Archives
Tag Cloud
Abandonment Abomination of Desolation Abortion Abraham’s Bosom Abuse Acceptance Accounting Accusation Activism Adoption Adultery Adversary Adversity Affection Affliction Afterlife Allegory Alliances Altar Ambition America Analogy Angel of the Lord Angels Anger Anointed One Anointing Antichrist Anxiety Apologetics Apostasy Apostles Armor Armor of God Arrest Ascension Ashamed Assembly Atonement Attitudes Authorities Authority Baal Babylon Bad Baptism Belief Believer Believers Benevolence Bethlehem Betrayal Bible Bitterness Blasphemy Blessing Blessings Blindness Boasting Body of Christ Boldness Bondage Book of Life Borders Born Again Borrowing Bottomless Pit Bride Bride of Christ Bridegroom Brokenness Brother Burden Caesar Calling Capital Punishment Care Cares Carnal Cast Away Casting Lots Caution Celebration Chaos Character Charity Childbirth Children Children of God Choice Choices Chosen Christ Christian Life Christianity Christians Christmas Church Circumstances Citizenship Civil Disobedience Clay Cleansing Comfort Commands Commune Communion Community Comparison Compassion Complacency Complaining Conception Condemnation Conduct Confession Confidence Conflict Conformity Confrontation Confusion Connect Connection Conscience Consecration Consequences Contempt Contention Contentment Contrition Conversion Conviction Cornerstone Correction Cost Counsel Courage Covenant Coveting Creation Creator Crisis Cross Crowd Crowds Crowns Crucifixion Cults Culture Curse Darkness David Davidic Covenant Day of the Lord Deacons Deaf Death Deceit Deception Decisions Defense Defilement Delegation Deliverance Demon Demon Possession Demons Denial Dependency Design Desire Desolation Desperation Destruction Devil Direction Disaster Discernment Disciple Disciples Discipleship Discipline Discontentment Discouragement Disease Disgrace Dishonesty Disputes Dissension Distraction Diversity Divine Divine Appointment Divinity Division Divorce Doctrine Dominion Donation Double Fulfillment Doubt Drought Drugs Duties Duty Earth Earthly Earthquakes Easter Edification Edom Education Elders Elect Elijah Elohim Emmaus Emotions Employment Encouragement End Times Endurance Enemies Enemy Environment Environmentalism Envy Equality Equipped Esteem Eternal Eternal Life Eternity Evangelism Everlasting Life Evil Evil Spirits Evolution Exaltation Exalted Example Exclusion Excuses Exorcism Expectations Eyes Failure Fairness Faith Faithful Faithful Servant Faithfulness Fall Away False Christs False Conversion False Doctrine False Gods False Prophet False Prophets False Religion False Religions False Teachers False Teaching Family Famine Fasting Father Father God Father’s Day Fathers Favoritism Fear Fear of the Lord Feasts Feasts of the Lord Fellowship Female Fervor Fig Tree Fights Finances Fire First Coming First Resurrection Firstborn Flattery Flesh Flock Folly Foods Foolish Foolishness Foreigner Foreknown Forgiveness Fornication Forsaken Foundation Free Will Freedom Friends Friendship Fruit Fruit of the Spirit Fruitful Fruitfulness Fulfillment Function Future Gehenna Gentile Gentiles Gentle George Wood Gifts Giving Globalism Glorified Body Glory God God’s Will God’s Word Godliness Godly God's Will Golden Rule Good Good News Good Shepherd Good Works Goodness Gospel Gospels Government Grace Gratitude Great Commission Greatness Greed Grief Grow Growth Guilt Hades Hardship Harvest Hate Hatred Healing Heart Heaven Heavenly Heavenly Father Hedonism Hell Help Herod Hidden High Priest Holiness Holy Holy Spirit Home Homosexuality Honesty Honor Hope Hopelessness Hostility Human Frailty humanity Humility Husband Hypocrisy Hypocrite Hypocrites Identity Idolatry Ignorance Image Image of God Immanuel Immigration Immortality Impossibility Incarnation Individuals Indulgences Indwelling Infilling Inheritance Injustice Inner Battle Innocence Instruction Instructions Insults Integrity Intercession Intermediate State Interpretation Intervention Intoxication Israel Jerusalem Jesus Jewish Temple Jews John the Baptist Joy Judas Judge Judging Judgment Judgment Day Judgments Justice Justification Justify Key Keys Kids Kindness King Kingdom Kingdom of God Kingdom of Heaven Kinsman Knowledge Labor Lake of Fire Lamp Last Days Law Law of Moses Law of the Lord Lawlessness Lawsuits Leader Leaders Leadership Leading Leftism Legal Legalism Leprosy Lies Life Life-Span Light Like-minded Listening Lonely Lord Lost Love Lowly Loyalty