Sunday Morning Worship & Word | Pastor Whitley “What’s Right with the Church”
by Nathan Whitley
August 7, 2022 · First Apostolic Church of Knoxville (Knoxville, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:22-24, 1 Peter 2:9-10, Acts 20:28, John 17, 1 Corinthians 12:25, Psalms 84:10

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/nathan-whitley--sunday-morning-worship-word-14
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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you start making your way back to your seats and as you do so just remain standing and get your bibles your devices whatever you use to get into the word of the lord and i want to say in in accordance with bishop mccool we are so glad to have pastor anthony back home from germany i'm glad that he is home i'm glad he made it back safe i know he was a blessing to those wonderful people there and we are praying for the great revival it's happening in germany we're praying for pastor and sister jamie as they are in west tennessee ministering today i'm thankful for our leadership i'm thankful for our pastors today and we want to welcome several guests that are here with us let me first i'm so glad to have my friend justin here all the way from memphis can we welcome justin today he is going to be marrying one of ours here just a little at least a little while we're so glad that he is here we're so glad to have all the way from the great state of indiana we're so glad to have the riley's here with us today can we welcome them today we're so glad that you are here we love and appreciate you attend a great church in carmel indiana and they just moved here to knoxville can we welcome the reinhardts today we're so glad that you are here we welcome you today the first apostolic church and from blaine tennessee could we welcome john and deborah gifford today could we welcome all of our guests today we welcome you to first apostolic church first corinthians chapter number 12. first corinthians chapter number 12. i want to begin reading at verse number 22 today [Music] thankful for the church first corinthians chapter number 12 beginning at verse number 22. nay much more those members of the body someone say the body which seemed to be more feeble are necessary and those members of the body which we think to be less honorable upon these we bestow more abundant honor and our uncommonly parts have more abundant comelyness the feeble parts the less honorable parts the less comely parts they are to receive abundance today i want to preach to you this morning and i'll try to uh just keep in mind the time but i want to preach to you today what's right with the church what's right with the church i want you to put your bibles down lift up your hands and i want you to pray that the lord would speak to us from his word this morning father we thank you for the great spirit that we feel in this place the great spirit of unity and worship and service today lord i pray that you would bless your people help me to minister your word and i pray that somebody would be encouraged today to leave here inspired to go make a difference in their world the rest of this week in jesus name why don't you clap your hands unto the lord today [Music] oh hallelujah you can be seated what's right what's right with a church there's a trend in our culture about declaring all that's wrong with the church now when i refer to the church today i mean the church universal not just this local assembly of believers but the church has received a bad reputation you see all over social media there is a movement of former believers and current believers alike who are opening up about the harm of the church they call it church hurt then there are those who are leaving the christian faith and calling it deconstructing we mustn't leave out those who say they love jesus but not the church put another way they love jesus just not organized religion we like jesus we just don't like his people that's what they say then you have the yearly published polls and surveys that describe the church's viewed reputation declining church attendance and utter doom while all these sentiments about the church aren't new necessarily their voices certainly are getting louder but there's another movement gaining traction as well while they mean well and have good intention there are preachers and teachers who constantly posture their sermons arguments and rebukes with what's wrong with the churches or this is the issue or the problem with the church and while those statements are well and good and i'm i'm sure i've probably made those statements myself over the years but it can make people believe that there's nothing right with the church perhaps a negative view of the church begins with knowing too much about each other knowing too much about ourselves the saints and the pew know other saints and all their weaknesses and shortcomings the leaders of the church know too much about the saints with having to minister to their needs and brokenness saints know too much about their leaders who are nothing more than broken vessels trying to heal other broken vessels this familiarity with each other leaves a bad taste in our mouth and we fail to see the beauty of the church because we blind ourself with each other's faults but i want to tell you today about what's right with the church i don't think it would be a bad thing to hear about all the good of the church i believe we should talk about the good of the church more than we speak of the bad things of the church come on somebody i heard someone say recently about