The Church in Peril

THE CHURCH IN PERIL

Lamentations 5:9

We gat our bread with the peril of our lives because of the sword of the wilderness.

2 Timothy 3:1

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

2 Corinthians 11:22-27

22 Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.

23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.

24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.

25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;

26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;

27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.

Definition of the Word “Peril”

Most standard dictionaries will give you these definitions of the word “Peril” as 1) A chance of harm, 2) Imminent danger, 3) Dangerous, 4) Deadly, and 5) To be in jeopardy. 

The definition of “Peril” certainly fits the world that we live in today.  Today there is much peril all around us.  The Bible makes it clear that the Church has always been in peril.

Examination of Our Texts

Jeremiah wrote the Book of Lamentations.  Lamentations is a poem of the hardships of the people of Israel.  In this poem Jeremiah reminds us that the nation of Israel had to search for food, “with the peril of our lives” while they traveled through the wilderness to the Promised Land.  The time of the Sojourn was a “Perilous Time”, it was a very dangerous time, where the lives of the people were constantly being threatened.

The Apostle Paul reminds us in his letter to Timothy that the Last Days would be “Perilous Times”.  The Last Days certainly have proven to be a dangerous time, and as time goes by it will only get more dangerous.

The Church is “A Damsel in Distress”

Literature, both past and present, is filled with many examples of the “Damsel in Distress”.  The Church is the “Damsel” of Christ.  We are His Bride. 

If we could see the “Peril” that the Church is in by comparing it to the literary references of modern times, we would see the Church tied up on a railroad track with a train barreling down the track.

Like Penelope of literature, we are in peril!  Our life is in jeopardy!  We are facing imminent danger! 

The train is racing toward us down the track!  We are being pushed towards the edge of the cliff!  The stalker is sneaking up behind us with a knife!  The finger is pulling the trigger!  The snake is slithering toward us!  The dog is about to bite!  We are being chased and a root is up ahead for us to trip on!  The sun is setting and it is getting dark!  The music is reaching a crescendo!  We are in peril!

What will we do?  We need to recognize the foremost perils that we face. We are in constant peril!  We are in danger!  At no time are we safe!  At all times we are in peril!

Our Foremost Perils

The Peril of Apostasy- We are facing the great danger of the false gospel.  False teachers, preachers, prophets, doctrines, bibles, churches, and even Christs abound.  There is much confusion over what to believe and where to go to church.  This is our single greatest threat.  There have been many that were once true that have been caught up in apostasy.  Apostasy is peeking into the windows of our churches!  Apostasy is stalking us!

Matthew 7:15

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

The train is racing toward us down the track!  We are being pushed towards the edge of the cliff!  The stalker is sneaking up behind us with a knife!  The finger is pulling the trigger!  The snake is slithering toward us!  The dog is about to bite!  We are being chased and a root is up ahead for us to trip on!  The sun is setting and it is getting dark!  The music is reaching a crescendo!  We are in peril!

The Peril of Lukewarmness- This is another great peril.  People are losing their burning heart for God.  They are growing lukewarm and some are even cold.  You and I are facing this peril.  Lukewarmness is sneaking up on us!  Lukewarmness is creeping up on us!  Lukewarmness is lurking around the corner!

 

Matthew 24:12

And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

Revelation 3:16

So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

The train is racing toward us down the track!  We are being pushed towards the edge of the cliff!  The stalker is sneaking up behind us with a knife!  The finger is pulling the trigger!  The snake is slithering toward us!  The dog is about to bite!  We are being chased and a root is up ahead for us to trip on!  The sun is setting and it is getting dark!  The music is reaching a crescendo!  We are in peril!

The Peril of Selfishness- Selfishness is becoming caught up in what you want so much that you forget that there are others that have needs and feelings.  This is the ultimate expression of worldliness.  Selfishness is taking over when we do not care for the feelings of others, when we are not touched by compassion for those in need, when we lose our burden for the lost, and when we are not willing to give to help out others in need.  Selfishness is lurking in the dark and watching us!

 

Matthew 16:24

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

The train is racing toward us down the track!  We are being pushed towards the edge of the cliff!  The stalker is sneaking up behind us with a knife!  The finger is pulling the trigger!  The snake is slithering toward us!  The dog is about to bite!  We are being chased and a root is up ahead for us to trip on!  The sun is setting and it is getting dark!  The music is reaching a crescendo!  We are in peril!

