This is a question that I feel that a lot of professing believers may not be clear on. I have on occasion asked this question to those around me and that I have contact with, and they have a hard time coming up with an answer. Some have said that their job was to go to church every Sunday morning. And I think to myself, is that all? What about Sunday and Wednesday night? (Or whatever other services there are in the week) Along with this answer I hear a lot of things that are jobs of the church. They say their job is to be an usher, sing in the choir, or teach a class. Now, do not get me wrong, we are called to serve. And all of these things are necessary. But, how do these things truly separate us from the world? I am sure that most religions have people that do the same sort of things in their religious meetings. What makes us different?
What we need to do is come to an understanding of what it truly means to be a Christian. It needs to be clear every hour of every day of who we are, not by just what acts people see us do once or twice a week.
Philippians 3:7-11
"But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead."
One of the biggest things we have to do as a Christian is to show where our priorities lie. As the Apostle Paul taught in this set of scriptures, he counted everything that he lost as rubbish. Another word for that is dung or manure. Paul was a wealthy man. He was a Pharisee and a Roman citizen. He gave up everything that he had and was to follow Christ. And it did not phase him to do so. Why did he do it? So that he could "know Him." How many times do we gladly offer to give up the things that mean the most to us in order to serve our Lord better. So I would say that job number 1 is to sacrifice. Jesus paid the greatest price when He died for us. So what right do I have to put things that I want ahead of what He wants? What right do I have to take time set aside to worship Him at church to enjoy some other fun activity with the ones that I love or are close friends with. If they really mean that much to me, I would want them to join me in worship of the Lord. And this is not just about church meetings. This is in everyday life. The marquee at my church read a couple of months ago "What gets more of your time Facebook or the Bible?" So, do we sacrifice on a regular basis, in order to serve Him better?
John 15:5
"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing."
This is a big one. Job number 2 is to produce fruit. What are we doing that shows our faith? What is the evidence that we are who we say that we are? Are we going out and sharing the gospel? Are we loving our enemies? Are we obeying His commands without regard to how we are seen by the world? All of these are questions that I think that it is good to ask ourselves everyday. It helps us to keep our focus on Christ. There are a lot people that can talk about going to church and even quote scripture in a comfortable situation. But are we actually living it everyday? Are we looking for opportunities to serve and honor Christ at all times? If we are, there will be evidence of it.
Matthew 28:19-20
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
Job number 3 is to witness. If we truly believe that Christ is who He says He is, then we should have the desire to share the gospel with others. We should feel the need to go out and share the message of Christ whenever possible. He did not say to go and get lost people and bring them to the church so the preacher could do. He said to go and make disciples. I think that part of this is almost foreign in some churches today. I have talked to many people who believe that church is for the lost. And I always respond then why do you go? You see it is what my English teacher friends call an oxymoron. There is this stigma that many people are lead to believe that it is all up to the pastor to do it and there is no support for that way of thinking in scripture whatsoever. The pastor's job is to shepherd the flock. The flock being the body of Christ, those that believe. He is the one that is to make sure that we are getting taught the necessary tools to go out and witness. It is our job to take what we learn at church and apply it to our lives, and to share with others that are lost. Once that lost person comes to the point that Christ calls them because of the revelation of Himself to them, and they respond, then we bring them to church so they can learn as well. Bottom line, it is up to us to do the witnessing. Both by our words and our actions.
These are our main jobs. This is what we have been called to do. Many times it is uncomfortable and even scary. But if Christ truly is our Lord, it will be worth it. Nothing on this earth can compare to the glory of sitting at the feet of God in heaven when our time is up. We must be willing to sacrifice and even suffer in order to be truly His.
Thanks for reading, and I pray that God will bless you all this week!
