Amen. Right, as you know we've been doing a Sunday morning series called
What We Believe where we've been going through our Statement of Faith. We're now
in a fully independent church and as a new fully independent church I thought
it would be a good idea just to make it very clear as to what we do and don't
believe here at this church and we've inherited our Statement of Faith but I
wholly believe our whole Statement of Faith so there's no need to start
chopping and changing it and what I've been doing is grouping some of the
statements on our Statement of Faith into subjects. So far we've looked at
salvation, we've looked at the Bible and we've looked at the
Trinity and today we're going to look at the church. So the title this morning is
What We Believe About the Church. What We Believe About the Church. I'd like to
pray before we get started. Father thank you for your word, thank you for this
church Lord, thank you for you know all the many good churches around the world
Lord and we thank you that we have one here in this nation Lord down here in
Southend and we just pray that you bless our church Lord and bless this message
that I'm going to preach today Lord please just fill me with your spirit and
help me to preach boldly and accurately Lord about what your word has to say
about the church. I hope everyone have attentive ears please in Jesus' name for
all of this. Amen. Okay so we've just read a great passage of Scripture comparing a
godly marriage to that of Jesus Christ's relationship with a church. It says in
verse 22, wives submit yourselves unto your own husbands as unto the Lord for
the husband is ahead of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church and he
is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ so let
the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands love your wives even
as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it. That he might sanctify
and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to
himself a glorious church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing but
it should be holy and without blemish. So meant to love their wives as their own
bodies he that loveth his wife loveth himself for no man ever yet hates his
own flesh but nourishes and cherishes it even as the Lord the church for we are
members of his body of his flesh and of his bones for this cause shall a man
leave his father and mother and should be joined unto his wife and they too
should be one flesh. This is a great mystery but I speak concerning Christ
and the church. Nevertheless that every one of you in particular so love his
wife even as himself and a wife see that she reverence her husband and many will
go to that passage of scripture to preach the importance of wives submitting
to their husbands and the Bible's very clear about that isn't it? The importance
of husbands loving their wives the Bible's very clear about that too.
There's something else in that passage which jumps out as being very
important as well that's the church yeah it's very clear that the church is an
important thing it's an important institution in the Bible. Some say you
don't have to go to church to be a Christian and you know what you don't
have to go to church to be a Christian you're right you just have to put your
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to be a Christian right you put your faith in
his death, burial and resurrection, paying for your past, present and future sins.
That's all it requires to be a Christian however to be a disciple to serve the
Lord to be sent out to be sanctified to be cleansed to be made holy like we've
just seen in that passage you need a church okay you do need a church for all
of that and not just any odd place that calls itself a church you need somewhere
that is a church in God's eyes it has to be a legitimate church doesn't it and
there are some obvious criteria for that according to 1 Timothy 3.15 you don't
have to turn there the church is a pillar and ground of the truth I'm sure
many people know 1 Timothy 3.15 and the church is described as a pillar and
ground of the truth in that verse so if a church didn't have or doesn't have the
inspired preserved words of God or for those in nations without it the closest
thing okay that the closest thing they could possibly get to the inspired
preserved words of God it's not a church is it how could it be a church if it
rejects the inspired preserved words of God it's meant to be the pillar and
ground of the truth and you don't have to turn to John 17 17 Jesus said
sanctify them through thy truth thy word is truth now God's word is truth his
word has to be there for it to be the pillar and ground of the truth doesn't
it and that should be quite obvious but again so many people just don't seem to
get that point there are people that know the King James Bible is a word of
God that sit in places around this nation around the world English-speaking
nations in churches which aren't using the word of God I mean how it's not the
pillar and ground of the truth how can that be a church if it doesn't even have
the truth in the first place in John 14 6 it says Jesus saith unto him I am the
way the truth and the life no man cometh unto the Father but by me if a
church doesn't believe the gospel it's not a church if it doesn't believe the
gospel it is not a church and when you say well of course it believes the
gospel if it's claimed to be a church no no no okay there's a lot of place out
there that claim to be church to have the King James Bible that preach another
gospel which is not another because there is only one gospel they just
preach some different so-called version of the gospel but how can it if they
don't believe the gospel how could it be the pillar and ground of the truth if
they're preaching you've got to give up certain sins to be saved you've got to
turn from sins you've got to you know have a deep remorse for sins you've got
to make Jesus Lord of your life all these different ways they add a little
bit of works in salvation it ain't a church how can it be a church if it's
meant to be the pillar and ground of the truth and if a church does it to some
form of soul winning now maybe they use different terminology okay but if they
don't do some form of soul winning they don't go out and preach the truth how's
it the pillar and ground of the truth because again you'd have to turn there
but second Corinthians 5 18 Paul said to the Corinthian Church and all things are
of God who has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ and has given to us us
that's the church the ministry of reconciliation so how is it the pillar
and ground of the truth if it doesn't declare the truth for the lost it's not
okay and they should be they should be pretty clear points right but a lot of
people will sadly maybe they feel they need to make do with somewhere that
doesn't tick that but if it ain't a church you might as well go to another
social club because that's really what it is if a so-called church fails on
some or all of those points you have no business being there and look that's not
oh see you just get them all to here look I hope there are churches out there
I hope I really do I hope that in the UK they're a place that you can say no this
is a church they've got the gospel right they've got the King James Bible right
they're going out and doing some form of outreach they will at least not stop you
