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Amen. All right. Well, we're there in Matthew, chapter number 16. And of course, today is a special day. We are celebrating our special day. I love my church Sunday. And we're glad you're here for this special day. And we've been going through a series through the Gospel of Luke called Journey with Jesus. But today and this morning and this evening, I'm going to be preaching on the subject of the church since we're having our I love my church Sunday. And this morning specifically, I want to speak to you on the subject of three reasons why you need a church. And the emphasis there is on the word you. Three reasons why you need the church. Three reasons why we all need the church. And I want to begin here in Matthew 16, because here we find a passage where we see that Jesus is the one who established the church. If you notice there in Matthew 16 and verse 13, verses 13 through 18, Jesus asks his disciples to questions. He says there in verse 13, the Bible says when Jesus came into the coast of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples. Now notice, here's the first question saying, whom do men say that I, the son of man, am? So he asked his disciples, what are people saying about me? Who do men say that I, the son of man, am? And they said, some say that thou art John the Baptist, some Elias and others, Jeremiah's or one of the prophets. Notice verse 15. He say then to them, here's question number two, whom say ye that I am? So first he asked, who do people say that I am? And they said, well, some people say you're John the Baptist, some people say you're Elias or Elijah the prophet, Jeremiah's or Jeremiah the prophet. So then he says, well, who say ye that I am? Verse 16, and Simon Peter answered and said, thou art the Christ. The term the Christ is a title that is interpreted as Messiah. It simply means Messiah. Here, Peter answers and he says, if you want to know who we think you are, we say thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood have not revealed it unto thee, but my father, which is in heaven. I want you to notice that here we have Peter. Peter is a character that I love in the Bible, because when he's right, he's right. And when he's wrong, he's wrong. You know, oftentimes you find the apostle Peter putting his foot in his mouth and saying the wrong thing and not saying the correct thing or or pushing past boundaries that he shouldn't be pushing. But sometimes he gets it right. And this is one of those times when he gets it right. Jesus asked him, you know, who do you say that I am? And he said, thou art the Christ. You are the Messiah, the son of the living God. And then Jesus responds and says there in verse 17. And Jesus answered and said, blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood have not revealed it unto thee. He says, Peter, this is not something that human beings let you know about. This is not something that you came up with yourself. He said flesh and blood have not revealed it. Now, do you see that word it there? Why don't you notice that the word it is a reference to the answer that thou art the Christ. In fact, if you don't mind underlining in your Bible or taking notes in your Bible, I'd encourage you to maybe draw an arrow from the the the the little phrase in verse 16, thou art the Christ and and in an arrow down to the word there in verse 17. It's because when Jesus says blessed art thou Simon Barjona's for flesh has not revealed it unto thee, but my father, which is in heaven. The it there is referring to that truth. What truth that Jesus is the Christ? He says that was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but it was revealed to you by my father, which is in heaven. Now, there's a reason why I'm emphasizing that. And I want you to understand that because in verse 18, Jesus continues. And I want you to notice verse 18 is the verse I wanted to begin with this morning. But I want you to see the context of this conversation. He says there in verse 18, and I say unto thee, this is Jesus speaking to Peter and the apostles, but specifically to Peter, because Peter just got done saying thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. He just gave that truth. He says, here's who we believe you are. We believe you're the Messiah. You're the called one. You're the chosen one. And we believe your deity. You're the son of the living God. And he said, great, that truth, that it, that statement you made was not revealed to you by flesh and blood was revealed by the father. Then he says, I say unto thee, verse 18, that thou art Peter. And upon notice this term, this rock. I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Now, today, the Roman Catholic Church will teach that when Jesus said that he was going to build his church, that and he said that he was going to build it on this rock, that he was referring to Peter. But there's several problems with that. First of all, all throughout the Bible, and I'm not going to take the time to go through all the verses, but all throughout the Bible, you find references to God being the rock. The Bible says that Christ is our rock, that our God is our rock. All throughout the Bible, the term the rock is a reference to God or deity. Peter's name would mean like a pebble or a stone. What Jesus is referring to here, because remember, they're talking about a statement that Peter made. Jesus asked, whom do you say that I am? He said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. He says, Good. The statement, the context of the conversation is they're talking about the truth that was revealed to Peter, that was not revealed by flesh and blood, but it was revealed by my father, which is in heaven. What truth is it that upon that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God? And when Jesus says upon this rock, the this rock he's referring to, is that truth? Is that belief that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God? He wasn't building. Jesus wasn't saying, I'm going to build my church upon a man by the name of Peter that will become a pope. No, he was saying, I'm going to build my church, Peter, upon that truth, that truth that was revealed unto you, this rock, that I am Christ, that I am the Son of the God. He said, I will build my church upon this rock. I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I want you to notice, you say, why are you emphasizing this? And here's what I want you to understand. The Bible says that Jesus is the head of the of the church. We find that in other epistles. The Bible tells us that Jesus loves the church. We find that in other epistles. But the Bible here tells us that Jesus is the one who established the church. In