A man went to church grumbled about the hypocrites he saw, the mistakes made by the song leader, the way offertory was collected, and the content of the pastor’s sermon. It was a very terrible service for him. He would have changed church had it not been the same elsewhere.

Another man in the same service said as he was leaving that it was an uplifting service and left with a joyful heart. Each of them experienced the truth of the words: “What you look for is what you get.”

In Psalms 122, David recalled the gladness he had felt when his companions invited him to accompany them to a religious festival in the temple at Jerusalem (v1,2). He spoke of the sense of oneness he experienced there with people from all the tribes (v3-5). He urged his readers to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. He longed for the food of all the people (v6-8). But as his thoughts focused on Jerusalem as the location of the temple, which represented the dwelling place of God, he pledged himself to seek its prosperity (v9). His whole attitude was positive.

Although there may have been hypocrites in the temple (as in the church today), David was not concerned with them. If he had been preoccupied with some faults in the priests’ performance of their tasks or mistakes the musicians made, he would have missed the joy of true worship. But he went looking for fellowship with believers and with God, and that’s what he found.

Yes, we get what we look for. What did you find in church today?

GO TO CHURCH TO WORSHIP, NOT WHISPER –

TO COMMUNE, NOT TO CRITICIZE.

God bless,
In Christ’s service,

Barry Leong

有一个人来到教会，埋怨他所看见的伪君子，诗歌领唱所犯的错误，收取奉献的方式，以及牧师讲道的内容。对他而言，这是非常糟糕的崇拜聚会。如果不是其他教会也大同小异，他早就转换教会了。

另外一个在相同崇拜聚会的人，在离开的时候却说这是振奋人心的聚会，并怀着喜悦的心离去。他们各人都体现了“所見即所得”的真理。

在诗篇122，大卫回顾当他的同伴邀请他在宗教节庆回到耶路撒冷的圣殿时他所感受到的喜悦（1,2节）。他述说自己在那里经历了来自各个支派的会众合一的精神（3-5节）。他呼吁他的读者要为耶路撒冷求平安。他渴望所有会众的食物（6-8节）。但是他的思想却专注于圣殿的所在地耶路撒冷，这是上帝降临的地方，他定意要为它求福（9节）。他的整个心态是非常积极的。

虽然在圣殿中可能会有虚假的人（就如今天的教会），大卫并不在乎他们。如果他真的只专注在祭司执行任务时的一些欠缺，或者乐手的错误，那么他就会失去真正敬拜的喜乐。但他去寻求的却是与信徒和与上帝之间的团契，这也是他所找到的。

是的，所見即所得。那么你今天在教会里找到什么呢？

去教会，是为了虔诚敬拜而不是窃窃私语–

是为了彼此交流而不是相互批评。

上帝赐福，
在基督里同工的，

Barry Leong