The Church's Greatest Advantage - Part 2

By Iverna Tompkins
Transcribed by Jane Vaughn

What is the Church’s greatest advantage?   We’ve discussed 8 things that important advantage is not – now let’s see what it is.

The only way I know to answer that question accurately is to find out what God says is our greatest advantage – because people have endless personal opinions.  Isn’t that correct?  If you’re trying to make a decision – ask ten people and you will receive ten different opinions about the decision.  It’s frustrating, isn’t it?  So, you pick the two you like best and say, “In the mouth of two or more witnesses…:” :-)  (Mt.18:16).

The whole advantage the Church has, as God sees it is…  Let’s read it from Isaiah 28, verse 16: “So this is what the Sovereign Lord says…”  You cannot vote on that statement, my Friend.  He is Who He says He is!  And that is definitive!  Now, here’s what He says, “See, I lay in Zion” – that’s the Church as we’re looking at it in the light of today – “a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation…”

THAT is the Church’s greatest advantage!  We have a SURE Foundation!  “…the one who trusts will never be dismayed.” 

“Zion” is used here for an entire Empire, a Kingdom – the Church, in general, universal, upon the earth.  Now, God says, “You’re looking for an advantage?  Do you want to know how you’re going to win?  How you’re going to be successful – victorious?  Over anything?  Over every situation?  I’ll give you the answer!  I’ll give you a sure foundation.”

The essential idea of this passage is the perpetuity of His Kingdom – that’s something that is unchanging, consistent; not stopping or being interrupted; continuous; running indefinitely; eternal, infinite, without end.  It’s not – and I don’t want to take anything away from our rejoicing – but it’s not God looking down and saying, “Oh, Iverna, you have served Me for many years, and so I am going to give you a sure foundation.”  That’s not what He’s doing here at all!

What He is saying is, “I’m going to give you everything you need to maintain My Kingdom forever.  I’ll give you all of it in Christ.  He is your foundation.  What you do on that foundation makes a difference only in your personal life – not in My Kingdom.”  That is enlightening and powerful!

You see, God’s Kingdom is perpetual – it is without end.  It is going to go on with or without you, Dear One.  When God sent His only begotten Son into the world so that whosoever would receive Him should not perish (Jn.3:16) – that was salvation for every individual.  God had a plan that preceded the sending of His Son.  That plan existed – before the beginning of time.  It has always been God’s plan.  And He said, “I am going to establish My Kingdom on this earth.  I will do that!”

We simply didn’t understand what it meant to pray “Thy Kingdom come” (Mt.6:10).  Jesus tricked us! :-)   Sort of.  We just wanted to learn how to pray and He said, “When you pray say, ‘Our Father which are in heaven, hallowed – holy are You’” (Mt.6:9ff).  And then He said, “Pray ‘Thy Kingdom come, and Thy will be done on earth.’”  I know it’ll be done in Heaven!  He knows it’ll be done on earth!  If we could, in truth, get just that much revelation into our understanding, it would be a “big chunk!”  :-)

Now – in the eternal, unchangeable, impregnable plan of God, He allows us, as individuals, to be a part of that Kingdom – if we will!  He says, in this Isaiah passage, “I will – give you a foundation” (28:16,17).  The sentiment of this verse is that through the tempest of all calamities…  How many have just gone through some tough things?  Not huge things.  The truth is, in this country we really don’t know what trouble is.  We sit here in air conditioning – we drive in air conditioning – we have beautiful homes – and food on the table – but it’s still “trouble” to us when something negative happens.

Our inconveniences seem so large in our minds.  I have a fan blowing on the floor at home where I had a water leak last night.  Amazing in Phoenix, but we’ve had a lot of rain.  Besides someone stole my solar light!!  I’m in real trouble!   :-)    Right.   :-)

Those are little aggravations of life.  But when I look at the world and the condition of the world in which we live – listen – in comparison to when I was a young girl – things are so much worse now than then!  They’re not much better – they’re worse!  Many things have progressed greatly, positively – like in the fields of education and technology.  We know a lot more these days.  My grandsons are only 6 years old but they know a whole lot more than I did when I was 12!  Maybe more than I know now – but we’re not going there!   :-)

What kids learn these days!  And at so young an age.  You can sit a preschooler down in front of a computer and they just assess things so quickly: “Is this the ‘on’ switch?” and off they go!  Education has increased.  Abilities have increased.  But things aren’t better because of the increase!  “He that is filthy is filthier still” (Rev.22:11).  It’s a rotten world out there in so many ways.  Can you say, “Amen” to that?

