It is a stereotype that women take longer to dress than men do, though I know many men who take longer than the ladies do. But we can all agree that a Bride takes a long time to prepare in her dressing, make-up and more, especially if you include the shopping aspect of what she she will wear on her wedding day, the process sometimes lasting more than a year.
Ephesians 5:25-28 (NIV)
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
Paul taught husbands how to be loving to their wives and tied it into the idea that this is similar to what Jesus did when He offered himself as a sacrifice for His Bride, the Church. We see that washing with Water of the Word of God removes the blemishes, the spots and the wrinkles in the preparation of the Bride so that she, the Church, may be presented to Him radiant at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (a description of the beginning of Eternal Life with Jesus - Revelation 19:9).
I want to challenge you today that simply pouring water on something does not wash it. There must be scrubbing, soaking, application in order for change to come. This is why the Bible states that we cannot just "hear the Word", but we must "do the Word." Otherwise we will "deceive ourselves." (James 1:22)
Jesus declared 7 "woes" recorded in Matthew 23:13-39. A careful study will reveal that what made Jesus say "woe" more than 2,000 years ago in relation to how the Pharisees & Teachers of the Law were treating the ministry and people of God are much the same as they are today. I believe Jesus could speak the exact same message today and many of the Church leaders would be considered by Him to be a "brood of vipers." Sad...
In the 2nd of the woes in verse 15 (NIV), Jesus said “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are."
This is a truly amazing and surprisingly harsh statement requiring a double take. As a matter of fact, I posted this verse on Facebook awhile back and received "concerned" inbox messages and Emails as a result. Very few, it seems are comfortable with Jesus' terminology here. Converts can be Children of Hell?!?
He wasn't condemning the religious leaders for slacking in their work. They travelled land and sea to win converts. I think of all the work of the Church today, outreaches, missions, crusades and more, all done with the purpose of winning converts. All done with great enthusiasm, passion and with intense focus. But Jesus didn't end His time on earth saying to go and win converts, He said to "Go and Make Disciples..." (Matthew 28:16-20)
When all that we do is win a convert and they only hear the Word and don't do what it says... do they then become a Bride with Spots and Wrinkles? What Jesus called a child of hell twice as bad as a pharisee? Yes they do. Because it takes application of God's Word, it takes discipleship, true washing with the water of the Word in order to produce the harvest that Jesus died for.
At the end of the 7 woes sermon in Matthew 23:33-34 (NIV), Jesus said, 33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town."
Jesus said that because of the 7 Woes caused by the Pharisees and the Religious Leaders of the day, that He is sending some folks. Some people who will do the true job of the Kingdom of God! People who will not only fight the devil and the systems of the world, but would also fight the religious systems which mislead people supposedly in the name of God and pious righteousness.
Jesus called them Prophets, Sages and Teachers. A new generation, a new tribe, those who would speak from the heart of God! A prophet speaks what God tells him to. A sage is a man of wisdom who helps people to make good decisions according to heavenly concepts and strategies (an apostle who builds things/people according to God's specifications). A teacher is someone who expounds the word of God. The difference of these that Jesus would send is that they would not be building their own kingdoms. They wouldn't be winning converts to a denomination or to a single church, but they would advance God's Kingdom and make disciples not to themselves but to Jesus. Their focus would not be on drawing people to the temple (or to the cutting edge modern day church facility) (attractional model of ministry), but they would actually "GO." Anonymously doing all for the glory of the One who sent them. This is not to say that we should not have nice facilities and should not do our best to have amazing services which people will actually want to attend. We are supposed to do that. And this new tribe will need to worship together and relate together in Churches where those of the same ideals can meet. But not as the main point. We should never mistake the "house work" of the Church with the "Kingdom work" of going out into the businesses, the homes, the schools, the territories, on the hi-ways and on the bi-ways to be the salt and light for this generation. To give people what they really need. An opportunity to become a disciple, a Bride without blemish, spot or wrinkle, living in the freedom that life led by the Spirit enables us to live!
What about you? Do you want to be one of these that Jesus is sending? A prophet, a sage or a teacher facing the forces of darkness and religion so that you can reach your hand out in the love & power of Jesus and win the lost? This is the calling I have chosen. That many have chosen and are choosing! Let's reach the lost before some pharisee reaches them... shall we? :-)
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
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