The Purpose of the Church

 Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 

Focus verses: "Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.  And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near." Hebrews 10: 24-25
  
What is the church?
The church, also known in scripture as “the body of Christ” (Colossians 1:24, Ephesians 5:23), it is not the building we gather in on Sunday morning, although that is what we often think of when we consider the church. The church is made up of the believers in Christ, those who believe that Jesus Christ came to earth and died for our sins, and trust Him as the way to receive forgiveness for the sins we have committed, so that we can have a relationship with God. Together we encourage one another as we go through life, build each other up as we seek to follow Christ. 

What is the purpose of the church?
Ultimately our purpose is to glorify God with our lives (1 Corinthians 10:23-33). As the church our role is to bring glory to God. As we see in our main reading that we are not each given the same role, we have different purposes within the body. The Lord has given each of us different personalities, skills, talents and spiritual gifts. When we compare ourselves to others we tend to get discouraged because we might get jealous of someone else’s gifts and not be happy with our own (v. 15-16). Instead we see that not everyone can be an eye (v. 17) we each have our own strengths to bring to the body of Christ. In the same way we should also be careful not to think of our gifts as better than the gifts of someone else (v. 22-23). What we as humans might consider as insignificant could be the most honorable. We need to make sure that we as the body of Christ are not divided (v. 25). There needs to be respect for one another, if there are any arguments we need to make sure we are not holding a grudge towards any believers. It is important that we remember that they are human too, they make mistakes just like you, we should be quick to forgive one another. If we are distracted with hatred towards one another this keeps us from fulfilling our purpose as the body of Christ. Our purpose is to suffer together and to rejoice together, we are the church so we don’t have to go through life alone, we need one another (v. 26). God has given each of us a different role so instead of getting jealous we need to learn what our gifts are and to use them to give God the glory. If you are unsure of what your spiritual gift is you can ask someone who knows you well that is a spiritual leader over you, maybe a parent, your youth pastor or a close friend. 

Pray:
God thank you for creating us differently and for a purpose. Help me to recognize the spiritual gifts you have given me. Show me how I can use these gifts to glorify you Lord. Help me to use the gifts to encourage other believers and in sharing the gospel with those who don’t have a relationship with you. Remind me that you have given me different gifts for a reason and that you would keep me from being jealous of others’ gifts. I love you Lord. Amen. 

written by Haley Kinsman

 

POST NOTE: Will you meet with believers regularly no matter if it's two hundred or just two or three?    Meet together to fellowship, read scripture, worship, testify and pray. 

God’s Purpose For You

Scripture Reading: Esther 4

Focus Verses: Esther 4:13-14  “Mordecai sent this reply to Esther, "Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed.  If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die.  Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?”

The story of Esther was brought to my attention recently.  Throughout the Bible God has used specific people for specific purposes and tasks.  And the book of Esther is a perfect example of that.  As a Jewish orphan, who lived with her uncle, Esther's life changed dramatically because she was found to be a beautiful woman.  She and other beautiful women were brought to the palace of the king.  After the King was so delighted with her, he chose her to be queen.  There was a plot to have all the Jews killed, and Esther was a Jew, but the king didn't know.  Esther risked her life to come before the king to ask him to save the Jews from this plot, which he did.  This was a brave thing Esther did, because she could have been killed for coming before the king like she did.  But she knew this was the right thing to do to save the lives of many Jews.

God has a specific purpose for each one of us.  Maybe He hasn’t called you to save the lives of a group of people, but He has a specific plan and purpose for your life, that’s why He created you.  God doesn’t create something or someone without a specific purpose.  Have you ever considered this?  God didn’t create you to live in the years of the 1600's or the 1800’s.  God created you to live for such a time as this.  He has something for you to do now, big or small.  God has you living now because He has some unique ways that you are qualified to make a difference in His Kingdom now.  So get busy and do what He’s calling you to do.  If you’re having trouble understanding God’s calling on your life maybe you should talk with a trusted Christian friend or pastor to help you understand the purpose God has for you.  God does have something specific He wants you to do.  And if you don’t do it God will find someone else to do it.  Just like if Esther did not go to the king on behalf of the Jews, then God would find another way to save them.  So find out the purpose God has for you and get busy.

