- Lorie Hedgepeth
First Words 10-10-22
God's Amazing Church
God’s Church is made up of those who are Christians. Not everyone that belongs to a church belongs to Christ-but all that belong to Christ belong to His Church. A Christian is one who has put their faith in Jesus Christ and His death on the cross as payment for their sin. In Acts 11:26, Christians are called disciples or followers of Christ. It’s one thing to profess Christ but, quite another to possess Christ. God’s Church is comprised of imperfect people worshiping together, praying together, and working together to exalt Jesus and share the Gospel with an unsaved and broken world.
God’s Church is indestructible and undefeatable. Jesus said in Matthew 16:18, that the very gates of Hell would not prevail against the church. There is no force in Hell or on earth that can stop or silence God’s Church.
God’s Church has been given a divine directive. In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus gave His Church a missional mandate to go into all the world and make disciples/followers of all nations and people—bar none. The Church goes in His authority and preaches the one message that can break the shackles of sin, addiction, dysfunction, and perversion—THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST. God’s Church does not do this alone, for Jesus Himself said that He would be with us always and never leave or forsake us. With all the faults and frailties of the church, God has His Church as the one vessel—the one entity to which He entrusts the greatest mission in all the world and for all time.
God’s Church is indeed amazing! Is God’s Church perfect? No, it is not. It is comprised of people with problems and quirks and shortcomings…. But, it’s His Church and He has not left it. Don’t give up on God’s Church. Every Christian needs to be a part of and involved in what God is doing in these last days, in and through His Church. If you have been hurt by a church—be Christ like and forgive… extend the mercy to those who have hurt you that God extends to you and I every day. By the way…God has an Exit Strategy for His Church-it is called the Rapture…Are You Rapture Ready?