Church connectivity is both spiritual and physical realm for many spiritual reasons. However, we understand if we cannot have physical proximity in some seasons, but God’s desire is that the Body of Christ connect in Spirit and in the natural realm too. We see this in the Bible throughout. The Bible has never changed …and this will be so until Christ returns again.
The enemy wants millions of people to give up meeting one another in spirit and in person so he has spread a lie that we don’t need to meet one another in person, spread paranoia about churches, so that people will give up meeting each other in person. Today, millions would rather be tutored by TV personalities instead of uniting together to meet. It may be a few people, just a handful but the physical meeting is important whether at our homes or somewhere else or a building called the church.
The raging battle that Satan has with the saints is to keep them out of church. Satanists gather, regroup and have covens but Christians have given up going to church!
The uniqueness in Christians is the Church, unlike any other religion practiced in the world, it is only in Christianity that we gather in person to meet one another. Other religions go to their worship temples on their own, or have an idol altar at home. However in Christ, we are called out to be the church, and meet one another too. Unfortunately, satanists have imitated this successfully. while Christians have given up the gathering!
True, there are many churches not walking in the spirit of Christ, but there are many, many others that are…and then, there is no perfect church, and never was, right from the early church. Church always needs correction, but we grow in maturity even through the rough times in church.
. Our physical kinetics are important because:
1. As we gather, angels gather in multitude among us in person, worship along with us in the multitude of saints, break strongholds and enable miracles to happen among us, we can rejoice, sing and cry together, it is marvelous.
2. Seeing other believers in person also raises our levels of accountability to one another. It is very easy to hide behind screens where no one knows who we really are and in this hiding, we manipulate a false persona that others believe we are. When we finally do meet if we do, we will find each other so different from what we project of ourselves. So it is far better to simply be who we are in the comfort of meeting each other in person and flesh as Jesus did and as did the early churches.
2. We are given a greater opportunity to demonstrate love, joy, peace forgiveness, and practice the gifts of the spirit when we meet each other in person and flesh. This is called tangible love, where we can do something for each other practically, in an act of kindness.
3. We are given a platform of unity and coordination to reach to an unsaved world. Very often as we meet, and pray together, we accomplish powerful things together. I remember praying nights along with others for a woman in bondage where the church attempted to cast out the demons inhabiting her. A young man recently shared how humbled he was and how it changed his life to spend hours praying for people in bondage and the joy of seeing their deliverance after hours.
As we know, the early church met daily and broke bread daily and shared meals, prayed, healed the sick, visited homes, and poured out love and the oil of anointing on sore wounds. We live in a very lonely world where people do not have time for each other anymore and even old people are forgotten by their children. These plains of loneliness would never have developed if churches loved and cared for people. When they do, they draw others into the church in this circle of love. Remember, Matthew 5:14 – You are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. This verse refers to a church practicing the presence of Christ, meeting in unity as it does also to each of us individually. Our good works dispel the loneliness, sickness, sadness, depression and violence of the world. We need to meet more!
Some remarkable wonders of the early church were they:
1. Laid down Their Lives: “Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them” Romans 16:3,4. You could trust this church to risk their lives for you! Amazing..We think it is over but Christ is still the head of the Church, and if we allow ourselves this, we will see this happen again among us as we group together and meet each other. The Holy Spirit is given an opportunity to work among us again. But if we shut the doors to meeting one another, we cannot see wonders, miracles and the risking of lives and the love poured out for each other.
2. Shared All Things: There were three stages of development in their fellowship in Acts 4:32 – They were of one heart (spirit), then they were of one soul (mind), and then followed the physical expression of having all things in common. “All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need” Acts 2:44,45. We can only share this way if we meet one another. Sharing in suffering too. “Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles” Philippians 4:14.
3. Practiced Hospitality: “Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you” 3 John 5. See also Hebrews 13:2. Hospitality was a great gift of the East but we are seeing this fading today. However, we do see this being practiced among real believers. When we invite each other to our homes, we welcome others, and we open our doors without rancour, we get richly blessed!
“We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us” 1 Thessalonians 2:8.
The results of fellowship in the early Church were:
a. A holy fear of God Acts 2:43 while eradicated unhealthy fears and paranoia.
b. Bubbling joy at all times: Acts 2:46. They did not suffer from depression.
c. Favour with all people Acts 2:47. This was supernaturally given by God because they walked in the Light in Christ.
d. Addition of new believers Acts 2:47. The anointing always adds multiplication.
e. All needs supplied Philippians 4:19. They never had lack because they shared and cared and God always blessed them above and beyond what their needs.
f. Emergence of gifts, 1 Corinthians 16:15,16: Together, the gifts began to manifest to help others and reach the lost. The gifts are always for the lost…never for us personally. We need the gifts of the spirit to touch a world submerged in darkness and lies.
I pray we will all know the importance of having fellowship continually with other Christians and also gather together to meet each other as a church.
Rita F. Kurian
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