The Wisdom of Church Membership | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Well, it seems as though we have often stepped in and out of our series in the book of of second Timothy in the past couple of months, which is not ideal when you are trying to establish a flow of thought in, in a book of the bible, but I can assure you that we are in a unique season as as a church that necessitates us to be able to communicate with the people why it is that we're doing what we're doing. And because we are in the infant stages of a ministry, we believe that is necessary to be able to to explain from the scriptures why we are growing in a certain direction. Why are we implementing certain things? Why are we choosing to go in a certain way? And that is certainly true, as you heard in the announcements, for the milestone for this ministry.

You've been hearing about and people have been asking about this concept of membership. And perhaps that is a common concept to you, and perhaps it is a totally foreign one. And what we desire to do as a leadership is help clarify that that this organization, that this thing that puts structure to the church is in fact supported with the word of God. It is not something that adds to the word of God. It is something that is derived with the principles and the wisdom and even the practices of the early church.

And so today, you might be in a place where you're wondering, as you just heard, that we are now opening and receiving applications for people to join this church and to call it home, if this process is necessary. Is it effective? What are the benefits? Will it tamper with the organic feel that this church has? And perhaps you're even tempted to think, is this even biblical?

And prayerfully, after you hear what God's word has to say about this subject, you will have a greater confidence that this ministry, this church is applying membership because we desire to be as biblical as possible. So today, we're going to explore the wisdom of church membership. And we are going to see how this will only contribute to the health and the effectiveness of the collective saints who would say this is where I desire to serve, and this is the ministry that I wanna be identified with. But before we touch on those reasons, I think it is necessary for us to understand the framework of the church, to understand the function of the church. And that is throughout the New Testament, and you can even find principles in the old.

But we wanna look to the head of the church himself and what he said about his church. And so before we explore that, let us pray and ask God for humble hearts, open minds, and the grace to learn as he speaks to us through his word. God, we ask that in this moment that we would be tuned in to your voice and that, Lord, this would be free from confusion, It would be clear. And not only will it be information, but it would even draw our hearts closer to Christ. It would inspire fresh love towards the head of the church himself.

Lord, may the delivery of this message be done in integrity, dignity, and sound speech. Lord, may our hearts be open to not just understand these truths, but to be willing to obey them. Whether we wanna call this church home or another place home, Lord, help us realize that this is a step forward into greater obedience to your word. We give you praise and glory. In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen. Turn with me to Matthew chapter 16, please. The Lord Jesus Christ mentions the church only twice in the gospel accounts. Only twice. And in those two instances, they're both found in the same book, and each reference is rich with understanding of the identity and the operation of this institution called the church.

And in the first place of this mention from the lips of the Savior, the Lord responds to Peter's accurate confession of the nature and the person of Jesus Christ. When he declares after Christ says, Who do you say that I am? What are people saying? Yes, but who do you think? Who do you believe that I am?

And Peter, as often as he does, speaks up and he says, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And the response of Christ is first that he affirms that this is something that God had revealed and then he goes on to say this in verse 18. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. I'm sure you are aware of the great debate around this text.

And the debate is about who or what this rock really is that Jesus says he would build his church on. And the Catholic church for centuries have argued that this rock symbolizes the person of Peter. And that God has given him a certain authority and he was the first pope and bishop, and those who descend from him are his successors. And there are great, great concerns with that interpretation, especially with the authority that the pope claims to have over the church. There's only one head, and that's Christ.

But when we consider this text and compare it to other texts about the church, we see what Jesus meant here. Because scripture interprets scripture. And in Ephesians two, we read that the church, the foundation of this institution is built upon the apostles and the prophets, while Christ himself is the chief cornerstone. Now what does that mean? It doesn't mean that the apostles, including Peter, are the rock.

When Jesus speaks to Peter in this moment, he addresses him as a representative of the apostles. And what he tells this man is that he and all who are the appointed vessels in that apostolic ministry were the ones who are going to lay the bedrock of the church through their spirit inspired preaching and teaching. It's not Peter who is the rock. It's the confession of Peter that is the rock. It is not the apostle Peter nor the other apostles who are the foundation, but the truth that they delivered is the very thing that the church we built upon.

