Enforcing What Jesus Did

For centuries we have created great divisions throughout 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!!!    

Win Souls and Make Disciples

The very heart of the LORD, especially concerning the multitudes who do not know Him, was, is and will always be, until His return, is for the church, in every generation, to engage every culture, to win souls and make disciples. It should be apparent to us that the more effective and intimate times of worship that we spend before the Lord, the more effective that we are at edifying one another, the more effective we will be as ministers of Christ bringing the good news of reconciliation to a lost world. The church is the only vehicle on the planet in which God is using to bring salvation to a lost and dying world. But just how effective is the church today in carrying out the great commission.

When we examine the workings of the early church it becomes a stark reality to the church today that we pale at fulfilling the great commission. Recent studies of the church in the USA show that approximately eighty percent of those who attend church one or more times a month, believe they have a personal responsibility to share the gospel. However, only nineteen percent of them have spoken to another person about how to become a Christian in the last twelve months. So how is the church growing today? Studies reveal that a good portion of church growth in the USA is not actually growth coming by way of reaching the lost as it is with Christians moving from church to church.  Demographic studies indicate that the percentage of Christians world wide is not increasing, but in fact, true Christianity is losing ground to false religions and humanistic concepts that have been accepted in the church by church leaders.

The humanistic approach for church growth has many names, but its purpose is to make church more accessible and sensitive to the needs of  so called "seekers." It appeals to liberal mainline denominational Christians, Catholics, secular humanists, some Messianic Jewish groups and many who have stopped attending church altogether. Why does it appeal to these groups? The central point of what they teach comes down to nothing more than pop psychology with self-improvement concepts of our day which they call, "relevant messages." They present a message contrary to the Word of God that promotes a worldview of personal fulfillment, that evil on earth is conquered through the good will of men, that there are no evil people but only misguided ones and worse yet for some, Jesus is not the only way to salvation. This is all for one purpose, so people can feel comfortable attending their services. It should be obvious why this approach attracts so many people. However, the great deception behind this approach is numbers. If there is growth, then God has to be in it. Though these congregations tend to grow very large, do numbers really mean that God is in it? Absolutely not!!! In fact Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world and I can assure you that God is not in it.

The church (name withheld) most likely recognized as the forefront runner of this method of church growth has conducted a major survey to see what the results are from this method of church growth. The major thing that this survey revealed was, there was heavy involvement in church programs and activities that contribute to church growth, but it did not translate into spiritual growth and maturity. Their approach to church was not producing solid disciples of Jesus Christ. Numbers yes, but not disciples. Findings like these have caused the church leaders to stand up and admit, "We made a mistake." Can you remember the last time a church leader said anything like that?  It certainly takes humility and courage to admit this, but they are correct in their conclusion and should be applauded. Some of the deceptions that they have come to grips with are such things as, recognizing that the Church today is into therapy and needs to teach doctrine and grow people in the faith. That the church cannot just lead people to a superficial confession of Christ and not have their lives transformed. That church leaders cannot let themselves get caught up in a "just-get-'em-in-the-doors" mentality, no matter how attractive and effective it looks. That this approach to church growth can too easily lead to the watering-down of the Gospel, to a "feel-good" faith, where the church has little impact in society. They have concluded that the health of the church is not just about the numbers. It's about the movement of people toward Christ, toward deep love for God and genuine love for others.

The most deceptive issue behind this approach to church growth is not being able to "discern the sign of the times." In 2 Timothy 3:1-5 the Holy Spirit reveals to the apostle Paul exactly what we see taking place in the church today, it's called apostasy. Apostasy is the disaffiliation, abandonment, or renunciation of one's religion; the abandonment or renunciation of a religious belief. Paul, addressing the coming apostasy tells us that it only produces a form of godliness not true godliness and that it opposes the real power of Christianity. Paul tells us, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek." (Romans 1:16) "And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God." (1 Corinthians 2:4-5) So what about real church growth?

In order for the church to see significant growth, it must adopt, embrace, implement and act upon the words that Jesus spoke which gave the early church unprecedented success and growth as well having an incredible impact and effect on society...
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20). The church is to make disciples, students and follower of Jesus, not converts and follower of the desires of the flesh. They are to be taught and to comply with all things that Jesus said and did. This means to be taught and comply with the Word of God, the Bible, not books filled with vain philosophy and psychology that have been authored by church leaders. Notice that what Jesus spoke is a command not a suggestion. He finishes His command by saying, "and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Church leaders must wake up and understand that if we are not obeying what the Lord has commanded, even though we may have large numbers of people, the Lord will not be with us. We will find ourselves building an Ichabod without even knowing it because we have mistaken numbers for true Christianity.

Jesus also said, "And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." (Mark 16:17-18) Then Mark also records, "So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs." (Mark 16:19-20) Jesus will always confirm His Word with signs and wonders. If congregation are not seeing signs and wonders then only three possibilities exist. You either do not believe that signs and wonders are for today, you are not teaching and preaching the Word of God or most likely, both. The reality is, signs and wonders have always been a part of God revealing Himself to humanity in both the Old and New Testament. It was signs, wonders and the Word of God that drew the multitudes to Jesus. It was signs, wonders and the Word of God that gave the early church unprecedented success and growth and it will be signs, wonders and the Word of God that will cause the greatest church growth in the end times.

I myself almost got caught up in building church the very way mentioned above where we experienced great numerical growth but it was at the expense of true spiritual growth. However, about six years ago a tug of war emerged within me where I became frustrated with church. The Lord spoke to me and told me to preach His Word and He would reproduce Himself in the saints who would walk in His grace and power through faith in Jesus Christ. Well, as fast as we grew, we began to shrink in number. But that also happened to Jesus when He spoke spiritual truths to his disciples,  "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you who do not believe. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. And He said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father. From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more." (John 6:63-66)  In the midst of it all I stood upon God's Word and as always He is faithful to do what He had promised.

