We are looking at the Church Jesus is building and the changes that will be necessary to make as we allow Him to once again be Head of the Church and build it the way He originally designed. This will mean that churches that now exist will need to make some hard decisions as to how they will continue to build and function.

The prophet Zechariah states, “Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘ I am returning to Jerusalem with mercy; My house shall be built in it,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘And a suvsyor’s line shale stretched out over Jerusalem.”

The prophet Haggai had informed the people that the temple was in ruins and it did not please the Lord. The work had ceased and been stagnate for twelve plus years. Now, the prophet is declaring that the Lord is strongly stating: “My house shall be built.”

From my vantage point to issue is that we, without the leading of the Lord, have built to house. We have created churches that meet our needs, that are pastoral and not prophetic, that glorify and exalt a single leader instead of Jesus the Head. We have built the Church in a way that has made it ineffective. Faithful but not fruitful. And, it is time for us to give the reigns of the Church back to the Lord of the Church and let Him build it His way.

Zechariah 4:6-7 (NKJV) states: “So he answered and said to me: ‘This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel; ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it.””

Building the temple had become a mountain of impossibilities. But, with God in control and building His house everything is possible – even the mountains will become plains before His mighty power released through His grace.

That’s a word we all use but few think about and even fewer know what it is or live by it – GRACE. For me, grace means: God’s willingness to use His power on my behalf that I might attain to all that He says I can do, have, or be.”

This is, of course, based on the Bible … Hebrews 4:16 states: “Let us come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

So, as we build the Church and follow the Lord’s direction in the building of His house:

1> At what point in my work for the Lord do I come to the throne of grace?

2> Am I looking for grace or am I seeking affirmation or vindication?

3> Will I let it be done by grace and grace alone or do I want just enough grace to boost me over the top and help me in the hard spots?

As you think about the answers to these three questions – regarding the building of the Church and even your life in Christ… remember:

“And he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

And, it is only by His grace and power that we can build anything of eternal value in our work and work for the Lord.

I am currently in Kazakhstan. However, no matter what country I go to as I eat out with leaders after meetings and services every restaurant has their large screen televisions tuned to their country’s equivalent to North American MTV – Music Television. And, in every country the music and the music videos are seriously similar to each other. The language may be different – sometimes it is even in English – but most everything else is the same.

In my mind we are seeing the rise of a worldwide generation who share one youth culture created by the media like MTV as well as the social media of Facebook, Twitter, and the like. I think I am up to 15 different social media apps on my smart phone. As a result, young people are dressing the same, thinking the same, living the same. It is amazing that over the last decade I have watched the rise of a worldwide youth culture where all young people are alike with very few regional differences.

I have noticed that the music videos are very sexual. Well, they have moved past sexual and are literally sexual. Not suggestive. Outright sexual. And, this has translated into the lifestyle of the generation. Maybe it is the other way around… the generation is very openly expressive of their sexuality and actual sex lives and thus the music is mirroring the life-style and not forming it. Either way, the music and the music videos are very sexual and the young generation speak in a very frank and open manner about their sexual lives.

At issue, of course, is that many of them – even those who call themselves believers – are having sexual relationships outside of marriage. This is biblically wrong and simply called sin by the God whom we worship and serve. However, because their music is forming the culture they see nothing wrong with sex outside of marriage. In fact, often they see it as normal and their right. Some believers  understand that it is wrong but do it anyways. In one conversation a young man (for the second time  in two visits) admitted that he is having a sexual relationship with a women he is not married to and is still a youth leader in his church. And, his pastor knows about this issue.

We have a problem. When Christians – followers of Jesus – no longer believe the Word of God nor live according to the Word of God then we are simply no different than the culture and society that we are meant to influence for Jesus. Thus our witness is nil and we have absolutely no impact. We become a sub-culture instead of a counter-culture. This is certainly the case with the younger generation and the one world youth lifestyle and ethos that our electronic connections has created.

After walking with Jesus as my Lord and Saviour for almost 40 years I have discovered that the one constant throughout this time has been change. The night I was born again I was instantly and dramatically changed from a sinner to a saint. This meant that I was a “new creature in Christ.” I saw the old ways begin to fall away and I discovered a whole new way to live (see 2 Corinthians 5:17). Changes came quickly and they were permanent ones because the Lord was pouring a new foundation upon which He would then build my ‘new’ house (Matthew 7:24-27).

Throughout the years change has been a constant. I have seen my lifestyle change; my worldview change; my perspective on life change; my concern and compassion for others change; my priorities have changed; my understanding of what is important in life has also changed. And, in spite of how long I have been walking this Christian journey the changes continue to this day.

I have discovered that change in the one constant in our walk with the Lord – as individuals and as the Church. Jesus, the Head of the Church, is constantly moving forward as the Kingdom expands. It grows by seeing more and more people enter the Kingdom through His death and resurrection and all that He accomplished on the Cross and offers to us by grace and which we receive by faith. The Church is constantly changing as we work together with the Holy Spirit to reach the next generation with the Gospel of the Kingdom.

It is important to note that the message never changes but the way we live out this message and the way we share this message with others must be constantly changing so that it can be understood and received. The message is always relevant – but its relevance is, at times, not seen because the method in which it is presented in no longer connecting with people.

