The Great Commission offers a clear blueprint of how the church is supposed to function and to achieve its core purpose of declaring the Good News across the world. It is called discipleship. And not discipleship in terms of the pastor offering a service on a Sunday, but is one where every member of the Body of Christ is actively involved, a) being a disciple and b) making disciples.
After all, you cannot make disciples unless you are first a disciple! But we are not making disciples. Therefore, no one is being made into a disciple. And a disciple, as a follower of Christ, is the Church. Where the disciple goes, we will find the manifestation of the Kingdom on earth. Yet, this system of ‘being’ and making disciples is broken. We are not making disciples but merely focusing on church congregants. Disciples build the Kingdom, while congregants build man’s church! The Great Commission is clear, we are called to make disciples, yet we are more concerned with ‘making’ pastors instead of mentoring believers to be true followers of the Lord! After all, you cannot ‘make’ a pastor. You are either called to shepherd or not. God calls you into your calling, to serve the Lord is not a job!
Thus, we are not making disciples who follow Jesus, or who walk in His Truth or in His Ways. We are not making active disciples, mobilised and living out their calling to the glory of God. We sit with congregants who are tossed to and fro by every wind of teaching, who have lost contact with the Holy Spirit, and who have failed to fructify (bearing fruit) by abiding in the Lord. We are called to be disciples who first seek the Kingdom of God, yet we do not even know what the Kingdom is.
Oh yes, we know the mechanics of the church, and how to run the church, but do we truly know the eternal, spiritual and supernatural Kingdom of the Living God?
Ephesians 4 is very clear that the pastors, teachers, apostles, prophets and evangelists, by God’s grace, are called to equip the saints for the work of service. Is this happening? Of course not. The bulk and majority of the work of service has been done by the pastors, teachers, apostles, prophets and evangelists, called by some the five-fold ministry and by some as simply the ascended gifts of Jesus. Who is supposed to do the majority of the work? Yes, the saints so that by equipping and empowering them they may make disciples. To make disciples is part of the service to the Kingdom of God. So if the saints are not mobilised, equipped and empowered, what then is broken? Yes, those who are supposed to do the equipping and empowering of the saints! Tradition and religion have not dictated for hundreds of years that the clergy does the work of ministry, yet they simply must equip the saints to go into the world – thus mobilised and activated – to make disciples. Yes, saints who live out the Great Commission, we seek the Kingdom, who manifest the Kingdom and who are the Church as ambassadors of the Living Lord!
We read in “Ephesians 4: 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the [e]edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”
So the five-fold ministry or offices, or whatever you may wish to call it, is responsible for:
a) The equipping of the saints for the work of ministry
b) The edifying of the body of Christ c) The unity of the faith
d) The knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
Do we find such unity in the faith in the church? No, not at all. We find plenty of lateral unity where people flock to certain denominations that appease them according to the brand of truth being taught and preached, yet where is the vertical unity with God? Vertical unity leads to lateral unity in the faith. Do we find the Body of Christ functioning as One as the early disciples did in the Book of Acts? Hardly.
We find the Church is practising isolation instead of seeking the common good. We are willing to unite around a profane fire (false doctrines and ideas and practices) instead of letting God’s pure fire purify and refine us to be united with God first and foremost.
Do we find the Body of Christ edified and exhorted? No, we a find a Church seemingly lost at sea, uncertain, fearful and full of doubt. Covid-19 exposed the widening cracks. And yes, it is strange that we are seemingly lost at sea since we have been given a spirit not of fear, but of power, of a sound mind and of love. Why do we not find a Body that is full of boldness, full of praise, full of faith and full of conviction? Thus a Church that is so on fire for God as we see in the Book of Acts? Because the Body is not being truly fed, truly equipped or empowered, thus edified and exhorted in her loving pursuit after God.
