Introduction
• For the past eight weeks we have looked at practical living steps that we should implement on a daily basis.
• We have looked at avoiding offenses, trust & faith in God; we looked at the quality of life, covetousness, authenticity, living stress free, boundaries and overcoming the battles of life.
• This week I want to continue on with our series and look at being faithful in attending church.
• Believers must be faithful in attending church services.
• Jesus, our savior, faithfully attended church services; likewise we must aspire to do the same.
• There are benefits we receive when we are faithful in attending church and being part of the Body of Christ.
• This week we will see what the Word has to say about being faithful and consistent in coming to church.
(NKJV) Hebrews 10 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
1) Believers must be faithful in attending church services.
a) Shout…Pastor I will be here twice a week to hear the Word of God and fellowship with other Believers.
b) For Believers, faithfulness is an indispensable quality. We don’t see a lot of it in the world today.
i) Stewardship requires faithfulness.
(NKJV) 1 Corinthians 4 1 Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.
ii) Faithfulness is a fruit of the Spirit.
(1) God is faithful; likewise Christians must also strive to be faithful.
c) Faithfulness in church attendance releases the anointing of God.
i) We come to church to provoke one another to love and to receive knowledge of the truth from the Word that is taught.
d) Jesus faithfully attended church.
i) Every time someone looked for Jesus, He was at church.
(NKJV) John 6 59 These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.
ii) Jesus' custom was faithfully attending church.
(NKJV) Luke 4 16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.
(1) Custom is a long, established habit. What is your habit today?
iii) Jesus was always occupied with church and His Father's business.
(NKJV) Luke 2 43 When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know it; 44 but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day’s journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances. 45 So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. 46 Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. 48 So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.” 49 And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”
2) You have a biblical obligation to attend church.
a) Shout…I will be at church because the Bible says so!
b) Church is the place you gather to meet Jesus. It is a place of refreshing.
i) Where two or three Believers are gathered, He is in their midst.
(NKJV) Matthew 18 20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
ii) You are to inquire in God's temple.
(NKJV) Psalm 27 4 One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple.
iii) You are blessed when you dwell in the house of the Lord.
(NKJV) Psalm 84 10 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
3) People stop attending church because…
a) They've fallen out of love with God.
b) They are preoccupied with the world (sporting events, recreation).
c) They've fallen out of love with their brothers and sisters in Christ.
4) What happens when people start missing a lot of church?
a) You will start to drift.
i) To drift means to flow by or carelessly pass.
(1) You will always drift downstream; never upstream.
ii) You will think you're standing, but you will eventually fall.
b) You will begin to have doubts.
i) You will start to have second thoughts about things you were once sure of.
ii) Take heed so you don't depart from God or develop an evil heart of unbelief.
c) You will become dull of hearing from the Holy Spirit.
d) You will backslide and fall back into your old sinful nature.
Conclusion
• One of the keys to practical living is attending church and being faithful to attend weekly. Every time the doors of the church are open, you should be there!
• Get into the mind set that I will get to church no matter what I have to do. Make it a priority.
• Stewardship requires faithfulness. God will not make you a steward over much if you are not faithful in the little and easy stuff of life.
• Jesus' custom was faithfully attending church. Custom is a long, established habit. Make going to church a habit!
• Church is the place you gather to meet Jesus.
• Don’t fall away from the church over an offense. Press in and watch what God will do for you.
• Don’t drift. Lack of attendance causes you to be deaf to the Holy Spirit and you dry up and suffer in the world.
• Today, make a choice to be faithful in attending church. You and I will both be blessed when you come.
• Shout…Jesus I will plant myself in the House of the Lord. Where I am planted I will flourish. I will grow and expand when I attend church. The Word of God and fellowship will stimulate by growth. Jesus, I will not drift by, but I will stay on course with your guidance. In Jesus name we pray….AMEN!
• Let us pray!
