Building the City Church
Topic: What is the City Church?
Greetings Sons of God:
This is probably the most obvious of questions as you see
this topic but it is one of the most critical topics that the Body of Christ
must address in these times. Simply put
the City Church is the church within a city, area or region. Well that seems to be such a broad
description but let us examine Scripture.
When God through the Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans, Corinthians,
Ephesians, Thessalonians, Colossians and Galatians, He did not write to a
specific household within the city. He
addressed the letter to the church, the entire Body of Christ within that city
or area. There is one church in any
city, only one. This is the Body of
Christ or the Corporate Christ within the city.
The major problem we have is the fact that this Temple is lying in ruins. Because of denominational rule and division
within the Body this Temple, the City Church is lying in ruins. Understand there is strength in unity and
the reason we seem to not make the progress that we should is because we have
forsook the assembling of the Body within the City. The local church for many have become an idol
and has taken precedent over the building of the City Church. Let me show you this passage of Scripture to
really drive this point home:
Haggai 1:2-6: Thus
speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the
time that the Lord’s house should be built.
Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying. Is it time
for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled
houses, and this house lie waste? Now
therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts;
Consider your ways. Ye have sown much,
and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not
filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages
earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.
This prophecy is so critical to the state that we are in
right now. If we look back at Israel we
remember that at first they were in tents and there was a specific tent erected
for the ark of the Covenant. Also remember
David was given the direction and plans to build but Solomon ended up building
the temple. The temple would be
destroyed and now we see the children of Israel living in ceiled houses but the
Temple of the Lord lied in waste. This
is a very accurate picture of the current state of the church in many cities.
Leaders have exalted their local church and denomination to
a point where people identify themselves as the denomination. For example, people will say, I am “A.M.E.,
COGIC, Baptist, Southern Baptist, Primitive Baptist, Missionary Baptist,
Pentecostal..etc.” To take it from
another perspective there are some non-denominational church that simply have
members and they are required to maintain the rules established by the
leader. What is missing? The identity of Sons! The identity of son is the true identity of
every believer born of the Spirit. But
what has happened the denominations and even some non-denominationals have
simply made disciples of that church or institution, not disciples of
Christ. This is a harsh reality and the
Lord is saying “What about my house?”
Honestly let’s examine the state of the church within the average city. Most churches keep to themselves unless they
are an institution with sister churches in the city and or area. Is this the fellowship we are to have one
with another? Doesn’t the Scripture say,
isn’t it good for brethren to dwell together?
This division must come to an end if we are to build the Body of Christ
within the city. We must shift from
individuality to corporate. We must
shift from denominationalism to the doctrine of Christ. We must shift from church culture to Kingdom
culture. We must shift from membership
to sonship. This is the call to the
house of God. Many will hear it few
will respond because of the dullness of the ears and eyes under church culture
and denominational rule.
The ceiled houses in the Scripture represent the local
churches or households. The Temple in
Jerusalem was the place where the entire nation gathered. In every city or region there is a Temple,
the Body of Christ where the Holy Nation gathers to experience the Open Heaven
and receive the proceeding Word of the Lord for the Body. I am not talking about a building but the
Body of Christ.
Jesus Christ has given us an example by the footsteps of His
earthly ministry and let me show you a couple of analogies to how we are going
to build the City church but also some of the obstacles that will come in the
building.
1. Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Bethlehem means House of Bread. The Corporate Christ will be born in
Bethlehem. It is born in a place of
doctrine which is the Word of God
2. Jesus as an infant was called out of
Egypt where the Father had Joseph take him during Herod reign of terror. The Corporate Christ must leave Egypt and the
ways of the Egyptians which is a picture of the ways of the world.
3. Jesus had dialogue with the
Pharisees and Scribes. The Corporate
Christ will encounter the spirit of the Pharisee and Scribes as it is coming
into maturity.
4. There is a season of obscurity. For Jesus it was between the ages of 12 and
30. The Corporate Christ will go through
a season of obscurity in it maturation process.
5. Jesus at the age of 30 came to the
Jordan and was baptized and Heaven was open where the Father will say “This is
my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased”.
When the Corporate Christ reaches maturity there will be an Open Heaven
over the city.
This is serious business we are about to discuss and let
this warning reign out for all those who choose to exalt their panel house over
the corporate body:
God will affect the economy of those
who neglect the temple.
Haggai
1:6: Ye have sown much, and bring in
little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with
drink; ye clother you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages
earneth wages to put into a bag with holes.
It is
better to repent and live than become a Pharisee or Scribe and miss the move of
God happening within your city. In the
next message we will start to look at principles in building the Corporate
Christ within the city and know this can apply to the local church also.
Peace, Love and Grace,
Calvin Calhoun, Jr.