Is the Body properly, effectively and sufficiently equipped for service? Of course not. The church is divided between the supposed classes of the clergy and the laity, where the clergy wants to do all the work of service instead of equipping the Body to do the work of the Great Commission. Most of the saints attend Church one day a week, instead of being in Church every single minute of the day. How many saints are baptising people in water of Spirit, or delivering people, or praying for the sick? These are the duties and ministries of every disciple. Yes, some are looking after the poor and the needy (which is great), but the weightier matters of the Kingdom also need to be attended to with due diligence and passion.
The task of equipping is important according to Ephesians 4 so that those who are called to DO the ministry are:
a) No longer children,
b) Tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting
c) Speaking the truth in love
d) Growing up in all things into Him who is the head— Christ
Do we find spiritual maturity in the Body of Christ? There is a lack of character. Lack of wisdom. Lack of discernment. Lack of truth. Lack of values. We have become so self-centred and so self-conscious that we have lost sight of the Kingdom of God. We are so embroiled in the carnal and fleshly temptations and desires we have lost sight and touch with the fiery touch of the Holy Spirit. 2 Peter 1 speaks of such growing maturity: “5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. 10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
Do we find the saints are stable, walking in the truth and keeping the course? How can we when it seems so many saints do not know the Word of God? The Word of God is the light and the lamp unto our path. It guides, leads, teaches and shows us the right way to travel, and this is the Way of God. Do we truly know the Word as taught by the Spirit of God from Genesis to Revelation, or do we know in part or according to our perceptions? Indeed, because of the lack of understanding of the Word, which brings forth wisdom and counsel, there is a lot of deception that bewilders and spiritually corrupts. Spiritual maturity breeds discernment, yet when we remain ‘children’ in the spirit we can easily be deceived, manipulated, exploited and led astray.
Sadly, in churches, there is a lot of foolishness, along with plenty of fables and demonic teachings! Traditions and the temptations of fame and fortune have caused plenty of distractions and confusion regarding the Truth and Knowledge of the Kingdom. 2 Peter 2 says “1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.”
Do we find the saints speaking the truth in love? 1 Thessalonians 2:10 says that “with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” Here is the reality – the Church has lost its love for the Truth! Yet the Truth of the Lord, according to John 8:32, sets us free. Jesus is the Truth. So if we lose our love for the Truth, have we not lost our love for our First Love? To the church in Ephesus, in Revelation 2, we read: “4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place— unless you repent.”
If we love the Lord, then we must love His truth! Yet this is not happening as evident by Paul’s prophetic word in “2 Timothy 4: 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.”
If we have lost our love for the Truth, then we are in very deep trouble, for a disciple walks only in the Truth of God, speaks such Truth, adheres to it, defends it and upholds it. We are called to walk only in the Truth of the Gospel of the Kingdom and not in any other truth. Yet the love of the truth – thus God’s truth- has waned as we seek after our truth, and the truth that pleases us. Such truth stands in rebellion against God and smacks of witchcraft and idolatry. After all, man seeks so often these days to promote himself above the truth and glory of God.
We read in “1 Corinthians 1: 18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” 20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the [h]disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.”
