Away We Go

Now that 2013 is history, we need to look ahead. But for us to do this we must assess or examine ourselves to see if we have accomplished or completed the mission in which the Lord has called us to and or what, if anything that we have built. The apostle Paul tells us, "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?" (2 Corinthians 13:5) and "For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss..." (1 Corinthians 3:11-15)

So what is the litmus test to show us these things? First, we must look at our own life. Jesus said, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5) What is the fruit that has been produced in your life? First, has your knowledge of God's Word grown opening you to a greater realm of faith and revelation of spiritual things? This is probably the most important thing for believers. Throughout the Epistles we see that believers are exhorted to grow in the knowledge of God and our Lord Jesus Christ. The knowledge that believers are to come into is not a mental accent but that of revelation knowledge, that is, a full or complete knowledge which can only come by-way of the great teacher, the Spirit of Truth (John 14:17), "...The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things..." (John 14:26) "...who will guide you into all truth..." (John 16:13)

Next, have you acted upon the knowledge that you have received through God's Word? True Bible faith does not come because we believe God's Word. Believing God's Word will only build a capacity for faith. Faith is only built when we believe and act upon the Word. As we do this the Word becomes a part of our daily use being reflected in our conduct and speech. As faith grows, Satan's dominion and or deception that he tries to impose upon us weakens. Circumstances are less formidable because, fear, doubt and unbelief are destroyed. We also learn to possess and take advantage of our rights and privileges provided for us by the Father through Jesus Christ.

Now that we are believing and acting upon God's Word, growing in faith, what have we built or are building? One of the things to keep in mind when building the church (Jesus builds His church through us) is to be careful that we do not get caught in the mindset that quantity (numbers) is a true representation of fruit. Many church leaders have fallen prey to such without the slightest inclination that they have compromised quality. What this means is believing that numbers equals success can be misleading. The fact is, the success of Jesus ministry was five people at the cross, (John 19:25-26) one hundred twenty (Acts 1:15) in an upper room and finally five hundred others that saw Him after the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:6). This is the result of His three and one half years of ministry, ministering to multitudes.

There is certainly nothing wrong with a large congregation. However, when ten or twenty percent of the congregation is doing the work of ministry while the other eighty or ninety percent are consumers, then it should be apparent that there is a lack of spiritual growth or quality. When church leaders need to fill a ministry position in the church and find it necessary to petition the denomination headquarters or place an add in the local newspaper to do so, once again we see a lack of quality. This is not building with gold, silver and precious stones, but with wood, hay and straw that will eventually be tested with fire. Being a former firefighter, I can assure you that wood, hay and straw make for a blazing fire.

The church has the mandate to "Go make disciples." Disciples will do their share of the ministry that the Lord has called then to. Disciples make a strong infrastructure on which to add or multiply the number of believers. So as we have now entered 2014, let's let the Holy Spirit build the church through us using the building plan that we have, God's Word, the Bible. Let's move into a greater realm of faith, which will cause eighty or ninety percent of the believers doing the work of ministry as the other ten or twenty percent are being equipped for the work of ministry. Let us not repeat any of the previously years, but be "transformed into His image" (2 Corinthians 3:18). Let us go on to perfection (Hebrews 6:1)

The Purpose of the Church - Enforcing what Jesus Did

Looking at Christendom, we find great divisions throughout in both Catholicism and Protestantism that we call denomination. Many like to call this diversity and in some respect it is, however, division should not be a product of diversity. A husband and wife can have a family of six children consisting of both males and females and like most families there is diversity of individuals, but it does not necessitate division, but on the contrary, a richness that brings flavor to the entire family.

The Holy Spirit speaking through the apostle Paul reveals divisions in the church as the carnal acts of men due to a lack of spiritual understanding and maturity, "And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?" (1 Corinthians 3:1-3)  So, it stands to reason if envy, strife, and division is in the church, and this according to Paul is being canal and acting like the people of the world, then we must come to grips with one unfortunate fact. We have let the god of the world, Satan, (2 Corinthians 4:4) to deceive us and divide us.

This may be difficult to accept, but we cannot deny the fact that in most towns and cities throughout the world there are numerous congregations that do not work together to expand the Kingdom of God. In some cases, there are congregations that were created through a congregational split due to prideful, ungodly differences. I am not trying to paint a bleak picture of the church, but to reveal why the church is falling so short of upholding and enforcing the triumph that Jesus accomplished when He destroyed Satan and his kingdom of darkness.

Jesus tells us, "If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house." (Mark 3:24-27) Now we know that Jesus said, "...the gates of hell shall not prevail against His church", (Matthew 16:18) but we need to see the importance of what He is saying. He is telling us that Satan's kingdom is not divided but well organized. This should cause us to wake up and see the reality of why the church today has lost its impact in society. However, we also see something very clearly, Jesus has bound the strongman (Satan) and has plundered his house, (Matthew 12:29) not for His sake, but for the church.

The Bible also reveals, "He (Jesus) having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it." (Colossians 2:15) and, "...Jesus Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil." (Hebrews 2:14) Jesus tells us, "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you." (Luke 10:19) and "These signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons...they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." (Mark 16:17-18) and "And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:19) It is the church's purpose and responsibility to uphold and enforce the victory that Jesus won when He defeated Satan and stripped him of his authority once for all. This is the church's legacy.

