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Col 1:24 - Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church,… NASU
I taught that what we should say is "Would you like to come and worship God with me?" We would worship God in a building where we would sing praises to Him, Christians would fellowship with one another and we would fellowship with God when we would partake of communion. We would worship God when we listened to His word be expounded upon by the minister giving us instructions on how to live a Christian life to the glory of God.
Christians are people who have been called out of the kingdom of darkness into God's Kingdom, which is a synonym for the Lord's Church. We can read this in 1 Pet. 2:9-10 - But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY. The Lord's Church is people who have been called to leave their life of sin and enter into the body of Christ, which is the Lord's Church. We don't go to church. Christians are the Church. I have included a few passages of scriptures that discuss the church in the first century and as you read them I hope you will be convinced the Church passages are referencing people and not a building.
Acts 11:21-22 - And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 The news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch. Acts 12:5 - So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God. The building isn't praying for anyone, but the members inside the building do. Acts 14:27 - When they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to report all things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. The good news was how the gospel was converting people and this was told to the members of the church. 1 Corin. 15:9 - For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. We know Paul persecuted Christians before being struck by the bright light and listening to a message from Ananias. Eph. 1:22-23 - And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body,… Paul tells us Jesus is the Head of the church and the church is the body of Christ.
Christ loved the church and died for her. If you are a Christian you should never think that you don't matter in this world. You would be wrong. Jesus died for you because you were and are important to Him. Eph 5:29-31- for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, 30 because we are members of His body. Col 1:18 - He is also head of the body, the church;… 1 Tim. 3:15 - but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God,… After reading these few scripture passages one is able to see that the church was persecuted, ravaged, prayed fervently, gathered together, and was loved by Jesus Christ. The church is considered the "Bride of Christ" and at the end of time when Jesus returns He is not coming for buildings. He is coming for His Bride aka His Church, His people. Jesus is the Head of the church. He is the one we are to look for when anything is troubling us. He is the one we are to pray to when we want to express our thankfulness. I hope this Sunday you will not say you're going to church, but rather remember you are a valuable part of the church everyday of the week. You are a part of the body of Christ and you are the one Jesus died for. You are something. Think About These: The worship service isn't to make people happy. It is to help them be holy. The mark of a great church is her ability to lead others to Christ, not build buildings. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word
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Luke 9:62 - But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." NASU
Please allow me to paraphrase what Jesus said, If you begin to plow a field keep your eyes straight ahead, don't be looking around. You can't plow straight furrows when you are looking all around. The person who stays focus is the person you want to be. He or she is the type of person you want on your team. This person will not be distracted by what is going on all around them. This is the type of person you must be if you ever want to accomplish your goals in life.
If you want your dreams to come crashing down then lose your focus on what is important in your life.
This person has the dedication to accomplishing the goal that is before them. Anything that tries to knock them off their course is immediately squashed and they are wise enough to know there will always be something trying to distract them from accomplishing their goal. So what is your goal today? What are you doing to fulfill your dream? Hopefully, you are making sure nothing distracts you. Take the advice of Jesus once you put your hands to the plow don't look back. Stay Focused! Think About These: A man with a burning ambition is seldom fired. Too many of us shoot blanks when aiming at our goals. Enthusiasm is apt to breed more action than accuracy. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Psalm 23:3 - He restores my soul;… NASU
These four words are tucked in between some of the more famous words of this psalm like "The Lord is my Shepherd and Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil." I mean those words have been quoted quite often. T-shirts and posters have been made with those words on them, but if you want four words that make you a promise then the words "He restores my soul" are your go to words. He restores my soul. Just think about those four words. What do they mean? They mean you are having a bad day, week or month. Your soul has been crushed by something. You are singing the blues and your "soul" needs to be restored. Ps 31:7, 9 - Because You have seen my affliction; You have known the troubles of my soul,… 9 - Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; My eye is wasted away from grief, my soul and my body also. The Psalmist is writing and in this Psalm he mentions that his soul is being afflicted, having troubles, is in distress and his soul is wasted away because of grief. Yes, we could probably say the Psalmist's soul needs "restoring".
