Where is the Church?
Jesus makes a fascinating statement in Matthew 16. He is asking His disciples peoples opinion of Him. Peter answers the question correctly and Jesus responds with this statement;
“17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Now, the “rock” Jesus speaks of is not the Apostle Peter but “revelation from the Father”. Jesus was forecasting the purpose for the church. The church was to become a “intercessory” army that God would use to literally bring the “Kingdom of Heaven” to earth. He has even given us authority to both bind and loose on earth. The overall church lost this mandate somewhere along the way. Perhaps, we have fallen for the false principle of the “separation of church and state” which has become just the opposite of what Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1802;
“I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.”
With the fear of losing 501-C3 status, the church has lost its ability to be salt and light in our culture. That has caused it to be only focused on itself and its programs. However, I believe God is beginning to wake us up to begin to once again be effective in the world. We are looking once again to God as our source and not the government. Once that mental shift happens, the church will begin to be the “warrior bride” that God has called it to be. As we move forward, we will encounter opposition from those who don’t really have clue of what is going on. They will believe that we need to move on from “political” stuff, just accept things as they are and get back to “spiritual” things. Nothing could be furthest from Jesus’ heart. Jesus came and died for the “world”; all creation is waiting for the revealing of “sons”. God is not as segregating as most of the church. God is in to “real estate”. Afterall, He created it. The Psalmist declared that “the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it” (Ps 24)! The church being involved in the world is absolutely essential especially in the days ahead.
There is an example in the not to distant past which illustrates this. During the 1930’s Adolf Hitler came to power by taking advantage of the political chaos to bring establish the tyrannical “Thousand Year Third Reich”. The “Deep State” have been using the same anarchist principles to infiltrate and destroy the United States. In Germany, most of the church was fast asleep and did or said nothing in opposition to what was happening. That led to millions of people being executed in gas chambers. Even German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, an outspoken Nazi dissident actually died in a concentration camp just three weeks before the camp was liberated by American GI’s. Can’t happen here? We’re closer to that happening than most realize. The American church must wake up and begin to wage war and intercede for God’s kingdom to come to the United States. We’re the last hope of the world for freedom and liberty. Will you stand in prayer fasting believing God to bring forth His will and destiny for our nation? The promise? The “gates of Hell will not prevail” against us! We’re on the winning side. Stop being defensive and get on the offensive. Have faith in the Lord. 2 Timothy 1:7 (ESV)
“ for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”