The Peril of Worldliness- Worldliness expresses itself in materialism, the love of money, fashion, music, sports, entertainment, and even our careers.  We must be careful because worldliness is stalking us.  When we become more concerned for the world than the Kingdom of God then we are worldly.  Worldliness is stalking us!

 

1 John 2:15

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

The train is racing toward us down the track!  We are being pushed towards the edge of the cliff!  The stalker is sneaking up behind us with a knife!  The finger is pulling the trigger!  The snake is slithering toward us!  The dog is about to bite!  We are being chased and a root is up ahead for us to trip on!  The sun is setting and it is getting dark!  The music is reaching a crescendo!  We are in peril!

The Peril of Character- When I say character, I am referring to a crisis of character that we are facing today.  People today do not feel the need to be honest, to tell the truth, to treat others fairly, to be faithful to their marriages and families, and to be polite and respectful.  This crisis of character is stalking the Church as well!  We must be on guard!

 

Colossians 3:12-15

12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.

15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

The train is racing toward us down the track!  We are being pushed towards the edge of the cliff!  The stalker is sneaking up behind us with a knife!  The finger is pulling the trigger!  The snake is slithering toward us!  The dog is about to bite!  We are being chased and a root is up ahead for us to trip on!  The sun is setting and it is getting dark!  The music is reaching a crescendo!  We are in peril!

Our Hero Will Rescue Us from Peril

In all of the stories of peril there is always a hero that comes to the rescue the damsel right at the last minute.  We also have a hero!  Our hero will come to our rescue right on time!

 

Romans 8:35

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Jesus is our Hero!  He rescues us from the train!  He catches us when we fall from the cliff!  He apprehends the stalker with the knife!  He takes the bullet for us!  He puts his heel on the head of the snake!  He chases the dog away!  He is our hero!

Jesus is our Knight in Shinning Armor!  Jesus is our Super Hero!  We don’t need a Superman or a Batman!  We have Jesus!  He is our Super Hero!

In all of these Cliffhangers there is always a hero that comes swooping in at the last second and rescues the Damsel!

Penelope Pittstop will always be rescued by her hero.

Nell had her Dudley Do Right!

Lois Lane had her Superman!

Jane had her Tarzan.

Olive Oil was always rescued by Popeye.

Princess Aurora will be rescued by Prince Phillip.

Mary Jane is always rescued by Spider Man.

Walker Texas Ranger always rescued Alex at the last minute!

Our enemy may have that sinister laugh, but we will always get the last laugh!

We are in peril!  But we also have a Hero!  The Bible is the story of the triumph of Good over Evil!  Good conquers evil in the end!  Our hero will show up in time to rescue us!  “Someday our Prince will come!”  He will swoop down on a cloud to gather His Church.  In the Second Coming He will ride a White Horse!  He is our Knight in Shinning Armor!

The Dangers of an Independent Spirit

Ephesians 4:11-16
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
Colossians 2:8-9
8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

One thing that becomes clear as you read the New Testament is that Jesus still has a Body on planet earth. Though Jesus ascended into Heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father, He is not without a Body on this planet. That Body is referred to by many names: The Church, Saints, Bride, Branches, Christians, and Disciples, to name a few.

To be “Saved” means one repents of their sin and is “Born Again”, this makes them a part of the Body of Christ on earth. To seek out others of “like precious faith” is as natural to the Christian as it is for a bird to fly or a fish to swim. Everyone that is Born Again is going to seek out others like them to fellowship with. This is inevitable and universal.

Acts 9:19 (KJV)
And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus.

Hebrews 10:25 (KJV)
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

We are a Body, we need one another. Just as surely as my hand cannot function separated from the rest of my body, an individual Christian will not be able to function long without an attachment to the Body. Anyone separated too long from the Body risks decay and eventual death. The analogy of the Body leaves no other option. What is true of the natural is true of the spiritual.

I have read of people losing a limb in an accident and that limb being sewed back on to function once again as a normal part of the body. This was made possible only because the limb was not allowed to stay severed from the body for a long period of time. The longer the limb is separated from the body the less likely the doctors will be able to produce a favorable outcome. It is imperative that we remain attached to the Body and if for any reason we are severed from the Body that we rejoin as quickly as possible.

