The Pen is Mightier than the Sword
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Many of you will no doubt recognise the title of this article as the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) or Internet Address of a Local Church Website. For those who know little or nothing about computers, or have no interest in modern technology, take heart, this is not a “lecture” on the intricacies of launching a Local Church on to the World Wide Web. We have cheekily “borrowed” the URL to try and spark off interest, so an explanation of the title is necessary. In modern terms, the www stands for the World Wide Web (more popularly known as the Internet), the local-church section is self-explanatory, and org denotes the Website as being an organisation. Having now gained your interest (hopefully) from this point on we will ignore the modern connotation and apply the title to the subject of this article.
When a group of believers organise themselves into a group of people with the title of a Local Church [local-church.org], they would no doubt do so with the purpose of preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to be a live and active Church in the neighbourhood, to fulfil a mission to evangelise and bring salvation to the multitudes of unsaved and needy people in the area by introducing them to the Lord Jesus. This, too, was the purpose of the New Testament Church of the 1st Century, and has been for all true Christians ever since who have accomplished great things for God. So it is to these early Christians we look for our example and encouragement.
Three characteristics stand out when we review the 1st Century Church. They are, [1] Watching; [2] Witnessing; [3] Working. As we apply them to the 21st Century Church, and to your Local Church in particular, not only will we be encouraged to accomplish great things for God, but we will have eared the right to complete our title - www.local-church.org.
Perhaps the greatest inspiration and driving force behind those early Christians was the fact that Christ had risen from the dead and had promised to return again - the Resurrection and the Second Coming. They were serving a living Saviour who would one day come back again and reward everyone according to their faithfulness. Jesus had illustrated this, in Matthew 25:14-30, with a parable of a man going into a far country who, after some considerable time, returned to receive account from whom he had entrusted his affairs while he was away.
The parable is a familiar one, and we cannot fail to recognise Jesus as being the Master going in to the far country, one day to return. Each servant was expected to make the best use of the talents given to him. It was expected that each servant would at least show an increase, how ever small, when the master of the house returned. As we know from the parable, those who faithfully made an increase in the master’s absence were rewarded correspondingly when the day of reckoning came. Here is a valuable lesson for each one of us today. What are we doing with our talents?
The first characteristic of the 1st Century Church - watching.
To those early Christians the promise that Christ would return was so real that they lived in daily anticipation of it. It was the constant attitude of the believers in those days. Paul wrote to Titus to encourage him, “We wait for the blessed hope - the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). The fact that this “glorious appearing” did not take place in their lifetime in no way reduced the certainty that it would happen, that the promise would be fulfilled. Down through the centuries believers have anticipated the Second Coming, and even now in the 21st Century while it is still future we anticipate the greatest of all events - we are still watching and waiting.
As with many of the great prophecies of the Bible, the time of fulfilment is not always revealed, especially with the timing of the Second Coming. Many have tried to predict it, and failed! Even though Jesus Himself said (recorded in Matthew 24:36) concerning the day and hour of His return that no man knows, not even the angels, but the Father only, men still try to predict the date. Our responsibility is not to predict but to wait and be ready. Paul did say in 1 Thessalonians 5:1, concerning the coming of the Lord, that we should not be ignorant “about times and dates” so that as we look around today at the “signs of the times” it would suggest, as never before, that the time may very well be near, but this is not prediction, it is watching. Indeed, if ever the Lord’s people should be watching in anticipation of His return from “the far country” it is now.
The certainty of Christ’s coming again should encourage us in our daily living, to be more like the One who is coming, to live in the light of His return. A firm belief in the near return of Christ is an incentive to holy living. As Paul also wrote to Titus, “…say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age while we wait for the blessed hope” (Titus 2:12,13). The message for us is clear, let us so watch, that all we say and do will be in the light of the Lord’s return, because we will be required to give an account of our stewardship during the Master’s absence in “the far country”.
The second characteristic of the 1st Century Church - witnessing.
As we continue to review the Early Church we notice that, while they were watching and waiting for the return of Jesus Christ, they never ceased to witness for Him, both by the lives they lived as well as the words they spoke. Why were they so active in the area of witnessing? Two reasons! They were obeying a command and they had received the power to obey that command. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Like them, we need the empowering of the Holy Spirit to make us effective witnesses. Without it our efforts would, at best be very weak, at worst non-existent. It is vitally important, then, that we abide under the anointing of the Spirit.
How can we be sure of doing this? Only as we live our lives daily in obedience to God’s Word, because that Word declares, “We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him” (Acts 5:32). Disobedience to God’s commands allows sin to enter into our lives and creates a barrier between Him and ourselves. This destroys fellowship with our Heavenly Father, without which we cannot even begin to witness for Him. However, through the obedience of Christ and His finished work at Calvary, we by faith are restored into a right relationship with God [see Romans 5:19], and by our continued obedience we can experience the constant infilling of the Holy Spirit - the power to witness.
