Biggest need in the church?

[Richard]

What do you think that the largest need is in the church (the church in general) today? Or stated another way, what does the church need in order to function as God has intended it to function?

Feel free to mention your denominational after you vote!

 

[Mike]

I would say , more prayer . Good poll brother . Thanks . Mike

 

[Dreamer]

Good poll. I believe more prayer is the greatest need. Jesus himself prayed to the Father and was in communication with Him at all times. We should be too. We need our individual quiet time with the Lord, but times of praying in unity strengthens the church and the great cause of Christ! We are in a spiritual battle, and praying is not optional. I am baptist.

 

[Snowrose]

Excellent question/poll, Richard.

There were two answers that really caught my eye - first more prayer definitely but also I believe a greater sense of the Holy Spirit's leading and direction. Maybe I'm wrong but I feel that some of churches have God in a box (so they believe). I would like to be in tuned to the Lord's leading and direction. Can you imagine what the churches would be like if we let go and let God lead the service for once?

Best wishes,
Snowrose

 

[jiggyfly]

I would say that they are all lacking today. But I also believe that we miss the mark by focussing on any one area of lack. If we maintain our focus on Jesus everything else will fall into place or come to fruition.

John 15:1-8
1*I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2*Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3*Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
5*I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6*If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7*If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 8*Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

 

[For Him]

i believe its greater amounts of interchurch fellowship. while there are some churches that mix with a few others, it is just that... a few. i believe it should be many... whther we are presbyterian, church of Christ, watever... we are all one in Christ, so we should be acting like it!!!

 

[laterunner]

i believe its greater amounts of interchurch fellowship. while there are some churches that mix with a few others, it is just that... a few. i believe it should be many... whther we are presbyterian, church of Christ, watever... we are all one in Christ, so we should be acting like it!!!

><> ><> God's Church is ''Bound'' together, we've stopped singing that song.!!! :note: :thumbs_up

 

[Coconut]

I think the answer is found in Matthew 25:4.
But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

 

[SpiritLedEd]

The church needs to concentrate on being relevant in contemporary society rather than systematically holding on to old practices and ideas that turn non-believers off.

SLE

 

[time keeper]

more prayer

through this a deeper more personal relationship with Jesus

from there a real way of living and loving

change will come we merely have to allow ourselves to be changed first

 

[jiggyfly]

more prayer
through this a deeper more personal relationship with Jesus
from there a real way of living and loving
change will come we merely have to allow ourselves to be changed first

Amen time keeper, Leonard ravenhill said,"The one reason that we do not have revival today is that we are content to live without it."

 

[MichaelFilo]

It is easily more interconnectivity. Christ prayed for unity in the garden on the night he was betrayed; it also helps alot when every Christian can work as one with another rather than each church do it's own thing, and the early Christians knew that, because in Act 15:4 they gathered together to discuss certain false teachings, and they taught it to all the Churches (Paul teaches that circumcision isn't needed anymore in alot of his letters). They really were one Church, and Christian was reallyg rowing becausze they could all agree on ONE truth.

God bless,
Mikey

 

[jiggyfly]

The biggest need in the church is to stay His (Jesus the Christ) Church. Some say that Jesus is no longer the Head or Lord of the Church, but God's word says that He is the head and God cannot lie. When a group of people ( a congregation) do not yield to the Lord Jesus as Head, then they have seperated themselves from His Church and taken on another identity. Jesus said "either you work with me or you work against me", (my paraphrase) Matthew 12:30

Jesus' lordship is not conditional. It is not based on whether I choose to submit to His authority or not. If I choose not to submit to Jesus' authourity, does it mean that His authority is weakened or does it diminish? Ofcourse not, Jesus is Lord, period. God is unchanging, if I stop obeying Him, does He yield His authority to me? All powers and authorities are subject to Him, when we become disobedient we have stopped being a good and faithful servant, but He is still the Good Master.

 

[Gideon]

