Sending them out to prepare His way

Luk 10:1  After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come. 

Have you ever noticed this writing before? We all know of the 70 disciples that He sends out and bequeaths some of His power to them.

Yet the most interesting fact here is that He sent them out to places that He Himself is going to.

Isn’t that interesting? He sends people out to prepare the way, then when He gets there the people are ready to meet the Lord. Fascinating.

Even today we do the same, or at least we should be doing the same, getting out and preparing the way of the Lord. For the rapture is coming and we must prepare the people for it.

To a more immediate note, we are to prepare the people for each service, for each day that they will be ready when God shows up.

How dry are our churches that we miss the preparation of the way. Jesus is coming (so He promises in the Bible) to wherever we believers are gathered together.

Are we preparing the way? Are we getting people ready to meet Him? Or are we failing them by doing less than required to prepare them for their meeting with the Lord?

Be Zealous and repent

Rev 3:19  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. 

He still loves His church despite the fact that they have become ineffective, they have left Him and have put Him in the corner.

Yet because He still loves them He must rebuke them and chasten them if they do not repent.

But notice He does not just say repent, no He says be Zealous AND Repent.

Zealous, ‘showing great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or objective.’

Be Zealous therefore – show great energy and enthusiasm for repenting, getting on fire for me and spreading my Gospel.

More than anything He hates the ineffective complacent church.

How many in today’s America would identify as the Church at Laodicea? Neither hot nor cold but lukewarm. Good for nothing.

Time for the church in America to repent of their pride  in their riches, of their complacency and get Zealous for Him and the things of Heaven.

Keep church business in the Church

I believe we are no longer using the church as we should.

We have turned it into a show to bring the world in, when in actuality it is for the Christian to shut the World out for a while and be safe. We see the numbers on Sunday morning when the majority of the world attends, yet when the few faithful show up Sunday Night and Wednesday night we get down because the excitement, the crowds do not show, yet that is precisely the time to be there for that is when the Spirit is there, that is when you need it most. That is where you energies should be focused.

We have completely altered the purpose of the church. To our own detriment. It was never intended to be a House for the Lost, it is a home for the church family.

It is a safe haven, a sanctuary, a family gathering place.

Way back when in the First church, the Apostle Paul expected the church Family to have nothing to do with the world’s system. Yes we are to work in it, yes we are to live there, sleep there, eat there but we are not to dwell there, not to abide there and not become a part of.

We are to come out from among them and be separate. The Church is for the Christian, a place to meet and Worship. A place to gather and fellowship, it is to be your life after the workday, on the day off.

The first church was so eager to talk of Jesus to meet and live for Him, they went from house to house as a body worshipping the Lord.

Paul is so dedicated to the notion of the church being THE place for the Christian that he even thinks you need to bring your disagreements there. Your disputes are to be solved there.

1Co 6:1  Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? 

Do any of you in the church having an issue with another, as a child of God, dare to go to the world’s courts? We are to be judged by the saints, those in Christ who can see the matter from a sanctified state.

We are not to quarrel in the world, we are not to take our issues out amongst the world.