REAL CHURCH

By Rick Mathes

Matthew 16:18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it.

The Primitive Church of the first century was a spiritual emergency room. It was a hospital of healing that was explosive of healing: the dead got up and walked! The Holy Spirit exercised some spectacular signs and wonders to validate the reality of the sacrifice in Christ and His followers. Once established, the signs and wonders diminished as the power of God’s Word became more established and publicized. There isn’t any corner of this planet that doesn’t’ have access to God’s love letter to us, His children of the promise.

The real church has broken people that are in need of a healing. It’s by faith that they seek out the Great Physician because His reputation precedes Him. He even accomplished the ultimate healing or raising the dead to life. But it is not just physical but also emotional healing. Let’s face it, we just want to be loved unconditionally.

You will find dependent people in the Lord’s Church that were born again to depend on Him. We tried our mother and father and grandparents and the rest of our earthly family to be our caretakers and there weren’t any takers. It’s really every man for himself as we pass through the turn-style, one at a time, and hacve our day before the Lord alone.

If you are looking for the perfect people and the perfect church and find it, don’t joint and wreck it with your imperfections. Seriously, it doesn’t exist. You may find teachable people but not perfect people. I may not be the man in Christ I should be but praise the Lord, I am not the man I used to be.

Oh, we are a forgetful people but thanks be to God the Holy Spirit is our friendly reminder to pray, do our devotions, attend church, repent and love one another. We may be very   troubled from time to time but we are always reminded that the foot of the cross is level ground for everyone from kings to pauper.

But in a word, most churches that are really His are filled with those who have been lost. It is here that they learn that He is the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father but through Him. He is the only real Church.