or ban you from going out and preaching the gospel okay great brilliant if you're
around the country and you've got a church like that good on you go there
make it a great church I honestly mean that okay however the reality of it is
that there are very few places like that in this whole country aren't there and
if it doesn't if it doesn't tick those boxes it's why would it why would a man
woman child of God go there if it doesn't have the King James Bible it's
not it's not a church it's not the pillar and ground of the truth if it
doesn't preach the gospel it's not a church if it doesn't encourage you to
go out and preach the gospel in one way or another have some form of going out
and reaching the lost it's not a church so that's look that should be obvious
stuff and and again I say that because there are people that know this know
these truths and they'll go to places that they know that they're yoking up
with false prophets that they know that those people are not saved they're not
just saying they're preaching a false gospel if your pastor around the nation
preaches that you can lose your salvation and you're going there and
calling pastor what on earth I mean that's one of the most scummy vile
people in the world he's teaching a false gospel but no business going there
and yoking up and being a buddy with him whatever you think you're going to
achieve there or anything else I mean that's wicked isn't it I mean talk about
being unequally yoked right but even if it's not even if you're literally just
hanging around in the non inspired social club even if while he seems to
have the gospel right but he's reading from the NIV this week and ESV that week
and the RSV the other week what a waste of time you're not going to church I
mean cool if you just don't want to call it church go well it's quite a nice
place to hang around well it's better than being somewhere completely wicked
but at the end of the day what a waste of your time right now with that in mind
there are some things that we do believe though about a genuine church as well so
they're just a criteria to be a genuine church because a lot of people get
confused they just see a billboard saying church and oh that must be a
church well it says church okay yeah it's the church in in terms of in the
world's eyes and maybe you might even we might talk about the Catholic Church we
might talk about the the Pentecostal Church but in God's eyes those places
are not a church are they okay they're in fact the opposite of that but there
are some things that we do believe about the genuine church keep keep something
in Ephesians chapter 5 and turn to Acts chapter 9 our first statement about the
church that we're going to look at today on our statement of faith is this well
you turn to Acts 9 that keeps something in Ephesians 5 our statement is this we
believe in the local church we reject the teaching of the universal church and
our references at Acts 9 31 Acts 15 41 Romans 16 4 and Romans 16 16 1st
Corinthians 7 17 and 1st Corinthians 11 16 and we're going to look at those
today now there are many out there that believe and teach some sort of universal
church of all believers that there's this one big church that we all play a
part in you probably will have all heard that out there in one way or another and
you could see for what on one hand how maybe the ecumenical types would love
this we're all just different believers making up one big body of Christ yeah
going in our different routes in different ways to Christ and everything
else but it's not just them that believe this as well there are those that seem
to be against ecumenicalism that still believe in a universal church but is it
what is it what the scriptures say now they would take passages like we've just
read in Ephesians 5 I was talking about the universal church right and you'll
hear people in all sorts of circles saying similar I saw some comments
recently it was even on one of our sermons and someone talking about the
state of the church the church like it was kind of this big universal church
and look it might just be bad terminology you know some people it's a
turn of phrase they're referring to multiple churches but they just use the
word the church and again because they will hear it a lot as well so some
people do that doesn't mean that they necessarily have bought into this
universal church nonsense but the the church is an individual church when we
see that okay when we see that in Scripture Christ loves every single
individual genuine bona fide a church and in Acts chapter 9 and elsewhere we
see churches referred to in plural just all over the Bible you see this in the
New Testament in Acts 9 it's speaking of Paul soon after his conversion he'd
been part of the persecution of the church at Jerusalem and it that results
in a scattering abroad of many and and actually it results in churches planted
elsewhere and often persecution does that it results in actually growth and
it results in in in more churches planting in Acts chapter 1 just gonna
look briefly sorry acts 1 if you want to flick back it's acts 8 sorry acts 8 and
verse 1 it says and Saul was consenting unto his death and at that time there
was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem I look see
one universal church right and they were all scattered abroad throughout the
regions of Judea and Samaria except the Apostles now it's referring to that
specific church in Jerusalem but then in Acts 9 after he got saved Saul now Paul
was in Jerusalem and it says in verse 29 in Acts 9 when he spake boldly in the name
of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Grecians but they went about to slay
him which when the brethren knew they brought him down to Caesarea and sent
him forth to Tarsus then had the churches plural rest throughout all
Judea and Galilee and Samaria okay that seems like there's a few churches right
and were edified and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the
Holy Ghost were multiplied definitely multiple churches at this point would you
not say 100% multiple churches and not referred to by the narrator the Holy
Spirit as some sort of a universal church did he say then had the church
throughout all these places rest no he said the churches individual churches
and this is a great verse because it contains some great truths that's why
it's our verse a week something to think about for the week church is plural is
one truth in that verse they were edified on the back of the persecution
another great truth in that verse and and it was walking the walking in the
fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost which is the reason they
were multiplied they were walking it says I'm walking in the fear of the Lord
and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost were multiplied so when you when a
church actually behaves as God wants it to behave and it walks in the fear of
the Lord it you know when a church when a church isn't compromising when a
church isn't thinking right I know how we're going to grow and multiply and
plant new churches and get people really involved in the things of God we need to
become more worldly we need to have the disco lights we need to have the drum
kit we need to just get them in we need to get the teenagers in so let's get a
little bit more street in here you know I could like dress down a little bit and
