Welcome to the Liberty Baptist sermon archives.
The message you're about to hear was preached at Liberty, Baptist
Church in Eastern Massachusetts. You can find out more about us
or contact us at my Liberty, Baptist dot org or just look us
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message from God's word will be a blessing to you.
Meeting here, our annual business meeting in just a
little while. I do think, it would be good for
us to take an aside and talk a little bit about what it means
to be a healthy church. And what it means to be a
healthy church member because a healthy church can only be
healthy as the members are healthy with in that church.
And so I think it would be good. Not just to look at the needs of
a healthy church, but also of the healthy church member as
well. I will say this, we have a
unique opportunity before us here at Liberty Baptist Church
just looking Around and I'll share a little bit more during
the business meeting, but just scanning through the auditorium
this morning in the back rooms, which I have a little bit more
of an ability to do when I'm not preaching, believe it or not, it
was great to you know, help with Kai this morning.
I lifted him up. Even gave me one of his gummy
bears, which was very kind of him.
Tell you, I mean, we're having a time back there, got to visit
with the nursery. They probably asked me to leave
but that's alright. But it was a good time had by
almost all this morning but just looking around we had almost 40
folks here this In the church, which was a blessing.
And as he scanned, the room, most of those folks weren't here
a year ago, believe it or not. And so, we do have a very unique
opportunity that's here before us at Liberty, Baptist Church.
But I also know this to be the kind of church that God wants us
to be. We have to be a healthy church.
And sometimes we have to do a little bit of a checkup, if you
will to make sure that we're doing right, that's a bit of a
checkup from the neck up if you will to make sure that we are
where we need to be, I'll tell you you have to do a checkup and
if you don't Don't you end up doing an autopsy?
And I would much rather for us as a church to do a check-up,
then to do an autopsy to see what went wrong rather.
But then just to make some changes that are small and
simple that are in each one of us that need to be made.
I do know this about the Christian life, there are always
changes that need to be made. There are always improvements
that need to be done. It would be like having a
project that's never finished. I can't imagine that if you were
a contractor, if you're a carpenter, whatever it is.
You know, the project, you know what it takes to start, you
know, the materials that you need and there is a completed
time. However, when it comes to
working on the spiritual life, you realize this side of Heaven,
There is no completion. There's still work that needs to
be done. There's still standing there
still buffing, they're still polishing, other still patching
that needs to take place as we walk through this Christian
life. And that carries over to us into
the church. Because as we are people who are
imperfect, as we are people who need the help of Jesus Christ to
be Able to get through. We as a church, are in the same
issue and affliction as well. The problem is what we don't see
ourselves as that and when we see ourselves as the finished
product, that's when we get ourselves into some trouble,
that's when we get ourselves into some difficulties, like the
old children's song says, he's still working on me to make me
what I ought to be. It took him just a week to make
the moon and the stars and the Sun, and the Earth and Jupiter
and Mars. How loving and patient, he must
be to still be working on me. And, you know, I A lot of the
children songs that we sing have a lot of the rich doctrinal,
truth that sometimes we don't even think about as adults.
And boy, if that's not the truth, I don't know what it is.
And so I just want to go through and more of a topical way this
evening. Just us looking from the word of
God here tonight. And and a lot of just things
that you already know this evening about what it means to
be a healthy church member and I'll tell you one of the most
healthy churches that you'll find in the book of Acts are in
the New Testament, is one of the ones that we know the least
about. And that's the church at Berea.
This church at Berea was in Countered by Paul on the second
missionary journey, not his initial journey through Asia
Minor. But on a second journey in which
he went beyond Asia Minor and across into Europe and the
bereans had a very wonderful thing said about them.
You might already know what was said about the bereans but it
would do us well to be reminded of them this evening.
And so, here in X17, you may remain seated.
But it says, in verse number 10, and the Brethren immediately
sent Away, Paul and Silas by night into Maria or unto Berea.
Who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.
These were more noble than those in thessalonica.
Now, can we stop here for just a moment?
Those in thessalonica, were some of the most blessed that you'll
find in the New Testament. What I mean by this is the
church at Corinth was a troubled Church, wasn't it?
The church is at galatia had problems.
