One of the things I used to hate to hear people say when I was growing up went something like this, “Soon enough everyone realizes that we all have to make our own way in this world.”
Not that it isn’t at least partially true. It is. What bothered me about it was that. “going it alone” is not how we were wired.
We were made for community by community. We serve a Triune God. God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They have eternally existed in perfect harmony and community. And man was created in God’s image—Like I said, “For community by community.” And it’s because of this desire for fellowship and community that an all out mindset of “Me against the world, Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps (whatever that means), Look out for number one, mentality really isn’t a great idea.
That doesn’t mean we swing the pendulum all the way to the other side and live in some sort of “group think” commune without diversity or incentive to do anything creative on our own—it just means we need to live in communion with God and one another for our life to have any kind of real meaning and impact (pun intended).
That’s why I’m thrilled so many came out for Impact’s first ever 24 hour prayer vigil! In fact, I believe it had a direct affect on the next morning at church. Not only was it another big day in terms of the amount of people who showed, but more importantly, it was the greatest response of God moving among the people, in the praise and worship and through the preaching of the Word we’ve had to date!
And that’s because, “God inhabits the praises of His people…” (Psalm 22:3 KJV) And we sang all together as if with one voice!
And it’s also because the Word of God is powerful! Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
Get these two things right at church and you will be an unstoppable force!