The lost world desperately needs to see the real Jesus, and hear the real truth, God's Word. The Book of Acts reveals just how powerful the name of Jesus is as well as the Word of God. The apostle Paul knew this and considered all that he had learned his entire life as a religious leader to be repulsive to the knowledge of Christ, the truth. (Philippians 3:7-9) The lost world is depending on the church to rid itself of new age philosophies, pop psychology and worldly concepts of self-improvement and return back to the scriptures so that they can become complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work, experiencing true life as well as experience the power and glory that radiates from the life of Jesus Christ to the believer. Remember, Jesus Said, "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." (John 10:10) Bless the Lord!!! 

We Have Purpose

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?"
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Natural to Spiritual

Creation reveals the master hand of the Designer. Blind chance is not the author. Taking an honest, intelligent look at creation will agree that there is nothing left to chance. Creation is governed by fixed laws and these laws apply to the most minute cell, to the highest forms of life as well as all things seen and unseen. There is an intelligent purpose behind all creation and yet the theory of evolution (which in most institutions is taught as fact) has not given us any adequate reason for creation, why? Because we have forgotten that truth is eternal and theories are based on the opinions of man. Webster defines theory as facts related to one another based on unproved assumption. Also theories are limited by time as seen by the constant revisions made in much scientific discoveries from age to age.

Notice that theories are based on "unproved assumptions." Could this be why when evolution is mentioned educators and evolutionists who believe in this "unproved assumption" try to avoid using the term "theory of evolution." They know as fact, that it cannot be proven through any means. In short, it is argued that fossil records and biology can prove that evolution is the basis of creation; that life evolved from non-life; and that life as we know it came to exist by chance. However, modern day advancements in technology have concluded beyond question or reasonable doubt, that evolution is a fallacy. In fact, none of the means in which evolutionists use in their attempts to prove their "unproved assumption" actually disprove their theories.

I cannot speak for you, but it would take a whole lot of faith and a rejection of logic for me to believe the religion of evolution, especially when it has been proven scientifically (an evolutionists means to test theory) to be false. So if evolution cannot be proven, then why is it taught as fact? The apostle Paul tells us, "Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things...who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever." Amen. (Romans 1:21-25)

Every human being whether involved in religions other than a true form of Christianity or even if they profess to be atheist, know that something is not right, so they look for anything that will ease their conscience. Even though they know that Jehovah God exists, they refuse to acknowledge Him as God. But to appease their conscience some will believe that a higher power exists and thereby create a god in their own image, while other who emphatically deny the existence of God, resort to their futile thinking. In either case, they exchange the truth of God for a lie. Those who deny that God exists and yet are driven by the feeling that something is not right, fail to recognize the reason behind their quest. They refuse to believe that God blew His breath of life into the first created man and it was this breath that brought life into man. They cannot perceive that sin caused man to die spiritually and that "he has become flesh.” Nevertheless, man still has a spirit and that spirit longs to connect with its Creator and until it does, man will always be on a quest to find the answers to life.

The apostle Paul tells us, "But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ." (1 Corinthians 2:14-16) Looking at verse 14, we know another reason why evolutionist hold to the theory of evolution. However, looking at verse 15 and 16,  should be an encouragement to believers to take the truth of creation (the Creator) to those who do not believe. By adding faith to what Paul says, believers can present the truth to the world in a way that will provoke thought which will open the heart. Think where you were right before you were saved. You heard the truth, thought was provoked, your heart was opened, the Father gave you grace and faith and you believed from the heart, confessed with your mouth, and you were saved.

Think about this way, if the church is Gods vehicle to "turn the world upside down;" if the church is backed by the power of God; if it is Gods desire that all people be saved; if the authority of Christ has been delegated to the church, then there is no reason why the church cannot, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. (Matthew 28:19-20) "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might..." (Ephesians 6:10) So, let the power of the Holy Spirit work through us all to turn the natural mans thinking from foolish carnal thoughts to becoming born again and having the mind of Christ. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you... 

Denied - Part 1

Ice hockey is a fast paced contact sport that was developed in Canada in the 19th century. In short, ice hockey has two teams of six skaters, who attempt to drive a small solid rubber disk (the puck) into the opposing goal with a stick that has a hooked or angled end used to move the puck along the ice and for making goals. The sport has not changed much except today it is played in an ice rink. One of the things that I remember when at a ice hockey rink watching a game, was when the goalie, (a player who guards his teams net to prevent the opposing team from scoring a goal) would block a shot from an opposing team player from entering the goal net. When this happened, the screen on the score board which hung from the ceiling of the rink above the players in the center of the rink would have big flashing letters that said, "DENIED."

In my travels in ministry, as well as reading various media by Christian authors and viewing online videos of various ministries concerning the church today, has cause me to grieve at what is going on in the church, what the church has accepted as truth (which isn't), the twisting of God's Word with liberal New Age influence interpretations of scripture and what it refuses to do concerning building the church up spiritually. I not only believe, but I also see the very thing that General William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army said over 100 years in full swing today in the church. I quote, “I consider that the chief dangers which confront the coming century (meaning the 20th century, we are now in the 21st century) will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, and heaven without hell.” Let's not be naive. This statement is true in most sectors of the church whether Catholic or Protestant. This should grieve every believer and should move us to change.  

The fact is, we are being "denied" or actually denying ourselves of the wonderful blessings, gifts and callings that the Lord has given to the church. Let us not be deceived with large numbers in congregation thinking that God is somehow blessing us when the spiritual maturity of the church is that of carnal Christianity. (1 Corinthians 3:1-4) Let us not be taken by our large congregations when we are not building according to God's Word and being led by the Holy Spirit. There are numerous organizations with large numbers of people who are anti-Christ and anti-church.

