Pastor Colin preached that we should not take our faith for granted. He said that it is possible for a believer who has regularly been attending church for the past 20 years to drift away from God. He or she may one day decide to be openly defiant and stop attending church.
He added that the person describe above can be a spiritual leader or even pastor. In his previous church, there was this sister who was leading the youth group. She had great enthusiasm for the Lord and in-depth knowledge of the bible that all the youths would always sit up and listen to her. Suddenly, she refused to attend church. Pastor Colin and a few brothers were puzzled and went over to her house to find out why. When asked, she said that church goers are hypocrites and it is best she worship at home. The brothers tried to persuade her by quoting verses from the bible. However, she rebuked by throwing many verses back at them. The brothers were stunned by how well she knows the bible and were almost won over by her.
One question that I bothered me was, "Is attending church an essential element to increase your faith?"
I once believe that one can still walk with God by reading His Word and worshiping Him at home. Thus, going to church is not necessary. My thinking gave a 180 degrees turn after I experienced the power of spiritually-filled individuals/groups. They can help propel your faith much more than when you do it alone. With this, I remember a quote, "If you want to go faster, go alone. If you want to go further, go together."
Pastor Colin ended off by saying, "Let us not to take for granted that our fellow brothers and sisters will be in cell or in church this weekend (or from this day onwards)." Hence, we should pray for our continual faith in the Lord, including that of our brothers' and sisters'. At the same time, it is crucial to note that it is our own responsibility to take care of our faith and make sure it is renewed and strengthened on a regular basis.
Prayer for perseverance in faith
"Lord, I thank You for suffering and dying on the cross for me, and for rising again to defeat death and hell. I believe my enemy is defeated because of what You have done. I am thankful that you have given me all authority over him. I have faith that by the power of Your Holy Spirit I can successfully resist the devil and he must flee from me.
Show me when I am not moving in faith. Teach me to use that authority You have given me to see the enemy defeated in every area of my life. In Jesus' name I pray."
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2 comments:
I liked the phrase: "If you want to go faster, go alone. If you want to go further, go together."
Through experiences of others, and the viewpoints of many, I found so much more to learn than I would alone. Even now in cell I've gotten so much more each time :)
Its akin to worship, worshipping alone can be wonderful at times, but when worshipping together as a group, there is a higher frequency of it being much more awesome.
I recall that it is not specified in a bible on the need to attend church regularly, but listening to pastor preach really is enlightening, especially if the topic hits home.
Thanks for sharing!
Regards,
Gab
Regarding that phrase, it also depends on who did you go with. Ever heard of "近朱者赤，近墨者黑?" Mix with the right gang and you will fly like the eagles. Mix with the notorious ones and you will fry like the flies.
I agree to what you have said. Hearing from different people expand my context and worshiping with people who loves God is just... SO GOOD!
It's my pleasure to share the passage. It's a greater pleasure to have audience like you.
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