Gates

Psalm 118:19-24

In Guatemala City, rich people live behind high walls. You can’t see their gardens or their houses from the street. If you’re a curious little kid, you can peek through wrought iron gates but you won’t see much. With just a glimpse of stone houses and colorful gardens, I used to imagine fairy tale style lives happening behind those walls.

But gates aren’t for looking through. They are a way for the residents and their guests to go into their home. They are also a reminder that what is on the other side is forbidden to those who don’t belong.

In the Bible there are numerous mentions of the King riding through the gates. He gets to go in because the gates open into His home. What’s exciting about this passage is that the King has invited me through the gates. I don’t have to stand out in the street and peek through the bars, hoping to catch a glimpse of Him and imagining what it’s like inside.

The gates are standing open for me. When I go through them I go right into His presence. I’m one of the guests who’s welcome in the house.

This passage also tells us that the cornerstone is the stone that was once rejected. I’m not going to analyze the metaphors here, but I will point out that Acts 4:11 says that Jesus is that rejected cornerstone. The Psalm is about Jesus. He’s the King that welcomes me; He’s the King that the gates lead to. 

But not everyone is welcome through the gates. They’re opened for the righteous to pass through. And here’s the really amazing part. King Jesus came out through the gates to find me, even though I wasn’t righteous. Then He made me godly and invited me in. I’m a welcome guest because the King made me into the kind of person who can be in His presence. 

So when I go through the gates that lead me into the presence of the Lord, I will thank Him. 

And on the day I go through the gates that lead me into the presence of the Lord, I rejoice. In fact, any day I spend in His presence is fully joyful (Psalm 16:11). 

I get to do that every day.

Why Go To Church

Luke 4:16, Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:1-2

Christians are part of the Body of Christ, which is the Church. That’s not a beautiful metaphor, it’s a fact. That means we need to commit ourselves to a church so we participate in a local body of believers. Wayne and I have been blessed to belong to several wonderful churches. There are a lot of different kinds of churches with a lot of different styles of worship and different priorities for their members, but God has always led us to the church where He wants us. We don’t entirely agree on worship styles, but we do agree on the importance of attending church.

If we ever had any doubt, these scriptures give a glimpse into what was important to Jesus and to the early Christians. They provide reasons to go to church.

Jesus habitually went to the synagogue on the Sabbath and read the scriptures. Going to church regularly is the first important thing. In our country we are blessed with so many choices that we have no excuse for not attending. But if we lived in a place with only one church and we didn’t like everything about it, we should still attend.

I’ve been to a Bat Mitzvah and a Jewish wedding, so I’ve seen some modern Jewish services, but I don’t know what all happened in the synagogue when Jesus attended. I do know they read the scriptures and talked about them. So Bible reading is important (even if no one brings their Bibles anymore because the scriptures are projected onto a screen).

The early believers gathered on the first day of the week to share the Lord’s supper. There are lots of traditions about taking communion – how it’s served, how often it’s served, who receives it . . . But it’s something the body of believers does together, so we need to go to church for communion. 

Paul preached when he met with the church. I haven’t researched this, but I assume that when he wasn’t there, other people preached. I’ve read that his letters were read at gatherings of believers and passed around the churches. However it was done, believers gathered to hear preaching. We should too.

The early believers took an offering for other churches. Paul advised them to do it weekly when they gathered on Sunday. The offering should be part of the service, but the point here is that churches should care for other Christians who have a need – not just support their own programs. We should go to church to bring our offerings.

To summarize, these are the reasons to go to church:

To follow Jesus’ example

To gather with other believers

To read the scriptures

To take communion

To hear preaching

To bring an offering

The cool thing is that I love doing these things and I love the churches where I’ve been going to do them.

Not My Interests

Isaiah 58:13

My favorite things to do on Sunday:

• Go to church

• Watch baseball, the race or football with Wayne

• Take a nap while watching baseball, the race or football with Wayne

• Eat something fun that I wouldn’t eat during the week

When I’m willing to admit that my motivation for most of the things I do is my own pleasure, I have to ask myself if I’m keeping the Sabbath holy when I do those things. Probably going to church – especially on the days I really worship Him. But what about the others?

I'm not sure this passage helps; instead it confuses me. Enjoy the Sabbath but don’t pursue my own interests on that day. How can I enjoy it if I’m not pursuing my interests? That’s always been why I hoped that keeping the Sabbath was an Old Testament thing that I didn’t have to worry about. It would be legalistic to try to not do anything I like on Sunday and hypocritical to pretend I like it. But it’s neither legalistic nor hypocritical to keep the Sabbath. The answer to the dilemma is right there in the middle of the verse. 

Speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day.

It’s God’s day. I love doing things for Wayne, even things I wouldn’t enjoy doing for myself. I clean and cook for him and I stand around Radio Shack and music stores while he ponders the delights of little wires and metal boxes with mysterious knobs on them. I even enjoy doing those things for him. My enjoyment is in Wayne, not the things I’m doing.

It’s the same with God. My joy is centered on Him, not on me and the things I'm doing. Joy doesn’t come from doing what I want. My delight in the Sabbath is that it’s His special day. 

I think it’s probably okay to watch sports and take naps on Sunday. But I love church because it's where His people gather. Last week the church had a dinner after services. I gladly missed part of the football game when we stayed to fellowship with God’s family. Next time the game is at night, I will gladly miss it so I can meet with the parents of teens group that Wayne and I lead. I gladly give up the things I like to do because being with God is even better.

The Honor of His Name

Malachi 3:16

One of my favorite parts of teaching is the small group presentation I assign halfway through the semester. By then the students have gotten to know each other a little, so they are comfortable working together. I give each group an assignment and time to work on it in class. The energy in the room is high, but it is focused on the tasks I’ve given them. Their conversation has a purpose. I walk around observing the groups, and although I don’t take notes of what is happening, I’m aware of the group dynamics.

I think God observes us like that. When we get together for fellowship, He watches and listens. Jesus said that when two or three of us gather in His name, He’s there with us (Matthew 18:20). I think He likes watching us. He takes notes of who fears Him and who’s thinking about the honor of His name.

The energy in a room of Christians is a lot more exciting than the energy I see in my student groups. Not only is Jesus present, but the Holy Spirit is dwelling in each of us. As we talk about God, the Spirit works in us to produce nothing less than worship. We usually start by talking about ourselves.

“How are you?” “Okay, but I could use prayer about . . .” “Miss … isn’t here because she’s hurting. Let’s pray for her.” 

And then we move on to tell how God has answered our prayers and all the awesome things He’s done for us.

“I saw the doctor last week and that problem had just disappeared.” “Praise the Lord, the loved one I’ve been praying for is coming around.”

So we thank Him and end by praising Him for who He is, not just for what He’s done. And that honors Him. It pleases Him when we think about the honor of His name. Our conversations, when they are Spirit filled, are about His name - who He is. He is loving, just, patient, kind and righteous.

That’s what we should talk about.