For two years, the rhythm of waking up five minutes before church and sitting down half-asleep in my pajamas was my norm. I seemed to have forgotten what it meant to meet with the church because of the pandemic. It was an exceptional excuse to avoid such an important part of my discipleship.
When my church started meeting together again, no one had a more apathetic heart than I did. I seemed content with not meeting with the church for the past two years. Sometimes, I would even tell myself that I felt my relationship with God was better because of the break. This was a lie that Satan was trying to feed me and many people.
The truth – the pandemic tested the church and now that we’re back to normal, many have become afraid and stuck inside their homes, isolating themselves. Sister, don’t feed into the lie that we don’t need to meet with the church. It is a way to weaken your faith and allow sin to creep in. Let’s get into this…
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Why It’s Important to Meet With The Church
I believe the scriptures spell it out clearly for us as to why we need to meet with one another. I’m telling you right now, you need to be in communion with your fellow disciples.
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Hebrews 10:24-25
The main word here is “habit”. They say you only need to repeat something for 60-70 days before it becomes a new habit. Two years of not meeting with one another can definitely not only start the habit, but solidify it. Have your habits solidified and and become almost impossible to break it? Don’t let Satan get a foothold and pull you away from God!
Man Was Not Meant To Be Alone
I mentioned this in a previous post, but I have to mention it again. I had a friend once pose that they were a “lone wolf” (as if that’s a mysterious and empowering thing) and felt fine not meeting with the church. Keep in mind that the term “lone wolf” is an oxymoron. Wolves move in packs. They work together and keep each other safe. You see, you don’t see lone wolves because lone wolves die.
The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
Genesis 2:18
God knows his children. From the very beginning with Adam, God knew he needed someone else there with him. When Eve was created, God’s first commandment to her and Adam was to “be fruitful and multiply.” Singularity was not in God’s plan for mankind. Marriage, Families and the Church are major components found throughout the Bible, not surprisingly, mirroring the relationship between the Trinity.
Here is some crazy stats for you (provided by the CDC) to prove to you how man was not meant to be alone (if you don’t believe God’s word for it already!)
- Social isolation significantly increased a person’s risk of premature death from all causes
- Social isolation was associated with about a 50% increased risk of dementia.
- Poor social relationships was associated with a 29% increased risk of heart disease and a 32% increased risk of stroke.
- Loneliness was associated with higher rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide.
Lone wolves die my friend. It isn’t a cool thing to categorize yourself as. God knows how to care for us, and giving us the church as a support network wasn’t for him, it was for us.
You Have A Role To Fulfill
Another phrase I hear often is: “but I’m not needed anywhere, why should I go?”. Sometimes, people wish they could be asked to help out in the church rather than doing so out of the goodness of their hearts.
12Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.
15Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.
18But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.
1 Corinthians 12:12-18
Everybody has a role to play in the church. Everybody. God designed the church to work as a whole under His authority. Yes there are leaders, but they are just one part of the whole.
I mentioned above that the church is for us. But, it’s not about us! Sound contradicting? Hear me out.
God made the church for our benefit because we need the communion. However, it isn’t about us in particular. At least not about you. When you walk into church, do you think about what you can get out of the experience? Well, that’s not what being a part of a body should be like.
If the hand only worried about its own things, the body can no longer grab things. If the eye refused to participate, the body can no longer see.
Even if you might not think so, you have a role to play. Deciding not to go to church because you hadn’t been asked to do something isn’t a good enough excuse. You should be going into church asking “how can I help the body today?”
Yes, we cannot be alone, but no, we cannot selfishly take from the church and never give.
Bad Company Corrupts Good Character
So, my friend. If you’re not meeting with the church, who are you meeting with?
14Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?
2 Corinthians 6:14
The truth is, you’re walking a dangerous road if you refuse to meet with the church and yet commit your time to unbelievers. I’ve seen far too many people easily convinced out of their Christianity. Emphasis on easily. The scary thing is that these same people will claim they’re happy when they’re evidently living against God’s Word.
How can I claim that your coworkers are unrighteous or that they will corrupt your character? Simply ask yourself this: Is their standard the Bible? If not, you’ll start to follow the same path of rejecting the Bible and that’s dangerous. Remember, it’s a narrow road, don’t stray!
How Are You Building Your Faith?
When a child is born, their first meals are milk. But, once they’ve gotten older, milk becomes insufficient for their development and they have to move onto mashed food until eventually they can chew and eat real, hearty food. An adult who continues to consume only milk would never get the proper nutrients they need to successfully grow and develop their brains.
I believe the same can be said for disciples who have never upgraded to spiritual food and have been trying to survive on spiritual milk.
17As iron sharpens iron,
Proverbs 27:17
so one person sharpens another.
11So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until 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.
Ephesians 4:11
Church is one of the many ways we should be utilizing to build our faith. Leaders are called to teach and equip the congregation with deep biblical studies and inspiring messages. But that’s just one way to feed on spiritual food. The Bereans in Acts met together everyday to read the scriptures.
When Christ says to have an answer for the faith you profess, are you prepared for that? When your friends question your faith, do you have an answer?
Or have you neglected your time in the Word so much that you no longer know why you’re a Christian in the first place? You have no foundation and are therefore easily shaken. You’re run by your emotions rather than by the Holy Spirit.
Meeting with the Church in crucial in the building of your faith. This is done through lessons, through conversations, through experiences. We must meet with the church to have a strong community to lean on.
God will always be with us, but a foolish man thinks he can be an incredible Christian all on his own.
Conclusion
What is your excuse for why you’re not going to church anymore?
“The Church has hurt me”
If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
Romans 12:18
The first thing you need to do is forgive those who have hurt you and understand that you are in a church full of sinners. Like a family has fights and fall outs, so is the same with the Church.
However, if you feel you are in a dangerous situation or feel unsafe, find a new church. But never leave with bitterness and anger – leave on good terms if you can.
“I don’t like the preaching / worship”
Unfortunately for you, Church isn’t about entertaining you. You’re there to worship God.
“I can’t connect to God at Church.”
Then find a way to connect to him the other 6 days of the week. If you’re relying only on Church to feel God, your faith is weak. Your relationship with God is shallow. You need to put in the effort to find him outside of the Church and focus on what you can do to serve.
“Everyone is a hypocrite”
On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Mark 2:17
Sorry to say, but you’re a hypocrite as well. Everyone is in some way. Christ has come to teach us to live in His way. We will all stumble along the way, but we have Grace.
Friends, we must meet with the church! Leave behind your excuses and bask in the blessing God has given us of the Church.
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