BLESSED [EMPOWERING] SUNDAY/ANY OTHER DAY OF WORSHIP: IT’S THE FELLOWSHIP OF HIS CHURCH!
“For we [who ARE born-again have been reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, set apart for His purpose and] ARE the true circumcision, who WORSHIP in the Spirit of God and glory and take pride and exult in Christ Jesus and place no confidence [in what we have or who we are] in the flesh” Philippians 3:3/Amplified.
You ARE God’s Church, being built up in grace through faith; and by love and hope in Christ Jesus’ stead you can stand assured in glory and virtue.
And I want you to know that church services in any place called for the gathering of God’s people are necessary; but the Church, as you are, is the gathering to WORSHIP God WORTHILY and to SERVE Him ACCEPTABLY in spirit and in truth, in Christ Jesus, in grace. Anything contrary to this is religion, religiosity, sectarianism, denominational indoctrination, and such like.
“But the hour cometh, and NOW is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24 God is a Spirit: and they that WORSHIP Him must WORSHIP Him IN spirit and IN truth” John 4:23-24.
There is the need to be ALWAYS in the gathering of God’s gracious, precious and blessed people for the inspiring, revealing and empowering of God’s grace and BLESSEDNESS in Christ Jesus’ stead.
“And let us consider [thoughtfully] how we may encourage one another to love and to do good deeds, 25 not FORSAKING OUR MEETING TOGETHER [as believers for worship and instruction], as is the HABIT OF SOME, but encouraging one another; and all the more [faithfully] as you see the day [of Christ’s return] approaching” Hebrews 10:24-25/Amplified.
Do not be a LONE Church, otherwise you are making yourself vulnerable and exposed to dangers known and unknown. For there is an enemy and his cohorts of the faith who will spare nothing to make prey and victims of a lone Church.
“. . . This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and The Church . . .” Ephesians 5:32 [21-33].
Be intentional and pragmatic to find yourself a place called THERE — [the gathering of God’s precious and redeemed people] — to worship and serve the Father God together by the Holy Spirit, through the Word, in Christ Jesus’ stead. Meaning: a people of like precious faith, believing in the grace in Christ Jesus’ stead, under a Shepherd.
“Obey your [spiritual] leaders and submit to them [recognizing their authority over you], for they are keeping watch over your souls and continually guarding your spiritual welfare as those who will give an account [of their stewardship of you]. Let them do this with joy and not with grief and groans, for this would be of no benefit to you” Hebrews 13:17/Amplified.
Note: I wrote “under a Shepherd”. Do not be a sheep without a known shepherd who can give account for your soul, in good times and challenging times. For the Church is defined as an individual, local and universal body of born-again, Spirit-filled — [Spirit-ruled and Spirit-led] — believers in God, in Christ Jesus, under a Shepherd, in grace.
“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens [outsiders without rights of citizenship], but you are fellow citizens with the saints (God’s people), and are [members] of God’s household, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the [chief] Cornerstone” Ephesians 2:19-21.
It is my earnest PRAYER that you find a place called THERE — the gathering of God’s people — into which you can humbly walk to worship and serve the Father God in Christ Jesus, by the Holy Spirit, through the Word, without sentiment, prejudice or dissimulation. I therefore commend you to God, and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. Amen. Acts 20:32
.May God’s grace and BLESSEDNESS rest upon you as you have found yourself a place as God’s Church, in grace, in Christ Jesus’ stead. Amen.
SCRIPTURAL THOUGHTS WORTH PONDERING IN CONTEXT:
“God is faithful, by whom ye were CALLED unto the FELLOWSHIP of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord” 1 Corinthians 1:9.
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the CALLED according to his PURPOSE” Romans 8:28.
“Let us seize and hold tightly the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is reliable and trustworthy and faithful [to His word]; 24 and let us consider [thoughtfully] how we may encourage one another to love and to do good deeds, 25 not FORSAKING OUR MEETING TOGETHER [as believers for worship and instruction], as is the HABIT OF SOME, but encouraging one another; and all the more [faithfully] as you see the day [of Christ’s return] approaching” Hebrews 10:23-25.
“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the general assembly and CHURCH of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel” Hebrews 12:22-24.
Further Scriptural Reading: Psalms 16:11; Matthew 16:18-19.
SUMMARY:
This message of declaration is about identity, gathering, and worshiping in the Spirit . It calls believers back to the biblical understanding of the Church as people, not just a place or programme, and to the necessity of corporate fellowship for empowerment, protection, and growth.
KEY POINTS:
- OUR IDENTITY IN CHRIST: THE TRUE CHURCH
You ARE God’s Church. You are born-again, spiritually transformed, set apart for His purpose. Philippians 3:3
The Church is defined as the individual, local and universal body of born-again, Spirit-filled, Spirit-ruled and Spirit-led believers in God, in Christ Jesus, under a Shepherd, in grace. Ephesians 2:19-21
This is a mystery concerning Christ and the Church Ephesians 5:32. Your blessedness and inheritance are SEATED in the HEAVENLY PLACES in Christ Jesus’ stead.
- THE PURPOSE OF GATHERING: WORSHIP AND SERVICE IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH
While church services for the gathering of God’s people are necessary, the Church itself is the gathering to WORSHIP God WORTHILY and to SERVE Him ACCEPTABLY John 4:23-24.
This worship must be in spirit and in truth, not in religion, religiosity, sectarianism, denominational indoctrination, or dissimulation. Anything contrary to this is mere religion.
The call is to be intentional and pragmatic to find “THERE” — the gathering of God’s precious and redeemed people of like precious faith, under a Shepherd.
- THE NECESSITY AND POWER OF FELLOWSHIP
There is a need to be ALWAYS in the gathering of God’s gracious, precious and blessed people. Hebrews 10:24-25
Why? For the inspiring, revealing and empowering of God’s grace and BLESSEDNESS in Christ Jesus’ stead.
We are called unto the FELLOWSHIP of His Son Jesus Christ 1 Corinthians 1:9. We are not to forsake meeting together, but to encourage one another in love and good deeds, all the more as the day approaches.
To be a LONE Church is to be vulnerable and exposed to dangers known and unknown, because the enemy seeks to make prey and victims of isolated believers.
- SHEPHERDING AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Do not be a sheep without a known shepherd who can give account for your soul in good times and challenging times Hebrews 13:17.
Spiritual leaders keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Therefore, submit to them and obey, that they may do it with joy.
We have come to Mount Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, the general assembly and CHURCH of the firstborn registered in heaven Hebrews 12:22-24.
- THE BENEDICTION: COMMENDED TO GRACE
It is the earnest prayer that you find a place to humbly walk into to worship and serve the Father God by the Holy Spirit, through the Word.
You are commended to God, and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among the sanctified Acts 20:32.
May God’s grace and BLESSEDNESS rest upon you as you have found yourself a place as God’s Church, in grace, in Christ Jesus’ stead. Amen.
In one sentence:
This is a prophetic call to know your identity as God’s Church, to prioritise Spirit-and-truth fellowship under a Shepherd, to reject empty religion, and to be built up in grace so you walk in the BLESSEDNESS and purpose to which God has called you.
REV. CHUKIE MORSI
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