Built upon the foundation: the chief cornerstone

A true church can only be built upon the foundation of the truth of God’s Word, which is the revelation of Jesus Christ:

Now therefore you are no more strangers and sojourners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone; In whom all the building fitly framed together grows unto a holy temple in the Lord: In whom you also are built together for a habitation of God through the Spirit. Ephesians 2:19-22

A true church is built on the foundation described above. It is not built on spiritual experiences, or funky music or light shows or cool pastors.

Christianity has become so dumbed-down that people don’t understand this.

You are the example of your theology

Every man should be the best example of his own theology.

~ Leonard Ravenhill

Vicious circle of broken fellowship

A vicious circle is…

…a situation in which an attempt to resolve one problem creates new problems that lead back to the original situation.

And a vicious circle of broken fellowship is when a believer is habitually sinning and so then doesn’t want to have close fellowship with others. He may purposely go to a church where he knows he will have no real fellowship or relationship.

Then, not having close fellowship with others he does not get victory over his besetting sin, so even more he keeps himself from getting too close to other believers, he gets more isolated and more bound. This is a vicious circle.

No Noah

Noah is portrayed as a psycho in the latest movie… ….and this was done so that he would be a man the viewers could relate to…

Satan’s purposes are often self-defeating: the harder he tries to discredit the Word of God, the more it attracts attention to the Word of God, many times. This has always been the case, like when the Bible gets banned, then intelligent people want to know what is so subversive about it that it should attract such hostility.

But for Christians to sit at satan’s feet to learn something is a tad bizarre.

He desires truth in the inward parts

It’s in the private, hidden things, which only God can see, and which no one else will ever see, that we really live for His glory and glorify Him – this is the starting point and the source of a life lived publicly for His glory.

Don’t lower your shield

Above all, taking the shield of faith, with which you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. Ephesians 6:16

The enemy is evil, but he ain’t stupid. Even he can figure out that if your faith is a shield which prevents his fiery darts from killing you, then his main objective must be to weaken your faith, to get you to lower your shield.

Assembling to exhort one another

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as you see the day approaching. For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins… Hebrews 10:23-26

What does this text say? Assembling together is having church (a church is an assembly) and it is for the purpose of exhorting one another, to consider one another, to help each other love and have good works and live in victory over sin. And as we see the Day of the Lord approaching we are to increase this assembling and exhorting of one another.

Exhorting is the word parakaleo in Greek, which comes from paraclete: comforter and helper. So, as the Holy Spirit is our paraclete, called alongside us as our comforter and helper, so are we called alongside our brethren as comforters and helpers. As we are comforted and helped by God we can comfort and help others. This is what assembling is meant for: exhorting one another: church is for one another: it is for one-anothering: it is for considering others.

It’s not to go to a show and sit in the audience.

Edification

Edify: To teach someone in a way that strengthens their faith, love and obedience to Jesus.

Edification: A building up or strengthening of one’s faith, love and obedience to Jesus by the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Every eye shall see Him

Behold, He comes with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also who pierced him: and all tribes of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen. Rev. 1:7

When every eye sees Jesus it will be such a terror that they have never known, such a wailing, which means screaming in terror and weeping. The terror will grip their insides that they heard the Good News and had an opportunity to repent and be saved and yet they turned Him down, and now it’s too late, they are condemned for eternity.

Today is the day of salvation, now is the time when God will accept you.

Everyone who loves the Father loves His children

When people comprehend that they are infinitely loved by Jesus Christ then they tend to love others, even their enemies.

The man who does not know he is loved cannot love. The man who knows he is loved cannot hate, he will always extend love and mercy.

And it’s a package: We cannot love the Father without loving His children as well.

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves His children, too. 1 John 5:1 (NLT)

When the children realize they have the same Father then their love for one another really grows.

Crisis in the industry

If World Vision doesn’t support gay marriage then it loses Government funding and support. If it does support it then it loses funding from genuine Christians. Which of these?