Showing posts with label gospel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gospel. Show all posts
Friday, November 9, 2012
Friday, July 27, 2012
Dropping the Stones
I have felt under a lot of conviction the last couple of months. It seems that Christianity has been under attack from all sides here lately. And I have been on the attack back. But not in the way that I should. I have used phrases such as "They will get what's coming to them", "They make me sick", and even "Society would be better without them." However, my feelings and words towards them was way out of line. They do not fall into line with my Christian beliefs. What was in my heart towards these people and individuals was hatred. I began to have a change of heart with some study.
John 8:1-11
"But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees *brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, they *said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “ He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court. Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “ I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”
What I had done, was carry a stone in my hand. I looked at the sin in peoples lives and allowed myself to be judgmental of them and their lifestyles. And I began to realize, what do I expect them to do? It is obvious they do not have Christ in their lives. They are unable to see the sin in their lives. And they do not understand when we debate them because there is no way they can understand.
1 Corinthians 1:18
"For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
To enter into a debate with them is of no use. Even scripture teaches that they cannot understand. Does it make it okay for them to live in this lifestyle. Absolutely not. Everything that we know and believe teaches that it is wrong. But, are we truly any better? We have sin in our lives and sin everyday.
1 John 1:8-9
"If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
The only thing that separates us from the ones that hate and persecute us is that we have confessed our sins and asked forgiveness for them. Every time that we pray, we ask forgiveness of our sins. We want Christ our Lord to look at us through grace. And by grace receive forgiveness. And yet when we look at the lost that continue to persecute us, we look at them through the law. We do not always see them in the same light as Christ saw us before we were saved. Christ loves us, all of us. Not just His church, but all of the world.
John 3:16
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."
He loved the entire world. Those that would believe and those who would not. Christ died for everyone. We need to see that it is the sin in their lives that makes them this way. It should break our hearts for them when we see them, because we know what they do have. And we know where that will lead them. And that is never a good thing, no matter who they are. We need to love them, show compassion to them, and most importantly, share with them the gospel of Jesus Christ. This needs to be our mission in life. We need to share with them His birth, life, teachings, death, and resurrection. We need to pray for them daily, and make Jesus the center of all conversations with them. And we need to let the stones fall from our hands.
Thanks for reading, and God Bless you all this week!
John 8:1-11
"But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees *brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, they *said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “ He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court. Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “ I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”
What I had done, was carry a stone in my hand. I looked at the sin in peoples lives and allowed myself to be judgmental of them and their lifestyles. And I began to realize, what do I expect them to do? It is obvious they do not have Christ in their lives. They are unable to see the sin in their lives. And they do not understand when we debate them because there is no way they can understand.
1 Corinthians 1:18
"For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
To enter into a debate with them is of no use. Even scripture teaches that they cannot understand. Does it make it okay for them to live in this lifestyle. Absolutely not. Everything that we know and believe teaches that it is wrong. But, are we truly any better? We have sin in our lives and sin everyday.
1 John 1:8-9
"If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
The only thing that separates us from the ones that hate and persecute us is that we have confessed our sins and asked forgiveness for them. Every time that we pray, we ask forgiveness of our sins. We want Christ our Lord to look at us through grace. And by grace receive forgiveness. And yet when we look at the lost that continue to persecute us, we look at them through the law. We do not always see them in the same light as Christ saw us before we were saved. Christ loves us, all of us. Not just His church, but all of the world.
John 3:16
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."
He loved the entire world. Those that would believe and those who would not. Christ died for everyone. We need to see that it is the sin in their lives that makes them this way. It should break our hearts for them when we see them, because we know what they do have. And we know where that will lead them. And that is never a good thing, no matter who they are. We need to love them, show compassion to them, and most importantly, share with them the gospel of Jesus Christ. This needs to be our mission in life. We need to share with them His birth, life, teachings, death, and resurrection. We need to pray for them daily, and make Jesus the center of all conversations with them. And we need to let the stones fall from our hands.
Thanks for reading, and God Bless you all this week!