maybe we're you know sideways baseball cap or something that'll get them all
in you know they're gonna think I'm a right plonker they're past that they
try that stuff don't they they're like any yeah no I just sound a little bit
more Street the way I talk and everything else that's not how the
church is gonna grow is it the church grows a real church a bona fide a
church a genuine church grows by walking in the fear of the Lord and in
the comfort of the Holy Ghost being being a spirit filled church walking in
the fear of the Lord what's the fear of the Lord how do we walk in the fear of
the Lord according to his word God he wants us to behave according how he
wants us to live and that's all a bit oh it's a bit strict that's a bit what
well yeah that's how a church grows God wants us to be separate doesn't he he
wants us to be holy and touch not the unclean thing he wants us to be
different to the world out there not to become like the world to get people in
it's a great great truth there I think in that verse there whilst talk about
multiple verses multiple churches sorry it's not by snazzing up the service okay
it's not by trying to just find some way to make it more attractive and everything
else it's just walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy
Ghost and those churches plural churches pull when they multiplied weren't they
they were multiplied because it was not just one universal church now this is
something that we see time and time again in Scripture okay multiple
churches jump forward at Acts chapter 15 Acts chapter 15 now this is before
splitting with Barnabas over John Mark Paul wants to visit the cities that they
had preached in okay so Paul wants to visit these cities that they've been
going around and preaching in he says in verse 36 of Acts 15 so Acts 15 and verse
36 it says and some days after Paul said unto Barnabas let us go again and visit
our brethren in every city where we have preached a word of the Lord and see
how they do and Barnabas determined to take with them John whose surname was
Mark but Paul thought not good to take him with them who departed from them
from Pamphylia and went not with them to the work and the contention was so
sharp between them that they departed asunder one from the other and so
Barnabas took Mark and sailed under Cyprus man what a carnal bunch eh can you
believe it actually had contention they actually had an argument I mean I
can't believe it why weren't they just telling each other how much they love
each other all day and talking scripture because they're just real people aren't
they they're real people as sometimes real men of God will have a will fall out
with each other sometimes have a problem have an issue about something have a
disagreement okay that's just life isn't it okay and you know what it shows you
that they actually have some genuine feelings right rather than these people
that are just frauds and fakes well it says here after that Paul chose Silas
and departed being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God and he
went through Syria and Silas here confirming the church or the churches
the churches churches individual churches another way of saying that is
that he was making firm or strengthening those churches those individual churches
he was confirming or making firm strengthening those churches but but
again that they are clearly distinguished as individual churches
jump forward to Romans 16 to see the Apostle Paul doing the same bit of a
Bible study here we're going to go through the the verses we have on our
statement of faith Romans 16 now I like to call Romans 16 the hall of hard
workers this is a great chapter of the Bible just to see just all these
hard-working people in an in a legitimate church when you read this
chapter you don't come away going church is just a social club church is a good
social club for believers it's great to have the fellowship but we're also here
to serve God aren't we okay and here we see that in Romans 16 verse 3 he says
this greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus who are for my
life laid down their own necks under whom not only I give thanks but also all
the churches of the Gentiles so you've got all the church to the Gentiles
giving thanks to them even though they're all in unison in terms of the
gratitude there's some unity there they seem to all be giving thanks they all
appreciate Priscilla and Aquila but they're still referred to as multiple
churches aren't they not the church of the Gentiles the church is and then he
mentions the church singular that's in their house he says likewise greet the
church that's the singular church that that is in their house salute my well
beloved a pine eaters who is the first fruits of a chiron to Christ so they've
got a house church okay nothing wrong with the house church if you if you're
you know if you can fit them in your house great right but it's one of many
churches around isn't it okay it's not the church as in talking about plural
churches then in verse 16 Paul continues to talk about multiple churches and says
in verse 16 verse 16 now salute one another with an holy kiss the churches
of Christ salute you now is this some special denomination you've probably
seen these Pentecostal Pentecostal churches out there called Church of
Christ and all this sort of stuff it's just Christian churches real churches
that believe in preach the gospel that's all they are churches of Christ
are real churches but they're individual churches aren't they they're individual
churches the churches of Christ salute you now Paul's in contact with them all
he planted a lot of them in the first place they're all greeting each other
it's great to be able to fellowship with those for genuine churches isn't it but
there are still individual local churches they're not one universal
church now turn of 1st Corinthians chapter 11 for one of our last two
references whilst I quote the other one the other reference is 1st Corinthians
7 you're turning 1st Corinthians 11 1st Corinthians 7 Paul's talking about
marriage issues unbelieving spouse etc and he says in verse 17 but as God has
distributed to every man as the Lord has called everyone so let him walk and so
ordain I in all churches so ordain I in all churches again plural churches he's
saying that he's passed on these instructions to all churches plural and
in 1st Corinthians 11 Paul is teaching the men not to grow their their hair
like queers and the women not to get those silly crew cuts you know I'm sure
there's nothing you understand I'm sure this stuff was going on 2,000 years ago
women trying to butch themselves out men trying to feminize themselves and he
says this in verse 14 does not even nature itself teach you if a man have
long hair it is a shame unto him he said even nature just teaches you that
doesn't it like you should you don't need the word of God to tell you that
most people know that don't they it is a shame unto him but if a woman have long
hair it is a glory to her for her hair is given her for a covering definitely
not talk about veils and berets is it anyone see anything about a veil or
beret there or any other weird covering that they do in these strange Calvinist
churches and others how you misread that is beyond me absolutely I mean that's
pretty simple isn't it if a woman have long hair it is a glory to her for her
hair is given her for a covering right ladies get out the berets it's just