fact, not only did he establish the church, he established the church upon himself. He is the rock that the church is built upon. The truth that he is the Christ, the son of the living God. And notice, he says there, I will build my church. You say, who does the church belong to? It belongs to Christ. That's why the Bible says that Jesus is the head of the church. Again, not a pastor, not a priest, not a pope, not a prophet. The head of the church is the Lord Jesus Christ. And Jesus said, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Today, I want you to consider that Jesus, who is God, is the creator of the church. He's the creator of local New Testament churches, the movement of local New Testament churches. He is the one who founded it. He is the one who established it. He built it upon himself, upon the rock. He is the rock. He built it upon the truth that he is the Christ, the son of the living God. He is the one that builds it. He's the one that's in charge of it. He loved it and sacrificed and gave himself for it. But I want you to understand something that when Jesus established a church, he established it for our benefit. He gave us a church to help us. He gave us a church because there's something that we should get or could get out of a church this morning as quickly as possible. I want to give you three reasons why you need a church. I want to give you three reasons why Jesus gave you a church. I want to give you three reasons why Jesus died for the church, why he is the head of the church, why he builds the church and continues to build the church, why he built it upon himself. I want to give you three very practical thoughts and regards, because maybe you're here this morning and you're asking yourself, do I even need a church? Why would I even come to a church? You know, I was invited today to I love my church Sunday. I showed up because there's popcorn. And look, if that's what it takes to get you here, we'll get you popcorn. All right. But while you're here, I want you to consider, you know, do you need church? What do you need from a church? I'll give you three reasons why biblically you need a church. And I would encourage you to write these down on the back of your course a week. There's a place for you to write some things down and there's a place for you to take notes and maybe you can jot these things down. You can think about them later. Study them out for yourself as well even further. Why do you need a church? Why do I need a church? Why do we need a church? Well, number one, and you're there in Matthew, chapter 16. I'd like you to go with me to the book of Philippians, if you would. Philippians, chapter number three. You're there in Matthew. You're going to go past the book of Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, first Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians. All right. I know there's a few books there, but I want you to get there. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, first Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, first Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians. When you get to Philippians, I'd like you to do me a favor and put a ribbon or a bookmark or your bulletin or something there, because we're going to leave it and we're going to come back to it throughout the sermon. I'd like you to be able to get to it as quickly as you can. Philippians, chapter number three. Now, I want you to notice verse number 12. Now, in Philippians three and verse 12, we have the Apostle Paul speaking. I want you to notice what Paul says in Philippians three and verse 12. He says, Not as though I. Now, here's the Apostle Paul speaking, and he's speaking about himself. He said, Not as though I had already attained. Now, that word, attained there, is the same terminology that you and I would use as, we might say, I've not yet arrived. I've not yet attained. I have not, what he's saying is, I have not gotten to where I need to get. I still have work to do. I still have growth. I'm not where I need to be. And isn't it true that all of us should be able to say that we have not yet attained? I mean, we all have places and areas that we could work and grow. He said, Not as though I had already attained. Notice what he says, either we're already perfect. And again, the word perfect, we talked about this recently in our church services, but in our King James Bible, it simply means to be complete or mature, to be whole. He says, I'm not complete. I'm not done. There's still work to be done. He said, not as though I had already attained, either we're already perfect. He says, because of that, he says, but I follow after. He said, I'm working on myself. I'm trying to get better. Why are you trying to get better, Paul? Because I've not yet attained. He says, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Here's what he's saying. He's saying, Jesus is trying to do something in me and I'm following after and trying to apprehend, I'm trying to get to where Jesus is trying to get me. Notice verse 13. He says, brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended. What's he saying? He's saying, I'm not yet arrived. Paul is writing to the church in Philippi and he's saying, look, I'm not where I need to be. I need to grow still. I've got things I need to work on in my life. And here's what you need to understand about the apostle Paul, especially if you don't know the apostle Paul. The apostle Paul, aside from the Lord Jesus Christ, was probably the most successful Christian spiritual leader who has ever lived. I mean, he took the message of the cross. He took the idea of a local church and he spread it throughout the gentile world. If you're here this morning, as probably ninety nine point nine percent of you are and you are a gentile that is saved. You owe your salvation, of course, to the Lord Jesus Christ. But you owe a debt of gratitude to the apostle Paul. Paul took the gospel. He was the one that took the gospel into the regions beyond. And he's the one that really almost single handedly brought the message of Christianity out of the first century into the world. I mean, when we talk about success, the apostle Paul is the most successful preacher, evangelist, missionary, church planner, whatever category you want to put him in. Writer, he wrote most of the New Testament. He's a success spiritually. You say, well, I don't care about spiritually. OK, let's talk about secularly. The apostle Paul would be put in a category as the most successful businessman who's ever lived. I mean, people want to talk about Ray Kroc taking the McDonald's brand to the world. Hey, before Ray Kroc took the McDonald's brand to the world, the apostle Paul took the Jesus brand to the world. You