Be an Effective Servant One day, during praise and worship time, a pastor of a popular mega church remembered that he left the notes to his sermon in his car. Discreetly, he stepped out a side door that led to the parking lot area. After retrieving his notes, the pastor headed back toward the enormous building. While making steady strides, the music from the pastor’s praise and worship team suddenly caught his ear, and he stood in the crowded parking lot and listened for a moment. The music was moving and powerful. After he had gotten his fill, the pastor headed toward the building once more. It was then that he noticed someone standing by the doors. As the pastor stepped a little closer, he could make out the dark features of God’s archenemy, Lucifer. How can this be? The pastor wondered. How could even Satan himself not be overcome by all this praise and worship music going on in that huge building directly behind him? When the pastor could not stand the thought any longer, he had to ask that old serpent, “What are you doing here, Lucifer?! Why are you not writhing in pain from all that praise and worship going on directly behind you?!” Satan merely shrugged, and with an arrogant grin, he gave his reply. “So long as you Christians keep the power of God contained in these buildings you’ve erected, you are doing me no harm out here in the world…” Do you not know that YOU are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells inside YOU? (1 Corinthians 3:16) God does not dwell in temples made with human hands. (Acts 17:24) The Spirit Led Church has been on a mission lately to, GET THE CHURCH OUT OF THE BUILDING AND PUT THE LOVE AND POWER OF GOD ON DISPLAY FOR THE WORLD TO SEE. How are unbelievers ever going to get introduced to Jesus Christ, if we expect them to show up at our church buildings? Jesus and His disciples took the Gospel to them. Remember, Jesus commanded us to GO, not stay and wait. When people hear me preach, every now and again, I get someone who will tell me, “Pastor Randy, you are going to have a big church one day.” I always think to myself, that’s not my goal. We shouldn’t desire a BIG church, we should desire an EFFECTIVE church. I remember a story in the Bible where these seven Jewish sons of Sceva were trying to cast out a demon from someone by trying to use the Name Jesus that Paul preached. They themselves did not believe in Jesus, but they knew there was power in the Name of Jesus. The demon’s reply was remarkable. It said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but WHO ARE YOU?” (Acts 19:11-17) Does the devil know who you are today? Have you been a thorn in his side for so long, and inflicted so much damage on his kingdom of darkness that he is aware of you? If not, then are you being an effective servant for the Lord today?
Posted on: Wed, 02 Oct 2013 00:02:02 +0000
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