Bobby Johnson

Interlocking Ministries

God’s Battle, Not Ours

Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 17: 32-51

Focus Verse: 1 Samuel 17: 47   “And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues His people, but not with sword and spear.  This is the Lord’s battle, and He will give you to us!”

I think the story of David and Goliath was the first Bible story that I learned as a child.  And the first Bible that I ever owned was given to me by my grandmother.  I remember there was a picture in that Bible of David with his sling battling Goliath.

Humanly speaking there is no way that David should have been able to kill Goliath.  Goliath was taller than David, and stronger than David.  But David had one advantage that cannot be overlooked.  David was on God's side.  No matter how many people are opposing you, and no matter how big they are, if you are on God's side, you will always have victory in the end.  That’s why David said “this is the Lord’s battle.”  He knew he could not defeat this giant in his own strength.  God used David in this way because he was humble.

What is the giant you are facing today?  Alcohol, drugs, lust, pride, stealing, etc.  The list of things Satan can use against us is long and he will mock us like Goliath mocked God's people..  As children of The King we need to recognize this is not our battle, this is God’s battle.  Part of the strategy to winning this battle is recognizing that we cannot win on our own strength.  We can only win with God’s help.  Satan knows his time is limited, and he will do everything in his power to kill and destroy you.  But we can have the confidence that David had.  He said to Goliath before the battle even started, verse 45 “you come to me with sword, spear and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. verse 46 Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head.”  Then God did this through David.  And now God wants you to give the battles you face to Him just like David did.  It’s not our battle, it’s God’s.

Bobby Johnson
Interlocking Ministries

Respecting Poor Authority

Scripture reading: 1 Samuel 24

Focus verse: 1 Samuel 24:5-6  " Now it happened afterward that David’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s robe.  And he said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.”"
also: Ephesians 6:5 "Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ;"

David had been anointed by Samuel the priest to be the next king (1 Samuel 16).  He would rule after king Saul died.  David knew how to wait and patiently honored his king, his authority.  This was not always easy for him.  King Saul was often depressed and had a troubling spirit ever since he disobeyed God (1 Samuel 15).  Once, he threw a spear at David as he played music for the king. (1 Samuel 18:10-11) He even spent time hunting David down.  This is what was going on when we read 1 Samuel 24.

David could have easily killed Saul and become king, but he chose to cut off a piece of his robe.  Even this action caused David regret.  David knew the Lord would want him to have total respect for authority, even though the King was doing a poor job and even though the King was hunting him to kill him.

David's life is a good example of how we can obey and respect authority that we don't agree with or think is wrong.  I am not responsible for how our authority behaves, but I am responsible for how I react and respect that authority.  Pray that God will give you the grace and mercy to respect and obey the authority that has been placed over you.

Author's note: Realize that this is not talking about following a leader that prevents you from obeying God's commands or leads you into sin.  This does not include false prophets either. That is a different subject.  You might also like reading Romans 13 that relates to authority.

Page Johnson
Interlocking Ministries

Praying or Sleeping?

 Praying or Sleeping?

Focus scripture Mark 14:32-41

Focus verse: Psalm 48:8 "But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life."
  
Jesus knew the events that were to come. He knew he was to be arrested, beaten, mocked, subjected to public humiliation and be nailed on the cross. In all these, he decided he would remain humble in prayers for only God’s will to happen. He knew the importance of combined prayers, so he took three of his disciples to go with him so that they would watch and pray with him. He instructed them to sit and watch in prayers with him as he drew himself a little distance. Luke 22:44, records that the Lord’s anguish overwhelmed him so that his sweat fell on the ground like blood.
One thing that catches attention in this passage is how the three disciples failed to pray with Jesus at that hard and painful moment of His life. It’s quite hard to imagine that in one night Jesus had to wake them three times but still not even one of them stayed awake. The Lord was in deep sorrow and needed prayers from people that he had loved and served. Though he felt deserted in this anguish, he wanted their company and prayers from friends. 

