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OCCUPY UNTIL HE COMES
An apostolic Church is a church that takes care of business now and accelerates into the future.
We are on the move. We are aggressive. We are not passive and idle.
The angels said in Acts 1:10 They were looking intently into the sky as He was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11“Men of Galilee, they said, “Why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven.”
God is calling us to a place of aggressive penetration in our cities. We are not just sitting in “Church Services” having church and waiting on the return of our Lord. No, we are out winning the world for our Lord!
Occupy: Engage (in the culture), busy (stay busy), employ (be the head and have the greatest influence), involve (get involved in every area of influence), entertain, amuse, divert (divert people from their sins)
Luke 19:13 And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.
He called ten servants of his, and gave them ten mina coins, and told them, 'Conduct business until I come.'
The Early Church conducted business while they were here on the earth. They were establishing a government or kingdom. They engaged the culture. They were busy being productive (bearing fruit). The church started out slow in the first few years but started to accelerate after a few years.
Acceleration always starts out slow before it picks up.
Church or Kingdom of God growth, expansion, and multiplication is simple. Establish a congregation through evangelism and relationships, meet somewhere, and make disciples through teaching, training, fellowshipping, and serving. Become the greatest influence in that city.
How to Occupy until He comes
1. Preach the Gospel through Evangelism.
2. Allow the gifts of the spirit to work through the church. Signs and miracles.
3. Serve the community. Food. shelter. Visitations (sick and those in prison). Clothes. Water. Matthew 25:34-36
4. Fellowship.
5. Teach and train the believers for spiritual growth (make disciples).
6. Conduct business in the corporate world. Position Christians everywhere so they can influence.
7. Plant local congregations everywhere. Raise up leaders to lead those congregations. Titus 1:5 The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.
Church growth for Doc Murphy Ministries/The Everywhere Network is not just 50 converts in one location but 50 congregations in multiple locations (Just an example).
If we are going to have a movement, then we must always think on the lines of multiplication, exponential growth, and counting congregations in multiple locations. We must multiply disciples to do that. The church’s success is to go everywhere making disciples of nations or cities. We are a nation within a nation and we must populate this nation (USA) with the nation of the Kingdom of God. Christianity must become the dominant force and influence in America. It will happen when we get into every sphere of influence and that starts with planting powerful congregations with ordinary people.
“Activating ordinary people in very simple churches is how the Gospel undercut the pagan Roman Empire in just three centuries. In the middle of the second century, a Christian leader would write to a Roman acquaintance, “We are in your towns and in your cities; we are in your country; we are in your army and navy; we are in your palaces; we are in the senate; we are more numerous than anyone.” a century later, these Christians controlled the emperor’s throne. They did so while living under the terrible pall of bloody persecution. Love conquered in Jesus’s Name. They also did it massively multiplying the number of disciples and mostly secret churches’. – Ralph Moore
Doc Murphy
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