HOW TO COME TO CHURCH?
PSALM 96
Introduction: Why to you come to church? What is your purpose for being in the service today? What attitudes are affecting the impact of today’s service in your life? Some come to church to be entertained, others to fulfill basic social needs. Most come with an attitude of getting something out of it. But is that what Sunday is all about? I believe there are four ways that we need to come to church which will impact all of us – We need to come reverently, enthusiastically, expectantly, and emptied.
I. Come Reverently
A. Arthur Boers in The Other Side, May/June, 1989 wrote, “I often visit newcomers in town and find them to be church shopping. They want to know what they can get out of church. Churches are one more consumer commodity. Worship services are not a place for us to serve God and neighbor but a place where people expect to purchase the best: inspiring worship, good music, moving sermons, quality child care. As if we buy God and not vice versa.”
B. We come to church not to be entertained but to praise an almighty and awesome God. We come to meet together in the presence of the King of kings and Lord of lords.
C. Psalms 89:7 (NKJV) God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, And to be held in reverence by all those around Him.
D. Psalms 2:11 (NASB) Worship the LORD with reverence and rejoice with trembling.
E. Worship begins when we see the majesty and greatness of the one we worship, and at the same time realize our own unworthiness before Him.
F. Isaiah 6:1 - 5 (NKJV) In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.”
G. Psalms 25:14 (NKJV) The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.
H. When we come into the assembly of the saints, we come with the purpose and intent of expressing an offering of worship to our God. Our primary purpose should not focus on what we are to receive but what we are lifting up to God.
II. Come Enthusiastically
A. Psalms 122:1 (NKJV) I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the LORD.”
B. Psalms 95:2 (NKJV) Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
C. Psalms 69:30 (NKJV) I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving.
D. Christian worship is the active response to God the Father through the Son. The worshiper stands in a personal relation of son-ship to God on the basis of his adoption in Christ.
E. Worship is not passive but active. Worship is not stoically sitting in a pew. Worship is the actions, attitude, and response of believers to our Majestic God. We come to the assembly on the Lord’s Day not so much to receive, but to offer sacrifices of praise.
F. Hebrews 13:15 (KJV) By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
G. We acknowledge what God has done for us and is doing for us. Thus, we bless His Name, we sing to Him, and offer our gifts to Him, as well as our praise and adoration.
III. Come Expectantly
A. EXPECT God to speak to you. If you come expecting nothing, that’s probably what you’ll get!
B. In some ways the church is a filling station. Although our primary focus is to worship God, we do meet in this place each week to be equipped and energized to do God’s work in the world. We come together to encourage one another...to cheer each other on.
C. Hebrews 3:13 (NKJV) but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
D. Ephesians 4:11 - 16 (NKJV) And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
E. The Church is to be a place where each of us grow and become involved in Christ’s ministry.
F. A survey of hundreds of pastors has provide a list of measurable quality factors in the life of a congregation. The twelve factors are:
1. Bible knowledge. Church members are increasing in their grasp of the teachings of the Bible. They can integrate this with a theological system that enables them to apply the Bible’s teachings to their life situation.
2. Personal devotions. Members spend time daily in prayer, Bible reading, meditation, and other personal spiritual exercises.
3. Worship. Members regularly participate in the worship services scheduled by the church.
4. Witnessing. Members regularly attempt to share their faith in Jesus Christ with unbelievers.
5. Lay ministry. The lay people of the church are engaged in such ministries as teaching and discipling. In some cases this happens through consciously discovering, developing, and using their spiritual gifts.
6. Missions. The church actively supports missions, organizing and sustaining a strong program for recruiting, sending, and financing home and foreign missionaries.
7. Giving. Members give an appropriate portion of their income to the local church and/or to other Christian causes.
8. Fellowship. Members are growing in their personal relationships with each other through regular participation in church fellowship groups of one kind or another.
9. Distinctive life-style. Members generally manifest their faith in Christ by living a life-style clearly and noticeable distinct from that of non-Christians in the same community.
10. Attitude toward religion. Church members regard their involvement in the church primarily as a service to God rather than a means to fulfill personal needs.
11. Social service. Members are serving others outside the congregation. This includes direct personal involvement with the poor and needy, or in programs designed to help the needy.
12. Social justice. Either through the congregation as a whole or through specialized Christian agencies, members are striving to make changes in sociopolitical structures that will contribute to a more moral and just society. -
Adapted C. Peter Wagner, Leading Your Church to Growth, Regal Books, 1984
IV. Come Empty
A. When you come to church you must come empty. God wants to fill us, but some of us are already too full. We are full of our own preconceived ideas and notions. If God is going to fill us we must become empty vessels.
B. You must also empty yourself of both sin and self.
C. Psalms 24:4 (NKJV) He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully.
D. D.L Moody said, "I believe firmly that the moment our hearts are emptied of pride and selfishness and ambition and everything that is contrary to God’s law, the Holy Spirit will fill every corner of our hearts. But if we are full of pride and conceit and ambition and the world, there is no room for the Spirit of God. We must be emptied before we can be filled." – J. Kuhatschek, Taking The Guesswork Out of Applying The Bible, IVP, p. 153ff.
E. Holy fire, burn away my desire for anything that is not of You and is of me. I want more of You and less of me. Empty me. Empty me! Fill me.... With You, With You.
F. Isaiah 55:1 (NKJV) “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; and you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come; buy wine and milk without money and without price.
