Merry Christmas and a happy new year 2009

Merry Christmas and a happy new Year 2009. Harapan kami di malam Natal kita sekali lagi berjumpa secara pribadi dengan KRISTUS. Doa kami sekeluarga ada penghiburan dan kekuatan yang baru di malam Natal ini.

We that love and care for you,

Dave and Novie

The City Church

The City Church
by Steve Atkerson
        A church building near my home has a sign out front that blares, The Church of Atlanta Meets Here.   Some of rest of us in Atlanta who also belong to Christ find this rather curious!  That sign is based on the notion that there should only be one properly organized church per city — that the only reason for a church to divide are city limits.  Any division smaller than a city-wide church is schismatic, they claim.
        The word church (ekklesia) was used various ways in the New Testament.  Most of these usages fall into two categories.  One is what theologians have called the catholic (or universal) church.  The other is the local church.  The universal church is made up of all believers who have ever lived, throughout time and all over the world.  The local church is made up of living believers in one specific locale.  Some teach that the proper expression of the local church is something called the city church.  What is a city church?  How does the city church relate to the house church?  To answer this, we need to first understand the universal (catholic) church.

One Catholic Church
        The universal church is a biblical reality.  There are statements in Scripture that cannot refer to any one particular local church, but rather to the total, collective number of God’s people, throughout all time and in all places (in heaven or still on earth), who belong to Jesus.  For instance, Jesus said in Matthew 16:18, “Upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (KJV).  It is a fact that some local churches have gone out of existence.  This promise of the church’s perpetuity was not made to any specific local church, but rather to the church as a whole.  
        The reality of the catholic church is also reflected in Romans 12:5, “in Christ we who are many form one body” (NIV).  Further, Ephesians 1:22 states that God the Father gave Christ as “head over all things to the church” (NASV).  Colossians 1:18 reinforces this idea in stating that Jesus is “head of the body, the church.”  Christ is the Head and the church universal is His body.  Thus, there is but one universal church, one body of Christ.  (Because of past abuses of the universal church concept, some prefer to refer to such examples as generic uses of the word church.)
        The universal church consists of the totality of all believers.  It is all those whose names are listed in the Lamb’s Book of Life; all who are enrolled in heaven (Heb 12:22-23).  Death separates the saints below from the saints above, and yet we are one company, one church.
        The universal church has never yet held a plenary meeting.  Many of its members have already passed into glory, many have not been born yet, and those living on earth today are scattered to the four winds.  This gathering will occur at some point in the future, after time as we know it has ceased.  This gathering is alluded to in various hymns:  “Oh with that yonder sacred throng we at his feet may fall” or “When the role is called up yonder I’ll be there.”  By all accounts it will be an out of this world experience.
        The universal church has no external earthly organization.  There is no biblical evidence that the followers of Christ, after the dispersion of the original church at Jerusalem, ever acted together as one externally organized society.  Thus, in the sense of having no over-arching, human, earthly organization, it is invisible.  
        The universal church could be compared to the names listed in a phone book.  Many names are listed in a directory.  They all have one thing in common:  telephones.  They are the Who’s Who of the dialing world.  Yet those people listed do not all act together in any organized way.  So it is with the universal church on earth.  Each believer is listed in the Lamb’s Book of Life.  Each has Christ.  Yet they are not organized together outwardly in any earthly way.  
        The bond of the universal church is the internal bond of love.  This supernatural love has practical expression:  Paul had a burden for the needs of the local Jerusalem church and took up an offering from throughout the Roman world to assist them.   If one part of the body suffers, the whole body suffers.  We feel keenly the mistreatment of our Chinese brothers and sisters because they are in the same family; we are in the same church.  Romans 12:5 reminds us that “In Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”  1 Corinthians 12 reveals each one is a part of the body of Christ and that “if one part suffers, every part suffers with it” (12:26-27).
        The universal church has recognizable, supernaturally gifted ministers.  Ephesians 4:11-12 says that Christ  “gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ” (NASV).  Such gifted people can certainly be found as members of local, organized churches, but their gifting is from the Holy Spirit and their calling often is to the church universal, not necessarily just one local church.  Such men minister locally but often have a burden globally.  Examples include Paul, Barnabas, and Apollos.  As John Wesley said, “I look upon all the world as my parish.”1  Such ministers think globally and act locally.
        In sum, the universal church is the whole company of those who are saved by Christ.  It is the collective set of all the redeemed in Christ, the entire household of faith.  The universal church is made up of the citizens of the New Jerusalem.  The existence of the universal church is expressed thusly in the Nicene Creed: “We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.”  The next time someone asks you what church you belong to, you can honestly answer by asking in return, “Is there more than one?”


Many Local Churches
        Even though there is clearly only one church universal, the New Testament also makes mention of multiple churches (plural) throughout various regions (Ga 1:2, Re 1:4) or to distinct churches in different cities (Ac 13:1, 1Th 1:1).  If there were groups of believers meeting in two different places, the Bible refers to them as two separate churches.  This leads us to another use of the word church, the local church.  The local church is a subset of the church universal.
        Jesus said that if a brother is caught in sin, and refuses to repent, one of the steps in the restoration process is to “tell it to the church” (Mt 18:17).  It was the local church, not the universal church, to which Jesus made reference. It is the local church that has the authority to expel sinful members, conduct regular meetings, have recognized elders, and be organized.  None of this is true of the universal church.
          Donald Guthrie wrote that "the initial idea of the church was of local communities of believers meeting together in one place . . . the importance of the community idea in the New Testament cannot be over-stressed."2  According to the New Bible Dictionary, "An ekklesia was a meeting or an assembly . . . church is not a synonym for 'people of God'; it is rather an activity of the 'people of God.’”3  Similarly, someone once quipped that birds fly, fish swim, and churches meet.  The idea is, “If it don’t meet, it ain’t a local church!”
        So, there is the universal church and the local church.  Now then:  What is the proper expression of the local church?  Is it the house church or the city church?


1.  The City-Wide Local Church.  
        Some hold that the proper expression of the local church is the organized city church, made up of multiple home fellowships networked together and that all meet together corporately.  City church advocates argue that there is rightly only one organized church per city.  It is further argued that this one city church should hold regular meetings for all the believers in that one town to attend.
        Ultimately, any so-called house “churches” would really be more like neighborhood fellowship groups, or semi-autonomous cell churches, all in submission to the mother (city) church.  In practice, it would not be far different from a big Baptist church that has its members divided up into scores of Sunday School classes.  Under the ideal city church scheme, no subset fellowship in any city is supposed to be autonomous, not any house church, not any of the Baptist churches, not the Presbyterian Church, not the Pentecostal assemblies.  All are supposed to be united together under the larger organized umbrella of the one city church.  City church meetings are said to be the proper venue for 1 Corinthians 14 participatory gatherings, not house churches.  City church gatherings would seem to be the correct forum to celebrate the Lord’s Supper.  Only the city church would have the proper jurisdiction for disciplining a brother or sister.  If the organized city church theory is correct, it leaves the individual house “church” with absolutely no scriptural direction whatsoever as to what it is supposed to do when assembled, or why it should even exist.
        On what do they base their belief in the organized city church?  One basis for the city church model are those instances in the New Testament where only one church is mentioned in a particular city.  For instance, Revelation 1:4 refers to the “churches” (plural) in the province of Asia, and then deals with “the church” (singular) in each of seven cities in that province (2:1, 8, 12, 18, etc.).  Adding fuel to the city-wide church fire is the fact that the New Testament never specifically refers to “churches” (plural) within the same city.  The situation in Corinth might be presented as a prime example of the city church model.


