Where is the Fire of the Church?
The Early Church had a fire a passion that could not be quenched. In spite of the severe persecution of the Roman government, the church grew in unprecedented numbers. Although thousands of Christians were martyred in public display, the faith of the Early Church mushroomed across the world.
What gave the Early Church such a fire and passion? What did they have that we don’t have in our churches today?
The Early Church had a different purpose than we do in our churches today. They also had a different set of practices based on what they were taught by the disciples and even by the Lord Jesus Himself. The Early Church had natural and organic growth. They did not have a program or process they used to develop the fire they had. It naturally developed as they followed the teachings of the Disciples.
One of the distinct elements that gave the Early Church zeal is their employment of their gifting, passion, and style. They developed and employed their gifting, passion, and style as the Holy Spirit led them. They did not have a test to determine these (although a test is not a bad thing to help determine spiritual gifts). They did not have programs they were plugged into. Each individual believer was led by the Holy Spirit to use his God-given gifts, fueled by his internal passion from God, in a manner consistent with his hard-wired style. Whenever a person uses all three elements under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, he will not only do something amazing for God, he will fulfill the task God has made him to do.
I believe God has made every believer with the capacity to change the world. He has given every believer the gifts, passion, and style to do a specific job in a specific place and time for Him. The church can be alive and on fire only when its members are using their spiritual gifts according to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
I Corinthians 12 teaches us that the body of Christ is like the physical body. It has many different parts and many different functions, yet all are necessary and equally important. We are codependent on each other. The pastor of a church is not the most important part of the body. He is just one part of the body and not more important than any other.
Our churches today put most of the emphasis on the pastor while a large majority of the body is inactive in the church. There is an adage that says 80% of the work in the church is done by 20% of the people. From my experience this is a very conservative number. If 80% of a person’s physical body did not work, it would be considered comatose. If this comparison is accurate then most of churches today are comatose. Is it little wonder that our churches do not have the fire and passion of the Early Church? I will write more next week on gifting, passion, and style.
The church is getting ready to be awakened. Prophecy tells us that the greatest evangelistic effort in history will happen in the end time. The church will return to the teachings and beliefs it once held. In these last days we will experience the fire and passion the Early Church possessed.
© Dr. Steven L Smith 2016
What gave the Early Church such a fire and passion? What did they have that we don’t have in our churches today?
The Early Church had a different purpose than we do in our churches today. They also had a different set of practices based on what they were taught by the disciples and even by the Lord Jesus Himself. The Early Church had natural and organic growth. They did not have a program or process they used to develop the fire they had. It naturally developed as they followed the teachings of the Disciples.
One of the distinct elements that gave the Early Church zeal is their employment of their gifting, passion, and style. They developed and employed their gifting, passion, and style as the Holy Spirit led them. They did not have a test to determine these (although a test is not a bad thing to help determine spiritual gifts). They did not have programs they were plugged into. Each individual believer was led by the Holy Spirit to use his God-given gifts, fueled by his internal passion from God, in a manner consistent with his hard-wired style. Whenever a person uses all three elements under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, he will not only do something amazing for God, he will fulfill the task God has made him to do.
I believe God has made every believer with the capacity to change the world. He has given every believer the gifts, passion, and style to do a specific job in a specific place and time for Him. The church can be alive and on fire only when its members are using their spiritual gifts according to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
I Corinthians 12 teaches us that the body of Christ is like the physical body. It has many different parts and many different functions, yet all are necessary and equally important. We are codependent on each other. The pastor of a church is not the most important part of the body. He is just one part of the body and not more important than any other.
Our churches today put most of the emphasis on the pastor while a large majority of the body is inactive in the church. There is an adage that says 80% of the work in the church is done by 20% of the people. From my experience this is a very conservative number. If 80% of a person’s physical body did not work, it would be considered comatose. If this comparison is accurate then most of churches today are comatose. Is it little wonder that our churches do not have the fire and passion of the Early Church? I will write more next week on gifting, passion, and style.
The church is getting ready to be awakened. Prophecy tells us that the greatest evangelistic effort in history will happen in the end time. The church will return to the teachings and beliefs it once held. In these last days we will experience the fire and passion the Early Church possessed.
© Dr. Steven L Smith 2016