There are times where Christians have become separated from the Body in worship, and there are reasons why this may occur, such as imprisonment, sickness, or distance, but the true Christian will long for fellowship and will seek to overcome the obstacles in their way. To be unable to worship together does not necessarily exclude one from the Body of Christ, but an unwillingness or a lack of desire to gather with God’s people does. I have met some fine Christians that were sick and unable to leave their home to attend worship with God’s people. They may have been unable to gather with those that they loved but they were still a part of the Body of Christ.

We must face this fact: we need one another. I need you and you need me. We were placed within this Body and a dependency was cultivated between each of us. There are things that you supply that I do not supply and vice versa. I will remain incomplete without you as will you without me. There is a co-dependency created between each member of the Body that demands unity and service.

Ephesians 4:16 (KJV)
From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

I will never be perfected without you nor you without me. There are many scriptures that teach “Christian Perfection” and though I do believe a measure of perfection can be achieved individually, it is without a doubt possible on a corporate basis. Maturity and perfection await the unity of the Church.

Ephesians 4:12-13 (KJV)
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

God wants to be known on planet earth and He achieves that through His Church. God can be realized in His fullness through His Body, which is the Church. We know that Jesus is “God in the flesh” and that He is the “Fullness of the Godhead bodily”. Jesus has already come to this earth and He lived among mankind in a human body. When He left earth, Jesus left a spiritual Body here and you and I are that Body.

The great danger for us as Christians is to develop an “Independent Spirit” and think that we can make it on our own. This is not our natural state, for as a babe in Christ we know that we need to be connected to the Body, but this can develop in people after they have been in and around the Church for a while. Usually people develop an “independent spirit” because of some type of perceived hurt or from disillusionment with church government and leadership. No matter how one begins to fall into a rejection of being an active part of the Body of Christ, this rejection itself must be rejected or we will find ourselves in rebellion to God’s authority.

Let me define this independent spirit a little bit more for you. It is a rejection of the established authority of God, an unwillingness to work within the corporate Body of Christ, and an isolationist attitude of service, supposedly, to God. There is great danger if one falls into this trap of the enemy. The end result will be worse than their prior life in sin.

I speak from experience here, and thank God that I never gave into this independent spirit, though I have ran across many that have. Back in 1991 I left a major Pentecostal Denomination, one in which I had been raised from a child, and one that I had began my ministry within. This was not an easy decision and one in which I struggled greatly. I will not get into the details of that decision but will say that it was a life changing experience for me, and I believe one that has only led me into greater depths in God.

I knew upon leaving that organization that I could not dangle out there all by myself, that I needed spiritual oversight, fellowship, and cohesion into a Body of believers. Thank God, I found just what I was looking for. This is where so many believers and preachers miss the mark: they leave a group that they had been in fellowship with and instead of joining up with others, they attempt to make it on their own. They create their own little kingdom and they boldly make the statement to everyone, “I am independent! I don’t need them. I can make it own my own!” At first things may go pretty well, as a matter of fact it may look well throughout, but without proper fellowship and inclusion in a sound Body of believers it is not long before a bad attitude, heresy, and a general anger at anything organized develops. The independent spirit is now growing within them. Left unchecked it will lead to a deep bitterness and resentment of everyone else and a general sense of their own supreme rightness in contrast to everyone else’s wrongness. Folks, there are literally thousands of “Independent” churches and preachers out there with just such an attitude.

Now, please do not get me wrong, for there are many denominations that are wholly corrupt, and I will be the first to tell those within them that they need to get out. For the scripture says this:

2 Corinthians 6:14-18 (KJV)
14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Revelation 18:4 (KJV)
And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

These two scriptures make it clear that remaining within a religion, denomination, or organization that has rejected the truth, rejected holiness, and embraced worldliness, makes those that are members a part of the sin of the leadership. The only recourse is to “Come Out”, but did God call us out so we could walk alone? No! We must seek out others that desire to walk in truth and join together with them. To attempt to stand alone brings us into violation of God’s Word and courts certain disaster.

There are three great dangers associated with an Independent Spirit. I want to address each of these three.

The first danger is heresy, which may also be referred to as apostasy. To put into terms that is more readily recognizable: doctrinal error. When you isolate yourself from other spiritual people then you increase the risk of falling into a wrong way of believing. There is an increased likelihood that the independent man or woman will do this. Why? Because there is no one over them, or near them, to warn them when they fall into doctrinal error. Our fellowship with others helps build a doctrinal hedge that keeps the snake out. I have said for years that heresy begins with isolationism: first, isolation from other Christians, and second, the isolation of certain passages of the Word of God. Those two combined will eventually produce the weirdest beliefs that can be imagined. I thank God for my fellow ministers that I work with, because it is my fellowship with them that helps keep me from falling into the grossest of doctrinal heresy.

