Give God Another Chance --- I Don’t Have to Go to Church to Worship God!Why Don’t You Give God Another Chance?
Pastor Rory Clark Barah Ministries www.barahministires.com
Hi there!
My name is Rory Clark and I am the Pastor of Barah Ministries…a worldwide Christian Church based in Mesa, AZ
I have a question for you…
Why Don’t You Give God Another Chance?
That’s the focus of these ten-minute lessons. You can give God another chance.
TODAY’S LESSON I Don’t Have to Go to Church to Worship God!
If I had 0 for every time I have heard that during my life, I’d be wealthy!
Satan, the enemy of God, would agree with that statement. “I don’t have to go to church to worship God!” Why would Satan agree? Because Satan and the kingdom of death absolutely love it when you isolate yourself. They love it when you want to be alone. What does God say to us in Genesis, Chapter 2, Verse 18?
Genesis 2:18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone…”
What did God say to the Jewish people of the Old Testament? Deuteronomy, Chapter 31, Verses 12 and 13…
Deuteronomy 31:12-13 Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and the stranger that is within your gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and respect the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law…and that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to respect the LORD your God, as long as you live in the land which you are about to cross the Jordan River to possess.”
God’s desire for us to gather together is just as relevant today.
Here’s what one person has to say of the whole idea of worship at church…
I’VE GROWN CLOSE TO GOD WITHOUT GOING TO CHURCH
I have spent most of my life in church and have gotten a lot out of it. Going to church served my spiritual growth and I spent many years serving the body of believers I was going to church with. At some point, however, the whole process and lifestyle stopped feeding me. I share this in the spirit of encouragement, because my love for and my faith in God have grown steady, deep, and strong over the past ten years without going to church.
I’VE GROWN CLOSE TO GOD WITHOUT GOING TO CHURCH
Some time ago, I really struggled with how much I had to do in order to be close to God. For me that included reading the bible every day, having morning quiet times, giving up three hours on Sunday to go to church, listening to sermons, and volunteering for church ministries. Back then, I wouldn’t permit myself to admit how much I hated it. How bored I was. How dead it all made me feel. I had collapsed my relationship with God with the duties. I feared I would lose God and my faith if I didn’t do those things.
I’VE GROWN CLOSE TO GOD WITHOUT GOING TO CHURCH
One day I found myself dry as a bone. I had nothing but tumbleweeds blowing across my soul. I had no answers, no faith, no determination, and no conviction. Just dust.
It’s easy to see how turning church into a set of activities…as she put it…another set of “things I have to do to be close to God” can rob church of its joy.
Another person put it this way…
I DON’T HAVE TO GO TO CHURCH
“Church is more of a private thing for me.” There certainly is a private aspect to our faith. I met a person recently on a flight who said to me, “I don’t think I have to go to church to worship God!” You know what? He’s right. You don’t. There IS a private aspect to faith. But what I told him is, “Because you are a believer in Christ, you have been given a spiritual gift. If you don’t go to church, you don’t get to be around a bunch of people like you, hypocrites, and you don’t get to get to have your spiritual gift abused by the others. As a result, you don’t get to learn unconditional love, which is the key to the Christian Way of Living.”
There is a public aspect to our faith as well…a part of our faith where we are challenged by God to love others unconditionally.
It’s not at all unusual that we would want to isolate. Satan and the kingdom of death have convinced us that we are communicating when we are sending text messages, when we are sending e-mails, and when we are leaving voice mail messages. We aren’t communicating…we’re engaging in monologue. It’s solo activity. I watch people interacting with electronic devices. They smile lovingly at their smartphones as if they are interacting with a human. They aren’t. This isolated lifestyle we have purchased willingly, keeps us alone and away from the help of real relationships.
Can you imagine if I, a person with the gift of Pastor-Teacher, decided I didn’t have to go to church? Hey, I want a few weekends off! But a bunch of people who are hungry for the spiritual food of the Word of God would be deprived of my gift…and God put me on the earth with the idea that I would have impact on a specific group of people with my spiritual gift.
Being around others can be quite encouraging, especially when we encounter spiritual dry spells. What does God expect from us? Luke, Chapter 10, Verse 27…
Luke 10:27 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Loving our neighbors isn’t done at home, alone. Church happens in a lot more places than just the church building. One of our ministries involves visiting war veterans. One person told me how enthusiastic they are about visiting the veterans until the day the visit is happening. On that day they are thinking of all the things they could be doing other than the visit. She said, “When I get to the veteran’s hospital and see how happy they are to see us, I know that there is nothing I’d rather be doing.” I can attest that I missed a visit to the vets, and many of them were quite upset with me. In short, we don’t make a difference to others in private. Our presence does mean a lot to people.
Worshipping with others is supernatural. God values private worship, the worship we offer Him when we are alone, but God also greatly values the gathering of His people.
Here’s what the Lord Jesus Christ would have to say to you if you said to Him, “I don’t think I have to go to church to worship God!” Hebrews, Chapter 10, Verses 24 and 25…
Hebrews 10:24-25 …let us consider how to stimulate one another to unconditional love and to good deeds,//not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
Let’s stop believing Satan’s lies and add back the public, supernatural part of worshipping God. Get back to church!
If you like these short lessons, visit our website at www.barahministries.com. That’s www.B-A-R-A-H-ministries.com We have two different one hour lessons per week to edify your spiritual life. Please join us. And keep on giving God another chance. I’m Pastor Rory Clark.
Pastor Rory Clark Barah Ministries www.barahministires.com
|