ARE YOU A CHRISTIAN? IF SO WHAT KIND?
Greetings in the name of Jesus:
For many years I have been trying to speak out concerning the various ways we have chosen to follow Christ in our lives. If you have followed me for any time at all you may recall some teachings I have given on the various types of followers that Christ has always had.
There are all kinds of people who have claimed to know Christ in life, but the truth is that He will only accept or claim those of us who have shown a true desire to be with Him. Jesus made a statement to us that we need to consider more carefully...." Many are called, but few are chosen". Within that context I would like to explore a little more with you just what that means. You won't hear much said about this kind of word from God in our churches basically because the teaching can be quite harsh on some people. There are those who wish to just want to be associated with Jesus, but not in a real meaningful way. I would call these people admirers of Jesus, and not really followers at all. These are among the crowds of people who are drawn by Christ's miracles and His good works among men, but not really by His teachings. Many today are delighted by the kinds of openness people have to those they consider to be Christians, and who accept anyone who on the outside can act like they are a part of that persuasion, but they personally do not want to make any kind of commitment in their lives to change so that they are really transformed by God's Spirit.
There are also those who want to have their name on some kind of ministry which in turn shows their personal influence on others. These people could be helping others to strengthen the ministry that God has chosen to start among them but they choose rather to duplicate a work by putting efforts in their own brand of ministry. Instead of dealing with the Holy Spirit most of these people are talking about Him, but without any real power. If we really want to do something in Christ then let's strengthen that which God brings forth in this world by supporting those causes we believe in rather than trying to have our name on it.
Many times it amazes me how many people there are who cannot allow themselves to be a support to another ministry instead of falling over one another's feet to do the same work. One of the greatest parts to being a part of the church is the many different things that we can do by supporting one another; or by just being one in Christ. We are called to be one as Jesus was one with the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit; but how is it we can do that when we are all fighting for the same right to minister in the exact same ways? During the time of Jesus ministry He ended up having to send the vast majority of those who were simply seeking a hand out away so that He might concentrate upon the message that He was given by the Father to give to us. It becomes the message itself that is the most important part of our Christianity to this world. The message according to Jesus was more important than this physical existence because it explained about the real purpose of life with God. If the message we bring is the most important thing to God then we must get out of its way to let the truth shine through us. It is another way of allowing the Kingdom to be near not only to us , but to the world around us. May you richly bless God through your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
For many years I have been trying to speak out concerning the various ways we have chosen to follow Christ in our lives. If you have followed me for any time at all you may recall some teachings I have given on the various types of followers that Christ has always had.
There are all kinds of people who have claimed to know Christ in life, but the truth is that He will only accept or claim those of us who have shown a true desire to be with Him. Jesus made a statement to us that we need to consider more carefully...." Many are called, but few are chosen". Within that context I would like to explore a little more with you just what that means. You won't hear much said about this kind of word from God in our churches basically because the teaching can be quite harsh on some people. There are those who wish to just want to be associated with Jesus, but not in a real meaningful way. I would call these people admirers of Jesus, and not really followers at all. These are among the crowds of people who are drawn by Christ's miracles and His good works among men, but not really by His teachings. Many today are delighted by the kinds of openness people have to those they consider to be Christians, and who accept anyone who on the outside can act like they are a part of that persuasion, but they personally do not want to make any kind of commitment in their lives to change so that they are really transformed by God's Spirit.
There are also those who want to have their name on some kind of ministry which in turn shows their personal influence on others. These people could be helping others to strengthen the ministry that God has chosen to start among them but they choose rather to duplicate a work by putting efforts in their own brand of ministry. Instead of dealing with the Holy Spirit most of these people are talking about Him, but without any real power. If we really want to do something in Christ then let's strengthen that which God brings forth in this world by supporting those causes we believe in rather than trying to have our name on it.
Many times it amazes me how many people there are who cannot allow themselves to be a support to another ministry instead of falling over one another's feet to do the same work. One of the greatest parts to being a part of the church is the many different things that we can do by supporting one another; or by just being one in Christ. We are called to be one as Jesus was one with the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit; but how is it we can do that when we are all fighting for the same right to minister in the exact same ways? During the time of Jesus ministry He ended up having to send the vast majority of those who were simply seeking a hand out away so that He might concentrate upon the message that He was given by the Father to give to us. It becomes the message itself that is the most important part of our Christianity to this world. The message according to Jesus was more important than this physical existence because it explained about the real purpose of life with God. If the message we bring is the most important thing to God then we must get out of its way to let the truth shine through us. It is another way of allowing the Kingdom to be near not only to us , but to the world around us. May you richly bless God through your life in Him.THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
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