The second danger of the independent spirit is immorality. Now, I will be the first to admit that immorality can appear in an organization just as readily as independence, but within an organized structure there should be measures in place to deal with it. When immorality crops up in an independent work there is no structural leadership to condemn it or to offer assistance in reconciling the fallen brother or sister. Many times when immorality occurs in an independent work those that do so make excuse for the infraction and they may even use a heretical corruption of scripture to do so. Immorality, be it adultery or any other form, must be dealt with in a Biblical way so that everyone understands that God will not tolerate such behavior. The independent can be immoral and there is no one to call them into account for it.

The third danger of an independent spirit is worldliness. Now the subject of worldliness is somewhat hard to define because there are so many that have a different idea of what it is, so let us boil it down to its original meaning. The word world in the Greek is taken from the Greek word “Cosmos”. You may recognize the word for we get such words as “Cosmopolitan”, “Cosmetic”, and “Cosmology” from this Greek word. So we understand the word “World”, the “Cosmos”, is not talking about a globe spinning around in space, but rather it is talking about a system that is in opposition to God. To be worldly is not just the way a person dresses, though “adorning” is part of the meaning of the word, but it is a way of thinking. Some people may be what is considered holy in their dress but if they are more concerned about the football game than they are winning souls for Christ they are worldly. When a person embraces independence from the Body of Christ they can walk in worldliness and there is no one to rebuke them for doing so. They can begin to adopt worldly ideas, such as the current self-esteem teachings we find so prevalent today in the prosperity movement, and there is no leadership to call them back to the “Old Paths”. There is a great danger in developing an independent spirit, and one of those dangers is in becoming worldly without any word of warning.

In closing I want to share this last thing with you. The great need of anyone that is independent is these three things: Fellowship, Leadership and Correction. All three of these are clearly outlined in the Bible in both the Old and New Testaments. Israel could not survive without it and the New Testament Church could not survive without it. Anyone that feels the need to leave an organized structure that they are now a part of because that structure has compromised and ceased to function under the guidelines of the New Testament, must do so, but they must seek out these three things elsewhere. You must not attempt to row this boat by yourself and the good news is you do not have to. There are others out there that have already made that transition, though painful, and have found others of “like-precious faith” that are striving for the purity of the New Testament Church. It is with those people that we must align ourselves. In the end, no one is independent.

Church Split: God's Plan to Spread the Gospel

CHURCH SPLIT

GOD’S PLAN TO SPREAD THE GOSPEL

Acts 1:8

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Acts 2:41

Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

Acts 4:4

Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.

Acts 5:14

And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.)

Acts 6:1

1 And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied…

Acts 8:1-4

1 And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.

2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.

3 As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.

4 Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.

The Church Split

I am advocating a “Church Split”!  Now please do not turn me off yet, just hear me out.  There is a healthy way to split the Church, and an unhealthy way. 

Child Birth is a new life splitting away from another life to form a unique and separate life.  Is this not how the Church grows?

The Church has grown fatter and fatter over the years, and she wants to hold onto all that it has, rather than splitting it off to form new life.  We as a Church cannot grow unless we split!

The Greatest Time On Earth

Look at the book of Acts.  This was truly one of the greatest times on earth for the Church.  The Church was growing by leaps and bounds.  The word “Great” appears 39 times in the book of Acts.  The word “Great” is an adjective, it describes.  At no time on earth was it any “Greater” than that time.  The word “Great” is defined as: Important, Powerful, very good, mighty, grand, impressive, massive, the best, big, fantastic, wonderful, and more than what is usual.  When you add the word “Great” to a noun, verb, or another adjective it expands what you are talking about.  Look at these verses from the Book of Acts (and yes, I do preach a whole message just on the word “great” found in these verses):

Acts 2:20

Great and notable day of the Lord

Acts 4:33

With great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus

Acts 4:33

And great grace was upon them all.

Acts 5:5

and great fear came on all them that heard these things.

Acts 5:11

And great fear came upon all the church

Acts 6:7

And a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith

Acts 6:8

And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people

Acts 7:11

And great affliction.