One of the things that should grieve us most is our lack of love for one another especially when Jesus, our LORD, commanded us to "love one another." In reality, the early church also had its share of problems, but it had leaders that were willing to confront the issues with God's Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit, not the opinions, thoughts and intellect of man. For instance, Acts 15 reveals a situation between the Jew and Gentile believers that arose and could have split the church completely apart. The issue was over the necessity of the Gentile believers as to whether they should be circumcised or not. However, the outcome came down to who had the preeminence in the church, the apostles and elders or the Holy Spirit? In making this crucial decision we need to notice the order of things, "For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us..." (Acts 15:28) It seemed good to the Holy Spirit above the opinions, thoughts and intellect of these mighty men of God. They submitted to the Apostle James' answer because they recognized the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking through him. If it was only James' word, they would not have been in agreement. But they submitted to the Holy Spirit speaking through James and submitted to one another.

Let's be honest, if church leaders are truly being led by the Word of God and what the Holy Spirit is speaking, there will be no division in the church, only submission to one another in the Lord, as it should be. However, this will not be accomplished without "...Faith working through love." (Galatians 5:6) which begs another question. Are church leaders truly letting faith work through love? Without faith working through love the church will be denying itself of all the blessings that are for her through Jesus Christ.  

I believe one of the reasons why the church has lost much of its glory, power and influence which we have not experienced as a whole for nearly 1700 years is due to its lack of dependency on God's Word and the Holy Spirit. This has led the church into the "Dark Ages" for 1000 years which brought on what is called the "Protestant Reformation." Though the protestant reformation which started in 1571 by Martin Luther with his work entitled, "The Ninety-Five Theses" was meant to bring reformation and restoration to the church, it also caused division and disunity from those who refused to return to the Word of God and the voice of the Holy Spirit. But even now, especially among the Protestant churches the division and disunity continues to spread. I am not trying to paint an ugly picture of the Body of Christ, but to bring us to the reality of where we are. Until we are able to admit our faults to one another and turn away from them, have a true love for Christ, His church (all believers), God's Word and to be led by the Holy Spirit we will not bring hope to a lost world. 

As I progress through this series, I will address what I believe is the major cause of our falling away from true Christianity as we see recorded in the scriptures, into a religion that blends with the other world religions. We will also look at the reformation and restoration that is going on in the church today, that is bringing the glory and power of Lord back to His church. I believe that the Body of Christ in many sectors will begin experience incredible things that have not been seen since the inception of the church. PTL          

Who Dunn It? - Part 7

The entire earth ministry of Jesus is one of the most exciting events in the history of man. It was completely focused on Jesus revealing the Father's will, nature, character, purposes and plan to humanity. His ministry and what is revealed in the Gospel's is the foundation for all doctrine in the church. However, many of the doctrines accepted by many sectors of the church since the Protestant Reformation completely exclude the very things that Jesus said and did. This was not so in the early church. We must remember that the doctrine that the Apostle Paul referred to in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 was the revelation that God Himself gave to him from he Old Testament concerning Christ. He did not have the New Testament. It had not yet been written. Galatians 1:11-18 reveals Paul's previously advanced knowledge of the Old Testament scriptures and the revelation of Christ the he received directly from God during the three years that he spent in Arabia.

It was Paul himself that said, "According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ."   (I Corinthians 3:10-11) First, the apostle Paul warns us to "take heed how we build." He goes on to tell us that he builds upon Christ. So all doctrine must be built upon Christ. Any doctrine the circumvents Christ will always lead to error.

I mention the above in greater detail than in the last part of this series because of the importance of us fully understanding the ministry of Jesus as He reveals the Father's will, nature, character, purposes and plan. If we do not see these facts, we can be drawn into believing the erroneous doctrines accepted in the church that promote sickness and disease as a part of God's will for His children. Remember, Jesus only spoke and did what was from the Father. He did not initiate any of His words or actions. They all came from the Father. Let us now look at addition scripture that reveals the Father's Will concerning healing as seen through the ministry of Christ.

The Apostle Peter was sent by God to preach Christ to Cornelius and His household and makes this statement, "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him." (Acts 10:38) If God does not change (Malachi 3:6) and Jesus Christ (the Word became flesh) is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8) then we must accept the fact that Jesus is still doing good and healing all who are oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him." How does He still do this? Through the church, His Body!

The Apostle John tells us, "He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil."         (1 John 3:8) Sin is the work of the devil and as we discovered in a previous part of this series, sin and sickness come from the same source, the devil and therefore they are synonymous.

Finally, the writer of Hebrews records, "Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He 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) Although this refers to spiritual death and eternal life, let us be honest, sickness and disease in any form steals life. It is death in progress. Jesus not only destroyed death, but took away the power of the one who had the power of death. "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) It is the devil that brings sickness and disease upon people, not God. As we clearly see, Jesus brings life. There is absolutely no life in sickness and or disease. If we truly believe that God's Word is truth, and it most certainly is, then me must exercise faith and accept His truth. The grace of the Lord be with you...

The Purpose of the Church - Win Souls and Make Disciples

The third purpose for the church's existence is most likely the area in which the church has placed the lowest priority, winning souls and make disciples. It should be apparent to us that the more effective and intimate times of worship that we spend before the Lord, the more effective that we are at edifying one another, the more effective we will be as ministers of Christ bringing the good news of reconciliation to a lost world. The church is the only vehicle on the planet in which God is using to bring salvation to a lost and dying world. But just how effective is the church today in carrying out the great commission.

When we examine the workings of the early church it becomes a stark reality to the church today that we pale at fulfilling the great commission. Recent studies of the church in the USA show that approximately eighty percent of those who attend church one or more times a month, believe they have a personal responsibility to share the gospel. However, only nineteen percent of them have spoken to another person about how to become a Christian in the last twelve months. So how is the church growing today? Studies reveal that a good portion of church growth in the USA is not actually growth coming by way of reaching the lost as it is with Christians moving from church to church.  Demographic studies indicate that the percentage of Christians world wide is not increasing, but in fact, true Christianity is losing ground to false religions and humanistic concepts that have been accepted in the church by church leaders.