They were Bewitched by this false gospel that this Gospel of
the law, which is no gospel that came and was trying to overtake.
Him, is why Paul said, oh, you foolish Galatians.
And talk to them in the manner that he did, but we read 1st
Thessalonians. And second Thessalonians, I
mentioned a few weeks ago, you don't see much of that level of
rebuke as much as you see. A lot of complimentary things
being said, as well as exhortations for them to move
forward in their Christian Life. And so what I'm saying is this,
the Thessalonians were no slouches the church at
thessalonica was like well hey at least you're not like the
Thessalonians, it wasn't like that they weren't laodiceans.
You say, I don't know. I think he just said, amen,
that's great. It sounded close to it.
So I'll take it. Thank you, AJ.
If you don't know what I mean about Leo to see it will get
there on Wednesday night here in a while about the lukewarm
nature of the laodicean church but this isn't who we're talking
about. Look at what it says again in
verse number 11 and these were more noble than those in
thessalonica in that they received the word with all
Readiness of mind and searched the Scriptures Daily.
Whether those things were so and it's interesting that this was
my text and this is my message. Before I knew, what, Brother
Scott Sandy was going to preach this morning and that was on my
mind as he was preaching about the daily reading of the word of
God. And of course that's no accident
that's no coincidence and certainly at the same time it's
something that should be on our minds and our hearts on a daily
basis. Anyway the need to read and
study the word. It says they received the word
and searched the Scriptures Daily whether those things were,
so what things were they searching, Well, they were
searching out what Paul was saying, whether Paul was
speaking truth or not, you say well who would fact check the
Apostle Paul. Well the bereans did and the
Bible complimented them for it. It wasn't that they did so
because they were skeptical of him as a person and it wasn't
because they had a skeptical nature where they were just
hoping they looked at the preacher and say bless me.
Now, if you can, they wanted to be able to hear the word of God
and they just want to make sure he was on the right path.
This might surprise you but us preachers.
We can sometimes get it wrong. Somehow, my wife wasn't
surprised by that, but the rest of you are on support.
Thank you brother. Vince McMahon.
All right, but we sometimes get it wrong.
You know why? Because we're human and
fallible. Like anyone else, we have a
calling upon our life, but we have the ability to get the call
wrong, and we have to pray about that and address that as that
comes. And so, the bereans are
literally fact-checking Paul, not to be Skeptics, but because
they wanted to believe it. Not because Paul said it,
because they wanted to believe it because they knew the word of
God said, it. It reminds me of at the end of
John chapter 4, when the people of sychar came back to the woman
at the well, and they said, we believe, but not because of you,
but because we've heard him ourselves and for a long time, I
thought that that statement sounded kind of strange.
It's kind of like yeah. We don't like you, but we heard
Jesus and we believe in him. That's not what they were
saying. I believe they were thanking her
for bringing Jesus to their attention, but they're saying we
don't believe Because we trust your word, we believe, because
we listen to his word and we trust in him.
And that's what it should be, by the way for you, if you walk out
of here. However, long your time is here
at Liberty, Baptist Church and I hope it's a very long time until
the Lord calls us all home. But if that's the case, I hope
that you don't walk out of here. Saying I know what I believe
because it's what Pastor Rivero said.
That's seen a moment. That's not the sign of a healthy
church. Member, it's no because Pastor
Rivero caused me to want to search the scriptures for
myself. And I seem to be that I came to
the same conclusion that he came to.
Because that's by the way, the doctor that I have is not
because Heartland Baptist Bible College told me to have it.
The doctor that I have is not because Westgate Baptist Church
ordained me to preach that and that alone know the doctrine.
I came to is because I had to search the scriptures for myself
and I'm thankful for men like a Sam Davison or worse?
Has Turner Jason Gaddis men that you've met many of them.
I'm thankful for what they've received what I've received from
them, but I had to go to the word of God, myself and check
whether those things were so or not for myself.
So I come here not as an emissary of Heartland or an
emissary of Westgate or of Sam or of Bruce or of anyone else.
I come to you as an ambassador of Jesus Christ.
Knowing that I've had to search the scriptures for myself and
that's part of what our commission is as a church to be
people of the worst part of being a healthy church.