If the church is built upon any person, it's the person of Jesus Christ. And who he is and his nature and his character and his work, not a system of papacy. And this is important to understand for many reasons, and let me give you one. If the church is built upon a set of truths concerning the person of Jesus Christ, then those who make up the church are the ones who adhere to these truths. In other words, for somebody to be a part of the church means that they are someone who repents, believes, and confesses the truth of Christ as it is laid out in the scriptures.

And that person becomes a living stone. And that person now becomes a part of the spiritual structure known as the church of Jesus Christ. That is the foundational application of what it means to be joined to the church. It is upon a confession. It is upon faith.

It is upon belief. Peter's confession, let me reiterate, is the rock that the church will be built on, and those who hear this confession and believingly confess it themselves are numbered among those who make up the universal church of Jesus Christ. That's glorious. It's wonderful. But let me say this, please.

This is not theoretical. This is tangible. Being a part of the church is not some invisible status that you get because of your faith. It is not God seeing you differently because of your faith. It is practical.

It touches life. And in fact radically alters your daily activity. And that is proven not in the first mention of the church from the lips of Christ, but in his second and last time, which is just two chapters from this place. So turn to Matthew 18 verse 15. Jesus says, if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.

If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a gentile and tax collector. Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

This is another very familiar passage of scripture, but we have to connect it to our previous text in order to come to a much needed conclusion about the church. When you read what Christ says here, you realize what he esteems and emphasizes for his people. In Matthew 16, Jesus confirms that the church will be built upon a confession, a realization of who he is, an accurate understanding of who he is. But in Matthew 18, Jesus instructs those who make up the church what they are supposed to do when one of its members behaves or believes something contrary to that confession. Christ cares about the purity of his church.

Christ esteems the witness of his church. Christ expects us to be involved with each other's lives. So when you read this text, it assumes that being a part of the church is not a status that's hidden in your heart. Being a part of the church assumes accountability. It assumes responsibility.

It assumes authority. You can't read this and not see how being a part of the church touches people, Links people's arms together. Calls you to be involved. Because when you read something like Matthew 18, the question is, well how can something like this be implemented? If the church is made up by different tribes and tongues, and there are churches all across the globe, and there are the people of God who make up the church who are distinct in their tribe, and who live in different cities and communities.

How, how can we do Matthew 18? And the answer is very simple. If Matthew 16 speaks about the universal church, then Matthew 18 speaks about the local one. Matthew 16 speaks about the mystical body of Jesus Christ, how we are now joined as members and he is the head and we are his body, but Matthew 18 is the manifestation of it on the local level. Can I tell you something?

What this means is, here's the summary, that if we are identified with the church based on our confession, we make our identity with the church known by willing to commit ourselves to a group of believers who believe the same thing that you do. In other words, you cannot claim to be part of the church of Jesus Christ simply because you believe what he did for you and who he is without at the same time being able to point to people and say, these are the ones that I am committed to serve, and these are the ones that I am accountable to. That's why we see this perfect marriage between Matthew 16 and Matthew 18. You have the universal church in one, and you have the expression, the manifestation, the practicality, the real life on life in Matthew 18. And you have a lot of people who believe they're part of the church, but they're not committed to a local one, and they are not understanding what Jesus' design and desire for them is.

You see, what church membership does is it assists the individual believer to be able to fulfill his duties as prescribed by the head of the church himself. If you want a simple definition of what church membership is, though I cannot point to a verse that defines it, there are many things that you and I even believe and practice that are not necessarily explicit in the scriptures. For example, trinity. And you may not find membership, but what you will find is organization structure, commitment spelled out in example and instruction. And so here's a simple definition.

It is a formal expression of one's devotion and commitment to the church of Jesus Christ. And be comforted to know that this is not an arrangement that conflicts with God's word. And it can be if you go beyond the bounds of scripture in your implementation of it. Nor is it nor is it something that carries the authority to deal with somebody's eligibility for heaven. That's ridiculous.

It's simply a way for each of us to say, including the leadership, these are the ones whom I serve and these are the ones that I submit to. I hope every single person in here knows the difference between attending a church and joining a church. A a preacher gave a beautiful illustration of this, and I would like to share it with you because it ministered to me. There's a difference between you eating at a restaurant and you eating at home. And every person in this room either sees the church as a restaurant or they see it as a home.