want to talk about a man who took his message, who took his idea and infiltrated the world, took it to every country, took it today. There are billions of people that believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and there have been through the generations because one man went out. I mean, the apostle Paul, if he was in a secular business, he would have been more successful than any businessman you know. You say, why are you bringing this up? Here's what I'm bringing up. Here we have a man. I mean, today you can Google most influential people in history, and the apostle Paul is going to be on that list. And in fact, the apostle Paul is probably, and these are not lists made out by independent fundamental Baptists. I mean, if the lists were written by fundamental Baptists, he'd be number two on the list. These are lists made out by worldly, atheist, secular people. And yet, even on their list, they will list the apostle Paul as third, fourth, or fifth most influential man in world history, the apostle Paul. Why are you bringing this up? Here's the point. Paul, by every metric, was highly effective, highly productive, highly successful. And yet Paul said this, I count not myself to have apprehended. And yet Paul said this, he said, brethren, he said, not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect. See, when we talk about why you need a church, here's why you need a church, because number one, we all need instruction. Because here's the truth, we're not all where we need to be. I mean, let's face it, if the apostle Paul can say, I'm not perfect, I'm not complete, I'm still working on myself, I still have things I could do better, I still have areas I could get better, I still have things that I need to work on, I count not myself to have apprehended. But this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which aren't before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. If Paul says, I've got things to work on in my life, then I'm not trying to hurt your feelings, but I'm here to tell you something, so do you. So do I. We all have areas that we need help in, we all have areas that we need to work in, we all have areas, you say, why did God decide, why didn't Jesus feel that I needed a church? Here's why, because we all need instruction. Because let's face it, we're not all where we need to be. Here's the truth of the matter, some of you are here today, you may be a husband. And you're already planning on not coming back tomorrow, or the next Sunday. Well, I don't need that sermon series on marriage, oh really, let's ask your wife. Some of you, your wife, you say, I don't need that sermon series. We all need every sermon series, any time the word of God, you know the Bible says all scriptures are given by the inspiration of God? And it's profitable for reprove, rebuke, the Bible says that it can help us, that we can grow, that it can equip us, that the man of God may be thoroughly furnished unto all good works. The truth is this, that we all need help, we all need instruction, we are not where we need to be. You're there in Philippians, keep your place there in Philippians, we're going to come back to it. But go with me if you would to 1 Timothy, 1 Timothy chapter 3. You're there in Philippians, you go past Colossians, past 1 and 2 Thessalonians, into 1 Timothy. Philippians, Colossians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 1 Timothy chapter 3. You say, what do I need? You know what you need? Church. 1 Timothy 3 and verse 15, the Bible says this, but if I tarry along, here's Paul speaking to Timothy, he says, but if I tarry along, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, notice, the house of God, in the Old Testament, early in the Old Testament, the house of God was a tabernacle. And then it was a temple. But in the New Testament, the Bible says, in the house of God, which is the church of the living God. Today, the house of God is every local New Testament church is the house of God. It says, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God. Notice these words, the pillar and ground of the truth. Where can you go today to get the truth? Where can you go? Is it the public school system? Is that where they're going to tell you the truth? Institutions that teach that you came from a monkey? Institutions that teach that there is no God? Is it the public government educational system? Is that where you're going to get the truth? Is it the government? Is it the news? Really? Look, every time a politician opens their mouth, they're lying to you. You're going to get the truth from the government? You're going to get the truth from... Where can you go today to get the truth? Here's the answer, the church. The Bible says that the house of God, which is the church of the living God, is the pillar and ground of the truth. Church is what you learn, what you need to learn for life. Go to Acts, chapter number 11. Acts, chapter number 11. If you would, towards the beginning of the New Testament, you have Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Acts, chapter 11. But let's be specific, though, because some of you are like, well, I watch these conspiracy people on YouTube. They taught me the truth. Maybe. But let me ask you this. Where are you going to get truth today to have a successful marriage? Are they going to be your girlfriends at work? Are they going to be your guy friends at work that are going to tell you all the wrong advice? I mean, where are you going to get the truth about having a biblical... Yeah, I'm going to get advice from all my worldly friends. All your worldly friends have been divorced, right? They're the ones that are going to tell you? See, there's something about going to... There's a reason why you go to church like this, and we celebrate a couple that's been married for 60-some-odd years. How do you do that? I know how you do that because I've asked somebody. You do it by building your marriage on the Bible. Amen. Because it is the Word of God that gives you instructions. Say, how do I raise my children for the Lord? Hey, where are you going to learn that from? Who's going to teach you how to raise kids right? Look, the Bible has the answer for every question of life. You've got a financial question. The answer's in the Bible. You've got a health question. The answer's in the Bible. You have a relational question. It's in the Bible. You have a people skills question. It's in the Bible. You have a career question. It's in the Bible. You need some guidance and help. Hey, it's all in the Bible, and the church is a place that's supposed to preach the Word of God, and it's to be the pillar and ground of the church, the pillar of the ground of the truth. Acts 11. Are we