What about us? Has our soul been afflicted, in trouble, or under enormous amounts of stress? Have we quoted this verse to ourselves? Did we even think to say when we were suffering the Lord is going to "restore my soul". The reason why He is going to restore our souls is because that is who He is. A very Popular song today is entitled "Way Maker" it was written by a Nigerian singer-songwriter named Sinach. She said, she was going through a very difficult time in her life and the words of Isaiah came to her: Isa 43:15-16 - "I am the LORD, your Holy One, The Creator of Israel, your King." Thus says the LORD, Who makes a way through the sea And a path through the mighty waters,… Here are some lyrics of this song: You are Way maker, miracle worker; promise keeper, Light in the darkness, My God, that is who You are. God says He is able to make a way for us and that He is a "promise keeper". We can depend on God's promises because He never lies. He is omnipotent and able to work miracles.
He is a "miracle worker, promise keeper" and it is to your advantage to never give up on God because He is going to restore your soul. You might not be able to see a way out of your dilemma, but God can. He is the "Way Maker". We need to trust in Him to make a way for us to once again have our soul restored. David trusted in God and He made a way for David's soul to be restored. Do yourself a favor and place your trust in God and His word and your soul will be restored when it has gone through a life crushing experience. Think About These: What is faith but to see what you don't believe. Faith helps us face the music, even when we don't like the tune. All men need a faith that will not shrink when washed in the waters of affliction and adversity. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Matt. 12:11-12 - And He said to them, "What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 "How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." NASU
The most important thing for us to remember is to "do good." Jesus asks them a question, "What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out?" What Jesus is really saying is this: "You know if one of your sheep falls into a pit you are going to help it get out of there. You will not allow it to become a meal for wolves or coyotes and you will even do this on the Sabbath."
It was on days like that when I felt like I was drowning in work that I would ask my secretary, "Is there anyone in the hospital or did any visitors attend this past Sunday?" I knew instinctively I had to go and visit someone in the hospital or someone who was looking for a congregation to join. If I were able to visit and help them it would also be helping me. You don't know how many times I walked out of a hospital with a rejuvenated spirit. Why was I feeling better? I had allowed God to use me to "do good" for someone else. As I walked out of the hospital I remember thinking "There isn't a patient in here that wouldn't want to trade places with me." I could hear a man or woman dying of cancer tell me they would exchange places with me. You may not like your situation in life right now, but I can tell you I know people who would trade places with you in a New York second.
Maybe you can volunteer at a hospital, animal rescue center or if you have an elderly neighbor you can help them. If you want to be happy then try this one thing "do good" to others. Jesus even promoted doing good on the Sabbath day. There is a lesson for us: it doesn't matter which day of the week you want to do good. Doing good isn't restricted to any day of the week if you want to "do good" on Sunday or the Sabbath feel free to do it. Think About These: People seldom get dizzy spells from doing good turns. People who do good today never have to apologize for their actions tomorrow. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word 1 Corinthians 5:6-7 - Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? 7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump,… NASU
The apostle Paul has been talking to the Corinthians about allowing sin to come into their congregation. One man was being sexually immoral and Paul lets them know to allow this man's behavior to stay within the congregation would be disastrous. He illustrates this by using leaven as an example. During Passover everything that had leaven in it had to be removed from the Israelites house in order for them to celebrate the Passover as prescribed by God. Their houses had to be free from leaven. Leaven is a symbolic name used Biblically for sin. If you let sin remain in your life the end result will be disastrous.
Matt 16:6-8, 11-12 - And Jesus said to them, "Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." 7 They began to discuss this among themselves, saying, "He said that because we did not bring any bread." 8 But Jesus, aware of this, said, "You men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread?... 11 "How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." 12 Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. One must always be ware of the false teachings that permeate our society.
Paul says, "Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump,…" We have a job to do and that is to clean out the old leaven. This again is a reference to the Israelites as they cleaned out their houses preparing for the Passover. No kind of leaven was allowed in their houses for 7 days prior to Passover. The first thing we need to do is identify the temptation that so easily gets us to sin. Once we have identified this temptation and sin we need to do what Paul says, "Clean out the old leaven…." Our house (life) needs to be kept clean and free from leaven. Well, at least I know one thing. We all have something to work on this week. We all have to do some "house cleaning". Think About These: When temptation calls you don't answer. Sin deceives, then defiles and then deadens. By yielding to temptation one may lose in a moment what it took a lifetime to build. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word |
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