The Importance of the Church

Psalms 26:8 says "Lord I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thy honor dwelleth." In this Psalm King David is expressing his desire for being in the House of God. There's nothing more important in this world than the House of God. The church is one of the most important organisms God has created. He has created three institutions. They are the home, the government, and the church. They all play an important role in God's economy. However, the church is where you receive your spiritual help. Without the church we'd all be in a mess spiritually today. Where would you be if it weren't for the local church that God's placed in your life?

Hebrews 10:25 says, "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another: and so much the more as ye see the day approaching." God was telling us in Hebrews that it's vitally important to be in attendance at the House of God. When you miss church for whatever reason it may be, you don't know what you're missing. God may be showing up and you not be there to experience it. Psalms 69:9 says, "For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up." We should come to the House of God with zeal expecting the Lord to show up and work in the hearts of his people. Just Consider the passage in Acts when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples in the Upper Room and they were filled with the Holy Spirit. 3000 were saved that day. You never know what the Lord may do. God dwells in the habitation of his people. Church is the place where God meets with his people.

What kind of place is the church? It's a church where lost people can come and become saved through the preaching of the Word and the conviction of the Holy Spirit. It's a refilling station where everytime we come we are refilled and freshed by the Spirit of God. The church is a place where Christians can receive some help. Psalms 12:1 says "Help, Lord". We all desperately need help. We're a needy people. A church is a place where God meets with his people. I like that song that says, "Holy Spirit, Thou art Welcome in this Place." The Spirit of God should feel welcome by his people so he can move during the service. The church is the place for the preaching of the Word of God by a Biblically qualified pastor. The church is a place of prayer. Jesus said "My house shall be called a house of prayer." It's a place where we can pray for the needs of people and we can simultaneously bear each other's burdens. Church is a place to lift our voices and sing praise unto the Lord. The church is a place of worship. It's a place where we can fellowship with the saints of God. The church is a place where we can go to an altar and make things right in our lives. The church is the place for teaching (Sunday school instruction). The church is a place where God's people meet together. The church is a building as well. The Puritans regarded the saints of God as the church but the building as a meetinghouse. However, the Bible also makes reference to the building as the church as well. God has a specific designated place where he meets with his people.

There's so many functions of the church. Jesus gave himself for the church. The Bible makes a comparison to Christ's love for the church to a husband-wife relationship. Jesus loved and gave himself for the church. We're to have a love for the church for no other reason than because Jesus loves the church. The church is sacred. We should have tremendous respect for the House of God and be sober about the things of God. Whenever services take place within the church, God's people should be there in attendance unless providentially hindered.

There's nothing more important than what takes place at church. You can't place a high enough premium on the church. When God saves a sinner, he places him/her in the body and has a certain task for that saved person. We should be zealous of the church and desire to be a blessing anyway we can. In closing, Ephesians 5:27 says, "That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish."