I do not want to stand before God empty handed with blood on my hands of all those I come across in my daily life. I just read recently in Ezekiel 33:1-11 The word of the LORD came to me: Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman, and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people, then if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand.
“So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. “And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus have you said: Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we rot away because of them. How then can we live? Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?
According to Mark Cahill: In ancient times, watchman were positioned on the wall surrounding a city to keep watch. Their job was to be on the lookout for the armies that were coming. When they saw an enemy approaching, they were to blow the trumpet to warn the city’s residents. It was not their job to make everyone ready; it was the people’s own responsibility to get ready. The watchmen’s job was just to sound the alarm. God has left believers on earth to sound the alarm to others, to warn the wicked that if they do not repent of their wicked ways and come to Jesus, they will regret it both here and for eternity. If we know the wicked are dying and going to Hell and we do not warn them, their blood is on our hands. We must tell the lost about Jesus. God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked and neither should we. Earlier in Ezekiel 3:11, the Lord tells Ezekiel, “And go to your people, and speak to them and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD, whether they hear or refuse to hear. “ Remember, it is our responsibility to speak the truth, whether our listeners listen or refuse the message.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Fellowship of the Unashamed
I am a part of the fellowship of the Unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit Power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.
My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won't give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I've preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until He returns, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes.
And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear for "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.." (Romans 1:16)
I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.
My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won't give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I've preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until He returns, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes.
And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear for "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.." (Romans 1:16)
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Happiness
Christianity says, "The end of all being is the glory of God." Humanism says, "The end of all being is the happiness of man." And one was born in Hell, the deification of man; and the other was born in heaven, the glorification of God!
Well now, the philosophy of the atmosphere is humanism; the chief end of being is the happiness of man. There’s another group of people that have taken hum bridge with the liberals; this group are my people, the fundamentalists. They say, "We believe in the inspiration of the Bible! We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ! We believe in hell! We believe in heaven! We believe in heaven! We believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ!"
But remember, the atmosphere is that of humanism. And humanism says the chief end of being is the happiness of man. Humanism is like a miasma out of a pit; it just permeates everyplace. Humanism is lie an infection, an epidemic – it just goes everywhere. So it wasn’t long until we had this, that the fundamentalists knew each other because they said, "We believe these things!" They were men for the most part that had met God. But you see, it wasn’t long until having said, "These are the things that establish us as fundamentalists!" The second generation said, "This is how we become a fundamentalist! Believe the inspiration of the Bible! Believe in the deity of Christ! Believe in His death, burial, and resurrection! And thereby become a fundamentalist!"
And so it wasn’t long until it got to our generation, where the whole plan of salvation was to give intellectual assent to a few statements of doctrine. And a person was considered a Christian because he could say, "Ah hah" at four or five places that he was asked. If he knew where to say "Ah hah", someone would pat him on the back, shake his hand, smile broadly, and say, "Brother, you’re saved!" so it had gotten down to the place where salvation was nothing more than an assent to a scheme or a formula, and the end of this was that salvation was the happiness of man, because humanism has penetrated.
If you were to analyze fundamentalism in contrast to liberalism of a hundred years ago, as it developed, for I am not pinpointing it in time, it would be like this: The liberal says the end of religion is to make man happy while he’s alive, and the fundamentalist says the end of religion is to make man happy when he dies. But again! The end of all of the religion it was proclaimed was the happiness of man.
from "Ten Shekels and a Shirt"
Well now, the philosophy of the atmosphere is humanism; the chief end of being is the happiness of man. There’s another group of people that have taken hum bridge with the liberals; this group are my people, the fundamentalists. They say, "We believe in the inspiration of the Bible! We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ! We believe in hell! We believe in heaven! We believe in heaven! We believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ!"
But remember, the atmosphere is that of humanism. And humanism says the chief end of being is the happiness of man. Humanism is like a miasma out of a pit; it just permeates everyplace. Humanism is lie an infection, an epidemic – it just goes everywhere. So it wasn’t long until we had this, that the fundamentalists knew each other because they said, "We believe these things!" They were men for the most part that had met God. But you see, it wasn’t long until having said, "These are the things that establish us as fundamentalists!" The second generation said, "This is how we become a fundamentalist! Believe the inspiration of the Bible! Believe in the deity of Christ! Believe in His death, burial, and resurrection! And thereby become a fundamentalist!"
And so it wasn’t long until it got to our generation, where the whole plan of salvation was to give intellectual assent to a few statements of doctrine. And a person was considered a Christian because he could say, "Ah hah" at four or five places that he was asked. If he knew where to say "Ah hah", someone would pat him on the back, shake his hand, smile broadly, and say, "Brother, you’re saved!" so it had gotten down to the place where salvation was nothing more than an assent to a scheme or a formula, and the end of this was that salvation was the happiness of man, because humanism has penetrated.
If you were to analyze fundamentalism in contrast to liberalism of a hundred years ago, as it developed, for I am not pinpointing it in time, it would be like this: The liberal says the end of religion is to make man happy while he’s alive, and the fundamentalist says the end of religion is to make man happy when he dies. But again! The end of all of the religion it was proclaimed was the happiness of man.
from "Ten Shekels and a Shirt"
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Challenge
I am challenging everyone to share Christ with at least one person by New Year’s Day 2009. The statistics are that 97% of Christians will never share Christ with one person before they die. Yet most of them will say their relationship with Christ is the most important thing in their life. How can this be?
Charles Spurgeon says, "Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you are not saved yourself. Be sure of that." That may sound harsh, but it has really made me examine my relationship with Christ over the past year. If Christ was Lord of my life, why did I not care that people around me were going to spend eternity in hell.
Will you be fearful? Of course. Satan does not want you to share the gospel. If you don't know what to say, then get a good gospel tract to give to someone. Go to www.livingwaters.com to get more information or contact me and I will send you some material. Every day 150,000 people die, most without Christ.
Are we going to close our eyes or do something about? Can you imagine what could happen to this country if every Christian took Christ's last instruction seriously to go into all the world? Hold me accountable too - to see if I have shared my faith. I will be praying for you. Please pray for me as well.
Charles Spurgeon says, "Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you are not saved yourself. Be sure of that." That may sound harsh, but it has really made me examine my relationship with Christ over the past year. If Christ was Lord of my life, why did I not care that people around me were going to spend eternity in hell.
Will you be fearful? Of course. Satan does not want you to share the gospel. If you don't know what to say, then get a good gospel tract to give to someone. Go to www.livingwaters.com to get more information or contact me and I will send you some material. Every day 150,000 people die, most without Christ.
Are we going to close our eyes or do something about? Can you imagine what could happen to this country if every Christian took Christ's last instruction seriously to go into all the world? Hold me accountable too - to see if I have shared my faith. I will be praying for you. Please pray for me as well.
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