business don't worry about the customers worry about the employees because if the employees are taken care of they'll take care of the customers can't that be the case with the church don't worry about the world worry about those in the church because if the church is cared for and loved then they'll minister to the world i want to tell somebody about what's right with does anybody love the church today does anybody love the church today i want to tell you about the good or the right with the church oh hallelujah now what is the church let me ask you this what is the church the church is the assembly of the redeemed and delivered those who have been called out of darkness into god's marvelous light peter says we are a chosen generation a royal priesthood and a holy nation in other words a people who were once rejected but are now god's elect people who have received mercy it's made up of jews and gentiles it includes male and female it doesn't discriminate against age sex race or economic status i'm telling you about what's right with the church today the church has a mission we're called to be ambassadors of christ we are commissioned to preach the gospel to every creature on the earth we are to visit widows and care for the orphans minister to the prisoner feed the hungry and clothe the naked however listen to me this morning the purpose of the church cannot overshadow the people of the church you didn't hear me i'm going to say it again the purpose of the church cannot overshadow the people of the church the church isn't a what it's a who that's right oftentimes we only think of the church as a building or a place and while that is true it limits the who of the church and if you only see the church as a building with a mission then the church will become nothing more than a means to an end it becomes flow charts and organizational organization with a mission statement to fulfill rather than being people called by christ's name what begins to happen is church becomes a business stop in your week of a long list of errands you mindlessly check its box on your to-do list and go on your way and if church becomes that then you view yourself as a consumer or as an as an investor but you're not a consumer of the church you're a person of the church you are a people called by the name i wish somebody was helping me today come on this isn't a business this is this is the house of the living god and you're here today with your brothers and your sisters in christ the church in the new testament is referred to as the feminine or in the feminine the bride of christ it's also referred to as the body of christ this is what paul would say in acts 20 and 28 take heed therefore unto yourselves into the flock over the which the holy ghost hath made you an overseer to feed the church which he has purchased someone say purchased with his own blood to understand the significance of the church we must understand who it is now when you think of expensive purchases you might think of a mansion sitting on a beachfront property somewhere and i remember we had uh i went to public school and we would have uh scholastic scholastic days when they brought these all these things that you can buy it'd be set up in the library and they had all these cool books that you can buy and all me and my friends wanted to do were two things we wanted to find the books that had michael jordan on it and we wanted to find the the books that had lamborghinis on it that's what we wanted that's why we because that's what we we want to have we want to be michael jordan we want to drive a lamborghini you think of something when you think of purchasing something you think of something like an expensive car like a rolls-royce or lamborghini nice things brothers and sisters come with a price tag mom always taught me this he said if you're gonna you're gonna get something pay a price for it don't get something cheap get something with quality if you're gonna pay for something get something with quality something that's gonna last a while and i would walk into a store and find the most expensive thing and she'd say well you didn't have to do that that's what you said to do you said to find the most expensive thing that i could find right because quality always has a price but if you want something you're going to work for it you're going to save for it in other words you will sacrifice something for it and that's exactly what god did for you and he did for me the most expensive thing in the world was the sin or the soul of humanity for god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son can i tell you that you have been bought with a price you're not some cheap thing in a building somewhere you're the most expensive thing in the world bulls and calves and goats and lambs and sheep could not purchase you so god broke himself in flesh he was embodied in the man christ jesus and he shed the very blood of god to purchase god i'll tell you right now that's why we don't live any old way why you have been bought with the prize therefore glorify god in your body you're way more expensive than a lamborghini he shed his blood for you point at yourself and say me now point at your neighbor and say you he bought you with a price he purchased you and me and he gave his life for us he redeemed the drug addict he redeemed the fornicator he redeemed the alcoholic he redeemed the liar he redeemed the cheater he redeemed the thief he redeemed the criminal he redeemed the prostitute he redeemed the broken he redeemed the sick he redeemed the religious and everything in between where do