Mentoring Men for the Master

IDENTIFIYING THE CHURCH IN A “KONFUSED” WORLD

Illus:  I read of a man who marched down the street with a sign which read, “BAIK.”  Asked what do the letters mean, he replied, “Boy, AM I Confused” to which the gentleman replied, “Don’t you know you don’t spell confused with a K?”  The guy answered, “But you don’t know how CONFUSED I AM.”

So I begin by saying that there is that confusion with a capital “K” about the church in the world today..  Example:  Did you know there is a body which calls itself, “The Church of Marijuana” where they just meet to experiment with this drug.  There is a church called “The Church of Pleasure,” where the members  where members meet to party and have worldly fun.  There is a church called, “The Church of a Strong Body,” where people emphasize exercise, etc to improve their bodies.  But would you believe that many groups call themselves Christian churches which do not preach Christ, deny the Word of God, and water down doctrine until it is a false doctrine.  One pastor preached on the subject, “The Wonders of a Good Relationship with God,” in which He said God is like your granddaddy, so kind and nice H would never hurt you, and all He expects if for you to accept others and be kind and you will enjoy a wonderful relationship with God.  No mention of sin, repentance, dying to self, and the indispensable work of the Holy Spirit.

How, then, can we know what the True Church is?  By measuring it by the perfect standard of the church revealed in Holy Scripture.  People who work with the FBI to spot counterfeit money do not look at the counterfeit at all, but only at the true bills and then they can discern the counterfeit.  When you look at the real church in the Bible, you will be able to distinguish it from the false churches in our day.  Let us now note 7 traits of the True Church:

  1. The True Church Is Founded on The Cornerstone of Jesus Christ And Directed by Him. 2:19 declares that it is build upon the foundation of apostles, prophets, but Christ Jesus being the Chief Cornerstone. What is a cornerstone?                            1 Cor. 3:11, “Other foundations no one can lay other than the one laid which is Jesus Christ.”  Matthew 16:18, “Upon this Rock – the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ – shall I build my church.  Illus:  One church says the church is built on Peter; another says on tradition; another says immersion baptism, other says denomination teaching.

Illus: One church erected a sign on its building which read, “We Preach Christ Crucified.”  Ivy began to grow and covered the word “crucified,” so the sign read, “We Preach Christ.”  Next the ivy covered Christ.  So the sign read “We Preach.” The ivy finally covered preach and the sign read, “WE.”  This meant the church just consist of persons – self, human desires and humanism.

  1. The True Church Is Formed of Regenerated (born again) Persons. The Holy Spirit takes dead stones (lost persons) out of the pit of sin (Psalm 40:2), giving them life, and placing them into the body of Christ (1 Peter 2:5).
  1. The True Church Is Fixated on Glorifying God. Note I said “Fixated.”  The true church seeks to glorify God above all – in its preaching, teaching, worship, business affairs.  Psalm 145:3; Romans 11;36; Psalm 68:19; 103:1-5.  Illus:  True worship is mixed with Awe of the Holiness of God, but at the same time great joy.
  1. The True Church Feeds on The Pure Word of God. For what is the Word of God?  God tells us plainly in 2 Tim. 3:16-17.  This is the Holy Bible, every word of which is God’s truth breathed out for us to follow in every relationship.

So the Word of God is to be eaten – it is our food. and John ate the Word (Ezek. 3:1; Rev. 10:9; Jer. 15:16.

If we would Feed on the Word, we must do more than read a little passage in daily devotions. We must:

  1. Know it in our head by diligent study,
  2. Stow it in our heart by memorization and meditation
  3. Show it in our life by obeying its teaching and
  4. Sow it in our world by our witness.
  1. The True Church Filters out of the Errors of The Great Doctrine of the Bible. 2 Timothy 4:1 says in the last days some will teach the doctrine of demons.  2 Tim. 4: 3-4.  This day has come.  Illus:  Many people have to filter their water because it is filled with all kinds of harmful substances.  If not, the water makes them sick or even kills.  When you listen to preaching on TV, you’d better filter out much of what you hear.  Illus:  “I’m Ok, You’re Ok.”  How about Oprah?  How about Shullerism? The last week of August I heard an evangelist say to audience, “If you will send me a check for $54.17 you will have the protection of God all this year.”  “No weapon formed against you shall prosper and every tongues rising against you in judgment you shall condemn.”  Thousands  sent in their checks, never thinking of filtering out false teaching.
  1. The True Church Focuses on Obeying The Great Commandment And The Great Commission. (Matthew 22:37-39; 28:18-20).  Without love, the church is a “Spiritual Zero.” (1 Cor. 13:1-3).  Without sharing the Gospel, the Church dies and has no mission in a dying world (Rev. 2:1-5).  The Great Commandment and Great Commission are the marching orders from headquarters – from our Risen Lord Himself.
  1. The True Church Will Be Fueled by the PRESENCE AND POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Why is the Holy Spirit so indispensable in the Christian life?  Because the Holy Spirit is the “Executive” in the Godhead, that is, He produces in our hearts what Jesus paid for on the cross in His resurrection.  Without the Holy Spirit you have no access to the gospel experientially.  You re born again by the Holy Spirit, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, baptized into the body by the Holy Spirit, filled by the Holy Spirit (Ephes. 5:18) and fueled by the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:16).

A church without the Holy Spirit is like an auto without an engine.  The body of the car may be perfect but without the Engine, it is powerless.  The Holy Spirit is the Engine of the church, without which it cannot move.

“All Word and no Spirit,” you dry up

“All Spirit and no Word,” you blow up

“Marry the Word and the Spirit, you grow up.

Finally, applying the truth that you are the church, ask yourself these questions:

  1. Is your life centered completely on Jesus Christ? Your home?  Your business?
  2. Do you know you are regenerated or born again because there was  a point in time you admitted you were lost, repented, asked Jesus to save you and you became a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17).
  3. Are you fixated on glorifying Jesus and Him alone, not your self?
  4. Are you feeding your soul on the Word of God on a daily basis?
  5. Are you filtering error out of the great doctrines so you will not be following a lie?
  6. Do you love Jesus with all your heart, mind, and strength and are you sharing the gospel regularly?
  7. Are you filled with the Power of the Holy Spirit?