his Church
Jesus said that "I will build my church and the gates of hades will not overcome it. MATTHEW 16:18.
he is the Architect, Builder, owner and lord.
by church he means, "the called out ones"
as believers, we are the church.
that consists of all those that believe jesus is the messiah.
our bodies are temples of the holy spirit who is in us, given to us by god. 1 corinthians 6;19.
hades is the place of PUNISHMENT for non-believers. a place of PERMANENT death. even death, however, the ultimate weapon of satan who holds the power of death (hebrews 2:14), has no power to stop the church.
those of us thAT LOVE CHRIST, LOVE THE CHURCH. IT IS THE ONLY ENTITY THAT HE IS BUILDING IN THIS WORLD. IT IS THE ONLY THING IN THIS WORLD THAT WILL SURVIVE DEATH. while EVERYTHING ELSE IS PASSING AWAY; it will live ETERNALLY.
the church is the most precious reality in all of creation because of the price that was paid for it. It was PURCHASED with the blood of jesus christ. 1 Peter 1:18-19, 1 CORINTHIANS 6:19, 2 Corinthians 5:21.
the church is the earthly expression of heaven. it is UNEARTHLY. it is alien. it is a place of praise, worship, exaltation and service of god all mighty. it is a place of divine truth. it is a place that is christ centered not man centered and where holiness is pursued.
the church triumphs over all sinful opposition. the church is victorious. 2 corinthians 2:14. everything else burns up.
the church is the steward, the piller and the foundation of absolute truth. 1 timothy 3:15. the world is full of lies, deception and error. it is dark and deprived.
the church must guard the truth; the word of god. it is the most valuable thing in the world. it has been entrusted to us. 1 timothy 6:20. it must teach and preach the word PUBLICLY. 1 timothy 4:11, 13.
the church is the place of safety. it is a fold protected by shepherds.
it is most often a designated building, but can also be a simple house, or even a place where a group of jesus believers gather.
jesus said that “where two or three gather in my name, there i am with them” Matthew 18:19 NIV
the church is the place of joyful, grateful worshipers.
the church is the place of fellowship where our burdens are shared and our VICTORIES are CELEBRATED.
the church is god's glory and joy.
the church is where the people of the kingdom of light, the kingdom of god, congregate.
the church is a colony of heaven here on earth.
the church is a place where we can go to TEMPORALLY leave this dark world outside it’s doors.
the church is a place where we can go to hear the name of jesus spoken and proclaimed without concern or reproach.
the chrch never needs any assistance from the kindom of darkness, the kingdom of the world, to exist or to grow.
therefore, let us not give up meeting with one another. hebrews 10:25 let us gather together on a regular basis to fellowship with one another and to worship our great father with one voice.
look for a church that does this;
it confesses that jesus is lord, king, messiah, the son of the livng god. matthew 16:16.
if they do not do this, leave immediately. 2 John 9-10.
the word of god from the bible must be taught.
here are a few examples of what to look for in a church, click on the links below:
all of these churches stream their services live on line.
although it is of course BENEFICIAL to listen to them, they should be approached as a SUPPLEMENT to attending a local church.
there is nothing that should replace the regular joining together with a community of believers under the word of god.
and building relationships and sharing life with one another..sharing in each others trials and victories and praying with one another.
especially as the culture around us continues to darken with their deprived minds and hardening hearts.
they will continue to marginalize christians at an increasing rate.
we have something that the rest of the world does not have and we must stick together where we can be strong, where we can shine the light of christ.
jesus is the chief CORNERSTONE of the church. in him the whole building is joined together and rises to become the holy temple in the lord. EPHESIANs 2:20-21.
the church is about jesus and exalting him as the holy one of god.
not man. not idols. not traditions. not rituals.
the church is a gathering of people whom god has revealed the truths of salvation and righteousness in christ to which in turn produces holiness in believers;
he appeared in the flesh,
was vindicated by the spirit,
was seen by angels,
was preached among the nations,
was believed on in the world,
was taken up in glory. 1 timothy 3:16
what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived, the things that god has prepared for those who love him.
these are things that god has revealed to us by his spirit. 1 corinthians 2:9-10.
i pray that he will reveal these truths to You as well.
again truly truly i encourage you to find a body of jesus believers and join their church in life, in worship and in service of him.
join small groups within the church.
get involved in the ministries that the church is involved in.
it may take a little effort. it may take visiting several churches.
listen closely to the sermons for solid biblical teaching.
remember that just as no person is perfect.
so is no church perfect.
it is simply a group of imperfect people seeking a perfect savior.
but when you find the right one for you, you will know.
you will feel like you have come home!
our mission
As Christians, we have been given a mission.
Jesus told us what that mission is just before He ascended back into Heaven.
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.””
Matthew 28:19-20 NIV
As Christians we have in our possession the most important information in the world
That information is we know the way to be right with God
We know the way to be forgiven of our sin through repentance.
