The Church Grows
A Sermon by Dr. Neil Chadwick
The Bible is the Christian's Handbook; it also should be the church's. We say we believe the verse that says, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." (2 Timothy 3:16) Then we must say that not only about those parts of the Bible which we call "doctrine", but also the "narratives" and historical accounts must have value for our instruction. When we read the account that Luke gives us of the Early Church, we must see this not just as history, but as a blueprint after which we can pattern our church today. One of the obvious things about the Early Church is that it grew in numbers of people. Now there is a problem with this because it seems to me that sometimes we are guilty of wanting growth for growth's sake. We live in a society where "big is better", and we want to be in a bigger church because it can offer more excitement, more social interaction and more programs than the small church. But we will insist that it is not good to be motivated by our own selfish desires. The question for the Christian is never, "What's in it for me?", rather, "How can we best serve the Lord together?" But the fact of the matter is, when we look at the Early Church, this clear fact leaps off the page - the church of Jesus Christ grew! If we want to say we are patterned after the New Testament Church, we will seek to be faithful in following the example set out for us, we too will seek to grow. Let's take a moment to track through the first part of the Book of Acts and view the many references to the church's growth that we find there. At the beginning, a number is given - there were "about 120" disciples who gathered to pray and wait for the Spirit's baptism. (Acts 1:15) Although this means that there has been a 1,000% growth from the original 12, you'll also notice that this number is considerably diminished - Paul later comments that there were 500 disciples who witnessed the resurrection (I Corinthians 15:6) - he may have been referring to the group that saw Jesus taken up into heaven. Only 120, 24% had stayed with the program to do what Jesus asked them to do - stay in Jerusalem until the Spirit's arrival. (Actually, most Pastor's in America would be delighted to see 24% of the congregation show up for the Prayer Meeting!) The very next time a number is mentioned, it is only a few days later when Acts 2:41 tells us that "about 3,000 were added to their number." After the healing of the crippled man who had been begging at the temple Gate Beautiful, we learn that the number had grown to 5,000 (Acts 4:4). This of course caused alarm among the religious leaders, and the persecution dramatically increased. At the time of the choosing of the 7, including Stephen, there is no number given, but Acts 6:7 states, "the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly." After Stephen was martyred, the disciples began to scatter, and we have the account of a revival in a Samaritan city when Philip went there to preach. No numbers are given, but there were "crowds" (Acts 8:6), and they "all paid close attention to what Philip said," and many believed and were baptized. The next direct reference to the church growing is the city of Antioch - the church there had been started by Christians who had come over from the island of Cyprus. There it says (Acts 11:21), "a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord." Now we notice that after the number of 5,000 was given for the Jerusalem church, we don't have any more actual numbers provided, but we do have these positive assertions about the church growing. From Antioch was launched the missionary journeys of Paul. Almost everywhere he went people came to the Lord, and a church was established. In a town called "Pisidian Antioch", nearly the entire city turned out to "hear the word of the Lord" (Acts 13:44), and "The word of the Lord spread through the whole region" (v. 49). The last specific reference to growth was at the beginning of the Second Missionary Journey as Paul and Silas visited the churches which had been planted earlier. Acts 16: 5 says, "The churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers." So it's very obvious - the Church Grows. That was the case with the New Testament, and it is the constant challenge for the church of today. We have to be willing to admit it, if the church is not growing, it is either because we are not doing what we should, or we have allowed obstacles to get in the way. Some time ago, while thinking about the matter of church growth, I suddenly began to see the church being like a large ship. But it was not a ship like the Cruise Ships and Ocean Liners like "The Titanic" that have great internal engines which power these ships. Rather, it was an old sailing ship like those that brought Columbus and the Pilgrims to America. These ships were totally dependent on the wind to move them forward to their destination. The ship that I began to imagine would have four large sails - if there was any wind at all, when the sails were all hoisted in place, and the anchors lifted, the ship would begin to move through the water. Having drawn this picture in our minds, I'd like to give each of these sails some names. They are: Worship, Fellowship, Discipleship, and Leadership. Our responsibility is to see to it that the masts are strong and the sails are in place, then the wind of the Holy Spirit may begin to blow, fill the sails, and move the ship forward. All four of these are essential, but the one which I'd like to deal with today is the sail called Worship. This has to be first, for it represents the most basic purpose for our own existence as well as the existence of the church. In the New Testament church it all began with prayer - for ten days they prayed, and then after the Spirit fell, they continued in prayer. Here's Luke's account: "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." (Acts 2:42-47) Now there are different ways we worship. There's private worship and there's