The Case In Corinth
The Greeting.  The salutation contained in 1 Corinthians 1:2 mentions “the church of God in Corinth.”  This greeting suggests that there was only one church in Corinth, not many churches.  The city church theory holds that there is only supposed to be one church in any city, and it is to be an organized entity with its own government and leaders and meetings.
Church Discipline.  In 1 Corinthians 5:4-5, Paul dealt with the immoral brother who needed discipline.  He wrote, “When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan” (NIV).  Paul clearly wrote as if there was an assembling together of the whole church there in Corinth, of all the believers together in the same place.
The Lord’s Supper.  1 Corinthians 11b reveals that there were abuses of the Lord’s Supper in Corinth.  There were deep class divisions.  The rich evidently preferred not to eat with the poor, so they plotted to arrive early at the place of meeting.  By the time that the poor finally got there, perhaps after work, the rich had already dined.  No food was left.  The nature of this abuse of the Lord’s Supper could not have happened unless they all, rich and poor, were together in the same church, meeting in the same location.  They clearly were not meeting in different places in Corinth for the Lord’s Supper.  The rich avoided the poor by eating at a different time, not in a different place.
The Participatory Meeting.  The setting of the participatory meeting also implies a city church meeting.  For instance, 1 Corinthians 14:23 states that “if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind?” (NIV).  The KJV is even clearer:  “If therefore the whole church be come together into one place.”
Elders of the City.  Advocates of the city church feel that it is the city church as a whole that is to have elders, not necessarily each house church.  Indeed, how can the typical house church realistically produce multiple elders?  Going beyond the Corinthian example, advocates of the city church would point to Titus 1:5, “For this reason I left you in Crete, that you might set in order what remains, and appoint elders in every city as I directed you” (NASB).  They see in this a mandate for a presbytery of city church elders, not house church elders.  Some are even calling for the rise of a ruling bishop and apostolic fathers to guide the city church.
      

2. The Local House Church.  
        Others argue that the organized house church is the proper biblical expression of the local church, not any city-wide church.  There is the church universal on one hand and then the local house church on the other hand.  There is the macro church and a micro church, but no metro church.   
        How can the various house church texts be reconciled to championed city church texts?  Arguably, any occurrences of the word church, apart from references to the universal church, refer to a group of believers who actually did all manage to meet together in one place for regular church assemblies.  Certainly starting out fresh in a new city there would have been only one meeting place, but as the number of believers grew, so would the number of meeting places, and thus the number of churches within the same city.   It was never intended for there to be only one house church meeting per city in perpetuity.  
        In other words, if the New Testament writers spoke of  the church (singular) in a particular city, it was simply because there only happened to be a single fellowship, one meeting place, at that time in history, in that city.  According to Mark Galli, the editor of Christian History magazine, “In A.D. 100, Christians numbered only about 7,000, a mere .0034 percent of the Roman Empire.”4  It is not surprising that there would have been only one congregation per city in those days.  Yet over time, each initial church plant was expected to eventually multiply meeting places and so become multiple organized churches in that city rather than remaining only one house church.
        How big was the church at Corinth?  However big it was, all its members were evidently able to assemble together in one place to hold a plenary participatory meeting, all celebrate the Lord’s Supper with each other, and corporately practice church discipline.  Yet it was still only one single house church.  In his letter to the Romans, written from Corinth, Paul wrote, “Gaius, host to me and to the whole church, greets you” (Ro 16:23, NASV).  It seems to have been a very large house church, but a house church nonetheless, because Gaius was able to host the entire church in Corinth.
        What is the evidence for the house church as the proper expression of the local church?  It is a fact that, with the exception perhaps of Solomon’s portico, every time the New Testament states clearly where a local church regularly met, it was in a private home.  As we look out into church history, we see that the early believers continued to meet in private dwellings for the next two hundred years (for as long as the United States has been a nation).  Where would this supposed city-wide church have met, if for centuries the primary venue for church meetings was someone’s living room?  
        G. F. Snyder, in Church Life Before Constantine, wrote that “the New Testament Church began as a small group house church . . . and it remained so until the middle or end of the third century.  There are no evidences of larger places of meeting before 300.”5   Those early house churches did grow, and rather than find ever larger places to hold their meetings, they instead started new house churches within the same city.  This fact seems to be at odds with the theory of city church as an organized entity.  The house churches referred to in the New Testament seem to be genuine, bona fide churches in their own right, not mere cell groups, not just home fellowships.
        Those who advocate city church hold that churches ideally ought only to divide because of distance, as defined by city limits (geography).  Those who hold to the house church as the correct model for the local church recognize division by geography as true in principle, but see city limits as the wrong boundary.  They advocate a different separating factor:  the boundaries of a home’s den, of living room floor space, of geography in the sense of square feet rather than square miles.   If all the believers can’t all meet into one home, it is time to start a new church.  The size of the average living room is the limit.
        How are these house church references related to the occasional biblical statements about the church (singular) in a city?  Is it really possible that the Bible speaks of “the church” in a certain city simply because there was only one assembly in that city at that time?  If there had been several congregations, would it have been more proper to refer to the churches of that city rather than to the church of that city?  Consider the case in Rome.      


The Case in Rome
        Most New Testament epistles do not contain a greeting to “the” church in a certain city.  In greeting the believers in Rome, for instance, Paul simply wrote “to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints” (Ro 1:7, NASB).  He did not greet “the” church in Rome as such.  In fact, the New Testament never refers to “the” church in Rome.  Could this be because there was more than one congregation in Rome?
        Aquila & Priscilla (Prisca) were a Jewish couple living in Rome.  Paul had never been to Rome when he wrote his letter to the believers in Rome, but he knew this couple from back when they had lived in Corinth and Ephesus.  Thus, Paul greeted them in his letter when he wrote to the saints in Rome.  He wrote, “Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus . . . also greet the church that is in their house” (Ro 16:3-5, NASB).
        What is the difference between “all the saints in Rome” (Ro 1:7) and “the church that is in their house” (Ro 16:3-5)?  The church that met in the home of Prisca and Aquila was especially singled out for greeting as a separate church, a subset of “all the saints in Rome.”  Paul would not have had to specify which church he was greeting unless there was more than one church in Rome.  “Greet the church that is in their house” (emphasis mine) as opposed to the churches in other people’s houses in Rome.
        There evidently were considerable numbers of believers in Rome, many more than in Corinth, and they met in more than one place each Lord’s Day.  For instance, in Romans 16:14 there is a greeting expressed to “Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the brothers with them.”  Who were the brothers who were “with” them?  Likely, the rest of a different church that met with them.
        Consider also Romans 16:15, “Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the saints with them.”  Who were the saints who were “with” them?  This strongly suggests that these saints were with them in yet another church in Rome, distinct from the ‘brothers’ who met with Asyncritus et al, and also separate from the church that met in the home of Priscilla and Aquila.
        A good case can be made that there were at least three separate meeting places for believers in Rome, constituting at least three separate churches.  Consider also that Paul only greeted by name those he already knew.  Doubtless many other house churches were functioning in Rome that Paul had no personal acquaintance with when he wrote.