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Unless You Believe
WOW! What a weekend. I have had a great and exciting past few days. And they could not have been timed any better. With state tests coming the next few days at work, I really needed the pep up. My daughter turned 1 and we had two birthday parties for her. One on Friday, and the other on Saturday. On Monday, we celebrated the holiday with friends with a cookout and fireworks. All of these were great in themselves, but I have to say that Sunday afternoon was the best pick-me-up of the whole weekend.
Sunday afternoon at church, we had a guest speaker come to our church to do an evangelism/apologetics workshop. His name is Marty Minto, and he has a Christian talk show on 100.9 out of Fairmont, NC. He by far is one of my favorite speakers. But in a way that may be different from some. It is not how he presents the Word to us, but how he dissects the Word to give accurate teaching. The name of the workshop is Unless You Believe. And it stems from this verse.
John 8:24
"...for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
Now, I know that I have my issues with witnessing to those around me. But, I was eager to learn his point of view. I thought that I could get a few things to add to my "toolbox" so to speak. I was blown away by what I learned. Almost every time that I try to witness to someone, I spent most of my time defending all the scriptures. The main focus of witnessing should be sharing the gospel. The ins and outs of how a church should be run, and what makes my church different has nothing to do with the gospel. I had taken a man-centered approach to witnessing, instead of a Christ-centered approach. It's not about church, or how we stand on certain issues. It is solely about Christ. Once the gospel of Christ is heard, and salvation occurs, then the rest will come. You see, man cannot understand the ways of God without salvation. And even then, we will never be able to comprehend it all.
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
"For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “ I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.” Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men."
So, how do I go about now with witnessing to others?
1. I need to understand that the world is lost. At one time I was in the same shape. I did not have the understanding that has been given to me since I have been saved. Jesus died for their sins, just like He did mine. The things people do are a result of the sin in their life, just as I had.
2. I need to understand that those in the world will not understand. There are many people on this earth who have never heard about Jesus. They have never had anyone tell them about them. I cannot expect them to become truly saved after spending two or three minutes with them. And I have to accept the fact that they may not respond the way I think they should.
3. I need to stick just to the gospel. My entire focus needs to be on the life of Christ. I need to share with them about His birth, life, death, and resurrection. That in itself is the gospel message. I do not need to get caught up in other debates, because they will not understand where I am coming from. I just need to focus on telling them who Jesus is. I just need to plant that seed and trust in God with the rest.
4. I need to pray for the lost daily. I need to pray for those that I come into contact with that I know are lost. I need to pray that God will open their eyes to the gospel. I need to pray that I will have the right words to say to them when their path is laid before me.
I have learned so much from this study about how to witness to people. I have also learned once again that I still have a lot to learn. It is my prayer, that I become more effective in my witnessing to others.
Thanks for reading, and God bless you all this week!
Sunday afternoon at church, we had a guest speaker come to our church to do an evangelism/apologetics workshop. His name is Marty Minto, and he has a Christian talk show on 100.9 out of Fairmont, NC. He by far is one of my favorite speakers. But in a way that may be different from some. It is not how he presents the Word to us, but how he dissects the Word to give accurate teaching. The name of the workshop is Unless You Believe. And it stems from this verse.
John 8:24
"...for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
Now, I know that I have my issues with witnessing to those around me. But, I was eager to learn his point of view. I thought that I could get a few things to add to my "toolbox" so to speak. I was blown away by what I learned. Almost every time that I try to witness to someone, I spent most of my time defending all the scriptures. The main focus of witnessing should be sharing the gospel. The ins and outs of how a church should be run, and what makes my church different has nothing to do with the gospel. I had taken a man-centered approach to witnessing, instead of a Christ-centered approach. It's not about church, or how we stand on certain issues. It is solely about Christ. Once the gospel of Christ is heard, and salvation occurs, then the rest will come. You see, man cannot understand the ways of God without salvation. And even then, we will never be able to comprehend it all.
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
"For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “ I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.” Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men."
So, how do I go about now with witnessing to others?
