Organic vs Non-Organic Church; Part 2 – Why is the Church what it is today?

In the last episode about why the church was in decline in America, church leaders gave two telling reasons;

1. Dumbing down of the faith
2. Cultural accommodation

Why would a church dumb down its faith? Obviously to make it easier to get and keep members. And why would a church allow cultural accommodation to overtake it? Again, fairly obvious, to fit in and be accepted by the culture.

To better explain my point about the difference between Organic and Non-Organic churches, I’ll use some common comparisons.

There are natural-born athletes and singers and musicians, etc. And there are others who aren’t naturally born in these fields. People not naturally born to do something can learn to do it, even learn to do it well.

The same is true with being born of the Spirit of God. Some who haven’t been born of the Spirit can learn to do spiritual things really well, though it isn’t natural or organic to them. In fact, sometimes they can do things better than those who are naturally born of the Spirit.

Spiritual abilities, like natural athletics, music, and writing can be improved with practice. But Spiritual abilities, like natural abilities, can decline with neglect. Especially when spirituality is taught without the leading of the Spirit by those who use physical means to teach spiritual interaction.

In 2 Timothy 3:1-7 Paul warns Timothy about the potential of leaders and teachers coming into the church who deny the Spirit in training spiritually born believers.

People can learn doctrines, rituals, and traditions, and even memorize scripture without the power of the Spirit of God. That’s what Paul told Timothy. But without the Spirit, they can never know the truth no matter how much they study.

I’ve known natural-born athletes, musicians, and writers who never discovered their promise because they weren’t permitted to follow their natural-born abilities. People told them that’s a dream, there is too much competition, and they can make more money doing this or that.

The same is true in the Body of Christ. There are Believers convinced to follow the approved path to spirituality. The acceptable school, the right career path, and the proven disciplines. Though these things may appear as a form of godliness the power of the Spirit in the lives of believers is denied.

Paul is an example of not following the approved path. In his Jewish religion, he studied at the best rabbinical school. He became a Pharisee and excelled in Judaism. He even defended his religion by arresting and terrorizing Christians.

But then the Spirit of God intervened and Paul was converted to faith in Jesus Christ. The Spirit of God lead him back to his home where is studied with only the Spirit as his teacher for 12 to 14 years. And when it was time for Paul to begin his work the Spirit called him to take the Gospel to the Gentiles. Paul’s life and his ministry is a literally an example of an organic spiritual life.

To all who are born of God, the Spirit is what’s natural or organic to spiritual growth. To ignore or neglect the gift that God has given to lead into all things that are Christ is to never realize your true potential as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Let me show you what I mean. Let’s look at Hebrews 12:1-2 and let the Spirit help us to interpret these two verses.

To begin with, we should understand how the inspiration process works with regard to God’s word being relayed to humanity. In 2 Peter 1:21 that process is explained to us. Peter says that spiritually motivated individuals are ‘pushed’ by the Spirit to speak or write words from God. But all spiritually motivated people aren’t the same. They think, act, speak, and write differently. They see, hear, and understand what they see, and hear differently. So the words they speak or write are their best perception of what they saw or heard or understood.

Therefore when we read what they saw or heard or understood as they were being ‘pushed’ by the Spirit we have to rely upon the Spirit to ‘push’ us to a spiritual interpretation of their words. How do we read what has been written?

In episode 2 I asked everyone to read Hebrews 11:3-12:2 and let the Spirit speak through the words. I wanted the words of the passage to be absorbed into you through the Spirit. How does this work?

In Ezekiel 3:1 God tells the prophet to eat a scroll and then go and speak to the people. In Revelation 10:8-11 John is told to take a book and eat it. In both situations, the intention was for the words to be absorbed into their bodies and become a part of them. Did God literally want them to eat books? No, these instances were metaphors with a deeper meaning. What was the meaning? The meaning was that they had to take the message of God into themselves like they were consuming it. By eating the words the Spirit would help them to digest them, meaning understand them. Spiritually we are to absorb the word into us and let the Spirit transform it so we can understand it for us.

