The things Christians have said and are saying during the lockdown period are quite interesting: Is God not in your house? We can all pray in our houses. You can preach from where you are online. Let’s not be foolish. Who is really being gullible and foolish? Who is worldly wise and spiritually ignorant? There are Christians who think the only reason for the church to meet is to gather tithes and offerings. Honestly, the degree of illiteracy and ignorance among those professing to be Christians, is deep. We ought to get to the crux of the gospel and go back to widespread teaching of core and deep scriptural truth as a matter of priority.
There are too many social believers who just echo the thinking of the age; who simply lack the heart and mind to stand for Jesus. Please hear this: Consistent tithers and givers in any Church are always in the minority and they do it from wherever they are, whether it be Lagos, London, or Limpopo. Physical gathering is not essential to giving. This is 2020! If you know that people can pray at home or preach from home, has it never occurred to you that they can give from home? God forbid that the strength of the Church be online platforms. We thank God for techno logical advancements; but the true core Church life is nothing that the world understands. Have you not read in 1 John 3:1 that the world did not know Him and therefore does not know us?
You see, when Jesus died, it was a public matter; but when He arose, He appeared only to His disciples. There is an aspect, an evangelical aspect, an outreach aspect that is for the world; but there is a distinct part of the normal Church life that has nothing to do with public view. In Acts of the Apostles, only those added to the Church were part if it. The rest of the world stayed not away from Church affairs. There was a great divide between the Church and the world, and the only bridge was the Cross. Granted, there are various platforms with some sort of privacy and exclusivity; yet that is not ideal. There are certain calls and meetings presidents of nations and CEOs of conglomerates and generals of armies make only in person or at the very least, on a secure line.
The depth of Church life is higher and deeper than all those settings; and requires not so much as secrecy; but there must be a separation. Christians are like coals of fire. Together they burn brightly. Apart, they grow cold. No healthy Christian will willingly stay away from the gathering of the saints. None. We have so much lightweight Christians who don’t really know what it means to be joined to and identify with the Lord. You can rue the fact the we cannot watch premiership or champions league, a massive money generating machine; and we don’t mind because the entertainment value derived is worth all the hundreds of millions flowing there. However, when it comes to the body of Christ which is infinitely more vital than soccer, all we think about is tithes. Souls saved, lives sustained and re-invigorated, families helped, so much Jesus joy, so much depth of fellowship and value is suddenly not considered.
No. All we know about Church is they want to collect tithe. It is such a colossal embarrassment to hear those who claim to be Christians speak thus. Do we really care for other believers? Is it all those babas and mamas in Anglican and Redeemed whom you think will be doing WhatsApp and Zoom? Do you know how many people even in the social media generation who have been unable to afford data during these times, disconnected from the word preached and the fellowship of other believers? We will never disregard health and safety regulations; but if you call yourself a believer, consider these things. Be like David who said “I was glad when they said to me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.”. He said “Our feet are standing within Thy gates.” He said “A day in Thy courts are better than a thousand (elsewhere). I will rather be a doorkeeper in the house of the Lord than dwell in the tents of wickedness”
Brethren, the house of the Lord is the church; not 2 or 3; but the gathering of the saints – the local assembly The brotherhood Pray with the brethren Pray for the brethren Get into the word with the brethren Sing with the brethren Serve the brethren Sit with the brethren Submit to the brethren Minister to the brethren Be responsible for the brethren Grow in spiritual gifts for the brethren Have a word, a prophecy, a tongue, an interpretation for the brethren Be concerned for the brethren Know the brethren Lay down your life for the brethren Love the brotherhood Embrace the body And you will soon find that Google Meet and co will never have the bandwidth for such real Christian fellowship. So, follow safety protocols; but above all things -cherish and look forward to the gathering of the saints. Stop with this me, myself and I Or me, my wife and kids and I Or me, my husband and I Or I will stream the message live That is NOT Church.
Have you ever been in love with someone? And you were not in the same location with them or with your spouse? Could all the calls and facetime equate being in the same place? No. Were there not conversations set aside for “when we see”? Was money spent your top priority, or was the priority the welfare of the other person? Were such spendings not a kind of quality investment in your relationship? Unless you have never loved. Well, the church is the Bride of Christ. WHERE is your beating heart? For it is only the desire to comprehend with all the saints that can lead you to know the love of God that surpasses knowledge – the knowledge of man. Don’t get to heaven and be moping around needing prolonged orientation and deliverance from the independent and individualistic self focused spirit of this age.