#855 God’s Response to Spiritual Concerns – Neglecting Public Worship, continued

Good Day Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

For the previous couple of days we have glanced at some ramifications of neglecting public worship, whether it is with a fellowship of believers meeting in a home or with a larger fellowship in a formal church building.  Another situation that should be considered when being tempted to neglect public worship is the ability of larger unified groups to experience a wider range of ministries than an individual, couple or even a small group.  We have probably all heard of a church that has gone through a bad stretch with division, strife, and members leaving; during that period of time many ministries of the church, especially in missions and evangelism, either having been lost completely or gone dormant, and opportunities for new ministries not available due to small numbers willing to serve.  God uses individual Christians to spread His Word; however, He can more widely use a unified, loving fellowship of believers ready to faithfully serve Him together.

When you are tempted to neglect public worship, consider what the early church did as a unified, loving fellowship of believers, and what the Lord can do to and through you as you serve Him faithfully with your fellow believers!

“And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people.  And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.”   (Acts 2:46-47)

May God Richly Bless You Today

#665 Today’s World and Bible Times – Revival Begins with Individuals

Good Day Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

 

Following the casting out of evil spirits from the man in Gergesa, today the town of Kursi, the people of the village begged Jesus to depart from the area.  As Jesus got into the boat, the man who had been cured, now in his right mind, begged Jesus to allow him to go with Him.  Jesus would not take him, but he gave him an assignment to tell his family, friends, the townspeople, and the people throughout the Decapolis area of what had happened to him, how the compassion and power of God had changed his life.  Obeying Jesus’ commission, Scripture tells us the people marveled, the beginning of revival.  God’s Word goes forth and hearts and lives are changed when we as individuals spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We need not wait for our church to do evangelizing; we individually need to heed God’s command to evangelize.  When we do so, God will bless as His mercy and compassion are available to all who will receive Him.

 

If you feel you cannot make a difference for the Lord, remember that He has commissioned each of us individually to tell others about salvation through Jesus Christ.

 

“And when He was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed Him that he might be with Him.  Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, ‘God home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.’  And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him:  and all men did marvel.” (Mark 5:18-20)

#628 Worship – A Total Experience

Good Day Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

A total worship experience in a local congregation revolves around God and reflects both His love for us and our love for Him.  This total experience will also include our love and care for fellow believers as well as our love and burden for unbelievers to have a personal relationship with God.  These three ministries should feed off of each other, not being emphasized separately.  A church may emphasize and do a great job of worship primarily, or ministering to the needs of its church family primarily, or emphasizing, promoting, and leading all other local churches in missions and evangelization ministries; however, over emphasis in any of these ministries will probably result in the other two suffering through neglect.  God is honored and glorified when there is balance, showing genuine worship of Him, properly and adequately providing for the needs of the congregation, and reaching out in a concerted effort to bring the lost to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Examine your local church:  is it fulfilling all three ministries to the best of its ability, or is there too much emphasis on one area?

“You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”   (I Peter 2:5 – ESV)

May God Richly Bless You Today

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[1] Based on:  Allen, Ronald and Gordon Borror, Worship, Rediscovering the Missing Jewel,Portland: Multnomah Press, 1982.

#627 Worship – sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ

 Good Day Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

An individual and church-wide commitment of genuine worship to God serves as a catalyst for the church showing their love for one another by being dedicated to edifying, encouraging, educating, and meeting the needs of the body of believers.  This same Godly love then extends to having such a love for unbelievers that we have a burden to see them come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, thus joining us in a love relationship with God as we worship together.  Our witness to unbelievers about the Good News of Jesus Christ should be to any that attend our worship services as well as to those in our community, city, and region.  In fact, this urgency will extend to each of us individually, as well as the church, being more mission-minded, looking to reach unbelievers in other cities, states, and countries.  What a wonderful joy it is to have a deep love for God, a godly love for our fellow believers, and an urgent love for unbelievers to come to salvation.

Demonstrate your love for unbelievers by always being ready to share your faith with them!

“Therefore said He unto them, ‘The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few:  pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He would send forth labourers into His harvest.’”   (Luke 10:2)

May God Richly Bless You Today

#567 Patience – Results Come in God’s Time

 Good Day Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As Christians, we are commanded in Scripture to tell others about Christ Jesus and His saving power.  We do this by individually witnessing for Him to those around us and on the mission field, or joining with others in evangelism and mission efforts.  It should be and is a joy to tell others our story of salvation and what it means to be a Christian.  This joy is multiplied as we see positive results of our ministry where people accept Christ as Savior and Christians are noticeably strengthened in their Christian walk.  But what happens when we fail to see the positive results?  Is our patience tried?  Do we get discouraged?  There have been stories of missionaries who have served years without anyone accepting Christ and then later the area they were serving experiencing a great revival due to the foundation the original missionaries laid.  It is difficult to have patience when we so desire to see results for the Lord, and sometimes we do need to possibly change our direction of ministry; however, God desires obedience and faithfulness from us in His ministry, leaving the results to Him.

If those to whom you are ministering are not accepting the message, be patient, remain faithful in your ministry, and allow the Lord to work in their lives!

“But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.”  (Luke 8:15 – NKJV)

May God Richly Bless You Today

#539 Lessons from Ants (Proverbs 6:6-8) – An Attitude of Initiative

Good Day Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Having given the commands to the sluggard to go to and consider the ants, and to be wise, the lessons begin by describing the ants’ attitude of initiative.  This is illustrated by an initial description of the ants as having no “leader” to tell them to get started.  Although other insects and animals have been shown to have a leader, nearly every study on the habits of ants has revealed no discernable leader or known organizational structure.  They carry out life’s work without being forced to do so by other ants in charge.  The Christian walk and steps to spiritual maturity have simple guidelines such as daily reading God’s Word, praying, and telling others about Christ; yet, we as Christians often fail to follow these disciplines unless we are lead by someone else, whether it is our pastor or teacher or even an encourager.  The initiative of ants, as well as our love of God, should encourage us to practice the Christian walk without being forced to do so by anyone else. 

Do you faithfully practice spiritual disciplines, or do you need someone constantly reminding and forcing you to do so?

Solomon describes the ant’s initiative:

“Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,” (Proverbs 6:7)

May God Richly Bless You Today

#433 The Armor of God – People of Truth

Good Day Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Adorning the belt of truth encompasses more than feeding on God’s Word through daily Bible study, it also includes applying, living, and following the truthfulness of His Word, making it a part of ourselves.  When we do so, we become people of truth, people of witness, integrity, and self-discipline.  Absorbing the truth of God’s Word means we will know the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, and knowing this makes it important enough in our lives to tell others about Him, explaining why we believe in Him.  It will also mean that we will honor Him by living lives of truthfulness with integrity, honesty, and trustworthiness.  Living this way is a testimony to the world of our belief in Christ.  But just as the Roman soldier’s belt would bind the loose ends of his garment, putting on the belt of truth represents a sincere dedication to our fight against spiritual warfare, a self-discipline that makes us determined to be victorious by allowing the battle to become the Lord’s.

You can tell if you have put on the belt of truth by examining your life and seeing if you are ready to tell others about Jesus Christ, are living as someone of integrity, and are exercising self-discipline in full dedication to spiritual victory!

“With all these things in mind, dear brothers, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the truth that we taught you in our letters and during the time we were with you.”   (II Thessalonians 2:15 – TLB)

May God Richly Bless You Today