FOLLOWERS OF JESUS CHRIST
I am a firm believer in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus founded His Church by building it on Himself. [See Matthew 16:15-19.] Jesus is the Cornerstone and the Foundation that will never be removed. When we talk about the church, we usually think of a building where we assemble to sing and hear the Word of God preached. We may have our name written on the roll as a member of that group and become busy in all its activities. And that is fine. We are instructed to come together to build up one another. But the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is much more than that. It is the overcoming power in the world.
The Church is the
Bride of Christ. That is its position or status. The Church is one with Christ.
Jesus loves His Church so much that He gave His life for it. The Church of
Jesus Christ was created as a living entity. It was created and established by
God with the same power with which He created the heavens and the earth. God
spoke and it came into being. The Word of God came to earth, and the Church was
established. Jesus was rejected by the religious groups and many others. “But as
many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God,
to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the
will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” [John 1:12-13] The true Church
is not made up of flesh and blood, but of the Living Spirit of God. Only those
who have been born again by the Spirit of God and are living in His kingdom are
part of God’s Church. His Church is not an organization run by programs and
laws of the world system. It is alive with the Spirit of God and is on a much
higher plane than this world. Its power is greater. Its knowledge is greater. Its
insight is greater because it is based solely on the Christ, the Son of the
Living God.
Jesus
is the whole focus of the true Church. If I asked someone who was not born
again and had no local church to come to my church, I might introduce them to
the pastor, the worship team, and show them all the programs that are available.
But if I never introduced them to Jesus, what would have been accomplished?
Every person needs the opportunity to come to their own decision whether they
will be a follower of Jesus Christ or whether they will reject Him. There is a
tremendous difference between being a church person and being Christ’s
follower. It is possible to be so entrenched
in the business of the organized church that we lose sight of the True Church
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said His Church would be founded on such a
powerful foundation that even the gates [authority, powers] of hell could not
prevail against it. His Church is an overcoming Church.
Considering
the higher purpose and power of the true Church, I wonder if our generation has done
a disservice to ourselves and those coming behind us in relation to
Christianity in its true sense of denying self and coming to Christ in total
surrender to Him? Have we emphasized the organized church, its work and the
ministry to those within its walls in a way that puts Jesus in the shadows? Have
we become in a sense so dedicated to the traditions we grew up with that we
forgot to teach our children how to surrender their lives to Christ instead of
just being church workers? Ordinary church workers may feel the need to attend
every service but learn little of the self-sacrifice Jesus taught His disciples
in following Him. Maybe we have been so busy teaching them the importance of
being faithful to the church established by men that we made Jesus to be only a
part of our tradition rather than lifting Him up as the Creator of heaven and
earth, the Ruler of all things, the Head of the Church. In our fellowship with
one another are we excluding our fellowship with Jesus, our obedience to Jesus,
and His Lordship over us? No wonder this generation has become so disillusioned
with what we have come to call being a Christian. No wonder they turn away when
they see little commitment, little power, little concern for the lost and
little spiritual enlightenment. In many cases they have been guided to the
institutional church to do what only a relationship with Jesus can do, so they
find no satisfaction there. When things get rough, they have nothing to get
them through.
These things are not an indictment
to churches. But they have been weighing heavy on my heart. I don’t want to be
a hindrance in the kingdom of God. It’s so easy sometimes to get into the
groove of religion. I want to teach others how to tap into the power of the
gospel, to the power of Jesus Christ in our lives.
There is
power in the lives of believers. There is enlightenment to spiritual truths in
the lives of believers. There is a close relationship with Jesus in the lives
of believers. Have we taught those coming after us that we can have the
closeness of Jesus’ presence with us in our daily lives? Have we taught them
about the changing power of regeneration? Have we let them know that we can
hear His voice in our spirits and have a new understanding of His Word by the
Holy Spirit inside of us? Have we emphasized the power of a true Christian
life? Are we showing them that power? Do they see the fruit of the Spirit in
us, or the same apathy, joylessness, unkindness and lack of love that they see
in the world? Are we examples of overcomers, or have we become weak, sickly
Christians?
Do we need churches? YES! ABSOLUTELY! But we, as
the True Church of Jesus Christ need to rise up and be an example of the Church
Jesus built. We need to tap into the same power that Jesus said we can have if
we follow Him. The power of the first Church is ours, too. But we need to
commit to follow Jesus completely if we are to walk in that power. He is to be
our Lord over every area of our lives.
We can guide others to repent and be
baptized, but they need to understand their need to know the Baptizer
personally and follow Him on a daily basis. It is not a Sunday event or a one-time
experience with Jesus. It is a daily walk. Surrendering our lives to Jesus is a
life-changing experience. It changes who we are and what we will do for the
rest of our lives. Just as He walked daily with His disciples when He was in
human flesh, He walks daily with His disciples today by the Holy Spirit. The
early disciples followed Jesus down whatever path He led them each day. They
heard His teachings and saw the miracles He did because they were right there
with Him. We need to walk with Jesus daily. We need to be right there with Him,
being led by Him every step of our lives. He sent the Holy Spirit to be with us
every moment of every day. We can learn to listen to His voice and follow Him
just as closely as the early disciples followed Jesus.
When we read the Bible, the Word of
God, His Spirit will enlighten us to understand what we read in ways that we
could not understand before. Let’s seize the opportunity to know Christ, to
follow Christ and to give our all to Him.
We, as His true Church are to show
others the way. If we are apathetic to our calling, we can’t do that. Just as
Jesus was not called to stay comfortably in the temple, away from sinners,
neither do we, as His Church, have that calling. Jesus said He came to seek and
to save the lost. So, He went out and did just that. Our calling is no
different. We need to realize that as born-again believers, we collectively ARE
the Church. We have the same command that the first disciples had. “And Jesus came
and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven
and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded
you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the
age.” [Matthew
28:18-20]
Surely, we, as the Church need to
come together to strengthen one another, encourage one another and receive
teaching. We come together to corporately worship God, to lift up Jesus Christ,
and to receive instruction. But we need to be careful that we do not let the
business of the local church hide the power of the Church of Jesus Christ in
the world.
While some of the members of the
early Church were gathered together we see how the Holy Spirit worked to give
instructions. “As they ministered to the
Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the
work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and
laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So they, being sent forth by the
Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus. [Acts 13:2-4] God’s
Church works together all around the world to bring to pass the great commission.
When we all follow the Holy Spirit, we will accomplish the great commission as
one.
“Now, therefore,
you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints
and members of the household of God, having been built on the
foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself
being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted
together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are
being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” [Ephesians
2:19-22]
