I've said this forever: I believe the CHURCH is the HOPE OF THE WORLD. I still believe that 1,000%. There is nowhere and nothing like the church, especially when it is working as it should be. By 'the church,' I always mean its PEOPLE. You. Me. The church (you ... me) is called to mirror Christ - His love, His grace, His peace, His justice, His truth.
That said, there are several things the church definitely is NOT. These are worth considering.
The church is not a BUILDING ... even though it's the number one definition in Webster's Dictionary when you look the word up. But churches all around the world don't meet in buildings at all. They meet in HOMES or in FIELDS or under TREES.
The church is not a BUSINESS. It has to DO business, be organized and handle funds, but its mission is so different from that of a business. A business delivers goods of some kind in order to turn a profit; the church doesn't exist for profit, but for God's glory.
The church is not ANY ONE DENOMINATION. The church consists of all those who have connected themselves to the Lord Jesus Christ and have been justified by grace alone thru faith alone in Christ alone. There are true Christians in the Anglican church, the Catholic church, the Presbyterian church, the Pentecostal, Reformed, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Nazarene and the Independent church, to name a few. Conversely, there are people who belong to Biblical churches who do not have a relationship with Christ. Only HE knows exactly which people are truly His.
The church is not the KINGDOM. Some believe the Kingdom is here - in its fulness - now. Others believe the Kingdom is exclusively future - something Christ will establish only at His return. But it is both. The Kingdom is here - now - already present in the church (that is you ... and me) and yet not fully realized until Christ returns.
And be blessed.
11 comments:
My very first thought in reading this is this: when I consider that the body of Christ is many denominations, then it makes me feel even more power of God to move mountains and do more miracles while we are here. It's not just Assembly of God, but all of the churches and hearts in our community and together we can do mighty things. I absolutely LOVE the Pray Kenosha meetings with all of our churches together! It is SO very powerful!
I watched a fabulous musical called the Bride that Alvia loaned me. It was all about the bride (the church) and how Jesus sent the Holy Spirit and He helped the bride to mature. She started out as a child and then grew to be a young woman and then came to be a mature woman and turned and built the church up even more and fought against Satan along with Jesus...and THEN it was time for the marriage...Christ's return. It is an amazing movie for anyone out there. Alvia says that we as Christians have authority over Satan...he has NO place in our lives. I love that...I have power over Satan, through Jesus Christ. I CAN fight against him...it is wonderful! He is the enemy and I am on God's side...so I don't just want to avoid him...I want to defeat him with the Holy Spirit's help. All of our brothers and sisters in Christ can do this..every denomination. He just isn't strong enough against the power of Jesus! THAT is exciting to me!
Preach it, Brother. :~)
I love this blog. It speaks directly to my heart, my heart for the church.
The secularization of God's plan has caused so much division & rift in the body. Just last week I was told I no longer have anything to say to a person I've known for years. Why, because I attend a church with a "doctrine" different than that church.
We are called to be the hands & feet of Jesus, plant, water reap when God is ready. How can we carry out God's plan if we continue fighting each other?
We must get busy for souls.
dM:
Don't get discouraged. Jesus was rebuffed too. Keep the faith and don't burn your bridges.
Dm,
If you want to get busy for souls, we will have an opportunity do witness to people this summer. I plan on heading it up. All we have to do is take the time to talk to them , love them and tell them how much Jesus loves them and maybe even lead them to Christ. We, as Christians are called to do that, so I am soon organizing that very thing and the success of that, determines how much more we will do later. Just something to keep in mind. Saving souls isn't only done in church...sometimes it is done on the street when we become Jesus with skin on and minister to those who need it. I hope you might join us! :) I've done it before and it is wonderful to hear someone give their hearts to Christ. They have a brand new start at life and eternal life with Jesus. What could be better?
