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www.thegospeltruthministry.com
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| A Member's Bulletin Board. In most cases items posted here originated as email, except as noted. As a Member you are free to submit items to post here. Send to webmaster) |
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Vision James Mulling Where there is no vision, The people parish Proverbs 29: 18 We reap what we sew. Why do we think it so appalling and shocking when we see events happening around us? We turned our backs on God by playing church without true reverence to his word. Now the pendulum has swung to the side of true testing of the real Church and bride of Christ . Praise God for the honor for the true test of our faith. Are we ready to die for what we claim to believe. We will see who come
through the fire in heaven. Back in the late 1800’s a young boy by the name of Henry Ford became interested in building cars. He recognized a need and envisioned a remedy. Young Henry Ford set out on a vision to make an inexpensive car that nearly every American could afford. In the year of 1903 the Ford Motor Company began. At that time only the wealthy could afford to by cars. But Ford remained determined to find a way of building a car for a low price. Finally Ford developed the assembly line method. Before this method was developed it took many days to assemble one car by hand. With the assembly line, one car could be completely assembled in one hour! Because it took less time to build cars, it now became possible to make one at a much cheaper price, a price most Americans could finally afford. By 1914, there were more than a million Model T Fords on the roads. It was through his vision and determination that America began to grow through mass production and moving us into the industrial revolution. I use this story as an illustration to a powerful point. If one man could see a need and have the vision and fortitude to seeing it fulfilled, he can change the course of the world. Because of his vision a family now has more than one car, and can travel anywhere there is a road. In light of this story, I would like to pose these questions. 1.) What is our vision for the body of Christ? 2.) What is our vision for the world? 3. What steps have we taken in order to see this vision fulfilled? The concept of what vision to have concerning the body of Christ has to start with the reason why we are here in the first place. If we don’t understand why we are alive in this generation and why we gather here together every Sunday, then what purpose do we serve? Did we misunderstand our calling when we asked God to be Lord of our
lives? Somehow in the distractions of the explosion of knowledge in the new age of progress, we lost sight on the vision that God had set for his people. Instead we became distracted by all the new inventions that would make our lives easier. Every one of us who claim to be a Christian has been given a mandate. We cannot, and must not, ever forget that. This is NOT an option, but a command. And we all, whether we want to here it or not, will be held responsible as we stand before the Lord to give an account of what we did with our lives as Christians. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 2 Cor 5: 17-20 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Math 28: 19,20 The “ great commission” and the” cultural mandate” is our purpose as Christians. To truly know if we are practicing our Christianity or not, is if we are compelled to complete the task the Lord has given us to preach this Gospel of his grace. If we are not compelled by this vision, then what reason is there to make a claim to be a Christian? So this leads me to a sobering thought. What is Gods vision for the Church? And what has been mans vision for the Church? It has become very obvious to me as I see the condition of the Church body today, that it truly has relinquished the power to reflect the true image of God. We as the Church have not taught our children to obey everything the Lord has commanded us to obey. So how can we teach our neighbor to love and obey God when we have failed at home? We have told our children by our example do as I say, and not as I do. So how can we be shocked and dismayed when we look at how the world is behaving? Our world is only reflecting the same rebellion and disobedience we have come to embrace. Like the Church it doesn’t see that sin and rebellion are the problem. Since we can’t speak truth with conviction, because we are afraid it will offend someone, or because of the fear of admitting our faults. So we turn our ears away to anyone preaching our need of REPENTANCE! We resist change by retreating behind this statement” who are we to judge”. When in fact the scriptures are clear that we as Christians are to judge fellow Christians, and to hold each accountable to the standard of Gods Holy word. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. Expel the wicked man from among you. 1 Cor. 5: 12,13 The very hint of someone pointing out our sins or bringing attention to our apostasy and rebellion we get offended and start looking for another Church. Then we start rumors that divide the body of Christ against each other. So we go from church to church avoiding any conviction to change our lives according to what God wants from us. And if we like where we are and we want the person who is speaking the truth to stop, we will just avoid them or put them out. Whether we want to hear it, or admit it, the Church is no longer convicted of its apostasy. So now sin is trenched in the church. Since it is so prevalent and not confronted but tolerated, God is now sending forth those who are not intimidated by those who use Gods grace as a license to sin. It is now the time of warning to repent or reap the judgment of God for our disobedience. John the Baptist spoke of repentance and was beheaded. Jesus spoke on Gods forgiveness and mercy and he was crucified. The apostles spoke of Gods vision for the Church on all three messages and they were brutally murdered. So how can we individually and corporately, as the church, change the course of our vision to become once again Gods vision. Even if it means alienation, persecution, and death? We need to honestly ask God to show us individually why his Son chose to die for us. And then ask him for a renewed heart to accept the answer that will re-birth in us the Holy Spirits fire to proclaim the powerful message of his love for the whole world. If we are not convicted of our sin of idleness then what hope does the world have of salvation? If we are not willing to suffer for his love for us how will we understand such a great sacrifice. If one man can have a vision to change the world for the progress of humanity, how much more can we who posses the keys to the kingdom of heaven change the world for the Glory of God? When we come to understand what eternal separation from God means, it won’t take us very long to get compelled to accept our privilege to tell those God leads into our lives about the hope we have. God’s vision for each of us has nothing to do with church busyness or the maintenance of it. Programs, traditions, and feel good outreaches. We created within the Church building a sense of purpose and duty all because we don’t poses the confidence to share the Gospel to the world because we give God lip service instead. We say we love him but yet we live in disobedience. This Church building is not the main reason to find purpose for our faith. The building is a place to meet for corporate worship as one unified body and for maintaining a designated place for assembly. Outside the building is our true sense of purpose and mission. It is there we form relationships with our neighbors and preach, teach, and love them into a relationship of obedience with the larger body of Christ. That’s why we were commissioned to “go yea therefore” and make disciples. God has placed us in our neighborhoods to disciple those around us to the feet of Christ. It is not the responsibility of the Pastor or the rest of the congregation to lead our neighbors to the Gospel of there salvation. If that is what we think, then it becomes the responsibility of the members of the church to disciple your neighbor. God intended, and gave us the privilege to reveal to our neighbors by our example, and our inviting them into our homes, so they are convinced that we practice what we preach. It is there that they see our love for each other, our discipline, and our fear of the Lord that they are led unto salvation. If the home is not the reflection, the Church certainly will not be. When we loose our conviction of our calling, our mandate, and Gods vision for our lives, then it becomes easy to loose our fear of the Lord and his love to see that none should perish. If we are truly interested in what Gods will for the Church is, then I would encourage you to read Isaiah 58, the whole chapter. There you will find written on these eternal pages our inescapable accountability as Christians. If we continue to neglect these things we were called to do, then we fall under these warnings in these closing scriptures. To the Angel of the Church in Laodicea write; these are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of Gods creation. I know your Deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor Cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘ I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing. “But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to but from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my
throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my father on his throne. He
who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the Churches.
Rev 3: 1-22 I would encourage you as the body of Christ, to ask God today to renew in you a new heart. Ask him to give you his vision for the lost. Because tomorrow for some of us, may never come . |
