The church's foundation//partsix
Last evening the church met for Bible study and we had church...we did not play church, the church met and as we spoke of the Tabernacle that God gave Moses the pattern for, the anointing fell and what an anointing! We were talking about a foundation and in the building of the Tabernacle, the foundation consisted of 100 silver sockets in which the boards were fitted for the structure. These silver sockets represent redemption and we know that they were only a type of the Blood of redemption that Jesus shed for us on the cross ....He purchased our redemption with His own blood...Peter tells us that it was precious blood. The old hymn writer penned these words, "the churches one foundation is Jesus Christ the Lord" and as we zeroed in on that truth last evening, the anointing fell on the 19 of us who were there. You see, Jesus promised that where even if only two or three gathered in His name that He would be there in our midst . That is what church is all about, not a social get together although that may be a part of our gathering...but it is the Presence of almighty Jehovah God in the person of Jesus Christ being in our midst...that is what it is all about. Not what we can do...no not even working for missions, not even witnessing on the street corner or your neighborhood, even though that is of tremendous importance...it is the Presence of Christ, first and foremost ...what can wash away my sin?...nothing, absolutely nothing ...but the Blood of Jesus!!! Yes, the Presence of Christ must first be evident in us before we can function in the Body of Christ, that is why worshipping Him comes first...before all else...worship.

The Church/part 5
What the church is not...it is not an organization; it is an organism...it is not a denomination but it has a destination. The true church of the living God does not forsake the assembling of itself together but rather it exhorts one another...encourages one another...thinks about the other persons spiritual needs and calls on the phone or e-mails or writes a letter of encouragement or gives a smile or a greeting and lets that other person know that they truly are loved of God and of that person who is encouraging them. Early this morning I received a phone call from another brother who sensed in his spirit that I needed encouraging and so he did just what the Bible says we ought to do...he exhorted me. It built up my faith. Hebrews chapter 10 verses 21 & 22 says that we, the church, have "a high priest over the house of God, " and that we can "draw near with a full assurance of faith", and verse 24 says "and let us consider one another."
Considering one another...that is a lot of what the church is about but firstly we are to consider the Head even Jesus who loved us and gave Himself for us. Organized religion is just that...
organized religion...man made. The church is born of the Spirit of God...what a difference!

The building; part four:the church
No more is a building a church than is a house a home. A house is only a home when there is a family living there. The building is where the family lives or resides for want of a better word and we call it home. It's the same wit the church building...it is a church when the church is there
As I said in a previous note Jesus is the Head of the church and that is what makes all the difference. One day we will be relocated . We the church are like Abraham of old who looked for a city with foundations. He had all his life been dwelling in tents and was always on the move but he also was looking for a city whose builder and maker is God, a city with foundations. That old hymn of the church says it this way, "The church's one foundation is Jesus Christ the LORD " He is the head as well as the foundation; the city or dwelling place or church house that Abraham was seeking is eternal in the heavens and it is not made with hands but rather by the Word of God. I am looking to relocate some day soon to that permanent church house...a new building!

Part 3 of the Church series.

Who is the church? One, Paul the apostle in his first letter to the church in Corinth as he is conveying greetings to them from the churches of Asia includes greetings also from Aquila and Priscilla, two Bible teachers, said it like this, "The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Priscilla greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house." "The church that is in their house." Not some great denomination...not a great edifice, a building, but rather the people in your house who have Jesus living in their hearts by faith....that is who the church is, ....people.

People with messed up lives? Yes...people who are less than perfect? Yup...You mean every day people with problems just like I have? People who make mistakes and fall on their proverbial faces and get dirty sometimes? Yes, people, people with a difference...they belong to the household of God. Wherever there are people of God gathered in His name, there you have a church. It does not matter whether it has official status or no, what matters is having Jesus in the midst....He is the status.
So everyone in the church is not perfect; the psalmist recorded these words from the 37th Psalm, "the steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down for the LRD shall lift him up,"Are there hypocrites in the church? Yes, but don't pick one to hid behind or he will be bigger than you. Sometimes we are guilty of pointing out those who attend the services of the church in their broken lifestyle...a past has left them with scars. The true church of the living God does not put them out but rather it will help to restore such a one. Some things we can't fix....but remember if we yield ourself to Him....He makes everythingright. To all who have received Christ....we need to extend the right hand of fellowsship.