The reason things aren’t better is that the progression of evil has far surpassed the progression of – purity.  Oh, that condition will not last, Church!  Come on!  God has a plan!  God has a purpose.  It is not a permanent thing – the way things are progressing negatively – but it is a nasty now and now.  And that’s why I said, “Maybe there’s never been a more excellent moment for this message than today,” because we are alive and quite capable of hearing what the Spirit is saying to the Church (Rev.2:7,11,17,29; 3:6,13).  And I am just simple enough to believe THIS generation can turn things around!

God – in giving us the foundation – said, “it’s the cornerstone” (Isa.28:16).  We know the main weight of any building is set upon the corners.  Therefore, the strongest stone is chosen to be set there – even if there’s a little sagging in the middle of the wall (denominational bickerings??), the corners are sure.  God says, “I’m putting My foundation on the corner.  I’m giving you a cornerstone.  And it’s going to be solid.” 

If you walk back through history you’ll see that they tried to put out our Light – oh, yeah – even before Jesus’ day.  There has been an attempt by the evil one to shut down anyone who believed in – now we’ll say, the Church – back then, it was the nation of Israel.  Look at what they went through.  Every time God brought success to them…

Well, the first thing that happened is they were proud of it, thinking they brought the successes on themselves.  So – the Lord said to their enemies, “Oh, fine.  Go get ‘em.” :-)   And they went through all sorts of being captured by enemy nations and going through various trials.  And God says…  (You cannot read the Old Testament without saying “Amen” to what I’m about to say).  Every time God allowed defeat and captivity to happen to them He’d say, “But I’ve got a plan.  And I’m going to redeem you and I am coming back for you and I am going to open your eyes and your ears and your understanding and I will have a generation among you that’s going to bring…”  Okay, it’s worded a little different than that in the King James Bible   :-)  but read your Old Testament history Books.

Then we step into the New Testament and look back through our history – not just in the USA but throughout the world – and see how there’s been an attempt to stamp out the Church – over and over and over.  Even here in our little spit!  If you could go up on a satellite and look down at us – we’re just a little  ::phfft::!  We feel, “Well, we’re just a little  ::tssst::  in a  ::phfft::  right now.   :-)  I mean Phoenix is getting big but it’s still just a  ::tssst::  in a  ::phfft::  :-)   because it’s nothing compared to the whole picture.  Are you understanding this with me?  I am trying to make a point.  We look at that smallness and cry out, “Oh, dear Lord!  How are we ever going to make a difference?”  You’ve heard me say before that I know I’m just one little drop in the bucket – but it will not get full without me!

We all need to take that same attitude!  What we’re each doing is just a little part of the whole, but my Friend, altogether we’re going to fill the bucket!  God will use all our little bits.  He says, “Now here’s what I want you to do!  I want you – one person at a time – one family at a time – one area at a time – one city…”  You know, some of us have carried God-given burdens for our neighborhoods or cities.  We may even carry them for years – especially pastors who stay in the same location for the long term – consistently praying for a divine breakthrough in their own areas.  Praying for souls.  Praying for the salvation of the many.  Such a man or woman – clergy or not – is the right person in the right place for that very reason.  “God, just one big Revival would change a whole region of our city!”  Absolutely.  His outpouring would change the whole thing!  People from all over would be wondering and inquiring: “Hey!  Where’s that church – the area where things are happening – where good things are happening?”  Everyone is going to want to come and find you because they know – that’s where the River of God is flowing!

A family at a time – an area at a time – a city at a time – a nation at a time.  You can understand the picture, can’t you?  I don’t know why God does it that way!  I think if I was in charge (God help us!)   :-)  I’d do it all at once!  I believe I would!  I’d just send Revival to the whole world all at once and put an end to all the evil.  But that isn’t a building – that will last.

