| And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. (Matthew 28:18-20) |
Scroll down to read A Blueprint Of The Church
(from a message given by Dr Khoo)
A local church is a community:
(1) where the King is present;
(2) of people living the Kingdom lifestyle;
(3) that advances the Kingdom.
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- A WORSHIP CENTRE |
I want to highlight three aspects that ensure this: Presence, Preeminence, Passion.
| 1.1 Presence of God Himself |
I mean the manifest PRESENCE of God in our midst. The presence of God Himself must be the central focus in the life of the local church. Otherwise, the church will just be a meeting place, preaching hall, etc.
God wants to show up. And when He does so, we can sense His presence in a real way. In Exodus 33:15,16 Moses would not go further if God Himself would not go. A church without the presence of God can even have signs and wonders (see Exodus 33:1-3).
In Revelation 3:20 Jesus Christ wants to come into the church; not every church has the manifest presence of God! Have we reached a point that we can have a church without the presence of God Himself?
| 1.2 Preeminence of God |
God will come when we honour God as King in our corporate worship and in our personal lives. The PREEMINENCE of God is vital to having Him in our midst.
| 1.3 Passion for God |
God wants people who are passionate about Him (see Matthew 22:37) and want Him. God will come when we have a PASSION for Him (see Exodus 33:15-17).
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- A TRAINING CENTRE |
Three aspects are necessary: Pattern, Prophecy, Prayer.
| 2.1 Pattern for living life |
When we truly honour God and are passionate about Him, we want to live our lives according to Bible PATTERN. We no longer selectively determine what we want to follow from Scripture.
| 2.2 Prophecy |
When God is present, He wants to speak. There will be a free flow of PROPHECY in the church (see 1 Corinthians 14:24,25).
| 2.3 Prayer |
A people responding to the presence of God will PRAY effectively. We will ask God, "What do You want?" Not just "Bless me!" As we hear Him, we will pray according to His will and see Him working more and more.
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- A SENDING CENTRE |
A church that honours God and is passionate for Him will also want to advance the Kingdom of God. Three aspects that ensure this: Partnership, Planting, Penetration.
| 3.1 Partnership with apostolic team |
The local church is not meant to function on its own, but to be in partnership with an apostolic team (see Ephesians 2:20; 4:11-13).
| 3.2 Planting local churches |
God's heart is to reach the nations with the Gospel through local churches (see Ephesians 3:8-11). Therefore, we plant churches. We do this together with the apostolic team and other churches.
| 3.3 Penetration of society |
God's intent is to make disciples of all nations (see Matthew 28:18-20). He wants the fibre of society to be changed.
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For this to happen, we need a PRIME-MOVER. He is the lead elder. The truly anointed visionary lead elder will:
(i) actively lead the people to worship the King, live the Kingdom lifestyle, and advance His Kingdom, and
(ii) lead the community to move in unity - this is the POWER OF ALL (see Psalm 133:1,3). Every person is part of the team and participates in every aspect (does not necessarily refer to activities) of church life (see Joshua 6:5 "Have all the people give a loud shout".
This will result in a community culture of worship, training, and advancing the Kingdom of God.
The church of God comprises all of the above (worship centre, training centre, sending centre) if it is to be complete. A church that focuses only on being a training centre may be a doctrinally sound church, but can be sound asleep. A church that concentrates only on being a sending centre and evangelism can become a workhorse church burning out its members. A church that is only a worship centre, without training and sending its people out, may be inward looking and self-indulgent, going nowhere in the advancement of the Kingdom of God.
The church needs to be all of these: a worship, training and sending centre all at the same time This is the biblical blueprint for the New Testament church to be complete, so that it may move powerfully with God for the advancement of His Kingdom in these times.
When the church has these elements, the believers will be people who:
(a) experience the Holy Spirit with them (Presence of God),
(b) honour God (Preeminence),
(c) hunger for Him (Passion),
(d) hear and heed Him (Pattern, Prophecy, Prayer),
(e) are heralds of the Gospel (Partnership, Planting, Penetration).
As we faithfully build the church according to God's blueprint, we will increasingly experience what God said in Revelation 21:3, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God."
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