Meetings

 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Ephesians 4:11-13

Dudley Hall is a writer and preacher who has spoken into my spirit many times over the years. I wanted to share several of his thoughts with you today....."For most, 'church life' consists of many meetings with few times of Spirit filled excitement and stimulation.....Retreats are usually just another meeting. We go to a meeting to rest up from meetings...Does our church meet, but not relate, sing, but not praise, preach, but not prophesy?"

Whether we agree with all Hall says or not, we cannot deny that there is a lot of truth in what he writes. If we will take the truth of what he's saying, and bring it before what Paul writes is to be the ministry of mission of the church, what do we see? When we come together, what do we "look like?" Not just to ourselves, but to the Father, to the Lord Christ, whose Body we are?

Just centering on the last questions Hall asks, how do we answer? If you're a regular part of a weekly fellowship, were you coming together mainly for a meeting, or to actually relate to one another and to the Father? I'm not talking about whether you greeted others, engaged in friendly conversation (what most of us consider "fellowship"), and then got in your cars and drove home. I mean, did you participate in real community? Did we really touch one another's lives? Did we have communion, did we have real fellowship in Christ? Did we lay hold of God and did he lay hold of us? When we sang, did we just kind of hum along with the songs the worship team or choir sang, or did we enter into worship and praise with all of our heart and being? How many of us staggered in half-way through the service, so distracted that by the time we even began to focus, the service was over? And the sermon, what did we hear? Someone said that there is a difference between a sermon someone prepared, and a message from the heart of God proclaimed through a vessel in tune with His heart. What are we more likely to hear on any given Sunday?

Hall differentiates between a sermon preached, and a prophetic utterance from the Father. We mistakenly think that to prophesy means to foretell something. It doesn't mean only that. In fact, most often it means He communicates His heart, desire, and will to those He seeks to speak to through His messenger. Hall says that to "prophesy is to bring a Spirit filled proclamation of who Christ is and what that means to this situation." To this gathering. This means that every time we come together, God seeks to speak His mind and heart to what it is that directly applies to those in the gathering. This will require a messenger fully in tune with His heart, and listeners whose ears are attuned to His voice. Can we dare to ask whether we're hearing sermons prepared, or communications directly from His Spirit? What were you a part of this past week?

I came to Christ at the age of 29 with almost no church background at all. I quickly became part of a church whose pastor had hold of the heart of God. Every time I heard him preach, I knew I was hearing from God's Spirit. I soaked in his messages from the Father. So powerful were they upon me that I was there for every gathering that church had. I don't know how many others entered into that kind of communion, but I did. No meeting could have brought that kind of response. I wanted to be in His presence, hearing Him, sensing Him, soaking in Him. This is worship. This is church. Is it your church?

The world is dying for such a church. The church is too. Are you? Jesus asked that if when He returned, would He find faith in His people? I don't think He'll be seeking a church that specializes in meetings, but one that displays all the fullness of His body life. May it be our passion to be such a church, such a people.

Blessings,

Pastor O