THE CHURCH

     A young man in his early 30's walks through the door of his local church and sits down in the back of the sanctuary as not to bother anyone. he looks around and in the front of the church he sees an older gentleman, probably in his mid to late 60's, possibly early 70's, in a suit and tie talking to what appears to be the pastor of the church, who looks to be in his late 30's or early 40's. He pans to the left , about halfway up the sanctuary and there sits the youth of the church. They appear to be your typical group of youth, ranging in ages from 10 to probably first year of college. To the right is a married couple with their two young children, one who appears to be practically a new born and the other just out of diapers. Spread out through the crowd are your ladies who's husband's either don't attend or have made them football/hunting widows. There are the 20 somethings, the lifer's of the church, and all in between. Strictly your run of the mill church. He settles into his seat and gets comfortable thinking this will be the usual boring church service he attended as a child with mom and dad.
          Mom and Dad, oh how he misses them. They have been gone about 5 years now. Dad died of Lung Cancer and mom, well she went downhill quick after dad died and he lost her about 6 months after dad, from what he can only figure was a broken heart.He remembers every Sunday morning getting up to the smell of fresh coffee wandering through the house and Mom's pancakes on the stove. The smell of bacon was so strong on those mornings that your mouth would begin to water the moment your feet hit the floor. They would all sit down and eat breakfast and then everyone would rush to their rooms to get dressed for Sunday school and church. Dad would always complain about wearing a noose, which was what he called his necktie, and mom would always say, "now Earl, it's only for a few hours and then you can take it off until next week." Dad would smile say "Yes Marie" and go to the kitchen to refill his coffee cup. Mom would dress in her Sunday best and then holler at the kids and say "5 minutes until we leave so get in the car", to which they would all say "yes ma'am", and off to church they would go. Boy would Mom and Dad be right at home in this church he thought.
        He was reminiscing on his mom and Dad when all of a sudden he was brought back to reality by a young man with Jeans and a t shirt on, and the guy had bright blue hair. Bright Blue Hair in Church, this had to before some skit they were going to have in church. The young man with the blue hair stuck out his hand and said "Welcome to THE CHURCH, my name is Josh and we sure are happy to have you with us today, first time here?" Well still amazed by the blue hair the newbie, as we will call him, says " well thank you. My name is Will and yes this is my first time here at....." and he paused, because he didn't even know the name of the church. Josh could tell he was struggling with not knowing the name of the church so he said, " Well we are so glad to have you here at THE CHURCH, we hope you will join us after services for our weekly welcome fellowship in the fellowship hall. We will have Hot Dogs, with all the fixings, French Fries, Tea, sweet and UN-sweet, and plenty of deserts,so please if you can, join us."
         Will and Josh began to talk, and before you knew it, they were joined by so many people coming over to say welcome to Will it was unreal. The Pastor, or the man he was sure was the pastor came by, as did this mans wife, the head of the deacon board, who was in his late 70's at least. Several of the ladies of the church came by to welcome him, as did half the youth he had seen earlier. But what struck him the most was not just how friendly they all were, but how different they all were.
          About this time he heard a trumpet sound and then a group of musicians that had been standing around started playing the most upbeat version of the Solid Rock I had ever heard. Even the older people were raising their hands and singing and praising. One man, who was probably a lifer at the church in his 80's, and could hardly stand, was up and swaying his hands in the air, like I had never seen before. And when the song was done everyone was clapping and praising the Lord, from the young to the young at heart. The Pastor stepped up to the pulpit and with a Loud and booming voice said " Welcome to THE CHURCH. Not the building, but THE CHURCH. You see we here have decided that the sign outside may say Steeping Stone Baptist Church, but we prefer to be known as THE CHURCH. For in this building and outside those walls, WE ARE THE CHURCH. And our desire is that if this is your first time here, or your first time in a worship service ever, you will recognize this body to be THE CHURCH. For the Church is not brick and mortar,it is not black or white or Hispanic exclusively, it is not young or old only. THE CHURCH is not just Methodist, or baptist, Catholic, or Jewish, but it is the Body of Christ, those who have been redeemed by his death at Calvary, the saved, showing his love no matter where they go!" Then he spread his arms out and said " CHURCH, would you welcome those who are beside you, behind you and those you have never met, take about 5 minutes or so and show the love of Jesus to those around you."
           WOW, what a statement. Will was blown away, and for the next 10 minutes not 5, there was a constant flow of people coming up to him and shaking his hand, hugging him and welcoming him to THE CHURCH. But as amazing as that was, he was stunned to learn that the Pastor was not the young man in the suit, but Josh, the guy with the bright blue hair.  That's right, Josh, the blue jean and t-shirt wearing man with the bright blue hair.
        This was definitely not his Mom and Dads church. He could hear his dad saying " Whats wrong with these people, the music is to loud and what kind of pastor would wear blue jeans and have blue hair? The Deacons need to be ousted if they let this continue", to which he could hear his mom replying " oh Earl, now the Bible never said you had to have brown hair, or play the music soft. Now sit there and listen and see what God has for us today." He remembers that anytime someone new came to the church, no matter black, white, Mexican, married, single, dressed in a suit or dressed in rags, she would always go up to them and introduce herself, just like all of these people had  done, and she would always say " Glad you came to visit us today, I am sure God has something special for you today".
            Those words were ringing in his ears as the preacher began his sermon, which just so happened to be on Revelations 5:1-9 "Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?" And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals." And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation." As the pastor was preaching, Will looked around again, and this time he saw a different congregation. There was no color or cultural differences. There was no young or old. There was no Blue hair, or no brown hair. All he could see was a body of people, bound together in love and service to the one true God. All he saw was a body of believers, all assembled for one purpose, and that was to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. What he saw was an upper room assembly, with everyone there in the same mindset or as the bible says , in one accord. Dispersed through the crowd he saw individuals who stood out, they did not have the same glow as the others, and he realized , those were the ones that God was calling to come home and join this body of believers. And that's when he realized, he did not have that same glow as the redeemed. In that moment he realized that, even though he had been raised in the church his entire life until he went to college, that he had never accepted Jesus as his Lord and Saviour. In that moment, God was showing him that if he was to die at that moment, he would be lost for eternity. He realized that God had brought him to this church, THE CHURCH, to show him that all those times he had heard his mom tell it to others, she was actually speaking to him. And at that moment he heard the voice of his mother saying "Will , God has something special for you today, and all you have to do is receive it". At that moment, Will heard the pastor say, " If you are hear today and wondering through this world, asking what is my purpose, what is my reason to go on, then you are the one that God is calling out to. For you see, Christ gave himself a ransom and shed his blood for you, so that you might have redemption from your sins, and an eternal home in Heaven with THE CHURCH."
          Will's life changed that day, and the God of his mother and father, became a reality to Will. Will realized that he was one of those that God had sent his Son to redeem from Every tribe, Every tongue and Every Nation.Will became a Christian that day because these believers showed him that THE CHURCH, the TRUE CHURCH, does exist. Oh you won't find it on every street corner, or in every congregation unfortunately, but it is out there. My question tonight is this, If you are Saved, redeemed, bought by the blood of Christ and attending a church, are you being THE CHURCH? Is the congregation you are involved with, the pastor you sit under, the deacon board of your congregation, living the life of THE CHURCH? If not then I challenge you to become THE CHURCH, and to help your congregation to become THE CHURCH. For remember there is a judgement day coming. Will you and YOUR church hear the words of the master saying "'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.' (Matthew 25:23) OR WILL YOU BE "cast ....... into the outer darkness."(Matthew 25:30).

I know that this has not been my typical post or blog, but this is something I have felt led to write. I have been slack in my commitment to get the word out in blog form for awhile now, and I plan to remedy that, and have told my Lord I will. I also want to dedicate this Blog to my Sister Vickey Ann Roy McGuire, who left this world on October 3rd, 2012, at the age of 51. I loved my sister very much, but do not know where she is spending eternity. I only hope that one of the last times we spoke on the subject of eternity, she listened. if she didn't then I will never see her again, but if she did, then I will see her again someday in Heaven. Show the love of Christ to all you come in contact with, regardless of age, race, sexual preference, or any other circumstance. Let them know THE CHURCH is alive and well, and entrance is not limited. There are no seating capacities and anyone who wants in can enter because the entrance fee was paid long ago on a cross at Calvary by Jesus Christ. God bless and goodnight.

In Christ's Love,
  Rev. Bill Roy