Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
We must concentrate on the souls and spiritual growth, not just numbers of people. Do we expect God to make us stewards over a huge flock when we have not adequately ministered to the souls of the small flock we have? We must show ourselves approved of God before he will promote us and trust us with the multitudes. It is about reviving souls and not about numbers. Sure we all want a full sanctuary but that is our own vain glory, not the true calling of God. It also does not give God the glory. Are we teaching and preaching so that souls are filled with the spirit of God? Are we spiritually feeding people? Are we giving them understanding of the scriptures and are we teaching them how to use the word of God to Change their lives? If not, how do we expect for revival to break out in the Church? Do we realize that many people do not know the word of God?
There are many people that read the word of God but do not understand it much less know how to use the word to effectuate change in their lives. In order to revive the church we must change this trend. We cannot revive someone else when we are dead ourselves. Are we practicing old traditions and unfruitful doctrines? The bible tells us that the traditions of men make the word of God of no effect.
Mark 7:13 “Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.”
I once went to rent a truck while we were doing our outreach ministry with the homeless. I gave the man who owned the truck rental company a CD of one of my sermons. The sermon was about sin and repentance and the price Jesus paid on the cross so that we could be free from sin. When I came back to return the truck, to my surprise, the CD was playing on the speakers in the store. He saw me come in, and rushed over to me. He told me that he had gone to church all his life, almost 45 years, but that he never had any one explain sin, repentance and what Jesus did for us to him. I was blown away.
I even met a pastor who told me that he did not know what fornication was. He had been saved for years before he discovered what it was and knew that he had been sinning all his life. Are we actually keeping the gospel a secret? These are basic simple doctrines of Christianity. However, many people, even in the church, do not know them or know how to explain them. We have to keep the word of God and the gospel at the center of the message. I hear pastors all the time preaching about the deeper things or more complex things of God. Truth be told the gospel is not complex at all. In fact, it is very simple. Paul said to the church at Corinth “all I know is Jesus Christ and him crucified.”
From The Book 4R’s By Judson Powell
