Part 1
Acts 2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.
there is just something about being together in one place that God loves
Psalm 133
V2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
People are in awe, and some are critical
Peter gets up to preach ...
V40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptised, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
The Fellowship of the Believers
v42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Please take not of the word DEVOTED
it carries the idea of commitment
they were faithful
This means that they were regular attenders...at bible study...at services where the word was taught and preached...they were faithful to prayer meetings....to fellowship meetings
They were committed to the life of the church
They moved from being visitors to becoming partners
This message will benefit everyone......so it’s for all
But I specifically want to aim this message to those who want to partner with me in building a great, God-honouring Church
For any organisation to succeed one of the main ingredients is Commitment
And part of that commitment is (Communication)....excusing yourself when you can’t make it, giving a reason.
There are 5 areas of commitment that we need to excel in if we are going to be a successful, God-honouring church
Today I want to look at the first area.....attendance...this is the entry level
You are not going to be able to do the other 4 effectively if you cannot get this first one correct
Attendance...at church meetings....Sunday’s....prayer meetings....house groups, etc
Acts 1....speaks about the 120 ...
They were the church...the body of believers
They organised themselves....met regularly.....undertook Church business....for example, added another apostle under the direction of Peter
In other words, Peter had a team he could depend upon, count on, rely on....for prayer, for support, agreement
At Pentecost...they (120) were all together in one place
120.....
Somebody was counting.....
Somebody is keeping a record....
God is counting
When God does the counting in meetings, Will he be able to count on you
I once said God is not interested in numbers.....but as soon as I said that I felt a check in my spirit....
He’s not governed by numbers...he can do great things with one person or with many
But he IS interested in numbers...for salvation....for faithfulness
God records numbers...you see this in the Bible as well
See Acts 18
9 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. 10 For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” 11 So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.
Paul was going to preach with opposition or not
But God said that in that particular city he was not going to be attacked because He had many people that belonged to Him... in other words there were many people that loved God, His Kingdom etc
And so Paul, inadvertently, had a lot of people on his side.
And because of that Paul was not going to be attacked
So even though there were people that would have loved to attack Paul, the presence of other (true) believers was like a shield around Paul.
In churches, often the only reason why the pastor gets attacked, is because there’s not enough people on his side.
People must first be committed to the Lord, then they must be committed to the undershepherd in such a way that others will be afraid to attack the pastor.
A lot of people who attend church like the pastor for what they can get.
But we have to love the leader because of the office he stands in.
And we have to respect and honour that office
Some people give more respect and honour to their worldly, unsaved leaders than they do to their spiritual leaders
One of the basic ways we show respect and honour is by being at the meetings he’s organised!
V42....They devoted themselves....
I believe that the only reason these new believers became devoted...
Is because the 120 maturer Believers before them were devoted themselves!
We can’t expect others to be devoted if we ourselves are not
God is looking for Good and faithful servants....
Not just good people.....
Sometimes churches have a lot of good people, but not very faithful
Not very reliable
Paul says Timothy is a true son in the faith...
What’s the difference between a son and a true son...reliability
Timothy was reliable
Timothy even listened to Paul about being circumcised! so that he could minister alongside Paul
Timothy could have objected on doctrinal grounds, but he didn’t
Some people want to minister in churches but they the Pastor can’t even tell them to attend services regularly and they have doctrinal excuses
Some people don’t even listen when the Pastor tells them to work towards maintaining order in the service
By the way...
Pentecost doesn’t bring surrender, Pentecost brings fire
Fire can’t fall if there’s no sacrifice....or else it’s possible it’s strange fire
The 120 were so committed they were the right sacrifice for the right fire
People have said Pentecost took away Peters fear....
But it was not...it was Jesus’ resurrection....
After Peter saw Jesus alive he stopped meeting behind locked doors
That is why in Acts 4 they pray for boldness to preach the Word and for God to send power as they preached
Acts 10
We see another Pentecost...Peter says the same thing that happened to us at the beginning happened to the Gentiles
We need another Pentecost....and another and another
When I talk about attendance
I’m not talking about your spirituality
I’m talking about your reliability...dependability
You could be a very spiritual person and not attend church regularly
A lot of people who don’t commit to Church say the Lord told them to stay away
So you could be hearing God contradict himself and be very spiritual and stay away from church
Many bible believing churches have 3-4 scheduled services per week
We have....
