We are Called to Be
the Church
I am going to talk about this system we call
“church”. This church system has some major problems and
after 1900 years this system is actually doing more harm than good.
I’m more inclined to protect the church than
criticize it so I know this has to be an important word that the Holy Spirit
wants me to teach. I know that the Holy Spirit is trying hard to
wake us again.
Ø The true church is made up of individual
Christians, walking in the perfect (mature, complete, finished) nature of Jesus.
Ø I realize that the true church is the body of Christ. Jesus is the head
and we are the body.
1) The
true church understands what true growth really
is.
Our churches have adopted the system of
business for themselves rather than the higher values of the kingdom of Heaven
The church system counts attendance and sadly,
dollars at every meeting as its standard of growth.
Ø Big crowds, giant budgets, sprawling
multi-million dollar mega-complexes, large staffs, professional offices,
prestige and fame.
Ø If a huge crowd is attracted and a huge income
is produced, it is considered a successful church.
Ø The actual statistics
show that most of this “church growth” has only been rotating stock among
churches. It is “steeple chasing”.
Ø Growth in one church
happens almost instantly when a new building is built to out do the church
building down the road.
There are not more people in church—they just
migrated from smaller churches to larger ones.
The total number of Christians attending
church is declining.
Even though we have bigger churches than ever
there are fewer people attending church today than there were 10 years ago.
We – are – pretending - growth.
Ø
We have thousands of mega churches with superstar pastors with entertaining and relevant music.
Ø We have multi-million dollar Christian radio
stations, Christian publishers, Christian TV stations, Christian bookstores,
and Christian colleges.
The church
of Jesus
By God’s definition church growth actually
means having a true, radical, mature walk in Jesus daily, individually, line
upon line and precept upon precept, growing into the Christian nature that the
Holy Spirit is calling us to become.
Ø Obedience is valued higher than success in
God’s eye.
Ø God will always honour
the obedient and righteous true church above the famous and successful.
2) The
true church knows that Christianity is not a product.
The church system has created church goers who
think that we are a bunch of shoppers.
Ø Christians have become “customers” looking to
get what we want or we’ll go to the church down the street.
Ø We expect the church
to meet all our needs, cater to all our musical preferences, entertains us,
amuses us, impress us with clever sermon-ettes and create for us interesting
videos and movies.
Ø Today’s modern church
encourages independence, scientific reasoning, results, education, goals,
management, production and effectiveness.
Ø Business methods are
the new doctrines of our modern church.
The church system we have produced runs as
smoothly as a business
…because it is a business.
We have replaced the BODY OF CHRIST with the
BUSINESS OF CHRIST.
We have lost a very important ingredient:
We
have replaced the biblical covering of Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and
Teacher with a complicated structure of church staff, boards, deacons, elders
and other variety of leadership titles.
3) The
true church is a positive witness to those around
it.
Ø The church must stop the gossiping, back
biting, trash talking and lying of each other in it’s very own body.
Ø
As the church representing Jesus we must cry out to the Holy Spirit to
clean up our own sins of greed, our own sins of materialism, idolatry, lust,
divorce and fornication that
takes place right within our own fellowships.
The church system is making less and less
difference in the world around it.
In a recent article: When those who do not
attend any type of church were asked to define today’s church there was not
even a mention of helping the poor, orphans or widows.
There was no mention of going into all the
world or caring for all of creation.
When
regular church attendees were polled there was still no mention the commands
given to us by Jesus himself.
Ø
The vast majority of the world is simply unmoved towards the church—they neither
love nor hate it—they simply dismiss the church as not important in their
lives.
The world sees the church as judgmental nags
who expect unbelievers to cry out for forgiveness for their sins while it
ignores its own sin in its own fellowships.
The church claims to be changing the world but
mostly it is the other way around.
Ø We must no longer
think that telling the world about Jesus is enough.
Ø We must show them Jesus in us.
Ø We must become a model
of all God has called us to be.
The true church is called to be a powerful
witness to the world,
But there is
more world in the church today than there is church in the world.
Ø He is returning for a bride without spot or
wrinkle.
Ø Nothing less will do for a God who is Holy.
Ø His son’s bride must
be holy.
God will not have Jesus unequally yoked to the
world.
4) The
true church is a mirror called to reflect the
perfect,
complete nature of Jesus.
The nature of Jesus
does not happen just because someone has “prayed the prayer” or “goes to
church”.
Ø It is all about
Christians who make a difference in the world after the prayer has been prayed.
Ø It is about Christians
changing the world around us.
Ø It is about Christians
who not only believe in Jesus, but act like Him.
Ø Our minds are being
renewed.
Ø Our hearts are being
changed
The life
Jesus has called us to live must be set so high in priority that settling for a
little bit of prayer now and then will never do.
Our greatest desire must be to know Jesus
personally.
Ø
Attending church a few times a month and dropping 10% of
our pay check in the plate is not enough.
Ø We must desire to obey
God’s commands in every part of our lives and increase the level of true
commitment to each other.
It is 100% or nothing.
We say we want to change the world, but first
we must be willing to allow the Holy Spirit to put to death all of our ideas of
what our church should be.
Ø Where is the passion to know all there is to
know about Jesus?
Ø Why is a true Christian walk so rare among us
that when it appears the church considers it “radical,” even “dangerous?”
Ø Where is the conviction over our sins?
Ø Where is the appreciation
of the sacrifice of the early Christian church?
This must become the most important calling we
have before we can even dare to call ourselves “church”.
James 1: 21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow
of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to
save your souls.
22 But be doers
of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a
doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror;
24 for he observes himself, goes away, and
immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty
and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a
doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
26 If anyone
among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives
his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.
27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the
Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to
keep oneself unspotted from the world.
Jesus is not a product to be bought and sold.
He is a way of life
to be lived.
He is the highest
calling that one can imagine.
He is life more
abundantly.
Let the Holy Spirit transform the church into
the true body of Christ by first transforming us into the true nature of Christ.
Jesus has called us to
be led of the Holy Spirit,
Ø
to use His spiritual gifts for the
edifying of the body,
Ø
to allow the five-fold ministry to
spiritually equip everyone of us
Ø to ready us to enter into the Holy of Holies, blameless before our God
and king who is holy.
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