And because then Number 12, it says therefore many of them
believed also of honorable women which were Greeks and of men not
a few. It's amazing.
And on a study of the scriptures brought people to a saving
knowledge of Jesus Christ. Imagine that.
I feel like if we can just present people the gospel and if
we can just present them the word of God and they listen with
an open mind and that they take what we have and study it for
themselves that they really can come to no other conclusion.
Other than unless they're just trying to be stubborn about the
issue then Jesus. Christ is Lord and he is the
only one that can save them. But here are these
Thessalonians, their Noble. Could we put it this way in the
context of the message? I want to give tonight?
They're healthy, they're healthy.
They're people the Bible, they're not people of tradition.
They're not people of politics. They're not people of any of
these other things. Listen, we get our marching
orders, but not from Bible, colleges.
We get our marching orders, not from the Republican National
headquarters. Yeah, we get our marching orders
from Jesus Christ because he is the one who is the same
yesterday and today and forever. So I just topically tonight,
want to give you a five things that I believe help make a
healthy church and I hope you'll write these down or at least
listen to it later online and write it down then.
All right. Number one, is this a healthy
church members saturated with the gospel?
A healthy church member is saturated with the gospel.
Listen, how can you not get excited then to hear what we
heard this? Warning about brother.
Jim a man that we've been praying for four years.
And to hear that Jim Weatherbee was able to sit down.
And he told me the story. I don't want to tell it's his
story to tell him, not mine, but I'll tell you, just to be able
to hear how the Lord orchestrated all that together.
And it's not a coincidence that we've been talking about Soul
winning is not a coincidence that he's been talking about.
And he was telling me some of the illustrations that he was
using. And he was talking about, I told
him this is this is a gift if I gave it to you, when would it
belong to you? I thought that's what I say, but
it's not because I made it up. It's because these are things
that have been handed down Down from generation to generation
that come from the word of God, because salvation is a gift.
And we have to explain to people what that is.
But you know, that comes from being saturated with the gospel,
a healthy church members members, someone who knows the
gospel, they desire to hear the gospel, they love to preach the
gospel. It's not just my job to preach
the gospel. I know that from this Pulpit
that that's what God has ordained me to do and I'm happy
and I'm thankful and I hope sometimes if you're happy that I
do it, I praise the Lord for it. But I do know this, it's all of
our jobs to preach the gospel because I can't preach the
gospel to your co-workers and I likely can't preach the gospel
to your family and I can't preach gospel to the school's, I
can't do that. But I do know this.
That you were, you are have been ordained to preach, just
literally to proclaim the gospel, but that only happens
when we're saturated with it, do you realize people talk about
the things they're interested in?
You know, what, everyone's going to talk about the water cooler
tomorrow? They're gonna talk about the
Super Bowl. You know why?
Because that's what they've been immersed in tonight.
And for you and I all joking aside that we were kind of Like
a collective shrug this evening about it.
It's not that you can't watch it or you shouldn't watch it.
It's just that, well, it doesn't dominate our lives.
In the sense that the onion dips, not going to be ready
tonight. What are we going to do?
We can't go to church. I've got to find the you know I
got to find all the snacks. Listen let him have it man.
We're here in the house of God tonight.
We're here to hear the word of God.
We've even had church service when the patch were in the Super
Bowl. And we didn't change it, their
churches that were closed church for the Super Bowl.
What message does that send to people?
What does it do? So, I'm not out to to try to
belittle any other charge or anyone else, but just to say, it
sends a message and probably not the one that says the gospel is
the most important thing in our life to saturate ourselves,
gospel, preached, The Gospel Center, our lives, around the
gospel. I feel like there's a couple
problems when it comes to us being centered around the
gospel. One, is that for many people,
the gospel is a Spoke. It's not the Hub.
You understand what I mean by that?
If you had an Old Wagon Wheel, the Hub is in the middle.
The spokes is around at the spoke supports the but the spoke
alone doesn't run. The, the wheel you need to have
the Hub. Everything else goes around it.
For many people, the gospel is just another spoke.
In The Wheel of Life but really for us, the gospel is the center
and everything else connects to it and everything else rotates
around it. So we should be gospel-centered.