This was the experience of the 1st Century Church, it must be the experience of the 21st Century Church, especially that part of the 21st Century Church known by the name of your Local Church. If our witness has become ineffective or has even ceased to exist altogether, we may not have far to look for the reason. It may well be within our own lives. What should we do? We need to retrace our steps to the point where we deviated from God’s will. There we will find Him still waiting to take us forward in the pathway of blessing and usefulness in His service. Often the only Bible that the people of the world read is in the lives of the Lord’s people. We are His witnesses.
When a group of believers organise themselves into a group of people with the title of a Local Church [local-church.org], they would no doubt do so with the purpose of preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to be a live and active Church in the neighbourhood, to fulfil a mission to evangelise and bring salvation to the multitudes of unsaved and needy people in the area by introducing them to the Lord Jesus. This, too, was the purpose of the New Testament Church of the 1st Century, and has been for all true Christians ever since who have accomplished great things for God. So it is to these early Christians we look for our example and encouragement.
Three characteristics stand out when we review the 1st Century Church. They are, [1] Watching; [2] Witnessing; [3] Working. As we apply them to the 21st Century Church, and to your Local Church in particular, not only will we be encouraged to accomplish great things for God, but we will have eared the right to complete our title - www.local-church.org.
Perhaps the greatest inspiration and driving force behind those early Christians was the fact that Christ had risen from the dead and had promised to return again - the Resurrection and the Second Coming. They were serving a living Saviour who would one day come back again and reward everyone according to their faithfulness. Jesus had illustrated this, in Matthew 25:14-30, with a parable of a man going into a far country who, after some considerable time, returned to receive account from whom he had entrusted his affairs while he was away.
The parable is a familiar one, and we cannot fail to recognise Jesus as being the Master going in to the far country, one day to return. Each servant was expected to make the best use of the talents given to him. It was expected that each servant would at least show an increase, how ever small, when the master of the house returned. As we know from the parable, those who faithfully made an increase in the master’s absence were rewarded correspondingly when the day of reckoning came. Here is a valuable lesson for each one of us today. What are we doing with our talents?
The first characteristic of the 1st Century Church - watching.
To those early Christians the promise that Christ would return was so real that they lived in daily anticipation of it. It was the constant attitude of the believers in those days. Paul wrote to Titus to encourage him, “We wait for the blessed hope - the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). The fact that this “glorious appearing” did not take place in their lifetime in no way reduced the certainty that it would happen, that the promise would be fulfilled. Down through the centuries believers have anticipated the Second Coming, and even now in the 21st Century while it is still future we anticipate the greatest of all events - we are still watching and waiting.
As with many of the great prophecies of the Bible, the time of fulfilment is not always revealed, especially with the timing of the Second Coming. Many have tried to predict it, and failed! Even though Jesus Himself said (recorded in Matthew 24:36) concerning the day and hour of His return that no man knows, not even the angels, but the Father only, men still try to predict the date. Our responsibility is not to predict but to wait and be ready. Paul did say in 1 Thessalonians 5:1, concerning the coming of the Lord, that we should not be ignorant “about times and dates” so that as we look around today at the “signs of the times” it would suggest, as never before, that the time may very well be near, but this is not prediction, it is watching. Indeed, if ever the Lord’s people should be watching in anticipation of His return from “the far country” it is now.
The certainty of Christ’s coming again should encourage us in our daily living, to be more like the One who is coming, to live in the light of His return. A firm belief in the near return of Christ is an incentive to holy living. As Paul also wrote to Titus, “…say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age while we wait for the blessed hope” (Titus 2:12,13). The message for us is clear, let us so watch, that all we say and do will be in the light of the Lord’s return, because we will be required to give an account of our stewardship during the Master’s absence in “the far country”.
The second characteristic of the 1st Century Church - witnessing.
As we continue to review the Early Church we notice that, while they were watching and waiting for the return of Jesus Christ, they never ceased to witness for Him, both by the lives they lived as well as the words they spoke. Why were they so active in the area of witnessing? Two reasons! They were obeying a command and they had received the power to obey that command. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Like them, we need the empowering of the Holy Spirit to make us effective witnesses. Without it our efforts would, at best be very weak, at worst non-existent. It is vitally important, then, that we abide under the anointing of the Spirit.
How can we be sure of doing this? Only as we live our lives daily in obedience to God’s Word, because that Word declares, “We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him” (Acts 5:32). Disobedience to God’s commands allows sin to enter into our lives and creates a barrier between Him and ourselves. This destroys fellowship with our Heavenly Father, without which we cannot even begin to witness for Him. However, through the obedience of Christ and His finished work at Calvary, we by faith are restored into a right relationship with God [see Romans 5:19], and by our continued obedience we can experience the constant infilling of the Holy Spirit - the power to witness.
