CHURCH
... her primary purpose!
|
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 |
 Have you ever heard the phrase ... "Sieze the day!"? It comes from the latin word, carpe diem, (I hope I got that right) which means to embrace the moment, to it's fullest, and make the very best of it! In thinking about this the other day, I was reflecting over my life, as one often does in their latter years, and I realized that there were a great many opportunities and instances in my life where I chose to "play it safe", rather than to grasp the opportunity and embrace it to its fullest extent! I think it's a health thing to, on occasion, take a moment and consider your life. Think about your past, the decisions you've made, and where you might or might have not been, with those decisions. This is called "reflection". Proverbs speaks of this in saying that a man of wisdom looks into the waters and considers his thoughts, and looks deep. The simple minded only take a glance, "Oh! There I am" and move on, but the wise take the time to think, to ponder and consider the fruit of their choices in life, and the results of their many actions over time. I encourage you to take some time to do this! I'm not saying that you want your life to be one of regret, though some of this may arise as you delve into the folds of your past and the stories that it may tell. But, rather, I want you to take stock in what you have, considering what you did, or did not do, to get where you are today. And with all of your considering, study to discern the possibilities of tomorrow! A man once said, "I always wanted to be a doctor." The mans friend says, "Well, why don't you?". He remarked, "Well, if I started back to school now, it would take me maybe 10 or 15 years to get there. I'll be almost 50!" This man's wise young friend ponders on what he said for a moment, and then responds, "Well, how old with you be in 10-15 years if you don't do this?" The very thing that was holding him back was irrelevant! He was considering that he was "too told", when in fact, these 10 and 20 year packets of time were still yet in some abundance ahead in his life. For instance, if you can have a child, and raise them to college age, in about 20 years, then he could start a family not once, but twice in the years he had left! His time was irrelevant! It was not a factor. Today, what is holding you back? What are the things that keep you from following your dreams? Do you have hopes and things that you would like to accomplish? What is holding you back? Did you know that if you put aside $100 a month into an interest bearing savings account, and do not touch it but wisely invest it through the course of 20 years, you could very easily be a millionaire? It's called the "rule of 28", I believe. It boggles the mind to think of this! So consider your life, your future ... "all options" are open, regardless of your current state. YOU CAN CHANGE your future! It is up to you! Make it happen! Think outside of the box! As Nike so wisely puts in their slogan, "Just do it!". And remember, carpe diem! "Sieze ... the day!"
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- |
|
|
