God operates primarily through the church. You are called to be apart of the church body, not just going, but serving and giving back to the church. The Church of Jesus is the most important institution in the world. What happens in church and why do we need to be in church? Here are 6 marks of the church. The right preaching of Gods word. The right administration of baptism and the Lords supper. People must give evidence that they are believers. Regular assemble (of yourself and other members). Gather for worship of trinitarian God. Under the guidance of duly appointed leadership. We should not substitute church with small groups or other things than church. Structure is a must and it is one of the first things God calls us to do. 1 Peter 2:4-12, 21-25. So what does it mean to be apart of a church? In the bible, only once does it say that YOU are a temple, all the other times it is speaking about you all collectively. Like a wall, you are a brick, others are relying on you. How we act has a huge effect on those around us. Hebrews 10:24-25. It is not good to be alone, that is not the way God designed us. We are dependent on the Lord and to operate in the community. W should share our struggles with others, share everything! It is not good to just spend time in the Lord by yourself, you can get weird. Others can bring out things that would never be brought out with out them. Going it on your own can also be dangerous. Not in itself, but if that is all you do and have no fellowship than you are not doing what called has called us all to do. It is not just about you, if you are holding out on your community, you are being selfish. Honestly, you really can't see God in his fullness by yourself.. What does the Bible say the church is, or what it is suppose to look like. The Church is therefore internally communal community. How do we relate to those on the outside. Their is going to be tension, because it is hard to be in this world and not of it. We must try our hardest to be holy and set ourselves apart. There are 2 awful ways religion relates to the world. Sectarian- fundamentalists who separate themselves from society, they're exclusive, and have high walls. Or they are mainstream- in that they have no doctrine, they tell you to believe what you want, just to come join. We are to be neither. As strange as this sounds, we are aliens/strangers. We are called to never again to be able to relate to the world (in it's sinful manner). They will tear you down, I promise you this, but they will recognize you're different. How can we live in a verse 12 way ( of 1 Peter 2). Live by verse 4- rejected by men, chosen by God. It sounds easy, but it really is that simple. We all will be vilified by man. We must come to Him. By admitting that you have a cornerstone. Not in anything else but God. You will fail in every which way and fail miserably if God is not your corner stone. You might rely on your athletics, academics, social status, job, family... when they fail, and they will, you need something else to go to. Everything else can fall around you, but you will be ok, because you have God. It will hurt, oh boys will it hurt, but God is good. This right here is the kicker.... We must find Him precious, it will not be enough to just believe in Him. I hope I can explain this analogy well over typing it. Dr. Example- You are extremely ill and the doctor tells you that no matter what you are going to die in one week, one week exactly, unless you take this pill. This pill is ridiculously expensive. You will have to sell everything, your house, your care, all your clothes and materials. So take the pill and lose all, or enjoy your last week of life, ever. What good are all those possessions if you are dead? Suddenly you see that pill as precious and everything else is expendable. That is how we should view Christ. Jesus was the ultimate alien, the rejected one. He came down from heaven... Heaven! He didn't have to, chose to. Why did he suffer when he didn't have to, he could have called legions of angels down and destroyed everyone who stood in His way. But, because we are that precious, we were enough to give it all up for, everything, he was expendable for us. We must make Jesus our cornerstone, so that we reflect his glory. Our slate is clean and our living is now His living and since He is honoring we are honoring. We are eternally affirmed, so that we can love the church the way Jesus does. Without it, we are outside the will of the Lord. Please pray that when I move to Montgomery in August that I immediately get plugged into a church, and that I am not only an attendee, but a member who gives back. That I can grow and enable others to grow. I already have help from Jack and his wife Chastity, but please pray that I will be an acting member, full of life. Reflecting God.
Serving Him,
Daniel
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