
from Pleasant Grove Baptist Church https://ift.tt/2XXrkF2
via IFTTT What has happened to the new testament church? These verses come from a set of chapters of a letter written by Paul to a church that he had launched. This church had gone a bit astray and Paul was correcting them. What had they gone astray in? Disorder. The church people were moving so fluently in the spiritual gifts that disorder resulted. Apparently many people were prophesying, talking over each other, acting disrespectfully to each other as they moved under the power of God. Now, without justifying their disorderly conduct, let me ask you, have you been in a church service where the problem was too many of the church people were prophesying ? Paul did not call these false prophets nor false prophesies. They were real! This was not the church leaders, not the preacher or pastor or teacher. This was the common members so moved by the spirit that they were all blurting out what they received from heaven. Paul corrected the disorderly nature of it, not the actions themselves. He simply said.... "Take turns!" What happened to the church? Where are the saints in the pews speaking prophesy, song, teaching, insight, interpretation? How did we go from "not everyone talk at once" as the problem to "everyone sit quietly and listen to one speak for an hour"? The problem in today's church, at least most churches, is not over exuberance of the members all anxiously walking in acts of the spirit. The problem today is, who among the members actually says anything according to the spirit during a meeting? What would Paul say if he walked into your church today? Would he be concerned as he was in this church that too many speak at once? Or would he be concerned that no one speaks at all? How far the church has fallen from the New testament ways, truth, and power. How shall the saints leave the church service and change the world if they don't even practice following the spirit during the service? Where do they learn to follow the spirit? One does not go into the battlefield without learning the ways of warfare and practicing, how could we send saints out into the battlefield of the world without practice? Our churches today often don't look anything like the new testament church, where the leadership had to "slow down" the excited members so anxious to do God's work that chaos resulted. Our churches today look more like a movie theater, members silently absorbing for an hour only to go back into the world unchanged. The spirit of the prophets are subject to the prophets. The person must act, willfully. This takes practice. Listen and do. The safety and acceptance of church as an extended family is the place to learn and practice! Not in chaos, but also not in silence. The wisdom, insight, encouragement brought to the church by a whole body working together is unmatchable by any individual. Dont rely on the preacher to meet all needs. The preacher or pastor can't! That is not even God's design. Everyone of the saints brings something to offer. The pastor can never duplicate that. The church, is a family and a body. Multiple members all following the same spirit in slightly different ways for a common purpose. The church is action, work, practice, growth. And it's one of the most beautiful experiences imaginable to behold, and to participate in.