I remember the days when you could pull up to a “filling station” and get full-service. You would get your windshield washed, tires checked, oil checked, transmission checked, your tank filled with gas, and all this with a friendly smile. Whatever needed to be done, you would have it done. Most of the time, the attendant would know your name. We had all this for what, about thirty or forty cents a gallon for the gas? Back then, it was known and expected that when you pulled into a “service station,” you were going to be served in this manner. You were going to be thoroughly checked over and equipped to safely roll on down the road for the long haul, to arrive at your destination. Nowadays it is quite different. If you want your windshield cleaned, you do it yourself—if there is water in the box. It’s called “self-serve.” Whatever you need, you gotta figure it out and go buy it and put it in. When the church first got started, it was a full-service church. When you pulled into this church, you would get your life checked over by the spirit of holiness. If something needed tending to, you can better believe, it would be tended to. At this church you would get your sins exposed and washed away by repentance and faith in the blood of Jesus. You would get totally immersed by water baptism, showing a total commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ, to do the will of God from that day forward. You would get an infilling with the Holy Spirit with a supernatural prayer language imparted to you by which you could drive on down the road in the supernatural power of God. By that same anointing oil of the Spirit, you could live smoothly, operating in the anointing of God even in the face of adversities. If one of your spiritual tires was low, or flat, slowing progress, there were spiritual-minded brethren who could help take care of it without spreading rumors all over town. When you pulled into the early church, you knew you were going to be served by the Lord Himself. You knew you would drive away fully supplied and fully equipped with the supernatural power of God. You knew He would take you down the road with His strength and ability. By Him, you would fulfill your purpose in life and safely arrive at your destination. The early church was not a boring program of dead religious rituals. It was God serving the people with life, power, protection, and preparation for what lay ahead. It was not a self-serve pick and choose what I like or what I don’t like. It was God manifested for the good of the people. If you wanted God, you went to church and submitted your life to Him, knowing, He will take care of you. Good News! Today, God is still available “full-service” to those who seek Him with all their heart.
Full Service Filling Station
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