Why Some Churches Become Ineffective
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| In loving memory of my father Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023 |
I would like to share a few things both from personal experience and from what the Lord has revealed to me over past 48 years ... so that hopefully you and your church groups will not make the same mistakes we did in the New Testament house church in Northern Virginia back in the late 1960's into the very early 1980's.
We have been very blessed by the Lord to experience some things in the church world that few have experienced.
The house church that we were part of for about 11 years came the closest to the early church as recorded in the Book of Acts of any church I have ever seen, before or since never had ...
The house church functioned amazingly well for perhaps 7 years, and exposed to much good teaching thru many good men. From 1970 thru perhaps 1975 we were on the cutting edge of what the Lord was/is after for local churches. That was verified around 1974 by Derek Prince, one of the foremost teachers in the US at that time. Somewhere in 1978 the Lord made it clear to us personally that we would have to leave that house church or else the ministry that the Lord put me into could not be fulfilled. We still had to wait on the timing of the Lord, which came on May 30, 1980.
The Lord gave me much wisdom as to how to announce at an elders' meeting that we had been called to function in other ways outside that house church.
I cannot tell you what freedom and liberty I sensed after the Lord released us from that house church. This was also the fulfillment of a vision that a true prophet had received and spoken to me around 1973. He told me he saw the Lord slitting the soles of my shoes such that my toes would have room to wiggle around. I received the significance of his vision immediately.
That house church totally disintegrated in 1981, although 1 or 2 home meetings continued for a little while longer. The Lord revealed to me several reasons for its demise, but I want to share with you what seem to have been the major reasons: (1) the proper foundation was never laid by man, although it is more than possible that the Lord sovereignly laid the foundation in a few folks; and (2) substance was overtaken by form. This is by NO means a criticism of house churches in general. Rather, it is an exposer of the flesh ... human nature, along with our lack of understanding at that time. I want to share with you what I understand IS the proper foundation and how it can be and must be laid in the hearts of men. How to avoid Substance being overtaken by form.
Matthew 7:21-27
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
Verses 21-23 is one set of many Scriptures which clearly distinguishes the difference between someone being born from above as compared to qualifying to walk in the Kingdom of God. In our old house church, I never recall anyone talk about that difference. The "many" in Verse 22 are NOT heathens, but believers who have lost their proper focus. Verses 24-27 set forth the prerequisite for obtaining the proper foundation ... our house must be founded upon the Rock ... which is Christ. Easy to say, not so easy to implement. First of all, no one can build a lasting house on rubble or sand.
Nehemiah 4:10 And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall.
Jeremiah 1:10-12
10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.11 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree.12 Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it.
1 Corinthians 3:9-15
9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
Ephesians 2:19-22
19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
In natural-level education, when we go to school, from kindergarten thru university-level graduate study, we have teachers and professors who present to us certain facts which we are supposed to memorize. Later we are asked to call those facts back up from our minds on tests and quizzes. The better we have memorized what has been presented to us, the better the grade we receive. Students who later become teachers then go through this same process of presenting the same facts to their students ... a never-ending cycle.
In the church world we have a corresponding cycle that also never seems to end. Someone called a pastor or teacher or minister or priest or rector or preacher, etc., teaches us Christian believers about Christianity and Christian doctrines. For the most part our spiritual teachers are good men who may indeed love the Lord to the degree they know how, but they teach what they have been taught, with possibly some minor adjustments here and there. Christian ministers turn out cookie-cutter disciples who have memorized what is and is not supposed to be correct Christian doctrine. Over time some of these teachings may be exposed as really being based on traditions of men. (I could share with you a number of those off-the-mark teachings.) But the cycle rolls along.
I believe it is a mistake for anyone in a church leadership position to think that he can bring about maturity in the lives of believers through much good teaching and preaching. This is necessary but not sufficient. Maturity in believers also requires a church leader to pray earnestly, as did Paul,
"that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him." Ephesians 1:17
There is a big difference between knowing written word of God and knowing the God who is the living Word. Every believer, in the fear of God, must cry out, "Help, Lord! I want to know You!"
