1Peter 1:13-16
Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:
But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
There were many ways that I could go with this and I am not so sure that God will not direct me that way later. Even now as I write this these other directions are being laid upon my heart. The one thing that pushed me in this direction is because of what Peter say’s later in his book that judgment must start in the house of God first. And if we start there we must get past our own righteousness and judge ourselves by His righteousness because if we fail to do anything less than that then we will miss the blessings of His promises and fall miserably short. It is time for a change.
For the most part we have sat back judging ourselves as good because we believe. It is not even that we believe in Christ because maybe we don’t and if we do then we don’t really believe that He requires us to be holy as He is holy. You see; we are still standing. No one has dropped dead for lying to the Holy Spirit recently so God must approve of our style of worship and obedience but is that really the case, or is it possible that you are not one of His children? The time for a change is now and it must begin in you. It calls for you to be sober in our mind. That means that our thoughts should be towards Christ and not towards the things of this world. He calls us to be as obedient children, not fashioning ourselves to the former lusts in our ignorance. The problem is that many of us can’t get past our ignorance. We still live in our sins. We stand there straddling the fence with one foot in the world and one foot in His word. No one knows that we are His children because we don’t want them to know. We remain unmoved by the words being spoken to us by His men because they don’t fit our plans. Most of us have never left our former lusts, we just changed their locations. Those which were out and the opened are now hidden behind locked doors. We hide them because we want to give the appearance of righteousness but like the Pharisees our hearts are still dirty. We are like Simeon who when he saw the disciples cast out demons he offered to pay them for the gift. Like him we saw the miracles and believed and were baptized but we did it because we thought it would benefit us. Maybe it pleased our wives or maybe it was good for business, whatever the reason was it wasn’t real because we continued in the same old manner.
John 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
The time has come for a change because we have lost our love. Paul told us this would happen in the book of 2nd Timothy.
2Tim. 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2Tim. 3:2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
2Tim. 3:3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
2Tim 3:4 Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
2Tim. 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
While this has been going on for a while it is sad to see the extent it has gone in the church. Self love, covetous, boasters, proud, and the list goes on. We must wonder when it really began. When did the church become more of a social club than a meeting place for the saints? We closed the doors to the unsaved and the weak in faith because it benefited us. We changed the message in order to please men rather than God. We changed the message in order to grow the church claiming that we were reaching more people for Him but the changes pushed more away from Him because they weren’t making decisions for Him, they were doing it to improve their lives. They made decisions to improve their financial status. They made decisions to save their marriages, their families, or just to provide some sort of hope. The one thing that they did not make a decision for was to surrender their will for His because we didn’t preach that message. We said He will give us strength to endure; and He does. We said He heals the broken hearted and He does. He is a provider of everlasting life. We give them everything that He is but we forgot to tell them that He wants everything from us. He wants surrender. He wants true repentance for the tremendous sacrifice. He wants us to recognize Him as our creator and be grateful for it. He wants us to glorify Him as the loving Father that He is.
So what is the change? The change is a change of heart. It begins by surrendering your will to Him and seeking to do His will. It is adjusting your priorities to His priorities. It is loving others as your self and sacrificing on their behalf. It is doing it not so you can be recognized but so that others may see Him through you. It is not just telling them that Jesus loves them but showing them that He does through your actions and allowing God to continue the work in them through the Holy Spirit. It is developing a relationship with Christ so that you can hear the leading of the Holy Spirit and it is pleasing God rather than men. It is being holy because He is Holy.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Time For A Change
I hope to make this the first of a series entitled, 'Time For A Change." As we enter into this new era of history we have heard these words resounded over and over again. The times we are experiencing draws us to these words, they sound good and we recognize the need for change but what are the changes we need? I hope to destroy the Giant of change, man's idea of change and replace it with God's idea of change. Using God's word we will look into His concept of change and what changes are needed to receive His blessings. We will see what changes are required to be prosperous as a people and as a nation. So now I give you the first insert of 'Time For A Change.'
