Oasis of Faith

PLUG IN AND PROSPER

(Embracing the Spiritual Significance and Biblical Basis for the Local Church)

IS CHURCH ATTENDANCE REALLY NECESSARY? DOES IT MATTER WHERE I GO TO CHURCH? DOES IT MATTER WHY I GO TO CHURCH?

Ask people these questions and the diversity of answers you will hear, even from committed Christians, is astounding. There seems to be a widespread lack of understanding concerning the benefit, purpose and importance of the local church. As a result, church attendance has become a dead, religious ritual for many and to some, a casual and at times - unnecessary distraction.

Even for those who attend church regularly, their reasons for doing so vary and are often not rooted in the Word. For some, it's the socially acceptable thing to do, others think it's a good thing for their children, and for many, it's simply a religious ritual handed down from generation to generation.

Worse yet, there are those who faithfully go to church every Sunday, but it's a different church every week! They're called "floaters." Week after week, they float from church to church. In 2nd Timothy 4:3 the Bible describes these people as "not being able to endure sound doctrine" because they have "itching ears”.

An in-depth study of the Word will reveal that God's directive for church attendance is actually quite specific in purpose. The Word reveals that "assembling" is a supernatural design orchestrated by God to interconnect believers with one another for the purpose of impact and increase.

In fact, there is spiritual evidence that properly plugged into the company of believers God has connected you with will position you to access the power of God in a way nothing else can, causing increase and growth to come to your life. And that, dear friends, is what I want to talk to you about.

CONNECTING TO YOUR COMPANY

In Hebrews 10:25, we are told to not forsake the "assembling of ourselves together." This isn't dinner over at a Christian friend's house or a haphazard gathering. The kind of assembly that is being talked about I liken to a jigsaw puzzle where certain pieces are designed to fit together in a particular group. In effect, this verse might as well have said, "don't forsake going to your local church," because that's what it means.

But according to the Word of God, attendance at just any church will not do. The Bible gives us clear indication that there is a specific church that God wants to place you in. And when you're in that church, the power of God will flow to and through you.

We see this demonstrated in the fourth chapter of Acts. It says that after Peter and John were apprehended by the temple priests for preaching Jesus, they were brought before the high priest. The high priest interrogated them, threatened them, and then let them go.

Then it says, Peter and John "after being let go, went to their own company (Acts 4:23).” Notice it says they went to their "own company." That means there were other companies of believers available, but they had a particular company they identified as theirs.

Now I want you to see what happens next. After Peter and John shared all that was said and done to them by the chief priest, all the members in that company lifted up their voices together "in one accord" and prayed. The result? The power of God came in such strength that it shook the building!

What was the result of this release of power? It says the believers in that company were emboldened to go out and share the gospel fearlessly and many got saved. They had a powerful impact on their community.

Furthermore, we see that that supernatural power had an effect on their individual personal lives as well. It says that not one of them lacked in material need. The power of God drove out insufficiency!

GOD IS PLEASED TO PLACE YOU

In addition, this same truth is confirmed in a revelation that God gave the apostle Paul where he compares the body of Christ with the natural human body (1 Corinthians 12:12-18). Paul uses this revelation to teach a number of spiritual truths. It is a revelation that is practical, yet profound in its application as to how the church is to operate and function in the earth.

First Corinthians 12:14 (KJV) says, "For the body is not one member, but many." Every time I read this, a picture of a jigsaw puzzle comes to my mind. The pieces of a jigsaw puzzle can be hundreds. Yet when put in their right places, all the pieces fit together so perfectly that they form a whole picture that appears seamless and is a blessing to others. That is how you and I are to fit into the church that God has called us to be part of. But more specifically, I want to draw your attention to 1 Corinthians 12:18. Notice it says that God "sets" the members in the body as it "pleases Him."

Without a doubt, there is a specific church that it pleases God to set you in. And it might not necessarily be the church that your parents or grandparents attended for the last 50 years. It might not be the church that's closest to where you live. And it might not be the church that has the biggest pipe organ that you like so much. It is a place - a specific place - where it pleases God to place you.

FINDING YOUR PLACE

How do you know when you're in this "place"? First, follow your heart and pay attention to the "inward witness" of Holy Spirit. When you are in the right church, it will feel as though you are at home. You will receive a balanced spiritual diet and the preaching will minister to you. There will be times when it feels as though the pastor is speaking right to you. In fact, I've had husbands come up to me after a service and want to know, "Has my wife been talking to you about me?" When you are in the place it has pleased God to place you, the preaching and the teaching of the Word will be "right on target" and what you need (and not just what you want) to hear! Also, do you agree and can you hook up with the vision of the church and what is being taught? For instance, if you are baptized in the Holy Spirit, it would be unwise for you to attend a church that preaches against the baptism in the Holy Spirit. If you believe in divine healing, would you want to attend a church that believes healing is no longer for today? If you believe God wants to prosper you, it would be contradictory for you to attend a church that believes poverty and lack are states of holiness.