The humanistic approach for church growth has many names, but its purpose is to make church more accessible and sensitive to the needs of  so called "seekers." It appeals to liberal mainline denominational Christians, Catholics, secular humanists, some Messianic Jewish groups and many who have stopped attending church altogether. Why does it appeal to these groups? The central point of what they teach comes down to nothing more than pop psychology with self-improvement concepts of our day which they call, "relevant messages." They present a message contrary to the Word of God that promotes a worldview of personal fulfillment, that evil on earth is conquered through the good will of men, that there are no evil people but only misguided ones and worse yet for some, Jesus is not the only way to salvation. This is all for one purpose, so people can feel comfortable attending their services. It should be obvious why this approach attracts so many people. However, the great deception behind this approach is numbers. If there is growth, then God has to be in it. Though these congregations tend to grow very large, do numbers really mean that God is in it? Absolutely not!!! In fact Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world and I can assure you that God is not in it.

The church (name withheld) most likely recognized as the forefront runner of this method of church growth has conducted a major survey to see what the results are from this method of church growth. The major thing that this survey revealed was, there was heavy involvement in church programs and activities that contribute to church growth, but it did not translate into spiritual growth and maturity. Their approach to church was not producing solid disciples of Jesus Christ. Numbers yes, but not disciples. Findings like these have caused the church leaders to stand up and admit, "We made a mistake." Can you remember the last time a church leader said anything like that?  It certainly takes humility and courage to admit this, but they are correct in their conclusion and should be applauded. Some of the deceptions that they have come to grips with are such things as, recognizing that the Church today is into therapy and needs to teach doctrine and grow people in the faith. That the church cannot just lead people to a superficial confession of Christ and not have their lives transformed. That church leaders cannot let themselves get caught up in a "just-get-'em-in-the-doors" mentality, no matter how attractive and effective it looks. That this approach to church growth can too easily lead to the watering-down of the Gospel, to a "feel-good" faith, where the church has little impact in society. They have concluded that the health of the church is not just about the numbers. It's about the movement of people toward Christ, toward deep love for God and genuine love for others.

The most deceptive issue behind this approach to church growth is not being able to "discern the sign of the times." In 2 Timothy 3:1-5 the Holy Spirit reveals to the apostle Paul exactly what we see taking place in the church today, it's called apostasy. Apostasy is the disaffiliation, abandonment, or renunciation of one's religion; the abandonment or renunciation of a religious belief. Paul, addressing the coming apostasy tells us that it only produces a form of godliness not true godliness and that it opposes the real power of Christianity. Paul tells us, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek." (Romans 1:16)
"And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God." (1 Corinthians 2:4-5) So what about real church growth?

In order for the church to see significant growth, it must adopt, embrace, implement and act upon the words that Jesus spoke which gave the early church unprecedented success and growth as well having an incredible impact and effect on society...
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20).
The church is to make disciples, students and follower of Jesus, not converts and follower of the desires of the flesh. They are to be taught and to comply with all things that Jesus said and did. This means to be taught and comply with the Word of God, the Bible, not books filled with vain philosophy and psychology that have been authored by church leaders. Notice that what Jesus spoke is a command not a suggestion. He finishes His command by saying, "and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Church leaders must wake up and understand that if we are not obeying what the Lord has commanded, even though we may have large numbers of people, the Lord will not be with us. We will find ourselves building an Ichabod without even knowing it because we have mistaken numbers for true Christianity.

Jesus also said, "And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." (Mark 16:17-18) Then Mark also records, "So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs." (Mark 16:19-20) Jesus will always confirm His Word with signs and wonders. If congregation are not seeing signs and wonders then only three possibilities exist. You either do not believe that signs and wonders are for today, you are not teaching and preaching the Word of God or most likely, both. The reality is, signs and wonders have always been a part of God revealing Himself to humanity in both the Old and New Testament. It was signs, wonders and the Word of God that drew the multitudes to Jesus. It was signs, wonders and the Word of God that gave the early church unprecedented success and growth and it will be signs, wonders and the Word of God that will cause the greatest church growth in the end times.

I myself almost got caught up in building church the very way mentioned above where we experienced great numerical growth but it was at the expense of true spiritual growth. However, about six years ago a tug of war emerged within me where I became frustrated with church. The Lord spoke to me and told me to preach His Word and He would reproduce Himself in the saints who would walk in His grace and power through faith in Jesus Christ. Well, as fast as we grew, we began to shrink in number. But that also happened to Jesus when He spoke spiritual truths to his disciples,  "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you who do not believe. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. And He said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father. From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more." (John 6:63-66)  In the midst of it all I stood upon God's Word and as always He is faithful to do what He had promised. 

The lost world desperately needs to see the real Jesus, and hear the real truth, God's Word. The Book of Acts reveals just how powerful the name of Jesus is as well as the Word of God. The apostle Paul knew this and considered all that he had learned his entire life as a religious leader to be repulsive to the knowledge of Christ, the truth. (Philippians 3:7-9) The lost world is depending on the church to rid itself of new age philosophies, pop psychology and worldly concepts of self-improvement and return back to the scriptures so that they can become complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work, experiencing true life as well as experience the power and glory that radiates from the life of Jesus Christ to the believer. Remember, Jesus Said, "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." (John 10:10) Bless the Lord!!! 

Where Have They Gone? Part 2

Last time, we looked at the real reason as to why 20% of church members actively function in the work of ministry while 80% sit idle. We saw that it is due to the erroneous philosophy accepted in the church that once the last apostle, Paul, died that the gift/office of apostle and prophet as well as miracles faded away. That we have no need of them because we have the Bible and yet there is not one verse of scripture (unless taken out of context to agree with certain man made philosophies) that says the gift/office of apostle and prophet has faded away and with them the miraculous. So, how do we know that apostles  and prophets (although maybe not recognized) along with miracles are still alive, well and needed in the church today?

