RESTORATION FOR THE CHURCH
Seven
Habits of Highly Effective Churches
Missionary
A Sunday school teacher asked the children just
before she dismissed them to go to church, "And
why is it necessary to be quiet in church?"
A little boy asked his mother about all the
plaques hanging in the church lobby.
“Honey, these plaques
represent young men who belonged to this church who died in the service.”
His reply was:
“Mother, did they die in
the early service or the second service?”
Folks, God is desiring the necessary
changes to come forth in His church. We must be ready to fit into this
day with what the Holy Spirit is saying for us to do.
Seven
Habits of Highly Effective Churches:
1. The worship of God:
Worship is first because it is the most essential
around which everything else is built. Worshipping in Spirit and in truth (Jn.
2. The Word of God:
(Heb. 4:12) “For the word of God is quick and
powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of
soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts
and intents of the heart.”
Effective churches will preach the word of God. 2
Tim. 3:16-17 tells us that all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly furnished for
every good work.”
3. The
Effective churches will discern and do the will
of God. When we worship Him in spirit and in truth; and are grounded in His
Word, out of that intimacy we become sensitive to the will of God. (Lu. 22:42)
(
And, to know the will of God, there are three
beacon lights that must all line up:
The Spirit; The Word;
and Circumstances. When you are wanting to know the
will of God, test it in these three things. For instance, I can feel that the
Spirit is telling me to do something - then I check the Word to see if it
agrees to know if I am hearing correctly; but circumstances must also agree.
For example: I know a lady who felt called of God
to a ministry out of her town. The Word of God agrees that we are to go forth
for God; but circumstances did not agree as she left an unsaved husband at home
who resented her going forth and never making meals for him.
4. The Work of God:
Once we know the will of God, we are prepared to
do the work of God. Jesus said, “My meat is to do the will of God and to finish
His work Some churches are spinning wheels because they are not doing the work
God has called them to because they are too busy with their own programs, plans
and ideas.
5. The witness to God:
A highly effective church proclaims to the world
the love, mercy, grace, and mighty works of God. This is an effective witness because
it is based not on words alone, but on actions. (Mt. 28:19-20).
6. The wealth of God:
The church is to enjoy spiritual wealth. (Mt.
6:19-21) tells us not to lay up treasures on earth but to lay up treasures in Heaven
that will last. The precious jewel of intimacy with God; eternal life; God’s
presence, and so much more, are spiritual wealth. Material wealth may come, but
that is not the goal. True prosperity comes from the Lord and the wealth of God
works from the inside out.
7. The warfare of God:
The effective church wages warfare under God.
Eph. 6:10-13 speaks of this warfare. It tells us to put on the whole armor of
God that we can stand against the wiles of the devil. Our warfare is about
aggressively moving out to restore the house of God and see the glory of the
Lord fill the earth. We are to storm the gates of hell and take back what the
enemy has stolen from us. That means to take back our families, schools,
cities, and our nation.
Our warfare is not only for protection but for
penetration. It means launching out aggressively into the world and claiming it
for God. The house of the Lord must be restored. A restored house is part of
God’s strategy for the ages to bring in His harvest and release His glory
throughout the earth.
In this day, God is restoring His house. In Ezra
“Do not remember the former things, nor consider
the things of old, Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth;
shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in
the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen, This
people I have formed for Myself; they shall declare my praise.” (Isa. 43:18-21).
Here is another promise of restoration: (Jer. 31:31-34) “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord,
when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah;
not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I
took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. My covenant which
they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the
covenant that I will make with the house of
We are to be open to the new that God is doing.
In Bible days, they would oil an old wineskin before putting in the new wine,
or it would crack.
(Mt. 9:16-17) “No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away
from the garment, and the tear is made worse. Nor do they put new wine into old
wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins
are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.
We can be oiled by the Holy Spirit to become a
new wineskin that can hold the new wine that God is bringing in this day.
Around the world an unprecedented movement of the Spirit of God is underway in
the church - a movement of a like unseen since the first century. The fields of
the world are white and God is restoring His house to receive the harvest.
Did you know that 2/3 of missionaries today are
from third world countries?
God says, “Behold, I do all things new”. He is
preparing His bride for the time is short and the wedding day is at hand.
“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the
first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.
Then I,
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Reference: “Restoring the House of God” by
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Global Evangelism Fellowship, Inc. (503)728-3388