What happens if you miss a prayer meeting or other service in the church?
Happily, you won’t lose your salvation, but there are some things you ARE likely to lose:
For instance
1. You do lose an opportunity to encourage the body of Christ
Encouragement is one of the most important and most needed aspects in church life.
The bible describes the Holy Spirit as the one who encourages us
And we are told to encourage one another.
Hebrews 10:19-25.
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 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.
These verses tell us to encourage others to serve the Lord. The Lord uses a strong word in telling us to “spur” or to "provoke" others toward love and good works. "Provoke" is not a passive word, it means to actively "incite" others, which implies we are to do this with great enthusiasm and zeal.
Note that a vital part of provoking others to be faithful to the Lord is found in attending church.
To encourage or to "Exhort" means to urge someone to pursue some course of action. In other words, we are to be urging and encouraging our fellow believers to be living faithful lives to the Lord.
There can be no confusion on the matter: God is telling us to live godly and faithful lives and to urge or stimulate others to do the same.
A vital part of living faithful lives is urging others also to live for the Lord. An essential part of doing this is not forsaking the meetings of the church.
Christians who do not faithfully attend the services of their church will have a poor testimony among other believers and among the unsaved.
Some people say they don’t need to attend services..and then they will go on to tell you why.
Before you you try to explain your why, ask yourself this question:
Are you being a good example to the younger believers
If not you are causing your brother to stumble
You are causing then to be disobedient to the Word
Jesus said you will be called least in the kingdom of God
Or to put it another way, if everyone in the church attended services...prayer meetings...house groups, like you do, what type of church would this be.
So you may not realise it, but when you are uncommitted to attending services regularly you are actually working against the pastor.
2. So If you miss a service
You miss an opportunity to grow or to encourage others to grow in the things of God
In my years of being a Christian and even as a pastor I have seen that people who grow in the things of God and in service to Christ’s wider body are always committed to regular attendance at their local church
3. If you don’t attend services, You could potentially miss a divine awakening, a divine visitation
Thomas missed one
Those that were not in the upper room missed one
4. If you don’t attend You create an opportunity for the enemy to keep you away more often
Eve didn’t realise the consequences of one bite
Your disobedience will give Satan a foothold in your life and in the church
5. You could potentially miss a message directly from heaven for the church and for you as and individual
So it means there is little expectation
6. You could potentially miss a meeting that was intended by God to set you free, or to take you deeper into God’s purposes and higher into his plans for your life
Prophetic word
Healing anointing
Poor attendance is not exclusive to one church....
One pastor said: Probably the most discouraging thing I have to deal with as a pastor is poor attendance by some members of the church. Often, I have spent hours studying a passage and preparing a message or lesson for my congregation. As Sunday approaches, I am excited about application of this truth in the lives of the congregation. Often, I can think of several in the church who are struggling in their Christian lives, and I cannot wait to preach the Word of God and provide the answer to their need, from the Word. I am excited about being able to help them by showing, from the Word of God, principles that would help them
7. You could have potentially missed an opportunity to be used by the Lord to release a miracle into someone’s life
Gifts are given what what.....for who?
8. You could force the church to close certain meetings
And then you are going to complain
Excuses
Some people say well so long as I meet with other Christians I don’t need to attend services
That would imply that I wouldn’t need to ever be in church services because all of my family are saved...believers
The bible is talking about coming together with saints from the church for the express purpose of corporate prayer, praise, worship and sitting under the Word
Part 2
I’ll only attend if the weather is good
These are the ones who will miss services when the weather is bad, or if it will cause them some inconvenience.
The world puts us to shame
They go to work for unrighteousness mammon in all kinds of weather
They jog in all kinds of weather
They fish in all kinds of weather
But we only obey God if the weather is okay
Jesus said the children of this world are wiser than the children of the kingdom
Ecclesiastes 11
4
He who observes the wind will not sow,
And he who regards the clouds will not reap.
5
As you do not know what is the way of the wind,
Or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child,
So you do not know the works of God who makes everything.
