“Let us not sleep, as do others.”—1 Thessalonians 5:6.
HERE are many ways of promoting Christian wakefulness. Among the rest, let me strongly advise Christians to converse together concerning the ways of the Lord. Christian and Hopeful, as they journeyed towards the Celestial City, said to themselves, “To prevent drowsiness in this place, let us fall into good discourse.” Christian enquired, “Brother, where shall we begin?” And Hopeful answered, “Where God began with us.” Then Christian sang this song—”When saints do sleepy grow, let them come hither,
And hear how these two pilgrims talk together;
Yea, let them learn of them, in any wise,
Thus to keep open their drowsy slumb’ring eyes.
Saints’ fellowship, if it be managed well,
Keeps them awake, and that in spite of hell.”
Christians who isolate themselves and walk alone, are very liable to grow drowsy. Hold Christian company, and you will be kept wakeful by it, and refreshed and encouraged to make quicker progress in the road to heaven. But as you thus take “sweet counsel” with others in the ways of God, take care that the theme of your converse is the Lord Jesus. Let the eye of faith be constantly looking unto Him; let your heart be full of Him; let your lips speak of His worth. Friend, live near to the cross, and thou wilt not sleep. Labour to impress thyself with a deep sense of the value of the place to which thou art going. If thou rememberest that thou art going to heaven, thou wilt not sleep on the road. If thou thinkest that hell is behind thee, and the devil pursuing thee, thou wilt not loiter. Would the manslayer sleep with the avenger of blood behind him, and the city of refuge before him? Christian, wilt thou sleep whilst the pearly gates are open—the songs of angels waiting for thee to join them—a crown of gold ready for thy brow? Ah! no; in holy fellowship continue to watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation.
http://www.romans45.org/morn_eve/m_e.html#06/11/PM
I believe it was Calvin in his Institutes that said the communion of the saints is an article of the Apostles creed…and is so fundamental to the Christian faith, that anyone who claims to be a Christian and does not gather/assemble with fellow saints is not even to be counted a Christian. The body of Christ is the bride of Christ and it consists of many members and the members have a variety of strengths, gifts, weaknesses etc. This is why God regards unity so highly in his word. Because we are a body. Does your nose leave your body because it doesn’t like the smell of the sphincter? LOL. Obviously not. That’s the way the body of Christ is supposed to be. The reason why we have so many divisions and denominations in the church today is because the church is low and the devil is having a heyday among Christians. Christians are scattered and divided. Even Christians in the same church are walking on thin ice trying to stay out of situations… it seems. But God’s people should not fear situations. We just need to obey God’s word and to act like members of a body. The public worship and assembly of God’s church is very important to God but so is the communion of the saints in terms of private meetings. How can the hand be a help to the foot if it doesn’t ever have anything to do with the foot? If the hand doesn’t wash the foot, the foot’s going to be dirty. If the foot doesn’t take the hand to do its work the hand will never be able to do it’s work. Individual members of the body need to meet together in private Fellowship meetings of some sort. I see two important aspects of the body of Christ. One is the public worship of God. And two is private Fellowship meetings which are listed in Acts chapter 2.
As far as I’m concerned the more of God’s people functioning as the church did in Acts chapter 2… the better. I would gladly join in a daily gathering where God’s people we’re meeting as they did in Acts chapter 2. In the past I’ve experienced great strength by the communion of the saints. I remember years ago back in 1986 and ’87 when I went to Bible college. God’s strengthed me mightily because I was daily surrounded by Christians. We were daily into the word of God. We were daily speaking to one another. We were daily worshiping God together. We’ve lost that as I see things in our culture and time. At least that’s my experience.
The reason I’m writing this is not to condemn …but to promote. We need to rekindle our love for one another. Jesus said they will know we are Christians by our love for one another. Love for one another is not shown by simply assembling in a church once a week for public worship. Public worship is necessary but it does not allow individual saints to interact with one another. God intends his people to spend time together and more than 15 minutes after church to chit chat and shoot the breeze. Just like we have families that need us as parents, so the body of Christ needs to help, minister, pray, counsel, teach, etc.. one another. That can’t be done in a 15 minute chit chat after church.
