One of the greatest blessings we have as Christ’s Church, is Fellowship with one another. Other than the coming of The Holy Spirit, there has been no greater blessing which God has bestowed upon us than the opportunity to have fellowship with one another.
Unfortunately, due to its regularity, going to church has become a mere habit for many believers.
Note: The Church is both a group of individuals as well as an institution. Spiritually, it is the Union of the Elect. Also, physically, it is an institution or location dedicated to the worship of the Lord.
We have Christians who go to the Church gathering on Sunday, for carnal purposes. Some go to play to the gallery. Some go to search for a suitable spouse among the congregation. Some go to flaunt their wealth. But the wise go, to encounter God.
Even as we go to our respective places of worship, let us ask ourselves whether we are really going there to meet with Christ, or we are going there to meet with God.
Psalms 27:4: ‘One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.’
We may not be privileged to live in the Lord’s House all the days of our lives, yet, the weekly Sabbath day in which we converge should be held in high esteem and sacred reverence.
We must go to the Temple, not for the two primary reasons highlighted above.
1. To Behold The Lord’s Beauty.
There are beautiful bounties found in the Lord. The Lord’s Beauty is His Glory, His Holiness. The Lord’s Beauty is also the Manifestation of His power. His Beauty is seen in the miracles He works. His Beauty is seen in the great blessing of His Presence which He causes to rest in our churches. The Gospel is the Lord’s Beauty.
To behold the Lord’s Beauty, we must in joyful ardor, listen to His counsel as it proceeds from the lips of the pastors.
We must go with the expectation in our hearts, that we are going to encounter the Lord in a new dimension in His Presence.
2. To Enquire in His Temple
His Temple is also a place of enquiry. In the Church, we are away from the noise and distractions of the world.
We obtain inner tranquility, because we are with people who are in one accord with us.
It is in this solemn moment of tranquility, that we can seek and receive direction from God. But in order to make enquiry of the Lord, we must be careful not to get distracted by the outer features of the Church.
We must be careful not to allow Admiration of the people around us, to distract us from communing with the One who lives in us.
We must be jovial, yet, sensitive in the church. Jovial with everyone around us. And sensitive to the words of the One in us. Only when we do this, shall we be able to profit of the privilege of assembling together on the Sabbath.
We are living in an age where people are losing the sense of need for christian fellowship. In some parts of the U.S, church attendances are dropping. Our youths are leaving the church one after the other.
Even when souls are being won to join the church, we cannot help but cry at the souls who have not just left the church, but have left the sheepfold. But as I wrote in one of my previous posts, The Bible has something to say about instances like this.
Let us see what it has to say:
Hebrews 10:25 (TLB) "Let us not neglect our church meetings, as some people do"
Even in the days of Paul, athere were persons who neglected church meetings. But the Apostle spoke vehemently against such.
Is there a power that is hidden underneath Church meetings? What makes it so powerful that it must not be neglected?
1) COMMUNAL FELLOWSHIP IS THE FASTEST MACHINERY FOR GLOBAL REVIVAL!
Every great revival that ever took place in history, took place while God’s people congregated together in worship to God.
Acts 1:13-14
13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
Jesus had left His disciples. But He left with an instruction; He instructed them to remain in Jerusalem until they had received the promise of the Holy Spirit. Jesus could have told them to be dispersed across the nation of Israel.
But He knew the importance of communal living and togetherness if the Holy Spirit must be poured out in His fullness.
The disciples obeyed His instruction. They did not just wait idly for the promise of the Spirit, they prayed constantly. They had prayer time at different sections of the day.
In Acts 2, we are told that while they were together, observing the feast of the Pentecost, in piety, the Holy Spirit descended upon them and set their hearts ablaze for the Gospel. There is nothing that prompts the move of the Spirit faster than corporate worship and prayer meetings by believers.
One of the ways Satan uses to get a Christian out of faith is to get him out of the church. The moment that believer stops going to the church, is the moment he is exposed to the prowling of the enemy.
