Church Alive

[0:00] 1 Timothy 3.15 Paul's writing and he says, But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the tree.

[0:30] Paul's been writing to Timothy along the line of a bishop, a deacon, and how we ought to behave in the house of God.

[0:40] And I wanted to talk about the house of God, the church, the church. And it's not a house as in a physical bricks and mortar kind of house, but a household.

[0:52] As Paul and Silas said to the jailer, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou and thy house. It's the family, the household.

[1:03] The church is the household, the getting together of God's people. And the church, the assembly, the assembling together, the getting together of God's people, our gathering together unto him is something important.

[1:17] It's precious. It matters to God. And it ought to matter to us the value of the church and our relation to it. It's the assembly of the saved as we grow together in God's way of life.

[1:30] And I want to point out three things from this verse. The first one is behaving. How to behave. How to behave. The behaving, the life that we ought to live.

[1:40] How we ought to behave in the assembly of the living God. He is our life. Christ is our life. It's about life. Church is about life.

[1:51] It's about God's kind of life. It's about our behaving, our conducting ourselves before him. The Christian life is life to the max. It's life with a capital L.

[2:03] It's life more abundant. Life to the full. That's how we're meant to live as God's people. To live giving glory to God. Praising him.

[2:13] To live the God kind of life. That's what our assembling together, our getting together is about. And in Ephesians 3 verse 21 it tells us of the assembly.

[2:24] Unto him be glory in the church. Unto him be glory in the assembly. By Christ Jesus throughout all ages. This world without end.

[2:35] Amen. Unto him be glory in the church. Our behaving ought to be giving glory unto God. How does God want us to behave? With a knitted together kind of unity.

[2:48] Knitted together. With a precious kind of holiness. With a vibrant faith. With a solid witness. To be that holy people. A people called out unto the praise of his glory.

[3:00] As we read in Ephesians 1 verse 12. To be a holy people. To be to the praise of his glory. And we the saved are primarily to bring glory to God.

[3:13] Bring glory to God. It's how we are designed. It's what we're purposed for. To bring glory to God in our action. Our word. Our lives.

[3:23] Both individually. One by one. And together. Corporately. As we get together. To live the God kind of life. And to live in that eternal dimension.

[3:35] Life more abundant. His life. That he's brought for us in. 1 John 5.11 it says. And this is the record that God hath given to us. Eternal life.

[3:47] That's the kind of life. Eternal life. And this life is in his son. He that hath the son hath life. And he that hath not the son of God hath not life.

[4:06] What a shame to live and to not really be living. To be alive and not to be truly alive. Because life without Christ is really empty and vain.

[4:19] Verse 13 it goes on. These things have I written unto you. That you may know. No. No. No. That you believe on the name of the son of God. That you may know. That you have eternal life.

[4:32] And that you may believe on the name of the son of God. That's what we are. The church of God. And assembling together. And getting together. Of the blood bought people of God.

[4:43] The called out ones of God. It's about behaving. Behaving. About living. And then. It's also. It's also. Secondly. About belonging.

[4:54] It's about belonging. It tells us here. How we ought to behave. Thyself. In. The house of God. In the family of God. In the household of God.

[5:05] We are of his household. We belong. To him. In other words. We are the family. Of God. That's what. God has designed. His church to be.

[5:16] A family. And as the family of God. We ought to be marked by. A mutual care. And a concern for one another. A love for one another. What do we think of.

[5:27] When we think. Of godly families. The family. It's a place where we find warmth. A place where we find community. And connection. That's what God. Has designed his church to be.

[5:39] His assembly to be. A family. That's what we want to. Encourage. Amongst ourselves. That would have that closeness. That we'd be a close knit. Kind of family.

[5:49] That we want to be together. And we want to foster that. In our getting together. Our Lord's founded his church. For his glory. And it brings him glory. When we get together.

[6:00] As we can be that. Homely. Place. That. Place of healing. That place of caring. That family of God. That he wants us to be. Where we can find compassion.

[6:12] And Colossians 2 verse 2. I love this verse. Colossians 2 verse 2. It says. Paul prays that their hearts. Might be comforted. Being knit together. In love.

[6:24] Being knit together. In love. And unto all riches. Of the full assurance. Of understanding. To the acknowledgement. Of the mystery of God. And of the Father.

[6:35] And of Christ. That their hearts might be comforted. And being knit together. In love. What a picture that is. That our hearts would be like that. United together.

[6:45] Together. There's a binding together. In that love. A togetherness. A welding. A joining. And that's God's plan for families.