That World Vision even considered supporting gay marriage must be an indicator of a high degree of spiritual bankruptcy in the organization. This is the dilemma facing the “charity industry” and the “religion industry”.

How does it feel to be “a client” of the religion industry? At least you are of some use, eh.

God’s wrath IS coming

We should not take pleasure in God’s wrath coming, BUT also we should not take pleasure in obscuring this reality from people, just to be popular, or to be perceived as loving and kind.

When our faith is made sight

When our faith is made sight at the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ…… I love this old phrase: “when our faith is made sight” ….If you see Jesus now thru the eyes of faith, you will see Him with your physical eyes (in your glorified body) …Looking unto Jesus… believing IS seeing..

After Bathsheba…

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

After David committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered her husband he realized that he needed a clean heart, and he realized that only God can make this happen – that only God can create a clean heart out of a dirty and defiled heart. David can’t do it. David asks God to create something in him, to do a work of creation in him, and specifically, re-creation. David identifies his sinful heart as the cause, and therefore he must obtain a new, clean heart from God. David recognizes this as his greatest need, his essential need.

David had full confidence that God was willing and able to create in him a clean heart, and God did, and David went on with God, and he didn’t continue in adultery or murder – the clean heart God gave him kept him from these sins.

What about you? Do you need God to create in you a clean heart? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and cleave to Him and He will create in you a clean heart.

The Bible is about God

The Bible is about God, and about how everything relates to and derives its meaning from Him. He is the subject, and preeminently, His Son, Jesus Christ. Not surprising when you consider that He wrote it. We need to be reminded of this, lest we make the Bible about something other than God.

The next logical question would be, Well, do you have something better than God? Tell me, what is better than God? If you have something better than Him, then please tell us.

This is that

But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:

And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord comes:

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Acts 2:16-21

In the first century this, which was prophesied by Joel, was the NORMAL thing for Christians.

But what was normal back then would be considered bizarre today, by this generation of Christians.

That ain’t right.

Lacking motivation?

Lacking motivation? What about the glory of Jesus as our motivation? If we have an opportunity to glorify Jesus then wouldn’t that be the best motivator? And we should look at our life this way, as an opportunity to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. If we could be more motivated toward glorifying Him, than having other motivations, then we may see revival.

The preeminence of Christ

Jesus Christ should have the preeminence in all things (Col. 1:18). The very moment He splits the sky like lightning and the trumpet blasts then the human race will realize this, but it will be too late. But it’s not too late to bow your knee to Him right now.

A false sense of fraternity

(Following on from the previous post)

A false sense of fraternity

“Brotherhood” can so many times be based on what people don’t believe in, or don’t do, or object to, rather than the affirmative: What they actually DO believe in, and more to the point, WHOM they believe in and love – there can be a false sense of fraternity.

Protestants left Rome and then had a fraternity based on “We are not them”. House churchers leave the system and often have a fraternity based on “We are not one of them”… etc..

Or, to leave the “prosperity gospel” or “false prophetic” and then base unity on that criterion.

A false unity is based on “what we are not” rather than on “what we are”.

The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank you, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. Luke 18:11

Many today have an identity based on a comparison with others, rather than an identity exclusively and solely in Christ. This is revealed in the general nature of what they talk about – if Christ is their identity then He is central, but, if like the Pharisee (above), one bases their identity on what they don’t do, or that they are unlike others, then this will characterize their life and what they talk about: their theme will always be comparative, comparing their church with others, etc.

The internet tends to fuel this kind of thing.

And here is the clincher: People who try to build a fraternity based on “what we are not” are preying on the vulnerability and naivety of people by giving them a false sense of brotherhood or fraternity, with control as the goal.

Right across the board Christians are increasingly becoming defined by their superficiality and lack of substance.

A false sense of brotherhood

7. Love. Love is a powerful feeling. Physical affection and constant contrived attention can give a false sense of brotherhood. This desensitizes the member’s defensive mechanism and makes control easier.

https://ianvincent.wordpress.com/za-cults-20-characteristics/