CONSUMERISM IN OUR CHURCHES AT AN ALL-TIME HIGH?

This week I watched an interview with Ed Stetzer and Dr. James Emery White about the decline of the church. During this video which you can see here, Jim White describes some of the statements used by people in our churches who have forgotten that the church is all about Jesus Christ and not about us. 

Here are some of statements that he references...

• "I need to go where I am fed" as opposed to learning to feed yourselves and then feeding others.
• "I need to go where I'm am ministered to" as if that's the goal of the church as opposed to you being a minister to others.
• "I didn't get anything of today's service" instead of "What did God get out of today's service?"

When will we realize how short time is and how important it is to be faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ? Because their focus is on themselves. But what did Jesus say was needed in order to be one of His followers? Luke 9:23 (ESV)  And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 

So this Sunday, instead of thinking about what you want, what if you asked yourself "What does God want from me today?" When you discover the answer to that question, I hope that you will follow through with what He shows you. 

 

YOU CAN'T OBEY THE "ONE ANOTHER'S" IF YOU ARE NOT WITH ONE ANOTHER

Just as the Bible said would happen, many people are pulling away from our churches today in search of entertainment and pleasures instead of gathering together each week to worship together as shown in Hebrews 10:25.

Our son, Blake, and Kasie just got married a few weeks ago. Kasie did a great job selecting her dress and deciding how she wanted her hair done and such. As her dad, Timmy Snellen, walked her down the aisle, you could sense the admiration of our guests as they watched them take each step. And I am sure that Blake was watching her with great pride and excitement as she approached him. At that moment, even though there were lots of people there, all that he saw was his bride. After the final prayer and announcing them as husband and wife, I hesitated before saying "Blake, you may kiss your bride." You should have seen his expression... he looked at me and grinned as if to say "Well, can I kiss her now?"

Just as Blake and Kasie were showing their love for each other, the Bible says that marriage shows what the relationship is between Jesus and the church. Ephesians 5:32 (ESV)  This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. The church, which is made up of all truly born-again followers of Jesus, is the bride of Christ. We are the bride of Christ. Look what God's Word says earlier in that chapter. Ephesians 5:27 (ESV)  so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. How can we be found that way if we are neglecting the church? 

This is why these next statements are so important. The Bible gives us several commands including the words "one another" or "to each other" that we must obey. So in order to be found "without spot or wrinkle or any such thing", here we go...

“ONE ANOTHER” COMMANDS

1. Be at peace with one another (Mk 9:50)

Mark 9:50 (ESV)  Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

2. Love one another (Jn 13:34)

John 13:34 (ESV)  A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

3. Be joined to one another (Ro 12:5)

Romans 12:5 (ESV)  so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

4. Be devoted to one another (Ro 12:10)

Romans 12:10 (ESV)  Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

5. Honor one another (Ro 12:10)

Romans 12:10 (ESV)  Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

6. Rejoice with one another (Ro 12:15)

Romans 12:15 (ESV)  Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

7. Weep with one another (Ro 12:15)

Romans 12:15 (ESV)  Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

8. Live in harmony with one another (Ro 12:16)

Romans 12:16 (ESV)  Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.

9. Accept one another (Ro 15:7)

Romans 15:7 (ESV)  Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

10. Counsel one another (Ro 15:14)

Romans 15:14 (ESV)  I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another. 

