CHURCH
... her primary purpose!
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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"!
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 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 |
IS JEALOUSY HOLDING UP YOUR BLESSING?
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 Often in ministry my wife and I have been asked to counsel a couple who may be considering marriage. Things always seem to go really smooth with them. Then there comes the part where the Bible calls the man the "head" of the household". This is usually when things start to go south, and the young "bride-to-be" begins to baulk. Things can often go downhill at that point, a foretelling of future "issues" that will curse this marriage if they are not dealt with at this early stage of the plans of this marriage. All too often I see the case where a wife is mistakenly under the impression that marriage is a "co-leadership" deal ... that there is no "head", and that both of them are equally ... "in charge"! The problem is that she could not be further from the truth. There are a lot of things in today's society that are different from the way the Bible says they should be. Just because these different views are often accepted does not mean that they have changed. God was very clear in his direction to man (Genesis) when he said that the man would leave his father and his mother, and the two would become "one flesh". But God also directed that the man would be the head over this union. This has not changed. What this means is that whatever God calls the man to do, the woman is to get behind that calling and support him, as his "helpmate". When she does, there is a wonderful blessing that comes in her obedience to God. But should she decide that she wants to dig her heels in and go differently, things begin to change. The original calling upon the man can be thwarted, stalled, or even worse ... "never happen", because of her disobedience. I remember one husband telling his wife that he really wanted to move closer to ministries where he was being led to get involved with, in an area that would provide open doors to what God was calling him to do. Her response was, "Well, it's all about you isn't it." I was grieved at hearing this, and had to restrain myself from commenting on this statement. My very first thought, prophetically, was that this woman could very easily derail this man's entire ministry, and hinder him to a point to where he will never "connect" with God's divine plan in his life. In this area, her "sin" will cost him both his ministry, and the calling and the blessing that is set aside for "her" as well! This woman has no idea what judgement she has opened up for her, and what blessings both for her and for her husband, she has stopped! Avenues and open doors for their marriage, for their family, and for their future ... have all now changed, because of the stubbornness in her heart! Blessings, and open doors, that otherwise would make life an awesome experience for them both, and for their family, will ... never happen! It is important in a marriage that the two be in agreement, supporting one another. It is important that the man take on the responsibility of being the head in this union, to pray for, believe God for, and be the champion for, the marriage, the family, and the future of his wife and family. It is also important that his wife be in prayer and support of her husband, that she believe in him, encourage him, speak words of faith and support towards him, and that she go to God when things look bleak or challenging. By doing this, God's "richest" blessings are truly in store for this couple, because they bring their marriage into alignment with God's perfect will and plan for them both! Remember, we are not here to serve our own desires and needs, but to "accomplish" what GOD has assigned us to do! Consider this, and pray that it become a standard in your life. 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-
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