Sunday 28 September 2014

Ephesians 5:25-27 « Christ loved the church and gave himself for her   to sanctify her by cleansing her * with the washing of the water by the word,   so that he * may present the church to himself as glorious – not having a stain or wrinkle, or any such blemish, but holy and blameless. » NET

Jesus loves the church and His intent is to bring her into the fulness of maturity in character and in power.  Jesus will return for His church at the end of time and she will be glorious, without blemish and without wrinkle.

Since the day of Pentecost when Jesus sent His disciples the Holy Spirit He has been building His church.  We read in the book of Acts that after the message that the apostle Peter preached on the day of Pentecost that 3000 people were baptised.  And the text continues: And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. (2:47)

Jesus said He would build His church (Matthew 16:16) and this is what He began in Acts chapter 2.  And Jesus continues that work today.  He is building His church and He wants you to be a part of it.

The apostle Peter said that we Christians are living stones being built together as a spiritual house. (1 Peter 2:5) so I want to ask you today, where is your stone?

If you were going to build a house out of stones you would also need mortar to hold the stones in place. Mortar keep the stones together and also keeps them far enough apart so the stones don’t break.  There are two things that distinguish a house from a pile of stones, mortar and intelligent design of the builder. It is the Master builder that puts the stones into the right place.  And once there, he will use mortar to keep the stones in their place.

The church is the principle tool through which God advances His kingdom in the earth.  And Jesus is committed to building it. He is committed to putting you as a living stone in the place He thinks is best for you.  He wants you to be an active member in the local church.  This is His plan for you.

We encourage you today to begin praying for your local church and the leaders of it.  Why not ask the leaders how you can pray for them more effectively?

Rather than wait for someone to ask you to serve, why not ask God where He wants to put you?  Ask Him to reveal to you the needs in your church and then ask Him for wisdom to know how you can respond to them.

Your church needs you.  And God wants to build you into the church.  There is only one who doesn’t want this to happen, and that is the devil.  He knows that once you are firmly rooted in the place that God has for you you will grow and come into your full destiny.

Decide today that you will make a commitment to the church where God has called you.  Receive God’s grace to love the members of the church, and to integrate the culture and the mission of the church.  If you have been hurt or disappointed in the past, allow God to heal you and to take away the pain.