Making The Most Of Your Church
As humans it’s in our nature to get the most out of everything we can, the media is full of people exploiting their fifteen minutes of fame and yet in the church we can get tied up in routine and forget what’s right there in front of us. Andy Gorman looks at how to get the best out of our local church.
I was given a great gift recently, an awesome power washer! (You know; the kind that you see on the petrol station forecourts for blasting off the mud from your car). Interestingly, included with the instructions was a little pamphlet called, "How to make the most of your new Draper Power Washer". As I'm a bit of nerd when it comes to checking through all the instructions I took the time to see what it had to say and I soon realised that Draper really wanted me to enjoy this product! They went over-board to really sell it to me. You could say it's exactly the same in church life too - Just like 'Draper', God wants you to really enjoy being part of a His local Church and make the most of everything He's got to offer you.
Sadly many Christians are just not making the most of their local church and so I want to help you understand how you could really set yourself up to make a difference in Hope City Church, how you could get the most out of your local church - God wants you to love being here! In the Bible, in Genesis 28 we read a well known account of Jacob, who whilst on the run from his angry brother rested for the night by the side of mountain path and had a strange dream. When he awoke he commented, "Surely the Lord is in this place and I was not aware of it! This is none other than the House of God." Often, this is the sad testimony of many Christians today as well. Men and women of God who think they know God well, think they are following Him but in reality don't have a great revelation of what God is like. While Jacob was 'sleeping' there was a conversation going on between Heaven and earth, a transaction of supernatural activity coming straight down from heaven to earth and back again…yet Jacob didn't perceive it.
Sometimes we can be in church, enjoying the company of friends and family, but one thing isn't quite right - the supernatural power of God is here and we don't even know it. To get the most out of your church you must first believe that it's none other than the very gateway of Heaven itself, it's the house of God and it was always meant to be a place where God would dwell and do many great things. It's time to ask these questions, "Do I feel like I'm sleeping while the things of Heaven come in and out of this world all around me?" "Is the Church of God really such a dynamic place of supernatural activity without me even realising?" Well, I've got great news for you - God wants your local church to be more than just a place you attend on Sundays. He wants you to see it as your place of destiny - the place of your strength and here's how you can experience that. Here are three things we need to learn if we're going to get the best out of church:
Learn How the Place Works!
Sometimes people don't make the most of things because they just don't know how things work! For example, if you want to fly to Spain for your holidays, there is a way you must go about it. First you start at the airport - the plane won't pick you up at your house! You don't just get on the plane though either, there's a whole process before that. There's the luggage check-in, the security checks, passport control and the boarding gate etc, and all the way through the airport you keep checking the screens and listening for announcements that might be important for your flight. It's just the way it works and if you've been flying for a few years you soon learn how to do things. Similarly, when I got married to Karen I had to learn how her family worked and how they did things. Needless to say, they were very different to mine!
Here at Hope City Church there is unique and certain culture that we have. We speak faith and expect transformation. Generosity is encouraged and honour is important to us. For starters, maybe some of you find yourself a little frustrated at times that you're not getting the most out of church life here… so, what's stopping you from really learning how things work? Knowing the culture of your local church is an important key to knowing how to make the most of your involvement there, and ultimately setting yourself upon a sure foundation for life in God.
Learn to Prepare Your Heart!
Your heart could be described as the engine room of your life. Make sure you look after it. I believe also that you can prepare your heart in such a way as to make the most out of church. When you go for a job interview or to meet an important client, your involvement with the people concerned doesn't just start when you arrive. I imagine that you will have already prepared a great deal of what you want to say and do. You will have thought out what you will wear, what time you'll get there, what you're going to say, what you think they'll say etc. It's called preparation! When preparation meets opportunity, success is inevitable. Your local church is opportunity galore! Your level of preparation will determine how much of the opportunity you will be able to take advantage of. Your greatest preparation is your prayer life. Prayer sensitizes you to God's voice and His presence. This means you'll actually get more out of the service and be able to enjoy a more meaningful relationship with God. You could pray for salvation, the worship leader, the kids programme…even the Pastor! The important thing is that all the while, you're preparing your heart for an encounter with God at church because you're already in tune with him outside of church.
Learn to Live by Purpose!
To get the most out of church, you must settle in your heart why it is that you come to church in the first place. No one can do this for you; the reason must be your own. Without purpose (and vision) your life ultimately gets quite messy! Have a quick look at Matthew 21:12 -13. In this short account from the Bible, we read that the people had completely forgotten why they went to church (the big temple in Jerusalem). Consequently, it had gotten messy and Jesus had to remind them the hard way! The moment Jesus set things straight though, God's power began to flow again and many people were changed by His power through Jesus (v14), in other words - they began to make the most out of what church life was really all about. If you don't know why you're coming to church, chances are you will be easily distracted, someone will find a reason for you and it may be the wrong one! Your preferences and conveniences are always negotiable but your purpose and convictions aren't - so make sure you know them!
For some of you, you've been simply hanging around church and now you want it to count in your life, no more just 'attending'. You want a cause. For others reading this today - maybe you're starting to feel there must be something more than what you're currently experiencing in your local church. Well, today's your day to start getting the most out your church! In Acts 20:35 Jesus said, "It's more blessed to give than receive." It's so important that we come to church with an attitude to be givers more than takers. Be producer, more than a consumer and be determined not just to be blessed, but to be a blessing also. Finally, be encouraged…you're in your church to flourish and reach your maximum potential in God!