THINGS THAT WEAKEN THE POWER OF THE ASSEMBLY

Eph. 1:19-20

Morning Meditation 3/23/2013

This morning I want to look at this subject more topically than expositorily. Paul brings out the awesome power that is inheritent in the church. I say inherent because since Pentecost the Holy Spirit of Power has been a permanent Resident in the Church of God. We are believers and Paul says, “And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power.” It is not “what might be obtained.” It is “what is the exceeding” and is a present active participle. The present tense simply means that this power is present now.

Well if the power of God is inherent in the Church, then why is the Church so powerless. I have used that word “powerless” concerning the Church many times. But in reality it is not powerless. If the power of God is inherent in the Church, then the power is present but something is keeping that power from being unleashed. Lets look at some of the things that can weaken the power of the assembly.

First, a haughty heart. Prov. 18:12 “Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.” The word “haughty” in this verse is the vestibule to destruction. This means God is going to destroy this man. Prov. 21:24 “Proud and haughty scorner is his name, who dealeth in proud wrath.” This describes a man you do not want to cross. He will at the slightest provocation blow up and turn his wrath upon you. This man is found in churches everywhere. He is on the deacon staff. He is on church committees. He is in the pulpit! The power of the church is in its unity and this man or woman will not allow unity to come to the church. If the manifestation of power is restored to this church, this must be dealt with in some way. Revival itself could bring this man around. But revival may not come without this man’s repentance. So, this is a difficult situation.

Second, an unchildlike spirit. Jesus said in Matt. 18:3: “And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” The word “converted” is an important word here. It is the Greek word “strepho” and means, “to turn around.” It means to turn the back on someone or something. It really defines repentance. Repentance means to change the mind. This word means to make the turn that the change of mind necessitates. Man is born with a childlike spirit. That’s deep isn’t it! But as the child grows one of the first things you hear after he begins to grow and talk is “I’ll do it myself.” He does not want you to do anything for him. He wants to show you that he is no longer a child. He can do anything an adult can do. So this conversion of which Jesus speaks is an act against yourself. You must be willing, before God and others, to begin to act as dependent instead of independent. God did not create us to be independent and he certainly did not recreate us to continue in independence. The spirit of independence in the church will weaken the church. You see this unchildlike spirit doesn’t care who it hurts. I’ll have my say and my way if I can get it! This weakens the power of the church.

Third, personal guilt over unrepented sin. Sin in the life of a Christian brings guilt and guilt brings frustration and frustration bring hostility. It is hard for the preacher to deal with a hostile member and it is hard for the church to follow a hostile pastor. The Bible puts a premium on living before the Lord with a clear conscience. The Scribes and Pharisees brought a woman to Jesus caught in the act of adultery. They did this to try to get him to act against Moses. They said Moses said stone her. What do you say? He said, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” And a very unusual thing happened that day. Verse 9 says, “And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.” This is amazing. The only one left (even the disciples were gone!) that could have righteously stoned her was Jesus. But what I want you to see is that they were “convicted by their own conscience.” They did not have a clear conscience.

Paul put a high price on a clear conscience. Heb. 9:14 “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” If we are going to serve God, we need to do it with a clear conscience. And the blood of Christ is the only thing that will give the sinning saint a clear conscience. What will a guilty conscience cause you to do? It will make you judgmental of others. It will make you want to come against the guiltless. The scribes and Pharisees condemned the woman and wanted her stoned and tried to expose Jesus as being against Moses at the same time. Saints who are in the church with guilty consciences are weakening the power of the church. What they do as a result of their guilty consciences destroys the unity and there is power in unity.

Fourth, unbelief causes the church to be weakened. Paul tells the church in Rome (Rom. 14:23) “And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Heb. 1:6). The church is called to operate under the Lordship of Christ not according to the principles of the world. I had a man say to me the other day, “Well, the church is a business.” I knew exactly how the man was reasoning. And this man is a good man and means well. And he represents a host of people in churches throughout the world. A group of business men may be able to handle the church money, and the business of building better than a preacher from a secular business viewpoint. But the church is not designed to be run like a business. Jesus is the Head. He didn’t call us to build big buildings (and I am not saying that the Lord will not lead in large building programs). He called us to preach the gospel around the world. It will be hard for a good business man to discipline himself to stay under a pastor that honors the Lordship of Christ in the way he leads the church. The business man has a really difficult time walking by faith. He operates by figures. Unbelief in the church weakens its power to reach the lost and grow the saints.

Fifth, an unsubmissive attitude. You know, when 99 percent of the church prayerfully votes on something, and the 1% refuses to change their vote to make it unanimous, you probably have an unsubmissive spirit! Paul, when speaking of the church in Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 21 says, “Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.” You say, “This is talking about a man and his wife.” You are right; but, they are only an illustration of a greater truth. Verse 32 says, “This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” I am working under the authority of a pastor now myself. And anything short of heresy, he has my unqualified support. All I want to hear him say is, “I have prayed about this and this is the way I believe the Lord wants us to go. When I hear that, you don’t have to ask me how I stand.

These are things that weaken the power of the assembly. We have the power. To use the power we have to fix the “shorts” in the wiring that keep kicking the breakers in the switch box!!

May the Lord bless you.

In Christ

Bro. White