It was exactly one week ago that hubby and I hosted a birthday party at our home for our daughter’s best friend. The party got me thinking how Heaven is going to be the greatest party of all time!
Therefore, when we think of going to church each week, church is practice for the party that Heaven is going to be! The church where hubby and I attend services each week is a very joyful place! Heaven is going to be nothing but joy!
If you have never been to church before, church services are comprised of two parts: #1 – Celebration party-practice for Heaven! … and … #2 – Battle-equipping of Jesus’s followers to head out and face a new week of spiritual warfare against dark demonic unseen powers!
First, we have the Celebration party-practice for Heaven! This is commonly referred to as the time of “Worship.” This is where we all sing our hearts out together praising God and worshipping Him for who He is and all He has done! It’s awesome!
Last Sunday our church had baptisms during our “Celebration party-practice” Worship time.
Baptism is an object lessons picturing how Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sin; but Jesus didn’t stay dead, he rose again and is now alive! Those who have trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation are dunked down underneath the water – picturing how Jesus Christ died for our sins and was placed in the grave; then they are raised up out of the water – picturing how Jesus conquered Satan, sin, death, and the grave! It’s amazing!
Last Sunday 236 people came forward to be baptized … as a testimony to everyone watching that they trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation! And that Jesus has raised them from spiritual death into new life! It was so awesome! The worship band played … and we all sang our hearts out in praise to Jesus … as person after person after person was dunked underneath the water, then raised up in victory!
As each person came up out of the water, we all clapped and whooped and cheered! What a celebration!! What a party! What awesome practice for Heaven! The presence of God was so real! Tears were in everyone’s eyes! The rejoicing was so real!
Heaven is going to be a party! Heaven is going to be endless rejoicing and praising Jesus for all He has done for us! Heaven is going to be celebrating that we were once spiritually dead without hope, but because of Jesus we have new life! This is why we go to church! This right here is why we go to church each week … to practice for the party that Heaven is going to be!
But we aren’t in Heaven yet. We still live in this sin-cursed, fallen world. This world is under the control of Satan and dark demonic forces!
We each have our own lives God has given us to live; we have bills to pay, needs to provide for. Therefore we each must head out to face our own individual places of work each week … and our workplace is not Heaven. Our workplace is full of back-stabbing, lies, manipulation, greed, jealously, slander, discontent, etc. etc. …
It’s hard. It’s flat out hard.
It’s exhausting. It’s demoralizing. It’s discouraging.
It’s a battle.
The Bible describes it this way: “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground.” – Ephesians 6:10-13
This is why we need the second part of church – Battle-equipping of Jesus’s followers to head out and face a new week of spiritual warfare against dark demonic unseen powers! This time in church is commonly referred to as the “Sermon” time.
If you have ever wondered, “What’s the point of sitting for almost an hour and listening to a sermon?” … this is the point! The sermon is equipping the people of God for doing spiritual battle against dark demonic forces of evil. The sermon is not a feel-good, motivational pep-talk. The sermon is battle-equipping for the war-torn and battle-weary!
* The “Sermon” part of church teaches us what Truth is! Why Church?? Because at church we are trained in what God says Truth is. At church we are equipped in how to stand for the Truth.
“Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist.” – Eph. 6:14 We could think of this as a soldier’s “Emergency survival belt.”
* The “Sermon” part of church builds us up in righteousness – teaching us how to be holy like Jesus. Why Church?? Because at church we are instructed and trained in how to be righteous/ how to do what is right.
“ … with the breastplate of righteousness in place.” – Eph. 6:14 We could think of this as a soldier’s “Bullet-proof vest.”
* The “Sermon” part of church equips us so that we are prepared and ready to share the good news about Jesus Christ with others.
“ … and your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” – Eph. 6:15 We could think of this as a soldier’s boots. A soldier in wartime sleeps with boots on. Because you need to be ready at a moment’s notice to “walk it out.” Why Church?? Because we need to be ready at a moment’s notice to “walk out what we believe.”
* The “Sermon” part of church trains us how to be steadfast, solid, and unmovable in our faith.
“In addition, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” – Eph. 4:16 We could think of this as a soldier’s “Iron Dome Missile Defense System.” Satan and his dark demonic forces are launching attack after attack against us! Our protection is our faith! Our faith in a steadfast, solid, unmovable, unshakable, unchanging, faithful, trustworthy God! Why Church?? Because we need our faith to be strengthened and built-up! So that when hardship comes, we don’t collapse and cave.
* The ”Sermon” part of church teaches us the way to salvation. “Take the helmet of salvation …” – Eph. 4:17 A soldier in war cannot survive without a helmet to protect the head. In the same way, we need to protect our mind!
* The “Sermon” part of church teaches us how to use the Word of God. The Word of God is a weapon. The Bible describes itself as a sharp, double-edged sword! Just like we wouldn’t want to pick up a razor-sharp double-edged sword as a novice and go swinging it around … so also, we shouldn’t just pick up the Word of God as a novice and go around “throwing verses” at people. The Word of God misused and flippantly “thrown” at people can do great harm!
“ … and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” – Eph. 4:17 We could think of this as a soldier’s firearm. A soldier goes through extensive firearms training! Particularly safety. A soldier also goes through endless hours of drills at the shooting range, in order to develop skill and accuracy at hitting the target. When you are in the heat of battle, you need to know how to use your offensive weapon to defend and protect. Why Church?? Because we need training in how to use the Word of God!
Church services incorporate prayer all throughout: at the beginning … oftentimes in the middle of celebration party-singing time … for sure at the beginning of the “Sermon”/teaching/equipping time … sometimes right in the middle of the sermon when things are really heavy our pastor will stop right then & there and pray! … and for sure prayer at the end, asking God’s protection over His people as they head out to face another week.
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” – Eph. 4:18 We could think of this as a soldier’s communication lines with headquarters. A soldier on the battlefield needs good lines of communication with headquarters to know what the battle plan is. Prayer is a Christian’s primary means of communication with Headquarters – Heaven!
So … Why Church??
Because it is good for our soul to practice celebrating for the forever party that Heaven is going to be!
Because our souls need to be strengthened, equipped, and trained in God’s ways!
Because God’s presence fills and inhabits the praises of His people! God meets with His people in a uniquely powerful way when they gather together corporately to praise and worship Him! The Church is a picture of what Heaven will be … all people, gathered together from every language, every nation, every background, redeemed and made clean by Jesus! God loves His Church!!
Why Church??
Because God loves His Church!!
