The Body of Christ doesn’t need lecturers, professors, entertainers, storytellers, fundraisers, screamers, performers or comedians, it needs SPIRITUAL LIFE GIVERS. The Lord asks you to read His Word in Eph. 4:11-16, especially verse 13. The Lord says that after 2000 years of preaching from the Bible, instead of coming “in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man…”, THE CHURCH IS SO DIVIDED AND DISUNITED AND DEAD IN SPIRIT AS NEVER BEFORE IN HER ENTIRE HISTORY! Are you, believers, offended by this truth? You will be, if you do not see it.
So, what is the true reason for this lamentable situation? In fact, the reason is quite simple. After 2000 years of preaching the Bible, believers have received mountains of pasteurized teachings, doctrines, sermons, stories either in spoken or written form, which resulted in a great reservoir of mental knowledge. But that great mental knowledge has not transformed believers into the Image of Christ and it has not brought the Life of Christ into their souls and daily living. It could not be apprehended by believers in any living way. It simply remained a nice theory while the reality in believers is the opposite and it does not correspond to that vast knowledge in any way. That “perfect intellectual knowledge” produced little spiritual effect within the Church; that’s why the Church has no power and no authority in this world either. The present lamentable state of the world is also due to the lamentable state of the Church! How will the Lord judge us? Do we know? No, we don’t.
So after 2000 years, the Church is anything but perfect and its spiritual knowledge of the Son of God is pretty close to zero! Do you believe this? Do you SEE this? I do not blame any one, who may not see this truth because it took me many years of my walking with the Lord before I started to see it myself. But the Lord desires that I state this truth at this place whether people see it or not. We cannot bypass important issues and make them “taboo” just because they may not suite our understanding or imaginations or because they may offend our proud souls.
2) The Lord does not need a Church that cannot be recognized from the world! I will give you one such striking example. One day, as I was on a mission in the USA, I turned on the TV and, being unfamiliar with the local channels, I only guessed what was shown on the screen. I saw there a man in a Hell’s Angel’s outfit and a Harley-Davidson motorbike behind him. It was on January 27th, 2008 and it took me a while to see a pulpit and a preacher [Kenneth Hagin, jr.] on TBN channel. (Trinity Broadcasting Network in Santa Anna, California) I had no clue what he was trying to say and why he impersonated a Hell’s Angel. My only question was: “Was it the Spirit of the Lord that guided him into such a performance or the human reasoning and thoughts of his natural mind?” He would, of course, claim that it was the Holy Spirit guiding him… as many like preachers and ministers always claim.
But the Lord says: “NO! My Spirit never guides ministers to appeal to the outward senses or to the logical understanding of believers or to masquerade as other persons or creatures.” This Word closes the case for multitudes of soulish ministers in the Church.
At another day in another motel, I saw a colorful performance of a music band and dancers which looked as if it were being performed in some night club. It was again TBN channel. Yet another day, I saw a young man, long hair and tattoos all over his body. He was advertising some book that he wrote. It took me some time to see that he was interviewed again on TBN channel by a man and his wife. He claimed that “Jesus saved him one year ago”… yet His Spirit somehow never lead him during that one year to cut his long hair (1Cor. 11:14) and cover his disfigured body from being seen on national television! Who allowed him to appear on TV half naked showing off his tattoos? It was definitely not the Holy Spirit, Who desired to advertise the “works of the devil” on national television. (Phil. 4:8)
It is sometimes dangerous to open this TBN channel for your children to watch and then have to explain to them that “this is the Church of Jesus Christ”. But TBN also presents some good and profitable programs; it just seems that the Director of programming has little spiritual discernment.
His TRUE Church takes nothing from this world, which is now cursed and will soon be destroyed because His TRUE CHURCH is not of this world, but is heavenly! Do we have any living concept what the Church really is and what that means? I believe that we don’t.
3) The Lord does not need a Church that is organized by man, run by man, governed by man, who may have good religious education, right titles, influence, money, status or reputation. If any church is run by man, it is NOT His Church, because HIS CHURCH IS BUILT BY CHRIST ALONE AND RUN BY HIS SPIRIT ALONE! (Mt. 16:18)
Firstly, His true Church is not an organization of any kind; it is an ORGANISM... a living organism that lives by the Life of Christ, which is the “blood” of His Body. Do we experience that? NO, we don’t because there is no unity in the Church.
