21 September 2007
Rhema Inspiration
The Church Needs to Know the Word
“The Church of our day is
splintered into many parts because
people have
changed the Word.”
I have personally experienced
interacting with a store employee who could not make
change properly. I have heard others say that they have
had similar experiences. The evidence points to the
fact that there are people, young and old alike, who
are deficient in the rudiments of basic math. With the
help of machines, people who are deficient in basic
math are still able to sufficiently deal with numbers
at work and at home.
There are as many or more people
who are deficient in their knowledge of the Word of God
as there are people who are deficient in their
knowledge of basic math. To illustrate the need for
knowledge of the Word we did an exercise in math at our
service last night. I called out multiplication
problems and gave right and wrong answers. For example,
I said 6 x 3 = 18; 5 x 5 = 25; 7 x 6 = 41; 8 x 7 = 56;
9 x 6 = 53; and 9 x 7 = 63. I asked everyone to raise
their hand when I gave a wrong answer, which they did.
After the exercise, I said to them that they must know
the Word of God so well that they recognize immediately
when someone says something that is not true.
The Church that Jesus is building
is built upon Him and His Word. It is not built on
anyone’s opinion, doctrine, or tradition; it is
built on Jesus and His Word rightly divided. The Church
of our day is splintered into many parts because people
have changed the Word. When the Word is changed, we do
not get a clear picture of Jesus, of His kingdom, or of
His Church. It is hard for people to understand and
grasp, but one can be born again and be off concerning
the Word. Those who may grasp the truth of that often
don't understand how detrimental it can be. We have
heard people talk about sending something into space,
and if it is off a small fraction at the beginning, it
can become way off as it travels into space. A
biblical truth that we really need to grasp is that a
little leaven leavens the whole lump. We also
need to fully grasp how serious were the words of Jesus
when He said, “By your traditions, you make the
Word of God of no effect” (Matt. 15:6).
By our traditions, we have made
the maturity and unity of the present-day Church of
little or no effect. I am trying to tear down the walls
that we are hiding behind, walls such as cheap grace,
pseudo unity, man-made doctrines, and man-made
traditions that have been passed down by our fathers
and grandfathers. God bless their souls, and if they
were born again, they are with God. But their being
born again and being good people does not guarantee
that they were right about all they said about the
Word. The truth is that there are many good people,
many good and true Christians in many of our
present-day churches. The truth is also that the local
churches that make up the whole Church are not in
unity. One of the main reasons for this disunity is
that we have been set apart (divided) by and to
man-made teachings and traditions rather than being
sanctified by truth (John 17:17). John 17:17 comes
before John 17:20 and 21 because Jesus knew what and
why He was praying.
I will continue to minister the
importance of prayer and the Word. I will conclude this
message by saying that I once said to a minister who
knew and taught Greek and Hebrew that one can know
Greek and Hebrew and not know the Word. I said it to
him for a purpose, and I am recounting it to you for a
purpose. Greek and Hebrew or any knowledge of the Word
is not going to bring the Word of God alive apart from
the Holy Spirit. Seminaries are filled with
professors who have great knowledge of the Word but
little true revelation. They are proud of their
knowledge and credentials, but they have not produced
disciples who unite in faith to fulfill the Lord's
Prayer in John 17. Will we be humble and submit to the
Holy Spirit for His revelation of the Word? Will we
allow Him to bring forth a mature Church built on Jesus
and His Word who is in the unity of faith and is
preaching the gospel of the kingdom in the whole world
as a witness to all nations? We will when we surrender
to the truth that the Church needs to know the Word!
_____________________________
BIBLICAL APPLICATION:
For the time is coming when
[people] will not tolerate (endure) sound and wholesome
instruction, but, having ears itching [for something
pleasing and gratifying], they will gather to
themselves one teacher after another to a considerable
number, chosen to satisfy their own liking and to
foster the errors they hold, and will turn aside from
hearing the truth and wander off into myths and
man-made fictions. 2
Timothy 4:3-4 AMP
Pastor Wayne Wilson
New Covenant Church of Jesus
Christ
3147 Klondike Road, SW, Conyers,
GA 30094 USA
770-760-1101
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© 2007 New Covenant Church of
Jesus Christ, Conyers, GA USA
www.JesusAndHisWord.org
