Faith for God’s Church
Hebrews11: 8-10 “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the Promised Land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” (NIV)
It is fitting that Abraham is looked at as an example of the faithful pursuit of God’s purpose since the Word declares him to be the “father of our faith.” It is truly remarkable when you realize that he was completely “blind” to what God provided since he was a stranger in a land he had not proven! Or was he? Was he blind or did he really see?I am fully convinced that Abraham simply trusted and could care less what the circumstances declared or even the inhabitants of the land shouted. God had a plan and a place for Abraham!
Metaphorically, that place is the CHURCH for every Christ-follower! The local church to be exact, since God never asks us to merely give ourselves to a “notion” but a real place where life is worked out and our faith is established. For the most part every believer is a “stranger” when introduced to this land of promise called the church. That stranger-like existence presses us to learn and abide by a very different culture than we were accustomed to before we came to Christ. The terrain is different, the customs are different, and certainly the world-view is super-different! You can quickly identify when the faithful are having difficulty with this new life when their language is punctuated by “it’s so hard,” or “I tried…” That language immediately coughs up the realization that they still haven’t truly LEFT THEIR OLD HOME! There’s got to be a better way of establishing our faith. There is! It is our identification with the “land” of provision God has given—the Church. It’s up to us as church leaders to emphasize the true benefits of being truly connected.
Here are some of the amazing benefits that identifying with the church enthusiastically and actively can bring to EVERY believer just as it did for Abraham:
CLEARS UP OUR FOCUS
It certainly did for Abraham! He never looked back and he certainly did not focus on escape clauses to get him out of there! Believers need to establish deep roots in the church and make it the “center” of their new cultural identity. Abraham had no intention of ever walking away from that identity that God provided through His gift of this new land of promise! Way too many believers treat the church as an addendum to their already busy life—to the degree that it rarely (if ever) achieves a prominent role in their priorities. Church participation and engagement usually gets the boot when the schedule is bulging with activity that is simply not clear focus as Jesus intended. After all – the church is HIS body. What better terminology exists in the scripture to highlight the connection Christ intended with His people? When the Church connection takes center stage – the rest of the priorities take on greater meaning and life actually becomes manageable!
BRINGS OUR LIFE IN LINE WITH HIS
It makes sense then that to the degree we value importance in being the Body of Christ in the world—is the degree to which we become closer aligned with His purpose? Perhaps this is the reason so many believers live such disjointed lives or experience such drastic highs and lows when it comes to victorious living. Many times we chase other ways to self-help at the expense of true connection with God’s lifeline. Our life disconnects from “being” to just “doing” when there is no real reason for our connection. Our theology should be rooted in the understanding that God has intended that we do life together in close proximity with other Christians. Why? Because it brings balance to our life, surrender to sacrifice (because we share others’ pain) and accountability because others will feel ours! That after all, is the way to be Jesus to our world. What better way is there to learn what it means to live Christ-like, than to see and hear your fellow family members doing life in community with you!
If we are going to recapture faith for God’s Church – we must start with positioning ourselves to receive from Him. You cannot get your life in order any other way. Don’t miss out on the “vehicle” God uses to do orient us to Kingdom living. He orders your world through connection to Himself—and that connection cannot occur away from connection to the Church, which is His Body! This is what leaders must teach as well as mirror to those they lead.