Lust Lusts Luxury Lying Magdalene Magic Malachi Male Manipulation Marriage Martyr Martyrdom Martyrs Mary Master Materialism Maturity Meditation Men Mentoring Mercy Messiah Metaphor Millennium Mind Mind of Christ Minister Ministry Miracle Miracles Mission Missionary Missions Mocking Money Morality Mortal Mortality Mother’s Day Mothers Mother's Day Mt. Sinai Murder Mystery Nations Natural Natural Gifts Naturalism Nature Nazareth Near-Far Fulfillment Necessities Neglect Negligence New Birth New Covenant New Creation New Earth New Jerusalem New Man New Testament Oaths Obedience Obstacles Obstructions Offense Offenses Offering Old Covenant Old Man Old Nature Old Testament Omnipresence Omniscience One Mind Others Outcast Overseers Pagan Pain Palm Sunday Parable Parables Paradise Paranormal Parenting Passion Passover Path Patience Patriotism Peace Peer Pressure Pentecost People of God Perception Perfect Perfection Persecution Perseverance Persistence Personal Injury Personal Testimonies Perspective Perversion Perversity Pestilence Peter Petition Pharisees Philosophy Piety Pilate Plans Pleasure Politics Poor Pornography Position Possession Possessions Posture Power Praise Prayer Preach Preaching Preparation Presence Pretense Pride Principles Priority Prison Privilege Prodigal Profane Profession Promise Proof Prophecy Prophet Prophets Prosperity Protection Protestant Reformation Proverbs Providence Provision Pruning Punishment Purgatory Purity Purpose Purposes Questions Racism Ransom Rapture Readiness Reason Rebellion Rebuke Receiving Reconciliation Redeemer Redemption Refuge Regeneration Rejection Rejoicing Relationship Relationships Relativism Reliability Religion Remember Remnant Renewal Repentance Reputation Resolve Rest Restoration Resurrection Retribution Revelation Revenge Revival Reward Rich Riches Ridicule Righteous Righteousness Rights Riot Risk Ritual Rivalry Robbery Roman Catholic Church Rule Rulers Rumor Sabbath Sacred Sacrifice Saint Saints Salvation Sanctification Sanctuary Sarcasm Satan Satisfaction Savior Schemes Science Scoffers Scripture Seal Seasons Second Coming Secret Sedition Seed Seek Self Self Control Self-centered Self-Control Self-Denial Selfish Ambition Self-Preservation Self-Righteous Servant Servant-Leadership Servants Serve Service Serving Sexual Immorality Sexual Sin Sexuality Shame Share Sharing She’ol Shepherd Shepherds Sickness Signs Signs and Wonders Silence Simplicity Sin Sincerity Sinful Nature Singing Singleness Sinner Sinners Slave Slavery Sober Socialism Society Sojourner Sojourners Son Son of God Son of Man Sons of God Sorcery Sorrow Soul Source Sovereignty Speech Spirit Spirit Baptism Spirit Beings Spirit Realm Spirit-Led Spirits Spiritual Spiritual Adultery Spiritual Battle Spiritual Birth Spiritual Condition Spiritual Death Spiritual Gifts Spiritual Growth Spiritual Maturity Spiritual Rulers Spiritual Warfare Stewardship Storms Strength Stress Strife Strong Stumble Stumbling Block Subjection Submission Suffering Suicide Supernatural Supper Surrender Survival Swear Symbols Syncretism Tabernacle Tags: Patience Taxes Teacher Teachers Teaching Teachings Tears Technology Temple Temptation Temptations Terminal Illness Test Testimony Testing Tests Textual Issues Thankfulness Thanksgiving The Beast The Curse The Day of The Lord The End The Faith The Fall The Gospel The Grave The Great Tribulation The Holy Spirit The Lamb of God The Law The Law of Moses The Secret Place The Way The Word The World Theft Theology Thought Life Threats Throne Time Time of Visitation Times of the Gentiles Timing Tithing Tongues Tower of Babel Tradition Tragedies Tragedy Training Transfiguration Transformation Traps Treachery Treasure Tree Tree of Life Trial Trials Tribulation Trifles Trinity Triumphal Triumphal Entry Trouble Trust Trustworthy Truth Tyranny Unbelief Unbelievers Uncertainty Underground Church Understanding Unfaithfulness Ungrateful Unity Unpardonable Sin Utopia Value Vengeance Victory Vigilance Vindication Virtue Virtues Vision Visions Visiting Ministries Voice of God Volunteer Vow Vows War Warning Warnings Wars Watch Watching Water Baptism Water of Life Weak Weakness Wealth Weary Wicked Wicked Plans Wickedness Widows Wife Will Wineskins Wisdom Witness Witnesses Witnessing Women Word Word of God Word of Knowledge Word of the Lord Work Works World World View Worry Worship Worth Worthy Wounds Wrath Yahweh Yeast YHWH Yoke Zion
Thursday
May102012