And let me explain to you what that means. You have people, and perhaps even some today, that, they come, they wanna they wanna receive spiritual nourishment, So they receive that service. They're willing to to give some kind of contribution to show their appreciation, but, they're not there's no responsibility. They're they're here to receive, and then to leave, they don't know anybody. And just like at a favorite restaurant, you might sit at your favorite spot.

From time to time, even though it's your favorite eating joint, you might wanna try something new because, this is so predictable. So let me go to another place and eat there, and then I'll come back here. You don't know anybody, maybe some that also like to eat at this restaurant, but you pick yourself up and you go and you move on and and you'll come again, but you're just there to receive and and you have you have no intention of giving. At the same time, there are others who see the church as a home. They also eat.

You eat at home, I hope. But once they eat, and as they eat, they realize that they have a responsibility in that house. They will contribute. They will assist. They will restock.

They will clean, etcetera. It's not a place that you visit, it's a place where you identify with. And I think this illustration even is reflected in our language of how we speak about the church. Let me put it this way. How many and I've said it myself too, and and I know what people mean when they say this, but it it says something about our biblical understanding of what the church is.

I am going to church. Will I see you at church? The church is not a place that you go to. The church is not an event that you attend. The church is you.

We are the church. And what the church does is, like on this day, on the Lord's day, the church assembles together. The church gathers together. Maranatha Bible Church is not in Norridge, Illinois necessarily. That's where Maranatha Bible Church meets and worships and serves and prays.

And so the former, the former concept, I will go to church, this is where I go to church, has that restaurant mentality. That's where I go to receive a service. That's where I go to get my spiritual help and aid. But the latter, when you identify yourself with the church, speaks of family. One speaks of activity, the other speaks of identity.

One says, I'm a visitor, the other one says, I'm a sibling, I'm a son, I'm a daughter, I'm a father, I'm a mother, I have a role here. Is a church a restaurant to you? Or is a church a home? Do you see this place as a as a place where you receive something and once you get it, you bolt it to your car as quickly as possible? Never touching people, never understanding what your role is here.

I'm saying if you leave early today, you don't consider this your home. I'm speaking about an attitude that says, let me just get come here to get what I need and and and I'll come here consistently maybe, but I'll also explore and go here and there. It's not a restaurant. It's not a restaurant. It's it's a place where you belong.

It's a place that you identify with. It's a people that you serve. And membership establishes the biblical understanding of the church. Membership says, this is my family that I am committed to in this life as long as God calls me here. And to be in a family, whether it's here or elsewhere, I can guarantee you will do this.

It will provide a meaningfulness to your Christian journey that a visitor will never know. And so what church membership does is it draws the line. Are you a visitor here, or is this place church? Are these people the church to you? And I wanna speak now from this point to understand the wisdom of it.

And the first point I would like to make is that membership not only makes that clear, but let's get to the details. Membership makes church discipline possible. We just heard it in Matthew 18. Jesus sets a high standard for his church. I find it amazing that every time I come to this text, I realize that Jesus only speaks about the church twice.

And out of all the things that he could have taught about the church, out of all the things that he could have mentioned, all the things that he could have emphasized, what he speaks about is how we ought to confront one another when we find ourselves in sin. That shows you what he values. That shows you what he really wants us to realize. That shows you his heart for the holiness of his people. That shows me that Jesus believes in repentance, not just for the lost, but for the saved.

It's barely mentioned today. It's like a it's a word that scares people, and it's a very practice that Jesus expects from his people. When you read this, you realize that Jesus on a foundational level, a church has to understand that there is mutual accountability. How can you do that with a drive thru service? How can you do that when even churches are structured in which we don't wanna get involved with you.

Just come attend, be entertained, receive some truths, and and we'll see you. We'll see you at another time. There are people that are satisfied with that from the leadership standpoint and from the attendee's standpoint, and yet Christ says, you have brothers and sisters that you do life with. And the point that I wanna bring up is that in church discipline that deals with a series of actions that have to take place when there's somebody who's in sin but refuses to repent of that sin, the final step of that discipline is that that person who professes to be a Christian but contradicts that confession has to be in some way removed from a fellowship, removed from those who are in that place because Christ clearly teaches you can't hold on to your sin and hold on to the blessings of my people. Understand how serious that is.

Because what does church membership have to do with this? Well, if there is such thing as putting someone out, asking somebody, listen, you are affecting the purity of this church, the testimony of this church, the health of this church. You are not proving that you are someone who really believes in the lordship Jesus Christ, how can that putting out be possible if there's no understanding of being in? How can you say you can't be you can't be in when there's no clear idea of what it means to be in? Jesus uses that language.

There's an out and there's an in. Paul uses that language. Am I am I to judge outsiders? He says in first Corinthians five. I am called and you are called to judge those who are inside.

Well, how do you determine who's inside and who's outside? Where's the barrier? Where's the boundary? And this is where church membership helps. It makes that distinction.

It provides that kind of arena in our understanding. And that's what Jesus meant here when he said, if a person refuses to repent, then let him be to you as a gentile and a tax collector. What is a gentile in the eyes of the Jewish people? Somebody who is outside of the covenant. Somebody who does not share in what Israel had at the time.

Somebody who is outside. And what is a tax collector? To the Jew, if you were a Jew and you were a tax collector, you're a traitor. And what Jesus is saying here, if somebody refuses to repent, they are a traitor to the truth. And treat them accordingly.

And there's a fracture there. There is a surrender of fellowship. Because Jesus wants his people, wants those within his church to feel the price of sin. You cannot hold on to your sin and hold on to the blessings that come from the family of God, and there are blessings to be a part of the family of God. But I also want you to see it this way.

Listen to this. That without membership, not only is discipline and distinction diluted, but restoration is not as redemptive. Christ and his wisdom gives these instructions so that people can realize if I go in this direction, I will not know the warmth, I will not know the encouragement, I will not know the nourishment that comes from the church. And what this says is if you wanna live like Satan is your master, then go into Satan's domain. But it also does something else.

It also gives a sense of reward after being restored when somebody does repent. There is a shared mercy. There's a shared forgiveness. There is a shared excitement when a brother or sister who's been deceived for a while, who has been calloused for a while comes back, and we join the attitude of the father who rejoices when a sinner repents, and we know celebration. How can you know that without an understanding of being in and without the consequence of being out?

Membership lays that format. It lays that framework for the church. But secondly, membership establishes a clear relationship between leaders and laymen. So join with me in Hebrews 13. The New Testament presents a blueprint of how the church should govern itself.

They are responsible for. And those two realities are perfectly merged in this one verse in Hebrews thirteen seventeen. Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. Now this is interesting.

You see the charge here for Christians to be able to obey and submit to their leaders. Because God has gifted the church. God has called certain men to be elders who would govern the church in love and in humility. And they are expected to feed the flock, pray for the flock, counsel the flock, be by their side, provide wisdom through the scriptures. And this authority that is exercised will be determined by God at the end of it all to see if they were faithful in exercising that role.

But it's in this command that you and I see what membership provides, a way for the people of God to identify who their leaders are. This is not saying, you know, you should have in mind people that you appreciate who preach and teach the word of God. This is not encouraging you to have a list of your favorite conference speakers or theologians. It's much more profound than that. Leaders are not the ones that you watch on YouTube.

Leaders are not the ones that write books that you love and and just are encouraged by. Leaders are the ones that you say, here are those, here are the set of men that I joyfully obey and trust. I'm sure you're wondering as you're sitting there today, that that that word submit is kind of intimidating. What does it mean to submit? Well, I can comfort you with this truth that leaders don't have the liberty to demand things that are contrary to God's word.

The only authority that leaders have is what is in the word of God and to communicate that to people. But what it does mean when it says submit to leadership is that leaders organize the ministries within a local church. The elders have that authority. They have that call. They have that responsibility through the wisdom of God's word.

And what the author is saying here is that the members should willingly and joyfully submit to support and to work with them by yielding to their instruction. And that's why he goes on to say, let them do this with joy and not with groaning. Translation. Don't make their job more difficult than it needs to be. There's an attitude that says, as long as God has placed these elders, I discern that they're God fearing men, and and I trust that God is leading them.

And I will pray for God to give them wisdom and guidance so that they can they can guide me and my family and my brothers and my sisters. And this is why membership is not popular because it demands things like this and we want our independence. Who are you to tell me what to do? I'm just reading the text. But at the same time, look at the second part of the verse.

