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August 30, 2021 8:00 am
Perspective, a more mature and that's today's topic Dr. Don Wilton here on The Encouraging Word is featuring the Bible-based teaching of Dr. Don Wilton well-known pastor seminary professor author is modifying the author of a fresh new book Saturdays with billing discover more online@twonline.org Dr. Don Wilton friends just before we open our Bibles. You can go in and command of the book of acts. In chapter 2 this morning. Book of acts chapter 2, I want to say to you again that it is absolutely impossible for you to be at everything that goes on in the church youth retreats included. You cannot go to everything. I think that I would be a most miserable man if I thought that everybody could go to everything always at the church because we have a lot of things going on inside me. Not again. I'm gonna make an announcement to you and you know that when I do that I want you to know that I really believe the Lord is put that on my heart and I'm Davis speak to you today on on a subject that is just burning in my heart.
Markup is food to overflowing you to come with me on a journey that you come with me on a journey right throughout Spartanburg and I'm going to show you churches of every shape and every size I want you to come on this journey with me.
I want you to come with me to Greenville and will go down through easily. Then Don Anderson might be stopping commerce for little shopping after Atlanta to the big metal lead to the home of Bob Morgan, the great lead down to New Orleans the best seafood in town come with me on a trip to Marshall Texas in Dallas next to Phoenix Arizona and cross over the mountains to the West Coast and I'm going to show you churches like ours come with me up to Seattle.
Let's go across Montana down into Nebraska North and South Dakota in the Michigan it's take a trip up Lake.
Let's go to the White Mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont.
Let's go up in the Nova Scotia one of the most beautiful places in the world and turn and come back down the East Coast to Boston Rhode Island. It's go to New York City.
It's come down to Wilmington Carolina and go with the senior adults to the Outer Banks in a couple of weeks time. Let's come back to Spartanburg and catch our breath before we go down to Key West and sit in the condo and dipped Auditorium to the worker and have a good time catching some fish everywhere we go. I'm going to show you churches. This land is blessed with churches. Churches of every shape and every size there are big churches and little churches. Churches with steeples churches without steeples churches in the bush churches in the center of the city on Main Street churches with symmetries propped outside the Bible churches that are churches that are new churches that are brick buildings. Churches that have been pooped in every kind of imaginary architectural design. You and I could ever think about churches that are comprised of all the people some younger people some mixed churches that are vibrant churches that all and dying. We will find churches everywhere and they also brought an opinion about God's church. That's one of the reasons why there are so many denominations we bring an opinion about the church should look like.
I think it's time that you in America that we begin to ask one question.
What should the church look like.
Is there a common denominator.
Values for God's church doctrines in the next little while we going to go to get into the acts of the apostles, the founding of the New Testament church and I want us to study briefly what the church should look like nondata ask you to do something this morning little bit difficult for someone like me to move because I have so many opinions on the radar screen of us just to lay out opinions aside, I made ask us to prepare our biases and prejudices. Early money we've spent the early years we belonging to the church ownership mandates and our ways of doing things and makes awesome God to show us what God tells us, the church should look like they nondata ask a very personal question. I made ask you, in your own heart.
Ask yourself whether your church. In this case, First Baptist Church, that if you're engaged with us today. I know the convoys and some others with SMX swains and others are visiting with us today, and that's a real blessing you to go and ask those questions in your own heart about your church and you to ask this question.
Mary and I and we anywhere near to following what you are telling us we should look like. That's we don't need a deacons meeting for this one. That's we don't need to clearly church in the conference. We just simply need to also brought a beta read to you a few verses in acts chapter 2 beginning at verse 42.
They read as the believers devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was through with all the many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles and the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had read every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their foods and they ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of parole.
The people and the Lord added to their number daily those who were being say, should the church look like I'm going to try to give us some food for thought from God's word number one, number one, the church should be a place where a lack of devotion takes place right here in verse 32. The church should be a place where Vincent takes place, and this means three things according to Scripture, it means that God's people in God's church in faith. We are devoted and we on the third in love together.
What should the church look like. According to Scripture church should be a place a house a meeting or gathering place where a whole lot of devotion takes place.
You see beloved trains devotion is next single minded focus that talked about when he said let this mind be in you which was also in the Lord Jesus Christ devotion means that God's church is food with a people who are single minded in seeking after the mind and the will of God. How does it express it soon. It expresses itself in devotion invite what is by faith is the very essence of what we believe and how we believe faith means that we as a group of people just simply trust God. Devotion in the church needs to be a place we believers come together devoted in what is hopefully means that I cannot yet see where I'm going, but I know I'm going to get there because my hope is in Jesus means that I don't know what I'm going to do about my physical circumstances. But I have faith in life because of my devotion that God is all about me and God is going to be able to do for me what I cannot do for myself in the congregation means that even though we may all the data from the parsing of so many of our loved ones.
