Do You Really Need Church in Your Life? | Paul Malott

What is the church really supposed to be? It’s easy to think of it as a building or a weekly gathering, but this message challenges that idea. Pastor Paul walks through three non-negotiables that define the church and how we’re meant to live it out every day.

We’re reminded that following Jesus isn’t just personal. It’s about our relationship with God, our connection with others, and how we reach people outside the faith. This message helps reframe what church actually looks like in real life.

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Transcript

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- Hey, this is Phil Kizza, lead pastor at Hope City Church. Thanks for tuning into our podcast. My prayer is that this helps and encourages you, gives you some practical ways to live out your faith and ultimately fills you with hope. Enjoy the message.- Have you ever thought about some non-negotiables that you have in life? Alright, lemme give you an example of some of the ones that I have. So when we're together in worship and we're singing songs and it's, you know, one of those faster songs and you're like, I want get into this, I wanna start clapping, I'm clapping with the snare drum, not the kick drum, okay, I'm clapping with the two and the four beat, not the one and the three beat. And that's just a non-negotiable for me. Or what about this one? When I'm at a restaurant and I want a carbonated drink, I am quickly going to look or ask, is it Pepsi or Coke products? Listen, there are huge ramifications as to whether or not it's Pepsi or Coke products. You know, like if they say, Hey, we have Pepsi around here, I'm, I'm more than likely going to say, Hey, can I have water please,, or what about this? Since we're on food topics? Uh, what, what about that? I'll say one word. Hez, no other options. That's all there is, baby. It's Heinz or nothing. Okay, now, okay, listen, these are like non-negotiables that I've come up with for whatever reason. You know, they're things that I, stylistically I just like and uh, and so those are non-negotiables for me and I'm sure you have some of those as well. But are there things that are really non-negotiables that all of humanity needs to know? I would say yes, there are. The challenge is how do we know the difference? Well, that's what this series is all about. We are in the midst of a series that we're calling the non-negotiables. And when it comes to a faith as a Christian, what are some of the non-negotiables that we need to have? And so in week one, we looked at the Bible. In week two, we looked at the Trinity. Week three, we looked at the work of Christ. And today we're going to look at the church. What are some of the non-negotiables for the church? Now I have to admit, I absolutely love the local church. I am, I am just, I, I get so giddy. I go to church even on my holidays. Now I won't come here, but I will find myself in church as much as I possibly can. Even if I'm in a foreign country and they don't even speak English. I love the local church. You know, when we talk about the church though, it's easy for us to kind of narrow our viewpoint of what the church really is. Lemme give you an example of yesterday we were at Costco waiting in the long lineup to get through. Uh, and I said, Hey, what are you doing tomorrow? You may have said, well, I'm gonna go to church, which would've inferred that you are going to hop in your car or your vehicle or whatever. However, you're gonna get to a specific building at a specific location with a specific group of people at a specific time. And we've narrowed the church down to that. Now, if you're watching online, that might not necessarily be the case that you've made. Maybe for you, you've deferred down to, well, I jump online and on my phone or on my ca or on my TV or my computer. I watch some people sing together. I watch, uh, somebody give announcements, and then I watch the preacher preach. And you've labeled the church as that. But is that really what the church is? We've accidentally narrowed down the church. Theologians talk about often use two terms to talk about the church. They use the term the universal church or the invisible church. Now, this consists of every person who has accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and choose to follow his teachings. So whether that be a Pentecostal, a Baptist, an Anglican, a Catholic, or any other denomination, whether they be here in Alberta, Afghanistan, or in the continent of Africa, it doesn't matter if they are a follower of Jesus Christ, they make up the universal church. And AI is telling me that we have somewhere between 2.4 and 2.6 billion people on the globe right now that are followers of Jesus Christ that make up this universal church. The other term that we often refer to when we're talking about the church is the local church or the visible church. Now traditionally this would've been defined as a group of believers in a given geographical location, but technology has kind of challenged us on that over the last number of years to whether or not is there such a thing as virtual church and debate's still out there. And so we're not gonna get into that debate as to, to whether or not that is true. I think time will tell for the pros and cons of the virtual church. But what we can guarantee is this, the church is not a building, the church is the people. It's the body of Christ, it's the bride of Christ, it's the family of God or whatever term we want to use to describe the church. And this group of people are given some non-negotiables that we should adhere to as a body of Christ. As we synthesize through all of what we see in the New Testament regarding the church and how it functions, we see three non-negotiables that kind of rise out of the top. So we have our vertical relationship with God, we have our vertical relationship with those who are part of the family of God, of the Christian or our horizontal relationship with them. And then we also have our horizontal relationship with those outside of faith, those who have yet