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In our scripture text above, we
are instructed to hold FAST the profession of our faith.
FAST does not mean "quick"--it means "tightly".
This means we are not to waver, but to be steadfast and
sure. One way in which we can gain added strength to be
able to "hold fast" is by not forsaking the assembling
of ourselves together. God made us to be "people"
persons--we draw from one another. That's why it is so
important that we seriously consider the type of company
of we keep--we should be amongst other believers who are
willing to bear one another up in prayer and
encouragement. We always begin to "dry up", so to speak,
when we begin to practice isolationism--refusing to have
anything to do with other people. It's how "falling
away" can get started in our lives.
When these
words in Hebrews 10 were penned, some, evidently, were
not "holding fast" their faith--they were beginning to
pull away from the necessity of assembling themselves
together. Then we find the words in verse 25: ...and
so much the more, as ye see the day
approaching.
Fellowship Is
Necessary
Today, more than ever before,
there is a great falling away. People who once were
fervent witnesses for the Lord Jesus Christ have waxed
cold in their spiritual experience, and many have gone
astray. One of the "best" ways for lukewarmness or
straying from God to begin is when we begin to find
excuses to NOT go to church or be with fellow
Christians. Know this: we DO draw from one another--in
whatever company we are. Whether it is of the right or
wrong influence, we draw from whomever is around us. How
much more necessary is it then, to be in the company of
those who are like-minded as we are--those who have
committed their lives to serving Christ? And never has
it been more true than it is today.
In this day
and age in which we live, there is a spirit which is
trying to work on us to make us feel that we need
nothing, therefore we don't need to be around others--we
don't need to go to church or keep Christian company. Do
NOT fall for this lie of Satan's! Needless to say, we
need EVERYTHING which God has to offer to us. There are
some things we can NEVER get enough of, and I'm not
referring to money or other things of this world, but to
the Spiritual things of God! We need the fellowship of
others in Christ, to pray with us, to bear us up in
prayer and steadfastness, to comfort and counsel us, to
strengthen our faith through that which we see in their
lives! There is no substitute for the assembling of
ourselves together, in like-mindedness of praise and
worship, in tarrying before the Lord.
Many seem
to think they can stay home and "watch tv preachers" or
listen to a tape series and that is all they will ever
need. Yet as good as those things are, to "enhance" our
lives, they should NEVER be a substitute for gathering
together with other saints of God in prayer and worship.
We must exercise GREAT CAUTION to not allow a spirit of
"isolationism"--I don't need anybody--to set
itself up in our hearts and minds. It can quickly lead
us into, "Well, I shouldn't have to spend so much time
in study," or "I don't need to pray THAT
long".
Nowadays, the buzz words for this nation
are "United We Stand". It is even more important,
absolutely VITAL, that as followers of Christ, we STAND
together. The devil always wants to "divide and
conquer". He wants to stop our fellowship with other
believers. He knows the power of unity and the strength
that is gained as we share with each other what the Lord
has done for us! That's what he doesn't want
happening!
There needs to be a greater unity in
the Body of Christ than ever before. Our adversary
excels in trying to make us stumble over our differences
and we fall for it, instead of being strengthened and
encouraged by those many things we have in common. We
want to pick out the tiniest detail of difference and
blow it all out of proportion, instead of agreeing to
tolerate someone else's opinion that might differ from
our own. I'm not talking about tolerance of sin, of
wrong doing. But silly, unimportant things: Sister Sally
sings a little too loudly; Brother John is too slow
getting out of the pew; Pastor Joe holds a bit long on
Sunday mornings; Deacon Jones startles us with his loud
"Amens!" Or one wants to have a time of fellowship
between Sunday School and Sunday morning service, and
another thinks there should be no break. We allow
frivilous, trivial things to become mountains between us
and before long, we find we have lost interest in going.
We lose sight of the REAL reason we are supposed to be
together: it's not to outdo another in fashion or the
newest car, it's not to show how smart we are and how
dumb everybody else is, it's not how much better we sing
than the rest of them do. It's to worship and glorify
God--to EXALT HIM and in so doing, we are blessed as a
body of believers!
Many folks begin to pull away
from the body of believers when the leaders try to
maintain a certain standard. Folks like to get offended
very quickly if they cannot have their own way or if
someone speaks to them about inappropriate behavior.
They cannot stand correction, or even the hint of
correction. I've seen folks quit going to church simply
because someone corrected one of their children (because
the parents would not do it and the children were being
disruptive in the classes). There have been cases in
which folks quit going to church, ANY church, because
they didn't feel the pastor was spending as much time
with them as he was others. Seriously! Or that the
pastor did not come to see them in the hospital as
quickly as they thought he should have. Trivial, stupid
things that we allow to enter into our hearts and minds
and cause us to forsake joining together in worship with
fellow believers.
Time after time, I've heard
someone say, "I don't need to go to church to be a
'Christian'. This was ALWAYS said in defense of them not
living right, without exception. Folks, God made us to
interact with one another, to bear one another up, to
encourage one another, to learn from one another, to
witness to one another. We are setting ourselves up for
a great fall when we get so elevated in our own thinking
that we declare, "I don't need anybody!" Each and
everyone of us needs others in our lives and that
includes Christian brothers and sisters in worshiping
God and fellowship with one
another.
