Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Don't Debate The Word, Heed The Word

I felt the that Lord spoke to me recently and said, "Don't debate My Word, heed My Word." Wow! Simple, but very powerful. We all have our opinions of God's Word, based on our knowledge of it, its impact on us, and other's influence on us. (Someone we respect has an opinion, so we adopt theirs.)

We live in a day and time when we must heed God's Word, not debate it. Debate is a form of defending our personal interpretation of the Word. But God's Word says we must contend for the faith, not the Word. (See 1 Peter 3:15) God's Word is powerful, and needs no help from us to make it powerful. However, we are the ones who become more powerful in the Kingdom as we heed His Word. "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12) 

Honestly, not all debate is bad. It can possibly open the eyes of one who has an open heart and mind. However, when the heart and mind are closed it usually leads to division which produces factions in the body of Christ. Jesus didn't commission us to debate God's Word among ourselves. He commissioned us to obey His Word as we live it and share it in our world. When the gospel is heard, faith rises. (See Romans 10:17)

Expressing your personal take on the Word is easy. But are you obeying the Word of God? As you defend your take, are you doing what it says to do? Because, you see, debating within the body of Christ, destroys the witness of the church. You might say, "But they are wrong!" But are you heeding the Word of God yourself? Obedience to God's Word is the most powerful witness. Debating God's Word is not!

As I said earlier, God's Word is more powerful than your and my opinion of it. This is because God is more powerful than you and me. (No one can debate that!) So when we simply heed (obey) the Word, our powerful and awesome God works through us! I love what the Apostle Paul says. "And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God." (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)

Obedience to His Word brings the demonstration of His Word, by the Holy Spirit. No debate is needed when there is demonstration. So let me encourage you. Learn God's Word. Do what it says. Let the Holy Spirit confirm God's Word in and through you as you heed it. Demonstrate the power of God's Word through the Holy Spirit. No debate will ever be necessary. 

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Do You See What I See?

You cannot properly evaluate all that is going on in our nation and the world without using the Word of God as the measuring standard. I'm not saying Jesus is coming back today. (Even though He could.) But I AM saying His return is near. What He said would take place in the last days, before His return, is clearly taking place as I write these words.

The Apostle John speaks of the anti-Christ, and the spirit of the anti-Christ. The spirit of the anti-Christ is that mindset and thought pattern that opposes God; I mean, vehemently opposes God. "Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son." (1 John 2:22) Ultimately this spirit will prevail and become personified in one man...the anti-christ. Never forget though, God is ultimately in control as this is part of His plan to judge sin, and bring forth the 2nd coming of the King of Kings. Now is not the time to be afraid. Now is the time to rise up and be bold! Where sin abounds, grace abounds even much more.

Let me say my friend, it is no longer time for "business as usual". We cannot ignore all that is happening in our nation, and the world, and continue to be passive. Some say "Things have always been bad." And yes, always, somewhere on the planet, societies have been depraved and corrupted. But it's becoming world-wide. The spirit of the anti-Christ is working hard to pave the way for the man of lawlessness. And those who have recently had to relinquish control of our nation, are fighting relentlessly to gain back its control. I'm speaking of those who are part of establishments that care nothing of the welfare of our nation, but only for the gaining of control, power, and wealth. Establishments that vehemently oppose Jesus, and His people, the church. The spirit of anti-Christ will stop at nothing to accomplish its mission, the new world order, also known as the one world government.

But this is where it gets good; I mean really good. If you are a part of God's church, the body of Christ in the earth, God has an incredible destiny for you! It's time to get serious with Him. It's time to pull yourself away from the world's system, and follow hard after Jesus. The Apostle Paul said, "Time is so short, that those who use the world, should be as though they did not make full use of it; for the form of this world is passing away." (1 Corinthians 7:31) It's so easy to be deeply hidden in the personal affairs of our lives and families (even our churches), and not see or understand the reality of what's happening in our current time.

Understand that you are an eternal creation of the Spirit of God. Peter says "For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, by the living and enduring Word of God." (1 Peter 1:23) The time you live on this earth will be nothing more than a vapor, the Word says. Compared to eternity, your time here is almost nothing. Yet God placed you and me here to make an eternal impact. Too many Christians are so involved in the affairs of this world they have no eternal perspective. They see no farther than then end of the present day. But, what we do here effects our eternal existence. We must live with an eternal perspective. We must learn to live beyond today, tomorrow, and this earthly life. This is what living for Jesus is all about.

If we live with an eternal perspective as we live for Jesus, we understand that God is ultimately in control. We understand that we are truly ambassadors for Jesus, and that our purpose here is that our entire life brings glory to Him. We understand that life is about Him, not us. It is about serving not ourselves, but others, as He came and gave us the example. It is about doing what He has commissioned us to do as we win people to Him, and raise them up to maturity in Him.

Draw closer to Jesus my friend. You need Him more that ever before. Make an impact upon this hurting world. You've been called to do it. You've been anointed to do it. Now...just do it.