For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, "I will live in them and move among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore, come out from them, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch nothing unclean; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." 2 Corinthians 6:16-18
There is coming a day, when the church buildings will be emptied out into the streets as those that have awakened from their sleep to a false doctrine and hypocritical shepherds do as the Lord commanded when He said, "come out from them and be separate." Many true followers of The Way have already come out, but made the mistake of going back in. The Lord said, "be separate." We need to examine ourselves when we come out then search out another flock to go into. Maybe we aren't supposed to go back in, and this is why our Spirit is unsettled in each pasture we try to go into. Maybe these aren't my sheep, maybe we are in fact...separate and set apart from the flock. Are we trying to conform to fitting into a church building atmosphere because we think the Bible tells us to go to church, when it actually teaches us that the people are the church and the body of Christ. We are the church, and the body cannot be contained within four walls. The church must be outside the walls. I think we have been doing this wrong for a long time, and He is re-setting everything back to the original plan. "Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Romans 12:2
There are prophets, apostles, and preachers leading a scripture-based ministry outside of the secular church walls and indeed, staying separate from the building. After all, the Lord did not tell them to come out then search for another place to go in. They lead online ministries with a following that reaches outside of four walls, and much further than feet can carry them. The building "shepherds" grasp at their flock and try to keep them inside their walls when these sheep were meant to graze and be separate. Not all sheep are the same, some know the true Kingdom Shepherd and follow His voice wherever it leads them. Some sheep have been called out from the herd for His purpose, and some have been left in the pasture according to the Lord's will. The mistake a church building shepherd can make is to guilt their sheep as they grasp at them to not wander not realizing these are not his possession, but the Lord's. There are sheep that have tasted manna from heaven and cannot go back in to eat from the building shepherd's hand any further. It would be like John the Baptist going back into a church building to sit and be fed from a man when he learned and was fed by the hand of God in the wilderness.
I think there are building shepherds that assume their sheep do not have a fervent prayer life, do not worship, and do not serve outside of their knowledge and walls. I know of sheep that have attended a gathering and listened to the speaker (preacher) admit that they need to work on their prayer life. Oh, how this sheep wants to cry out, "You hypocrite, how can you teach what you do not do? How can you lead, when you do not follow? How can you tell the sheep to pray when you do not do this yourself? This sheep is sad for what this preacher is missing in their life. This sheep prays 3 times a day alone, and 3 times a day with her husband. Her Shepherd hears her voice and sees what she does. "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand." John 10:27
Like John the Baptist, we work outside of the walls where the sheep live and move. It is in the wilderness where the lost sheep are wandering. What a ministry John the Baptist had, preparing the way for Jesus and teaching repentance in the Lord's will and purpose for him. He was created for this ministry, just like other sheep were created and called for a specific purpose that many pasture grazers can't understand. Maybe it's ok that you don't understand, since we answer only to the voice that called us out to be separate. The Lord knows that some of his shepherds are meant to wander and work His fields gathering and reaching the lost sheep, so He tells them to come out and separate themselves from the others. We cannot move the building to the sheep, but we can go out and see the lame, broken, hungry and thirsty sheep. We can bind up their wounds and show them the love of Jesus by being His hands and feet in the field. There are some pastures that can be contained within four walls, but sheep were not meant to thrive inside. They are meant to wander, so God places the wandering shepherds in the field to heal them. Not to gather them into a building, but to heal them in the pasture.
"Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshipped on this mountain; and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." John 4:19-24
I think we should never assume that someone is not serving, worshipping, praying, and working for the kingdom of God and the body of Christ because they cannot be contained in a church building or because we do not witness it with our own eyes. I'm sure people thought John the Baptist was crazy, but God created him for that calling. I bet Noah had some serious scoffers as he built a huge boat in a place it never rained, but God called to Noah and Noah obeyed God. What if while Noah was working night and day to complete the ark, the pastor from the local church came and said, "Noah, you need to come to church and serve. Then you will fulfill your God-given purpose." Do you think Noah would lay down the hammer and follow the preacher or do you think he was already fulfilling his God-given purpose? You know, sir. "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve." Luke 4:8
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