STANDING IN THE GAP FOR THE CHURCH

Forty days of focussed prayer and fasting 20 June – 29 July

FAITH FOR A CHURCH, FAITH FOR A CITY

2 Chronicles 7:14 If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Eph:20-23 All this energy issues from Christ; God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ's body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.
'Thy Kingdom Come Thy Will be Done'

Friday 29 June 2007

Devotion - Day 10

The Church Has A Local Expression

Jesus taught us a great deal about the nature of the local expression of the Church that He was building. In Matthew 18:15-22, where he deals with an example of an actual church body, he implies the following:
• The Church is composed of brothers.
• The Church is involved in areas of discipline.
• The Church is an area of local government.
• The Church is a defined body from which one could be expelled.
• The Church is a place of fellowship in faith and prayer.
• The Church is a place where Christ promises to be in the midst.
• The Church is a gathering identified with the name of Christ.
• To be disciplined by the Church is to be disciplined by Christ.
• The authority of the Church is based on unity.
• One person cannot make up a church.
• Until the Church is completed, there is going to be a great need for love, patience and a lot of forgiveness.

As the Church developed, the local expression of the Church became more easily definable. This Church can be seen in direct relation to what Jesus taught about the Church. In the Book of Acts we see the local church as:
• A congregation or assembly of people in a given locality (Acts 8:1).
• An assembly of believers in Christ (Acts 5:14).
• A place of teaching and discipline (Acts 11:26).
• A complete unity in itself with corporate authority (Acts 15:22).
• Built by Christ Himself (Acts 2:47).
• Part of Christ Himself (Acts 5:14).
• A place where the Lord adds people, not man (Acts 5:13).
• Disciplined by Christ Himself (Acts 5:5).
• Structured, having men ordained in positions of authority to exercise leadership, discipline and oversight (Acts 14:23; 20:17-28).
• A place of manifold ministry (Acts 13:1; 15:4).
• Joined in voluntary fellowship with other local churches (Acts 15:3-4).
• A place established in the faith (Acts 16:5).
• A place from which ministry was sent out (Acts 13:1-4).

The whole thrust of the New Testament is the Local Church. Each book of the New Testament demonstrates how God uses the Local Church to bring His people to maturity and completion. Nowhere in the New Testament do we have an alternative plan suggested. God wants us to emphasize what He emphasizes and get excited about what He is excited about.

Posted by Doxa Deo Blog-Admin at 00:04

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