The Importance of Church Life to a Christian

Hello, Brothers and Sisters of Testify God!

I am exhausted in the daytime, and can’t have enough sleep in the evening. So I don’t want to have meetings on time because I feel I was constrained by them. I think it is ok to talk with somebody when I need. I don’t know what’s the matter with my state? How can I solve it?

Anjing

Hello Sister Anjing,

We are not willing to have meetings and have such viewpoint that we can talk to somebody when we need, which is because we do not understand what true believing in God is and the importance of having meetings. Thank the Lord! I would like to share some understanding about this aspect. Hope it can benefit you a lot.

What Is True Believing in God?

We all know that God’s aim in creating man at the beginning is that He asks us to glorify and worship Him on earth. The Lord Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment” (Mat 22:37–38). As believers in the Lord, we should put believing in God and worshiping God before everything and maintain a normal relationship with God. Having meetings, praying, communicating the truth and singing hymns to praise God are the decorum that Christians should do and the responsibility that we as created beings should fulfill. God’s words say, “There are some people whose belief has never been acknowledged in God’s heart. In other words, God does not recognize that these people are His followers, because God does not praise their belief. … They regard believing in God as some kind of amateur hobby, treating God merely as spiritual sustenance.… How does God look upon these people? He views them as non-believers” (“How to Know God’s Disposition and the Result of His Work”). From this we can see that in God’s eyes, we are unbelievers if we believe in Him with our words, trust Him in our hearts and treat believing in Him as spiritual sustenance. The aim of God’s work is to save us who have been corrupted by Satan. True believers in God should always come before God, read more God’s word and act in accordance with God’s requirements and God’s words when things happen to them. They do not live in the old, corrupt satanic disposition but obey God’s work, pursue casting away the corrupt satanic disposition and having some knowledge about God’s work, His disposition and substance. This is truly believing in God. And only in this way can we be praised and saved by God, and finally be brought into His kingdom. On the contrary, if we don’t have a normal relationship with God, don’t attend meetings, don’t pray to God or fellowship about the truth, but regard believing in God as a kind of amateur hobby, God will view our belief as a kind of faith, seeing us as unbelievers. So even though we believe in Him until the very end, we cannot be praised by God. Not only will we lose the chance of God’s salvation, but we will lose the value and meaning of life as a created being.

Church Life Is Vitally Important

If we want our faith to be approved by God and we want to receive God’s salvation, we should know the importance of the church life. The Bible said, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as you see the day approaching” (Heb 10:25). “Again I say to you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven” (Mat 18:19). We don’t have an organ that can receive the truth and it is hard for us to understand the truths and mysteries in God’s words. Even though we have merely learned a little from the literal meaning of God’s words, we do not know God’s intentions or His requirements of man at all. In this way, although we follow God, we have no idea how to meet God’s will and how to satisfy God. Therefore, what we have believed in is the God of our own nations and a vague God in heaven. Such belief is not practical. However, when we read God’s words in the meetings with brothers and sisters, fellowship our own understanding about God’s words and learn the new light from others’ fellowship through living the church life, we will get more. Especially when we do not understand God’s words, we can seek God’s will and pray to God with the same mind, and then the Holy Spirit will work on us. We can understand the implied meaning of God’s words through the enlightenment and guidance of the Holy Spirit. As we gradually know God’s will and requirements, we will have a direction and a target. The difficulties in our job and the troubles in life will be solved because of our understanding of the truth, which will make us relax and release. Therefore, we won’t be entangled by the secular world. Only by keeping striving for God’s will and requirements, can we walk on the path of God’s salvation.

It is hard to gain the work of the Holy Spirit if we do not live the church life. We cannot understand the truth and enter the reality of the truth without the work of the Holy Spirit. Just like this, we will not taste the joy of God’s presence, let alone achieve God’s salvation. God’s words say, “If your spiritual life is not normal, you cannot understand God’s current work; you always feel that it is completely incompatible with your own notions, and you are willing to follow Him, but you lack internal drive. So no matter what God is currently doing, people must cooperate. If people don’t cooperate the Holy Spirit can’t do His work, and if people do not have a heart of cooperation, they cannot attain the work of the Holy Spirit. … If people do not cooperate with God and do not pursue deeper entry, God will take away what they once had. Inside, people are always greedy for ease and would rather enjoy what is already available. They want to gain God’s promises without paying any price at all. These are the extravagant thoughts within mankind. Gaining life itself without paying a price — what has ever been so easy? When someone believes in God and seeks to enter into life and seeks a change in their disposition, they must pay a price and achieve a state where they will always follow God no matter what He does. This is something that people must do. Even if you follow all of this as a rule, you must stick to it, and no matter how great the trials, you cannot let go of your normal relationship with God. You should be able to pray, maintain your church life, and stay with brothers and sisters. When God tries you, you should still seek the truth. This is the minimum for a spiritual life” (“You Ought to Maintain Your Devotion to God”). From this we can see regardless how busy our work is and how tired we are, it is important for us to keep normal spiritual life. Praying, reading God’s word and having meetings are part of the spiritual life. We will not gain the work of the Holy Spirit if we are not able to keep this. Although we are willing to follow God in our heart, we do not have confidence within. So the minimum for our belief is praying, having meetings and reading God’s words regularly. Only by keeping the spiritual life and meetings, can our life in spirit be strong.

In addition, we have been deeply corrupted by Satan, do not love positive things and our nature is filled with the poison of Satan. If we are not often close to God, it is easy for us to sink into Satan’s trap, act against God’s will, which will make God spurn us. Having meetings is a good chance to become close to God, through which the relationship of God and us can become closer. We can live before God at all times and accept God’s observation, so that we will not be unconventional and unrestricted, but live protected under God’s watchful eye. Meanwhile, we will be clear and astute in our spirit when we have a proper relationship with God. We will gain discernment about what God loathes and what God likes and stand on God’s side when things happen to us, not follow flesh and Satan to rebel against and resist God. Therefore, we will gain more blessings from God. So, the church life is vitally important for whether or not we finally can be saved and approved by God.

Live in the Presence of God and Under God’s Protection

The Lord Jesus said, “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Mat 11:30). Our life the Lord gives is light. And He hopes we can live a free and relax life, not so tired. But why do we always feel that our work is so hard that we don’t want to have meetings? These thoughts are all from Satan and there is its trickery within. God says, “What God wants to do in man is just what Satan wants to destroy, and what Satan wants to destroy is expressed through man without being hidden at all. … Satan’s destruction in mankind is also clearly represented — they are more and more depraved and their conditions are sinking lower and lower. If it’s dire enough, they could be captured by Satan” (“Interpretation of the Fifteenth Utterance”). Satan is an enemy of God. In all respects it opposes God and often acts on our fatal weakness to disturb our normal relationship with God, letting us follow and care for our flesh. Its purpose is to make us stray from God and pursue fallen and degenerate life and thereby achieve to swallow us. If we always accommodate ourselves and satisfy fleshly desire, we will be further and further from God so that Satan’s conspiracies are prevailed. Therefore, under these circumstances, we should especially come before God more and be closer to God, to pray to Him more and learn to rely on Him but not to leave the church life. We should make up our minds to satisfy God before Him. When we have this resolve to cooperate with God, Satan will rush to escape as soon as it sees that its scheme does not work on us. We will not feel that we are constrained by meetings any more while we are in a good situation. On the contrary, we will think having meetings is a kind of way to enjoy God’s love.

Thanks for God’s leading! Sister Anjing, that’s all for our fellowship. I hope today’s interaction is helpful for you. If you have any question, we can discuss together later …