Part One

Part Two

Part Three

“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” – Hebrews 10:25

Time with other bible believers studying the truth of God’s word and learning about the Christian life is essential for growth in Christ.

The purpose behind these Essential Instruction posts is to grow in Christ. In the next post, we’ll provide specific technical instruction about how to lead a lost soul into the Kingdom of God if they’ve by given by the Father under the conviction of the Holy Spirit of God to rely on Christ Jesus. Here in Part Four, we’ll not be talking about modes of worship or rudiments of outward forms of godliness as a group of believers. This post is about you serving God in spirit and in truth.

“For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.” – Romans 12:4-5

See also: 1 Corinthians 12:12

A local church is a body of believers. All followers of Jesus are His church, sometimes referred to in Scripture as the body of Christ. The church of Jesus Christ is not a Church building. When the members refuse to serve, they make the body lame and dysfunctional retarding the growth of His church by slowing the spreading of the Gospel to every tongue. God has a job for you to do, that the body may be whole.

“And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.” – Acts 11:26

What did Jesus command in the Great Commission? What did they do at Antioch? What did the disciples do everywhere they went? What are you doing?

A Christian is a believer who is now in the body of Christ and becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ. A Christian is someone who gives His life in service to the Father just as our Lord Jesus did. Christianity is not a mere belief, although that is the essential first thing. Christians do the work of God to bring about the glorification of Jesus Christ to the uttermost parts of the earth, preaching the Gospel to every creature and teaching all nations to obey Christ. Being saved by Jesus is not the end; it is the beginning, the beginning of a new life of service for our Lord in the Kingdom of God.

This is very important; the Churches of America have taken to preaching the Gospel to each other and ministering to the lost. This is the exact opposite of what Almighty God calls Christians to do in service of Him as commanded in His word. The first work of believers, if done according to the Holy Bible, is to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to lost sinners outside the body. And secondly, care one for another as a group of believers, teaching not only about the Bible but how to accomplish what God commands in His word.

“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” – Jude 1:3

The church we should want is not one where believers come to get refreshed from work, or the news cycle, or from a hectic life of worldliness nor as a babysitter for our children and an activity center. Your local church should be the group of believers we rely upon to be refreshed in the power of Christ, refilled with the Holy Spirit of God. And the local church should be the place we get encouraged and uplifted because we’ve spent a week reproving the wicked of sin, sharing the Gospel with the lost, and standing in the righteousness of Christ against the evil of this present world by following the commandments in the new testament. We should want a church that contends for the faith within and outside the body in serious commitment to follow after Christ.

“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.” Jesus Christ speaking to His disciples in John 15:12

Seek opportunities to teach, share the simple Gospel with the children of your church, spend a little time listening to widows and the elderly. Great all members with a smile and sincerely ask if you can pray for them, and then do pray throughout the week, and follow up the next week and ask them how it’s going. Offer to help the Pastor with anything He needs. He’ll say no at first but continue to make yourself available. Depending on how your church is structured, there may be many ways to contribute, but it’s mainly about the people. Serve in meekness, love, longsuffering, mercy, and compassion, never backbiting, telling tales, or spreading gossip. You don’t need anyone’s permission to love and care with sincere kindness one for another and not in words only but in deeds that help your brothers and sisters in Christ.

Now, pastoral leadership is a narrow calling of God on the men He chooses. But specific gifts and ministries may include teaching, church planting, missions, evangelism, and we are all made witnesses of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the lost. And we all strengthen each other uplifting each other’s spirit to prepare each other to re-enter the battlefield doing battle for our High King.

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” – Romans 12:2

Want to know the will of God for your service of Him? Prove it, test it, try the reigns of God by giving yourself in time and ability within the body. You’ll find where you work best for His glory. Perhaps He’ll use you in one capacity for a season and another capacity for another season. This is not unusual for those who seek to earnestly and humbly give of themselves for God’s kingdom. When you begin this search, God will put you where He wants you. You’ve got to want it; take the initiative.