For they are keeping watch over your souls as those who have to give an account. Tread lightly when you entertain being a leader in God's house, because there's a severe responsibility with it. And God will look at these men who are elders, who are called by him, and he will say, what did you do with your position, with your authority? But this implies that there are souls that leaders are particularly responsible for. Are pastors responsible for the universal church?

Are are elders supposed to give their same energy and focus and service to anybody and everybody who is to be a Christian who claims to be a no, no, no. Are elders even within a local church in this technology age supposed to give that same special attention to even those who watch online consistently and show their support? No. They're not. Because first Peter five two tells us when the apostle Peter instructs the elders, Shepherd the flock of God among you.

Not just anybody who's a Christian, but those who are in close proximity. Those who say, I recognize your leadership. I recognize that God has called you and I'm willing to join with you. Those are whom the shepherds are in charge of. But here's the question.

How is a leader supposed to know? And so let's ask these questions together. Congregation. Church, who are your leaders? Who are your not your favorite pastors and theologians.

Who are your leaders? Who are the ones that you say, these are the men that I'll receive my spiritual nourishment from? Not not exclusively, but these are the men that I trust to wash the word over me, to counsel me, to preach to me, to pray for me, to support me. These are the ones that I trust my family to be under. These are the men that I will pray for, support.

These are the men that I will not be stubborn with and self willed. These are the men that will say, let let's pray. And this is not encouraging yes men. This is is not encouraging just people to keep their mouths shut, whatever you say, it goes. No.

Not necessarily. But there's a partnership there. And my question is to you, who are those men in your life? And at the same time, this verse is pointed to leaders. Who are the souls that you oversee?

Who are the ones that the elders of MBC have to dedicate their energy to? Their prayers toward? Their service, their spiritual gifts? You see, when when God instructs this, there's a wisdom and there is manifold wisdom, and here's one of them. That this helps channel pastors to be more effective and to reserve what God has deposited in them for particular localized people.

And so in this verse, there is a demand from both sides. I have to be able to identify the elders in my life, and the elders are supposed to identify who the sheep is. And it's not everybody. It's not even everybody who comes into a building to hear a sermon. It's not.

It's a mutual agreement. So you see, membership helps with that. It assists that. It makes that more possible with a form of covenant that says, as a member, I discern that you are called by God to be an elder, and I willingly choose to support your leadership and with a submissive attitude for the glory of God, while also committing my gifts and resources to these fellow brothers and sisters of mine as my primary arena of service. And then the elders look back and they say, as God's ordained leaders, we, with humility and in the fear of the Lord, we promise to lovingly serve and guide you, to intercede for you, to encourage you, to correct you, and to labor in the study of God's word to feed you for your good and for God's glory through your life.

Isn't this beautiful? Isn't this so much more profound and meaningful than just going somewhere to hear a sermon, and and when when you're bored of that preacher, you go to another place. And because the worship is better here and it's not as strong there, I'm gonna that's not the way it was designed to be. And pastors, when I called to preach to audiences and large crowds and boast about how many numbers they have, they are gonna be held accountable for specific souls that the Holy Spirit has ordained them to overlook and watch. And so if membership says anything, it says that the people are serious about obeying God and the leaders are serious because they know they will stand before God.

I knew of a pastor many years ago who is the lead pastor, and he would travel most of the year to preach at conferences and to travel the world while neglecting his church. It doesn't matter how sound his teaching may have been, it doesn't matter how well sought after he is, that is unfaithfulness. That is unfaithfulness to the role of a shepherd, as an under shepherd in the church of Jesus Christ. And so there is an understanding as you heard earlier, there is a discernment that's provided through this. Who in this place is actually serious about being a follower of Jesus Christ?

Who? We want to know. We want to know. Who just enjoys hearing messages and maybe some snacks downstairs, and who says, I I actually wanna serve God and serve his people. And I, and I, I don't want, I don't want one area of my life where I'm, I'm not sure if I'm actually following it.

We want to know. And that's why things like baptism is important. Do you actually want to obey Christ? Are you willing to do anything to love him and to and to follow him? Tell tell us what the gospel is.

We wanna know how did Jesus Christ save you. Because in part, membership actually is a public affirmation of someone's authentic faith. Oh, how can you say that? I didn't say membership gets you into heaven or kicks you out. I said membership is a way for a church community to say, we know that this person believes the gospel, they understand the gospel, and they have been transformed by the gospel.

