Notes of Faith October 28, 2024
Worship in Person
Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that…. Many nations shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.”
Micah 4:1-2
Today, the center of our spiritual worship is our local church; Paul refers to the Church today as God’s temple (Ephesians 2:21). In the Millennium, worship will change.
Isa 2:2-4
2 Now it will come about that
In the last days
The mountain of the house of the Lord
Will be established as the chief of the mountains,
And will be raised above the hills;
And all the nations will stream to it.
3 And many peoples will come and say,
"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
That He may teach us concerning His ways
And that we may walk in His paths."
For the law will go forth from Zion
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 And He will judge between the nations,
And will render decisions for many peoples;
And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation,
And never again will they learn war.
While believers will still gather locally, worship will once again have a central focus: Jerusalem and a new temple (Ezekiel 40–45). People from every nation will stream to Jerusalem to worship the King of kings and Lord of lords (Zechariah 8:23) whose government will emanate from the Holy City: “And the Lord shall be King over all the earth” (Zechariah 14:9). Today, we worship Him whom we have not seen “with joy inexpressible and full of glory” (1 Peter 1:8). But in the Millennial Kingdom, we will worship Him whom we will see with our own eyes, for He will receive our worship in person.
As you worship the Lord today, bear in mind what your worship will be like in the Kingdom—for a thousand years and beyond.
Nobody can call himself a Christian who does not worship Jesus.
John R. W. Stott
Many true believers that I have met have concerns about churches…every church that they attend. These churches seem to be a poor reflection of Christ and have issues, conflicts, personalities that do not fit with their idea of church. There is no perfect church, nor will there be. Those who are avoiding gathering together with other believers may be avoiding the truth of their own sin and difficulties of being one in Christ. We were made to live in community as God Himself always exists in the community of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We need each other, even with our failures and sin, to learn from God, to become more like Him, to forgive, forget, and pursue the holiness of Christ.
Heb 10:23-25
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; 24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
Go to church, serve God, serve His people!
Pastor Dale