The Word of the Lord for the Church in 2023 and Beyond

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What if God’s plan in this season is to dismantle what we thought was Him and His way, and rebuild according to His plan and purpose? The New Testament church/ekklesia is changing and evolving to resemble more the heavenly pattern and not the earthly mixture that it’s been.

Jesus Is Building Strong Local Churches 

The local church today has been despised by many because there are thousands of teachers who debate doctrine and methodology, but so few true fathers. The local church is a big family made up of smaller families. Fathers love families and would never do anything to hurt or harm the cause of the local church family. They seek to build local churches according to the wisdom of the heavenly pattern: to build strong foundations in local churches and to father pastors, local elders and young, Ephesians 4:11 ministry gifts to be fruitful and multiply.

Fathers are usually apostolic in nature, and they equip elders to love and care for local churches. We need them badly in this hour. There is a new adorning of glory for them in this day to distinguish them from the imposters.

There’s a new church coming and present now, built on truth in love. There will be an upheaval of the current, modern church system.

Look around you. The pandemic closed down many churches. Some will never recover and reopen. Most of those who remained open have lost people and money. Why? Is it only because many Christians are weak, sick and fearful? Not necessarily.

You see, the true disciples of Jesus are losing their taste for the shallow and superficial, and they are separating themselves from those who have only a form of godliness without the presence and power of God that fills the human heart and from those entangled in the appearance of spirituality.

Many people have become disenchanted with the church because of hurt and abuse, religious politics and leadership caught up in the things of the flesh. Hungry people are looking for depth in the Word and in their relationships, a free-flowing move of the Spirit, personal empowerment and leadership that does not play political games.

We have to be prepared for the church Jesus is building so we can catch, contain and care for the great harvest that’s coming. We need less structure and more of the Holy Ghost.

One of the inefficiencies of the church today is the absence of a corporate spirit. Forsaking the assembling of ourselves together is not the answer either. We need every member of the body to assemble together so we can provoke one another to love and to do the work of the ministry. There are strife-bearers and foolish babblers out there that despise buildings and any kind of order, structure and authority. Everyone has an opinion and does what’s right in their own eyes. This causes such a sprit of religious exclusivity. We lose our power and effectiveness when each church believes they are the best church. Different does not mean better. The members of our physical body teach us that.

Today we have many churches, but we are not one. The great strength of the early church was its love for one another, which undergirded their unity and their assembling together. God’s grand plan and eternal purpose is for brotherly love and affection to always prevail. A church full of love and power showing what society can become in Christ is our greatest and most effective witness. The world will know we are disciples of Jesus when we show them how we love and care for one another.

Bert Farias’ books are forerunners to personal holiness, the move of God and the return of the Lord. Find other materials and resources on his website, Holy Fire Ministries.