to accept Christ as Lord and Savior. Here's the challenge though. We wanna compartmentalize each of these things on its own, but we can't. They're extremely intertwined with each other and with one often comes one of the others or all three. So even though I wanna take a quick look at each of these aspects today, we can't forget about the others along the way. So let's look at that vertical relationship with God first and foremost, whether that be as an individual or whether that be when we get together, the church must be engaged in two aspects in that vertical relationship with God giving of ourself in worship in His Word, and receiving back from God through his word in the Spirit. Romans chapter 12, verse one says this, I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This, this is your true and proper worship. You see, when we worship God, there is both an internal devotion and an outward expression. There's an active participation and a humble reverence. Over the years, I've kind of defined what worship is as this our response to God and love for who he is and what he's done. It's how I define worship. Now, traditionally we assume this means through things like praying or singing or reading scripture, and that is an aspect of it, but it's so much more than that. It includes the way we do our jobs. It includes working in the garden, which I was doing a bit yesterday. It includes the conversations that we have with other people or even the things that we will watch online. It includes every aspect. Literally anything we do should be a response back to God and love for who he is in our life and for what He's done for us. When we do that, that is worship. Now, this has to happen individually. It should be daily, moment by moment, each and every day. We should be actively worshiping God, but it also needs to be done collectively when we get together again, traditionally we would argue that the, and I would say that there's a lot of truth to this. One of the most effective ways for us to do this corporately is through singing, worship music together. And so we provide those musical moments of worship in our times together all the time we do that. But these moments aren't to be passive, you know, sitting or standing and, and just simply watching what's happening on the platform. These are actually supposed to be active, a corporate participation in a U in unified worship. Now listen, we're gonna put people on the platform who can actually sing and play an instrument that we will guarantee we're gonna do, but they're not up here to perform. They're up here to lead us corporately in a time of worship together. It's one of the reasons why we keep the volume a little louder.'cause some of you can't sing very well, but it doesn't matter. We should be giving all that we are in worship to God and so have at our people, worship God when we're together, give all that you are in adoration for who he is and what he's done. Now, although worship should emphasize God, it also will benefit you as a worshiper as well. You see, when we worship God, God gives back to us through the work of his spirit. How many times have you been in the moment of worship and you felt God speak to you? You've just, it's like God. You can tangibly hear his voice. Maybe something in your life has been revealed and you're like, man, that was God. In that moment, he's, he's doing something in me in the moment of us giving to God. He gives back to us and our lives are changed. Our intention may be to praise him, but God's not a God to be outdone. He's gonna give back to you. I love this example in Acts chapter 16, Paul and Silas, they're in prison for telling others about Jesus. And uh, and while they're in the midst of prison being shackled to and in place, it says this in Acts 16, verse 25, about midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken at once all of the prison doors flew open and everyone's chains came loose. Now, long story short, in a moment of worship, God shows up and before the end of the night, the jailer and his entire family become followers of Jesus Christ. Listen, I love moments like that now. I've never been in jail and had that experience, but I have had God speak to me in the midst of moments of worship. I just love it when God shows up. Now, what compliments this worship is discipleship. And see, we give of ourself to God through the study of his word as well. And when we learn about God through his word, he gives back to us and we receive from God an awareness of who he is or how he desires for us to live as a follower of Christ. Have you had those moments along the journey? I I listen, or sorry, I read through the Bible, like try and read through the Bible entirely every year try. I've been doing this for about 20 years now, give or take. Most of those years I've done this. And I'm telling you, every single time I read the Bible, every single time, at some point along the journey throughout the year, I'm reading through and I'm like, what? That's in the Bible. I've never seen this before. Like I have these aha moments when I'm reading scripture and God is like, yeah, I need to, I actually need you to see it this time. Can I highlight this for you? As you're reading through this? We, those moments are great. It's like the Bible becomes alive for us. See, the more we study the scriptures, the more we become aware of who God is, the God that we serve, and the more that we have to draw from when we're talking to others about the ways of Jesus, God has given us his words so that we can know him. So here's that first non-negotiable. We are to daily give of ourself in worship and in studying of his word, but we also get to receive from his word and spirit. So that's that vertical relationship with God. Then we have that relationship that we need to have with other Christians. It's the second non-negotiable that we have. We need to be a community. We need to be a family. John chapter 13, verse 34 35 says this, it quotes, Jesus is saying, a new command I give you love one another as I have loved you. So you must love one another. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples. If you love one another. Jesus is talking to the church here and he's saying to us, guys, you gotta have each other's back. In Ephesians chapter four, it talks about us being the body of Christ and all have a part to play on the mission of the church. And he says in, in chapter four, verse 11, so Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors, the teachers. In other words, Christ has put in place leadership over the church to do this, to equip his people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. In essence, what what this passage is talking about is that we can work together to build up each other, Christ's body, Christ's church so that we can grow into all that Christ wants us to be. Did you hear that though we all work together? It's not just the pastors or the church staff or the key volunteers even who want to do something around the church. No. All of us have a part to play. First Corinthians chapter 12, the apostle Paul uses the same analogy there with regards to the body, and he warns us not to discredit people from what they have to offer the body, everyone has a part to play. The ear can't say to the eye, I don't need you. The foot can't say to the hand, I don't need you. You know that one you think might be the butt cheek in the church? Nope, can't say it. We need them as well. We need each other. We are all part of the body. So there are three things that we can do as the body to support one another. First off, we can protect each other. First Corinthians chapter 12, verse 26. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it. If one part is honored, all the parts are glad. You know when, when you go through a crisis of some sort, it's the church community that should rally around you and help you get back up under your feet again. When you have questions about a faith, about your faith, because maybe you've been doom scrolling end time stuff and you've found yourself in some conspiracy theories. Listen, it's the church that should rally around you and catch you and protect you from that level of heresy when you need to make a life impacting decision. It's the church community, the community that can intercede with you to help you know what the will of God is. The church community protects the church community encourages Hebrews 10 24. Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together. Some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day approaching. When I, when I learn something about God, I now have a nugget of truth that I can share with someone else when they need it. When you learn something about God, you now have in you a nugget of truth that you can share when someone else needs it. We have the ability to encourage one another. Proverbs 27, verse 17 says this, as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. The church community must be about encouraging one another. So we protect, we encourage, and then we correct. This is important as well. Here's the reality. Neither you nor I am perfect, we all need a good healthy dose of correction every now and then. And I'd much rather get that correction from someone who I know cares about me and has my best interest than mine, than some complete stranger. Proverbs 27 verse six says, this, wounds from a friend can be trusted. Now, these aren't physical wounds, but rather the pain of honest correction in in Galatians chapter six verse one points out to us, how should we bring about that correction? It says in verse one, brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in sin, you who live by the spirit should restore that person gently. Now I get it sometimes, uh, that's easier said than done. Sometimes all we wanna do is take somebody and shake them a little bit and say, stop it. Not a good approach. Tried it doesn't work. Okay, so here's my, uh, here's my shameless plug. Since I'm the discipleship director, I get to have a shameless plug here for small groups. And, uh, here's why I think that small groups are so important because in a group of people that care about you, trust you, uh, you trust them that love and support each other, you're gonna find yourself in that area where you can protect, encourage, and correct. And so I encourage you, if you are not in a small group, seriously consider who can be around you to support you. You know, if you're attending Hope City, maybe on an occasional basis, or even if you're here every week, but you're not part of a smaller group, you are actually, you're shortchanging yourself and your spiritual formation because you're not going to be fully known, nor are you going to know someone else fully and support each other and correct each other and encourage each other and protect each other. We need others around us in this journey. Those relationships can take time to find and develop, but you have to take the initiative to find them. See, we can strive to help create those opportunities for you around here and with what we do and our structures that we promote, but you have to make the effort. So when our vertical relationship with God is growing, when our horizontal relationship with each other and the family is growing, then the mission that we are to be on as a church can be most effective. And that's creating those relationships with those outside of a faith. It's a non-negotiable. The church must be expanding. We have to be growing as a body, as a community. We must be about sharing Christ's love with everyone. Now, that happens best when we are on mission as a church, reaching all the forms of poverty that we have in our society. Now, oftentimes when we use that term poverty, the first thing we're thinking about is like physical poverty or, or money, and that that is a part of it. There's definitely that poverty out there, but there's so much more to it than that. What about things like relational poverty or emotional poverty or poverty of health, and then ultimately someone's spiritual poverty. The greatest teaching on this may be found in Matthew chapter 25. Let me read that passage for you in verse, uh, 31 of Matthew 25. It says this, when