The Jerusalem Example:  Metro or Micro?
        Let us apply all this to the Jerusalem church.  The Jerusalem church is one of the few examples where the Bible does refer to only one church in a city (Ac 8:1).  Arguably, this is simply because the believers there did all meet together in one place.  The church in Jerusalem was indeed a single organized entity.  For instance, Acts 2:1 records that “they were all together in one place” (NASB).   Acts 6:1-2a states that “the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples” (NASB).
        Unlike Corinth, the Jerusalem church was not a house church at all (though they did eat together in various homes, Ac 2:46).  At Pentecost some three thousand (Ac 2:41) were added to the original one hundred and twenty believers (Ac 1:15).  Then, Acts 4:4 tell us that “many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.”  Luke further informs us, “The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith” (Ac 6:7).  The Jerusalem church was a huge church even by today’s standards.  It was a mega church!
        Where did so many people meet together?  Acts 5:12 gives us the answer:  “all the believers used to meet together in Solomon's Colonnade.”  Solomon’s Colonnade was a huge assembly area, a roof supported by columns at regular intervals, with open sides.  It was a portico, or veranda.  This was prior to the persecution that later came upon the Jerusalem church and prevented such massive gatherings.
        Should we copy the Jerusalem example in our churches today? (If so, it would run parallel to the house church concept).  The answer is both yes and no.  Under similar circumstances, yes.  But their circumstances were unique, and not typical of our circumstances, so practically, normally and effectively, no.  Too often the modern church has let this exception become the rule.  This situation at Jerusalem was unique for several reasons.
        First, the Jerusalem church was the very first church and was in its infancy.  It was in the incubator stage.  As Harvey Bluedorn pointed out, “There were many things yet to develop. This was a whole new construction project, and we must not confuse the scaffolding and building equipment with the building itself.”6
         Second, the Jerusalem church was composed solely of newly converted Jews.  As such, they held a deep attachment to the things of the old covenant, including worship in the temple.  Again quoting Bluedorn, “The church in Jerusalem was composed only of circumcised Jews who had lived their whole lives under the law and around the temple. They were culturally committed to a way of living under an administrative law which was jurisdictionally about to pass out of existence. They must presently begin the transition of peeling off the immature externally-conforming old covenant culture and at the very same time bringing forward the mature internally-transforming new covenant culture. There were many converted priests who were still zealously attached to the law, hence weak in conscience, hence hindered from maturing in the gospel. Many cultural accommodations were made in Jerusalem which we would not likely even consider today.”7
        Third, the church in Jerusalem was instantly confronted with an immense number of converts.  Thousands were converted.  Many of the converts were religious pilgrims, temporary visitors, who traveled to Jerusalem to observe Passover and Pentecost.   Josephus recorded that the population of the city would swell to many times its normal size.  Luke put it this way: “Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven . . . Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs" (Ac 2:5-11).  Eventually these new converts needed to return home.  In the interim however, these large numbers needed to be discipled, instructed and grounded in the faith.  How does one handle three thousand Jews from many nations suddenly converted in Jerusalem (Ac 2:5-11, 41), and not long after that several thousand more local residents (Ac 4:4)?  There were only twelve specially trained and designated apostles!
        In order to quickly teach so many new converts, the church had to have big meetings.  Thus, “they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching” (Ac 2:42) and met daily in the temple courts (Ac 2:46).  This was also the era of their voluntary communalism (Ac 4:32-35), a unique giving in response to this unique training need.  It was not repeated as a pattern in the other churches that later came into existence.   The norm is micro churches, not mega churches, and the private ownership of property, not communalism.  
        Just imagine:  Thousands of new believers with literally nowhere on earth to get training except right there in Jerusalem.  The time available to train them was running out.  Eventually they had to go home.  Extra ordinary situations call for extra ordinary actions:  mass meetings & communalism.  If all the Mormons in Salt Lake City turned away from the doctrine of demons and were suddenly born again and brought into a true saving faith in the Lord Jesus, that too would be a unique situation calling for an extra ordinary response by the true church.
        These big meetings in the temple courts did not last long, because not only did the pilgrims eventually leave, but even the local residents later left, too, being forced out.  Luke records that “a great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria” (Ac 8:1).
        Years later, what was left of the Jerusalem church had yet another plenary meeting.  This is recorded in Acts 15, the Jerusalem Council: “The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them” (Ac 15:12).  Luke records that “the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided . . .” (Ac 15:22).  This was a greatly truncated church, not thousands of people as before.  
        (As a side note, the Jerusalem Council itself was also a fairly unique event in that the very nature of the gospel message was being decided.  The issue was: “Is faith in Jesus enough, or must people also be circumcised?”  The original apostles were still in Jerusalem, and they were the standard, the norm, for doctrine.  The false gospel of circumcision needed to be condemned and the true gospel stated and defended.  The Twelve were the men who could do just that.  They were handpicked and trained by Jesus to represent Him on earth in a special way that no one else has been qualified to do since.  It is not that the church in Jerusalem had authority over the other churches.  Rather, from the apostles, in conjunction with the Jerusalem church, went forth an authoritative letter condemning the requirement of circumcision.)


Steve Atkerson
Steve lives in Georgia with his wife, Sandra. They have three children, two still at home and one married. Steve graduated from Georgia Tech and worked in industrial electronics before heading off to seminary. After receiving a Master of Divinity degree from Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary in Memphis, he served on the pastoral staff of a Southern Baptist Church. After seven years in the traditional pastorate, he resigned to begin working with churches that desire to follow apostolic traditions in their church practice. Since 1990 he has traveled and taught as the Lord opens doors of opportunity. Steve is an elder at a local house church, is president of NTRF, edited Toward A House Church Theology, authored both The Practice of the Early Church: A Theological Workbook and The Equipping Manual, and is editor of and a contributing author to both Ekklesia: To The Roots of Biblical House Church Life and House Church: Simple, Strategic, Scriptural.

My Memories with my spiritual family and children SURABAYA

So Many Christian Infants

So Many Christian Infants
By Gordon MacDonald, Leadership Journal




I have been musing on the words of Martin Thornton: "A walloping great congregation," he wrote, "is fine and fun, but what most communities really need is a couple of saints. The tragedy is that they may well be there in embryo, waiting to be discovered, waiting for sound training, waiting to be emancipated from the cult of the mediocre."




"Saints," he says. Mature Christians: people who are "grown-up" in their faith, to whom one assigns descriptors such as Christ-like, godly, or men or women of God.




Now mature, in my book, does not mean the "churchy," those who have mastered the vocabulary and the practices of church life. Rather, I have in mind those who walk through all the corridors of the larger life and do it in such a way that it is concluded that Jesus' fingerprints are all over them.




I have concluded that evangelicals are pretty good at wooing people across the line into faith in Jesus. And we're also not bad at helping new believers become acquainted with the rudiments of a life of faith: devotional exercise, church involvement, and basic Bible information—something you could call Christian infancy.




But what our tradition lacks—in my opinion anyway—is knowing how to prod and poke people past the "infancy" and into Christian maturity.

The marks of maturity? Self-sustaining in spiritual devotions. Wise in human relationships. Humble and serving. Substantial in conversation; prudent in acquisition; respectful in conflict; faithful in commitments.




Take a few minutes and ask how many people you know who would fit such a description. Apparently, Paul pondered the question when he thought about the Corinthian Christians and said, "I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ" (1 Corinthians 3:1).




I'm wondering if we church people have forgotten how to raise saints. And if so, then what's been going wrong?




Maybe the answer is that would-be saints are mentored: one-on-one or one-on-small group (three to twelve was Jesus' usual practice). Mature Christians are made through the influence of other Christians already mature.




