THE BIBLICAL PURPOSES OF ATTENDING CHURCH
I called a Christian sister some time ago, after asking her the church she still attends, I asked her to stop going to the church, that it would be better for her to stay at home and fellowship at home till God leads her to the right church than going to such church she mentioned, because the church is more of a spiritual mortuary than a Sanctuary.

Attending church is causing havoc to many lives today, spiritually, physically and martially. But before I share about the problems caused by attending church, let’s share about the biblical purpose of church or attending church.

The Book of Hebrews 10:24-25 explain the purpose of church or benefits, blessing and purposes of attending church. “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Why do we have church and why must a child of God attend church, here are the reasons:

1, TO STIR UP LOVE IN BELIEVERS. “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love” Hebrews 10:24. The first purpose of why God wants us to attend church and fellowship is for love, to stir up love in us towards God and one another.

If you, as a child of God, are attending a church and the church does not stir you up to love God more and more, if your love for God is stand still, if your desire to be more like Jesus Christ is not growing, if your love for God’s work is not going fervent by the stirring up of that church, then you are in a wrong church. Many churches out there are stirring up people to be financially rich, to be prospered, to love the world and the cares of this world, but not to love God and hate sin. If you are in such church, you are among the living death people.

To stir up love also means to love one another; in fact love for one another in purity is the evidence of a genuine church. 1 John 4:4-7. Any church which does not have practical love towards one another is a dead church.

I was once a member of a popular holiness church here in Nigeria, while they simply and seriously preach salvation, sanctification and holiness, they lack simple practical love among one another, they could preach love plainly, but hardly practice it, so many become personification of hypocrisy. Love involve sharing, like the early church with apostles, love involve caring, praying and helping one another, but when this is lacking, such church will lack behind in the Spirit, no matter the popularity or shouting they make, such a such will not be able to impact their generation or turn the world to Christ, because they are empty barren.

That is the reason I can categorically say we don’t have a popular Bible church yet in this generation, that is the reason I tell people I don't know any genuine Bible church among the popular churches of today. A church with members of 1 million has the capacity to transform a nation of 200 million populations if the church is really genuine church of holiness, love and prayer. But where we have a church of more than 2 million members nationwide and the nation remains in darkness, corruption and ungodliness, it means something is wrong the church, it means the church lacks genuine purity and power of God, and it means the church is also part of the darkness, because it is not possible for 2 million light not to lighten 200 million darkness.

This is the reason you see all these popular churches including those we claim holiness and purity, all of them are busy building multi-billion dollar auditoriums, church buildings, and expensive private schools, it is because Satan has already distracted them from reality, because somethings are wrong with them, such church can never transform their members let alone the nation. They can continue to claim prosperity, but they are spiritually poor, they can continue to claim holiness, but they are hypocrite.

A church can persistently preach holiness and purity, but lack the practical aspect of it

A church can never experience revival without genuine love for one another, no matter how much they pray and desire revival. Purity without love is a pure hypocrisy because purity in a real sense means pure love. James 1:27

2, TO STIR UP GOOD WORKS IN BELIEVERS. Hebrews 10:24, “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works.”

The purpose of going to church is to be stirred up in good works. Many churches specialize in stirring up people’s faith, but without good works such faith is dead. James 2:26. Good works involve works of righteousness, works of evangelism and works of caring and sharing among people. A church may stir you up into giving, into believing miracle, into prayer, into sowing, but if they don’t stir you up into righteous and godly work, you are in mortuary, not sanctuary.

3, TO PREPARE BELIEVERS FOR THE DAY OF THE LORD. Hebrews 10:25, “ not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

The Day of the Lord is fast approaching – the Day of reckoning and the Day of rapture, and the purpose of the church are to consistently remind and exhort one another to be prepared. But if the church you attend does not prepare you for this Day, but prepare you mostly for dancing, deliverance or discovering secrets to success and prosperity in life, then you are in a Laodicean church. Revelations 3:14-18.

Any church that focuses more on earthly things than heaven things and preparation for the day of the Lord is a satanic church.

So the purpose of attending church is not just to fulfil all righteousness or because you are a Christian and you must be attached to a church, but the purposes are for love, good works and preparation for the Day of the Lord. Hebrews 10:24, 25. Are these purposes being fulfilled in your life since you have been going to church? If not, it is either you are in a wrong church or you are making wrong choices.

This year, as we are more approaching the end, rededicate your life to Jesus Christ, let God lead to a right church, even if it is not a popular church, and make the right choices of love, good works and daily preparation for the Day of the Lord. You must prayerfully wait till God leads you to the right church.
If you want to rededicate or surrender your life to Jesus Christ, please click on this link and read on how to be genuinely saved and start new life in Jesus and pray as directed http://www.facebook.com/notes/revelation-of-truth-evangelical-ministries-rtem/how-can-i-be-saved/270674586372252

This message is from Revelation of Truth Evangelical Ministries, RTEM
Our Email: rtemoutreaches@yahoo.com
Our Tel: (+234) (0)803 924 9751, (0)705 937 3351, (0)802 578 7942.
Our Facebook page, you can like our page for daily article on your wall, please click on this link and "like", then click on the "liked" and add to "interest list" http://www.facebook.com/pages/Revelation-of-Truth-Evangelical-Ministries-RTEM/244086502364394

If you want to read other Christian articles and Bible Studies on several other topics from this ministry, you can please click on this link and see several topics. http://www./468590419840054/files/ You can join to receive new topics.