The Lord did not come to preach the church, but the kingdom. He did not send His messengers to preach the church, but to preach the kingdom. However, the church is the messenger, and the vehicle for this message. It is also His bride, the queen that will rule with Him in the kingdom. Therefore, it is right for the messengers and ministries who God has sent to be devoted to building the church in order for there to be a vehicle for the kingdom message, and for the important purpose of the Lord having a worthy bride. However, we need to consider what it is in fact the church is called to be.

Many movements that have been based on messages from God for the times have morphed into organizations and institutions, but we need to consider if these are really a representation of what the church is called to be, or if they even reflect the message they were born out of. I have not studied every organization or denomination, but of those I have, I could usually answer this question both yes and no. There are ways that most of them have kept alive the message and emphasis that gave birth to them, but as to be expected, there are also ways that the message can tend to become an empty form when it loses its revolutionary cutting edge. However, there can be an important and beneficial purpose for them to continue. Explorers would accomplish little if settlers did not come behind them to occupy the land. To be effective, the church needs both explorers and settlers. Too often we have conquered land that we have not been able to hold.

I also think that the church must be seen in its entirety, not just the individual parts, if we are going to perceive the church as it is. Together all of the different, unique parts make up a whole that even in its worst times has been the most dynamic instrument for good the world has ever known. Of course, it has had problems and some have drifted far from the path of life at times. Many, even Christians, have had a tendency to judge the whole church by its most extreme elements, but it really must be seen in its entirety to be fully understood. For this reason, there is probably no one person that really sees the church as it is, and that is not necessary. The Lord is the One who is building it and the One who we must trust to do this.

However, for the church to be what it is called to be, we must never be reduced to a mere bureaucratic organization, but we are called to be a living community which is a reflection of the coming kingdom in both character and power. Every congregation should be an outpost of the kingdom that is coming, already living under the domain and rulership of the King.

A church which has the essence of what the church is called to be is a true community, and a true community is a people with a common unity. I personally do not know of a single congregation that is a perfect reflection of the kingdom, but there are many congregations, and even movements, which are certainly growing in their purpose, and getting closer to what we are called to be.

It is clear in the Scriptures that the church cannot continue on the path to be what it is called to be without continuing to grow in community or common unity. This is about people growing closer together, loving each other, preferring one another, doing all things to build up one another, and even laying down their lives for one another just as our King laid down His life for us. The greatest reflection of the kingdom of God will always be people loving each other. As John wrote, we love one another because He loved us, and He loves our brothers and sisters; so we too will love them and serve them as unto the Lord.

Such a community will be in increasing contrast to the "communities" of this world, which will be losing all basis for unity, and sliding into increasing division and conflict. The kingdom, the community of the King's people, will be going in the opposite direction, not becoming more fearful, but more faithful, not becoming more self-centered, but more selfless, not more depressed, but in fact, the happiest people on the planet. There is no joy like the joy of the Lord, and there is no strength like that which comes from His joy.

Depression is spreading like a pandemic in the world. No Christian needs to be subject to this. If we are depressed, at the very least a level of deception has gotten into our lives. I realize that there can be chemical or physical reasons for some forms of depression, but no Christian needs to accept that as part of their life. However, the bulk of the great increase of depression in the world is not a physical problem, but a spiritual one, and that is the one I want to briefly address here.

First, get this deep in your heart and mind—if you know God you should be chronically happy—even unexplainably happy! "Happy" tends to be a superficial word to many, and it is true that we should have a joy that is far deeper than a superficial happiness, but it is impossible to have deep waters without some of it being on top, or shallow. My point is that if you really have the joy of the Lord you will be a perpetually, chronically, happy person. You cannot help it if you really have the joy of the Lord.

This does not mean that we never go through trials or have problems, but as James exhorts us, as we grow, we learn to count them all joy because they always lead to victory. The bigger the trial, the bigger the victory. You can blame this on some people just being more optimistic than others, but true faith is the ultimate optimism, like it or not, and if we don't like it, we need a dose of real faith in our lives.

Believe it or not, joy or sheer happiness will become an increasing characteristic of the community of faith. This is going to be one of the things that cause Christians to stand out from others, and it will do so more and more. I have personally made it a point of asking most of the truly happy people that I meet if they are Christians, and for a couple of years now they have all, without exception, been Christians. I'm not sure that we are at the place yet where you have to be a Christian to be happy, but to have a real, deep, joy in life, I do think this is going to be the case very soon, if it is not already.

If you have ever been depressed (and almost everyone has experienced it at some time) you know that one of the most annoying things of all when you are depressed is someone who is happy! Trust me—this is going to be the source of much persecution. People are going to be increasingly annoyed by those who have real joy and real peace. Also trust me in this—it is worth it to be happy rather than depressed!

If you have the joy of the Lord, you will stand out more and more as a light in a dark place. Many will come to the light, and many others, just as when the Lord walked the earth, will love the darkness, even their self-centered depression, more than they will love the light. These will reject those who are walking in the light, and we need to get used to rejection, not let it bring us down, because the joy of the Lord is the true reality; and it is the result of walking in truth.

Even so, those who know the Lord and are growing in Him will stand out more because of their confidence. Those who do not know the Lord are going to be walking in increasing darkness and confusion. Therefore, those who have the growing confidence in their walk and purpose will be an increasingly striking contrast to everyone who does not know the Lord. We see this happening in Acts 4:13:

Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John, and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were marveling, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.

The thing that the council saw about the apostles which stuck out was their confidence. This is not arrogance, but a confidence that comes from knowing that you are in the will of the Lord, that He is in you and with you, even when you are on trial before those who are persecuting you. There is a grace of confidence that is going to stand out more and more with those who walk with God. Do you want this? It is a very simple thing to attain, as the Lord told us in Matt. 6:33-34:

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.
Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

The "all these things" which He said would be added to us are the provisions which we need. That is one thing that Christians are growing in faith about, the Lord's provision. It is important to understand why this is linked to seeking His kingdom first. He does not want us worried about these things so that we can remain focused on the seeking the kingdom. We are going to be worrying less and less about things, trust the Lord for whatever we need, and grow in our vision of the Lord and His kingdom because it is our focus.