there? Look at verse 26. Acts 11, 26. Acts 11, verse 26. And when he had found him, he brought him into Antioch, and it came to pass that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church. What do we do at church? Notice. And taught much people and the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. Say, why do we come to church? The primary reason we come to church is to be taught the Word of God. Say, why do you teach the Word of God? Here's why. So that you can learn what you need to learn for life. Jesus said, He said, I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly. Jesus said, I can help you get better at life. And He says, I want to give you a place. I'm going to establish a church. You say, why would you do that, Jesus? Here's why. Because we all need instruction. Because you've not yet arrived. Because you're not perfect. Because you need help. And I'm going to give you a place where you can go on a regular basis and have somebody open up the Word of God and open up the truth of God and teach them and apply them to your life in a practical and applicable way. Why? You say, why do I need that? Because we all need instruction. Because if Paul says, hey, I'm not yet arrived, then none of us have. Because we all need the teaching and preaching of the Word of God. But I want to give you a second reason why you need church. The first reason is because we all need instruction. Here's the second reason if you're taking notes. Why do you need church? Here's why. Because we all need community. We all need community. I'd like you to go to the book of Genesis, if you would. First book in the Bible should be fairly easy to find. Genesis chapter number 2. This is something that should be intrinsic. And you should know that this is something that we all need just by being a human being. Because of the fact that everyone wants connection. In fact, we live in a world that highly values the idea of connection. Genesis chapter 2 and verse 18, the Bible says this, And the Lord God said, this is on the week of creation, when God created man. He said, It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him and help me for him. Now we understand that Genesis 2 18, the primary application is not of this phrase, it is not good that men should be alone. We understand that the primary application is marriage. And we're going to talk about that next week. But the principle is that we were not created for isolation. We were not created to isolate ourselves. We were created to live our lives alongside other people. We were created to live with people. We were created for community. We were created to live connected. And this is something that should be easy for us to understand because everyone wants connection. And in fact, we live in a very connected world today. And we want this because we realize that it's a need that human beings have. In fact, let me just read for you a little excerpt from an article entitled The Importance of Human Connection. It says, In today's age, we live busy lives, trying to strike a balance between work, school, hobbies, and more. Often our social connections fall by the wayside. But connections with others is more important than you might think. Social connections can lower anxiety and depression, help us regulate our emotions, lead to higher self-esteem and empathy, and actually improve our immune system by neglecting our needs to connect. We put our well-being at risk in multiple areas of life. So we understand that connection is something that is needed. And this is intrinsic in human beings. There's a reason why we live in a society today, now that we have the technology that's available to as many of us as it's available to, we live in the most connected world that human beings have ever lived in all of history. I mean, we are more connected today to people than we've ever been. And some of that is not good, and some of it is good. But there's a reason why places and sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, there's a reason why these platforms are so popular. Why? Because everyone wants to connect. There's a reason why sports teams are so popular, because everyone likes to connect. The reason why hundreds of backslidden Christians are going to skip church today to watch grown men play a kid's sport, because they want to connect. That's why fraternities and sororities, that's why bars are popular. Why are bars popular? I mean, I'm against drinking alcohol. The Bible's against it. But if you're going to drink alcohol, why do you need to go to a bar? And the truth is this, because as they say, sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name. That's why moose lodges are places people go. Elk lodges, Masonic lodge. That's why nightclubs are popular. That's why there's a club for anything you'd want to do. Any certain car you want to get into, any motorcycle you want to get into, any hobby you want to get into, anything you want to do. You want to bowl, you want to golf, whatever you want to do, there's a club for it. There's a place you can meet up for it. There's a meet up somewhere for it. Why? Because intrinsically, we all know that we desire connection. Why? Because we were created for community, but yet we live today in a society, though connection and connecting with human being is supposed to help your anxiety, it's supposed to help your mental health, it's supposed to help your self-esteem, it's supposed to help you feel better and not be depressed. Yet we live in a society that is more depressed than it's ever been, more suicidal than it's ever been, more drug addicted than it's ever been, more trying to forget their sorrows with alcohol than it's ever been. We're more connected than we've ever been, yet we're at the same time more isolated than we've ever been. You say, how can that be? Here's why. Because there's a difference between connection and community. There's a difference between connection and community. See, you could have 700 or 7,000 friends on Facebook. That doesn't mean you have a community of people that actually care about you, that actually think about you, that actually pray for you, that actually know when you're sick and miss you. You may have a million friends on Facebook that know what you had for dinner last night when you went to that fancy restaurant, but they don't know that your kids are struggling. They don't know that your marriage is struggling. They don't know that you need help and you might need a card letting you know, hey, we love you. We're praying for you. We live in the most connected world we've ever lived in, but yet we live in the most dis-community world we've ever lived in. You probably don't even know the names of your neighbors. And I'm not