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CHURCH: TO GO OR NOT TO GO . . .
That is the question. This is the answer. It depends upon your reason. If you're going to church because you believe that it is the way you're saved. I say don't bother. Salvation is not a matter of church, regardless of how many days or nights you go or how often you volunteer your time or efforts. The church is not and should never be your relationship with God. Your relationship with God needs to rest soley on his son, Jesus. It is a matter of who, not where, and it should always be with you, no matter where you go or don't go.
Don't misunderstand me. I am fully convinced Christians need a church home. I didn't always hold to this truth, but God has a way of bringing you to the truth, if you truly seek his face, no matter how stubborn you may be. I know the Bible said in Hebrews 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as in the manner of some. But I also believe the church today was not the church of then and it wouldn't be until such time as it came under persecution.
But still, I searched and the search for the right one continued for twenty-something years. I searched from Catholic to Baptist to Non-denominational and everything in between. I knew what I was looking for, I knew what I needed, and I knew what the church was supposed to be. I knew there were some out there, but I could never find one within my reach. I know this because I had to find good ground for my tithe. Leave us to say that for most of those twenty years, my tithe was mailed to Texas, Missouri, and California.
My problem with the church was simply that the majority did not live up to the word of God. I probably could have gotten around the fashion shows, survived the gossiping cliches, and braved the segregation, but what I couldn't get around was the fact that the churches were not teaching the whole word of God. They would teach some of God's word, but not all of it. They would teach baptism by water, but not of the Holy Spirit. Women could sometimes speak in church, but no one could speak in tongues. They could pray for healing, but not lay hands on the sick. And casting out demons was as blaspheming as raising the dead. I have even heard Pastors say, "Well, yes. Some of the people do those things." I am not as concerned about what the people do as I am about what the Pastor does. If the Pastors teach it, the people will do it. I cannot easily accept Pastors who neglect their duty and their congregations. They are without excuse, because Acts 20:28 tells them to take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. I believe if you don't teach the whole word of God, you don't worship a whole God. For Jesus said in Mark 16:17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In my name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues. They will take up serpents and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover.
I can almost understand people attending a dead or disobedient church. In ignorance they are sheep and sheep don't always know when a shepherd isn't feeding them. I say, almost, because in the Unites States even the sheep have their own Bible as well as the Holy Spirit who is willing to teach them God's word. Jesus says in John 14:26 that the helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name. He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things I have said to you.
It is because of the church today that the little knowledge I have came directly from the word of God and divine revelation through the Spirit. I had a lot to learn and still yet a longer way to go. But I know I could have learned more, faster. I wouldn't have stumbled so often or fallen by the wayside so much, and I certainly wouldn't have spent years agonizing over my purpose in God if I had a church to support and center me in encouragement. A church home and a body where God could have used the gifts he blessed me with, and most important a Pastor who wasn't so afraid to lose my money that he couldn't feed me.
To make a long story short, God did answer my prayer. He led me to a storefront church, a place likened to derelics and homeless people, a place where Jesus would have hung out, a little church that could, called, "Freedom Ministries." He led me to this place where his Spirit rests heavily and is shepherded by a Pastor who is responsible to God, who will do what God called his shepherds to do, who truly cares for his sheep.
And from this Spirit filled church I learned it was about hearing from God, because sometimes it's easier for God to talk through someone else concerning you. I learned it's about a place to worship God, because we don't worship that way at home. I learned it's about God glorifying his name in the manifestations of the Spirit and the testimonies of the people, because we don't usually see or hear those things at home. It's about the encouragement of acceptance, and sometimes it's just someone to talk to about God when the world has beaten you down all day. It's about the power of prayer when two or more are gathered in his name. It's about being fed by the word, because as good as your intentions are, you will starve to death at home. It's about seeing the results of tithing on good ground because it increases your desire to give when you actually see it at work. And if nothing else, I learned a good Spirit filled church is the closest thing on earth to our home in heaven.
And so the answer to the Church: to go or not to go.I learned it is easier to go than to try and go it alone.
by Je' Leites
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