That He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.It is time for every member of the church to stand up and be the church. The time that once was future is now here. We are truly living in the last moments of the last days. We are the generation that will usher in the return of the Messiah. The waiting is over and the time is at hand for the church to stand up and operate in the power and authority that was prophesied by Jesus.
(Eph. 5:27 NKJV)
It is time for the church to become "Holy Spirit-friendly." When the world looks at Christians, they should see the light shining in such a way that they are drawn to a loving God. The church should never be embarrassed by the Holy Spirit or His gifts. A church that is Holy Spirit led will be a church that is drawing people to Jesus.
In order for the church to be the glorious church, Christians must be obedient to every word and not just to the ones they want to receive. We must go where He tells us to go, or stay where He tells us to stay without regard to fame or fortune. The Blessing will chase you down and catch you, but The Blessing only travels on the street named Obedience.
I recently heard someone say that they were not going to church prayer because they didn't get a lot out of prayer meetings. It reminded me of the time that a couple met me in my office to inform me that they were no longer going to work with children because no one appreciated what they were doing.
When did appreciation become the motivation for ministry? When did we start judging prayer by how much we got out of it? Much of the focus has been wrong and needs to be corrected.
We were created to worship Him. When we pray, we pray to the Father. If talking to the Father does not bring satisfaction, then an adjustment needs to be made and it's not the Father that needs to be adjusted. The glorious church receives correction.
The church has been commanded to "go ye therefore and make disciples." Whether or not you feel appreciated while doing it, is irrelevant. It's a command. Imagine how an army would function during a time of war if each soldier decided himself whether or not he was going to obey the commands of the General on the basis of how appreciated he felt. The war would be lost. That is one of the basic problems that has developed in the church. We must obey His commands without hesitation.
Psalm 119:165 says, "Great peace have they which love Thy law and nothing shall offend them." The church must quit talking about what the world has done to them and start talking about what God has done for them. This is the time, this is the year for the church to stand up and be the glorious church.
A lady told me she could not teach the children because she needed to be sitting in adult church where the pastor put the food on the table. While this is a good concept, the reality is this. If everybody is sitting at the table and nobody is in the kitchen, everyone starves. In order to eat, we must all take our turn in the kitchen. Every part of the body must do its part.
The church must have the right perspective and have its priorities in order. Although we receive when we come to God's house, our hearts should be the heart of a servant and we should come to give worship to God and minister to others.
The glorious church must stand in honesty, character, and integrity. In today's society, I have seen a disturbing trend. People are accustomed to being tantalized, mesmerized, and sensationalized and this has been brought into the church. While I truly believe that worship services should promote excellence in music and teaching and that musicians should practice and rehearse in order to promote excellence in worship, I have noticed that some church services are such choreographed, theatrical, made-for-television performances, that there is little difference between church and the half-time show at the Super Bowl.
Sometimes I feel like the church has been lulled into a deep sleep. Twenty years ago there were things we would not allow in our homes that today we are using to babysit our children. This is the time for the sleeping giant to awake.
It has been estimated that there are over 75 million evangelical Christians in America alone. When we unite as one body in agreement with the Word of God as our guide, nothing will stop us.
While the world may wax worse and become more deceived, the church should become brighter and brighter until we shine the Gospel into all the world.
There is so much more that God is speaking in these last moments of the last days. When my grandmother was a teenager, she saw her first automobile. During all of her youth she traveled by way of horse and wagon. Before she passed away, she saw astronauts go into outer space and men walk on the moon. From the creation of man through six thousand years, man traveled with the assistance of animals. In one generation that changed. The scriptures tell us that in the last days knowledge will increase. We are truly in the last days.
The prophetic times spoken by our Lord and Savior, Jesus, are upon us. The time of waiting is behind and the time of action is at hand. It's time for the church to stand up and be all that Jesus prophesied the church would be.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.