I Don’t Wanna Go!!!
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near
Hebrews 10:24, 25 (ESV)
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near
Hebrews 10:24, 25 (ESV)
It’s a beautiful Sunday morning as you sleep in your comfortable bed when suddenly the alarm summons you to arise from your slumber. Annoyed by the disturbance of your sleep you reach for the snooze bar and silence the ear piercing squealing of your alarm. Approximately 3 minutes later the screeching resumes awakening you from an even shorter doze. You repeat this process a number of times. Finally you silence the alarm indefinitely as you turn off the alarm and roll over and say, “I don’t wanna go to church today! I’m too comfortable; it’s too nice of a day. I can miss one Sunday no one will notice and plus God doesn’t care whether I go or not.”
Have you ever felt this way? I know I have. Yes, even “perfect” pastors have mornings like this. As I read the words of Hebrews 10:24, 25 I wonder if people felt like this in past Church history. Can you imagine the Apostle Paul saying, “I don’t feel like preaching today, it’s too nice outside? I think I’ll skip synagogue this morning and spend a day at the beach. I deserve it don’t I? I mean in the past year I have been beaten, shipwrecked, thrown out of numerous cities, threatened, and there is a band of Jews plotting a way to kill me this very day.” Thankfully he never did. Did he ever feel this way? I’m sure he did (However, I have no biblical proof to back this up though).
It is so easy to justify and make up excuses for not attending church. The truth is you won’t go to hell if you skip church occasionally. It is true some people may not even notice or acknowledge your absence. The fact is the pastor probably won’t even call you to see where you have been (unless he hasn’t seen you in a looooong time). So why bother? Right? WRONG!
Let’s look at the words of Hebrews. In the text above the author writes, “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, NOT NEGLECTING to meet together, as is the habit of some…” It’s funny; this verse proves that skipping church was a habit of some people even in the early church. Some people (we don’t know who) had a habit of skipping church! Apparently this was a concern because the author or Hebrews acknowledges this trend of some and he feels he should address this. Why did he believe missing church was not a good thing? Why did he feel church so important?
First, when they met together they stirred one another up in love. They were encouraging one another to show and live in the love of Christ, they stirred one another up in fellowship and worship. Second, they roused one another up for good works. When they worshipped together they came up with ways to show and do good works for the glory of God. By gathering together they cared for the sick, helped meet the needs of the needy, comforted the lonely, took care of widows and orphans, fed the hungry, shared the Gospel message of Jesus, and so on. Last, they encouraged one another in the Lord, especially in regard to his return. When the church met together they also encouraged one another by praying, reading Scripture, singing hymns all in anticipation of the Lord’s return. Much like today the early church prayed for Jesus’ return so He would establish his Kingdom here on earth. That day never came (and still hasn’t) but lived their lives in hope that He would return soon and this hope encouraged the believers to keep strong in the faith.
As you can see meeting together for worship (or church) was not an option for the early church. It was a priority because attending church wasn’t based on whether they “felt” like going or not. They didn’t decide to neglect worship because they didn’t like a certain aspect about the music, worship service or the pastor. They even understood that worship wasn’t about what “they got out of it”. Instead they knew that it was about what they were able to give back to encourage and strengthen the body of Christ and his kingdom. The bottom line… Church was an important aspect of the believer’s lives.
As I conclude, I’m sure any of you reading this article are either encouraged, offended or indifferent. I pray it is one of the first two. However my intent is not to offend I am merely using the powerful Word of God to challenge believers to be ACTIVE members of the body of Christ. Whether it is at Spring Valley Congregational Church or any other local church body I pray you will see the need and importance of gathering together with other believers to encourage and care for one another and strengthen one another in faith as we anticipate the Lord’s return.
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