Topical Sermons - To Seek Or To Serve?

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                         "TO SEEK OR TO SERVE?"


INTRODUCTION

1. Why do you go to church...?
   a. Some seek to be entertained
   b. Others seek to encounter God

2. A news article suggest  many young people are interested in the
   latter, but are often disappointed.  Some excerpts from the article:
   a. It's not that they don't care. In a study, 80 percent of people in
      their 20s said their faith is very important in their lives.
      Nearly 60 percent claimed to have made a commitment to Jesus
      Christ.  Three-fourths told the Barna Research Group of Ventura,
      Calif., that they prayed during the past seven days."
   b. But in a typical week, just three out of 10 of them attend church.
      Only 30 percent of adults in their 20s donated something to a
      church during the past year; the same percentage holds for those
      who have read the Bible during any given week.
   c. "One of the trends we're noticing is people are looking for
      something that's real," said Charlie Granade, singles pastor at
      Dayspring Baptist Church in Mobile.
   d. "College students are looking for a worship service where there's
      nothing fancy," Granade said, adding that his church offers such
      an experience during its 'Unplugged' service on Monday nights.
   e. Sally Morganthaler addressed such desires in her book Worship
      Evangelism: Inviting Unbelievers Into the Presence of God. "Young
      people want to encounter the 'other' at church, but they are not
      finding it there," she said. "They're finding programs, they're
      finding games, they're finding cute things to do, but they're not
      finding an experience with the 'other' they assume is there
      somewhere in the world."
   -- Young Adults Believe In God, Aren't So Crazy About Church, By
      Kristen Campbell, Religion News Service, January 3, 2004

3. My feelings were mixed as I read the article...
   a. I am encouraged that people want to find God, and not be
      entertained in church
   b. Yet I wonder if they realize there is more to church services than
      "seeking God"

[So I ask again, "Why do you go to church?"  To be entertained?  To seek
God?  Or is there another reason, one that might be as important as
seeking God?  First let me say that..]

I. TO SEEK GOD IS GOOD

   A. ONE SHOULD CERTAINLY SEEK THE LORD...
      1. He is the source of sustenance and strength - Ps 34:10; 105:4
      2. He is the source of wisdom and understanding - Pr 28:5
      3. God wants us to seek Him - Ac 17:26-27
      4. Jesus wants us to seek first His kingdom and righteousness - Mt
         6:33

   B. ONE WOULD HOPE TO FIND GOD IN CHURCH...
      1. Paul wrote about possible reactions by visitors - cf. 1Co 14:
         23-25
      2. We should hope that our services draw people nearer to God, not
         away from Him!

   C. YET GOD IS FOUND IN OBEDIENCE, NOT ATTENDANCE...
      1. The Father and the Son abide with us as we keep Jesus'
         commandments - Jn 14:21,23
         a. This is how we truly know Jesus and the Father - cf. 1Jn 2:
            3-5,24
         b. Abide in the doctrine of Christ, and we have both the Father
            and the Son - 2Jn 9
      2. God (and Jesus) are found when we obey Their commands
         a. Such as the command to believe - He 11:6; cf. Jn 8:24
         b. Such as the command to repent - Ac 17:30-31
         c. Such as the command to confess - Ro 10:9-10
         d. Such as the command to be baptized - Mk 16:16; Ac 2:38
            1) In which we are united with Christ - Ro 6:3-4
            2) In which we put on Christ - Ga 3:27
      3. When we are saved, the Lord adds us to His church (i.e., we
         have found God!) - cf. Ac 2:41,47

   D. THEN GOD CAN BE FOUND ANYWHERE, ANYTIME...
      1. Even in one's room, through prayer - Mt 6:6; cf. He 4:13-16
      2. Even when forsaken by all others - 2Ti 4:16-17

[To seek God is good.  But one will not find Him by just going to
church.  One must obey the Gospel, and abide in His Word.  Then one can
find God anywhere.  Then why go to church?  Because...]

II. TO SERVE GOD IS BETTER

   A. FINDING GOD, WE MUST SERVE HIM...
      1. For this reason we were cleansed by the blood of Jesus - cf. He
         9:14
      2. For this reason we are receiving an unshakable kingdom - cf. He
         12:28
      3. We will continue to serve God in eternity - cf. Re 7:15; 22:3
      -- What good is it to find God, if we do not serve Him?

   B. WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE IN CHURCH...
      1. As we offer the sacrifices of praise through song and prayer
         a. We are spiritual priests, ordained to offer spiritual
            sacrifices - 1Pe 2:5
         b. We do so through the fruit of our lips - He 13:15
      2. As we edify one another through our assembling and praise
         a. We exhort one another by not forsaking our assembling
            together - He 10:24-25
         b. We teach and edify one another in the songs we sing - Co
            3:16
      3. As we make intercession for others through praying
         a. As Paul exhorted Timothy to do - 1Ti 2:1-3
         b. If the prayer of one righteous man avails much, more so the
            prayers of many righteous - cf. Jm 5:16
      4. As we partake of the Lord's Supper on the first day of the week
         a. In which we proclaim the Lord's death - 1Co 11:23-26
         b. In which we display our unity in the one body - cf. 1Co 10:
            16-17
      5. As we lay by in store on the first day of the week
         a. We minister to the needs of others through the collection
            - cf. 1Co 16:1-2
         b. We encourage others to give thanks to God - cf. 2Co 9:12-13
      -- Even if not a single sermon is preached, all of us have the
         opportunity to serve God every time we come to church!

CONCLUSION

1. Regarding the reasons one may go to church, may I suggest that as
   Christians...
   a. It is not be entertained, against which Paul warned - cf. 2Ti 4:
      3-4
   b. It is not even to seek God or experience the 'other' (for we are
      already His children)

2. We assemble together as the church for the opportunity to serve...
   a. To serve God through our acts of devotion
   b. To serve His children through the same means

3. With this attitude, it will not matter whether we assemble with 10
   people or 10,000...
   a. We still offer our service to our Lord and Creator
   b. We still encourage those who are present

4. When we assemble with an attitude and readiness to serve God and our
   brethren...
   a. We will get more out of any service we attend
   b. For the more one puts into something, the more they get out of it
   c. And as Jesus said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive"
      - cf. Ac 20:35

Have you found God through faith and obedience to His Son?  If so, are
you willing to serve God and His children both in and out of the
assemblies of the church...?
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