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Snapshots of a Changing Church
We at the Net Ministries are excited about the future. Everywhere we
go, we hear stories of people who are brimming with vision and
passion, those whose earnest prayer each day can be summed up in the
words, "Thy Kingdom Come!" These folks are not content
to simply read stories about Jesus, they want to DO the stuff that
Jesus did!
The Bible indicates that as we
near the end of this age, the Church will look increasingly more
like Christ, her beloved. As she grows in unity, purity, purpose and
power, an unprecedented harvest of souls will result. Here are a
couple of snapshots from the Bible that illustrate this
phenomenon:
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The Valley
of Dry Bones
In Ezekiel chapter 37, the prophet Ezekiel is shown in a vision a
valley scattered with dry human bones. God asks the prophet, "Can
these bones live?" Some feel that this is the state of the church
today... dead, dry and disconnected. People have a desperate need to
experience God, but many report that they are not finding Him in
church!
God tells Ezekiel to prophesy life to
the bones. As he speaks the word of the Lord over them, there is a
great rattling sound - the bones come together! Then muscles and
flesh cover them. At God's command, Ezekiel tells the winds to come
and breathe life into the slain. Finally they stand up, living and
breathing, an "exceedingly great army."
It is interesting that God did not sovereignly bring the bones to life.
Just so, unity, life and power will be restored to the Church through
people of vision who are willing to hear, obey and speak the word the
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A Spotless
Bride
Ephesians 5:24-27 says that
Christ loves his Church and gave himself up for her so that he might
present to himself, "the Church in all her glory, having no spot
or wrinkle or any such thing." Although believers are made
instantly clean when they commit their
hearts to Jesus, there is also a gradual process of
sanctification that continues throughout their lives. This transformation,
which applies both to individuals and to the Church collectively, can be seen in
the book of Song of Solomon, a play about King Solomon and his
marriage to a lowly Shulamite woman - an allegory about the love
between Christ and his Church.
In the beginning of the play, the bride is totally enamored with her
handsome, royal groom! But she realizes that she herself has a few
flaws.
"Do not stare at me," she laments, "because the sun has
burned me."
(Chapter 1, verse 6.)
She is common, and life's
experiences have darkened her. But the King repeatedly assures her
of his love, and praises her great beauty. Her confidence and
security in his great love grow over time, and finally, she dares to
believe that it is true!
By chapter 6, the bride
is described by the villagers like this,
"Who is this that grows
like the dawn, as beautiful as the moon, as pure as the sun, as
awesome as an army with banners?" She has been changed by her intimacy with the King, and others are now drawn to her
overwhelming beauty. What an inspiring photograph of the emerging
Church! We can learn from this that worship and prayer are the two
most important foundations of her metamorphosis. |
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In this Section:
The Old
Wine and the New
Stories of the
Net
Why is Unity
Important?
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Awaiting Metamorphosis
Woodland Park Zoo |
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