Gather: What if Everybody Gathered?
What does it mean to be the church?
That’s a question worth thinking about.
Is church something we show up to attend once a week?
Do we choose a church based on the preaching, the music, the building it’s in, the location, the songs they sing, or if they serve good coffee on Sunday mornings?
What about churches with lights, world class production, and state of the art technology?
What about churches that meet in homes, or schools, or the neighborhood park?
What makes us a member of a church?
Does that happen when we fill out a form and check a box? Does church membership get us something?
Are we a member if we show up a certain amount of times a month, or give a certain amount, or serve in some sort of way? Can we be a member if we only check in online?
What if I consider myself a part of a church and have for a long time, but nothing seems different about me than when I first started with the church?
What if I haven’t grown in my faith, I can’t say I’ve become more Christlike in my attitudes and actions towards others, and I can’t point to a discernible difference in my life?
What does it mean to be the church?
To be a part of the church.
Scattered
I grew up in church.
I was born on a Monday and I’m pretty sure I was in church the next Sunday! That was the family I grew up in. If the doors were open, we were there. That was non-negotiable. And that wasn’t just the church culture at the time, that was THE culture at the time.
But times have changed.
We live in a world where more and more, people are scattered. We always have more places to be than we can get to, families are pulled in different directions, each day is filled with places and things that may be good but make us feel more and more scattered.
Then comes Sunday. For many of us, this is the day we push pause on the business of everything else and we GATHER. We gather with the people of God. We gather to worship, to fellowship, to learn, pray, and grow.
We gather, at least we want to gather.
But more and more all those things that keep us scattered throughout the week are creeping into Sunday and now, we can’t seem to gather as much as we want to, as much as maybe we once did before.
But what if we did? What if everyone gathered on Sunday? What if we could gather and we truly could experience the power and presence of God in our lives each and every week?
What if everyone gathered?
What if, just for one Sunday, EVERYONE who called this church their church GATHERED?
1.6 Times Per Month
If you look at the data on how often church members actually attend church, it’s interesting. Most people who consider themselves committed members of a church attend on average 1.6 times per month.
That may surprise some of you, but if you think about it you realize pretty quickly how many Sundays you’ve had to miss for this or that. You’re a committed member, but life is busy. You’re busy. You’re all in with God’s church here, but you can’t always be here.
We live in a world where church attendance has gone down because the church is more scattered maybe more than ever before.
It’s good to know that. It’s easy to think that’s a negative thing and to complain about it and say things like, “Back in my day we always came to church, three times a week, and we even had to walk to church, uphill, barefoot, in the snow!” Haha.
But I don’t want us to go there this morning. This isn’t a guilt trip. This isn’t, we need to go back to way things were back when.
This is a call to remember the importance of gathering.
To remember what happens when we gather SO THAT when we scatter we carry the Name of Jesus with us with power and purpose.
Today, I want to remind us of what happens when we GATHER. Why it’s so important. And what we experience when we come together as the people of God in this place.
An Acts 2 Kind of Church
Let’s go back to a familiar passage. At the end of Acts 2, Luke, one of the early followers of Jesus who made it his mission to write down the story of Jesus in his gospel and then the story of the church in a letter that we call Acts, shares with us a picture of the early church and what happened when they gathered!
At this point in the story, the Holy Spirit has come, the gospel message has been preached in Jerusalem, and revival is happening. There is a spiritual awakening like nothing anyone has ever seen before.
3000 people are baptized all on the same day and now, Luke writes, the church is starting and people are on fire for God as they experience His power and presence in their lives.
Listen to what Luke writes…
Acts 2.42-47:
42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.
43 A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. 44 And all the believers MET together in one place and shared everything they had. 45 They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. 46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— 47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.
Why is it so important to gather?
As a gathered people we are encouraged by our fellowship with God and with one another.
As a gathered people our worship is a witness to each other and to unbelievers about the reality and centrality of our faith.
