The Church
God does not first seek our permission before He upsets our plans.
God has a plan
He will succeed
We have a chance to participate
Most likely what you are going through now is not punishment for you past but positioning for your future.
Because God knows that success is more than a one step process.
And success often belongs to those who can endure that process.
You see, life is a journey and the fact is:
The journey is your friend.
It is the journey which prepares us to operate at destiny capacity.
Destiny neither waits on nor depends on any man.
Because Truth is not determined by a show of hands.
God has a plan
He will succeed
And we have a chance to participate
What is God’s plan?
In the Old Testament God’s plan was to bring Messiah.
God did this through a series of events which started with Adam and Eve after their fall in the Garden of Eden.
That plan continued according to design through the generations for 1600 years until the flood of Genesis 7, 8, & 9, from which God saved Noah and his family.
Like pieces to a puzzle God orchestrated His plan for another 400 years until He made covenant with Abraham.
God kept His hand upon Abraham and his descendents, sharpening His plan for another fourteen generations until David.
From David until the birth of Jesus still took another fourteen generations. (Matthew 1:17)
Not one thing was left to chance from Adam to Messiah. It was too important. God had a plan and in order for it to succeed He had to involve allot of people, generation by generation. These things would not have happened by themselves.
Take for example:
Leah
Rahab
Ruth
Tamar
Bathsheba
The Old Testament is a documentary of God’s unfolding plan through generations.
God has a New Testament plan as well.
The New Testament, specifically Matthew through Jude, is a catalogue of God working to accomplish His plan in only one generation. The New Testament covers only one generation, about 40 or so years after the death and resurrection of Jesus.
This portion of the Bible reveals the plan of God for each generation.
What is the plan of God for our lives today?
In the Old Testament God’s plan was to bring Messiah. The coming of Messiah was the fulfillment of part one of God’s plan. Now Messiah would begin part two of God’s plan.
The New Testament plan of God is found in:
Matthew 16 NKJV
13 ¶ When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"
14 So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
16 Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
17 Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
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.
19 "And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
20 Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.
Jesus reveals His vision in verse:
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.
The Church is:
The Body of Christ
The Bride of Christ
The Family of God in the Earth
1 John 3:8b says that Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil.
What is God going to use to destroy the works of the devil?
“The Church in Power” in every generation!
But first Jesus has to build that church, and He has to build it in every generation. That’s why the New Testament pattern of building the church covers only one generation. It is meant to be reproduced in every generation thereafter.
After that Jesus had reached manhood, went out on His own to work His ministry, spent three and one half years teaching His disciples, had been crucified, was dead and buried, He came to life again and spent 40 days appearing to more than 500 people before He took His followers to the Mount of Olives and He ascended into heaven.
At His ascension Jesus gave His disciples a firm commandment, a great commission, instructions, if you will, on what to do to continue God’s plan to build a church in their generation that would be strong enough to defeat the devil. We read this Great Commission in:
Matthew 28 NKJV
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
The strategy for building the church was to make disciples. This is what Jesus told them: “I will build My church, now you go and make some disciples – students of My Word, My Will and My Way!”
The implication was that making disciples would build the church. The foundation of the church would be laid on the Apostles and Prophets, but who were these leaders? (Ephesians 2:20)
The Greek word translated Apostle literally means ‘One Who Is Sent’. (John 20:21)
Jesus spend 3 ½ years making disciples but once Jesus finished making His disciples, He sat down and they went forward. At Jesus ascension from the
It was so in the first generation and it has been so for every generation since and will be until the church is taken out of the way. (2 Thessalonians 2:7ff)
The church will continue to stand in the way of the devil until the church is taken out of the earth. A world without a church belongs to the devil just as a nation without a church or a city without a church or a generation without a church will fall prey to the devil.
Remember, Jesus’ vision was to build a church and He would do so by making disciples.
Is there any way to see if the vision was being accomplished? Sure there was … and there is today … God has not left Himself without a witness!
For example, when we look at the Authorized Version of the Bible, the KJV, we can track the progress of Jesus’ vision and easily see what happened in that first 40 years, the first generation of Believers if you will … let me explain:
New Testament Disciple(s) Church
Gospels 226 3
Acts 29 22
Epistles 0 71
Revelation 0 19
In the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the word translated Disciple(s) is mentioned 226 times and the word translated Church is only mentioned 3 times, two of those in one scripture verse. You see in the beginning the main focus was disciples and the church was just a dream, a vision, a hope of Christ. As time goes on and we get to the book of Acts we see the word disciple spoken only 29 times and the church being referred to 22 times.
Now, after we leave the book of Acts and get into the Epistles, from the book of Romans all the way through Jude, and even throughout the book of Revelation, the word disciple is never mentioned again. Rather the Church has become the only focus and is now the force Jesus intended to be reckoned with in the earth. This process of making disciples in order to build a Church On The Rock took only about 10 to 15 years of that generation. Perhaps the reason it took so long was that it was the first attempt!
I know Jesus wants us to be disciples and there is a season of life when we need to be taught the first principles of our faith and give ourselves in pursuit of learning Christ. However, the major portion of our life is meant to be spent as functioning members of the church, the Body of Christ, the Bride of Christ, the Family of God in the earth, joined together and committed to one another and to the principles of our faith so that we stand firmly in the way of satan’s attempts to take over our lives, families, communities, our schools, our economy, our government, our nation and the world.
So, what am I saying this morning?
God has a plan …
A New Testament Plan
For Each and Every Generation
To use mature followers of Jesus to Make Disciples
For Disciples to be the Church
And the Church Destroy the Attempts of the devil!
God has a plan
And He will succeed …
Even if it cost Him your life!
God has a plan
He will succeed
And you have a chance to participate!
How can you participate in God’s plan?
1. Be a disciple of Christ - A student of the Word, Will & Way
* Have a goal to graduate and get a job
> Don’t be a church bum or spiritual junkie
* Thank God for the milk
> First grade teachers aren’t stupid …
2. Commit to membership in a local church
* Be a part of a functional family of God
* Not a party barge or cruise ship, but a fishing vessel
3. Make Disciples of Christ for the generation to follow … raise up runners for the next lap!
* After we are a child we become a parent
* Teachers are first students, then teachers
* Milk should be in abundant supply in the church
> Suffer the little children to come to Jesus
> Strong meat belongs to the older saints
* Have some strong meat eating meetings
God has a plan … do you?
