I feel God is stirring me to challenge the UK church to set sights higher and to raise its standard. So here is a very blunt and challenging blog- but with a happy ending.
Many of UK’s Pentecostal / charismatic churches are Pentecostal in name only. Seeking a relevant ‘nice’ life application sermon and comfortable ‘seeker’ friendly churches and one where a great sermon is one that is ‘funny’ or a least sermon by an entertaining good public speaker.
But I want to ‘flat out’ challenge the church to raise its game. You see, I am convinced that normal church is what you see in the book of Acts & in the life of Jesus. There is no other model set in the Bible other then the book of Acts and the ministry of Jesus.
If you are not seeing the sick healed on an on-going regular basis; then it’s not good enough. If you are not seeing demons cast out and those bound by the devil being set free on an on- going basis; then it’s not good enough.
If the prophetic ‘now’ and ‘future’ word of God is not being accurately prophetically proclaimed and released into churches and over people’s lives, with an alignment and calling of destiny; then it’s not good enough.
If the power of God is not breaking into your church service every week with life’s changed; then it’s not good enough.
If the unsaved are not regularly get saved, then it is not good enough.
If there is not repentance and Holy Spirit conviction of sin, then it is still not good enough.
There needs to be a raising of the standard of church, least the cross of Christ be emptied of its power (1 Corinthians 1:17). The above is the biblical standard of normal church life.
However, there is another standard that has been set for the church- a seeker friendly church, a ‘nice’ church, a comfortable church. A church that embraces political correctness, a church that is afraid to challenge sin, that wants to be relational to the world. A church that has normalised and rationalised a lack of the supernatural and manifest presence and power of God. A church that even embraces certain cultural sexual sins as being normal.
It has lowered a standard with a water-down gospel- which ends up being no gospel at all (Galatians 1:7-8).
Churches are not called to stay in their comfort zones because Christianity and church without the supernatural deprives the cross of power. It is a form of Christianity that deprives fully
what Jesus done on the cross.
Situations and crisis in the world needs the church to grow up and mature, to be all that Jesus gained for it to be in the cross. The church is the most important and significant entity in society. Only society does not know it and a lot of the church does not release its significance and power.
If it did- it would not lower its standard to make its self-acceptable to the world or accept a lack of the supernatural and thus relegate itself to nice fellowship with a nice comfortable sermon and maybe on a good day; a handful of feel-good prophetic words. The church has significance and the power of the Kingdom of God resting on it, if only the church knew.
Let me challenge you to please not go through the motions of church because that is what is done year in and year out. Where people have fallen into a pattern of the same old, same old.
Why? Because church is made for more than this! Your Christian walk was made for more than going through the motions of a ‘nice church service’!
There is more. A maturing and growing up of the church to raise its standard of ‘normal church.’
When was the last time the power of God swept through your church with multiple healings, miracles, deliverances, repentance and salvations??
Not the one-off, but on a regular on-going basis every week???
Because if not then sights have been set too low. Expectation of been set to low. Hunger for God has been set too low and without knowing it you have embraced apathy and low expectations and even worse a lack of faith and then normalised it into thinking that ‘this is what church looks like.’
Let us set a standard for the next generation to follow. For those that come after us to build on our gains and go from one degree of glory to another degree of glory (2 Corinthians 3:18) - for the later rain to be greater than the former rain (Haggai 2:9). For the church to be a victorious and radiant Bride of Christ.
Because Jesus is coming to marry a bide of His church that is without winkle or blemish (Ephesians 5:27). A mature church. A high standard church that stands in all that it can be before God and taking Jesus hand in marriage.
So, today let us stop settling for nothing less than a radiant Bride. Let us not make any more excuses for a lack of power. Let us be all that Christ brought and paid for us to be. Let us raise our standard to new hights.
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