A cousin of mine e-mailed me this question yesterday. It just so happened that the chapter of the Bible that I read for my morning devotion was probably the best answer that could be given. I can report from experience because I pastored a couple of churches that never did grow. As a matter of fact, the vast majority of the churches in America are less than 100 in membership and never, never, never grow. And, there are reasons why. There are also reasons why some churches grow steadily.
John 15:1--I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Here ya go. Does everybody want to come up around the altar and repent in bitter tears? No? And, I know why. Just about every faithful church member in these go nowhere churches are going to tell me that they are plugged in to Jesus.
John 15:7-If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
8--Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
So, Bro and Sis Gonowhere, are your prayers getting answered and are you bearing much fruit? I didn't think so. Like I said before, I pastored a few churches. Everybody, including myself, was convinced that we were abiding in the vine. The plain truth from the mouth of Jesus is, if that was true, your prayers would be answered and you would be bringing in the lost. If you are not, then plain and simple, you are not plugged in to Jesus.
What are you plugged in to? One of the things that you are plugged in to is the church itself. You judge yourself to be OK because you have been to that same church for years. You might have been born and raised in that church. Your mama and your daddy founded that church. Everybody watched you grow up in that church. It's YOUR church because everybody approves of you. If you dared to entertain the thought of leaving, everybody would be down your throat asking, "How can you even THINK of leaving? You were raised in this church. We need you here." Yep, you're plugged in to the church and not Jesus.
Paul was busy working in his home church in Tarsus. In Acts 11, Barnabas came and got him to come win the lost at Antioch. In Acts 13, God spoke for the two of them to begin a missionary journey. Were they doing good where they were? Yes. And yet, they were plugged in to Jesus enough to move on to a field that HE said for them to go to. If Paul had been plugged in to the local church, he might not have ever left home. Then again, his home church and the church in Antioch were plugged in to Jesus. Instead of balking at the thought of sending out "one of their own," they gladly sent them out because the church was plugged in to the vine.
It is great to be faithful to your church. It is greater to have your faithfulness plugged in to Jesus. He might not ever tell you to leave. He might not tell you to stay. Staying or leaving is not the question that should be asked. We should shape our lives by the question, "What do YOU want me to do today, Jesus?"
Our thoughts should never be how can I bless the church through what I do.
Being plugged in to the true vine means putting your complete trust in Him. We should come to Him every day and draw from His presence. We should never read His Word and think, "Boy, I know someone in the church that needs to hear that scripture." We should read His Word daily and ask Him, "Feed me on your Word. Jesus, even the scripture that convicts me would wind up building me up. Say anything You want to. I want to hear from You." Gauge your progress not on what the church would think but on what you KNOW Jesus thinks about it. When you do this, it will bring a whole new outlook on how you serve the Lord. It will make your service to the church you serve in more enjoyable because your are properly plugged in to the vine.
There is much, much more. Stay tuned.
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