May 01, 2022

Church in the City I – 1 May 2022 – Pastor John Custer

Introduction - This builds upon from the introduction I delivered last Sunday.  It is evident from Revelation 2 that God sees the church in a given region much differently than we do.  We, in western Christianity, see the church as being our own congregation and little more.  We may have a dim consciousness of the worldwide Body of Christ, or we may have some friends in other congregations, but our day-in, day-out, practical Christian experience consists of almost nothing outside of our congregation.  God, on the other hand, sees the church as a larger organism which resides in a given area, like a city or region.  Lets look again at the city of Philadelphia:

Revelation 3:7-13  “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Philadelphia. This is the message from the one who is holy and true, the one who has the key of David. What he opens, no one can close; and what he closes, no one can open:  8 “I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me. 9 Look, I will force those who belong to Satan’s synagogue—those liars who say they are Jews but are not—to come and bow down at your feet. They will acknowledge that you are the ones I love. 10 “Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world. 11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown. 12 All who are victorious will become pillars in the Temple of my God, and they will never have to leave it. And I will write on them the name of my God, and they will be citizens in the city of my God—the new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven from my God. And I will also write on them my new name. 13 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.  NLT

Notice that God refers to the church (singular) in Philadelphia, as He does to the other 7 churches in Asia Minor.  He later (v. 5 & 7) refers to churches (plural), at least meaning the other seven churches of Asia Minor, which He addresses in Chapters 2 and 3.  These were churches in cities of considerable size.  It is very likely that each city had numerous house-churches like those referred to in the Book of Acts. The church in Jerusalem, not mentioned in Revelation 2 and 3, had at least 3,000 converts at the point when the above Scriptures were written. 

Acts 8:1  A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria. NLT

Acts 11:22. When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. NLT

Acts 15:4 When they arrived in Jerusalem, Barnabas and Paul were welcomed by the whole church, including the apostles and elders. NLT

Although no one knows how many small house-churches there were in any of these cities, there were probably many Christians in each city mentioned in Revelation 2 and 3.  I don’t think all of them fit into the newest megachurch building in each of those cities.  The Book of The Revelation was written very close to the same time as Acts (68-69 AD), so it is very likely that there were similar major populations of Christians in each city named in Revelation 2 and 3.  God notably didn’t address each and every small congregation in His prophecy to the churches of Asia Minor.  He addressed the church in the entire area.  Here is the major idea which I am trying to convey:  God is interested in the health of the church in our entire city or region, not just the health of our own congregation.  His congratulations or rebukes were tied, in each case, to the health of the church as a whole in a given place, not just the health of a few of its congregations.  No doubt there were many fine Christians and small groups in Ephesus, Sardis, or Laodicea, but those cities each suffered consequences or received blessings based upon the health of the church in the whole city.  This is a new concept for us!  If this is so, and it obviously is, then we have a lot of work to do!  Our job is not just a matter of building our church as big as we can or making it as appealing as we can.  The larger task is to make the whole church in our whole city as godly as we can make it, in cooperation with the Holy Spirit, of course.    

To me, this is a very difficult, but not impossible, task.  It will absolutely take the working of God.  There are so many divisions, denominations, cultural differences, differences in beliefs, etc., between churches that it seems impossible to…

Ephesians 4:3. …keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. NLT

That verse above was written by Paul right around the time John was writing the Book of the Revelation.  It was addressed to the same church which John wrote about in Revelation, i.e., a large body of scattered Christians.  It tells the entire church in Ephesus to be united in the Spirit and bound together.  Presently, it seems to me that the church in any of these present-day cities around us has very little unity in the Spirit.  We certainly are not bound together.  We know almost nothing about what our respective congregations are doing in the kingdom.  Contrariwise, many churches compete with each other for members and finances, and are actually antagonistic with one another when it comes to differences in beliefs.  The result is that we, as a city-church, have little impact on our society.  We are not much of a threat to Satan. And our local situation is mild compared to other parts of our country or the world.  What can be done to solve this?  I believe there is an answer in this verse:  

1 Corinthians 12:28. Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church: first are apostles, second are prophets, third are teachers, then those who do miracles, those who have the gift of healing, those who can help others, those who have the gift of leadership, those who speak in unknown languages. NLT

There was a set order to God’s approved way to build the larger church on earth.  First, there were apostles, second were prophets.  After that came people we are more familiar with:  teachers, workers of miracles, healing gifts, leadership, speaking in tongues. (Notice the importance of speaking in tongues! The church will not be built without tongues!) What we must do right now is:  pray for apostles and prophets who can start to lead the Christians of our community into unity.  I have been in groups of pastors who all say, “We should do something together.” These groupings never work because they were arranged by well-meaning pastors, teachers, or evangelists, not apostles and prophets. They end up being social gatherings, or they were designed ultimately to fulfill one man’s dream for a school or special project. They never really solved any community problems.  God’s appointed way to bring the church together is through apostles and prophets.  

A true reviving of our city’s spiritual health would have to start with apostles and prophets.  We’ll use the term apostolic-prophetic revival to describe this phenomenon.  A revival born in this manner has the ability to change the life of our citizens dramatically.  It can affect ALL aspects of our earthly lives because it is God working through truly gifted people doing it in God’s way.  In God’s kingdom, crime diminishes, economies stabilize, healing flourishes, and hope and optimism thrive.  Children and old-timers and everyone between find their true usefulness.  Heaven comes down and touches earth.  Since God has limitless resources, He is waiting to underwrite Christian endeavors in education, business, medicine, building, transportation, research, safety, agriculture, commerce, finance, etc., etc.  God has all the wisdom you need to be successful!  If you take some time to seek wisdom from others who can teach you, you can succeed.  You were not destined to be an employee only, which is what most schooling prepares you for.  You are a Christian; you have faith.  Seek God’s wisdom.  He has destined you to succeed at a business of your own.  Remember that all of Jesus’ start-up crew left secure secular jobs to do work in His kingdom.  God has paid work in his kingdom for anyone who wants to leave the secular work world behind! 

Mark 10:28-30 then Peter began to speak up. “We’ve given up everything to follow you,” he said.   29 “Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, 30 will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life.  NLT

Conclusion -  Matthew 5:14. You are the light of the world—like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to                 see.  Don’t hide your light under a basket!  Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all.  NLT 

This is a powerful scripture, fully intended by the Lord to be fulfilled.  If we are to be a city set on a hill, then there should be a way for it to happen.  We can succeed at it!  Would you start praying with us and ask God for the manifestation of apostles and prophets?  We’ll be on our way to being a true “Church in the City.”