What's the point of the church gathering together?

Good morning church.

Welcome to those watching online.

Let’s pray

I’ll tell you a coronavirus joke now, but you’ll have to wait two weeks to see if you got it!

My mum always told me I wouldn’t accomplish anything by lying in bed all day. But look at me now! I’m saving the world!

Did you hear the joke about coronavirus? Never mind, I don’t want to spread it

Day 365 at home and the dog is looking at me like, “See? This is why I chew the furniture!”

I’m not talking to myself, I’m having a parent-teacher conference!

Why did the chicken cross the road? Because the chicken behind it didn’t know how to socially distance properly!

If there’s a baby boom nine months from now, what will happen in 2033? There will be a whole bunch of quaranteens!

I never thought the comment “I wouldn’t touch them with a six-foot pole” would become a national policy, but here we are!

Well here we are the 1 year anniversary of Lock down due to Covid 19

At least the government is trying to be more God-like..... you know for God a day is like a 1000 years .....

so based on the original 2 weeks lockdown, we still have 13,999 years to go!

Prov 17:22 Laughter is good medicine.

What's the point of the church gathering together?

March 22 2020 was our first service we had to move online when churches were deemed non-essential by our province

One of the most contentious issues in christian circles is the closing of church and the subsequent restrictions put on congregations. during this lockdown.

It has caused deep division among many should be friends, and family members.

There are those who believe everything the government says is right, and should be obeyed.

Others who believe this is nothing but a hoax

and then there are beliefs every where in between.

These differing beliefs have done exactly what the devil purposed to do with the release of this virus.

as I showed you with a prophesy God gave me at the beginning of the pandemic.

One of the primary purposes of the demonic weapon .

Was that the church would be isolated from one another.

Fear and Economic turmoil were the other 2 objectives

That's what the enemy wanted to do cause fear. Cause isolation. Increase poverty

The true intent of the weapon has come to light

Isolation was to prepare for division

The enemy not only wants to isolate, but he intends to isolate with the purpose of division

Mark 3:25 NASB95

“If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.

The opportunity for division is greater than ever before.

We must ensure we do not fall into that trap.

I still believe as I Prophesied at the beginning of 2020 that God is about to send the greatest revival this world has ever seen.

The devil is aware of this and tried to use the pandemic to slow down this revival by stirring up division in the body of Christ.

But that’s not going to stop GOD!!

Genesis 50:20 NASB95

“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.

I believe this verse is very appropriate for the season we are entering.

Yes we’ve been beat up, knocked down, isolated, separated, misrepresented, financially abused, controlled.

but God is using that to setup the hearts of people to get ready for the release of His Spirit on the earth

1 Corinthians 3:6–8 NASB95

I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

The part that Paul leaves out is the plowing. before you plant you need to plow.

That’s what God is doing during this season.

He’s plowing, Our job is to plant the seeds and water.

You do that through relationships

What's the point of the church gathering together?

Hebrews 10:25 NASB95

not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

When the writer of Hebrews wrote this:

There were no church buildings yet

believers met in their homes

e.g., the house of Mary, mother of Mark, in

Acts 12:12 NASB95

And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.

usually around a meal

e.g., the outer court of the temple in

Acts 2:46 NASB95

Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,

they met in public spaces

In Rome, there are indications that early Christians met in other public spaces such as warehouses or apartment buildings

Before Emperor Constantine recognized Christianity as a legal religion in 313, corporate ownership of property by the church could be legally ambiguous.

It seems that the first property owned by the Roman church were the catacombs. These were not places of meeting, however, but burial sites.

the first church “Building” used for the purpose of meeting together is believed to be the Dura-Europos church, founded between 233 and 256.

Dura-Europos Church photo

So for the first few hundred years the way the earl church met was far different than what we expect today.

The first cathedrals appeared in Italy, Gaul, Spain, and North Africa in the 4th century,

but cathedrals did not become universal within the Western Catholic Church until the 12th century

The first evangelical megachurch, the Metropolitan Tabernacle with a 6000-seat auditorium, was inaugurated in 1861 in London by Charles Spurgeon

In the United States, in 1923, the Angelus Temple was inaugurated in 1923 with a 5,300-seat auditorium in Los Angeles by Aimee Semple McPherson

It was during this period the church definition started to change to mean the building rather than the people

Church=People

It also created a change into thinking church was something you went to,

rather than something you took with you every where you went.

Let me say I enjoy having a Church building.

A place for us to meet together,

But we must ensure it doesn’t allow us to become complacent and fall off mission

My greatest concern was when the government started dictating who we could and couldn’t have in our homes.

Although they may have had good intention, they crossed a definitive line in my opinion.

We should also remember in

The Church had experience real persecution

Hebrews 10:32–34 NASB95

But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one.

incidentally, we kid ourselves if we think the government has reached the level of persecution the early church faced

Sure they thrown a pastor in jail and wouldn’t let him leave unless he promised to stop having church outside of their guidelines

Sure they forced us to close the doors to our building now allow us to run at 15% capacity

Yes they tell us we aren’t allowed to sing…unless our religious beliefs demands it!

Yes they tell you what you have to wear.

but did you get that last part of

Hebrews 10:34 NASB95

For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one.

Joyfully accepted the seizure of your property.

I got to admit I’d have a hard time with that one!

Early Christians were fed to the lions, burned alive, sold as slaves, crucified.