11. Greet one another (Ro 16:16)

Romans 16:16 (ESV)  Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

12. Agree with each other (1 Co 1:10)

1 Corinthians 1:10 (ESV)  I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.

13. Wait for one another (1 Co 11:33)

1 Corinthians 11:33 (ESV)  So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another—

14. Care for one another (1 Co 12:25)

1 Corinthians 12:25 (ESV)  that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.

15. Serve one another (Gal 5:13)

Galatians 5:13 (ESV)  For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

16. Carry one another’s burdens (Gal 6:2)

Galatians 6:2 (ESV)  Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

17. Be kind to one another (Eph 4:32)

Ephesians 4:32 (ESV)  Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

18. Forgive one another (Eph 4:32)

Ephesians 4:32 (ESV)  Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

19. Submit to one another (Eph 5:21)

Ephesians 5:21 (ESV)  submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

20. Bear with one another (Col 3:13)

Colossians 3:13 (ESV)  bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

21. Teach, admonish each other (Col 3:16)

Colossians 3:16 (ESV)  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

22. Encourage one another (1 Th 5:11)

1 Thessalonians 5:11 (ESV)  Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

23. Build up one another (1 Th 5:11)

1 Thessalonians 5:11 (ESV)  Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

24. Spur one another on (Heb 10:24)

Hebrews 10:24 (ESV)  And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,

25. Offer hospitality to one another (1 Pe 4:9)

1 Peter 4:9 (ESV)  Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.

26. Minister gifts to one another (1 Pe 4:10)

1 Peter 4:10 (ESV)  As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:

27. Be humble toward one another (1 Pe 5:5)

1 Peter 5:5 (ESV)  Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 

28. Confess your sins to one another (Jas 5:16)

James 5:16 (ESV)  Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

29. Pray for one another (Jas 5:16)

James 5:16 (ESV)  Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

30. Fellowship with one another (1 Jn 1:7)

1 John 1:7 (ESV)  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

ARE YOUR EYES 'BAD'?

Are your eyes 'bad'? Have they been seeing things they shouldn't be looking at? So many sins that are listed in the Bible involve seeing something that we shouldn't have seen or seeing it in a way that we shouldn't have seen it. 

For example, King David in 2 Samuel saw something that he shouldn't have seen and when he saw it, he didn't turn away. 2 Samuel 11:2 (ESV)  It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. David saw a woman bathing and the text describes her as 'very beautiful'. This woman was not his wife (yet) but instead of turning away, he began to get curious about her. 

2 Samuel 11:3 (ESV)  And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” Now, not only is his curiosity rising, but he has taken action being driven by his desire. The woman that he was desiring was the wife of one of his loyal soldiers who was out to battle but that didn't stop him. And not only that, but this woman was the granddaughter of one of David's counselors, Ahithophel (2 Samuel 23:34)!

2 Samuel 11:4 (ESV)  So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house. David commits adultery with Bathsheba and then she goes home. Other than the ones that he asked about her and the messengers who went to get her, nobody else knows, right? They won't tell anyone, right? Isn't that how we think sometimes? We do something that we know we shouldn't and then we hope that we covered our tracks well? It didn't work out that way for David. The situation got worse...

2 Samuel 11:5 (ESV)  And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.” Bathsheba is pregnant and her husband is away fighting in the king's army... wow, how can you cover that one up? You are right, you can't but David sure tried...

2 Samuel 11:6 (ESV)  So David sent word to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David. David's plan was to bring Uriah home and give him some time off so that he could be with his wife. When Uriah arrives, David tells him, "Go down to your house and wash your feet.” (2 Samuel 11:8) obviously hoping Uriah would spend some time with his wife but he didn't even go home. He slept at the doors of the king's house! When David was told the news, he asked Uriah why he didn't go home and Uriah answered faithfully, “The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.” (2 Samuel 11:11 ESV) 

So then David revised his plan and got Uriah drunk (v.13) but he didn't go home that night either! Now before we go any further, look how far one look of lust has taken David and he's not done with this yet... not even close. His next step is setting Uriah up to be killed in battle and that way, no one would know his secret other than his accomplices. 2 Samuel 11:14 (ESV)  In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15  In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die.” 16  And as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant men. 17  And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite also died. Without knowing it, Uriah delivered his own death sentence. Now David was safe, right? Who is going to know?

2 Samuel 11:26 (ESV)  When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented over her husband. 27  And when the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD. Don't miss that last statement. God was not pleased with David at all. A lustful eye has lead David to adultery, deception and murder. All because he didn't look the other way. Guess what? This story isn't over.

God sends a prophet named Nathan to see King David and he tells the king a story about a terrible deed that has happened in the kingdom... a deed so harsh that it makes David furious and he says, “As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die," (2 Samuel 12:5 ESV). But here's the problem. David didn't know that the situation that Nathan was describing was symbolically pointing to the king. Remember that phrase we read earlier that said that God was displeased with David? David thinks he has covered his tracks and this horrific story that Nathan has just told has to be about someone else, right? But after declaring that whoever had committed that crime deserved to die, Nathan said to David "You are the man! Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. 8  And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. 9  Why have you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10  Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ (2 Samuel 12:7-11 ESV) 

Busted! And not only was David busted, but more bad news was coming... "Thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12  For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.” (2 Samuel 12:11-12 ESV) Judgment was coming and coming quickly. David had been caught and there was no way to cover this one up. So what does he do? He admits his sin but he still faces more bad news. 2 Samuel 12:13 (ESV)  David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14  Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the LORD, the child who is born to you shall die.” Perhaps you are wondering, "Why did the child have to die?'. I can't answer that one but I can tell you that God used this situation to create one of the greatest models for prayers of repentance found in the Bible. When you have sinned against God, this is a great model of attitude and approach to help you.

