How is the relationship between your church and God?

Saints,                                                                                                             17 July 2011

I know that is a strange question. How can we answer that question? Do we get the financial record books out? Should we cross-check attendance with a year ago, or two years ago? Maybe the most significant indicator of our church health is the number of baptisms. Actually dear brothers and sisters, I would like to suggest another way for us to examine how our churches are doing. We must ask ourselves, “How intimate with God is each individual church member?”

Is the Father every church member’s greatest desire?

Does the Psalmist’s describe your heart in the following passage?

Psalms 73:25 (ESV)
²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

Yes, this is a good way to measure the church. We see men and women alike in the Bible who walked in a deep relationship with God. They sought after God. They were more interested in God’s kingdom than their own. There are many examples of men and women throughout church history like that.

The missionary to China, Hudson Taylor’s story fascinates me. We see Hudson Taylor who was used mightily by God and who found what we all desire, a soul-rest. He strove in his faith to be sure. Even so, he finally discovered true resting in Christ. Don’t you want that? I do. At times I am so overcome with a sense of God’s truth and power and reality, that I am compelled to action—compelled to pray. We desire every moment to be like that—completely surrendered and led by the Spirit.

But here is exactly where we need to see the good news. Where we are weak—He is strong. Dear pastor, if you are struggling right now, let it go. Rest--truly rest in the Father. This means stop striving. I know it sounds funny. It is “counter-cultural” To truly rest in Christ and His power. This is against the world’s wisdom. The point of true surrender is the point of victory in Christ. Let us live right there. Let us live in surrender. This is the point of real fruit bearing. Yes, God we believe, help our unbelief. Remember Christ—His power, Spirit, mercy and grace is the foundation and sustenance of our faith.

Let’s turn back to the church. We are the church. So it makes sense that if we want to know how the church is doing, we need to look at the people who make up the church. Are we like David (by God’s perspective) after God’s own heart? Be careful here. It is easy to reduce our walk with Christ to merely the three D’s: Duty, Determination, and Discipline without real connection to the Father. If we do this we begin to resemble the Pharisees—a hollow determination to follow rules instead of true heart surrender to our heavenly Father.

To help us answer this question about the church a little better, please read this quote from the Heart Transformation workbook by Keith and Karen Peterson page, 59.

“It is critical to realize that blessings are not the objective. They are the fruit of intimacy with God. Blessings are who God is. We want to know God so well, be intimate with Him by knowing His thoughts, His emotions, and His desires and reflect them back to Him. We do not want to just know and obey His commands and discipline ourselves to live them. True intimacy with God reflects a man/woman “after God’s own heart.” My life becomes defined by wanting to please Him, and not disappoint Him, and, thus. As my Father, He desires to bless me. Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love God with everything we are—heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30). Pilgrimage is the journey of the heart to the sacred destination, His presence.” 

So, what is the point? Why does this matter? I submit to you that our intimacy with Jesus is the very essence of life—out of this intimacy flows everything God desires for this world. Out of intimacy with Christ, flows the obedience of the Christ-follower. Out of this intimacy with Christ flows witnessing, prayer, a passion for God’s Word, disciple making, repentance, and holiness. In other words, intimacy with Christ is life. Jesus said this Himself,

John 14:6 (NIV)
⁶ Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Father, forgive us for being satisfied with spiritual numbness--even apathy. We need You to awaken, deepen and revive Your church. Yes, even each one of us. Please grant each of us an intimate relationship with You. May we be men and women after your own heart. Father, use us to change this world. May our total surrender result in lives healed, people rescued from oppression, salvation to men and women who need you, both in our culture and in every culture. In the name in which we receive every spiritual blessing—Jesus. Amen. 

Compelled to pray and desperate for God, Steve