Do you know him or do you know about him ?

I am always amazed how despite the different prophetic utterances about Jesus’ birth (His coming) and the fact that those who he was sent to were expecting Him and waiting on Him missed Him completely. Israel wanted a king, they got the King of kings but missed Him completely. I am in awe but then as I reflect, it seems almost normal for us to miss Jesus.

So many persons have been saved for years but really don’t know Jesus. They know rules, regulations, religion but somehow they do not know Him. Ironically, it is these same persons that are Christians- followers of Jesus Christ. If it is that we are following, emulating who we do not know naturally our actions will be dictated by other sources than what we are following.

The Holy Spirit Testifies about him – John 15:26

The body of Christ is experiencing a dilemma, as again there seem to be a cycle of missing Jesus Christ. In so many organizations the Holy Spirit is not allowed to operate freely. The entire service is structured, routine and monotonous. Individuals gather week after week without acknowledging the Holy Spirit. If the Holy Spirit dares to manifest, the moderator quickly returns to the set programme despite the different needs for miracles, healing, deliverance and breakthrough. Hence we have lost our witness as the body of Christ. We have become a powerless group of believers, not offering the world that which it really needs. It may be a harsh reality but that which Christ shed his blood for has become a social gathering.

Deliverance, breakthroughs and miracles can only happen when we allow the Holy Spirit to operate in our midst. However, we have opted to restrict the Holy Spirit and then wage warfare against the Kingdom of darkness. There is a spirit of religion affecting the different churches. This manifest in different ways, but ultimately it leads to a limitation of the free flow of the Holy Spirit. Consequently, despite the best plans, programs and ideas our churches are still struggling with numbers, struggling with Christians maturing because Christ is no longer the center of His church.

As such, many who goes to church are often left disappointed because it was just another Sunday that was routine, structured and monotonous. Believers dance and sing only to leave without having a real encounter with the Jesus. “Service was lovely”, they say or “church was good today” but yet so many leave without an experience to bring about transformation.

Many persons look at the Anglican Church, the Methodist Church, and the Catholic Church and with great skepticism scoff at their mode of worship. It is rather to realize that Pentecostals are fast becoming more like those organizations. Pentecostals shout more, they make more noise, but underneath all of that, is there a connection with Jesus. The difference between Pentecostals and non-Pentecostals then is really a matter of who can shout the loudest. As overtime, the movement and free flow of the Holy Spirit has become strictly monitored and contained. More than 2000 years later just like the Pharisees and the Sadducees, Christians around the world are missing Jesus. The consequences of which are poor evangelistic thrust, immature believers and ineffective witnessing. There is an urgent call for us to stop missing Jesus- for us to recognize that unless Jesus is the real center of our churches- not just theoretical but practically we cannot fulfill the great Commission.

Where is Jesus? Right where we left Him. The moment we start to invite Him to our services, center our plans around Him, align our plans with His plans- we will see the differences in our ministries.

Written by: Member of Evangelism team at IAMREMNANTJA

https://iamremnantjamaica.com/I

Email: evangelism@iamremnantja.com