But I also believe this the question I heard a preacher just
say this not that long ago. The question is not just our we
gospel-centered. But the question is this, how
far does the circle around that Center, go in our life?
Because there's some people gospel centered, but the gospel
doesn't touch every part of their life.
The gospel out of touch, the things that you watch The Gospel
out of touch, the things that you think the gospel out to
touch the things that you go online and see.
See the gospel out to touch the music that you listen to the
gospel out of touch every single thing of our life.
And so it's not just that it's the center but it's that it's
the center of a very broad Circle that encompasses every
single part of our lives. And I think for many of us as
Christians. Sure, we're gospel centered on
Sunday, but it's just that Circle doesn't Encompass the
other six days of the week. That's a problem and it's
something that we have to work on.
It doesn't make for a healthy Church.
It doesn't make for a healthy church and we are people who
need to defend the gospel. We need to be able to talk about
why The gospel is true. When someone asks us questions
about the gospel, we should be ready to be able to answer.
It's not that we can answer every question.
I wish that we could we can't but that we are at least
prepared to be able as much as we can to give an answer for the
hope that lies within us. That's I believe what the
bereans would have been able to do, because they were searching
the scriptures for themselves and they were in able to
interact with Paul about the gospel because they were gospel
centered, so the healthy church. Member number one is saturated
with the gospel number to a healthy.
Church member is a student of the Bible.
Oh, Could you doubt that the bereans were students of the
Bible? You know what makes this more
incredible to me? How many of them do you think on
the Bible? I mean, certainly they could
have had access to the Old Testament.
I would assure you that they did, but I'm talking about, in
their home, on their bookshelf. We're about 1,400 years away
from Johann Gutenberg. And we're certainly about
another from here, 40 years or so, until scripture has been
completely written by John and the Canon of scripture is
closed. But despite the difficulty, they
were students of the Bible, we have never had more Bibles.
We have. Never had more Bible literature.
We've never had more resources. I have more resources on my
phone than Charles Spurgeon had in his entire library at the
Metropolitan Tabernacle. I mean that'll blow your mind
right there. When you think about that the
prince of preachers had had less resources fingertips that I do.
And I know that's true because I can read his resources for my
phone so and he didn't have access to those unless he was
just accessing his mind I guess. But I do know this is that we
have all these resources but it seems like as a culture and even
as if I could use the term, the church in general is more
gospel, starved and Bible illiterate than ever.
And I'm not talking about individuals here in general,
that's For you to understand but if I was to take just
Christianity in general, we are more Bible illiterate than ever
even with the access to all the things that we have a healthy
church members, a student of the Bible, they have a healthy
prayer life that we pray. And I was just reading just this
morning getting ready for my time of reading in the Bible,
just a very short message that I was reading with the idea of
that that we as Christians, most of our problems, our prayer
problems. In the sense that it's a lack of
prayer problems that we can't say that for every situation in
life. But how many times have we just
neglected? The closet?
You have not because you ask not when you wonder sometimes why we
have not. Well, the Bible tells us why in
certain situations, you have not because you ask not, they have a
healthy fare / life, they Faithfully, read the Bible.
I hope that January moving forward in your daily walk.
Help you to realize some places where you can move ahead in your
Bible reading over the next year.
Lives by the Bible. Listen, anyone can The Bible and
I don't mean to be unkind about that, but I can tell you, I've
met a lot of people who say, I've read the Bible every year
for 30 years and you look at them and say well hopefully
it'll start taking pretty soon. And again, not trying to be
unkind. And I'm not trying to be
sarcastic. What I'm saying is this at some
point, as I said, a few moments ago, or I think earlier this
morning is that just that you read the Bible, but the Rive
Bible read you. And that we get to the point
where it's not just we go through the routine of reading,
but it starts to change you and like Pete montoro says, you
know, it's who you really start to understand a few things after
you get through about 25 times. I feel like there's probably
some truth to that although you can understand certain parts of
it, the very first time that you can get to the 25th time and The
Lord still unlocks. Wonderful and precious truths to
you. What other book is like that
there's some wonderful classic literature out there that there
is wonderful. Classic literature fact.
