Reaching the lost with love and power: Faith Matters clergy column from Pastor Don Sturiano
"Jesus sees two people groups, those that know the love of Christ and those who need to know His love. The first group is responsible for loving the second"
-- Don Sturiano
I recently heard a disturbing church statistic here in the United States that stated that a large percentage of churches are in decline, and many of those growing are mostly from people from other churches.
What I am writing may not be a popular message in today's church culture, but I am convinced it is the right message and it is from the Heart of The Father.
According to scripture and the words of Jesus Christ, the mission of the Church, every leader and every believer is to teach, preach and demonstrate The Gospel of The Kingdom resulting in the making of disciples.
"And as you go, preach, saying,'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give" -- Matthew 10:7-8
You will also find it was His first message; Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
It was His recurring message; Matthew 9:35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
It was His last message; Acts 1:3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.
This can be accomplished through living a life committed to the first two verses of The Lord's Prayer; for a lifestyle of Hollowed be Thy Name will effortlessly release and demonstrate The Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven.
For those who have been taught the lie miracles ended with the original apostles and there is no such thing as modern day apostles and prophets, I would like to lovingly encourage you to read the book of Acts especially the story of Stephen found in chapter 6 verse 8.
I have learned, practice and teach that we can allow the gifts of The Holy Spirit to operate through us in our services, out in the world and the market place without being goofy. Sadly much foolish behavior pawned off as the Holy Spirit has tarnished the authentic and caused a resistance to the holy pursuit of reaching the world through His gifts that include miraculous acts of power.
The Holy Spirit wants His churches back, He wants them to operate in divine order in regards to operating in his gifts. In part, functioning in that divine order is first and foremost through love, then wisdom and discernment then power.
Right now there is a war that is waging for churches to be guided by The Holy Spirit versus the dry religious traditions of men, the dialed down gospel of convenience, entertainment and compromise camouflaged in the deception of wanting to relate. God's will is simply for Heaven's reality to become earth's reality. This is not accomplished by trying to bring the church into the present age, rather by bringing the present age into God's Kingdom.
It is time for the Ancient Church of Pentecost to emerge once again, passionately motivated by unbridled love for God and for lost people. God is looking for a people who will be kind to others but dangerous to darkness, courageous and willing to take risks with extreme exploits of faith in His name.
And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. - 1st Corinthians 2:1-5
Now let's get out there and give 'em Heaven!
This story was originally published March 17, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Reaching the lost with love and power: Faith Matters clergy column from Pastor Don Sturiano ."