Acts 8:1

And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem

Acts 8:2

Devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.

Acts 8:8

And there was great joy in that city.

Acts 8:9

Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:

Acts 8:10

Saying, This man is the great power of God.

Acts 8:27

A man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians

Acts 9:16

For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake. 

Acts 10:11

And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: 

Acts 11:5

As it had been a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners;

Acts 11:21

And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.

Acts 11:28

And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world.

Acts 14:1

A great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed.

Acts 15:3

Declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.

Acts 16:26 

And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.

Acts 17:4

And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.

Acts 19:27

That the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.

Acts 19:28

And cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.

Acts 19:34

About the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.

Acts 19:35

The city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?

Acts 21:40

And when he had given him license, Paul stood on the stairs, and beckoned with the hand unto the people. And when there was made a great silence, he spake unto them in the Hebrew tongue, saying,

Acts 22:6

And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me.

Acts 22:28

And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born.

Acts 23:9

And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the Pharisees' part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God.

Acts 23:10

And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle.

Acts 23:14

And they came to the chief priests and elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul.

Acts 24:2

And when he was called forth, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying, Seeing that by thee we enjoy great quietness, and that very worthy deeds are done unto this nation by thy providence,

Acts 24:7

But the chief captain Lysias came upon us, and with great violence took him away out of our hands,

Acts 25:23

And on the morrow, when Agrippa was come, and Bernice, with great pomp, and was entered into the place of hearing, with the chief captains, and principal men of the city, at Festus' commandment Paul was brought forth.

Acts 26:22

Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come:

Acts 28:6

Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.

Acts 28:30

And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves.

No one can deny that this was the “Greatest” time on earth and the good news is that we can still have the Book of Acts today!

Jesus commanded the Church to in Acts 1:8 to take the Gospel to “Jerusalem, Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth”.  This was to be a stage-by-stage process: Jerusalem first, which was home, and then to their country, Judea.  From there they were to take the Gospel to the neighboring people of Samaria, and then to the rest of the World.  City – Nation – Neighboring Countries – World.

Truly it all started in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost.  Peter preached his great sermon explaining the outpouring of the Holy Ghost and 3,000 were saved.  What a great start to the Church!

Weeks and months later another 5,000 men were added to the Church at Jerusalem.  The Bible tells us that, “believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women”.   This was a great time! 

By the two figures of 5,000 and 3,000 alone that we are given in the first four chapters of the Book of Acts we can tell that the Church in Jerusalem numbered at the very least 8,000 people.  There was a problem though.  No one wanted to leave Jerusalem.  The Church was very quickly becoming an institution that was peculiar to Jerusalem only.  Instead of moving out from Jerusalem, the Church was huddling in one spot.

This is what God had to do to get them move:

Acts 8:1

And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.

God had to force a “Church Split” so to speak.  He had to split off the believers from the Church at Jerusalem and propel them outward into Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the world.  God’s purposes were achieved by allowing the enemy to bring persecution against His people.

Sometimes even today, Churches go through Church splits.  All of the sudden a Church running 300 drops down to 200 and a portion of the congregation goes off with another preacher.  Now, I am not condoning these circumstances in any way, but I do believe if we were more willing to help our young preachers go out and start churches we would see less of this occurring.  Because we refuse to split spiritually sometimes it happens carnally.

God Wants Us to Spread His Life Everywhere

God commanded all the animals he created in the beginning to “Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth”  God then told Adam & Eve in Genesis 1:28 “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth…”

Before the Fall it was God’s intention for Adam & Eve to spread his life to every corner of planet earth.  The command of God may have been put on hold for 4,000 years but Jesus commanded the Church to pick up where Adam & Eve left off and to carry this Life to all of the world.

Mark 16:15

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

The Myth of the Mega Church

Does God build Mega-Churches?  Is the Mega-Church a creation of God or man? 

If the modern religious man were to rewrite the Bible today they would have Jesus saying, “Upon this Rock I will build my Mega-Church”.

What is a Mega-Church?  These are churches that keep growing and growing into the thousands.  Some of these Churches are cities unto themselves.  The Peoples Church in Seoul, Korea pastored by Yongi Cho, has a membership of 400,000+ people (it may be more now), and is the largest in the world.

In America there are Churches that are swelling into the thousands and thousands.  People are drawn like magnets to their concert-like facilities where everyone is a visitor every Sunday.  There is little accountability in Churches this size.

Was the Church at Jerusalem a Mega-Church?  After all they had at least 8,000 members.   The answer is “No”.  Nowhere in all of the archaeological records has anyone found an 8,000 seat Church built 2000 years ago.

Where did all of these people meet?  They met in houses.  The Church was broken up into house-sized units and spread all over the city.  Yes, they did have a central pastor, but each individual church had a local bishop that presided over that congregation.  The local bishop answered to the head pastor (Apostle) in Doctrine and Conduct.

The average size of each of these churches could have not been any larger than what could have been squeezed into a home, maybe 25 to 50 people.  What would then do after there was no room for any more?  They would split!

Today we are preoccupied with numbers!  “How many do you have in your Church?”  “How many members do you have?”  “What is your Sunday School enrollment?”  Numbers!  Numbers!  Numbers!  We are not living in the Book of Numbers; we are living in the Book of Acts!

We are never going to grow by holding we will only grow by giving.  The seed clenched in the fist will produce no harvest!  Only the seed that is scattered will produce. 

After Our Own Kind

God told every flower, every tree, every dog, every cat, every whale, every mockingbird, and every grasshopper to produce “after his own kind”.  What was true of the natural is also true of the spiritual.  We must produce after our own kind.  The Church is to reproduce itself.  Jesus even said this of himself.

John 12:24

Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

Death & Resurrection is the prescribed manner of growth.  Jesus had to fall into the ground and die.  It was death that planted him and resurrection, new-birth, that brought him forth with uncounted fruit.  Jesus produced what he is!  He produced a replica of himself in the Body of Christ!  The Church replicates itself through death, burial, and resurrection.

The Church I pastor, Pentecostal Lighthouse, has went through a death experience.  For three years we lay in the ground in a death experience, but we have sprang forth again!  The seeds will be scattered and growth will emerge after death.

The Church did not grow until Jesus died!  It took death to activate, to germinate, the seed.  The splitting off of the additional fruit from Christ has accomplished growth.

We in the Church are in dire need of “real” spiritual growth.  Thousands flock to large mega-churches and the world, the media, and our neighbors call that growth.  But, is it really growth?  Or is it just a crowd?  What do we want for our churches?  Large crowds or a deep spiritual growth in Christ.

The real plan of God for these churches is that once they reach an unmanageable size, they should have a young minister trained to send forth with a group from that Church to plant another.  If we will keep on splitting off and planting churches we would see astronomical growth in the Church again.  The reason we do not see this happening today is that man’s ego gets in the way.  Most Pastors are unwilling to give up one member.  Some Churches that I have visited have dozens of young preachers sitting in the congregation and occasionally the Pastor will throw them a bone and let them preach a service, but these preachers need to be thrust out into the fields to work.  There are thousands of communities that do not have a good Church.  We have the answer right in our midst!  We must be willing to “deny the flesh” and do what is needed to spread this Gospel. 

SUCCESS, FAILURE, & THE WILL OF GOD

SUCCESS, FAILURE, & THE WILL OF GOD

Joshua 1:1-9

1 Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying,

2 Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.

3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.

4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.

5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

6 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.

7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.

8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

Defining Success in Light of Our Text

God promised some pretty amazing things to Joshua in this chapter of the Bible.  Let us take a look at them:

1.       In verse 2 God said to Joshua, go over into the Promised Land for “I do give” all of this land unto you and the people.

2.       In verse 3 God promised Joshua that he would give him “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon”.

3.                 In verse 5 God told Joshua that “There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life”.

4.                 Again in verse 5 God said, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”

5.                 In verse 6 God commanded Joshua to “Be Strong and of good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land”.

There were some pretty amazing promises given to Joshua here.  God had a plan for his people to overcome their enemies and he laid it all out in clear terms so Joshua would miss nothing.  God even used the terms “Prosper”, “Prosperous”, and “Success”.  Now, there is nothing wrong with those words, if they are used correctly, but if they are used to gratify the flesh then they become a problem.  We might as well admit folks, we have heard these words parroted over and over again today!  The problem is this: there is a great difference in how God defines success and how man defines it.

I recently heard a preacher preach on these very verses.  He spoke long and passionately about what he thought that these verses meant to us.  He emphasized “Our comfort”, “Our wants”, and “Our desires”.  Eventually he brought his message around to preaching about the house we live in, the clothes we wear, and the car we drive.  He spent the rest of his message trying to prove that success and prosperity will assure you all of the comfort, pleasure, and happiness that you desire in this life.

