THE CHURCH

THE CHURCH

What is the church?  Do you think of a church building or do you think of Christianity and the people who make up the Body of Christ?

In chapter 17 of John’s Gospel Jesus talks about believers.  He is talking about those who have believed in Him and accepted Him.  He talks about the people that have been given to Him by God the Father, “I have manifested Your Name to the people whom You have given Me out of the world.  They were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have obeyed and kept Your word.”  John 17:6   Jesus goes on to say, “I am praying for them, I am not praying for the world, but for those You have given Me, for they belong to You.”  John 17:9

Jesus also spoke about the Kingdom of God.  He said that the Kingdom of God is within us.  Jesus came to bring the Kingdom, God’s Kingdom to us through Jesus.  Yes, we are the Kingdom of God.  We are the representation of God upon the earth. 

 

Do we represent Christ?  Do we just show up and occupy a pew in a church building and believe that by doing so we are doing God’s work on the earth?  Jesus did teach in the temple but He went out to where the people were---the sick, the lame, the outcasts. 

Wake up church because you are the hands and feet of Christ!!  

The Body of Christ needs to wake up at this time in history because we are at a precipice of retreat or victory.  It is a time when our very own identity is being challenged.  We have been created in the image of God and we need to stand for who we are in Christ.  The world is trying to steal our identity and we cannot cave in to what the world would have us to be but what God says we are.  

Christians around the world are being persecuted and martyred for their faith.  We here in the United States need to stand against the world and not give in to cultural Christianity which is watered down Christianity to accommodate the world.   We were created in the image of God---male and female.   Abortion is not a woman’s right—it is the taking of an innocent life.  The Word of God is not a fairy tale—it is truth!!  We will not look the other way when we see corruption, but we will speak out.

Where are the voices?  2020 is the year of the mouth and the year that Christians, true Christians, the remnant, need to make their voices are heard.  For those of you who don’t think that Christianity and politics should mix, let me tell you, if it wasn’t for the evangelicals in the last election, Donald Trump would not have been elected and we would be in a big mess!!

There are prophecies out there that Donald Trump will be re-elected.  Does that mean that we should become complacent?  NO!!  There were many millions of people praying for President Trump to be re-elected so we need to continue to pray that he is.  God has given us a window of opportunity while Trump is president to operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit to prepare for Revival.  Because of the great economy, the Gospel is being spread throughout the world.  The United States is the country that sends out the most missionaries.   If the US collapses because of a socialist leader, we will not be able to accomplish the great commission.  So get out and VOTE!!

 Social Justice is only a cover up for socialism where everyone is put into groups—race, gender, socio- economic, etc.  Many churches preach this.  Yes, Jesus did have compassion on people and healed many but He came to change people’s hearts.  The church needs to be more concerned about evangelism than social justice.

Before Jesus left this earth to ascend to His Father in Heaven He said that we were to preach the Gospel!!  How often do we fall short of this?  Yes the preaching of the Gospel is in the church buildings but do we go out and live the Gospel?  Do others see Jesus in us?  Do we go to the where the people are as Jesus did or do we just sit in our comfy pews and listen to a great sermon that produces no fruit in us?

Wake up Church!  We are the hands and feet and voice of Jesus.  This is the year of the mouth, the voice.  Let’s speak up and speak out.  Let’s stand up and stand out for God who is our Creator.

“The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil but by those who watch them without doing anything.”  Albert Einstein

I had a dream about being in a place where there were many people seated as if in a church building setting.  While I was sitting down a woman came in who was not very good looking but she was excited and she kept saying, "Change, change, change!"

She and her fiance sat down in the same row that I was in and she showed me her engagement ring which she said was not a diamond but some other name for a jewel that I do not remember.  What I do remember is her consistent word of "change."

As I pondered the dream, I asked the Holy Spirit to give me the interpretation of the dream.  I looked up the word engaged because she had obviously become engaged.  The word engaged means "actively committed."  The Church needs to arise and be actively committed to God's Holy Word and defend Who God is and our identity in Christ and not let the world dictate who we are or how we are to think or act.  Almighty God is our Commander and Chief.

I believe that she represented the Church of Christ.  She was not beautiful and did not have a diamond but an ordinary stone because she is still in process.  She is not perfect yet.  She is not ready for her bridegroom.  Revelation 19:7 says, "Let us rejoice and shout for joy (exulting and triumphant)!  Let us celebrate and ascribe to Him glory and honor, for the marriage of the Lamb (at last) has come, and His bride has prepared herself."  Revelation 21:2 says, "And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, all arrayed like a bride beautified and adorned for her husband."  (Everyday Life Bible Amplified Version)

Why did she keep saying, "change, change"?  I believe that God is saying that there is a change coming to the Bride of Christ.  We need to change so that we are ready to receive our Bridegroom, Jesus Christ.  We need to be made perfect.  We need to be the defender of the faith.  We need to act like the Church, the Body of Christ here on the earth to prepare for the 2nd Coming of Jesus.  We need to also prepare to meet Him.

Revelation 22:17 says, "The (Holy) Spirit and the bride (the church, the true Christians) say, Come!  And let him who is listening say, Come!  And let everyone come who is thirsty (who is painfully conscious of his need of those things by which the soul is refreshed, supported, and strengthened); and whoever (earnestly) desires to do it, let him come, take, appropriate, and drink the water of Life without cost."   (Everyday Life Bible Amplified Version)

We need to arise and be the Church, which means we are the representation of Jesus Christ on the earth.  We need to re-present Him to the world.  We need to win souls and be an open Gospel by our words and deeds.  The harvest is plenty and the workers are few.  Let us go out to the fields that are ripe and be a part of the largest harvest in the history of the world.  It is a harvest that is going to arise as the Church realizes that the coming of her Bridegroom, Jesus Christ, is at the door.

As I read the words written down from an outpouring gathering here where I live, I realized that it confirmed the dream that the Lord had given me.   A portion of the message from the Lord given on October 25, 2019 through Lenora and Jody Morin from Fountaingate Ministries said, "Church arise!  Be engaged moving with Me (God).  You are the movement."