1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Jn 3:5.
The Word and the Spirit are the pressing need of today's church. We have replaced them with slight of hand tricks and gimmicks. The church ceases to be the mystical body of Christ and becomes a popularity based civic club or country club. We have robed ourselves of vitality and power. God brought forth the church from the furnaces of adversity to represent Him in Hi glory and honor.
The Church must have the Spirit in that they are people led and operating by the Holy Spirit. That is what we mean by being people of grace. People of grace are people that know God. It is essential that we have knowledge of God but our experience must transcend mere knowledge of God and embrace knowing God Himself. If the church will grow to know God they will rediscover the power that only intimacy with Christ can grant. The church must not be led by politics and power struggles. The church can only be the church as it is empowered by and brought forth by the spirit.
The Church also must be people of the Word. This is one of the things being forsaken in efforts purely to build an audience base. Amos 8:11 speaks of a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. That is the plight of the modern church. We are a Wordless Christianity. Many churches give a pop psychology talk rather than delineating that Word of God itself. Our power comes from our message and our message comes from the scriptures. The pastor should serve to expose the text and not private agenda. It is not a time of entertainment. The pulpit is not a foray into the night club. Churches that limit the presence of the Word do not achieve their full potential as servants of Christ. The unadulterated, authoritative, sufficient Word of God is the need of the hour. Even among supposed conservative churches, there seems to be a dilution of the Scriptures. It is as if we do not believe they are truly sufficient. We have to have the Word and comedy or the Word and psychology or the Word and self-help teachings. Anything that we add to the Word serves to water it down.
If we will return to the purity of the Word and Spirit we will see God move among our members and expand His kingdom. Where do we place our faith and confidence?
The Word and the Spirit are the pressing need of today's church. We have replaced them with slight of hand tricks and gimmicks. The church ceases to be the mystical body of Christ and becomes a popularity based civic club or country club. We have robed ourselves of vitality and power. God brought forth the church from the furnaces of adversity to represent Him in Hi glory and honor.
The Church must have the Spirit in that they are people led and operating by the Holy Spirit. That is what we mean by being people of grace. People of grace are people that know God. It is essential that we have knowledge of God but our experience must transcend mere knowledge of God and embrace knowing God Himself. If the church will grow to know God they will rediscover the power that only intimacy with Christ can grant. The church must not be led by politics and power struggles. The church can only be the church as it is empowered by and brought forth by the spirit.
The Church also must be people of the Word. This is one of the things being forsaken in efforts purely to build an audience base. Amos 8:11 speaks of a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. That is the plight of the modern church. We are a Wordless Christianity. Many churches give a pop psychology talk rather than delineating that Word of God itself. Our power comes from our message and our message comes from the scriptures. The pastor should serve to expose the text and not private agenda. It is not a time of entertainment. The pulpit is not a foray into the night club. Churches that limit the presence of the Word do not achieve their full potential as servants of Christ. The unadulterated, authoritative, sufficient Word of God is the need of the hour. Even among supposed conservative churches, there seems to be a dilution of the Scriptures. It is as if we do not believe they are truly sufficient. We have to have the Word and comedy or the Word and psychology or the Word and self-help teachings. Anything that we add to the Word serves to water it down.
If we will return to the purity of the Word and Spirit we will see God move among our members and expand His kingdom. Where do we place our faith and confidence?
