HOW WOULD JESUS START A CHURCH?

How do you think Jesus would start a church in your city or town?

The first thing Christ would do is go on a weeping tour throughout your area. Scripture tells us, “When he was come near, he beheld [Jerusalem], and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! But now they are hid from thine eyes” (Luke 19:41-42).

What made Jesus weep? It began with a heartbreaking walk He took around the city. He was overcome with grief at the sight of so-called religious people who had no peace. These people had rejected the truth for fables and now they were following a dead form of religion. They were sheep without true shepherds.

Now, I’m not out to judge any minister. But I want to ask everyone reading this message: Can you imagine your pastor driving through your town and weeping over it? What a different image Jesus gives us from so many of the plotters and planners building churches today. These men go door to door, surveying people, asking what they want in a church: “How long would you like the sermon to be? Fifteen minutes? Ten?”

Jesus witnessed a form of this in His own day. As He walked through the temple, He saw tables of moneychangers, ministers who merchandised the things of God. There was no real prayer, no fear of the Lord. And Christ wept over it all, crying, “It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves” (Luke 19:46).

I ask you: Would Jesus weep over what He sees in your church today? Would He find your pastor anguishing over lost souls? Would Christ find His people praying or would He find them occupied by busyness and programs, focusing on their own interests?

Once Jesus concludes His weeping tour of your city, would He commend His people? Or would He bring this warning: “You’re blind to the times. Judgment is at the door, but you look more like the world than ever. Why aren’t you praying, seeking Me for strength and wisdom to redeem the time?”--David Wilkerson