against you. I'm not trying to fault you. I'm just telling you, we're connected yet isolated. God created you. You say, what do we want? We want connection. But what God created you was for community. You say, what's the difference between connection and community? One word, accountability. See, here's the thing about your seven billion friends on Facebook. None of them keep you accountable. None of them care when you fall off the wagon. None of them care when you went back to drugs. None of them are going to visit you in prison. You know who will visit you in prison? Verity Baptist Church. You know who won't visit you in prison? Your bowling team. The people you watch the Super Bowl with. The people you didn't go to church with to watch the Super Bowl, they'll visit you in prison. The people you skip church with to watch the Super Bowl, they'll forget about you. Because there's a major difference between connection and community. You say, what's the difference? Community brings with accountability. But this is why people don't want community because they don't want accountability. Because they don't want people alongside them who are not only befriending them but also holding them accountable, also helping them get better, also loving them and rebuking them and reproving them and exhorting them as needed. The truth is that we live in an age of hyperconnection and yet people are feeling more disconnected than they've ever felt. So we all need a community. Everyone wants connection. But you know what you actually need is a community. Go to Proverbs if you read Proverbs chapter 27. If you open up your Bible just right in the center, you're more than likely to find the book of Psalms. Right after Psalms, you have the book of Proverbs. Oh, you know, I got all these friends. You don't understand. I got all these friends. I've got all this community. You don't have a community. You've got connections maybe. But a community comes alongside. See, here's the difference between a connection and a community. A community makes you better. They lift you up. They care and pray and notice and are there when you need them. See, here's what you need to understand. It matters who you spend time around. There's a very well-known statistic. I don't know if statistics is the right word, but just piece of information that's well-known out there. It says this, that you are the average of your five closest friends. If you take, I'm saying if you and if I, take the five people we spent the most time with and in any area of life we add them up and divide by five, we take the average, we will find our average. So you take the five people that you spend the most time with and you figure out what their annual income is, you add it all up, divide it by five, and you'll have your annual income. Take five people, take their weight, add it up, divide it by five, you'll have your weight. You'll have their attitude, you'll have their success level, you'll have their temperament, you'll wear the same size clothes. You are the average of the five closest people you spend time with. So be careful about who are the five closest people you spend time with. The Bible says in Proverbs 27 and verse 17, iron sharpeneth iron so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. Look, your friends are either making you better or they're making you worse. My five closest friends have been divorced, you'll probably get divorced. My five closest friends are unemployed, you'll probably be unemployed. My five closest friends are drunks, you'll probably be a drunk. Iron sharpeneth iron so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friends. It matters who you spend time with. That's why it's good to spend time with God's people. Now look, look, I'll be the first to tell you, these people, God bless them, I love them, they've not yet arrived and neither have I. But they're trying to get better, they love the Lord. Go to Hebrews, if you would, Hebrews chapter 10. If you start at the end of the New Testament, go backwards. You have Revelation, Jude, 3rd, 2nd, 1st John, 2nd, 1st Peter, James, Hebrews. Who are you spending time with? You're spending time with somebody because you were created for community and you sometimes translate that as connection, but what you need is a community. You need a community of people to come alongside. You see, there's this adage that the world says, you've heard it, they'll say it takes a tribe to raise a child. Now I don't necessarily agree with that, and I dead sure don't agree with it when Hillary Clinton's saying it. They'll say it takes a tribe to raise her children and they want us to raise our children in their dysfunctional tribe. I don't think you necessarily need a whole tribe to raise a child. I think you could be a Noah and raise children in the nurtured admonition of the Lord and have a godly family even when the whole world is wicked and evil. I believe that we could raise our children if we had to in isolation, separation from the world, not physically, but spiritually and emotionally and in our lifestyles. If we had to, we could do it while living in a crooked and perverse nation, but I'm here to tell you something. I've learned over the last 11 years of ministry, my wife and I could raise our children for God on our own if we had to, but it's a lot easier with 70 other kids that are being raised in the same way. Our homeschool group has over 70 children in it, and it's a lot easier. It's a lot easier to teach our children that we don't go certain places and we don't dress a certain way and we don't watch certain things. When you've got a whole community of other families rallying alongside you saying, hey, we don't go there either. We don't watch that either. We don't listen to that either. Hey, it's a lot easier to live for God within community. This last January, just last month, we had, I don't know what the number is, but 80 plus people read the New Testament from our church in the month of January. And I'm here to tell you, those 80 people on their own outside of a very Baptist church probably would not have done that, but you did it within this community. We had 100 soul winners show up for soul winning yesterday, and I'm not trying to hurt your feelings, but I doubt that 100 of you would have gone soul winning on your own if it wasn't for a church that connected you, that commissioned you, that trained you, that sent you out. See, the truth is this. You say, why do I need a church? Well, if you don't think you need a church, you might want to check your pride because the truth is that we all need instruction. None of us have arrived. We all could get better and going to a place where the Word of God is open and the Word of God is taught where it's