Truthsayers
Acts 2:47
And the LORD added to the church daily such as should be saved. (Acts 2:47)
In the world today, there are many denominations; over five thousand separate entities proclaiming themselves as a form of the body of Christ. This treatise is not on how wrong anyone else is, nor is it a preference over one system over another; for we must all believe in the cross of Christ for our redemption from sin, and separation from the world in the spirit of holiness through faith in the living Son of God: but we must reach out and try to accommodate each other's revelation of the Spirit of God in order to edify each other in the bonds and spirit of unity rather than trying to prove each other wrong or right.
I understand currently there is a wave of Christian culture that is against the idea of creating more church buildings or creating another denomination. This treatise is only meant to supply the church with a step-by-step method of giving those who still believe the church is a building with a way of providing the best possible method of creating a conventional church setup conducive to Biblical principles, accountability, and edification. Those who believe church is somewhere to go must not be forgotten, for they are the least of us, and they are still our brethren in the name of Christ.
Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit, and I will love you until the end of the age. I pray Lord that you open the hearts of those who read this treatise and convict us of our lack of love in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
In twenty-first century America, there is a lack of a church building open twenty-four hours a day. Many people desire to come to a place where they can pray, fast, worship the Lord in song and dance, and hear the preaching of the gospel at all times. Even if they hear the calling of the Lord Jesus Christ in the middle of the night on Tuesday, they should be able to attend a worship service or prayer meeting at some location. However, the modern day church currenlty runs services intended to lull people into a spiritual coma instead of giving vitality and a lively, fervent spirit of charity and grace within the believers of Jesus Christ. The doors are only open one day of the week, maybe two, and most of the time only for a short while. The pastor, however sincere he may be, may not be willing, nor ready, to reveal the open testimony of God's grace to everyone in a setting that is convenient and fitting for people regardless the time of day. Instead, they feed their flock with white flour not fit for consumption, rather than the whole-hearty wheat bread of fellowship in Christ that will only come from seeking God's Spirit through intense physical suffering and cross-bearing. The Lord Jesus Christ desires us to willingly dispose of our lives and become the spiritual blessings of Christ He intends us to become, otherwise we will be salt that will lose its savor.
I propose a twenty-four-hour church setting that would do well for anyone of any denomination. The intention is to allow the Spirit of God to come upon an individual regardless of day, hour, doctrine, or even personal preference. Because the Lord Jesus Christ has sent forth throughout the world different manifestations of the same Spirit of the living God, we must not allow an attitude of judgment to grab our souls and commit ourselves against different kinds of Christians. God will choose those whom He loves to be called into fellowship with Him, but those who reject the word of the Lord and despise His cross, His suffering, His salvation, will be given over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient, such as war, famine, pestilence, or death. However, the Lord wills that all would, and should, come to change their minds and hearts, and bring up their lives into the admonition of the Lord through the Holy Scriptures revealed by His Holy Spirit: Jesus manifest in us invisibly through His power, authority, and grace. Manifold blessings all around us when we submit to Christ Jesus in Spirit and in truth! Hallelujah!
First, be born-again by His Spirit through faith in the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Engage in intense prayer and fellowship with other Christians in order to find what the will of the Lord is concerning planting a specific church structure. Also, make sure your walk with the Lord is a path of holiness filled with the steadfast fruits of God with faith, love, joy, and peace being the centerpiece of a good conversation with God, as well as a right heart with other believers, so no one may give an account of evil against you.
Next, find a building zoned for twenty-four-hour possibilities. Some commercial zones in cities are also zoned for residential, and those work the best. Of course, as some of my colleagues would say, a home is strictly the best, and I agree; but we must also realize that most people in America think of church as in a church building, so it would be wise to accommodate those brethren as well as those who genuinely would like to seek Christ and suffer with Him.
Then, find people who are willing to work to pay the rent of the place. Have them be willing to let go of their lives in order for the preaching of the Gospel to go forth in this building at all hours of the day. If you can't find people that you know who are willing to lay down their pride and work for the sake of the Lord, then pray the Lord for more workers to His harvest. If you gain a 1,000 square foot place, at a rate of about $.50 a square foot, that would cost only around $500 a month, which can be easily supported by five people at $100 a month. Now, this is a low figure that may not reflect the current value of rental space, but you get the point. God can provide the funds necessary for the work, for George Mueller did not need to ask anyone for any money, but instead asked God to provide for the ministry. We need to fast and pray for the Lord to increase our faith when dealing with the monetary aspects of supporting a ministry such as this one.
Also, those who work to support the ministry are probably the ones whom the Lord calls to become the elders of the church, while those who work directly in the building will be the deacons of the church. There needs to be individuals who will forsake working regular jobs, or forsake full-time work and only work part-time, so they can be a blessing to the ministry twenty-four hours a day. People who can sleep during the day and keep an eye on the church during the night, when drunks, drug addicts, and other people slide their way into the doors and become born again into the precious love of Jesus Christ, will be absolutely necessary in order for the ministry to succeed. The deacons who run the place directly inside will need to be humble, meek, and directly accountable to those who work to keep the ministry going; for the Lord does not want us to lord over the flock, but help each other to provide for those who lack that are without the camp, so to speak, and also to help others acheive their grace in Christ Jesus for service to His holy and great and powerful Almighty name above all names!!!
The Lord will provide people to come in to preach the gospel. The Lord will provide people to preach the Kingdom of God, and He will supply the ministry with people who will not do it for monetary gain. Only those who do not accept bribes of money, gifts, or any preeminence among the church will be welcome to speak in the church.
The Lord will provide people to lead the music for either prayer or worship, but only those who are not looking to gain acceptance in the mainstream musical culture, and those who do not regard themselves as something great in their own eyes. We need humble servants who desperately want to lead people to love Jesus Christ with their whole hearts, rather than some cold, dry, religious exterior meant to please and pressure other individuals to show themselves as something great or worthy, because God will exalt those whom He deems worthy, and it is not necessary to puff ourselves up as something worthy, for we should let the Lord praise our works rather than our own mouths. Remember, you cannot come to God through musical ability or talent, but only through the blood of Jesus Christ. Keep that in mind. It may be a good idea to allow the people who lead worship to stand in the same audience as the congregation in order not to draw attention to themselves during the time of worship.
The Lord will provide people to pray, and prayer must be done at all times NONSTOP. There will be a separate room for the sole purpose of waiting upon God through intense spiritual warfare and intense spiritual crying and wailing to Jesus Christ's throne for mercy, grace, and forgiveness for all who ever enter the gates of the church. If the prayer ever stops for any reason, the church will fold and will be shut down in no time at all.
The Lord will send people who will bring gifts of food, hopefully without sounding trumpets or wanting to receive some benefit because of their hospitality. On a side note, there will be no 401-C3 tax-exempt status on the church, for this is alignment with the state, which will not be tolerated at all by the presbytery. If this ever changes, and the church receives tax-exempt status, people will do good work for the church in order to receive a benefit from the government. Prevent this from ever happening, for God will close the spiritual doors of blessing if the congregation becomes aligned with the state.
The Lord will provide people who require from the church some specific need, and there will always be the need for personal interactions and conversations with individuals for their physical needs as well as their spiritual needs. When people rise up to help each other for the sake of love, love will be returned, and then you can tell them, "Love Jesus with the love you would give to me, because it is through Him and because of Him that I am loving you so much. Give it to Him, not me."
The Lord will provide the church with either the preaching of His word at all times or worship from saints of God at all times. Coupled with prayer in a separate room, this will bring the attention of God and will bring blessing which have never even been seen of in the modern church.
Finally, concerning the preaching of the Gospel and teaching of the word, the elders of the church, those who work for the support of the ministry, must all approve of those who God sends them to minister the word to individuals in the church. If any of the elders discern or judge a minister's intent for fame or glory, false preaching or false teaching, or anything that is not good, humble, meek, or in the spirit of love and unity concerning the doctrines of the cross of Christ and suffering for the name of Jesus Christ physically without whining or complaining, then that man must be thrust from the body until repentance for salvation is attained.
There needs to be a right balance between preaching and worship. Neither should take center stage, but both should work together in order to bring conviction of sin and faith in Christ Jesus for redemption from sin and death. I suggest, not the Lord, to have equal time for both during the course of the day in order to prevent one from being thrust out.
Also, street preaching is necessary to bring people into the flood gates of the church. An evangelist, who grasps the gospel of Jesus Christ's death, burial, and resurrection, and the requirements of discipleship being physical suffering for the sake of Christ, not afraid of persecution, suffering, or calamity or shame for the name of Jesus Christ, will lead a team every morning, noon, and night to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ into the streets of the city. If anyone does not agree with street preaching, that person will need to talk to Jesus Christ, and also receive the same admonition Paul gave to Timothy, to do the work of an evangelist, and to preach the word in season and out of season. All Christians are to preach the gospel, for this is our calling in Christ Jesus, whether it be in one form or another. Don't be afraid of the message, and don't let the evangelist preach in strife as well.
The street preacher must be firm, yet meek; gentle, yet hard; kind, yet steadfast; giving hospitality to those who seek the truth and rebuking those who want to see the gospel of Christ quieted. Make sure you preach the truth as if you are the one listening to yourself preach the Gospel of Christ. Jesus wants us to be bold, firm, rebuking Satan at all costs and at every street and level of humanity. Go and preach the Kingdom of Christ Jesus as the whole message of the Gospel, for He is coming back to judge this world and destroy this world for all of its abominations and iniquities committed by those who align themselves with this world. Tell the people to not look at this world with eyes longing for a bone of worldly pleasure, but turn away and run away from it as fast and far as possible before it is too late! Don't die without Christ! Don't live another day until your heart is satisfied with the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross! Relieve your suffering by taking the suffering of Jesus Christ, and you will be freed from sin and death forever!!!
If these things are done, by the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we will see a revival in the land. Do what you can to do those things which are right in His sight. As a precursor and preparation, people will come against you. The religious leaders will come against all this work in the name of Baal, for they will see that you are a threat to their existence. Don't be afraid. Also, people will come in and try to spy out your liberty in Christ. Don't let them in. Kick them out before they get a change to grab hold of the wheat of new conversions, and pluck them out with them when you rebuke them for their covetous, wicked, sinful, lustful, Judas-like traitorous heart. If anyone comes to the church, first pray with them. This is the best way you can discern someone's faith and love of Christ. Look out for tired Christian-ese clichés, and flattering words during prayer. Pray for a good amount of time to the Lord Jesus Christ with anyone who comes in to fellowship. Also, look to whom they give glory to, and also watch what they say and do, because this reflects upon their personal character. Be sure you allow only those whom you know can pray to Jesus with a fervent heart of love, in the Spirit of meekness and humility. I pray the Lord will show you if anyone exhibits the spirit of false humility and false meekness, if anyone fights back and retaliates in spite and anger, if any minister truly does not know the gospel of Christ nor His power of regeneration. Those who say, "We do not need to suffer," do not know Christ nor do they know the way of the cross, which is the way of eternal life. This is very important, for if they do not want to suffer for the name of Christ, they are not real Christians. Roman Catholics may infiltrate the church, but you do not let them in for a moment. If anyone comes in that is a sympathizer with the Catholic church, or claims Catholics are saved, kick them out and never let them in again. If anyone comes to you preaching unity to that abominable whore or unity with the pope, or if they are sympathizers with the church of Rome, do not let them in to preach, teach, sing, or work at all. Would to God that all would come out of that dirty filthy whore stained with the blood of the martyrs throughout all time!
As a final note of encouragement, go out and find those who desperately need salvation. Go to the homosexual youth who are purchased by sick and twisted violators of innocence and free them from their bondage. Go to the ghettos and free the men and women from the bondage of drugs and violence. Go to the street kids who are hurt, following a system of pleasure meant to kill them, and bring them to the cross. Go to the skid row bums who have been drunk for three years and fill them with the Spirit of God. Go to those who prostitute themselves for money desperately searching for a way out.
When the church building is opened, on the first day, douse the building in anointing oil, praying and fasting for three days in order to give it to the Lord for His pleasure. Wait for His blessing, and if His blessing comes (which you will know when you see it), proceed with the work. When you open it up, always pray, always fast (make sure at least one person is constantly fasting at all times, and that at least three people are praying at all times), always preach the gospel or worship the Lord (in equal measurements of time), and always be ready to help those whom nobody is willing to help. Praise the LORD Jesus Christ, the risen Son of God!
For Our God is a Consuming Fire (Hebrews 12:29)