 |
| "We are to preach and teach His message, His victory, and not fight our own." |
THE CHURCH was formed to spread the gospel. It was to preach the death of Jesus Christ and His Resurrection so that those who didn’t believe would hear and believe. God wanted to spread His love around the world, so that we would do, because of His love in us, the same thing Jesus did. We are to do the commission of Mark 16:15-17.
“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues … they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” (Mark 16:15-17, 18b)
The “shall be damned” part is entirely in God’s hands and not ours. We must settle this first. But see God’s heart: That people will KNOW THE GOOD NEWS and BE SAVED and BE FREE of devils and the HOLY SPIRIT fill people with God’s Presence.
There is no mention here of fighting a war. Jesus came filled “with the Holy Ghost and with power” and He “went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil (Acts 10:38).” He demonstrates our “authoritative charge,” what “commission” means. What we preach and teach as ministers and believers in His body, the church, is that He fought the war and won. But pay attention, He fought it with His humility and obedience.
He told Pilate He could call down twelve legions of angels to defend Him (Matthew 26:53), but again notice, He did not do that. Instead, He died a cruel death, as the Lamb of God, knowing the joy set before Him (Hebrews 12:2)—that He would be alive in the Spirit, would lead those in Paradise into heaven (Ephesians 4:8), and preach the gospel in the depths of hell (1 Peter 3:19). As God, now King of Kings. He knew He would rise again and be remade in body (Philippians 3:21).
We are to preach and teach HIS MESSAGE, His victory, and not fight for our own.
“Therefore, those who trust in Christ Jesus are no longer destined to die, because through Christ Jesus the law of love has cleansed and healed them from the law of selfishness and death.” (Romans 8:1-2, Remedy)
“And so he condemned the infection of selfishness as the destroying element in sinful humanity in order that the law of love—the principle upon which life is based—might be fully restored in us, who no longer live according to selfish desires, but in harmony with the Spirit of love and truth.” (Romans 8:3b-4, Remedy)
How we present the good news matters. More and more, what the Spirit lays on my heart is His message of strength through peace and rest. He wants us to walk after Him, led of Him, filled with Him, and to set down and let go of all that is the secular world, humanistic-ungodly thinking, and lust, although we in the church usually fail to see it as that. Just because we have been saved and our salvation puts us in the body of Christ, just because we are the church, does not automatically make us talk like Jesus. Revelation of who we are now comes through hearing the Word and growing in trust because of our adoration of Him.
God isn’t saving and healing and delivering people to put on an exterior show. If no one knew what He’d done for you, He’d do it anyway.
Ezekiel 34 is a beautiful passage of Scripture. I’ll use the BSB translation here. In verses 2-4, the prophet speaks a warning to the shepherds of Israel. It is worth reading what comes before and after, but I’ll just quote these three verses. He says, “Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed their flock? You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened sheep, but you do not feed the flock. You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bound up the injured, brought back the strays, or searched for the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty.” Now, I don’t quote them to warn anyone of error. That is not my point but where our carnal mind usually sends us. Instead, notice what God wanted the shepherds to do:
- Strengthen the weak
- Heal the sick
- Bind up the wounds of the injured
- Bring back the strays
- Seek for the lost
How do we teach and preach, how do we prophesy and evangelize, the victory which Jesus accomplished? What do we say to those who are hurting and need strengthening, healing, and the binding up of their wounds? How do we bring back the strays and seek for the lost? Not through condemnation. John 3:17 and Romans 8:1 should make it perfectly clear that God does not condemn anyone for any reason. Condemnation asks men to perform, to strive and work for, their own rescue. This is not God. No rule-keeping takes the place of Jesus’ death and Resurrection.
Do you hear that? It doesn’t matter how hard someone tries to dress right, to speak right, and to show up. These do not prevent them from being saved. They don’t prevent them from doing the work of the ministry. Our actions to fend off evil, our loud declarations of God’s Word as swinging the sword of the Spirit (notice, it is the Spirit’s sword), are not needed for victory. We reinforce in our hearts and minds what has been accomplished, and we do it through submission to God and not by taking the place of God.
The devil may bring to us the war. But we stand firm in peace (Ephesians 6:13-14). We refuse to fight.
We teach and preach the Word of patience. The first character of the love of God in 1 Corinthians 13:4 is longsuffering or patient endurance. Our teaching of the gospel should encourage people to endure joyfully. Not a weary mindset but a strengthened one.
We teach and preach God’s heart of love. Not correction for a myriad of church-created faults. Jesus promised a convicted thief, hung there beside Him to die for his crimes, that he would see Paradise. The thief did not have to “learn anything” first but simply believe God’s promise. We must show the love of God in our actions. We must speak the love of God, which sometimes means NOT SPEAKING. There’s the old adage: If you can’t say nothing nice, then say nothing at all. I’ll take it one further, if what comes up for you to say isn’t nice, then take it to God and walk free of it. The love of God in us is so powerful that we can live unoffended by anyone’s culture, political posture, or incorrect or correct beliefs. We can love them anyway, just like Jesus, and NEVER BE ANGRY.
LISTEN to “You made it!” by Alistair Begg.
We teach and preach how to walk in and hear the voice of the Spirit. We teach and preach spiritual growth. Without harangue, that’s any need to pound hate into someone. We refuse to use people’s behavior as our examples. We stop calling names.
If I mention a name, it is because that one said or did something worth praising.
We teach and preach MERCY. Not faith as a means. Not faith as rule-keeping for salvation or for healing. Not faith as a definition. But as trust and adoration because God is so very, very kind. This is the second word listed in 1 Corinthians 13:4. Love is patient and kind. It is the gentleness of the fruit (or outgrowth) of the Spirit’s Presence in us. A healthy tree, fertilized properly and watered regularly, will blossom and produce fruit, whether it is something edible or its own type of seeds. God is us produces gentleness.
It does not erect barriers. We must avoid teaching and preaching things that erect barriers. There is no reason to ever tell anyone they won’t be healed. Our speculations need to remain silent, and our answers be only from the Holy Spirit. What we don’t know, we don’t speak and instead, we pray. We are a people of prayer. It is conversation with our Father, who hears and answers IN AN ABUNDANCE OF PEACE (Philippians 4:7). When we lack peace, we are not close to Him where we need to be. This is our confidence. It is why we can be patient and endure until we see the answer. It is why our joy overflows despite our suffering. God did not give us the suffering. He asks of us obedience and to reflect Him at all times.
Then people will come to the church, seeking, and not turn away because where love should be within us, instead is violence and hate.
“Paul, a serving friend of God and an ambassador of Jesus Christ, sent to inspire God’s friends with ever-increasing confidence and trust in him and his methods, and to promote the Remedy which results in cleansing the mind and the development of godly character: My mission is to reveal the truth about God and his kingdom, and thereby inspire hope in our future eternal life which God has promised before time began—and God always keeps his promises.” (Titus 1:1-2, Remedy)
“It is essential that leaders represent God correctly—this means that they must have mature characters, worthy of admiration. They must not be dictators nor be angry or gruff with those who disagree with them, not be drunkards or aggressive, and never pursue dishonesty or self-advancement. Instead, leaders must reveal Christ in all their actions. They must make strangers and the hurting ones feel welcome. They must love what is good, be self-governed, be ethical and moral, lovingly help those in need, and exercise good judgment.” (Titus 1:7-8, Remedy)
Image by Arnie Bragg from Pixabay
----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com
Comments
Post a Comment
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave me your thoughts on what I have written. God bless!