As a gathered people we are able to partner together with God and with one another to give and make a greater difference than we ever could on our own.
As a gathered people we have the opportunity to experience the power and presence of God among us.
As a gathered people we celebrate Communion and remember Jesus. Something the people of God always did in community.
As a gathered people we are discipled by hearing the teachings of Jesus and His apostles.
As people who gather, the Lord will add to our number those who are being saved!
Watch this… This isn’t about church attendance, it’s about being the church. It isn’t a legalistic obligation to be here, it’s what it means and looks like to be a part of a family. To experience the power and presence of God among us!
Devoted
Luke tells us…
42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.
They were DEVOTED to gathering together! This wasn’t just a priority it was a way of life.
And they were BOLD in their proclamation of the Gospel. They did this by leaning in to listen, learn, and grow from the teachings of Jesus and His apostles.
What if when we gathered we devoted ourselves in an even fuller way to the teaching and proclamation of the gospel? From the sermon to every class to every conversation over coffee? Filling every conversation with the Good News of what God has done in and through Jesus!
What if everything we did, every ministry, every program, had this as it’s goal – to boldly proclaim the gospel of Jesus to those around us?
And when they gathered, they were DEPENDENT on God, declaring their absolute reliance on Him.
What if every time we gathered we totally depended on God together? What if we believed so deeply in and depended so desperately on the power and presence of God for what we needed? What if we looked to Him together for guidance, help, direction, and depended on His Spirit to help us in our time of need?
Prayerful
And, they PRAYED together.
They were Faithful in PRAYER, praying together regularly.
They centered their lives on prayer. Prayer was the lifeblood of the church. As you read their story you see how often they prayed and what they prayed for.
And O by the way, the things they prayed for were different than some of the things we pray for. They never prayed for safety. They rarely prayed for physical needs. They always prayed for spiritual needs, for each other, and for the spread of the Gospel!
What if prayer became the lifeblood of our church? What if everyone gathered to pray and we made prayer our most important work? What if prayer time wasn’t an afterthought or last resort but the most important thing we did when we gathered? What if we planned a prayer meeting and set aside an hour to do nothing but pray for one another and over one another?
These people who gathered as God’s church devoted themselves to prayer.
And they had a hunger for God’s presence. Luke says…
43 A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders.
When they came together, they experienced the power and presence of God. They were hungry for God.
What if when we gathered we were hungry for God’s presence? What if we came together and got here early and arrived with EXPECTATION for the Living God to have an encounter with us?!
What if we expected to experience God here in this place? What if our worship reflected our hunger for God? What if our Bible’s were full of underlined verses and notes that filled the margins as we leaned in to listen, learn, and grow in His word from His Word every time we gathered because we were hungry for God? Because we wanted to experience His power and His presence among us.
The Church God Blesses
Luke says…
44 And all the believers MET together in one place and shared everything they had. 45 They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need.
They were COMPASSIONATE toward the lost and the needy.
What if, when we gathered, we remembered that indeed we are blessed to be a blessing? That there are those among us who are lost, hurting, broken, marginalized, &/or in need? That someone here has had a rough year and they don’t want a hand out but they sure could use a hand getting back up on their feet again?
What if instead of judging others we had compassion? Instead of asking what’s wrong with you, we asked, what happened to you? What if we prayed, God help us love who you love the way you love? What if we remembered the compassionate ministry of Jesus?
And they were UNITED in purpose and love. Luke writes…
46-47 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.
What if, when we gathered, we remembered that what unites us is greater than anything that could come between us? What if unity, love, forgiveness were our highest goal? What if we made reconciliation a priority? What if we gave each other the benefit of the doubt?
What if we loved each other the way Christ loves us? What if we really were known by our love for our love? For our love for one another in this community?
The church that God blesses is not defined by its size, its budget, or modern strategies but by its commitment to prayer, holiness, dependance on the Holy Spirit, and a passion for the Gospel. God’s blessings come when His people humble themselves, seek His presence, prioritize his mission with sincerity and faithfulness.
