“…The
house of God, which is the church of the living God,
the
pillar and ground of the truth.” (1 Timothy
3:15)
In
this ninth lesson of our study on the Lord’s church, we will be looking at the many
blessings that can be had by those who join the membership of a local assembly…
THE STUDY:
Blessings
Of Spiritual Growth:
1. Receive the Teachings Of God’s Word
“And he gave some,
apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and
teachers; For the
perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the
body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of
the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the
stature of the fulness of Christ: That we [henceforth] be no more children, tossed to
and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men,
[and] cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the
truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, [even]
Christ:
From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that
which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure
of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.” (Ephesians 4:11-16)
As the
saints are instructed in the Word, they gain….
2. Spiritual Maturity & Strengthening
“For all flesh [is] as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of
grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the
Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached
unto you. Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and
hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word,
that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord [is] gracious.” (1 Peter 1:24-2:3)
Blessings
Of Opportunities Of Ministry:
1. Build A Good Testimony
“First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith
is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in
the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my
prayers; Making request, if by any means now at length I might
have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you. For I long to see
you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be
established; That is, that I may be comforted together with you by
the mutual faith both of you and me.´ (Romans 1:8-14)
The
Christian is able to build up their personal testimony through faithful
attendance and increased opportunities of service, but also they are able to
build a better testimony being members of a faithful church that is known
publically for their faith in service.
2. Increased Opportunities of Service
“But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it
hath pleased him. And if they were all one member, where [were] the
body?
But now [are they] many members, yet but one body.
And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again
the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem
to be more feeble, are necessary: And those [members] of the body, which we think to be
less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely
[parts] have more abundant comeliness.” (1 Corinthians
12:18-23)
With
increased opportunities of service also comes increased rewards when the
service is completed faithfully…
3. Rewards
For Obedience
“And whatsoever ye do, do [it] heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto
men;
Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the
inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong
which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.” (Colossians 3:23-25)
Blessings
Of Community:
1. Encouragement
“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having
our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure
water.
Let us hold fast the profession of [our] faith without wavering; (for
he [is] faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love
and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together,
as the manner of some [is]; but exhorting [one another]: and so much the more,
as ye see the day approaching.” (Hebrews
10:22-25)
As saints
see faithfulness in the lives of other saints, it encourages them to be
faithful as well.
2. Fellowship
“Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day
there were added [unto them] about three thousand souls. And they continued
stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread,
and in prayers.” (Acts 2:41-42)
3. Separation from Sinful World To Worship
“And the apostles
gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what
they had done, and what they had taught. And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into
a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and
they had no leisure so much as to eat. And they departed into a desert place by ship
privately.” (Mark 6:30-32)
Just as Christ
called the first church to separation from the world for a period of rest and
refreshment, so too, every time the saint attends the meeting of the church,
they can get their minds off of the sinful world in which they live. They can do this by concentrating more fully
on the Lord through communal worship.
4. Care From Others
“And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their
possessions and goods, and parted them to all [men], as every man had need. And they, continuing
daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house,
did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God,
and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily
such as should be saved.” (Acts 2:44-47)
5. Lord’s Presence and the Joy That Follows
“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in
the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20)
The Lord
promises showing a special presence to those who join together with others to
worship Him. A result of His enhanced
presence the saint also experiences increased joy….
“Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence [is] fulness of
joy; at thy right hand [there are] pleasures for evermore.” (Psalms 16:11)
6. Spiritual Protection
“It is reported commonly [that there is] fornication among you, and such
fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have
his father's wife. And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned,
that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you. For I verily, as
absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were
present, [concerning] him
that hath so done this deed, In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered
together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, To deliver such an
one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved
in the day of the Lord Jesus.” (1 Corinthians
5:1-5)
Here, we
can see that church membership affords added protection from the powerful
intervention of Satan in our lives. In
this text we can see that when an individuals are removed from church
membership due to unrepentant sin, they are left exposed to greater Satanic
influence in their lives. This was done
to show them their sinful condition and bring them back to repentance once
their sinful stubborn flesh was overcome through the affliction of Satan.
THE SUMMARY:
What are the
blessings of church membership that are available to all of her members?
1.
Blessings Of Spiritual Growth
2.
Blessings Of Opportunities Of Ministry
3.
Blessings Of Community:
Why
should we should attend, join and support the ministries of a local
church? There are many varied blessings
that will be received as faithful members of His churches.
May the Lord bless us as we seek His truth.
For a free study
guide for this series in .pdf format:
http://settledinheaven.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/lordsassemblyprotected.pdf
For a free study
guide for this series in .docx format:
http://settledinheaven.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/lordsassemblyprotected.docx
No comments:
Post a Comment