The biggest need in the church today is the word of God being studied without fail. I agree with all the points that are mentioned in the thread but I think if the word of God is studied without fail then all these will follow.
"Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man's all" Ecclesiastes12:13> Solomon is concluding by what God's Spirit ministered to Him. He says this is man's all. The main problem with church today, or better say, with any believer today, is lack of knowledge in God's commandment.
Reading in Joshua 1:7,8 " Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all that the law ....... do not turn from it ..... that you may prosper.....
This Book of Law shall not depart from your mouth but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written. For then..... prosperous.....success"
John 16:13,14 says "...He, the Spirit of truth......He will guide you into all truth....He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you"
And what is truth??? John 17:17 " Sanctify them in the truth, Your word is truth"
The Spirit is given to sanctify the Bride and to guide her into all truth. The Spirit will minister God's word. The Holy Spirit will never give different intepretations to different people. When we say where the Spirit of the God is there is freedom... it does not mean that we have the freedom to do things outside the word. The word is given to us and the Spirit is given to us to minister the word. To Holy Spirit makes us understand the truth. "You shall KNOW the truth, and the truth shall set you free".
Take any given situtation in a beliver's life or in a church. I am so sure that only the word of God can lead and provide solutions. Once you are Spirit filled and anointed, you can't say, 'I don't need to refer to the word of God coz wherever the Spirit leads I will go'. No no. Spirit will only lead you into all truth....that is the word of God.
I like what Jiggyfly mentioned in her post. 'We can't focus on one area of lack'. Very true. But again the answer is the word of God. Coz the word of God is complete and can show you all your lack. Word of God teaches you about worship, about prayer, about anointing, about the Holy Spirit, about baptism, about spiritual gifts, about salvation, about family life, about love, marriage, sex, about church order, about signs, wonders, miracles, about Second Coming, about the beginning, about wisdom, about managemnt, about leadership, about repentance, about fasting, about parenthood, about divorce, about faith, about mercy, about ministry, about love, about kindness, about revival, about fellowship, about healing, about hygeine, about quiet time, about trials, about fighting the devil ........ nobody can complete the list.
Bible Study is a humbling experience if you go about with it sincerely. 2 Timothy 3:15, 16, 17 " ...the Holy Scriptures , which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
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 equipped for every good work."
If the church has a regular and Spirit led Bible study and if the attitude is right before God, then you will never see yourself stuck in one place. God will correct. God is always speaking and expects the church to listen to Him and look into His word.
Jiggyfly's reply also mentioned one key verse.. John 15:7 "If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it shall be given" It simply means once you are in Christ (saved) the next step is make His words abide in you. Even our salvation is by the power of God manifested through His gospel.
The Bible says "without faith it is impossible to please God" and God also gives the remedy to have faith and believe. It says " Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ. "
Also the Bible says "Signs and wonders will follow those who believe (have faith)" And the previous verse mentions how to believe and have faith.
I am surprised to know that I am the only guy who voted for "more knowledge of the Bible". What I meant is " more time for Bible study'

 

[jiggyfly]

John 1:1-5
1*In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2*The same was in the beginning with God. 3*All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4*In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5*And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

Amen Gideon Amen.

 

[Richard]

Great post Gideon, but the truth in your post raises some very significant questions:

The Spirit is given to sanctify the Bride and to guide her into all truth. The Spirit will minister God's word. The Holy Spirit will never give different intepretations to different people.

If this is true, and I think it must be, then how do we reconcile the endless different interpretations of the Bible between church denominations?

Baptist, Anglican, Christian Reformed, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Lutheran, Episcopalian, Alliance and other churches exist because of their different interpretations of the Bible. These different interpretations are significant enough to cause division between the denominations.

There are issues like infant baptism or baby dedication, confirmation or believer's baptism, spiritual gifts like tongues and prophecy exist or that they ceased, God speaks today or he doesn't, christians can be demonized or not...the list goes on and on.

So if the Holy Spirit will only minister truth, then where does that leave us?

The only answer I can think of is that there is man's interpretation in all of them. All denominations have misinterpretation and misunderstanding in them, somewhere, and to some extent.

Where does that leave us as individual believers? What posture should we take?

I believe that we must always be open to the Holy Spirit's guidance into truth. We must have on a cloak of humility that allows us to put our christian beliefs on the line and consider the beliefs of the other denominations and prayerfully seek the truth. He will guide us there.

I used to be a conservative Baptist who argued and debated with my Pentecostal friends, and I always had the upper hand because I knew my Bible better than they did. I got a book called Charismatic Chaos (John McArthur Jr.) to gain more ammunition, and through that book I could no longer hold the cesationist position that I once held, and McArthur Jr. holds.

It opened me up to a whole new world of truth, and though I am not pentecostal, (they have some doctrinal issues that I do not hold), there is a sense of being led into truth, though I know that I will always be in the process of being guided into all truth. Things I have come to know now will still be refined as I interact with others - it is a dynamic and growing relationship. Denominational beliefs seem to be set in stone.

Where does that leave the denominations?

I don't know - I am not sure how the denominational head offices and Bible Schools would take to changing their historical beliefs - especially when the beliefs that make them distinct and give them their identity.

Just a tangent thought...

 

[Gideon]

yeah richard,

I know what you are talking about. I used to have this question for a long time about denominational barriers . The Bible speaks of the Spirit of unity. But still there is so much distinction and diversity. Walls of traditional denominationalism have always troubled me since I became a born again believer.

