.…this (My Temple) is not just a place for people to meet each other, but a house for God to meet us. 1 Chron 20:1 (MSG)
If I read God’s Word correctly the social aspect is only a small part of gatherings at the Temple. The bigger part is that the Temple or Church is a “house for God to meet us”
How often do we think on our way to church “I wonder what God has to say today??”
Has attending church become just a social place where we go to meet our friends, hear some music and a sermon, eat (at our church) and fellowship after? Is that what God intended church to be?
Think about this, the person sharing from that pulpit is intended to be one whom God choose to speak His Words through. His Voice to the people!
This concept should stir up within us awe, wonder, reverence and maybe even a bit of fear. God, The Creator of the Heaven’s and Earth choosing to meet us, His Creation, corporately where we can hear what is on His heart.
We need to be extremely careful that we do not loose the importance of attending church. If it is a place just to fellowship or a place where we just take our kids so only they can learn about Jesus or we go out of guilt and obligation, then we are missing the mark.
God desires to meet with each of us. He knows our past, present and future. He knows where we need to change and where we’re headed.
Think about The Ark that God instructed Noah to build. The purpose of that Ark was to provide a place where all Creation that was to be saved from extinction could be safe. It carried all of the inhabitants to the place that God had destined for them. All were fed and cared for and emerged only when it was time.
God gave Noah the directions on what to do and he stepped out in faith and obedience. He shared it with those who would hear and was used to bring safety to God’s select Creation.
Consider our Sanctuary as God’s Ark provided for us today. Where God meets us and we hear what our Creator has to say. A safe place where we can be fed, cared for and learn how to survive. So that when we walk out after a service we are better equipped to deal with all of the challenges this world and our enemy the devil has to offer. Equipped not only to survive but to even flourish in our day to day lives.
Our Sanctuary is a place where we can lift our hands, dance, jump up and down, stand in quiet or fall on our face in worship with thanksgiving and adoration to The One Who has saved us.
Our Creator, in His wonderful mercy and grace, has provided us a channel- Jesus The Christ, through this world’s sin filled tumultuous sea of extinction. He is The Safe Lane that has been opened up for us to travel on and with, towards The Place destine for us for all Eternity.
We need to see our Pastor or Whomever is on that platform teaching as a Voice Box for God. This should stir up within us feelings of eagerness and great expectation to go and hear what The Almighty God has to say.
Those who have been chosen to lead us, like Noah, need our prayers. Though God chooses to move through them to share His Heart and Words, they are still human and need our support. They are confronted with all of the struggles and temptations that we fight daily. None of us are perfect. We are all in this journey together and we need to be supportive, forgiving and an instrument of God’s Love.
What is being shared may not be directly related to what we are specifically going through today but it may be something for us to hold onto for another day. Or possibly it could be for someone else sitting near you. What is being shared should always be consistent with God’s written Word and character.
Here are a few steps we can take to get the fullness out of our Ark experience.
- Be prayed up before you go to church. Ask God to examine your heart to see if there is any unconfessed sin that needs to be dealt with that could block you from experiencing all that He has for you to hear.
- Pray for whomever is preaching that they will hear from God and share His heart.
- Pray that you and all there will have ears to hear and a heart to receive what God wants to say through His servant
- Enter the Sanctuary with reverence and respect. It is His house where The Creator wants to meet with you.
- Be open and free to express your love and appreciation for The One Who has brought you into safety
- Pray for your Pastor who has been given charge over your growth. He or she has been given a great responsibility to not only hear what God has to say to His people corporately but they also need the wisdom to know how best to share it.
We need to stop seeing church as just a social event but as a safe Haven where we go to to hear insights from God’s Word and hopefully apply what we learn to our own lives. A place where we can in turn be used by God to speak through to others.
We all have the privilege and opportunity on our own to daily press in to Him. To study God’s Word and hear His Voice moment by moment. Which we are definitely to do!
But when we gather together corporately we are uniting with others in The Body of Christ to not only encourage each other but to possibly hear a different perspective on something that we read or heard on our own.
Without wise leadership, a nation falls; with many counselors, there is safety Prov 11:14 (NLT)
The Alpha and Omega, Prince of Peace, Creator of The Heavens and Earth desires to meet with each of us. It’s time to put on our Sunday best and go to the House of The Lord and hear what He has to say!!
