NOT FORGETTING THE ASSEMBLY
By Pastor Lem Niere
“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another,
and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” Hebrews 10:25
People tend to skip church and stay away from other believers when they get discouraged. Maybe you know someone who has done this. Maybe you’ve even done it yourself at a time in your life when you felt depressed or let down!
There are a myriad of reasons why people stay away from church. Perhaps they’re embarrassed that their faith isn’t working as fast as they think it should. Perhaps they’re ashamed that they’re still struggling with problems they think should have been resolved long ago.
Don’t let embarrassment or discouragement keep you away from other believers. You need their strength! You need their testimony or story. You need their encouragement. You need to hear them say, “You can do it! You can make it!”
The word “forsaking” in our text describes a person who feels left out, depressed, and far behind everyone else. The moment people begin to feel like they are failing or falling short of everyone else is often the moment when Satan tells them, “Oh, just stay home from church today. You don’t need to go down there with all those rejoicing people. You know that you don’t feel like being with them today, so why not just stay home by yourself? You don’t need them. You can just read the Bible at home!”
Satan knows that if he can get you to fall out of fellowship with other believers—at the very moment when you need fellowship and encouragement—then he can probably keep you down and defeated. Yes, it’s true you can read the Bible at home by yourself, and you need to do this. But fellowship with other believers is essential for everyone, and that includes you! You receive encouragement from others that you can’t get anywhere else.
That is why church is the last place the devil wants you to do when you’re feeling low! He knows if you go to church, you will be touched by the Presence of the Lord; you will get encouraged by others; and in the end, you’ll crawl out of that hole the enemy has put you in and rise up to a place of heavenly victory!
The devil works overtime to try to tempt you to skip church, stay home, and do something else instead. But, friend, why isolate yourself when you are in the greatest need of encouragement. Now as never before (in the light of the fact that the Day is drawing near) should we gather strength and vitality in fellowship with fellow believers. They’re not perfect, but their coming together is what sparks their faith, inspiring hope that the Lord is coming soon!
