faithful to the field

When I was a leader in a parachurch in my college days, the Lord sent me a three part dream. One part was about him & me, another was about a guy I was discipling in the faith, and the third part I'll summarize here. It was very simple, but in those days I was very unskilled in the prophetic and in dreams interpretation (I didn't even know anyone who flowed in prophetic gifting back then), so I didn't really "get it" and the Lord had to teach me His message in some other ways.

I was a worker in a field of dirt, who had a bucket I'd been assigned, and I was persisting in doing my insignificant job; although others were in the house partying. The workers who were at assigned stations in the field were few. I thought my task to be almost meaningless, because it was lacked honor, but, I continued to do it, out of a sense of duty. I grew restless hearing the fellowship in the house of those having a good time, tho, wanting to abandon my bucket for some socializing. They were really having a good time. I kept working.

Then I recalled that it had been long since the Lord had visited us; I missed Him sorely as I remembered the pleasure of His presence, and I ached for Him. I wanted Him. I decided finally, in my boredom and sense of missing out, to leave my bucket to go to the chapel in the center of the field. Surely I would find Him there, where religious services were going on!?! when I got there I had that sinking "uh oh" feeling; He wasn't there... When I turned to run to the fields, I was too late: the Lord was visiting and I was not there.

He was fellowshipping with the laborers who were faithful to their stations in the field, although they were not worthy of Him. (I asked Him why he did that since they were not worthy of Him; He answered me that He didn't care about their worthiness, He gave Himself to them because it pleased Him because of His great love.)

The message the Lord tried to convey to me was that He was in the work He had assigned, not in the house nor in the chapel. There are many buildings, programs, and personalities who set themselves up as His Church, but his church is his people under his command, at assigned stations, doing assigned things. When He returns, He expects to find them busy with what He directed.

When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?

It is not for us to judge whether our task is significant; We must not envy those engaged in civilian affairs; All that matters is the Lord and the field. Beware of busiment with religious buildings, programs, or personalities; what truly pleases God is allegiance - faith and obedience - out of a sacrificial heart: Will you suffer loss for the Lord? Will you miss out for Him? Will you stay true, even when in your own eyes the glory of your assignment is small? Will you run to the chapel?

At issue is our trust in the Lord, whether He will do what He said. He is faithful to heal the wounded, restore the defrauded, keep His promises, and make us into the very dwelling place of GOD forever. Despite prevailing winds of the day; it is written,

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make your paths straight.

We are all like sheep, in constant need of reminder of this one thing the saints of the tabernacle of David sang in the city of the high king:

The Lord is good, and His love endures forever.

So the message is this, James 5:7-8,

Therefore be patient, brothers, until the coming of the Lord.  The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains.  You too, be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.

Amen.

Every Member Ministry

In reading the thoughts of some like-minded men, and it occurred to me this week that the way I'm conceiving of churchlife as consisting of pastors & sheep, ministers & ministries, is alien to the apostolic conception of churchlife. Whatever the denomination it may appear in, it is Romism all over again, and the mindset of the Nicolaitans, which Christ hates.

The way that God has ordered the body is described in Ephesians 4, whereby the abilities and functionality and supply is distributed among the members. The sole reason that God gave us ministers and pastors is for the equipping of the holy ones for the work of ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ. The problem with pulling any verse here out of context is that these verses have so often been preached out of context that we no longer get their sense. If you're going to get the same revelation I got, you're going to have to read the chapter and read it again, and after meditating some, read and read again.

The members are Christ's, the sheep are Christ's, and the members are called to be equipped to minister to, not outside the four walls, but to each other, that they may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ--from whom the whole body, joined and knit together (1) by what every joint supplies (2) according to the effective working by which every part does its share. 1. Are we joined together? are we knit into a garment He can wear? 2. To become a supplier, Joe Christian must be given opportunity to speak. If all he ever does is listen in an audience configuration, how does that equip Joe to supply? It doesn't; it continually conditions him as a consumer.

It is time we accept the headship of Jesus Christ, present & personal. He is here today; He is here, I say. He is the same and He does not change. Any denomination who appoints a minister or pastor to assert headship in a way which cuts off the working of the ministry (as described in Ephesians 4) is putting idols in the temple. God's house is holy, and it must be purified from idols if we are to contain revival.

Does revival come and go? If visitation does not lead into habitation, look to the church government for it is out of order.

Rich and Lindy Oliver came to our church and explained to us the meaning of Laodicea -- Laos (Strong’s #2992, meaning “people”) and dike (Strong’s #1349, meaning “principle, decision”). Laodiceans trust in their ability to rule themselves, judging and deciding matters to the exclusion of Christ’s rule within His Church. The Laodicean condition of a church has everything to do with its rejection of God's way and God's form (as prescribed in scripture) for a man-made thing.

2008 grants for community service

Target local stores offer grants between $1,000 and $3,000 to charitable organizations in the community focused on arts, early childhood reading, and family violence prevention. (Many branches of the government also offer grants up for bid to non-profit organizations who seek to filfill defined objectives.) What is your church doing to form organizations to compete for these grants?

Some might contend that church shouldn't having any involvement with music or the arts, helping children, widows, or families in distress. The Bible, however, indicates that these are core to the mission of advancing godliness and the gospel in the community.