I would take classic literature compared to most the trash
that's being written today. But I will tell you this, that
even of the classics, you're not going to get the timelessness.
The freshness, the Perpetual ability to learn and to grow,
and that you will from the word of God.
So we must be students of the Bible healthy church members are
students of the Bible. Well, I'm not Bible College,
well, your whole life Be a Bible College, our whole life's, just
be a Perpetual study and learning and growth of the word
of God. And after what we heard this
morning, why would we want to? It's the honey that enlightens
us, it brightens the eyes. It helps us to discern between
the good and the evil. So number one, a healthy church
members. Saturate with the gospel number
to a healthy church members are student the Bible.
Number three, a healthy church member is a serving member, a
serving member. What does that mean?
Well, if you're part of the organism, the organization of
the church, Is that you serve as part of the church as part of
being a healthy Church? Why?
Because the needs of the church are met within the church, I
cannot call the town of Easton and ask them.
Can you help us cover a children's church this Sunday?
They'll laugh at us, you know. I can't call Walmart and ask,
can you help us? We have a need tending to the
property outside. They'll laugh at us.
They can't even tend to there. Never mind.
But it seems like I keep coming back to that.
So there what I'm saying is this, God has ordained this
entity to care for the needs of this entity.
And you've all heard the statistics that 80% of the work
gets done by 20% of the people. And we've gotten to the point
where maybe that's just a normal thing, and I will say that that
may be normal, but Not God's plan that may be normal, but it
was never God's plan that God has called us all to be serving
members to be faithful to the services of the church.
I made a decision long ago before I even knew that God was
going to put me into Ministry like I am now.
But if the church was open, I was going to be there and I can
tell you that some people said well you don't have to do that.
The Bible doesn't say Sunday morning Sunday night and
Wednesday night. Can I tell you?
My life is so much enriched by that decision.
It has been so enriched by being able to be here Sunday morning.
I haven't missed a thing and I even put it this way.
I feel like I've gained quite a lot by being able to be in the
house of God. I know that that's the case in
some of you that may be live longer out in the world and I
did just getting saved at 16 and then coming to some of these
conclusions, by the time, I was 18.
Somebody would say, I lived out a lot farther in the world than
you did Pastor. And I would tell you this, I'm
better off coming to Sunday morning, and Sunday night and
Wednesday night. Then when I had my time, quote
unquote for myself, and I look back and say this is where I
want to be, it's not just where I need to be, but Want to be a
serving members. Faithful all the services by the
way, you can't really serve unless you're faithful to
several services. And the reason why is there's
some Ministries you can't help it because if you do and that's
the only service, you're at during the week, you'll never
get preaching. You'll never get Fellowship will
be stuck back in one of the classrooms and we don't want to
do that. And so sure it's okay to be back
there, but we want to make sure you get fed.
We want to make sure that you have that as well and so
faithful to all the services. Here's a big one serves others
first. And there, Self last serves
others first and their self last.
And that isn't that what service is all about?
Listen, we talked about the Great Gulf that was fanned by
Jesus Christ. And all I can think of is
Philippians chapter number 2, and if that doesn't also speak
to the fact that Jesus washed the feet of the disciples.
Now, Not only was that task itself, what we would consider
to be, not a very fun job, but you are John 1:1.
The one who is before the beginning.
Ting and the one that you are involved in every element of
creation. Without him was not anything
made that was made. And he washed the very feet that
he created of the dirt that he had created with the water that
he created. There's no other way to look at.
And sometimes we can't be bothered to serve.
When Jesus did that him, if anyone had an excuse to say, I'm
out, it's Jesus on top of the fact that he knew in hours, that
he would be led to the cross that he did not deserve, and he
still took that time to give us the example of being servants, a
healthy church member serves other healthy church.
Member, does it look for reasons for people to pour into him or
her? When they come in, they look for
opportunities and even excuses to pour into other people get
involved. Old with new people, they want
to talk to new people that want to help new arrivals and I've
been encouraged even with some of the new folks that we've had,
some of the younger believers do or folks that have been here,
how some of you have gone above and beyond.
And yes, I've seen it and I hope that complimented you on that.
