Today, nations around the world are in disarray of human government and power struggles. Many things divide us into factions; some come from an educated elite and others from a blue-collar working class. Each is entitled to his own beliefs and opinions. And such is the curse of man. Since Cain’s murder of Abel in Genesis, we have witnessed the fruits of jealousy and hatred, with each of us enslaved to a worldly system of fear and turmoil — vying to justify and to acquire, to defend and to conquer things that will never last, like fame, money, status, or intellect. Every few years, we have our “elections,” yet somehow we can never agree on who is our best representation. Often, we struggle to agree even within ourselves. We are divided and weak, indeed!
Interestingly, God has His politics, as well. He has elected mankind to be His representative and counterpart on the earth from the very beginning. Even after man’s fall in the beginning chapters of Genesis, God has never shifted His original, divine thought: that we should be God’s own kind, a people of merit — not of fallen man’s concepts of fame, money, or political power, but of an identification by God Himself. Soon after Adam’s fall, God continued to work and interact with man to be His elect people. Two millennia ago, Christ accomplished this through His victory on the cross, wherein He redeemed man by defeating death and sin on the cross. He is now awaiting His called-out ones to stand for His expression on earth.
Yet in 2025, where are God’s elect, or those better known as His church? The word “church” has been thrown around, diluted, and misused by many today. But the church is not a term or an idea. Neither is it a building or a denomination. The church is a living out of a divine calling — a calling out of the world into a domain with a living Lord. This is the church as she should be: standing against the gates of Hades, rising out of the shadows, a light in the world (Matt. 16:18, 5:14). She carries and brings forth His elite as a weapon to fight for God’s interests on the earth (Rev. 12:1-5). She hosts and sends forth those who overcome the enemy “because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony” (v. 11).
This is not just an ideal or a beautiful dream; among believers today, it has to be our reality. Against the strong worldly current that threatens to carry people away (Eph. 4:1), the church people need to be constituted. Such ones are true believers — loyal, noble, and waiting for the Lord’s move in this age. In this watching, knowing condition, we will treat every day as an opportunity to gather the rich experiences of Him (Matt. 25:4). We will not be idle, but seize the opportunity to gain more of Him into us. We will be such ones who are truly calling on His name, walking with our Lord, and encouraging one another to run after Him continually. Immediately, where there once was sickness, there is capacity, ability, functionality (John 5:2). This is the driven and enlivened condition of the called-out ones. This is the recovered, rich, and fruitful testimony that must be found in the church.
If you have come out of Christianity, religion, or the world to choose this life, then you must determine to live with irrefutable joy, strength, and buoyancy. What did you come to the church for? To lie down, to relax, to be someone swept up in the world, or even in religious duty? How can passive and mediocre ones be called out and sent forth? How can the self-satisfied be useful to the Lord? The Lord’s need in this present age is great, yet very few are ready to respond to it (Matt. 9:37). The very definition of His church is a calling, and her very purpose is to be victorious and fruitful — bringing forth a remnant, a group of overcomers who are prepared, awaiting, and standing for the dawning of His coming.
(Above are notes of fellowship taken from a gathering on 12/29/2024, not reviewed by the speaker.)