Teaching podcast from the Eagle Community Church of Christ in Mont Belvieu, TX.
Hello, friends. Welcome to the Eagle Community Church of Christ podcast. My name is John Gunter. You're listening to our sermon number 2 in our series called, I will. Today, we're talking about, I will worship with others.
John Gunter:That's our challenge. I hope it helps. Have a great week. You had to admire his commitment. He made the decision to attend.
John Gunter:He would not miss it. The weather was terrible that day. Steady rain, temperatures in the forties, he still got out in the weather. Because of the bad weather, he did not quite make it on time. It was difficult to get to his seat as well, but he persevered.
John Gunter:His seat was not comfortable, but he neither left nor complained. His presence vividly demonstrated his love and commitment. He was joyous the entire time. He enjoyed the presence of all fellow believers. His attitude, his attendance, and his enthusiasm all reflected his deep and abiding commitment.
John Gunter:He was at a college football game on a Saturday afternoon. By the way, he did not attend a church worship service the next day, he was tired from the ball game and there was a 40% chance of rain. We are going through a series called I Will. There's a picture of the book in front of you by Tom Rayner. The chapter today is I Will Worship with the church.
John Gunter:Activity, something I really like is on the front burner, and I can't be bothered to make it to worship. And so we are going to talk this morning about this exact thing: I will worship with others, that we hopefully by the end of this, that will be a commitment that we all make to worship with others. And ways that I see as a minister that we miss the mark is number 1, we just don't prioritize worship. That again, the idea that worship is around and now I've got other things. Again, anybody got a good college football team that you like to watch?
John Gunter:Yeah, well, nobody did, that's good. There is something about watching college football in the fall, with cool weather. There's just something about that for me. I love it. Katie has come to terms with it, all of those things.
John Gunter:But often we prioritize other things over actually worshiping with other people. Or number 2 is we try to go solo. That is, we don't really prioritize being together as a church family, but we try to worship on our own. The idea that I can worship God wherever, and as a minister, I want you to be able to worship God wherever. I love being out in creation.
John Gunter:I've got some pictures to prove. This was my place that I love. This is about 18 feet in the air, sitting and watching, and there's something about watching God's creation come to life. Again in the cool weather. Notice none of this stuff happens in the summer.
John Gunter:Okay? I've experienced some wonderful things with this. Evan has a real gun strapped to his back. Logan has a plastic one behind him. One of my favorite photos that we have as a family is this right here, taken shortly after.
John Gunter:Logan had begged for days to go with us. Evan gets to go. I want to go. Dad, can I go? This is probably 10 minutes in.
John Gunter:Lay it out on the floor. No, that heater is not on. But I get people who say, I worship God wherever. I've been out on the lake with the sun rising or setting, and the beauty that is there. I've sat in a deer stand and I absolutely love it, and I think you should worship God wherever.
John Gunter:Actually, Scripture alludes to that. We can read that in Colossians 3:17, Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. I've heard people say, what do you mean? I can I can worship god while I'm mowing the yard? Yes, you can.
John Gunter:Absolutely. Don't try to make it sound ridiculous. Your entire life should be a worship service to God. You understand that, church? Your entire life, no matter where you are, should be a worship service to God, but you shouldn't go solo.
John Gunter:That when you say that I put my faith, I put my trust in Jesus, when you are baptized into His death, burial and resurrection, you are not just signing up saying, Hey, I'll take the free heaven thing I heard about. You are signing up for a different relationship not only with him but with the rest of us because the rest of us constitute what Jesus calls his body. And then we all may be different, we all have different gifts, maybe you can't lead singing like Tyler, you're scared to death to stand in front of people, but you have your own gift. You are placed in the body alongside everyone else. But often, we don't prioritize that.
John Gunter:We either have other things going on or we are trying to go at it by ourselves, and what you don't see in Scripture is any kind of solo Christian. What I want you to do is I want you to compare the ideas right here to what we see in Acts 2, and we're gonna read 42-forty 7. And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common, and they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need.
