The world has so much to offer all of us every day of our lives and almost every hour of every day….If not somewhere else to go then something to watch on TV or to do on the internet.
I have heard comments from “When I go hunting or fishing I meet with God through His nature and have church…I don’t have to be IN church to have church!”…to…”I pray before, during, and after the Super Bowl Game, therefore its just as if I were in church!” And my favorite; "I went to church today - I watched it on TV."
Its true; you don’t have to be in a church to have church, and I understand that there are times when everyone must miss a service every-now-and-then due to family commitments or extenuating circumstances….BUT, there is something special and satisfying about being in “corporate worship”; worshiping with like fellow believers and seeking the blessings of the Lord as you worship with one another.
I do understand that going into a church doesn’t MAKE you a CHRISTIAN any more than standing in a garage MAKES you a CAR, or walking into a McDonalds MAKES you a QUARTERPOUNDER!! But I also believe that if someone desires to have personal and group revival to come into their lives, they must understand how important coming together in “corporate worship” really is to accomplish “TRUE REVIVAL”.
The Bible has something to say about meeting together to worship God….....
"And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." (Hebrews 10:24 – 25).
Church will be “central” in your life and a priority for you if you have made Jesus Christ the TOP PRIORITY in your life!!
Lets look today at 5 things that we must do to make church a priority in our lives and, therefore, get closer to a “true revival” THAT MUST begin in our own personal lives.
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First………YOU MUST PRESERVE THE SANCTITY OF SUNDAY!
Please understand that Sunday is NOT THE SABBATH!…..God intended this day to be a day of rest; Sunday is “the Lord’s day” and HE OWNS IT.....We must preserve and respect the “SANCTITY” of this day for the purpose of meeting to WORSHIP HIM !!!!
The world is seeking to make Sunday “just another day of the week”…..For example, youth sports (baseball, soccer, football, etc) schedule games, and sometimes practices, during church service times; schools are now planning activities on Sundays and Wednesday evenings; you will notice that all of the major Hollywood and entertainment awards shows are scheduled and broadcast on Sunday nights during church time; more and more professional sporting events are moving into church times; sadly enough, many times, extra-carricular activities within the church are planned for youth, as well as older adults, so as to take people away from church services…….And there are many more things that interfere with attending “corporate worship” services.
How do we handle this? How do we NOT allow ourselves to be distracted by these things from the world? First we must personally decide, "Who will I serve; the world or God?" We must ask ourselves, "What is truly my top priority?"......Is it God???
THEN we MUST decide to make God our top priority and SERVE HIM; NOT THE WORLD!!! We also must boldly stand strong in our commitment and decide that we will not do anything that takes us away from worshiping and serving God on a consistent basis.
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Second……YOU MUST PREPARE BEFORE YOU ARRIVE.
Have you ever showed up for a test that you did not prepare or study for ??? I have and believe me it is no fun when you have spent all your time NOT PREPARING and you show up and your lost! We must spend at least a LITTLE BIT of our time preparing for each upcoming worship service reading from God’s Word, allowing God to calm and prepare our hearts, and praying and asking God to give us the right frame of mind and attitude to receive His Message……If you knew for a fact that Jesus was physically going to be in church next week, would you prepare for Him? WELL, HE IS GOING TO BE THERE!!!
One day a man visited a church and he noticed right off how everyone treated each other with rude attitudes and were mean to one another, including the worship leader and the pastor….At the end of the service, as he was leaving, he could not help but ask a deacon standing at one the exits, “Does everyone treat each other like this all the time?” and the deacon responded by saying proudly, “Why yes! This is an every week ocurance.”….The man then asked, “How can you all act like that in front of Jesus every week?”…The deacon responded, “Oh, we don’t have to worry about that….Jesus hasn’t been here for years!” This sadly is true in too many of our churches today.
WE MUST PREPARE TO SEE JESUS EVERY TIME WE COME TO CHURCH AND WE MUST COME SEEKING HIM!!!
I have heard some say, “I come to church, but I just don’t get anything out of it”…….My response to them is, “Did you come to church PREPARED to receive something and were you seeking Jesus?”
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Next..........YOU MUST PRAY FOR GOD TO WORK.
We have not – OR RECEIVE NOT - because we ask not!
Too many times people come and sit and just “DO CHURCH”, OR JUST GO THROUGH THE MOTIONS……..How many of you have ever asked God to do something great and fantastic in any church service you have attended? DID YOU KNOW THAT GOD IS STILL WORKING TODAY AND DOING INCREDIBLE AND MIRACULOUS THINGS IN PEOPLE’S AND IN CHURCH'S LIVES! We should pray at the beginning of every church meeting or service, individually and corporately, and expect God to answer our prayers and move!
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Fourth...............YOU MUST PARTICIPATE AND NOT JUST SPECTATE.
No matter how much we want to ignore it or try to avoid admitting it, it is true; we have some who just like to come and applaud and cheer-on the work of others…….WE ALL NEED TO GET INVOLVED! What have you done on Sunday to service the Master? What will you have done by the end of this week for His service?
PARTICIPATION IS WHEN YOU PUT YOUR HAND TO THE PLOW!!
It is not just sitting on the porch, rocking, and telling the mule and the farmer what a good job they are doing and cheering them on!
Everyone can do something, such as;
Ø Help hold a baby
Ø Hold a door for someone
Ø Sing in the choir
Ø Help with the sound
Ø Help with the children
Ø Help with the teens
Ø Help by volunteering to be an usher
Ø Volunteer to arrange the books and envelopes on the backs of the pews before the service
Ø Volunteer to help clean up and organize everything after each service
Ø Be willing to walk around the sanctuary before each service and greet each and every person present and ask them sincerely how they are doing
Ø Be willing to meet with the Pastor before each service to have prayer for that particular service and for those who are present
Ø Be willing to respond quickly and without hesitation before, during, and after each service when an unexpected need arises
Ø The list can go on and on and on…………..
The key here is to do something FOR JESUS, allow yourself to be an instrument IN HIS HAND, and BE FAITHFUL IN ALL THAT YOU DO FOR HIM! Being faithful is what God asks of each of us and being faithful is what pleases Him.
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AND FINALLY…….YOU MUST PRACTICE WHAT YOU LEARN!!
COMING TO CHURCH IS ONE OF THE GREATEST OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO GAIN KNOWLEDGE FOR CHRIST!
James 1:22 says, “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”
When we come into the House Of God to hear the Word Of God, should we not be prepared to write down what God has to say to us, so as to remember it? Is what God has to say important?
How many of you can remember what the preacher preached about last week? How many of you can remember God’s message for you from the week before? How about 3 weeks ago? How about 2 or 3 months ago?
EVERYBODY SHOULD COME ARMED WITH PEN AND PAPER EVERY TIME THE WORD OF GOD IS TO BE PREACHED AND TAUGHT AND BE PREPARED TO WRITE DOWN NOTES FROM THE SERMON SO YOU CAN LOOK BACK ON THEM AND REMEMBER WHAT WAS SAID AND WHAT YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO DO……YOU CAN NOT DO WHAT YOU CAN NOT REMEMBER!!!
I am going to ask you to get a pen and paper out right now and write these 5 things down (or just print them out) so you can remember them, meditate upon them, study further about them in the Word of God, pray about them being applied in your own personal lives, and then act upon them:
1) Preserve the Sanctity of Sunday, the Lord’s Day….Make Sunday a priority!
2) Prepare before you arrive at church…..Pray and Read The Word!
3) Pray for God to work during each service......Expect God to move!
4) Participate, not just spectate......Get up and do something!
5) Practice what you learn from the messages and from God’s Word by taking notes!
What I have talked about in this blog post should be more than just going through a ritual or a routine or going through the motions…..Being in church on any given Sunday or Wednesday should make an impact on your life…It should make an impact on your children’s lives and anyone you come in contact with on a regular basis….YOU MUST PUT IT INTO PRACTICE AND TEACH AND COMMUNICATE IT TO YOUR CHILDREN AND SHARE IT WITH OTHERS……YOU MUST BE AN EXAMPLE!!
WHAT WOULD IT TAKE TO KEEP YOU AWAY FROM CHURCH ON ANY GIVEN SUNDAY OR WEDNESDAY ??? THINK ABOUT WHATEVER THAT IS AND ASK GOD TO HELP YOU TO MAKE CHURCH A PRIORITY OVER THAT….BETTER YET, MAKE CHRIST A PRIORITY OVER EVERYTHING!!!!!
AND WHEN YOU DO THAT, CHURCH WILL AUTOMATICALLY BECOME A PRIORITY; REMEMBER THAT CHURCH IS AND WAS A PRIORITY FOR JESUS!!!!
_____________________________________________________________________
COMING TO CHURCH IS ONE OF THE GREATEST OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO GAIN KNOWLEDGE FOR CHRIST!
James 1:22 says, “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”
When we come into the House Of God to hear the Word Of God, should we not be prepared to write down what God has to say to us, so as to remember it? Is what God has to say important?
How many of you can remember what the preacher preached about last week? How many of you can remember God’s message for you from the week before? How about 3 weeks ago? How about 2 or 3 months ago?
EVERYBODY SHOULD COME ARMED WITH PEN AND PAPER EVERY TIME THE WORD OF GOD IS TO BE PREACHED AND TAUGHT AND BE PREPARED TO WRITE DOWN NOTES FROM THE SERMON SO YOU CAN LOOK BACK ON THEM AND REMEMBER WHAT WAS SAID AND WHAT YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO DO……YOU CAN NOT DO WHAT YOU CAN NOT REMEMBER!!!
I am going to ask you to get a pen and paper out right now and write these 5 things down (or just print them out) so you can remember them, meditate upon them, study further about them in the Word of God, pray about them being applied in your own personal lives, and then act upon them:
1) Preserve the Sanctity of Sunday, the Lord’s Day….Make Sunday a priority!
2) Prepare before you arrive at church…..Pray and Read The Word!
3) Pray for God to work during each service......Expect God to move!
4) Participate, not just spectate......Get up and do something!
5) Practice what you learn from the messages and from God’s Word by taking notes!
What I have talked about in this blog post should be more than just going through a ritual or a routine or going through the motions…..Being in church on any given Sunday or Wednesday should make an impact on your life…It should make an impact on your children’s lives and anyone you come in contact with on a regular basis….YOU MUST PUT IT INTO PRACTICE AND TEACH AND COMMUNICATE IT TO YOUR CHILDREN AND SHARE IT WITH OTHERS……YOU MUST BE AN EXAMPLE!!
WHAT WOULD IT TAKE TO KEEP YOU AWAY FROM CHURCH ON ANY GIVEN SUNDAY OR WEDNESDAY ??? THINK ABOUT WHATEVER THAT IS AND ASK GOD TO HELP YOU TO MAKE CHURCH A PRIORITY OVER THAT….BETTER YET, MAKE CHRIST A PRIORITY OVER EVERYTHING!!!!!
AND WHEN YOU DO THAT, CHURCH WILL AUTOMATICALLY BECOME A PRIORITY; REMEMBER THAT CHURCH IS AND WAS A PRIORITY FOR JESUS!!!!
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