Share Your Life
I remember the wonderful days of the Charismatic movement. Wonderful simple worship with Jesus-centered songs. The gifts of the Holy Spirit flowed freely. Healings and miracles were commonplace. We had wonderful times of worship and fellowship in people's homes and in FGBMFI meetings. All this was centered around Jesus Himself.
I noticed something about those who were involved in our activities and rose to become leaders in our gatherings. They were busy organizing meetings, booking speakers, etc. These people led the meetings, prayed, flowed in the spiritual gifts, etc. Great men and women of God who were passing through would stay in their homes. But they had one drawback (which, at the time, we did not think of as a "drawback"): many of them did not attend any local church. This was because the Charismatic meetings that they were involved in appeared to have more spiritual power, than any local church. As a result, no church was ever good enough for them. If they would attend a service in a church, they would always find fault with either the pastor, the leaders, the quality of the teaching, or the people. So, no church was ever at a level that was good enough for them.
Now understand me, when I say this: these were good and sincere people, but without realizing it, they considered themselves to be spiritually "superior" and more "advanced" than those who were in the established churches.
As I look back over the years, I realize that those good people in the Charismatic movement who did not believe in the local church have not left behind an enduring spiritual legacy. All those gifts and anointings given to them were never fully fruitful, because they did not flow within the greater body of Christ.
My friends, we have been placed by God into the body of Christ. This body may have parts that seem flawed, but its head is Christ Himself, and the life of God flows through it. So, I encourage you to be part of a local church. Share your life there and let others share their lives with you. Be accountable to your leaders and your peers. Do not sit alone in your home with your family and do your own thing because no church is good enough for you. Learn to live, flow, and grow in the greater context of the body of Christ and in a local church.
"Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching,”
Heb 10:25
Originally posted on Facebook by Pastor Christopher Alam