“For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.” 1 Corinthians 12:12
The charge against the church at Ephesus (Revelation 2:4) was that they had left their first love. The charge against the church at Sardis (Revelation 3:1) was that their works had died off. This was about what the people were or were not doing.
“What would my church be if every member was just like me? In reality, since the church is comprised of members, it will, in almost every way, just be what the members are.
–It is members who prepare themselves for the teaching and preaching.
–It is members who prepare to lead in singing praises to God.
–It is members who make up congregational singing.
–It is members who do the praying for the church.
–It is members who provide the fellowship in the church.
–It is members who support the operation of the church.
–It is members who promote the advancement of the church.
–It is members who supply the admonishment needed to uproot wrong thinking, and keep the focus right.
It is possible to think of the church as an incubator, with a freshly prepared buffet, with live entertainment. As one steps inside, they are made to feel warm all over, their appetites are filled, and their feelings gratified. With that concept, all that is needed is to drag in and dart out.
But in reality, the church is like an empty room, that what goes on there is determined by what you bring and do while you are there. What you find will be what you are seeking. What you reap will be what you have sown. The satisfaction you get will be from what you contribute. It is sort of like a carry-in dinner: what is there to eat, is what is brought in by the eaters.
God’s part is in blessing us in our deeds: “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” James 1:25
“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measure to you again.” Luke 6:38
SHARING
