Church Life

The House of Prayer

 

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What is the purpose of going to church?

In today’s time, the importance of church participation has been diminished. Some have quit going because they’ve had bad experiences. Others, quote such sayings as “Standing in a garage doesn’t make you a car, going to church doesn’t make you a Christian.”

Yet, the church continues to move forward, and people remain involved in church. Why? What is the point? And should I be involved in my local church?

First, we must remember that the church is not the building, but rather the people who join together in the building. The church is not about going to a place and participating in a weekly ritual. The church is about what happens when the people gather together.

When the church gathers, things happen. The Word of God is preached, the people pray, lives are changed, and the members come away with a deeper understanding of the Lord and His Word.

If you need prayer, the church is there. If you need comfort, the church is there. If you need to connect with others, the church is there. And most importantly, if you need to connect with God, the church is there.

In Mark 11:17, Jesus said, “My house shall be called of all nations a house of prayer.” In referring to the Temple, Jesus noted that His house should be the place where people go to connect with God, whether that is repenting of sin and expressing faith through the sacrifices, or whether that means lifting up requests to God, the way Hannah did in 1 Samuel 1. In Jesus’ day, to connect with God, you went to the Temple.

Today, the church serves that role. The church has been commanded to help people connect with God, to pray with people, to minister to and teach people, and to bring people into God’s presence.

If you are a Christian, God wants you to participate in this process. If you are not a Christian, but want to know God, then you should gather with the church.

It is difficult to connect with God while remaining isolated. Being connected with God’s people and His church is a prime way to be connected with God Himself.

So, if you are without a church home, begin visiting churches in your area. If you live near Brownwood or Early, Texas, we’d love to have you visit with us.

Life Point Baptist Church, 599 Sunrise, Early, TX. Sunday School 10 a.m., Sunday Worship 11 a.m.

For more on the concept of the church being the house of prayer, check out Pastor Leland Acker’s sermon below.

Understanding what happened…
man in blue and brown plaid dress shirt touching his hair

Photo by Nathan Cowley on Pexels.com

Church hurt is real.

Too many times in my personal history, I have been betrayed by people who claimed to love me and pray for me. Too many times, this hurt has been done, “in Jesus name.” None of the following experiences happened at Life Point. In every case, reconciliation was made.

My personal experiences involve false accusations of alcohol abuse when I was still a teenager in youth group. I had a senior pastor try to end my ministry through character assassination before my ministry even began. I had a church member make the baseless accusation that I was compromising the word of God. (He even admitted he couldn’t identify any false doctrine I taught.)

I once called upon a lay minister in a congregation I pastored to preach in my absence. The Sunday I was absent, he called an emergency business meeting to discipline me for the behavior of my kids (all three of whom were preschool aged.)

Those are just my personal experiences. I have heard countless stories of others who have been hurt by the misbehavior of church members and clergy. I have ministered to those who were discouraged by high profile scandals.

As all of this continues, we are increasingly seeing leaders and churches abandon Biblical truth, and attack other churches who refuse to follow suit.

What is happening to Christianity? What is happening to the church in America? How can God be real, and in control, and allow such misbehavior among the people who are called by His name?

There are two simple answers, and then the really deep answer.

Simple answer #1.

People are sinners. The church is an assembly of scripturally baptized believers who have come together to carry out the Lord’s work. These scripturally baptized believers are Christians. They are saved. But they are still sinners. Sinners saved by God’s grace.

With the sin nature still tempting and deceiving these believers, they are still susceptible to sinful choices and self-deception, hence the hurtful behavior. Man’s base instinct is selfishness and pride. Most church hurt is caused by those two things. Selfishness and pride.

Furthermore, many who claim to be Christian aren’t. They don’t believe. They aren’t scripturally baptized. And they don’t gather with the church to advance the Kingdom of God. These false Christians (many of whom have deceived themselves into thinking they are) are often the culprits of church hurt, but not always.

Simple answer #2. 

God has a history of being patient with sinners, and with His disobedient children. This patience is marked by His willingness to defer punishment in order to give His children time to repent. Read the history of Israel. They openly rebelled against God for 390 years before He allowed them to be taken captive by the Babylonians. God is patient.