John Gunter:And day by day attending the temple together catch that? Attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. Now, does that sound like there was a priority of worship? Does it sound like everybody just went their own separate way and said, I'll worship God the way I want to in my own earstand, or in my own boat, or at my own house by myself.
John Gunter:No. And so, I want to point out just a few things. It says, They were devoted to teaching and, do you remember what that said? Teaching and fellowship. Devoted means, I am passionate about this.
John Gunter:I know this should happen. I want this to happen. This is not some kind of legalistic, well, I know I was baptized and now I know I gotta be there. This is a devotion that says, this is my desire. This is who I am.
John Gunter:I desire for this to happen. Fellowship is just that intimate togetherness. What is best for me is to be around other people claiming Jesus Christ. How many of you know that's the case? Like, I'm better off.
John Gunter:Like, when I go to work, some of those people are toxic. I'm out in the world, man. I can be set off. I am better, I am a better person, I'm a better follower, I'm a better disciple, I think we should use the word I said in class today, apprentice of Jesus when I'm around other people claiming the same thing. Because what we've done is we set up a culture where people can claim Jesus, but not ever follow him.
John Gunter:What we need is a fellowship of the believers, a devotion to other members of the body. And we all do better that way. We know we do. Number 2, they were joyful. Man, it's hard not to be joyful when things are just you know things are are are being done in the right way.
John Gunter:You ever done something you, like, you've served the church, you went to a conference where you're all together, whatever it is that just made you feel, oh man, I went to that ladies retreat, or I we had that men's breakfast, and that was just, I needed that. Have you ever been there? And maybe you didn't expect it at all, maybe you didn't want to go to that thing, but you walked away going, Yeah, that was it. Now I'm I'm joyful, I am glad because I have interacted not only with God's word, but the rest of God's people. They said they were glad, they were joyful, and they did so with humble attitudes.
John Gunter:You know how I know that? Because they started selling their stuff. They started giving to other people. They put the needs of other people above themselves. Can you imagine that?
John Gunter:The audacity. We we've got a culture of collecting, don't we? We like to collect, we like to keep. I love a good estate sale, estate auction, amen, in the back there? Yeah.
John Gunter:I like grabbing stuff. I like getting stuff with a deal, right? I love all that stuff, but what they did is they said, okay, I have stuff I can sell to take care of your problem, And that's what I'm gonna do. That's how devoted they were. Number 4, they had favor with all the people.
John Gunter:Can you imagine that? If we were all living like this, we would too, wouldn't we? Yeah. We keep having division because the church keeps acting divided. All of that stuff begins right here with us.
John Gunter:That's the challenge. Right? We pray for things like that. Let's not be praying for people out there. Let's be praying for right here in this place that we become the followers, the disciples, the apprentices that we're supposed to be.
John Gunter:Well, no wonder we live in a divided world when the church acts like the church does sometimes. Because we should be the example, shouldn't we? But oftentimes we join in with all the other stuff, and then wonder why the rest of the world is that way. They had favor with all the people because of this joy, because of this, humble attitude, giving, helping everyone, and what you notice is people were being saved daily. You wonder why we don't see more people coming to Christ?
John Gunter:You ever wonder about that? You ever pray about that? That I want more people to come to Jesus. I wanna see more baptisms happen. I want all of this stuff to happen, but we're not living like this.
John Gunter:Right? We don't have the same devotion to each other. We don't have the same desire to be around each other. Well, I'll see you next Sunday. And so we go our separate ways and we live the way we do, and part of that is just the way our lives have progressed, right?
John Gunter:We all have cars and many of you may drive a long way throughout the week, right? To be away from each other. And so it really takes a commitment, the same devotion, to be around one another, to get encouragement and to give encouragement to one another, but because of this people were being saved daily. Hearts being changed daily because it was visible, the change that Jesus had made in their lives. Do people see the change that's made in your life?
