2 Corinthians 10:4 (NKJV) 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds
This week I have been sharing some things that I felt the Lord spoke to me prophetically concerning where we are right now and what God is doing. God impressed on me how important it is that we come together in prayer. Prayer is always necessary, but there are times when God is moving in such a way that makes prayer an even more urgent matter. When we come together in response to a specific direction from the Lord, we are joining with multitudes of other believers who are praying along the same lines. This is one of those times.
God also impressed upon me that we are at the beginning of an awakening in the church. It may not seem like much yet, but I believe something that many of us in church leadership have been sensing is beginning. One of our themes for this year has been waiting. The believers in the upper room waited for about 10 days between Jesus’ ascension and the outpouring of the Spirit. They did not know how long they had to wait and they did not know what they were waiting for. That is exactly where many of us have been.
As I was sharing this with a group in Puerto Rico, I said to them, “If they had not waited the whole ten days nothing would have happened. However, when the day of Pentecost was ‘fully come” God did move.” I believe we are on the 10th day of waiting. God is moving. We need to release our faith in what God is doing right now.
Yesterday I pointed out that our battle is not with flesh and blood. Our fight is with beings we cannot see. There really is another world that is greater than this world. That world created the world we can see. We need to remind ourselves that the realm of the spirit is not something that is mythological. It is something that is real. We receive our power from that place. Connection to the realm of the spirit is the only thing that will give us the edge over the enemy. It is the only way we can have victory that matters.
As I closed yesterday, I quoted today’s scripture. I want to continue along those lines for a few minutes today. As I said yesterday, I believe the devil has laid a trap for the church. It has seemed for a while that focusing on the spirit has not been working. Many have turned to technology, entertaining preaching and music, professionally administered programs and organization to draw people into the church. I am not against any of those things. However, when we begin to depend on them to grow the church we are missing something.
The problem is that these things have worked. Churches that work to make sure they do not do anything to put people off are growing. Those that emphasize the flow of the spirit, challenging teaching and deeper praise and worship have not been growing. That is the trap. We begin to justify this move away from what we used to do with the idea that this is a different day and we need new methods to reach people.
That is also true to a point. The question we must ask is what are we reaching them with. What are we building? Are we building strong believers who can take their place in the harvest? Are we building people who have a hunger for the things of God? On the other hand, are we building church members who will add to the numbers on our membership rolls? I want the former and I will not accept the latter.
There is nothing wrong with any of the things I have mentioned. I like technology. I am a musician and love good music. I believe we should meet the needs of people and we must have efficient programs to do that. Good organization is important. However, I believe none of these things can substitute for a real encounter with God. That must remain our focus. No matter what age we live in the great commission remains the same.
Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV) 18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Our job is to make disciples not followers or church members. We do that by leading them into a salvation experience with Jesus. We follow salvation with baptism. In many places baptism is the real dividing line for those who are saved. In India for instance, you may get thousands to raise their hand to accept Jesus and only a few to the river for baptism. That is because water baptism says to the world, “I am a Christian. I have forsaken other gods.” It is then that you may lose your job or family. We do not have the same cultural experience but if it is taught correctly, water baptism will have the same impact for us.
Next Jesus says that we should teach them what he taught us. Jesus did not teach us to fit in with the world. He did not teach us to be like everyone else and just try to live a good life. He taught us to be in the world but not of the world. He taught us a higher standard of righteousness and morality than the Pharisees not a lower one. Read the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. That is what we are supposed to be like and that is what we must teach to make disciples.
Methods may change. We should use what is available to us. The message must not change. It must remain the message that Jesus taught. It must remain the message Paul gave us in his letters. We must stand for righteousness and holiness. We are still to be salt and light to the world. Anything less is not biblical Christianity even if it produces growth in our church.
God has given us mighty weapons but these weapons are not carnal. Their source is not this world. We may use the tools of this world to supplement but we win the war with the weapons of the spirit. I fear that the trap of growth through a compromised message and lifestyle is robbing us of the weapons we need to win. We lean on the natural and get a type of success. Do not be deceived. We will need those weapons eventually and if we do not know how to use them, we will fall. That is the story of much of denominational Christianity.
I heard a man preach once that David killed Goliath with his own sword. The implication is that we should use the devils weapons against him. While there is some truth there, David killed Goliath with an anointed rock. He cut the giants head off with his own sword but if he was not already dead, David could not have taken the enemies sword. In fact, if the rock had not done its job, Goliath would have killed David.
Take up the real weapons of our warfare. Return to an emphasis on the things of the spirit. Do not give in to the allure of success at the expense of discipleship. I would rather have 100 disciples than 1000 church members. One thousand church members may make me feel important. One hundred disciples can change the world.
Jesus ministered to multitudes. They were healed. They had evil spirits cast out of them. They received supernatural food at the feeding of the 5000 and the feeding of the 4000. They heard teaching that they proclaimed was different from anything they had ever heard. They followed him wherever he went. Yet after the resurrection, only 500 hundred were invited to the upper room and of that number, only 120 came. It was that 120 that opened a door for the move of the spirit that changed the whole world.
Pick up the weapons of the world of the spirit. It is more real than the world we can see. If it is not, we are all wasting our time. Pray in the Holy Spirit. Let your worship flow from your spiritual relationship with the Lord. Preach the real Gospel. Teach people to walk in discipleship. None of these things is old fashioned. None of them go out of style. This is our time. Awake and see what God will do.
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