Is this what God meant when he spoke to Joshua?  Was God talking about pleasure and material prosperity?  Does this mean when Joshua had a really tough day fighting the enemy that he was a failure?  Does that mean if Joshua ever lost a battle that we was not a success?

Success & Prosperity is Obedience

In order to fully understand the promises made to Joshua you need to take a look at the commands that were given to him.  Take a look at verses 7, 8, and 9.

1.       In verse 7 God commands Joshua to “observe to do according to all the law”.

2.       In verse 7 God also told Joshua to obey and to “turn not from it to the right hand or to the left”.

3.       In verse 8 God commanded Joshua, “This Book of the Law shall not depart out of thy mouth”.

4.       Again in verse 8 God told Joshua to “Observe to do according to all” that He had commanded.

6.                 In verse 9 God asked the question of Joshua, “Have not I commanded thee?”

The sad thing about that preacher I mentioned earlier on this is that he never said anything about these commands.  He spoke eloquently about the blessings, the promises, the prosperity, and the success, but was embarrassingly silent about the commands, the responsibility, the consecration, the commitment, the dedication, the self-denial, and the cross!

Let’s face it folks!  We are soldiers!  We are in a war!  Joshua was in a war!  We are in a war!  Wars are not pretty!  Wars are not pleasant!  Wars are not fought in an easy chair!  Wars are dirty, grimy, sweaty, and bloody affairs!  Men and women die in wars!

Success and Prosperity are not about our creature comforts and pleasure.  Success and Prosperity are about obedience!  Success and Prosperity are about winning the war!  If we fight in this war we are going to get dirty, we are going to lose some blood, and we are going to break out in a sweat.  Wars are gory affairs and no one can stay clean doing the business of fighting.  Our success depends on God but it also depends on our willingness to obey that God. 

When God told Joshua he would be “of good success” and that he would “prosper”, God was telling Joshua that he would win the war!  Now, this is not an automatic guarantee.  No!  You are going to have to fight.  You must obey and follow the commands of your General.  Wars are not won by disobedient soldiers they are won by soldiers that have learned how to follow orders.

Joshua won because he followed God’s orders.  That, my Friend, is success!  Joshua knew in his heart that he would be failure if he went against God’s orders!  Success & Prosperity is in the hands of the obedient!  We know that we will be prosperous if we obey his voice!

The “I am blessed” crowd of today knows little to nothing about obedience.  Obedience is the key to victory!  God has not given a blank check of prosperity to a lazy, inept, careless, worldly, prayerless, and sinful people.  No!  Prosperity only comes to those that obey!

Success & Prosperity is the Will of God

Christian, I want you to hear what I am about to say: No man was ever a failure that was in the will of God.  Success is living in the Will of God.  Prosperity is living in the Will of God.

B. H. Clendennen said he heard a preacher say one time that, “The highest form of existence is living in the will of God.”

The modern computation of Church & Ministerial Success & Prosperity is tallied up in dollars and warm bodies occupying a spot on a pew.   Brother and Sister that is not the way to determine success!

Are you in the will of God?  It does not matter how successful it looks to the human eye.  It does not matter how unsuccessful it looks to the human eye.  If it is the Will of God, then it is successful!

The most successful woman in the whole Church, according to Jesus, was the woman that gave a penny (two mites).  She was not successful because of the amount she gave but she was successful because of her willingness to give all.

Mark 12:41-44 (KJV)

41 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.

42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.

43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:

44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

It was not the proud and noble that stood at the altar praying that was successful, but it was the man that beat on his chest in repentance, that man was successful.

Luke 18:13-14 (KJV)

13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Was Jeremiah a success?  God sent him to preach to a hardheaded people that would not repent, even his own family labeled Jeremiah a traitor.

Do you have to pastor a church that runs 100 to be success?  Or is it 200?  500? Or even 2,000?  How about 30,000 members?

Where is the line that you cross that makes you a part of the elite and successful Prosperity Club?

