(NOTE: much of this post first appeared on my blog
and through e-devotions in May of 2009.
It is still relevant today)
Matthew 16:18 (nlt)
(Jesus said) upon this rock I will build my church,
and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.
I am more excited about
the vision that God has given The Community
Fellowship than I have ever been (that’s a fact that grows all the time).
God continues to renew and even rebuilt
some of the passion inside me for the work He is doing here. That also
means that Satan isn't happy and is working overtime. Yet that doesn't
take away from the vision God has given us.
We are in a series about
the vision and mission of The Community, and the
series is called I LOVE COMMUNITY. It is
not only about our church. It talks about
what the church is called to do in any community. One of the
stories from Acts continues to hit me, and I’d like to share it with you.
Honestly, this is what I am expecting God to do (similar things) in the
coming days. Read on:
Acts 3:4-11 (nlt)
Peter
and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, "Look at
us!" 5 The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some
money. 6 But Peter said, "I don't have any silver or gold for
you. But I'll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the
Nazarene, get up and walk!" 7 Then Peter took the
lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man's feet and
ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. 8 He jumped up, stood
on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he
went into the Temple with them. 9 All the people saw him walking and
heard him praising God. 10 When they realized he was the lame beggar
they had seen so often at the Beautiful Gate, they were absolutely
astounded! 11 They all rushed out in amazement to Solomon's
Colonnade, where the man was holding tightly to Peter and John.
That's not where the story
ends. How sweet it is when people begin to see through situations to what
God is doing!
Acts 4:8-12 (nlt)
Then
Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers and elders of
our people, 9 are we being questioned today because we've done a good
deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was
healed? 10 Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people
of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the
Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the
dead. 11 For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it
says, 'The stone that you builders rejected has now become the
cornerstone.' 12 There is salvation in no one else! God has given no
other name under heaven by which we must be saved."
That story talks to us at
the heart of what the church is to be about. It is not about pleasing
people or doing things the way people expect them to be done. Life is
about Jesus, and being the church is about being free to be who God made you to
be.
One of the things that
happened in that story I see almost every day. Some people will
disbelieve what happens by faith and by God because they cannot rationally
explain it. People thought the lame man
couldn't be healed. So that had to be another dude. How wrong they
were!
I believe it is time to
let God be God and for our churches be the church that God built. Lets get out of the way and begin to let God
work.
Francis
Chan said, "when you finish reading the book of Acts do you say, 'Yep,
that’s my church' OR 'where did we go wrong?'" It is time to be what
God wants us to be. Simply put, the
church that God built.
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