ASSEMBLE with other believers (He.10:25)!
One of the most important things that you can do to solidify your confidence as a believer and to promote Spiritual Growth is to attend a good Word church. By that I mean a church that is solidly Bible-based, Christ-centered, Grace-grounded, Faith-focused, Spirit-sensitive, and Truth-teaching. You need to be around people who'll help you and encourage you. You need the teaching of the uncompromised Word of Truth.
WHY GO TO CHURCH? Here are twelve reasons to go to church regularly and be submitted to a godly pastor (shepherd/elder).
1. Because God said to - no other reason is needed. (He.4:12; Ac.2:42-47). The writer to the Hebrews tells us not to forsake the assembling together (Heb. 10:24-25). To reject church attendance is a rejection of one of a basic expectation that God has for believers. True Christians sincerely desire to follow Christ. Attending church is both an act of obedience and an act of love for our Lord and Savior.
2. Because Jesus attended "Church" regularly: As Christians, we should follow our Lord's example - His "custom" was to attend the regular weekly services at His local synagogue (Lk.4:16). If it was His custom to attend the synagogue in his hometown regularly, shouldn't we follow His example. Why would we think that we shouldn't follow in His footsteps and attend church regularly.
3. Because Jesus is found in His Church - it is the body of Christ (I Cor.12:12-29). Collectively, we are the body of Christ. The arm cannot be off doing its own think, neither can a toe detach itself from the body and believe that it can be successful on its own. No, collectively we are the body. We need each other. We need to work together. As we work together and flow together, we complement each other.
4. Because the world is falling in on us - there are many signs of a troubled and failing society as it turns increasingly away from His will for us as revealed in the Holy Bible. We need each other for strength and encouragement now more than ever.
5. Because you need spiritual strength and nourishment - attendance in a Bible-believing congregation will give you strength to go through life with all its ups and downs. Spiritual strength and nourishment results from corporate worship and church attendance. The Bible tells us that "those who are planted in the House of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing" (Ps.92:13 NKJ). In this passage, the will of the Lord for His people is clearly stated. It is for them to be planted in His House and to have their roots in a particular local congregation. Spiritual strength, nourishment, and prosperity is promised!
Along these lines, I recall a story that I once heard of a church-goer who wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. "I've gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I've heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them.. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all."
This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher: "I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this... They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!"
When you are DOWN to nothing.... God is UP to something! Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible, and receives the impossible! Thank God for our physical AND our spiritual nourishment!
6. Because of family issues -
-if you are married, the teaching of God's Word and the fellowship of other couples will help you keep your marriage alive in a society that constantly undermines family roles and relationships;
-if you are single, a good local church can help you meet other single people who will care about you and help you deal with the difficulties you may face;
-if you have children, they need to learn and understand godly values and positive character traits in a fun and challenging way;
7. Because the Church proclaims God's Word - God will speak to you as you attend and listen with an open heart. Receiving the preaching and teaching of the Word of God increases our faith and builds us up spiritually.
8. Because you should develop & exercise your Spiritual Gifts - God has given you several spiritual gifts that you should develop and use for His purposes. One of the purposes of the Leadership Ministries of the church is to equip the saints for the work of their ministry. The church and the church leaders are there to encourage you and to train you to minister in the gifts and callings that God has placed upon your life.
9) We are to be Submitted to Spiritual Leaders - "Obey those (spiritual leaders) who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your soul, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you" (He.13:17). God designed this system of accountability for the progress and protection of His flock. Obviously, this really isn't possible unless we are a part of an organized fellowship which has identified elders, pastors, and leaders. It is easy to see that one cannot genuinely be under submission to a TV pastor who has never met you. Nor is it possible to be under submission to spiritual leaders by visiting a different church every week. The Bible tells us to know them that are over us in the Lord (I Thes. 5:12). Submission necessitates a commitment and relationship to a local body of believers and their spiritual leaders.
10) It Brings a Special Visitation of the Lord's Presence - There is the promise of a special visitation of the Lord's presence whenever two or more gather specifically in the Name of the Lord Jesus (Matt.18:20). By implication, this means that whenever Jesus is the object of gathered prayer, worship, praise, or preaching, we can expect a greater awareness or manifestation of His presence. Even though Jesus is resides within the heart of every believer, he honors a gathering in His name by coming in the midst with his power, awareness, and anointing. Scripture tells us that God inhabits the praises of His people (Psa.22:3).
11) It Provides Fellowship with Other Christians - The Bible makes it clear that a right relationship with God requires a vertical and horizontal alignment. We must have a vertical fellowship with God and a horizontal fellowship with other believers. It is not possible to love God and refuse to love His followers. If you have a problem loving other Christians, you have a problem in your relationship with God. Scripture warns us that unforgiveness toward others will void God's forgiveness of our sown sins (Matt. 6:15; I John 2:9-10).