The Church Triumphant! part 2 of a series.
Bear in mind as you read my thoughts put into a blog that I am a student…a student of the Word of God. Ever since I was a boy and received my first Holman Bible, the King James Version at eight years of age, and it was Christmas, I have had a love for the Bible. Have I always paid strict attention to all of its precepts and all of its commandments? The answer of course is NO! A thousand TIMES NO! But I still love it and I still love to show people what I have learned from its pages. Now we are talking about the church. In the last entry on the blog, I spoke of her relevancy in the world today ; I say her because the church is referred to as being the Bride of Christ. The Bible talks about the Bride and the marriage supper of the Lamb extensively in the book of the Revelation, but we will not go there today.
The church of the living God. He is the LIVING God!! And He is the Head of the church. The other day I was given a copy of the Pentecostal Evangel which is published by and for the Assemblies of God in the USA. In it was an article written by one Everett Stenhouse entitled “It’s all about Him!” And the writer made this statement in regards to our inviting those who are not saved, “Great care must be taken in our attempts to bring people out of the world into the church that we don’t drag the world into the church.” He goes on further with this train of thought…”our invitation to the world must be more than coffee and tea and cookies. It is an invitation to the Word of Life.” There is a goodly amount of wisdom in his words, however at the same time we must remember that Jesus said “whosoever will, let him come and drink of the water of life freely.” We have to accept people the way they are and then lead them to Christ and discipleship. As has been well said, you first have to catch the fish before you can clean it.
And this is where a strong body ministry is required…too many times we have seen folks come in, get saved , on fire for God but alas ! we were not prepared to disciple them and pretty soon trials, temptation or some test comes…the fire goes out and they are never seen again. The church must prepare itself for babies…EVEN CRYING ONES. Remember you don’t put grade one students in with high schoolers.
I was surfing the net last evening trying to find the words to the song that follows and I came across a website that at first gave me a chuckle…it said “welcome to the universal church of the apathetic agnostic” I thought to myself, “this is a joke”. I did not investigate it further needless to say, after all it really sounds pathetic. But what is really pathetic is a church full of apathetic Christians.
We have the tools…all the tools we need are found in Him and in His Word. And in the words of that old song…”let the church be the church, Let the people rejoice,
For we’ve settled the question, we’ve made our choice, Let the banners ring out, Let the victory swell…for the church, triumphant, is alive and well!
Oh yes here is something else I read...”and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it!!” Hallelujah!!

This is a new series/ the church. Keep in mind that this is a layman's view. A question that may be on the minds of many people in the day we live is this one...is the church still relevant today? As I mused upon this question; I pondered it in my heart, I decided to first of all look up the word relevant or relavency in a dictionary. (Makes sense?) An online dictionary that I frequently use in cases like this said, " bearing upon or being connected with the matter at hand., pertinent. Another explanation says, "connected with something important, with what is being spoken about or discussed. Then these three #1. Relieving, lending aid or support...(that fits)#2. Bearing upon or properly applying to the case, pertinent, applicable.#3. Sufficient to support the case.After all just what is the case? What is the role (for want of a better term) of the church? Is it to provide a social network of believers? Or is it to provide social welfare for those in need? Or is it both or neither or somewhere in between? Maybe first of all we need to find out what the church is and then what it's purpose is. So where do I find the answers? In the Word of God the Bible of course. 1 Timothy 3:15 where Paul writes to Timothy is where the answer lies. Paul is instructing Timothy how people ought to act in "the house of God, the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." This quote from the King James Version. The NRSV uses the term pillar and bulwark of the truth. The NIV says "the pillar and foundation of the truth. The rest of the versions that I read agree with this statement. One version refers to it as the pillar and bulwark of the truth; another the prop and support. The church of the living God...It is the living God that makes it what it is. Truth is more than a principal here....truth is a person, and that Person is Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God. In fact He Himself said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. By taking account of church attendance in some areas it would seem that church is no longer relevant...but it is only irrelevant to those who stay away from services on a regular week by week, service by service basis. The relevancy of the church is not measured by those who regularly or irregularly attend, or by those who don't show up at all or by those who say it is not relevant. The fact of it being relevant and pertinent is not dependant upon the above circumstances but rather upon its Founder and upon the fact that He ordained it to be and that He is the head of the real church...not the Pope(all due respect) not the Archbishop of Cantebury,(again with all due respect) not even the Queen, the head of the church is the Lord Jesus Christ...no matter what Oprah says about Him ...He is our God.The question comes to mind, "what is the primary function of this body the church here on this earth?" And the answer is found in the words of the Lord Jesus in Matt 28:19, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations" Before you can make disciples you must get people saved and the two go hand in hand and the church is still making disciples of those whom the Lord saves.I quoted from 1 Timothy that the church is the household of God,the pillar and support of the truth...by the preaching of the unchanging gospel of Jesus Christ, even though good men fall and say that Jesus is not God, even though false teachers say absurd things like the Book of Mormon is superior to the Word of God, even though deceivers like Oprah say people are God...the Gospel has not changed and Jesus is still God and the church will triumph and the gates of hell can't stop it! Try to prove the Bible is true? Just proclaim it...let it loose and it will prove itself!How do you prove a lion is a lion? Let it loose and it will prove itself....The apostle said what the church needs to proclaim in his letter to Titus in ch. 2 vs. 11, "while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ."Oswald Chambers, one of the greatest missionaries of the early part of the last century said "Jesus is the only God the Christian knows". He came to show us what God is like. The church is relevant because He is its Founder, its Head, its Author and its Finisher...to be cont'd