Incredibly, I've talked to many people who actually attend churches when they are in direct contradiction with the vision and doctrine of that church. They believe God has called them there to bring revelation to that pastor and congregation, to change their mind about the baptism in the Holy Spirit or to change their mind about healing or to change their mind about prosperity.

Though their intent might be for good, they are dreadfully deceived. They end up placing themselves in a position where they become a source of strife and division or they experience rejection and persecution because of their doctrinal difference. These are definite signs you are in the wrong church!

GET PLUGGED IN

Finding your church "home" and where it has pleased God to place you is vitally important, but there is one more step you must take if you desire to fully experience God's anointing for impact and increase. Look at Ephesians 4:16 (KJV):

“From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.”

Did you catch that? It says "every joint" (or member) is supposed to make its supply to the body. Simply put, just coming to church every Sunday will not position you to prosper. Your next step must be to get involved in the local Church using your gifts and talents.

Sadly, statistics reveal that 20 percent of a church's congregation does 80 percent of the work. Folks, there are way too many pew-warmers in the church!

Giving your "supply" to the body by getting plugged in and involved at the church is to your benefit. When you give your supply to the church body, it experiences growth and increase. When the church body experiences growth and increase as a whole, you, individually, will experience growth and increase as well. It's a fact. The normal growth process of the human body is that every part of the body grows in unison. You won't see a baby's arm or leg remain infant size while the rest of the body increases in size. All the contributing members of a body grow in unison.

What happens when a member fails to contribute? Again, let's compare it to the functioning of the human body. What would happen if you taped your arm firmly to your side, making it unable to move? In a couple of weeks, it would begin to wither in strength and would eventually become atrophied.

Likewise, when a member of the church body fails to plug in and make a contribution to the increase of the body, they are disconnected from the power source designed to bring growth and increase to them.

EMBRACE YOUR POSITION

This often happens because people fail to understand and embrace the position God has created them to play. You see, God knows whether you’re a “foot” or a “hand” in the body of Christ, meaning He knows what gifts and talents you have and, therefore, knows where you'd best fit in and prosper. By applying Paul's understanding of how the natural human body works, the significance of being properly plugged in can be clearly seen. (Though this example might sound silly, it is, I believe, an effective illustration of this truth.)

Let's say the little finger on my right hand didn't like where it was anymore and decided to relocate next to the elbow. The little finger would quickly discover three things. It would discover that it doesn't make any contribution to the body placed next to the elbow. Second, it's in the way because it’s "out of position," and it will not receive what it needs from the body.

The same is true for every believer. When you try to be something you are not or don't appreciate what God has made you to be, the results are devastating. So embrace your position, plug in, and offer your spiritual supply. Become a faithful steward of the gift God has entrusted to you by committing your time, talent and resources to the place it has pleased God to place you.

✓ Embrace your position

✓ Plug in

✓ Offer your spiritual supply

✓ Prosper

WARNING: ENEMY ALERT!

Before I end, I feel it necessary to make this cautionary note. We have a real adversary - Satan. Rest assured, he is not going to sit back in his lawn chair, sip iced tea and watch you cruise on by toward victory. No! He'll attack. He doesn’t want you to plug in and prosper, so he’ll have a strategy designed to cause you to stumble, to un-plug you from your God-ordained position and place. This strategy almost always comes in the form of strife and division which begins with getting offended. It's his mightiest tool. If he can get you in strife, he's able to stop the power of God from flowing to you.

His lie is often “this church will be fine without you”; but you must remind yourself that you will not be fine without the church. Using Paul's revelation again as an illustration, this truth becomes obvious. For instance, what would happen if a hand was severed from the body? Without a doubt, the body would suffer a devastating loss and would have to adapt to having only one hand. Nevertheless, it would continue to live and function without the hand, albeit handicapped. The hand, however, would suffer greater devastation. Without the life flow of the blood from the body, the hand would eventually wither up and die.

So it is in the body of Christ. Those believers who isolate themselves from the place where it has pleased God to place them, cut themselves off from the life flow of the body of Christ, from its anointing and power. Unknowingly, they have set themselves in a place where they will fail to grow and flourish in their Christian lives. Just as you will never find a severed body part surviving and thriving, any person who is not properly connected to a local church will struggle and never fully develop spiritually.

Don't allow yourself to be divided off. We all have multiple opportunities to get offended and times we're tempted to be contentious. It's at those times when we must judge ourselves and get it right. Don't let the enemy poison your heart and drive you away from the place that it has pleased God to place you. Repent, forgive and stay connected!

THE PATHWAY TO PURPOSE AND POWER

Is church attendance really necessary? Does it matter where I go to church? Does it matter why I go? Emphatically yes, yes, and yes! The local church is designed by God to be your pathway to purpose and power. When you find where you fit into the body of Christ and connect to your company, you will experience the power of God operating in your life as never before and you will be properly positioned for impact and increase.

I want to encourage you to leave religious rituals behind and begin walking your God-ordained pathway. Embrace the spiritual significance and biblical basis for the local church, find the place it has pleased God to place you and then plug in and prosper!