(For those who may feel like they don’t belong) A few years ago, I fell to my knees beside my bed, and cried out to God for help. A severe traumatic event occurred in my life, and I was struggling with extreme fear and anxiety to the
point that I was unable to speak. If someone dared to approach me in the hope of sparking up a conversation, they would soon begin to withdraw in an awkward manner as I blurted out complete gibberish whilst fighting for air as if it were a scarce commodity. For nearly a year it was if the world spoke English, and I spoke French. I felt like a complete outcast. As if I didn’t belong anywhere.
In desperation I sought out after God, in worship and I let God know that I needed his breakthrough! Right there and then in my bedroom, at that very moment on my knees, the music that was playing in the background suddenly softened, and a someone’s voice began to dominate over the melody. The person spoke about the loneliness of Christ. How Jesus would often deal with the reality that no one truly understood what he was going through. There was no one that could identify with his situation or be sympathetic towards him. His own family probably thought that he was crazy, and religious leaders accused him of being demon-possessed. Yet He was the son of God, the Messiah, Jehovah in the flesh, and his thoughts and ways were not the thoughts and ways of those around him. Whilst the disciples were arguing about who was the greatest, Jesus was preparing to suffer a horrific death on the cross for the sins of mankind. He was abandoned, rejected, mistreated, hated, and eventually even killed.
Right there on the floor, I had a revelation that changed my life forever. It didn’t matter to me anymore if no one understood what I was going through, because Jesus did. I had been feel such a detachment and a sense of not belonging but in that instant, It no longer affected me that I didn’t belong in the world, because I was sure that I belonged with Jesus. I was sure that I belonged where he was. (They are not of the world, even as I am not of it - John 17:16). I belonged in the Church, the bride of Christ.
So, I began devoting myself to Church in order to draw near to him, and every Sunday, Jesus would surely meet me right there in my seat during worship, or during a sermon, and I would leave the Church building with a filled heart and a joy that I could barely contain. (Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you - James 4:8).
I wanted to share this marvellous joy with people, and it wasn’t long before God began opening doors for me to serve others. And oh, friend, what a blessing it is to serve others with a heart that is overflowing with the love of God!
Proverbs 11:25 says that “generous persons will prosper, those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.” Something magnificent happens when you partner with the body of Christ, and no longer live for yourself. When you choose to serve others, instead of serving yourself, you attract the blessings of God. God commands a blessing when we are in unity.
Friend, this story is but one witness account of many that depict the unstoppable power of Jesus that works through His church. Matthew 16:18 says; “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” The church is the only movement in the world that has lasted throughout history, and has withstood all forms of hell and opposition.
In Psalm 84:10 David says;
Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
At this point, David had gone through so much affliction in his life, it is such a revelation to find that he longed to be in God’s house in the time of his deepest sorrows. He was abandoned, disregarded, rejected and betrayed by those he loved most. With an assassination attempt on his life, David found himself hiding in the dessert with only his faith to sustain him. Instead of asking God for weapons to survive, or food, or an army to help him, he cried out to be in God’s house.
David knew that everything he needed was in God’s courts. Oh, how right is he!
Reflect:
If have you felt like you don’t belong or are an outcast in your family, workplace or society at large, Have you tried to find your place in the Church today, Is there anything stopping you from fully committing to being part of the Church?
Part of being in the Church is being planted firmly in a local congregation, Do you have a Church that you call Home and are firmly planted in or do you hop from Church to Church not wanting to commit to being planted
On Sunday at View Church Table View, Our Lead Pastor Spoke about the blessing of being planted in the Church and the growth and fruit that ensues. If you have not already listened to this message , Listen to it on the podcast available or watch it on you Tube on the links available below and consider why you have struggled to make any local Church a house that you can be planted in.
Prayer & Worship Time
Lord I come to you today. I know that Christ Jesus died for me so that I could be restored to the place I was created to belong, God’s unstoppable Church. Lord I pray that today you would remind me with your Holy Spirit that I may not feel like I belong anywhere else but I have a place in your Kingdom. Your word rightfully acknowledges my inheritance as your child because of the finished work of Christ dying for me on the cross. Lord awaken me to take my place actively in the Church. I declare that I unstoppable because I belong to the Church which is unstoppable. I yield to your leading and pray that I find peace and become firmly planted in a local Church so that I can begin to grow and flourish. Thank you Lord God for your leading, I surrender to your will today in Jesus mighty name, Amen!
ViewChurch (c) 2022 # Unstoppable
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