you fit in there can i tell you he loves you and he paid a price for you i'm talking about what's right with the church he didn't come to give his life for just any old body he gave it for you and for me oh you're not hearing me today i'm telling you about what's right with the church if you think the church is made up of perfect people you are mistaken you ever invite somebody to church may say this if i show up the the roof will cave in if it hasn't caved in on this group if it didn't cave in on me it's not going to cave in on you i'm telling you right now what's right about the church is that you are a redeemed delivered forgiven people this is a place for sinners this is a place for those who are lost i'm telling you this is a forgivable i'm not perfect i'm just forgiven you don't have to have it all together to get saved all you've got to do is repent of your sins and have faith in christ and get baptized in his name and receive his spirit that's what he wants to do well when i get it together i'll come you don't get it together to go to the hospital you don't go to the hospital when you're well you go to the hospital when you're sick this is a place for sin sick people to come and to find redemption and deliverance that's what this place is for i'm telling you about what's right with the church i wish somebody'd say amen right now it's the house of god the household of god it was god's desire from the very beginning to dwell amongst his people this desire for that dwelling can be found beginning in the garden of eden the tabernacle israel's camp and then the temple god came in human flesh as emmanuel meaning god with us god came to live with you you didn't hear me he came to he came to dwell with you he didn't come to dwell with angels you might think you're an angel but he came to he came to dwell amongst a broken people he's emmanuel god with us paul wrote timothy but if i tarry along that thou mayest know how thou ought as to behave thyself in the house of god which is the church of the living god the pillar and the ground of the truth in another place paul said for you are the children of god by faith in christ jesus now the household of god is made up of children the children of god and anytime you have a house with a family you're going to have trouble you're going to have trouble any anybody ever been to a family reunion trouble always going to be trouble always going to be something happening somebody going to be arguing somebody's always going to be quarreling and fussing but just because families have problems doesn't mean you don't need a family you don't divorce your family it's because you just get a little upset about where you're going to go eat after church one night i'm telling you right now you stick with it because you know you need a family and if there's people here there's always going to be problems it's made up of the children of god the apostles paul james and john encourage the family of god to do certain things for one another and i hope brother derek you could help me here with this and one of these days hopefully uh if i if i'm a good preacher i'd like to teach a sermon series on this and or write a book about this when we have this phrase one another throughout the new testament here's what the family of god is to do and you're not gonna find this anywhere else in the world no other organization no other type of organism are you going to find this except the household of god he says be devoted one to another be devoted to one another honor one another live in harmony with one another don't pass judgment on one another accept one another have equal concern for one another serve one another encourage one another admonish admonish one another greet one another don't slander one another don't grumble against one another confess your faults to one another pray for one another and how will this world know that we are the disciples of christ is if we have love for one another i'm telling you where else can you find that except in the church i'm telling you about what's right in the church we need to serve one another love one another confess our faults one to another don't grumble against one another why because we're family we treat one another as brothers and sisters in christ wherever you find such an effort you don't find that in business you don't you don't file an application don't go to a job interview and say now listen are you going to love your co-worker not sure about that you know what you need to do here at this place of business you need to make sure that you confess your faults one to another ah i don't know about that i might get fired um uh you need to you know that will you pray for your co-worker she turned me in when i took that pencil home i'm not so sure about that are you gonna love one another can i tell you this is the place where we are to be different more than the rest of this world we should be counter cultural to this world because we serve one another we love one another we pray for one another we're in harmony with one another we don't pass judgment on one another we accept one another we have concern for one another we encourage one another we greet one another and we are devoted to one another i'm telling you about what's right is anybody love the church today does anybody love the church today i'm telling you about what's right what's right with the church paul outlines another picture of the church in first corinthians and if you want to know about a troubled church don't go on facebook go on to first corinthians and read it you want to know about a troubled