The Church I See

Sunday is my most favorite day of the week. My wife and I love pastoring or Church: seeing people connect with a real God, transformed by His love, restoring marriages and changing hearts. When we gather together to worship Jesus Christ, it's like the windows of heaven open up... I sense great peace, comfort and true joy that goes beyond happiness.
We looked at Luke 5:17-26, here's the account. There was a man who was paralyzed and brought by friends to where Jesus was teaching. There were crowds of people there, including the teachers of the law who were only there to find fault with Jesus. No one made room for this man in need and so they went to creative measures... climbing on the roof and removing tiles to lower their paralyzed friend in front of where Jesus was teaching. He was first forgiven of his sins, then healed of his physical condition. The Pharisees were outraged by Jesus' declaration of forgiving the mans sins and rebuked them. The crowds saw this and were in awe and declared: "We have seen remarkable things today."

Here's the Church I See through this event.
- I see a church that anticipates the power of God to do amazing things. 
Luke 5:17 "The power of the Lord was present to heal them." 
God is not lacking in power or ability. The Pharisees came from great distances and to see and hear Jesus; they had a front row seat... but their heart were far being able to receive what was available.

- I see a church that is compelled to bring others in front of Jesus.
Luke 5:18 "Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat..."
As the church, we must understand that the heart of God is willing that none should perish... not just me. I don't want to come empty handed, being concerned only with myself. It's one thing to desire great things from God in my life; and it's another to desire God to do great things in the life of others. These friends who brought Jesus carried him in his need, not taking the responsibility to try to rehabilitate him by themselves. They understood that Jesus is able to something that they could not. As the church... we aren't here to fix people, but to accept them and lead them by example to Jesus.

- I see a church that is willing to remove all obstacles and hinderances
Luke 5:19 "...they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles... right in front of Jesus."
The church is to be a place where all are welcomed as they are. Sad to say, people within churches can be cold and distant to others. We must remove judgments, expectations, pride, preferences and differences. I'm not talking avoiding the truths of scripture, but allowing people to experience Jesus for themselves and encouraging them on their spiritual journey.

- I see a church that never grows tired of what God is doing.
Luke 5:26 Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”
It never gets old seeing people discover who Jesus is. I have seen lives changed, marriages restored, healings, addictions broken, broken hearts mended, etc. All of heaven rejoices over the life of one person coming to know Jesus. They aren't celebrating numbers, but the transformed life. A house of praise flows from a heart of praise. In other words: praise isn't just an action we do in the moment, but the attitude of our spirit.