A New Emphasis The season is changing

Part 12 A New Emphasis

The season is changing
We are now in the process of change; the church is poised to undergo some dramatic changes. While we understand that there are some real moves of God occurring in different places around the world, the church as a whole has reached a plateau and in order to go on to the next level God has in store for the church, change is inevitable.
Change is not easy as it requires faith and an element of risk. What worked over the last decade will not work in the next decade. Large portions of the church today has become performance orientated, success orientated; often the church service is reduced to the level of entertaining in its desire to become user friendly lowering everything to the lowest common denominator.
There is a lot of praise in church services but virtually no worship, and that which is designated as worship is often just another form of praise. The worship in the seventies was far greater than most of what we see today. The church has lost the art of worship in its eagerness to keep up with current worldly music trends. Worship in its purest meaning is absolute surrender to God. An act of worship is an act of surrender.

Deuteronomy 26:10

And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O LORD, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the LORD thy God, and worship before the LORD thy God:

The Hebrew word: 7812. shachah, shaw-khaw'; a prim. root; to depress, i.e. prostrate (espec. reflex. in homage to royalty or God):--bow (self) down, crouch, fall down (flat), humbly beseech, do (make) obeisance, do reverence, make to stoop, worship.

John 4:23

But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him

The Greek word: 4352. proskuneo, pros-koo-neh'-o; from G4314 and a prob. der. of G2965 (mean. to kiss, like a dog licking his master's hand); to fawn or crouch to, i.e. (lit. or fig.) prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore):--worship.
Both these words have the meaning of prostrating oneself in absolute surrender to God. Words and singing may be used in this act but THE MOOD is one of reverential surrender.
We don't give time for this in our church services and our loss is great. Changes must come if we are to move on.
Jesus said that the gospel of the kingdom must be preached before He returns.

Matthew 24:14	And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Matthew 9:35	And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

We are in transition from the Church age to the Kingdom age.
While the church is a part of the kingdom of God, it is not the kingdom of God. The church is so often thought as a gathering of Christians in a specific location; because of this we associate the church with a building.
The Greek word for the church is very different

1 Corinthians 1:2

Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place

577. ekklesia, ek-klay-see'-ah; from a comp. of G1537 and a der. of G2564; a calling out.
A called out people, called out from the Kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of God.
These called out people (the church) meet together from time to time, for training and teaching and to fulfill a common vision. When the church becomes an organization or a mini kingdom, then rules, control mechanisms so often come into place and enslave the people.
While I believe in the Kingdom of God there is rank, leadership, and oversight, so often in the church this is used to maintain position and control. In the Kingdom of God the greatest is the servant.
The Kingdom of God
Long before the church existed, the Kingdom of God was flourishing. The church to date is just a tiny part of the kingdom. The kingdom of God includes the church on earth and heaven, it includes the vast realm of Angels, and it includes the vast yet unknown aspects of God's Kingdom throughout the universe which have been in existence for eons.
Often we have the aim of getting people to join the church (our local church) but their view of the church is not good. In a recent survey in Australia, the question was asked, who do you trust the least. The results were very enlightening. Christians ranked as number one and Politicians as number two.
A New Mindset
A new mindset is needed in order to embrace the changes God is bringing about. Because the emphasis has been on building the church and not the kingdom, the church became, my church our church, we are building our church. This brings rivalry, jealousy and competition and a profound lack of Kingdom Authority.
Jesus said I will build my church, but you seek first the kingdom of heaven. In a kingdom mentality, it does not matter anymore if a person gets saved in your church and ends up in another church, or does it?
Jesus said the gospel of the KINGDOM will be preached in the end times before He will return.
This generation needs to know, who they are, why they are here, where they are going and how to get there.
The apostle Johns saw beyond his day to a glorious new age. This is another truth the new age movement lifted direct from the bible. This age will close with an enormous clash between light and darkness, good and evil and finally give way to a fantastic new age of peace, and joy, an age of excitement and challenge.
The coming millennium reign of Christ is part of the Kingdom message. However to be a part of that Kingdom, the Lord has to build His Kingdom in us. We have to be established in Kingdom Qualities. If we are to reign in God's kingdom He has to first set up His kingdom in us.
This emphasis is greatly lacking in the church today. When did you last hear a sermon on, the Sermon on the Mount? Mat Chapters 5 and 6. When did you last hear about a seminar on the Sermon on the Mount?

John 13:35

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

The world has yet to see this, the kingdom in the lives of Christians.

Matthew 5:16	Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
2 Timothy 3:17	That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
18	That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
19	Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

These are but a few scriptures that emphasize the importance of good works. Doing good; to the unsaved, showing love and kingdom qualities. It is time that God's people began to demonstrate the kingdom, not just in healing the sick etc, but in demonstrating the heart of God to a needy world.
God Bless you
Neville Johnson © 2004