DAY 17: THE WHY QUESTION III— WHY WE GO TO CHURCH

THE RHEMA WORD FOR TODAY
(A DAILY DEVOTIONAL WITH PREACHER SAM)

TOPIC: THE WHY QUESTION III: WHY WE GO TO CHURCH
DATE: 17 SEPTEMBER, 2019
BIBLE READING: PSALM 133:1-3
MEDITATION/MEMORY VERSE: HEBREWS 10:25 (TLB)
Let us not neglect our church meetings, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.

The name ‘church’ in the Greek is ekklesia, which simply means ‘called out,’ that is, the assembly of the called (elects); it implies that members have said “yes” to God’s call in their lives. In other words, a church is a gathering of Christian believers.
Why do we go to church? If your answer is just because God says so, you will end up like Martha, doing so many religious activities, which can even wear you out.
Fine! Without controversy, God says so. But do you know why? If your answer also is just to hear the Word of God, which stirs up your faith in Him, then technology has done well in helping us to stream live sermons and download audio messages and we can watch and listen to them at the comfort of our house.
If your answer is that God dwells in the church, well Acts 17:24 says that God does not dwell in temples made with hands. He dwells in you (1 Cor. 3:16).
So why do we go to church? First let’s start with the reason why God says so, because that will help us in fetching our answer.
God says so, not because for religious sake, but for relationship sake; that is, for fellowship. When God created man, he saw that it was not good for that man who was in His presence (Eden) to be alone. We need each other to have a better experience of His presence.
The church is a place where burdens are lifted. As we come together to fellowship, we participate in sharing each other’s burdens.
Galatians 6:2
Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.
From our Bible reading, we see that it is in the gathering of Christian believers (God’s children; God’s elects) — The Church, is where God commands His blessing of eternal life. This eternal life covers all the promises of God in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 1:20).
In our verse for meditation, the church is where we find encouragement, that is, we are encouraged to exercise our spiritual gifts and use it to serve the Lord.
There are scores of convincing reasons why we need to go to church. Even the first man to be in God’s presence found his life partner there, so the church is the best place to find your life partner too.

ACTION POINT: AS MY EYES OF UNDERSTANDING ARE BEING ENLIGHTENED NOW, I WILL MAKE SURE THAT MY GOING TO THE CHURCH BECOMES VERY INTERESTING AND ACTIVE.
PRAYER POINT: SWEET HOLY SPIRIT, LEAD ME TO THE CHURCH WHERE I CAN EXPERINCE YOUR PRESENCE BETTER, AND GROW MY FAITH IN YOU
PERSONAL READING: PSALM 122:1-9