Even the great Apostle Paul said,
"that I might know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable to His death." Philippians 3:10-11
This knowing is not merely factual but experiential! The word must become flesh!
Another reason our house church back in the 1970s disintegrated was because Substance was overtaken by form.
2 Timothy 3:1-8
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.
Who are the "men" in Verse 2 that Paul refers to? heathens who have never known the Lord? That could be true, but the characteristics that Paul speaks of in Verses 2-5 existed in worldly men long before Paul was ever born. Paul in these verses speaks of that which will happen in the future, after his days. So Paul here must be speaking of the tares which are masquerading as true believers within the church. Jesus said deception will be so great in the last days that if possible even the very elect might be deceived.
In Verses 2-5, there are 20 different characteristics of the "tares". The Lord has allowed me to see and hear, first hand, pastors who are clearly lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, unthankful, and false accusers.
The word, reprobate, in Verse 8 is same word translated as castaway in 1 Corinthians 9:27 when Paul said,
"But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway"
We want to emphasize Verses 5 and 7 ... having a form of godliness but denying [not allowing] the power thereof: and ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Our house church 40 years ago never had a written program, but we certainly developed an unwritten program: routine rarely changed and the Spirit of God left us to our own devices, which allowed some bad doctrine to creep in. New believers learn the right language, the right words to say very quickly. Of the many phrases we learn to say is, In the Name of Jesus Christ. So what is wrong with that? Perhaps nothing at all; it is very scriptural.
Acts 3:6 " ... in the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk."
Even a non-believer can say those words. HOWEVER, there must be Substance behind that phrase! Form is not sufficient!
Acts 19:13-15
13 Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
Moreover there can be a tendency to learn new things via new revelation of Scriptures, but not learn of Him. The Church at Ephesus in Paul's day probably attained the highest spiritual state of any of the churches. But in Revelation 2, the message to the angel of that church was, You have left your first love.
If we can learn from the experience of others then the exhortation is two-fold:
(1) Do not make the mistake of thinking that a lot of new revelation of Scripture equates to more maturity. It does not! Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. Keep your focus on the Giver rather than the gifts; the Lord is not looking for gifts; He is looking for fruit.
(2) Allow the Holy Spirit to be in control in your gatherings.
Easier said than done. It is good if a group of people ask the Lord what songs to sing on Sunday morning. It is good if the pastor seeks the Lord as to what message to bring on Sunday morning. But what happens if, on Sunday morning, the Lord says to sing something else (or maybe nothing at all)? What happens if, on Sunday morning, the Lord says to change the message to another word (or nothing at all)? In other words there must be a spontaneity about our gatherings.
To continue to follow the same general routine in each gathering without being sensitive to the Holy Spirit during meeting time, invites a relegation to the vast sea of religious mediocrity. I have seen it happen too many times. I could share with you many examples that I have experienced when the Lord was about to move in a mighty way but those "in charge" took it right back to the routine. All I could do was to groan in my spirit and wonder what we had missed!
Even Moses, the mighty man of God said,
Exodus 10:26 "Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind; for thereof must we take to serve the LORD our God; and we know not with what we must serve the LORD, until we come thither."
Any time any man knows exactly what is going to happen next in our gatherings, the Holy Spirit is no longer in control.
Israelites were set free by the power of God from bondage in Egypt. That speaks of being born from above or the initial salvation experience. They then started their 40-year trek towards the Promised Land. They had never seen the land which they traversed, so each day was a new adventure. But because they murmured and complained, descended into idolatry, tempted Christ, committed fornication, and thereby did not trust the Lord or have faith in Him, only 2 adults over the age of 20 actually made it into the Promised Land. So it is with us today. We have not been this way before. Each day should be a new adventure with Christ, trusting Him and obeying Him.
Who is ready to launch out into the deep and trust the Lord to bring about that which He desires in our gatherings and in our life on earth?
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