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In this last section concerning exhortation on every believer’s duty to the church, I would mention one more crucial responsibility which every church member has from God. The church is a spiritual house, where every believer is called “to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 2:5). Everyone, who is thankful to be forgiven and received by the Lord into His kingdom, will count it a high honour to have a part in God’s glorious purposes for this age which He is accomplishing through faithful local assemblies of believers. Would a thankful child of God despise or forsake the role/s which God expects him to undertake in His church? Undoubtedly, the one who is genuinely committed to the Lord Jesus Christ will also be committed to doing all that Christ has required of him in His church.

Serve the Church Readily and Responsibly

Though the Lord expects all His people to serve in the church, some have chosen to remain as mere spectators and avoid serving in the church dutifully and humbly. In a growing church like ours, there are various areas of service. Many brethren serve in multiple areas of the church. Serving the Lord does not necessarily mean rising to leadership roles of the church or full-time service in the church. Without a doubt, God will call some to leadership and full-time service in the church. However, God expects all church members to serve in the church according to their God-given abilities.

Areas of service in the church are many: welcoming the worshippers and attending to their needs, helping in ushering duties, preparing the auditorium for the worship and meetings, setting up and safekeeping all the equipment before and after the meetings, fetching the physically disabled to church meetings, praying with those who are troubled, gospel outreach ministries, visiting the sick and needy to express the love and care of the church, hosting fellowship groups in one’s home, and aiding our global mission outreaches – just to mention a few general areas of service. Many more areas of service are already available, and more can be set up when more members prayerfully and willingly seek to be part of the church’s ministries. Members of the church should extend their God-given spiritual gifts (skill, expertise, and assistance) to sustain services, resolve problems, as well as improve the church ministries’ efficiency.

Consider the apostolic exhortation in Rom. 12:4-8: “For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.” Rendering of service must always be with the following right attitudes: (i) humility before God; (ii) obedience to His Word; (iii) meekness, love and patience towards fellow workers and the recipients of the service; (iv) willingness, commitment, and thoroughness; (v) sacrificial and joyous spirit. People who whiz past and thrust themselves into service in the church like a “hot shot”, usually end up in quarrels over petty issues and a quick exit from serving. We must continuously maintain attitudes that will foster harmonious colabouring, “for we are labourers together with God” (1 Cor. 3:9). “Giving no offence in any thing,” said Paul concerning his cautious attitude in serving with others, “that the ministry be not blamed” (2 Cor. 6:3). God’s Word teaches us not to let our attitudes or actions be a stumbling block or an offence to others who serve fervently. When you join a team that is working together efficiently in a particular manner, be careful not to stick your oar in a disruptive way. If changes are necessary for improvement, they must be discussed with leaders and fellow team members, and then implemented with patience and prudence. Do nothing rashly, or else it will hurt a well-functioning ministry.

Above all else, faithfulness to God’s Word must always be maintained in every aspect of service in the church. 1 Cor. 4:2 reminds us, “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” Along with it, 1 Pet. 4:10 says, “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” The faithfulness of a good steward of God should always characterise every church member. God desires that His people be consistently obedient to His Word, unwavering in their commitment to be faithful to Him and His purposes. Faithfulness is paramount in our service in the church. Faithfulness must supersede pragmatism and efficiency in all our decisions, choices, attitudes, methods and activities. Loyalty to God and trustworthiness are paramount, not cleverness or creativeness or popularity. God requires faithfulness from all who serve Him.

While the church members serve diligently and faithfully, they must also be appreciative and encouraging of those who serve faithfully around them. Such a servant of the Lord was the apostle Paul. While he served the Lord faithfully, he sincerely and joyfully recommended and spurred on those who were his faithful fellow-labourers. He said of Tychicus, “a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellowservant in the Lord” (Col. 4:7; cf. Eph. 6:21). Of Onesimus, he said, “a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you” (Col. 4:9). Concerning Timothy, he fondly commended, “Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church” (1 Cor. 4:17). Paul’s generous words about Epaphras were thus: “our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ” (Col. 1:7). Paul also instructed the Philippian church to receive the faithful Epaphroditus and hold him in high regard – “Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness; and hold such in reputation” (Phil. 2:29).

Every church member must be ready to serve responsibly in the ministries of the church so that various ministries for the salvation of souls and the edification of the saints will grow from strength to strength. Dear brother/sister, having understood the Lord’s expectation of you to be a serving member of the church, can you be unconcerned and apathetic towards serving in the church? Will you continue to be indifferent, saying, “I don’t know if I want to get involved in the church ministries; I don’t know if I want to work with those people”? Rather, be willing to serve responsibly. Be spontaneous in availing yourself where you can offer your service.

