The church is one of the greatest gifts that God has given to us on this side of eternity. There is no other organization in this world that can compare with what God has orchestrated in the church. The church is unlike any other mere organization because it is really an organism - it is the very body of Christ. This is one reason why the Bible puts such a high priority on the assembly of the saints. Jesus wants His body to live in union with Him and in unity with one another.
When you truly get ahold of these truths, it ought to change the priority you place on the church. Certainly, when you understand how precious and important the church is to God, your response at the very least ought to be to elevate the importance of church in your own life to an equal measure. Yet, it confound me how people continue to find reasons to belittle the significance of the church in their own life. It is an issue of pandemic proportions in modern day Christianity!
In part one of this series, I began to share the first two of several reasons why the gathering of the church is so significant. In the following words, I want to continue to share with you some more reasons. These are biblical reminders that ought to compel you to not want to miss a single gathering at your local church. Continue to consider with me what you miss when you miss church.
The Glory of God's Power
One of the greatest privileges we have been blessed with as believers is that we get to be witnesses. Over and over again after the resurrection of Jesus, the disciples were reminded of this fact. Because of all they had watched transpire through the ministry of Jesus both in the lives of others and in their own lives, they had become witnesses of the power of the gospel.
"And [Jesus] said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things." (Luke 24:46-48)
“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." (Acts 1:8)
As believers, we have personally experienced the difference Jesus can make in our own lives. If you are a genuine believer you can attest to the transformational power of the gospel because you have watched it take place in your own life. (2 Corinthians 5:17) I love how they portrayed Mary speaking of this in the recent TV series The Chosen. When asked about how her life changed, she said," I was one way, and now I'm completely different. And the thing that happened in between was [Jesus]."
Here is where it gets even better. As believers who take part in a local assembly, we not only get to witness the transformative power of Jesus in our own lives; we also get to witness the difference Jesus makes in the lives of other believers. We get to witness firsthand how God transforms men like Saul into men like Paul!
It never ceases to amaze me how God does this transformative work. Let me share with you a recent example of this. In 2020, I was asked to conduct a funeral service for a three month old young man named Lucas. His parents were obviously devastated and upset that God would allow such a thing to happen. Their lives were wrecked, their marriage was struggling and their future looked very bleak. Yet, God used that difficult circumstance to begin to do His work of grace in their hearts. About a year after, Lucas' dad, Elijah, began to come to church. By the spring of that year, Eli had trusted Jesus as His Savior. After he got saved, Jesus began to change his life drastically. It was then that Eli asked our church family to begin praying for his wife, Savannah, to be saved. For the next year and a half, we prayed for her. God be praised, recently Savannah came to us to inform us that she had trusted Jesus as her Savior. When she was baptized, tears of joy flowed down the cheeks of so many in our church because we had just witnessed once again the power of the gospel to change a life. Watching the transformative impact of the gospel of Jesus in individual lives such as Eli and Savannah brings great glory to God in the hearts of those who witness His work.
When you missed church, you missed the opportunity to witness God change lives. You missed the privilege of watching God move on the hearts of people to make decisions for His glory. You missed seeing people getting saved, professing their faith publicly by baptism and being delivered from sin. You missed getting to observe marriages being salvaged, friendships being restored and broken hearts being mended. Such testimonies give believers fresh reason to give God glory to those you come in contact with throughout the week. Yet, if you aren't there, you won't have anything to testify about. Like Thomas who was absent when Jesus first appeared to His disciples after His resurrection, if you aren't there you won't have anything to testify about. (John 20:24-29) This is yet another reason why it is so important not to miss the opportunity afforded to you when the church gathers.
God is still able to do His life-changing work today. In fact, He is able to do beyond what we could ever comprehend! This is one reason why we must not forsake being a part of the local assembly.
"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." (Ephesians 3:20-21)
The Ministry of God's Saints
Jesus has ordained the church for many reasons. Among them is to serve - He desires for His body to minister to others and to care for each other. Jesus Himself set the example for His church to be ministers.
"For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." (Mark 10:45)
Jesus said, "If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you." (John 13:13-14)
Ministry is service - it is serving others. It is putting the needs of others first. In the church, God has called us to have this ministry mindset.
When we gather as the church, we gather not only to worship God but to serve one another for God. The gathering of the church is not supposed to be about "getting what I need." Rather, it is supposed to be about each person serving for the benefit of others. This is what the Bible speaks about in Ephesians 4:16, where it says, "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."
So, when the church gathers, we are to come focused on helping one another. We are to gather with the intention of building each other up in our faith. We are to gather with the goal of serving the lost and leading them to faith in Christ. We are to gather with a heartbeat to serve.
"As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith." (Galatians 6:10)
When you miss church, you missed the opportunity to be used of God to serve others. Someone needed you and you weren't there. When you miss church, you robbed someone of the opportunity to serve you. You needed help (whether you realized it or not) and you weren't there to receive it.
Remember, one reason God specifically listed for not missing a gathering of the church is so that you don't miss this opportunity to provide the ministry of encouragement to one another. "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)
Beloved brethren, you don't want to miss out on what God has provided for you in your local church! And you don't want to rob others of what God would like to do through you in your local church.
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