The Church around the world is in a time of amazing and immense change. This change is seen in more than the way the message is communicated. The current changes are “all inclusive” and the Holy Spirit is leaving nothing untouched. The way we teach, the way we worship, the songs that we sing, the style of music heard when we assemble to honour the Lord, the translation of the Bible being used, the way we speak about the Lord with others. Nothing is off limits to the current changes the Holy Spirit is bringing to the Lord’s Church and thus to the believers today.

No one really likes change. But change is inevitable in all living things. And, the Church is a living, breathing, dynamic, growing ‘Body of Christ.’ Thus, it is always changing and growing just as our physical bodies do on a daily basis. Jesus is the Head and He is bringing these many changes to His Body. Our task is the “push past our preferences” and embrace what the Holy Spirit is doing even if it is uncomfortable or not specifically something we were wanting. It is His Church and He can change whatever He wants. He is simply asking us to follow His lead.

In my country there was once a national change of stores called “Radio Shack.” They no longer exist. They did not change with the times. They did not relate to and communicate with the next generation and their electronic needs and wants.

MacDonald’s is no longer just selling hamburgers as the first restaurant in the now worldwide chain did. They are constantly changing the menu, the buildings, the way they serve (have you noticed the new electronic kiosks where you place and pay for your orders?) and on and on the changes go. Otherwise, they will not continue to gain an increase of the market share. They will appear to be irrelevant and no longer in touch with their customers. People will look elsewhere to have their needs met.

Jesus said, “occupy until I come” (Luke 19:16-19) This simply means that He is expecting us to continue His work and ‘seek and save the lost’ (Luke 19:10). He is wanting a return on His investment – and He has invested a lot in us. One commentary (The Be Series) states:

Each of the servants received an amount of money equal to three months’ wages for a laboring man, so you can figure out its buying power today. Occupy means “do business, put my money to work.” They could give the money to investors and earn interest, or purchase goods and sell them for a profit. The important thing was that they give back to their master more than he had given to them. How they did it was up to them, so long as it was legal and profitable.

For us to give the Master a return on His investment we need, like MacDonald’s, to be constantly changing. The message remains the same but our presentation, our lifestyle as believers and our life together as the Church, must be constantly changing so as to each more and more of our generation and culture for Jesus. His return on His investment is to see more and more people embrace the life changing message of the Gospel of the Kingdom through our influence.

It is a time of immense change in the Church worldwide – and I hope and pray that God’s people and those who call themselves disciples of Jesus embrace and run with the many changes we have seen and are about to see. These are challenging times but they are good times.

In my walk with the Lord Jesus I have discovered that He is always asking more of me. Never more than I can do with His grace and enabling power. But, more than I would do if I followed my feelings and preferences. Recently He has been requesting that I begin the process of “pushing past my preferences.”

Most of us want to love and follow Jesus with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength as the Scriptures ask of us. But, I personally find that my preferences sometimes get in the way of doing just that. My s pirit is willing to give it everything I’ve got and do whatever He asks of me; but, my flesh and my soul have a will of their own and so God’s will is often placed to one side because of what I prefer. My preferences get in the way.

I believe that most of us, by nature, prefer to be safe. secure, and comfortable. We love the Christian faith and the Church but we don’t want to be overly challenged or asked to do things that we find uncomfortable and outside our preference box. We want a pastoral church that doesn’t rock the boat. But, Jesus is building and leads a prophetic church where He wants everyone out of the boat… out of the four walls of the building telling other about His love and the offer of a personal relationship with Him made through the Cross of Calvary.

I have been hearing these words in my spirit now for several months… “Push past your preferences.” Jesus did. His preference after three years of public ministry was not to die a horrible death on the Cross. He prayed for ‘this cup to pass’ if possible. But, He submitted His life to the Father and clearly indicates that “not My will but Your will be done.” He pushed past His preference. He preferred not to die on the Cross but pushed past His preference to fulfil the plan and purpose of God and the divine destiny that was His.

Why did He push past His preferences? I believe it is because He saw the value of each individual and had a deep passion for lost souls. He did not want any one – even the least of the least – to spend eternity in Hell. He knew the value of a human soul and so was willing to push past His preferences and do whatever it took to give that soul the opportunity to come into a personal relationship with His Heavenly Father … to receive personal salvation. So, He stretched out His arms on the cross in love and died for our sins. He pushed past His preferences.

He is asking us to do the same. To not let our preferences for comfort, safety, and security stop us from doing what He has called us to do – to “Go into all the world telling others of His love and making disciples.” He is asking us to look at our lifestyle and see what it is in our preferred way of living that is stopping us from simply doing what He asks us to do because we love Him. Remember, Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will obey Me.” and, He commands His Church – that is you and I – to “go into all the world and make disciples.” The question: What is stopping us?

To show His love to the world we need to express our love through obedience as we go. And to obey Him we need to push past our preferences. He is depending on us. There is no “plan B.” We are it. And, we can do it if we simply push past our preferences (feelings, opinions, theology, and comfort zone). Join me, please, in this as we become the light of the world and tell others about Jesus. Let’s push past our individual preferences as well as our church preferences and move outward into the great adventure that Jesus offers each one of is children.