amazing isn't it anyway but if any man seemed to be contentious we have no such
custom neither the church or the churches the churches of God he's saying
not the Corinthian Church neither any of the church is plural and you go well
wait a second why is he kind of saying this for all churches how can he speak
for all those churches because they're Bible believing churches and you could
be sure that they're not telling the men to grow out their hair or the women to
shave theirs and in the same way you could do that now couldn't you you could
just go you could say look no genuine church is telling the men to grow their
hair long okay let me tell you that now there's no genuine church out there
saying to all the men you need to grow long hair and saying to all the women
you need to get crew cuts let me tell you is I could say that right and I'm
not the Apostle Paul who was who was basically relaying God's holy words to
them right okay anyway just to make that clear okay but they're all still
individual churches just because the Apostle Paul is giving those those
instructions out he's giving those just truths out to them they're still
individual churches are clearly called the churches of God right and by the way
that we've just seen was also referred to as the churches of Christ because
Jesus Christ is God yeah okay so that that's that's our statement about we
believe that let me just read it one more time we believe in the local church
we reject the teaching of the universal church okay and we've looked at our
scripture references there now go back to Ephesians 5 why is it important why
is this important if you think well who cares if they call it universal or
individual because I'm not part of a body of Christ with backsliders sitting
around doing nothing we're not all part of the body of Christ together with a
lot of people sitting on their backsides at home making excuses not to go to
church making excuses not to serve God we're not all part of the body together
okay the body is a local church that's what it's talking about in 1st
Corinthians 12 27 you're turning back to Ephesians 5 it says now ye are the body
of Christ and members in particular so if you haven't ever read this before the
Bible constantly talks about the local church being the body of Christ referred
to as a body of Christ Ephesians 4 16 says after saying in you're in Ephesians
you could turn if you want saying after saying in the previous verse that Christ
ahead it says in Ephesians 4 16 from whom talk about Christ ahead the whole
body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies
according to the effectual working in the measure of every part maketh increase
of the body unto the edifying of itself in love how on earth you fitly joined
together with the believer vexing his soul down at liberal Baptist I mean how
does that work how you fitly joined together with no believers out there
those people you got saved yes so those people you got saved last week those
people now and again you're knocking the door and they're saved and that you
don't see and that don't come to our church do you think you're in the body
of Christ with them well they're hanging around with the rock band and just going
well I might as well make do because my family have been going here for years or
something else of course not how's the body edifying of itself in love with
random save people that you don't know around the world it's nonsense isn't it
it doesn't make any sense at all no the body of Christ is talking about those
local bodies in local churches working together as God builds us God builds the
church he adds you know the right ingredients to the church and and we
grow together with a body and some people are better at this some people
are better at that we all grow together and help each other and that's the whole
point right that's not going on with someone on the other side of the world
that you've never met and never will meet okay until you're in heaven one day
that's not the body of Christ and aside from this in the potential ecumenical
nonsense a universal church would require what a universal leader and
universal leadership underneath the Lord Jesus Christ wouldn't it because in
every area of life we see that although we'll have God at the top there'll be
some sort of chain of command there's always someone underneath and underneath
and underneath which leads on to our next statement the statement is this we
believe in the autonomy of the local church this means that we are
independent of all denominations conventions and fellowships we have
Jesus Christ and the Bible as the head of our church and not some Pope prophet
president or board of directors and our proof verses are Ephesians 5 23
Colossians 1 18 Titus 1 5 1st Peter 5 1 to 4 1st Peter 5 1st Timothy sorry 5 17
now autonomy means a power or right of self-government in the terms of in we're
talking about in the terms of no denominations conventions and
fellowships telling us what to do okay now this is what makes our sort of
church actually very rare in case you're wondering you're wondering how is it
that just so many of these churches are so bad and so similar to each other
because most churches have some sort of body of power that they're answerable to
and the head of their denomination the fellowship that they're a member of and
basically if they don't tow the line and in the right way or in a certain way
they're out of the club and when it comes being out of the club look at the
time that's the end of a church that's the end of that you can't they can't
survive out of the club and they make that kind of that's part of the catch of
it that's the way they they have them and they will usually affect them in the
number of ways of that for example reputation so if you're you know you're
reliant on people going well you're one of the fellowship of whatever churches
and then you suddenly stop being that you're going to lose people that are
only there because you are the fellowship of that church you they'll
ruin your reputation at least amongst their sorts of people financially usually
they're being provided for in some way if they're small enough church they're
being provided whether it's a building being provided some sort of fund or
something else or at the least they're being a lot of their promotion and
everything else comes from the organization okay so they're in a
bad way if they dare to go against it and get kicked out now you might sit
this thinking but aren't you Baptist aren't we but isn't that a denomination
many people think we isn't a Baptist Church part of the Baptist denomination
no there is no organization of Baptists at least there shouldn't be okay that's
not how it works at least not real Baptist being Baptist is just a way of
identifying the core beliefs that we have we're not a denomination okay it's
a way of identifying what we believe for example one of those being the autonomy
and independence of the local church okay that's one of the beliefs that
should be a belief of historic Baptist the authority of the Bible is something
we believe as Baptist and that should be that should be apparent because we call
ourselves Baptist that we therefore believe in the authority of the Bible
believers baptism we don't believe in sprinkling babies okay we don't believe
in just you know in baptizing people that aren't even saved Church being a