God isn’t looking for benchwarmers to help Him with gravity by holding down a pew with your backside. Christians are not useless observers. Consumerist Christianity is destroying the American Church. Be ye doers of the word!

Another thing that is destroying the American Church is that it is supposed to be for believers; it is not a mixed multitude. Inviting somebody to church is a kindness but having a group that is half lost people is not the church. The church is the body of Christ, and we are His people. We are to assemble with other believers to strengthen each other so that we can go into the world and seek the lost that God would make His own. Filling the body with lost people weakens the purposes of assembling together.

Contending for the faith is done by following the commandments in the New Testament and telling people about Jesus. When studying the New Testament, it becomes clear that Jesus was preparing men to preach to the lost, create assemblies that gather as His church, and within those assemblies to set out specific functions for service of Him by caring for the saints. In these two things is the fullness of the Great Commission; to serve God on earth in the name of Jesus Christ by following His commandments; teaching and learning and ministering among a group of believers, and secondly by spreading the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to lost souls outside the body.

“And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:” – Hebrews 10:24

Disciples seek the lost to share the good news of salvation in Christ Jesus. And followers of Jesus Christ minister among a group of believers, a local church. This ministration includes caring for one another, urging each other to do good works, encouraging each other, and sharing life with other believers. The church is not a building; it’s the body of Christ, that is, all the believers working and serving Holy God to accomplish the specific tasks for the particular purposes that the New Testament lays out. If accomplished according to Scripture, this is an excellent work for Holy God in which He is well pleased.

Time with other bible believers studying the truth of God’s word and learning about the Christian life is essential for growth in Christ. Personal prayer and bible study do not replace church going. And going to church does not replace personal prayer and bible reading & study time. You must do both.

So that you mature in Christ becoming a worthy vessel to serve our King in His kingdom, you must examine yourself with fear and trembling to become the member in particular that God would have.

“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” – 2 Corinthians 13:5

“Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” – Philippians 2:12

Prove God’s perfect will for your service of Him. Prove your own self whether you are in the faith. Are you in or not!?! Work this out with fear and trembling before the throne of the Almighty; will you follow Christ?

And pray; God help me grow and put me in service of you that your holy name would be glorified and that I falter not unto the day of redemption. Amen.

Part One

Part Two

“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” – Acts 17:11

This is Part Three of several posts about growing and maturing in Christ to accomplish the works that He foreordained for you to walk in. In later posts, we’ll look at serving within the body of Christ (Church) and then specific technical instruction in how to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with lost sinners. Here we’ll discuss personal Bible reading and study.

If you say that you’re saved by the grace of Holy God and have never read the book that He left for you, shame on you! Men died to write it. Men died to make it a household item. Jesus died that it might all be fulfilled. Jesus said in Matthew 24:35 that “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” God has preserved His word supernaturally by His will that you might know Him and have specific instruction on how to proceed to implement His kingdom while we anticipate His return. Please read the book; it’s all in there! You’ll answer to God one day. And we’ll leave it at that before this turns into a much-justified tirade.

If you love the Lord that saved you, the Holy Spirit should fill you with the desire to be salt and light, in His strength and righteousness, to the wicked and depraved world. Christians should change the environment they are in. This is the mandate of the Great Commission; to conquer the world in the name of Jesus Christ by effectively wielding the sword of God, which is His word; you have no right to settle for less. How can you wield His sword if you don’t know it?

Read for comprehension by examining the text with singleness of purpose; that you might know Him and His mind toward you. You should do personal Bible reading and study time daily. It’s best to set a specific time for this each day.

When reading the Scriptures, pray and ask God for at least four things: To reveal what is happening in the text. To reveal what He needs you to learn from it. To teach you what He wants you to learn. And ask Him to reveal personal application for your church, family, and self.

Context is king. Many religions claiming to be Christian have taken just a handful of verses and made a religion from them. There are 66 books within the Holy Bible. You must seek to know who wrote the individual book you are reading and studying and the overarching purpose of God in giving us that book. All Scripture is given us for instruction (2 Timothy 3:16), but knowing who the intended audience was and the occasion of the writing is critical to understanding sound doctrine as applied to the Church today. The Holy Bible is not a book of mystical, vaguely knowable sayings. You can understand it when studied in context.

Let’s start at the beginning. For brand new Christians and other infants, the book of John in the New Testament is a great place to begin personal reading and study. It lays out the simple fact of who Jesus is, how much God loves you, what He’s done for you, and who you are to God.

Here is how to grow; challenge God to prove His word. Now, don’t take that wrong; we don’t confront God or seek a duel of sorts, desire for God to show you that His word may be proven true. Our topic verse in Acts 17:11 at the top says: “…searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” Don’t be afraid to tell God that you can’t hear the text, don’t understand it, and need His help to show you His purposes in judgment, grace, and instruction in righteousness.

Interrogate the text. Don’t take any man’s word for what the Bible says. Search the Scriptures daily for yourself! Are these things so?

A goal in reading and study should be to have family Bible study, but how can you teach your children if you are still ignorant? How can you know what your pastor teaches is accurate if you refuse to grow in the faith and knowledge of God by reading His word? How can you be a mature Christian soldier serving our King while remaining in darkness and ignorance?

“Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” – 2 Peter 3:17-18

After reading John, read the whole New Testament. It’s ok not to understand it all at first. Read from Matthew to the end of Revelation, asking God to reveal His word to you. The reason to start in the New Testament is that what happened two thousand years ago when Jesus was here is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. The books of the Law and the Prophets in the Old Testament were fulfilled in (by) Christ Jesus. Reading the New Testament is like reading the answers to the test before taking it. We have the answers to the prophecies of the coming of the Son of God to save His people, raise up a Church, restore righteousness in the earth, and end the curse of sin and death since the fall in the garden.

“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” – Jesus in John 17:17

Next is some practical reading and study instructions for anybody. Although God’s word will not return void (Isaiah 55:11), those ‘read the Bible in a year’ plans are essentially a waste of time. After reading the whole New Testament (perhaps twice?), start back in Genesis and begin your reading cover to cover. There is no end to the growth in grace and knowledge of God as He reveals His holy word to you. There is no goal; read and study for the rest of your life to know Him that loves you and saved you from eternal torment. You’ll never attain to the end of the knowledge of God in this life; it’s an ongoing relationship with Jesus that matters.

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:9-10

Study a book going verse by verse, writing down what God reveals. The first book to do this with, again, is John. While studying in this manner, at times, you may simply be paraphrasing the word, but at others, God will bring the Scripture to life, and you’ll end up writing half a page about one verse that God is showing you. Pray for understanding and write down every thought working your way through the book a little at a time. Not only will God show you very personal things, but in writing about what you read, you’ll have to think and justify your understanding of the word of God and its meaning. If you have the Holy Spirit, you will grow very quickly doing this. Of course, without the guidance and teaching of the Holy Spirit of God, nobody can understand the word of God to any helpful degree of truth, especially the deep things of God.

You must be serious about reading and studying God’s word. This way, when you come under the sound of preaching, the Holy Spirit of God connects sections of Scripture, concepts, and related verses which will bring the word of God alive during the preaching. Otherwise, you sit there, not even knowing if what’s being said is true! If you know the word of God, no man can lie to you about God by soft-peddling perversions of the true and living God who is mighty to confound and destroy by His judgments, merciful and loving in His graces; for He is the only righteous One that exists.

Here are just three good reasons to study Scripture:

“The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.” Psalm 119:130

“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” – Psalm 119:11

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17

The word of God brings us into the light of truth and will change your simple mind to maturity. Coming into the knowledge of Christ consistently rebukes us from sinning against God that we may be steadfast in the faith unto the end. The word of God brings faith; we are to walk by faith, not by sight.

You must read and study the Scriptures to gain an in-depth understanding of God and the ministries He would have you serve in.

Note how not one extra-biblical text or course is mentioned here. Personal prayer with reading and study is done on top of any instructor-led or guidebook-driven studies. Personal prayer and bible study do not replace church going. And going to church does not replace personal prayer and bible reading & study time. You must do both.

Part One

In subsequent posts, we’ll discuss Bible reading and study, serving within His Church, and seeking those that Holy God would save by His grace. Here in Part Two, we’ll briefly examine prayer.

“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” – James 1:22

Doers of the word bring glory to the Father through His Son Jesus Christ. Hearers only will fall into deception, and worse, self-deception. There is no worse place to be than living in a lie and thinking that you’re alright. God didn’t call you and choose you for you to be a spectator.

As a believer, geometric growth in Christ is experienced when you do these four things simultaneously. Personal prayer; praying like you mean it. Personal, self-motivated daily reading and study of the Bible. Assembling together to not only hear preaching but to minister and serve each other in a group of Bible believers (church). And sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with lost souls outside the body.

Prayer is simply talking to Holy God. Don’t forget that He is Holy, but you can and should speak to Him about everything. Here are just a few verses about prayer.

“Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth.” – Psalms 54:2

“I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah.” – Psalms 3:4

“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” – 1 Peter 5:7

“I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” – Psalms 34:4

“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” – John 15:7

In John 15:7, Jesus starts with the word if. If you abide in Christ and His words abide in you.

It’s not possible to explain prayer to you in a way that would adequately convince you that God answers prayers. Prayer is one of the things that you have to do for yourself to see the work of God in and all around you. The excuse that God will work His sovereign will and His great purposes will be accomplished anyway is a lame excuse for not praying. Prayer is about bringing a change in you, brothers and sisters, by the power of God. Prayer will change you from somebody who occasionally sees glimpses of God’s kingdom into somebody who sees the work of God in action. This happens by prayer and actively seeking to effect the bringing in of God’s holy kingdom to glorify the Father through prayer, study, and service. You can see so much more of the workings of God when you do the works of God. Don’t show up before the throne of God slack.

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” – Matthew 6:33

God knows what things you have need of; what God wants is you! God wants all of you.

All we can say is pray. Pray seriously. If you’ve never prayed for more than five minutes continuously, then you’re not serious about knowing God. After about five minutes of prayer, all the fluff is gone, all the rudiments of daily desires and needs evaporates, and you’re left only with what God actually desires to hear from you; your helplessness, depravity, sinfulness, desire to live in His righteousness, your deep moral conflicts in a world beset by sin and wickedness, how very thankful you are to Him for His grace and mercy, and much more.

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” – Psalms 51:17

Once you arrive at a broken spirit and contrite heart, then can Holy God make of you a vessel worthy of the name; Christian, learning to grow in Christ and serve by building His kingdom while we anticipate the fullness of His glory starts with prayer.

When seeking to be fully immersed in the Kingdom of God, you can see the answers to prayer in real-time as you serve; if that is, you are serious about serving in the kingdom. In that case, God will give you specific charge of, probably informal at first, ministries to teach, comfort and encourage the saints, and to seek the lost that God would make His own. This only happens through doers of the word. Not to get sidetracked about the apostate churches in America, but the informal is where most of the actual work of God is getting done today anyway.

There is, of course, the incorrectly labeled “Lord’s Prayer” in Matthew 6. Start reading in Matthew 6 verses 5 through 15 to get a more complete context. You can pray in this model if you choose, and nothing is wrong with that. Vain and mindless repetition of these verses, however, is as the heathen do. If you want to know the actual Lord’s Prayer, read and study John 17. It’s the Lord’s prayer for His disciples. Everything spoken of in John 17 by our Lord can be directly applied to you today. But he didn’t pray that prayer for them, or you, to be useless pew sitters. That prayer in John 17 is for those who would risk their necks in service of our King as He brings in His kingdom. John 17 is not just a great prayer by Jesus; it’s a teaching tool about righteous prayer in the will of God and a life of dedicated service to bring glory to the Father through His Son.

You’re losing your civilization because you won’t work the works of God to confront the sin all around us, being filled with the Holy Spirit through prayer. It’s that simple. Christians are surrendering the field to the enemy. It’s a real battle that starts with prayer.