the pillar and ground of the truth. Hey, that would help all of us. Here's another reason why you need church because we all need community. Everyone wants connection, but what you need is community. You need people that are not just going to, see, here's the difference between your buddies, your car club buddies. They develop, well, they offer friendship and fellowship. Well, you know, a church offers friendship and fellowship and activities too, but they also offer exhortation. Hebrews 10, are you there? Look at verse 25. Hebrews 10, 25. Notice what the Bible says. Here's a command from God, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together. This is a reference to church. The word church means ecclesia or congregation. It's an assembly of believers. You say, what is a church? A church is a group of believers that have baptized saved believers that have banded together under the authority of a pastor for the fulfillment of the great commission. And here it says, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, notice these words, as the manner of some is. What does that mean? That means some people have a manner or a habit of forsaking the assembling. He says, but don't you do that. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as a manner of some is, he says, but exhorting one another. See, church not only provides fellowship, not only provides friendship, not only provides activities, but it also provides exhortation. As we gather, we make ourselves better. We encourage ourselves to be better. Iron sharpened with iron, and a man sharpened the countenance of his friend. We are exhorting ourselves one to the other. Notice what it says there at the end of verse 25. And so much the more as you see that they're approaching. People today will say, well, how much church do you need? You guys have church Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday, how much church do you need? Here's my answer, so much the more as you see the day approaching. I mean, what kind of question is that? How much church do you need? Well, how much Bible do you need? How much time do you need to spend around God's people? I mean, do you ever get to the place where you're like, I read too much Bible, too much Bible. I got to take a break on Bible because I'm just, how much Bible are you reading? I don't think you could ever say you've read too much Bible, spent too much time in prayer, spent too much time with God's people, doing the work of God. So much the more as you see the day approaching. Let me give you a third reason. Please go with me to the book of Psalms, if you would, Psalm 138. If you open your Bible just right in the center, you're more than likely following the book of Psalms, Psalm 138. Do me a favor, put a ribbon or a bookmark or something there because we're going to leave Psalms and we're going to come back to it. I'd like you to have your place there in Psalms and also in Philippians. We're going to go back and forth a little bit. I'm giving you reasons why you need a church, reasons why I need a church. Why do we need a church? Number one, because we all need instruction. None of us have arrived, let's face it. Look, and this is the funny thing about churches. So people sometimes they get upset and they're like, well, the thing about Verity Baptist Church is that I go there, the pastor preaches and he just tells me things I'm doing wrong and I don't like it. It's like, you missed the point. What's the point of going to a quote unquote church every week where every week the pastor says nothing, every week he pats you on the back and says, I know you're a drug addict, adultery committing, fornicating, unemployed loser, but hey, you're great. How does that help? How does that make you better? Hey, the whole point of church is that, yeah, you're encouraged, but you're supposed to be rebuked too. Look, sometimes you need to be told you're wrong and sometimes I need to be told I'm wrong and we need to be told, hey, that's not what God wants. God doesn't want you doing that. God doesn't want you going there. If you're going to have a relationship with God, he wants you to live a certain way. You're going to regret that. Sin hurts. Sin will hurt your family. Look, some of you men need to show up to the marriage series so that we can tell you, hey, this is how you need to live as a man and as a husband or you're going to hurt your wife. You're going to hurt your kids. We've not all arrived. So we need instruction. We need a community. We need people that come alongside us. I mean, I wish I could explain what places like this do for people when someone's in the hospital, when they've had a surgery and to have just a family, a church family come alongside them and love on them and pray for them and bring the meals and visit them. That's something your bar buddies aren't going to do. We all need community. I want to give you a third one. Why we need a church. Here's why. Because we all need purpose. See, the Bible says that God has a purpose for your life. Did you know that? Psalm 138, verse 8, I want you to notice it. The Lord will, here's our word we've been looking at lately. Remember? Perfect. Perfect in our, the way we use it means without error, without fault. Perfect, which is the biblical word here, is referring to something being complete or whole. The Lord will perfect that which, notice, the Lord will perfect, the Lord will complete, the Lord will accomplish. What is God going to perfect? What is he going to complete? What is he going to accomplish? That which concerneth me. You know that God has a plan for me? God has a plan for you. And he's at work in your life to perfect that, to complete that, to accomplish that. The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me. Thy mercy, O Lord, endureth forever. Forsake not the works of thine own hand. Go to Psalm 57. Psalm 57, while you turn there, let me remind you that Jeremiah said, God told Jeremiah, he said, before you were born, he said, when you were in the womb, he said, I had a plan for you. I had a purpose for you. He said, I had a will for your life. Psalm 57, verse 2, notice what he says. He said, the Bible says, I will cry unto God most high, unto God, notice, that performeth all things for me. God is doing a work in you. God is doing a work in me. The Lord is perfecting that which concerneth me. Keep your finger right there in Psalms. Go to Philippians. But I don't want you to go to Philippians. Keep your place in Philippians. But from Philippians, go to 1 Thessalonians, if you would. You've got Colossians, then 1 Thessalonians. Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians. Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians. Let me just show this concept to you. 1 Thessalonians 5, 23, and the very God of peace, notice, sanctify you holy. The word holy means complete. Sanctify you holy. And I pray God, your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved, blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. Look, I don't know what you're going through this morning, and I don't know what's happening in your life right now. But I can tell you this, if you're here this morning, and you are one of those people, you've got 7 billion friends on Facebook, and yet you feel lonely and isolated and depressed and discouraged, and you feel like you're all alone in life. I'm here to tell you something, that God has a plan for you. He has a purpose. He has a plan. He has a will. He wants to sanctify you holy in spirit and soul and body. He's not working it. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. Go to Philippians, if you would, if you kept your place in Philippians. Philippians 1, 6. Continue to keep your place there. Philippians 1, 6. Notice what the Bible says. Philippians 1, 6. Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. God has a purpose for your life. But I'm here to tell you something. Keep your place right there in Philippians. Go back to Psalm, if you will, Psalm 92. God does his work on earth in and through the local New Testament church. Jesus built the church. He's the head of the church. He gave his life for the church. He loves the church. His organization on earth is the local New Testament church, period. How does God work on earth? Through the church. How does Jesus work on earth? Through the church. You want to have God work on your life? It's only going to happen through a local New Testament church, period. No other way. So God has a purpose for your life, but here's what you need to understand. That purpose will only be realized in connection to a local church. Psalm 92, look at verse 13. Notice what the Bible says. Psalm 92, 13. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord. What's the house of the Lord? Remember, we saw it in First Timothy. The church of the living God. The pillar and ground of the truth. Here the Bible tells us, those that be planted in the house of the Lord, notice, shall flourish in the courts of our God. How can you flourish in life? How can you have the abundant Christian life? How can you have a marriage that's happy and children that love the Lord and your income be right and your finances be right and things? And look, life's always going to be difficult, but you're moving in the right direction. How will you do that in the Christian life? Here's how. You get planted in the house of the Lord and you'll flourish. God has a purpose for your life and that purpose will be realized in church. Go to Philippians. Do you understand the world lives a life that lacks purpose? I mean, can we be honest? Their life, they live, they call it the rat race. They go to work Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, the whole time complaining about it, looking forward to the weekend. So, looking forward to Saturday and Sunday. Look, I realize, you know, it's a Super Bowl Sunday and I'm going to offend half of you and that's okay. I'm not here to make you happy. I'm here to tell you the truth. I mean, you realize millions of people today, they've been looking forward to all week. I mean, they're going to skip church and some of them are going to call into work, you know, and the highlight to watch grown men play a kid's sports. And look, I realize, I preach about this every year. Some of you, you think you'd be used to it by now, looking at me all angry. It's like, I do it every year. Every year, I preach against the Super Bowl. You say, why? Because it's a waste of time. That's why. Because you know what didn't affect life at all? Who won the Super Bowl last year had no effect on life. Who won the Super Bowl the year before that had no effect on life. Who won the Super Bowl, how long did they do the Super Bowl, like 50 years? You know, the team that won the Super Bowl 50 years ago, doesn't matter. None of it matters. But you know what matters? The investment you make in your children. You know what matters? The investment you make in a lost soul. You know what matters? The investment you make in other people's life. But yet, we live in a world today, they're all, you know, millions of people are going to show up for and watch the Super Bowl. They ought to be showing up for church. That's what matters. The work of God matters. That which is eternal matters. See, church, you say, well, but I can get friends and activities and things somewhere else. Yeah, but those places can't give you purpose. Because here's what is true about all of us. At the end of our lives, we all want to have been a part of something that's bigger than us. Something that will outlast us. Something that is more important than our individual lives. You know, the only thing that can really give you that is church. Philippians 1 27, only let your conversation be as it become at the gospel of Christ. That whether I come and see you or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs that you stand fast in one spirit with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. You know what being a part of church allows you to do? It allows you to be a part of something that's bigger than you. I hope I get to the end of my life. Here's what I hope. I hope I get to the end of my life. You know, I die. They have a funeral. They put me in a casket somewhere. And people come. And people say, because of Pastor Jimenez, because of Mrs. Jimenez, because of Verity Baptist Church, my dad who was a drunkard is not a drunkard. I was raised in a Christian home. My whole legacy was turned around. I hope there'll be grandkids that'll say, because Pastor Mr. Joanne, they got my granddad saved. And that church, they reached my mom and dad when they were in their 30s. And they started having kids. And here we are, two, three generations later, loving the Lord and loving God and living the Christian life and living a fulfilled life. Hey, you know, I hope people will say, Pastor, he didn't spend a lot of time on the golf course. In fact, I don't think he ever put his foot on a golf course. But he did a work that mattered. And you can be a part of that. See, God gave you a church because here's the truth. At the end of the day, we all want to live with purpose. God has a purpose for you. But that purpose can only be realized through the work of God, that which is eternal. And God only does His work on earth through a local New Testament church. Go to Psalm 27, if you would. We'll finish up. I don't know if I'm doing a good job at it, but I'm trying to explain to you why you need a church. I