gathering of believers so it's not just like the local church and everyone in
the local area just comes and in like this Church of England parish or
something else like that no church is a gathering of believers the priesthood of
all believers okay we don't have priests and doing funny little things and
everything else again and then also separation of church and state okay we
don't believe that we should be in any way linked with the state dictated to by
the state or anything else now there is a denomination though in this country
which was previously called the Baptist Union and they are a denomination okay
let me just make that clear they now call themselves Baptists together and I
preached on this horrible bunch several months ago it might even be coming up to
a year ago now time flies when you're having fun and they might not that
sermon if you ever wondering about that if you're sitting you go I don't know
what you're talking about it was called Balaam's Baptist Union of Great
Britain which I thought was a fitting name for you guys Balaam basically just
another word for the devil and this is it this is a bunch of devilry going on
there okay these lot a wicked bunch and and you know what they have I can't
remember the amounts but we're talking like to the tune of thousands of
churches in this nation are known as Baptist Union or Baptists Together Now
is a new sort of slogan type of churches and and what happens with that for
example one of the things they've managed to incorporate after pulling
them all into the Baptist Union now they say you have to have a Baptist
Union accredited minister you have to as a Baptist Union Church you have to you
have to have someone that's basically been trained by the Baptist Union so if
your minister isn't they have to go and be brainwashed and basically agree with
the Baptist Union wicked heresies and everything else to be part of the
Baptist Union that's a denomination that's not just a union of like
like-minded churches no that's a denomination okay so do and it's a
wicked denomination as well with some wicked witch at the top of it it's
female leadership it's sodomites everywhere it's it's an absolute mess
all right okay that's that's Balaam's Baptist Union of Great Britain and away
from the Baptist Union now and that one is an obvious one you do have amongst
independent professing Bible believing Church so for example evangelicals will
be part of the fellowship of independent evangelical churches for example and
there are many of these types of fellowships and unions and things like
this and what they do is they'll have criteria for joining them they'll then
slowly start to push well to be part of our member churches you have to agree to
these statements and you have to agree to this way of doing things you have to
agree to this inclusion of all types and you have to in it and I had a look
quickly on the FYE see that interested me so I originally went to a church many
years ago when I was first saved it was part of this bunch and they seem on the
outside to not be too bad you know they do the classic on the statement
repentance and belief but they don't say repent of your sins but you know what
they really believe right okay however it's a little bit sketchy and then what
happens is then when you when what they'll do with this church is they'll
say oh no no we stand on the Bible we don't agree with for example women
preachers yeah okay amen at least they're making us out we don't believe
on having sodomite marriages I mean however we just believe that it's just
a sexual lust thing you know like any type and we need to give people grace
and love and support and all this so basically they're going bring them all
in bring them all in bring in people that absolutely hate God hate the Bible
and bring them into the church and so but if you're part of the fellowship you
have to agree with this stuff right that's part of that's on part of their
sort of membership criteria that you agree with their with their statements
on this stuff so then so you've got that sort of stuff and that's kind of in the
Bible believing type Church that claim to be they claim to at least be
independent okay but really they're not then on the opposite end of the scale
you have things like the Roman Catholic Church and at the top of the pyramid of
power sits the Pope you know stroking his cat and you know I think here
plotting world on world domination and things and with the Anglican Church it's
it's very similar it's just a smaller setup and instead of a Pope it's an
arch villain or Archbishop whichever way you want to call it the arch villain of
Canterbury and and and if it's not if it's not an arch villain with some
denominations it's a president directors they like have the director of the
church you've got some so-called prophet plotting and planning from his private
island somewhere you know was sailing there on his private yacht or flying on
his private jet and again just plotting some sort of you know Pentecostal world
domination so you've got all these different types and the obvious issue
when you're thinking about it is corruption isn't it yeah corrupt look at
the end of day you're just gonna get you're gonna get corruption but you're
gonna get infiltration because the problem is it's one thing having look
having power over an individual church people are like your power mad because
you're a pastor and it's like come on man we're an independent Baptist Church
but when you're going into being having power over tens hundreds thousands of
churches you can imagine what sort of people will be going to that position
how much power and influence they can then exert and just destroy thousands of
churches at once with false doctrine with all this sorts of stuff right and
the problem is then is instead of instead of preaching the Bible doing
things as close to God's way as you can you're governed by the overlord so if we
had some sort of denomination over us we had people that are exerting influence
on us over the top of us well then suddenly I'm I'm not free to just preach
what I want to preach am I okay and and you get all sorts of influence all sorts
of issues with that okay so who should be in charge then who should be in
charge well look at Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 22 Ephesians 5 22 where the
Bible says wives submit yourselves unto your own husbands as unto the Lord for
the husband is ahead of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church and
he is the Savior of the body so if we believe in the local church how can we
make Christ ahead if we're answering to the rules of some denomination is anyone
getting wound up by that noise up there if anyone fancies giving them a knock
that would be great if you don't mind sorry guys just asking this to leave it
out for another half hour thank you okay so I think you'd have to go there
it's going to be the flat on the staircases here for the flat so you can
go around if you want sorry thank you okay so how can we make Christ ahead
like I said if we're answering to the rules of some denomination well now some
will say something like this well as long as it's only dictating some of the
rules so maybe they're just kind of keeping you in line making sure that
you're you know doing the cross you know dotting the I's crossing the T's
doing the right things well verse 24 says therefore as the church is subject
