As a Christian, Regularly Attending Gatherings Cannot Be Neglected!

Hello brothers and sisters of Spiritual Q&A,

I get very tired from working during the day, and I do not sleep very well at night. As a result, I am not willing to make it to gatherings on time. I do not like to be restricted. I feel that if I have spiritual needs, as long as I look for my brothers and sisters to chat during those times, it should be fine. I wonder what the cause of this issue is. How should I resolve this?

An Jing

Hello Sister An Jing,

You said that you are not willing to attend gatherings on time and that when you feel you have spiritual needs, that is the only time you will actively look for your brothers and sisters to chat. We can think like this because we do not understand what truly believing in God and the importance of gatherings are. Thank the Lord. I will talk a little bit about my understanding about this aspect. I hope it will be useful to you.

What It Means to Truly Believe in God

We all know that the reason why God originally created man was so that man would honor and worship God on earth. The Lord Jesus said: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment” (Mat 22:37-38). As believers in the Lord, we should all prioritize faith and worshiping God and have normal relationships with God. Gatherings, prayer, communicating the truth, singing hymns and praising God are ways to establish a normal relationship with God. As Christians, these are things that we must do at the very least. God’s words say: “‘Belief in God’ means believing that there is a God; this is the simplest concept of faith in God. What’s more, believing that there is a God is not the same as truly believing in God; rather, it is a kind of simple faith with strong religious overtones. True faith in God means experiencing the words and work of God based on a belief that God holds sovereignty over all things. So you shall be freed of your corrupt disposition, shall fulfill the desire of God, and shall come to know God. Only through such a journey can you be said to believe in God” (Preface to The Word Appears in the Flesh). “There are some people whose belief has never been acknowledged in God’s heart. In other words, God does not recognize that these people are His followers, because God does not praise their belief. … They regard believing in God as some kind of amateur hobby, treating God merely as spiritual sustenance…. How does God look upon these people? He views them as non-believers” (“How to Know God’s Disposition and the Result of His Work” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). From here we can see, if our faith in God merely consists of verbal acknowledgement and believing within our hearts, yet we do not pursue the truth, do not experience and practice God’s words but regard faith as spiritual sustenance or a hobby, this is not truly believing in God. God does not praise this sort of faith. True believers in God should frequently come before God, pray to God often, read God’s words often, attend gatherings often and understand more of the truth from God. At the same time, they must bring God’s words into real life. They believe that what happens every day is presided and arranged by God. This is especially the case when they encounter something that is not in accordance with their notions and when they reveal their own corruption and are unable to let go of it. They are able to come before God and reflect upon themselves in accordance with God’s words. They are able to seek in the environment arranged by God the lessons they should learn and the truths they should enter and put into practice. Afterward, they actually put them into practice in accordance with God’s demands, cast off satanic corrupt disposition, live out a normal humanity and in the end, achieve a true understanding of God, obedience to God and love for God. Only this way of experiencing God’s work and words constitutes truly believing in God. We can only obtain God’s approval if we believe in God in this manner. If we do this, in the end, we will be brought into God’s kingdom. Contrarily, if our faith does not involve a normal relationship with God, regular participation in gatherings, prayer, communicating the truth and putting God’s words into practice; if it is just a spare-time faith, if we believe in God a few years yet our corrupt disposition has not changed whatsoever and if we do not have a true understanding of God, God does not acknowledge this sort of faith. There is no difference between this and the faith of unbelievers. If our faith is like this, even though we believe until the very end, we will not be able to obtain God’s approval and salvation.

Church Life Is Essential

If we are unwilling to attend gatherings on time, this indicates that we do not understand the importance of church life. In fact, church life is our life of communicating God’s word and entering into the truth, and it is also the life of experiencing the Holy Spirit’s work and enjoying God’s love. Understanding the truth, entering into the truth and attaining God’s salvation are completely a result that is achieved through the Holy Spirit’s work. Only through our lives in the church where we serve and provide for one another, fulfill our duties and bear witness to God would we be able to easily obtain the Holy Spirit’s work and God’s perfection. In other words, winning God’s approval in regard to our faith and attaining His salvation are inextricably tied to a normal church life. In the Bible, it says: “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as you see the day approaching” (Heb 10:25). The Lord Jesus said: “Again I say to you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the middle of them” (Mat 18:19-20). From this, we can see, living a church life is one of God’s demands for us as Christians. Since our caliber itself is limited and we do not have the organ to receive the truth, it is very difficult to understand the truths and mysteries within God’s words. Even though we understand a lot of the literal meaning, we understand very little of God’s intentions and the demands that God has for man. But if we consistently participate in church life, pray together with our brothers and sisters, read God’s words and communicate our own understanding, experience and acceptance of God’s words, we will be able to obtain the Holy Spirit’s enlightenment and illumination. We will obtain even more light and rewards, we will understand more clearly God’s intentions and requests, and the path of practice will be even clearer. This is especially the case when we do not understand God’s words or encounter various difficulties. If we cooperate with our brothers and sisters to seek God, pray to God and have the Holy Spirit work amongst us, we will be able to understand the esoteric meaning of God’s words and all our problems and difficulties will be resolved because we understand the truth. The more problems we solve in our church life, the more truth we will understand and obtain. This way, we will no longer be annoyed with worldly affairs. Our lives will be effortless and liberating. Afterward, we will be able to tackle the situations we encounter in accordance with God’s intentions and demands. Gradually, God’s words will become the principles and directions with which we handle situations. Under the Holy Spirit’s guidance, we will walk upon the path of God’s salvation.