Additionally, mature Christians become mature by suffering, facing challenges that can arouse a sense of inadequacy. Mature Christians learn to wrestle with questions that defy simple answers. Oh, and mature Christians wrestle against the Devil, and sometimes even lose. But they learn to get up again. Could I add, while I'm on a roll, that mature Christians are experts at repenting and humility?




They learn this stuff under the tutelage of one who has gone before them and is willing to open his/her life so that it becomes a textbook on Christ's work in us.




But we have a problem in the modern church. Older people don't want to be tutors or mentors. Too busy, too distracted, too afraid. So a younger generation of spiritual infants is really struggling because an older generation doesn't want to get involved.




I'm meeting too many infant Christians who tell me that they're looking for fathers and mothers in the faith to help them grow up. And they're not finding them. And many churches aren't cultivating them.




Result: We could lose a large part of a new generation of Christians who couldn't get past spiritual infancy and went somewhere else.

Path Through Fire

Hi all, I almost burned the house down 2 weeks ago. Our yard is 4+ acres of now dormant, dry grass ringed by 6 acres of woods for a total of 10 acres, and that is surrounded by 100's of acres of other people's property. Around the perimeter of the lawn where grass meets woods, is a well worn path that I walk in the mornings - it's just over 1/4 mile around and I make 16 laps or 4 miles, using that walk as my daily prayer time for those who support us financially and/or are part of our network, and are self employed within our network, and/or call or write in prayer requests, or whomever the Father tells me to pray for. That path is the object of this week's thoughts. The sceneAs you look out the front door there is a small fishing pond to the left, and in front of that a picnic table where we have cookouts. Beyond that is where we burn the trash. The cars are parked out front, and the driveway leads in from the right. On the other side of the woods out front is a creek that separates us from the neighbors, and a dirt road as well. It started out innocently enough; Barb went to town to get groceries and I needed to burn some trash and answer emails. The trash burning pile is ringed by large rocks, so once the fire was burning I went inside to check emails. There was a little wind, but we've never had any problem before down in this little valley, so I didn't give it much thought. But about 15 minutes later in the house, in the middle of answering emails, I heard the Father say: "You'd better check your fire." I know the voice of the Father - Immediately I sprang to the door to find the whole front yard on fire! The biggest part of the yard had already burned and the fire line was expanding and headed right for us in an ever enlarging circle. It was burning to the edge of the pond to the left, into the woods out front, almost to the cars right in front of me, and meeting the driveway to the right. I knew if the weeds and cattails at the pond caught fire it would climb right up the wooded hill behind us and be out of control. But the worse part was the fire burning in the woods out front. The wind had come up and all the undergrowth was on fire, and I didn't want it to jump the creek. The first priority was to save the house and cars, which I did with the water hose, a shovel, and my size 13 shoes in pretty short order. At that point I raced inside, called the local fire department (so happy we pay the $3 fire protection fee with the water bill each month), and ran off to battle the fire in the woods before it jumped the creek and got to our neighbors. Within 10 minutes 2 tanker trucks and 7 men were on scene, with the largest tanker putting the fire out just as it reached the creek. Within 45 minutes (just at sunset) the fire was out! Barb arrived home after dark, and you can imagine her thoughts as she drove through the lingering smoke in the valley, thinking someone was burning a big leaf pile, only to have her headlights shine onto the newly charred and smoking woods and lawn! But that's another conversation - suffice to say she was rightfully upset I had been so careless, but much more happy that I was OK. The PathAs we looked at the damage the next day several things stood out. The first thing we noticed was that the area by the picnic table where our house church has cookouts was not touched. The fire had burned a perfect ring around that area like a 25' diameter island untouched in a sea of charred grass. The second thing was that the fire had burned right up to the path I walk, but no further, and in fact died at the prayer path. There was only 1 area where it had jumped over the path to ignite the woods, but for the rest of the yard my prayer path proved to be the border where the fire could go no further. In these uncertain and difficult times, this story provides a good lesson about the path of righteousness we walk. The path was not touched, and indeed proved to be the saving of the woods and possibly our neighbors. The prayer path stood in the way of the fire and set it's border and limit of damage. In the one area the fire jumped over the path, it did not burn the path itself, but merely leaped over it to the other side. Proverbs 2:8 says "He keeps the paths of judgement, and preserves the way of his saints." When the fires of life burn around us, we need to keep on the well worn path we've been walking, because "when we walk through the fire, you will not be burned, neither will the flame kindle upon you." (Isaiah 43:2) If I had been out there earlier and stood on the path, I could have watched the fire get larger and larger as it approached me on the path. That would have been intimidating, but as it turned out, the fire died when it met the prayer path. I could have just stood my ground watching the fire burn itself out. There are areas of our lives that are 'burning' all around. But what's burning is the area around the prayer path, not the path itself. You can see the fire coming, it's almost upon you, and it's easy to fear when we see the fire and smoke, but if we stay on the path we will find it dies at our feet, and we won't be burned! The picnic areaThe picnic area is significant. The only time over 6 years we have used that area is to host church cookouts. Though this whole property belongs to the Lord, that area is special - many times we've all sat around the fire and visited, cooked meals and eaten S'mores, and God protected it just like the prayer path. The threats we are faced with are indeed very real, but through the smoke we can see areas of our life that are set apart for God; family, home, friends and the times we've shared in the Lord. Those areas are islands of safety in the midst of a firestorm. Our battle is not fear, but in truth it's a matter of trusting the Father. The question in our minds is; Can we trust the Lord to know how special 'this island' is to us and how badly we'd like it preserved? Paul said "I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him against that (last) day." (II Timothy 1:12) There is a time to let go and let God. Things are merely, well, things, after all. But when those things are dedicated to God and used for his purpose, and you believe his plan is not yet complete for them, that is the time to fight the fire. I like what Psalm 89 says because it's a declaration of God's faithfulness. Verse 2 says: "For I have said, Mercy will be built up forever; your faithfulness will you establish in the heavens." God establishes his faithfulness in the heavens, for all to see. Trust that when you are through the fire, all will see the Father's faithfulness spread before them as big as the sky. Never thought of it that wayWe go through life, our routine, our prayer time, our study time, our worship time - our, our, our - and think this is good for us. And so it is, and that is how I've viewed that path around the property as well. I've thought that as I walk and pray with my little prayer list printed out in size 8 font so I can squeeze all the names and needs on there (still takes 1/2 page), it's just something I need to do for those who support us. Though it seems clear now, I hadn't really thought of that perimeter path as being a barrier of protection surrounding those I pray for. It was just a path. But from heaven's perspective that prayer path and those places special to us and (to our amazement) special to the Father, form spiritual barriers that limit what the enemy can do to us. That path also protected those I don't pray for very often, our neighbors. You never know how your life lived before others may be turned one day as a provision and protection for those who have been watching you from a distance. Perhaps you see an approaching fire in your life as you read this. Maybe the fire is upon you. Stay on the prayer path! The fire will either die at your feet, or leap over you without harming that path you are on. Trust the Father that the things special to you and dedicated to Him, are special to Him too. Psalm 11:7 says "For the righteous Lord loves righteousness; his countenance (face) always beholds the upright." In this little analogy it should be noted that I knew nothing about how the path and picnic area would be preserved, I was caught up in fighting the fire. I smelled like smoke, I had ash on me, and for a week afterward I was still blowing ash out my nose. I had to fight the fire the best I knew how, but it was bigger than I could handle. That's when it was time to call in the 'angels', the 7 firefighters who came to my rescue. Without them the fire would have spread much further than it did. Fight the fires in your life, but trust the Father to protect your prayer path and special areas he's not done with yet. But also realize there are special forces available to fight on your behalf, and they have equipment to do the job. The Father is good - heaven is for you - and He will deploy the forces needed to protect and preserve! "He keeps the paths of judgement, and preserves the way of his saints." (Prov 2:8) Some thoughts this day,Blessings,John Fennwww.iFaithhome.orgskype: jfenntulsa

