Getting back to the basics
Greetings in the name of Jesus:
We have been speaking to you lately about the church in general and some of the things that God is expected from us as a group of people, or a family of God. There is a deeper issue however that needs to be dealt with and that is our individual responsibility as Christians. I am getting a sense spiritually that the church may not have a long time left to get the message of the good news out to this world. I did since in my very soul that tells me this year is a turning point for this country that may either Mark the ending of our opportunities to minister, or perhaps give us only a few more years before the door is completely closed.
With that in mind I believe it is time during this fall to bring some of those gospel teachings closer to us as individuals so that we cannot only minister well, but also prepare our own hearts more earnestly for a deeper and closer relationship with the father. Today my mind is directed toward a Scripture found in Mark 7:20-23 which says"and he said, that which comes out of the man, that defiles the man. Four from within, out of the heart of man, proceeds evil thoughts, adulteries, fornication's, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, and evil I, blasphemy, pride, foolishness; all of these evil things come from within, and to file man."
When I think about this Scripture my mind is automatically taken to another word from God in Jeremiah 17:9 that says " the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked who can know it." It appears to me that God already has our number when it comes to knowing our general character of heart. He news the secret things of our hearts, and no matter how much we try to pretend, and how much we strive to do good there will always be something that we lack. In Jeremiah 17:10 the word tells us that God knows the secret things of our heart but he will reward us accordingly, he says"I the Lord search the heart, I try the rains, even to give every man according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings." I believe the days are rapidly coming when we will see more and more individuals falling away from Christ because of the pressure that is put on us to relinquish our ideals of what Christianity should be. I believe that pressure will come in many different ways. I also believe that there will be many whom we feel are now stalwart in Christ, but who will fall away because of what is truly found in the intent of their heart when that heart is tested. I also believe that this falling away from the church, and from Christ will be one of the ways God begins to purge the church from within much in the same way that he purged the first church from those who had a false intent of heart in their worship of God.
I do not believe that it will take huge numbers of people to preach the word of God to a lost world, but I do believe that those of us who are left to proclaim that word must be completely sold out to Christ in every way. We must be more than babies in Jesus. We need to get past our ideals about how to bring the numbers of people into a church building; but instead begin to really bring Christ out of the church and into the community in which we live. We no longer have the luxury of simply saying that we love God. We are now charged with the responsibility to stand and give an account for what and why we believe. This world will no longer take our word for it. This world will no longer believe in God's love because it is written on paper or spoken over microphone on a Sunday morning. The fact that God does love not only us, but all those who are currently rejecting him will never be understood or accepted until it is shown, and demonstrated in the communities all around the church. It is my prayer that each of us will begin to understand our personal responsibility in Christ. May you richly bless God through your life in him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
We have been speaking to you lately about the church in general and some of the things that God is expected from us as a group of people, or a family of God. There is a deeper issue however that needs to be dealt with and that is our individual responsibility as Christians. I am getting a sense spiritually that the church may not have a long time left to get the message of the good news out to this world. I did since in my very soul that tells me this year is a turning point for this country that may either Mark the ending of our opportunities to minister, or perhaps give us only a few more years before the door is completely closed.
With that in mind I believe it is time during this fall to bring some of those gospel teachings closer to us as individuals so that we cannot only minister well, but also prepare our own hearts more earnestly for a deeper and closer relationship with the father. Today my mind is directed toward a Scripture found in Mark 7:20-23 which says"and he said, that which comes out of the man, that defiles the man. Four from within, out of the heart of man, proceeds evil thoughts, adulteries, fornication's, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, and evil I, blasphemy, pride, foolishness; all of these evil things come from within, and to file man."
When I think about this Scripture my mind is automatically taken to another word from God in Jeremiah 17:9 that says " the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked who can know it." It appears to me that God already has our number when it comes to knowing our general character of heart. He news the secret things of our hearts, and no matter how much we try to pretend, and how much we strive to do good there will always be something that we lack. In Jeremiah 17:10 the word tells us that God knows the secret things of our heart but he will reward us accordingly, he says"I the Lord search the heart, I try the rains, even to give every man according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings." I believe the days are rapidly coming when we will see more and more individuals falling away from Christ because of the pressure that is put on us to relinquish our ideals of what Christianity should be. I believe that pressure will come in many different ways. I also believe that there will be many whom we feel are now stalwart in Christ, but who will fall away because of what is truly found in the intent of their heart when that heart is tested. I also believe that this falling away from the church, and from Christ will be one of the ways God begins to purge the church from within much in the same way that he purged the first church from those who had a false intent of heart in their worship of God.
I do not believe that it will take huge numbers of people to preach the word of God to a lost world, but I do believe that those of us who are left to proclaim that word must be completely sold out to Christ in every way. We must be more than babies in Jesus. We need to get past our ideals about how to bring the numbers of people into a church building; but instead begin to really bring Christ out of the church and into the community in which we live. We no longer have the luxury of simply saying that we love God. We are now charged with the responsibility to stand and give an account for what and why we believe. This world will no longer take our word for it. This world will no longer believe in God's love because it is written on paper or spoken over microphone on a Sunday morning. The fact that God does love not only us, but all those who are currently rejecting him will never be understood or accepted until it is shown, and demonstrated in the communities all around the church. It is my prayer that each of us will begin to understand our personal responsibility in Christ. May you richly bless God through your life in him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
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