Monday, April 13, 2020

"His gift of love and favor..." - Romans 3:23-24 (TPT)


I am so grateful for Jesus. 

There are hardly words that can express appreciation for what Jesus has accomplished for us by dying on the cross. His death has brought freedom and peace, as nothing else could.

Many good people have turned around what Jesus has done to make it into some work that we need to somehow perform, like mimicking Jesus to the world, but that is not what Jesus or the disciples taught.

Like many of my previous posts, I have emphasized that it is the light of Christ that shines through us to demonstrate His love through us, not just our good intentions done for our benefit or the benefit of others.
  
I listened to several messages on Easter Sunday online, which spoke to that very thing, saying that somehow we need to reach out to others and do the works of Jesus. Unfortunately, we cannot do the works of Jesus unless He does His work through us and meets the spiritual needs of others, that need falls squarely on the lap of Jesus for Him to shine with His glory so that others are drawn to Him. Not so much by what we do, but rather by who Jesus is and who we are in Him.

"There is a divine mystery—a secret surprise that has been concealed from the world for generations, but now it's being revealed, unfolded and manifested for every holy believer to experience. Living within you is the Christ who floods you with the expectation of glory! This mystery of Christ, embedded within us, becomes a heavenly treasure chest of hope filled with the riches of glory for his people, and God wants everyone to know it!" 
Colossians 1:26-27 (TPT)

We can meet the immediate needs of others by providing food, shelter, toilet paper, whatever, and that is a good thing, but what emanates through us? Is it the love of Christ? Or is it another obligation to a Church denomination or ministry we are involved with? 

Christ residing in us is essential for our spiritual walk forward with Jesus as He draws us onward. It is growing more in love with Jesus that typifies Christ residing in us, and His glory that shines from us that draws others to Him, which is our true testimony.  We are a reflection of Jesus.

Large Churches try to meet the needs of a lot of people, which at times can forsake the glory or radiance of Christ to be able to achieve that immediate need of those who attend to reach the masses. Don't misunderstand, immediate needs are essential and needed, but Christ still needs to shine through us with His glory to reach and inspire others.

We have an opportunity to make a change (a difference)  
and not go back to the "same old-same old" of the "business as usual," a Church model which has kept the Holy Spirit at arm's length for many years and not given Him the free rein of His ecclesia.

As a Church Body, we have prayed for revival in our nation for many years with little or no national results. It has been said prophetically that the "windows of revival have closed in America.*" Yet, if we stand back and quietly ask the Lord why, a whisper comes back to us that we as a Church (as a larger body of believers) have offended the Holy Spirit by not letting Him have His way among us and operate through our lives for decades. 

We as the established Church, have become too comfortable and familiar with the corporate Church structure, which too readily resembles a business model. The Holy Spirit has vacated the premises and has gone looking outside our "Church" building walls for individuals who are open to listen and allow their lives directed and led by Him. 

'"For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him." 
2 Chronicles 16:9a (BRG)

Where did we ever come up with this model for a Church "building" anyway? Originally, It came from the early house churches which existed at the time of the disciples and through the Roman persecution of Christians. 

In the second half of the 3rd century AD, the first purpose-built halls for Christian worship (aula ecclesiae) began to be constructed. Although many of these were destroyed early in the next century during the Diocletian Persecution, even larger and more elaborate church buildings began to appear during the reign of the Emperor Constantine.

It wasn't until the 11th to the 14th centuries that large cathedrals began to be built. The word cathedral is Latin for "seat." The seat referred to is the seat of the bishop, who is the leader of a group of churches related to the cathedral. The bishop's seat (or position) is both a metaphor for the cathedral as the bishop's "seat of power" and his actual chair, the "cathedra," inside the cathedral.**

Paul was opposed to anyone becoming an "authority" figure with power in the Church other than Christ.
  
"I pray that you will continually experience the immeasurable greatness of God's power made available to you through faith. Then your lives will be an advertisement of this immense power as it works through you! This is the mighty power that was released when God raised Christ from the dead and exalted him to the place of highest honor and supreme authority in the heavenly realm!  And now he is exalted as first above every ruler, authority, government, and realm of power in existence! He is gloriously enthroned over every name that is ever praised, not only in this age, but in the age that is coming!" 
Ephesians 1:19-21 (TPT) emphasis mine

There was the 5-fold ministry in Paul's day, but these were considered servant roles and not positions of authority. The early Church met in homes, much like the Church in China does today. The Church in China is thriving even though it is underground. 

Christianity is illegal in China, if government authorities find pastors, they are arrested and jailed. Persecution has always been a catalyst for Church growth no matter where it is located, as it was in Jerusalem in Paul's day, and so it is today in China.

I hope we can get past the old ways of drawing crowds into large buildings and get back to simplistic faith of one on one Christianity being practiced in our homes where we live our lives as a family and let Christ Jesus shine through us to inspire and impart life to others.

My Prayer
God, you are so faithful to be in us through our troubles and conflict; it only shows us that you are a good God who cares about and loves the people that you have created. We have experienced many deaths in our nation due to the Coronavirus it is overwhelming to calculate the losses for it does affect us directly, with the loss of people due to sickness, the loss of jobs, and wealth and income. Our economy is our biggest loser, but when it is all said and done, we are aware that you, God, did not cause this virus. 
We as a people depend upon your mercies and healing to get through the worst of it and find our lives solely dependent upon you. 
This nation and the world have economies that are deeply damaged and affected in ways we could never have imagined, which only shows us not only how fragile our lives are, but how weak our economies are when impacted by such a pandemic. 
Our hearts and minds are drawn back to you for hope and comfort during the worst of this virus outbreak. 
My prayer is that we, as a nation, will come to you who is our hope and our refuge during this time of struggle, and be our strength at all times moving forward. 
Amen.

"God, you're such a safe and powerful place to find refuge! You're a proven help in time of trouble—more than enough and always available whenever I need you. So we will never fear even if every structure of support were to crumble away. We will not fear even when the earth quakes and shakes, moving mountains and casting them into the sea. For the raging roar of stormy winds and crashing waves cannot erode our faith in you." 
Psalm 46:1-3 (TPT)
 Be Blessed;
Stephen Barnett
* allegedly a quote from Lonnie Frisbee
** from Wikipedia

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