"How Has Following The Christian Church Become So Complicated?" By: Dr. Shuffel P. Hepburn

How has following the Christian Church become so complicated?

The Christian church was introduced at a simple dinner service called The Last Supper, in which prayers were prayed, songs of worship sung, there was a breaking of bread and of course the Word of God was richly present. The service was held in an upper room called the cenacle or simply called the upper room. Now how we have gone from the simplicity of this service to the complicated mass of denominations today is a mystery. People are now confused about which church is the real Church of God in Christ. New converts are unsure about which denomination is safe for them to join and some have decided to go to no church at all because of the confusion. God's Word that says my people perish for a lack of knowledge should be ringing in the ears of all believers. Let us review the events of this meeting held to introduce the one true Church of God and what followed after to see how we got to where we are today.

The word cenacle simply means dining room. It was located just outside Jerusalem City walls at Mount Zion and it is today one of the holiest sites in the holy land, and is also assumed to be the place where the Holy Spirit came upon upon the followers of Christ giving them great power. King David's tomb is said to be located on the ground floor of the building. The sight of this meeting has passed through many hands during the centuries. It was destroyed and rebuilt a number of times and it was burned down twice by the Muslims, then turned into a mosque. Thankfully for the last 200 years it has been in the hands of the true owners, the Israeli people. Today it is maintained by the Israeli Ministry of interior and some Christian churches are even allowed to have services there at various times of the year.

Father we thank You for this message. Send it forth. Give enlightenment to the unlearned, the untaught, we pray in the holy and the wonderful name of Jesus. And to those of us who are seasoned, bless us with an understanding of Your Word Father we pray in Jesus name. Amen.

There were 13 members in attendance at the Last Supper including the Master, but only 12 remained for the entire meeting one of the members called Judas, who was a traitor left early to meet secretly with the enemies of Christ, in hopes of destroying His plan to save mankind from sin. But the changes that the sight of the upper room has gone through over the Millennia are indicative of the torturous changes that the Christian Church has gone through since the time of this high level meeting. During the many years that followed, Satan has relentlessly tried to eradicate the one true Church of God. After Christ ascended into heaven, His followers waited in the upper room for the Holy Spirit who arrived 10 days after He ascended to the Father. The Spirit of the Living God's arrival was a most dramatic and even earth shattering event.

Jesus Christ claimed that He was the Son of God and that He was God caused Him to run a foul of the political leaders of the day, namely the Sadducees and the Pharisees. The last supper was purposely set at the time of the Passover feast and this means that they must have eaten the Passover meal in accordance with Jewish customs. It is very likely therefore that the menu was lamb, fish, beans, olives, bitter herbs, dates, unleavened bread and wine. The songs sung were the traditional Passover songs called the Hallel, which included Psalms 113 to 118.

The purpose of the meeting was to announce a new Covenant between God and man, paving the way for freeing man from the bondage of sin. This Covenant was far simpler than the Covenant God made with His children through Moses. Several other things that took place at the meeting were very significant. One was a ceremonial act called the breaking of the bread, a ceremony which would become popular throughout the entire world, and followers of Christ would practice it consistently for thousands of years. And they still practice this simple ceremony today as instructed. And it is usually a Spirit-filled and even emotional time of the service for many as they reflect on the sacrifice, the one who died for us, made for us.

When Christ first offered His body and blood as spiritual food for His followers many stopped following Him. But at the Last Supper again He offered the wine and bread symbolically and said take, eat, this is My body which is broken for you. This do in remembrance of Me. When He offered the wine He told them that this was the new testament in His blood, again encouraging them to do it often in remembrance of Him. They simply ate the bread in faith and drank the wine in faith, trusting His word. The next event was a washing of the Apostles feet by the Lord and He told them that they should wash each other's feet. In performing this exercise He was encouraging them to serve each other and to serve His sheep, instead of seeking to be served. And yet in today's churches many disciples of Christ continue seeking to be served and to be a figure of great honor before the flock of Jesus Christ. Of course the Word of God was shared with them directly from the mouth of God through Christ Himself. And the words spoken by the Lord at the meeting, at the service, have been recorded and passed down to us. And the only missing element in this very simple service was the full presence of the Holy Spirit who would come shortly after the Lord departed from the earth.

The question is how have we gone from this simple series of events which though dramatic and unusual in various ways was not so complicated. And now we have gone to having thousands and thousands of separated denominations, each having their own personal brand of worship and doctrine. In many instances items have been added to their services, which have nothing to do with the first meeting established by the Lord Jesus Christ. And some of these churches have become exclusive, when in fact Christ was inclusive, sending His Word out to the entire earth and inviting all who would believe to come into His great banquet.

I assure you that this is the result of Satan's best work. In the words of the Master, while His men were sleeping, His enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and left, and this is found in Matthew 13-25. In other words Satan brought evil men into the churches over the centuries and even more are coming in today to cause confusion in the hearts of the followers of Jesus Christ. I saw this firsthand years ago when we had a burgeoning and vibrant cell group going at my home in the capital, and we were having exciting meetings week after week. And the Word of God was rich and the Holy Spirit was present. One night Satan sent a wicked church member to our meetings, he made one statement and the meetings fell off almost instantly. One by one they quickly drifted off.