That Way, the only Way is through Jesus Christ
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6 NIV
the world desperately needs to hear it
God did not save us from our own sins just for us to keep it to our selves
Believe it or not, Jesus told us that we will do even greater things that He did
Yes, it is true!
“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”
John 14:12-14 NIV
What an amazing thought
We have the capability to do more than the Son of God, The Savior of the World
“And you will be called priests of the Lord, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast.”
Isaiah 61:6 NIV
This is our commission and our mission.
this is why i have created this web site!
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”
2 Corinthians 5:17-20 NIV
There is only one way to be reconciled to God
Through His Son Jesus Christ
Because of the sin we inherited from Adam
We all were born as rebels
As enemies of God
Completely alienated from Him
But God made a way for us to be reconciled to Himself through His Son Jesus
to be born again.
jesus said, “very truely I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of god unless they are born again.” John 3:3
“For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”
Romans 5:10-11 NIV
“Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel.”
Colossians 1:21-23 NIV
This Gospel is the Good News about Jesus
In fact the word Gospel means “Good News”
We all have mission fields
God calls us to go to places He has a requirement for representation
For some, it may be called to difficult places in the world
Impoverished, dangerous places
For others, God may call us into a new job
Or to live in a new neighborhood
or new city
Where ever the place
Who ever the people we will be associated with are
Whether they are the mega rich driving around in Rolls Royce’s and Bentley’s
And traveling the world is their private jet
Or dirt poor begging for money on the side of a road
Domestic or foreign
They are all in the same hopeless condition
they all are needy
They are separated from God
They are ladened with sin and guilt
And are destined to spend an eternity separated from God in Hell
This is our mission
This is our purpose
For the remaining years that God gives us
“to preach christ crucified.” 1 corinthians 1:23 NIV
this is not a message that the world is interested in hearing.
it is offensive
people like their sin.
and they do not like to be called out on it.
and they most certainly are not interested in repenting or turning away from it and believing in jesus as their lord and savior.
“it is a stumbling block to the jews, and folly to the gentiles.” 1 corinthians 1:23 NIV
just know that the closer you get to the cross, the more offensive it becomes to people and the smaller the crowd will become.
just as in jesus’ day, there will be many that will come around for the free & fun stuff..the concerts, the picnics, the crusades, etc
but as soon as the subject turns to sin and repentance and death and hell..the croud will be offended and will thin out. John 6:66 NIV
remember that there are many on the wide road that leads to destruction, and only a few on the narrow road that leads to life. Matthew 7:13-14 NIV
in today’s culture, not only will many so call “jesus followers” leave, they will turn on us and become hostile..even seeking to, at the least, water down the message so it is not so offensive to the sinful culture, or at the worst, they will mock us and seek to cancel us.
as jesus got closer and closer to the cross, his teachings became more and more specific and the crowds went from thousands when jesus was feeding them free food, down to just 12.
he asked them, “you do not want to leave too, do you?” John 6:67 NIV
i absolutely love what peter’s response was, “Lord, to whom shall we go? you have the words of eternal life. we have come to believe and to know that you are the holy one of god.” john 6:68-69 niv
from there, one of the 12, judas, sold out jesus in an attempt to cancel him and his message.
now he was down to 11.
later, in the garden of gethsemane, there were only three, peter, john, and james.
then, at the foot of the cross, only one, john, remained.
he was crucified, but his message lives on in and through us to this very day, and beyond, until he returns again.
in the mean time, let us be humbled that we have been considered worthy to be trusted with this message knowing that the more specifically we preach the cross of jesus, the smaller our audience will be as well.
we have to expect that the more we talk about jesus and live our life according to his way,
that friends and co-workers we once had will distance themselves from us.
family members will do the same.
some may even become hostle.
but remember, as I quoted earlier:
Jesus said that "I will build my church and the gates of hades will not overcome it. MATTHEW 16:18.
our true companion is the audience of one.
jesus christ.
he will never leave us nor forsake us.
what an honor to be chosen by him to participate in this endeavor!
another very important component is to be a CONSISTENT giver
a giver of our time
our talents
our resources
to the kingdom of god.
we should support various ministries and MISSIONARIES both domestically and internationally
the needs are endless..
jesus said; “seek first the kingdom of god and all it’s righteousness and all these things will be added to you as well” Matthew 6:33
he is saying that when we concentrate on his will and his kingdom as our priority, he will make sure that all of our needs are met
Lord Jesus
we too, have come to know that you are the holy one of god.
Thank you for saving us
Thank you for commissioning us to be your
Ambassadors
Your priests
Your ministers
You have given us the Message of Reconciliation
Please direct our steps to our missions fields
To those you wish for us to implore on your behalf
To be reconciled to God, to Yahweh
through you our lord, jesus
holy spirit, please give us the strength and courage to stand firm in the truth of your word
In Your Name I pray,
Amen
