Blessed are those who commit and serve
But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers….
As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. (1 Peter 4:7,10)
Hello Saints,
In the spirit of full disclosure, I have been trying to write these blogs to encourage and build up the body of Christ in the Lord, so that we can know Him more and know what is required of us as Christ’s servants. I try to make these blogs relevant to our times, demonstrating how the Bible still speaks into every situation and circumstance of life. I want the saints to be aware of what is happening in the world and have a passion to see the church be what she is supposed to be – holy and blameless, ready for the Lord’s soon arrival. Serving the body of Christ with my gifts as a pastor and teacher means: “equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:12-13). I say it often and will repeat it often, “church is not about me”, it’s about serving Jesus to do my part to prepare His bride for His wedding day. All those who love Him and long for His appearing are His bride. We are the church and are to occupy till He comes, faithfully doing the work He left us to do, which is make disciples of all nations. That is our mission as His followers – it’s not about what we want, it’s about what He wants! “Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing” (Matt. 24:46). I praise God for those faithful servants He has placed alongside me to accomplish the mission we have been given in our little corner of the planet. It is a joy to work for the Master with those laborers who are committed to His cause; A joy to continue to persevere together under many trials, faithfully ministering the word to the saints with much prayer. As a fellow servant, I greatly appreciate those whom God has blessed me with so that a local bride is ready to meet her Bridegroom. I Praise God for you (3John 1:4)!
This being said, I know that church has a darker side to it. The apostles, and even Jesus, had those who were part of the flock who did not see the mission as it was designed to be. Many are in the church to further their own purposes, have an inward view, not a mission-minded mentality. Paul uses the term “selfish ambition” – in other words, it’s about ‘what I can get’, not ‘how can I serve’. Some in the church are chasing fame and notoriety; they want to be admired for their special abilities. Others are just in the church to receive a blessing, a word, an experience. They bounce from church to church looking for the next “fix”, never really planting anywhere, never really growing/maturing out of their selfish ways. The words ‘serving’ and ‘commitment’ are not even part of their vocabulary, because it’s all about ‘me’ – what I can get, not what can I give. Often, according to Paul, they are unqualified men, “who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2Tim. 3:6-7). Nowadays, these deceivers and false teachers creep into homes through the internet on our screens. Lack of discernment on the viewer’s part means many are deceived, believing a lie. The church itself is at fault for setting up a consumer driven enterprise with an ‘attraction model’ mentality with the goal of filling pews, not hearts with truth. ‘Me’ centered messages are preached offering the spectator opportunities for ‘health and wealth’ and ‘fame and fortune’ instead of ‘come die to truly live through Christ’. God forgive us! Sexual immorality is unchallenged, even celebrated, and false prophets are applauded for their blatant lies. Lord help us! If you think I’m exaggerating, you need to read Jesus’ words to the seven churches in Revelation. The five bad churches seem to be the norm today, and they are growing as people leave solid bible-teaching, Christ-centered churches for ear-tickling falsities (2Tim. 4:3-4). Of course, God knows all this, and predicted it (1Tim. 4:1). That’s why the Bible is filled with warnings of “Be alert”, “Be on guard”, and “Watch”. Peter writes, “Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2Pet. 3:17-18). The antidote to falling away and being led into deceptive heresy is to be connected to a healthy Bible-teaching, Jesus-loving, God-fearing, Spirit-empowered, local body of believers who are committed to truth and the great commission of making mature disciples who live to serve the Master. Stop church hopping and get planted! Don't be a lone-ranger either. Submit to the teachers God has anointed and appointed to care for you. Serve the body of believers with whom God has placed you, with the gifts He has given you, and do it joyfully. That’s the biblical way to do church: “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:23-25).
Peace!
"Advancing the Kingdom of God by releasing Spirit-filled followers to serve Jesus in freedom and joy."
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