1 Timothy 2 :
5 « For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind,
the man Christ Jesus »
John 14 : 6 « Jesus
answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me. »
Psalm 110 : 4
« The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: “You are a priest
forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” »
The purpose of
this text is to help some of us Christians whose relationship with God is no
longer anchored in Jesus but depends almost entirely on the servants and
handmaids of God, such as pastors and prophets. I would like to emphasize that
my goal is not to encourage you to separate yourselves from God's anointed
ones. He placed them in the church to guide the congregation, like a shepherd
with a flock of sheep. Through these lines, I aim to remind you that you are
also called by God. We all have the freedom to accept or reject our calling.
However, if we accept this calling, fulfilling it depends on our total
submission and obedience to Jesus. It also depends on our desire to let
ourselves be regenerated by Him so that we can resemble Him. In this way, we
can fully manifest the new nature we have in Him as sons and daughters of God
who live in the supernatural. Therefore, we can do nothing without Jesus.
Everything passes through Him because only He can transmit God's nature to
humans. This transmission is only possible, though, if we keep our eyes fixed
on Jesus as our model and make our communion with Him the basis of our
relationship with God the Father.
John
14: 10-12 « Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father
is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it
is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that
I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence
of the works themselves. Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do
the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these,
because I am going to the Father. »
However, many
have turned their hearts and eyes away from Jesus. They have allowed themselves
to be seduced by the beautiful words or miracles of God's servants, forgetting
that all of this is possible only through Jesus. Through the power of the name
of Jesus, demons are cast out, the sick are healed, broken hearts are
comforted, and chains are broken. By forgetting this, they become disciples of
a church or a man, rather than disciples of Jesus. Jesus has called us to His
work and to be His disciples. Therefore, choosing a path different from the
will of Jesus means living a life of disobedience. This causes problems within
the church and weakens it because no organization can function effectively if
its mission is not understood by all its members and if they do not embrace it.
Below are some signs that a church is not built on Jesus.
1. The church disappears as soon as the pastor(s) disappear.
Indeed, some churches no longer exist today because a scandal has
tarnished their pastoral leadership. Some members even turn away from Christian
life as soon as these scandals occur. This happens because we, sometime, forget
that the church belongs to Jesus. He has also placed men and women to manage it
physically and lead His people. These men and women therefore serve the Lord
and are His instruments, just like a member of the choir or an intercessor, but
with greater responsibilities. They may be competent, in which case Jesus
rewards them by increasing their capacity, or incompetent, in which case they
are removed from their position. Even after their departure, a church solidly
anchored in Jesus should continue to exist because the true Master has not
rejected the church but rather a leader.
2. Lack of Spiritual Growth
Spiritual growth depends on our level of intimacy with Jesus, our total
submission to Him, and our desire to become more like Him. But how can we want
to imitate someone we don't look up to, someone with whom we have no
relationship? A relationship with Jesus Christ is built on constant prayer and
meditation on His Word. The absence of both explains why the members of a
congregation may stagnate or even regress spiritually because they no longer
seek to please Jesus or draw closer to Him. They have ceased to be His
disciples. Being close to a servant of God cannot replace intimacy with Jesus.
Turning our gaze away from Jesus means we are no longer moving toward the
light, truth, and life. (Galatians 1: 6-9)
3. The assembly does not produce the fruits of the Spirit:
Love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23) are not qualities that are
practiced in the church. To practice these qualities sincerely we require a
complete regeneration, in which our sinful nature disappears and the nature of
Christ takes over.
Galatians 2 : 20 « I have been crucified with
Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the
body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. »
