The Early Church: Restoring the biblical model - Attribute #3

Attribute 3:  *It is a place where people are being added daily to the Kingdom such as would be saved Acts 2:47

(Note: I am writing these attributes exactly as I wrote them when they came from the Holy Spirit, from the asterisks to the references. The reference came later & the full meaning.)

Does this mean someone is being saved everyday? No. That is why I put the note. It does mean that people are being saved. Wherever the Holy Spirit is operating, people will not be able to remain unchanged. They will have to leave or change. Sin will never be comfortable in the Presence of God.
It also means that the church is mission minded and the growth is sought from lost people coming into the Kingdom. When Luke wrote in Acts 2:47, "...added to the church...," he meant the Body, the Kingdom, etc., not church membership forth sake of numbers.
It simply means that the mission of the local Ecclesia is the same as Jesus' mission since we are His body, i.e., "...to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10 NKJV)."
This goes with #1 in that here they come into the Kingdom, then they are sent back out into the harvest to bring the Kingdom to others. This begins from the beginning, not after a specific call, on a one on one personal basis in whatever sphere of influence the individual functions in.

Go warriors,

Pastor Randy



The Early Church: Restoring the biblical model - Attribute #2

Attribute 2: 

*It is a place of prayer Mat. 21:13; Is 56:7

This seems so simple. However, it has to be said. Too many seem to think prayer at church is the religious, "will you lead us in prayer?." Most of those are not so much prayers as they are saying what sounds right anyway. That is not it.

We must return to a place where prayer is not merely a way to open and close service, where we don't "say" a prayer but "pray."

Prayer needs to become not only a precursor to other "physical" actions but an action itself. A true prayer meeting would be where we gather and simply pray. Yet it is a precursor because all other "work" must be bathed in prayer. It will actually come out of and because of prayer. Prayer is the key that will bring the power to all the other attributes, even to writing down this whole list.

We need to pray and then move, not have someone make a decision, vote on it according to our budget, then ask God to bless "our" faithless decision.

Jonathan Edwards said it this way:
“It is God’s will through His wonderful grace, that the prayers of His saints should be one of the great principal means of carrying on the designs of Christ’s kingdom in the world. When God has something very great to accomplish for His church, it is His will that there should precede it the extraordinary prayers of His people; as is manifest by Ezekiel 36:37. and it is revealed that, when God is about to accomplish great things for His church, He will begin by remarkably pouring out the spirit of grace and supplication (see Zechariah 12:10).” (Jonathan Edwards, Thoughts on the Revival in New England - 1740 http://www.revival-library.org/leadership/rq_prayer.php ).

Go Warriors,

Pastor Randy

Home Security

I found this on Flickr (http://m.flickr.com/#/photos/passiveaggressive/5488286374/ )

The Early Church: Restoring the biblical model - Attribute #1

These points are in no particular order other than the original order I wrote them down as I prayed regarding what the Vision of the church god placed in my heart looked like. Let's begin with:

Attribute #1:
*It is a sending place, not a gathering place. Mat. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Acts 13:2-4

We are to assembly together (Heb. 10:25) but the church was never meant to be a country club. We need to change our paradigm from country club to boot camp and or special ops training facility, depending upon where we are in our maturity and our calling and assignment. Regardless it is a training center to go into the world with the anointing of the Holy Spirit to carry the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Go warriors,

Pastor Randy

My Daddy

The Early Church: Restoring the biblical model

Introduction:

Church = Greek Ecclesia i.e. Assembly; from a root - called out; the body of Christ universal & the local "assembly."

This series focuses on the local Assembly of call out ones, of the body of Christ.

This came from time in prayer and writing down what the vision of the "church" God placed in my Spirit "looks like." When I was advised by a Great man of God and a great friend and Spiritual mentor to do this, I just started writing and then as I went back, I began to see that it was simply the early church.
It is important to do this ahead of time so both you and those following know where you are going. Where we are going, I found, is not new but God's original blueprint. The delivery, style, etc. may be new, but that is a point of stumbling for many that Satan has used to keep the Ecclesia from moving forward for far too long so religious Spirits are being cast down. We are not going to dwell there for now.

This verse of Scripture came to mind as I was writing these points down originally on my iPad tablet: (note the modern use of Tablets and Habakkuk's.

Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. (Habakkuk 2:2 NKJV)

This will be a daily series, Monday through Friday for a few weeks, starting today. It will be short posts with minimum commentary and references. Look for the first soon.

At End of Day: Sow & Reap

He who observes the wind will not sow, And he who regards the clouds will not reap. (Ecclesiastes 11:4 NKJV)

Simply Obey God even if it does not seam logical. Radical obedience will take us to new levels. Jesus never told people to wait until a better time based on earthly matters. He simply said come or go. I will say it again, simply obey.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Randy