Neighborhoods & Nations: Expectations

​This is the manuscript for the sermon I preached at West Bradenton Baptist Southside on Sunday January 19th, 2020.

Three weeks ago, we began our current series titled “Neighborhoods and Nations”.  This five-week series is designed to help us look at and talk about the calling God has placed on us individually and as a church.  Ultimately, we will discover how we can effectively be a neighborhood church (local) for the nations (global).  Last Sunday I talked about the church and how the church is not an organization (programs, leadership, and building) Church≠ Building + Clergy + Program, but is an organism (a body made up of multiple parts and Jesus in which Jesus is the head) Church = Body (people) + Mission (our objective) + Kingdom (God’s plan).
Today, my aim is to continue to talk about the church, but more specifically the local church and the importance of being connected to a local congregation through membership.  Now, some of you may be thinking, “I do not need to be a member of a church in order to be a Christian.” And you would be technically be right.  However, I would challenge your statement by saying that a person who claims to be a follower of Jesus Christ and does not see the value of corporate worship, to the extent of neglecting regular attendance and participation in the local church.  In fact, the idea of believers living outside of fellowship with other believers was a completely foreign idea.  When you look back to the Ancient Church of the New Testament, the evidence of salvation was synonymous to joining or gathering regularly with an assembled group of believers.  So, essentially, when one became of follower or believer in Jesus Christ it meant they entered in to fellowship with other believers.  I like how John MacArthur answers the question of why the local church matters when he writes, “The church is the only institution the Lord established and promised to bless. Why would anyone who claims to love the Lord want to keep His people at arm’s length?”

Church Membership vs. Church Attendership
Now, the goal for today is not to guilt you, make you feel bad or twist your arm to join the church, if you haven’t already, but it is to encourage you to see the importance being connected to a church body where you regularly attend and worship.  In a few moments I will be talking primarily about church membership and expectations, but before I do this, I think it is important to define the difference between Church Membership and Church Attendership. 

1. An attender does not constitute a member.  The difference between a member and one who merely attends a church is commitment!  An attender rarely, if ever, commits to something that goes beyond benefiting ones-self.  Attenders usually consists of a consumerist mentality.  They attend in order to receive and consume.
   
   
2. A member is a committed attender.  According to Hebrews 10:25, “And let us watch out for one another to provoke love and good works,  not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.”  One who seeks more than attending sees the importance of committing to formal membership.  Here are three reasons.
   
   
   1. There is a biblical reason.  Jesus has established the church, who is the head and the church has committed to Him and He is committed to her.  According to Ephesians 5:24, 25, “Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives are to submit to their husbands in everything.  Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her.”
   2. There is a cultural reason.  We live in a society the has committed to non-commitment.  We see this truth in the decline of marriage, membership to organizations, and loyalty to brands (cars, electronics, institutions).
   3. There is a personal reason.  The local church plays a vital role in your spiritual life and growth. In many cases, the church can be the leading resource of biblical teaching, worship, discipleship, accountability, encouragement, and fellowship.  However, it is not the ONLY place for your spiritual growth, but it is a place that points you to the areas where you need to go to grow (i.e. personal study, small groups, life groups, and missions)
      
      

Expectations
Romans 12:4 – 5, “ Now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function, in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another.”

The word “expectations” tends to scare people when it comes to the church.  Often people join a church with ulterior motives, (i.e. a place to bury and marry you, it’s good for your social status, some even use it as “fire insurance” … If I am a member of a church, then I will go to heaven.)  I am not quite sure why expectations scares people.  But, not only does it scare some, it also offends others.  People are offended because the church desires and asks that members be active and moving so that the body of Christ can function properly.  The text above talks about the various parts that make up the body of Christ and 1 Corinthians 12: 18 – 24 says, “But as it is, God has arranged each one of the parts in the body just as he wanted. 19 And if they were all the same part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” Or again, the head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that are weaker are indispensable. 23 And those parts of the body that we consider less honorable, we clothe these with greater honor, and our unrespectable parts are treated with greater respect, 24 which our respectable parts do not need.” And this tells us that parts of the body need to work together in order to work effectively.  So, the expectation for each church member is that you be a fully functioning part of the body so the other parts can function properly as well. 

Seven Expectations
At West Bradenton Southside we do have expectations of our members.  I don’t view these expectations as overbearing or demanding, but life-giving and edifying to the church body as a whole.  The following are six expectations of every church member…

1. I will worship
   1. Worship is all about God, it’s not about us.  We do not seek to entertain a crowd of people.  We want to glorify God in all we do in our weekly gathering.
   2. “True worship always manifests itself in the individuals response to the majesty of God, true biblical worship manifests in experience with other believers as well.” Tom Rainer
   3. Psalm 67:2 – 4 “May God be gracious to us and bless us; may he make his face shine upon us Selah 2 so that your way may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. 3 Let the peoples praise you, God; let all the peoples praise you. 4 Let the nations rejoice and shout for joy, for you judge the peoples with fairness and lead the nations on earth. Selah”
   4. Romans 12:1 “Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship.”
2. I will grow
   1. As we glorify God through worship and gathering together one of my prayers for you all is that you grow in your spiritual walk with Jesus.
   2. A Christian who does not grow, is an unhealthy Christian. 
   3. Spiritual growth is a sign of health
   4. Ways to spiritual growth
      1. Life Group
      2. Personal Bible Study
      3. Corporate worship
3. I will serve
   1. We are a church on a mission.  God is calling his chosen people to salvation daily and He has chosen the church as a vessel to communicate His Gospel message.  We all have a responsibility to spread the Gospel to our neighborhood and to the nations.
   2. Membership entails serving.  Jesus tells us in Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
   3. Jesus gave us an example of serving one another when He washed the disciples feet.
4. I will give
   1. There are seasons of life in the church and individually to give and to receive.  We do not come to church merely to receive week after week.  Our attitude should not be a consumerist attitude (what can I get out the service this week?) it should be the heart of giving.
   2. Two ways to give Tithe (treasure) and time.
      1. When we give, it reveals our hearts.  Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
      2. When we give to God, we rejoice in Him and worship Him. 1 Chronicles 29:9 “Then the people rejoiced because of their leaders’ willingness to give, for they had given to the Lord wholeheartedly. King David also rejoiced greatly.
      3. When we give to God, we are protecting ourselves from greed and materialism and focusing on giving generously and purposefully to God.
      4. We are to give as the Lord lays on our hearts and to give cheerfully.  1 Corinthians 9:7, “ Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
5. I will pray
   1. Prayer is the foundation of our relationship with God and for the encouragement of the church.
      1. We ask church members to pray individually and regularly for the church and the staff, the ministries of the church, and our mission partners
      2. We ask Church members to pray corporately and privately in the worship gathering, in a prayer meeting, during Life Groups, with your family, and alone with God.
6. I will seek unity and sacrifice
   1. We are called to be unified in Jesus Christ.  Jesus prays for our unification in his high priestly prayer.  John 17:20 -21, “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
   2. We are a body made up of many parts, who are interdependent on one another and on God.  We are an imperfect people, worshiping a perfect God, working together for the cause of Jesus Christ (His Kingdom).
   3. Our unity should lead us to be humble servants who will sacrifice our will for God’s will.
   4. This means we put God’s work above our own work.
      1. This should give us Christlike attitudes
         1. Humility
         2. Servanthood
         3. Sacrifice for the glory of God.
   5. This also means we put our desires, preferences and agenda’s aside and align ourselves with God’s plan, purpose, and Kingdom.