Clearing the rubble of moralism and liberalism by Jason Shiels (Part 2)

So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days

Nehemiah 6:15

Thanks for stopping by. If you would like to take in what I shared in Part 1 then take a moment to read the first part of this short article…

What is being restored? (Part 2)

6. Prayer, prayer, prayer -and the value of corporate prayer

I have spent years as a Kingdom advancer in church and I am utterly convinced that PRAYER must be seen once more for its utter irreplaceability in the body. Charles Spurgeon had a level of his church building dedicated to what he called the ‘engine room’ of prayer. It’s a tough thing to say but I believe prayerlessness exposes a couple of things about us: a. We are too comfortable, b. We believe we have ‘got this’ in our own strength c. We can’t be bothered and want entertained and ‘me time all the time’ d. we believe that it’s pointless to pray or maybe just limit its importance…. The Lord has a way of shaking things up so that we need Him more and to increase our dependency. So we should watch out! A prayerful church is a people who understand we can do nothing apart from God! It’s also a church that are learning to say ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!’ Let the people of God come out to pray together where at all possible and many times when its not convenient! While I agree that we can pray at any time in any place (there is a context for this), there is also a context for praying together as a church tribe and with oversight and in partnership with (yet not limited to) the local church’. There are often too many disconnected from leadership, as though that’s alright. Let the body of Jesus Christ represented in local church gatherings arise and pray! “Prayer is that slender nerve that moves the muscle of Omnipotence!” (Spurgeon)

7. Metrics of success – what is of first importance?

I write here as a church leader. A pioneer and Kingdom advancer but firstly as a son of God, a follower and lover of God. What is vital for church leaders and indeed for all Christians to comprehend is what are the metrics of success in this whole business of following God and secondly, as part of a church ministry. I believe we should be defined by our love for God and our faithfulness and fruitfulness unto Him. We can only love, serve, be generous etc because He has FIRST loved us. Its vital that we understand what is of paramount importance,

3 For I handed down to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 1 Corinthians 15v3-5 NASB

19 We love because he first loved us

1 John 4:19

So often the Western church has measured success by ‘Bums’ (on pews!) and ‘Bucks’. While I am not voting for a lack of growth or a lack of generosity (definitely not!) I also believe we need to be careful and discerning regarding the will of God. I believe we should be asking questions like: ‘How are we doing at loving and supporting one another?’ How are we growing as gospel centred and Spirit-filled disciples of Jesus that are known by our love? (John 13:35). We should be seeking to grow IN the Lord and then trusting for obedience to His will and commandments. As such, I do also think we need to measure ‘success’ by whether we are ACTUALLY being faithful to the Lord on HIS terms. That is legitimate and needed and not always popular!! The size of a church is not necessarily or automatically a metric of success or failure. However, in general, healthy churches grow. People get saved. Discipleship happens in real time in real life! People become stewards and not just owners of their money, time and gifting…and so on! Churches that are based according to NT measurements would surely look at how Christlike we are becoming, whether we are staying faithful to the Scriptures and true to the gospel, and so on….hope you are catching me! What we are not called to do is follow some self-proclaimed ‘growth specialist’ who tells us to abandon multi-generational church in favour of trying to accelerate growth through generational church models, and so on!

8. Stewards and not owners –

19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your bodies.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Paul teaches sexual purity through the lens of our union with Christ in the gospel. He teaches redemption and helps us to understand that we now BELONG to Christ. He is our master. Our Lord! How we use our lives, including our bodies as seen in this passage, matters to Him and should matter to us. We are encouraged to understand the limits of our autonomy! This means that we need to clear the rubble of every person doing as they see fit, without reference to the Lord and His Word! We are to steward ALL of who we are and what we have for Him. All! That’s normal Biblical gospel centred and Spirit controlled Christianity. Let’s clear the rubble and build on Christ by the Spirit. Let’s ensure our lives overflow for Him as we live through Him!

For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.

Romans 11v36

What a metric of success this is!!!!

9. Spirit-empowered –

And do not get drunk with wine, in which there is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,

Ephesians 5v18

We need to see a fresh dependency on the Holy Spirit. We need His Presence, His ministry among us and through us, His gifts fanned into flame and His reviving work.

This will also mean a fresh emphasis on BOTH the spontaneous works of God the Holy Spirit through His people (healings, miracles, prophecy etc) and also His work in the ordinary matters of life (work, raising a family, marriage, being an employer/employee etc). We need the Holy Spirit! So let us throw off excessive caution! Let us not overthink the potential to ‘miss’ (Make mistakes) regarding Holy Spirit to the extent that we miss him (neglect him) altogether…

Start with relationship. Remember that Holy Spirit is a divine Person of the Godhead. He is not impersonal. He was sent to be with us forever and to join us forever with the Lord. Let’s remember to fellowship with the Spirit and to expect His input and interventions in our life! We are not deists! God is with us! He is involved! So we need to expect and anticipate this….

The church that Jesus is building must be Spirit-filled, Spirit-empowered, Spirit-controlled and Spirit-led. Come Holy Spirit! Come baptise your church afresh in the Holy Spirit Lord!!