Hope for the Church

For centuries since the Age of Enlightenment/Reason men have predicted the demise of Christianity , the Bible, and its institutions.  Others have tried to promote change in the church so that it can survive the modern era.  Both of these come from the overall impression that the Church will not survive as it is.

Let’s first recognize that there is a difference between “The Church” and “a church.”  The Church is the group of people from all generations, and all ethnic groups who have put their faith in God and believed on Jesus’ death to cover their sins.  It is a reference not to an earthly institution, but an invisible tie of faith between people of very different societies.  “A church” is a local gathering of a small subset of The Church.  Either way, it is good to distinguish that though we call the building they meet in a church, it is only because a church meets in that building.  A church does not need a building to be the church, though it is quite convenient.

When we question whether there is hope for the church, we generally have in mind denominations, buildings, real estate holdings, and such things.  But even if a local church disbands and closes its door, it does not mean there is no hope for those individuals.  They can still meet together or join other groups of believers.  They can still be a church without buildings, projectors, and instruments.  These things do not provide hope.  They only make it more pleasant to do what churches do: worship God, encourage each other, and share Jesus with those who do not know him.

We Already Have All We Need

In Acts 20:25-32 Paul knows that he is going to be imprisoned and eventually killed.  He knows that he will not see the elders of Ephesus again.  So, he meets with them and gives his last word.  It is interesting to see that he makes a huge point that they have all they need.  It won’t be easy without Paul, but Paul has given them everything they need, which he himself received from Jesus.

He had preached to them the kingdom of God, how they could be a part of it, and what it really was.  Jesus had said in Luke 17:21 that the kingdom of God did not come with observation, but was within our hearts.  One became a citizen in this new kingdom of God not by living in a particular geographical area or having a particular genetic link, but by simply having faith in the Lord, Jesus as God’s Anointed One (Christ) who has saved us from our sins.  Not only were they citizens, but Paul had given them the “whole counsel of God.”  (vs. 27)

The counsel of God is an amazing concept.  Can you imagine if there was a, for real, God.com that you could go to and put in your problem.  Then the instructions from God would come back to you.  God wants us to live wisely and so has given us counsel.  But they also had the "Whole" counsel.  The point being that they were not lacking anything.  There was no hidden instruction to be found in the 21st century.  Neither was God only giving the first century counsel, but saying to us today that we have to figure it out on our own.  God knew the church would need wisdom and through Christ and his apostles that wisdom was delivered once and for all to His Church.  We have all that we need.

We Need to Guard Our Hearts

Those who have everything have to guard it or thieves will break in and steal it.  So it is in the spiritual.  Precisely because the Church has been given such great wisdom, salvation, and Hope, the enemy seeks to steal it, kill it, and destroy it.  Paul compares The Church to a flock of sheep and the elders to shepherds.  As shepherds over God’s flock, they need to “take heed” and “watch.”

The term “take heed” means to bring something near for inspection.  Notice in verse 28 Paul tells them to inspect themselves and the flock.  If we don’t inspect ourselves first then we cannot do a good job inspecting others.  The reason this is so important is because of two threats.  The first is pictured as “savage wolves” from outside.  The second is believers who rise up from within and twist the truth in order to gain disciples after themselves.  The shepherds are to be introspective and inspective in order to ward off these threats. 

The term “watch” means to rise up as opposed to sleeping and lounging about.  To do a good job guarding the sheep, the shepherds would need to rise up and be vigilantly on the lookout.  This parallels with the “false teachers.”  Both parties “rise up,” but for very different reasons.  One leads in order to protect.  The other leads out of self motivation and with twisted teaching.  They draw disciples after themselves instead of after Christ.  These people think they are a church following Jesus.  But, sadly, they have become a lost group following the wisdom of a man.

Paul knew that this danger was so great that he warned them night and day with tears.  It concerned him greatly.  That is why in verse 20 he says, “I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you.”  Jesus has given us good shepherds to watch over the flock but they need to watch over their own hearts lest they pervert the truth of God and mislead the sheep.

Lastly Paul commends or entrusts them to God and His Word of Grace.  Grace is a gift.  Thus God’s word is a gift to us that has the power to build us up (strengthen us).  It also has the power to give us an place among his people both now and in the age to come.  So is the church going down?  Jesus said, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.   He wasn’t talking about buildings, cathedrals, and denominations.  He was talking about his true believers regardless of where they were.  Let’s quit looking at the natural and begin trusting in the one who has given us all that we need for life and godliness.

Hope for the Church audio