Prepare To Meet Thy God

•It’s not referring to each of us individually, but to all of us as we gather as one

•Still with me? Okay, now we’ll pull it all together

•Turn with me again, this time to Matthew 18:20

•As we come together in worship, we are inviting the presence of Jesus to be with us

•What Jesus is telling us here, is that when we gather in His name, He shows up

•Quite literally, Jesus takes a seat in our midst

•Do you understand what I’m saying, church? – Jesus is right here, right now, and He has been for the last couple of hours

•He was here for Sabbath School

•He was here for Song Service

•He’s sitting here even as I speak

•And He’ll be staying for potluck after church

•Have you ever thought about it that way before?

•Because what Paul is talking about, when he says we fail to discern the Lord’s body, is that we fail to recognise His presence in our assembly

•Let me ask you, church: Why are you here this morning?

•I can tell you why some of you are here this morning

1. Some of you are here this morning because you’ve got to be here

•Somebody’s told you, “You have no choice in the matter”, and so you really don’t want to be here, but you’ve come because you have to

2. And I can tell you that some of you have come here today to make a statement

a) Now for some of you, it’s a fashion statement

•You’ve come here today, dressed in your

finest, not out of any sense of reverence, but

to show off your sense of style to the rest of

God’s people

b) Or maybe you’re here to check out everyone

else’s fashion statements

•You’re here to criticise the length of

someone’s skirt (or maybe it’s the lack of

length), or the fact that someone’s wearing

jeans, or jewellery, or just a little too much

makeup to suit your liking

c) Some of you are here today to make a political

statement

•You’re here with an agenda, and

•You’re using the Sabbath School as a platform

to promote it

•You’re out lobbying fellow church

members in the foyer, trying to sway them to

your way of thinking

d) And I know that a few of you are here to make

a slanderous statement

•You’re here to spread gossip

•To make criticising and cutting remarks

against others while their backs are turned

away

•Filling the minds of those who listen with

doubt and negativity toward their brothers

and sisters in Christ

•I think I’ve stepped on enough toes now

•But stop and think about it; ask yourself the question, “Why am I here?”

•I know that some of you are here for these reasons, because I myself have come to church for the exact same reasons in times past

•But today, I’m not here because somebody told me I had to be

•I’m not here to make a statement, fashion or otherwise

•No, I’m here this morning to meet with Jesus

•Because I am told in the Word of God that when I get together with God’s people, Jesus is going to be here too, and I don’t want to miss the opportunity to see Him

•Now, don’t get me wrong – we don’t only meet Him at church, or at Midweek Meeting

•We don’t have to be with other believers to spend time with Him

•The Bible says we can meet Jesus one-on-one, and that we should take time daily to spend with Him on a personal level