Do we find a people growing up in the image of Christ, always abiding, always yearning and seeking His Kingdom, His will and Way? It says in “John 15: New King James Version: 1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”
The verb fructify means making (something) fruitful or productive. When we abide in Christ, we begin to bear the fruit of Christ, therefore we grow and reflect the image of Christ. And such fruits is of course highlighted in “Galatians 5: 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”
You see, the saints need to be taught how to abide in the Lord, how to walk with the Lord and how to truly bear fruit! They are to be taught discipleship through proper discipleship so that they can bear fruit (fructify) and make disciples! Yes, we are called to be a Body of Christ working together for the common good of the Kingdom. Thus a royal priesthood filled with the Spirit of God, mobilised and activated, thus living out the Great Commission to manifest the glory of the Kingdom on earth. The question remains, do we see a Church bearing fruit, thus a Church abiding in the lord, or do we see a Church that resembles more the world? If this is the case, then again the five-fold ministry or whatever we call it has failed in its task to equip, empower and lead the saints in the “knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”
So if you then consider it, the saints are disempowered, walking in deception and they are misguided regarding God’s Truth, His Will and Way because:
The pastor has not been shepherding, protecting, leading and guiding as led by the Spirit of God (and he can only truly shepherd when being shepherd by the great Sphered Jesus)
• The prophet has misguided, beguiled and deceived through false visions and prophecies
• The apostle has not established the firm, sure and solid foundation of Jesus
• The teacher has not been teaching the truth, and thus the love of the truth of the Gospel of the Kingdom
• The evangelist has not been leading the lost to a true, real and lasting relationship with Jesus
What is broken is the ENVIRONMENT that we utilise to supposedly equip and empower the saints. Acts 2 is clear – they met from house to house. It says in “Acts 2:46: So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,” and also “Acts 5:42 And daily in the temple, and every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.” It says in “Acts 7:49 ‘Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. What house will you build for Me? says the Lord, Or what is the place of My rest?” God’s intention has always been that everyone in the Body is involved, participating, active and equipped for ministry (in whatever capacity). You cannot do so in environments where no one is truly active or learning or being allowed to live out a life yielded to the Spirit of God. Instead of keeping the environment smaller, we have enlarged the environment so that we sit with mega-churches where congregants have lost touch with what it means to be a true disciple.
Consider that only unto Moses and Solomon were a task given to build a sanctuary for God. Acts 7 makes it clear that the Lord asks us “what house shall we build”. God intends to dwell with those who follow and love Him. He wants to tabernacle with His adopted sons and daughters. Thus where two or three are gathered so is He present. God wants to dwell and fellowship with us in our homes, for this is part of our personal space. Big buildings are great for common worship, but in the smaller environments, the brethren in greater unity seek the presence of God, the leading of the Spirit and the truth of the Gospel.
In Acts 10, we find Peter speaking to the Cornelius’ household about the truth of the Gospel of the Kingdom. It was done within an intimate environment. We then read “44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. 45 And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. 46 For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.”
Glory to God! Within such a personal and intimate environment you have the opportunity for true discipleship, in-depth teaching and preaching. It allows for true transparency, accountability, encouragement, edifying and yes, testing of prophecy.
It lends to the reality of “1 Corinthians 14: 26 How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret. 28 But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God. 29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge. 30 But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged. 32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. 33 For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.”
Where God is present, there is order. His will, His way and His truth is established. In such an environment of fellowship (as seen in Acts 2), prophecy can easily be tested, and all teaching and doctrine can be weighed and discussed. It offers little room for deception or spiritual abuse, for truly in such an environment the Body of Christ is one, united and strong in the love and liberty of the Lord. There is no room for man’s ego, pride, or division or carnality. It is an environment of trust, faith, strength, hope and God’s glory to manifest among the brethren. Indeed, it says “behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1).
In the grand scale environments, people are simply becoming lost among the numbers, not being truly discipled to be disciples in service of God. In the smaller groups, real needs are identified, and we can discern if someone is truly walking with the Spirit, walking in Truth or victory, has truly been delivered and truly know the Lord. A house church (which is radically different from cell groups) is run by God, led completely by the Holy Spirit and is completely and utterly Jesus-orientated, Jesus-focused, and Jesus–centred. House churches are all about discipleship and glorifying God. There is no room for man to take centre stage or for the Holy Spirit to be replaced by philosophy, ideologies or entertainment.
