“…supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.”  (1 Timothy 6)

 

The shepherd of God’s flock or Christ’s undershepherd is always concerned with the spiritual health and spiritual growth of those that God has given him.  The shepherd’s focus is upon his sheep, he knows them and they know him and they recognize his voice, they hear him and will not hear another. However, in some circles or camps the focus is on growth in terms of the number of persons attending.  Some equate God and His blessing with the growth in numbers of persons attending.  They say things like, “We had x persons, God is so good.” I wonder if God would still be good if that number of persons was cut in half.  Would God be half (1/2) as good? I remember hearing about a preacher and his family asking for a vote of confidence from the congregation.  All the persons present got up and walked out, leaving the man of God and his family standing alone. I know not the circumstances involved, but what I want to know is, Is God still good when something like that happens to a man?

Having said all of that, how big is your church?  How big is your ministry?  Persons ask me that and I tell them our ministry is out of our home and we minister to a handful of persons.  Some say, “Oh.”  or “Okay, there’s nothing wrong with that.”  and when they say these things we sense a surprise in these persons and they know not what to do or how to responsd to our ministry.  Most think a church is a visible building with a steeple on top.  In reality churches are in schools, store fronts, basements, attics, and homes through out the world.  The church, “In the beginning” was in the homes of the saints.  The Bible has many references to home churches, nine (9) times does the Holy Spirit mention the house or home church.  The Philippian church was made up of maybe ten  (10) or eleven (11) or so believers. Look in the Book of Acts and search for the names that are of the Philippian church. Okay, okay, I’ll do it for you… There is Lydia, there is the Philippian jailor and his “whole house,” there is also Epaphroditus, there is the feuding Euodias and Syntyche and maybe Clement. The Book of Philippians, a most encouraging epistle, is existent due to a home church of less than fifteen (15).

In the home church there is intimacy, accountability, and no over head costs.  This means any monies can be used toward the kingdom and not utilities.  Understand me right, I’m not disparaging the local church, God Forbid. At the same time the local church must not disparage or be embarrassed of the local home church(es). In our mind’s eye we see the local churches in our area as the O.T. Temple and our home church and or other home churches as synagogues oe satellites.  This writer preaches and teaches in our home and we are proud to be affiliated in a sense with two (2) local Bible churches. This writer loves and respects these churches, their pastors and their congregations and we believe these churches, their pastors and their congregations love us too. It’s a bit heavenly, if you will.

However having said all of that, In my mind and in my God-formed, God-wired, God shaped shepherd-warrior’s heart, I see my minstry being world wide.  My shepherd’s heart constrains me and compels me to see any one and everyone as sheep in my flock.  This can also be looked upon as the Good Samaritan Heart also.

We are not interested in denominations or labels. We use them , however, to understand where a person is coming from or knowing how a person might be thinking but other than that we have no use for denominations or labels. We do not look upon Christ-ians as Apostolic, Baptist, Congregationalist, Catholic, Charismatic, Episcopal, Fundementalist, Methodist, Presbyterian, etc.  We look at persons and ask them “What think ye of Christ?”  The secondary issues are secondary issues.

The Primacy of the collective and common salvation is, “What think ye of Christ?”  “I can forgive a man of many things if he gives me a sense of Christ.”  said Martyn LLoyd Jones.  When Tozer and Martyn LLoyd Jones shared a stage…imagine the power of the Spirit Present there and then…., Tozer said to Lloyd Jones, [Paraphrasing] “You came your way and I came my way but we both ended up here.”  Tozer’s meaning ?  Tozer was a Bible teacher and mystic of the first order.  Lloyd Jones was a sound and methodical expositor of Scripture, yet both men sat together under and in- One Christ Jesus, Lord and Master of both.  The great preachers looked past all labels and denominational walls and saw people who were in need of Christ and His salvation.  Judging others according to denomination is a kin to racism, is it not?  It is a spiritual ism of some kind.

It is certain that there be points of difference but if they do not hinder a man’s salvation, they are secondary.  Having said that, we should be informed with the beliefs unique to each denomination so we might know how to perceive them.  For example, Some of the apostolic (pentacostol) camps believe one must speak in tongues in order to be saved.  They see tongues as a sign gift,  this, of course is not Biblically supportable.  The Christian Church believe one must be baptized to finish one’s salvation.  They also believe the Lord’s supper should be taken weekly and that’s fine and good and supportable, but baptism being the finishing touch to one’s salvation is unacceptable, Solus Christus,  Christ Alone is our Salvation, there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved and there is a  we  that must be saved.

In dealing with catholic persons, things can get prickly.  We know there exists saints, real, saved, sinners turned saints in that theatre of man made religionism. The catholic church is sound on the Trinity and they have many assets that could help the brethren, but their Mary-worship and prayers made to saints is so wrong and offensive to God and His Son. These are not secondary issues, these are spiritual crimes with murdered souls in it’s wake..  It is idolatry and that sacriledge must be addressed if there is to be any fellowship…true fellowship.  The Catholic mass and their teaching on Christ’s Sacrifice happening again and again and again in each mass must go.   The confessions to priests can be helpful,in terms of therapy, i might imagine, but it could not be an ordinance…..it seems to me there is a germ of possible blackmail present, it is similar to the Scientologists use of confessions against those wanting to leave that cultic religion which is based on science fiction books and business principles.

Summary and point of this article:  Though we be a small home church with, “those few sheep,”  we see the entire world as our sheepfold.  We are our brother’s keeper, we are the Good Samaritan, we are the undershepherd of God’s creation.

Is your church and or ministry to small?  Do you have a great BIG God?  or is your God too small too?  Our God and His Church is Universally Big and so is our ministry.

Next time someone asks me or asks you, “How many you got?”  We should respond with, “As many as there are in this old world.”  Like Moses, like Joshua, like David, like Peter, like Paul, we should see our ministries and our sheepfold to be world wide and open to all that know Christ as Lord and Saviour and open to those that “must be saved” as “the Lord [adds] to the church,  daily such as should be saved.”

Godspeed.