If so, why? And when your church steps up to raise money for one of them, that is, in itself, outreach. And so all of us who know Christ are in Christ. I can do that only by identifying with His church. Sam was horrified. Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like me,” - and here’s why - “declaring the end from the beginning.” In other words, at the beginning, I can tell you the end. There’s one other thing going on, a preoccupation with holiness. Organized in 1908, the denomination is now home to about 2.5 million members worshipping in more than . Hope that’s not you. We’ve prayed that, we’ve prayed it, we’ve sung it, it’s very familiar, but what does it mean? God is the one who predetermines everything, and what God predetermines and declares, He brings to fulfillment. In the eighteenth century in America, for example, 1700s, eighteenth century, 71 percent of pastors in that century had one church their whole life - 71 percent. Highly promoted ministries suck up the majority of Christian dollars. People might give me 15 reasons why they leave, but people who leave, if they don’t go out of the area, people who leave our church leave because they don’t have that much concern for the truth. And so this morning, I want to go back over some foundational things about the church because I want you to understand why this church is the way it is. Why You Should Make a Huge Commitment to Being in Church Whenever the Doors Are Open . Very often if the pastor sees me, it makes him uncomfortable and nervous, which it shouldn’t do. I see the churches across our country in a severe identity crisis, trying to reinvent themselves in cultural terms, trying to reinvent themselves in marketing strategies, trying to reinvent themselves in new sociological definitions in order somehow to find their way into the lives of unbelieving people. It is a matter of identification with Jesus Christ. If you were to go there today you’d also find Christ is being exalted. Found inside – Page 217Yet He taught the principle of personal commitment from a point ofintegrity. Paul considered commitment a family issue so important that he compared church ... They had letters. Found insideAs the Church adds volumes to this series, you will build a collection of gospel reference books for your home. These books are designed to be used for personal study and for Sunday instruction. It is this: What does the New Testament say about a church? I said, “What church do you go to?” He said, “Oh, I go to five churches.” I said, “You go to five churches?” “Yeah, I go here and I go there and if I’m over here I go there and if I’m over here I go there and I go here and I go there.” And it was like, you know, “I’m so spiritual, one church isn’t enough for me, I’ve got to have five.” I mean this is like a badge of spirituality rather than an indication of ignorance or carnality. Revelation tells us a couple of times their names were written in the Lamb’s book of life before the foundation of the world. God made this plan, and He chose certain people. For the institutional forms, often supported by non-theological factors, which . Isaiah 44 and verse 6, “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and His Redeemer, the Lord of hosts.” There’s God and the Son of God. What do you think the purpose of feeding you is? If you can understand those five doctrines - and, of course, most of you do - you understand, then, what drives the church biblically - biblically. And after I die, I will still be in the midst of the church forever and ever and ever, I just won’t be preaching anymore. And so many of those people fall away because it’s not a true birth and there’s no further exposure to the truth. We are the household of God, Ephesians 2:19. We are not confined by the limitations of the carnal or the immature. What does that mean? We know that because we get a glimpse of it in Revelation 4 and 5. First Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “What? It’s a fellowship issue. It’s a fellowship issue here. That’s a church. We already know it was established in the New Testament. In fact, I remember one evening, I baptized ninety people in one baptismal service. I want to be loyal to my kids. But those things don’t inform me. That’s what we’ve been mandated to do. To have personal dedicated and devoted times of fellowship with Him. Grace Community Church is committed to the doctrine of election. When you think about the church, you have to not only understand that we are chosen by God the Father but, secondly, you have to understand that we are in Christ the Son. This book is about how to read and study the Bible. This book is about getting the non-Christian to learn how to study the Bible, and this book is for the Pastor and theologian who needs to have their "refresh" button pressed. Well, lastly, and I’m only going to refer to it because our time is gone, we are committed to the doctrine of restoration. There’s absolutely no reason for it to be controversial. I make a commitment to the Lord today. Luke 5:3-5 - "And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to push out a little way from the land. The building’s not the church. Second-generation Christians seek to refine and extend the truth. It is where I met my precious wife. E. When we are committed to coming to church, we show others that God is important to us. © 2021 Grace to You. And finally it had an emphasis on glorification, verse 2, “in the hope of eternal life,” and that’s the three stages of salvation. And then the end of verse 11, “I have planned it - I will do it.” That is God. We serve God, he served God. What is Commitment? And so here we are in all these years and all the shifting sands of the world around us have had virtually no effect on what we do. It is taught in the gospels. We’ll find that out because I will discharge my duty today and then we’ll find out what you do. One thing drives the ministry of all those who are around me in this church and it is this: biblical