Are We Building A Prophetic Church? (Part 3)

This is the third installment in a discussion exploring whether we are building a prophetic church.  Previously, I wrote about coming to Christ in 1969 due, in part, to people walking in the prophetic.  I discovered that Jesus was speaking to me and countless others like me.  I learned that simple, obedient Christians who took the scripture at face value could learn how to hear God’s voice and give away the messages they heard.  Simple, obedient Christians helped others realize that Jesus is still alive and transforming people today.  If you have not already, please read the first two installments of this series to better understand the overall message about being a prophetic church.

In the second article I dove into what the prophetic is meant to be and how the prophets were chosen or created in the Old Testament. In this article, I want to lay the groundwork for what I believe is the calling of the church as Jesus intended. In other words, a church where the voice of God speaks clearly and strongly to equip believers to live in a world that lives so contrary to the kingdom of God.  All too often the church merely represents an organization like any other except it is religious. Instead of a body of people reflecting the values and callings of God, the church can become a man made organization rather than a spiritual one. Instead of being a living body that reflects the life of Christ, it reflects the style and tradition of certain people who hold the power. Now mind you, there are a lot of churches that are doing good works like caring for the poor or standing for good civil government but the primary task of the church is to reflect Jesus and his nature.  The organized church has drifted from its original roots of the Lordship of Christ and seeking first the kingdom of God. We are called to reflect Jesus as the church first and foremost, even though we are all imperfect individually.

Ephesians 1:22-23                                                                                                                                                                        

And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Jesus said his church would be more of an “Organism” than an organization and it would have power of which the gates of hell, namely Satan and his demons, could not overthrow. Unfortunately, the church of today all too often falls short of Christ’s intentions. I don’t say this with delight but rather with sorrow because I long for a church which is victorious and sets people free from the kingdom of darkness rather than just makes them feel safe in their sin by thinking they are forgiven.

Matthew 16:18                                                                                                                                                                                  

Now I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.

1 Peter 2:9.                                                                                                                                                                                          

But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

I long for a time when the church is more like the church that I first got saved in during the Jesus Movement in California. Back in the 60s and 70s, churches that were alive with revival were places where the presence and power of God was dwelling in a tangible way. It was a place where when you walked into the door of the church, regardless of whether it was a converted barn or a circus tent or a stained glass cathedral, you felt the presence of Jesus. Remember that in the book of acts the religious leaders recognized the early disciples as having been with Jesus not by what they wore or the doctrines the preached but the very person of Jesus.

Acts 4:13                                                                                                                                                                                             

The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men who had had no special training. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.

On the day of Pentecost, when the church was birthed, it was not birthed with flags waving or trumpets playing but with a demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. The crowd made fun of them and said they were drunk with wine. Why? Because when God shows up it’s hard to understand what is happening but we know it’s not business as usual.  On that day, Peter revealed what God was up to. He was pouring out His Spirit like the prophet Joel prophesied hundreds of years earlier.

Acts 2:15-18                                                                                                                                                                                               

For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel:  In the last days, God said, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.  Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. In those days I will pour out my Spirit upon all my servants, men and women alike, and they will prophesy.

So, Peter declares that the church starts with the outpouring of God’s Spirit. He states that one of the main earmarks of this new group called the church would be what the prophet Joel prophesied about, namely that the Holy Spirit would not impart to just a  few special people but to the common people, young and old. Their empowering would be that prophecy is a key element of the church and they would not just be religious in behavior but spiritual because of who and what Jesus did while on the earth. So, as believers in Jesus, we would be ambassadors for Him.

2 Corinthians 5:20                                                                                                                                                      

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 

Sadly, the church today is more about listening to sermons and meeting in nice buildings rather than having every believer called to prophetically represent Jesus to the world. Again, I am not discounting all the good done by churches around the world but  many have lost the design of God to represent Jesus to the world, despite our imperfections.  The average Christian has never understood they are called to be ambassadors and thus only a few people actually share their faith in Jesus to non believers.

In the next article, I will build a strong case for becoming a part of and helping to build a prophetic church. It is our calling and it is God’s heart for what scripture calls the bride of Christ.

Questions:

1) Do you realize God has offered you the privilege and honor to represent him? Read the new testaments, especially Corinthians 1 & 2, and see this marvelous calling for every child of God.

2) Do you struggle believing that God could use you with spiritual gifts like prophecy? Search the scripture, especially Paul’s writings on the believers’ calling and embrace God’s word more than teachers who tell you otherwise.

Loving God and wanting to make him known,

Pastor Dale