Why I never go to church

[mjrhealth]

Number of times Jesus tells any one to go to Church = 0
Number of times Jesus calls people to Himself = 22+

Mat_8:22 But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.
Mat_10:38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
Mat_11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Mat_11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Mat_14:18 He said, Bring them hither to me.
Mat_16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Mat_19:14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat_19:21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
Mar_7:14 And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand:
Mar_8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Mar_10:14 But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
Mar_10:21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
Luk_6:47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
Luk_9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Luk_9:59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
Luk_14:27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple
Luk_18:16 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
Joh_1:43 The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.

A bit of a kicker

Joh_5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
Joh_5:40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

Joh_7:37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
Joh_10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
Joh_10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

Most important

Joh_12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.


I am sure you can find the rest

In All His most precious love and Grace

 

[Groundzero]

Churches are all the same thing. "Come here once a week to pray for two minutes and forget about it for another week. Come here and be a Christian for one day" Churches are kind of like that. Now in churches, all they talk about is Bible verses and never explain them, and everyone says the same prayers. some chruches are all about money. I never go to church because I Want an everyday talk with God. I pray all day every day. Every single hour I repent it seems. I never go to church because It is too religion. I am not religious. I love Jesus Christ and He is my light, my friend, my Savior, and He is far better than religion. Lord, I dont want to say the same old prayers that everyone else says. I want to say my own personal prayers to you. Church Is not the proper way to Express Love for the Lord. Sincere prayer is.
In the name of Jesus
Amen

You need to come over to Newcastle Australia for a holiday.

 

[Episkopos]

Earthly authority is nothing to get worked up over - I used to rebel against it constantly - now I am old and sold out I guess. It just does not bother me anymore.

Earthly authority is fine for earthly things. But the church must be led by the Spirit. A leader in the church points to this leading through their example.

 

[Ace Michaels]

Hi Warrior!
I am sorry to hear how you feel about church. I can assure you that the church I attend here in Texas is not like that. We have a wonderful church community that truly loves the Lord and is carrying out the Great Commision as best we can. I tend to look at church as a place for worship and fellowship. We need to encourage and strengthen each other because this old world can sure beat you down and I know I need like minded individuals to help me from time to time just as I help them from time to time. For me it is also a way to charge my spiritual batteries. I don't trust TV preachers and so-called religous programming, but I do trust my pastor and the congregation at my church. They help encourage me to spread the Good News whenever the oppurtunity presents itself. They have helped me underrstand when the Holy Spirit is prompting me to act and to have courage to act. I don't think I could do this alone. There are things i understand and things I don't. I like having older more advanced members to help and guide me as I do the same for members younger than me and just starting their walk with our Lord.

 

[Couppy]

Hi Warrior!
I agree with you! Churches can be a little too methodical in their approach at times and they can get caught up following certain trends in relation to prayer...rather than seeking God out for themselves or just talking to God like you would a friend...and that is all prayer is..."one on one communication with God."

The Church is usually structured so that the Pastor can preach a word for the week accompanied by some awesome praise and worship. Some Churches have sharing time and also a time where the ministry team can pray for members after the service.
It is not usually geared for any deeper discussions however, but most Churches have home groups that cater for new members or others who are looking for a more in-depth study during the week and people also get to socialize a little. These are great places to grow and make new friends. I have a friend struggling in this area also. He loves God but hates going to Church. That is because of bad past experiences he has encountered in them...but the bible says that we are to encourage one another as we meet together on a regular basis...

Hebrews 10
[sup]24 [/sup]And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, [sup]25 [/sup]not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.


My friend is back in Church now after discussing this verse with him. It is so important that we gather with other believers because [as I said to my friend] "A coal that has fallen from the fire will soon grow cold without the heat of the others around it. Also, sheep tend to get picked off easier by the wolves when they have been separated from the others. He is also getting together with other members...[outside Church] just to hang out. He is still cautious but feels much better for it....

I'd also just like to say [and I'm just generalizing here] that sometimes when we get hurt in a Church by someone or a situation and we leave hurt...we can't stay that way, otherwise it becomes an excuse not to go back again. God wants us to go back...he wants us to gather together and encourage each other..."as iron sharpens iron" we gotta learn to forgive those hurts, brush ourselves off and get back into the battle... ^_^ and back to life in Jesus!

Blessings!!!

It is good advice you gave, Angelina. If someone is hurt and we no longer see them around we can always give them a call or get in touch. Just to give them a friendly push and let them know that we are still there for them.

 

[Axehead]

Yes, to an extent this is all true, but instead of never going to church, shouldn't we try and change it?

