We read Psalm 95 in our Spoken Word Bible Reading Plan for today. Look at Psalm 95:1-7:
1 O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation! 2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise! 3 For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. 4 In His hand are the deep places of the earth; the heights and strength of the hills are His also. 5 The sea is His, for He made it; and His hands formed the dry land. 6 O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker [in reverent praise and supplication]. 7 For He is our God and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice,
We had a WONDERFUL Resurrection Celebration Service at The Spoken Word Church today! It is ALWAYS a blessing for me to gather together with the other believers of like-minded faith, especially with my church family! God has said that HE fits (knits - AMP) us together in one Body (Ephesians 4:16). When He calls people to a specific local church, it is because He has planned for each members individual gifts, talents and anointings to benefit, first of all, this local fellowship, then the rest of the Body, and then the world! We NEED each other! We are each only a part of a much bigger picture. God's plan and purpose for us being here on earth is to continue the ministry of Jesus, which HE stated was to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10)! THAT is now OUR ministry (2 Corinthians 5:18).
One of the things we do as a local church when we come together is to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus! NOT just on what the world calls "Easter", but every Sunday AND every day! We also come together to be a blessing to someone else. But, the MOST important reason we come together is to hear the Word of God! Yes, we can, and SHOULD, each study on our own (2 Timothy 2:15), but there is an Anointing upon the Pastor of a local church to present the Word of God in a way that we just cannot do on our own! That, combined with the powerful presence of God that happens when "two or more are gathered" (Matthew 18:20) in His Name, enables us to hear the Word as we have never heard it before! That is IF we come expecting and in faith! The pastor/teacher is a GIFT given by Jesus for:
Ephesians 4:12 His intention was the perfecting and the full equipping of the saints (His consecrated people), [that they should do] the work of ministering toward building up Christ’s body (the church), 13 [That it might develop] until we all attain oneness in the faith and in the comprehension of the [full and accurate] knowledge of the Son of God, that [we might arrive] at really mature manhood (the completeness of personality which is nothing less than the standard height of Christ’s own perfection), the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ and the completeness found in Him.
So, the next time you are deciding whether or not you will attend your local church service, remember why HE has called you to be there! We have THIS admonition in Hebrews 10:25:
25 Not forsaking or neglecting to assemble together [as believers], as is the habit of some people, but admonishing (warning, urging, and encouraging) one another, and all the more faithfully as you see the day approaching.
The "day approaching" is the catching away of the church, when OUR work on the earth will be done. We have only so long here to fulfill the ministry HE has called us to, and we CANNOT do it properly, efficiently or powerfully without receiving from the ministry Gifts He has given! I would encourage you to encourage others to be consistently present for their church services and meetings so that we can ALL become ALL we can be, so that those who refuse HIM will be without excuse! The beginning of Psalm 95:8 completes the instruction that began in verse 7:
Today, if you will hear His voice, 8 Harden not your hearts
AMEN! No hard hearts here! WE desire to please HIM by being all we can be, IN HIM! Here is Hillsong with an older song called "Your Name High":
Shalom in Him!