While God’s grace and patience may aggravate those of us who scream for justice, it is incredibly important that we realize that the same patience God has extended to them, He has extended to us. We, too, benefit from God’s patience, for we, too, have sinned, and in some cases, are responsible for the church hurt of others.

And now, the really deep answer.

It’s safe to say that many Christians and churches are not following God’s word, and many have done wrong in the name of the Lord. Many Christians and churches have blasphemed God’s name by tailoring their beliefs and actions to the values of the day, rather than conforming their beliefs and actions to the Bible.

Over the past two centuries, we’ve seen people use scripture to justify racism and segregation, and to justify the marginalization of certain groups of people. We’ve seen people deny the truth of the Bible.

Even worse, we’ve seen high profile preachers fall to sexual sin, some refusing to repent, and others committing financial fraud. Many of these preachers were charlatans to begin with, but the sins of charlatans blaspheme the name of God.

It is easy to focus on our personal church hurt, and the public sins of high-profile Christianity, and (a) become discouraged, (b) assume that Christianity is bad, and (c) walk away from the faith. Such reactions, however, come from not understanding God’s plan with man. The things we see in today’s society do not surprise God. In fact, 2,000 years ago, Christ told us to look for them.

In Matthew 13, Jesus began teaching in parables by giving us the parable of the sower. The parables that followed in Matthew 13 are known as “The Kingdom Parables.” The Kingdom Parables are a prophecy of the future of the Kingdom on Earth, prior to the return of Christ. In them, Christ shows us the future state of the church.

These parables not only explain what is happening in modern Christianity, but they also show that the more these problems persist, the closer we are to the return of Christ. The Lord wants us to understand this, as He said in Matthew 13:11, “It is given unto you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Jesus begins the Kingdom Parables with the Parable of the Sower. In Mark 4:13, Jesus said the Parable of the Sower is the key to understanding all parables. That means that the symbols used in the Parable of the Sower carry over to all of the Kingdom Parables. This is an important detail, because failing to apply the same meaning to the same symbols leads to the misinterpretation of the parables, which leads to false expectations, which leads to disillusionment.

Over the coming week, we will explore the Kingdom Parables. However, here is a quick summary.

  1. The parable of the sower – A man goes forth to sow. Some seed falls by the wayside and is snatched up by the birds (the fowl of the air). Some falls among the thorns and is choked out. Some falls upon stony ground and never takes root in itself. Some falls on good ground and brings forth fruit. Jesus later explains that the sower is the Son of Man (Jesus Himself). The seed is the word. The field is the world. The birds (fowl) is the evil one (Satan and his demons.) Again, these symbols carry over into all of the parables.
  2. The Wheat and the Tares – A man sows good seed in his field. His enemy sows bad seed (tares). As the plants grow, the man realizes what his enemy has done. Instead of rooting out the tares, the man allows them to abide, fearing that he would lose the wheat in the process. At harvest time, the wheat is separated from the tares. The wheat is gathered into the man’s barns, the tares are burned. This parable symbolizes the effects of a false gospel being spread throughout the world, and how the followers of that false gospel can infiltrate God’s churches. Instead of trying to root out the followers of the false gospel, we should bring forth fruit to honor our Lord. Doing so draws a contrast between the believers of the true Gospel, and the believers of the false gospel. This parable reinforces the symbolism of the Parable of the Sower.
  3. The Parable of the Mustard Seed – This is one of the most misinterpreted parables. A man (the sower, the Son of Man, Jesus Christ) sowed a grain of mustard seed (the word) in His field. The seed is small, but grows into a mighty tree, such that the birds (Satan and his demons) lodge in the branches thereof. This parable teaches that, as the Gospel and Christianity gain influence in the world, Satan and his demons will show up in order to pollute it. (Seriously, ever seen what an abundance of birds like grackles and buzzards will do to a tree?) This parable explains why bad things happen in churches.
  4. The Parable of the Leaven – Leaven is always symbolic of sin. It’s why the bread we use for the Lord’s supper is unleavened. Christ was, and is, sinless. It’s why the Israelites were told to sweep out the leaven from their homes in preparation for Passover. That massive cleaning effort symbolized repentance. In the Parable of the Leaven, a woman takes the leaven and hides it in three measures of meal, until the whole lump was leavened. This parable shows how infectious sin is. It can infiltrate everything, and it does. This parable shows that a time will come when even on its best days, sin will be rampant in the church. (And this should be no surprise. The Apostle Paul wrote that even when he would do good, evil was present within him.) This parable not only explains why bad things happen in churches, but also why sometimes it seems that everything is self-serving.