unto Christ so let the wives be to their own husbands in some things say that or
did it say in everything everything and just quickly yes wives you're to be
subject to your own husbands in everything however that's exactly the
same as a church should be unto Christ everything we're to be subject to Christ
in everything okay we should we should therefore see Christ as the head of our
church and we're subject to him in everything how can we do that if then a
denomination is the boss and telling us what to do and everything else instead
now turn the Colossians chapter 1 which says the same thing how on earth could
we make some Pope the boss the final authority right how could we do that
well Colossians chapter 1 says this for by him talking about Christ for by him
were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth visible and
invisible whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers
all things are created by him and for him and he is before all things are by
him all things consist and he is the head of the body the church who is a
beginning the firstborn from the dead and in all things he might have the
preeminent so Jesus Christ created everything he created the secular
leadership in our lives as well but he created everything and you know what he
didn't create and he didn't ordain at least he didn't ordain a Pope he didn't
ordain a grand leader of all churches in fact he didn't ordain some final
authority in the individual church either he is the final authority so he
is he is the boss he's a fun authority he's ahead of our church he's ahead of
that individual body the local church how does that work though because he's
not physically here he's not in the flesh running the show if anyone thinks
he is you're confused okay he's not here telling he's not here behind me right
now kind of telling me what to say and what not to say in that way but we do we
do have a way that he does talk to us so turn of first Peter chapter 5 he tells
us how to do things through his inspired and preserved words see and here's the
thing it just all goes hand in hand clear like correct doctrine all works
together because how can Christ be the head of this church if I decide what I
believe he said it didn't say you said I mean if we didn't believe in the
preserved inspired Word of God and we believe that well there's no such thing
as a preserved Bible anymore we'll just take a bit of this one a bit of that
one a bit of everything else and I'll just decide what I think is probably the
best version that's gonna suit my doctrine suit the way I want to do
things in this church so how I want to deal with church disciplines suit our
want to do with X Y & Z well who's the final authority then me I've become the
final authority because I don't believe that I even have Jesus Christ's words to
tell me how to do things see without without the inspired Word of God without
the preserved inspired Word of God you don't have a final authority in it in a
church or you do the final thought he becomes a pastor and that's not a
biblical Church he's ahead how could he be the head if we if we can't hear what
he's got to say but we can hear what he's got to say cuz he preserved his
words and we have his words right if every single word we have in front of us
in our King James Bibles he's the final authority our statement said we believe
in the autonomy of the local churches means that we're independent of all
denominations conventions and fellowships we have Jesus Christ and the
Bible as the head of our church and not some Pope prophet president or board of
directors because you'll get all these liberal churches out there that go yeah
yeah Jesus Christ is the head of our church he's a final authority but they
don't even believe that they have his words so how does that work do you know
what should I tell you how it works they'll constantly come out with
statements like this we've been really praying to Jesus about this one I prayed
to Jesus before I made a decision that that now like you know my wife's gonna
start preaching I prayed to Jesus before I made the decision that we'd have the
rock band in and and he just let me know in a dream that in fact the rock
band is going to really really improve the church and get more people into it
we all prayed about it that's this is what it comes down to doesn't it you
know no no I've really prayed hard about it now what did he actually say but you
don't believe what he said because you don't believe you have what he said all
goes hand in hand right so Jesus Christ heads our church through his living
words however there is then beneath Jesus Christ and under Shepherd okay so
don't get confused about this but either in 1st Peter 5 Peter said the elders the
elders which are among you I exhort whom also an elder and a witness of the
sufferings of Christ and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed now
an elder is a word that is used interchangeably with Bishop in the New
Testament it means the same as a more commonly understood word from the
Old Testament that we use which is a pastor okay we use the word pastor it
means the same as an elder or a bishop Peter is addressing the elders or
pastors as we would use now which I just think is a word that helps people to
understand more what it means right without having to do a Bible study to
see a pastor kind of indicates that it's an under Shepherd of some ways
shepherding the flock the pastor keep a finger here and turn a Titus one but
keep a finger of first first Peter five Titus one you turn to now in case
you're wondering if the elders are a group of electric members that sit in
the shadows controlling the passing because they're a so-called Bible
believing church that have that they'll have the board of elders a group of
elders well what do the elders say there'll be people that have like been
somehow nominated or voted into being one of the ten elders in a church or
something you know and it changes depending on the sizes of the church who
even are you what have you got to do with it right well Titus 1 5 Paul is
writing to Titus and says for this cause left IV in Crete that thou should have
set in order the things that are wanting and ordain elders in every city
as I had appointed thee he then goes on to give the exact same qualifications
pretty much that he gives to Timothy and 1st Timothy 3 for Bishop which
literally means overseer okay it just means an overseer the word elder being
an Old Testament title carried over being a leader of the people but not a
king an elders not a king he's not like this ultimate ruler he's not a lord it's
like the interchangeable bishop it's an overseer it's an overseer he said in
back in first Peter 5 and verse 2 he said feed the flock of God which is
among you taking the oversight thereof not by constraint but willingly not for
filthy Luca not for filthy Luca but of a ready mind neither as being Lords over
God's heritage but being in samples to the flock so he said to take the
oversight so the elder or bishop or pastor is to take the oversight he
should be willing to do the job it's saying here not forced into it not just
feel pressured that he's just got to do it he shouldn't be in it for the money
clearly and he's not there to Lord it over people either okay he's not there
to kind of you know boss people around like feel like he's the top man you know
that's not his reasoning for being in that's not what he's there to do Jesus