The Hebrew usage of the word apostle is to "send away; one who was commissioned and authorized by God." The ancient Greek usage refers to "a personal envoy, emissary or ambassador; a delegate." The Koine Greek usage (Greek language commonly spoken during the time of Jesus' earthly ministry) refers to, "a delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders." In other words, the word apostle simply means "a sent one, an ambassador, a delegate, one who is sent forth, one commissioned and authorized by another to represent another and carry out his will and purposes.

To say that the apostle Paul was the last apostle chosen by the Lord a part from the original twelve and Matthias and that there is no apostolic secession is not a valid statement. (For the sake of space, I will list others that were apostles after the apostle Paul, based on the definition shown above.)

• James, the Lords brother (Acts 1:14, 1 Corinthians 15:7, Galatians 1:9, 2:9)
• Barnabas (Acts 4:36, 11:22-30, 14:1, 4, 14, 1 Corinthians 9:6)
• Apollos (1 Corinthians 4:6-9) 
• Andronicus (Romans 16:7)
• Junia (Romans 16:7)
• Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:25)
• Titus (2 Corinthians 8:23)
• Two unnamed brethren (2 Corinthians 8:23)
• Timothy Acts 19:22, 1 Thessalonians 1:1, 2:6)
• Judas (Acts 15:23, 1 Thessalonians 2:6)
• silas/Silvanus (Acts 15:23, 1 Thessalonians 1:1, 2:6)
• Erastus (Acts 19:22)
• Tychicus (2 Timothy 4:12)

God has appointed in His church , first apostles (1 Corinthians 12:28) They are gifts from Christ to His body and they have not ceased in God's eyes even though a portion of the church refuses to recognize and receive them.

Along with the gift of apostle, the gift of prophet has also been rejected by many sectors of the church today. Keeping in mind that the church has been in the last days since Jesus sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, the prophetic ministry of the prophet is still a much needed gift to the church  today. One of the signs of the last days is the prophetic word coming as a result of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all flesh. (Joel 2:28-32, Acts 2:14-21) Notice that neither the prophet Joel nor the apostle Peter quoting the prophet Joel say anything about the prophetic fading away or ceasing in operation, on the contrary. The word says, that these things would come to pass in the last days. The last days are those which continue until the return of Jesus.

The misunderstanding of the prophets (prophetic) role in the church is one of the main reasons why it is rejected as a viable ministry to the church. The word prophet is defined as, "to foretell events, to speak under inspiration, to proclaim a divine revelation, and to break forth under sudden impulse into inspired discourse." The nature of prophecy is two fold; forth-telling, which comes in the form of preaching. It is to speak for God to the people, communicating the mind of God. Often the past (prophecy) will be used to deal with the present. This comes in the form of exhortation, reproof, warning, edification and comfort. This is seen in the New Testament prophets. New testament prophets are also considered non-writing prophets because they confirm the Word of God through guidance, words of wisdom and words of knowledge.

The other is fore-telling, which comes in the form of prediction. The prophet speaks for God, communicating His mind for the future. Often both the past and the present will be used to deal with the future.  This is seen in the ministry of the Old Testament prophets. The Old Testament prophets were chosen, inspired by God and their words became scripture. There were Old Testament prophets that wrote historical books, poetical books and prophetical books. It can then be said, that the major difference between the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament prophets is writing scripture (Old Testament prophets) and confirming scripture (New Testament prophets) Unfortunately, many in the church have misunderstood the difference between the two and have rejected prophets/prophecy today believing that it is extra-biblical because it adds to scripture when in fact it is very biblical because it only confirms scripture.

Another aspect of the gift/office/ministry of the apostle and prophet is that they generally work closely together in the Body of Christ. For instance, Gods divine order in the church states, "First apostles, second prophets..." (1 Corinthians 12:28) We also see that the church is "built on the foundation laid by the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone." (Ephesians 2:20) We see an example of this as the apostle Paul and the prophet Silas worker together (Acts 15:22-40, 16:6-7) Although there is opposition to these gifts/offices/ministries functioning in the church today, we will see the Lord bring all of the ascension gift/office/ministries together. We the will once again work in unity of heart, mind, spirit and faith for His glory.

In part 3 we will look at what scripture says about the miraculous flowing in the church today as it did in the early church. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen...   

Receiving Prayer

Boy wouldn't it be wonderful if we received everything that we ask for in prayer? According to the Apostle John whether we can believe it or not every Christian can...
Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.  And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. (1 John 5:14-15) However, this does not just happen, it takes faith.

What a wonderful promise from the LORD. The Apostle Paul knew this and prayed a wonderous prayer for the church...
For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;  giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:9-14)

God wants believers to know His will, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. In other words, He desires that believers have knowledge of divine things taught by the Holy Spirit. Believers are to have a life that reflects true Christianity which pleases the Father, produces fruit in every good work and have continuous grow in the knowledge of God. They are to rely on Gods strength and His glorious power believing, hoping and enduring ALL things with joy as well as “Giving thanks to the Father,” 
 
God Himself has qualified believers to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. What does that mean? This means that there is something that God has given to believers, so something belongs to us. For instance, God has delivered us in Christ. He is not going to deliver us, He already has!!! He has delivered us from the power of darkness, that is the power, authority, jurisdiction and dominion of the devil and his gang which is a portion of our inheritance. PTL
 
And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.  Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. (Colossians 2:13-15)

Jesus disarmed, spoiled, reduced to nothing principalities and powers. In other words, Jesus reduced them to nothing as far as their being able to have dominion over believers in any area. The Apostle John tells us...
Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.
(3 John 2)

The devil has no dominion over believes financially, physically or spiritually. We are the triumphant ones because of what Jesus did. He did not do this for Himself, He did not need it. What Jesus did was for us. When He defeated Satan, we defeated Satan. How do we know this?
And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. (Colossians 1:18)

