JESUS SAID, “I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH.”
I remember many years ago looking at what we had built, and
thinking, “This is solid. God has given us really good people. This will stand
firm.” Then something happened that caused me to realize that whatever we have,
no matter how great it seems to be, is like a dandelion in the wind apart from
the grace of God. We are always on the verge of keeping it all and losing it
all. There is something spiritual that holds things together. It is the favor
of God that establishes (Ps 44:2-4). What we build must be born of the Spirit
and perfected by the Spirit. It must arise out of our intimacy with the Lord,
for it is He who establishes and gives us a “sure house.”
While many pastors are trying to bring their churches to the next level, there are many who simply struggle to get things off the ground. They live in that insecurity zone wondering if they will ever “get this thing to fly.” The church seems to speed down the runway a hundred miles, never leaving the pavement, while many “passengers” get nervous or upset and consider jumping out. Under these circumstances leaders will obviously search for direction trying to find something that works. The pastor looks for new methods, “how to” manuals, and programs that have worked for other pastors. Often this search leads to new and helpful insights and positive direction, but for many it ends in disillusionment. Therefore, I would like to suggest the following considerations.
While learning from others and gaining insight from their methods, we must remember that the real “life” and momentum behind what we do springs from the inner fountain of our intimate fellowship with Jesus. This fountain comes from our abiding in Him and earnestly seeking His face, and being led by the Holy Spirit. In true ministry there is always that element of having to hear from God personally.
“How to” manuals usually do not really tell you how to do it. They simply inspire, motivate, and point in the general direction; they never give a step-by-step, sure-fire way to success. When a book actually gives you a genuine “how to,” it is only telling you in part how one particular person or group succeeded. In our attempts to transplant their programs we must remember that, in the issue of success, there are many various factors relationg to each individual and to each individual situation. Following another man’s methods, you might completely miss certain basic factors in his life and ministry that were crucial to his success. You might follow his methods while failing in other areas such as integrity, prayer, or being true to your own call. The factors crucial to your success might be completely different from his.
Methods which appear to work but without revelation from God’s intimate leading and specific direction to you personally, may prove to be soulishness passing for spirituality and produce a deceptive harvest in the end.
We must never forget the element of Sovereignty. Promotion comes from God. It is He who establishes and sustains. It is God who causes growth. The “hands of Zerubbabel” have to be at work in diligence and wisdom, but ultimately it is “not by power, nor by might, but by My Spirit,” says the Lord. After the farmer cultivates the soil and plants the seed, the “earth yields crops by itself” while the farmer sleeps. The seeds sprout and grow, and the farmer “does not know how.” This represents that element of Sovereignty. After we have done everything we know to do, after we have cultivated and planted, even if we have done it right, there yet remains that element of mystery in which the success depends upon something God does.
While many pastors are trying to bring their churches to the next level, there are many who simply struggle to get things off the ground. They live in that insecurity zone wondering if they will ever “get this thing to fly.” The church seems to speed down the runway a hundred miles, never leaving the pavement, while many “passengers” get nervous or upset and consider jumping out. Under these circumstances leaders will obviously search for direction trying to find something that works. The pastor looks for new methods, “how to” manuals, and programs that have worked for other pastors. Often this search leads to new and helpful insights and positive direction, but for many it ends in disillusionment. Therefore, I would like to suggest the following considerations.
While learning from others and gaining insight from their methods, we must remember that the real “life” and momentum behind what we do springs from the inner fountain of our intimate fellowship with Jesus. This fountain comes from our abiding in Him and earnestly seeking His face, and being led by the Holy Spirit. In true ministry there is always that element of having to hear from God personally.
“How to” manuals usually do not really tell you how to do it. They simply inspire, motivate, and point in the general direction; they never give a step-by-step, sure-fire way to success. When a book actually gives you a genuine “how to,” it is only telling you in part how one particular person or group succeeded. In our attempts to transplant their programs we must remember that, in the issue of success, there are many various factors relationg to each individual and to each individual situation. Following another man’s methods, you might completely miss certain basic factors in his life and ministry that were crucial to his success. You might follow his methods while failing in other areas such as integrity, prayer, or being true to your own call. The factors crucial to your success might be completely different from his.
Methods which appear to work but without revelation from God’s intimate leading and specific direction to you personally, may prove to be soulishness passing for spirituality and produce a deceptive harvest in the end.
We must never forget the element of Sovereignty. Promotion comes from God. It is He who establishes and sustains. It is God who causes growth. The “hands of Zerubbabel” have to be at work in diligence and wisdom, but ultimately it is “not by power, nor by might, but by My Spirit,” says the Lord. After the farmer cultivates the soil and plants the seed, the “earth yields crops by itself” while the farmer sleeps. The seeds sprout and grow, and the farmer “does not know how.” This represents that element of Sovereignty. After we have done everything we know to do, after we have cultivated and planted, even if we have done it right, there yet remains that element of mystery in which the success depends upon something God does.
We must look to the grace of God and build with integrity.
And we must remember that Jesus said, “Upon this rock I will build My church.”
Psalm 75; 1 Chronicles
17:23-27; John 15:1-8; Zachariah
4: 6-8; Mark 4:26-28; 1 Corinthians 3:6-15
---Billy Long
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