(Psalm 122:1)

When was the last time you were really glad to be coming to the House of the Lord?

While at camp, our speaker Bryce Bullis said, “The Lord God wants us to rejoice in Him and His work.”  If going to camp chapel or church isn’t joyful for you, something is wrong. 

Let’s take a survey:

We can be glad to come even through we were forced, have doubts, are discouraged, etc.

Notice Psalm 42 – David remembers how glad he was even though he is now very cast down.

I have seen about 20,000 people who were really excited about coming together at the Son Shine Concert.  I mean lining up hundreds deep and running to get a good seat! 

That doesn’t discount all the things that happen that make something as good as going to church seem hard.  We are aware of all those things aren’t we?  If you are not yet aware of this I do need to say that there will always be something that will distract you and your heart, if you decide to do something as good as going to worship with the living church.

I was talking to a young man who grew up on a dairy farm.  He said something that I haven’t heard for awhile – “if anything was going to go wrong, it was going to happen on Sunday morning.”

I haven’t lived on a farm for many years, but I know what he was talking about – do you?

How can I be glad about coming to church?

How can I be glad about going to the house of the Lord?

By realizing two things:

I.                    The church is the people not the things.

(Read Psalm 122:6-9)

Imagine if we didn’t know that the church wasn’t the nice buildings and grounds – we would be constantly distracted by what it takes to have nice buildings and grounds.

Imagine if we didn’t know that the church is not all the equipment and instruments that it takes to have a nice well-rounded worship service – we would be constantly distracted by all the equipment and instruments that it takes to have a nice worship service.

Imagine if we didn’t know that the church is not the nicely padded chairs, yea even some with arm rests – we would be constantly distracted by what chair I’m in and why this person got a arm chair and I didn’t.

Imagine if we thought that “church” was a certain time dedicated over to a particular ritual, fined tuned and ordered with no room for change and then timed to a millisecond – we would be constantly distracted by any change in routine and extremely taxed if our schedule was not kept.

If we have forgotten that “church” as we call it in NT times is people (not buildings and grounds, or equipment and instruments, or chairs padded or not, or a time spent in a church building).  If we only think of these things that accommodate the real living church, we will not be glad when someone says to us, “Let’s go to the house of the Lord”.

These are many of the good things that can distract us; not to mention all the evil things that will always seek to waylay us.

“Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own; you are bought at a price.  Therefore honor God with your body” (I Corinthians 6:19-20).

The temple and the church is the people – everything that we do is to accommodate the real church – the living and breathing one!

How can I be glad about coming to church?

How can I be glad about going to the house of the Lord?

By realizing the church is the people, not the things.

II.                 The church worships God not the people.

(Read Psalm 122:2-5)

Imagine if we thought that the church was primarily about our relationships with all the people.  Relationships with people are so good and our lives are to be spent working hard at all of those relationships.

How important are the relationship with the people?

Very important – “Love you neighbor as yourself”.  Miss this and you will not be glad to come to church.  This is one big opportunity to show that you love others more than you love yourself. 

But, the relationships with the people are #2 on the Scriptures top two countdown.  If you choose to work on everything else but the relationships with the people you will not be, as we say, a happy camper.

But in order to be glad to come to worship, the relationships with the people need to take second place to our relationship with the Lord.

When the church comes together, it is certainly not to worship the things – God forgive us! 

When the church comes together, it is not to worship the people – as important as they are.

(Nebuchadnezzar tried that in Daniel 4 – “Is this not great Babylon I have built by my power and for my glory?”  This misplaced worship resulted in a spell of temporary insanity for this great king, until he “praised the Most High, and honored and glorified Him who lives forever.”  Then his sanity was restored.)

When the church comes together, it is to worship the Living God.

So, did you? 

If you did, you will be glad when someone says to you, “Let us go into the House of the Lord”. 

For the NT Church it is the continual gathering together of born again believers.

We come to encourage and build up the body of Christ (this is a mystery that has been revealed).

We come together to worship God – according to His Word and Will – with my heart open and as best as I know how, I have come to worship God.

This makes me glad.