12. Because it's even good for you physically - In 1999 the results of a study conducted by the University of Texas were published. Twenty-two thousand people were followed over a nine year period. Those who attended church or synagogue more than once a week lived an average of eight years longer than those who didn't. Let me say it another way: those who attended church more than once a week lived 2,920 days or 11% longer than those who didn't. A Yale study reported that churchgoers were less likely to become physically disabled. Several studies concluded that people who attended religious services regularly are hospitalized less often and have stronger immune systems than people who rarely or never attend. A 1995 Spokane, Washington, study of 232 heart patients found that those who described themselves as deeply religious were more likely to be alive six months after surgery then those who were not. Harvard's Mind/Body Institute found that those who prayed regularly were able to reduce blood pressure and ease symptoms of chronic pain and illness. Again, the Knight Ridder article cites a 1996 poll of family doctors that found 99% believed spiritual practices and prayer can be helpful in medical treatment.
Going to church could save your life in more than one way. Here are some statistics that I found that you should consider. Avoid riding an automobile because they are responsible for 20% of all fatal accidents. Do not stay home because 17% of all accidents occur there. Avoid traveling by air, car, rail, or water because 18% of all accidents involve some form of transportation.
You will be pleased to learn that only .001% of all deaths occur in Worship Services in Church and these are usually related to previous physical disorders. If my math is correct, that's only one in 100,000 deaths occur in church. Therefore, logic tells us that the safest place to be at any given point in time is at church! Bible Study is safe too. The percentage of deaths during Bible Study is even less. For safety's sake - attend church! It could save your life!
There are an endless number of excuses to not attend church. Perhaps you don't attend church regularly because you don't like being around a lot of people, and you don't like people staring at you or making a big deal that you showed up. Comedian Alan King, talked about his poor attendance record in church. His minister confronted him about the frequent absences and challenged King to make more concerted efforts to be in worship. King gave him a long list of excuses that contained little substance. He then became very defensive and stated, "Every time I come, people make a big deal about me being there. That makes me feel very uncomfortable." The wise minister replied, "If you came more often they wouldn't be that excited to see you!"
Perhaps you are looking for the perfect church to attend and you just can't seem to find it. You are looking for a church that meets all of your spiritual, soulish, and physical needs. Or you are looking for a church with service times that suit your time schedule, and it has to be completely free of hypocrites. There are as many excuses for not attending church as there are people making them. The truth is, you have time to do the things you want to do. If you don't attend church it is because in your mind it is not a high priority.
Maybe you don't see any real value in going to church because you feel you can worship God just as well at home, or on your job, or on the golf course. It has been said, "A Christian who says he worships God every Sunday morning on the golf course is really worshipping golf on God's course." Truthfully, people who say these sort of statements don't spend much time in intimate worship with God at all.
Perhaps you have said to yourself that since our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit that God is with us every single place we go, and therefore we can worship him anywhere we are. Didn't the apostle Paul not say in Acts 17:24, "God, who made the world and everything in it, since he is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands?"
Can't we worship God wherever we are? Yes we can. We should worship God every single day of our lives and everywhere we are, but how does that exempt us from going to church? Can we effectively worship the Lord on our own, if we separate ourselves from the place that teaches us how to worship God? Why Attend Church? We Need Each Other! It is our responsibility to stir each other up to love and good works. (Hebrews 10:24-25)
Christians who meet together with the aim of promoting godliness and love for one another can be remarkably successful in these objectives. Regular fellowship with fellow like-minded believers is an essential ingredient in Christian growth. We cannot grow in our relationship with the Lord apart from other Christians, and it's especially important to attend church as we see the "Day" approaching. The "Day" is the time of Christ's return.
Rick Warren stresses the importance of attending church by saying, "We are created for community, fashioned for fellowship, and formed for family, and none of us can fulfill God's purposes by ourselves. The Bible knows nothing of solitary saints or spiritual hermits isolated from other believers and deprived of fellowship." Henry Blackaby, in his book Experiencing God, tells us that one of the ways in which God reveals his will and purpose for our lives is through the church, or through other Christians. We need each other. As Warren stated, "We are created for community."
Each of us is a part of what Scripture calls the body of Christ, which is the church. In the twelfth chapter of the First Book of Corinthians, where Paul speaks of the body of Christ, we see that the church now represents Christ's physical presence upon this earth. It is through the church that Jesus accomplishes his ministry in this world. In this great chapter of the Bible we see that the individual members or people of the church can be hands, foots, ears, or even eyes, and that it takes each of the members of the body working in perfect harmony in order for the body to function properly. Paul said, "If one of the members suffers, all the members suffer with it" (12:26).
If a body loses a foot it is crippled. When we separate ourselves from the church we hinder the work of the kingdom of God and we cause the church to stumble. Also, when we cut ourselves off from the body of Christ, we not only cause harm to the church, but we cut ourselves off from life. If a hand becomes detached from the human body it dies for lack of blood flow. To tell you the truth, a body can survive without a finger, but the finger cannot survive without the body. Whenever we refrain from going to church we set ourselves up for spiritual lifelessness and uselessness. We begin to dry up spiritually.