“Now
all the people gathered together as one man in the open square…
2 So
Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all
who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month.
3 Then
he read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate
from morning until midday…
4 So
Ezra the scribe stood on a platform of wood which they had made for the
purpose; and beside him, at his right hand, stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah,
Urijah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah; and at his left hand Pedaiah, Mishael,
Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.
5 And
Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing
above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up.
6 And
Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God.
Then all the PEOPLE
ANSWERED, “AMEN, AMEN!”
while lifting up
their hands.
And they BOWED their
HEADS and WORSHIPED THE LORD with their faces to the ground.
7b ….and the people stood in their place….
9b …“This
day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn nor
weep.”
….10 Then
he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions
to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to
our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your
strength.”…
12 And all the people went their way to eat and
drink, to send portions and rejoice greatly, because they understood the words
that were declared to them.”
Friends, we can be
excited about the fact that times have changed, and that we have church not out
in the heat of the open square but in enclosed places with air conditioned, and
comfy seating. Great and beautiful facilities with service and nursery rooms;
car ports for when it rains; big projection screens for those that can’t read
small letters and for those that “forgot” their Bibles at home.
Today’s Word is for
us to realize that the responsibilities as people of God, CANNOT & SHOULD NOT
depend on our surroundings! Because in the essence GOD’s Word IS (ought to be) what
we go looking for when we go to church, and HE IS MORE THAN ENOUGH!!!
Unfortunately, sometimes
we go to church looking for the excitement of the worship, for the grade to
were our kids get entertained by. At the moment, we don’t realize that because
our eyes have not been opened to that point yet, but then further down the road
we end up realizing that the things we used to considered as “blessings” became
instruments of distraction. We noticed in
our lives the moment that we face a hardship, because, we aren’t ready to
overcome it, we started to feel as we are drowning, all alone. We noticed it in
our kids as we see their struggle to pay attention to God’s servant who is
preaching HIS Word in their own unique GOD-GIVEN style, while they (kids) act “bored”
because they aren’t being “entertained”.
We must UNDERSTANTD,
the church’s purpose IT IS NOT to ENTERTAIN!!! CHURCH IS THE PLACE TO BE
DISCIPLED! A place where as the WORD is preached, and our toes have been
stepped onto, with pruned hearts we commit our lives to LIVE FOR THE LORD.
The CHURCH, and its
environment, IS NOT THE MAIN CHARACTER, NOT EVEN the preacher is the main
character! THE MAIN CHARACTER IS THE
LORD, and HIS WORD, is what is ALL ABOUT!!!
As a preacher, I’m
Christ Ambassador, a VEHICLE thru were GOD’s Words FLOWS! And though the way
we, preachers, conduct ourselves is important, WE ARE HUMANS, in constructions,
just like you; and we make mistakes! So
DO NOT ALLOW than any preacher’s mistake prevent you from ENGAGING in when you
come to church. I’ve seen too many people who leave the church because they
hear someone said unsensitive words or look at them with uncaring or ugly eyes….
You name it! When in reality, that day that you experienced that look or heard
those words from that person, he/she was going thru a WWII in their lives, and
the pain was from their own spiritual battle inside of them and nothing to do
with you. AND GOD was going to use you to bring healing onto that person’s
life, but the enemy used their struggle sot push your EXIT buttons, to expelled
you out of the place where GOD would be using you for HIS glory!
On the other hand,
GOD IS PERFECT, and HIS Word IS what matters when we come to church! We CAN’T
allow other things to distract us, from getting what we ought to receive when
we GET TO come to GOD’s house to hear HIS Word!
Again, great and
beautiful facilities with all the extras, are the complements of THIS GREAT
MEAL; and WE CAN’T and MUST NOT allow those complements, to get us sooooo
comfortable that the attention paid to the servant of God who brings up the
word is minimal! When our worn out bodies come to church, in a “chilled”
temperature room and comfy seats, at times in a low lighting environment, these
great elements combined can throw any worn out body in a “comatose stage” or “nap
time”!
I respectfully
tell you, this WAS NOT the way church was created to be, THE LORD IS THE MAIN
COURSE and REALLY what we MUST BE AFTER!
I pray THE LORD
give you the needed understanding for you to receive an answer, as you ask HIM,
“Am I “too comfortable” in this church? Am I placing the “complements” (other
people or things) before YOUR Word, in this place?
When you are
PRAYER MODE, (after God forgiven your sins), ask HIM! The simplest answer is a
Yes or a No, so, no matter how hard the question is, you can reword it to be
answered with a Yes or a No, TRY IT!!! You’ll
be able to hear HIM easier; then it’s a matter of moving on according to what’s
been given.
Close your eyes as
you worship, and keep them wide open as THE WORD is being read, and explained;
applying to your heart every given point, not to your husband, children, friend’s
heart/lives, BUT to yours. Placing the importance on HIM first, will make a
difference in your life. And if the LORD
wants to relocate you, REQUEST HIM to SEND you an invitation thru any of HIS
ministering angels to the church HE wants you to worship HIM at…. And BE AMAZED
at what THE LORD will do in you and THRU you, all for the glory of GOD, and I
pray this in JESUS name, AMEN!!!