is the Lord and ultimately we still got Lord in over people it's all about
outside of the church as well so it's that what you do in your private life as
long as it doesn't go against sort of clear church discipline things everything
else that's your business right so if you if you you know you and look if you
want advice on that and I'll preach the Bible I'll preach the Bible every week
and preach on things that I think people need to hear but it's your decisions to
make outside of this church unless it's stuff which which clearly affects church
life right so they're not to be a lot they're not to Lord it over God's
heritage what I'll do is I'll preach what the Lord says and hopefully let him
Lord over you okay you should you should want God to Lord over you but we're gonna
look that's your choice right okay it's not for me to load it over you but a
pastor should be an example he should be showing a pattern to follow however it
should be as he follows Christ it's how that he follows Christ is a pattern that
you're that he is an in sample it says neither as being Lords over God's
heritage but being in samples to the flock and then it says in verse 4 and
when the chief Shepherd shall appear you shall receive a crown of glory that
fades not away talking about the pastor the elder there so the chief Shepherd is
a boss but what will happen in is that the liberals will then bend this to no
authority in the church won't they okay so they'll look at this and go see look
he shouldn't be a Lord he should literally just just there should be no
one in charge right well no because Jesus is in charge yeah yeah Jesus is in
charge but turn the first Timothy 5 there has to be authority in all areas
of life I'm I'm the boss of my home but my wife is in charge beneath me the kids
don't go well you're not in charge daddy's in charge I'll do what I want
when he's not here no she she's in charge underneath me though okay
underneath me and within the parameters that I set in my home and in first
Timothy 5 we see that the in the church under Jesus Christ it's the pastor the
overseer who is expected to rule but within the confines of the chief
shepherds rule first Timothy 5 17 the key word we're looking for here is rule
let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor especially they
labor in the word of doctrine so elders or pastor expected to rule yes they're
expected to rule but what is it that they're ruling according to well really
the word and doctrine the word and doctrine they're subject to the word of
God to Jesus Christ and make no mistake okay when it comes to legitimate church
full of legitimate children of God the chief Shepherd holds his under Shepherd
to high standards okay he's held to high stands he's to rule within the
parameters that his bosses set okay and and look I'm for me look eventually he's
going to get the sack in a very obvious way if he doesn't okay it's a serious
job a really serious job we're not talking about the false prophets okay
that's look they're gonna burn in the lower depths of hell but it's a serious
job leading God's children and it can't be taken lightly and eventually he's
gonna get sacked in one way or another by God but that's not by being slandered
by online clowns or something else okay that's not how God deals with things you
know he deals with things in a in a bit more of a legitimate way right but
pastoring God's people is serious business which is why it's got to be
according to what the chief Shepherd says not a deacon board not a group of
elders you know not a church vote okay the church isn't voting no no it comes
from the word of God through the under Shepherd yeah let alone you know some
governing body president of an association or the Pope or arch villain
okay that's not how it works but just to clear up what it means and last bit on
this because I'll just want to I want to finish up in a minute what what it means
that we're an NIFB Church because if you're sitting there going yeah but you
are an NIFB Church isn't that a denomination don't they all say that's
some sort of denomination or something else there's a dozen or so other
independent Baptist Church around the world and also their satellite churches
okay that have had to distinguish themselves and what was previously in
areas a great movement of independent fundamental Baptist churches that
unfortunately got infiltrated beyond recognition okay it got bit infiltrated
many many years ago and now it's nothing like it's heyday it's nothing like the
days of Jack Hiles you know John R Rice and others soul-winning campaigns
Crusades going out preaching the gospel to everyone preaching the Bible hard you
know standing on the word it's nothing like that anymore and it's a real shame
it isn't right and and we refer to to them now as the old IFB okay rather than
the in IFB they're the old IFB because shall tell you what sadly most of the
old IFB now no longer do they don't soul win anymore anyone been to an IFB Church
where they're telling you to come out with them and preach the gospel to every
creature knock on doors and preach the gospel if you could persuade them at
least in this nation and many around to go and don't go wrong there's still a
few left okay but but it got infiltrated so much as hardly a church left like it
now if you could persuade them go out and knock on doors they're more likely
to just start trying to get into an apologetics discussion or just find any
which way to invite some low-hanging fruit to church and then walk away I
mean it's ridiculous okay and that's what you get now there's no
soul-winning it's full of other Gospels the IFB movement isn't it full of other
Gospels I mean you go to independent fundamental Baptist Church around this
around this nation and you'll go from repent of your sins to well you got to
at least like kind of repent of your sins to lordship salvation to just some
version of work subtly or not so subtly shoved into their their services at some
point or another you talk to the congregants of the churches the majority
aren't saved that's the reality of it soft on the King James Bible I've been
to independent fundamental Baptist churches in this nation which are like
well we just think it's a good translation it's the best translation we
have and then they proceed to just slander it and and you know try and
discredit it to their people or they're just kind of a bit well yeah yeah we
don't mind other church that don't use them it's like wait a sec it's the Word
of God is it don't we stand on the Word of God let alone all the other heresies
that they then put up with there as well and and and they literally look
they all now stand on and hang their hat upon just false doctrine which yeah look
they're the old IFB of the past the IFB of the past yeah they believed in a
preacher of rapture yeah they were wrong about that yeah they believed in you
know some form of Zionism to some degree but nothing like now okay not like now
it's like they preach that stuff every other week and then for them it's like
damnable heresy if you don't believe it they're nonsense so it's just got it's
it's it's unrecognizable so therefore with that in mind there's now a group of
churches called new independent fundamental Baptist churches where we do
stand on soul-winning we do stand on the King James Bible like like the IFB of
the past we do stand on the gospel we do stand on the gospel in its in its pure