6
In the morning sow your seed,
And in the evening do not withhold your hand;
For you do not know which will prosper,
Either this or that,
Or whether both alike will be good.
Some don’t come to church when the weather is good!
We pray for them thinking they are ill, or have an emergency
But then we see on Facebook they were at a car show!
Attending all of the services of your church takes personal sacrifice and commitment.
It is not always the easiest thing to go to church.
But Scripture does not say that we are to serve and obey the Lord only if it is convenient.
I struggle to get my children ready for Sunday services.....
But they get them ready in time for school...that starts earlier
Someone said: A person who is not faithful to their church's services, according to the Bible, is disobeying the Lord. Those who choose not to attend are not only forsaking their fellow believers, but are forsaking the Lord.
There will be little joy and satisfaction in the life of a believer who regularly lets other things interfere with their attendance. The way one attends church can be seen as a barometer of ones dedication and commitment to the Lord.
Misunderstandings
If we meet less and go out more more people will come to know the Lord
Show me one place in scripture fir this
Or even one place in life today
China....
Africa...
India....
The more people get together to seek the Lord and the more they get together to edify one another, the more the church grows
Some people say: “I love Jesus but not the church” is like saying to a new groom, “I love you but not your bride.” The Bible describes the local church as the bride of Christ (2 Cor. 11:2 Eph. 5:24-27, Rev. 19:7-9, 21:1-2). It is impossible to maintain a thriving relationship with Christ while at the same time avoiding fellowship with a gospel-believing local church. When we commit to loving the church, we commit to loving Christ.
Not attending regular church services shows a lack of concern for others in the body.......You are not showing love and concern for other believers when you avoid their company.
Every child of God must be made to understand that to not do one's part in the church is, in truth, giving aid to our enemy Satan.
If a Christian is not bringing honor to the Lord, who is the author of righteousness, he is honouring the Devil, who is the originator of disobedience and unrighteousness.
Pastor Cooper: The Christian who decides not to attend and support his church when they are meeting is helping Satan by being a stumbling block to the work of the Lord. Further, he is being a hindrance and a discouragement to others who are trying to be faithful.
The church is at the centre of God's plan for a believer. You cannot be faithful to Christ and be unfaithful to your church.
In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul tells us that there is a diversity of gifts given to believers to enable them to carry on the work of the Lord. He uses the word "body" in referring to the collective membership of believers. Many ignore the context of these verses and assume that Paul is speaking of a universal body of all living believers, but note that the context of this instruction is about gifts.
In 1 Corinthians 11:18, Paul makes his introductory statement: "For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it." Paul is not addressing a "universal" church, but a local congregation of believers! His comments "when ye come together" means the local church. This highlights the importance of gifts or talents being used in one's local church. It shows that the local church is a body made up of many different believers who God has brought together and given special abilities to carry on the work the Lord has given to them collectively, as a church.
Further, note verse 22: "What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I praise you not" (1 Corinthians 11:22). In verse 33, he is again talking about when they come together. Clearly he is talking about the local gathering of believers, and he is calling them the "ekklesia", the church. Then in Chapter 12 Paul continues his instruction. There is no break in the thought or progress of his teaching.
Note that he summarizes his teaching by saying: "And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues" (1 Corinthians 12:28). Clearly Paul is talking about the local church and the local congregation of believers.
Some people classify themselves as apostles...evangelists...
But have never operated in the church as faithful ministers
Paul and Barnabas in Acts 13
God called them....but were sent by the local church
Sent out
Reported back to them
Note Paul's instruction in 1 Corinthians 14:12. "Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church." Paul is saying that the believer is to seek to "excel" in the use of the gifts God gives him. The word "excel" means to "superabound (in quantity or quality), to be in excess." The believer, then, is to actively be using his gift with great enthusiasm.
If one's gift is given for service within the local church, it must be concluded that we are to be vigorously using it in the church. Being unfaithful or apathetic toward the ministry of the church would certainly show that one is not obeying God's clear teaching on this matter. Further, one's God-given gift is valid only within its use in the local body of believers.
