The church from the beginning
Greetings in the name of Jesus:
When we look around us it is easy to see that the church that we experience today is completely different from the one that Christ established for us. All of the way from the power of prayer within the church and how God's power shook the very building they were in to the type of witness that the church gave in its presence in the community where it was established; the difference in one we experience today has a stark reality.
While in today's society the family structure may be completely different than it was during Christ ministry God's Spirit continues to work within the Christian life in the same way as when we were first given the comforter. The message that we speak and teach today is no different than the message was during the time of the first church. The purpose for our studies from this point needs to be geared toward awakening those within the body of Christ who are truly serious about their walk with God and in their spiritual growth to what our original purpose in Christ's spirit should be. That purpose scripturally is to develop relationships both with one another, and with God the father as family members, and to prepare our spiritual lives for the transformation that God has intended for us to grow into as he prepares us for an eternal life in God's presence.
What does all of this mean to us today? It means that we need to prepare ourselves so that God can begin to change us into the creatures he has created us to be. Jesus talked to the disciples quite a bit about preparing the soil for growth. He used different analogies like that of planting seeds, and the process that was necessary to take place in the seed itself before growth could take place. Jesus also spoke to the disciples about preparing the soil itself. In our case today to prepare the soil of our lives means to look closely at the environment we are living in, and then to correct whatever situation we are in to make sure that we can grow and become transformed in a proper way by the renewing of our mind and heart in Christ. In order for us to really grasp the need to make such changes we must first truly understand what Christ did to make it possible for us to be changed. Hebrews 10:12 "but Christ gave himself to God for our sins; one sacrifice for all sins". I like what writer and minister Bob Gass wrote in his devotional book "A FRESH WORD FOR TODAY" he wrote: "if you were to suddenly die and stand before God and he should ask "why should I let you into heaven? What would you say? He said you wouldn't believe some of the answers that he received, but the best came from a teenager who wrote, "I'd say I'm standing on the finished work of Christ, no less will avail and no more is needed." According to 1 Peter 2:24 it is written "he bore our sins in his own body on the tree." But even deeper than that statement from Peter the truth is that Jesus did not give himself up for us, but Christ first gave himself to God as a sacrifice for our sins. One of the first steps than that we must take is to make sure that each one of us who finds themselves responsible for others in any way are charged with the responsibility of being examples for those who follow us.
For a very long time our society has struggled between men and women as to who should be in charge, but the truth is it is who ever has been given the responsibility of leadership. God's original family structure has been molded around man as the responsible leadership, woman as the nurturing helpmate, and the children as the product or the fruit of their union. I have struggled with trying to make that model work within the church for a long time now. The one thing that I realize is that the dynamics of our society has changed. That change has not been from God, but from man, and from man's desires to control the power and the flow of God's Spirit within the church itself. Without the flow of the Holy Spirit within our churches there is very little power to do battle with the evil of this world. In order to get back to where we need to be we first must get those who are responsible for leadership, and those who are in charge, to be examples of Christ for the rest of us. I had originally written a series of studies for men's ministry that was called "THE POINT OF LIGHT". It was designed in its original intent to help us from the beginning to prepare the soil of our lives to receive the control of God's Holy Spirit. I want to begin to adapt that information to use in a new dynamics for the church of today. Be in prayer with me during this period of time that the Holy Spirit will use and to govern our attempts to bring this truth out to you who are poised to receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in this age. May you richly bless God through your life in him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
When we look around us it is easy to see that the church that we experience today is completely different from the one that Christ established for us. All of the way from the power of prayer within the church and how God's power shook the very building they were in to the type of witness that the church gave in its presence in the community where it was established; the difference in one we experience today has a stark reality.
While in today's society the family structure may be completely different than it was during Christ ministry God's Spirit continues to work within the Christian life in the same way as when we were first given the comforter. The message that we speak and teach today is no different than the message was during the time of the first church. The purpose for our studies from this point needs to be geared toward awakening those within the body of Christ who are truly serious about their walk with God and in their spiritual growth to what our original purpose in Christ's spirit should be. That purpose scripturally is to develop relationships both with one another, and with God the father as family members, and to prepare our spiritual lives for the transformation that God has intended for us to grow into as he prepares us for an eternal life in God's presence.
What does all of this mean to us today? It means that we need to prepare ourselves so that God can begin to change us into the creatures he has created us to be. Jesus talked to the disciples quite a bit about preparing the soil for growth. He used different analogies like that of planting seeds, and the process that was necessary to take place in the seed itself before growth could take place. Jesus also spoke to the disciples about preparing the soil itself. In our case today to prepare the soil of our lives means to look closely at the environment we are living in, and then to correct whatever situation we are in to make sure that we can grow and become transformed in a proper way by the renewing of our mind and heart in Christ. In order for us to really grasp the need to make such changes we must first truly understand what Christ did to make it possible for us to be changed. Hebrews 10:12 "but Christ gave himself to God for our sins; one sacrifice for all sins". I like what writer and minister Bob Gass wrote in his devotional book "A FRESH WORD FOR TODAY" he wrote: "if you were to suddenly die and stand before God and he should ask "why should I let you into heaven? What would you say? He said you wouldn't believe some of the answers that he received, but the best came from a teenager who wrote, "I'd say I'm standing on the finished work of Christ, no less will avail and no more is needed." According to 1 Peter 2:24 it is written "he bore our sins in his own body on the tree." But even deeper than that statement from Peter the truth is that Jesus did not give himself up for us, but Christ first gave himself to God as a sacrifice for our sins. One of the first steps than that we must take is to make sure that each one of us who finds themselves responsible for others in any way are charged with the responsibility of being examples for those who follow us.
For a very long time our society has struggled between men and women as to who should be in charge, but the truth is it is who ever has been given the responsibility of leadership. God's original family structure has been molded around man as the responsible leadership, woman as the nurturing helpmate, and the children as the product or the fruit of their union. I have struggled with trying to make that model work within the church for a long time now. The one thing that I realize is that the dynamics of our society has changed. That change has not been from God, but from man, and from man's desires to control the power and the flow of God's Spirit within the church itself. Without the flow of the Holy Spirit within our churches there is very little power to do battle with the evil of this world. In order to get back to where we need to be we first must get those who are responsible for leadership, and those who are in charge, to be examples of Christ for the rest of us. I had originally written a series of studies for men's ministry that was called "THE POINT OF LIGHT". It was designed in its original intent to help us from the beginning to prepare the soil of our lives to receive the control of God's Holy Spirit. I want to begin to adapt that information to use in a new dynamics for the church of today. Be in prayer with me during this period of time that the Holy Spirit will use and to govern our attempts to bring this truth out to you who are poised to receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in this age. May you richly bless God through your life in him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
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