Why Go to the House of God (Episode 124)

These days, less people attend local churches. Of course, you don’t have to attend church to be saved. And you don’t have to be saved to attend church. So why should one go to the house of God? That is the focus of this podcast episode.
It is not unthinkable that someone who does not currently attend church will ask you why he or she should start attending a local church. What would be your reply?
In Psalm 73, the psalmist highlights an important benefit of going to the house of God. He writes of a time in his life when he lost focus and became spiritually unstable. “As for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped,” he writes (Psalm 73:2, KJV). “For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked” (verse 3).
The psalmist is not alone in that area of struggle. Some Christians today believe that since they serve the Lord, they should have more than those who don’t. Accordingly, they have trouble coming to terms with the prosperity of the wicked. The Bible does not denounce having material wealth. In fact, God promises to bless us when we walk with Him. But nowhere in the Bible are we promised that if we serve Him, we will have more materially than everyone who doesn’t serve God. 
In the psalm, the psalmist expands on the prosperity of the wicked that caused him to be envious. He even questioned the value of living a life committed to God. He writes, “Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure. And I have washed my hands in innocence” (verse 13, NASB)!
A Trip to the House of God
So, how did the psalmist regain his footing? “Until I went to the sanctuary of God, then I understood their end,” he says (verse 17, KJV). At the house of God his eyes became open to see things in proper context. There, he understood what the end of the wicked would be.
Through the psalmist’s experience, we can see a priceless benefit in faithful church attendance. Like him, we need a place we can attend to help us become or remain properly focused. Also, in this episode, Evangelist King shares three facts about every genuine believer. He said because these things are true about us, they are three more reasons it behooves us to faithfully go to the house of God.
It’s important to note that the person the psalmist is talking about in this psalm is himself. Think about that. God used him to write a portion of the Bible, and he had a moment in which he failed to see the benefit of living for God. The good news is that God uses fallible people to do extraordinary things.
Finally, the writer of the book of Hebrews calls on believers to be faithful in church attendance during these last days:
"Not forsaking our own assembling together but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near" (Hebrews 10:25, NASB).
An important takeaway in this verse is that in these last days, the ministry of exhortation will become increasingly more important at the house of God. This should be understandable given the increasingly intensive spiritual opposition that the people of God will encounter in these last days.
 

The Work of the Church (Episode 17)

What is the work of the local church? For any organization to succeed, it must know its mission. No business can effectively reach its goal if it does not know what the goal(s) is. The same is true for local churches. They have a God-ordained role to play in the lives of their members.
God has blessed the church with apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. These are the key players in the work of the local church. They are gifted, “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12, KJV).
Some church members, perhaps many of them, believe the work of the ministry is mainly for the pastor and other staff members on the church’s payroll. But the main focus of church leaders should be to feed the flock so that they can grow to maturity. In turn, these are to do the work of the ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ. This is how the local church becomes strong and less susceptible to false teachings and false prophets.
A number of benefits exists for being a member of a local church. The church is a platform for us to corporately worship God. The local church also provides a means for having fellowship with people of like faith. That’s important because you may work in a place where few, if any, believers exist that you can connect with and speak openly about your faith and be encouraged. But the church is also the place where you become better equipped for the work of the local church.
Sad but true, some local churches don’t have an effective plan for the spiritual growth of her members, nor for their involvement in the work of the local church.

God’s Plan for the House of God (Episode 10)

In the Old Testament, God instructed Moses to build Him a house. "Let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them," God said (Exodus 25:8, NASB). Accordingly, we refer to the tabernacle or the subsequent temple as the house of God. This podcast episode focuses on God’s plan for this special place.
It is ironic that the sanctuary was called the house of God. We know that no building can contain God. Not even heaven can contain Him. “For in him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28, KJV). But the designation as the house of God denotes that special place where God meets His people. It is important to note that the sanctuary was God's idea and not that of man. It was His desire to dwell among His people. Similarly, today, we don’t need to beg God or try to game Him to show up. God wants to be in the midst of His people.
God gave Moses the plan for how the sanctuary was to look and for the furniture and its utensils. “According to all that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, just so shall you construct it,” God said (Exodus 25:9).
The plan for the tabernacle was dictated by how God intended for the tent to be used for worshiping Him. Today, the church building is the place where we are edified, equipped for Kingdom work and for experiencing fellowship with God. Jesus promised that when we gather in His name, that He will be in our midst (Matthew 18:20). It is because of His presence among us that we should regard the church building as a sacred place.