Ninety per-cent of genuine conversions that ever happened in Christendom, happened in church gatherings.
2) THERE IS PROTECTION IN THE SHEEPFOLD
In Matthew 18, Jesus told a parable of how a Sheep left the 99 sheep, in a shepherd’s sheepfold, and wandered about in the wilderness.
Although that passage is used as a salvation message for sinners, it is also very applicable to believers.
The sheepfold represents the communal body of Christ. It signifies the congregation of Christians.
The sheep that left signifies those believers who leave their various churches, for worldly living. It refers to those Christians, who feel too proud to identify with other saints in the church.
So they rather live their lives the way they want it, in the world, than to be governed by the counsel and doctrines of the Body of Christ.
The Shepherd in the parable ran after the sheep, and providentially found it. The shepherd was concerned about that sheep that wandered out, because he knew outside the sheepfold, that sheep is the most vulnerable creature in the forest.
No matter how smart you think you are. No matter how strong you think you are, as long as you choose to believe in God, to be God’s sheep, you cannot afford to ignore church meetings. Do not decline to belong to a church where God’s word is taught with soundness and purity.
Every saint who’d ever backslid first got tired of the church, before he got tired of God. He first got tired of worshipping in the church, before he got tired of worshipping God.
But there is protection, when we identify with one another in our various denominations and assemblies. There is a sense of belonging and identification that it creates within us. We are protected from several dangers; because we are in a place, where everyone prays for everyone.
3) THERE IS STRENGTHENING IN THE SHEEPFOLD
1 Thessalonians 5:11: “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”
Romans 1:12 “That is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.”
It was Watchman Nee who said, ‘Fellowship means among other things that we are ready to receive of Christ from others. Other believers minister Christ to me, and I am ready to receive.’
In fellowship, we are gingered up to serve more with more fervency. Seeing the passion with which the pastor preaches the Gospel, and the accuracy of the pianist’s fingers, as well as the sincere worship from the lips of the congregation, has a way of challenging a believer to serve God better.
How about when you see a poor widow in your neighborhood, serving God in joy within and outside the church,
Or you sight that poor family, seated together at the front pew, in sincere, corporate worship, certainly, your heart will be touched.
And if you are wise, you will say within yourself, “If this poor widow, can serve God in her poverty and loneliness, then what excuse do I have not to serve God”.
4) EDIFICATION
Ephesians 4:11 to 14
11. It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,
12. to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
13. 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.
14. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.
15. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.
God knew there would be a rise of wrong and deceitful doctrine, to lead believers astray from the true doctrine as taught in God’s word.
So in every generation, God raises men who would be custodians of the true doctrine of Christ. These men belong to what we know as the five-fold ministry.
But they do not work independently. They work with God, in ministering life and sound doctrine to believers. If you do not belong to a church, how can you hear sound doctrine? And if you do not hear the sound doctrine of Christ, how can you grow?
It’s time to keep your sentiments aside, humble yourself, and identify with a Church, where the undiluted word of God is taught. Receive that word with meekness; fellowship with the saints there, and you will be amazed at the great change you will witness in your Christian life.
During Solomon’s reign, he judged many cases with God-given wisdom. One day, two ladies were brought to him with a dispute. They both slept in the same place.
During the night, one of them had slept on her baby and suffocated it. She had awoken, noticed her baby was no more alive, and had quickly put her dead baby by the other woman’s side, and stolen her living breathing newborn.
In the morning, the other woman woke up and saw that the baby by her side was dead, but on looking closely discovered that it wasn’t her baby at all. She soon found out that her baby was with the first woman, and quickly realised what happened.
“Give me back my baby. This dead one is yours” she said.
“No, the dead one is yours and the living one is mine”, the first woman replied.
The neighbours couldn’t tell the liar from the truth teller.
So they ended up before the king.
You know what Solomon said?
He told his soldier to divide the living child into two and give each half to each woman.
It makes sense, does it not?
Both women were saying “the living child is mine”….well, so let it be shared equally between you two!
But it does not really make sense, does it?
Cutting the child in two will make it as dead as the first baby!
So that was the plan. Solomon must have said it with so much seriousness and royal authority that everyone in the room thought that was his verdict.
The first lady said “Yes Sir! Cut the baby in two, and let us share! None of us will have a living baby!!”
You see, she wasn’t related to that living child. It wasn’t family; it wasn’t part of her, and she had no love in her heart for it.
That’s one.
Two. There were a lot of wrong emotions at play in her heart, one of which is envy “My baby is dead, and if I can’t have your baby to myself, then I wish it dead as mine is. Why should your baby be alive when mine is dead?”
Three. Notice that she agreed with the judgment of the government (only that there was a just judge at play here as we would soon see). She shouted,
“Yes Sir! Exactly! The government is right. I just want to stand for what is right! Probe them! Jail them!”
(I’m getting ahead of myself here. There’s no probing in the story.)
……… …………………… ……….
But the woman who was a part of that child and who was joined to it; the actual mother and family member. ..
She immediately cried out
“No! Please Sir!! Don’t cut my baby! Give it to the other woman. Please!
That was how Solomon discovered who the actual mother was.
I mean, it was clear to all and sundry, probably last of all the agitating woman…..probably.
So also we have so-called saints who are really after the destruction of the church.
Oh, how glad they’d be if all the “big churches” broke up and imploded.
These ‘Christians’, many of them are even ‘pastors’, who have not been as ‘successful’ as the “big churches”, who have tried this and that and it hasn’t quite worked out, who look over to the other bed and seeing a living child, now seek to use all manner of deplorable tactics to try to wreck others under the cover of night, by any and all means possible.
And having failed, will side with any verdict that will reduce those others.
“Depose the GO! Make him resign! Tax them! Seize their properties!”
By which they declare themselves thereby unrelated to the body, strangers to the commonwealth, and aliens to the household of God, and fitting handles for the hands of the accuser of the brethren.
O Christian, the imperfect church is your family -the body of Christ, the bride of Christ, and the family of God.
Stand for the truth, but make sure your own heart is right.
Make sure you are speaking as a child of God and not as a member of the mob. Obey Caesar’s laws, but do not be Caesar’s friend (John 19:6,11&12), against Abraham’s seed (Obadiah 1:8-17….please read this).
Is fornication wrong. Yes it is. Greed, extortion, manipulation? Yes they are.
Have nothing to do with them. And concerning such things, always make it clear they are wrong.
But what has that got to do with vilifying people who you don’t really know, but who the crowd accuses?
Most of the ‘church folk’ -the charlatans involved in shady practices aren’t popular enough to be known by all and sundry, and they are so many!
Don’t buy into the fallacy that because something is big and successful or because someone is wealthy and well known, there must be something wrong with it.
Don’t speak out of envy and prejudice against anyone because they are wealthy or popular and therefore easy targets.
The crowd has no conscience. The crowd will crucify even Jesus.
Some of these so-called disciples are suborned men who have collected 30 coins from those detractors. Like that kiss of Judas, you see them taking pictures with those they disparage, but behind their backs will support anything negative against these people on or off social media.
Don’t let their bile-tipped hearsay and propaganda be fodder for any offense, doubt, or anger that might be in your heart.
Rather, turn to the Lord and let Him heal you, show you how to behave yourself wisely, and how to be used to help the imperfections that surround us all.
And in the day you are sent or called to the place of judgment to speak for God and for His Child, even if It is to go into the custody of the manipulator and the uncircumcised, it will be clear to all the family in heaven and on earth that your heart was in the right place.
And He will deliver both you and It, and His great name will be glorified.
Amen.
*The story of those two women may be found in 1st Kings 3:16-28. It is a true life story.
KOINONIA ART 