Psalm 51:1 (ESV) Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 

2  Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! 

3  For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 

4  Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. 

5  Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. 

6  Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. 

7  Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 

8  Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. 

9  Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 

10  Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 

11  Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 

12  Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. 

13  Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. 

14  Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. 

15  O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 

16  For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 

17  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 

18  Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem; 

19  then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar. 

So please guard your eyes from being 'bad' but when they do see something they shouldn't or see things in way that they shouldn't, look at away and fix your eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-2).

 

 

DOES IT REALLY MATTER IF YOU "GO TO" CHURCH?

How important is your church attendance? Before you answer, let me clarify that question. I am not asking you how important your church attendance is TO YOU. Instead I am asking how important is your church attendance to God, to your family and to your church family?

The word "church" first appears biblically in Matthew 16:18 (ESV)  And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Jesus is not describing a building made of brick and plaster, He is talking about THE church, the entire body of believers/followers of Jesus Christ. The actual word that Jesus said was not the English word "church" since He was a Jew. He used the word "ekklēsia" which describes "an assembly of Christians gathered for worship in a religious meeting" [Enhanced Strongs' Dictionary]. So the "church" that Jesus is talking about are those who assemble together as followers of Jesus Christ for worship, instruction, edification and instruction.

You will notice that this "church" or assembly is built upon "this rock" but what is that rock? It is the truth that Peter spoke in Matthew 16:16 (ESV)  Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” The church is built on the truth that Jesus really is the Christ, the Son of the living God... the one and only God... the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. [As a side note, the word "church" is used properly in describing THE church which is all of the followers of Jesus around the world or the LOCAL church which is the assembly that meets in various local locations.] 

So if you are not actively participating in your local church, you are in essence saying "I don't want to be a part of Your assembly" or "I don't believe that You are the Son of the living God". You may think that this last statement is extreme but think about it. If you are not actively participating in your local church, you are choosing not to be a part of that assembly. And if you choose not to be in that assembly, then do you really believe that Jesus is the Son of the living God because we are commanded throughout scripture to worship together, love one another, teach one another, warn one another and so much more. But how can that be done if your local church never sees you?

For example, read this passage from Hebrews...
Hebrews 10:23 (ESV)  Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24  And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25  not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. 

How can you obey that passage if you are not part of an "us"? How you stir up anyone or be stirred up by anyone to love and good works if you neglect your responsibility to be actively involved in a local church? Does it really matter if you "go to" church? Absolutely.

The second time that the word "church" is used in the Bible is found in Matthew 18:15 (ESV)  “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16  But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17  If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 

Not only does the "church" belong to Jesus as shown in Matthew 16:18, but the church has a serious responsibility in this last passage. If person in sin refuses to repent and it has been reported to the church and he still doesn't repent, the church is to consider that person an outsider instead of a member of that church because of his rebellion. That person is choosing to remain in his sin instead of repenting and being forgiven by God.

There are plenty other references of "church" in the New Testament that you should look at such as these...

• Acts 12:5 (ESV)  So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church. 
• Acts 14:23 (ESV)  And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. 
• Acts 20:28 (ESV)  Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. 
• Ephesians 3:10 (ESV)  so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 
• Colossians 1:18 (ESV)  And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 

So does it really matter if you "go to" church? Yes it really does. If you have not been faithfully going to your church, would you please pray right now that God would forgive you and help you understand the importance of actively participating in your local church?

It really matter to God because you are being obedient to Him when you go.

It really matters to your family because they need to see you being obedient to God and growing in your faith.

It really matters to your church family. You need them and they need you.

So once more the answer is "Yes, it really matters if you go to church".

