Last Wednesday I took a friend to church with me.
He is a Christian, but he doesn't have a home-church.
He loved the service and the worship. He made plenty of new friends.
We were in the car on the way home and he told me,
"Your church is like my old church. At your church, they play the same music and that kinda stuff
but it feels different, it feels so much better..."
(Now, I know that church isn't about what it feels like, but the conversation went deeper, about conviction and responding to God's voice...)
After hearing my friend talk about the differences, I was flabbergasted at what I said next. It didn't feel like it came out of my mouth. It wasn't anything that I would normally say. It had to have been The Holy Spirit speaking through me.
"The difference between good and not-so-good churches is not about about the music or the message or the translation of the Bible they read. It's about the anointing and the acceptance and the desire of The Holy Spirit."
It's an important reminder, not just for a kid who isn't used to being in church, but for us, too.
Church can't be good because the music is good.
It can't be good because the speaker or preacher is "on point."
It's not good because it's entertaining or dramatic or "turnt up."
Church is good because the Holy Spirit is there waiting on us. He has the power to invade our hearts and make sinners want to repent and turn their lives around. He has the power to raise the dead to life, not just physically but also our dead and broken hearts. He has the power to break strongholds and revive broken dreams.
You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:13
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
John 14:26
The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
Psalm 145:18
