Structure of The Church

I would love to see within a local church a few hundred people conformed to Christ and continuing His work in the unity of faith. I would love to see disciples of Jesus become mature in Christ and His truth and ministers trained who would begin new local churches. All of these would be in the unity of faith, not only with each other, but also with other local churches that have forsaken all to follow Jesus Christ.

The main emphasis in the ministry that the Holy Spirit has given me is the Lord and His Word. Ministering the Lord and His Word of truth transcends my being pastor of a local church—even what is written above transcends a local church. I am ministering what the Lord gives me in word and in writing to try to get the attention of enough disciples who will unite in faith to do whatever the Holy Spirit says to do. On the positive side, we need a Church on this earth that is formed in the image of Jesus. On the negative side, if this Church does not come forth, there is going to be hell to pay—whatever that means!

The message I preached yesterday was titled The Structure of Jesus vs. Man's Structure. Most of the modern Christian church, to some degree or other, is structured after man's structure. Anything built upon man is not going to accomplish God's work and is not going to stand against the winds. I told some Jehovah’s Witnesses who came to my door last week that even if Jesus was the only begotten son (note the lower case “s”) of God, and he was just a god, then no one could be born again. Only God Almighty, not a god—even if that god is called Jesus—only God could have been the sacrifice needed for mankind’s salvation. Jesus is God! Jesus is deity! He is not A son of God; He is THE Son of God! (I am not indicating that the people I spoke with are part of the modern Christian church, but there are some lessons to be learned, which include that we must know, live, and speak truth).

In the final analysis, anything built on man's structure will usually defend the manmade part of it when push comes to shove. Some Roman Catholics have participated in manmade ecumenical activities in the past and probably will in the future. Many Protestants have proclaimed all of this to be unity, but when push came to shove, the supreme leader of the Roman Catholic Church made it clear that (they believe) no one can be saved apart from their structure.

There have been a lot of churches, denominations, etc. started by someone or some group over the last several hundred years. They quite often all talk about Jesus, but they have varying structures that distinguish and separate them from one another. The Church that Jesus is building is in the unity of faith all over the earth and will fulfill Ephesians 4:11-16. The Church He is building will also fulfill Matthew 24:14, which according to the Scripture must be done by the Lord's Church on earth before He returns. How many church structures train their members in these two vital things, in truth and in the right context?

This brings me to defining the restoration of the Church. The restored Church will be humble and repentant. She will deny self, unite in faith, and grow up in all things into Christ. She will be restored to Jesus Christ and His biblical pattern, realizing that it is His, and only His, pattern and structure that she is to live by. She will be washed in truth, which will free her from man’s traditions and doctrines as well as the filth of the world, and she will speak that truth in boldness and in love. Each member will know their place and will be fitly joined together with all other members; each member will walk in the fruit of the Spirit and will move in the gifts and power of the Spirit. United as one, she will take up her cross and follow Jesus into the harvest fields that are white for harvest and thereby preach the gospel of His kingdom in all the world as a witness to all nations, thus fulfilling Mark 16:18 and Matthew 24:14. Don’t try to understand this with your natural mind; don’t lean on your understanding gained from the modern church and/or the wisdom of the world, but instead cry out for the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him and that He would open the eyes of your understanding (Eph. 1:17-18). Ask the Holy Spirit to free your mind from being conformed to the way most of the modern church sees unity and to see it the way the Bible reveals it. Ask Him to free you from seeing the things of God through the modern church structures. Most of the religious leaders and people in the day of Jesus were so BLIND. If they could have just set aside their forms and structures, their mindsets, they would have seen who Jesus was and also the danger that was ahead in A.D. 70.

The bringing forth of the restored Church will transcend what we call the Protestant Reformation, the Pentecostal Outpouring, the Charismatic Movement, or anything else. I always leave hope that the Roman Catholic Church, along with any other church, denomination, or non-denomination, will repent of everything that is of man to follow Jesus. But when push comes to shove, history has proven over and over again that groups divide and stand in defense of their manmade origins and structures. This always prevents the unity of faith and maturity in Christ. The restored Church will be made up of people who have forsaken all manmade structures of religion and the world to follow Jesus and to be part of His structure, His Church. Acquire the spirit of “I have decided to follow Jesus; though none go with me, I will follow!” You will find others of the same spirit!

I have been praying for all people to declare very clearly who they are. True and mature ministers and disciples will declare who they are. The carnal, false, immature, greedy, and selfish will declare who they are. Those committed to Jesus and His structure will declare who they are. Those committed to both Jesus and a manmade structure will declare who they are. The latter group follows Jesus in the context of their manmade structure, but ultimately, who does this mean is in control? People can be members of a carnal, immature church, or even a church that has false teaching, and they will spend eternity with God if they are born again. The loss is that they will never have accomplished God's full purposes for them on earth. For them, there will be weeping at the Judgment Seat of Christ (1 Cor. 3:10-15).

Those who take truth into their minds but never into their hearts will not understand or pursue truth. It will not burn with urgency within them. I am looking for those who will take the truth of Jesus and His Word into their minds and hearts and move with urgency, for the time is short. Will the Lord find you faithful to Him and His structure, without mixture?

The greatest miracle is salvation, but isn't it strange that some who minister salvation to the lost do not believe that the Church can be without spot and wrinkle before the Lord returns. They believe that the vilest sinner can repent and be born again, but they don't believe that the Church can repent and be mature and in unity in Christ. One belief is in the heart, and the other is not! One belief is preached in the pulpit, and the other is not. If any sinner does not repent, they will go to hell; if the church does not repent, hell is coming to earth in devilish storms, storms that are not just weather related. One may die and go to heaven before it happens, but no one should be too sure about escaping it by being raptured before it happens. If enough repent and unite in faith, we can experience restoration, revival, and great awakening. It is a lie of the devil that all things have to get worse and worse. It is the truth of God that He wants a faithful remnant, and He will have one that will witness the gospel of the kingdom to the ends of the earth, and then the end will come.
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BIBLICAL APPLICATION
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Ephesians 4:11-16 NIV