What Jesus Came to Do...

No matter how much organization, hierarchy, etc. that a church body might have, this in itself is not a church. Just because we call ourselves a church does not make us a church. Because essentially THE church are those who have counted the cost and decided to live as Christ lived.

THE church is global, universal. The word "catholic" comes from the greek word, "katholikos" which actually means "universal."

My belief and it is renovate's conviction that Jesus didn't come to start a new religion. He came to start a church. To call people together to follow in his steps and make a difference in HIS name, not ours!

Let's look at Jesus' real message to the world:

"This Isaiah-prophesied sermon came to life in Galilee the moment Jesus started preaching. He picked up where John left off: "Change your life. God's kingdom is here."

Walking along the beach of Lake Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers: Simon (later called Peter) and Andrew. They were fishing, throwing their nets into the lake. It was their regular work. Jesus said to them, "Come with me. I'll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I'll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass." They didn't ask questions, but simply dropped their nets and followed. (Matthew 4:17-20 Message)

They dropped everything and walked away from their lives, their careers…all of it just to follow Jesus! What compels a man to do this? Especially a man of the world! Fishermen are earthy characters, roughened by the trials of fighting between life and death on the seas. Yet these guys just walk away from everything they knew to follow a man??!! It doesn't make sense.

In Jesus' day, the boys were raised with religious training until they were 12 years old (until their bar mitzvah.) They had to memorize the entire first four books of the Old Testament.  They had even more training until they were in their mid-teens.  After all this training they would be "interviewed" by the rabbi (teacher) to see if they were "rabbi material" and if they could do what the rabbi did.  This was the highest honor they could be chosen for. 

If the rabbi thought they had the right stuff, he would say to them "Come, follow me."  And from that time, they would become his "disciples" and go wherever he went and learned how to do and to teach what he did.  If he didn't have what it took to be a rabbi, he would end his training and return home to do learn and follow in the family trade.

Peter and Andrew had been rejected from the highest honor in their day.  They had become fishermen because they didn't make the cut.  They had been rejected.  But now this popular teacher/rabbi named Jesus saw something in them that was worth something.  He believed in them.  He called them to be his disciples.  It changed their self-worth and their status forever.

Have you ever had someone believe in you when you didn't believe in yourself? Have you ever been included in something you didn't feel worthy of? What did that do for you? Did it change you?

This is how Jesus began to build his church...he called out a few good men! They were not perfect. (Have you ever knew some really honest fisherman?? Just kidding!!) They didn't fit the world's ideal or even the religious community's ideal of a leader, but yet, he called them.

This is the reason Jesus came not to start a new religion, but to start a new relationship!

Next we'll look at this new relationship and how it renovates our lives.

Poem by Mother Teresa

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

renovating church

So to renovate church, first we have to know "what is church?"

Let's start by looking at our inspiration and the example for which we should model our life, the founder of the church, Jesus, and see what his definition of church truly was:

"Simon Peter said, 'You're the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.'

Jesus came back, 'God bless you, Simon, son of Jonah! You didn't get that answer out of books or from teachers. My Father in heaven, God himself, let you in on this secret of who I really am. And now I'm going to tell you who you are, really are. You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out.'" (Matthew 16:16-18, TMSG)

Here Jesus had asked his disciples who do you say that I am? Peter, known for sticking his foot in his mouth, blurted out rightly for once that he was the Son of God.

Jesus rewarded by saying that God Himself had shown Peter this. He goes on to say that on the revelation that he was the Son of God he would put together "his church."

The Greek word "ekklesia" means "called out." It was used among the Greeks of a body citizens "gathered" to discuss the affairs of state. In other words, Jesus was saying that he was going to build a gathering of people who were called out to work together for a singular purpose. This purpose was to live out the life he modeled for us.

Later in the New Testament we see the word "church" used to represent the whole of the believers in Christ, those who had made the decision to follow Christ as Lord of their lives.

Next, we'll look at what Jesus really came to do...

Day 47 - Easter Sunday

Day 47

 

"After the Sabbath, as the first light of the new week dawned, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to keep vigil at the tomb. Suddenly the earth reeled and rocked under their feet as God's angel came down from heaven, came right up to where they were standing. He rolled back the stone and then sat on it. Shafts of lightning blazed from him. His garments shimmered snow-white. The guards at the tomb were scared to death. They were so frightened, they couldn't move. The angel spoke to the women: "There is nothing to fear here. I know you're looking for Jesus, the One they nailed to the cross. He is not here. He was raised, just as he said. Come and look at the place where he was placed. "Now, get on your way quickly and tell his disciples, 'He is risen from the dead. He is going on ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there.' That's the message."  The women, deep in wonder and full of joy, lost no time in leaving the tomb. They ran to tell the disciples. Then Jesus met them, stopping them in their tracks. "Good morning!" he said. They fell to their knees, embraced his feet, and worshiped him. Jesus said, "You're holding on to me for dear life! Don't be frightened like that. Go tell my brothers that they are to go to Galilee, and that I'll meet them there."  Matthew 28:1-10 (TMSG)

 

Jesus' resurrection says to us that there is nothing that can separate us from God's love now.  It means that we never again will face anything in life without the assurance of God's presence and love for us.

