The church has been destined to work as one body before the world can be reached with God's anointing. Because the anointing and the power of God reside within each member, we have need of one another in order to walk in "the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." No two members of the Body fulfill the same function or task in the same way. Every part if vital to the fulfillment of God's plan, even those parts that seem less important.
God has no "pets" and He has no "stars." There's not "better" or "more important" in the Kingdom of God, just "specialized" and "different." There are no big "I's" and small "U's" in the work of the Lord. Every has a place to fit. Without each doing his part the whole body would be lacking.
1 Corinthians 12, 28, 21 "God has set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him." Even "the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you."
The conditions for a corporate anointing upon the church can be seen as three-fold. They include sanctification, oneness, and unified praise unto god. These three aspects of the corporate anointing are seen during the time of the dedication of Solomon's temple.
To keep this E mail short, I'll give you the scripture and you may read it in your own time. 2 Chronicles 5:11-14
In the verses that you read, we seen the three ingredients that brought the glory of god to such a degree that God's priests could not stand up tominister. These were holiness, harmony, and halel.
Holiness ("they were Sanctified") This was a holy, sanctified people. Sanctified means "to be clean, dedicated and holy." Holiness means "to be separated from darkness and linked to God." Holiness is often misunderstood. It's a gift that has been imputed to us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, much like righteousness. When a revelation is received in the heart, it will change one's very character.
The Spirit of God is the Holy Spirit that lives within you. He will enable you to overcome whatever darkness, whatever corruption, whatever oppression might be attempting to invade your flesh. When the enemy comes gainst you, the holiness of God will rise up within you, expelling darkness.
As the church, we are destined to walk in God's image. Filled with His glory, we are growing unto a perfect (full grown) man, into mature sons and daughters of God. Holiness is totally dependent on God, totally leaning on the One who lives within us. That's why God can use ordinary people, for His presence in them makes them extraordinay.
The glorious church of the Lord Jesus Christ will be founded on people who walk in harmony. This harmony occurs when we come to know Him and see His light, love and grace. We are not just born to eat, sleep, hold a job and die. We are anointed to walk in His glory as kings and priests in Him and to come into unity with our brothers and sisters.
He is uniting us around the fact that He is our Father and Jesus is our brother. It is time to think beyond our personal needs to the needs of our brothers and sisters formng the entire Body of Christ.
Jacob wrestled with God, and became Israel. God has give His peole a new name and a new nature of love. When the members of the Church of Jesus Christ lookin into the light of God's Word face to face, their vision shall be chaned to see their brothers and sisters as if they were the face of God.
The Church of God will have one voice, not one voice over here and one voice over there, but ONE voice. That voice will be one that is praising the Lord. We must stop wallowing in our defeats and failures and concentrate on the fact that Jesus is an overcoming god and that He lives in us, making us the overcomers we were destined to be.
Revelation 2:7 "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God."
Revelation 2:26 "An he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations."
Revelation 3:5 "He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels."
It is important to overcome. The problem is that many of us haven't learned the keys to overcoming: the blood of the Lamb, the word of our testimony and reckoning ourselves dead unto sin. When sin arises in our lives and we feel ungodly, we need to take a stand and say, "I'm dead to sin. It has no power over me. God has equipped me to live the overcoming life." The we can start praising God for it along with the rest of the overcomers.
Isaiah 52:7, 8 "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye t eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion."
The Church is beginning to lift up the voice together. We are beginning to see "eye to eye." It's ime to lay aside our petty differences and reach out to the oppressed. It's time to go beyond our personal needs---my car, my clothes, my home. It's time to use our faith to pray for hurting people, lost souls, the depressed, beggars, the blind, the lame. It's time to "lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us" and "run with patience the race that is set before us "(Hebrews 12:1).
The apostle Paul said, "To what ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it the person of Christ, lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices." (2 Corinthians 2:10, 11).
Satan's devices are unforgiveness, accusation, strife, misunderstanding, division and anything that keeps us from corporateness (unity). Many fear this unity because they may lose their control or have to defend what they believe. We must understand that our fight for victory and success is not against each other!
Jesus prayed a prayer in John 17 that we must come in agreement with: "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one."
