13/06/12

There is no King in the Church

Judges 21:25 - In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.


When Believer Churches were formed, there were various Churches. Having various churches is not wrong. If we look at the book of Acts during the time of the Apostles we see Churches were segregated according to regions and they worked independently. We see some of the Churches which Paul was instrument in building were also administered by local bodies and the only hold Paul had over them was spiritual and not administrative. But one thing that united all of them was Christ and their purpose in the Kingdom of God. The Churches had a King and Christ was their King.

Later the Nicolaitan principle was inducted into the Church and the Churches were unified as one entity calling themselves a 'universal Church' but this unification was not a spiritual unification but a administrative unification, Christ as King became just a namesake and man became king, like it happened during the times of Samuel.

It was the Nicolaitan's ideology which engulfed this unified church around the late third century which bought in things like idol worship, carnivals (love-feast) and made sons of Bosor (carnality). Spirituality was replaced with legalism.

Today we see there are hundreds of Churches and they all claim to be followers of Christ. Unless this Christ they claim to follow is many and different, they should not be having differences of understanding between them.

The Lord is telling us in today's message that each of the Churches is doing according to their own understanding and the Lord has nothing to do with their understanding. They may claim to be led by God but are led by their human mind.

God's Spirit is one and the purpose of the Kingdom of God is one like God is one. We may have different roles to play like the Father, Son and Spirit do in the Godhead. But yet we do not read of any misunderstanding between them in scriptures. What unites them is their Spirit and their Character (Name). Since their Character is same their thoughts too are same.

Today the parts of the Body of Christ are scattered all over and each part thinks to be a whole body. They compete with each other and spite each other. Adam' nature and Satan no longer is their enemy but the 'other' church has taken the position of enemy no. 1.

It is a shame to call ourselves Christians and claim to be led by the Spirit of God if we cannot live together as one. How are we going to be an example to others outside when we are bad examples to each other inside?

When we say Christ is our King, it is not by a nameplate put up outside the Church, but it is by the character of the people of the congregation and the purpose of them as a unified body. The only way we can be one and claim to be have Christ as our King is when we imitate Him and be led by His purpose.


[ Prayer Starter ]
Lord, we pray for the Body of Christ. Lord we pray we come unified as one body led by one spirit - your Spirit. We pray Lord that your people pursue your Nature and not their thinking. Let them be led by your purpose and experience your glory...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.


[ Reference Scriptures ]
1 Samuel 8:10-20
10 And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king.
11 And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.
12 And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.
13 And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.
14 And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.
15 And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.
16 And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.
17 He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.
18 And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.
19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us;
20 That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.

1 Samuel 10:17-19
17 And Samuel called the people together unto the LORD to Mizpeh;
18 And said unto the children of Israel, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you:
19 And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes, and by your thousands.

Revelation 2:12-16
12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;
13 I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.
14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.
15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.
16 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

1 Corinthians 10:17 - For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.

1 Corinthians 12:12-27
12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
14 For the body is not one member, but many.
15 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.
19 And if they were all one member, where were the body?
20 But now are they many members, yet but one body.
21 And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
22 Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:
23 And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.
24 For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked:
25 That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.
26 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

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