Why has the mainstream church become a powerless church?
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Maybe, but all I know is Jesus renamed Simon to Peter and said this:
Matthew 16:13-20
[SUP]13 [/SUP]When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
[SUP]14 [/SUP]And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
[SUP]15 [/SUP]He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
[SUP]16 [/SUP]And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
[SUP]17 [/SUP]And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
[SUP]18 [/SUP]And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
[SUP]19 [/SUP]And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
[SUP]20 [/SUP]Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
Matthew 16:13-20
[SUP]13 [/SUP]When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
[SUP]14 [/SUP]And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
[SUP]15 [/SUP]He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
[SUP]16 [/SUP]And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
[SUP]17 [/SUP]And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
[SUP]18 [/SUP]And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
[SUP]19 [/SUP]And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
[SUP]20 [/SUP]Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
yes. Thank you for reminding me. What did Peter say? He professed his faith in Jesus. Jesus affirmed this recognition of who Jesus is and Jesus said that on this recognition of who I am I will build my church. I'm not sure what is so hard to understand about that for you. And it has nothing to do with what peters name is or isn't.
P
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
James 1:22
To really hear obey and do.
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Mainstream to me almost always means mediocre. They are Christian but very shallow, usually because the pastor is unprepared to take his congregation very far, and sometimes because they emphasize emotionalism. How can they be spiritual when they don't even know what that is. Again this gets back to a lack of solid teaching and training.
G
Unfortunately, way too many Christians think like that --- "nobody wants to be a 'small-time' miracle worker"...
That is not [ actually ] the [ biblical ] answer.
The answer is this -- that the Holy Spirit helps us ( gives us the power ) to be bold [ enough ] to open our mouths and preach the Gospel. And, to teach the Word. And, to make disciples. And, to help the poor. And, to love our neighbor. And, to resist temptation.
These are the things that we are "empowered" by the Holy Spirit to do.
That is not [ actually ] the [ biblical ] answer.
The answer is this -- that the Holy Spirit helps us ( gives us the power ) to be bold [ enough ] to open our mouths and preach the Gospel. And, to teach the Word. And, to make disciples. And, to help the poor. And, to love our neighbor. And, to resist temptation.
These are the things that we are "empowered" by the Holy Spirit to do.
Unfortunately, way too many Christians think like that --- "nobody wants to be a 'small-time' miracle worker"...
That is not [ actually ] the [ biblical ] answer.
The answer is this -- that the Holy Spirit helps us ( gives us the power ) to be bold [ enough ] to open our mouths and preach the Gospel. And, to teach the Word. And, to make disciples. And, to help the poor. And, to love our neighbor. And, to resist temptation.
These are the things that we are "empowered" by the Holy Spirit to do.
That is not [ actually ] the [ biblical ] answer.
The answer is this -- that the Holy Spirit helps us ( gives us the power ) to be bold [ enough ] to open our mouths and preach the Gospel. And, to teach the Word. And, to make disciples. And, to help the poor. And, to love our neighbor. And, to resist temptation.
These are the things that we are "empowered" by the Holy Spirit to do.
Matthew 10:7-8
[SUP]7 [/SUP]And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
[SUP]8 [/SUP]Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
Mark 16:17-20
[SUP]17 [/SUP]And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
[SUP]18 [/SUP]They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
[SUP]19 [/SUP]So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
[SUP]20 [/SUP]And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
G
Yes, I know...
But, keep in mind:
~ Verses like those are not always referring to every-Christian-who-will-ever-live-on-the-Earth. Many of them are "highly-contextual"; referring only to the Apostles, or to the early Church.
~ And, if any of those same things be present today -- it requires a great deal of faith. And, who has great faith today to perform miracles when they do not have enough faith to live the daily Christian Life?
I don't think most Christians today really understand just how big the gap - and the difference - is between the faith of those in the early Church and what we have today. We deny the power of the Holy Spirit by the simplest acts that we do in our everyday lives - that we have been conditioned to think there is nothing wrong with them. Yet, they keep us from getting - and staying - close to God -- close enough to have the kind of faith that is required to perform miracles like those in the early Church did.
Christians today who think they should be running around doing all of the things you mentioned -- while not having a sufficient understanding of "the things of God" -- they are only "wishing for and upon" their own selfish desire(s) to "demonstrate power"...
In other words - for most Christians - it is not about having "real faith" that could move mountains; rather, it is about pride and the will and the want to "have power"...
You can't go around laying claim to things in the Bible that are not talking about you...
But, keep in mind:
~ Verses like those are not always referring to every-Christian-who-will-ever-live-on-the-Earth. Many of them are "highly-contextual"; referring only to the Apostles, or to the early Church.
~ And, if any of those same things be present today -- it requires a great deal of faith. And, who has great faith today to perform miracles when they do not have enough faith to live the daily Christian Life?
I don't think most Christians today really understand just how big the gap - and the difference - is between the faith of those in the early Church and what we have today. We deny the power of the Holy Spirit by the simplest acts that we do in our everyday lives - that we have been conditioned to think there is nothing wrong with them. Yet, they keep us from getting - and staying - close to God -- close enough to have the kind of faith that is required to perform miracles like those in the early Church did.
Christians today who think they should be running around doing all of the things you mentioned -- while not having a sufficient understanding of "the things of God" -- they are only "wishing for and upon" their own selfish desire(s) to "demonstrate power"...
In other words - for most Christians - it is not about having "real faith" that could move mountains; rather, it is about pride and the will and the want to "have power"...
You can't go around laying claim to things in the Bible that are not talking about you...