IT STARTED WITH A SIMPLE QUESTION

It started small... just like this 'airplane' this little boy is flying. It was a simple question, "Would you like to go with us to the Philippines?" Just over three years ago, I was at a Nelson Baptist Association Meeting that was discussing local ministry opportunities when Greg Cochran, then the pastor of Cedar Grove Baptist Church, asked me that simple question. I had never been asked anything like that before. I had never been out of our country before and standing there in Bardstown, Kentucky, I was being asked if I would like to go to the other side of the world. When I asked what we would be doing, Greg told me that we would be preaching the gospel and training pastors and other church leaders. Immediately I was excited about the possibility even though I had no idea what to expect. But not only was I excited about this opportunity, I also felt an immediate prompting from God to say yes.

I remember how tired I was the night we arrived at Davao City after flying over 20 hours. When I got to our room, I was grateful for the opportunity to email my wife, Rhonda, and let her know that we were safe and checked in, ready for a good night's rest before traveling to Mt. Carmel the next day not knowing what to expect...

One of the first nights in the camp in the middle of nowhere, I woke up with a powerful sense of "Why me? Why would God allow a guy like me to experience this?" I was totally overwhelmed that God had given me the opportunity to team up with Greg and his wife (Vicki) and their daughter (Hannah), Daniel Wilson, Matthew Spandler-Davison, Greg Crenshaw and Aaron Shipp on such a gospel adventure. The worship atmosphere during each service was so powerful, the people were so excited to be taught and I fell in love with these Filipino people.

But what if Greg had not asked me that question? Or what if I declined the offer? I would have missed out on a great spiritual lesson of obedience and ministry. Working together with our pastors in the Nelson Baptist Association has helped me grow and have an even stronger desire to grow more.

That was 2011 and now we are planning what will be my fourth trip to the Philippines to preach in some revivals and teach a pastors' conference with Matthew again. But this time, we are adding a medical team to work with local doctors to minister to the Cateel area that was hit so hard by the storms in the last 18 months. I am excited that I got to ask that question that Greg asked me in 2011 and I am so glad that Sue Fannin and Darlene Hanson said yes (and this will be their first mission trip of this magnitude as well). In addition to being reunited with Matthew on the Philippines team, we will also have Ron and Judy Votaw, medical missionaries) to join us. 

Will you pray for our team as we make the necessary preparations for this trip? And will you pray for Pastor Joe Fernandez and his wife, Juliet, who are our teammates from the Philippines? They have been so good to us. Please for their twins, Edmund and Edwin, who not only drive us from place to place but also interpret for us and provide music at various events as well. 

BE CAREFUL OF "BECAUSE I GOT BAPTIZED..."

I have been hearing a lot of discussion about baptism the last several months and I am glad. Too many people are misunderstanding what baptism means and it is evident with some of the responses you get when you ask someone why they consider themselves a Christian... "Because I got baptized...".

Thom Rainer, president of LifeWay, recently gave some explanation in an article called "Where Have All The Baptisms Gone?" that showed why we have had less baptisms in recent years. Here are three of his reasons...

• Membership rolls have swollen with missing members. From the best I can determine, we would have a difficult time locating over 6 million of our 16 million members. We have baptized members who seem to show no fruit of salvation.
• We are baptizing unregenerate members. The previous statistic of missing members seems to support this thesis.
• We focus too much on incantation evangelism. Many argue that, in our desire to get greater numbers of decisions for Christ, we ask numbers of people to say a few “magic” words to become a Christian, rather than explain to them the true meanings of repentance and faith.

So many of our churches have membership rolls with more than double the names on the roll than those who attend regularly. Large quantities of people have been added to the membership of our churches and then disappeared. In order to be a member of a Southern Baptist Church, you must be a follower of Jesus Christ and baptized by immersion as illustrated by the baptism of Jesus in Matthew 3:16. So the question must be asked "If they left the church, were they actually saved to begin with?"

John gives us an answer to this question in 1 John 2:19 (ESV)  They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. Look at the phrase 'would have continued with us'. If a person is truly saved by Jesus Christ, then he or she is now part of the body of Christ which is the church. Also notice the phrase "that it might become plain that they all are not of us" showing us again that if they were genuinely born again, they would be still part of the church.

Denny Burk, in his article "Leaving The Church Means Leaving Jesus", he says "The spirit of Jesus says that leaving the local church reveals one’s true spiritual condition. The one who leaves is at best one who is Christian in name only. His leaving reveals that he was never really a bona fide follower of Jesus. To be sure, being a disciple of Jesus in a church involves much more that attending a weekly meeting. But biblically speaking, it cannot involve less than that."

