You do not enjoy church? Here is why
In fact, this pronouncement led me into prayer and study to find out the cause and what I came up with though may not be exhaustive, is really amazing. Let me just remind you once again of this popular quotation from the holy scriptures.
Hebrews 10:25 (AMP)
"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".
In fact, this whole chapter speaks about the attitude of the believer in worship and then comes the wonderful exhortation cited above. This implies that it is normal with some others to not bother about going to church but not the believers. Can we now just proceed with the reasons I believe will be why some people will/may not ‘enjoy’ church even though born again?
Lack of passion to serve the Lord and in His house: There must always be that zeal in the believer to serve the Lord and in His designated house (Psalm 122:1; 69:9). Whenever there is no zeal (energy) to do the things of God, lack of concern sets in and makes the individual passive even in worship.
These people either misunderstand or do not understand the word of God preached and therefore do not mix it with faith (Heb 4:2). When it comes to our dealings with God, it must be faith based. Simply put, faith is the legal tender of transaction in the kingdom of God (Heb 11:6). A good understanding of the word of God will allow you to mix it with faith in order to realize its full effect in your life.
They receive the word of God being preached as a personal opinion of the preacher and not the counsel of God: It is true that God speaks to us in various ways, through different means, and in varying situations. It is left to the one receiving the instruction of God to take responsibility of what he or she is receiving.
No one can say this is the only means by which God speaks or can speak to him or her because God is consistent and not predictable. It does so happen that anytime someone shares his or her opinion with you, you either choose to believe it and act on it or otherwise because what the person shares with you may not necessarily be true. However, the word of God is a surer word of prophecy (Rev 1:3;22:7,10) which when spoken, definitely accomplishes that for which it has been sent (Isa 55:10-11).
Being so enthused or full up with the spectacular rather than the spiritual: This is a generation of Christians who love to see what is impressive and emotionally scintillating. It is a good thing that sometimes one gets emotionally involved in the worship of God. It becomes a problem when the believer makes the emotionalism involved in worship his or her sole objective. People these days are so much enthralled by the performances (drama, choreography, and the music) rather than the content and worship involved in these things.
Note that I am in no way down rating these performances because they all are part of the worship. But when all you can think of or remember about a service is how you are emotionally aroused about these things rather than the awe, glamour and glory in them, and how the music was not ministered on an electric platform by Grammy award winners with all the instruments in a symphony orchestra, you are likely to not ‘enjoy’ church.
Being isolated in church: The church of God is God’s family (Ephe3:6,15) and members should be knit together in love (Col2:2). Just as we are much more connected to our natural family, the church of God becomes enjoyable when each one of us is on the look out for what needs to be done, becomes a problem solver, and endeavors to be a blessing to others. In fact, every believer is a minister and as such, we have all been given gifts (1Cor 12, Ephe4:11-13) to complement each other and build the church to its full age of maturity.
Any believer who has the sense of isolation will not enjoy church because he/she will feel not connected to anyone in the church. The message can be as much spirit filled as it should be, the preacher can be eloquent and erudite, every segment of worship can be literally electrifying but if the individual believer does not have any relationship with those he or she sat with during the service, that believer will not enjoy church.
An incorrect definition of enjoyment: An enjoyment should be the pleasure one gets from doing something and I think the believer should be more pleasured about identifying and knowing who he or she is in Christ. When one really gets to know his or her position, rights, and privileges in Christ, that person must be a joyful and cheerful person in the world. This is what the word being preached in church help you to understand and enjoy.
In fact, I don’t know what in the world that will be more enjoyable than knowing you are an overcomer, more than a conqueror, having the greater one living inside of you, being a royal priesthood, etc etc(1John 4:4, Rom 8:37, 1Pet 2:9). Knowledge of who the believer is can be seen and known as one attends to the word of God even through fellowship with other believers.
With the above stated points, I believe should any believer say he or she does not enjoy church, that should be a more cause for alarm. That believer should first assess his or her spiritual status and take the necessary actions. I will like to point out that we are allowed to come to Jesus just as we are but not allowed to stay with Him just as we were. Spiritual maturity is a deliberate and a conscious effort to be made by the individual.
However, as long as you are comfortable with where you are on your spiritual growth scale, God is comfortable too. You only have to watch others make the deliberate decision to grow and mature whilst you either become pathetic or bitter with yourself.
I am eager to come your way in a short while on the purpose of the Local church. Till then, read and imbibe the lessons from this short piece and begin enjoying church.
By: Maxwell Afadzinu
No comments: