Holiness is not about a particular place but where ever God’s people choose to gather and call on the Lord. In the Old testament God commanded His people to come to a place such as the Temple where people could worship and draw near to Him. But we are New Testament Christians and are called to gather together to learn, share, discuss, care for one another, and do good works where ever we choose. The New Testament Temple is within our bodies. We are to be the bearers of the image of Jesus.
The picture above is our meeting place in the summer months. It is a public pavilion used by some to sit and read. Families have picnics and reunions there. I have seen birthday parties and wedding parties all use this same pavilion that PCF uses in the summer to gather for worship. This time of year it sits empty most of the time because of the weather.
Many churches sit empty all week. God does not live in these empty churches waiting for people to show up. He lives within the believers who choose to walk with Him. You are carrying the Holy Spirit with you at all times so Holiness is available to you at all times.
Many churches are closing their doors for good. Why? No people. Why no people? That is the million dollar question. If you love God, and you love your neighbor as much as you love yourself, and you know that God can change life for the better, what can you do to help people gather together? It’s complicated I know. But the truth is, we are all responsible for the church! If the church disbands and we go our separate ways, you still have the Holy Spirit but you must remember that there is an enemy who wants to destroy your faith fire within you and disrupt your ability to live your life as guided by the Holy Spirit. It is better to enter a battle with an army than to go it alone.
Imagine sitting by a large fireplace in the winter. It has a beautiful hot fire burning and is radiating warmth into the chilly room where you are sitting. It is so comforting, and wonderful. The fire is hot and providing warmth for the entire room because there are many logs all together generating fuel for the fire. At the bottom of the fire are many hot coals. So you reach into the fire with a fire poker and pull one of the hot coals out of the fire and set it alone on the hearth by its self. It won’t take long before that hot coal will completely loose its glow and burn out. It remained a hot coal giving off heat as long as it was amongst the other hot coals but once it was removed and allowed to sit alone, it rapidly lost its heat.
Hebrews 10:24-25 . 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.
We need each other to remain hot for God. We will slowly burn out if we try to be a Christian on our own. Unfortunately many churches fires are dwindling today. Many fires are barely staying alive. Pray about it! Let me know.
Love, pastor Kent