What is broken is our INTENT and MOTIVATION. So many people have left the church or have backslidden because “they have tried church”. Their intention and motivation are not focused on a relationship with Jesus. People go to church to be seen, for their problems to be resolved, or for their crisis to fade away. They “try church” as a possible path to spiritual enlightenment, or peace of mind or some sort of personal fulfilment. We do not try Jesus. We live Him. We breathe Him. We die to the old self. He is not our lifestyle, He is our Life. People attend church for it promises a ‘good time’, and so many go to well-known churches pastored by well-known pastors, for it is about status, and feeling they will be blessed. Yet for the true disciple, it is not about the show. Or entertainment. It has all to do with Jesus. It is all about His Kingdom. It is not about the self, but about a life committed, submitted and yielded to the Glory of the Highest.
What is broken is the MESSAGE. Our message is not the true Gospel of the Kingdom, thus seeking God, denying the self and carrying the cross. It is no longer about the sacrifice on the cross, the Blood spilt, or about the spiritual struggles. People seem to follow Jesus for it has become all about money, and being blessed, and being empowered to lead a great and wonderful life. For Paul, the message was very much different. Acts 20 says “24 But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” And also “Romans 1:14-15 “I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.”
Philippians 1: (New King James Version): 1 Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, 5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; 7 just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace.
We can see Paul is passionate about three things in this text. All three things are directly related to each other. If we are to live the Christian life to the fullest, we too should have passion when it comes to these three things. He’s not passionate about his health or comfort. The miserable setting in which he is now residing is a pit of disease and suffering. He’s not passionate about his current financial situation because he has given up everything as a missionary. Paul isn’t passionate about his Jewish credentials; later on, he would call his resume a resume of rubbish. At the end of the day, three things kept Paul going and gave him hope. As he sat in prison these three things kept his spirits up and they defined his message and his focus.
He first had a passion for Jesus Christ (1:1-2). It’s hard to miss the fact that Paul’s passion is for his Saviour because in two verses Jesus is mentioned three times. He knew what he was (a persecutor of the disciples) and he knew what he was now. Before his conversion, he served sin and Satan and now he and Timothy were servants of Christ. Before his conversion all he knew was religion, working hard to earn standing with God. He was busy obeying all the rules and regulations to get God to like him. He was busy outshining everyone else. Paul was a lost religious man. Now he had met Christ and saw the futility in his religion. He had been given grace and grace far exceeds religion.
We read in “Philippians 3: 2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, 4 though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; 6 concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. 7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
Paul’s focus was clear. It is all about Jesus and nothing else. The message is Christ, nothing else. He was only interested in being found in Christ. Such should be the focus of the Church again. And our message should be purely Jesus and nothing else. For in Christ, we attain real righteousness which is His not found through working hard at man’s rules. The good news is Christ gives His people His righteousness which meets God’s requirements. Our message and focus thus should only be Jesus!
Secondly, Paul had a passion for fellow believers (1:3-5). Paul was not a heartless theologian but a passionate lover of God’s people. And this is important. For if we truly are focussed upon God and love God above all, we shall love those who follow Him for we are then brothers and sisters in Christ. Indeed, Paul cared for them very deeply. He loved them and even placed himself in danger for them. His relationship to them caused him to be thankful every time he prayed for them. He was thankful for the news he had been given that even under difficult times, they remained faithful. He loved them because they loved God. That’s really what the letter to the Philippians is all about; fellowship in the Gospel. Paul was passionate about Christ and the Gospel and so were those in Philippi. They shared a special relationship that had as its common denominator Christ. Yet our fellowship should be based on our love first and foremost for Christ, for out of our love for Him we shall love each other as followers of the Lord.
After all, the Gospel is a message of real life. It’s not some philosophy or grand idea, it’s not positive thinking or positive living. Paul simply wanted to see his friends. He loved them dearly because they loved the same Saviour, and that was their connection. This is a real Church – a common love flowing from a common love with a great and almighty God. A Church that is united in such love, in such fellowship and in such truth. Paul demonstrated his love for the brethren (because of their pursuit and love for God) in several Scriptures, such as “Romans 9:2-4 I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites…” and also “Romans 10:1 Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.”
