A Lesson From The Corinthian Church

Happy Monday to you and blessings from the Lord! Yesterday after our church service I was speaking to a lady about how frustrated I was Christmas Eve. Instead of being able to attend Victory Church’s Christmas Eve service, as we had planned, I ended up taking Denise to the emergency room at the Fremont Area Medical Center for what turned out to be a very painful ear infection. My frustration originated from the fact that Jesus told us in plain language that we would “lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” (Mark 16:18) For those of you who believe healing passed away with the original twelve apostles I suggest you seriously consider where you are getting your teaching and study the scriptures for yourself.

Choosing to believe that God does not heal today is a very sorry excuse for not being willing to pay the price to “walk as He walked”, as we are commanded to do in 1 John 2:6. I say this in love, but come on people! Wake up! I have experienced far too many healing miracles, both to me and through me, to believe less, and so have countless others throughout the years. Does everyone prayed for receive healing? No, but I’m working on that. :^) Do yourself a favor and study the lives of Smith Wigglesworth, John G. Lake and other brothers and sisters of great faith. You’ll be amazed at what God is doing! Anyway, back to my point; after our episode at the hospital I had a heart-to-heart with the Lord. I asked HIm why we aren’t experiencing more healings, blessings, miracles, etc. in the church. His answer to me was that the church, in general, was carnal and does not always have His will in mind. We are not living the separated lives we should be living. Plain and simple. We have within us the very spirit of Christ and we are expected to continue the work He started while here on the Earth. (See Acts 1:1. Keys words ‘began to do..’) We were told to “occupy” until He returns all the while carrying on His ministry. He then instructed me to study Paul’s letters to the Corinthian Church, which I intend to do in depth during 2009. The Corinthian Church was being rebuked and instructed for many of the same things we see so rampant in the body of Christ today. Let’s take a look… Paul begins by mentioning that there are divisions in the church. Bad start to a ministry. We see this very same problem today, not only in the differences between the various denominations, but also amongst the different non-denominational, Word, Faith, independent or whatever you want to call them, churches. “Our church leaders follow, Kenneth Copeland” some will say. “Ours follow Fred Price,” We follow Kenneth Hagin and are a Rhema affiliate.” “We follow Chuck Smith.” “We teach Joyce Meyer and give heavily into her ministry.” “We are an Andrew Wommack satellite church.” “We are a Faith Christian Fellowship affiliate.” The list amongst “independent” churches could go on and on. I remember some 20 years ago giving, from the pulpit, a word from the Lord concerning this potential problem. It wasn’t difficult to see it coming. I’m not saying these churches don’t have good things to offer because they do. What I am saying is that we have, surprise-surprise, eventually have found ourselves in a situation we sought to be free from some 30 years ago when independent churches started springing up. Once you align yourself with any particular persuasion that is when you will stop growing in the spirit. No one Christian party has all the right answers and does everything the right way. I would like to think that as we go we are getting closer, but we’ll know when we’ve got everything right when we see the ministry of Jesus in active in every gathering, complete with signs, miracles, wonders and salvations. That’s how He works. Please, I don’t mean to condemn, I only want to encourage us, as the body of Christ, to renew our focus to Jesus and only Jesus, not “our church.” You’ll find a similar situation as recorded in 1 Cor. 1:10-4:21. The church had just begun and was already divided because some were following (affiliating themselves with) Paul, some Peter and some Apollos. See what I’m getting at here? Unfortunately, we are just as divided today. There is one major reason for a lack of corporate power. We are still a divided body. Secondly, the Corinthian Church was corrupted by immoral conduct, lawsuits against one another, strife, drunkenness (even at the communion table), incest, adultery, fornication, you name it. Yet, they were still operating, or attempting to operate, in the gifts of the Spirit! You will notice God did not withdraw the gifts from the body there in Corinth, but they sure weren’t getting the results they expected. It was a mess. The gifts were evident, but they were certainly not operating as they should. Why? The church was immoral! We know the gifts are still in operation today but are we seeing the same results as recorded in the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles? No? Why not? This shouldn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out; much of what Paul had to deal with in the Corinthian Church is going on right now in the body of Christ. It’s shameful. And we wonder where the power is? I don’t know where you stand or where your comfort level is, but as for me I am not satisfied with the lack of power in my ministry as a believer. I know there’s more. I know He wants to draw me into a higher, more powerful level of witness. It’s not up to God, it’s up to me. And it’s up to you. If you want to live a low-level, harmless Christan life while here on Earth that’s your decision. If you’ve accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord ands Savior you’ll get to heaven, but I guarantee you’ll be disappointed when the Lord shows what you could have accomplished FOR HIM while here in this life. He won’t condemn you, but He might say something like “Gosh, you missed out on a lot of fun.” :^) The letters of Paul to the Corinthians contain a lot of practical instruction for the church and this wisdom certainly applies to us today. We will see more faith released into a very needy people as we begin to purge ourselves of the influences of this world. Worldliness oppresses faith! Godly living allows faith to be released in time of need! There are many things in my life that are not necessarily “bad”, but they are time consuming and influence my thoughts away from Christ. They bolster unbelief because they oppose God’s way of thinking. I know that what I’m addressing is not easy to hear, but I’ve got to believe there are some of you who have that lion, warrior spirit and are fed up with lackluster results when you pray and when you minister. That’s not the ministry of Jesus, that’s the result of a religious attempt at pleasing God and looking hol;y while you do it. Smith Wigglesworth said “They call it “The Acts of the Apostles” because the apostles acted.” I can’t change the church and I can’t change the world. But I can change me. And that’s all the Lord is asking me to do. I don’t want a “healing ministry.” I don’t want a teaching ministry. I don’t want an evangelistic or apostolic ministry either. I want to minister as Jesus ministered. I want to make myself available to God to be used in any type of ministry at any time He chooses to use me. I want the ministry of the believer. I pray you do, too. Until next time… Godspeed! Rich Glenn

~ by wilsonmy on March 2, 2009.