The Church Owes Me

Does the church owe me?  
Am I entitled to receive certain benefits if I'm a member?  
Shouldn't the church help me when they know I'm in need? 
Don't I deserve preferential treatment?


So, the church owes you...huh?  In truth, the church does owe us something.  Paul tells us in Hebrews 10:24-25 to consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as we see the Day approaching.


In reality, we owe our Heavenly Father a debt we are unable to repay.  Instead, He commands that we should be a living sacrifice. (Romans 12:1-2)  He goes further to instruct us to love one another even as He first loved us. (1 John 4:7-19)


There are certain responsibilities we take on when we join ourselves with a local church.  The duties are a two-way street in which we support and exhort one another.  In order to carry out our duties as God has commanded we must do the following.


1. We must LOVE one another.  This comes from putting the needs of others above our own selves. (Philippians 2:3-4)


2. We must CONSIDER one another. As we get to know one another, we become aware of the needs, cares, burdens and all of the things that comprise of life with one another.


3. We must STIR UP love and good works.  We are to motivate one another with such force that we provoke action from one another.  We are no longer just concerned about our own soul, we are concerned about the lives of our brothers and sisters.

• How does this happen? There is no perfect formula...first, when we love others they are encouraged to also love based on our example.  Acts of kindness such as sending cards and making phone calls, going by the hospital to visit the sick, preparing meals for others, and giving a person a hug all send a clear message.  So do other acts such as calling when someone is missed at services and making a visit to express a concern about behavior that appears inappropriate.
• When we first meet another person we are not apt to readily receive a rebuke or admonition from them.  However, when an old friend or someone who has shown much concern for us in the past makes such a comment we are far more apt to receive and consider the admonition.  

4. We must remain INTERESTED.  It is difficult to imagine causing another person to be excited when we personally are uninvolved and disinterested.  We are able to excite other people about things in which we are heavily invested and to which we give a large share of our interest and attention.  A person who grudgingly makes most of the services is not likely to be able to excite someone else about the work of the church.

• When you become excited to love you will seek out good works.  No longer will you give your time grudgingly and wait till someone insists that you do something.  Instead, the intent of your heart is to see what you can do to serve God.  You will love the flock of which you are a part of and seek to help those in need.  You will rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.

WHAT EXCITES YOU?

• There's lots of marketing that takes places in churches today.  Some churches want you to join them for the FUN and EXCITEMENT of their programs, their singing groups, and other forms of entertainment.  In those cases, the emphasis is on what they can do for the individual to make them happy. 

There is only one thing that SHOULD and MUST be the primary source of excitement in your life.  That is simply this...THAT GOD SO LOVES YOU THAT HE SENT HIS SON TO DIE FOR YOU.  That love completely overwhelms any emotion and pleasure that might be drawn from worldly things.  Also, the resulting love and its fulfillment is ETERNAL whereas the things of this world are short lived, fleeting and ultimately unfulfilling. 

When each person in the church is STIRRED up by their love for Jesus that love becomes contagious!  The excitement is obvious and infectious. One person's excitement leads another to grow stronger in their love of God and commitment to good works.  Those works in turn stimulate another brother and sister.  Ultimately, one of those brethren end up REAWAKENING the love of the first person who has subsequently grown weaker.  I believe that is a primary factor in God's plan for us to ASSEMBLE ourselves together in a local congregation. 

Stop Whining and Start Serving!  

It's amazing how people think today.  We hear all kinds of things from people today regarding how the church has let them down.

• The church hurt my feelings.  
• The church didn't help me when I was in need.
• The church forgot about me.
• The church ran me off.
• The church helped everyone else but they didn't help me.
• The church is full of hypocrites.

These comments used to really trouble me UNTIL...I wised up.  Before then, I found myself going around that mountain with the same people for 40 years and realized that the people who constantly complain about the church are the people who...

• Are Unfaithful...
• Are Unfruitful...
• Never serve...
• Never volunteer...
• Never give...
• Never attend...
• Always have their hand out...
• Wear their feelings on their sleeve...
• Expect you to be a mind reader...
• Are looking to be offended...
• Caused a mess in the last church they came from and want to do the same thing here...
• Love to wallow in self-pity...
• Come to a pitch-in and won't bring nothin'...
• Steal what the church is giving away...
• Carry an entitlement spirit...
• Won't receive the Word of God...
• Won't receive correction...
• Only want relief rather than restoration...
• Badmouth everything the church does...

Friends, If I gave up every time my feelings got hurt or I didn't like what was happening, I'd be the most cantankerous person you've ever met.  The truth is...the reason some people are unhappy is because they choose to be.  They are the same people who are down in the mouth about everything.  They are happiest when they're complaining, fault-finding and bumpin' their gums.

It's time to GET SOME JESUS JOY and quit complaining about everyone else.  WE MUST LOOK IN THE MIRROR and examine our own heart.

• The church is still GREAT! 
• The church is making a huge IMPACT in the community! 
• The church is full of people who are living REAL LIFE and holding one another accountable!
• The church is WHAT YOU MAKE IT!

Ask not what your church can do for you...ask "what can I do for my church?"

Yes...the church owes me.  And I also owe it!  But most of all, we owe all of our love and commitment to our Heavenly Father.

The Gospel that I read tells me to GROW UP and BECOME like Christ.  Friends, lets hold one another accountable and STAND on the Word of God.  Everyone reading this...INCLUDING ME...can do better than what we're doing right now.  


Let's keep our hands lifted UP!