Unleashing the Going Church

Unleashing the "Going" Church
BY ROGER THOMAN

The church is meant to be the expression of Christ’s life and power on earth. This can only take place as:
• We move out of “comfy Christianity” into the daring adventure of following Jesus.
• We replace our “come-structures” with “go-structures”
• We recapture the “going” lifestyle
Comfy Christianity
Shane Claiborne writes: “Being a Christian is about choosing Jesus and deciding to do something incredibly daring with your life.”
In my former life as a pastor, I was a dispenser of comfortable Christianity. I took on the job of creating a “conducive environment” for worship. What this really meant was making a worship event cushy enough that people would want to come and then come back: comfortable seats, coffee, pleasing worship music, and a sermon that holds attention. Unfortunately, regularly attending a comfortable worship event has become the primary marker of what it means to be a Christian today.
In fact, we often replace the miraculous adventure of following Jesus with religious activity. Did I go to church this week? Check it off the list. Did I read my Bible? Check it. Did I pray? Check it. Done! I have completed my Christian activities and am, therefore, a “good Christian.” Religion itself becomes an easy replacement for a daring life lived in partnership with Jesus.
Ironically, Jesus drew a startling line in the sand in response to someone who wanted to follow him: "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head (Matthew 18:20).” Jesus was not a dispenser of comfortable Christianity. Quite the opposite. He taught that followers would live a lifestyle of stepping outside of comfort zones in order to join him in the adventure of extending the life of the kingdom.
Replacing “Come-Structures” with “Go-Structures”
Part of our comfy Christianity has been to focus most of our Christian activities within the four-walls where our friends and other Christians hang out. The result is that we reach out to others by inviting them to come join us where we are.
My fellow-blogger, Hamo, comments on this:
If Jesus were alive today and his mission was still to seek out and save the lost what might he do?
Would he hire a building, set up a sound system, develop a music team, drama team, and then do local letterbox drops advising people that they could come and be part of his church on Sunday?
Was it ever Jesus’ intention that non Christians should seek us and desire to attend our worship events? Or didn’t he say quite clearly that it was his calling, and now ours to seek out and save the lost; to go to their world and enculturate the gospel there. Little Bo Peep evangelism (leave ‘em alone and they’ll come home) is fast running out of steam…
Recapturing the “Going” Church
The church’s true nature is best seen by the life that Jesus modeled: he took the life of the kingdom everywhere that he went—out into the world that he was ministering to. In the process of going, he healed, loved, delivered, and shared good news.
God’s heart is missional at the core as he seeks to recover his children who are lost to him. Jesus came to “seek and to save the lost.” This is not a sidebar. God, because of his love, is a caring, reaching God.
The church is becoming unleashed as Christians are re-discover the daring adventure of “going” and taking the presence (love, life, and power) of God everywhere that they are going. Jesus called us to a lifestyle that would take us out of our comfort zone and into the adventure of miraculous living as we extend ourselves to extend his kingdom.
As Jim Rutz wrote, “The bleachers are beginning to empty as 707 million action-oriented Christians start to pour out onto the playing field and discover the joy and challenge of every-member ministry.”
But What About the Gathering?
In conferences and conversations all over the world about simple/house church, it seems that people usually want to learn first about “how to gather.” This is natural since we have thought about “church” as being mostly about events and gatherings. The problem is that though we can replace larger events and gatherings with smaller ones, our motivation may still be to hang out with our Christian friends and, again, seek to reach others by inviting them to join us.
By focusing first on the gathering we miss the point that Jesus’ focus was first on the going way of life. If gatherings develop that support a dynamic, outward, supernatural lifestyle, then the gatherings will be powerful and relevant. However, if gatherings become a replacement for the true adventure of Jesus-following (which can easily happen), then we will again regress into a comfortable Christianity with little life in it.
Stepping Out Makes Life Worth Living
Most of the truly defining moments of our lives take place because we are willing to step out and trust that God has more for us. Rarely do we find new life by holding back or retreating into our familiar, comfort zones. If this entire book accomplishes nothing else, I hope it will inspire someone to listen and follow a very adventurous God into some new horizons.
Pete Greig wrote:
Christ is not a passive Savior sitting in some cosmic comfy chair. Our God is dynamic; He is a creative force, the ultimate visionary, always on the move, and if we want to know Him and be with Him, we will have to follow Him wherever he is going next.
Let’s look at some principles that can guide us forward.


A Process of Five Principle

“Jesus didn’t leave us with a system he left us with his Spirit. He gave us his Spirit as a guide instead of a map.” Wayne Jacobsen
The risk of writing any book on “church” or “Jesus’ way of life” is that we end up looking for formulas and methods rather than allowing God to divinely lead us.
Therefore, I want to stress that the next five chapters are only meant to provide some broad principles—not guidelines, not structures, not formulas, and not methods. The principles can provide some general illumination on the lifestyle Jesus calls us to, but must not be a replacement for listening and following him.
That said, the simple/house church way of life that we see in scripture involves the following five principles:
1. Reach. Reaching out. Loving others with no strings attached. An “outbreak of love.”
2. Disciple. Disciple-making that everyone can do. Influencing others relationally and contagiously.
3. Gather. Experiencing dynamic, participatory body-life with others.
4. Empower. Empowering others. A truly upside down understanding of leading (facilitating) decentralized systems.
5. Multiply. Reproducing yourself. Becoming seed that brings forth a multiplied harvest.
De-Programming These Terms
The most important part of the next five chapters is not just the principles themselves but the need to unlearn our institutional mindset around these principles and re-connecting with their true, life-giving meaning.
Most of us have learned a programmed approach to reaching, discipling, gathering, leading, and reproducing. The result is that we often end up in a “duty” mode: we are serving God for the wrong reasons, reaching out to others with the wrong motivations, and turning people into projects with the wrong results.
Institutions create programs that lead to projects and feel-good piety but are often not integrated into the fabric of who we are and our God-created abilities to love and bless other people. The result is that others often feel manipulated, and we become uncomfortable with ourselves and the programs we have been taught to implement.
In contrast, as we look at these principles, we want to explore their real meaning in the context of the adventure of following Jesus and truly loving others with no strings attached. We do want to see others influenced, but we trust that this can take place naturally, contagiously, and relationally.

Defining Church, Webster has it wrong

Defining church, Webster has it wrong

Church according to Miriam-Webster’s online dictionary:
1: a building for public and especially Christian worship
2: the clergy or officialdom of a religious body
3: a body or organization of religious believers: as a: the whole body of Christians b: denomination c: congregation
 4: a public divine worship
Webster defines church according to the way this word is used today. I was taught this same definition as a little boy when I would put my hands together and recite the rhyme: “Here is the church, and here is the steeple; open the door and here are all the people.”
Jesus, however, introduced the term “church” with a very different meaning in mind. He used a word “ekklesia” that simply described a group or assembly of people. This is the original definition of the word. He described “church” as those people who were following Him—people walking in allegiance to him. People. His followers. Nothing more than that.
Jesus did not spend much time describing how to organize his people together or how to do meetings. Rather, his focus was on a lifestyle of loving others and obeying Him: “Go into all the world…” “Let your light shine…” “Do what you see the Father doing…” “Love one another…” Church, as defined by Jesus, was simply his followers living life for and with him.
Over the years, however, the word “church” began to include the many structures and forms that we added to the original meaning:
• Public meeting places (buildings or storefronts)
• Organizations of believers who get together to be led by a worship team and preached to by a pastor
• Denominations that we join
But, as John Eldredge reminds us:
Church is not a building. Church is not an event that takes place on Sundays. I know, it's how we've come to think of it. ‘I go to First Baptist.’ ‘We are members of St. Luke's.’ ‘Is it time to go to church?’ Much to our surprise, that is not how the Bible uses the term. Not at all.
No. Not at all. Church is God’s people—those who are choosing to live life with Jesus… 24/7. That is it. Nothing more.
But don’t God’s people gather together? Yes. We do see gatherings take place in Scripture. Many gatherings. Most often informal and simple. Normally in homes (Romans 16:5). Everyone participated (1 Corinthians 14:26). They functioned as spiritual families that cared deeply for one another (Romans 12:10). Yet the focus of the church (God’s people) was a lifestyle of Jesus-following, rather than organizing events, attending programs, or joining organizations.
Perhaps the best way to describe the church of the New Testament is as small, vibrant, caring families of believers who are loving others and reproducing themselves into every corner of the world.
The Things I Learned About Church From Bible College
I attended a Bible College as a brand new Christian hungry to live a life useful to God. I loved reading the stories of the disciples following Jesus, traveling with him, ministering with him, doing miracles alongside of Jesus as he poured out his life for others. I thought it was fantastic. I enjoyed studying the book of Acts and seeing God’s people going throughout the world, filled by the Spirit, walking in God’s purposes and power. But, as a subtext, I was also taught to “do church” in Bible college. It was not a specific class. There was no text book. I simply learned to follow “how it was done” by those around me.  Frankly, the way I learned to “do church” did not look much at all like the lives of the early disciples that I was studying and wanting to be like.
Nevertheless, by the time I felt called to pastor a church, I no longer questioned how church was done. We started with a building and a core group of Christians. We invited, and planned, and organized, and put together Sunday events. We built more buildings and started more services to invite people to. We developed programs for young and old, men and women, married and divorced. We hired staff and we organized ministry teams.
Without realizing it, we were following human traditions for church life that were developed over the centuries: cathedrals, pulpit-led services, pews, order-of-service, etc. All of these things may be useful in their place (God can use anything), but they have no place in the basic definition of “church.”
Sadly, as the church has adopted more and more traditions and become more and more institutionalized, it has become largely ineffective in its impact on earth. In the western world, where we have created the best organizational church systems that exist, Christianity is declining. In contrast, in parts of India and China where the expression of church is largely organic, simple, and fluid, the church is flourishing.
Our longing is to see the church restored to its essence of life and vitality so that she becomes the full expression of Christ’s power and love on earth. This is the great hope of God’s kingdom coming to influence, save, and redeem a lost planet. Priscilla Shirer made this comment:
In the first century in Palestine Christianity was a community of believers. Then Christianity moved to Greece and became a philosophy. Then it moved to Rome and became an institution. Then it moved to Europe and became a culture. And then it moved to America and became a business. We need to get back to being a healthy, vibrant community of true followers of Jesus.
Being Church
My Filipino friend, Molong Nacua, wrote an excellent article entitled “Being Church” that reminds us of the true meaning of “church:”
Church is where Christ lives, not the place where we meet. It is Christ-empowered people, a kingdom of priests for the purpose of winning against the works of the devil and establishing God's Kingdom (1 Cor. 3:17; Matt. 18:19; Ex. 19:6)… Christianity is not about doing church, but being the church.  Church is not some place to go to participate in, but it is about being who you are in Christ and thus experiencing His real life in you. Your Christianity was never defined by attending a particular church. It is defined by Christ in you. In other words, you are a Christian 24/7, not because you participate in a two-hour worship service, but because Christ lives in you every minute of every day.

CHURCH AS FAMILY

Church As Family
by Frank Viola www.reimaginingchurch.org

Frank is a friend, and as a friend I have seen a side to him that many do not know. If you talk to some pastors, they absolutely are not pleased with his book Pagan Christianity, and most of those have never read the book. Pagan Christianity challenges systems and structures, and how you view challenges to what you do is how you might view the book. Where Pagan Christianity challenged many paradigms in light of God's Word, it fell short of some possible solutions. Reimagining Church, his new book begins to show some possibilities of what we may do become more community, more God's family through our gatherings and relationships.
 
Frank and I have talked several times and I must tell you that Frank is not against church systems or expressions as much as he is passionate about people being free. He hopes for all the church to be mobilized to bring the gospel of God's Kingdom to our lives, our communities, and the nations. I welcome the challenges to my paradigms and I enjoyed some possible solutions in this new book. If you have read Pagan Christianity, this really is part two of the progression of that work. The article below is an excerpt from the book describing church as family. More info on the book below

Surprisingly, the Bible never defines the church. Instead, it presents it through a number of different metaphors. One of the reasons why the New Testament gives us numerous metaphors to depict the church is because the church is too comprehensive and rich to be captured by a single definition or metaphor. Unfortunately, our tendency is to latch on to one particular metaphor and understand the ekklesia through it alone. But by latching on to just one metaphor—whether it be the body, the army, the temple, the bride, the vineyard, or the city—we lose the message that the other metaphors convey. The result: Our view of the church will become limited at best or lopsided at worst.
The Chief Metaphor
Do you know what metaphor for the church dominates the New Testament? It’s the family.
The writings of Paul, Peter, and John in particular are punctuated with the language and imagery of family. (See Gal. 6:10;Rom. 8:29; Eph. 2:19; 1 Tim. 5:1–2; 3:15; 1 Peter 2:2; 1 John 2:12–13, etc.)
While the New Testament authors depict the church with a variety of different images, their favorite image is the family. Familial terms like “new birth,” “children of God,” “sons of God,” “brethren,” “fathers,” “brothers,” “sisters,” and “household” saturate the New Testament writings.
In all of Paul’s letters to the churches, he speaks to the “brethren”—a term that includes both brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul uses this familial term more than 130 times in his epistles. So without question, the New Testament is filled with the language and imagery of family.
In stark contrast, the dominating metaphor that’s typically constructed for the church today is the business corporation. The pastor is the CEO. The clergy and/or staff is upper management. Evangelism is sales and marketing. The congregation is the clientele. And there is competition with other corporations (“churches”) in the same town.
But the corporation metaphor has a major problem. Not only is it glaringly absent from the New Testament, it does violence to the spirit of Christianity. Because from God’s standpoint, the church is primarily a family. His family, in fact.
Most Christians have no trouble giving glib assent to the idea that the church is a family. Yet giving mental assent to the family nature of the church is vastly different from fleshing out its sober implications. It would do us well to look closely at the family metaphor and discuss the practical implications that are connected with it. As you read through each aspect, I want to challenge you to compare your church to each one. Ask yourself this question: Is my church living in the reality of being the family of God?
(1) The Members Take Care of One Another