[6:56] And homes. And he wants it for his church. That we would be that kind of people. That we care for one another. It's not just a meeting together. And then. That's it.

[7:07] But there's a gathering together. There's a. There's a joining. There's a knitting together. In love. And so. When we get together. We're at home with one another. We feel. Connected.

[7:18] There's a kinship. It's not about. When we come to church. It's not about. Forming a crowd. But. Of joining a community. It's about being a community.

[7:28] Of believers. And it's a wanting. To belong. To belong. There's family ties here. We've got brothers. And sisters. Amongst us. That we can. Have that joint.

[7:39] Relationship. That common bond. That common faith. That common love. As brothers and sisters. Together. We share the same father. And this is home for us.

[7:50] Not the building. But. The belonging. The belonging together. And so. How. Should we treat one another. I'm going to call. Chris up. He's going to help me write some. Words on the. On the board here.

[8:02] To illustrate. How. We ought to. Respond to one another. And there's many. One another's. In the word of God. Many one another's. In the word of God. There's many verses. That tell us.

[8:13] How we. As God's children. Are meant to relate. To one another. So. Chris is going to write them up. One by one. Just. You know. Ten words here. And so. On the next column.

[8:25] And the first one is love. Love. Love one another. In John 13. 34. And 35. It says. A new commandment. I give unto you.

[8:35] That you love one another. As I. Have loved you. That you also love one another. By this shall all men know. That you are my disciples. If you have. Love.

[8:46] One to another. Love. We should love one another. Next one is prefer. In Romans 12. Verse 10. It says. Be kindly affectioned. One to another. With brotherly love.

[8:57] In honour. Preferring. One another. Putting others before yourself. Prefer one another. Next one is. Edify. Romans 14. Verse 19.

[9:07] It says. Let us therefore. Follow after the things. Which make for peace. And things where we. We may edify. One another. Edify. It means build up. One another.

[9:18] Encourage one another. Next one is receive. Romans 15. 7. It says. Wherefore receive ye. One another. As Christ also. Received us.

[9:28] To the glory of God. Receive ye. One another. We should have that welcoming. That receptivity. Towards one another. Romans 15. 14. Next one. It says. Admonish.

[9:38] Admonish. One another. Admonish. It means to. Warn one another. To. To. Instruct one another. Next one is serve. Galatians 5.

[9:49] 13. It says. By love. Serve. One another. We ought to have that. Servant. Spirit. That we want to. Find a place. That we can serve. Find ways.

[10:00] We can serve. Each other. Next one. Galatians 6. 2. Bear burdens. Maybe there's burdens here this morning. And as we think about one another. Instead of thinking.

[10:10] Oftentimes we dwell on ourselves. Think of the other's burdens here today. It says. Bear ye one another's burdens. And so. Fulfill the law of Christ. And Ephesians 4. 2.

[10:21] Next one is. Forbear. Forbear. Ephesians 4. 2. With all lowliness and meekness. With long suffering. Forbearing. Forbearing. One another in love.

[10:32] Forbearing. We'll start in the next column. Forbearing. Next one. Is be kind. Ephesians 4. 31. It says. Let all bitterness and wrath. And anger and clamour. And evil speaking.

[10:43] Be put away from you. With all malice. And be ye kind. To one another. Tender hearted. Forgiving. One another. Even as Christ. As God.

[10:54] For Christ's sake. Hath forgiven you. Think about how we can be kind. How we can be forgiving. As it says in Colossians 3. Forbearing one another. And forgiving one another.

[11:05] Colossians 3. Verse 12. Next one is. Teach. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. In all wisdom. Teaching. And admonishing one another. In psalms and hymns. And spiritual songs.

[11:17] Singing. With grace. In your hearts to the Lord. Find ways you can teach one another. Tell one another some scriptures. Give one another some spiritual truths.

[11:28] And the Lord make you increase. And abound in love one towards another. And towards all men. That's 1 Thessalonians 3. Verse 12. There's many verses that talk about loving. Loving one another.

[11:39] Next one is 1 Thessalonians 5.11. It says. Wherefore comfort. Comfort yourselves together. And edify one another. Even as also you do. Comfort.

[11:50] Edify. Edify. Other ways you can bring some comfort. To a brother or a sister this morning. Even in this time of fellowship today. Other ways you can edify.

[12:01] Next one is Hebrews 3. Verse 13. But exhort one another daily. While it is called today. Lest any of you be hardened. Through the deceitfulness of sin.