James 5:16 says in part: “…The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” If your prayers aren’t being answered, carefully look at that “righteous man” part. Shed any unrepentant sin. Recall to mind the tasks God called you to that you put away or never pursued and set about to serve in them. Prayer avails much for them that are in the will of the Father.

Part Two  Part Three  Part Four  Part Five

If the Lord allows, we’ll look more thoroughly in subsequent posts at prayer, bible reading and study, gathering together (church), and spreading the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

It’s ok to need training, and it’s certainly preferable not to be led astray into falsehood. A sure foundation of biblical training ensures that we don’t depart from the truth as believers.

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6 (The book of Proverbs, Chapter 22, and verse 6)

An infant Christian is a new believer regardless of how many years that person has been alive. The purpose of early doctrinal training for a new believer is to set the sure foundations of the truth about Christ in their heart.

And sadly, many believers have been saved for some time but have never been trained in the essentials of what it means to be a Christian. These also remain in their infancy because they have never been guided or weened, from the milk of the word onto the meat of the word of God.

Those who refuse to be trained and refuse to take it upon themselves to grow and serve are not only a hindrance to the work of God but can be destructive to the work of the body of Christ that God has ordained. Don’t be this person!

“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” 1 Peter 2:2-3

The word of God is the milk by which a believer will grow. By taking the milk in abundance, a Christian will grow to desire and need the meat of the word. Christians must come off the milk and learn to eat the solid food (core) of the more difficult passages and deeper doctrines of truth that Holy God reveals in His word.

The word of God exercises the believer’s mind, which will give you an understanding of good and evil and the ability to discern both the spirit of the truth of God and the spirit of evil and error.

“For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” Hebrews 5:13-14

This discernment comes by reason of use in earnest daily prayer with bible reading, asking Holy God to teach you what the Bible says. Without the word of God, you will be misled into error and into following after evil without even knowing it. TCJ is a blog about rulers, weapons, and warfare. Understand that all wars are spiritual wars and that they are won in the counsels of Heaven long before we see the results on earth. These wars are not limited to international conflicts but to your church, family, and self. If you don’t take seriously the rigorous pursuit of the study of the word of God, you can’t even see the war; you can’t discern the truth of good and evil and the spiritual warfare that rages all around you. This war also would take you captive into corruption if you allow it. You’re in this war whether you like it or not.

The Holy Bible shows us God’s great purposes in grace, and in judgment, and for instruction in righteousness. The answer to every question that any believer may have will be found in the word of God. Glory not, except in the Lord.

“But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.” Jeremiah 9:24

Holy God is delighted to show you the depth and the breadth of His glorious kingdom and what great things He is doing, but you’ve got to want it. You must pursue Him. Christians give glory only to God.

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” John 10:27

A goal of every Christian must be that they grow and mature in Christ. This will not happen unless Christians do it on purpose. And it’s not actually a goal; it’s an attitude of purposefulness throughout life because you love God and want to serve Christ. In the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), Jesus says that Christians must “teach all nations” to observe the things that Jesus has commanded. We must be shown what Jesus desires for us to do in service of Him.

Every Christian runs the risk of becoming a permanent infant, therefore always needing the Bible explained to them either through preaching or extra-biblical writings and commentaries or both. Coming under sound Bible teaching and preaching is essential; while reading books about the Bible may be interesting, neither is the same as reading and understanding the Holy Scriptures through prayer and study. You must learn to communicate with Holy God on your own. The word of God is God’s words. There is no other inerrant source for God’s teachings.

We communicate to God through prayer. And God communicates to the believer primarily through the reading and study of His Holy Bible. All Christians must learn how to communicate with God by allowing the Holy Spirit of God to guide and teach them. The Holy Spirit reveals God’s word as you pray, read, and study directly from the text of the Bible.

“In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began” -Titus 1:2

Before there was a before, God made a promise in the counsels of Heaven, all the holy angels with Him; He promised Himself, since there is none higher, that He would make a way for you to enter into eternal life. The only thing that God cannot do is lie. God is truth. This promise stands good for you today. You must take knowledge of two inheritances and two promises that affect your eternal station.

