Smallest Seed

Travel Blog See this powerful bible passage? "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." [Ephesians 4]. But here's how some church folks corrupt it. They think the passage is meant for their church denomination. They really believe "one body" means their church denomination with all their members united as one. And sadly, a lot of church denominations today think like this---they think their denomination is the "one body" the bible talks about. When they hear about "one body in Christ," they think it applies to their church denomination. If this were so, then there would be "bodies" of Jesus Christ, each denomination being "one body." And I wonder why no one among them stops to think about what they are claiming to be. Does anybody know what they're ta

Equipment World You are given eyes to see and the spiritual ability to enter God's Kingdom [John 3.3-8] so you can be part of it. Once you're part, then you can share it with others. You cannot share what you do not have. Fact is, you cannot share what you haven't seen. In ministry, you have to see the Kingdom and enter it. So you have to seek the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, first and last. Evangelism Share your Kingdom faith with as many. Ask God's guidance about it, particularly who you'd share it with. Sometimes, God wants specific targets. Only the King knows who is fit for the Kingdom so you have to follow his lead about who to share the Gospel with and who to disciple. Many are invited but few are chosen. The prophet Samuel was sure it was Eliab who would be king but the Lord said Eliab seemed kingdomly only in appearance but not in essence. We should share the Gospel with everyone, but at times the Lord would zero in on an individual

Pinterest Ever wondered why Jesus and John the baptizer assumed radically simple roles in society? Why didn't Jesus come as part of the Sanhedrin or as palace official? Why the son of a poor carpenter? Why be born in a manger? John for one was Zechariah's son, and Zechariah served as priest in the temple. Priests led comfortable and well to do lives, being supplied all their material needs and given special favors by the community as per Old Testament directives. John should have been priest, too, being son of Zechariah. But John gave it up and chose to be an obscure prophet living in the wilderness catching locusts for dinner and risking bee stings just to enjoy a handful of honey. That's beside wearing only camel's hair and a leather belt all his life. Why this radical simplicity? I see it as Kingdom signature. A kind of "company logo" or characteristic mark of the Kingdom. Kingdom people literally care for nothing in this life. Jesus said tha

Study Make sure you're doing ministry in the glorious church of Jesus Christ, a church without spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. People who have no knowledge of the Kingdom will just go to any "born-again" church, especially one which has the best facilities.  But a Kingdom person particularly makes sure he attends no less than the glorious church. Non-Kingdom people will tell you not to look for a perfect church. "There is no perfect church!" they insist. But the bible says there is a glorious church, without spot or wrinkle. It's Jesus' church. He died for it. He founded it. And ministry is different in the glorious church. In the glorious church, everyone's ministries are connected and intertwined. And I mean all ministries. Kingdom people know this so well. There is no such thing as "your ministry" or "my ministry" or "their ministry" or "our ministry." More radical Kingdom concepts for

wallpaperup.com This is how Jesus envisioned the church: "The gates of hell shall not prevail against it." This gives us a picture of a fierce battle, with the church in the offensive and hell in the defensive. And Jesus himself will build this church for this purpose---for war. Clearly, the church is an army of believers. More than singing and Sunday worship programs and performing traditional rituals, the church is for training warriors. Specifically, believers should be trained how to wear and use the armor of God and eventually become experts at it. This is the only real use of church---or the gathering of believers in Jesus' Name, nothing more nothing less. For deeper insights on what a true Jesus believer should be, this e-book will help. Click this link to check it out. Singing, choir, Sunday programs, concerts, and other traditional church activities are really of no use. You cannot attack the gates of hell by perfecting your tenor or bass voice or by

blogs.thegospelcoalition.org You can grab as many people as you want to become members of your church. But those you can actually raise up to be fruitful disciples of Jesus Christ depends on how many people the Father draws to you. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. [John 6.44] The principle applies to Jesus and all his true followers---no on can come to you to be raised up by you unless the Father draws them to you. If say, the Father draws only 10 people to you and you have a thousand church members, the 990 others will just play church. They may be very active members and "supporters" in the eyes of men, but they will never bear good fruit, fruit that God looks for in a believer. Aside from the fruit of the Spirit [Galatians 5], the fruit God looks for is this: If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing...This is to my Father’s glory, th

celebrationpublications.org There are those in church who are rich and there are those who are poor. There are rich churches and poor churches. There are rich pastors and poor pastors. Why is this? God has a wonderful plan here. If we obey his Word, no one in the body of Christ would be too rich or too poor. We see this in these passages: "However, there need be no poor people among you, for in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you, if only you fully obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today."[Deuteronomy 15.4] But what if there were poor people among them nonetheless? This was God's formula: "If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need." It's clear. God'

www.the-philippine-travel-guide.com I also like to title this article, "How a Church Becomes Obsolete" or "How a Church Becomes Useless." Most church people do not understand that Jesus' ministry---what he did in the bible---is the model. It is the highest and most superior. It is most advanced. Some ministers think that we ought to improve on what Jesus did. They think that Jesus' ministry was too simplistic, so they need to do something better, something more sophisticated, yet make Jesus' ministry its "foundation." Actually, it should be the reverse---all our ministries today should veer towards having the form and essence of Jesus' ministry. Our ministries should gradually transform or metamorphose into a Jesus' ministry. So, you'll easily see how our ministries should get rid of a lot of non-essentials---buildings, programs, aimless activities, entertainment, gimmicks, titles and degrees, seminary, bible school,

www.inc.com Even when I was already actively doing ministry the denominational way, I'd been questioning some things we were doing. My question was, why didn't Jesus do them? Sure, the things church denominations were doing resulted to increased church membership and increased church income, plus increased number of churches planted. But I saw that these increases didn't really mean the Gospel was being spread and people really getting to know the King and his Kingdom. Often, it only meant people were becoming more aware of the church denomination and gradually getting involved there. What I saw more was the spread or expansion of the church denomination using God's Word as cover or front. Honestly. And I was beginning to be disappointed. The goal then was really to get more people into the church so there would be more money to build more churches elsewhere for the denomination and be able to say, "Hey, look how our church denomination is growing!"

www.homeyconstructions.com This has been a challenge to me---start a church the way Jesus did it. After all, Jesus is the Author of it all---the church. He is the only Way to please the Father. If we want a church pleasing to God, we have to do everything as Jesus did it. So, how and where do you start it? You start with yourself. Well, the usual way is to go around the neighborhood, tell people you're a pastor and invite them for bible studies or prayer meeting. But Jesus never did it like that. Filled with the Spirit, he was first sent to the wilderness to be tested and then came out in the power of the Spirit. That's always step one---you have to be taken and exposed to the wilderness and there defeat the devil. A lot of people who want to serve God in church have never been to the wilderness and never defeated the devil there. Some had their wilderness experience, but instead of defeating Satan there, they were deceived. They joined him do the ministry.

Would you join this church? www.123rf.com Would you have joined Jesus' ministry if you'd been there? Especially if you saw how he had no church building, no riches, no property, no formal education, no formal clothes, no titles or degrees, and no home---not even a pillow to lay his head on? A poor pastor? On top of that, the popular church leaders with the big ministries all denounced him. One time he declared: Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. [John 7.38] Today, we realize the power of this passage because we already know it comes from the Son of God. But back then, it came from a poor carpenter who had no finances or bank account or property to back up his claims.  You looked at him and you saw someone looking just as poor and helpless as you were, probably even poorer---and later you'd see him abandoned by his own disciples and haplessly nailed on the cross. Today, church people clap

In these end times, God will do a great church revival before Jesus comes back. He will do this to restore all things in these last days: Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. [Acts 3.21] And the whole idea is that God will cause the glorious church of Jesus Christ to appear on earth, not as another religion or church denomination, but in the lives of true believers, regardless of church affiliation. They will experience a supernatural touch from God and begin to seriously live out the LIFE of Jesus Christ in the Word of God.  The glorious church of Jesus Christ will have no physical address or headquarters but will powerfully and radiantly reside in the lives of radical Jesus believers.  Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. [Isaiah 60]. Failed Church Revivals Churches have been trying to come up with the right revival formula for

galleryhip.com The Acts church at its best--we will witness this phenomenon in the Last Days before Jesus Christ comes back. The Acts church culture was obliterated by men's denominational churches but God will restore everything as he promised through the prophets [Acts 3.21].  The modern Acts church will not ostensibly display power like mega churches do. In fact, they will meet in small, simple, quiet groups--in quiet homes, rooms, street corners, garages, home rooftops, or cafes--but they are power houses nonetheless, shrouded in seeming weakness--because power is made perfect in weakness. This house churches are powerfully networked together to the Head, but under no denomination or formal alliances. In fact, it will be simply known as a movement (God's present move) of the Holy Spirit whose leaders are not publicly visible. No one personality will be popular here, save Jesus Christ. Look at how they start a "crusade" or "conference." It