[12:11] So many one and others. We're just scratching the surface here today. With all of the things we can do. For each other. Hebrews 10.24. Well consider. Let us consider.

[12:22] One another. To provoke unto love. And to good works. Not forsaking. The assembling of ourselves together. As a manner of summits. But exhorting. One another. And so much the more.

[12:33] As you see. The day approaching. Another one is in James 5.16. Pray. Pray. Confess your faults. One to another. And pray. One for another.

[12:43] That you may be healed. The effectual. Fervent prayer. Of a righteous man. Availeth much. How can we pray. For one another. And the next one. It talks about. Love one another.

[12:54] With a pure heart. Fervently. In 1 Peter 3. It says. Having compassion. One of another. Think of ways. You can have compassion. Today. For those around about you. For those that you fellowship with.

[13:06] And through this week ahead. Not just in the meeting. But have compassion. One for another. And 1 Peter 4. It says. Serve again. To minister. The same one to another.

[13:16] Use hospitality. One to another. And lastly. 1 John 1.7. It says. Have fellowship. Have fellowship. With one another. That's 1 John 1.7.

[13:27] It says. But if we walk in the light. As he is in the light. We have fellowship. One with another. And the blood of Jesus Christ. His son. Cleanseth us. From all sin.

[13:38] Thanks Chris. Look at all these verses here. Look at all these words. Here that we can. Consider. How we can love one another. Prefer. Edify one another.

[13:49] Receive one another. Admonish. Serve. Bear burdens. Forbear. Be kind. Forgive. Teach. Comfort. Edify. Exhort. Consider.

[14:00] Pray. Have compassion. Serve one another. And have fellowship. These are just some. Of the one another's. In the word of God. It's about belonging.

[14:11] It's about belonging. We're family. We're the household of God. We're the house of God. Of the living God. So we've seen. It's about behaving. How we live.

[14:21] There's a conduct. That should exemplify. The Christian man. And woman. It's about belonging. It's about the family. The house of God. And thirdly. It's about believing.

[14:33] It's about believing. It's about the truth. It says that. The house of God. Which is the church. Of the living God. The pillar. And the ground. Of the truth. It's about truth.

[14:45] Truth. It's something that matters. It's something fundamental. Yet the culture we live in. We're trying to. Make everything grey. Make everything kind of blurry.

[14:57] But the truth. The truth is the truth. The whole truth. And nothing but the truth. The culture we live in. Is bent. On falsehood and lies. Those pleading for the truth.

[15:08] Are often ridiculed. And mocked. We're seeing days. Of flourishing heresies. These are days. Of strong deception. Where the loudest voices.

[15:20] On the TV networks. Are preaching falsehood. The prosperity gospel. For one. Our Lord is the source of the truth. Our Lord has given us his word.

[15:32] He says that we can come to know him personally. And he says. That thy word is truth. The word of God is truth. You know. It's a very true statement.

[15:43] I've got a sticker that said this one day. I put it inside my Bible. Fight truth decay. Read the Bible. You know. That's a good. That's a good slogan.

[15:54] Fight truth decay. Read your Bible. And we need to depend on what God says. In 2 Timothy 2.15. It says. Study. To show yourself approved unto God.

[16:06] A workman that needs not to be ashamed. Rightly dividing. The word of truth. Study. The word of truth. As you study the Bible. It will help you to grow.

[16:17] You'll learn more. You'll understand. And you'll get the right answers for life's questions. You know. Truth is being opposed. It's being ridiculed. Redefined.

[16:28] Outright denied. And we're engaged in a battle for the truth. It's a spiritual warfare. And one of the garments of the armour of God. Is the belt of truth.

[16:39] And the word of God. Our sword. We need to overcome the enemy. And he's called the father of lies. And the truth about salvation.

[16:50] Is being misunderstood. And misinterpreted today. I know I was encouraged. In fact just today. I came across this. And I thought I'd just include this as well.

[17:02] Truth. It means doctrine. Doctrine. And doctrine is something that. Is sometimes a missing ingredient. Doctrine. Doctrine means teaching.

[17:15] Doctrine means sound teaching. Based on the word of God. Other words for doctrine are true. The faith. Wholesome words.

[17:26] And sound words. Can we know sound doctrine? Yes we can. Because he's given it to us. In the Bible. And there's many verses that talk about doctrine.

[17:36] For example in Acts 2. We are to continue in the apostles doctrine. In Acts 5. They filled Jerusalem with doctrine. We're saved by believing the right doctrine.