If your head is injured doesn’t it affect the entire body? If your body is injured does the head recognized it? The body does not have one experience and your head a different one at the same time. It is the same with the body of Christ. Jesus’ victory is our victory. This is why the church is not to consider itself a warring church but a triumphant church. The church in a sense is to be like Judah was in II Chronicles 20. We worship and praise God, He has destroyed the enemy in Christ and we mop up the enemies spoils. That’s the real army of God. Jesus went before us and destroyed the works of the devil, (I John 3:8) and we by faith occupy, possess and have dominion over the devil and receive everything that Adam delivered to the devil. (Luke4:5-6)

You Better Hold On

Let's consider the second part of this verse of scripture from I Thessalonians 5:21, "Test all things; hold fast what is good." To hold fast is to guard from loss, hold down, possess, adhere to firmly and retain faithfully. In this verse it implies, adhere to firmly and retain faithfully, Gods Word. Do not accept anything that sounds good but is not inspired by the Holy Spirit, but hold fast to what is good. Applying these definitions to the words "Hold Fast" it should be apparent that a possiblity exists that the Word of God or the things of God can be taken or stolen from a believer. This is also seen in other verses of scripture.

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful."
(Hebrews 10:23) Let us guard, adhere to firmly and acknowledge the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Never doubting, being unsteady, wavering in the promises or declarations made to believers in Gods Word through Christ, because God is faithful, He does not nor cannot lie. Again, believers are to hold fast, guard from loss, adhere to firmly and retain faithfully Gods Word. In Revelations 2:25 Jesus speaking to the church at Thyatira says, "But hold fast what you have till I come."

Jesus is pointing out another level of what holding fast indicates. For believers to hold fast to Gods Word implies a struggle that someone or something is trying to wrestle it away from them. In this church Jesus reveals as Jezebel was a self-proclaimed prophetess to king Ahab her husband and the influence that she had over him which influenced Gods people in a negative way, that there were false prophetesses in this church that were influencing many with false carnal doctrine. However, Jesus encourages the ones that had not accepted this false doctrine to guard from loss, adhere to firmly and retain faithfully His Word no matter what it takes until He returns which will mark the end of their conflict with evil. This then brings us back to why it is so important for believers to fully understand the Parable of the Soils. It reveals how much we must gurad ourselves from the wiles of the devil.

And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. (Mark 4:15) Again, it is very apparent that the Word of God can be taken, robbed, stolen from believers if they do not have a foundation of Gods Word to build upon and hold fast to. Believers are in a conflict, a struggle… "Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints."
(Jude 3)

Jude is exhorting believers to strenuously defend, as in a contest, the truth that they had received. Many believers know the LORD as their personal Savior, but they do not always know the privileges and promises that they have in Him and how to receive them. Could it be that many believers do not have a solid foundation of Gods Word in their hearts? Could this be due to Satan coming immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts? Let's face it, faith grows through the very things that the devil comes to steal from the hearts of believers.
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17)

God Bless You...

God gave the Law which showed humanity the difference between right and wrong, but grace gives believers the ability to live a life of obedience to God through faith in Jesus Christ…Philippians 2:13 For God is at work within you, helping you want to OBEY HIM, and then helping you do WHAT HE WANTS. (TLB)

We see Gods grace at work in the early church. Power was being released, souls being saved, the oneness of heart and mind, their affection toward one another, etc. The grace was so evident that Barnabas was sent from Jerusalem to Antioch and upon his arrival …Acts 11:23 When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord.

The early church (as well as the church today needs) needed Gods help. The book of Acts shows us many things for the church today to gleen from. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and God was working in them giving them the desire and ability to do His will in great ways. They were witnessing Christ, that is preaching the resurrection of Christ who confirmed the word with signs, wonders and miracles. They were of one heart and one soul, their views and opinions were the same and they had great affection toward one another, Gods grace is amazing. They were also people of great faith and they reflected in their lives the power and unity of covenant.

Keep in mind that the early church was filled with people like you and I. They also had different personalities, opinions and views, but the influence of Christ in their lives was so strong that their individuality was no longer the issue. The issue became, what was right in Gods sight. Gods grace is still the same today as it was in the early church, but do we really see it in operation like they did in the early church.

Let's Do It Right

According to recent 3 year study by a well known group that looks at trends in the church in the USA, people from 16 – 29 years of age describe Christians as, judgmental, hypocritical, old fashion, too political, out of touch with reality, insensitive to others and boring So what makes you and I (believers) attractive to others, and I am not talking about what society determines attractive. What has made Christianity so attractive and respected in the past but seems out of touch today? Could it be our approach to be appealing to man rather than pleasing to God that has young people so turned off? If Jesus has restored humanity (He did) to what God had intended for Adam and if God is inexhaustible in power, love, wisdom and resources (to name a few and He is) then why is the report of young people according to this poll so negative? Maybe all we need to do is observe and implement the principle and practices that gave the early church such great success for nearly 300 years. They were not problem free, but their impact on society was far above than ours is or ever was in the USA.

I believe that there is a natural attraction which occurs to those who are un-churched, to the church when there is genuine fellowship among ALL believers. I believer this occurs when believers truly understand the cohesiveness that they have with one another in Christ and live it out daily, for example (not all inclusive)...