One pastor writes: I had a dear woman get very upset with me and the church for not knowing she had been ill and had spent several days in the hospital. I apologized for not visiting her in the hospital and explained I was unaware of her illness. She replied I should have known when she was not in church the preceding Sunday. The truth was she had never regularly attended church. She had only attended one or two Sunday morning services in the past several months. Most of the time there was no legitimate reason for her absence, so no one was overly concerned about her missing that service. The church assumed it was normal for her to miss many services.
Another experience I had was with a couple, who were leaders in the church, and had been regularly attending church for many years. They were faithful and when the doors opened you could count on them being in their seats. They were an encouragement to me and set a good example before the whole assembly. One Sunday morning, about an hour before Service, the phone rang. It was the wife of this couple, and she explained that they would not be in church that day. She said she just wanted me to know that some of their relatives where visiting, and since it was such a pretty day, they had decided to go to the lake and fish. She explained she did not want me to be worried about them. At first, I thought she was joking. But, it was not a joke. I was glad she called, but was greatly concerned at their actions.
That Sunday started a trend, and it became a regular thing for them occasionally to miss services for various reasons. When people in the church began to ask about them, I was a little embarrassed to tell them where they were. In time, it affected their testimony, and I also noticed others began to miss services, following their example.
They were not upset with anything in the church, but for some reason decided they had other things to do. Maybe they thought their past faithfulness entitled them to miss a Sunday or two. I seriously doubt they thought out what the effect of their actions would be to themselves and the church. They gave up a lot, when they decided to be unfaithful to the Lord. "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you" (Matt. 6:33). The whole church was affected by their staying out of church. They gave up eternal rewards for a few hours on the lake..
Sad to say, the Devil also knows what is happening in the lives of my congregation. He sometimes has greater access to them and influence with them, than I do. On many Sundays, God gave me a message for them and they never got to hear it, because they let a hobby, beautiful day or even a rainy one keep them from the house of the Lord. I can tell you, it deeply hurts when this happens, and it happens much too often.
How often I've watched professing Christian families, in effect, teach their children to also be unfaithful to the Lord. Often I grieve for the wasted lives of children, whose parents regularly kept them from Sunday School and church to spend the day pursuing some hobby or recreational activity the parents wanted to enjoy. I often wonder how much grief rebellious children have caused their parents, that could have been avoided if they had just kept them in church and Sunday school?
At times, the unfortunate outcome is that the children of these professing Christian parents have little or no interest in spiritual things. Often the result of unfaithful parents is unsaved children. In my years of pastoring, I have never personally known of children of unfaithful Christian parents growing up and being faithful themselves. So often I think of the children I have been privileged to teach who showed great promise of being used of the Lord, but as they grew older, they began to see the unfaithfulness in their parent's lives. They began to follow their disobedient parents, and soon they too, fell by the wayside.
Once, about two hours before Wednesday night prayer meeting and Bible study, I received several phone calls. One member said they were not coming, without explanation;
another called and said they had company and the husband had just gotten home; another, who my wife went by to give a ride to church, had forgotten it was Wednesday night;
our Sunday School teacher and his family did not even bother calling to let us know they were not coming.
That night only one dear woman showed up. I thank God for her. She is always faithful, and if she is not at church, there is a good reason.
I was embarrassed, and I hoped no one came by and saw the empty parking lot or that we had visitors that night. If someone did come by, what would they think of our church? Would they want to attend such a dead looking church that had only one person show up for Wednesday night? I hoped no one in town would notice, but I know the Lord did.
He knew that most of the members of this church had abandoned Him that night. My wife, this dear woman and myself, were the only ones who met that night.
The effect of Christians forsaking the assembling of themselves together has far-reaching consequences. How easy it is to think light of the matter and ignore its importance. Apathy toward the things of God always begins with little, seemingly small, unimportant inconsistencies in our commitment to the Lord. But in time, indifference grows and matures into open rebellion. It can be compared to a small cancer, if it is ignored and allowed to grow, it becomes fatal.
I wonder how many pastors who deeply loved the Lord became, in time, so discouraged by the unfaithfulness of some of the membership of their church that they quit the ministry. How many preachers have lost heart, lost their zeal and enthusiasm for the ministry, because professing Christians failed to support their church? No pastor can accomplish even half of what he could, after he has lost heart and become discouraged.
