By God's Spirit

I know your works as well as your labor and endurance, and that you cannot tolerate evil. You have even put to the test those who claim themselves as apostles (but are not), and have exposed them to be false. I am also aware that you have persisted consistently, endured much for the sake of my name, and have not grown tired.
Revelation 2.2-5

These latter days have indeed seen a renewed zeal for public proclamation and a diligent pursuit of doctrinal knowledge, though often with a certain coldness of spirit. The vast engine of the Internet hath greatly shaped this rise of the visible church—its loud preaching, its abundance of teaching, its zeal for knowledge, and its strict, though at times uneven, judgment in matters of church life. So public hath religion become that even those outside the faith know the faces and names of ministers whenever they do some notable thing. The church hath spoken much of God, sung His praises, and performed many works in His Name, often in outward comfort and visibility. Yet I cannot help but observe with sorrow that the phrase, “In Jesus’ Name,” is often spoken so lightly that it falleth from the lips as mere habit, carrying little weight upon the heart. That which ought to be sacred is in danger of becoming common.

Thus there stands a church rich in knowledge, yet not always warmed by understanding. The mind may gather many truths, yet quickly forget them when they have not descended into the heart. And when remembrance requires labor, prayer, and meditation, the flesh is often tempted to seek refuge instead in ritual, form, and outward motions, comforting itself with appearances while neglecting the inward work of grace. For knowledge alone cannot sustain the soul. Truth must not merely be learned, but loved; not merely spoken, but digested; not merely displayed outwardly, but wrought inwardly by the Spirit of God.

I find it appalling how people forgot that in high school one can memorize the day's lesson without understanding it. Understanding is what gives worth to knowledge. Applying it in real life is evidence you've understood. I've always told my children, if they memorize the lesson, they will forget it in a month or two, but if they understand it top to bottom, then they can teach it to others even in their old age.

But I have this against you: You have departed from your first love.

The difference between the visible but lukewarm church and the invisible but true church is not in its social standing and financial capacity. It is in its understanding and living out of the two great commandments. The visible church will have an eye for accomplishing more (Matthew 7.22), the invisible church will remain faithful to what God has entrusted to it (Matthew 25.21). Faithfulness trumps accomplishments every time. Be it in this world and in the next. The visible church will do everything in the name of God, the invisible church will do everything for the love of God.

Love for God is the difference. It is what makes the motivation pure. Oh, but many will claim a great love for God without the evidence of showing mercy for their fellow-believers, and even those who think differently than they do. The professing church has forsaken love and mercy in exchange for denomination and doctrine. Perhaps it believes itself 'established' and better when lined up against the seven churches in Revelation.

Therefore, remember from what high state you have fallen and repent! Do the deeds you did at the first; if not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place – that is, if you do not repent.

Let us consider this truth with gravity: the Lampstand is not the promise of salvation, but the very power to bear witness for our Christ. Yet, reflect upon the multitude of professing churches throughout the land , and consider how pervasive the spiritual darkness remains. Think upon the plight of the heathen sailors, striving with all their might to keep the sinking vessel afloat, while the prophet Jonah lies below, given over to the sleep of indifference. Behold the many boastful pastors, with their meticulously prepared sermons that possess no spiritual fire. How so? They utterly fail to bridge the dreadful chasm between the stern admonitions of Holy Writ and the present, bitter reality of the world.  The visible modern Church reveals itself to be what it has ever been: fearful and faithless to truly lay down its neck for the advance of the Gospel. It possesses no true soldiers of the cross, but only mere attendees, prim and proper, who warm the seats. It boasts no generals fit for spiritual warfare, but only hireling shepherds who care not for the flock still lost. It possesses no heavenly power, but relies on the weak scaffolding of man-made programs.

But let the soul be comforted. Despite the spectacle of the visible institution, God is, even now, ceaselessly building His true Church. And whom does the Master Builder employ for this eternal work? He bypasses the high and the mighty, choosing instead the Gideons , the weak, the lowly, the few, those who are unsure yet entirely willing to be used by His hand. His instruments are never the corporate, the polished, or the financially sound, but rather the foolish things of this world, selected to confound the wisdom of men. He seeks not the merely professing who speak His Name, but the truly believing who live in holy fear and love.

He does not call forth the ordained showman with his fine cloth and practiced eloquence, but rather the camel-skinned, rugged, unpopular, and ridiculous prophet, whose only authority is the Word of God upon his tongue and the fire of the Spirit in his very being. Thus, we rest secure in the knowledge that His work will be completed, not by the strength of man, but by the power of Him who chooses the weak to shame the strong.

Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit,  says the LORD of hosts.
Zechariah 4.6