FINDING THE RIGHT CHURCH
There is one complaint I hear consistently from Christians all over the world: “I can't find a good church anywhere! I need a place where my family can be ministered to—where we can hear a true word from heaven, and where my children can grow up knowing true righteousness. But I just can’t find that kind of church!”
If you are having trouble finding a good church, I have both good news and bad news for you. First, the bad news: You’ll never find the right church—the righteous, God-blessed church—until you start looking for it in the right place.
Now, here’s the good news: God clearly shows us in His Word where to find this holy, blessed church. In fact, I hope to show you specifically where you can go to find it.
The prophet Jeremiah found the right church “while he was yet shut up in the court of the prison” (Jeremiah 33:1). While the godly prophet Jeremiah sat in prison, Jerusalem, which represented the center of worship for the Old Testament Church, lay in ruin. At one time it was a hallowed place—filled with the glory of God—and was served by holy prophets and sanctified priests.
But Jerusalem became full of sickness and death, peopled by false prophets and the spiritually dead. Had you been one of the holy remnant at that time, you would not have been able to find a single righteous house of worship or even a godly shepherd. Everything once holy and blessed had been brought to devastation.
As Jeremiah looked upon this awful scene, his heart was crushed. He became so focused on the ruin around him that he lost sight of God’s covenant promises to His people. He could have continued in despair, wasting his days brooding and sinking further into hopelessness. He might have thought, “It’s no use; God has hidden His face from us. There is no true house of worship left!”
But suddenly, the Lord spoke to the prophet, saying, “Get on your knees, Jeremiah! Set your heart to pray to Me. You believe there is nothing left of My Church but I’m going to show you the mighty things I have planned for My people” (see 33:3).
If Christians today want to find the right church, they must begin with prayer! No one is ever going to find God’s true Church by jumping on a bus, train or plane and racing around the world in search of it. We simply can’t get to His Church by any modern conveyance. The only reliable map is our secret closet of prayer!
If you are having trouble finding a good church, I have both good news and bad news for you. First, the bad news: You’ll never find the right church—the righteous, God-blessed church—until you start looking for it in the right place.
Now, here’s the good news: God clearly shows us in His Word where to find this holy, blessed church. In fact, I hope to show you specifically where you can go to find it.
The prophet Jeremiah found the right church “while he was yet shut up in the court of the prison” (Jeremiah 33:1). While the godly prophet Jeremiah sat in prison, Jerusalem, which represented the center of worship for the Old Testament Church, lay in ruin. At one time it was a hallowed place—filled with the glory of God—and was served by holy prophets and sanctified priests.
But Jerusalem became full of sickness and death, peopled by false prophets and the spiritually dead. Had you been one of the holy remnant at that time, you would not have been able to find a single righteous house of worship or even a godly shepherd. Everything once holy and blessed had been brought to devastation.
As Jeremiah looked upon this awful scene, his heart was crushed. He became so focused on the ruin around him that he lost sight of God’s covenant promises to His people. He could have continued in despair, wasting his days brooding and sinking further into hopelessness. He might have thought, “It’s no use; God has hidden His face from us. There is no true house of worship left!”
But suddenly, the Lord spoke to the prophet, saying, “Get on your knees, Jeremiah! Set your heart to pray to Me. You believe there is nothing left of My Church but I’m going to show you the mighty things I have planned for My people” (see 33:3).
If Christians today want to find the right church, they must begin with prayer! No one is ever going to find God’s true Church by jumping on a bus, train or plane and racing around the world in search of it. We simply can’t get to His Church by any modern conveyance. The only reliable map is our secret closet of prayer!