The Pen is Mightier than the Sword
Togetherness!
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I am not going to fall into the trap that a young minister once fell into, when shortly after leaving college he stood in the pulpit to give his first sermon, and began by saying something like this:
“Today I want you all to think of yourselves as a lot of rabbits who have come for refreshment. I want to give you three lettuces from the Garden of the Hebrews which I hope will nourish you!”
I have no vision of readers with long ears or twitching noses reading this article, so I refrain from suggesting there are any rabbits involved! But I do believe the Lord, at this crucial time in the Interregnum, would have us share some thoughts from three verses found in the tenth chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, each verse beginning with the words, “let us!”
Now these two words alone imply that whatever is to follow should be done together. It does not say, “let me” or “let you” but “let us”. How much better it is if we can do things together anyway; work together, pray together, worship together, witness together, serve the Lord together—they will all help to bring us together!
One of the secrets of spiritual success (if that is the right phrase to use) in any Christian community, whether it is a Church Fellowship or an ordinary family, is “togetherness!” I once saw a poster outside a Gospel Hall which read: “The Family that prays together stays together—and Our Church is a Family”. How true! And it is scriptural!
Our Worship Together
“Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart,” the first of our three verses tells us, and suggests the need, not only to worship together, but to worship together in the right spirit. Not all worship is conducted in church, of course. I recall some precious Sunday Night Fellowship Hours in the lounge of a Christian hotel, which were definite acts of worship. Indeed, Jesus said, “Where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them” [Matthew 18:20]. And it may only be two or three gathered together in someone’s front room for a home group, but if they are met there in the name of Jesus, it is still an “act of worship”.
True worship, then, is not confined to a particular building or a set pattern; it is not the exclusive form of one particular group of people or another; it is not even governed by the numbers in the congregation. The important fact is that in any act of worship the people must come together.
I realise in the physical sense that several people (even two or three!) worshipping in the same place must be together; that, to use the words of Scripture, we “draw near” together; but our verse also adds, “with a sincere heart”. It is possible to come together without actually being together. You will remember that when the Holy Spirit came upon all who were in the upper room at Pentecost (Acts 2:4), it was only because “they were all together in one place” (Acts 2:1). The AV uses the more powerful phrase, “with one accord”. Do you think the Spirit would have come if they had not been together in one accord?
Now it may be in church in what is acceptably known as “an official act of worship”, or it may be in a Christian home where it is possible that all denominations are represented but all denominations are forgotten, or it could be just about anywhere, but unless we “draw near with a sincere heart”, then our worship is in vain – it is unacceptable to God. How can we worship in the right spirit if we are harbouring unkind or bitter thoughts concerning others, possibly only a few seats away? How can God accept our worship if we are condoning some sin, hiding some sinful habit whilst openly professing the opposite, drawing near to Him (or trying to) with anything but a sincere heart? How indeed!
Yes, it is vitally important, especially in this day and age with so much counter-attraction to draw us away from our Heavenly Father, that we come together to worship, and that we come together often. It is much more important for us to come to worship in the right spirit; that we are “all with one accord in one place”; that we “draw near with a sincere heart”.
Our Witness Together
“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess”, the second of our three verses tells us. So, following our worship together we proceed to witness together. Even Jesus realised the importance of witnessing together, for He sent His disciples out in twos (Luke 10:1). Again, the secret of spiritual success is to do things together, and this applies to our witnessing for the Lord, our telling others about Jesus.
Unfortunately, there are many Christians today who, though enjoying their times of worship (“couldn’t possibly live without them,” they say), yet never give a thought to personal witness. They take every opportunity to come together, to sing the praises of the Lord, to pray and testify in the sanctuary, but would hold back when it came to speaking to a work-mate or a neighbour about their soul and the claims of the Lord Jesus upon it.
I am reminded of the story of the Anglican brother who, whilst on holiday, attended a Society of Friends Meeting House to worship. It is the custom in such an act of worship for the Quakers to “wait upon God” in complete silence for often some considerable time before anyone speaks. (It is during such periods that some members begin to “quake in the spirit”, hence their unusual name.) The Anglican was a little puzzled by this new experience, and after a while leaned across to his friend, himself a Quaker, and whispered, “When does the service begin?”
To which the Quaker replied, “When this meeting ends!”