But later I came to know one thing. ANd I firmly believe it. No denomination is 100% correct. But that does not mean that it will be so always. Coz Jesus said, "I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

In God's kingdom no denomination is going to say, " we got it all correct from the beginning." The Spirit alone can lead us into all truth. The more you are open to God's correction, the more truth you will be able to understand and follow.

There is something that I always tell others. Even when God called us as His church, He also called us individually. His calling is personal. His anointing is personal. So first and foremost make sure that you are a DISCIPLE OF JESUS and not a denominational activist. This will help you in many ways. It will not only allow you to be in that humble place where you can understand your mistakes and leave room for correction but will also make you bold enough to correct others in the light of the word....coz you are not a follower of your denomination but a follower of Jesus Christ. YOU KNOW HIM WHO HAS CALLED YOU.

God has given you His word so that you will always filter everything that you hear. Check any doctrine in the light of the word. God's ways are so simple and straight forward and specific. There is no room for confusion. The more you study it, the more it will liberate you.
Remember what Jesus said.... "Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes out of the mouth of the Father." It means God Himself has to speak to your life. That is the role what the Holy Spirit plays. Speaking the word of God specifically into your situation. You can't just grab any word in the Bible and say God told me. God will give you specific instruction for your specific need and situation through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth. You can't isolate God's word and come up with a doctrine. The root of any denomination will be isolating a particular scripture. Also selfishness can birth a new doctrine and thus a new denomination. Personal experiences and revealations should never be made into a new doctrine.

Remember satan also tried to tempt Jesus using the word. But Jesus knew the word of God cover to cover. The Spirit led Him to speak and believe what God wanted Him to hold on to.

Richard, we will all be good christians if we will just humble ourselves and not consider us highly than the other. All we have to do is live the word. It is the high calling. Jesus will build His church. All we have to do is be receptive to His correction. In Revelation you will see the letters to the seven churches. That shows that His eye is on every church and His heart for the church to correct and gather it into His ways. Jesus is always speaking. Just keep your Bible open, submit to His guidance and listen to the Holy Spirit.

And yes, I still say that the Holy Spirit won't give different intepretation to different people. There will be only one intepretation to any doctrine as given by the Holy Spirit.
It is our duty....personal duty as believers to know the Spirit's intepretation and teach it.

Forget denominations and divisions... God is in control. Jesus is Lord. When He comes, there will not be any more distinctions and denominations. He will expose every work. He has the reward for everyone.

 

[jiggyfly]

Coz Jesus said, "I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

Very true Gideon, so is Jesus building an imperfect Church, a Church that is divided and seperated? Is Jesus doing a half- hearted job? Does He have shotty workmanship? The answer ofcourse is no, so why is the so-called church always in need of reform? Because there is the church that man is building and then there is the Church that Jesus is building. One is carnal and the other is totally spiritual. One is genuine and the other a flat out fake. There are lots of things done in the name of the Lord but many are unauthorized. Matthew 7:21-23

The Church that Jesus is building is not comprised of carnal systems and methods. There is nothing in the Church that Jesus is building that is man-made or of this world.

Matthew 15:3-9
3*Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? 4 For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks evil of father or mother must be put to death.’* 5 But you say, ‘You don’t need to honor your parents by caring for their needs if you give the money to God instead.’ 6*And so, by your own tradition, you nullify the direct commandment of God. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was prophesying about you when he said,
8* ‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far away.
9* Their worship is a farce,
for they replace God’s commands with their own man-made teachings.’* ”

 

[Richard]

This tangent would make a good new topic.

We could title it "All churches teach error" :wink: (I love getting peoples' attention)

I believe that it would be good to hear what others think about this tension between the Holy Spirit's guiding into all truth and the usually "set in stone" doctrines of the different denominations, especially since there are so many doctrines that need to be looked at, honestly considered, and sought out through time in meditation and prayer.

Once saved, always saved or sin and you miss it, sinless perfection or continual sanctification, second experience of the Holy Spirit or you get it all at salvation - all these and many more doctrines are enough to cause Christians to divide fellowship with one another, but I am not sure how to keep the discussion positive and unifying instead of becoming divisive. I have been on other forums where is has become divisive...

I also believe that health and maturity come out of meaningful discussion - challenges have a remarkable ability to refine and strengthen each other, but it can be difficult if some people have faith in their knowledge rather than in their Saviour, or at least that their identity is tied up in being correct, instead of trying to see things through the eyes of another.

Any thoughts??

 

[Coconut]

The biggest need of the church is to get our eyes of ourselves and get our eyes on Christ, and look in the direction He is looking...


Joh 4:34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.