We just happen to believe with our hearts with one day we guide all be in the presence of the Lord to give a man the Bible says if you don't have devotion in faith and devotion and hope. You might as well not meet together as a church. If the church is not openly, publicly and unashamedly expressing devotion.
The church is not a church and it all comes together in our devotion in love Jesus but a black as he said he said by this shall win no you, my disciples, if you love one another.
That's the key ingredient right. Devotion may I suggest to you today beloved friends. The devotion means that we as God's people are imitating God and consequently we possess these Christian virtues. What are Christian virtues, faith and love and the word of God says if you want to know what the church should look black needs to be a place where a whole lot of devotion is taken place. Number two immediate should be a place where a whole lot of feasting takes place. I love this one where our whole lot of feasting takes place. Now let me explain to you. Did you notice right there in verse 42 said they devoted themselves to walk to the apostles teaching feasting. You know something the Bible sees that the church should be in place with a whole lot of feasting takes place.
What is it mean means two things. Number one, it means that when we come to church. Church should be a place where we are about teaching about God that that's the first component of spiritual feasting. It is teaching about God, but there is a second component in Scripture here. It's not just teaching about God. It is bringing God. Now these kind of run parallel tracks together teaching about God and equipping God.
One deals with doctrine, the other deals with my Christian service. That's what the church should look like in the church is not a place for Bible and fall I'm data say to you that one of the greatest challenges that I have visual pasta we buy. We can let me tell you these weeks run into each other. You want to be a preacher another house on base, in a hurry one after another after another after another and I'm going to tell you one of the things you can always pray for me is that I believe that God is to me to be a teacher and a preacher and a feeder of spiritual and my mandate is that there could never be a time that we come together in the house of God that we are not about the business of teaching about God and equipping for service all tax command of the Scriptures. I've heard people say to me I just want to go somewhere with I just told my students stories all the time wishing folks there are popping up America not houses of God. Houses of entertainment people want to go to church so they can be entertained. I had a man several years ago in this church, and complained to me that always invited people to take up the Bible is because he has a busy week and this is the one that he's got in the week to be able to relax when he comes to charge Bible says my friends listen says the church should be a place where a whole listing to Dr. Don Wilton our teacher here on The Encouraging Word.
Please don't go away. He'll be back to complete today's message with the church should look like in just a moment. We encourage you to drop by our website if you haven't been by lately TW online.org is a place you can sign up for the daily Encouraging Word email devotion from Dr. Wilton that's TE W online.org is also a great place to discover wonderful resources like this The Encouraging Word's most requested resources.
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Now back to today's great teaching from Dr. Don Wilton play devoted themselves to the apostles doctrine.
That's what it's about. Second Timothy two verse to the things which you heard from me in the presence of many witnesses. These encrusted faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Hosea hanging his head in shame. In chapter 4 verse six said my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge church. What should look like. Come with me on a journey through America number three a whole lot of fellowship thing takes place in the church according to God's prescription look very verse 42 they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and the fellowship. I love that word fellowship, you know, it's just got something about you know the word fellowship in Scripture really means three things when you give them to someone, it means gathering together. Have you ever had people come to you and so you know I don't have to go to church. Yes, you do skews me your new on the God's word. I hear people say all the time I you know I love the Lord.
I love the Lord. But you know I don't have to go to church yesterday because the Bible says that is the primary place with God's people gather together folks I meant to tell you something that's going to shock. Do you know that young people influence other young people is heterogeneous for me to say that I've been working on that whole week, young people influence. There is no greater influence on a young person than another young person. So what happens if you take your young person out of their what happens.
What happens if you are a believer and you take yourself out of that I would people say well I'm not going to go to God and want this and I'm going to do that.
You take yourself out of the Gadarene of God's people. You are truly making a choice to remove yourself from one of God's primary methods of blessing does not mean gathering means encouraging. That's what fellowship me. I love that and I love the fact that we call ourselves the fellowship of encouragement.
We would need to make sure that's who we all are tell you I've seen churches call themselves all kinds of things and I seem to be the very opposite folks. Today we stop encouraging one another through fellowship as the day we need to remove that from outside encouragement.
