The Church – Her History, Habitation and Harvest Part 1 Her History We are told to remember the past

The Church – Her History, Habitation and Harvest  Part 1

Her History

We are told to remember the past

Deuteronomy 32:7	Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.
Psalms 77:11	I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.
Psalms 143:5	I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands.
Luke 17:32	Remember Lot's wife.

History is simply – His Story

When Jesus was speaking to the church at Ephesus, He said to them REMEMBER FROM WHENCE YOU HAVE  FALLEN  Rev2:5

Fallen in the Greek  means to  “To drift away from”  Implies they were to look back to where the church was 50 before.

THE CHURCH HER HISTORY

The problem is: We want early church power without the cost the early church paid.

One of the conditions for overcoming is found in Revelations 12:5

Revelation 12:11

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

This is prophetic of the end-time church.

LOVED NOT THEIR LIVES UNTO DEATH.

The early church was birthed in death and raised on persecution.

Steven was stoned to death

James was    beheaded

Paul was beheaded

1000s went to their death in the Arena

The spirit of Christians in the early church was that of a living martyrdom

Romans 14:8	For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.
1 Corinthins 15:31	I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
Phillippian 1:21	For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

They were no longer their own

Their lives were not their own

Their property was not there own

They were willing to give their all for Jesus. They no longer lived unto themselves

Jesus said to the Church at Smyrna

You will have tribulation for 10 days

Revelation 2:10

Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast [some] of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

The Roman Emperor Diocletian declared war against the church in this Smyrna period which lasted for 10 years and over 40,000 Christians were martyred

The spirit of the early church was that of self denial, the spirit of the cross

II Timothy 2:12

If we suffer, we shall also reign with [him]: if we deny [him], he also will deny us:

God is raising up a new kind of church a church which will be clothed in servant hood and self denial.

Hebrews 12:1	Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset [us], and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
3	For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
4	Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.

THE CHURCH HER HISTORY IS THAT OF SELFDENIAL SACRIFICE AND DEATH

Phillippians 2:5	Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6	Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7	But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
8	And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became
9	Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

We live in society where everyone wants to be served, we have our rights we understand our rights we stand up for ourselves. Whole new generations of young people have been raised on the humanistic idea of stand up for yourself. Psychology has replaced common sense, and Gods Word.  Its now illegal to smack your children, these new age do-gooders with degrees in psychology infiltrating government departments  have brainwashed a whole generation, and we are reaping lawlessness and chaos as a result.  The atrocious lack of good manners in the youth of today is a symptom of lack of discipline and real instruction and enforvment in right and wrong.

Romans 15:1	We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
2	Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.
3	For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.

Have you ever wondered why Jesus never spoke against slavery in His day?   The apostle Paul exhorted those who were slaves to faithfully serve their masters.

Jesus never advocated the overthrow of any government by force He simply encouraged us to show the qualities of the Kingdom of God in all meekness and gentleness and Love.  Hew new only love overcomes evil.

Romans 12:21	Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
13:1	Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
2	Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
Titus 2:9	Exhorts servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things;

Paul’s commands to masters was:

Colossins 4:1

Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.

It is the meek who finally inherit the earth and when we become as lambs the lion will walk with the Lamb.

The early church history is one of laying down their lives, taking up the cross and with love serving all of humanity.

God Bless you

Neville Johnson © March 2006