Dear House Church, Please Connect With Us!
(A Message to the House Churches: Brethren, You Are Not Alone!)
(Preached Saturday Afternoon, August 30, 2020)
“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”
(Revelation 12:11)
For years now, here in America and within other countries of the West, two simultaneous phenomena have continuously occured. One widely reported, and the other (strangely) not.
Churches, denominational and non-denominational, have been emptying by the hundreds of thousands each year. The numbers of these “losses” are carefully counted as donations decline, salaries diminish, and buildings are gradually closed.
Meanwhile (in a manner miraculously similar to the exponentially rising millions of Christians in both Communist China and Islam-controlled nations), house church gatherings are quietly, steadily spreading across Europe, Canada, the United States and beyond. Like the underlying sands of an hourglass, the underground church in the West is rising, and preparing itself for… what? For what? What… comes… next?
Dear brothers and sisters who meet in house churches, unhindered by self-ambition, people numbering, and disconnected strife (Luke 22:24; cf. 2 Samuel 24:10): you who, like us, have taken your families, and sometimes others you love; and have departed from an old-time religion not found on the printed pages of God’s eternal Word. It is to you… to you that we speak!
Your enemy has, as Jesus told Simon Peter, oh, yes, “Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.” (Luke 22:31) Ah, but be more than encouraged… Jesus has and is praying for you. In fact, the future has already been promised and prophesied that “they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony!” (Revelation 12:11)
Yes, hallelujah, that is it! Note how it is written. “They overcame him.” And then again, it is said that they did it “by their testimony!” Catch those two key words: “they” and “their.” Yes, you are a plural. You… are not alone!
Christian, do you now meet regularly in a house church with “two or three” or more? Then you already know that Jesus is in your midst if…. if, you be gathered (truly) in his name!
- In his cause!
- For his purpose!
- Not just for you but “that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life!”
And so to the brethren who still gather within the confines and ceremonies of central structures, sitting in forward facing chairs, and pews… To you who so kindly continue to hear us each week, we bid you welcome now, always, and forever. And yet, we, for this moment, do beg you for your patience. Patience, because today we speak directly to the forgotten, and yet eternally remembered. We bring a plea to the unseen, and yet dwelling openly in your midst. We direct our request to those who have leaped out of a great “falling away” so that they might climb back up to Jesus. To them we do implore, to them we do earnestly ask this…
Dear house church member, please assemble together with us!
- Please register at the top of our site: click the big button at the top of your screen!
- Please complete and submit the inviting registration form!
- Please then look forward to receiving your own profile page.
- Please come and enjoy fellowship with brothers and sisters meeting “from house to house” and “eating their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.”
- Please share your praises and your pain; your heartaches and your love; and experience that truth found in Ecclesiastes 4:9-10.
- “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.”
Who are we? We do have a name, which we believe that we were led to by God. We are the S.A.L.T. We are the Savior’s Ambassadors Laboring Together.
We are the…
- Savior’s – because the Bible says, “And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.” (Acts 5:32)
We are his…
- Ambassadors – because the Bible says, “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20)
We are…
- Laboring – because the Bible says, “Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9:37-38)
We are…
- Together – because the Bible says, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20)
For a further expansion on the four verses quoted above, and more clarity on who we are, we invite you to scroll to the bottom of our interactive media message entitled, “Dear House Church, Please Connect With Us!” You’ll find it listed on the “Minister’s Playlist” page, which can be accessed from the Home page of this site. We also welcome you to enjoy the visual and musically entertaining video, the SoundCloud powered audio, the printable PDF and the printed post, which allows you to participate in comments by clicking at the top or bottom of your screen. [Note: If you are reading this, instead of listening to it, then what you’re looking at is that message.]
And now, dear wonderful brothers and sisters, whether you meet in either auditorium-based gatherings, or while breaking bread around a table at home, let us conclude by being even clearer on who exactly we are.
- We are followers of Jesus, the Lamb of God who took away our sins.
- We are a local church (assembly; called out ones) who meet in houses.
- We are ambassadors for Christ to our community, city, country & world,
- Through personal outreach & discipleship in our immediate areas;
- Through outreach & discipleship via multimedia communication;
- Through preaching the Word in season and out of season; and
- Through every member’s spiritual gifts being both
- explored and exercised.
- We are therefore joyful laborers for the “Lord of the Harvest”; and so
- We do not ask for help to reach our own local community; and
- We do not ask for donations (like Brother Paul we work/we give).
And so, dear wonderful family in Christ, with whom we shall sit down at that great Marriage Supper of the Lamb, we hope you will click the big button in the upper right hand corner of this page. Together let us labor as ambassadors to our own communities for Christ. Together let us assemble to exhort “one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25, properly applied)
“Again, think ye that we excuse ourselves unto you? We speak before God in Christ: but we do all things, dearly beloved, for your edifying.” (2 Corinthians 12:19)
Amen.
+ + + + + + +
Who Are the S.A.L.T. (Savior’s Ambassadors Laboring Together)
- Savior’s
“And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.” (Acts 5:32)
- Who is our Lord?
“And we are his witnesses of these things;”
- What is his mission?
“And so is also the Holy Ghost,”
- Why is this mission important?
“Whom God hath given to them that obey him.”
- Ambassador
“Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20)
- Who are you?
“Now then we are ambassadors for Christ,”
- What is your mission?
“As though God did beseech you by us:”
- Why is your mission important?
“We pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.”
- Laboring
“Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9:37-38)
- Who is your community?
- Where is your harvest?
“Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;”
- Where are your fields?
“Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.” (John 4:35)
- What is your mission to your community?
“That he will send forth labourers into his harvest.”
- Why is your mission to your community important?
“Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest,”
- Together
“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20)
- Who are we together?
“For where two or three are gathered”
- What is our mission (you in your community and we in ours)?
“Together in my name,”
- Why should we join together (you in your community and we in ours)?
“There am I in the midst of them.”
- “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:20)
Conclusion
“Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” (Matthew 5:13)
OUTLINE:
Dear House Church, Please Connect With Us!
- Please register at the top of our site: click the big button at the top of your screen!
- Please complete and submit the inviting registration form!
- Please then look forward to receiving your own profile page.
- Please come and enjoy fellowship with brothers and sisters meeting “from house to house” and “eating their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.”
- Please share your praises and your pain; your heartaches and your love.
WORSHIP:
Inspirators Zimbabwe- Huyayi (Come we that love the Lord)
Opening:
Come, Ye Thankful People, Come (591)
Come, Christians, Join to Sing (45)
Message:
The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir – Psalm 34 (Live)
Prayer: