Floodgates of Heaven Devotions: Is YOUR church DIVORCED from it's PURPOSE?

Today’s Reading: Nehemiah 10-11, Acts 4:1-22

Today’s Reflection: Nehemiah 11:16 And Shabbethai and Jozabad, of the chief of the Levites, had the oversight of the outward business of the house of God.

Who has the oversight of the outward business of the house of God at YOUR church?

For the New Testament believer, we often refer to the “House of God” as the local church, or the local assembly of the believers who meet collectively for worship to our God, for the exhortation (to strongly encourage or urge someone to do something) of the saints, and for the furtherance of the Gospel through the efforts of evangelism and missions (starting other churches).

I do understand that to be 100% technically accurate, the Temple of the Lord now is US! That’s right…if we are born again, WE are God’s TEMPLE! However, we are not, as individuals, self-contained “churches”, as the word “church” literally means “a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place, an assembly” (according to Strong’s greek dictionary when defining “church” out of Matthew 16:18).

This means that although we are indwelt by The Holy Spirit, this does not negate our responsibility to gather together as found in Hebrews 10:25. Why? As mentioned above, for exhortation.

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Exhortation should be used not just to encourage the assembling together, but to go out and oversee the “outward business” of the house of God. When we meet, we should not only praise, but we should plan! We should be able to rally the troops.

To what end, you ask? That we may “do the work of an evangelist” (see 2 Timothy 4:5). Paul instructed young pastor Timothy to do such! This implies that a pastor’s job is not only to feed the flock, but to lead the flock! His job is not just to comfort the church, but also to charge the church! His job is not just to maintain the saints, but to campaign for sinners!

Too often, we separate the work of the church (the collective, assembled body of believers) from the work of the evangelist (an individual called to take the Gospel to the lost). However, never in the scriptures are these two ministries to be divorced from one another.

In fact, they should work together for the common goal of reaching the lost at all costs. That is why a church that is not actively overseeing “the outward business of the house of God” is a dying church. GO TELL!

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Floodgates of Heaven
Volume 2
Entry 169 of 365

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