Time For A Change
1Peter 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
I think that we are at the most pivotal point in history. As prophecies continue to be fulfilled I believe that Christ could return at any moment. The church has been negligent in its obedience to God’s word for far too long. Maybe I am just being hopeful that it would be during my life time. In either case we must realize the call to arm ourselves against the enemy. We must be prepared to go into battle like never before because the battle is soon to come into our own back yard. Let me rephrase that because it has been in our own backyard but we have refused to see it. It has been attacking our families but we have ignored it calling it typical teen behavior. It has attacked our neighbors but we have called it economic downturn. It has attacked our communities but we have ignored it calling it living in a diversified community and it has attack our country but we ignore it, blaming those who have been elected to run our country. We have ignored it because it would affect our lifestyle if we spoke up. It would cause us to be perceived as fanatics if we spoke up in regards of our beliefs. Our parents sat back because it was the era that we were growing up in. Their parents sat back and did nothing because of what the country had gone through because of the war or the depression and let’s really face it we sat back and did nothing because sin made us money.
Sin makes us money because when the economy is doing well we can sell our property at a higher rate. It doesn’t matter whether people can afford it or not as long as the bank gives us the money. It doesn’t affect us when we over charge for services because everyone is doing it. We close our eyes when our children begin hanging out with the wrong people because we believe that we have been good examples to them when the truth is we are no different than our unsaved neighbors and our kids know it. They know it because we laugh at the TV shows that exploit sin in a positive manner. They know it because of the oldies station that we leave our car radio on. They know it because of the discussions they overhear during tax season and they know it because honestly we are just too busy making money to be bothered with them or the things God would have us to do. Oh, you may teach Sunday school but what or who do you talk about on the way home from church? Yes, sin makes us money and we don’t want it to stop because it would affect our own well being. If people started to see us as loving then everyone would want a hand out. If they began to see Christ through us then our friends on the school board may stop doing business with us or our business partners may see us as weak and take advantage of us and then God forbid our kids may not be able to go to college. Forget about the promises that He makes in His word to provide for us because honestly we don’t believe it. That’s why we keep our mouths shut and our hearts closed to those who are outside. If we believed it there wouldn’t be a giving shortage and our churches would be full because He has promised to add to the church daily. We deny Him because once again sin provides us with the lifestyle we want.
The time has come for a change, but it is not the change that the world wants or in reality what we want. The change that is needed is the return to God’s word. It is the sacrificing of ourselves for the spiritual well being of others. It needs us caring as Christ did for their well being as well. The miracles that He performed met physical needs which resulted in a spiritual change in most people. The ten lepers showed that not everyone was grateful and we are told that despite of the miracles not everyone believed, yet He still sacrificed His life for the forgiveness of their sins. Not just theirs but those of every person ever born. His purpose was to provide us an example on how we are to be in this world. The time for change came at Pentecost. Upon the giving of the Holy Spirit those who had witnessed His life, death and resurrection began to realize all that He had taught them. Those who came to trust in Him realized the power that came from obedience to Him yet again not everyone believed. The time for change came when Barnabas; acting out of obedience to the Holy Spirit having property, sold it and turned the proceeds over to the disciples to further the work and many others also being led did the same yet some seeking their own glory attempted to lie to the Holy Spirit and immediately dropped dead. You see they were unwilling to sacrifice their lifestyle. While mere men did not know the true state of their heart, the Holy Spirit knew just as He knows ours today. He knows the reason behind our not giving all and why we refuse to obey His leading. The truth is that some things never change nor will they until He reestablishes His kingdom.
Let’s take a moment to think about this for a moment. Was the actions taken by Ananias and Sapphira only about the holding back of money? We know it was in some aspects about lying to the Holy Spirit but was the lie the result of a lack of genuine love on their behalf? Could this lack of love be the cause and effect of the lie and the unwillingness to sacrifice? Could it be that their actions would have caused an infection within the early church that would have allowed false teachers to infiltrate the church much sooner than they did? If we look at the condition of the churches today I believe we have a bird’s eye view of what damage could have happened at the beginning and while it eventually happened it was not as prevalent then as it is now. When we look back at the history of the church we see the battles that were waged against the false teachers and against the lack of love towards the brethren, as well as against those who were outside of the church. Is it any wonder that the last living apostle’s letters to the churches resounded in love? It is time for a change.
