Welcome!
Passage: Ephesians 4 (NIV 84)
Today: Are we growing/going anywhere?
11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4, NIV 84) emphasis added
Thank God for church; it is God’s plan for us, to give us the kind of fellowship we need, and also to give us a place to worship God corporately!
God designed the church beautifully; Jesus Christ is its architect and builder
And he (God) made different offices within; apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers.
God’s purpose is that ALL should grow on a daily basis, and the mark is Jesus Christ; it is the same for pastors/evangelists/prophets as well as the believers.
When we were children, my dad had a certain 6 foot height marked in the house; once in a while he had to check our height and mark it there, with the date
As Christ-ians, we better check our growth in comparison with Christ, once in a while; otherwise, it may be too late when we find out that we are too far from the mark that is set before us! we don’t want “shocks”; do we?
Hearing word after word and singing song after song, we may still be there where we started; there was this man who rowed all night, only to see that his boat didn’t move an inch because it was still tied to a pole on the land!
Unless we untie some of those ties, we are not going anywhere!
Rowing all night can give us a “feeling”, but feelings won’t get the job done!
Like the churches mentioned in the book of revelation, most people feel that their church is doing great; unfortunately, it is God who grades!
When we do bad and still feel we are doing good, there is no room for growth!
When sinners walk-in and sinners walk out that may not be church; when a sick person goes to a hospital, they don’t expect to come back the same way; they will get some healing, in most cases. Is anything happening inside the church?
Church is the place where the “worst case” supposed to get the best treatment!
In a hospital, the doctors and nurses need to handle every case they have, but they should also be careful not to get any of that sickness from the patients
They need to be there tomorrow and day after, healthy and well, to treat more!
If a hospital becomes like a club where no treatment happens and where people just walk-in and have some fun, that “hospital” will soon loose its license!
An individual/church called by God need to make sure their license is validated by God, from time to time. Maintaining the recognition of organizations here is one thing; maintaining the recognition of God is quite another!
Many people licensed by church/organizations are not approved by God!
It is time for the Godly to get closer to God on a personal and daily basis, because the church may not always be going in the right direction
Have a blessed day!
BG
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I thank you for your love and sacrifice. I know you are constantly building up your church. Help the church to understand your vision and mission. I pray that you will open up the eyes of leaders and laity; Amen
God sounds the alarm(s); it is for us to wake up or not!