• We are united together in His death – Together in the likeness of His resurrection (Romans 6:5)
• Suffer together with Christ – Glorified together with Christ (Romans 8:17)
• Perfectly joined together in the same mind and judgment in Christ (I Corinthians 1:10)
• Laborers together in Christ (I Corinthians 3:9)
• Made alive together with Christ (Ephesians 2:5, Colossians 2:13)
• Joined together in Christ (Ephesians 4:16, Colossians 2:19)
• Knit together in love, in Christ (Colossians 2:2)
• Comfort each other together in Christ (I Thessalonians 5:11)
• Heirs together of the grace of God in Christ (I Peter 3:7)

Honestly, who would not be attracted to a people who not only know these things but act upon them and live them out together? There were no arguments over church names, formulas, rituals, traditions, creeds, baptism, style of music, order of worship, which church to join or doctrine and if there were it was worked out, it was dealt with because the fear of the LORD and not the fear of man was in place. The early believers were unified, magnified and multiplied which was an attractive, powerful testimony of Christ to the unsaved which brought many to salvation. When the church today acts like the church that we see in the Bible, it is very attractive to those outside the church.
Acts 2:47 "Praising God and having favor with all the people..." The lifestyle of the early church gained the admiration of all the common people who observed them. They acted like Christ, there was a comradery among them as well as compassion and love towards the unbelievers around them. They did not fail to preach the good news of redemption and salvation through Jesus Christ nor did they lack the faith to demonstrate Gods power. The early church did nothing more than doing exactly what Jesus commissioned them to do, can we say the same?
Having favor with all the people may be hard for us to comprehend today, but the days are coming when the church will be restored. It will no longer be about rituals, traditions, laws, rules, regulations and flesh pleasing entertainment, but about exalting Jesus Christ and glorifying the Father. The church will be filled once again with the fear of the LORD, be lead by the Holy Spirit and believers will once again truly live by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. PTL

Light up Your Neighborhood

When looking at the early church you see that they emulated the ministry of Jesus in every way. One of the ways was going to the temple but also from house to house. There are many examples of Jesus meeting in the temple or synagogue, that is large gatherings but He also met in many homes in a small group setting. So we see that the early church embraced a model that Jesus had introduced. (Matthew 8:14-17, 13:54)

We also see many examples of small groups meeting in house’s in the early church. (Acts 20:20, I Corinthians 16:19, Colossians 4:15, Philemon 2) But what happened to the small group dynamic that cause the early church to be up close and personal? History records that between 323 and 327 AD Constantine began a massive program to build buildings to house the church which triggered a fad in large cities all over the Roman Empire. The church had begun moving from living rooms to large buildings only and believers and society began recognizing buildings as the church and not people.

The return to small groups did not have a large scale impact upon the church until 1738 through John and Charles Wesley and George Whitefield who were actually influenced by the Moravians in England who form small societies within the church for the purpose of sharing, bible study, prayer and preaching. However, after Wesley’s death the movement became a denomination and not to long afterwards the concept of small groups was once again lost to meeting in church buildings only.

But once again the "revelation" of small group meetings and there impact on society rose out of the ashes in the late 1950's and the small group model emerged. Today all around the world church leaders are throwing away the lies that small group do not work and are once again embracing the model that Jesus Himself and the early church showed us throughout the New Testament. Let's face it, Jesus said, "I will build My church..." so if we let Him build it we will have the same influence or greater than the early church had and once again the world will recognize believers not as people who go to church, but who are the church.

I'll Tithe, But...

We've been exploring the idea of tithing for the church. We looked at one of the scriptures used to support tithing in the church prior to the Law which was Abram giving a tithe to Melchizedek. When viewing this in a sound way we see that there is no evidence to support the claim that tithing for the church should be a standard or and obligation. However, to be fair, we will now explore the second passage of scripture that certain sects of the church uses to support tithing as a standard or obligation in the church.

Genesis 28:20-22 we see some serious differences between what Jacob does and the churches approach to tithing...

• First, this appears to be a one time act and not an on going obligation or standard...
• Scripture does not reveal that Jacob ever tithed again for the rest of his life...
• Jacob’s tithe was on the condition that God first blessed and protected him...
• This tithe was voluntary...
• In all that God had promised (Genesis 28:13-15) there was no requirement made by God or nothing said by God that Jacob was obligated to tithe...
• Finally, there is no evidence in scripture the Jacob taught his sons to tithe...

Do you see the similarities with the two passages of scripture Genesis 14:15-24, Genesis 28:20-22? Although these two passages of scripture are used in the many sects of the church to support tithing as an standard or obligation, we can honestly see that what the church teaches and what we actually see in the scripture are quite different.

Just think about this one thing. Jacob’s tithe was on the condition that God first blessed and protected him. So if God does not bless and protect Jacob, then Jacob does not have to tithe. This is completely opposite to what the church teaches on tithing. It teaches that believers are to tithe first then God will bless and protect. What do we suppose the reaction would be if a believer went their pastor and said, “If God blesses and protects me first then I will tithe”. Of course that would be absurd. Believers receive blessings and protection through their faith in Jesus Christ not through tithing.

The point is, Laws keep believers from operating by grace through faith in which there is freedom. The Apostle Paul said in his letter to the church at Galatia, " Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us FREE, and DO NOT be ENTANGLED again with a yoke of BONDAGE". He was talking about freedom by grace verses bondage serving the Law.

Which would you prefer to do, tithe because as a believer that is what you are obligated to do or give cheerfully and bountifully because the grace of God is abounding on you?

A Law in Disguise?

Hold on to you faith, because we are going to address an issue in the church that should not be, but still causes confusion and mixed feeling among many believers today. Believer's today must throw aside the laws that the "wisdom of men" has so cunningly slipped in among the ranks if believer's are to truly experience the freedom that Christ has paid for, that is grace. So, what does the Bible say about tithing? Is tithing the standard of giving in the church? Is tithing an obligation for every believer? Is tithing part of the Law? Naturally this controversial subject will take some time to discuss, but hopefully by the end there will be no more questions or confusion when it come to giving in the church.

In this article we will look at the first of two passages of scripture that the evangelical church uses to support tithing by believer's as a standard and or obligation because both passages of scripture show tithing before the Law.

GENESIS 14:15-24 Abram goes out to rescue his nephew Lot from the king of Elam and other kings that join him to overthrown Sodom and Gomorrah. Abram defeats these kings, take all their goods, rescues Lot and all of Lot’s good and as he was heading back to his dwelling place is met by the priest of God Most High, whose name is Melchizedek. God is about to make a covenant with Abram, so Melchizedek meets Abram with bread and wine, a Biblical symbol of covenant. In turn Abram gives Melchizedek a tithe of all. What is the all that Abram gave him?

