THE HEART OF THE CHURCH
Mat 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mar 12:33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
Who is the heart of the church?
In Matthew 6:21 it says your heart will be with your treasure, your treasure is the Commandments of God. Where Jesus Christ is, is also where our hearts should be.
In Matthew 22:37 it says that we should love the Lord our God with all our heart, and again our hearts are where God is.
We all know that the church is the people. However the heart of that church is Jesus and the Commandments of God.
The church is not about burnt offerings or sacrifices anymore, that is long past and overridden by Christ at the cross. Jesus is head as well as heart of the church.
Picture your body--Jesus is the heart and we are the lungs, kidneys, arms, legs, etc. Just as Jesus is the vine, the main trunk of the tree as it were, we are the limbs of that tree, we shoot out from the heart.
Church going has fallen on difficult times lately. Excuses are plentiful as to why Christians no longer attend a local congregation. The fact is, many professing Christians do not think church is all that important. They think they can be perfectly good Christians without being active in a local congregation.
For one thing, our own spiritual welfare is not to be our only concern, and we go to church not just to get, but to give--to spur other Christians on to “love and good works for the Lord.” Hebrews 10:25 says “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.”
The apostle Paul planted an important church in Thessalonica, the capital city of Macedonia. He showed his desire for the church members there when he wrote :1Th 3:12 And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you:1Th 3:13 To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.
With these words, Paul showed us two characteristics that are vital for the body of believers, love for one another and holiness.
If we attend church with enthusiasm, we encourage the weaker of our brethren in their ambition to draw near to Christ. If we are faithful in meeting together with other believers, we will honor the Lord, grow in our faith, and give a strong witness to the world.
Congregations, church buildings and budgets come in all different sizes that’s true, but the true measure of a Christian is demonstrated by followers of Christ who love God and each other, and are committed to living holy lives. Our challenge can be found in the words of the prophet Micah: 6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
The Christian faith allows no room for rugged individualists, because to have a fire, you need more than one coal, you also need a spark and a draft. One humble, open, involved individual--perhaps yourself--set on fire by Christ can be the spark, and the Holy Spirit, the breath of God, may blow on that spark and set an entire congregation ablaze.
CH__ __ CH MEANS NOTHING UNLESS U R IN IT.
A SMALL CHURCH WITH A BIG VISION HAS GREATER IMPACT THAN A BIG CHURCH WITH A SMALL VISION.
Insight: No believer has “arrived” in spiritual development because it requires lifelong help and that help comes from Christ.
The Thessalonians had an area in which they needed improvement. Their doctrinal views about the nearness of Christ’s coming needed correction (1 Thess. 4:1-9) Paul’s method was to begin by commending what was praiseworthy, and then to correct what was amiss- a good pattern for all of us to follow.
We are dependant on the strength we draw from one another, for we are connected by love that comes from God our Father.
What does all this boil down to? UNITY! We need to be united in our faith, and our love for God and each other. We need to be of one mind, one soul, one breath and one heart and united under one banner which is Jesus Christ. We must put differences aside because the time is short and our numbers are few and in order to grow those numbers we need to strengthen our resolve to stand for Christ and His Word, ALL of His Word, not just part of it. We cannot take one commandment and obey it, we have to obey ALL OF IT. We cannot take just one part of the doctrine, we must take ALL OF IT. There is no middle ground with God. It is all or nothing. There is no more time to sit on the fence, the decision must be made now, who will you stand with, Christ or Satan?
I must add a note here that it saddens me that the Holy Spirit is getting pushed aside in a new movement where they only accept God the Father and Christ the Son leaving the Holy Spirit out in the cold. He is such a vital part of the three, He was with God and Christ at the creation, Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Gen 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
The Holy Spirit was with Jesus at his baptism, Luke 3:21 Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,
Luke 3:22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.
John the Baptist said, Mark 1:8 I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost. Jesus was going to baptize his followers with the Holy Spirit the comforter leaving the Holy Spirit to care for them when Jesus ascended to heaven.
He was there at Pentecost,
Act 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Act 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Act 2:3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
Act 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
And when it comes to baptizing, what are they going to say, I baptize you in the name of the Father and the Son and that’s it?
You need the Holy Spirit and to disregard him and push him aside is blasphemy the highest sin you can commit against him.
Eph 4:30
And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.Mark 3:29
But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:So I pray, for those who have pushed aside the Holy Spirit, please reconsider before its too late.