8 Ways to Keep from Being the Church Jesus is building

The Church that Jesus is building is not like anything we have ever seen before. There are at least 8 ways that believers can keep from being a part of that church. Most believers today are being affected by at least one if not all of the things we will describe here.

In general, we have a hearing problem that manifests in our vision. Being so close to the problem has caused a blanket of blindness to settle over God’s people. Scripture says:

Rom 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.  NKJV

We have been told that the word of God is the Bible, and we have been trained that priests and pastors are the interpreters of that Bible. IT’S A BOLD-FACED LIE! The word of God in that verse is Rhema which is a fresh daily personal word from the Lord. Of course, to get a personal word requires that there be an active and vibrant relationship with Him. Sad to say, but the average Christian will either reach for his Bible or call the pastor when they need direction.

One of the common denominators of the 21^st century is tolerance. We have been manipulated to not judge anything or anyone. Because of this, the masses are adrift without a moral compass. Everyone is waiting on the “experts” to tell us how to do and think.

This phenomenon has infiltrated the church deafening the voice of the Holy Spirit in each of us and subverting the priesthood of every believer. The response from Christians in general has been twofold. Most like lambs to the slaughter choose to remain in their religious system even though they see the unfruitfulness and the revolving door of new people coming and going. The other minority just leave and choose to hide out in a religious mega system that is only geared up to entertain the attenders so the leadership can continue to count heads and collect offerings.

Let us look together and hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to His Church at this time. We all agree we want to be part of the Church the Lord Jesus Christ is building.

Here are 8 ways to keep from being the church Jesus is building:

1. Leave the man-made Religious System that is now called the church and quit saying that it doesn’t work.

Most people feel because of what I write that I advocate leaving the church. Nothing could be farther from the truth. All I advocate is Christians coming off of the zombie-like cruise control they usually walk around in.  Actually, we need to begin to hear the Holy Spirit for ourselves as in the first century when there were no Bibles, no seminaries,  no commentaries, and no pastors and priests.

The Real Church works! The Church Jesus is building is victorious. The man-made religious system called the church today has never worked and will never work. The Lord is not obligated to bless that which He is not building. Also, the Lord is never going to align or change His standards of success (fruitfulness) to match our man-invented human / corporate measurements (success) and values.

So, if you leave the religious system, leave with a purpose and seek to find and gather with the Church that Jesus is building.

2. Stay in your failed religious system feeling guilty and tell yourself you need to try harder.

This one is the result of being brainwashed by the hype and media propaganda put out weekly by the religious system to keep their attendees (members) in spiritual jail. It’s always your fault. Look at how well others are doing they say. Sound familiar? It’s the same propaganda put out by the pyramid schemes to get you to try harder. Of course, the problem cannot be them (the religious system), we are blessed they say. Look at the size of our buildings and look at the car our pastor drives.

Guilt has been used to motivate since Adam and Eve, but it will only work temporarily. Over a long period, it creates quitters who have no passion or drive anymore. It doesn’t matter how many “Revivals” they schedule and how many celebrity preachers they pay to bring in. You go every Sunday, but your heart is just not there anymore. The spiritual (high) shot barely lasts you beyond the doors of the building.

3.  Be in denial about how little your life has changed in the religious system that you now attend.

When I meet people affected by this illness, the conversation usually starts with how many years they have been a part of this denomination or congregation. If it was good for my grandparents, it’s good enough for me they say. The truth is their lives are a wreck and their children are worse, but no, it can’t be our “church”. It’s those Democrats, the Russians, our society, or the Chinese messing with our economy, or the President. Anything but the religious system called the church. Recently one of these religious-system members came to me and asked me if we speak in tongues. His father is a pastor of a Church that speaks in tongues, and he was measuring my spirituality by that. The problem here is he is an alcoholic in recovery, duh…. are the lights on in there? Speaking in tongues has never kept anyone from alcoholism, adultery, or any other sin.

Denial is an ugly thing and it usually takes the help of caring brethren who love you to help you see things as they really are. Here is a test:  Do you love people more today than you did last year? Are you learning to be more caring and forgiving? Has the Holy Spirit given you power over your vices and sins? If not, it’s time to face the ugly truth.

4.   Become emotionally attached to your pastor or priest and see him as the mediator between you and God.

You would not believe the loyalty given today to quote “spiritual leaders”. I have seen men caught in open sin who when its revealed maintain their backing from their parishioners. It makes you wonder why they chose to hide the sin under the rug. Could it be that these members too are involved in something much worse?

Why do you think churches split? Is there not a united voice from mature saints that can keep a church family together? The problem is emotional attachment. A believer has tied his relationship with God to their relationship with their pastor or priest. The Lord Jesus is no longer the Head of His Church in this situation. I have another article that can help you here: https://godsleader.com/pastor-idolatry-who’s-responsible/

Scripture clearly outlines that the Lord Jesus Christ by way of the Holy Spirit is the only mediator between God and man. We like other religions have chosen to have something we can touch and see instead of the Kingdom which is Spirit-based.

For 300 years, the church prospered with no positional clergy. Today, the church Jesus is building is based on relationships. Leaders function based on the love they have shown and the trust they maintain from those they minister to. Today’s leaders are mature equals whose sole desire is to see every believer become that for which the Lord placed them on earth. In the church the Lord Jesus is building a leadership, function (five-fold gift) is not a title nor a position, and it does not create a hierarchy of any sort.

When you have a problem where do you go?

5.  Stay in the religious system that is now called the church because you don’t want to be rejected by your friends.

This one is like the one above except believers improperly care more about being liked and what their friends think than what the Lord says. We all want to be accepted. We all want to be included and be a part of something. The problem is when that something is toxic, yet we choose to remain in it because we hate the idea of being alone.

The religious system also works hard at instilling fear in their parishioners so they will never consider leaving. It amounts to “the boogie man will get you” if you stop coming here on Sunday. I thought Scripture teaches that it is the Spirit of the Lord that keeps us?

 I don’t want to go too deep here, but who invented the weekly thing we call a “service” anyway? And if the Lord Jesus fully fulfilled all of the Father’s requirements at the cross, why does the Father still need us to do weekly services, and rituals? Unlike worldly gods the Father and the Lord Jesus don’t need someone to pay them homage.  You won’t find “services” in the New Testament. The word in the new testament is DAILY!

One day we will all have to give an account. Ignorance will not be an excuse because the Lord knows what’s really in our hearts.

6.  Pridefully believe that the church you attend is the only church that Jesus Christ is building.

I spend a lot of time on Facebook ministering, and it breaks my heart to see the spirit of division that exists. The world and its competitive spirit have entered the church, and people are fans of their congregation like it was a sports team. They brag about their pastors, their worship teams, and their buildings have been cheered for ad nauseam. I have even seen members asking to help or give jobs to only other members of the same congregation.

It starts at the top. Believers are just repeating the bragging they hear from the pulpit every Sunday. The religious system strives to make its followers believe that they are the best so their people will not consider going elsewhere.

The truth is there is only one Church worldwide, and it’s the Church Jesus is building. The Lord has not given any franchises out to any denomination to do it “their way”. The Lord Jesus is the Head of his Global Church, and He has not assigned any clergy to represent His will and way like Constantine did in the fourth century. The call is to love and to care for, not to officiate or rule over. One is relational; the other is positional. You can put whatever title you want on your business card and you can buy all the certificates, ordinations, and appointments to offices, but they mean nothing if there is no relationship.

I know the title improves your bottom line, but that is in the world of the hireling, not the Kingdom of God.

7. Refuse to pay the price to love and to take the time to maintain relationships in the church that Jesus Christ is building

This one goes out to those that have left the man-made institutions (the religious system), yet have not left its values. Much like the Israelites who physically left Egypt, but the desire for the things of Egypt did not leave them. The Kingdom of God is not like Burger King. You cannot have it your way!  If you want to be part of what the Lord Jesus is doing today on earth in His church, you will have to learn to love. In the religious system, you could take it or leave it because you were only staring at the back of someone’s head for a short period of time.

In the Lord’s Church, it is in your face, and it gets down and dirty. Real love doesn’t let things pass without confronting. This makes the real Church of the Lord Jesus not for the faint in heart. Groups are smaller, and brethren get right in your life. For some, who value their privacy more than their relationship with the Living Breathing Body of Christ, it can be a daunting obstacle. The easy road is to pull away and drop out. The truth for many is that we have not passed this way before and we all make mistakes. Be patient and give it a chance. The joy will come because we will learn together to value the journey (process). When the Lord Jesus is in it, we can overcome any obstacles as a family.

8. Reject the Holy Spirit because what you’re hearing is not familiar to you.

I purposely left this one for last because I feel it is the greatest hindrance to the forward momentum of the Church the Lord Jesus Christ is building in the 21^st century. In the last 5 years as a Christian, I have had to adjust what I believe more than in my first 25 years put together. Seems that just when I think I can wrap my head around something, the Lord blows out the wall and expands the revelation.

This ability to remain teachable (humility) is crucial if we plan to affect and transform the present culture. Nothing less than a Heaven-sent tsunami of His love in the midst of trials, difficulties, and persecution will touch the skeptical hardened heart of the 21^st century. The next move of God is inside His saints (hearts) followed then by an awakening of unheard of and immeasurable proportions.

Those I walk with are learning to say, “I don’t know,” and “Today, I believe this is what He is saying.” We are learning to respect the voice of the Lord through his corporate Body and among His mature saints. We are also being careful not to reject the voice of the Lord even though we know that vessel He is using is not yet fully mature.

Imagine if a Bride came up to a Bridegroom and said, “Give me a list of what you want in this marriage and I will make sure I do them.” Where is the romance in that? Where is the caring enough to invest the time? Where is the voluntary passion and desire to please that comes from a bride who wants to please her bridegroom? The Lord is saying, “Can we just dance together? Will you trust Me in the process?” I say Yea and Amen!! What says your spirit? The Church that Jesus is building is waiting for you!

My prayer is for your best!

Much love for the Church Jesus is Building!

Jose Bosque