I preached at a Church in Denton, Texas many, many years ago.  I knew that pastor from years ago so he asked me to come and preach.  When we arrived it was a beautiful building with many people inside.  The building smelled of money.  We were early so the Pastor invited me back to his office so we could visit before the service began.  I sat down in a chair across from his desk, it looked like a football field between he and I.  Then the interrogation began with, “How big is your Church?  How many members do you have?”  I hung my head and mumbled in embarrassment, “Around twenty five”.  He replied back to me, “We run two-hundred on Sunday morning.”  He then asked, “How big was last Sunday morning’s offering?”  I hung my head again and mumbled, “A couple of hundred dollars.”  He said, “We took up $3,500.00 last Sunday morning.”  I went home that night feeling defeated.  God dealt with me late that night and rebuked me for feeling embarrassed.  God said to me, “Are you in my will?” 

I replied, “Yes”. 

“Then why are you are intimidated?” 

The next service I went back to my Church and apologized to them.  I told them, “I will never again be ashamed of you!  This is where God placed me!  I am in his will!  As long as I am in his will I am successful!”

I have pastored that little Church now for many years.  We have had tornadoes tear the roof off, Hurricane Rita destroy our building, we have been through Church-splits, we have had witches sacrifice animals on our doorsteps, I have went to the Church to pray in the morning and had pornographic pictures taped to the front door, and pyramids of beer cans.  What did we do?  We cleaned up the mess and had Church!  I have had the Sheriff of threaten to arrest me, even had the church sued for property taxes!  What did we do?  We kept having Church!

David Livingstone was once asked about all of the dangers he faced in Africa with this question: “Are you afraid of what might happen?” 

He replied, “I am invincible until the will of God for me is accomplished.”

You see, our success is not defined by the number of warm bodies we can fit on a church pew.  Nor is it defined by the amount of money we can deposit in our check book.  Wall Street defines success by looking at the bottom line.  We in the Church, do not.  We are not living in the Book of Numbers – we are living in the Book of Acts!

If you are a Pastor I want to ask you a question: Did God place in the Church where you Pastor?  Are you there by divine appointment?  If the answer is yes, then stand flat-footed in your pulpit, hold your head high, look the Devil in the eye (and anyone else)  and preach as if you life depended on it (for surely it does).  You are not any less successful than the other man.  No!  If you are in the center of God’s will then you are in the center of success.  If you are where God wants you to be then you are prosperous.

The same is true for Church members.  If you know you are where God wants you to be then do not be intimidated by the Devil.  Stand firm on your convictions, faith, and the everlasting Word of God.  In the end we will prevail.

Often we get discouraged when we give in to the worlds idea of success.  God does not view things as the world does.  God commands us and we do it.  If we are doing what God told us to do then who has the right to tell us we are a failure?

Look at the successful people of the Word of God.  Many of them labored for years with very little earthly success, but today we speak of their towering faith.

I have heard Brother B. H. Clendennen tell this story dozens of times about Noah but it bears repeating.  Bro. Clendennen said that he was listening to Bishop Washington on the car radio preach and he said this, “Noah was the most successful preacher that ever lived”.  Bro. Clendennen related that he slowed the car down to a crawl because he did not want to miss a word.  Bro. Clendennen thought, “Noah was not successful the way we counted success for he only saved eight souls.” Then Bishop Washington proclaimed, “Everybody that Noah did not save, he damned!”  Noah’s message affected every human on planet earth.  That, my friend, is success!

Today we would say anybody with eight people in their Church was a failure.  But, not God!  Noah was successful, not because of results, but because of faith that led to obedience.  That is the only success that God will recognize.

Even Gideon understood that success was not dependent on how large of an army he could field but rather on obeying God’s instructions. 

Judges 7:2-7 (KJV)

2 And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.

3 Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.

4 And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go.

5 So he brought down the people unto the water: and the LORD said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink.

6 And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water.

7 And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place.

Today this would just not sit to well with most religious people.  Instead of Gideon hanging on to the 32,000 men that showed up, he obeyed God and whittled the group down to a mere 300.  This is growth is reverse!  What Pastor of a 32,000 member church would run off all of the cowards and test the people until he got the size down to 300?  None!  But, this is exactly how God worked.  Was Gideon successful?  The answer is unequivocally, yes.  His success was hinged on his faithful obedience to God.

There are many other examples in the Bible of men and women that obeyed God even though the immediate results spelled out disaster.  They just kept on plugging along faithfully.  Some died in the faith others did exploits.  Are those that died failures?  No!  They are no less of failure than those that lived to ripe old age.  Success is not based on human reasoning, but it is based on our faithful obedience to God’s Word.  That, my friend, is success and prosperity.