Eight Steps To Being Pleased With Your Church

Eight Steps To Being Pleased With Your Church
Romans 12

INTRO. - For the Last two weeks we have looked at what it takes to please God, and last week being pleased with God. Today, I want to look at steps to being pleased with your church.

Before I get started, we need to understand that no church is perfect, we are made up of imperfect beings. No church is without some things that are less than desirable. But we can be pleased with our church.

What is being pleased? Some synonyms of to be very pleased are:

Celebrate, glory, triumph, cheer, revel, be delighted, exalt, be glad, and rejoice.

To be displeased shows a different picture, sadness, downcast, unhappiness, bitterness, defeat, etc.

Wouldn't you rather be happy and pleased than sad and defeated?

Let us read:

Romans 12 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. ²And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. ³For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. ⁴For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: ⁵So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. ⁶Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; ⁷Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; ⁸Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness. ⁹Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. ¹⁰Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; ¹¹Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; ¹²Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; ¹³Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. ¹⁴Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. ¹⁵Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. ¹⁶Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. ¹⁷Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. ¹⁸If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. ¹⁹Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. ²⁰Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. ²¹Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

Try

You have to want to be pleased - you have to try

"present you bodies…"

You have to try or it will not happen

If we just sit and ponder our unhappiness, it will come!

We've all had someone who could never be pleased (because they did not want to be) - a boss, teacher, coach, parent, or even a spouse.

[There is a saying - "He'd complain if you hang with him with a new rope!"]

Transformation

"…but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind…"

It is so much easier to be happy or pleased when you know the One who gave His Son that we might be pleased.

We cannot do what needs to be done on our own. We need to be transformed by the new birth. We need to be New Creatures, we need the new beginning that only He can supply.

We can have a new attitude - because we are transformed (saved) through Christ!

Test (use) it

…"that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

Some things in life are hard to be happy about - but they can be pleasing.

Car insurance for example - who likes paying someone for something they may never use. If you have to use it, it is pleasing

A mechanic - better than throwing car away

We need to test or use our church and its people

Toil for
^{6Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; ⁷Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; ⁸Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.

Toil for the things that a good church can offer

New beginning - through the Lord

New outlook

New meaning in life

New friends

New destination, etc.
You have to work at making things pleasing - we need to toil in Prayer, Labor, Song, Praise, and Worship

Teamwork
^{3For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. ⁴For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: ⁵So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. ⁶Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; ⁷Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; ⁸Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.
[Compare school spirit to our feelings of being part of a team]

We need teamwork - be part of the team - join the team

If we are conceited we will be unpleased

If we are self-serving we will be unpleased

Teamwork brings satisfaction, success, strength, and support.

Real teamwork is pleasing.

Treasure it (love it)
^{9Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. ¹⁰Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

How can we be pleased with our church if we are not in love with its members? (Those that make up our church.)

We need to treasure those within our fellowship

Matt. 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

IF we are God's children, how do we not love, treasure, spend time, worship with etc. with our fellow believers in Christ.

Tenacious

Don't give up

Hang in there

Keep on keeping on, etc.

^{11Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; ¹²Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; ¹³Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. ¹⁴Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. ¹⁵Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. ¹⁶Be of the same mind one toward another.

Be peaceful

U.S. Grant was a failure in life early on. He hated working for His father's tanning business. He failed as a merchant. He failed as a farmer. He left the military in 1854 (supposedly due to a drinking problem), BUT he became the Union Army's head soldier because he was tenacious. He would not let go. He met Lee's army, attacked, moved with, regrouped, and attacked again, because he was tenacious. He hung in there. WE NEED TO HANG IN THERE! STAY WITH IT. STICK WITH OUR CHURCH. If we stay with it, we will be pleased with our church.
When you run long distances, you often develop a "side stitch" (a pain in the side that hurts with every stride). You can stop until it goes away for a short while and returns when you start back up -- or you can tenaciously continue and run through the pain until it goes away. We need to be tenacious. The extra effort is worth it. Be tenacious.
Trust in it - not for salvation, but trust the people the fellowship, their goals, their integrity, their abilities, etc.

Plan on it working no matter what

^{21Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

Many are displeased, because they plan on being so

We can work together to please Him and please each other

We need to expect good things (if we expect failure it will happen)
Expect our church to try to be pleased

Expect our church to be transformed by His grace

Expect our church to test or God's blessings on our church

Expect our church to toil for the Lord

Expect our church to practice teamwork

Expect our church to treasure each other

Expect our church to be tenacious

Expect our church to trust our church

Gary Marcum - New Beginnings Church - 081802am}}}}}