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| Written by Pastor Leon |
The Church That God SeesIf we are in God’s church, we must realize how much God loves her and what His plans are concerning her. We cannot give ourselves to ANYTHING with any assurance of victory or success, if we are Christians, if we do not know Gods plans in regard to it. So the question is, how does God see His church. Is everything passed, is it all in the present, or is it all in the future. It is all three, but working toward an expected end or result. Hallelujah! Jeremiah 29:11-14 “11For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. 14I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.” I. God sees the Church becoming stronger and stronger in the earth. A. Moses pleaded with God about the disobedient, complaining people that he was leading out of Egypt. B. God said, “Just get out of the way and I will kill them all and raise up another people. C. This was a prophecy to Moses about God’s intention to have a people from every tribe and people and nation for His own namesake. Numbers 14:17-21 “And now, I pray, let the power of my Lord be great, just as You have spoken, saying, 18‘The LORD is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.’£ 19Pardon the iniquity of this people, I pray, according to the greatness of Your mercy, just as You have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.” 20Then the LORD said: “I have pardoned, according to your word; 21but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD” Habakkuk 2:14 “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” II. God sees the Church becoming a powerful, redemptive force in society, becoming the “salt of the earth”, the “light of the world” and a “city set on a hill”. Matthew 5:13-14 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.” A. As God’s people stand for righteousness and godliness against the evil of the enemy, a confrontation will take place. B. This confrontation will be a battle for the souls of men, to see them rescued from the clutches of the enemy’s forces. 1. It won’t be about who’s right and who’s wrong. 2. What’s right or wrong may not win people, but love will. III. God sees the Church as a powerful prevailing offensive unit moving in victory over the gates of hell. Matthew 16:18 “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” A. We’ve been on defense too long. In one of the Peanuts cartoons, Lucy demands that Linus change TV channels and then threatens him with her fist if he doesn’t. “What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?” asks Linus. “These five fingers,” says Lucy. “Individually they’re nothing but when I curl them together like this into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold.” “Which channel do you want?” asks Linus. Turning away, he looks at his fingers and says, “Why can’t you guys get organized like that?” B. It’s time to “Let God arise and His enemies be scattered”. C. Many are going to see the glory of the Lord in the Church and come to experience Him. Isaiah 2:2-3 “Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the LORD’S house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. 3Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 1. Jesus said “truth will set you free” so as people are taught the word of God, the enemies hold on them will be broken. 2. Those set free will evangelize their friends. “You can be as free as I am.” (I’m excited about this, Hallelujah!) D. We will see God’s original intention concerning man fulfilled. Genesis 1:26-28 “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over £all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” IV. God sees the Church as an expression of His son in the earth. A. A transformation is taking place right now among a people who desire to “put on Christ”. Romans 8:28-31 “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. 31What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? B. All things are under the feet of Christ. (We are his body…whoa) Ephesians 1:17-23 “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18the eyes of your £understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” 1. Paul prays for us that we might see… a. Our hope. b. The riches of His glory. c. Our inheritance. d. His great power toward us. e. Our position in His body. V. Let’s be that Church that God sees; Isaiah 43:18-21 “Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. 19Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. 20 The beast of the field will honor Me, The jackals and the ostriches, Because I give waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert, To give drink to My people, My chosen. 21 This people I have formed for Myself; they shall declare My praise.” A. No more looking back at our disappointments, hurts, discouragements. B. God is making a new way for each of us. C. We’re going to praise Him as never before. Let’s start now. |