Because the church is family, its members take care of one another. Think about the natural family (assuming that it’s healthy). Families take care of their own. Isn’t it true that you take care of your natural blood? And they take care of you? If your mother, father, brother, sister, son, or daughter has a problem, do you say, “Sorry, don’t bother me,” or do you take care of them?
A true family takes care of its own, does it not?
What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. (James 2:14–17)
This passage puts a finger on the meaning of real faith. Real faith expresses itself in acts of love toward our brothers and sisters in Christ. To paraphrase James, “If you say you have faith, but you neglect your brother or sister who is in physical need … then your faith is dead.” The “action” James is talking about is not prayer or Bible study, but acts of love toward our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
(2) The Members Spend Time Together
Because the church is family, the members take time to know one another. That is, they spend time together outside of scheduled meetings.
Question: Do the members of your church see one another only during scheduled services? Are you in contact with them during the week? Do you share meals together? Consider the organic instincts of the Jerusalem church at work:
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.… Every day they continued to meet together.… They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts. (Acts 2:42, 46)
The early Christians had lives that interacted with one another. This was the church’s DNA at work. If we follow our spiritual instincts, we will have an innate desire to gather together often. Why? Because the Holy Spirit serves as a kind of magnet that organically draws Christians together. The Holy Spirit puts within the hearts of all genuine believers a desire for authentic community.
The Bible says that the Jerusalem church met daily. Interestingly, the assembly in Jerusalem wasn’t the only church that gathered together on a daily basis. Some thirty years later, the writer of Hebrews exhorts the Christians to “encourage one another daily” (Heb. 3:13). And yet today, in most contemporary churches, the only fellowship time that one gets is two minutes when the pastor says, “Turn around and greet the people behind you.”
On Sunday mornings, we clock in and we clock out. Granted, we may grab a little more time in the parking lot as we make a beeline to our car. But can we really call that fellowship? Let’s be honest: For many Christians, the church is simply an event one attends once or twice a week, and that’s all.
(3) The Family is Community not Corporation

Again, the New Testament writers never use the imagery of a business corporation to depict the church. Unlike many modern “churches,” the early Christians knew nothing of spending colossal figures on building programs and projects at the expense of bearing the burdens of their fellow brethren.
In this way, many contemporary churches have essentially become nothing more than high-powered enterprises that bear more resemblance to General Motors than they do to the apostolic community.
A great many churches have succumbed to the intoxicating seductions of an individualistic, materialistic, business-oriented, consumer-driven, self-serving society. And when everything is boiled down, the success of the enterprise rests upon the shoulders of the CEO—the pastor.
In short, the church that’s introduced to us in Scripture is a loving household, not a business. It’s a living organism, not a static organization. It’s the corporate expression of Jesus Christ, not a religious corporation. It’s the community of the King, not a well-oiled hierarchical machine.
As such, when the church is functioning according to its nature, it offers:
• interdependence instead of independence
• wholeness instead of fragmentation
• participation instead of spectatorship
• connectedness instead of isolation
• solidarity instead of individualism
• spontaneity instead of institutionalization
• relationship instead of programs
• servitude instead of dominance
• enrichment instead of insecurity
• freedom instead of bondage
• community instead of corporation
• bonding instead of detachment.
In the language of the apostles, the church is composed of infants, little children, young men, brothers, sisters, mothers, and fathers—the language and imagery of family (1 Cor. 4:15; 1 Tim. 5:1–2; James 2:15; 1 John 2:13–14).
(The above article has been adapted from Reimagining Church. Visit www.ReimaginingChurch.org for details.)
Frank Viola is an author, conference speaker, and church planter. He is the author of Pagan Christianity? (co-authored with George Barna) and the new book, Reimagining Church (David C. Cook, 2008) which presents a powerful vision of organic church life that’s marked by authentic community, Christ-centerdness, and meetings where every member of the body ministers according to his or her gifts.

24 Features of the Kingdom

24 Features of the Kingdom
by Terry Somerville www.totalchange.org

1. The Kingdom Of God is a mystery to the Undiscerning
Mar 4:11 And he said unto them, Unto you is given the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all things are done in parables: 12 that seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest haply they should turn again, and it should be forgiven them.

2. The Kingdom Of God Is Not Observable, It is Not Flesh and Blood
Luk 17:20 And being asked by the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God cometh, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:

1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

3. There Are Seasons When The Kingdom Is Available
Mar 1:15 and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe in the gospel.

4. The Kingdom Marks A New Age
Luk 16:16 The law and the prophets were until John: from that time the gospel of the kingdom of God is preached, and every man entereth violently into it.

5. The Kingdom of Heaven is Precious
Matthew 13:44 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls,46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Mar 9:47 And if thine eye cause thee to stumble, cast it out: it is good for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell;

6. The Kingdom Is Righteousness, Peace , Joy, Power
Rom 14:17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

1Co 4:20 For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.

7. God Wants To Give The Kingdom
Luk 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

8. Men Enter The Kingdom of God or Stay Out of It
Mat 19:24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.

9. Men Enter The Kingdom Violently (pressing in)
Luk 16:16 The law and the prophets were until John: from that time the gospel of the kingdom of God is preached, and every man entereth violently into it.

10. Repentence (Changing of Ways) is Required to Receive The Kingdom
Mar 1:15 and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe in the gospel.

11. The Wicked Cannot Inherit The Kingdom Of God
1Co 6:9 Or know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with men, 1Co 6:10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Gal 5:21 envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of which I forewarn you, even as I did forewarn you, that they who practise such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God

12. Child Like Faith Is Required To Enter The Kingdom of God
Mar 10:15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall in no wise enter therein

13. God Transfers Us Into His Kingdom
Col 1:13 who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love;

14.The Kingdom Must Have Priority
Luk 12:31 Yet seek ye his kingdom, and these things shall be added unto you.

Mar 9:47 And if thine eye cause thee to stumble, cast it out: it is good for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell;

15. The Kingdom Of God Operates Inwardly
Luk 17:21 neither shall they say, Lo, here! or, There! for lo, the kingdom of God is within you.

16. The Kingdom of God (Heaven) Grows
Matthew 13:31 Another parable he put before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field; 32 it is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches."

Matthew 13:33 He told them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened."

Mar 4:26 And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed upon the earth; Mar 4:27 and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, he knoweth not how

17. Love Is The Greatest Commandment In The Kingdom
Mar 12:32 And the scribe said unto him, Of a truth, Teacher, thou hast well said that he is one; and there is none other but he: 33 and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is much more than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices. 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

18. The Poor Have A Special Place In The Kingdom Of God
Luk 6:20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed are ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.

Jam 2:5 Hearken, my beloved brethren; did not God choose them that are poor as to the world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to them that love him?

19. The Work of Believers is to Announce The Kingdom Of God
Luk 9:60 But he said unto him, Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but go thou and publish abroad the kingdom of God.

20. Announcing The Kingdom Brings Power To Deliver
Luk 10:9 and heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.

Luk 11:20 But if I by the finger of God cast out demons, then is the kingdom of God come upon you.


21. God's People Are to Reign On Earth In His Kingdom
Rev 5:10 and madest them to be unto our God a kingdom and priests; and they reign upon earth.

22. Nations Can Receive The Kingdom of God
Mat 21:43 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.

23. At Some Point The Kingdom Will Come With Totality and Some Will be Cast Out
Luk 13:28 There shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and yourselves cast forth without. 29 And they shall come from the east and west, and from the north and south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.

24. The Kingdom Of The World Will Become The Kingdom Of God
Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there followed great voices in heaven, and they said, The kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ: and he shall reign for ever and ever.