And if I haven't, I apologize. But I'll tell you this, I've
seen how you've gone above and beyond why, because you want to
love them to the gospel, you want to love them to the gospel
and you know, I could preach a sermon, they may not get it, but
by the fact that you serve them That make the difference out.
Be careful how I say this. I had someone just tell me this
recently. They said this, they said of
someone else that they care for. They said this.
He said no one treats them, right?
Except if it's your church, No one ever treat them, right
except at your church. Well do you think we'll have
more or less of an opportunity? Give them the gospel with the
testimony like that. Now I'm thankful for that.
I am thankful like that for that but there's room for
improvement, there's room for improvement, we can do more,
like I said on Wednesday night to be able to bring people in
our homes or to be able to show Hospitality or to be able to
just take some time after a church to talk or before church
to make sure that we're moving around.
Like, you know, they say, Say on the airplanes move about the
cabin, all right, so move around a little bit and talk to people
that the fasten seatbelt sign is not on.
You are free to move about the cabin while you're here and get
to know people and that's a blessing.
And then it being involved in a Ministry to find Ministries that
you can be involved in, that's part of being a healthy member.
So a healthy church members, saturated with the gospel.
There are student of the Bible there are serving member but I
also say this. They're also work under
Authority. They work under Authority as
well. This is an important one and I'm
thankful for Liberty Baptist Church helps me as a pastor and
I'm thankful for our Liberty churches comes alongside our
family. We felt that even over the last
few months we will be foolish to say otherwise.
And I'll be honest with you. At times, I'm uncomfortable
talking about my position as a pastor, or my authority, as a
pastor. And the reason why is because I
don't like to hold that over people or even give the idea
that I hold that over everyone. And I understand that I'm one of
the younger Believers that's here in the church as far as age
and there are many of you that have been in Good gospel
preaching churches for some time.
But I also do have to recognize the fact this that God has a
plan for the leadership of his church.
God has a plan that he has ordained for the church to move.
Heard he's given us a example, through the Church of Jesus
Christ and his disciples with the Good Shepherd, leading
around his 12 disciples. And at the same time as The
Under Shepherd, I'm to follow that model and that we as a
church to do that together, you know, a healthy Church Works
under Authority. They uphold the office of the
pastor understanding that I'm not just a preacher but a pastor
That I'm not just the preacher of the church, but also that has
some Authority as well. And another, right by the way,
another reason I'm going to comfortable talking about this
is because I would say, an independent Baptists circles,
know what? To be careful how I say this,
Independent Baptist circles Authority has been abused over
the years. It's been abused in the in the
broader. What?
I sometimes hear called the ifb movement, independent
fundamental Baptist. Church's Authority has been
abused. Trust has been broken.
Ian and violated and that's a real thing.
Some people have come from churches where that was an
issue, where the authority of a pastor was not just leading on
Softly As Jacob did when talking to Esau, but it was not leading
the Sheep, but beating the Sheep beating the Sheep when they
bleeped, if you will because all sheep make noise once in a
while, but they bleeped and he beats and that's not what the
biblical model is. And so sometimes that causes me
to not want to Talk about Authority, but that could also
cause the pendulum to go too far.
The other direction, to not even acknowledge that, there is a
Biblical model that God has and that includes upholding the
office of the pasture, which I'm thankful that Liberty is so
helpful. I feel like many times like
Aaron and Hur when Moses had the arms that were weak.
Aaron and Hur came alongside and held his arms up until the
battle was won. I feel like that here many times
at Liberty but they energetically follow the leader
of any Ministry that there are leaders.
Hours of different Ministries at times.
And it's not just that you follow me, but follow that
leader as well. That they have a humble Spirit,
a teachable spirit in whatever Ministry that they're in that.
They look for ways to promote leaders in to make them
successful, that no one's trying to be the head, honcho, but
everybody's trying to do this. What?
John the Baptist said of himself.
He must increase, but I must decrease Is that we make sure
that the leadership is upheld. And Leadership says Jesus
Christ. Must be upheld.
Everyone is passing on the glory to someone else.
So that in the end what happens? Jesus Christ is the only one
that's glorified that all they see here is Jesus.
