BACK TO THE SIMPLICITY THAT IS IN CHRIST

At its simplest and purest, the Word shows us that Church is the people of God coming together in His presence to encourage each other to love others, love Him, know Him better and walk after Him.

What Church never was about in the New Testament was a palace, what it was never about was outward appearance, entertainment, selfishness, and a shallowness created by a worldly culture and a people in love with such shallowness. As a Church we are called to take a stand against these things, recognising them to be completely worldly and fleshly; and forces which corrupt and contaminate the ways of God, rather than enhance them.

What we often have today is mostly a fleshly machine, instead of a Church. There is a half hour of songs which are designed to hype the emotions, lights designed to do the same, cameras intent on projecting images of leaders and singers on massive screens in the presence of the Lord (where angels hid their faces!), just in case you couldn't see them from your seat (can someone please explain to me why the heck we do that!?!). Smoke machines try to symbolise the presence of God (again, what the heck?), and instead give the appearance of a night club, and detract from a focus on God rather than enhance one. Offers of business courses abound in the notices (not too many keen on turning those tables). Pastors delight in their own personalities and frivolous jokes which make light of serious scriptures and people that take them seriously. Offering messages abound in every message (even when scripture doesn't go on about it!), and we are told how much we will prosper (for God's kingdom of course…) and how much man's, sorry 'God's' kingdom will prosper if we give more. The messages end and the coffees begin, and just like we've got our 'couple of scriptures' fix, we get our caffeine fix. Thoroughness from the pulpit is exchanged for one liners and foundational stuff which is never built upon with the whole counsel. And so, by and large, 'His' Church remains satisfied with Him plus the world, plus our flesh, because, if we're completely honest, that's what it really boils down to. But sadly now we can hardly ever discern the difference between the three. Or put even more simply; we add Him, plus idols. The problem with this is that both cannot remain together for long, just ask the Laodicean Church of Revelation Chapter 3. 

If we, by His grace, remain sensitive to the Spirit, we will constantly hear the still small voice saying to us, 'Is this what Jesus loves?' He simply won't let us be content with it, won't let us fall in love with it, and will constantly be leading us away from it, to a Church that at its heart loves the simplicity that is in Christ. Eve was deceived the simplicity of Christ, much like we often are today. Whereas God created a garden that emphasised the spiritual and kept God at its centre, man chose to introduce into that same garden something that would satisfy their flesh. Even in perfection, they chose deception, because they chose to trust their own understanding, and convinced themselves that it was God's will for them. Their understanding was based on trusting their physical sight, and how it tasted. We believe now that much of what the world has is 'good' because of the same two reasons. We now have a Church that is both a garden of Eden (Christ's and His presence is that Eden) and a garden of the flesh, and a place where the enemy of our souls is given an audience and listened to. Yep, it's that serious. But most are fine with it… Because they trust their view, and their 'leader.' But we must remember that there is only one true shepherd of our souls, and all others, and everything else must submit to Him. 

God is not 'like' us, and He was not made in our image. We must image ourselves and the image of our meetings in His name based off of the pattern of Christ, and the pattern of His Word- the heart of which was revealed in the opening of this post. It's not complicated, we've just made it that way. Lets uncomplicate it, His way. 

2 Corinthians 11-4:

11 I hope you will put up with me in a little foolishness. Yes, please put up with me! 2 I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. 3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.