Paul was willing to sacrifice, suffer and die for Jesus and others. Jesus was also willing to sacrifice everything for the good of others, thus His sacrifice on the cross. And this should be our focus and message as well – denying the self and carrying the cross for the sake of the Kingdom. And when we live for the Kingdom, we seek God to be glorified, for the lost to be found and our brethren in Christ to be strengthened, edified and uplifted. Indeed, we read in Acts 9:15-16, “But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” Paul was willing to suffer, for the Gospel is life and the eternal hope for all of those who are lost and spiritually dying. Is this still the passion of the Church today? Are we still willing to lay it all down so that a broken world may know Christ? Are we willing to suffer so that our brethren in Christ may be edified and exhorted?
His third passion was a passion for the message of Grace (1:6-7). After all, we have all been saved by grace. Paul prayed for the brethren because they all shared in the wonderful work of Jesus on the cross, and such work is one of grace. Paul rejoiced in his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ because he saw evidence that their conversion was real. He witnessed first-hand the fruit of the Spirit exhibited in their lives. He had reason to be confident that their Christianity was genuine. He wasn’t confident because they had done something incredibly religious; no, they exhibited a consistent walking in the Spirit. Paul had every reason to be confident in those Philippian believers because the Holy Spirit took up residence within them.
Indeed, Paul knew God was the One working in their lives, and so Paul rejoiced in grace, thus in Christ. For God alone is worthy of our trust. Ephesians 2 says “4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).”
God alone does the work of regeneration or bringing the dead sinner to life. It’s completely a work of God to bring the spiritually dead to spiritual life. God alone makes dead things live. God’s work brings spiritual life, and spiritual life brings a renewed mind, which leads to the spiritual fruit of good works. Paul knew that God would finish what He started because of grace. They were partakers of grace like Paul was, and thus Paul rejoiced and found strength in their companionship. This reality should be our focus and our message, for by grace we are saved, but such grace is the work of God, who is the author and finisher of our faith.
Thus, the message and focus of the Church should be on grace, but not grace at the expense of obeying God. Not the grace at the expense of worldly liberty or carnality. We can be united by grace, but then it must be a genuine grace flowing from a true and real relationship with God. And in such fellowship and unity, we can garner strength and confidence from each other in our pursuit of the living Lord, to His Glory and for His Glory. By such grace, we are strengthened in love and hope as disciples.
What is broken is the WAY we have been equipping and empowering the saints. Jesus said He is the Way. His Way is the only and the best Way. No other way. Certainly not the way of man. The way of Jesus was discipleship. Yes, every person needs to make disciples. Every believer needs to be active and mobilised. The church way is to make congregants, thus becoming members of a church group or a denomination. They eventually follow man, while a disciple only follows God and Go’s Truth and God’s Will. The church’s way of quipping is for believers to attend
services on a Saturday or Sunday, and the word is then proclaimed to them. Yet they are not being disciplined, as Jesus taught and showed us. They are not personally mentored. Word proclamation is great, but Spirit-filled preaching is designed to edify, correct and encourage and teaching is to lay the groundwork of our spiritual construction so that the saints may do the work of ministry! Jesus showed true discipleship. He walked with the disciples. They were His friends. They learned and watched him teach and preach the Kingdom for three years before they even ministered. A true disciple is constantly active, moving in the Spirit, always serving and always obeying the call of God.
What is also broken is the CONNECTION and FOCUS. We are supposed to be a royal priesthood connected all the time to heaven. This is reflected in Jacob’s dream of the ladder. We are called to constantly abide in the Lord and be led by the Spirit of God. Our gaze should always be on the Kingdom. All that we do, say and think should be God. Yet the church is saturated with fleshly and carnal behaviour, doctrines, and divinations (disguised as prophecies).