hope it's clear. You say, why do I need a church? Here's why, because you need instruction. Here's why, because you need community. Here's why, because you need purpose. And there's all these felt needs, all these things that our society realizes we need. We need instruction. So we've created universities and colleges and libraries, and I'm not, you know, and I'm not against libraries and books and all of that. It's all good for you. Great. Praise the Lord. But you know, your primary place of instruction ought to be the house of the living God. We all need connections, so we've developed these social media platforms with billions of people on them. But God says, you know, you could live a fulfilled life with friends and family, all going in the same direction in a local church. We all need purpose. We need to invest our lives into something that will outlast us. And God says you can do that while investing in others in the local church. I want to encourage you this morning, some of you should just decide to be a part of a local church. You're here this morning, you say, I'm not a part of a local church. You need to be part of a local church. Jesus didn't die for the church just so you could ignore it. Jesus didn't die for the church just so you could show up on Easter and Christmas. Jesus died for the church because he knew you needed it. He established the church. He heads the church. He built the church for you. Psalm 27 and verse 4. I love this verse. Psalm 27 verse 4. In fact, I don't even, I mean, I've read the book of Psalms and scores at times, and I don't know that I ever really noticed this verse till I think Brother Oliver was preaching on a Sunday night and he pointed out this verse. I thought, that's a great verse. Psalm 27 and verse 4. One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. You say, Pastor Jimenez, you know, do you skip Super Bowl Sunday and go to church because, you know, out of duty? No, you know, I skip Super Bowl Sunday and go to church because I love God's people and I love to preach in God's Word and I just love it more than anything else. I go to church on Wednesday night because I love church. Oh, is it just because you're the pastor? Well, I went to church Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night for years before I was ever a pastor. I can honestly say, and I know there's many people in this church that could say the same thing, hey, you just get plugged into a church and you'll find you love it. One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple, to come spend time with God's people under the preaching of God's Word and draw close to God. It's the only thing I desire. You may get excited about some stupid game. I get excited about the Word of God. Psalm 122. Some of you need to decide to just be part of a local church. Let me say this. Some of you need to just decide to be faithful to church. You say, oh, I'm part of a church. I show up two times a year. That's not assembling. Psalm 122 in verse one, notice what it says. I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord. Hey, there's church tonight. You want to come? Yeah, I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord. Hey, there's church Sunday night. Well, I've already been to church. No, no, no. My attitude is I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord. Hey, the Red Hawk Preachings Conference is coming up. Not only are they going to have church on Sunday, they're going to have church on Thursday and on Friday and on Saturday. You want to come? Hey, I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord. You got to decide to be faithful. You got to decide to say, I'm going to be faithful to the house of God. And look, none of us have attained. We haven't arrived. Maybe you say, this is my first time I've ever been in church. I've never been to church before. Well, I want to encourage you to come back next week. Maybe you say, you know, pastor, I come to church, but I allow all sorts of things to come between me and God. And if it's the Super Bowl or it's the World Series or it's whatever. Hey, you know, here's the problem with allowing things to come before you and God is that that's an idol. When you put things before God, it's an idol. And I'm going to say that whether you say amen or not. I'll say it again to let some of you guys redeem yourself. The Super Bowl is an idol. But I believe that whether you believe it or not. You say, pastor, why are you preaching about the Super Bowl? Because I just found out the Super Bowl was like, yesterday I found out it was the Super Bowl. My wife said to me like, I think it's the Super Bowl. Somebody told me it's the Super Bowl. And I'm like, good night. Somebody needs to tell me this sooner. I should have been preaching about this for like three weeks. I'm going to have to put it on my schedule. Psalm 122 verse 1, I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord. I was glad. You've got to be faithful. You say, I'm hit and miss. I come every few weeks. Then why don't you start coming every Sunday? I come every Sunday. Then why don't you come back on Wednesday? I come every Sunday and Wednesday. Come back on Sunday night. I come every Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday. And then come back for soul winning. Well, how much are you going to have us do? Hey, so much the more. As you see the day approaching. I'm just here to tell you, we're going to get to heaven one day and Jesus is going to say, I died for the church. I sacrificed for the church. I love the church. I built the church. I built upon myself. I'm the head of the church. I gave you pastors. I gave you teachers. I gave you evangelists for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Why don't you get connected in the church? And I'm just here to tell you today, whether you realize it or not, we all need the church. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you for the church. Whether we acknowledge the importance of it or not, it is the most important institution on earth. And Lord, I pray you'd help us. Help us to realize we love the church, that we ought to love the church, we ought to be faithful to church, and that we need church. The truth is we need people to come alongside us and tell us, hey, that's wrong. Let's do something better. Let's live our lives with purpose. We want connection, but we need community. And Lord, I pray you'd help us. Thank you, Lord, thank you for our church, thank you for Verity Baptist Church and the families that make up this ministry, the wonderful families. I know none of us have attained. We're all working to get better, but I pray you'd help us to continue to grow together. In the matchless name of Christ, we pray. Amen.