The church today is a far cry from what we read in the book of Acts. What has happened? This is a question I believe many of the faith are asking but alas though there are plenty of suggestions to go by no solution seems to be in sight. The question that really needs to be asked is what is the Church currently engaged in. The church seems to be taking a nap while satan is busy at work. Eve was caught by the serpent when she was alone. My question is where was Adam? The answer is that he was probably asleep under some tree! Most people haven't realized this but Adam knew the serpent way before God created Eve.
"And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him." Gen 2:19-20
"Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made." Gen 3:1
Please note that the serpent was a beast of the field and Adam is the one who gave this creature it's name. Funny how things go wrong when you're caught sleeping! This is exactly the predicament the church seems to be caught in. Knowing the danger that exists, we have altogether become blind to it. We are treading on dangerous grounds.
I have often come across the statement,"God is there, so no need to worry." from a whole lot of the household of faith. I find this statement quite amusing, in the sense people have begun to take God for granted. We are shying away from our responsibilities...so when finally things go wrong we dump the blame on Him, and this is exactly what Adam did...
"And He said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat." Gen 3:12
Imagine Adam putting the blame squarely on God, right to His face! I'd have my knees knock like drums if I were him. Adam should have been doing his job and when things fell apart he chose to blame God for giving him the woman; who in turn gave him the fruit. I guess this could be a reminder of what we do most often when things go wrong in our lives.
What does God have to say about all this? Had we asked this question earlier we would have been in a far better position than we are in now. satan has put us into a place where we don't see the flaws in ourselves and therefore are resistant to correction. The prophet Isaiah saw the sin in others until he had a vision of God and then he saw the sin in himself. If the church seems to resist correction then sadly Jesus isn't in it's midst. These are the last days and many are such who stray from the right path under to assumption that they are still on it.
I cannot comment on the any one congregation. God birthed the church through the Holy Spirit to do His will here on earth, achieving it not by the flesh but by the Spirit only. We now have strayed from this path of God and are doing all things by the flesh thinking it is spiritual. What's the proof that we're going by the flesh one might ask...the answer is simple: had we gone by the way of the Spirit, the church wouldn't be in the trouble it is in today. Peter when he stood up to answer the crowd on the day of Pentecost ended up bringing 3000 souls to Christ. In those days that was a big number. Today we,the Church, should have been in a better position; after all we have had almost 2000 years to grow but sadly the scene is now more pathetic than ever. We are currently in a situation that those inside the Church cannot differentiate left from right! People lap up whatever is preached to them. No one really knows the word or it's power. The Holy Spirit has become a subject of teaching and not one of personal experience. There was a clear move of the Holy Spirit in those days even in times of persecution. No one took God for granted. They chose to follow the instructions from the Lord so the Church progressed in leaps and bounds. Today we rather give excuses to God, who is not interested in them:
"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness... so that they are without excuse:" Rom 1:8,20
We see it one way while He sees it another...and we call ourselves the body of Christ. Think about it Christ wants to look right while we decide to look left. The problem with man is that he thinks he has become very wise, so wise that he cannot think beyond himself and to this God says:
"Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools..." Rom 1:21-22
The wisdom of man is directly disproportionate to God' wisdom. The sooner we realize and act the better it is for all of us. Another problem that man faces is that he has been slowly drifting from His presence. So,far has he gone that he has lost all sight of Jesus and the cross. Life has become a comedy of errors as we go by the way of the world to achieve results by trial and error. Jesus started something He saw it to the end and was able to say
"it is finished" John 19:30
He was led by the Spirit of God. Did you know that He walked with and in the Spirit of God as an example so that we might follow Him? So, the famous two words "Follow Me" were used so frequently by Him. We the church must be followers and not the leaders of Christ! We make plans and chart events and then pray asking Him to come minister and bless!It's peoples disobedience that gives God a bad name. Believe it or not the unbelievers judge God by the actions of believers!
"And when they entered the nations where they went, they even profaned My Holy name by saying to them, These are the people of the Jehovah, and they are gone out of His land." Ezk 36:20
This is a sad, sad state of affairs. We are responsible for what the people speak wrongly of God the Father. Both, Jeremiah and Daniel prayed asking God to forgive the sins committed against Him by their forefathers. I think it is time we too did the same. He died for us, restored us to a covenant relationship with the Father and in return we were to proclaim His praises:
"But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for possession, so that you might speak of the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous lights" 1Pt 2:9
Prayer
Lord guide us into the right paths. Lord show us where we have gone wrong that we may confess our iniquities and renew our stand in You Lord. Lord forgive the sins of our fathers, leaders and those who all went before us that today we may stand holy and clean before You. Your Blood has the power to deliver us from every sin and by it we can make war against those forces that war against us. We thank You Lord for You hear and answer our prayers. In Jesus mighty name we pray. Amen.