Sermon Text: Selected Scripture Texts
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 21st February 2021

In these days, many Christians live without any sense of belonging, commitment and loyalty to the church. They appear to create their own spiritual environment without any responsible relationship with the church. But the Lord has instructed the believers to gather as a church to be partakers of worship, sacraments, prayer, fellowship, and learning of God’s Word. Furthermore, God’s Word teaches Christians to know and perform faithfully their duties as members of the church, such as mentioned below:

Pray for the Church

Before Christ’s ascension, He commanded the apostles to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit’s promised empowerment, that they may be His witnesses all around the world (Lk. 24:46-49; Acts 1:4). So, the apostles “continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren” (Acts 1:14). That first prayer gathering after Christ’s ascension, which began with just the eleven apostles, eventually grew to a total of about 120 (Acts 1:15). From that group of praying men and women who waited for the power of the Holy Spirit, the first New Testament church sprang up in Jerusalem (Acts 2:1-47)!

The Lord’s instruction to the apostles to tarry in Jerusalem led them to a season of prayer, together with other believers. They prayed with hearts submissive to the Lord’s command, and with the joyous expectationof the Spirit’s power that would empower them as witnesses to the Gospel in a hostile world. Though they knew that life and the ministry ahead of them would be full of trials and sorrows, they hardly knew the details of what would happen. But their persistence in prayer prepared them for all the challenges which they would face. Through constant collective prayers, the church overcame persecution, apostasy, temptation, and made significant progress in preaching the Gospel and advancing the church’s work.

The early church relied on God through prayer for all their spiritual and physical needs. They relentlessly pursued divine help in prayer. They prayed individually as believers and corporately as a church (cf. Acts 1:14, 24; 4:24-31).

Sadly, prayer is much neglected in the church at large. In today’s churches, we hear of large crowds turning up for concerts, for entertainment, and even for listening to the testimonies of the rich and famous. Prayer meetings, on the other hand, attract only the faithful few. Lack of interest in prayer is the primary reason for the weakness of the contemporary church.

Under the influence of the Holy Ghost, a praying church will be empowered and guided to fulfil God’s glorious purposes concerning its work on earth. Believers will be built up in knowledge and godliness to serve the Lord in love, unity and peace, that the Gospel may spread far and near. The Spirit of God will invigorate a praying church to magnify the Lord, that more members may be added to the church as the blessings of the Gospel of Christ spread throughout the community.

Support the Church

From the inception of the New Testament church, the activities, workers and the needy members of the church were adequately supported by the generous (often sacrificial) giving of its members. We read concerning the first church, that “all that believed were together, and had all things common; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need” (Acts 2:44-45). The church’s support by its members has been enjoined as a divine command – “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). Giving to the church’s cause should neither be a forced service nor a painful duty, but a joyful rendering of our hearts’ devotion to God. “Every man according to his ability” must determine the manner we send support (cf. Acts 11:29). Concerning the help received from the churches in Macedonia, the apostle Paul testified that “beyond their power they were willing of themselves; praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints” (2 Cor 8:3-4).

The church cannot carry out its ministries without its members’ generous support. Continual support is needed for: (i) the furtherance of the Gospel, (ii) edification of the believers, (iii) salaries of pastors, preachers, missionaries and the church staff, (iv) support of the mission stations, (v) purchase and maintenance of equipment and software for the media ministry, (vi) the work of benevolence towards the poor and helpless, and more. Only when all the church members joyfully shoulder the church ministries’ burdens can the church fulfil the Lord’s work expeditiously.

Our church should not look like a dilapidated, neglected house. Every department of the church must be well taken care of. God wants us to be good stewards of His house. When He put Adam in the garden of Eden, He expected him “to dress it and to keep it” (Gen. 2:15). God expects man to be responsible over the realm where he is placed to keep the place well-organised and functional according to His glorious will.

The members of the congregation should be thoughtful in attending to the needs of the church. Like their own homes, they should care for the various areas of the church. A church growing in size and ministries will have many matters to be attended to, such as increasing number of staff and providing for their remuneration, new ministries and their needs, maintenance and repair of the buildings, furniture, equipment, vehicles, etc., the physical and spiritual care of members, among others. How wonderful it would be if members would attend to all such matters without appeals for support from the pulpit! The pastor and elders can thereby be spared from the uncomfortable job of regular plea for funds (which sometimes may unwittingly make it appear as though they are pleading for their personal interests).

A generously supported church will be like a well-oiled machine that is smooth-running and productive. Such a congregation will become a channel of blessing in God’s work and bring glory and praise to God. Many servants of God and His people who benefit from our well-run ministries will offer praise to God, as Paul did for the generosity of the Philippian church – “I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity… ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction. Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity. Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God. But my God shall supply all your need according to

Text: 3 John 12–14
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 14th February 2021

Text: 3 John 9–11
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 7th February 2021

Every Christian is instructed in the Scriptures concerning his God-ordained duties to the church, which no Christian should neglect. Neglecting his duties to the church is dishonouring and defying God who commanded them. Dereliction of one’s responsibilities to the church is also tantamount to obstructing the cause of His kingdom. No real child of God would abandon his duty in his Father’s house.