Although Satan is defeated and stripped of his authority, the church must stop acting as though he has stopped his attacks against it, that is, believers. The church must stop ignoring him and or act like he does not exist, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." (1Peter 5:8) The church must stop hanging on to ridiculous doctrines that teach that when bad things happen to believers such as sickness, disease or premature death, that these things come from God. "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." (John 10:10) Think about it, why would God put sin and sickness on Jesus (Isaiah 53:4-5, 1 Peter 2:24) so that we could be free from both and then use them on His children for some mysterious purpose? Do we honestly suppose that God would contaminate Jesus' Body, the church, with such things? He doesn't! Satan does! I can also assure you that God does not use Satan, His enemy, (which is also the enemy of the church) to bring these things on His children. Satan is the murderer and liar (John 8:44) he is the thief, who steals, kills and destroys (John 10:10) a deceiver and accuser (Revelation 12:9-10), who continues to attack believers. But we must remember, he is a defeated foe and the church (believers) have the authority through Jesus Christ, to stop his attacks (Mark 16:17, Luke 10:19)

Our heavenly Father is the God of life for all through Jesus Christ,  "...I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." (John 10:10) and, "And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life..." (1 John 5:11-12) The life the Jesus has provided for the believer is life as God has it, eternal life. But we must understand that eternal life is not a destination we find when we pass from this life to the next. The believe has the life of God in them now! "...He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." (I John 4:4) and, "But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you." (Romans 8:11)

We must understand that the church is a triumphant church, "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:57) and, "Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ..." (2 Corinthians 2:14) The church is the Body of Christ with the authority of Jesus, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth." (Matthew 28:18) and we must understand, "what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all." (Ephesians 1:19-23) In other words, the church is backed by the power and authority of God Himself. The church stands in triumph over Satan and his kingdom of darkness because they are under the feet of the Body of Christ, the church. The fullness of Christ is in His church and therefore the church lacks absolutely nothing!!! (Colossians 2:9-10)

Therefore, it is time for the church to become forceful, even militant (Matthew 11:12) and uphold and enforce the triumph that Jesus accomplished over Satan and his kingdom. As we do this we must remember, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds." (2 Corinthians 10:3-4) and "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12) In other words, though the forces of darkness are set against the church always remember that they are defeated! This means that all the church does to stop the attacks of darkness is exactly what Jesus did during the forty days and nights of being tempted by Satan, "It is written," we use the Word of God. The church also has been given another mighty weapon, "Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:9-11) We use the mighty, wonderful  "Name of Jesus,"  that's all. No one fights a defeated foe. They simply uphold and enforce their triumph over their foe. Believers have the Word of God and the Name of Jesus to do this.

The church (every believer) has been redeemed to worship God; to build one another up in love; to win souls and make disciples and to uphold and enforce Jesus' triumph over Satan and his kingdom of darkness. This is the fourfold purpose of the church's existence. It is up to us to put away our childish ways (1 Corinthians 13:11), have a united front (John 17:21), uphold and enforce what Jesus did to Satan and His kingdom of darkness (Colossians 2:15, Hebrews 2:14) and once again become the unstoppable force that gave the early church such unprecedented success (The Acts of the Apostles) Let us respond  to what the apostle Paul said, "To Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever." Amen. (Ephesians 4:21) Let's get back to Jesus and let Him build His church!!!
   

The Purpose of the Church

Over the next several weeks I will be sharing what the purpose of the church is and why it exists. Before we start, there are some things that we must understand concerning the church. The church is not a parenthetical revelation which came due to the failure of the Jews to recognize their Messiah through unbelief. God had the church in mind before the foundations of the world. In Ephesians 3 the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul reveals the mystery of the church, "To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places,  according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Ephesians 3:8-11)

Several times the New Testament mentions the two ethnic groups that encompasses all of humanity, Jew and Gentile. However, Paul tells us, "Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God." (1 Corinthians 10:32) God in His eternal plan has brought forth another ethnic group in which He is at work combining both Jew and Gentile, "For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, (Jew and Gentile) and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, (Jew and Gentile) thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body (The Church) through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father." (Ephesians 2:14-18)

This third ethnic group as mentioned by Paul is "the Church of God." The word church is a translation of the Greek word "ekklesia' which consists of two other Greek words, "ek" which means out of and "Kaleo" which means to call. Thus the word ekklesia literally mean, "the called out ones." So, the church consists of every person, regardless of nation or culture who through Christ "are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy." (1 Peter 2:9-10) The church has been called out of the world, (John 15:18-19), out of the flesh (Galatians 5:13, 16-18) and out of the devil's dominion (Colossians 1:13-14) for a fourfold purpose.

The four main purposes of the church's existence are, to worship God, build one another up in love, win souls and make disciples, and uphold and enforce Jesus' triumph over Satan and his kingdom. As we progress in this series we will explore each of these areas which concerns the purpose of the church's existence that will help us see if we are truly flowing in what God has called the church to be. It will also give us a benchmark do what God called Jeremiah to do if need be, that is, "to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down..." the worldly concepts that have crept into "the church of God" so that we through the Holy Spirit can "build and plant." Jesus said that He would build His church, so the question we must ask ourselves, "Is Jesus really building His church or are we building what we think is the church?"
.