Beyond The Doors

Matthew 28: 18-20 “18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” - NLT

I do not believe that Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension were placed upon this earth so that believers and followers of Jesus could ignore His command to go into the world. Jesus was clearly found to be giving away His authority to those who love and follow Him so that they might go into the world and use their own story, along with the power of the Holy Spirit, to change lives and let people see Him.

The church building and our physical place here within the community has a purpose. It is one of the many freedoms that we get to enjoy as Americans, that we can assemble and worship the God of all Creation. This place is not intended to be the storage place of the Spirit or of God Himself. This building is intended to be the furnace that stokes the flames that fill us and purify us so that we can be the people God needs us to be during the week.

Have you ever missed a week of church and things just seem off? You don’t have the power or the courage that you once had? Maybe you are suddenly faced with a situation and you did not handle it the way that you normally would. The life of faith happens beyond the doors of the church. It is where people see us, an in turn see if our life looks like Jesus or not.

Jesus promises us that He will not leave us. The Holy Spirit is with us always and empowering us to do the things that we do not think we can. Jesus did leave us clear instructions to be a physical embodiment of His ministry on earth, so that we might bring heaven to earth and clearly demonstrate the eternal possibilities that can be found here.

Are we ready to go beyond the doors? Do we have the discipline to choose Jesus everyday? I hope and pray that we do. It is time for the church to become everything that it was intended to be.
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- Pastor Mike