The Kind Of Church Jesus Had In Mind Part 2 Series

What is the church?

The church is people. It is not the building we meet in, it is the people who meet in the building. The church is made up of all the people throughout the world and throughout history who have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.

Is the church perfect? No.

Was the first century church perfect? No.

Will the church ever be perfect? Yes, but not until we are all in heaven.

So then what is the point of being a part of the church? If we are not a part of the church then we are not born again believers and if we are not born again believers we won’t be going to heaven.

That very point should be the very thing that unites all believers around the world, regardless of what denomination you are a part of.

That was what Jesus was explaining to Nicodemus in John 3:1-21. In that portion of Scripture Jesus explained to Nicodemus, “no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

All of mankind is called to be a part of the church, the body of Christ and as a part of the church we need to understand that God desires for the church to be a certain way.

Last week I explained to you what kind of Jesus God intended the church to be.

The kind of church Jesus intended was for the church to be something that would change the world. God desires for the church to turn this world upside down and right side up.

He desires for us to change the way people look at religion.

The way people look at God.

The way people look at politics.

The way people look at worship.

The way people look at personal relationships.

God’s desire for the church has never changed.

His desire is still for the church to be upside down according to the worlds standards.

A church that is operating fully upon God’s kingdom principles.

A church that is rooted in the Word of God.

A church that is founded upon Jesus Christ.

A church that is full of the Holy Spirit.

A church that is not afraid to stand up for Godly morals and principles.

A church that loves others, loves each other, and takes care of the needs of the people.

That is the model of the first century church, a church in which the leaders where teaching the truth of God and of Christ, a church in which the people devoted themselves to that teaching, and a church in which they put into practice the very things they were learning.

Today the church is not living up to its full potential, it is not the church that Jesus had in mind, but it can be.

PRAYER

Father, open my eyes to see Your Word.

Open my ears to hear.

Open my mind to understand.

And open my heart so I may receive Your Word today.

AMEN

We are no longer living in the days of the first century church. We are living in the days of the church in the last days. I can say that with certainty because the signs of Jesus’ Second Coming can be seen all around.

In the book of Revelation, (Rev. 3:7-8) Jesus says that the door is open for us to be the church he has called us to be. That is why it is so important for us to step up and follow through with His call to be the church Jesus intended the church to be.

Now I understand that we cannot speak for the millions of people in the world who make up the church today, but we can bring this to a personal level and work on Prairie Family Church being the church that Jesus intended us to be.

In order for this to happen we have to stop looking at the church as people have looked at it in the past 1000 years and we need to get back to the basics that the first century church adapted as their model.

The first century church acted in ways that we not normal or natural to the human character of that time or of our current time.

Let’s look at Acts 2:42-47 again.

42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:42-47 NIV