How Important Is The Church?

 

A churchgoer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper complaining that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. “I’ve gone for thirty years now,” he wrote, “and in that time I have 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 preachers are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all.” This started a conversation in the “Letters to the Editor” column, to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until some 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 these 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.

There is more than one way to defeat an army. Head-on clashes with the enemy works – if you’re stronger. A sneakier approach is to cut off the enemy’s supply lines. This tactic has been used for centuries. Soldiers need food, medical supplies, and ammunition. If you can find a way to disrupt the flow of these things you have greatly weakened your opponent without even firing a shot. Hungry soldiers don’t fight very well and eating the questionable leftovers are a problem. (Napoleon lost more soldiers from spoiled food than from bullets).

You can be sure that our enemy, the devil, uses the same strategy. God is stronger so head-on attacks are not Satan’s best option. Jesus says about His sheep that since God is greater than all “no one can snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28). With God we are undefeatable! To win the devil has to weaken us up first. I think the best way to do that is to try and cut us off from the source of our spiritual strength. If the devil can distract us when it is time to pray, if he can convince us that more television is more important than the Word, if he can convince us to fill our Sundays with activities that aren’t church then we are going to have problems. You become spiritually hungry and weak when these supply lines are cut off.

Let us all take to heart the words of Jesus! He proclaims, “I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). I’ve picked up many fallen branches in my yard. Separated from the tree they all quickly wither and die. But connected they bear leaves and fruit. We are the same. Connected to God not only do we thrive but we also bring many blessings to others. If we remain in Christ, we spread the light of Jesus wherever we go. So, let’s stay connected. Defend your supply lines so you remain strong. Zealously defend your times of prayer, study, and worship. The One, who is in us, is greater – so as long as we are connected to Him victory is ours.

(Matthew 16:15-18) Jesus promised to build His Church upon the great truth that He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God! “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock l will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it". Whatever your understanding of the Church may be, it is easy to see from what the Savior said that it must be important to Him. How important is His Church to you?

What a privilege it is to be a member of the Church (Ephesians 2:19-22)! In the Church we find those with whom we have the most important things in common - fellow citizens of the everlasting Kingdom of Jesus Christ! In the Church we are granted opportunities to grow in grace and to prove our love for God by loving our brethren (1 John 4:20-21)!