theology of the church. It has never changed because it is not subject to anything that comes on the scene. It really doesn’t matter to me at all whether or not society says everything has to be resolved in a half hour because it is on television or once in a while, major problems can be resolved in one hour, like big crimes, and problems that threaten the entire world can be resolved in a two-hour movie. I cannot imagine my life without God, and without God my principles would be very shallow. And even more than that, people are looking for the briefest kind of association with the church. If you believe in it, you should be a part of it. He ministered his gifts with the people. Jesus made an eternal commitment to us (Rom. Before time began, He determined who He would save, who He would sanctify, and who He would glorify. We are the poor prisoners, blind and oppressed. They only knew one family - one family. Belonging is at the very heart of Christianity. And I will admit to you, I’ve been reading - in fact, I was reading it yesterday - a book that recently - it’s a reprint of a book written in 1888 by William Blakey, a Scottish preacher. We believe He’s going to create that big valley, the Valley of Jehoshaphat, in which He’ll judge the nations. Like the analogy of marriage, those two become one flesh, and we who are the bride of Christ have become one with Him. So it comes down to you. In fact, they design the whole church for seekers who aren’t even members, they’re just there on the fringes. Isn’t that 1 John 3? Commitment to Discipleship. I have no accountability. We are in the middle of our study of the Gospel of Luke, and we’ll get back to that next Lord’s Day, and I’m very eager to enter into the seventh chapter of Luke, which you’re going to find fascinating. But whenever somebody stands up in this pulpit, you’re going to hear what God has said verse by verse, chapter by chapter, book by book through His Word. We need another look at this matter of church membership. Therefore, His dying on the cross was my death to sin. Gifts you put in the plate count towards your commitment only if you mark them, by making a note on a check or putting cash in a pew envelope with your name on it. You need to be protected by the truth. The choice to live for the Lord and base my decisions on His plan and His desires for me is my deepest, most fundamental . We already talked about that. The same is true for my relationship with Jesus and his Chuch. Join me in prayer. I talked to a guy the other day who was telling me how, you know, happy he was as a Christian and he was so thrilled to be a Christian and so committed to the Lord. 1. Found inside – Page 334I come!1062 Those who wish to be saved or to renew their commitment to ... that it is important for every Christian to make a personal commitment to Christ. Beyond that, I have no authority. It’s not relevant to what I do. And they are the losers because they don’t have their sheep without a shepherd, and a sheep all on its own, wandering in the wilderness, isn’t going to survive. That’s a sort of generic identification which could encompass anybody who served God. The body is a perfect illustration. We are committed to identification, that believers are one with Christ and we have to treat each other the way we would treat Jesus Christ. And maybe you are a first-generation Christian who just bought into this consumer mentality that’s endemic to our warped culture. Number five, it’s a loyalty issue. Doug Scalise, Brewster Baptist Church. I mean what would you think if somebody said, “Well, I don’t have a family, I just bounce around from family to family”? And all the elders would eagerly tell you I don’t. We are a love gift from the Father to the Son, the Son knows it. It’s a matter of giving your life away for somebody else. To take it a little bit further, the Father has redeemed us in order to give His Son a bride. Although usually only one typewritten page or . First John talks about it three times in the first chapter, fellowship, fellowship, fellowship. How is He going to show that? What we mean by that is this, that there is coming a day when Jesus will return and bring the times of restoration. He came under the leadership of the authority of the church. They may be even offended by it. What’s your commitment? We are in Christ and Christ is in us. You can’t define the church as unbelievers, and you can’t define the church as disconnected people. I love the church. You didn’t go in there and preach two sugar-stick sermons which were a lot better than you could produce every week and wow them, you know, with your best shot. Church leaders seeking to grow their churches in both number and depth of discipleship should first and foremost make a commitment to personal prayer. But baptism and communion get ignored in the mentality of today. Many churches have de-prioritized these things, anyway, because they think they offend fringe people, seekers. And when I came into faith with Christ, I immediately was thrust into a tremendous responsibility to give my life away in the church. You are a supported, caring, burden-bearing agent. It seems to be our plan to train ministers here who work with me and then eventually send them off to reproduce somewhere else what they’ve learned here, and that’s been a tremendous joy. You could take the picture of the church that is the body, the body of Christ. Church attendance is irregular, sporadic, hit-and-miss. Illustration. The church is being assaulted in this area, in regard to this whole matter of belonging, of being accountable, of coming under the shepherds, of giving your life to a congregation. HEBRON, Ky. (BP) - Kentucky pastor Shawn Dobbins counts evangelism among the spiritual disciplines, right up there with prayer and meditation on God's Word. You know, if you wanted to marry the daughter in the ancient times, the father might give you the permission, he might go find you a bride but then the price would have to be paid for her, right?