Avizandam. In Scots law, this term describes the careful consideration given by the judge before an important decision. Join me each week as we explore various topics from a spiritual perspective and take matters. Avizandum. Do you attend church?
Do you attend regularly? Do you just go when you feel like it? Do you say that you work hard during the week and need Sunday to lace around the house? If someone offends your church, do you use that as a reason to leave the church? or to only go occasionally.
Many people today have a weak view of the church. They regard attending the gathering of the people of God on the Lord's Day as an option. They used the slightest excuse not to go on a particular Sunday. And there are always excuses not to go. When we realize that the Church is the very body of Christ, and that we are part of that body, surely it must be of the highest priority to meet regularly to worship God, to be instructed by the Word of God, to pray, and to have fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
The Christian life is not a solo performance. In Ephesians four, Paul writes that the resurrected Christ gifted people to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God. to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. That's Ephesians four Verses twelve and thirteen.
So, we will not reach maturity in the Christian life apart from being in the body of Christ. Paul goes on to say that being equipped in the body of Christ will prevent us from being children, spiritually speaking, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness and deceitful schemes. On our own we are much more apt to fall into error, and to remain in spiritual immaturity. Our love for Christ and our brothers and sisters will then be diminished.
Some time ago I met a woman who I had thought I had not seen at Calvary for a while. She said she no longer came to the worship services, but was sitting at the feet of Jesus at home.
Now, that sounds very spiritual, but I told her it was more spiritual than the Bible. If she meant she was learning from Jesus, that was very good. But Scripture exhorts us to meet together as the Church of the Living God, and she was depriving herself of that means of grace. The writer of Hebrews states And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near. The injunction is very clear.
We are not to neglect meeting together. We are not to be ecclesiastical nomads. How can you love others? How can you help others if you're not there with them? We are to encourage one another, to bear one another's burdens.
and to pray for one another. I find it sad that some people can leave a local body of Christ so quickly.
Some leave and have no idea where their new spiritual home will be. That seems not only strange, but alarming. Over the years, I've found that the reason people give for leaving a church is often not the real reason. They don't want to say that they didn't have the opportunity to sing solos as often as they wanted. or that they weren't asked to teach a live group.
or that they were not invited to some one's home. or that some one ignored them or criticised them. To live in such circumstances is to demonstrate our immaturity. and also a lack of appreciation of the local body of Christ. Within the body there will be some disagreements, misunderstandings, unkind words spoken.
and unkind deeds. but we are to be characterized by love, forgiveness, mercy, and compassion. We shouldn't be quick to take offence or to stop serving the Lord because someone criticised us. In the first church I pastored, I met with a couple who said they were leaving the church. I was quite alarmed, as this was the first couple who had left since I had come there.
The church was growing. There seemed a spirit of unity.
Souls were being saved. And I have to admit, when the couple said they were leaving, I took that rather personally. When I asked the reason for their leaving, they explained that I was too evangelistic. I was spending too much time with the new people. They felt a bit neglected.
and I admitted that I was indeed spending more time with the new converts. After all, they were spiritual babies, and needed more time than people who supposedly were mature. The couple left, but they did return to the church in a couple of years. they found that the church they went to wasn't perfect either.
So, appreciate the body of Christ. Attend regularly. Encourage others. Look for ways to serve. Don't be so touchy.
Don't take offense so easily. Stand strong. In the grace of God. Love. the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Avizander. You're listening to the weekly Avizandam podcast from The Verdict featuring Pastor John Monroe. John is senior pastor at Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. Listen to John's daily program, The Verdict, on broadcast radio or major podcast platforms. For more information about the Verdict Ministry, visit us online at calvarychurch.com/slash the verdict.
