CHURCH
... her primary mission!
|
Who can tell me the purpose of the church, and the ministry?
I have to ask this because recently I have become aware that in many denominations we have turned our churches away from "teaching and raising up the saints for ministry" and into more or less a "service center", or a "ministry of helps".
Our mission trips and our retreats have become "work farms" where we take our youth and go out and build, and clean up, and work in the community. While this is a worthy task, it is not at all the primary purpose of our churches! Have we so quickly forgotten the command of Jesus?
In Ephesians 4:11 Paul tells us of the 5-fold ministry offices and why they were put into place. He says they are "for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." He goes on to tell us in verse 14 that we are to be "no more children" tossed to and fro by various teachings and doctrines, but we are to "grow up" into Him in all things!
He teaches here that the Body of Christ (the Church) is to become fitly joined together, working well together. He says we are to abandon the ways of the Gentiles (the non-Christians) and are to walk with a renewed spirit in the faith of God.
We often think that because Jesus fed the hungry, and healed the sick, that this was why He was sent. The fact is that healing the sick or feeding the hungry is a temporary fix, at best! Jesus used these to meet the needs of the people so that He could "get their attention"! If you heal a man, or feed him, or pay off his bills, YOU HAVE GOT HIS ATTENTION!
Somewhere in the process, we have become so focused on the feeding and the healing and the caring for others that we forgot the whole purpose of those was to "get their attention" so that we can "teach them"! In every event where you see Jesus healing the sick, He was also preaching and teaching to them! And I assure you "THAT" was His primary goal! For if you teach them and you get them saved, "they" can carry on the healing and the feeding and the caring for others ... so that they too can preach the word!
So, in your church plannings, and in your missions, don't get so focused on helping others that you forget your "primary purpose". We, the "Church", are here to prepare the saints for the work of the ministry! We are here to "preach the gospel ... to the World"!
|
|
 |
|
CampfireTALK is our weekly e-newsletter, speaking life into your heart, with stories, a word from our affiliate ministries, and a devotion from pastor Rich. It's a source for you to feed your spirit, to challenge your faith and to build you up!
Learn from pastors Rich & Jane and the many ministries that are rapidly becoming ministry partners with Word Church!
Sign up today.
*Don't forget to share ... forward your copy to others!
|
 WORD CHURCH is a church, a ministry, and a fellowship, even an outreach, where like in the days of the Apostles and Acts, the people joined together! Our vision and our goal, is to bring churches together in the unity of the faith, to help them to begin to bring together the gifts and talents of each separate church, and to share those gifts and talents with each other, that we may be better and more effective in teaching and training the Body of Christ, for the word of the ministry, to tell the World about Jesus! .... Learn More |
REVELATION (knowledge that inspires)
|
 The dictionary defines the word revelation as a divine or super natural disclosure to humans. In a nutshell, when GOD speaks to you, and gives you instruction, or advice, or wisdom about upcoming events or opportunities. Or when HE gives you an understanding of HIS plan ... for "you"! And "that" is what we're talking about in today's message! Recently, I discovered ... or I guess I should say I 're-discovered' a song in my vast library of Christian music that was performed by the band "Third Day". It's called "Revelation", and it became popular when it was used in the movie "Courageous". The lyrics go something like this: "My life has led me down the road that is so uncertain. And now I am left alone and I am broken ... trying to find my way, trying to find the faith that's gone.
This time, I know that You are holding all the answers. I'm tired of losing hold and taking chances, on the roads that never seem, to be the one's that bring me home.
Give me revelation. Show me what to do! 'Cause I've been trying to find my way. I haven't got a clue. Tell me should I stay here? Do I need to move? Give me revelation. I've got nothing without you. I've got nothing without you.