church go to read about first corinthians they had issues and they had trouble perhaps more than any other church in the new testament but paul uses this metaphor of the church as a body he does it in first corinthians 12 and romans chapter 12. the church as the body of christ christ is the head of the church and then the body is made up of many members members and he goes through and he begins to outline this in first corinthians 12 and romans 12. let me just give you a few of these things about the members of the body when one member suffers all members suffer when one member is to be honored all members are to rejoice when the body is one it still has many members we are unified by our differences in our diversity if all were one member he said where is the body if everybody's the hand who's going to be the eyes if everybody's the foot who's going to be the nose we have different functions in the body but it's one body all the members of that one body being many are all one in christ then he says this that there are feeble members that are necessary then there are members less honorable who are to receive abundant honor but then he says in first corinthians 12 27 there should be no division in the body so your two hands don't get together and say well thank god i'm the hands and i'm not the feet let's just join up together and just us two and no more and then the feet don't get together and say aren't you glad you're not like the hands they got that weird little pinky there i'm glad we're not like that or maybe maybe your ears got together and he said i'm just so glad that we're not the eyes can you believe all the things that they got to see and then you if your eyes got together and said aren't you glad we're not the ears cause all the things you don't have to hear but then what if your eyes and your ears got together and said could you imagine smelling all that nonsense all the time you see your members don't get together and form clicks [Music] we shouldn't be divided when we come into the house of the lord well you're going to sit over there and this is my family and this is my crew and that be your crew no no no no no we are one body together we might have differences we may not be on the same journey together at the same place but we are when we come in here together you're my brother you're my sister and we are to be one what did jesus pray for in john 17. he didn't pray for them to have miracle signs and wonders he prayed to the father that they would be one as he and the father are one why because he knew where people are they'll be division but i wonder if somebody will get together today with your brother and sister and say hey we're in this together i'm not sure enemy you're my family i'm telling you about what's right [Applause] now think about this body metaphor bodies can be weak frail and sickly but a healthy body is able to combat disease and infections it's what a healthy body does what's amazing about the body is that if one part of the body is injured the rest of the body will work to heal that part we shouldn't celebrate when somebody's injured we shouldn't celebrate when somebody gets offended instead we should come together and say if you're hurt if you're broken i'm coming to your aid to help you recover well you're not hearing me today in your body there's cells in your body you can't see them with the natural eye you can't see them unless they're under a microscope some way that you can enhance their visibility but there are cells in your body and they produce other cells you know what those cells do they go to the injured part of the body and begin to heal that there are people right here at first apostolic church you can't see them with your visible eye but i want you to know they're going around and praying for somebody and they're sending somebody a letter or a text message saying hey i'm praying for you and i'm in i want to encourage you today and there are people teaching your kids in sunday school class and there are people in the production room getting this message across the world you may not be able to see it but they're healing they're ministering cells also duplicate or replicate themselves and if we're not replicating ourselves we're not healthy if somebody comes in and they sit in your seat your first reaction shouldn't be i've been going to this church i've been in this body for 75 years i was here before bishop got here and this is my pew that's not a healthy church if somebody comes in and they're new and they come and sit in your seat you know what you need to do is find you another seat and then you need to lay your hands upon them and help them receive the holy ghost come on somebody we should be replicating ourselves when people come in we should say come on come on let's grow this body together why because this world needs what we have somebody say amen we're working together then he says this and it caught my eye this week the feeble in first corinthians 12 and verse number 22 he says there are those that are feeble that are necessary i don't know about you where have you gone and any place says hey we want we want the worst we're there we want the we we're going to hire the least educated we're going to hire the least popular that's what we want bring us those people nobody said nobody does that and paul says in the body the feeble things are necessary there's no club there's no organization that welcomes the broken like the church does most clubs and communities want the very best but the church takes the outcast and makes them the most desired i wish i was