TEXT:
‘Not forsaking our meeting together [as believers for worship and instruction], as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more [faithfully] as you see the day [of Christ’s return] approaching’ (Hebrews 10:25 AMP).
Attending church has always been a problem for some Christians, ever since the first church started on the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem. This is why scripture addresses it with our text. Jesus was faithful to attend the synagogue1, as were the early Christians meeting together for the apostles’ doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer2. In many parts of the world church attendance is thriving but not in Western Europe and Britain, fuelled by affluence and a desire for anything but Jesus.
It’s easy to find fault with your local church and use that as an excuse not to attend, but no church is perfect and if it were, once you started attending, that perfection would cease! Today’s Teaching focusses on some key reasons for regular and faithful church attendance.
1. Faith
Attending is a declaration of faith. Before I became a Christian I usually frequented pubs and clubs on a Sunday. After receiving Christ as my personal Saviour, the desire to go to church grew. I couldn’t be in two places at once, and to the surprise of my friends, (all of whom I managed to get along to the church at least once), church won and I started attending regularly even though it was twenty miles away.
One lady, when asked why she went to church replied, “I want people and the devil to know whose side I am on!”
If you are part of any organisation, you are expected to show that support in a tangible way and church is no different. Many claim to have faith but can’t be bothered to go to church. The only person they are deceiving is themselves. Jesus said, ‘If you love Me, keep my commandments’ (John 14:15) and going to church faithfully is one of them.
Going to church does not make a person a Christian as they have to be born again3, but if there is no desire to go, something is wrong with that person’s faith.
2. Feed
Churches should have the right kind of food for all who are attending. The Bible refers to milk and meat. Milk is for baby Christians and meat for the mature believer. The writer of Hebrews was frustrated that instead of Christians developing into mature believers able to be fed meat and care for others, they had remained spiritual babies only able to digest milk, and were reliant on others to care for them.
‘You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food’ (Hebrews 5:12 NLT).
‘Desire the pure milk of the Word that you may grow’ (1 Peter 2:2)
‘Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it’ (Luke 11:28)
Today’s trend is to see sermons being reduced to snippets and soundbites instead of biblical exposition. Ministers even have their sermons written for them instead of discovering what their congregation’s needs are and delving into God’s Word for themselves. The Book of Revelation recorded what John wrote to the seven churches. Each church received a different message because there were different actions to commend and to confront.
Starving people do desperate things and when God’s people are starved of God’s Word, some will stray and sin, while others will leave their church and attend another, simply because they want good food.
One minister accused of sheep stealing because people were coming from other churches replied, “I do not steal sheep, I just grow good grass!” Another minister who criticised people for coming to his services and neglecting their own church was rebuked by God who said to him, “I sent My people here to be fed, not criticised.”
Many churches need an intense feeding programme. I think Christians would grow more if they started taking notes, for that can be five times more effective than just listening. Of course preachers need to make sure their teaching is understood and communicated in a simple but effective way.
3. Fellowship
The early Christians practised personal and corporate fellowship. They received the teaching, fellowshipped with each other, prayed together and never forgot the One who was responsible for their salvation, by remembering Him through the breaking of bread.
In the church there will be people who will do you good and vice versa. You will not get along with everyone any more than you do with all your relatives, neighbours, work colleagues and acquaintances. There will be Christians you can help fire up and keep sharp, have fun and enjoy fellowship with outside of the services but don’t let that become a substitute for attending.
Our text says, ‘Encouraging one another; and all the more [faithfully] as you see the day [of Christ’s return] approaching’. We need to exhort one another, especially as we see troubled times throughout the world. It’s a reminder that Jesus’ return is nearer than we think.
It’s a tragedy when people come to church for the first time and leave without anyone having spoken to them. Jesus said, ‘Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples’ (John 13:35 NLT). On the other hand, we need to be friendly and not just wait for someone else to make the first move.
Part 2 will reveal three more reasons for church attendance. Make sure that if you are not intending to go to church this coming Sunday, you have a very good reason for doing so.
Endnotes:
1 Luke 4:16 2 Acts 2:42 3 John 3:5-7
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