Clarion call for the church

10 Jul, 2020 - 00:07 0 Views
Clarion call for the church

The ManicaPost

Pastor Lee Fore Kingdom Matters

We are in the middle of a pretty intense battle right now, with Covid-19 and the damages it is inflicting on our communities being felt across the globe.

My prayer is that we won’t lose at seizing this gospel opportunity to be the salt and light of the world. We should win at declaring and demonstrating the good news of Jesus Christ.

The way the church will emerge from this crisis victoriously is in different folds.

First, we must seek the peace and prosperity (the shalom) of the cities and communities where God has planted us. We cannot be seen as a nuisance.

Second, this is a time to be unified around primary theological tenets, not show how divided we are around secondary and tertiary matters.

There is a time and place for robust discussion and debate regarding such matters, but this isn’t the time.

Third, we will need to suffer well as we anchor our lives in the eschatological hope of Christ.

Many people will be negatively impacted by Covid-19. As believers who anchor our very lives to the Jesus Christ who conquered death, we hold fast the words of the Apostle Paul — “Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory” (2 Cor. 4:16–17).

We can and we will endure as we fix our eyes on the eternal weight of glory when Jesus will make all things new.

In the meantime, in each of these categories, there will be the tendency to succumb to the pressures of defiance towards secular authorities, division within the body of Christ, and distrust of the goodness and sovereignty of God, and thus succumb to the “yes buts” of why we lost during this gospel moment.

But truly and most importantly, to win we will need the Spirit of God to empower us for such as time as this.

Fourth, the point of lament is the fabric of biblical tradition, not just that it’s an outlet for frustration, sorrow and sheer inability to understand what is happening to the church or why.

In fact, it is part of Christian vocation not to be able to explain spiritual things, unless by revelation.

As the spirit laments within us, so we become, even in our self-isolation as Covid-19 wreaked havoc in the church’s normal operations.

Fortunately churches and other religious places of worship have been reopened, with the Government encouraging them to adhere to health care regulations to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

However, the House Church remains the solution for many as a only a maximum of 50 people can gather for worship at any given time.

The church has shifted from the traditional services to online platforms. Apart from online platforms, churches have also been using various communication methods to reach their members, including radio and television.

It has been amazing to see how churches and prayer groups from across the world have adapted to this new way of doing things.

The ongoing lockdown is an opportunity for the family house church. The backbone of the church are the called ones. Believers used to meet in homes, hence we can still do that.

The first church at Antioch, according to the book of Acts, the real life of the church had nothing to do with buildings. Prayers were held in homes, while churches, temples and synagogues were meant for public teachings and discussions.

More so, when the church was faced with persecution by the Roman Emperor, they resorted to house church fellowship and prayer.

It’s important for the church not to be in despair, but to believe that Covid-19 will come to pass.

The pandemic is an enemy that has short changed the operation of the church. God is teaching us to revert back to the roots, where the church would meet in their homes.

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