Acts 2:46-47 KJV
And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, [47] Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
The Shorter Catechism
of the Westminster Assembly
Explained and Proved
from Scripture
by Thomas Vincent
L. Ques. What is required in the second commandment?
Ans. The second commandment requireth the receiving, observing, and keeping pure and entire, all such religious worship and ordinances as God hath appointed in his word.
Q. 1. How doth the worship required in this second commandment differ from the worship required in the first commandment?
A. The worship required in the first commandment hath a respect unto the object of worship, whereby we are bound to worship the true God, and none else: the worship required in the second commandment hath a respect unto the means of worship, whereby we are bound to worship God according to the way and means of his own appointment, and no other.
Q. 2. What is the way and means which God hath appointed for his worship?
A. The only way and means which God hath appointed for his worship, are his ordinances, which he hath prescribed in his Word.
Q. 3. What are the ordinances which God hath appointed in his Word, to be the means of worship, and to be observed by his people ?
A. The ordinances which God hath appointed in his Word, to be the means of his worship, and to be observed by his people, are — 1. Prayer unto God with thanksgiving, and that publicly in assemblies, privately in families, and secretly in closets. “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.”— Phil. 4:6. “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”— Eph. 5:20. “And the whole multitude of people were praying.” — Luke 1:10. “Pour out thy fury upon the families which call not upon thy name.”— Jer. 10:25. “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which. is in secret, and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.” — Matt. 6:6. 2. Reading and searching the Scriptures. “For Moses is read in the synagogues every Sabbath-day.”— Acts 15:21. “Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me.”— John 5:39. 3. Preaching and hearing of the word. “Preach the word; be instant in season, and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and doctrine.”— 2 Tim. 4:2. “Hear, and your soul shall live.”— Isa. 55:3. 4. Singing of psalm.. “Praise ye the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.”— Ps. 149:1. “Is any merry? let him sing psalms.” — James 5:13.
5. Administration and receiving of the sacraments, both of baptism and the Lord’s supper. “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”— Matt. 28:19. “For I have received of the Lord that which also I have delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus, the same night in which lie was betrayed, took bread: and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the New Testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.”— 1 Cor. 11:23-25. 6. Fasting. “But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.”— Luke 5:35. 7. Instructing of children and household in the laws of the Lord. “For I know him, that he will command his children, and his house-hold after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord.” — Gen. 18:19. “And these words which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children.”— Deut. 6:6, 7. “And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring thera up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”— Eph. 6:4. 8. Conference and discourse of the things of God. “They that feared the Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard it.”— Mal. 3:16. “Thou shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”— Deut. 6:7.
9. Meditation. “I will meditate of all thy works.”— Ps. 77:12. “Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them, that thy profiting may appear unto all.”— 1 Tim. 4:15. 10. Vows to the Lord. “Vow and pay unto the Lord.”— Ps. 76:11. 11. Swearing by the name of the Lord, when lawfully called. “Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.— Deut. 6:13. 12. Exercise of Church discipline. “If thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church; but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican.”— Matt. 18:15-17.
A statement of the basics of the faith.
The Apostles’ Creed was not written by the Biblical Disciples. The name is deemed this as a sum and substance of the early Apostolic teaching which the disciples would have held to. Earliest version found is A.D. 215. The current version is circa 542 A.D.
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ,
His only Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell.[1]
The third day He arose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic [2] church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.
Amen.
End Notes:
1. “Descended into hell” does not refer to literally going down into the bowels of hell itself to be subject to the devil (which is the position of many heretical and charismatic preachers today). Rather, it is a poetic way of stating that Christ truly and assuredly died on the cross.
2. The word “catholic” refers not to the Roman Catholic Church, but to the universal church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
https://www.apuritansmind.com/creeds-and-confessions/the-apostles-creed/
RAIN MAKER (1Kings 8:35, 36) 