LIONS SET FREE

Lions Set Free
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not be entangled with the yoke of slavery again."    Galatians 5:1
A friend of mine recently told me about a conservation group in Zimbabwe that is taking captive lions and rehabilitating them back into the wild.
This is a difficult, four phase process, but they are having success with it. The rehabilitation process has many snags involved because of the effects of captivity on an African lion. When lions are bred and raised out of their natural habitat, some very abnormal patterns begin to develop. In short, they become domesticated. Yet lions were born to be wild.
In captivity, the lions basically forget that they are lions. The forget how to hunt. They forget how to live in the wild. And they forget how to live in a pride. The "pride" is the name for a community of lions. Lions are by and large social creatures and do not do well as loners.
The Effects of Captivity
You and I were born (again) to be spiritual lions. That's who we are, but we have forgotten our true nature because of our captivity in the religious system. Captivity has conditioned us to believe things that are just not true. We have become something less than our true calling and destiny because of this conditioning. We have become domesticated.
We have become isolated pew warmers; a mutated race that sits and listens instead of participating and functioning. The clergy/laity system has made us passive and spiritually lazy. In other words, we have sold out our birthrights. Just like Esau we have sold out for the comfort of a bowl of lentil stew, that is, our warm and comfy pews. We no longer wanted to bother with functioning as members of the Body of Christ, so we sold out and instituted the clergy/laity system.
We Have Forgotten How to Hunt
This is definitely one of the most important aspects of a lion's life. Without the act of hunting, how will you eat?
How will the pride eat?
We have forgotten how to hunt for our own food. Part of our conditioning has been that everyday (or every Sunday!) someone opens our cage and throws us a piece of meat. This bypasses the whole hunting process.
Who is this person that throws in that piece of meat? Where did he get it? Apparently, he went and hunted for it himself. But that is not my prey! And I never had to hunt for it myself.
Hunting is much more than just killing an animal and then eating it. There is the encounter of the hunt itself: finding the right place and time; having the right equipment; getting very quiet; smelling the prey; stalking the prey; taking aim, etc. Sometimes you come up empty handed, but the actual engagement is the thrilling part.
As believers, our food is Jesus Christ Himself! Not just teaching and doctrine about Christ, but the very Person and experience of Christ. You need to hunt for this "food" yourself. Sharing someone else's food is alright at times. But there is nothing like you going out on your own "hunt" and capturing some new revelation or insight into your Lord. This is exciting. This is discovery. This is how you were born to live!
But then what? What do lions do after they have captured the prey?
They bring it home and share it with the pride.
As I said before, lions are very social creatures and they live in a pride. But in captivity there is no hunt and there is no pride. Lions are thrown their food everyday and they do not live as a pride. They are just individual lions living a mutant life of individualism.
A lion in captivity never has to hunt for his own food. He becomes lazy and complacent. He actually believes that this is normal. He believes that someone else is responsible.
We Have Forgotten How to Live in the Wild
"Because we do not regard the things which are seen but the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."    II Cor. 4:18
There are two kinds of realms that exist. There is the unseen realm (or the eternals) and there is the seen realm (or the physicals). Both of these reams exist together at the same time.
One realm is spiritual and unseen. That is, it has no physical substance or what we would call matter. It has no size or dimension, and it exists without time or space. You could say that this spiritual realm is totally "other than" the seen, physical realm.
Of course, we know that the seen physical realm does have matter, energy, space, time, and dimension. Science tells us all about electrons, protons, neutrons, atoms, and molecules. We seem to know a lot about the seen realm. But the scriptures tell us that this realm is only temporary.
It is the unseen realm which is eternal, and yet, we really don't know much about that realm at all. How do we live in that realm? How do we live in spirit?
The Creature of Two Realms
As lions, we are called to live in two realms at the same time. But we should live mostly in the unseen realm. This is the "wild" for us. And it is mostly unexplored. It really is the "wild." It is our natural habitat. And we can never be fulfilled with anything less. And yet, because we have forgotten who we are, we have become comfortable in captivity. We have become comfortable in the seen realm. We actually start believing that the physical realm is everything and then we start investing our lives into it.
Yet we have a Lord who is both Lion and Lamb. He is definitely gentle. But make no mistake about it, He is not tame! He is as wild as they come and the wild realm that is our home is inside of Him (Eph. 1:3).
But our natural habitat is not lived alone. This is a place of community. This is the place of the pride.
We Have Forgotten How to Live as a Pride
The "pride" is the social unit for the wild lion. They do not live alone. They interact in small groups know as prides.
Dear believer, a very important part of your natural habitat is the spiritual "pride." This has been lost to us as well. Lions in captivity don't live in prides. That is a special feature only found in the wild. When you discover that you are already free and begin living in the other realm, you will see the need of community life. This wild life is a shared life. Shared with your Lord and shared with His people.
But we are not used to sharing our lives with others. We have been isolated (held captive) for so long that we have forgotten that this is just the normal life for wild lions. In a true pride, you all share your food, share your joys, share your sorrows, and share everything in life with one another.
The big question is: how do we get to this place of freedom? How do we remember how to hunt? How do we remember how to live in the wild? How do we remember how to live in a pride?
Our great God has already provided a solution to this situation. And this solution was in force as early as the first century.
God's Solution: Walking with Lions
As I told you in the beginning of this article, there is a conservationist group in Zimbabwe that is successfully rehabilitating lions back into the wild. But how do they do it?
They take the young cubs for walks everyday in the wild. An experienced lion "handler" (not trainer) will take a cub on long walks everyday to introduce the young lion to life in the wild. Eventually, the lion's natural instincts will begin to kick in. They will begin to respond to their natural prey and eventually begin to stalk them. Then, one day, they will learn to hunt for themselves. The lion handlers will also introduce them to a pride in the wild so they can be socially integrated.
God does the same thing with His people. He re-introduces His "lions" back into the wild by the use of "handlers." These are men and women who are called, prepared, and sent by Him for this difficult task. They do not become caretakers of the believers, but their job is to be re-introducers. Then the believers re-discover their spiritual instincts and habitat that has been long forgotten in captivity.
We can see these people at work in the first century. They were sent out by God as itinerant apostolic workers (or church planters) to lay a foundation of Christ for the assemblies of believers. Their job was to work themselves out of a job. Peter, John, Paul, Barnabas, Titus, Silas, Timothy, and others did this work or re-introducing God's people to the wild. Then they would leave them on their own to live as wild lions! Every one of these workers had already experienced true "pride life" for themselves and knew about the hunt, the wild, and the pride by personal experience.
In the Zimbabwe program, the handlers have less and less contact with the lions. The goal is to completely release them to the wild, not to control them and keep them domesticated.
Christians are leaving the religious institutions in droves. They are seeking more reality, a deeper spirituality, and freedom. They are being set free from the captivity of the religious system and it is a beautiful thing to see. But that creates an altogether different problem.
Now that all of these believers are being set free from captivity, what will happen next? How will they now be re-introduced to the wild? How will they remember how to hunt? How will they be introduced to the "pride" life?
God's own rehabilitation program must be the answer. We need to pray that God will raise up many "handlers" who have been called, prepared, and sent to walk with the lions.
You are a lion and you have a divine right to be free in the wild with His pride!
If God has been speaking to you about these things and you would like help finding an organic church, just contact davebroos@yahoo.co.uk if you live in Indonesia or admin@therebuilders.org if you are in other countries.