Unless we decide to do things right we will continue in the path that we are on. Lives are at stake and believe me, we really don't want to be caught at the wrong end.
"When I say to the wicked, You shall surely die; and you do not give him warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked one shall die in his iniquity; but I will require his blood at your hand." Ezk 3:18
The Lord is explicit in His words here when He says we'll be responsible for the lost to whom we did not give God' warning (word). Brothers and sisters we cannot give account for our sins how in the world are we gonna give an account for another. Therefore, the best thing to do would be to do as He tells us. The Church needs to wake up from it's slumber and get out into the world and the only way that's going to happen is if the leadership sits at His feet and receive instructions on how to win this land for Jesus. I encourage everyone to take a moment and look inside themselves and see if your on the right track. God Bless.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Decisions we make Part 5
How do would you feel being the odd one out? Most of us would feel uncomfortable just thinking about it. Let's consider Abraham who while in Ur of the Chaldean's (located in present day Iraq) did not have a bad life in fact he was quite well off, leaving for no apparent reason. Imagine the barrage of questions he would have had to face from friends and family alike. He would have said I'm moving because God told me to go to Canaan. People would have thought Abraham has gone mad...in fact I think they would have told it to his face! They would have made fun of him until the day he left. Regardless, Abraham continued in what he believed. He ended up pitching his tent at Haran for a few years until the death of his father Terah, following which he gathered all that was his and made his way to Canaan.
"And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came. " Gen 12:5
By now Abraham had become even more wealthier than before, in fact he had own private army to protect his possessions. Looking at his life one would wonder why he didn't want to settle down. These days we see people trying to settle down in their lives...you buy a house, a car, and maybe even a pet! Some begin to settle as soon as they get married...actually the only real settling that takes place is of fat around our waistlines! A man of God can never really settle, because it is God who tells him where to pitch his tent. Abraham would have again faced ridicule from those around him asking him if he was out of his mind. The reason it would have been hard was because there were hardly anyone in his day who would have even heard of the God the Father. To say that God (who was unknown to them) spoke to him, was like kids these days having an imaginary friend who tells them to do things...who would believe that such things might be true? Another man who would have really had a tough time would have been Noah. God told him that a flood was coming so build a boat. It would take this man the next 120 yrs to finish the task and while he was about it imagine the comments he would have got whenever he spoke about his conversation with God. We get so disheartened when people speak negatively to us, I would say none of us would have had to face negativity to this extant.
In life, I have observed that majority of the people make decisions that keeps them in right standing with the majority. People are afraid of being the odd one out, unless your one of those who don't really care what people think. The same is the condition of people once they come to the saving knowledge of Christ. It becomes quite obvious that most people in the church make decisions that are popular with the rest of the fold. Funny, how some people prefer to be right before people even if it means to be wrong with God so long as it sounds spiritual. Everybody wants to be blessed and be in an intimate relationship with Him, but what they don't realize is that there is a price to be paid. Many love to have the benefits without the pain attached. The question that arises is do I love anything else more than the one whom I confess to love. I say I love God but do I love anything else more than Him is the million dollar question.
There was once a young ruler who sought an answer from Jesus on what must he do to inherit eternal life. Jesus promptly said to keep the commandments to which the young man happy agreed since he has been diligently keeping them from his childhood. The young ruler would have thought that it's that simple to get into heaven! No sooner this thought would have crossed his mind Jesus asked him the unthinkable.
"Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich." Lk 18:22-23
I am sure the poor guy didn't quite get the importance of the question. Jesus said "Follow Me", these are the very words that drew the other disciple to Him and here is a person being offered to be a disciple of Christ and he blatantly refuses without giving it even a though for the love of money was too great in him.