Jesus....the great shepherd who lays down his life.......who leaves the 99....asked Peter...do you love me....
Then feed my sheep
In others words HELP ME to be to my people what I would like to be to them
How many churches have been literally rendered ineffective by poor attendance?
Guest speakers....wanted to come by for a midweek meeting...I had to say no...because people won’t come out
Guest speakers from SA
It is unfortunate that in many churches, members remained babies, having to be fed milk, as the Apostle Paul said, when they should have matured enough to eat meat (1 Cor. 3:2, Heb. 5:12)
Churches, whose people are unfaithful to the Lord, remain weak, milk fed infants, too frail to be of any real service to the Lord. Paul said he wanted to feed them spiritual "meat," but he concluded, " . . . ye were not able to bear it." The writer to the Hebrews, addressed the same problem: "For by this time ye ought to be teachers, you have need that one teach you again the first principles of the oracle of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not strong meat" (Heb. 5:12).
A healthy church grows and wins the lost in direct proportion to how its members mature.
A great man of God many years ago is reported to have said that he wondered what God could accomplish with one man who was totally dedicated to the Lord. I too wonder what God could do with a church that was totally committed to Him.
I am sure most pastors personally understand the Lord's statement to the lukewarm church at Laodicea. Jesus says to them, "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot: So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will slue thee out of my mouth" (Rev. 3:15 16).
Lukewarm professing Christians cannot be relied upon, and you never know from week to week whether they will be at church or not.
You cannot give them responsibilities, because you will never know whether they will do them or not.
Because of their poor attendance they can contribute little or nothing to the church. Oh, what they are missing by wasting the opportunities that God is giving them.
Many professing Christians wrongly base their attendance on what they receive from attending. That idea is foreign to the Bible. It is the established thinking today, among most Christians, that going to church is a matter of finding a church that meets their perceived needs, and then joining it. Thus, their attitude toward the church is that it should minister to them, and they go to get what it has to offer. Again, there is no such teaching in the Scriptures. First, a believer goes to church to worship God. The church service is a sacred assembly to honor God and offer thanksgiving to Him for salvation and the blessings of life. He does not go to get, but to give worship, honor and praise to Almighty God. It is a time of being instructed in the paths of righteousness as the Word of God is taught.
Second, the Bible says that our goal in assembling ourselves together should be to strengthen our fellow believers: "From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love" (Eph 4:16). The word "edifying" means to build up, to promote Christian wisdom, affection, grace, virtue, holiness, and blessedness. The purpose of assembling together is that we be a blessing to each other. Many only go to church to get a blessing, rather than going to church to give a blessing to others. What a selfish and worldly motive that is.
Many professing Christians ...prefer to get the blessing without any effort on their part. Many think that coming to church is like going to the store. You go in, pay your money, and get the blessings of God. Those with that attitude will always be disappointed in their pastor, the leaders, and their church.
What a transformation our churches would see if each member dedicated himself to the "edifying" of others in the church? God says, "Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others" (Phil. 2:4). Surely, there would be less grumbling, backbiting, gossip, blaming others, and complaining, if each believer sought to lift up and encourage others to live for Christ. As they became concerned for the spiritual well being of their brothers and sisters in the Lord, they would hardly be trying to criticize those that they, in love, were trying to help!
The Christian grows in the Lord, when he gives sacrificially to others. God's preachers would need to spend little time trying to encourage people to come to church, if everyone came to church with the purpose of being a blessing to one another. In fact, they would eagerly wait in anticipation until the next appointed hour, so they could come and be of help to others.
Anyone who has ever led someone to the Lord knows the thrill and the utter joy in the Lord of seeing them receive Christ as their Savior! What a joy too, for a Sunday School teacher to teach the lesson they have worked on so hard and then, in time, see it bear fruit in the lives of their students.
Our generation, of church attendees, has become a generation of "church hoppers" going from one church to the other, seeking a better program, more entertaining music, a more dynamic preacher and a host of other "supposed" reasons for attending church.
