HOW TO MAKE A GOOD CHURCH EVEN BETTER
Notes
Transcript
Welcome
Welcome
Fasting & Prayer
Fasting & Prayer
Talk about the Fasting & Prayer campaign
Starting tomorrow, March 10th...
Friday, April 18th - “Fasting Commitment Service”
8:00pm-12:00pm
(lots of praise, testimonies, inspiring Word... we will celebrate the Lord's Supper, it will be a tremendous moment! Don't miss it! There will be “fellowship”… koinônia...) THE WHOLE CHURCH!
IBNU KIDS
IBNU KIDS
Introduction: (2 Chron. 7:14)
Introduction: (2 Chron. 7:14)
I don’t want to sound like I’m being snobbish or “stuck up,” because I’m not. But I want to say something, Nations United Baptist Church is a good church!
It is a shining beacon of light in a dark world.
It is a good church because it is built on the solid foundation of God’s Word, God’s will, and God’s ways.
It is a good church because we are not ashamed of our past, our convictions, our worship, our standards, or our Lord.
It is a good church because Jesus Christ is honored by the people who attend this church.
It is a good church because we are not looking for the latest music, a new rule book, or a new “good” book.
This is a good church because it is a place where the Savior is exalted, the saints are edified, and sinners are evangelized.
When I first came here, I was lost and wondering what kind of church I would find. Now, almost 30 years later, I can tell you what kind of church I found.
I found a church that was solid in its doctrine, secure in its direction, and dedicated in its devotion.
I found a church that was hungry, hopeful, healthy, and happy.
I found a people who were ready, willing, and able to go wherever God wanted to take them.
I found a good church, made up of great people, serving a great God.
I will say it again: Nations United Baptist Church is a good church! - But it can be even better!
Let’s read the text that teaches us how this is possible…
HOW TO MAKE A GOOD CHURCH EVEN BETTER
HOW TO MAKE A GOOD CHURCH EVEN BETTER
14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
(Note: The context of this verse is related to the dedication of the Temple under King Solomon.
God had just demonstrated His acceptance of the new house of worship by sending fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice on the altar, 7:1.
He filled the Temple with His great glory, and the people worshiped their God with praise, humility, sacrifices, and days of celebration, 7:2-11.
Then God came to Solomon, 7:12-22. God tells Solomon that He will bless Israel if they honor the Lord; but if they refuse, there will be serious consequences, 7:12, 19-22.
However, our text promises them that God will hear them, heal them, and help them if they turn to Him in humble repentance.
This great promise to Israel has a great message for us today.
Let’s examine His words and learn (How to Make a Good Church Even Better.)
I. RECOGNIZE OUR CONNECTION WITH GOD
I. RECOGNIZE OUR CONNECTION WITH GOD
2 Chronicles 7:14 “14 if my people
2 Chronicles 7:14 “14 if my people
A. We have an intimate connection with God -
A. We have an intimate connection with God -
”“My people” - God claims those who are in a faith relationship with Him.
“you are my people, …
son, daughter, I am your Father…”
Hebrews 11:16 “…God is not ashamed to be called their God, and he has prepared for them a city.”
Jesus said: John 15: 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing. Instead, I have called them friends,
There is an intimate relationship that needs to be recognized here.
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
Then Jesus told them this parable: “…
He tells them 3 parables-
A parable is an earthly story that reveals a spiritual truth. …
Lost coin, lost sheep and lost son…
Illustration: Luke 15:11-24
11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
Jesus was teaching us about how God see us.
The relationship we have with Him is as intimate as that of a Father and His children.
Romans 8:15 “15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’”
Galatians 4:5 “5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”
1 John 3:1–2 “1 See what great love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is why the world does not know us, because it did not know him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we will be, but we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”
There is a very close and intimate connection between God and His people!
in The Bible you read Expressions such as:
“the apple of God’s eye” -
Written on the “palm of God’s hand” -
“The Lord is my shepherd”
These speaks of a very close and intimate connection between God and His people.
Psalm 139:1–10 “1 You have searched me, O Lord, and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you discern my thoughts from afar. 3 You are aware of my toil and my repose; all my ways are familiar to you. 4 Before a word is on my tongue, you, O Lord, know it completely. 5 You hem me in, behind and before; you lay your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me to grasp; it is too high for me to attain. 7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in the grave, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn and settle in the farthest reaches of the sea, 10 even there your right hand will lead me; it will hold me fast.”
Praise the Lord for the intimacy we have with our heavenly Father!
The fact that He loves us despite our sins; that He saves us by His grace; that He adopts us into His family; that He blesses us in more ways than we can imagine in this life; and that He takes us to His heaven when this life is over—is a wonder greater than we can comprehend!…
We have an intimate connection with God
Therefore, to make a good church, even better we need to recognize the relationship we have with God. We are His People!
