Catholicism views the church as a franchise. But let’s consider a different model of the church. We’ve all seen Westerns in with forts and outposts in the wilderness.
These were little beacons of civilization scattered across the vast frontier. Emigrants to the Old West would chart a trail which was punctuated by remote forts and outposts along the way. There they would rest for a few days or weeks. Restock exhausted supplies. Make repairs. Or even dig in for the winter–as they waited for spring before resuming their arduous journey.
And that’s the function of the church. A spiritual stockade in the midst of a fallen world–where weary pilgrims can take temporary refuge in the wilderness of sin. Individual forts and outpost may be abandoned or overrun with the passage of time. Lie in ruins.
Yesterday’s outlying settlement may become tomorrow’s metropolis. Or be deserted. Forgotten by time.
Yet their survival is not an end in itself, but only a means to an end. For we are transients in a transient world. Sojourners on a journey to the land beyond the sun.
This morning I was listening to a preacher on Sermonaudio.com who noted something very similar to these words above:::>
ReplyDelete"....Individual forts and outpost may be abandoned or overrun with the passage of time. Lie in ruins....".
He noted that there have been great centers in Germany and England that produced some of the finest preachers of Christ and God, men full of the Holy Spirit and Their anointing.
Yet today, what is there in Germany or England?
He noted that Fort Worth, TX. was at one time one of the finest places in America raising up fine preachers and teachers of Their Word.
It is enough to know these things.
It is now the time to act, to rise up and to pray with prevailing prayers, prayers prayed in the Name of Jesus, the Lord Who creates centers of Kingdom activity as in days ago.
I heard the other day of the story of a person facing a difficulty as great as the one that faced Moses and the children of Israel, Isaac and Abraham, as they, by mandate, fled with the riches of Eygpt towards the sea they were approaching with the armies of Pharaoh hotly approaching them from behind. A little girl, who understood something, said to this person in great distress: "have Faith like Moses". The person said, "but we do not live in the days of Moses". The little girl replied quickly enough, "true", "but we do live in the days of the God of Moses".
There may not be in Israel today but a well trampled "Fort Zion" by curiousity travelers these days coming and going leaving nothing else. There is though, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob alive and well in our days, these days to turn to and in His Son's Name, pray prevailing upon the Lord of the Harvest, "send your laborers" forth into the world where we live and continue to establish conclaves full of Truth and forts like "fort Zion" in Zion's day!
Judaism has Jerusalem. Islam has Mecca. Mormonism has Salt Lake City. Eastern Religions have the individual. The Roman Catholic Church has sought to fix all of Christendom on Rome. But Christ pointed to a place we have not yet seen where our citizenship truly belongs. So we may build temporary cities, establish temporary churches, and understand these temporary bodies to be temples of the Holy Spirit. However, we are bound for the undying land where we will dwell with the Lord forever. We are not to worship Jerusalem, Mecca, Salt Lake City, or Rome. We are not even to worship Heaven. We are to incline our worship toward the Lord of Heaven and Earth.
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