When you look at your own body you must see clearly that it was not organized by any organ or member of your body or outside of your body. It was created by God in an absolute harmony of all its organs and members which are interdependent. They all live together by one life and care for one another without any problems. Their life is supplied to every cell of the body in the blood which carries all the necessary nutrition and oxygen (“food, drink and fresh air”) to every cell. And if in any part of your body the blood does not flow, that part is paralyzed, numb and dead. True?
Why should we be surprised to learn that the Body of Christ functions exactly in the same way? The Spirit of God is the Life of it that “flows” to every “cell” of His Body. And if in any part of it, in any member, this Life does not “flow”, that part, that member, is paralyzed, numb and dead! True? But the Lord is not building a dead Body, but a Living Body, functioning in love, interdependence, mutual support where each member has the same care for one another. (1Cor. 12: 25-27) I have not experienced even one local church like this in the entire 40 years of my Christian ministry. The Lord Jesus Christ is my Living Witness.
Any suggestion that “the man who runs the Church” is led by the Spirit is in too many cases absolutely FALSE! Almost all existing “churches” are organized as any other entity or corporation of this world; they are businesses advertising themselves as any other business of this world, with the possible exception of smaller house groups. They are religious institutions with leadership “chosen and appointed by men”, by Boards of Directors, Trustees or functionaries that may not know the Lord at all. The Lord allowed man to build, organize and run these religious entities according to man’s own ideas, beliefs and intentions which, I believe, in most cases must have been very honorable and honest and right. But His Spirit is not governing the life and activities of such institutions since He would have to act against the will, decisions and desires of man’s free will. So, the Lord at least directs the steps of those men, who devised their ministries in their heart. (Pr. 16:9) Those that devised them in their mind only do not have this privilege.
Secondly, THE LORD DOES NOT DESIRE “OUR BEST”, HE DESIRES “OUR DEATH”! BECAUSE OUT OF THE DEATH OF OUR OLD LIFE COMES NEW LIFE, NEW CREATURE, WHOM HE DESIRES AND FOR WHOM HE DIED! (2Cor. 4:10-12) Our Lord is not impressed or delighted when our “old religious man” plays to Him “sacred music”, sings (or screams) religious hymns or congregates in ornate buildings with a cross on their roof. When we try to offer to God “our best” then we are like unto Cain, who also offered to God the best that his own hand produced from the earth (1Cor. 15:47,48) and his offering was refused. When his brother Abel offered a lamb, it was a blood offering; the lamb represented Abel’s own life and Abel “LEGALLY”died on that altar. God was truly pleased and accepted his offering. And when Cain being wroth killed his brother Abel, Cain became cursed! (Gen. 4:1-11) So, when we sit on gold plated chairs, congregate in ornate buildings, sing religious hymns, give offerings, conduct interviews or run financially successful ministries, it does not necessarily mean that we are blessed servants of God. Do we SEE this fact? NO! There is not one soulish believer, who can see this.
If you do not see it, then see the following. Take the Judaism, ecclesiasticism, sectarianism, denominationalism, Romanism, Protestantism and all the other religious factions and tell me: Is it the Spirit of the Lord, Who created them and runs them? Is it TRULY Him? Do you belong to any of these factions and organizations and institutions which have nothing common among themselves though they are all based on the same One Book? It is a slap in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word which clearly declares that “there is ONE Body (One Church), ONE Spirit … ONE Lord, ONE faith, ONE baptism.” (Eph. 4:4,5) Not many faiths, but ONE! Where is that ONEness? Do you see it? NO! It is nowhere! That is the reason why the ecumenical movement was born years ago, to “unite” these hopelessly divided factions, which is impossible to do anyway.
Also, His Word demands us to be of ONE mind, not of many minds! (2Cor. 13:11// Phil. 1:27; 2:2// 1Pet. 3:8// Eph. 4:13,14) To our unimaginable shame, His Word tells us that the ten evil kings who shall make war with the Lamb, THEY WILL HAVE ONE MIND (Rev. 17:12,13), BUT NOT THE CHURCH! The Lord, therefore, does not recognize religious entities created by men. Do you now SEE what the Lord means in this point? Or will you try to reason within yourself and explain this tragedy according to your view and understanding? Will you also do it when you will stand in front of the Living Son of God? I do doubt. I must sometimes use harsh words to wake up those that believe and sleep… and for whom the Son of God shed His Blood as well!
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To be continued next week in chapter 3 – part 17
brother Hanola
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