​A little review from Part 1, for many Christians, finding a church is about the right youth program, the right social standing, the ability to attend without conviction from the pastor, the right number of young adults for a person to find a spouse, the right sermon series that is relevant to today’s culture, the best coffee and doughnuts, etc..  All of these reasons are of the flesh to gather in a building with people who believe God exists and attend the gathering for selfish reasons.  The power of a church is in finding where God has called each person to be rooted, planted, grounded into a congregation who are on assignment from God and under a pastor who has been raised up and sent out according to the book of Acts (Acts 13:2-3; Ephesians 4:11-12).  The power of a church is not in the ability to reflect selfish desires in one’s life, but in helping make each person at that church an equipped soldier in the army of God.  Each Christian is not called to be a spectator in the church but to put their hands to the ministry by using their grace gifts to help the body of Christ and having victory over the spiritual enemies in their region (Ephesians 4:12; 1 Corinthians 12:28; Acts 6:3).  When a church does not teach how to mature, fight spiritual warfare, or the foundational doctrines of Jesus Christ, that church is not fulfilling their God-given calling.  That church is doing the opposite of what God desires.  Pagan gatherings can make people feel like part of a group.  Satanists can help people find purpose.  God’s people should not look like the world but look like God’s kingdom (Matthew 12:24-29).  When Christians do not focus on their purpose of living for Jesus Christ, they must turn to gimmicks, shticks, or other forms of entertainment to keep people coming back like a TV show for ratings (2 Timothy 4:3-4; 1 John 4:1; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15; 2 Peter 2:1).  The power of a church is in its ability to allow God to move by His Holy Spirit convicting, rebuking, revealing, comforting, and fulfilling all the abilities of the Holy Spirit within the church services and within the lives of the people growing within that church.  Purple stage lights, dim lights over the people, and emotion-driven discussions are not church, but a deceiver’s tools to fool those who will easily believe church looks like this (1 Timothy 6:3-5; Jude 4; Romans 16:17-18).  The power of a church is in its ability to help people be part of God’s family by giving the Word of God for them to be born again and for the people to raise up the name of Jesus, honor God the Father, and be led by the Holy Spirit.  When salvation is left out, this reflects a lack of love for the people and where they will spend eternity (John 3:3; Romans 6:23).  When the Word of God is left out, this displays that culture is more important than what God has to say.  When challenging the people with how to live by the Word of God is left out, this exposes that the leaders do not want people to mature in a relationship with God, but rely on their ability to motivate the people to do good (2 Peter 3:18; Colossians 1:28).  May Christians realize the power of a church is helping them live for God by knowing God themselves and being the soldier God desires for them to be.  For more information about Abundant Grace Church, visit agcsparta.org.  

​For many Christians, finding a church is about the right youth program, the right social standing, the right ability to attend without conviction from the people or pastor, the right number of young adults for a person to find a spouse, the right sermon series that is relevant to today’s culture, the best coffee and doughnuts, etc..  None of these things listed are the power of a church, but reasons of the flesh to gather in a building with people who believe God exists and attend the gathering for selfish reasons.  The power of a church is not in attending a gathering but finding where God has called each person to be rooted, planted, grounded into a congregation who are on assignment from God and under a pastor who has been raised up and sent out according to the book of Acts (Acts 13:2-3; Ephesians 4:11-12).  A church is biblically designed to educate people on the Word of God, sharpen one another with the Word of God, provoke one another to love and good works, be discipled by the pastor, serve in the tasks and missions God has for that region, and be a family of people serving together until Jesus’ return (2 Timothy 2:15; Colossians 3:16; Proverbs 27:17; Ecclesiastes 4:9-10; Hebrews 10:24-25; Ephesians 4:11-13; 1 Thessalonians 5:11; Acts 2:42; Galatians 6:10).  The power of a church is also not in the size of the congregation but in the authority God has to move by His Holy Spirit within the congregation gathering for service (Acts 2:1-43).  