By all means let us attend our places of worship, for this is a vital part of our Christian life; but let us not neglect our service, our witness for the One to whom we direct our worship. We cannot shut ourselves away from the world and its needs. We cannot hide ourselves away in our places of worship with never a thought for those who attend anywhere but a place of worship. We cannot ignore the fact that there are still millions of people waiting to be told of the love of God, of the Saviour of the World, of the blessings and fruit of the Holy Spirit.
But – and it is a very important “but” - whenever we witness for the Lord, whether in the sanctuary or in the factory, if the message does not ring true it will do more harm than good. If the life that we live does not match the words that we speak then our witness is to no avail. The Word of God may encourage us to witness together, but it also reminds us to “hold unswervingly to the hope we profess”.
How can a person who is “on fire for the Lord” one day, and in the depths of depression or despair the next day, ever hope to convince anyone of a consistent faith or an unchangeable God? Yet again, how can a person with constantly changing views and ideas successfully witness; to those who have possibly very set views and ideas about God, and Christ, and the Church, and Christianity in general; but in a negative sense?
Yes, it is vitally important, especially in this day and age with so much counter-attraction to draw others away from our Heavenly Father, that we come together to witness, and that we come together often. It is much more important for us to come together to witness consistently, always with the same message, always with the same enthusiasm, all believing and speaking the same words of truth all the time; that we “hold unswervingly to the hope we profess”.
Our Work Together
“Let us consider how we may spur one another on”, the third of our three verses tells us, and refers to our work together. Whenever people come together for anything it is necessary to give consideration to others, and never more so than when we come together to work for the Lord. So often we want all our own way with never a thought for another’s feelings. I still remember quite vividly the scene in a church business meeting many years ago when one member stormed out of the building because she was asked to serve on the “white elephant” stall at the forthcoming bazaar, and not on the cake stall! And equally vividly I remember the argument between two men in the same meeting as to the best method for pinning the tail on the donkey! Yet, you know, our way of working may not always be the best way. We can always learn from our neighbour.
Now, I am going to suggest to you that if we worship in the right spirit – that we always draw near, together, with a sincere heart; and our daily witness always rings true because we “hold unswervingly to the hope we profess”; then it will naturally follow that when we come together to work for the Master we will automatically “consider one another” - we will always be ready to see the other person’s point of view.
When we look around us and see what work there is to do in the Lord’s name, in the realm of practical Christianity, we must surely realise time is too short for anything other than working together in harmony and love. As the Scripture verse continues, “let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds” (or the more powerful rendering from the AV) “let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works”. Incidentally, we will always find those who are willing just to provoke!
Allow me for a moment to use a Christian Hotel I once owned as an example of what I mean. There were four main areas of work, with many minor areas connected to the four—they were the kitchen, the dining room, the washing-up room, and the bedrooms. In that hotel the staff, like the guests, were a family. They worked together. (Yes, they worshipped and witnessed together, too!) Although certain staff were allocated to one of those main areas of work each day, when they had finished they would automatically lap over into another area to help others, often without even being asked. In that way all the staff, whatever their job, finished at approximately the same time, and no one felt they were working harder and longer than anyone else—even if it was the Lord’s work! This was provoking unto love and good works.
Yes, it is vitally important, especially in this day and age with so much counter-attraction to draw everyone away from our Heavenly Father, that we come together to work, and that we come together often. It is much more important for us, not just to come together to work for the Lord, but for us to come to work together for the Lord considering one another, and provoking only “unto love and to good works”.
Whilst I am not suggesting that I have been offering you lettuce leaves to nibble, nevertheless I do hope you have received some nourishment from God’s Word. Perhaps we could say it has been food for thought! But as these three verses speak to us of “togetherness”, let us remind ourselves again that the secret of spiritual success in any Christian community, whether a church fellowship, a Christian home group, ordinary family, or any other, is just that – togetherness! And we might also add, “The Family that prays, worships, witnesses, works, in fact, does just about everything together, stays together”. Let us make sure we always belong to such a family.
© 2005 Denis A. Wheadon. All rights reserved. Website: http://www.Pen4God.co.uk. This document is the property of the Author and
must not be displayed on any other websites without permission. Copies may be downloaded and printed for personal use only. Any contact
with the writer or comments concerning an article, can be made by email addressed to: denis.wheadon@Pen4God.co.uk
must not be displayed on any other websites without permission. Copies may be downloaded and printed for personal use only. Any contact
with the writer or comments concerning an article, can be made by email addressed to: denis.wheadon@Pen4God.co.uk
