What do you think of when you think of the church? Do you picture a building? Do you picture an institution? Do you think of a denomination? Does your mind race with church activities, programs and events? Are you reminded of an organization you joined years ago?
Maybe our thinking of the church is not what God intended the church to be. To know God's heart, we must constantly turn to His Word.
In John Chapter 2:13-25, we find Jesus cleansing the temple because it became everything that God intended it not to be. It had become a house of merchandise instead of a house of prayer. It was a place where God and His ways were prostituted so that man could prosper. God forbid! A righteous anger arose within Jesus and He drove the merchandise out from the temple, turned the money tables over and scattered the profits.
The Jews questioned Jesus' authority to do such a thing. Who was He to change their agenda for the temple? Jesus answered them by stating, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days." The religionist of Jesus' day had a different picture of the temple than God had. To them it was a building that they worked hard on and spent a lot of their time in for 46 years. Jesus was referring to His Body and not a building. They just didn't get it.
It's not about membership in a manmade organization! It's about being a member of God's household. God's Word says "Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household" (Ephesians 2:19 NIV). What makes a person a member of God's household is receiving Jesus as their Savior and making Him Lord of their life.
It's not about buildings! God's Word says that His household is "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord" (Ephesians 2:20-21 NIV). Just as when Jesus cleansed the temple in His day, today it's not about buildings. It's all about Jesus. It's about the Body of Christ.
The Body of Christ is the church! Every person that has accepted Jesus as Savior and has made Him Lord of their life is a part of His Body. God's Word says "And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit." (Ephesians 2:22 NIV) If you are a part of His Body, YOU ARE THE CHURCH! The church is alive and well. It is not a bunch of stale dead programs and events designed to get people to come to a building to be counted and collect money from them. The church is a living organism. Everywhere believers go, the church goes!
God's Word says "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple." (1 Corinthians 3:16-17 NIV) "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV)
Be the church! Be a person that continues the ministry of Jesus on earth in the power of the Holy Spirit. Be a person that ministers to people at the point of need just as Jesus did. God intends members of His household to GO and impact their cities in their day; not buildings sitting and waiting for people to come in.
The Loving God Fellowship (LGF) ministry model looks nothing like what the church has become with all of its programs and events, but it looks a lot like what Jesus proclaimed and lived as our example. LGF will impact cities with the love of Jesus through encouraging and facilitating common folk ministering at the point of need just as Jesus did. The LGF ministry model will be implemented in cities across this nation and around this world until Jesus returns for the beloved.
Be the church! Make a difference in your day!
Know that you are loved,
@PastorGreg
Founder, www.LovingGodFellowship.org
