As we focus on the Church today, we must go back to its roots. It is Jesus’ Church because He paid for it with His life. He gave all He had to purchase it. His death and resurrection paid the price of sin for all of those who would through faith accept His grace and become members of His Church—the Body of Christ—His called-out ones. The Church came into existence after He presented Himself a Living Sacrifice, ascended into heaven having completed the work the Father had planned before the foundation of the world, and sent His Holy Spirit birthing His Church. Jesus came for His own people—the Jews—God’s chosen people who were assigned the duty/privilege of being called to be the recipient of His Presence, His Word, and the lineage of the Savior. Yet, scripture reveals that they rejected Him and led the campaign to crucify Him. (John 1: 11) The religious sects of the day had departed from the Torah—the first five books of the Bible and its teachings and embraced traditions and oral laws made by man and labeled by Jesus as a “generation of vipers.” The Temple was ordained by God for sacrifice, worship, proclamation of the Word and prayer but had been compromised by the world to the point that Jesus condemned it as a “den of thieves” and threw the money changers out. (Mt. 21:13) It has been almost 2000 years since the Church was formed on the Day of Pentecost 50 days after Jesus arose from the dead and ascended into heaven. Indeed, the words of Isaiah 46:10 calls us to look at the beginning to glean revelations and understanding as we seem to be rapidly approaching the end of the Church Age. “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure.”
It is important in this search to look at how God has worked with His people in time past. We know that God allowed His people Israel to remain in Egypt for 400 years before miraculously delivering them from the bondage of slavery and darkness. Then there were 400 silent years between the completion of the Old Testament inspired by God and the coming of Messiah. Again, let’s go back to the words of Isaiah to gain understanding about the ways of God’s dealings with His people. In Isaiah 43: 19 we read “behold, I am doing a new thing” where God promises to make a way in the wilderness symbolizing new beginnings and fresh starts. This declaration reflects God’s ongoing creative and redemptive work, offering hope and renewal to those who place their hope and trust in Him. With this in mind, I would like us to briefly look at some analogies concerning the 400-year history of America and God’s plan for the Church. In 1607, there was a group of venture capitalists headed by Sir Frances Bacon that planted a colony in Jamestown. Bacon was also the author of a book titled, “The New Atlantis.” In this book Bacon idealized a kind of utopian society and had visions of obtaining great wealth and influence in America—to lay the groundwork for a New World Order. It was in 1620 that a group of Pilgrims traveled to American with different goals and aspirations desiring to have freedom to worship God and escape the tyranny of government control of church and state. They were evangelists who shared their spiritual and material blessings with others. In the Mayflower Compact, they committed themselves to the “advancement of the Christian faith.” This commitment to spreading their faith was a significant part of their legacy and of the foundation of this nation. The seed of the serpent had been planted in America in 1607 prior to the planting of the Godly seed—Plymouth Settlement by the Pilgrims in 1620! Therefore, we see the roots of the spiritual battle for the soul of America.
Fast forward 400 years and in 2007 Satanic influences stepped up their game to pursue the occultic agenda to control America which has accelerated since that time. Likewise in 2020 (1620-2020) the battle to overturn the foundation of this nation set forth by the Pilgrims and Puritans reached new heights with the introduction of COVID that sought destruction of the population by the god of destruction. Churches were specifically targeted as businesses and gatherings were mandated to shut down. This was an overreach of the government imposed upon its citizens and infringement on our rights, freedom and liberty. This demonic agenda has accelerated during this time BUT GOD is beginning to do a new thing to bring down the forces of evil and let us see His Divine deliverance just as He did for the Israelites in Egypt; just as He did through His plan of redemption through Jesus Christ; just as He did in birthing the Church!
The first mention of church in the Bible was spoken by Jesus in Matthew 16: 17: “I will build My church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” The word “church” means “called out ones” in the same sense that Israel was called out of Egypt. (Acts 7: 38) Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, called her out—His Bride (true believers) “that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word, so that He might present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” (Ephesians 5: 25-27) Peter puts this into perspective for us as the true Church—the body of Christ. “As you come to Him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to Him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Pt. 2: 4-5) The faith of a believer is what makes us “living stones” able to be built into the Church. Peter in 1 Peter 4 instructs us how to live in the last days. As we approach the end of this Church Age or Age of Grace we must focus on our marching orders at such a time as this. 1. We must live our life for God’s will and not the ways of the world—living in indecency, lusts, drunken binges, orgies, wild parties, and lawless idolatries. 2. We have received the Good News of the Gospel and we are to live in the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. 3. We are to be self-controlled and sober-minded and pray. 4. We must keep our love for one another constant for “love covers a multitude of sins.” 5. We are to be hospitable one to another without grumbling. 6. We are to serve one another with the spiritual gift/gifts bestowed upon us by the Holy Spirit by the grace of God. 7. Whatever we do or say must be done for God and His glory. 8. We will experience fiery ordeals but God will give us strength to overcome in His power for His glory. Verses 17-18 are the key verses for the chapter: “For the time has come for judgment to begin with the house of God. If judgment begins with us first, what will be the end for those who disobey the Good News of God?” Then comes the encouragement to us in verse 19: “So then, those who suffer according to God’s will—let them trust their souls to a faithful Creator while continuing to do good.”
These scriptures make it clear that the church is not a place but a living organism—the Body of Christ connected to Him in a vital relationship. Over my lifetime I have witnessed more emphasis on church buildings and growth rather than on the principles that Peter emphasizes. The contemporary church is not more powerful because it has larger crowds, bigger facilities and more programs if it has compromised God’s commands for holiness in His Body. The words of the prophet Zechariah in 4:6 reveals that the true work of God is not by might nor by power but by the Spirit of God. The world’s preferences are not the church’s mandates. It seems that the world and most especially the government has influenced the church more than the church has impacted it. Consequently, we see the departure from truth and righteousness in our nation.
Are we afraid we will lose something here on earth? Will we lose our church buildings if we do not grow? Will we lose our support base for missions if our giving doesn’t remain high? Will our children not like us and not walk in our same path? Will we (perhaps most feared of all) lose our popularity and platforms and applause, the ability to measure ourselves by ourselves and compare ourselves among ourselves rather than upon the standard of scripture. In Luke 24: 45-49 Jesus opened the minds of the Disciples to the scriptures and said “So it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance for the removal of sins is to be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” That promise was not only to the Disciples of that day but to all who would believe and be empowered by the Holy Spirit that was poured out on that first Pentecost. The promise of Acts 1:8 is for every believer: “You will receive power then the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and through all Judah, and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” This power radiated God’s holiness to each one who was filled and to each of us today if we will receive it.
Over 30 years ago, I read a book by Jack Taylor that has stayed with me all these years in regards to a passage in 11 Kings 6:1-7. The Bible tells us a story in the Old Testament not for our amusement, but for our learning God's principles. In I Cor.10: 11 we find "all these things happened unto them for examples, and are written for our admonition." “All scripture is given for inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” (II Tim. 3:16). Elisha, the prophet, had an extraordinary ministry. In the first 10 chapters of II Kings, we find 17 miracles that are recorded. Elisha had the Spirit of God on his ministry. We find in II Kings 6 that sons of the prophets were working on building a large place. While they were working, the axe head fell into the water and was lost. Elisha put a stick into the water and "the iron did swim". The axe swam? Taylor applied this principle to the church. What is the axe head for the church today? The axe head represents the power of God (the Holy Spirit) released into our lives so that we can allow God's work to be done not in our programs, plans, or projections, but in His power. We need to depend on the supernatural power of God in our work. The church (us) needs to find the lost axe head. We are trying to do too much of God's work in our own power. The Holy Spirit is willing and ready if we will just get out of the way and allow Him to work in us and through us. Our church has a sign over the exit of the door that says: “You are now entering the mission field.” This is the principle that I believe Taylor was trying to drive home to us—the church is to be to filled with the Spirit of Christ to be His witness.
The command that Jesus gave to the Church has not changed—the work must continue. Through Jesus, those who believe are now granted direct access to God’s throne. God’s saints become living carriers of God’s Word, “holy ones” indwelt by the permanent Presence of God’s Spirit. The Spirit now abides in hearts of living flesh—one by one, the Spirit continues the work of building Jesus’ Church. Here are nuggets that we can glean from Elisha’s miracle that speak to us today:
To recover the axe head we must admit we lost it. Many today continue to toil without the axe head (in our power). Do we have the anointing of the Holy Spirit in our work for the Lord? If not, pray for a fresh filling (Eph. 5:18). The axe head was borrowed (v.5). We will never possess the power of God, but His power (Holy Spirit) wants to possess us. Go back to the place we lost the axe head (v.6). Ask the Holy Spirit to show us when the power went away. Could it have happened when we ceased to pray, be in the Word, refused to forgive a brother, or let sin take control of our life? We must quit playing the blame game and say, "Lord, I have sinned". The man of God helped him recover the axe head (v.6). Jack Taylor in his book, "Much More" says, "How often we try to recover in human force what we lost in human fault. The best way to end a human mess is a divine miracle". Once the axe head was recovered, the work continued. Maybe today we need to recover the power of the Holy Spirit. It is time the Church recognizes her true Master and Lord and begins seeing herself as being in His hands! The church must again do things His way, according to His Word, and in His power! We are only responsible for yielding and consecrating ourselves to His service. We cannot build it on our own. It is His church; He is building it. We must join in the work that He has begun. It is time that we stop playing “church” and be His Church! The time is now for us “to wake from sleep” (Romans 13:11, ESV). We must arise and live and work and fight victoriously. Are we alive and well? If so, we must show it! Let the Church Be the Church!