2nd…
II. ACCEPT GOD’S CHALLENGES
II. ACCEPT GOD’S CHALLENGES
There are three challenges from God to His people in this text:
(Dependence-Devotion-Difference)
A. Dependence Challenge (Humility)
A. Dependence Challenge (Humility)
if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
“humble themselves and pray” -
In context, Israel was to come to a place where they admitted that they could not help themselves solve their problems.
They were also to turn away from their idols and false gods and admit that they could not help them either.
They were challenged to admit their total dependence on the Lord Jehovah.
This is the same challenge we face today!
If we want the Lord’s power in our lives and in our church, we must come to the place where we readily admit that our rituals, our abilities, our organization, our feeble attempts to impress God through worship, etc., will never accomplish the work for God’s glory.
We must humble ourselves before God and admit that we can do absolutely nothing without Him, John 15:5.
Let’s face it: there are times when we feel like we can do it all on our own.
We may not admit it, but that’s how we feel and how we act from time to time.
Let me let you in on a little secret: You can’t do anything without Him!
But when we bow down before Him, humble ourselves at His feet, admit our total dependence on Him for everything we are, everything we have, and everything we do, then He blesses us! Listen to His promises:
James 4:10 ..10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”
1 Peter 5:6 “6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.”
Greatness begins with humility.
A great church acknowledges its dependence on God and avoids pride or self-sufficiency.
I want to challenge you over the next couple weeks to examine your heart and your attitudes.
Are we seeking God’s glory or our own?
Are we open to correction and growth?
Philippians 2:3–4 “3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
Greatness begins with humility.
(Illustration: Joshua’s encounter with the “Captain of the Lord’s army” - Joshua 5:13–15. When Joshua took off his sandals, gave them to the Lord, and bowed his face to the ground, he was saying, “Lord, I cannot fight this battle, but You can!” He was expressing his total dependence on the Lord.)
(Ill. Harry Moorehouse, when he was still a young man, was holding evangelistic meetings in a certain city in the United States, but there was no revival. In this particular city, it was as if he were hitting a stone wall. Day and night he would kneel down and search his heart and cry out, “O God, why is there no revival?” One day he was walking down the street and the Holy Spirit showed him a large poster on which appeared these words: “Harry Moorehouse, the most famous of all British preachers!” Immediately he said to himself, “This is why there is no revival!” He went to the campaign committee and said, “Brethren, now I know why there is no revival. Look how you have advertised me as the best of this and the best of that! No wonder the Holy Spirit is not moving! He is sad and quenched because you have not magnified the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the most wonderful. I am only a poor, simple, humble servant, preaching the gospel of God. glorious Gospel and saying: “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”).
Greatness begins with dependence on God.
B. The Challenge to Devotion
B. The Challenge to Devotion
2 Chronicles 7:14 “14 If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
“Seek my face” -
This expression means “to seek in order to find; …
“to seek carefully, to inquire, to frequent a place, to tread a place;
“To seek my face” brings to mind a person with “a longing, a very strong desire to enter into someone’s presence!”
Not only are we to humble ourselves before Him (to depend totally), but we are to live our lives hungry for Him! His Presence!
The idea here is that nothing (not family, work, money, fame, ministry, … - NOTHING in your life or mine should be greater than the desire for God’s presence.
Nothing in this world should distract us from seeking His face.
Our heart should not be content only with the “hand of God”, with what we can receive from Him, (the ten lepers received the blessing from the hand of the Lord, the healing of their disease… but only one returned to seek the face of the Lord, and he was healed forever!…)
Seek the face of the Lord, His real and practical presence in your life.
Psalm 27:4 “4 One thing I have asked of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple.”
Do you understand? Seeking the face of the Lord means desiring Him more than anything else in this world!
It is about dedicating time to spend time with Him in prayer and in the study of His word. It is about placing His face before you as the most important motivator in your life.
Take the 10 minutes Challenge For the next 40 days:
Fast for a period of time. (7 hours…)
When hunger strikes, remember that you made a spiritual resolution…
Pray: for 10 minutes (include 4 items in your prayer)
Thank God for all the blessings received in the last 24 hours. (be specific, thank him for everything…)
Confesses's your sins committed in the last 24 hours.
(be specific, confess everything… 1 John 1:9; Proverbs 28:13 “13 Whoever conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”
Seek God’s guidance.
James 3:17 “17 But the wisdom that comes from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, understanding, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.”
- You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with the wrong motives…
Is there anyone among you who is suffering? Let him pray. (Jas 5:13).