And we affirm that. And then what church discipline does at the final stages, we have evidence to believe that this person's confession may not be true because they are not repenting. They are not humbling themselves. They are not surrender so now as Jesus said, tell it to the church. Who?

Who's the church? The just people that come in? No. No. Tell it to those who have joined this localized body and plead for them to plead for that person, that brother, that sister to repent and to come to Christ.

You can't do that if you have a surface level structure that just has attendance. How do we reach out? How do we call the church together? How do we say we need now a collective effort to reach that lost sheep? Membership helps with that.

But lastly, we see another important component of membership. You've heard that membership makes church discipline possible. You heard that membership establishes a relationship between the leaders and the layman. And lastly, among many other things, membership sets the table for mutual edification. It sets the table for mutual edification.

As much as people should know who their leaders are and leaders should be able to dis distinguish who their service is dedicated to, membership also solidifies our mutual service to fellow brothers and sisters. When you read the New Testament and you see these commands toward one another, pray for one another, build up one another, encourage one another, that indicates a specific focused effort. The Holy Spirit is not speaking in generalities here. If you've been deposited with certain gifts and abilities, then the Lord expects you to target them towards someone or a group of people, in fact. And to say that our gifts can be loose and they can be free roaming and they can be undefied is contrary to the Bible.

So you're in Hebrews, now let's go to another familiar passage in chapter 10 verse 24. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day drawing near. K. You you are hearing very familiar passage of the scripture, and here's another one. And this set of verses is often quoted to show the importance of being in a physical church and to not neglect attendance, but it is much more significant and serious than that.

The instruction here does not speak about going to a sacred building that has pews, that has a large cross behind the preacher. No. It is speaking about a heartfelt partnership and involvement to a specific group of Christians. Listen, he says, do not neglect to meet together. Neglect to meet together.

Implying what? There's consistency. There's consistency. And just like you have a choice about who you will obey and submit to as leadership, you also have a choice of who you will walk this journey with. The same way we are each called to have localized and particular leaders, you also are supposed to have a localized and particular group of people that you congregate with on a regular basis.

So this this doesn't encourage you to just show up somewhere. No. It actually encourages you to call a place home. This is where I go, and and god has called me to be here consistently. And if I fail to do so consistently, if I fail to be present with my gifts, with my resources, with my time, with my energy, with my wisdom, with my prayers, then I'm not being faithful as a member of church, Christ's church.

And this membership concept invites people to decide. These are the ones that I will serve. These are the ones that I will determine to encourage with my presence, my gifts, my service, my words, my singing, my hospitality, and my consecrated life. And there's so much more that can be said. But let me just ask you again, where is that?

Whether it's here or another faithful bible preaching, bible believing place, where is that to you? Who are those that you are committed to? And so membership draws out your gifts, and it and it helps you be able to be more concentrated. And in being concentrated, more effective as you do what God's called you to do in that place with those people. And I'm sure there are many many thoughts running through people's minds.

And one common thought and one common temptation when people have a hesitation about this idea of being joined to a church is I have just been hurt way too much. I've been disappointed one too many times. May I instruct you with something? May I give you some some wisdom from God's word? As you consider, as you prayfully seek God to know where it is that he and who it is that he has called you to be walking this journey with.

Do not expect a congregation filled with seraphim and cherubim, because you will never find a church on this side of glory that will be perfect. But if you are going to do anything, I would I would say this, study the leadership. Study the leadership. What do I mean by that? You're not gonna have a church that's gonna be tailor made for you.

Remember, we're not a restaurant, we're a home. But you do have a responsibility because you are making a choice of who you will be serving with and who you will be trusting. So study the leadership. How do they handle God's word? How do they preach it?

How do they teach it? How do they apply it? And then from that place, look at the people who sit under God's word being declared from that leadership and ask yourself, do these people tremble at God's word? Do they tremble at God's word? Is there a reverence?

Is there a seriousness? Talk to them after the service. Get to know them a little bit. Ask people's testimonies and figure out what kind of people make up this church. You have every right to do that.