When the church gathered, it experienced the power and the presence of God in a profound way.
What about you? What’s keeping you from experiencing God’s power and presence in your life?
Imagine This…
Two people you know and love consider themselves committed members of their church. We’ll call them Bobby and Lucy. You all started coming to church together about ten years ago. Bobby’s got a wonderful wife and three amazing kids. Lucy is married to a great guy and they have child as well.
Over the past ten years, all of you have been highly involved. You’ve been here most Sundays and pretty regular on Wednesday nights as well! You’ve been involved in different ministries, serving in different ways.
But lately, you’ve noticed that things are starting to change.
Lucy and her family are as involved as ever. They never stop serving. They’re always helping in one way or another, and you see this, you admire this. When they see a need they try to help. When there’s a problem they jump in to make things better.
Bobby, on the other hand, they are still here but more often than not, they’re not here. They’re not going to another church. This church is still their church. But they travel a lot. And that’s for a lot of different reasons. But sometimes, even when they’re in town, they’re not here. It’s gotten easier to just stay home. If you ask them, they’ll say they watched online. Maybe they did, maybe they didn’t, who knows.
You know you’ve got no business judging them but it seems pretty obvious that they are not as on fire for God as maybe they once were. As far as you know, they still give, they still show up once a month or so, they’ve still got friends here, and overall they’re positive about the church.
Actually, if you talk to Bobby long enough you’ll hear that things at the church are not as good as they once were. Used to… we had more people here. A few years ago, we had better programs and ministries. Once upon a time, this church was thriving and growing and things were great. Now, he’s not so sure.
And you… you’re kinda caught in the middle.
You love Bobby and his family, and you love Lucy and her family, too. But if you’re being honest, it’s been a long time since you felt God’s presence or experienced His power in your heart and life. Worship for you on Sunday feels lifeless.
You don’t ever want to come forward for prayer and to be honest, prayer time is when you’re planning lunch time! You’re kinda sorta involved, but it’s easier to complain about how things are than it is to jump in and help make things better.
Going to church for you has really become about checking the box. Faith for you has become about trying to be a good person. You believe in God but it’s been a long time since you would say you’ve had an encounter with God or felt His presence.
Complainers, Consumers, Contributors
In every church, there are complainers, there are consumers, and there are contributors.
Which one are you?
It’s easy to complain. It’s a trap all of us get caught in from time to time, myself included. Complainers are always finding fault. Complainers ask: Why aren’t things like they used to be?
You might find yourself there sometimes, but it’s not ok to stay there. You can’t experience the power and presence of God if you’re always complaining about His church!
And it’s easy to become a consumer. Especially living in this consumeristic culture we’re in. Consumers are always looking for what they can get. Consumers ask: Why aren’t things the way I want them to be?
It’s easy to think about what the church can do for you. And if this church or that church doesn’t have the music you like, the preaching you like, the programs you like, or whatever it is… you’ll just go find another church.
By the way, both of these would have been foreign concepts to the early church that literally risked their lives to gather.
But it’s something else to be a contributor. Contributors ask: What do you need? How can I help?
They don’t just show up, they come ready to serve, come with a heart hungry for God, come with a desire to learn, and grow, and serve, to encourage and be encouraged. It’s something else entirely to come expecting to experience the power and the presence of God.
The Power & Presence of God
This is what happens when we come together with hearts hungry for God.
We experience the power and presence of God when we gather!
So today, I want to encourage you to come with that expectation every time you GATHER with God’s church.
I want to encourage you to prioritize gathering with God’s people, not out of some sort of legalistic obligation, but from a heart that’s hungry for God and longing to experience his power and presence in our church and in your personal life!
Church attendance may be on the decline, but that’s not because God’s church is on the decline. It is not! His church is on the RISE! Cultural Christianity is dying. But the church of Jesus Christ is ALIVE!
What if every time we gathered, we experienced the power and presence of God? Here’s the Good News today… We can!
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