This was the experience of the 1st Century Church, it must be the experience of the 21st Century Church, especially that part of the 21st Century Church known by the name of your Local Church. If our witness has become ineffective or has even ceased to exist altogether, we may not have far to look for the reason. It may well be within our own lives. What should we do? We need to retrace our steps to the point where we deviated from God’s will. There we will find Him still waiting to take us forward in the pathway of blessing and usefulness in His service. Often the only Bible that the people of the world read is in the lives of the Lord’s people. We are His witnesses.
The third characteristic of the 1st Century Church - working.
Very little that is worthwhile is accomplished without plenty of hard work. None can escape this in the work of God if it is to be successful. The winning of souls, the building up of the Church, and the extending of Christ’s kingdom, can be achieved only by our being workers together with each other and with God. This is how Paul viewed things when writing to the early Church at Corinth - it’s that important word togetherness again! - he used the phrase, “God’s fellow workers” (2 Corinthians 6:1). Concerted effort is needed in the Lord’s work. It must not be left to the Pastor or Minister, the Elders, the Deacons, or just a few enthusiastic Members; such a half-hearted effort can hardly be called togetherness.
In a previous article we said we need builders in our Church. The building of a successful (successful in the sight of God) Fellowship demands hard work from the Pastor, the Elders, the Deacons, and all Members of the congregation. Each must regard it as his or her responsibility to create a happy, warm, loving Fellowship, where strangers will feel immediately welcome and at home. It is equally every member’s duty to preserve the “unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”, avoiding dissensions and divisions over non-essentials. Our Church will only thrive where there is true fellowship between its members (not only Members on the Church Roll but also regular Members of the Congregation) - such are the life blood of the Church.
Those who want to learn about your Church from its Website (if you have a Website, that is) must “log-on” using the correct Internet Address. Typing in “local-church.org” will get them nowhere! They must precede this “address” with “www” to access the World Wide Web and view the many Websites posted on it.
If in our Church we are content just to recognise “local-church” as little more than an “org-anisation”, with minimal or no input from its members and precious little togetherness within the Fellowship itself, then we will get nowhere! This is why it is so necessary to add the “www” - watching, witnessing, working - because then a whole Family of Opportunities will open up to us, and then we will be able to accomplish great things for God.
Incidentally, even if you do not embrace modern technology in your Church and do not have a Website (or even intend to have one) the truths contained in this article still apply to your Church. The technology may be modern and even be replaced with something else as the years go by, but the truths of Scripture never go out of date; so make sure the principles of www.local-church.org apply to your Church at all times, bringing honour and glory to the Lord.
Very little that is worthwhile is accomplished without plenty of hard work. None can escape this in the work of God if it is to be successful. The winning of souls, the building up of the Church, and the extending of Christ’s kingdom, can be achieved only by our being workers together with each other and with God. This is how Paul viewed things when writing to the early Church at Corinth - it’s that important word togetherness again! - he used the phrase, “God’s fellow workers” (2 Corinthians 6:1). Concerted effort is needed in the Lord’s work. It must not be left to the Pastor or Minister, the Elders, the Deacons, or just a few enthusiastic Members; such a half-hearted effort can hardly be called togetherness.
In a previous article we said we need builders in our Church. The building of a successful (successful in the sight of God) Fellowship demands hard work from the Pastor, the Elders, the Deacons, and all Members of the congregation. Each must regard it as his or her responsibility to create a happy, warm, loving Fellowship, where strangers will feel immediately welcome and at home. It is equally every member’s duty to preserve the “unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”, avoiding dissensions and divisions over non-essentials. Our Church will only thrive where there is true fellowship between its members (not only Members on the Church Roll but also regular Members of the Congregation) - such are the life blood of the Church.
Those who want to learn about your Church from its Website (if you have a Website, that is) must “log-on” using the correct Internet Address. Typing in “local-church.org” will get them nowhere! They must precede this “address” with “www” to access the World Wide Web and view the many Websites posted on it.
If in our Church we are content just to recognise “local-church” as little more than an “org-anisation”, with minimal or no input from its members and precious little togetherness within the Fellowship itself, then we will get nowhere! This is why it is so necessary to add the “www” - watching, witnessing, working - because then a whole Family of Opportunities will open up to us, and then we will be able to accomplish great things for God.
Incidentally, even if you do not embrace modern technology in your Church and do not have a Website (or even intend to have one) the truths contained in this article still apply to your Church. The technology may be modern and even be replaced with something else as the years go by, but the truths of Scripture never go out of date; so make sure the principles of www.local-church.org apply to your Church at all times, bringing honour and glory to the Lord.
© 2005 Denis A. Wheadon. All rights reserved. Website: http://www.Pen4God.co.uk. This document is the property of the Author and
must not be displayed on any other websites without permission. Copies may be downloaded and printed for personal use only. Any contact with
the writer or comments concerning an article, can be made by email addressed to: denis.wheadon@Pen4God.co.uk
must not be displayed on any other websites without permission. Copies may be downloaded and printed for personal use only. Any contact with
the writer or comments concerning an article, can be made by email addressed to: denis.wheadon@Pen4God.co.uk