My life has led me down this path that's ever winding. Through every twist and turn I'm always finding that I have lost again. Tell me when this road will ever end! "
So often we find ourselves in life trying to find our own way. Trying to make our own decisions about life, our profession, what we do with our lives, etc. And then, after a time we hit the proverbial "brick wall" of defeat! Or maybe, we keep hitting that wall! Frustration begins to settle in. We feel hopeless, unsuccessful ... a failure.
But in hearing this song, I find that my spirit man feels reassured and encouraged. The "key" in our lives is always to "seek GOD". When we don't seem to have the answers as a child, we go to our Dad and ask him, right? Why not our Heavenly Father? I assure you, HE knows the answers that we seek!
And in the song, I just love the chorus:
"Give me revelation. Show me what to do! 'Cause I've been trying to find my way. I haven't got a clue. Tell me should I stay here? Do I need to move? Give me revelation. I've got nothing without you. I've got nothing without you."
He says, "Give me revelation, show me what to do." That is so very important in life. Often we have become our own boss, and we think that we've got a handle on everything. And we may be good at many things in those areas, but what if we were so successful that we so completely, successfully succeeded in totally by-passing THE PLAN that GOD has for our lives? You can do that you know! It's easy!
But in the song he goes on to ask, "T ell me should I stay here? Do I need to move?" And therein lies the key! We need to be willing to "stay", or maybe to "move", to be where GOD needs us to be so that we can "connect" with HIS PLAN. This week, I want you to listen to this song. You don't have to buy it if you don't want to ... but I think after listening to it you'll want it! It's available on YouTube, where you can listen to it freely. Then, if you want to buy it, there are links there to connect you to Apple's iTunes store, the Android's Google Play store, or the Amazon MP3 Store. Listen to this song this week. Open up your heart, and see what Holy Spirit says to you about your life, and about your future. As a recap, I'd also like you to review what we talked about last month, in how to get "on-track" with GOD's Plan. (see below) Make me proud! -pastor rich- Get ON-TRACK with HIS Plan ...
1. Be holy - the Bible calls us a "Holy Temple", where the Spirit of GOD lives. the Spirit of GOD lives in your heart! And to keep it holy, we must confess our sin when we sin (1 John 1:9). " If we confess our sins, HE is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleans us from all unrighteousness." In order to remain holy and clean, before GOD, we must avoid sin, and when we do sin, we must confess those sins before GOD, so that we can be made clean again. 2. Study the Word - Jesus said in John 8:31-32, " If you continue in My word, then are you truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." Folks, rare is the time you will ever see someone skip eating for the day, let alone days upon end. But we do that all the time spiritually. The Word of GOD is food for our spiritual bodies! We need that spiritual food, for spiritual energy, and for the faith that we need ... to live the life that GOD has called us to live, here in the Earth. When we study and meditate the Word of God, our spirit man grows strong, in much the same way as a battery is charged! (Romans 10:17) But when we do NOT study the Word, our spiritual battery begins to run down, and the natural man begins to surface. We act more like our "old self" than like the renewed man that GOD created us to be. In other words, the "flesh" wins out. 3. Pray in the Holy Spirit - Paul teaches us that we are to pray in the Holy Spirit. "But you, beloved, build yourselves up [founded] on your most holy faith [make progress, rise like an edifice higher and higher], praying in the spirit." [Jude 1:20 - AMP] Our supernatural energy, our faith, is charged and built up when we spend time in the presence of GOD, and when we "pray in the Holy Spirit". We are told in Ephesians 6 to "be strong in the Lord, and in the power of HIS might", putting on the whole armor of GOD. We cannot be strong if we do not spend time in GOD's presence, and in supernatural prayer! ALWAYS REMEMBER THIS:
"This is YOUR day ... YOU control it, how it goes, how you deal with the obstacles that come, and how you finish it! Master it! And don't let the day, or the little bumps that come with it determine how "YOUR DAY" is going to be. This is "YOUR" day!" Master it! Conquer it! MAKE IT ... what your Father wants it to be! -pastor rich- |
|
|
