-THE WRITTEN WORD-
“Wherefore I take you to record this day that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood.
For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things; to draw away disciples after them.”
-THE RECIVED WORD-
Men and brethren, the true Church of our Lord Jesus Christ must of necessity be founded on the Apostles and the prophets, and our Lord standing as the Chief Cornerstone. Any gathering that does not meet this basic heavenly requirement cannot produce credible Disciples of our Lord.
Any Christian organization or meeting or gathering that does not meet the standards of the prophets of old, and of the first Apostles of Christ, that gathering or meeting cannot produce a true disciple of Christ. Put simply, any church that does not meet the standard of the Church in the Acts of the Apostles, cannot raise true Disciples of Christ.
People of God, a true church that must produce a true Disciple of Christ must be that which teaches and practices the entire counsel of God. The entire counsel of God runs from Genesis to Revelation. Therefore it is grave error for us to categorize or classify ministries of our Lord Jesus Christ i terms of what one is called to preach or to teach. Every calling in Christ is a calling unto the entire counsel of God.
Brethren of our Lord, as far as heaven is concerned, there is no such calling as apostles of holiness, apostles of prosperity, apostles of faith, apostles of business ethics, apostles of healing, apostles of miracles - apostles of this or apostles of that. All such titles are expressions of the traditions of men. Whether called as an apostle or not, every calling in Christ is a calling unto all righteousness, unto all holiness – even of our Lord Jesus Christ. Whoever therefore claims that he or she is called as an apostle or preacher of one principle of the Bible or the other is walking in manifest error. And such an error cannot make a true Disciple out of folks..
When we preach miracles, healing, child bearing, principles of faith, financial and material prosperity, etc. as the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, and then end the message with what some call salvation message, we are in grave error. The true gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is in its entirety His salvation message, which runs from Genesis to Revelation. It is the only message acceptable in heaven.
We are called to preach Christ and Him crucified - no more no less. It is the only gospel that meets the entire counsel of our God. It is the only gospel that can produce a true Disciple of Christ. If you doubt me, search the Acts of the Apostles. The Apostles preached Christ, the entire counsel of God, and were able to raise true Disciples that carried the true Gospel all over the world. Search yourselves whether you are still in the ministry the Lord called you into.
The true Gospel must be about Christ and about Him alone, whether it is taken from the book of Revelation or from any other book of the Bible for that matter. And that is the only Gospel that can raise true disciples of our Lord. The role of the Holy Ghost in the Church of Jesus is as the Enforcer of the words of Master Jesus. The Holy Ghost does not expect folks to preach Him as a sermon There is no such sermon in heaven.
When we preach and teach miracles, healing, money, principles of faith, buying and selling, child bearing, etc, as the gospel of Christ, we become as those Apostle Paul described in today’s scripture as grievous wolves – and there are many of such on our today’s pulpits.
Many, in the church of today, are not true Disciples of our Lord. They came into Church but not into Christ. They entered by the wrong way and not by the Way, the Truth, Who is Christ Jesus. They entered through false and perverted messages. They come to Church seeking Christ, but were introduced to Him, not as their Savior and their lives, but rather as a Healer, as miracle Worker, a Giver of wealth and many other such things. Very few in church of today know our Lord as the the only Life available to mankind. Very few folks in today’s church are walking in the Lord, even with His life and in His ways.
Very few in Church of today worship God because they love Him with all their heart and with all their soul, etc. Many just worship God for one thing or the other, for one reason or the other. And such cannot be described as true Disciples of our Lord. And some preachers and teachers of the gospel are responsible for this tragic situation.
Brethren, believe it or not, very few folks would make heaven if rapture takes place even as I write this message. The Church of Jesus Christ has been so perverted by satan and by the sleighs of men and of women that it is becoming increasingly difficult to find the way to heaven in many of our Churches. Many in churches are finding ways to make money, to live healthy, to have children, to live a secure life in an insecure world. But very very few folks in church are finding the way to heaven on a daily basis.
Brethren of the Lord, salvation is free but it costs something to retain it. To remain truly saved must cost us ourselves, all of ourselves. And if need be it must also cost us our lives that we may live. That is true Discipleship in Christ.
The thief satan is determined to make sure that heaven is inhabited by as few folks as possible.Satan is determined to show our God that it was a costly mistake casting him out of heaven. Satan is determined to frustrate the purpose and plan of God in salvation. And satan is finding ready tools in many who are called by our Lord to lead to His people to Himself. This is very sad indeed.
Brethren, if not for the mercies of our God which endures forever, and His compassion that faileth not, not a single soul in our today’s church will make heaven at last, not one. But our loving Daddy has stretched His mercies to accommodate as many as possible into His eternal rest. yet many are determined to go the way of Balaam.
The wider the Lord stretches His arms to receive folks unto Himself, the farther they run from Him. Almost everybody in Church is seeking one thing or the other. And when I say everybody I mean everybody. Very very few are seeking our God in spirit and in truth – from the pulpit to the pew.
Brethren, the gifts of the Holy Ghost, which includes healing and working of miracles, are given to back-up our sermons; they are not given to be preached as sermons. It is expected from heaven when we preach the true word of God, then heaven would back up such teaching with signs following, even the gifts of the Holy Ghost.
The expectation of heaven is that folks should come to the Lord with ALL their focus on making heaven at last. And as they walk out their salvation daily with much trembling, all the good things of this life shall be added to them even as the Lord wills.
Yes, as He wills, because surprisingly, not everybody must be healed, not everybody must be rich, not everybody must receive miracles – it all depends on the perfect will of God per time. The only important thing is that our names remain in the Lamb’s Book of Life until we shed our earthly tabernacle. That is all that matters – every other is secondary and fleeting.
To raise our concerts as true Disciples of Christ, we must teach them how to continue in our Lord, in season and out of season, and at all costs. We must endeavor to teach believing folks how to walk in the fruits of the Spirit, especially in Love – for the love of God is the perfection of all things. We must teach them to bear one another’s burden and in so doing fulfill the laws of Christ.
We must teach them to live by faith, that is, to live strictly by the word of God.
We must teach them to serve the Lord with diligence and with excitement – expecting nothing but heaven at last. We must teach them to be prepared to follow Jesus at ALL costs - “for better and for worse”, as it were. We must teach them the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. We must show and lead them on the ONLY Way that leads to heaven, which Way is our Lord Jesus Christ.
To him or her that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him or her it is counted as sin.
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