public worship. It takes place at home as well as in the church building. (Homes, and Temple Courts) Every time we pray, we worship. We also worship when we sing, when we break bread, and when we put our money in the offering plate. Not only is worship important because it's in the Bible, but the fact is, every living being has a built-in need to worship, to be in the presence of God. Do you know why many people in America have stopped attending church? More often than not, the answer given has to do with the feeling that they are not being drawn closer to the Lord by attending the church service. Someone once told me about a church where the most important part seemed to be the video taping for the television broadcast. The person telling me said that after the opening songs, the Pastor came out and prepared the people for the taping. He then instructed them how and when to applaud, and how to act in a way that would be best for the cameras. Now that may be exciting to some people, but tell me, if you think your face might be displayed on television, would that encourage you to enter in to worship? On the other end of the spectrum are those churches where it seems more like a funeral service than a worship service. Everyone mechanically says the prayers, reads from the printed bulletin, and no one dares crack a smile, and no one ever sheds a tear. I believe people are looking for something somewhere in the healthy middle. Religion in general, and our relationship with God through Jesus Christ was never intended to be merely a private affair. The writer to the Hebrews states it clearly, we are not to "forsake the assembling of ourselves together." But when we come together, the attention is not on one another. We're not here to notice who else is here, or who they're with, or what they're wearing, or where they've been or what they've been doing. Our focus is on God, and every effort must be made to encourage one another in what we call the vertical relationship. Another sail, "Fellowship", takes care of the horizontal - but when we gather to worship, all of the attention is upward. I believe that if this is done, and done well, the church wiill grow because now as never before, people want "Reality" in their "Religion". People want "Wonder in their Worship". People want "Sincerity" in their "Service". People want "Heaven in their Hearts". In fact, we can say this with certainty, if the church is going to grow, there must be a clearly felt awareness that when we gather, we are gathered in the presence of God. Unfortunately, because this is true, there will always be those who will try to manufacture the experience. The colors, the lighting, the sounds, the music, the candles, the tone of the speaker's voice all being designed to produce the desired effect. But it's all of human origin. We're huffing and puffing, but we just can't get the ship to move ahead by our own wind. So then, what is really required for the mast of worship to be strong and the sail raised to full height? There are three essential ingredients. No, we're not talking about such things as an air conditioned sanctuary, good music, and an up beat motivational speaker. We're talking here about the spiritual necessities. The first is Humble Prayer - I sat in the chair by the hospital window as a member of our church was preparing to be fed the lunch meal that was just brought to him on a tray. His body, severely broken in more than two dozen places was wrapped in a hard plastic cast. But before his grandson gave him the first bite, he paused to pray a heart-felt prayer of thanks. In that moment, a tear came to my eye, and I felt that I was in the presence of God. The second essential ingredient is Sincere Faith. We've been talking about the "acceptable sacrifice". Hebrews makes this very clear, it is nothing more or less than faith - "without faith it is impossible to please God". Why do you think Jesus was so hard on the Pharisees? They were very religious, and they had the honor of men. But they did not simply trust God for their salvation. They had fallen into the trap characteristic of so many religions, they trusted in their own works. This week I had the opportunity of conducting a brief service at the Nursing Home. After playing a few hymns, and singing a couple choruses, I talked with them about the double story in Mark 5, the woman who had been sick for twelve years, and the twelve year old girl that had die before Jesus could get to her house. After the woman was healed, Jesus said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you", and when the father of the little girl became disheartened when he learned his daughter had died, Jesus said, "Only Believe." Simple, sincere faith is what is needed. When we come to church, we come believing, hoping, expecting, anticipating. But that's not all - there's one more necessary ingredient for worship, Active Participation. We must become involved; worship was never intended to be a spectator sport. Let's not forget the balance between "faith" and "works". James puts it this way, "But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder." (James 2:18,19) When we gather to worship, everyone needs to be actively involved, singing, praying, giving, listening. If you are enthusiastically participating, others will begin to follow your lead. We are setting our hearts on the growth of the church. We will pray, believe, and work hard. And we will also begin to chart it! Let's keep track for a while, and see that as we do our part, God does His. Later we'll talk about the other three sails, Fellowship, Discipleship, and Leadership; but right now let's concentrate on this one, and grow in our worship attendance. Where should we begin? Each one concentrating on getting our own worship right, being faithful, and then bring others to join us. Who will we bring? Members of our households, former members, guests, outsiders.  - - Return to Top of this Page
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