If you look around at different families - say, different families in our church
There are some who tend to have tall children
And there are some who tend to have short children
Is that because different families have different well water?
How about if you put a kid in a long bed as he/she is growing up
-will that make the kid grow taller?
-& similarly, put the kid in a short bed - will that make him/her shorter?
No - of course, it mostly has to do with genetics - parents pass down traits
-of tallness, shortness or mediumness
But there are certain environmental factors that contribute to growth also
A child is born with certain genetics & a potential to grow
-but to reach full growth potential
-there’s certain nutrition that’s required
-vitamins, minerals, proteins - all the necessary nutrients
-there’s the need to stay healthy
-there are diseases & poisons that can stunt growth
-the environment still has to be just right for the best growth
-an environment that’s lacking the nutrients & health
-will tend to stunt growth
Now, how about a church like ours - the RCBC?
Or any similar local church?
What does it take to grow?
I’ve been prayerfully thinking about this recently
-& we’ve been discussing this as a church board & leadership
-& I’d like you to consider also:
What will it take for our church to grow?
You have to believe, God wants churches to grow
Jesus told His disciples:
Matthew 16:16-19
Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
17 Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
From this classic statement of the Lord
-the first mention of the church in the Bible
-we understand that:
1. Jesus plans for the church to grow
2. Jesus is the foundation - the Rock
3. Jesus will be successful
4. Disciples have an important part in the process of that growth
So, kind of like a child growing
-there are certain elements of genetic potential - that are beyond our control
-but there are also environmental elements
-that we need to be careful to supply
-the nutrients & good health
God has a plan for our church
-it’s to grow
-it’s to grow on Jesus Christ as our foundation
-He’s the foundation & the Head
-we’re the body of Christ - we’re the building of the Church
But there are a lot of things to consider when we think
-of our part in this process of growing the RCBC
We can grow in numbers, but that’s not always growth according to God’s plan
-there are a lot of organizations that grow with a lot of people
-such organizations might not even be churches
-even though they call themselves churches
-remember, Jesus Christ must be the foundation - the Rock
-if we build on something else - it’s not a church
-it’s not what God has in mind
How can we grow as a church? What do we need to do?
Very simply, we need to feed off of God’s Word - that needs to be our diet
-& that’s a principle of itself
-& that’s what we will always want to emphasize here at the
Range Community Bible Church
Also, very foundational in this growth, is our fellowship
The church is the body of Christ
-it’s made up of many individuals
-& will growth with the addition of more individuals adding to our body
That’s growth - adding more people to the body of Christ
In order for that to happen, people have to work together
-people have to work together with people who are already in the body
-& people have to work together with new people coming into the body
Let’s feed off of God’s Word - as we seek to grow this church
And let’s consider some things about working together
Of course, most of the Bible is about this subject - of people working together
-everything that is written about love applies
-everything written about what we do with/for “One another” applies
-we can’t cover it all at once - hardly in a lifetime
-but, let’s just try to cover some practical points as we think of growth
-as we think of a new season upon us here at RCBC
-as we’ve been covering some things that have to do with serving God
-in this church together - so we can see this church grow
-according to God’s will
Let’s look first as what Paul had to write to the Corinthian church about growth
1 Corinthains 3:1 Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly — mere infants in Christ.
It’s important to understand that church growth is to be a growth,
-both in maturity & in numbers
-spiritual & numerical growth is God’s plan - for the church
These people had some problems - they weren’t growing correctly spiritually
-they were too much like the world
-the non-believing world that’s not following God
-that’s a problem
-God wants us to grow to become like Christ & to reach out
-growing in numbers
-spiritual growth & numerical growth go together
-they are both needed for church growth the way God wants it
vv.1-3a
Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly — mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly.
We need to feed off God’s Word in order to grow
-the Bible is our nutrition
2 Tim 3:16-17
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
1 Peter 2:1-3
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
So, the Word of God is our nutrition for growth
But to really grow to adulthood in the faith
-we need to move on from milk from a baby bottle
-to more solid food - figuratively speaking
-what that means, is that we apply what we learn from God’s Word
-if we don’t apply what we are taught
-& we don’t let it change our lives while we are reading
& hearing God’s Word
-& we stay as little babies in the faith without teeth to chew solids
-we won’t be growing - we’ll be stunted
e.g. When you go to a nursing home - what do you expect to see?
You see honorable elderly people for the most part
Who’ve grown up & spent most of their lives
What would it be like if you went to a nursing home
& everyone still looked like babies?
