Can we go back to the New Testament Church? No!

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New Testament Church

New Testament ChurchSeems like everywhere I go these days I hear the cry to return to the New Testament Church. It’s a valid cry but we need to understand where we have gone wrong before we can move forward. The first thing we need to understand is that there is no repairing the “freekazoid” we now call Church.

The New Testament Church

The Need for a Heaven Sent Dismantling

The Lord is on His throne and He is building His Church. To build He must scrap all the concepts and understandings that have been instituted by man. We won’t have to wait long with the present  Economic Shutdown in America now making sure of that. I love gardening, especially plants with beautiful flowers. I have learned that every plant needs a particular environment to really produce those attractive blooms which give off their special and unique fragrances. Our self centered, independent, consumer-driven, life of excesses in America has birthed the monster we now call church. Those days are rapidly coming to an end as Americans have to re-think the value of driving to their favorite club instead of finding a place where real relationships can be birthed.

The Need for a Kingdom Mindset

The days of “little c thinking” vs. “Big C thinking” are almost over. Little c thinking is the emphasis on the local church over the emphasis on His One Church with many congregations. The kingdom of God is not the total of the many kingdoms of men. In Big C atmosphere there is a sense that we are one, united for His purposes.  In Big C there is also no competition because all the disciples belong to Him. We are all members of One Body, not members of one Little c. This stops the frog hopping from Little c to Little c that occurs when a new Little c offers something more to our liking, or we decide to run when we are rebuked.

The Lord Jesus left a Pattern

A pattern is not the development and the institution of the latest “Church Growth” programs. The Lord left an organism, not a well oiled organization created after the pattern of Wall Street. The Lord left an advancing Kingdom with a Big C mindset, not a defending little c hiding from the onslaught of the culture as it waits for its flight out of Planet Earth. “Victory in Jesus” is more than a song. It is a mindset that reflects our belief that the Father will answer the Son’s prayer in Psalm 2:8:

Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. NKJV

This is the essence of Kingdom thinking. Big C will be used by God to answer that prayer. I am not part of a remnant little c. I am part of a victorious Kingdom that no matter what it looks like now in America is advancing against the darkness.

Some of the Facets of Kingdom Thinking

  1. Christianity is a lifestyle, not a religion we participate in on Sundays.
  2. The Lord Jesus is the central focus of our corporate meetings, not the “Pastor’s” sermon or the ritual of “communion”.
  3. We live in the “Presence of God.” It’s not something we conjure up with great “worship” in our corporate meetings.
  4. Worship is our life before God daily not the song service before the “Word”.
  5. We are all daily ministers of God, and we are a Kingdom of priests not spectators.
  6. We are the dwelling place for the Holy Spirit, not the building. We sanctify the building; the building doesn’t sanctify us.
  7. We are to make disciple,s not lead people to recite the “Sinner’s Prayer”.
  8. We press in to walk in real relationships with all, not look at the back of people’s heads for an hour and twenty minutes and then go to lunch with our cliques.
  9. We are to daily influence our culture by being priests everywhere we go whether that be in the office, in the factory or at Wal-mart.
  10. We are to seek to function as a Body in dependence of each other, not independent of each other.
  11. We don’t go to little c on Sundays; we are Big C 24/7 Everyday – All the time.
  12. We need to live a life of prayer connected to the Head of Big C, the Lord Jesus Christ, not always be going for prayer or asking some “Clergy” for prayer.

 

Our First Hurdle to Establish the One True Church of the Lord Jesus Christ

The Word of the Lord says;

Eph 2:20-22

20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,  21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. NKJV

The Lord has left and has raised up an equipping team not to be over but to assist the Body to follow the pattern left by the Lord. No amount of seminary training, no human ritual of ordination, or charisma can qualify a person to walk in those callings. These men (Non-Gender) are the only ones that can lead us out of the present mess. Even now as you read this, the Lord is positioning His true apostles and prophets to equip the saints for the work of ministry. These men will be Big C men. They are Kingdom men who cannot be controlled by a salary or a human organization. Many are hidden and many have been rejected because they haven’t passed the worldly test of “nickels and noses”. All I say is if God is for them who can be against them? Saints of the Lord be careful who you choose to lead you because one day you will have to give an account.

We Need a 21st Century Strategy

New Testament ChurchWe can’t go back to the first century! They lived in the first century and the conquered in the name of the King. Now it’s our turn, and it has pleased Him to place us in the 21st century. This is our battlefront, “This is where we fight,” and this is where we will be judged. The days of excuses are over. A mighty giant is awakening (Big C) to its true identity. The games are over. The charlatans and people pleasers are being judged. Battle lines are drawn. The King has knighted His generals! Intercessors are joining together and taking their place on the wall. All around us you can hear the sound of the gathering trumpet. Will you continue to whine like a victim, or will you shake the dust of lethargy off of you and report to the front lines? Not to fight for another human name or system, but for the Kingdom of our Lord and King Jesus the Christ. Heaven watches and your family depends on it. How will you respond?

 Jose L Bosque

jose_bosque

Jose Bosque is Editor in Chief and founder of Viral Cast Media which oversees GodsLeader, JaxChristian now ViralChrist and 15 other websites. He has ministered in Jacksonville since 1987 and served the city since 1992 as a citywide servant leader. Jose is considered a resource and a spiritual father to many leaders in the city and in the 54 nations where the Lord has sent him to serve. Originally born in Cuba, Jose has resided in Jacksonville since 1966.

Contact Him at: www.RevivalPartners.net or  ForRevival@aol.com

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4 COMMENTS

  1. I love your passion my brother for the kingdom and the king. The book of Acts has the pattern and plan for us to follow. If we can achieve what the apostles achieved we too can turn the world upside down. as you say “The games are over. The charlatans and people pleasers are being judged. Battle lines are drawn.” May God use you in greater dimensions for his kingdom my friend