John Gunter:Or is there any change? People were being saved because that is attractive, the way they were living, isn't it? If what we saw in the world today was this Acts 2:42-forty 7, I'd be all up for that, wouldn't you? That we were living that kind of way, that we were so selfless and giving, and we cared about one another, I'm all up for that too. But you got to have that desire.
John Gunter:I love visiting other churches. Anybody visited a lot of different churches? I love that if I'm off on a Sunday, a couple of times since I've been here, I've just taken off for a week, and actually on that Sunday I would go somewhere else. I love visiting other churches. I actually grew up, when we were on vacation, we went to church.
John Gunter:Wherever we were, we found a place, and we went to church, and it scared me as a kid, but it actually grew a love for it in me. Because what I found was we are all like so connected. You ever heard 6 degrees of separation? Hollywood says 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon. Within 6 people you get to a connection with Kevin Bacon, and that's the same way in the church, right?
John Gunter:I may not know someone of that church directly, but I know you and you know them. I know you and you know their friend and they know them, right? And so we are so connected. I love doing that, but again, that comes from a desire to be connected, to be encouraged, to be a part of the body. What we need is that devotion instead of, again, looking at our own preferences, all the things that we pursue.
John Gunter:The problem is, as Tom Rayner puts it, for many Christians all other activities have become mandatory while the worship service has become an optional afterthought. You agree with that? Say, amen. I hope that's not true for you, but I find it more and more true, it seems like. I have decided whether I've written it down or it's just in my mind that everything else is more important.
John Gunter:I might not say that. That's exactly the way I act. Yeah, I'll come to worship as long as xyz is not happening. And so what we do is we just say out loud, we have prioritized something else instead of being with one another, worshiping God, and that's usually when I get the argument, Well, I can worship God anywhere. And I agree.
John Gunter:But if you've got the idea in your mind that I don't need the rest of the body, you have missed the point. You have rejected what Jesus has called his hands and feet and all the other parts of the body. But compare this to, again, Acts 2 and the desire that they had there. The way that they devoted and came to each other. They actually did whatever it took to meet together.
John Gunter:They met in homes, you know that? We're so far removed from that that we we just kind of miss it. They did whatever they could to meet together. They met in homes, you can see us in Philemon too, and Apphia our sister, and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house, Paul says. They didn't have fancy buildings, and I don't know how they survived, but they didn't have air conditioning either.
John Gunter:I don't get that. I'm pretty sure I would have died. I just put that out there. But they did what it took, right? I want to be with my fellow people.
John Gunter:I will meet in a small house with no air conditioning because I love God and I love His church. I love His body. You can read that in Romans 16, Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risk their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well, greet also the church in their house. I was teaching a class or preaching a sermon one time and and the guy said, well, I don't read anywhere where they had house churches. I think we're talking about small groups.
John Gunter:I said, have you read scripture? The church in their house and actually, you read Romans 16, there are other verses like this. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. Scholars kind of think that this is talking about Aristobulus might not be a Christian yet, but there is a church that is meeting in his home. Greet that family.
John Gunter:Greet that church because that's what they did. They did whatever it took to meet together in worship. But instead of doing whatever it takes to meet together, we have fallen into the trap of desiring our preferences or maybe even our calendar over anything else. We have very strong opinions on what the worship style should be. We have very strong opinions about what the preacher should or should not say or how long or short he says it.
John Gunter:And by the way, I've gotten both. Before coming to this church, I've never once had someone say, Your sermon was too short. I can now check that off the list. We have very strong opinions about what the youth minister does or does not do and how I would do it, but what I'm gonna tell you is preference driven people miss the big blessings of life because we are so focused on what we want what I desire, and whether or not that is being met, that we begin worshiping ourselves instead of worshiping God. What we miss is all the blessings happening all around us at all times.
