The Model Of The Church
The Calling
MATTHEW 28:
19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. “
1Corinthians 1:27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,
1 Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him, rose early and camped beside the spring of Harod; and the camp of Midian was on the north side of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley.
2 And the LORD said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands, lest Israel become boastful, saying, ‘My own power has delivered me.’
3 “Now therefore come, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘ Whoever is afraid and trembling, let him return and depart from Mount Gilead. ‘”So 220000 people returned, but 100000 remained.
4 Then the LORD said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water and I will test them for you there. Therefore it shall be that he of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go with you; but everyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”
5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, “You shall separate everyone who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, as well as everyone who kneels to drink.”
6 Now the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was 300 men; but all the rest of the people kneeled to drink water.
7 And the LORD said to Gideon, “I will deliver you with the 300 men who lapped and will give the Midianites into your hands; so let all the other people go, each man to his home.”
8 So the 300 men took the people’s provisions and their trumpets into their hands. And Gideon sent all the other men of Israel, each to his tent, but retained the 300 men; and the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.
9 Now the same night it came about that the LORD said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hands.
10 “But if you are afraid to go down, go with Purah your servant down to the camp,
11 and you will hear what they say; and afterward your hands will be strengthened that you may go down against the camp. “So he went with Purah his servant down to the outposts of the army that was in the camp.
12 Now the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the sons of the east were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as numerous as the sand on the seashore.
13 When Gideon came, behold, a man was relating a dream to his friend. And he said, “Behold, I had a dream; a loaf of barley bread was tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came to the tent and struck it so that it fell, and turned it upside down so that the tent lay flat.”
14 And his friend answered and said, “This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given Midian and all the camp into his hand.”
15 And it came about when Gideon heard the account of the dream and its interpretation, that he bowed in worship. He returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the LORD has given the camp of Midian into your hands.”
16 And he divided the 300 men into three companies, and he put trumpets and empty pitchers into the hands of all of them, with torches inside the pitchers.
17 And he said to them, “Look at me, and do likewise. And behold, when I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do.
18 “When I and all who are with me blow the trumpet, then you also blow the trumpets all around the camp, and say, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon.’”
19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and smashed the pitchers that were in their hands.
20 When the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers, they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing, and cried, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!”
21 And each stood in his place around the camp; and all the army ran, crying out as they fled.
22 And when they blew 300 trumpets, the LORD set the sword of one against another even throughout the whole army; and the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the edge of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath.
· Possibility thinking
· Seaker friendly church
· Purpose driven church (take a survey)
· Book of Acts
four basic functions of the church.
Acts 2:42 And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
God WILL meet every other need.
Acts 2:47 Giving praise to God, and having the approval of all the people; and every day the number of those who had salvation was increased by the Lord.
· Through faith alone.
· In Christ alone.
· by the Word and Spirit alone.
· Without doctrines or traditions of men.
Sound Christian Doctrine Without Compromise
· Spiritual Warfare
· Healing and deliverance
· Baptism in the Holy Spirit
· The Gifts of the Spirit
· Walking in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Be Spirit Lead
PSALMS 127:1 A Song of Ascents, of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain.
Acts 15:28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things:
Acts 16:7 And having come to Mysia, they made an attempt to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not let them;
Colossians 1:25 Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God,