BUT WHAT ABOUT THOSE WHO HAVEN'T LEFT THE CHURCH?
This brings us to the other point that Thom Rainer made which dealt with "incantation evangelism". For years, churches have put so much emphasis on the "sinner's prayer" that we have made it to appear as if as long as you repeat the right words, you are automatically saved. Don't get me wrong, we are to pray for God to save us, forgive us of our sins and adopt us into His family but saying those words is not what saves you, God does. Only God can give you a new life (Ephesians 2:1-10).

Two messages have really impacted me on this idea of the necessity to warn our church families to make sure that they are really saved... both of these messages were preached at a Together For The Gospel conference. The first one I recommend to you is a message preached by Mark Dever in 2012 called "False Conversions: The Suicide of the Church" and the other message is from John MacArthur called "Mass Defection: The Great Physician Confronts the Pathology of Counterfeit Faith". 

SO WHAT'S THE BOTTOM LINE?
Please, please, please don't base your eternity on the fact that you repeated a prayer that somebody told you to pray or base your eternity on the fact that you were baptized. The only way to be sure of your eternity is to know that God has truly saved you. How can you know this? By the "fruit" that you bear in your life now. Here are some of the ways to recognize the fruit or changes that have taken place in your life [from John MacArthur's Study Bible notes]...
A. Love for God: Psalms 42:1ff; 73:25; Luke 10:27; Romans 8:7
B. Repentance from Sin: Psalms 32:5; Proverbs 28:13; Romans 7:14ff; 2 Corinthians 7:10; 1 John 1:8-10
C. Genuine Humility: Psalms 51:17; Matthew 5:1-12; James 4:6, 9ff
D. Devotion to God's Glory: Psalms 105:3; 115:1; Isaiah 43:7; 48:10ff.; Jerermiah 9:23, 24; 1 Corinthians 10:31
E. Continual Prayer: Luke 18:1; Ephesians 6:18ff.; Philippians 4:6ff.; 1 Timothy 2:1-4; James 5:16-18
F. Selfless Love: 1 John 2:9ff; 3:14; 4:7ff
G. Separation from the World: 1 Corinthians 2:12; James 4:4ff.; 1 John 2:15-17; 5:5
H. Spiritual Growth: Luke 8:15; John 15:1-6; Ephesians 4:12-16
I. Obedient Living: Matthew 7:21; John 15:14ff.; Romans 16:26; 1 Peter 1:2, 22; 1 John 2:3-5
J. Hunger for God's Word: 1 Peter 2:1-3
K. Transformation of Life: 2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

WHY SHOULD YOU JOIN A CHURCH?

Why should you join a church? Here is a great quote from an article by Jonathan Leeman from 9Marks entitled 'What to Say to Non-Committal Church Attenders'

"REASONS TO JOIN THE CHURCH

These more deliberate conversations veer back and forth between the biblical and the practical. Typically, I generally encourage a person to join the church

• For the sake of the pastors. It lets the pastors know who you are, and makes them responsible for you (see Acts 20:28; Heb. 13:17).
• For the sake of obedience to Jesus. Jesus did not give you the keys of the kingdom for binding and loosing. He gave the keys to the apostolic local church (Matt. 16:13-20; 18:15-20). You don’t have the authority to baptize yourself or feed yourself the Lord’s Supper. It requires a church to affirm your profession of faith, which is what membership is at its very heart (see Acts 2:38).
• For the sake of other believers. Joining makes you responsible for one local congregation, and they for you. You now own or have a share in their discipleship to Christ. That is, you are now responsible for their growth and professions of faith, insofar as you are responsible for the church’s faithful gospel preaching (Gal. 1) and that individual’s discipline (Matt. 18:15-20; 1 Cor. 5).
• For one’s own spiritual good and safety. Suppose YOU ever become that lamb who wanders away from the fold (Matt. 18:12-14). It’s your church that Jesus will send after you (Matt. 18:15-20).
• For the sake of non-Christian neighbors. Membership helps to protect and promote the reputation of Christ on earth by guarding the church’s witness (see Matt. 5:13-16; 28:18-20; John 13:34-35). Membership is how the world knows who represents Jesus!"

As I wrote yesterday, it's time that we 'go to' church and BE the church. I hope that if you are not already plugged into a church and serving Jesus through your church that you will find a church to plug into soon... very soon.