 

Right now, in this moment, God will never love you any less than he does right now.  Also, he will never love you more.  His love for you is constant and we can trust it.  We can believe in it.  We can move and live and have our being in his love.  Why?  Because Jesus made it possible for us through his resurrection.  He conquered death, hell and the grave so we can have heaven!

 

Prayer:  "Jesus, thank you that you laid down your life for me, and that you also took your life back up, that I can experience your forgiveness, your justification and your freedom in my life.  In you I pray, Amen."

Day 46 - Saturday

Day 46

 

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."  Ephesians 6:18 (NIV)

 

As we close this Lenten study of the armor of God, and as we look toward tomorrow as the day we will honor Christ's resurrection, let us understand in the end that the armor, and all it's accessories is actually the act of putting on the resurrected Christ.

 

Truth, righteousness, peace, salvation, faith, and the word of God all are attributes of the Christ Himself.  When God looks at you and me, he sees Jesus.  We are hid in him.  He responds to us as if he is responding to Jesus.

 

This is why, once we have clothed ourselves in Christ, we can stand and pray "in the Spirit."  This is the same Spirit that the sword belongs to.  This is the same Spirit that serves as a valet in dressing us in the armor of God.  This is the same Spirit, the Spirit of Christ who lives and dwells within us now.

 

We are not now or ever alone.  He dwells with us and is always available to help us and protect us and to assist us even in our prayers.

 

"…God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans...He knows us far better than we know ourselves…and keeps us present before God.That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good." Romans 8:26b, 27a, 28 (TMSG)

 

As we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide our prayers, we will see our prayers become more and more effective in our lives and the lives of those around us.  He is faithful and will be so forever.  He is our comforter.

 

"But when the Friend comes, the Spirit of the Truth, he will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is. He won't draw attention to himself, but will make sense out of what is about to happen and, indeed, out of all that I have done and said.  He will honor me; he will take from me and deliver it to you." John 16:13-14 (TMSG)

 

Prayer:  "Holy Spirit, assist me in my prayers.  Clothe me in the armor, in Christ Himself and let me be hid in his presence.  I desire to live in him.  In Christ I pray, Amen."

 

Day 45 - Friday

Day 45

 

"And take the helmet of salvation and the sword that the Spirit wields, which is the Word of God." Ephesians 6:17 (Amplified)

 

It is called the "sword of the spirit."  It is given to us as a part of our armor…but it is not of our design.  It was created and is managed by the Holy Spirit to be used in conjunction with our spirit. 

 

We are invited by God not only to learn and commit his Word to memory, but he is also inviting us into a partnership with the author of the Word.  The Word of God is active and powerful through the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

 

The more we build and listen to the Spirit of God, the more He will "sharpen" the sword in our lives.

 

"The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you."  John 14:26 (TMSG)

 

One of the things the Holy Spirit will facilitate in our lives is bring back to our remembrance the Word of God.  He will not only refresh our memories, but he will also teach us to understand what is said in the Word. 

 

For this reason, our relationship with Holy Spirit is important to be nurtured.  We need to listen to the promptings and leanings in our spirits that the Spirit uses to communicate to us.  One thing that will help us is to invite the Holy Spirit to open up the Word to us in revelation and explanation.  As we do this, we'll find that the Word will become more important to us and we'll find that we will hear his voice leading us quicker. 

 

This helps when we are facing adversity as well, because the Holy Spirit will quicken to us scriptures we have studies and memorized so that we can use them to defeat the attacks of those fiery arrows of the enemy.

 

Prayer:  "Holy Spirit, open up the Word of God to me and give me revelation as I read and study the Word.  Help me to be quick to respond to your leading and let me be able to use the sword in defeating the enemy in my life.  In Christ I pray, Amen."

Day 44 - Thursday

Day 44

 

"What God has said isn't only alive and active! It is sharper than any double-edged sword. His word can cut through our spirits and souls and through our joints and marrow, until it discovers the desires and thoughts of our hearts."  Hebrews 4:12 (CEV)

So how do we use this sword?  We talked earlier of how Jesus quoted the scripture to the enemy when in the midst of temptation and attack.  It is how he countered the attacks.  He knew how to use the sword swiftly and easily.  It was a natural response for him.

 

Why was the sword easy to use?  Jesus had immersed himself in the Word.  In fact, one of the names of Christ is "the Word."  John called him the "Word made flesh."  You and I obviously do not hold this same position, but we can follow in Jesus' footsteps, as everything Jesus did in the flesh was done as an example for us to follow.

 

He lived in the Word of God and made the scripture his focus.  As a young Hebrew man, he had learned the words of God, studied them and especially memorized them.  So when he needed a "sword," a particular word from God that applied to the situation he faced, the sword was presented easily. 

 

You and I have our armor readily available to us.  God has granted them to us as gifts, but without our participation and belief they will do us no good.  The sword especially needs our commitment.  We must take the sword into our hearts and minds.  It is the preparation for the future. 

 

"I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you."  Psalm 119:11 (NLT)

 

When we study the scripture and commit its truth to memory, it creates a home in our hearts from which we can declare it in the times of our need.  We wield the sword by knowing the word of God and speaking it to ourselves and over our situations, against the plans and lies of the enemy.

 

Prayer:  "Lord, help me to store your words in my heart.  May my mouth be filled with your words when the lies of the enemy comes at me.  Allow your sword to fight on my behalf and give me victory.  In Jesus I pray, Amen."