But don't expect flawless saints who have somehow tapped into glorification before the resurrection. Because I wanna tell you this, if you're willing, if you're willing to love God by being part of his church, you know what God will do? Because God desires to place you somewhere to mature you, to mature you in your gentleness, in your mercy, in your forgiveness, in your peacemaking, and your listening rather than speaking. He wants to stretch your soul. He wants to actually exercise what you so love and sing about and profess, and that's unconditional love.

And the primary play place where God will do that in your life is in the local church. As he invites you and I use that word invite, but actually commands is the better word. As he commands you and I to come into this place, it's not just so you have a check-in your conscience that this is where I call home. More than that, this is where God is gonna sanctify you. And this is where blind spots in your life are gonna be exposed for your good.

And this is where you will know a comfort, and you will know an encouragement. You will know an upbuilding and a stirring from other people who are walking the same journey with you. And if you're going to avoid being a part of the church because of hurt, because of disappointment, and just say I'm a I'm just gonna preach or listen to a preacher rather who speaks well and run out of the door as quick as I can, you will not know how God can chisel Christ into your character. You will not know how God can mold you and melt you. Because his primary means through that, yes, is your personal devotion to the word of God.

But But I was even thinking about this the other day. What's the point? What's the point if I if I shut myself in my room and I memorize Ephesians about loving one another, forgiving one another, if I'm not gonna put it into practice? What's the point? If I'm just a sermon junkie and I listen to this preacher and that preacher and over and over again and it doesn't translate through my life.

And where is this supposed to translate here? With other imperfect people who are striving unto perfection. With other people who want to be conformed to the image of Christ. And is in this place by God's design that those things that he wants to so radiate from your life will be possible. But I have to say this.

This is a very simple message. But I have to say it because peep many people are not convinced of this. That can never happen if this is a restaurant to you and not a home. It's very easy. It's very easy to not see the imperfections of people or your own imperfections if you just come one hour and a half, pay for your food, and walk out, and give a smile to your waitress and she treats you really nice.

But join a family. Move into a house filled with others and see what will come out of you, and see what will come out of them. But what membership does is no matter what, as long as it is in line with the word of God, as long as the people have a humility and a hunger for this and acknowledge their weakness and their flaws, I will commit myself here to grow, to encourage others to grow until God calls me elsewhere. Because this isn't some exclusive thing where you're never allowed to leave once you say yes. Oh, there's so many things that can be said.

There's so many things that can be expounded upon. But as we prepare to say, now let's see who will join the church. If God hasn't called you here, that's okay. We're not the only church. But if God does, the leadership is convinced through the word of God that this will this will inspire a a a health and a fruitfulness and a mutual building up like we haven't seen before.

And we are excited to know how God will move your heart, whether it's here or elsewhere. And whether it is here or elsewhere, just know this. Don't just attend. Join. Don't just use Matthew 16 to say you are part of the church of Jesus Christ because of a confession, which is foundational.

But move to Matthew 18 and say these are my brothers and sisters that I am accountable to and that I will hold accountable. And we trust that the Holy Spirit, the same Holy Spirit who fills us to love Christ, is the same one who fills us to love the bride. Let's pray. Again, Lord, we come before you and we acknowledge that you are building this place. You are building your people.

And, Lord, we are comforted by the truth that you said, I will build my church, and no one can stop you. Lord, we submit to your headship. Unless the lord builds a house, those who labor, labor in vain. And, lord, we thank you for this next building block for this ministry. And, lord, we ask that our hearts would be impressed by the revelation of the difference between attending and joining, of just eating, but also participating and sharing in the responsibility.

And so, God, we just ask you to please help us be reminded about what is asked of us if we are to be identified with your church. And, Lord, we just pray that you would give every single person in this place the wisdom and the clarity to know whether it is here or elsewhere. Lord, as much as we have emphasized in in your presence today, the importance of the local church, we also recognize the universal church. That your people are established in the four corners of the earth. And as long as they love this word, preach this word, submit to this word, then they are our brothers, and they are our extended family.

And so, Lord, with with these truths being reminded and being rehearsed this this afternoon, help us now put it into action. Help the leadership of this church be faithful in the roles of serving the people of God. Help the people of God in this church partner with the leadership so that we can advance the gospel together and that we can display the character of Christ as members of one body. So give us strength and give us grace in these next few weeks. We ask in Jesus' name.

Amen. We stand and worship the Lord together.