I need encouragement.you I know they people get a day of us need encouragement. There's 1/3 component of our fellowship and that is motivating it, it just motivates me. You folks mind cannot just tell you something this morning I was flat-out tired this morning without look at me, you gonna use retreat, you will be to aunt Jenny. When I woke up this morning I said man on the course. Alvaro letting him preach… Go. He's done absolutely nothing this week. He such a meaning little fellas you not filled right this morning when I woke up, but I'm telling you I was. I was tired you not coming to God's house folks just something special about what happens when we fellowship we gather together. We encourage one another, we motivate one motivation means that God through God's people takes us by the scruff of the neck, and he puts us out into the week he just shirts us couldn't hold his grace. He just takes us to use his rechargeable batteries. That's what I'm going to really energize you the most believable bunny you've ever been. Just keep going and going and going. God does know when you find that church church. What does God say about the church. Come with me on a trip that's going around the country from Chicago to San Francisco, maybe down to San Diego. Let's going to Mexico. Shall we. Let's go to Tijuana with the teething masses of people. Let's go to Anchorage, Alaska, Hawaii or London England. The mouse show your church, what should we look black whole lot of devotion needs to be taking place, a whole lot of feasting needs to be taking place all fellowship.
He needs to be taking place yes what God's word says in Hebrews chapter 10. Consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some of you, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near what any mean by this he meant that fellowship means three things. It means mutual love, we come together and we actually love one another.
It means mutually spurned on to do good deed and it means mutual encouragement.
In other words, what God is saying. At this juncture, my friend, is that the Christian life cannot be lived apart from one another. The expression of that is the local church. What the church should look like. It should be a place number four where a whole lot of celebrating takes place with what he says right here in the latter part of this passage. He says they devoted themselves to the breaking of bread. Did you know that the Lord's supper is the ultimate time of celebration. Why is this a whole lot of celebrating. Well, think about the Lord's supper.
Three things happen number one self-examination takes place that's close to celebrate. That's what the Lord's supper as God calls upon us to examine our hearts before God. Number two the purging of sin takes place now is reason to celebrate. That's what the Lord's supper is all about.
We not only important to examine our hearts as the body of Christ, that we consequently about sin means that God takes people like you and me and he purifies us and if he doesn't ask my friends weary traveler that is the celebration the purify the church may give you a guarantee if there is no unrepentant sin in the body of Christ, my friends, we as a church will suffer the consequence you go with me on a journey through America. You show me churches that are dead and dying and I'll guarantee you they are not places where a whole lot of celebrating is taking place. They are not in the business of self-examination by all not receiving purging for their sin. God is not purifying them as a body, and I'll guarantee you, according to the word of God in God's body is not purified God bless is not going to do. Number five a whole lot of crying takes place.
The other word of God says that they were given to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
We need to do a lot of work in this area in our church personally corporately.
Yes, we are in a long way down the road, but you know prayer means two things when God said my house must be a house of prayer he meant two things he said number one when you pray, which is my standard might church you bring about a consciousness of the presence of God. And when you say you consequently receive the power of God. So there are two dynamics involved in a church that prays all lot number one is the presence of God put it back this. He said let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus frames we need to be far more about the business of invoking the presence of God, then we have to be about doing anything else and that comes through prayer and as a consequence of that God is he is powerless to his presence based upon his promise of the Holy Spirit. God does that God answers prayer. Number six, number six, the church should be a place where a whole lot of now, you may listen to this wow takes place all lot of wow takes place on if you've ever been to Disney World being down. They love going down to Disney World.
One of one of the best things you could ever do when you go to Disney World is take a child. How many of you.how many of you gonna Disney World with the child. Put your hands up. Okay guess what happened. You gotta 345-6789 10-year-old with you does what they do in my walking to the Magic Kingdom. Have you seen them. Wow wow wow wow the Bible says folks, the Bible says right here in verse 43. Everyone was filled with all God tells us that he's church should be a place where a whole lot of wow takes place. It means that we come into his presence in the house of God, and we literally sit there and in our hearts and in our lives we say wow it it it fearing God and being saved with the sense of in his church doesn't mean God is.
It means Olson presence. God is how we celebrate our awesome God together and today this Bible teaching has stirred us to be closer to draw in the presence of God and understand that as we come into his presence as we hear his word taught me want to be changed.
We want to grow deeper in our faith. Or perhaps it's time for reboot to restart your commitment to Christ or say yes to Jesus for the very first time you'd like to speak with someone. Our phone is open right now at 86689 word that's 866899673 we stand ready to connect with you. Just as Dr. Wilton steps in the studio to connect with us now are you ready to give your heart and life to Jesus Christ.
Why don't you pray this prayer with me like no dear God, I know that Arneson and I know that Jesus died for me today. I repainted myself and by faith I receive you into my Jesus name. My friend welcome you today into the family of God. This is exciting news. Perhaps you just gave your life to Christ praying along with documents and we dedicated your life to Jesus what you know that we're excited to pray with you for the next and to encourage you that Dr. Wilton has prepared a packet for you just gave your life to Christ to rededicate your life to Jesus and want you to have absolute call 866899