Been there done that. You cannot change the Religious System. Anything dependent on a budget and monthly income and where men's SALARIES and POSITIONS over OTHERS are involved, you cannot change. You will only be met with antagonism and hate. If you don't think so, try preaching the WHOLE COUNSEL of GOD to them.

Jesus loved the Church, He died for the Church. The Church is His bride, and He is coming back for her!

Amen to that!! But HE did not die for an ORGANIZATION. Not everything that is called a Church is a church just like not everyone who says "LORD, LORD", does what HE says.

We can tell ourselves that as Christians we are part of that "Church"....but if that Church is stumbling and falling...and let's admit that there are still thousands and thousands of true Christians attending church...then don't we think we should do something to make these services less religious and more about Jesus??

Services? Hmmm, really all you can do is speak the truth to all you meet,

The more Christians who love Jesus pull out of these religious ceremonies, the worse they will get!!

God is using all of this religious nonsense to keep some eyes blind and open the eyes of others. Many are leaving the "Big Show" and meeting at home.

Here is a novel thought: "Where two or more are gathered in my Name, I am in the midst of them".

Axehead

P.S. How can the Church "go to Church"?

Has anyone forgot that the Bible says, "forsake not the assembly ………" that kinda means fellowship of some type with fellow believers, doe it not?

Amen. Fellowship with fellow believers.

 

[MTPockets]

Hi! 'Angelina'

I'm especially new here. But I wanted to say that I VERY much appreciated the sentiment of what you have commented as saying:
" It is so important that we gather with other believers because [as I said to my friend] "A coal that has fallen from the fire will soon grow cold without the heat of the others around it. Also, sheep tend to get picked off easier by the wolves when they have been separated from the others."
The allegories are excellently stated and I found them very helpful personally.

 

[JoeinArkansas]

Churches are all the same thing. "Come here once a week to pray for two minutes and forget about it for another week. Come here and be a Christian for one day" Churches are kind of like that. Now in churches, all they talk about is Bible verses and never explain them, and everyone says the same prayers. some chruches are all about money. I never go to church because I Want an everyday talk with God. I pray all day every day. Every single hour I repent it seems. I never go to church because It is too religion. I am not religious. I love Jesus Christ and He is my light, my friend, my Savior, and He is far better than religion. Lord, I dont want to say the same old prayers that everyone else says. I want to say my own personal prayers to you. Church Is not the proper way to Express Love for the Lord. Sincere prayer is.
In the name of Jesus
Amen

Dear Warrior,
Back on October 8th, 2005, my wife and I quit attending church, though not for the same reasons as you. On that day, the Lord answered a prayer that He caused me to pray three days earlier. At the time of my prayer, I didn't realize the earth shaking answer that He would give me. It turned my life upside down. That event was the spiritual second coming of Christ to me where He healed my spiritual vision. I had been in the church for the first 44 years of my life but after the Lord lifted the cloud from my spiritual vision, I finally came to know the truth about who I had actually been following during those first 44 years. Unless you have experienced the same thing in your life, you are not going to be able to relate to what I am saying. Since that time, I have found a few people through the internet that have experienced the same eye opening event in their lives. Mark 8: 22-25 explains what happened to me and to the others that I later meet online.

Mark 8:22 And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him.
Mark 8:23 And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought.
Mark 8:24 And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.
Mark 8:25 After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.

On the surface, it doesn't seem to be anything that remarkable about this healing of the blind man. But upon taking a careful look at it, it tells us a remarkable story. Christ was demonstrating to those who come to Him the process that He take us through to find Him. When we first come to Christ (shown by the Christ taking the blind man out of the town) we are considered the "called" out ones. Christ heals our spiritual vision but only enough for us to know that we want to follow Him but He leaves us completely nearsighted. Scripture identifies this nearsightedness as being spiritually blind. We want to follow Christ but we are so spiritually blind that we can't see Him or find the knowledge of Him. Because of our blindness, we are easily deceived by Satan who masquerades as Christ. We quickly find ourselves deceived by Satan and enter Satan's church. Christ even sends us a "strong delusion" so that we believe Satan's masuerade. I unknowingly followed Satan and His teachings for the first 44 years of my life. I didn't have a clue as to the deception I was under.

Now back to Mark 8:25, Christ comes again to the blind man and this time heals his spiritual vision completely. This is the event that happened to me on October 8th, 2005. He didn't appear to me but nevertheless, He came and healed my vision. I learned more on that day from scripture than I had learned the first 44 years of my life. In fact, I was having to "unlearn" what I had been taught so that I could receive the truth of scripture. By now, you are thinking that I am just another kook with a story. I can assure you that is not true. Unfortunately, the spiritual blindness is so dark and the strong delusion is so powerful, that only Christ's intervention can make you truly understand and believe what I am telling you. But for the sake of Christ's Elect, I tell you my expereince so that maybe those that Christ has chosen will believe and be healed.