Following the parable of the leaven, the Lord further explains the wheat and the tares before giving a few more parables that explain our salvation and redemption. All together, the parables explain why things go wrong, and how the Lord redeems us from such.

So, when I experience church hurt, I remember that the ones who offended me were merely acting out of their own hurt and misunderstanding, that the Lord loves them, and that He loves me too. Understanding that, along with the fact that the Lord is still in control, and He is still coming to establish His Kingdom on Earth once and for all, I am able to better heal from such hurt, with my faith and relationship with the Lord in tact.

Have you experienced church hurt? Feel free to share your story with us.

 

 

Pastor Leland Acker has led Life Point Baptist Church since its founding in 2008.

The 7 Churches (Revelation 2)

The church is dead.

The church is judgmental.

The church is full of hypocrites.

Those common complaints against modern American churches are nothing new. For years, people have complained that the church experience can be cold, uncaring, and full of betrayal at the hands of those who pretend to be Christian, but are not.

Often, those complaints against the church are used as justification for rejecting church membership altogether, electing rather to worship God alone. After all, if Christ knew just how awful the church really is, wouldn’t He support a mass exodus from the church?

It might surprise you to know that the issues with the modern American church are nothing new. In fact, these issues permeated the first century churches. Thus, in Revelation 2, Christ begins the process of addressing each church individually, assessing the condition of each church and instructing them to repent of their sins and shortcomings.

Revelation was written to the seven churches of Asia (now known as Asia minor, or Turkey) to prepare them to meet the Lord. Speaking through the Apostle John, Jesus foretold the events that would precede His return, the events that would mark His judgment, and the promises to every believer.

The book of Revelation was written specifically to those seven churches to prepare them to meet the Lord, but the truth that is taught in this book will prepare us, also, to meet the Lord. Those churches of Asia met the Lord when they passed away. We will meet the Lord when we pass away, or when He returns, whichever comes first. Therefore, we should take the lessons of the book of Revelation and prepare for that day.

One of the most common errors in studying Revelation 2 is that many theologians believe that the letters to the seven churches are actually metaphors for seven different time periods during the church age. This approach to Revelation 2-3 is problematic for many reasons.

First, if Christ had dictated the letters to the seven churches as an allegory for the seven periods of the church age, then the message would have made absolutely no sense to those churches to whom the letters were written.

Secondly, as you read the letters to the seven churches, you will notice that Christ addresses specific issues, and specific individuals within the churches. While many try to parallel those specific individuals and issues with historic events during the church age, the fact of the matter is that there were specific issues and individuals addressed by Christ in those churches.

In other words, when these letters were read to the seven churches of Asia, no one had to ask, “I wonder what the Lord meant by that?” They knew exactly what Christ was talking about, whom He was talking about, and what He was commanding. There was no mystery to those first-century churches.

So, if these letters were addressed to the first century churches, and addressed specific issues within seven specific churches in Asia, then what’s the point of studying them today? Simple.

In the often forgotten Pauly Shore comedy, In The Army Now, Pauly Shore told the drill instructor that “welcomed” him to boot camp that she didn’t have to yell. The drill instructor replied, “IN THE U.S. ARMY, WE DO NOT YELL. WE MERELY SPEAK LOUDLY SO THAT ALL CAN LEARN FROM OUR MISTAKES!”

While it may seem sacrilege to reference a Pauly Shore movie during a Bible study, the fact is that we can learn from the mistakes of the seven churches of Asia, and we can take the lessons the Lord teaches them and apply them to our own lives.

In the letters to the churches in Revelation 2, we learn that Christ sees everything. He sees our love and works, or the lack thereof. He sees the motivation for our works. He sees our struggles and problems. He sees our errors. Then, He calls us to repent.

The above posted episode of The Point expounds those truths. If you listen, I predict you will be blessed by it.