a brick while it is kicking about on the ground as it would be in the house. It is a good-for-nothing brick. So you rolling-stone Christians, I do not believe that you are answering your purpose. You are living contrary to the life which Christ would have you live, and you are much to blame for the injury you do.”


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