This ungodly idea has stemmed the modern church.... Entertainment centers calling themselves churches, have wooed many into their shows in the name of God. They hawk their false gospel with appealing phrases such as, "Something good is going to happen to you today." Those that buy their appeal to the flesh are always, in time, left empty never finding the fulfillment of truly knowing God.
The truth is that dead churches are produced by dead church members. Churches where God is not working are churches where the people, because of their unfaithfulness, are quenching the Holy Spirit and not allowing God to work.
It has been said that no church will rise above the spirituality of its pastor. May I add that no pastor will ever get far, spiritually, without a faithful congregation standing beside him, supporting him, encouraging him, praying for him and loving him in Christ. Too often God's preacher is blamed for the failure of the church he shepherds, when the real fault lies with the flock of rogue sheep he is trying to lead. The Bible teaches the nature that God puts in His sheep is the nature to follow and be led (John 10:4 5). Too many professing sheep, by their contrary natures, appear to be more like goats
An anonymous author described the condition of regularly missing church as "morbus Sabbaticus" or better, "Sunday sickness." He said that this is a disease peculiar to some church members. The symptoms vary, but are generally observed and never last more than twenty four hours. The symptoms never interfere with the appetite, nor affect the eyes. The Sunday paper can be read with no pain. TV seems to help the eyes. No doctor is ever called. The patient begins to improve almost immediately after the services start. No symptoms are usually felt on Saturday. The patient sleeps well and wakes feeling well. He eats a hearty Sunday Breakfast, but then the attack comes and lasts until services are over for the morning. The patient then feels better and the problem seems to go away. The patient feels better and eats a solid dinner. After dinner, he takes a nap, and then watches one or two pro football games on TV. He may go fishing or work in his yard and feels well enough to do what he pleases. He may take a walk before supper and stop and chat with neighbors. If there are church services scheduled for Sunday evenings, he will likely have a relapse about an hour before service time. Invariably, he will wake up on Monday morning and rush off to work with no ill effects from the attack the day before. The symptoms will surely appear again the afternoon of the midweek service and probably the following Sunday as well. After a few of these "attacks" at weekly intervals, the disease seems to become chronic, it becomes worse and, for some, even terminal. Some are so affected that they quit going to church altogether.
The only cure for "morbus Sabbaticus" is to first repent of the sin of unfaithfulness and disobedience to Christ's commands. You see it is sin and disobedience for a child of God to shun the church and fail to be at their appointed place and time. Before a Christian can become faithful and get back in fellowship with God they must confess their sin, and then God will give them strength to overcome their failure (1 John 1:9).
The second part of the cure is to make the decision once and for all time, to be faithful to the Lord. Once the decision is made, you will not have to make it again.
My friend, have you ever made such a decision for the Lord about your own faithfulness to Him? I'm sure you say you love the Lord, but do you, by your life, prove you love Him? Jesus said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments. . .He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will reveal myself to him " (John 14:15,21).
"By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not burdensome" (1 John 5:2 3).
It is my desire that through this study of what God's says in His Word, about church attendance and faithfulness to Christ, that if you have not made such a commitment to the Lord on this matter that you will do so now.
If you are not interested in Christ's church, it may be because you do not know Him as your Savior. It is possible you are not saved. God says,
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new" (2 Cor. 5:17).
Those that God saves He changes and makes them into a new person with a new nature who loves and seeks the things of God. Christians love one another and want to be together. "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death" (1 John 3:14). It does not hurt you to ask yourself this question. If the answer is that you are not sure or you realize you are not saved, then you know what to do. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and He will save you! (See Acts 16:31, Rom. 10:9 10)
If you are born again, and you are not faithful to the Lord, then you must ask yourself why? How can you not be faithful to Him, who suffered and died for you? You are surely outside God's will and out of fellowship with Him.
Someone is watching your life! Christ surely is. I hope you can say you are faithfully serving the Lord. If you are not, God is love, and He is seeking to make you victorious, that you would be able to overcome the world. God wants you to have His peace and have satisfaction in your heart. But, my friend, He will not force Himself on you. He offers you His peace and joy, but you must accept it by living for Him. He cannot bless you, if you live in disobedience to Him.
If you have never made this commitment to be faithful, do it now and let God bless and use you
