It looks like the world is finally beginning to move forward
from the Covid-19 pandemic. Churches are
beginning to reopen. Taoyuan City has
released churches to reopen. Taoyuan
City was the only city in Taiwan that shut churches down. In the US, The Door Church in Tucson has
reopened, and my home church, the Door Church in Colton is reopening this week.
I got very sick at the end of last year, I was in the
hospital when the first Covid-19 patient in Taiwan came into that same
hospital. I had been out of church for a
month at that point. Then I spent
sometime recuperating and missed church for another few months. Then they stopped services in Taoyuan, and the
church began to broadcast on Instagram. The
broadcast has been a blessing, hearing Pastor Reed (Pingzhen, Taiwan) preach
the Gospel has been helpful. I haven’t been able to attend church with my
church family since December. I miss
them all.
I’m telling you that because, in missing church I have
experienced a bit of spiritual warfare.
Doctor’s keep giving me bad news.
I feel like I’m trapped in quarantine, even though people are not experiencing
that here in Taiwan, I feel like I’ve been personally quarantined. Every week seems like a battle.
It really points out to me what a blessing it is to be in
church with my friends and family. I’ll
tell you why. During this time, I felt like
I was stuck in the world. I had a
difficult time praying; it was hard to focus on worship over the internet. Hebrews 10:25 admonishes us not to “forsake
the assembling of ourselves together”.
We sometimes read that as a command, but what is the reason not to
forsake assembling? Look:
Hebrews 10:25 (NKJV)
10:25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
The reason to attend church is to be able to exhort or
encourage each other. Another way to say
that is to say we need to gather to help each other. It’s a huge encouragement for me to see other
people engaged in worshiping God. It is
a great exhortation to see people remain faithful to be in the House of God, week
after week after week. Church is an essential
activity!
We are constantly bombarded by the things of the world. There are the spiritual assaults as
well. We face them alone, when we are
unable to gather. I don’t know about you
but I’m not Jackie Chan, I can’t beat up fifteen or sixteen attackers by
myself. I need the strength of my
comrades.
It’s bad enough to go through a week of missing church…But
this quarantine and prohibition against attending church has been difficult for
just about everyone I’ve with whom I’ve talked about this.
Today, I want to post on being in the House
of God!
Psalms 122:1-4 (NKJV)
122:1 A song of Ascents. Of David. I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go into the house of the Lord." 2 Our feet have been standing Within your gates, O Jerusalem! 3 Jerusalem is built As a city that is compact together, 4 Where the tribes go up, The tribes of the Lord, To the Testimony of Israel, To give thanks to the name of the Lord.
Why We Need Church
This psalm needs a little background. Psalms 120, 121, and 122 are written by the
same person. In Psalm 120 the writer is
under attack. Someone is lying about
him. He’s being slandered! There’s an attempt to destroy him through
character assassination:
Psalms 120:1-2 (NKJV)
120:1 A song of Ascents. In my distress I cried to the Lord, And He heard me. 2 Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips And from a deceitful tongue.
He has an enemy that wants to destroy him. He’s a picture of you and I – We have an
enemy that wants to destroy us. He’s
also a liar. In fact, Jesus calls him “the
father of lies”. This is his method of
destruction, lies and deceit.
The writer of this psalm is looking for comfort and justice.
Psalms 120:3-5 (NKJV)
120:3 What shall be given to you, Or what shall be done to you, You false tongue? 4 Sharp arrows of the warrior, With coals of the broom tree! 5 Woe is me, that I dwell in Meshech, That I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
He’s asking of this attacker, “What is God going to do to
you? What judgment awaits you for this
injustice? Sharp arrows? Burning coals?”
That word woe, means “a condition of great suffering from
misfortune, affliction, or grief.” (Merriam-Webster Dictionaries). He’s suffering because he is living in the
world, not the city of Jerusalem. He’s
not living near the temple – The House of God!
He needs comfort but he’s far away from the House of God. That’s me during my recuperation and the shutdown. Sometimes, I feel far from God, because of
all the assaults that have been working against me.
Do you ever feel like Sunday or Wednesday services don’t
come fast enough? Do you ever feel like
you can’t wait to be in church? I do! Woe, is me that I dwell in a state of
lockdown.
Psalm 121 is a recognition of whom God is in our lives.
Psalms 121:2-7 (NKJV)
121:2 My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your shade at your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul.
He’s telling us about God’s care for us. He’s telling us what we can expect from the
God who created us and loves us. He also
clearly recognizes his need to be near God at this time. Psalm 120 is a description of what he’s going
through. Psalm 121 is a recognition that
the solution to his suffering is God.
Psalm 122 is the writer bringing his sorrows and troubles before God in
the temple.
So, now let’s look at Psalm 122 – The writer of the psalm
has arrived in Jerusalem. It’s a feast
day – A celebration. He’s been waiting
to enter into the church. He’s been
waiting to be comforted. He’s looking
for encouragement and as the shofar is blown, and the temple is opened, he says
this:
“I was glad when the said unto me, “Let us go into the House of the Lord.”