I could take you back to places where I’ve ministered in the past – where they experienced such powerful Revivals – so much so that they’re known throughout the world for these mighty moves of God.  Honestly known throughout the world.  But if you stepped into those places today – some of them (most of them) – if you stepped in there today you would say, “What’s happened?  How can this be?  How can it be that there was so much power here – so much of the flow of God – and – where is that today?” 

Here’s another more personal example.  When I was in my 30’s, I was in a church where we had six straight years of Revival.  It was a tremendous move of God!  My brother Judson Cornwall was the Pastor and I was the flunky – uh, co-worker.   :-)  For 6 years, people would just – “get saved” – like, all by themselves!  They didn’t even know what they were coming into the building for.  Many people would follow the choir’s opening processional right up to the platform, stop at the altar and cry out, “God, be merciful to me!”  And it was like that at every service – not just once.  We didn’t even know it was Revival, or to call it such at that time, because no one bothered to tell us what it was all about.   :-)  It was just the way of our church!   :-)  We thought it was fairly normal.

The people simply walked in off the street.  Others reported, “I was driving along, going somewhere else and my car just veered in here!”  We had six years of that glorious repetition.  And then, God called our Pastor, Judson, and sent him out to the Body of Christ at-large.  Now, some of you can say, “Thank God for that!” because Judson, as a traveling teacher, was a great blessing in your life, visiting and ministering so powerfully from the Word in your church somewhere around the world.  And then later, God even used this little sister, sending me out to minister to the Body in the world-at-large.  And that church at home just – atrophied!  It went from 3 choirs to a few singers.  How could that be? 

I hope I’m shocking you because I know there’s going to be a mighty, dynamic move of God – and when it comes your way, I want you to remember these things that the old lady said.   :-)   What God does – always – is the same generally – whether He does it “this specific way” or “that way.”  This is what He does: He gives a foundation for every individual to build upon – and if each one doesn’t build, the building doesn’t go very high.  I hope that is meaningful to you.  There is a responsibility we each have to respond to Him individually as well as corporately and what we do as individuals will impact and affect the corporate body.

You see, I can sit in a corporate anointing, where there is a measurably blessed time together and everything is flowing and it’s simply wonderful.  And in that setting, I can love everyone there.  I can just rejoice in the blessing of it all.  I can sit there for a year – listen to me – 2 years – 6 years – and yet never build anything!  I can simply, personally enjoy that incredible move of God.  I even can wallow in it and invite other people to come with me: “Oh, it’s wonderful!  You ought to come hear our Pastor.  Oh – you’re going to… I tell you!  You can just sense the Presence of the Lord!”  But you can, my Friend, at the same time, in the same moment – if you’re not very careful – sit there and almost backslide – by attending church every time the doors are open!  I also have to build something lasting on that foundation for myself.

God laid a foundation – a cornerstone.  He said, “The cornerstone will be unshaken.”  So, don’t you blame Jesus for anything that falls away.  The cornerstone is what God put there – and it remains.  Jesus Christ is the same – always! (Heb.13:8).  He is!  That’s how God described Himself.  “I AM!” (Ex.314).

Moses says, “Well, great.  You’ve got this big mission for me, who am I going to say sent me?” (Ex.3:13).  And God said, “Tell them I AM!”  I can just hear Moses, can’t you?  “I AM?  That’s Your name?  I AM?  You ‘am’ what?”   :-)  Sing it boldly when you sing it, Friends: “He is all I need!”

“I AM everything you need!  I am comfort when you need that.  I am a kick in the… ummm–ummm when you need that.”   :-)  “I AM your God!  And I bring Myself, in My Son, to be the cornerstone of your – opportunity to build.”  Are you beginning to see the picture? 

God asks, “What will you build?”  I can’t supply myself with the cornerstone.  I wouldn’t know what to build that would produce the right foundation.  I’ve heard so many people preach and teach and I’ve listened to the tapes and read the books.  I’ve been in the Church almost all of my 76 years walking with the Lord.  And I’ve heard “this” and been bent this way – and then I got bent “that” way – and then I’d get bent the other way.  I’d consider it all and think: “Well, what’ll I build on?”  The answer is – “the cornerstone, dumb-dumb.”   :-)  The one thing that will last – the only thing that is safe to build on – God laid it!

                                                                            Go to Part 3