Matt.16:
18.
And I say also unto thee, That thou art
Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall
not prevail against it.
One
of the greatest problems we’re faced with today is the misconception / the preconceived
ideas of the word church.
Notwithstanding
that even though many among us can intellectually and articulately give the
Greek meaning of the word church
(ekklesia, ek-klay-see'-ah;) The hidden
ignorance within many religious leaders concerning church is being manifested every
day, and also the true revelation of church
(Matt.16:18).
Here’s
where we are today as it relates to what is known as the church!
As
soon as a man or woman feels that they’ve gotten a call of God upon his or her
life, their very next step is rent a space or construct an edifice of which
they would call a church; to conduct religious activities. Whereas, in
Matt.16:18.
Yahshua Messiah (a.k.a. Jesus the Christ) as he spoke to Peter was in
no way, form or fashion referring to the constructing of building and calling
it church.
Matt.16:13.
Yahshua
asked the disciples this question
“Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?”
The
Apostle Peter, via revelation from God (Yahweh) received the answer to Yahshua’s
question and said:
Matt.16:
16.
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the
living God.
Here’s
Yahshua’s response to Peter’s answer:
Matt.16:
17.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed
art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee,
but my Father which is in heaven.
:18.
And I say also unto thee, That thou art
Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall
not prevail against it.
How
many times have you heard a church leader; a Bishop, a Doctor, an Apostle,
Pastor, etc; make mention of his church? Or it’s duly noted that Bishop,
Pastor, etc; is the builder and founder of a particular church. Herein lays the
problem we have today!
The buildings
that we’re calling church, belongs to the religious leaders or denominations
that provided the finances to construct them. Whereas Yahshua said
“I
will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
Yahshua’s
church
(ekklesia, ek-klay-see'-ah;) an organism, a community of
people, a called out assembly / congregation to worship the Father in spirit
and in truth.
The
organized religious church (a building or buildings where persons of like faith
gather to worship and perform religious rituals).
The
churches that are being built by religious leaders and denominations are the
ones that the gates of hell are prevailing against. These are the churches that
have saddled their members with a hefty monthly mortgage; where members are consistently
fussed at and pressured for tithes and special offerings to meet the churches
demands / obligations. These are the churches that are making no positive
impact in their communities (spiritually or naturally), criminal activities;
poverty and other social ill are rampant in these communities.
Here’s
some additional features of the organized religious church: (1) A court battle
is on the way between the Bishop and the church board over its ownership; as a
result of the Bishop / founder wanting to hand the church over to his son or
daughter, (2) The deacon board runs / controls the church, (3) The doors of the
church are only open on service days or for other special events; a stranger
can’t just go into the building / church for an hour or two of prayer and meditation
before the Lord; due to the spirit of fear that something might be stolen.
Watch
this!
This
question is often asked
“Why are Bishops, Pastors, and other
religious leaders in competition with each other; if they all are serving /
worshiping the same God?”
Here’s
the honest answer to that question!
It’s
because church as its known today has become a big money making business. It’s about
the money and material possessions; the leader with the largest following rakes
in the most money
(tithes and offerings).
Have
you ever seen this?
A strip mall or
plazas where two or more churches are found, churches opening / operating next
door to one another!
The
confusion that’s within today’s church can be liken to an unstable baseball
team where at the height of a championship game; two first base players are
occupying first base at the same time, or the left fielder is constantly
challenging the right fielder to catch a fly ball which eventually falls in
between the both of them
The
competition and division that exist within and among the religious / organized
church clearly indicates that Christ, the Messiah is not the builder and
founder of such churches; no matter how much the religious leaders may say
otherwise.
Here’s
a word to the church / saints at Ephesus that Christ built by the Apostle Paul:
Eph.
4:1.
I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord,
beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, :2.
With all lowliness and meekness, with
longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
:3.
Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit
in the bond of peace.
:4.
There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye
are called in one hope of your calling;
:5.
One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
Take
a few minutes and prayerfully consider, based upon some of the things that’s
taking place in the church / place where you fellowship, worship and ask
yourself this question
“Whose church is it ?
Pastors
Matthew & Brendalee Allen
Kingdom
Minded Fellowship Center Int’l