Our personal challenges can make us feel like we are deserted by everyone. We can find ourselves in situations of sorrow. Our tears have always needed somebody to stand with us in encouragement. Our marriages have suffered wounds so that we see nothing pleasant in them and need prayers of healing. We have been badly affected by sicknesses so that we feel like we are losing hope. Yes, we have to admit that this is the life of a Christian, but there is hope in prayer! 

We often tell friends to stand with us in prayers. Sometimes we remind them about the need to pray with us more and more. We commit to pray, but surely have you been praying? Some will find themselves so tired in the physical so that they forget to pray. Did you ever receive a prayer request from a trusted friend, or relative or anyone who needed our prayers? Did we ever accept that we would pray with them? What have we done since they reminded us to continue praying for them? How often do we pray for those who need our prayers?

Equally, those who are in problems must not stop praying because they have told friends to pray with them. Jesus did not stop even when he found the disciples sleeping instead of praying. Yes, we need to have trusted friends who can faithfully pray with us. Jesus had some, do you have one?

Eliazar Wambo
Director of Bethesda Faith Ministries & Repairer Christian School

The Devil Doesn’t Make You Sin

Scripture Reading: James 1:2-18

Focus Verses: James 1:13-15 “And Remember when you are being tempted, do not say, God is tempting me.  God is never tempted to do wrong, and He never tempts anyone else.  Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.  These desires give birth to sinful actions.  And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.”

It is human nature to blame others for something we have done wrong.  And it all started back in the Garden of Eden.  Adam blamed Eve for his sin, and Eve blamed the serpent (the devil) for her sin.  It’s always easiest to blame someone else for our mistakes than to take responsibility for our own actions.  What Adam was really doing was blaming God.  He told God if you hadn’t given me the woman then I wouldn’t have sinned.  Then Eve tried a different approach, she said “the devil made me do it.”  That excuse didn’t work either, because the devil can’t make you do anything.  He can tempt you, but it’s your own evil desires that cause you to take what the devil is offering.  

Eve was responsible for her own sin, and Adam was responsible for his own sin.  And we are responsible for our own sin also, no matter what the circumstances of the temptation.  God always provides a way out as 1 Corinthians 10:13 says “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience.  And God is faithful.  He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand.  When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure.”

If we try to blame others for our sin, then we miss the opportunity for repentance to ask God’s forgiveness for that sin.  God has promised in 1 John 1:9 “if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”   So the next time you see yourself in a mess of sin you have committed, don’t blame others for your wrongdoing.  Deal with it by confessing it to God and thanking Him for His forgiveness, and then you can have a fresh start.

Bobby Johnson 
Interlocking Ministries

Head or Heart Knowledge?

Scripture Reading: Romans 10

Focus Verses: Romans 10:9-10 “If you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”

Some people don’t realize it, but there is a big difference between having head knowledge about God and having faith in God in your heart.  If you know facts about God that is totally different than having faith in God.  You could actually miss heaven by 45 centimeters.  That’s the distance between your head and your heart.

Maybe you’ve got all the facts about God in your head, but you have never repented (turned away from) your sins and accepted by faith (complete trust) in Jesus.  Ephesians 2:8-9 says by faith you are saved, not what you know or what you have done.  You can speak the Christian language, go to church, be a kind person, give money to the poor and not really be saved.  You can fool others and maybe even fool yourself, but you can’t fool God.  He can see right through a fake relationship with Him.  The question is, have you ever been transformed through God’s saving power through Jesus Christ?

Isaiah 29:13 “The Lord says, These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught."  Don’t resist yielding to God with all the head knowledge that you may have of Him.  He wants you to come to Jesus with a childlike faith and receive Christ as your Lord and Savior.

If you never have humbled yourself, bow your head now.  Ask forgiveness of your sins in humble repentance, and accept Him into your life as Lord and Savior.  John 3:3 Jesus said, “except a man is born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

Bobby Johnson
Interlocking Ministries

Additional reading for assurance of salvation.  1 John 5:13 Are you placing your complete hopes on Jesus or yourself?  Colossians 3:12 You also have a new nature that brings new desires; godly desires.  That's how you know.