Time For A Change
1Peter 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
I think that we are at the most pivotal point in history. As prophecies continue to be fulfilled I believe that Christ could return at any moment. The church has been negligent in its obedience to God’s word for far too long. Maybe I am just being hopeful that it would be during my life time. In either case we must realize the call to arm ourselves against the enemy. We must be prepared to go into battle like never before because the battle is soon to come into our own back yard. Let me rephrase that because it has been in our own backyard but we have refused to see it. It has been attacking our families but we have ignored it calling it typical teen behavior. It has attacked our neighbors but we have called it economic downturn. It has attacked our communities but we have ignored it calling it living in a diversified community and it has attack our country but we ignore it, blaming those who have been elected to run our country. We have ignored it because it would affect our lifestyle if we spoke up. It would cause us to be perceived as fanatics if we spoke up in regards of our beliefs. Our parents sat back because it was the era that we were growing up in. Their parents sat back and did nothing because of what the country had gone through because of the war or the depression and let’s really face it we sat back and did nothing because sin made us money.
Sin makes us money because when the economy is doing well we can sell our property at a higher rate. It doesn’t matter whether people can afford it or not as long as the bank gives us the money. It doesn’t affect us when we over charge for services because everyone is doing it. We close our eyes when our children begin hanging out with the wrong people because we believe that we have been good examples to them when the truth is we are no different than our unsaved neighbors and our kids know it. They know it because we laugh at the TV shows that exploit sin in a positive manner. They know it because of the oldies station that we leave our car radio on. They know it because of the discussions they overhear during tax season and they know it because honestly we are just too busy making money to be bothered with them or the things God would have us to do. Oh, you may teach Sunday school but what or who do you talk about on the way home from church? Yes, sin makes us money and we don’t want it to stop because it would affect our own well being. If people started to see us as loving then everyone would want a hand out. If they began to see Christ through us then our friends on the school board may stop doing business with us or our business partners may see us as weak and take advantage of us and then God forbid our kids may not be able to go to college. Forget about the promises that He makes in His word to provide for us because honestly we don’t believe it. That’s why we keep our mouths shut and our hearts closed to those who are outside. If we believed it there wouldn’t be a giving shortage and our churches would be full because He has promised to add to the church daily. We deny Him because once again sin provides us with the lifestyle we want.
The time has come for a change, but it is not the change that the world wants or in reality what we want. The change that is needed is the return to God’s word. It is the sacrificing of ourselves for the spiritual well being of others. It needs us caring as Christ did for their well being as well. The miracles that He performed met physical needs which resulted in a spiritual change in most people. The ten lepers showed that not everyone was grateful and we are told that despite of the miracles not everyone believed, yet He still sacrificed His life for the forgiveness of their sins. Not just theirs but those of every person ever born. His purpose was to provide us an example on how we are to be in this world. The time for change came at Pentecost. Upon the giving of the Holy Spirit those who had witnessed His life, death and resurrection began to realize all that He had taught them. Those who came to trust in Him realized the power that came from obedience to Him yet again not everyone believed. The time for change came when Barnabas; acting out of obedience to the Holy Spirit having property, sold it and turned the proceeds over to the disciples to further the work and many others also being led did the same yet some seeking their own glory attempted to lie to the Holy Spirit and immediately dropped dead. You see they were unwilling to sacrifice their lifestyle. While mere men did not know the true state of their heart, the Holy Spirit knew just as He knows ours today. He knows the reason behind our not giving all and why we refuse to obey His leading. The truth is that some things never change nor will they until He reestablishes His kingdom.
Let’s take a moment to think about this for a moment. Was the actions taken by Ananias and Sapphira only about the holding back of money? We know it was in some aspects about lying to the Holy Spirit but was the lie the result of a lack of genuine love on their behalf? Could this lack of love be the cause and effect of the lie and the unwillingness to sacrifice? Could it be that their actions would have caused an infection within the early church that would have allowed false teachers to infiltrate the church much sooner than they did? If we look at the condition of the churches today I believe we have a bird’s eye view of what damage could have happened at the beginning and while it eventually happened it was not as prevalent then as it is now. When we look back at the history of the church we see the battles that were waged against the false teachers and against the lack of love towards the brethren, as well as against those who were outside of the church. Is it any wonder that the last living apostle’s letters to the churches resounded in love? It is time for a change.
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