HEBREWS 7:4 tells us that the tithe was the "spoils" or the goods that he took after he defeated the kings while rescuing his nephew Lot. This is an important key, because this is one of two passages of scripture that is used to support tithing as an obligation or standard for the church prior to the Law. Let’s not only consider what Abram did, but also what he did not do as well, which is equally important.

• This appears to be a one time act and not an on going obligation or standard...
• Scripture does not reveal that Abram ever tithed again for the rest of his life...
• Note that the tithe (tenth) that Abram gave to Melchizedek was not from his personal possessions or wealth but the spoils that he took from the kings...
• We also see Abram giving the 90% of the spoils to the king of Sodom so that the king of Sodom could not boast the Abram wealth was from him...
• Next this tithe was voluntary. There is no indication that he was obligated to do this. There is no indication that God or anyone else had told him to do this...
• Scripture does not indicate at all that Abram taught his son Isaac to tithe...

You may also find it interesting that for approximately 2000 before Abram the Bible is silent concerning tithing. Now you may have your reason(s) for this but I find it altogether interesting that if tithing was so important to God, why was it not a part of man's economy from the beginning? Why is the Bible silent on this issue over 2000 years? Well as we can see in the above scripture, what is taught in the church concerning tithing being a standard or obligation of giving prior to the Law is not what the Bible clearly shows.

LORD willing we will eventually uncover what the Bible teaches concerning tithing as a standard or obligation verse cheerful, bountiful giving through grace. So what do you think?

Don't Get Carried Away

The early church was a powerful witness of true Christianity. Acts 4:32-37 reveals some lessons that believers must embrace if they truly want to be like Christ. They were of one heart and one soul indicating that they agreed in all their views, that there was unity as well as great love and admiration for one another that caused them to be selfless. There was a continuous demonstration of signs, wonders and miracles as the Gospel was preached plus the entire church was experiencing great grace (the god given ability and desire to please God by doing His will).

We also see this life style reflected in their willingness to sell their own possession and give the money they received to the Apostles by laying it at the Apostles feet. The money was then to be distributed through the church so that no one had lack. Talk about giving. With all the resources that believers in the USA have available, I believe if those in the early church were with us today, they would probably consider most believers in the USA to be covetous and greedy. The difference is, the early church understood that they owned nothing and that all their possessions belonged to the LORD. When believers truly understand and live this principle, they will never struggle with the prompting of the Holy Spirit to sell all and or give all.

ACTS 5:1-11 reveals a husband and wife named Ananias and Sapphira who had conspired to deceive by lying to make it appear that they were connected in heart and soul with the other believers. However, the Holy Spirit revealed to Peter their deceptive scheme that was orchestrated by Satan. Peter explained to Ananias and Sapphira that they could have done whatever they wanted with the money that they receive from the possession that they sold.

The act of laying money at the Apostles feet was a symbolic declaration to God and man by believers that they trusted the Apostles with the money without question as well as declaring that they were giving the entire amount of the sale in obedience to the Holy Spirit. It wasn't about the money, they had corrupted of the act of laying the money at the Apostles feet and in doing so, they were in fact lying to God. Both Ananias and Sapphira dropped dead on the spot and were "carried away" by some young men and buried.

Finally we see that "great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things". The impact of these events brought a sobering awareness of what it really meant to be a Christian not only to those in the church but to everyone who heard these things. It is a good thing that no one in the church today lies to God isn't it? Think about it, out of all the ministries in the church today, have you ever heard of the young men's ministry of carrying dead believers out of a meeting because they have lied to God? Let's be honest, believers today do lie to God, but shouldn't we use the example of the fate of Ananias and Sapphira's to sober us up so that we can become a witness of true Christianity?

I Will Build My Church

These five words that Jesus spoke are very interesting as well as powerful. The first word "I" refers directly to Jesus Himself taking possession and responsibility. The second word "will" express His capability, sufficiency, determination, persistence and willingness to accomplish the task that He set out to do, which brings us to the third word, "build".

To build is to bring order to and develop according to a systematic plan.So far we see that Jesus Himself made known to humanity about 2000 years ago that He willfully had chosen a systematic plan. His plan is to build "my" (the fourth word) His not ours, not angels or anyone elses "church" (the fifth word).

The church is not a parenthetical revelation that God placed into His plan due to the blindness and unbelief of Messiah by the Jews. The church was and is the eternal purpose of God and Christ Himself would be and is the master Builder.

The word church comes from the Greek word "Ekklesia" which is made up of two other words. Ek, which means "out of" and Kaleo which means "to call". Thus the word ekklesia litterally means "the called out ones".

So we see that Jesus is, the Builder of His church (Matthew 16:18), adds to His church (Acts 2:47), is the Head of His church (Colossians 2:19) and believers are the called out ones, that He will use to invade the world with the Good News that sets captives free.

In what way(s) do you see Jesus building His church today?

The Power of Unity

In Genesis 11:1-6 the people were unified, they journeyed, they found, they dwelt, they all had one language, they spoke as one, they worked as one team or unit. Although the intentions of these people were not focused on God, but to make a name for themselves, nevertheless Gods response to their actions, ”nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them”, should cause believers to consider getting past their differences and work together with a common cause.

In Psalm 133 we see that unity is a mechanism that God uses to release life among brethren (believers) who dwell together in unity.

In Acts 4:23-33 the early church is seen in a simular posture. They were unified, one language, one speech, one mind, one purpose, one heart and one soul. However, unlike the tower builders
their motivation was living out Gods plan by building one another up with the grace of God and reaching others with the Gospel of the Kingdom. Gods response here was one of demonstration of Spirit and power, “And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness…
And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all”.

So with these things in mind, what are your thoughts concerning unity or lack of unity in the Body of Christ, churches within a community or the local church?

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