Posted on 06/21/2021 5:12:48 PM PDT by pastorbillrandles
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. ( Matthew 16:18-19)
The Church is God's idea, and not mans. He planned it as a part of the larger Salvation and Redemption project, from the foundation of the world. We are currently in the closing days of the "church age". God's current program is Church, and there is no "plan B".
Like her LORD, the Church also is “despised and rejected” in this world, and there is little or no “Beauty that we should desire” her. Flesh and blood cannot reveal the true beauty that is in the church, only the Father in heaven can do this.
In the next few articles I would like to attempt to define church, clear up a few misconceptions about her, and make the case that what it means to be a Christian is to take one’s place in church and support each other in the work of God.
In the passage above, Jesus took his disciples to Caesarea Philipi, one of the darkest and most occult places on the planet. originally it was called “Pan”, and dedicated to the worship of “Pan”, the “All god”, often portrayed as goat headed and cloven footed but upright. Geographically the location was within sight of MT Herman, where it was commonly believed that the Nephillim descended to the earth, in order to intermingle with the human race, and ultimately to become the cause of the flood in the days of Noah.
The place was also named”Caesar Panii”, for Caesar, a man who claimed to be “god incarnate”, the “Savior of the world”, and literally was considered to be the personal incarnation of the “Golden Age”.
That was the location Jesus took his disciples, in order to reveal to them a mystery, the Church.
The Church, ie “the Ecclesia” (the called out ones), would be established on the massive Rock of revelation. Peter was shown by the Father in Heaven, that Jesus of Nazareth was in truth the long awaited Messiah, and that he was at the same time “The Son of the blessed One”. Jesus is the Son of God. Flesh and blood could not reveal that to Peter or to anyone else, only the Father could show us who Jesus truly is. No one knows the Father but the Son and know one knows the Son except the Father and those whom He shows him to.
The “Rock” that Jesus would found His church upon, is the Revelation from the Father, as to who Jesus truly is.
There is a cave at Caserea Philipi called “The Gates of Hell”, which was at the base of MT Herman was believed to be a portal to the underworld. Idolatrous and sexually perverse rites of worship were performed there by the heathen.
Think about the fact that Jesus chose that very dark spot to announce the formation of his church, and that Hell would not prevail against it.
What is the Church?
It is an assembly, of those who have been “called out” of this world by Jesus Christ, and who have received a revelation from God as to the person of Jesus Christ. The Church was proclaimed in the very face of demon worship, and was born into a Spiritual warfare that has not ceased since it’s founding, and is promised that she will never be wiped out, until the end.
Jesus is the “Head of the Church” for the church is also called “the Body of Christ”, ie the physical expression of the Messiah , here on earth. He is our head, which we must “Hold to”, and we are the Body through whom he expresses himself on this earth.
The Church is also called “The Pillar and ground of the Truth”,
But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.( I Timothy 3:15)
This means that her task on this earth is to be the (Ground) support and (pillar) upholding of the Revelation of God in Christ. We are the witness, for the present time, to the Truth of God.
We the Church, are called to stand in a darkened, Satanic world, and uphold the Truth of God, no matter how much opposition and attack we sustain.
There is no Plan B, this is how the Kingdom of God is going to function until the LORD calls us home (The Rapture and fulness of the Gentiles).
Our Lord Jesus has been gathering His flock, ever since , out of every people, nation and tongue, across the centuries and around the world. There is no where on this earth, where someone is not offering someone else a piece of bread or a cup of wine and saying “this is my body, this is my blood”… . Everywhere the gospel goes, the Church springs up. Satan is constantly trying to destroy it, but He cannot do so. He may tear it down in one expression but it springs up in another.
The forms may vary, but the Spiritual principle of the church remains. It is a spiritually given ‘instinct’ for the newly born again to join themselves to a body of people, somehow we know that this new Life we have been given was not meant to be lived on our own. We need each other, and the Spirit leads us to find each other in order to call on the name of the LORD together.
Jesus assures us that it need not be a huge group of people, nor even a highly developed organized expression of worship, for he told his Little flock “Where two or more are gathered together, there am I in the midst of you”.
What is church? Church is where Jesus is, in the midst of us, and through each of his members, teaching, admonishing, strengthening and washing us.
Thanks, Pastor.
Thank you.
This COVID thing seems to be a great sifting. People have left church in fear of a virus, because Fauci says so. Will they ever come back to the paths of righteousness?
IMHO, as bad as it’s been for the church, an argument could be made it’s done some winnowing so that the ones left are more liable to be sure ‘nuff Spirit filled prayed up Bible believers who live church more than play it.
“for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.”
Acts 18:10
Not disagreeing with you, as I think there is some merit to your point. However, I would like to share a different perspective.
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What satan intends for evil, God can turn to His benefit. With people stuck at home - for right or wrong reasons, online evangelism has greatly expanded. Large ministries are embracing social media, youtube, and other streaming services like never before. You can find sermons and teaching on any verse in the Bible online - free!
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Local churches are finding ways to stream their services - just as an anecdote, my sister is a music minister of a very small denominational church just outside of Dallas. They started streaming early in Covid and have tripled their weekly numbers, when physical and digital numbers are combined. Now that attendance is permitted again, they have doubled their membership. Like many denominational churches, they were almost stagnant before, as evangelism and outreach failed, since most people in the community were already members of a church. With people moving to Texas, especially to the outskirts of Dallas, and the added fear and stress in the world, people are searching for God like never before. Folks want answers and direction, they want to experience the Peace, Power, and Love of God that is always missing from religion.
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My online traffic is up - I have a handful of Christian sites. And I have been so busy that I have neglected them as of late. In fact, I should be doing that right now instead of being here.
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It helps to see things from God’s perspective. From a human perspective, as Jesus was nailed to the cross it looked like all was lost, satan had apparently won a great victory. Jesus’ disciples ran away and hid in fear and despair.
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From God’s perspective, the Incorruptible Seed was planted, a culmination of 4,000 years of prophecies fulfilled, and satan’s kingdom was turned upside down. God would start collecting the greatest harvest in the history of the planet. From just one Seed, He would reap millions, maybe trillions of Believers before the End.
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1 Corinthians 2:8 NIV
8 None of the rulers of this age understood it. For if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
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No matter how bad it looks in this world, the Spiritual World is the True Reality.
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John 16:33 NIV
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
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God Bless You All!
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