[17:48] We're to separate from those who teach false doctrine. We must be careful of winds of false doctrine. Sound doctrine is something that's good. And we should aspire to it. We should take heed to the doctrine.

[18:01] We should adorn our lives with godly living. And sound doctrine. The Bible is given for sound doctrine. And the Bible is to be preached with doctrine.

[18:13] The word tells us in 2 Timothy 4. That the last days will be characterized. By turning away from sound doctrine. And our doctrine in Titus 2 verse 10.

[18:25] It says our doctrine should be uncorrupt. In 3 John it says that. John said that he had no greater joy than to see the Christians walking in the truth.

[18:37] And 2 John 9 and 10 it says. Those who abide not in sound doctrine. Are not of God. And are not to be received. So friends. Truth matters. Truth matters in the church.

[18:49] The assembly together of God's people. It's meant to be a pillar. And a ground of truth. It's meant to be a foundation. Upon which we can build. And the truth of God is something we need.

[19:01] That God's word. Is the truth about God. It's the truth about life. It's the truth about ourselves. The way to life. Is found in God's truth.

[19:13] The way to live. Is found in God's truth. Now think of some of the doctrines that are under threat today. Sound doctrine. The deity of Christ. There's many nice well meaning people.

[19:25] Who don't believe that the Lord Jesus is deity. And they're sadly deceived. The deity of Christ. It's a fundamental doctrine. Salvation by faith.

[19:36] Faith plus nothing. Faith saves. Repentance is a missing ingredient. In preaching. Righteousness. It's sound doctrine.

[19:48] Another neglected truth. Someone put it this way. Christ is Lord. Yet this is one of the biggest truths. In all of the Bible. That I believe is one of the most neglected truths.

[20:00] Today. Jesus is referred to in the Bible. As saviour. 24 times. But he's referred to as Lord. 747 times.

[20:10] What a contrast. 24 times as saviour. 747 times. As Lord. Now. We do acknowledge our Lord Jesus. As saviour.

[20:21] But especially as Lord. As master. It's important. It's truth. It's doctrine. So friends. Just to wrap up. As an assembly. We count truth.

[20:31] We count truth. As something precious. And important. It's our foundation. The Bible. We build on it. We want to defend it. We want to promote it. We want to advance the cause of truth.

[20:43] Truth will produce purity. Sound doctrine. Will produce purity. And a pure church. A pure church. A powerful church. Our worship must be based on the fundamentals.

[20:55] Of spirit. And of truth. Isaiah 59. It says. The time of Isaiah 59. Truth is fallen in the street. Just treat it like rubbish.

[21:07] Like litter. Blowing in the wind. Truth is fallen in the street. Friends. We want to uphold truth. We want to esteem it. Revere it. And obey it. And recognize what's happening.

[21:19] Recognize what's happening. When truth is under attack. And it is under attack. In many quarters. Many Christians are totally ignorant. Of what the Bible says. About some of the fundamentals.

[21:31] That the world is calling normal. And an alternative lifestyle. The Bible says. It's abomination. It's sinful. And we should reject it.

[21:42] Some Christians are totally losing it. Why? Because truth is fallen in the street. They're not getting truth. They're not getting sound doctrine.

[21:53] And we need to recognize that. And say it like it is. To be motivated by the truth. To be controlled by it. And to be messengers of it. Not keep it to ourselves.

[22:04] This truth is too good. To keep to yourself. You want to impart it. You want to share it. That gospel message. So friends. Just to close. The church matters. It's the assembly of God's people.

[22:17] So let us be the church. Of the living God. Behaving like it. Living the life. Belonging. As brothers and sisters. In God's household. And believing.

[22:29] Acting on it. And founded on that solid doctrine. That sound doctrine. That we need. That we need. To heed. And obey. Friends. Let's be encouraged.

[22:39] To be that people. The people of God. The getting together. Of God's people. Behave like it. Belong to it. And believe. Hold fast.

[22:49] To the truth of God. Let us pray. Lord. We thank you. That your word is truth. And we want sound doctrine. Lord. Sound teaching. Help us Lord. To care for one another. To consider one another.

[23:01] To receive one another. Help us to belong. As brothers and sisters. In your family. Lord God. Our heavenly father. Lord. We thank you. For each one here today. Help us to.

[23:12] Be encouraged. To be that church. That gathering together. That you want us to be. Help us. To care. And consider. And to be that living church. A church alive.

[23:24] Unto you. The living God. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

[23:39] Thank you.