There is a great misconception in the church, it is the division that has set denominations against denominations. And this is a bad independent spirit that has hindered the church more than anything the devil could ever do. Jesus said, a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.
This division has affected the love and fellowship of brothers and sisters in Christ more. When two believers meet, they are more conscious of which denomination they belong to than which body they both belong. We are the body of Christ! One body!
Paul said in 1Corinthians 12:12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
Nowhere is the impact of the division felt than in growing the kingdom. A lot of what most churches do is marketing in the name of evangelism.
Jesus and his disciples had an interesting discussion and the disciples had to learn something really big after an event that happened as the run errands. It is recorded in
Mark 9:38 “Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”
Mark 9:38 “Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”
39 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, 40 for whoever is not against us is for us. 41 Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.
Missionary work has taken the hardest hit in this battle. I meet pastors a lot and we get into talking. As we share experiences in ministry and its challenges, I discover that most pastors believe their commitment is to their Assembly and her projects alone. Even when there are no pressing projects they have to create one. Either change choir robes, build a bus stop or break down the restaurant and build a more lavish one. I have even seen a church building police stations!
Sometimes it is the church keyboards, they buy a latest version which is slightly better than what they have because they must keep up with the trends. Nothing is wrong with the drumsets but they need to raise their standard since the money is there.
And as I talk about the challenge in the mission field, the first attitude is to try and teach me faith. The feeling is that missionaries have needs because the don't either have faith or theirs is too low. And then there are others who promise to pray that God will meet my needs. Others have this attitude that well, since the mission field is not "part of them" it is none of their business. In order to help, we must change our name to theirs.
Jesus taught his disciples that, they should not stop or hinder anyone doing what He and His disciples were doing. Bearing their name, being part of their company was irrelevant. The work they do is what makes them part of us.
That's a great lesson!
When the Church began in Jerusalem and throughout the 30 years early of the Church recorded in Acts of the apostles, they where not broken down to denominations. They considered themselves and were considered by all as the same body. The effort to spread the gospel among nations and peoples was considered the primary calling of the Church.
Every missionary was sent by the Church and supported by the Church. Barnabas and Saul were sent from Antioch by "The Church" not by "a church". When the church in Jerusalem learned that Samaria had received the message through the ministry of Philip, they sent Peter and John to go help with praying for the baptism of the Holy Spirit and early discipleship.
It was a collective, for the body. It was the calling of the Church and not a select few. Today, Corporate Management, growth in membership, Marketing, making money and Public Relations are the leading goals of the Church. Missions is actually strange in the ears of the Church. Those who rarely think about it substitute it with a glamorous international church planting in the most blossoming cities of the world.
Such efforts earn us the applause of the world and not of the God. It raises our status, our prestige and you ratings but have no spiritual bearing in the presence of God.
The true church of Jesus is the one that puts kingdom growth above empire building. It is the church that is really reaching out to a lost world. It is the church that not only invest time and money in discipleship and local evangelism but also in foreign missions. It is the church that does not only sponsor their own outreaches but give selflessly to missionaries who don't carry her denominational name but who are carry the name of Jesus.
Kenneth Copeland Ministries has been one of the biggest sponsors of Reinhard Bonnke and Christ for all Nations. The ministry gave more that $40m dollars between 1978 and 1998 to independent ministries and missionaries.
One day during one of their campmeetings, he walked passed by a middle aged man who was the gardener of the facility they were meeting. The Lord said he should speak to the man. He obeyed. He found out the man was a retired minister, who dropped out of ministry because he couldn't meet his family and ministry bills. Copeland invited him to a service.
The man attended reluctantly because he has heard many negative things about Copeland. At the end of that service, brother Kenneth introduced him and called him forward. The man was stunned. The next thing he did dazzled the brother. All the offerings from that service which was in tens of thousands of dollars, Copeland gave it to the brother right there and told him to go back to ministry!
You can guess the man was in tears! All the things he has heard about brother Copeland melted like wax before a volcano. Of course, he immediately went back to ministry and has been doing amazing things for God.
What greater reward can you have than to send a missionary back to the field, winning entire villages, towns, cities and even nations? Wouldn't it be great for you, your company or your church to provide a bus, equipment, financing or build a facility for a mission field?
And what a well done you will hear from the Master, Jesus Christ our Lord the day you stand before Him, in all His Father's glory!
There are many ways to slow down or stop a missionary. Here are few of them:
1. Ignore them.
2. Speaking despisingly about what they do before others.
3. Compare their achievement to yours and make theirs seem like nothing.
4. Refuse to give to their causes.
5. Refuse to invite them to speak in your fellowship.
6. Speak despisingly of them before your Church.
6. Discourage those who want to help.
7. Refuse to pray for them.
8. Consider them as beggars and tell them.
1. Ignore them.
2. Speaking despisingly about what they do before others.
3. Compare their achievement to yours and make theirs seem like nothing.
4. Refuse to give to their causes.
5. Refuse to invite them to speak in your fellowship.
6. Speak despisingly of them before your Church.
6. Discourage those who want to help.
7. Refuse to pray for them.
8. Consider them as beggars and tell them.
God bless you as you act on this article.
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