The bible is our baseline, our standard for determining what is true, what is real and what is right in this world. When we understand that and we take the word of God and compare it to what we see in the world, we know without a doubt that something is very very wrong with what calls itself christianity today. Consider these words:
1 Cor 12:7Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,a and to still another the interpretation of tongues.b 11All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
Did you read that? Did you see all the things that should be present but are not in your church? When is the last time you saw even ONE of these in your church?
the message of wisdom,
to another the message of knowledge
to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit,
to another miraculous powers,
to another prophecy,
to another distinguishing between spirits
and to still another the interpretation of tongues.
These are gifts given by the Spirit of God to the people of God for the common good. Now if you are NOT SEEING these gifts among the people around you, what does that mean? Has the Lord lied to us? Was he misleading us when he told us we would receive all these gifts for the common good or is there something TERRIBLY WRONG with what calls itself Christianity today?
If you did not read yesterday's post about being "known" by God now would be a good time to go back and read it. The call I am hearing from the Lord is one to come back to him with our whole hearts, to obey him, to love him and to praise him all day every day. He listed a bunch of powerful gifts that we SHOULD see in christian churches today, but we don't. When's the last time someone was really healed in your church? When's the last time someone gave a real prophetic word or a word of wisdom from the Spirit or someone interpreted tongues etc etc? If you are seeing none of these shouldn't that make you stop to wonder why? God cannot lie and if that's true then where is the problem with seeing the gifts manifest? The problem is in the people.
We have to take a hard look at ourselves and get rid of anything and everything that hinders our walk with the Lord. If the "church" you go to is a pleasant social circle, warm and fuzzy make me feel good kind of place but the full counsel of God is not preached there, what should you do? If outright lies are preached in your church, what should you do? How will you know if lies are being preached in your church unless you personally detect the deception? Do you expect the people sitting around you to rise up and confront the one man wonder "pastor" about his deceptive words?
We have to be willing to stand alone for the truth in these last days if that's what it takes to be right with our Lord. His name and his word he has lifted up above all things and his servants should be like minded. Some people wonder about the intense writing seen in some articles on this blog, but should they really wonder? Aren't we, the servants of God told to serve him with ZEAL and spiritual fervor? Do you know what zeal and fervor mean? That means INTENSE. A good example of this zeal and fervor can be seen in Jesus flipping over the money changer tables and whipping people in the temple for turning it into a den of thieves. That den of thieves theme has made a comeback in today's "churches" and I wonder what the Lord would do today if he ever walked into one of them.
Romans 12:11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
John 2:15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.
The word of God is our measuring stick, anything that falls short should be brought into question right? So when we read about all the spiritual gifts our God gives his servants for the common good, and you see none of them in your "church" that should raise the alarm flag in your mind and heart. Chances are, you have never seen a person truly healed, or ever heard with your own ears, a prophetic word from the Lord, and that should trouble you.
If our God said it, we need to meditate on it and make sure we are conformed with it (his word). The writing here for about 4 months has been on the topic of focusing on Jesus and centering ourselves in his will. Even today I hope you will take what is written here not as a "beat down" but as an encouragement to align yourself completely with what you read in the word of God. If your "church" is a hindrance to your walk with Jesus, what should you do?
If we look at the churches in Revelation 2-3 as a guide we see that out of 7 churches only 2 (Smyrna and Philadelphia) did not receive some intense, scathing words from the Lord. To be fair, the 5 criticized churches did some "good" things that the Lord commended them for, but the good things were not enough. Look at what the Lord has in store for the 5 churches who were doing some "good" things but were still missing the mark:
Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds
Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
5Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
When we read what the Lord has to say to 5 out of the 7 churches, its scary stuff. Does anyone want the Lord to come to them and fight them with the sword out of his mouth? I don't want any of that. How about who wants to be spewed out of his mouth? Nope, I don't want any of that either. WHY were these words written to us? To scare us? To give us a "spirit of fear?"
No, no and more NO. Everything that was written was for our benefit to motivate us to right action and right standing with our Lord. For 4 months and counting now that has been the theme of the words coming to me from the Spirit of God, alignment with him and "in him." I hear no words about apocalypse and tribulation or rapture or any of that. The simple message is one of "righteousness" which is right standing with our God. When we stand in righteousness with our God, the other things take care of themselves. We have one mission I believe these days and that is to stand right "in Christ." We are to center ourselves with pinpoint accuracy in the middle of that narrow road that leads to life (Matt 7:14).
I was not expecting to write on this today but I never know from day to day what the Lord will allow me to write on and what he will prevent. Today it has been a different angle on the same theme of motivating us to center ourselves "in him."
Stay in the word of God, pray without ceasing, please remember me and my family in your prayers and know that if you are "in Christ" you are my brother/sister and you are in my prayers daily. Remember that our God answers prayer and remember that he loves you with a love that you and I still cannot wrap our minds or hearts around...its that BIG.
grace and peace
Be Anxious For Nothing
5 years ago