1. I need to understand that the world is lost. At one time I was in the same shape. I did not have the understanding that has been given to me since I have been saved. Jesus died for their sins, just like He did mine. The things people do are a result of the sin in their life, just as I had.
2. I need to understand that those in the world will not understand. There are many people on this earth who have never heard about Jesus. They have never had anyone tell them about them. I cannot expect them to become truly saved after spending two or three minutes with them. And I have to accept the fact that they may not respond the way I think they should.
3. I need to stick just to the gospel. My entire focus needs to be on the life of Christ. I need to share with them about His birth, life, death, and resurrection. That in itself is the gospel message. I do not need to get caught up in other debates, because they will not understand where I am coming from. I just need to focus on telling them who Jesus is. I just need to plant that seed and trust in God with the rest.
4. I need to pray for the lost daily. I need to pray for those that I come into contact with that I know are lost. I need to pray that God will open their eyes to the gospel. I need to pray that I will have the right words to say to them when their path is laid before me.
I have learned so much from this study about how to witness to people. I have also learned once again that I still have a lot to learn. It is my prayer, that I become more effective in my witnessing to others.
Thanks for reading, and God bless you all this week!
Monday, December 26, 2011
Aftermath of Christmas
WOW!!!! We had an amazing Chirstmas this year! We spent a lot of time with good family. There was more food than I could eat, but I tried anyway. There were presents galore, and the laughter and squeals of happy children was a constant reverberation everywhere we went. This truly was a wonderful holiday. But the question that I have is, what's next? One thing that I have noticed throughout the years, is that the day after Christmas mainly consists of children trying to play with all of their gifts. They even are adament that they bring their toys and gifts with them everywhere they go. And they seem to forget about all of the other things that they had before Christmas. This brought me to an interesting thought. What happened after Christ's birth?
Matthew 2:1-12
"Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet: ‘AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH; FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.’” Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.” After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way."
Christ was worshiped. Wise men from the east knew who this child was. I believe that they got their information from the prophet Daniel. While in captivity under the Babylonians, he rose to be a high ranking official as an interpreter of dreams. He probably told the magi hundreds of years before what to look for. The gifts brought were represenative of Christ's life, death, and Royalty. They recognized who He was and traveled a long way to worship.
Luke 2:20
"The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them."
So what should we be doing now? We should rejoice in His coming. We should offer praise and honor to Him for coming. Because His coming meant that we would have a way to obtain forgiveness for our sins, and gain eternal life in heaven with Him. We should also spread the Gospel. We know that He came. We know that He died. We should be sharing this wonderful gift with all that we come into contact with.
Now, I am not one for making new years resolutions. But, being it is directly after Christmas. I feel that I need to do just as the wise men and shephards did this new year. I am going to strive harder to give glory and praise to God for all that He has done and will do for me, and share this wonderful gift that has been given to me.
Thanks for reading, and God bless you all!
Matthew 2:1-12
"Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet: ‘AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH; FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.’” Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.” After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way."
Christ was worshiped. Wise men from the east knew who this child was. I believe that they got their information from the prophet Daniel. While in captivity under the Babylonians, he rose to be a high ranking official as an interpreter of dreams. He probably told the magi hundreds of years before what to look for. The gifts brought were represenative of Christ's life, death, and Royalty. They recognized who He was and traveled a long way to worship.
Luke 2:20
"The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them."
So what should we be doing now? We should rejoice in His coming. We should offer praise and honor to Him for coming. Because His coming meant that we would have a way to obtain forgiveness for our sins, and gain eternal life in heaven with Him. We should also spread the Gospel. We know that He came. We know that He died. We should be sharing this wonderful gift with all that we come into contact with.
Now, I am not one for making new years resolutions. But, being it is directly after Christmas. I feel that I need to do just as the wise men and shephards did this new year. I am going to strive harder to give glory and praise to God for all that He has done and will do for me, and share this wonderful gift that has been given to me.
Thanks for reading, and God bless you all!
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