Attend the Church

It has always been Christians’ practice to meet together in an appointed place, on the appointed day, at the appointed time, for participating in worship, receiving instruction of the Word, fellowship, prayer, observance of sacraments, etc. The following are some of the New Testament passages that record the believers’ commitment to gather as a church:

• “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart” (Acts 2:46).
• “And it came to pass, as we went to prayer….” (Acts 16:16).
• “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them…” (Acts 20:7).

Though verses below were taken from the apostle Paul’s correction of the Corinthian Christians’ misconduct, they provide abundant evidence to their regular gathering together as a church:

• “In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together…” (1 Cor 5:4).
• “Now in this that I declare unto you … that ye come together …For first of all, when ye come together in the church…” (1 Cor 11:17, 18).
• “When ye come together therefore into one place …” (1 Cor 11:20).
• “If therefore the whole church be come together into one place…” (1 Cor 14:23).
• “How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying” (1 Cor 14:26).
• “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come” (1 Cor 16:2).

After early Christians were prohibited from entering the temple and synagogues of the Jews, they often met in believers’ homes, which could accommodate many who could gather. When Aquila and Priscilla were in Rome, they hosted a church gathering in the house where they lived (Rom 16:5). The believers in Rome were spread throughout the city and met together in different locations in the city. One of the congregations was that which met in the house of Aquila and Priscilla. Similar house churches existed in other cites also (cf. 1 Cor 16:19; Col 4:15; Philem 2). At times, they gathered in large buildings, such as schools (e.g. the school of Tyrannus - Acts 19:9).

Those who neglected the church meetings were cited as bad examples whom genuine Christians should avoid. Christians were exhorted to be participants of church gatherings: “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24-25). The words, “the assembling of ourselves together”, refer to church gatherings, such as worship services, Bible Studies, prayer meetings, etc. The Greek word used here (episynagōgē) suggests some official assembling of the believers.

Apparently, some had been neglecting the Christians’ public gathering. They wilfully deserted the “communion of the saints”, which was regarded as serious spiritual misconduct. Their failure in attending the church gatherings could have been due to a lack of interest in the worship, laziness, engagement in worldly affairs, or falling away from the faith.

Christian assemblies are summoned to provide spiritual nourishment for the believers through worship, mutual service and fellowship – i.e. to “consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works… exhorting one another…” By coming together, Christians are expected to strengthen and stimulate one another in their spiritual walk. Having close and regular fellowship with other believers is an absolute necessity for spiritual growth and fruit-bearing. Association with other Christians provides every believer with spiritual nourishment and growth. Immeasurable good can come from spiritual association and activities with other Christians. The New Testament lends no support to the idea of lone Christians. On the contrary, it condemns such a notion.

Attending church gatherings must be a habit maintained by every genuine Christian. It ought to be every Christian’s practice unless prevented by some exigencies. If a Christian is compelled to be absent from the church, it must be a sorely painful matter to him - and he must return to the church meetings at the earliest possible opportunity.

A Christian’s absence from the church meetings will deprive him of the spiritual blessings that God provides through them. On the other hand, when members of the church attend the church’s pre-announced meetings, they bring cheer and encouragement to the pastor(s) / elders / preachers whom God has ordained to minister His Word in the church for the edification of every church member.

A deserter of church assemblies discourages and prevents his family members from fulfilling their God-ordained duty of attending the church regularly. His disinterest and abandonment of church meetings become a terrible example and influence on others around him, especially those closely related to him. He is also neglecting his duty to call others to hear the preaching of the Gospel. He thus becomes a great waster of opportunities for his and others’ spiritual progress.

Every Christian must be committed to building up his family life around the church, and not the world. The family that regularly participates in church meetings and activities will be well-grounded in the truths of God’s Word and the love of Christian fellowship. Active participation in church meetings and activities will protect the family against the worldliness that lures the youths away from godliness and service to the Lord. Consistent involvement in the events of the church will be profitable for the family’s spiritual progress. “For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness” (Psalm 84:10).

It is both the duty and privilege of believers to go into the LORD’s house. There they will find spiritual pleasure, and rejoice in the abundance of divine peace and comfort. There they will have their spiritual strength renewed, spiritual enthusiasm revived. So, let us prayerfully desire and prepare to be in the LORD’s house with His people – “LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth” (Psalm 26:8).

May each of our testimonies be as the psalmist’s: “I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday” (Psalm 42:4). I end this article with a prayer that every Gethsemanean will testify with joy and sincerity, “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD” (Psalm 122:1).

Text: 3 John 7–8
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 31st January 2021

Text: 3 John 5–8
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 24th January 2021