In response to the last comment, I would caution against just telling people how much Jesus loves them. I'm not sure what your plan for the street is, but if I walked up to you and said that a friend of mine loves you, it wouldn't make a bit of difference to you (or you'd think I'm crazy), but you most likely wouldn't feel any longing for this friend of mine. But if I walked up to you and told you that you were caught committing a crime and I have the proof on tape and (regardless of whether or not you knew it was a crime) you will have to be punished harshly, you might take me seriously and be concerned, fearful, or even repentent. Then, if I told you that a friend of mine loves you and paid your fine, then you might have more positive feelings toward my friend and might want to get to know him. Telling people that Jesus loves them when they are not aware of their dire situation is like telling someone on an airplane to strap on a parachute because it will make you feel good. When they realize it's uncomfortable and not all it's cracked up to be, they'll throw it right off. But if you let them know they should put on the parachute because they will have to jump out of the airplane, they will put it on no matter how uncomfortable it is. There are no perfect analogies, but I was just recently born again, and I had the "Jesus loves you" gospel preached many times to me and I "accepted Jesus into my heart" years ago and, the truth is, I didn't get saved until I realized I needed Jesus because of my sin. In the days when Jesus walked the earth as a man, everyone was well aware of the law and how often they broke the law and that they needed to offer a sacrifice to repent--so Jesus' sacrifice on the cross made sense. Today, many people don't realize why they need Jesus or what it means to love. They don't have the background that the Jewish people did. There is danger in preaching God's love to people who are too proud to see their own sin. What do you think, PK? I'm new at this, so I could use some feedback.
ANON:
I could never put out a 'caution' to turn down the LOVE button. Not with lost people. When you look at the life of Jesus, He got upset and angry and frustrated, but it was never with lost people. It was only with His own disciples (believers) and the Pharisees (religious people). So I say - pour on the love where unbelievers are concerned.
I definitely agree that WE should love (of course), but to tell people that Jesus loves them without people realizing why they need Jesus is going to create a lot of people that don't love him back and that "ask Jesus into their hearts" without knowing why, thinking that now that they said those words they are saved . . and life goes on as usual. I'm suggesting that we lovingly stimulate them to consider WHY they need Jesus--because of their sin and their future destiny. Then, they can truly appreciate the love that Jesus showed us when he offered himself as a sacrifice to pay our debt, lest we spend eternity in hell. We should be careful not to let people think that simply saying the "sinner's prayer" will change their eternal destiny. I haven't been a Chrisitan too long, so maybe I'm wrong. Have you met people who have been born again without truly feeling a deep-seated repentence because of their sins?
Anon:
I get what your saying, but my mindset is in another direction. I am a person with a big heart, a willing servant for Jesus, and I just want people to know they ARE worthwhile and loved and cherished. As PK said in an earlier blog...God makes no junk. In my opinion, too many people suffer from low self-esteem and simply don't feel lovable.
I would feel comfortable sharing some of my sins, so they know that I have been there, but I would let them know that they really CAN turn to Jesus and be completely honest with Him...after all He already knows every bit of it. But if they want a new, fresh start, they can have it if they repent and ask Him into their hearts....AND, best of all, the Holy Spirit will help them, too. No one has to do this walk alone...He is always there if we let Him in.
BTW, I am hoping to have a afternoon cookout at a park in a low-income neighborhood. Food, fellowship, music and LOTS of love. :) Jesus with skin on. When I first was saved, PK was like that with me. He helped me believe in myself...I know that was God working through him, but it helped me and I have to believe in my heart that it will help others, too.
Who knows...maybe you might want to join us, as well. :)
Grace and love to the humble; law with love to the proud.
Jesus with skin on did not tell everyone they are worthy--he looked at them with love, but did not give them a false sense that they were worthy when they were not (i.e. not repentent). See Mark 10:17-31.
If people are already humble and hurting and recognize their need for a savior, they may turn readily to Jesus--and many low-income people may be in this position. So good for you for reaching out to them. I applaud you for this and have a huge heart for leading people to Christ, as well, which is why I have thought and prayed long and hard about how to witness to different groups of people. I want to be as effective as possible.
I have enjoyed this discussion. If you want more information about witnessing to the proud, you can check out this website www.thewayofthemaster.com. This is not an endorsement of that website by me or KFA, just some interesting information there to pray about.
By the way, when and where is the cookout?
I have watched Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort many times and I love their program! Great stuff!
The barbeque will hopefully be in July at a park in Kenosha. I only just presented my proposal to Pastor Kevin and Pastor Dan, so on Monday, I will be making some phone calls and see exactly what I need to do. I promise I will let as many people at KFA know as possible. Soon as I know, I will let you all know. It will be FUN and blessed! I am all about this exciting adventure we are all on with God is fun and fulfilling and purposeful!
God bless you! Kathy
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