preaching better i'm so sorry i'm sorry i'm not preaching better today but i'm telling you about what's right with the church that the feeble are welcome here the afflicted are welcomed here the broken are welcomed here the hurt are welcomed here the hopeless are welcomed here the outcast is welcomed here the misfits are welcomed here the down and now or does anybody believe that does anybody believe that that's what we're here for is so that the feeble can come and get their life put back together or have you been in church so long you forgot how feeble you were i don't have to do all that i've been around here okay sometimes we need to look in the mirror and see how feeble and hopeless we really are the hurt are welcome here the less honorable he says are to receive abundant honor where else but the church can you have such thinking as that where else emphasizes honor on the feeble and the weak where else can the lowly be lifted up the church might be flawed brothers and sisters but that's what it's for if you're looking for a perfect club with perfect people sorry this isn't gonna be it if you're looking for people who've got it all together there might be somebody who says they do they don't you're not gonna find that in the church but that's what it's for there's no such thing listen to me now i'm drawn to close if the team wants to come there's no such thing as a super saint thank you for that rounding applause arousing applause there just there's no such thing as a super saint the only thing the bible ever says or calls us is saints so if you come in and are saved you're a saint you're not graduating to super sainthood we don't have a class for you to go to so you can become a super saint y'all don't believe me because somebody's popped into your brain right now i said well i think they are if you really knew what they were really like you probably wouldn't think that and if you think that you might want to ask their wife if you really think that ask their husband they'll tell you if they're super or not they might be a saint on a good day this is not a place for super saints christ did not shed his blood for angels christ did not shed his blood for angels he shed his blood for sinners and this is a place for sinners this is not a club this is not a social club this is the church and it's the greatest place in the world somebody's saying man i love charles spurgeon he's one of my favorite writers they call him the prince of preachers i've i've shared this other places let me share with you spurgeon wrote this and i quote you that are members of the church have not found it perfect and i hope that you feel almost glad that you have not if i had never joined a church until i had found one that was perfect i would never have joined one at all and the moment i did join it if i had found one i should have spoiled it for it would have not been a perfect church after i have become a member of it still imperfect as it is it is the dearest place on earth to us i'm telling somebody about what's right with the church stand to your feet today [Applause] for many of us if not all of us the church has played a central role in our lives she has nurtured us in times of grief she has supported us in the valleys of life she has ministered to us in the midst of broken dreams she has lifted us up when we were downcast she has cheered for us on our happiest of days she has cried with us on our saddest of days she has taught us the truth of god's word drawing us closer to our redeemer she has loved us when we were unlovable she has given us opportunities to fulfill our callings and purpose she has paid debts that we owed she has brought meals when we were hungry she has visited us when we were sick in the hospital bed she has counseled broken marriages if you're like me you can relate that this is the greatest place on earth i've spent my life in the church i can tell you right here honestly the majority of my dreams when i sleep and i'm a dreamer i can close my eyes right now fall asleep and dream i don't know why i haven't i don't know what's wrong with me i mean i can dream in an instant but the majority of my dreams and being honest with you when i go to sleep at night probably 95 of my dreams are about the church i can tell you about my past church i still have dreams about my childh my childhood church today i have i had one last night about going to a conference and i was running late again i mean i have i mean it's almost every night i'm dreaming about the church why because my life revolves around this place it has always revolved around this place i don't i i i just i'm just going to be honest with you i wasn't allowed to do a whole lot growing up probably couldn't anyway couldn't play sports wasn't very good at those things short a little slow play music got offered a few things when i was in high school to play with the marching band and the jazz band and the i got offered to play with the pep band that's what i really wanted to do because they played the good music pep band when i went home and told mom she goes uh when are the games i said well they're probably some on tuesdays that's youth night nope uh there's probably some on thursday night that's bible study nope why my my life is going to revolve around the church because she knew if she could keep me close to the church the church would be close to me i'm telling you this is the greatest place on earth not just first apostolic church but it's in germany and it's in maryville and it's in india it's everywhere you wherever the redeemed people of god are that's the greatest