Most of you realize that scripture says that Paul's conversion was the pattern that is the example of conversion. His conversion tells the same process as that of the blind man. Christ comes to Paul for the first time on the road to Damascus (being outside the town). As with the blind man, Paul is now "called". Immediately Paul calls Christ "Lord" and becomes blind. His blindness represents our spiritual blindness. At that time, Paul is led by the hand by someone else which represents Paul being spiritually blind and not able to find his own way. During this time in our lives, we are deceived by Satan and quickly find ourselves in Satan's church thinking that we are following Christ. We are completely deceived. Unfortunately for us, the nature of being deceived makes it impossible for us to know that we are deceived. We continue along in Satan's church for what scripture symbolizes as 40 years of wandering in the wilderness (what the Israelites did after leaving Eygpt). But in Paul's case, scripture uses 3 days as his time of blindness. The number 3 in scripture represents a process of time. Christ showed us the time of testing when He fasted for 40 days in the wilderness. During that time, Satan came to Him to tempt Him and to get Him to follow Him. Satan does the same with us when we first come to Christ. Satan deceives us into following him and he offers us his "stones" (false doctrines) to eat that we gladly accept since we are spiritually blind. But with Christ, Christ rejects the stones and says that man should live by the Word of God (bread). During our symbolic 40 years of testing, those not chosen by Christ die in the wilderness (in the harlot church) and are not chosen for the blessing of His church. But for the Elect's sake, their days are shortened so that they can come out of the wilderness and start following the true Christ. Matt 24:22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. At that time they are filled with the Holy Spirit and are no longer spiritually blind.

Christ calls to His Elect in the wilderness as symbolized in Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. He is calling for His Elect to come out of : Rev 17:5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. Those that can hear Christ's call have just received their healing of their spiritual vision. They come out of the mother of harlots or in most of our cases, one of her daughter harlots. This departing from the harlot church is symbolized by Lot leaving Sodom and the destruction of the city (harlot church) is described in the remainder of Rev ch. 18.

This process of salvation has been occuring in every generation since the time of Christ (Matt 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled). Matthew ch. 24 and most of Revelation is teaching us the details of the salvation process that Christ puts His Elect through. That is why Christ said "Rev 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified [it] by his angel unto his servant John:" "These things" must shortly come to pass in the life of each Elect person or they will die in the wilderness. As Christ said in Matt 24:34, these things have been happening in very generation from the time of His earthly ministry. They MUST shortly come to pass or the person will physically die and not be chosen for the church. Also in Revelation, it repeats 9 or 10 times that Christ "is was and will be". For something to be repeated that much, it is of great significance. What that phrase is referring to is the New Man (which is Christ in us) that is being formed in each new person in every generation since the time of Christ. The book of Revelation and Matthew 24 (and many other scriptures) are not referring to Christ's visable second coming to the world, they are describing Christ's second coming to His Elect to heal their spiritual vision and to take them out of the harlot church. Remember, the Kingdom of Heaven is within you. The second coming scriptures are dealing with how the Kingdom of Heaven comes inside you and changes you into a New Man in Christ.

If any of this makes any sense to anyone, maybe it your time to come out of the wilderness and start serving the true Christ. My wife and I heard Christ's call to "come out of her my people" back in 2005. I would be happy to help explain the truth of scripture to anyone who believes that they are hearing Christ's voice to come out too.

Anyway, that is why I do not go to "church" anymore.

Side note: Ever wonder why there are so many (more than 2000) different denominations of churches in the world? It's because they are run by spiritually blind people who use their carnal reasoning in trying to understand scripture. The doctrines are all over the place and yet no truth can be found in them.

Joe

 

[Arnie Manitoba]

At times I have attended 4 or more church type services per week .... just because I wanted to , was not trying to be super religious or anything.

Then , because of work or location , I have actually gone for a couple of years without setting foot in a church or being around christians. During those times I actually found myself becoming stronger , maybe because I no longer had the emotional uplifting normally found on Sunday service.

I have encountered many wonderful strong christian people who have never set foot in a church. I find that interesting.

The best thing our church did years ago was build a school .... grades 1 to 12. Unbelievable growth for the church , all kinds of family involvement all week long , a perfect mixture of old any youth all in harmony. The school follows the standard curriculum , universities accept our graduates , employers desire to hire the students.

The main benefit is the involvement of parents ... the kids are both in church and in school .... and then by default the parents are always active as well. In other words the church is open 7 days a week.