And the nurse in charge said,
“These people never grew up, but they are all old & ready to die!”
Wouldn’t that be tragic!
However, that’s true of a lot of churches
-churches that are dying with a bunch of babies!
Why? Because they didn’t have their lives changed by the Word of God
-they never applied it
Let’s pray that’s not true of us
& each of us needs to consider our own status of growth or lack of growth
Are we taking God’s Word seriously?
Are we allowing the Lord to change our lives?
Or, are we like the guy at a party, who goes to the bathroom,
& looks in the mirror
-sees the ketchup on his chin - but doesn’t wipe it off?
-& goes back out to the party with that ketchup all down his chin
James 1:22-25
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it — he will be blessed in what he does.
So, there were problems with the church in Corinth - Paul wrote,
-they weren’t growing in their faith
-they were a stunted church - a bunch of spiritual babies
If you read the whole book, you’ll come across a number of problems
-but there was one in particular - they weren’t getting along
-they didn’t have coordinated fellowship
-instead of working together - they were working against each other
vv.3b-4
For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? 4 For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not mere men?
They had these factions developed - where people were in competition
-with each other
-almost as if they formed teams within the church to win over other teams
-it was a Vikings against the Packers mentality
1 Corinthians 1:10-12
I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11 My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12 What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas"; still another, "I follow Christ."
So, Paul picks it up again in chapter 3 - writing,
“I can’t write to you as followers of God,
“It’s like you are following people in an ungodly way!”
Instead of a growing church, a coordinated body of believers
-they were more like the NFL
-where teams played against each other in stiff competition
-to see who was the best
-& so there was no unified body of believers
-serving together & working together for God
-you can image,
-there were people critical of each other in how they did things
-finding fault with each other
-trying to defeat others in the church,
-rather than build them up & include each other
For church growth - we need cooperation - we need to be working together
-in love & unity of purpose & spirit
-there are problems that come up & sometimes, we’ll do wrong things
-all that needs to be addressed & there are ways to do it in the fellowship
-but in order to grow, we need to work together & have connections together
-& our purpose needs to be focused on the Lord
-becoming disciples & making disciples
vv.5-9
What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe — as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. 9 For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.
God makes the church grow
There are workers in the church who help the process of growth
And, there are people who come together to be the growth - to be the church
-but it’s all designed to create the Body of Christ - where Jesus is the Head
-or we can think of it as a building - a temple
-where Jesus is the foundation
& the church is the structure on the foundation
-that’s what we’re to build
vv.10-17
By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. 14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.
16 Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? 17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.
So, in regard to church growth - we all have a responsibility to build the church
We have a calling to work to try to make the church grow
Once you put your faith in Jesus to be your Savior
-in other words, you commit your trust & dependence on Him to have lovingly
-died in your place, for your sin,
-& you trust Him to be your way to God & eternity in heaven
-when you trust Jesus in that way - by the Holy Spirit,
-you are placed into the Body of Christ - the Church
-you are placed into the Temple of God on the foundation of Christ
-you have eternal life
-as clarified here, you don’t work for God to get to heaven
-you are going to heaven because you trust in Jesus
-His sacrifice gets you to heaven
-but now, you work for God because you want to - because you love Him
-& in the end, you’ll be rewarded
-if you don’t work to build God’s Church - you’ll still be in heaven
-but you’ll miss out on rewards
We need to be “careful how we build”
-in order to build God’s temple - the church - we need to be working together
-that’s the problem - & one of the problems
-Paul was addressing to the Corinthians
-& this problem of not working together
-it’s a problem that we have had, & have, & will have
-we need to work together
How are we doing right now?
How are you doing right now - in the realm of working in fellowship?
In getting along with other believers?
In cooperation? Teamwork?
Are we on the same team - building the church?
Or, are we competing with brothers & sisters against each other?
-like in Corinth?
Are we building the temple of God - or tearing it down?
Listen to the words of Jesus:
Matthew 18:19-20
"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
God wants the RCBC to grow
Ultimately, Jesus will be successful in growing His church
Will we be a good part of that?
It takes some effort - probably a lot of effort on our part to work for the Lord
-in this building & construction work of growing His Church
-the Lord has given us the potential for growth
-let’s get the right nutrition & promote health - so we can grow
-the nutrition is God’s Word
-health - is our loving relationships with one another
-let’s work on being two or three - or many others coming together
-in His Name
-& let’s sense His presence with us
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