FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK
..
Bishop Randy Barnett, Oklahoma
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RISE AND SHINE CHURCH!
The level of bad news that surrounds us
these days seems higher than I can ever recall. Every time I see the news,
almost all I hear is how bad things are, who is to blame for it, and the dire
future that lay ahead. Scandals abound in high places. Wars and destruction are
happening around the globe. The financial crisis has swept to every corner of
the earth. Incurable diseases are rising faster than modern medicine can cope,
and epidemics of deadly proportion are ravaging people groups. Bad, bad, bad……
that is the news these days. What is happening?
What is happening is simply the
fulfillment of biblical prophecy. Jesus foretold such things. Paul discussed it
further saying “difficult times would come.” This is why these messages of
gloom and doom should not surprise us. Not only should they not surprise us,
but they should not disconcert us in least. “What?” you say. That’s right, all
the bad news should not move any of us who stand in covenant with Almighty God.
The covenant means we have family status and that means there are added
measures of the blessings of protection, provision, and well-being. And since
these things abound for the covenant child of God, we must not be distracted
from our Great Commission.
It absolutely amazes me when I hear
Christians speak in fear terms. Don’t they know about their covenant? Have they
not read about the promised blessings that come to the people of God even in
times of famine or war? Has truth escaped them; the truth that calms their
fears and add peace to them in the midst of the storms? What has happened to
faith in God? What has happened to knowledge of the Bible that is a strong
foundation? Is there no knowledge of God in them that elevates them above bad
news with the Good News of the gospel of Jesus Christ! Has evangelistic
boldness fallen in the streets?
I fear we have “played church” for too long. In our attempts to make the church
more palatable to the unbeliever and our worship services more seeker friendly,
there has been a slow and steady slide away from the Truth that is powerful and
supernatural. Truth is not palatable to the unbeliever; it was never meant to
be so. Truth was meant to reveal sin and the need for a Savior. It was intended
to demonstrate the love and power of Jehovah God – through covenant men and
women. And the environment of worship was not meant to be friendly to a sinful world; it was intended to be dynamic and
different and life-changing, so different in fact that there was no mistake in
the minds of seekers that they have discovered the place of love and power.
The question is this: “Do we have the
courage to do an extreme makeover of the Church?” A makeover that totally
transforms her back into that powerful, dynamic Bride she was at the beginning.
Step #1 is for the Church to get above being concerned about what society
thinks of us. We are different from them and that is as it should be. If there
is any conforming to be done, it is them conforming to the will of God, not the
other way around. The Body of Christ has the answers to the problems we are all
facing and the world is looking for those answers, now is the time for us to
arise into our destiny and become the light in the darkness. Let the light of
Truth shine brightly, unashamedly, and with great courage through us - the
Church.
Evangelism, brothers and sisters, is far more
than merely witnessing to someone and sharing the four spiritual laws or
parroting out some prepared little script formulated to get them to repeat the
prayer. Evangelism is demonstrating the love and power of God and it starts
inside the Church. If the worship environment is one of expectancy of
experiencing God in all His glory, then that will flow outward into the streets
in the saints just as it did on the day of Pentecost when 5000 came to
salvation in a single sweep. This is the time to return to our first love,
Jesus, and to make Him known in our communities. This is the time to shine!
Rise up Church!