Peter and Paul

Both martyred in Rome about 66 AD, during the persecution under Emperor Nero. Paul was beheaded. Peter was crucified, upside down at his request, since he did not feel he was worthy to die in the same manner as his Lord.

Andrew

went to the "land of the man-eaters," in what is now the Soviet Union. Christians there claim him as the first to bring the gospel to their land. He also preached in Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey, and in Greece, where he is said to have been crucified.

Thomas

was probably most active in the area east of Syria. Tradition has him preaching as far east as India, where the ancient Marthoma Christians revere him as their founder. They claim that he died there when pierced through with the spears of four soldiers.

Philip

possibly had a powerful ministry in Carthage in North Africa and then in Asia Minor, where he converted the wife of a Roman proconsul. In retaliation the proconsul had Philip arrested and cruelly put to death.

Matthew

the tax collector and writer of a Gospel ministered in Persia and Ethiopia. Some of the oldest reports say he was not martyred, while others say he was stabbed to death in Ethiopia.

Bartholomew

had widespread missionary travels attributed to him by tradition: to India with Thomas, back to Armenia, and also to Ethiopia and Southern Arabia. There are various accounts of how he met his death as a martyr for the gospel.

James

the son of Alpheus is one of at least three James referred to in the New Testament. There is some confusion as to which is which, but this James is reckoned to have ministered in Syria. The Jewish historian Josephus reported that he was stoned and then clubbed to death.

Simon the Zealot

so the story goes, ministered in Persia and was killed after refusing to sacrifice to the sun god.

Matthais

The apostle chosen to replace Judas. Tradition sends him to Syria with Andrew and to death by burning.

John

The only one of the apostles generally thought to have died a natural death from old age. He was the leader of the church in the Ephesus area and is said to have taken care of Mary the mother of Jesus in his home. During Domitian's persecution in the middle '90s, he was exiled to the island of Patmos. There he is credited with writing the last book of the New Testament--the Revelation. An early Latin tradition has him escaping unhurt after being cast into boiling oil at Rome.

They were martyred for sharing the Gospel.

One truth cannot be denied is the places the church grows the fastest is where the church is persecuted.

Acts 8:1–3 NASB95

Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Some devout men buried Stephen, and made loud lamentation over him. But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison.

Acts 11:19 NASB95

So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone.

What's does it mean not forsaking our own assembling together ?

As it is today, it was vitally important for the early church to gather together.

“Forsake” in Hebrews 10:25 means “willful neglect”. 

In Matthew 27:46, Jesus cries, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

This “forsaken” refers to a mysterious and horrific abandonment of the Father’s delightful presence and, in its place, the full wrath of God for sin.

In 2 Timothy 4:16, Paul refers to Demas who “has forsaken me, having loved this present world.”

Demas had abandoned Paul, as a matter of the will, for the fleeting pleasures of this life.

“Forsaken” is a strong word in the New Testament.

It implies willfully neglecting and abandoning something or someone, often for something else.

It literally means you choosing not to do something.

IF we are forced to remain closed due to government decree, you are NOT forsaking the assembly.

the government has removed your ability to choose. therefore it is not forsaking

Its like this, if there is someone who is bound to their bed with sickness, no one would expect them to come to church. And no one would rightly say they were forsaking the assembly.

The bible gives clear instructions for this

James 5:14 NASB95

Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;

We are to go to them, not the other way around!

Can you forsake the assembly. yes yes you can

but its not so much about action rather its the intent of the heart.

Do you desire to join with other believers, but are unable. Then you are not forsaking the assembly

But if you rather do something else when you are able, then you are forsaking the assembly.

Like so many thing in the New testament. the action is not as important as the intent behind the action

Matthew 5:28 NASB95

but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

I’m not saying the action is not important. but rather the motivation behind the action is of greater importance.

So what is the Primary purpose of meeting together

Hebrews 10:24 NASB95

and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,

That’s the primary reason why we gather together!

Encourage one another to Love and do good deeds

If we gather together and don’t fulfill this, I really believe we’ve missed the boat!

In this online era,

We can lead worship, although it will never be the same as worshiping together in person

We can hear the preaching of the word, which might be better online as you can watch 2x speed or skip boring parts

We can give of our finances all online. which is very convenient

but the area we have yet to get a handle is doing community online.

but honestly we’ve struggled with that before the lockdown.

Sunday morning is not geared towards building community

We’ve tried monthly potlucks, Kings tables, home groups, bible studies. everything we can think of.

not to very much success

To be honest its been one of my greatest frustrations. How to create community.

Then I realized it not my job to arrange your social calendar

The motivation must be yours, I can’t and won’t guilt you into joining a home group

There are 168 hours in the week. Even if we spend 2 hours together on a Sunday morning, that’s not enough to build community

It would be helpful for us to learn how to do life together. to encourage on another in the everyday things we do.

I’m not talking about starting a commune, and everyone coming to live together on the same plot of land.

unless that land was a tropical island. then maybe you could talk me into it!

But what I am referring to is building relationship with each other however you are able.

I know its hard right now, everything we normally we suggest is banned by the government right now

Host a BBQ in your back yard this summer ( when hopefully they allow that)

You can meet in walmart in isle 7

Whatever God enables you to do.

The point i’m trying to make is to be a church that is ready for the next season

we must break out of this Sunday morning 2 hour window.

We must make use of the other 166 hours in the week to stimulate one another to love and good deeds

Church was never meant to be relegated to a 2 hour window on Sunday morning.

Let’s make use of everything God has provided for us.

Let’s pray!