Blog In Audio:
Greetings,
Jesus told Peter that the gates of the realm of the dead (hades) cannot prevail against the church. Gates are places of influence. The church is called by God to prevail against the gates of the enemy. The church is the gate of heaven and it is called to be an influence of life in this world. The church is not some institution formed by men. Although we can find the church contained in the walls of an institution, she was never meant to be institutionalized. She is the power of God to change the world. She is a living body, a living organism, and she is intimately joined to God. She is the house of God’s presence filled with divinely joined members who each find the life of Christ. Christ is in her!
The manifest presence of God lives within the true church of God. To know the power of Christ within is to know the power of God’s grace. God’s grace is His manifest presence within us that is the greater power than any power in the world. It is not merely the human spirit; it is the power of the human spirit made one with the Holy Spirit of God. The human spirit is the human conscience. It only serves to tell us there is a God and we need Him. The human spirit is in all people, therefore there is no one with an excuse to say there is no God. When someone presents this argument, they are already debating with their own spirit. The human spirit calls out for the Holy Spirit of God, because only by the Spirit of God within can we become who God has called us to be. Christ in us is the secret to finding our true identity, testimony, and purpose in life, but to receive this is miraculous. It is as miraculous as the virgin birth of Jesus in the womb of Mary. We must be born of the water (natural life) and the spirit (Spirit life) to inherit the internal kingdom of God that transforms our kingdoms to become expressions of our Lord and Christ.
Every mountain is made of stones. The mountain of God is also made of stones. Those stones are the life-giving testimonies of those who have discovered the mystery of Christ within them. Each stone is a stone in the mountain of God. What is true for the mountain is true for every stone in the mountain. What is true for the stones in the mountain is true for the corporate testimony of that mountain. Those stones are made of testimonies that come by the unshakable love of God in each one’s life. They consist of increasing realities of the steadfast attributes of faith, hope, and love in Christ. These are the true elements of the church. The church is not some place we go, it is the substance we become when Christ is in us. When we gather together in some location that we call the church, we are simply making a gathering place where the stones in the church can come together for a corporate calling, inheritance, and purpose in Christ. It is not the physical location that creates the church, but the presence of Christ in each and every member in whatever physical location they find themselves. The church is not merely a place of being loved by God or of loving God. It is the testimony of love, inheritance, and purpose in the earth. We are called by God to find our identity in Christ, discover a testimony in Christ by the power of God’s grace, and fulfill a purpose in this world as an expression of Christ. The influence of the life of Christ inside of us should inspire an external influence in our lives that is stronger than any external influence that seeks to hinder life in our world.
God’s loves everyone and the gift of God’s love in the form of Jesus the Son is the proof of His love for everyone. His gift of mercy invites everyone to boldly come to God’s throne of grace where they can receive mercy and find grace. Our corporate expressions of Him should serve to inspire our individual connections to Him. Our individual connection to Him should inspire our corporate connections so that we can stir one another up towards love and good works in Christ. Those joined together constitute a building of God’s presence and a field for God’s purpose in the earth.
1 Corinthians 3:9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. 11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
The field is more important than those who work in the field. The building containing God’s presence is more important that those who build. As leaders we need to fulfill our role as workers in God’s field and builders in God’s house, but we must live for the place of Christ’s calling, inheritance, and destiny in all things. This is the church, the gate of heaven to overcome the gates of death in the unfolding destiny of men.
Food For Thought,
Ted J. Hanson
Thanks to all who support House of Bread Ministry in our commission of reaching the nations and the generations with New Covenant Life and Grace. Your prayers and your financial donations are very much appreciated.
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House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225
