Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. One of the most blessed
privileges of the children of God is to be able to meet together
with their brothers and sisters in Christ. Quite often we hear
the religious talking about the duty they have to go to church,
as if they were satisfying some obligation. As the sons of God,
we don't look on our meeting together as though we are fulfilling
some quota of service or meeting the demands of a taskmaster.
What could be more delightful than gathering together with
those of like precious faith to praise our blessed Redeemer,
to learn His Word, and be encouraged and built up in the most holy
faith? Only those whose heart is a stranger to grace could
confuse this great privilege and see it as a chore. The things
that we value most are the things which occupy our thoughts and
our time. We set our priorities in life
based on those values. When we value the endeavors of
the flesh more than those of the spirit, then we choose to
walk after the dictates of the flesh. Know ye not that to whom
ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are
to whom ye obey, whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto
righteousness? God's children are not under
any obligation to go to any meetings, but we do have a responsibility
to our brethren. We must consider our brothers
and sisters in Christ so that we may encourage them to walk
in faith, hope, and love. Our flesh tells us to consider
ourselves and what we want rather than what is best for our brethren.
The assembling of ourselves gives us the opportunity to minister
to the needs of our brothers and sisters. When we neglect
it or value the desires of our flesh more than that responsibility,
then we miss that opportunity and we do a disservice to them.
Rather than giving occasion to our flesh, we ought to mortify
its deeds and pursue the higher calling that we have been given.
We should have the well-being of our brethren in mind at all
times, even when our flesh tells us otherwise. So what are some
of the tactics and excuses which the flesh uses to bring us into
captivity by neglecting the assembling of ourselves together? Number
one, our bodies are too old, too sick, or too tired to assemble. There is no controversy that
our flesh is weak. The Lord said it was. We are
not denying that sometimes infirmity is so severe as to keep us bedridden.
Sometimes we must be led about by others, but very often our
flesh will try to control us by exaggerating our condition
in our own minds. I have known many who are too
tired or sick to assemble, but able to perform many other endeavors.
When a sickness is not unto death, there is no better place for
the sick to be than gathered together with those who are praying
for the sick. When we become so old that we
do not know who or where we are, then perhaps age is a viable
excuse. Sleep is a necessity, but the
overindulgence of it can destroy us. How often have we seen the
same people who had to sleep late and thereby neglect the
assembly able to rise at any hour to go fishing, hunting,
or shopping? Number two, We have other important
things to attend to. What can be more important than
ministering to our brethren? Getting our priorities in order
is a necessity for all of God's people. Set your affection on
things above, not on things of the earth. Number three, we have
to spend quality time with our families. One of the great blessings
which God has bestowed on us is that of having children. Children
are an heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is
His reward. Oft times the flesh will tell
us to neglect the assembly of the saints in order to indulge
our children in their various activities. In reality, we are
teaching them important lessons about our priorities, which will
surely not provoke them to love in good or worse, thereby negating
any supposed benefit otherwise. We could go on with other examples,
but hopefully these will give us an idea of what a formidable
foe our flesh is. Our exhortations to one another
should be steadfast and continual, especially as we see the day
approaching. The challenges facing us all
are quite large, and we need each other to encourage and help
us to meet them in the Spirit of Christ. There is already a
great deception going forth, which will only increase as time
goes on. Brethren, pray one for the other
and don't neglect the main opportunity you have to encourage and help
your brothers and sisters in the way. And that knowing the
time that now it is high time to awake out of sleep. For now
is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is
far spent, the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the
works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light. For
a free CD containing 15 of these radio broadcasts, send an email
to forthepoor at windstream.net.