While a whole army that declared to serve God and the king He established was afraid of one man, a young lad by the name of David came in the power of the name of God to take down Goliath, building the courage back into the army that was once scared of making a move (1 Samuel 17).  The power of a church is in the obedience to the Word of God individually and collectively.  When individuals obey the Word of God within their lives personally, they are preparing themselves for greater moves of God when gathering as the Body of Christ collectively.  A biblical church challenges Christians to grow from faith to faith and glory to glory (Romans 1:17; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Colossians 1:10).  The deception of a gathering, even in the name of a church, is to make a person comfortable and not challenged to be a better Christian but to be told pleasant things to keep people coming back (1 Timothy 4:7; 2 Timothy 4:4; Titus 1:14; 2 Peter 1:16).  God has not called people to be comfortable but to victory through running their race, keeping the faith, overcoming spiritual enemies, and keeping their flesh in subjection (Hebrews 12:1; 1 Corinthians 9:24-27; 2 Timothy 4:7; Philippians 3:13-14; 2 Timothy 2:5; Acts 20:24; Hebrews 10:36).  In being led by the Spirit and having a relationship with God a person produces peace, joy, love, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).  The power of a church helps individuals cultivate these fruit of the Spirit by helping each person mature in the things of God.  May more Christians get away from the gathering of flesh, believing God exists but denying Him not living for Him, and understand the power of a biblical church to grow in a true relationship with God.   For more information about Abundant Grace Church, visit agcsparta.org.  

​In a world full of fact-checking and people ready to point out any misspoken word, the deception and lies of the spiritual enemy are not as exposed as those of politicians or others.  The deceit and lies of a Christian’s spiritual enemy can have more impact if not fact-checked with the Word of God or treated as a vain imagination.  The devil and demons like to play mind games with God’s people.  “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:1-2 KJV).  These verses display the departure of the faith when some believers do not combat the deception and lies of their spiritual enemy.  There are seducing spirits who entice people by being an impostor, deceiver, or misleading.  This deception comes by arousing a strong attraction or interest in something that opposes the will and Word of God.  Although it may start small, when given the opportunity, it will grow into a consuming force if not confronted and combatted with God’s Word.  Deception and lies also come when Satan or his demons pass themselves off as angels of light (2 Corinthians 11:14).  God’s people must know the Word of God and not be deceived by these tricks of the spiritual enemy.  The lies of spiritual enemies attempt to contradict the Word of God.  Just like the serpent lied to the woman in the Garden of Eden about what God said, the lies to God’s people today desire the same effect of getting them to do the opposite of what God’s Word says (Genesis 3:1-5).  Allowing lies by directing attention contrary to the Word of God or allowing them to cause a depletion of one’s position in Christ is the goal of the spiritual enemy.  Christians are told not to believe every spirit but to test or try the spirits to see if they are from God (1 John 4:1).  This is a warning from God in His Word that there are lying spirits who seek to deceive God’s people but His Spirit also speaks to them so the determining factor is to judge what is said by the Word of God.  More Christians should use the Word of God to fact-check these thoughts, deceits, and lies of their spiritual enemy to stay in line with God.  God has given His people a special armor to combat these spiritual enemies to obtain victory (Ephesians 6:11-18).  Using the helmet of salvation allows Christians to think about their direct connection with God through Jesus Christ when they were forgiven of their sins and made a new creation in Christ (Ephesians 6:17; 1 John 1:9; 2 Corinthians 5:17).  One day, Satan and his demons will be cast into the lake of fire and will suffer torment forever for all eternity (Revelation 20:10).  Christians should not let this defrauder deceive them or lie to them to divert their path from walking with God.  Using the armor of God brings victory to those who choose to fight against these spiritual enemies.  May more Christians use God’s Word to realize their authority, position in Christ (Ephesians 1), and combat the deception and lies of their spiritual enemies with God’s Truth.  For more information about Abundant Grace Church, visit agcsparta.org.