THE HOUSE OF GOD (3)

THE HOUSE OF STRENGTH

What else is the house of God called? It is called the House of Strength

according to Psalm 84:7, the Bible says: They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.

The concept of the strength that I am referring to here is not the one you can define by the bicep build or the number of packs you have, it is beyond the physical ability although the physical strength is not neglected but the inner strength is far more important here. The strength of your inner man will pull your physical body, without mincing words, in our world of today, we have many things that keep sapping our spiritual energy except you keep building it up you may just discover that you are already fainting. But glory to God there is a provision for rebuilding of strength, there are things available for us which can help us rebuild our strength. Apostle Paul prayed for the Christians in Ephesians 3:16  That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; you have to be strengthened in the inner man daily as a Christian in this dying world.

This is where the house of God comes in, Psalms 84:7 They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God. Every time and any time we come to the presence of God it is for the renewal of our strength. How? The house of God has all it takes to feed you spiritually if you are spiritually hungry, there is provision for healings if you are sick, there is a well of joy to draw from in case you are dry of joy. These and many other things are there for you to get in God’s house. Through the word of God that will come from the altar, the music from the minstrel and prophecies from the throne of God. All put together, that is what makes Christians full of strength when we come together to fellowship. Ephesians 5:19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; the more we come to appear before Him in a congregational worship the more we are to grow in our spirit.

What are the operations in the house of God that will boost your strength? One of those operations is the sharing of the Word of God which can be called word study.

Word Study: The major aspect of church service is reading from the written Word of God and expounding on it.

Luke 4:16-17  And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, 

Matthew 9:35  And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom…

Acts 13:14-52  But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down. And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on. Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience… And the word of the Lord was published throughout the whole region… And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.

Colossians 4:16  And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.

The above scriptures show the pattern of word reading culture of the church, this was the normal practice, and the early church continued in the daily reading but with a deeper understanding and lively messages from the written word. The Holy Spirit took over the studying of the Word and life is emited from the letters. In whatever form the word comes, it has to perform what it is meant for. Isaiah 55:10-11  For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please. It shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. When the word is shared, as a Christian, you should be full of expectation that there shall be a performance that is according to your heart’s desires and aligns with God’s will.  

The church should not be a place you go and get more depressed than you came. This is why you should question many places that are tagged churches today but their operations are anti God.

For example in the name of saying words of knowledge and prophecies they put their listeners in fear. Many ‘churches’ are like ‘hammer houses of horror’ all you hear here and there are screaming of so-called evil spirits. You can see the faces of the congregants gripped with fear. By so doing it is very easy for the devil to X-ray their lives and tell them about the past and present. The operations of the familiar spirit are what they glorify and use to deceive their members. That is not the house of my God. The house of God is rather a house of peace. Psalm 23:2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. If God wants me besides the still waters why should His house be the house of commotion? This is not correct.

We gather to be strengthened. So please beware of the churches that claim they are the house of God but rather a house of ridicule. Jesus never ridiculed anyone. He will not send His servants to do what he did not do. Anything contrary to what God called his house should not be supported. God will bless us in Jesus’ name. Amen