Finally, he hears the call to enter into the presence of
God. Finally, he can go into that place
of comfort. Finally, he can find the
peace that comes from being in God’s presence.
This is the place where the peace of God dwells.
The lockdown makes it difficult to find God’s presence, but
the real problem is that even Sundays can seem so far apart. If you’re only going to church once a week,
you’re like that man that’s dwelling away from the presence of God. There are assaults on your life and
salvation. The devil isn’t going to
leave you alone. He’s always working to
wear you down. He’s always trying to
separate you from Jesus. He wants you feeling
the heat of his attacks.
He uses people – He uses the world to work on you. You’re bombarded by temptation. You’re overloaded by the world. You’re constantly attacked for your faith. Sometimes, it’s subtle – Maybe no one is
attacking you personally. No one is
telling you that you’re wrong or bad, but society is working against you.
Look at Taiwanese society.
How many Christian holidays do you think we have in Taiwan? Not a single
one – There are no Christian holidays in Taiwan. Is Christmas promoted as a celebration of
Jesus’ birthday in Taiwan? No, it’s
Santa Claus’ day.
Then there is this:
In October, for three consecutive weeks, the Taoist temple nearest our
church, had parades that passed by our church, with fireworks, loud music and
firecrackers, during our evening service.
This wasn’t a coincidence; this was an assault from hell. Our battle isn’t against people, though.
Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV)
6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
This scripture tells us that those battles are taking place
in the heavenly realm. Those spiritual
hosts of wickedness are not opposed to using the world and its appetites and
customs to try to separate you from Jesus.
It’s all designed to wear you down; to make you fatalistic about the
things of God. It’s designed to make you feel like you don’t need to be at church: “You’re
just going to hear a sermon; nothing is going to come of it!”
I want you to know something, there is comfort in the
presence and promises of God. If you
take responsibility to take the Word of God to heart, you will find
comfort. You will be encouraged. You will be glad to enter the House of the
Lord.
The Power of Attendance
It’s because of the assaults on us that it’s important for
us to be at church regularly. It’s not a
rule that you be at every service; God isn’t going to send you to Hell for
missing church, but it makes it a lot more difficult to resist the devil. It makes it a lot more difficult to avoid
temptation. It’s just plain harder to
avoid sin and sin WILL take you to Hell.
This is a spiritual battle that we’re engaged in. The devil is using weapons against you every
day, and if you’re going to be engaged in a battle it’s best to take all the
weapons you can. This is a battle for an
eternal victory – You can’t afford to lose!
You must win!
Interestingly, the temple was a place where weapons were
stored.
2 Kings 11:10 (NKJV)
11:10 And the priest gave the captains of hundreds the spears and shields which had belonged to King David, that were in the temple of the Lord.
This is the place where you can find weapons with which to
fight the enemy. The writer of Psalm 120
was looking for comfort and peace. He
needed to be encouraged! He was glad to
enter the temple! We don’t have a temple
– We have a sanctuary. A place of safety
– That’s what sanctuary means – and we are exhorted to come into that place.
Hebrews 10:22-25 (NKJV)
10:22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
We can approach God with the full assurance of our faith,
that He will provide comfort and peace.
24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
Here is another aspect of our coming together in the
sanctuary. It’s an encouragement and
blessing for others to see you in church.
You living for Jesus can inspire others to live for Jesus! (To stir up
love and good works.) Coming to church not only equips you for battles, but it
encourages others in the battles that they may be facing.
We’re all in this together.
We need each other – We can’t fight alone and win. If we’re fighting on the same team, we need
to be like-minded!
Romans 15:5-6 (NKJV)
15:5 Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, 6 that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The first verse tells us that God is the God of patience and
comfort – and that He can cause us to be like Him – patient and comforting
toward each other. This is why we’re
encouraged to pray for each other – to come to the altar and pray
together. It brings us closer to each
other, so that we can glorify God in one voice.
We can be of one accord.
Camaraderie isn’t an important tool in the military. Fighting as comrades in arms for the same
goals to defeat a common enemy. This can
be applied to our spiritual battles as well.
When We Are of One Accord
God moves in us when we are of one accord. Look at what happens when we’re together:
Acts 2:1-4 (NKJV)
2:1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
The Holy Spirit (the Comforter) came upon them as they
prayed together of one mind.
Acts 2:46-47 (NKJV)
2:46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
As the people were gathering together and in fellowship the
church grew! People got saved!
Acts 5:12 (NKJV)
5:12 And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon's Porch.
God worked miracles through the “hands of the apostles” as
they were of one accord. God can move
through us as we pray and gather together.
In John chapter 20, when did Jesus show up? This is after the crucifixion. Jesus came to them as they were gathered
together. In Acts chapter 12. When was
Peter miraculously released from prison? When they were all together praying
for him.
This is why being able to attend church is an essential
activity. This is why it’s a joy and a
blessing to come to church, because God can move in us and through us. We can be used to spark a move of God! We can be used to bring comfort to each
other! We can be encouraged, and find
comfort and resolve when we’re together in the House of God! That’s Why I was glad when they said unto me –
Come into the House of the Lord!
No comments:
Post a Comment