There is more to do

When I was young I was sent to one of the top academic schools in the North East. I was there for 10 years of my school life. I left no mark. I coasted through. I left without any great distinction. It was a wonderful opportunity, and I squandered it.

I still receive the school magazine and read of the achievements of my peers; High Court Judges, Doctors, Surgeons, Research Scientists, Ministers of the Crown, Famous Academics etc etc. Basically, you name the Tree and there were people from my school at the top of it.

Here’s another thought. I have just been away for a short break on the west coast of Scotland. Again and again, in the various places I visited, I came across what is actually a very common sight, but one that I suddenly noticed afresh – benches for sitting on to admire the view. The thing that caught my eye was the little plaque they all seemed to have: “In memory of ……… who loved this place etc etc” followed by the persons year of birth and year of death. You know the sort of thing.

Romans 8 v 19 says this: “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed” Creation is waiting for a full revelation of the glory of God revealed in His children. The world deserves to have such a revelation.

As Christians, followers of Jesus, we are called to do more than just ‘attend and get through‘ like I did at school. Our destiny is more than to just leave a memorial behind – “Christians met in this place”. I want to leave more than a park bench behind when I go!

I had coffee with a friend today and we were talking about The Church – not the individual churches that we are part of, but the whole Church. The Body of Christ. There is a verse in Ephesians 3 which says that the purpose of the Church is to make known the “the manifold (multi-faceted) wisdom of God” to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms. If you had sat at our table you would have very quickly picked up that we both love The Church because we both love Jesus and the Church is His. But, that said, it is obvious that the Church has a way to go yet. For it to fulfil its destiny, there needs to be some change. So this conversation was in no way critical of any one church or group of churches.

But, “creation is waiting eagerly for the sons (and daughters) of God to be revealed….”

I said before that the world deserves to have a full revelation of the glory of God resting on His people and working out through them, in the Church, to give a powerful and accurate representation of the Kingdom of God. The world hasn’t had that yet.

There have been “outbreaks” in various places and times. Some have lasted longer than others. The longest, most sustained and most effective of these was the first 250 years or so of the Early Church. And that was good, but that was meant to be our starting off place, not a finishing goal for us to aspire to.

The Church is in better shape in some parts of the world than it is in others. Interestingly the places where it is manifesting the power and glory of God in greater measure are the places where opposition is high, where following Jesus is difficult and carries a cost. Interestingly also, is that in these places the Church is flexible, the bar for leadership is not set really high by being dependent on years of experience or training; and women and children too, take their place as leaders. These churches have also learned how to function ‘under the radar’ of the authorities, they often tend to be small, house based, on fire for Jesus and they multiply. They haven’t “arrived” but they are definitely on the right way.

The truth is that the Kingdom of God is meant to grow, not wither. The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, that grows until it becomes a tree….The kingdom of God is like yeast that spreads through the whole batch of flour; it is to spread its influence across the whole earth. Because the Church is inextricably linked with the Kingdom, it must extend its penetration into society too – in every culture, in every nation as the lost are gathered to Jesus.

We haven’t yet got to the place where we can say to the world that we have reached our full potential. We haven’t yet managed to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom to the whole world. [That gospel is not just an intellectual appeal, not just persuasive words, but is accompanied by a demonstration of the Spirit’s power (1 Corinthians 2 v 4)]. We haven’t yet got to the place where we can say to the world, “there you are, that’s the best demonstration of the Kingdom and the Church on earth that it’s possible to give you”. And the world deserves that demonstration. Our villages, towns and cities deserve that demonstration. Our unsaved friends, family and acquaintances deserve a clear representation of Jesus and His power, a clear representation of the Kingdom and a clear representation of Church – the people who walk with Him.

To do this the Church needs to change, and that means that we need to change.

When Jesus returns for His Bride, the Church, He is not coming for some bedraggled specimen that He has just had to rescue by snatching her from the jaws of her enemy. He is coming for a Bride worthy of the King. He is coming for a Bride who is strong in the strength of His power, a Bride who is victorious over the enemy, a Bride who has made His multi-faceted wisdom known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms and then entered His rest (Hebrews 4 v 10).

There is so much remaining for the Church to do, to become, and to overcome. And it’s not about us. We are to go and make disciples of all nations, and as we go and do that the supernatural power of God will accompany us with the miraculous.

Let’s not drift through life and church the way I drifted through school. We want to leave more behind than just a memorial plaque to say that we were here. This is not the time to Check out. This is the time to Check in. We are being offered the opportunity to be at the front of what God is about to do. Why settle for a back seat? “Let us encourage one another – and all the more as we see the Day approaching.”