I've said this before. I don't want someone to leave
Liberty Baptist Church and say. Wow, that music was great.
Wow, that singer was unbelievable.
Wow, that that preaching was just Dynamic that preacher boy,
he was so funny and so good-looking.
And so, anyway, I was I'll stop. So he said keep going keep no no
one's saying that, but but I hope that someone leaves Liberty
Baptist Church say, wow. They have a great God, they have
a great God. That's what someone should leave
here at Liberty Baptist Church look.
Nobody should be leaving a baseball game saying.
Wow, that umpire was great. Who is he?
He's just doing the job that he's supposed to do.
Usually, if you notice the Umpire, he's doing something
wrong, he's either making much of himself or he doesn't know
what he's doing one or the other.
I don't want anyone to leave here noticing me as the Umpire,
you know what, I just want to be.
I just want to be a small Cog in the great mechanism of the
Gospel Ministry that God has and that should be all of us.
That's what a healthy Church does.
It's not about me, it's not about my Ministry or people
think I'm important but this is in my notes but it's it's
amazing to me how we can have an organization of 30 or 40 people.
And I'm not talking about necessarily this configuration,
I'm just talking about over 10 years of experience as a senior
pastor. it's how people want to make themselves, so important,
In such a small body. Can I tell you there's nothing
super glamorous about any of the things that we do here?
I think sometimes people think that we have meetings in the
back and that we just share this information that.
If you only knew the things we talked about you, achieve this
next level of spiritual Insight, we were just wondering when we
had a meeting two weeks ago, how we get the heat up because it
was -10 outside. That was mostly what you're
talking about. That's all we could figure out
through that, poor Miss Ruthie, she had to wear three jackets,
just to be warm during the meeting.
It was not glamorous. I will promise you that our
coffee froze. By the time we were done, there
was nothing glamorous about it. There are sometimes people think
who's that? Well I see because it's a small
church if it was a church of 2000 wouldn't matter?
It wouldn't make any difference because we cannot accentuate or
embellish make better the ministry of Jesus Christ.
Now we can just get in the program and make the program
work and that's how we do our best for him.
That it's not about. How can I be used?
It's just Lord. Where would you have me to He
used, and I'll do it for the cause of Christ.
And whether Pastor sees it or not, we're the membership, sees
it or not, whether the town sees it or not, here's something
novel. Jesus Christ, sees it and he
will be the one who will reward me for it in heaven, with crowns
that I can cast back at his feet.
That a healthy Church. They work under Authority and
also promote Unity within the church.
You are the church. This ought to be the most
unified body in town. These are the most unified body
in town, and can I can I just give you a little bit of
insight. It's not It's not.
Now, I'm not saying we have large egregious problems, but
I'm just saying that it's not, you know, in sometimes that's
because we deal with real heavy issues, or sometimes other
groups, they have no problems because they're not even dealing
with any issues, or just it's all, it's all milk and cookies.
That's all it is. And we have Satan attacking us
and we have that. And so we can be under pressure.
But I'll tell you, we should recognize when Satan is
attacking. We should recognize when Satan,
trying to pit us, one against another and say this, we need to
have Unity. Well, I don't like her.
I don't like the cut of his jib. Will it stop talking about his
jib and go over and talk to him? Him and say, brother, can we get
this taken care of sister? Could we get this taken care of?
You say? Well, does that happen?
Well in churches that are right with God, it does. in healthy
churches, it does in healthy churches, it does a healthy
church member Works under the Because by the way we're people
And we have sinful Nature's. Well, we're saying we ought to
know better. Yeah, we ought to.
And so aren't you? And again, I'm not trying to be
unkind. I'm just saying.
We whole other people to standards that we don't hold
ourselves. Often times to we hold other
people to an impossible standard.
And if we had to be held to that standard, we would Wilt Under
The Lights within a moment. And so what we ought to do is
have some compassion, some help. And even if there is issues,
which by the way, there are real issues in a church that comes
sometimes that we handle in a way.
That honors our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, at the one who has
the problem, handles it. Humbly, the one who receives the
problem, handles it humbly, and we shouldn't handle our problems
like H&R. Block handles audits, we
shouldn't handle problems, like the school system, handles
suspensions for students, we shouldn't handle problems.
