Theme Scriptures

John 7:14-16: “Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught. And the Jews marveled, saying, “How does this Man know letters, having never studied?” Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me”. 

Luke 19:47-48: “And He was teaching DAILY in the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him”.

John 8:2-4: “Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act”. 

Mark 3:1 “And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand”….

Exposition

We see from all the above quoted scriptures that Jesus, anytime He went into the temple, had an AGENDA. He either went in to teach, to heal, or to proclaim liberty; an example is with the woman who was accused of adultery…by the end of that story, Jesus shut the mouths of her accusers and she was spared the death penalty. 

We also see in Luke Chapter 19: 47 that Jesus was teaching DAILY in the temple. Jesus was present EVERY DAY in the temple! This shows us that Jesus is always in the midst of His children – He is always eager to visit His children and when He comes, He comes with packages; He comes with a Word; He comes with blessings; He comes with healing; He comes with deliverance, etc, BUT oftentimes when we go to Church, we do not go with the mindset of people coming to receive; or people going to have an encounter with their Father, the Almighty God; we don’t go with the mindset to receive from the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords….we just show up….without preparation. Attending church service has become like a ritual or routine, with us being so familiar and expecting proceedings to be the “usual” thing we see all the time. We don’t pray into the service; we don’t pray for the sent man; we don’t ask God, “what do you have for me today?”. We just show up and go with the flow!

We must be conscious of the fact that the Giver, our Lord, is intentional about showing up for His people whenever they gather and He is never tired of showing up, as we see from the theme scriptures. He is ready to show up everyday for His children…but sometimes we, who are supposed to receive, do not have a disposition of people ready to receive. Some people look tired when you see them in Church; it’s almost as if someone forced them to church. We are often not conscious of the fact that we are in church to HEAR A WORD FROM GOD….it doesn’t matter that a man is on the pulpit, the pastor/preacher/teacher/man of God is God’s representative….the words are not his. But sometimes we go with little to no enthusiasm, probably even tired or thinking about our problems…BUT THE SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEMS we are facing is right there in the temple, but we miss it. We read from our theme scriptures above that Jesus was going to the temple everyday….. everyday, everyday! The giver, who is our Lord, is never tired of giving but are we tired of receiving? Or are we ready to receive, but our posture is speaking otherwise? 

In Luke 19:47 we  read that “And He was teaching DAILY in the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, 

……..But why would they want to destroy Him?….it’s so that the people will not get what He came to give to them. They wanted to stop the move of God but guess what; the Bible continues and says that they “were unable to do anything; for all the people were very ATTENTIVE to hear Him”. You not being attentive can stop the move of God in a particular service. We give the enemy an opening when we get distracted – an opening to rob us of our blessings. 

The congregants in Luke 19:47 had come with a purpose! They had purposed that by hook or crook, today, we will hear this man. Everything that comes out of His mouth today we will take it! Nothing will destroy the move. Nothing will distract me!

You should know that during church service, there are forces that will try to stop you from receiving what God has for you and IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO ENSURE THAT YOU ARE NOT DISTRACTED. Because you being attentive is a weapon against the enemy’s attempt to stop you from grasping the teaching or receiving what God has for you.

You can go to church every time and leave the same because every time you go you are distracted. Something takes your attention from the service so you can’t focus. So there is a mindset or a focus you should have; that “today when I come, I am coming to meet the person who can change my destiny; the person who can break the chains and set me loose”. 

THERE’S A POSTURE WE MUST HAVE WHEN WE WANT TO RECEIVE. You know when you want to receive something, you need to open your hands so that the person giving it to you can place it in your palm. Once they stretch their arm to give, you must also stretch your arm to receive. In the case of some Christians, Jesus has stretched His arm but we have not adopted the right posture to receive. In the realms of the spirit our arms are resting on our sides, they are not stretched; or our fists are clenched. We have not positioned ourselves. You can do this by being attentive; knowing when and how to respond to a declaration; knowing when to sow a seed or offering; knowing  when to stand, knowing  when to kneel; knowing when and how to tap or key into the testimonies and prophecies of others; knowing how to receive prophecies, etc. You must be led by the Holy Spirit during church service.

In Luke 2:25 -32, we read about a man called Simeon and we read that he was just and devout, and had been “waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ”.

The Bible says Simeon had been waiting for the Consolation of Israel…he did not give up on that prophetic word. He held onto it and he did not forsake the temple. He kept on going till he saw Jesus. He held on to this word and was sensitive. He didn’t just get up and enter church…he communicated with the Holy Spirit and one faithful day he was led by the Spirit into the temple and that day he saw Jesus, when Mary and Joseph took Him to the temple. Jesus was just a baby but Simeon didn’t miss it. If you are sharp and attentive, it doesn’t matter how small you think the move of God is, you will not miss it. Jesus came in the form of a baby, but Simeon knew it was the Messiah. Some saw a family with a child, but someone saw the Saviour of the world! What is your expectation when you go to church?

The same was with the prophetess Anna in Luke 2:36. She lived in the church and lived a fasted life and she testified when she saw Jesus in the temple. Some people have never fasted before church ….some people have never gone to church with the mindset of going to see Jesus. 

When you are attentive, you will know when the Spirit is on the move; you will know when a pain has left you; you will know when the atmosphere demands that you kneel down or stand or drop an offering.

When we read Mark Chapter 3 it says “And He entered the synagogue again”. Again and again and again. God is always in His temple.

Do not let your time in church just be a routine. Be intentional about going to church. Go to church expectant; go to church knowing you are going to encounter God; go to church knowing it is another opportunity to hear from your Maker. IMMEDIATELY YOU ENTER THE TEMPLE, KNOW THAT YOU HAVE ENTERED THE HOUSE OF GOD AND IT’S NOT A JOKE. Anything can happen. 

Be intentional during worship, be attentive during the sermons…do not miss any move of the Spirit. And hold on to your prophetic word. Do not forsake church because you have not seen manifestation ….God is not a man that He should lie…..it shall surely come to pass. Be focused! Don’t be tired….. BE PREPARED to receive.

Prayer

Lord, help me to approach your presence with the reverence and respect that it deserves. Awaken my consciousness to who You are and help me to be intentional about my walk with You. Going forward, I renew my mind and my attitude to church services. Help me to be attentive and sensitive so I do not miss a move of the Spirit. Thank you for answered prayer in Jesus’ mighty name, AMEN.