Have you ever gotten frustrated while assembling something, usually a child’s toy, on Christmas morning? I have, and I wouldn’t recommend what I did in those cases. Most people have probably done the same thing: I tried to figure it out myself. I would fit the pieces together logically, and the finished product would look like the picture on the outside of the box, although I often had one or two little pieces left. It looked fine, but it didn’t work correctly. Those two small parts were there for a reason; I just didn’t know where they belonged.
Too many Christians are like those stray pieces. They’re supposed to belong to a body, but they keep themselves separated. They may have a sincere relationship with Jesus and think they don’t need to be part of a local body, but they don’t know what they’re missing. For one thing, it’s not just about whether they feel they need to be part of a local church; the local church needs them and their supply of the Spirit.
You are Anointed, but so are Others
Faith Leader, you are anointed to do what God called you to, but God does not intend you to do it alone. You need the anointing on others to achieve God’s purposes and plans. 1 Corinthians 3:16, in the Amplified Bible, says: Do you not discern and understand that you [the whole church at Corinth] are God’s temple (His sanctuary) and that God’s Spirit has His permanent dwelling in you [to be at home in you, collectively as a church and also individually]?
Every born-again person has an unction [anointing] from the Holy One (1 John 2:20), but there is also a collective anointing when the church comes together that is stronger. Ephesians 4:16 confirms that truth. It says, from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
Proper Assembly
To function fully and powerfully, the church needs every part of the body of Christ fitly joined together, but there are too many disconnected members. That’s why Paul, who I believe to be the writer of Hebrews, also wrote: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. (Hebrews 10:25) The New Testament is translated from Greek, and the Greek word translated as assembly is episunagoge, which means a complete collection - a gathering together.
Although each apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher has an anointing, there is a greater anointing when God’s people assemble. God leads individuals to local churches not only for their benefit but also for the benefit of the body. Their anointing adds to the worship, message, prayer, or whatever the Holy Spirit has planned for that day. When we are missing people, it’s like a toy missing parts. It may look fine; there may still be dozens or hundreds or even thousands of people in the sanctuary, but something isn’t quite right because someone didn’t bring their supply of the Spirit.
Technology and Truth
Today, we have technology that didn’t exist when the Book of Hebrews was penned. Church services are broadcast online, and people can sit home in their pajamas, thinking they’ve “gone to church. " But have they? They may have heard the Word, which is always beneficial, but they haven’t contributed spiritually by being in the building.
We must determine that truth trumps technology. God’s Word, which is truth, says we must not stop meeting together and should do so more as we see “the day approaching.” That “day” is the time of the church's rapture and the revealing of the antichrist. As those events draw nearer, things will become rougher and more wicked. We will need the higher anointing that happens when we are together. I’m not against developing an online presence, but Faith Leaders should continue to teach the importance of every believer’s anointing in the body of Christ. As the day approaches, let’s go higher in the anointing together.
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