Like any of these organizations should, we should handle it by
the word of God, but you can't do that if you don't know it and
you can't do that if you don't live it and the bereans were
Noble because they I searched these things out, and they
understood them. So, number one, healthy church
members saturated with the gospel.
Number two, healthy church members, a student of the Bible.
Number three, how the church members are serving member
number for Healthy church member is working under Authority, and
then 45. And finally, a healthy church
member is a soul winner and that's really the place we have
to end on a month like this. But a healthy church member is a
soul winner is that you are trying to constantly bring
people to Christ that you are part of the efforts of the
church organized as we are. And again that doesn't mean
everyone has to come on. Saturday.
That does mean everyone can come on Saturday but I would say this
if I was free on Saturday, I know where I would be.
I know where Ivy, I'm not saying again.
So you have other things that you have to do or take care or
you might have to work you want to work on Saturday so you'll be
church on Sunday. That's you.
God bless you, I understand it. But I know this, if I'm free on
Saturday, I know what I want to do.
I want to invest that time in the gospel Ministry and get to
know someone. Don't you wish don't you wish
some time that someone would come into church and you knew I
invited them. I invited them.
I had a small part. Now listen it God does the work,
we understand it. He plants.
He Waters. God gives the increase or maybe
that someone comes and visits, but you kind of take him under
your wing, you talk to him and and they see they're safe.
You know, I'm just, I'm just saying stuff tonight.
Anyway, so I'll say this, I mean, Biblical there's notes
Here, I promise you, but I'm praying for a lady that's been
coming to this church. Last few months to get saved,
but I know this that for the preaching, the hard preaching
that I do from the pulpit. During that time, there's one of
our church members at sitting, in the back with her every
Sunday morning. And talking to her.
You know what if that woman gets saved, guess who's getting
rewards for that? Oh, Pastor.
All right, yeah, no, probably not.
Someone that patiently and lovingly spent time with her,
were they? Well they were always talking
about the gospel know they're probably sometimes talking about
life. He says, why her little bit this
morning and poutine but but I don't like Jay that was my
fault. But this this is what I know is
that sometimes people don't care how much you know, until they
know how much you care. That you're not just another
Mark for them to hit with the gospel but you actually care
about them as a human being and they're willing to listen.
Don't you want to have a part in someone's life like that?
But that's what church is all about.
And that's where some plant, some water.
God gives the increase. There's a vacation bible school.
That some of you were part of were a family comes for the very
first time, then they start coming.
Now, they're in a junior Church in a Sunday school.
Now, a moms in a nursery and there needs to be help there and
all these things happen and guess.
It's what so many different people get to have a part, but
don't you want to do that? And if you do that, don't you
want to do more of it? And that's what a church is.
All about actively witness to acquaintances, pray for the
souls of friends and family, and neighbors that we pray for
opportunities to win people. To Christ.
I can't pray for God to save someone in the sense that God
saved them because God will not force someone to bend the knee
and salvation. I don't believe that.
I think there's a whole lot of theology about that, that I
disagree with very much so but I do know this.
God gave me an opportunity. Give someone an opportunity to
talk to them today, God, bring something into their life today
to make them more willing to listen to The Gospel.
So that the next time I do talk to them where they were opposed
to it a week ago, they'll want to listen today.
But those are things we got to pray about and those are things
we had to do, you know, who does that all the charges healthy
churches? We've had a lot of things over
the last few years, where you might wonder is this a healthy
Church. There are some things that
certainly have to be addressed and some things that have been
addressed and some things will discuss tonight.
But I do know this. These are the steps. that helped
us biblically to healthy Church to be a more Berean like church,
a church that's Noble, a church that receives the word, that
searches the word, therefore verse 12, many of them believed
They received they searched and therefore many of them believed,
that's the mark of a healthy Church.
Thank you for listening to the sermon from the pulpit of
Liberty Baptist Church. If this message was a blessing
to you or if there's any way we can serve you, please let us
know by contacting us at info, at my Liberty Baptist dot org.
Or you can visit us this Sunday at eight hundred Washington
Street and East and Massachusetts may the Lord bless
you as you grow in his word.