RAPTURE PROCLAIMER EVANGELICAL CHURCH OF GOD (RAPEC)
BIBLE STUDY
31/01/2023
TOPIC: When Church Sleep, You Don’t Sleep!
TEXT: Dan. 12:9-10, Dan. 12:4, Matt. 24: 9-13.
The church is sleeping and has lost its dignity. Everybody is busy complaining about the errors of the church and church authority. Who is the church or the authority of the church today? The church is the believers, not the building. For any religion to function, there must be a spirit and power backing it. The reason why the church is facing many problems or being disgraced is not because Christianity is not established by God, but because the spirit & power of God, have departed from the church. The church lost it, due to sin and unfaithfulness. The Church is sleeping, but who will revive the church? They are the people who are standing for the church and they have refused to sleep. Do you only see where the church leaders are losing it, but you do not see where you are losing it, by failing to practice and obey the word of God?
The Church Of Old
1) Their priority is to preach the raw truth, practice it, and return the sinful lost souls to God.
2) They carefully and scripturally scrutinize their appearance, way of worship, and songs they will sing to worship God.
3) They carefully and scripturally monitor their holiness, prayer life, disciples, and obedience to God’s word and doctrines.
Why The Church Is Sleeping / Derailed (Rev. 2:5-7, Jer. 23:1)
1. Salvation message that is meant to return people to God is not preached and practiced.
2. The holiness standard of God is despised, reduced, eradicated, and seen as bondage, due to reproach from the world.
3. What the early church saw as an abomination in those days is now a normal lifestyle even among believers.
4. Church does not fail because people attend church service; but because the reason for the church and the expectation of God from the church is not fulfilled.
5. The church is growing in number because church activities bring people to church, but no soul is brought to God.
6. The reason why using or renting a space in a hotel to run a church is not good, is because you cannot go there at night to pray, and the prayer done at night in the church controls and upholds the church.
7. Today, people only want to serve and obey God at their convenience, not as God commands.
8. Motivational message, prosperity, and what people like to hear, is what is preached not messages that can save a soul.
9. The church today does not realize something is wrong when there is no fire, holiness, and obedience to God’s word, they only realize something is wrong when there is no miracle.
WARNING FROM GOD
– Anybody who collects offering from people after his/her evangelism, be it in a bus, market, or at the spot of preaching. He/she is under the anger of God.
You! Don’t Sleep, Even When The Church Is Sleeping.
√ Obey God like a fool, keep your garment clean, and live a righteous life.
√ Don’t stop doing the good thing you are doing or should do, just because others stop doing what they need to do.
√ Stand and don’t just stand, stand firm in holiness. Pray for the church and the fallen children of God.
The church of old embraces or enjoys raw salvation messages and holiness church, but today; people hate them. They even monitor the time for the pastor to quickly round up his prayers and preaching. Any minister preaching about love but not pointing it to the obedience of God’s word is preaching the message of Aliens.
Today, believers are ignorantly working destruction than witches, due to the misuse of their spiritual gifts and misunderstanding or misinterpretation of revelations. God often reveals things to His people, for them to prayerfully stand in the gap for His beloved, not to avoid backbite. When you discover your pastor is down spiritually, the church is sleeping, the church is not progressing or a member having some challenges… What do you do? When there is no one standing, where are you?
CENTRAL TRUTH
Heaven Is Not For The Sleeping Church But For Those Awaken To Righteousness. Awake! For Jesus Is At The Door.