place on earth like me you probably built friendships my best friends were found in the church still to this day in the church found my wife church had a baby in the church my baby got baptized in the church we got married in the church why because it's the dearest place oh i'm telling you about what's right with the church today let me tell you a little bit about first apostolic church they're going to come let me tell you about first apostolic church it has married people and it has divorced people it has healthy families and mending families talking about first apostolic church it has lower class middle class higher class and everything in between there are sick people and there are healed people there are sinners and there are saints we have the young we have the middle aged and we have the old we have a multi-generational church but not only that we have a multi-cultural church i want to i want a church that doesn't all look like me i don't want a church with everybody who comes from my hometown let me tell you about first apostolic church we have mexicans we have salvadorans we have arabs we have african-americans we have moldovans we have russians we have ukrainians we have romanians we have kenyans we have nigerians we have burmese we have the we have filipino and many many more we have recovering alcoholics and drug addicts i'm telling you about what's right with the church and we're just getting started [Applause] is she flawed sure does she have her problems and her issues certainly she's had good days she's had bad days but she's still the greatest place on earth david said this bishop said it friday night at our youth rally we had 39 people on our bus to go to youth rally on friday night at one point we had we went with 39 and had 42 on the bus i was like i have no idea what we did we gained some we had several who didn't just ride the bus they drove up there we had church and dandridge on friday night and bishop got up and he quoted this scripture he said this and i i my mind was just blown away you think you know something but you really don't he quoted psalm 84 and 10. he says for a day in thy courts is better than a thousand and bishop said a thousand he didn't say what he said it better than a thousand better than a thousand vacations it's better than a thousand dollars it's better than a thousand raises it's better than having a thousand children a better and a bet one day in your quarters better than a thousand you fill in the blank it's better whatever you can think of it's better this is better this is what's right this is bad anything that your mind can conceive this is better why because all of those things will fade all those things will go with the earth but this place will remain the church will remain david said i'd rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my god than to dwell in the tents of wickedness i read the message version of this and i know it's it's a paraphrase let me read the message paraphrase of psalm 84 and 10. i love this one day spent in your house this beautiful place of worship beats thousands spent on greek island beaches [Music] i'd rather scrub floors in the house of my god then be honored as a guest in the palace of sin i'm telling you what's right with the church would you lift up your hands right now i wonder if somebody would thank god for the church it was the place that you were saved come on somebody just think back to what the church has ever done for you maybe somebody visited you somebody encouraged you maybe somebody invited you maybe somebody taught you a bible study maybe somebody just reached out and said hey i love you and i'm thinking about you maybe you met your spouse or or maybe you bet your your best friend or maybe i don't know what it is but it was the church it was the church that facilitated it it was god's church that brought you joy and happiness and fulfillment is there anybody who's thankful for the church that i wanted somebody to come out of their seat and say you know what i want to do i want to fall in love with the body one more time i want to fall in love with the body i love christ but i love his church too i love christ but i love his body too it's made up of many members it's a diversity of people but we're one we're one we're one we're one we may have our differences we may have come from different places but when we gather here together in his name we are a unified people would you lift up your hands right now and give jesus some praise right now and thank him for the church [Music] and now there's breakthrough [Music] showed us mercy with your body [Music] [Music] jesus [Music] [Applause] jesus [Music] [Applause] crush the darkness [Music] tell us [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] jesus [Music] oh [Music] [Music] man somebody give jesus praise right now come on is anybody thankful for the church come on is anybody thankful for the church of the living god hallelujah hallelujah this is the greatest place on earth i love being with the people of god so here's what we're going to do today in dismissal we've got practice tonight choir choir at 5 30. worship team at five worship team and musicians at five but right now as we dismiss i want you to find somebody and say you're my brother you're my sister greet somebody and say you're what's right with the church come on can you do that for somebody is zero dismiss today your what's right with the church be blessed we'll see you back tonight for our service tonight we don't want to miss the ministry of pastor anthony mccool in our evening service tonight