the son of man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people from one another. As, as shepherds separates the sheep from the goats, he will put the sheep on the right and the goats on the left. Then the king will say to those on his right, come, you who are blessed by my father, take your inheritance. The kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me. I was sick, and you looked after me. I was in prison and you came to visit me. Then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when, when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in or needing clothes and clothed you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go and visit you? The king will reply. Truly, I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. Now he goes on to say, for those that didn't do that well, let's just say it isn't pretty. See, poverty is rampant everywhere. Sometimes you can't see it. It's, it's not always blatant of someone sleeping on the street or begging at the stoplight. Sometimes it's the senior citizen that lives near you that only comes out to get groceries and never has anyone come to visit. Sometimes it's the one suffering in chronic illness that medicine can't even touch the pain. Sometimes it's debil, the debilitating emotions and the paralyzation that our emotions can have among our family and and our co coworkers. And then ultimately it's those who have spiritual poverty and they're lost in sin with no hope either for this life or the life in eternity. Now, I get it. We want the spiritual poverty to be filled. Yes, we do, because that just doesn't impact today. That impacts their, their whole eternity. But the other forms of poverty may block someone from accepting that message of Christ. And so we may need to address those areas. First and foremost, the church must be missional. It must be looking outside of ourself. It must be on mission. So how do you handle all of this? I kind of see the, these three things like a a three legged stool. Each aspect is needed for the church. If we're not growing in our faith and in our understanding of who God is and that vertical relationship, we're gonna struggle. If we're not, we growing in who we are as a family of Christ and how we get to know each other and grow in our understanding and support for each other. We're gonna have a tough time. And if we're not looking outside of ourself and recognizing that people need what we have in Christ, then we're not doing what Christ has called us to do. And so where are you in the midst of this? How do you handle this? Have you been shortchanging yourself in your relationship with God? Has it been somewhat on cruise control for you for the last while? Maybe God today is like, Hey, can you turn your eyes to me? Can we go a little deeper in, in your understanding of who I am and who I want you to be? Maybe that's where you're at today. Maybe you've been pursuing Jesus and growing in your awareness of who God is, yet you've been pushing back on the church and pushing back against others, coming close to you and, and knowing who you really are for whatever reason. Maybe you fear rejection or maybe you fear you know who they could be in you. Maybe, maybe opening yourself and being vulnerable with other followers of Christ is where you need to take the next step. Or maybe you've been living this faith and this faith is all about you. It's all about your relationship with God. It's all about what you can get from the body of Christ and and your attitude towards those outside the faith has maybe been something along the lines of, oh, well, and maybe God is trying to say to you today, Hey, this faith that you have isn't just for you. It's for those who are far from me as well. And you need to grab a heart for those, those who are without Christ. Where are you today? Consider that as I close in prayer. Heavenly Father, I invite you in the midst of this moment to speak to those who are in the room, to those who may be watching online. I pray that you would open their eyes in, in a, in a spot where you need them to see, open their ears to be able to hear from you today and how you would want to grow them in maybe one or two or all three areas of their concept of the church. God, help them understand what part they need to play. Help them understand, Lord, how they can move forward in you. And God, we want to give you all the glory, all the praise, all the honor for you or do it all. So Lord, we worship you. We praise you. Now, Lord, speak back to those who are here. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen. If you're here today and maybe accepting Jesus is that step for you, you're in a spot where, where you recognize that you need Jesus. I would encourage you to do so. I would encourage you to. It's as simple as saying, Jesus, I'm sorry for living this life without you. I need you in my life. Can you come and help me understand what it means to be a follower of Jesus? We, we would be honored to have you join us as a family, the universal church, uh, to help you along on that journey. We would encourage you, if that's a decision you wanna make, just take your phone and tap the disc on the seat back in front of you. Uh, there you can find a digital booklet and or you can go to hope city.ca/life. And there you'll have a digital booklet, uh, option where you can download that, read through it. It's a way for us to help you understand what it means to be a follower of Jesus. We'd love to walk with you on that journey. If you're here today and you want to have prayer for anything, we will have a team, uh, to pray with people at the front left of the auditorium. Uh, please make yourself available for, to them, and they would be honored to partner with you in prayer wherever you are on the journey of faith. May I encourage you today to recognize that you as a follower of Christ are the church now. Go from this moment growing in your relationship with God, growing in your relationship with each other and bringing the message of hope that you have to those who are far from Christ this week, God bless you. Thank you for being here.