Unity Is
Necessary
Then they that gladly received
his word were baptized: and the same day there were
added unto them about three thousand souls. And they
continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and
fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and
signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed
were together, and had all things common; And sold
their possessions and goods, and parted them to all
men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily
with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from
house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and
singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour
with all the people. And the Lord added to the church
daily such as should be saved. Acts
2:41-47.
"...With one accord..." Have you
ever tried to carry on a conversation with your husband
or wife, only to find they were not paying attention to
you. Of course you have, at one time or another. There
you were, trying to ask or explain something and try as
you might, the two of you could not communicate. He or
she had their mind on something else and until you got
his/her attention, what you wanted to say or needed to
know was delayed, wasn't it? "...With one accord..."
When the two of you got your minds "together", the
conversation went forward, didn't it? Ever worked on a
project together? It took "one accord" to get it
finished, didn't it? Even if you had differing opinions
as to how to attain that goal, you had a common goal: to
complete the project. And if you were able to maintain
your singleness of mind to attain your goal, you were
able to "complete the project".
"Singleness of
mind" in a body of believers needs to be to lift one
another in encouragement and compassion, to worship the
Lord in truth, to further the gospel by OVERCOMING petty
differences in opinion and steadfastly serving the Lord
with a TRUE heart! Did you notice in the above scripture
passage the phrase, having favour with all the
people? How could they have favor with ALL the
people? They had ONE mind: to serve the LORD, not
themselves! Nowadays, we want to get all caught up in
"making" this one or that one sing the songs we like to
hear, read the Bible that we want read, hold the opinons
we want held, etc. Our singleness of purpose is to
priase and worship God, not insist on our OWN way in all
things! When a person has a genuine salvation
experience, their goal will be to SERVE GOD, not
exercise their own selfish will over
others!
Today, more than ever before, the "world"
needs to see the Body of Christ with a SINGLENESS of
mind: living the daily witness of the Lord Jesus Christ
in our lives. It needs to see body of believers standing
in unity in worship and praise to God. It needs to see
the Body of Christ serving CHRIST, not every one going
their own way! There is strength in unity and if the
Body of Christ would united in TRUE purpose: to serve
the Lord Jesus Christ with all their hearts, to follow
His commandments, this old world would be impacted as
never before!
Love Is
Necessary
In John 14:15, Jesus said, If
ye love me, keep my commandments. In verses 21-23,
Jesus said: He that hath my commandments, and keepeth
them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me
shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and
will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not
Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest
thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered
and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my
words: and my Father will love him, and WE WILL COME
UNTO HIM, AND MAKE OUR ABODE WITH HIM.
You
know, when we have the love of Jesus Christ in our
hearts, we won't nearly so apt to find fault with one
another, or for that matter, to allow dissension of any
kind to arise between ourselves and fellow believers!
It's when we have allowed old self to rear its ugly
head, it's when we have allowed jealousy and envy and
strife to set up housekeeping in our hearts and minds
that we get to thinking, "Why I don't need them! I don't
need to go to church. Why do I need to assemble?"
You see, LOVE keeps folks who have opposite dispositions
in unity, because their GREATER goal is to love and
serve the Lord Jesus Christ, not deal with petty,
trivial, unimportant, CHILDISH differences! When we get
a TRUE (really GOOD, GENUINE) dose of salvation, the
Love of Christ that is instilled in our hearts won't
have time for stupid foolishness and the folly of self.
We will seek unity with others, not dwell over
differences.
Behold, how good and how pleasant
it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! Psalm
133:1. It is STILL good! It is still pleasant for
brethren and sisters in Christ to dwell together in
unity. It does NOT mean that we will ALWAYS see
"eye-to-eye" on EVERYthing--but it means that the tawdry
little petty bickering that goes on in a body of
believers to drive them apart will no longer be there!
Nothing thrills our adversary more than to be able to
bring (1) sin and (2) division into, amongst, the body
of believers. If he cannot drive a wedge between people
through the avenue of direct sin, he will stir up strife
and cause divisions wherever he can. And you know what's
so sad? We sit right there and let it all happen! We get
all messed up within our own emotions, our own petty
little plans, and it's, "I'm not going back THERE
anymore!" Yes, even in this "enlightened" day and age,
the devil is still trying to prevail against The Church
(the Body of Christ).
Unity is not an automatic
thing; it takes endeavoring on each of our parts--it
takes self-denial. It takes us gettin' hold of ole' self
and settin' him down and letting him know he does not
rule the day (or our life)! Have you ever wondered how
victorious, or how much further along in your Christian
experience you just might be if you'd get hold of old
self sometimes?
Many people do not see the need
for "prayer meetings"--they have far more
IMPORTANT things to attend to. UNTIL. Until the day
comes that either they or a loved one of theirs needs
some urgent change in their life, and oh boy! Nobody
gets there quicker than they do! We need prayer--unity
in prayer. We need unity in worship. We need unity in
spirit. We need unity in mind.
UNITY does not
mean tolerance for sin or UN-Biblical doctrines, my
friends. UNITY, TRUE CHRISTIAN UNITY, means to put aside
that which would try to drive us apart from fellow
believers and come together in ONE mind and ONE accord,
just as in Acts 2:1: ...they were all with one accord
in one place. ONE ACCORD means "ONE PURPOSE".
If we will all strive within ourselves to submit our
wills to God, if we will all strive within ourselves to
bring ole' self under subjection, we can have UNITY in
our places of
worship. |