Include a request for wisdom for everyday things: work, school, family, finances, business, relationships, etc. Intercede for someone.
“Pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (Jas 5:16)
Read the Bible and meditate on the Word
Join our Whatsapp group, where we will post the texts for us to read and meditate on.
Devotion challenge - if my people, … seek my face
Do this for 40 days and you will see what will happen in your life!
C. The Challenge to Be Different
C. The Challenge to Be Different
if my people, … turn from their wicked ways, //
Here, it is talking about the discipline of repentance.
…
It is a challenge for God’s people to “Change their attitudes” -
by that I mean “to live a clean and holy life for the glory of the Lord.”
The people of Israel were instructed to “turn from their evil ways.”
Whenever you turn “away” from one thing, you are naturally moving “toward” something else.
God’s people are instructed to turn away from evil things and turn to the Lord.
We are challenged to make a change in our lives that will take us in a whole new direction.
If we want the Lord to bless us as only He can and as He wants, then we will have to search our hearts and lives for everything that could be evil. - “wicked ways”
We have to identify anything that could be leading us away from the Lord.
When something is identified, we must turn away from it and turn to the Lord with humility, a desire to seek His face, and repentance.
Here is what you and I need to do in the next days
We need to examine our hearts and lives to see if there are any “evil paths that are leading us away from God.”
Here is a partial list of some paths that may be leading us away from God:
- Money or employment (work)
- Possessions
- Position or status
- Pride and hypocrisy
- A relationship or person (influencer)
- Sexual immorality or lust (what you watch)
- Cheating or stealing (your business)
- Hobby or habit (leisure, entertainment)
- Or anything that you may have put ahead of God in our lives!
If you identify something wrong in your life, the way to deal with it is through confession and repentance.
Proverbs 28:13 “13 Whoever conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”
1 John 1:9 “9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
2 Corinthians 6:17 “17 Therefore, “Come out from among them and be separate,” says the Lord. “Do not touch the unclean thing, and I will receive you.””
What we learn here is this: before the Lord can bless us, He must first change us! That is His mission.)
(Dependence-Devotion-Difference)
The result of the challenge…
III. GOD’S CONFIRMATION
III. GOD’S CONFIRMATION
A. He will hear us
A. He will hear us
2 Chronicles 7:14 “
“Then I will hear from heaven” -
When we, God’s people, deal with the challenges of “being different from the world,” we have the assurance that God will hear us.
We all know that sin disrupts the lines of communication between the believer and the Lord,
Psalm 66:18 “18 If I cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not hear me;”
But when sin is dealt with and our lives are pleasing to the Lord, He will incline His ear to our prayers.
A life of unhindered prayer is a powerful weapon!
It is amazing to see how God hears and responds to the cry of a child who walks in His presence.
(Illustration: Psalm 84:11 “11 The Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.”)
(Ill. Daniel was a man who lived with integrity in a corrupt world
Daniel 9:20–23 “20 While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my request to the Lord my God for his holy mountain— 21 while I was still praying, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the vision before, flew quickly to where I was at the time of the evening sacrifice. 22 He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, now I have come to give you insight and understanding. 23 As soon as you began to pray, there was an answer, which I have brought to you because you are greatly loved…:”
You are greatly loved…
Here’s what will happen in the next 40 days if you accept God’s challenge:
Matthew 7:7–11 “7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 … Your Father in heaven will give good things to those who ask Him!”
B. He will help us -
B. He will help us -
2 Chronicles 7:14
“I will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
When we pay the price to honor our relationship with the Lord and accept His challenge to live a dependent, devoted, and different life, He will hear our prayers, forgive our sins, and heal our land.
What an extraordinary promise! Not only will we be transformed as a result of our commitment to Him, but the effects will go beyond the walls of this church and the world around us will be impacted for the glory of the Lord. In other words, when we are sincere with the Lord and meet His expectations, He will bless us with His power, honor us with His greatness, and we will be impacted by His glory.
Conclusion
Conclusion
I began by talking about the church. When I talk about the church, I am not talking about bricks and mortar; lights and carpets; pews and hymnals.
When I talk about the church, I am talking about you!
NUBC is what it is because you are what you are!
This is a great church because it is a church made up of great people.
But as great as this church is today, it can become even greater.
If you and I will pay the price of humbling ourselves before God and praying, seeking His face, turning from our wicked ways, then He will hear from His throne in Heaven and forgive our sins and heal our land.
In short, if we obey Him, He will move in your life with power and glory.
Is there something you need to address with the Lord today?
If He has touched an area of your life that needs work, this altar is the place to address it.
All I ask is that you be obedient to His voice!
If you do, a good church can become even better!