Let me show you what I mean by seeking the Spirit to a spiritual understanding of Hebrews 12:1-2.

To start off, the writer points back to all the champions of the faith in Hebrews 11 and says that these champions of faith are observing us from the heavens. A ‘great cloud’ means something in the heavens without definition. All who lived and overcame the world by faith are in the stands in heaven cheering us on. We are supported and encouraged by them, not judged.

Also, they aren’t witnesses to take the stand against us or spectators, they are fans in the stands shouting out encouragement to us as we compete against the darkness.

Next, when the writer says, “Let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely”, he is saying to rid yourself of any daily hindrance and failure that diminishes your faith in God. It is up to us to figure out how to do that. It could be through prayer, talking to a brother or sister, reading an inspiring Bible passage, listening to music, use your imagination. Take your mind off your failures.

To this, he adds that we should run with endurance in the race that is set before us. He also encourages us to constantly run with overwhelming enthusiasm about the contest in front of us. What makes us enthusiastic?

Psychologists tell us, 3 things lead us to better performance and personal satisfaction;

• Autonomy: Our desire to direct our own lives. Who is in charge of us?
• Mastery: Our urge to get better at stuff.
• Purpose: Having the intention that we can make a difference in the world.

Let’s look at these motivation factors with regard to being enthusiastic about the race before us.

• Do you feel autonomous in your relationship with Christ?
• Do you think you’ve mastered or are on the road to mastering your spiritual life?
• Do you think you have a purpose in Christ and in your faith?

If you don’t answer yes to any or all of these questions, then you have to ask why?

• Who does control your relationship with Christ if it isn’t you?
• Why aren’t you mastering your spiritual life?
• Why don’t you think you have a purpose in Christ and in your faith?

We must live driven by our enthusiasm for the challenges before us.

The author says we should be looking to Jesus, the founder, and perfecter of our faith. Paul said this same thing in Philippians 2:5-13. Jesus was an example of being motivated through autonomy, mastery, and purpose. We should follow the example of Jesus. God is working in you just as he worked in Jesus. Isn’t that exciting? Doesn’t that motivate you? Jesus is the only voice we need to hear because he is the final authority of our salvation.

The writer tells us that for the joy that was set before him Jesus endured the cross despising the shame. He was delighted with the final outcome he saw, and he embraced the price of atonement, dismissing the injustice. Jesus saw his church, his body in the world, and his bride. This delighted Jesus. He dismissed the thought of the injustice that Isaiah prophesied in Isaiah 53:9.

Finally, the writer states that Jesus is seated at the right hand of the throne of God and waits having been given the power and authority of God Almighty. Jesus defeated death. The greatest power in heaven and earth is eternal life because it is more powerful than death (John 11:25-26 and Revelation 1:17-18).

So, after eating Hebrews 12:1-2 and digesting it and absorbing it into our bodies spiritually we arrive at the following interpretation of these verses;

“Since everyone who lived by faith is cheering you on from heaven, rid yourself of the weight that holds you back, and live driven by your enthusiasm for the challenges before you. Jesus is the only voice you need to hear because he is the final authority of your salvation. He saw the outcome of salvation and it delighted him, and he embraced the cross and dismissed the injustice done against him, and now he waits for the end of all things having the power and authority of Almighty God.”

Conclusion: Why is the Church What it is Today? Because it has denied the power of the Spirit to teach, guide, and lead believers into all things in Christ Jesus.

WTD: Hebrews 12:1-2

1. You have fans in heaven rooting for you.
2. Drop all the self-criticism and keep moving forward
3. Let the enthusiasm of your salvation energize you
4. In everything, Jesus is your final authority
5. Your salvation is a joy to Jesus
6. Jesus holds all the power and authority over everything forever.