Nevertheless Satan has failed to destroy God's Universal Church which continues to roll on and is the largest church on earth today. Jesus Christ prophesied about this when He said, thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build My Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it, found in Matthew 16 and 18. So in spite of the confusion that he has caused in the hearts of men, he has not prevailed against the Church of the Most High God.

The events introduced by the Lord at The Last Supper were consummated the following day in a most violent manner when He was tortured and crucified. His assailants thought that they had succeeded in destroying Him, when in fact He had told His followers beforehand that He would lay down His own life as a sacrificial lamb and establish a new season. His once and for all sacrifice would open the pathway for man to be set free from the bondage of sin. This would enable all mankind to access the presence of His Holy Creator again from whom he had been separated since the fall of Adam. A couple of hours after supper the Lord Jesus was arrested and imprisoned when a band of Roman soldiers barged into the Garden of Gethsemane and broke up a prayer meeting that He was having with His followers.

The Savior was tried and sentenced to death the following day and less than 24 hours after introducing to His followers the new Covenant in His blood based on His sacrificial death. But He turned the tables on His enemies when He rose triumphant from the grave three days after being crucified. He appeared to as many as 500 people at various times before His ascension to the Father.

Then after 40 days He ascended to His Father in Heaven in the sight of His 11 remaining Apostles. By this time Judas had already hung himself, after which he fell headlong into a field which he had bought with the 30 pieces of silver he was paid for betraying the Son of the Most High God. And it is reported that His body burst open and His intestines spilled out.

The stage was now set for the next great event. The arrival of the Holy One called the Comforter, who would turn the world upside down. Christ had told His Apostles in Luke 24:4- 9, behold I send the promise of My Father upon you but tarry, which means wait in the city of Jerusalem, until you are endued with power from on High. This promise He referred to was the Holy Spirit, without whom they would all be powerless, and so would we.

There are many in the church today who have gone out without receiving this gift, without receiving this promise, and this is not wise. The book of Isaiah tells us that they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. In other words if we wait on the Holy Spirit to send us out we will be empowered and this is what happened to the followers of Christ who waited in the upper room. The Holy Spirit is the one who leads us into all truth, He's the one who guides and empowers us. And the Savior has made it clear that His power is necessary in order for us to be productive for the kingdom. For instance in John 15:5, He said I am the vine, you are the branches, He who abides in Me and I in him bares much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing.

My friend many have gone out without the Holy Spirit, without the presence of Christ and this is one of the reason for much of the confusion in the Churches of God today. According to scripture, when the Holy Spirit arrived, the power of God fell upon all who were present in the upper room. Acts 1: 1-4 says it this way, when the day of Pentecost had fully come they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from Heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then they appeared to them divided tongues as of fire and one sat upon each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the spirit gave them utterance.

Meanwhile, hearing all the commotion a crowd gathered outside the Cenacle. And in the gathering were people from all over the world who heard them speaking in their own native languages. And Peter stood up along with the 11 Apostles and preached the Word of God, reminding them that the prophet Joel had prophesied of this wonderful day when he said, and it shall come to pass in the last days says God that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh, acts 2:7. On that day there were 3,000 souls added to their number. And as souls poured into the kingdom, they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship in the breaking of bread and in prayers.

But it was not long before a group called Judaizers, who were Jewish Christians who believed that the Gentile converts to Christianity needed to follow Jewish law. And they began pushing for circumcision to be required in order to be completely saved. And they were putting pressure on the Christian Church to adopt the practices of Judaism, which Christ did not support. This was the beginning of the confusion and problems in the newly established Christian communities. The Apostle Paul opposed these teachings in his writings to the Galatians. As a result salvation which came by grace through faith in some communities, now needed to be salvation by grace and by works. And the church was changing. They were expecting saved men and women of God to live like Jews following Jewish customs, and to live in accordance with Jewish law. And this was only the beginning of the mass confusion that we see in God's Church today. And so I leave you with a question posed by Jesus Christ. When He said, "When the son of man comes will He really find faith on the earth? Found in Luke 18 and 8.

Father I pray that you will give wisdom knowledge and understanding to the listeners to this message in the holy and the wonderful name of Jesus Christ. And that the Spirit of Truth who is the Holy Spirit will cause truth to be lodged in their hearts about all the questions that they have about God's one true church. God bless and keep you in Jesus mighty name. Amen.

You've been listening to this message and perhaps you do not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We want to give you an opportunity to make that commitment as we usually do. Please engage your heart and say this prayer after me:

-Father I am a sinner.

-I am sorry for all my sins.

-I crave Your forgiveness.

-Thank You Lord for the mercy You have extended to me and for Your forgiveness.

-Today I invite Jesus Christ into my heart.

-Dear Lord Jesus welcome to my heart.

-I give You the key to my heart because I now belong to You forever.

-Please give me the Holy Spirit to lead me into all truth.

-Thank You Lord for saving my soul. Amen.

Welcome friend to the body of believers in Christ. Many of us are here awaiting the return of the Good Master and were expecting that it may be any day. But in the meantime we want to encourage you to become water baptized as quickly as possible. It is a part of the fulfillment of all righteousness.

Begin reading the Word of God. Begin in the book of John then go to Matthew, Mark and Luke, reading audibly as often as possible, because faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Pray daily, attend at your local church, and one glad morning the Savior will come and receive us all unto Himself, and we shall indeed forever be with the Lord. God bless and keep you in Jesus mighty name. Amen.