Romans 8 says, “5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” 9 But you are not in the flesh but the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”
Galatians 5:25 says, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” Of the Spirit we read in John 16: “14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.” You see, the Spirit has come so that we are constantly and always connected with the Spirit, the Son and the Father! Yet we need to be disciples who are connected to the Spirit, for then we shall stay focused on the Kingdom. Yet what has been happening in churches is that we are no longer truly teaching on the Holy Spirit, or even moving or ministering on the Spirit of God. The Church has lost its connection, and thus you cannot make disciples or train or empower without the Holy Spirit. Once connected, we can truly make disciples to the glory of God.
Our focus should be Jesus. We should be constantly connected by the Spirit so that we are worshippers in spirit and truth. And yes, connection speaks of prayer. It speaks of reading the Word. It speaks of fellowship, intimacy and walking in holiness.
It speaks about seeking God above all else, always and all the time. Philippians 4 says “8: Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” Yes, we must think of the Kingdom, speak Kingdom and act Kingdom, for this is the way of the disciple. What is broken is that we forget that Jesus and only Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. We need to walk in His Way and abandon our paths of self-enlightenment. We need to walk in His Truth again and abandon our wisdom, our agendas and our programmes. Our truth, our way and our methods of promoting artificial life will no longer suffice. This is the broken way. Jesus is the right way.
May the Lord indeed stir in our hearts and open our spiritual understanding to the critical importance of embarking on Christ’s mission. May the Lord stir in us a mighty and deep faith that cannot be moved. May He stir in us a great passion for His mission, and may we with zeal seek His way and truth and will. Dear believers, there is a deep stirring in my spirit, for we need to hear what the Lord is saying to us, the church, more than ever. His mission is still the same. Time is slipping away, yet we are slumbering as the world is dying. How we need the fire of God to burn in our hearts again! Yes Lord, send the fire again so that we may be sold out for Your Kingdom, Your mission and vision.
It is time for us to fulfill His mission by fulfilling the Great Commission! It is time now, not tomorrow. We have been crying out to the Lord for Him to move and revive His people as if the Lord is slumbering. Our Lord never slumbers, and He never forsakes, but it is His people that have fallen asleep and slumber. We need to arise from our ‘sleep’ and embark on His mission to His Glory. It is time to be the church, to shine our light and be the salt of the earth. It is time to get to work in bringing in the harvest, for we are living in the last of the last minutes. Time is indeed running out.
The Lord is watching for those hearts that truly turn to Him, who cry out to Him, who yearn and hunger for Him, for then truly the touch and glory of the Lord shall be known. For too long, the people of the Lord have remained in the valley, chasing after golden calves, consumed by this world, consumed by the Self, allowing themselves to listen to lies while embracing deceptions. For too long, there has been a time of forsaking the truth of God, forsaking His Spirit, forsaking purity, forsaking holiness, for it is not the Lord who slumbers, but his people who failed to make the main thing the main thing, which is to lead the broken and the lost to Christ.
It is time for God’s glory in us to arise. It is time for humility in the Body of Christ so that the power of the Lord may be manifested for the world to witness. For those who yield and submit shall truly see the might of the Lord! Only those who are reborn in the Spirit shall see the Kingdom of the Lord (John 3). How long shall we dwell in the valleys? How long shall we depart from the ways of the Lord? How long shall we not listen to the voice of the Lord? How long shall we quench the Spirit? How long until we truly submit, yield, surrender, and give our all to the kingdom of the Most High? How long cries the Lord until we truly bow before Him, give our all, seek Him, hunger for Him, and desire Him above all? How long shall we remain indecisive, stubborn and not in His will? How long do we seek our way and not the way of the Lord?
Yes, Lord, we are here to yield. Let it be all about You and Your mission so that the reality of John 3:16 may be fulfilled. For there is healing and deliverance in Your Glory! Truly, as we submit and truly abide in Him, we shall see spiritually and physically the harvest coming in. May we indeed be counted among God’s labourers, be good stewards as faithful disciples, and may we long to see God’s glory cover this earth.
The House Church Blueprint was Written by Riaan Engelbrecht
