PRAYER JOURNAL 3/19/20
Acts 3:6 Silver and
gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee; In the Name of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth rise up and walk.
Jesus always intended for the Church to be a “SENT
CHURCH” not a “COME TO CHURCH.”
The gathering together was to be a time of encouragement,
glorifying God, sharing testimonies and preparing New Christians to BE SENT. Instead, the CHURCH BECAME AN INSTITUTION, complete with million dollar
buildings, million dollar budgets, glitz, glamour, professional bands, smoke
and lights.
Our Mission was TO
GATHER TOGETHER. In fact, Hebrews
10:25 “Not forsaking the assembling of yourself together,” became a DOCTRINAL STATEMENT…a SALVATIONAL ISSUE…one of the SACRAMENTS…but we forgot the PURPOSE.
You only have to go up one verse, to verse 24 to find that the
PURPOSE was NOT in the meeting together, but to PROVOKE ONE ANOTHER TO GOOD WORKS BECAUSE WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE SENT!
Oh, we instituted Evangelism Programs; we knocked on doors,
handed out tracts, gave away bicycles, preached on rooftops and had candy rains
to get people to COME to our
gathering, then huddled together like a herd of sheep in the evening, NEVER SENDING OUT TO SPREAD THE GOSPEL!
Instead of being the Hands and Feet of Jesus, we invited our
friends and neighbors TO COME and
hear; COME and see; COME and learn; COME and be saved…and most of them wondered FOR WHAT? And FROM WHAT?
Imagine for just a moment, Peter and John are going to the
Temple to pray…NOT TO GATHER TOGETHER,
BUT TO PRAY…At the very Gates of the Temple lies a lame man begging for
money. Why didn’t he go into the
Temple? It was the House of God. After all, isn’t that where all of the Power
resides? But no, he continued to lie
there, begging for kind strangers to drop a few coins in his hands, just to be
able to buy enough bread for the evening…
UNTIL…
He encountered a SENT
CHURCH. There would be no Acts 3:6
included in the Bible if Peter had said, “COME into the Temple with me. We have a Priest that can anoint you after he
reads the scrolls. And our architect; our praise singers, our altar will wow
you so much that you will forget you can’t walk.”
BUT NO…PETER HAD BEEN
SENT...He was filled with the Power of the Holy Ghost and carrying the
Authority of the Name of Jesus…so the story has a very different ending…the man
was no longer lame.
So we come to March 2020, our buildings are shuttered, our
singers are silent and our gatherings have been limited…BUT THAT WAS NEVER THE CHURCH.
WE; the Redeemed;
the Blood-washed; those filled with the Holy Spirit….WE ARE THE CHURCH and WE HAVE BEEN SENT!
SO GO…fulfill the Great
Commission. Live the Gospel to your
neighbors; make sure they are okay and have the things they need during this
trying time. Smile at that person at the
grocery store and give them 1 of the packages of toilet paper you have piled in
your cart. Thank the clerk as she scans
your purchases. Tip the restaurant waitress that brings the takeout to your
car. Find someone who could seriously
use Divine Intervention and PRAY
with them, then pray for them the next day and the next, then follow up…check
on them, so they know that they are not forgotten because you and Jesus love
them. Share a testimony with
someone. They don’t have to COME to Church to hear of the Goodness
of God in your life…YOU’VE BEEN SENT!
REVIVAL IS HERE…GOD IS REVIVING HIS
CHURCH SO SHE CAN ONCE AGAIN BE SENT!
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