Hearing The Word of God

By hearing the word of God, you acquire the knowledge of God, and from that knowledge comes faith. It is important to be a member of a religion where the word of God is preached using the Holy Scriptures as the authoritative source of spiritual edification.
You should note, however, that the church or temple is only a building made of bricks, concrete and steel. God does not live in a church or temple, he lives in your soul. The church becomes the temple of God only when it is occupied by spirit-filled believers, as we read in 1st Corinthians 6:19:
"Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you, whom you have received from God?"
Just reading passages from the bible, hearing passionate sermons from the pulpit, or singing songs of praise to God in a church do not guarantee that God is in the midst of that congregation.
We would be doing ourselves a world of good when we heed what Paul said in 2nd Thessalonians 2:4: "He [Satan] will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God."
Satan has unparalleled skills of speech and ability to ingratiate himself into the hearts and minds of men and women, and once there, to take a prominent seat in the church, and pretend to be God.
In Matthew 18:19-20, Jesus said, "For where two or three come together in my name, there I am with them." Therefore, when we meet in the church, our task is to identify Satan when we see him; so that we do not mistakenly worship Satan whilst thinking we are worshiping God.
To identify and chase Satan from the church, the congregants should individually be indwelt by the Holy Spirit, who is the source of our light and strength. Once the congregants are filled with the Holy Spirit, the presence of Jesus in their midst will empower them to identify the false prophet (Matthew 7:15-16), and chase him away.
Within a church gathering of spirit-filled congregants, not only would each believer benefit from the sum of all the spiritual gifts flowing from as many persons as are in the group (1st Corinthians 12:7-11), but also each person's soul would have the opportunity to commune with God in his full majesty as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The believer is encouraged to network with other believers because it is impossible for him to possess all he needs to know about God. Participating in non-argumentative discussions with other believers on spiritual issues would deepen and broaden his knowledge of God, and anchor his faith.
And, since God often times sends what we pray for through the actions of our neighbors, networking with other believers and being active in church and social group activities puts the believer in the perfect place to receive what he prays for.
Ordained priests, pastors and ministers who have spent their entire lives studying the Holy Scriptures have insight into the word of God that less trained persons do not have. The believer is exhorted to listen to his priest or pastor, and ask questions when he needs issues of faith explained.
Great care should be exercised when choosing a church. For, we learn from the Holy Scriptures, that there are false prophets among us (2nd Peter 2:1-3) therefore, confirm the truth from the pulpit by reading the gospel daily.

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