form and not start putting up with little little attacks on it little
additions of work well it's just terminology no we believe the gospel we
stand on the gospel is there anything more important than the gospel surely
not but we're not a denomination okay we don't have a head we don't have someone
that that you know calls the shots from the top no one tells me what I can and
can't preach no one tells me what we can and can't do as a church no one tells me
do you know who tells me do you know who tells me that the Lord Jesus Christ and
the Word of God we're not a union either okay there's not like sort of right you
got to do this to be a part of the Union or anything else we're just independent
fundamental Baptist churches that want to make it clear what we believe so we
use the term new independent fundamental Baptist because we want to distance
ourselves from what has become of the old independent fundamental Baptist and
therefore we will fellowship with each other will fellowship with like-minded
churches in as independent fundamental Baptist churches okay we have the
autonomy to choose to fellowship with other like-minded churches yeah we can
choose to do that and if there were any legitimate churches in this nation that
were clear on the gospel had a heart for soul winning and with that you know
obviously stood on the King James Bible up we'd be well up for the fellowship
when we I mean not if half their church were unsaved heretics coming and trying
to poison our church and stuff like that if there was just a solid church out
there where people just believe believe the gospel believe the Word of God you
know and just just wanted to go out and soul win and stuff great Amen brilliant
be chuffed I would look we don't have to discuss end times theology we don't have
to look just just other people that want to get people saved is is refreshing
isn't it other people that actually believe the Word of God other people
that actually believe that it's a pure inspired Word of God and want to preach
the gospel and go out and do that and and stand firm on the gospel amazing
that'd be great I haven't found one yet okay but that's not our fault okay and
there aren't however there are NIFB churches around the world whose members
are happy to fellowship but there's no leader there's no leader of that yeah
there are there are preachers there are pastors up there that have been around
the longest time there are people that there's you know obviously some would go
a pass around since after the movement so I'm say pass around some passing
minutes did what does it make any of them a leader we're just independent
churches yeah we have a lot of respect for these people we have a lot of
respect for these men of God however we're an independent fundamental
Baptist Church and if there are other like-minded churches around great want
to fellowship with them right and it's not and we use the term NIFB as well
because it shows people exactly what we believe okay and we're not ashamed of
any of those beliefs are we we're all independent individual bodies of Christ
if anyone's ever got confused about that okay we believe in the local church we
reject the teaching of the universal church we believe in the autonomy of the
local church this means that we're independent of all denominations
conventions and fellowships we have Jesus Christ and the Bible is ahead of
our church and not some Pope prophet president or board of directors and if
you're sitting there guy okay well I got all that past the tavern oh what what
should I take away from this okay I already knew that well wouldn't you say
it's therefore important if we're gonna if Jesus Christ ahead of our church and
he reveals his will for us through his word isn't it important that we all know
his word is it important that we know what the boss the ultimate boss at the
top is telling us what to do how he wants our church to run how he wants us
to behave and everything else make sure you read your Bibles right make sure you
find out what he's got say cuz we're not getting it from our denomination sending
us little newsletters telling us how we're gonna do things differently now
okay we get it all from the Word of God and look if I if I make an error on
something and I'm completely off on something and and you think it's
important enough to come and say look I'm not sure about that then if you know
the Word of God great you can do that can't you okay and and if no one knows
the Word of God's here then we're gonna have a problem aren't we okay and if we
and and the thing is what it should do as well as the more you read the Word of
God the more confidence and trust and faith you'll then have in your church
knowing yeah we're doing things as the Word of God tells us to do things right
we preach what the Word of God says we're living hopefully are trying to
live or preaching how to live at least how the Word of God says we're trying to
run this church how we believe the examples we see in the Word of God and
the clear scripture in the Word of God about it and there is look there's some
leeway right okay you didn't say right a church has to start at this time they
have to preach for this long they have to do this they have to do that but we
do the best that we possibly can with that within the within the leeway he's
given us right okay and if they're if we do things which we consider a completely
unbiblical if you consider them unbiblical then you can come to me and
say to me look I don't think that's biblical and we can sit down and talk
about that but if you don't even know the Bible you don't know whether what's
going on do you you might as well have a denomination because it makes no
difference to you you're just sitting there going well that sounded good you
know and I was hearing some of those guys say amen a couple of times and you
know that was a good hour what we do next you know but but it's important
isn't it it's really important because we're trying to do things God honoring
and god-pleasing aren't we as a church here and that's why that's well that
that's what we believe about the church that's what we don't believe about the
church as well and hopefully you guys have you know understood a few extra
things than that or at least you know it's it's at least reminded you of some
things you hopefully already knew on that we're gonna finish in a word of
prayer father thank you for your word thank you for this church Lord thank you
that you are the head of our church you're the head of the body Lord that
we're not a body of scattered parts all over the world but no we're a body with
a body of Christ it's local independent Church Lord that's here to serve you not
not not here just to pat each other on the back and tell each other what great
body parts we are but we're here to actually go out and and and serve you as
the body of Christ to work together to get more people saved to get more people
serving you to edify the body to help the body to function the best way
possible Lord help us to do that this afternoon help us to go out and find the
lost and preach to the lost and find those that want to hear the gospel get
them saved Lord and try and encourage people to be a part of this church as
well that's trying to do great things for you in the UK Lord we pray that you
just just bless our afternoon and help us to all return for the evening service
in Jesus name for all of this amen