Who Need’s Church?
Who Need’s Church?
Being a child that was raised in church, I know the feeling of wanting to sleep in on a Sunday but being drug out of bed to get dressed and get to church! I once heard a preacher say he had a “drug” problem. He was drug to church every Sunday. As a teenager I began to question why I needed to go to church to have a relationship with God. This is a common question in our culture today, so I want to share some thoughts with you that I have learned over the years that have helped me understand why attending church is something we need in our lives.
God desires more for you than just making it into heaven
Jesus said this in John 10:10, “I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” It is God’s desire for you to experience not only heaven, but an abundant and purposeful life here on Earth. Christianity is not meant to be reduced to being an insurance policy to keep us from going to hell. This is a complete misrepresentation of the Gospel. In fact, this is solely a selfish purpose for a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. It is viewing heaven as our prize when Scripture is clear that Jesus is our prize. “All things were created by Him, and for Him.”
A.W. Tozer put it this way, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.”
How do we glorify God in this life?
I heard a teaching recently about the four things we need to live out God’s purpose of our lives and glorify Him with the life He gave us.
1. We Need God
A relationship with God is primary to live out our calling and purpose here in this life. How can we do God’s will without first beginning a relationship with Him so He can reveal His will to us? We are all born with our own will and desires that are at odds with the will of God. We must be born again into a relationship with God to begin to live out His will for our lives.
2. We Need To Know Our Gifting
We are all born with gifting and different talents. That means all of us!
You are uniquely gifted. Maybe as you read this you are thinking that you don’t believe you are gifted at all. In church we sometimes put too much emphasis on stage gifts such as leading worship or preaching/teaching. God gives diverse gifting that doesn’t always fit on a stage. Maybe you are gifted with compassion, and can be a nurse or doctor who can carry the Gospel into countries and places where a church service could never be held. Maybe you are gifted with a personality and smile that lights up a room. Everywhere you go you carry joy, and affect the environment around you. Let me give you a few pointers on how to discover how you may be uniquely gifted:
What comes naturally to me, but difficult to others?
What gifts do those who love me see in me?
What gives me life when I do it?
What am I so passionate about that I would do it for free?
Our gifts are given to us to be used to meet a need in the world in some way. It is when we connect these gifts to that specific need that we find our calling.
3. We Need To Find Our Calling
Our gifts were given to us for a specific purpose. When we connect our God given gifts to the purpose and need He has for them, we find purpose and meaning in our lives! This is where going to church comes in.
4. We Need Community
To deny that God desires for us to live in community is to deny the character of God. God exists in community Himself. We refer to this community as the Trinity; made up of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.
When God created the world He said it was good, but there was one thing that God said was not good. He said it was not good for man to be alone. He created Adam with purpose and calling, but said that something was missing. He created Eve from Adam’s rib so that He could live in community with her. Our gifts and calling are fully realized and equipped when we do life together with other like-minded Christians. We encourage, pray for, and push one another as we use our gifts to glorify God together. We are truly BETTER TOGETHER. We must also remember the importance of having the right community around us. Scripture teaches that, “bad company corrupts good morals.”
If you are reading this and you have been trying to do life without Godly community, I would encourage you to find a community of believers and get involved. Open up about where you are at spiritually and what you are going through, and allow the Body of Christ to work like it is supposed to and push you towards Jesus. That is where you will grow in your gifts and find a launching pad for your calling!
Who need’s church? The truth is that we all do. We were created to live in community with one another. If our lives are about just getting into heaven, then there is no need to glorify God by fulfilling our calling and purpose, but if our lives are LIVING SACRIFICES as the Apostle Paul called them, then it needs to be our priority to find a community that can help us fulfill all that God has intended for our lives. One day we will all stand before Him, and I hope to hear Him say that I have used everything He put in me to glorify Him in this life and in the next.
Hebrews 10:24-25 says, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”