“If your church is on fire(for God), you will not have to advertise it.” -Rev. Leonard Ravenhill
A few weeks ago while I was speaking down in Louisiana, my wife and I took a couple backroads sight seeing on our way home. We explored and looked around at part of the country we had never seen before. On one of these back roads there were thick trees covering both sides of the road. You couldn’t see much as the road had curves and constant changes in it. We drove for what seemed like an eternity until suddenly, an old white wooden structure appeared to the side of us. We couldn’t tell what it was at first.
As we drove closer we noticed that this old abandoned building used to be a church building surrounded by rusty chain links. We stopped the car on the side of the road and snapped a photo of it. I got out of the vehicle walked to the entrance and put my hand on the rusty chain links. I took a deep breath and just absorbed the view. It fascinated me that this piece of history was so beautifully hidden. Now my wife and I have seen old church buildings before on the side of the road, but this one was different. It was like we had stepped back in time. This old run down church was no more and it made me wonder why. Why did it expire? How did it lose its spark? What made it close the doors?
Suddenly, I could feel the Lord working on my heart: “Many of my people are like this church. They are weary, run down, and empty in their hearts. In need of Me.”
My spirit trembled when I heard this, because I knew that frequently includes me. I’ve been weary, I’ve been run down, and there are times I just feel utterly empty. I desire to be fired up for God, but there are days I feel like I don’t even have a flare. The devil wants to make you think there is a chain link fence around you holding you back just like that church. But Jesus. Oh But Jesus is in the RESTORATION Business! He alone can restore what you need in your life. He can break the chains surrounding your life! He can bust a chain-link Church! He can unlock the locks the devil has been using against you. And He can bring the life, the fire, and the spark that your run down soul needs. We all stand in need of Jesus.
Let me pose this question to you:
“If Jesus was to suddenly stop on the side of the road and swing by, what would your church look like?”
“In other words, what would your life look like?”
Anything. I repeat: ANYTHING you are going through, Jesus can fix.
Whether you feel like your life is in top-notch shape spiritually or perhaps more comparable to that of this old church: restricted, empty, and run down. Maybe you are uncertain and don’t know what the status of your church is. Pastor Leonard Ravenhill put it this way, “If your church is on fire(for God), you will not have to advertise it.” The truth is that unlike this abandoned church building, we are not alone. Jesus is with us and He is willing to restore your church, restore your life, and restore your fire!
As my wife and I headed back home I could not stop thinking about the old church and what it used to represent. My ultimate hope is when people see our lives, when people see our church, there will be no question “What” we represent, and most importantly, “Who” we represent. May it always be Jesus!
#TheChainLinkChurch #JesusIsLife #Restore #BlogPost
“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”
-1 Peter 5:10(ESV)
Brandon Baumgarten 