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." Rom 12:1
The price we must pay is ourselves. I am to be a living sacrifice where I lay myself upon the Altar allowing God to consume the world out of me. It is indeed an ordeal but it is said that it is my reasonable service to Him. Paul puts it this way:
"Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ...I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. "Php 3:8-14
Jesus indicated the same thing when He said:
"Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." Mat 7:13-14
Going along with the majority may actually prove fatal as King Ahab found out in 1Kings 22. God wants us to choose His ways and not what we think are His ways. We cannot fully grasp the wisdom behind His thoughts therefore let's leave it to Him. I must give up my will and chose to do His, Jesus is the greatest example of this statement. He obeyed God unto His death, God is not asking us to die like that but He is asking us to submit ourselves to the Holy Spirit, who will help us make the right decisions even if it means that I loose all my friends. People who refuse the accept Christ do not do so because they want to but rather fear of loosing out on acceptance from the people. Jesus faced the same situation in His time as well:
"Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue" Mat 12:42
Now had that young ruler accepted Jesus' offer he would have been an outcast in his society. Do we know how much society influences our decisions in life? We have given it more power than God in our lives. We need to change and change we must if we are to be fruitful to Him. I encourage one and all to be bold and of a good courage for the Lord thy God is with thee. Lay your desires and seek His and see what He can do. God bless
"And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came. " Gen 12:5
By now Abraham had become even more wealthier than before, in fact he had own private army to protect his possessions. Looking at his life one would wonder why he didn't want to settle down. These days we see people trying to settle down in their lives...you buy a house, a car, and maybe even a pet! Some begin to settle as soon as they get married...actually the only real settling that takes place is of fat around our waistlines! A man of God can never really settle, because it is God who tells him where to pitch his tent. Abraham would have again faced ridicule from those around him asking him if he was out of his mind. The reason it would have been hard was because there were hardly anyone in his day who would have even heard of the God the Father. To say that God (who was unknown to them) spoke to him, was like kids these days having an imaginary friend who tells them to do things...who would believe that such things might be true? Another man who would have really had a tough time would have been Noah. God told him that a flood was coming so build a boat. It would take this man the next 120 yrs to finish the task and while he was about it imagine the comments he would have got whenever he spoke about his conversation with God. We get so disheartened when people speak negatively to us, I would say none of us would have had to face negativity to this extant.
In life, I have observed that majority of the people make decisions that keeps them in right standing with the majority. People are afraid of being the odd one out, unless your one of those who don't really care what people think. The same is the condition of people once they come to the saving knowledge of Christ. It becomes quite obvious that most people in the church make decisions that are popular with the rest of the fold. Funny, how some people prefer to be right before people even if it means to be wrong with God so long as it sounds spiritual. Everybody wants to be blessed and be in an intimate relationship with Him, but what they don't realize is that there is a price to be paid. Many love to have the benefits without the pain attached. The question that arises is do I love anything else more than the one whom I confess to love. I say I love God but do I love anything else more than Him is the million dollar question.
There was once a young ruler who sought an answer from Jesus on what must he do to inherit eternal life. Jesus promptly said to keep the commandments to which the young man happy agreed since he has been diligently keeping them from his childhood. The young ruler would have thought that it's that simple to get into heaven! No sooner this thought would have crossed his mind Jesus asked him the unthinkable.
"Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich." Lk 18:22-23
I am sure the poor guy didn't quite get the importance of the question. Jesus said "Follow Me", these are the very words that drew the other disciple to Him and here is a person being offered to be a disciple of Christ and he blatantly refuses without giving it even a though for the love of money was too great in him.
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." Rom 12:1
The price we must pay is ourselves. I am to be a living sacrifice where I lay myself upon the Altar allowing God to consume the world out of me. It is indeed an ordeal but it is said that it is my reasonable service to Him. Paul puts it this way:
"Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ...I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. "Php 3:8-14
Jesus indicated the same thing when He said:
"Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." Mat 7:13-14
Going along with the majority may actually prove fatal as King Ahab found out in 1Kings 22. God wants us to choose His ways and not what we think are His ways. We cannot fully grasp the wisdom behind His thoughts therefore let's leave it to Him. I must give up my will and chose to do His, Jesus is the greatest example of this statement. He obeyed God unto His death, God is not asking us to die like that but He is asking us to submit ourselves to the Holy Spirit, who will help us make the right decisions even if it means that I loose all my friends. People who refuse the accept Christ do not do so because they want to but rather fear of loosing out on acceptance from the people. Jesus faced the same situation in His time as well:
"Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue" Mat 12:42
Now had that young ruler accepted Jesus' offer he would have been an outcast in his society. Do we know how much society influences our decisions in life? We have given it more power than God in our lives. We need to change and change we must if we are to be fruitful to Him. I encourage one and all to be bold and of a good courage for the Lord thy God is with thee. Lay your desires and seek His and see what He can do. God bless
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