Sunday, June 5, 2016,
6:30 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “Seek the Lord.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read 2 Corinthians 11 (Select vv. ESV).
Being Led Astray
(vv. 1-6)
I
wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! For I
feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to
present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived
Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure
devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the
one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you
received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you
put up with it readily enough. Indeed, I consider that I am not in the least
inferior to these super-apostles. Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not
so in knowledge; indeed, in every way we have made this plain to you in all
things.
When we trust in Jesus Christ to be Lord (master-owner) and
Savior of our lives, we die with Christ to sin and self and we are resurrected
with Christ to newness of life, “created to be like God in true righteousness
and holiness” (Eph. 4:24). Jesus bought us back for God with his blood, shed on
a cross for our sins, so our lives are no longer our own to be lived how we
want. He died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; that we might
no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave his life up for us (1 Pet.
2:24; 2 Co. 5:15). He is our husband and we are his bride. We are to live our
lives wholly devoted to him, and he is to be our only Lord. We are to have no
other gods. And, we are to be faithful to him, not running after the gods of this
world in order to satisfy the deep longings of our souls.
We serve a jealous God (See: 1 Co. 10:14-22; Jas. 4:4-5). He
is jealous for us with a divine jealousy, which Paul also experienced for the
believers in Christ. God knows what is best for us, which is himself, and which
is living in freedom from slavery to sin, and it is walking in Christ’s
holiness and in the Spirit of God. When we lived in slavery to sin, we were
free from the control of righteousness (See: Ro. 6:1-23). But, now that we have
been freed from sin, we are to come under the control of his righteousness, and
we are to live holy lives, separate from (different, unlike) this sinful world
because we are being made into the image of Christ. We should no longer conform
our lives to the patterns and ways of this sinful world, but we should be
living in surrender and in submission to God’s purposes and to his will for our
lives. And, he is to be our only Lord (master-owner).
Yet, not many are teaching this type of teaching these days.
The vast majority appear to be teaching a social gospel free from the cross of
Christ in the lives of his followers. They encourage a prayer to receive Christ
that has nothing to do with forsaking sin or living in holiness, and they tell
their adherents that they don’t have to repent, and they don’t have to follow
Jesus in obedience, and that they can continue in sin and still have the hope
of heaven when they die. But, this is not the gospel according to Jesus and his
NT apostles. It is a man-made gospel intended to appeal to human flesh that
will not offend anyone, and that will make the gospel message more acceptable
to the world, in order to gather followers for human businesses, called “church,”
but not to gain true followers and servants of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny
self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and self) and follow (obey)
him. He said if we hold on to our old lives (of living for sin and self), we
will lose them for eternity. But, if we lose our lives (die with Christ to sin),
we will gain eternal life (Lu. 9:23-25). Paul reiterated this when he said that
Jesus died that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us
who walk (conduct our lives) not after the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
He said if we walk after the flesh, we will die in our sins, but if by the
Spirit we are putting to death the deeds of the flesh, we will live (See: Ro.
8:1-14; cf. Ro. 6:1-23; Eph. 4:17-24). John said that if we say we have
fellowship with God but we walk in darkness (live sinful lifestyles), we are liars
and the truth is not in us (1 Jn. 1:6).
So, don’t accept this social gospel which feeds you lies.
Believe the word of God, and the teachings of Christ and that of his NT apostles,
and walk in the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh, and you will live
eternally with God!
Disguised as Apostles
(vv. 12-15)
And
what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those
who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same
terms as we do. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising
themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises
himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also,
disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to
their deeds.
There are many false teachers in today’s Christian church,
especially within the institutional church here in America, which is
incorporated as a business under the authority of the Federal Government of the
USA. When the vast majority of church congregations here in America incorporated
under the 501c3 not-for-profit under the authority of the USA government, they
made the government the head over the church instead of Christ. They agreed to
abide by the rules set forth by the government, by which the US government can
dictate what can or cannot be preached from their pulpits. And, we are
beginning to see that the tentacles of such a government’s control over the
church here in America is spreading even further. I believe this was the plan
from the beginning, back in the early 1950’s when the 501c3 was first proposed
to the Christian church. And, it is all leading up to the rule of the beast
over the apostate church, and to God’s judgments on such a church.
Again, we serve a jealous God. We were promised to one husband,
Jesus Christ, not to Jesus Christ and the federal government of the USA. We can’t
serve two masters. The church is a living organism with Christ as its head. It
is not a business or a corporation of human-origin under the headship of the
federal government. Thus, there is a distinction to be made between the
institutional church, which is not the true church, and the body of Christ,
which is the true church. They are not one and the same. As well, Jesus has promised
judgment on this false church which has humans as its head in place of Christ,
and which has deserted its first love, unless they repent of their spiritual
adultery. And, he is calling out to his true church to come out from “Babylon,”
and to be separate, so that we don’t share in her sins, for her sins are piled
high to heaven (Rev. 18:4).
Many false teachers have come into the church, as well, some
of whom I believe were generated by this unholy union with the federal
government. And, some of these are on a national and even global level. They
have taught pastors and church leaders in the ways of the world and of big business,
and of marketing schemes and gimmicks used to attract the world to the church.
Many church meetings are not about honoring God as holy or about walking in his
holiness, but they are about entertaining the world with worldly means and
methods, as well as they are about demoralizing the church so that it no longer
walks according to the Spirit, but according to the flesh, in many, many cases.
So, the Lord Jesus is calling his church, his bride, back to
himself in revival, for he wants to be her only Lord and husband, and her only
head. He wants her to find her satisfaction in him, and in him alone, not in
her “Egypt,” which she has turned to in place of Christ.
Seek the Lord
/ An Original Work / July 20, 2012
Based off Isaiah 55
“Come to Me all you who thirst;
come to waters.
Listen to Me, and eat what’s
good today,
And your soul will delight in
richest of fare.
Give ear to Me, and you will
live.
I have made an eternal covenant
with you.
Wash in the blood of the Lamb.”
Seek the Lord while He may be
found; call on Him.
Let the wicked forsake his way,
in truth.
Let him turn to the Lord, and
he will receive mercy.
Freely, God pardons him.
“For My thoughts are not your
thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,”
declares the Lord, our God.
“My word that goes out of My
mouth is truthful.
It will not return to Me
unfulfilled.
My word will accomplish all
that I desire,
And achieve the goal I intend.
You will go in joy, and be led
forth in peace.
The mountains will burst into
song… before you,
And all of the trees clap their
hands.”
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