Churches Have Personalities

Have you ever noticed that every church wants to emulate the details of success used by mega-churches around our country? They often try and fail even when they use the same formulas and ministries. 

The members are discontent if their church does not provide the same level of entertainment as these mega churches; yet, they are unwilling to serve in areas that would help their church to grow or to share the gospel with more people.

They criticize the leadership and nag the Senior Pastor about their pet peeves. They fail to give a tithe of their income and they go on more vacations and buy more "toys" than their lifestyle can comfortably support.

What people fail to realize, the leadership included, is that God gives each church a different personality, mission purpose and anointing. In Revelation, Jesus sharply criticizes most of the seven churches for not following His will for their ministry.

Unless the Lord builds the church, we labor in vain (Psalm 127:1). We spin our wheels and live in constant discontent, disillusionment and distraction. We get so caught up in the good things that we fail to fulfill God's purpose for our church life.

The church leadership needs a time of pray to develop their mission statement - not a catchy phrase to put on publications and electronic media, but an actual mission statement from God.

As a unified group, once they hear from God, they can equip the Saints for the work of their ministry (Ephesians 4:12-16). This allows the whole church to be on the same page with the same focus and the same passion.

If church leadership or ministries have divided or conflicting goals, the lack of unity will actually obstruct their prayers (1 Peter 3:7). We are also hindered by the end time mindset by which the love of many grows cold (Matthew 24:12).

However, there is still a remnant of authentic Believers hungry for doing the will of God with their individual and church family life. There is no price too great for them to pay in order to further God's Kingdom on the earth.

Prayer:

Father God, inspire Your authentic Believers who are gathered in local church bodies around the world to do Your will in their community. You may not want a particular church to be big; but You always equip it to be effective in reaching the people in its church field.

Help us to hear Your voice to know what You are calling us to do as Your local church family in the area in which You planted us. We do not want to spin our wheels, but we want to have traction to serve in the areas in which You created and called us to minister in Your name and according to Your will.

Thought for the Day:

God is calling us to put our time, talent and energy into true religion rather than programs and superfluous ministries that do not impact His Kingdom or change lives. - James 1:27

Laying on of Hands

The apostles used the method of laying on of hands in order to impart God’s calling on those they commissioned to follow in Jesus’ footsteps (Acts 13:3). This has become a basic principle and doctrine of our Christian faith (Hebrews 6:1-2). In fact, spiritual power and anointing is actually transferred by this practice (Genesis 14, 17-19).

For example, spiritual power came on Joshua when Moses laid hands on him (Numbers 27:16-23; Deuteronomy 34:9). Jacob passed God's blessing on to Ephraim and Manasseh by the laying on of hands (Genesis 48:13-20). Paul declared that the gift of God, which Timothy possessed, was imparted through the laying on of hands (2 Timothy 1:6). Since the early church, the body of elders transfers the gifts of the Spirit to other men who are going into the ministry (1 Timothy 4:14).

When someone intends to set aside their life for full time service to the Lord, we pray for them by the laying on of hands (Acts 6:5-6). We also lay hands on people coming for physical healing (James 5:14), and deliverance from Satanic oppression and possession (Luke 4:40-41). In the ministry of the laying on of hands, we share blessings, spiritual anointing and encouragement (Matthew 19:13-15; Daniel 10:16-19).

Frankly, there is a danger in laying hands on someone who is not mature and full of God's Spirit. Therefore, this should not be done without careful prayer, examination and consideration (Numbers 27:18; 1 Timothy 5:22). The power received by the laying on of hands is visually evident. Simon actually saw this and wanted to buy it for himself (Acts 8:14-19). God anoints people into His service and uses the leadership of the church to impart His gifts.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for giving us Your power and anointing and for allowing us to share these gifts with one another. Please give Your wisdom to the leadership of Your church to know with whom to share these gifts, and who will not seriously desire to walk in Your anointing for Your glory. Remind us to always use them for Your glory and not for our own power and success. Keep us from glorying in the flesh, but cause us to walk in humility and grace.

Thought for the Day:

There is a spirit in each one, given to us by the inspiration of Almighty God, which provides us with understanding. - Job 32:8

The Trouble with Self-reliance

Read: Joshua 7:3-4

“There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” - Joshua 1:5

Moses faithfully led the children of Israel through every step of their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. This included the forty years of aimless wandering in the wilderness, when God doomed the twelve tribes because of their sin of unbelief and their failure to obey His directive. Every person, who relied on their own understanding of the situation ahead of them, rather than trusting in God’s direction, died in the wilderness. From that entire generation, only Moses, Joshua and Caleb survived.

In the end, even Moses failed to obey. In his anger over the constant complaining of the Israelites, he struck the rock twice, instead of speaking to it as God commanded him to do (Numbers 20:8-11). After this, God anointed Joshua to assume the leadership of Israel. God also restrained Moses from reaping the reward of his work. He was not allowed to enter into the Promised Land (Numbers 20:12).

As a young man, untried in the realm of full command in leadership, Joshua relied heavily on God’s direction and wisdom. God gave him repeated victories and Joshua’s confidence grew with each success. When they finally arrived at the tiny city of Ai, the scouts reported that the city had few men. Joshua felt confident that his army would come away with another victory; therefore, he failed to consult the Lord’s direction for this battle.

God did not let Joshua down, nor did He go back on His promise to give them the Promised Land, but He did not honor Joshua’s attempt at self-reliance. The army lost the battle, and the survivors came home disheveled, discouraged and defeated. We can learn lessons from the lives of both Moses and Joshua.

Success is ours, only as we rely on God for His guidance and as we walk in His ways. The key to victory is to remember the importance of trusting God and obeying His directions. God gave us His Spirit to guide our every step. No matter how insignificant the task, we can seek His counsel, walk in His strength and enjoy His success in everything we say and do. Self-reliance leads to ruin; reliance on God’s Spirit leads to success.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, seeking Your direction gives us the confidence to accomplish Your will with our lives. Remind us to rely on You every step of the way, and not to lean on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Thought for the Day:

Failure is not a necessary ingredient when learning to succeed.