John Gunter:Whether or not this service has gone the way you wanted or thought it should or anything like that today, you are a blessed people. We live in a blessed place to be able to be here. You had the option. No one made you, no one kept you from coming this morning, And you are here. That is a blessing.
John Gunter:But if all you did this morning is get up wondering or worried about what it was that was going to happen, and whether or not it was going to meet my expectations, you miss that. What we need to be doing is focusing back on Jesus, focusing on God and his blessings for us. It is time to say I will to corporate worship. Again, that's just the idea of us being together. I really like action items.
John Gunter:I like things to take away. You like that? We are going to give you 4 today. Worship action items: number 1, I would love it if everybody walked away saying today, number 1, I will attend worship services. Like anything else on your calendar, like anything else you may desire, that takes commitment, doesn't it?
John Gunter:It takes a priority. It takes just saying, this is what we do. Some of you grew up in a house. You didn't ever have to ask that question because you knew, as we say, the doors were open. We were going, whether I felt like it or not.
John Gunter:Right? But that that comes from a commitment. We are going to be there. I may not feel the greatest or, man, I'd like to to take a nap or whatever. It's been a a rough week.
John Gunter:But have you ever had a rough week and gone to church and going, my goodness, how would I survive without it? I thought I need to stay home away from it. What I needed was to make sure I went. Because it wasn't about me, it was about what God could do. Right?
John Gunter:We we forget about him. I'm so tired. Well, won't you come to the one that can give you rest? Number 2, I will pray before I attend worship service. I will pray before I attend worship service.
John Gunter:You might have thought we had too many prayers today. I'm gonna throw one more on you. Pray before you get here. I want you to pray, about the attitude that you come with. I want you to pray, for the people that are gonna stand up here.
John Gunter:I covet your prayers every single time I get up here. I'm sure for Tyler and everyone else that does too, for Jordan, everyone that stands up here. We want your prayers. I want you to pray for the for the person across the aisle, for the person that needs to hear about Jesus today. I want you to pray.
John Gunter:I want you to pray for yourself That as you come to this place that I am open, that I don't have a hard heart. I want you to do that in the morning as you get up on Sunday. I want you to pray as you enter the auditorium. And now that I'm here and reality is right in my face, now I've seen that brother or sister that we're not getting along as much, now my attitude's changed. I want you to pray.
John Gunter:Pray that God will fix whatever is the issue in your life. Pray that we all move closer to him. Can you do that? Pray that you will be a worshiper instead of a judge. Because if you have just come to judge, you have not come to worship.
John Gunter:Worship is a devotion to Him. It is showing thanks and giving praise to Him. And if you are here to give and this is a perfect time in the Olympics, a 7 out of 10 didn't land the dismount. You have missed it. And again, that's what we do often, as we are so focused on ourselves and what we desire that we miss all of this.
John Gunter:And so one more time, I will attend worship services. I will pray before I attend worship services. I will pray as I enter the auditorium as it comes into view. I will pray that I will be a worshiper instead of a judge. Come to worship, not to judge.
John Gunter:I will worship with others. Will that be your commitment today? I don't want you to miss it. I've said it before, I want you to worship God no matter where you are. Worship should be a part of our lives at lunch today, on the road Monday morning when everything is getting in our way.
John Gunter:Worship of God, praise for Him should be able to get us through the week, get us through those bad situations, but only if you're devoted, and only if you can. And so let worship permeate your life, not just your life here, not just your life by yourself, but all together. Worship by yourself. Pray in the deer stand, guys. Worship God while you're out on the lake.
John Gunter:Ladies, I have no idea where you do that. I'll just go ahead and say. Maybe some of y'all are deer standing fishermen people too. But wherever you find yourselves, wherever your happy place is, worship God and praise him for that moment. But also praise him for the chance you get to be a part of the body, to find encouragement from all the people, all the other members of the body.
John Gunter:And so let's leave here this morning saying I will worship with others. We've got a song of invitation. Would you come as we stand and as we sing this song?