Wednesday, August 3, 2011

The beauty of the Word of God...

For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes--the Jew first and also the Gentile.     Romans 1:16


The Word of God is the power unto salvation.  It is essential.  It is a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path.  It instructs and corrects.  You can hear the Word and not really HEAR the Word.  Hear it and then pray for God to add understanding to it.  You must know the authentic Word of God so that you can recognize the counterfeit.  There is nothing more dangerous than an unauthentic Word stated as truth.  It equals bondage and death - and satan loves it.  Churches are filled with folk in bondage due to lack of the knowledge of the truth.  Lively praise and animated worship.  Folk up dancing and shouting - but no real change occurs.  It is tragic to me and there is a grieving deep in my heart over it.  My prayers to God are infiltrated with a travailing for the people of God.  People whom I love with all of my heart.  I can see Jesus standing at the door knocking, always on the outskirts, always kept in a peripheral view but never quite brought into full focus.  Good people who will believe just about anything that the preacher or someone whom they perceive to be more knowledgeable than them says. The fact of the matter is that Christ died once for ALL.  He is made manifest in each and everyone of us who believes in Him and He will reveal the truth of Himself to you no matter your stature or position in life.  God is not a respecter of person.  He loves us all equally.  Although we sin, although we fall, He is right there loving us.  He loves His people, even in our ignorance He loves us.  It is why He left Jonah with no shade and why Moses never entered the promised land.  People of God, arm yourselves with the Word of God.  Read it, meditate on it, seek the Lord for understanding of it and ask Him what assignment He has for you in the body of Christ for the building of His Kingdom.  He is faithful to reveal it.
I was raised in church and learned scripture from a very young age. I was introduced to Christ in church but I really met Him while on my knees in a quiet place far away from church.   My church had no tambourines, no drum sets and not a lot of clapping.  We sang hymns, anthems, cantatas and sacred music accompanied only by the piano and organ.  Every Sunday I sat in the presence of a great preacher who would get up every Sunday to preach the Gospel.  No hooping.  No hollering.  No theatrics.  He stood up, flat footed and sure - and proclaimed the Word of God.  He preached with great authority and assurance.  He provided factual historical and biblical context.  His sermons were instructional and educational, equipping the congregation with the necessary tools to go out into the world and be fishers of men.  His sermons were packed with instruction on holy living, and it is was there that I learned the nature of God. I learned who the person of Jesus Christ was and what His sacrifice on the cross meant for me personally as well as its impact on the world.  Of course, when I was younger, I did not fully understand all of these things (not that I fully understand them now), but it gave me a solid foundation.  It is that foundation, that Biblical truth that is my measuring stick for everything.  Even with this great foundational teaching, I still had to get to know God for myself.  I had to experience the manifestation of God in my life.  I had to get into His presence and ask Him to preach and speak to me.  It is my constant prayer for God to clean out everything that is not like Him in order that I might be of use to Him in spreading His Gospel.  God is ever teaching and correcting me and I am so thankful for that.  God will do the same for you!  If you feel as if you do not have a good foundation you can get one today.  God is waiting. Salvation is free and His Word is available to ALL.  The book of John is a great place to start.
I encourage all preachers, leaders, teachers of the Gospel to simply teach the word of God and the full sufficiency of Jesus Christ.  Preach Christ crucified.  Make equipping your congregants with the true word of God your top priority - it will win countless souls for Christ.  It will produce a mighty army of men and women of God who will move the Church of Christ and God will add to it daily.  Through the truth of His Gospel people will be set free - for whom the son sets free is free indeed.

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