God created you to bring glory to Himself. He created man, the first man Adam, to have eternal life. But man sinned against God. This is the problem. Sin is the problem with the whole world; it’s the problem with you.

“For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.” -Ecclesiastes 7:20

You might consider yourself to be a pretty good person. You might even do good things. You can give to charity and raise your family well, educating your children and teaching them right from wrong. You can be kind and helpful, but that wrong exists at all is not God’s fault; it’s yours. You are a sinner. You’ve told a lie, taken that which doesn’t belong to you, cheated, and very likely worse than these. No matter how hard you strive to be just and do good, you are still a sinner. All sin is ultimately against God. The greatest sin of all is rejecting Christ, who was tortured to death that you might go free.

“Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.” -Ecclesiastes 7:29

God made you for worship and service of Him, but you have sought every invention to make of yourself a god. Religion is sending more lost souls to hell than all the beer joints, nightclubs, whorehouses, and dating apps combined. Humanism, which is self as a god, is destroying civilization and you with it. Men desire to make of themselves a god so desperately that he makes a myriad of ways to promise himself eternity, and thereby you have rejected the simple promise and truth of Jesus Christ that God made from the beginning. Hell is full of pretty good folks. That’s the dirty shame of it, for it doesn’t have to be that way.

“Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” -Ezekiel 18:4

Almighty God declares in Ezekiel 18:4 that all souls belong to Him! He made your soul. He gave you self-awareness and a desire for things higher and more significant than yourself. He made you to seek after Him. He created you in His own image. You have no right whatsoever to seek a god other than He that made heaven and earth and knit you in your mother’s womb. He made you and owns your very soul. The only right you have is to seek the forgiveness of Him that is holy, by the blood of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

In Ezekiel 18:4, Holy God further declares that the soul in sin and open rebellion to Him will die. Now, we know that all men die. Hebrews 9:27 makes it plain: “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” You have an appointment with death after which you will stand before the throne of holy and Almighty God to be judged for your sin and when you’re found guilty, and you are guilty, your soul will suffer eternal death. Your soul is His to do with as He pleases to bring glory unto Himself. Your stubbornness and pride will get you an eternity in torment. Ezekiel 18:4 says that your soul will die. Under the weight of the curse of sin, your body will expire. And your conscious soul will enter into eternal torment dying all the day long, day after day, tortured for your sin forever and forever and ever again. You have no right to object; it’s the mercy of God, who is the Judge that you need. You don’t own yourself; God made you, He owns you but know too that you were bought with a price by Christ.

You inherited death, not of your own choosing; this we understand. But God made a promise to make a way, through His Son, for you who would be forgiven. You see, God is holy and perfect. To allow sin in heaven would defile Him. He won’t have sin defile His holy name. You must be forgiven and made blameless.

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness” – Romans 1:18

Having read this far, it’s too late. Now you know the truth. Now you must choose. The wrath of eternal damnation abides on all who reject God’s way of grace and mercy through Jesus Christ, who died for your sins and rose again from the grave in power and glory the third day. You don’t have to suffer the wrath of God. You can be restored, forgiven. You who are ashamed of your sin and need the grace of God’s promise can have eternal life.

These are the two inheritances; the choice is yours: eternal death or eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord. Consider wisely your eternal station.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” – 1 Peter 1:3-5

Now is the time; today is the day of the revelation of salvation in Christ come unto you. You, too, can be kept by the power of God through faith if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. An eternal inheritance that never fades and won’t corrupt and that no man can take from you is God’s offer to all who put their hope in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. We have a living hope, Jesus rose from the grave. It’s by the mercy and grace of God that all who call upon Him by faith, chosen in Him before the foundation of the world, are begotten again according to the abundant mercy of God our Father by the Lord Jesus Christ. God loves you and doesn’t want hell for you but offers this day eternal life. Blessed be God the Father!

Jesus declares in John 3:3, “…Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” God desires to give you a new heart and make you a new creation, to fill you with joy and hope, charity and a desire to serve Him, and above all else to pursue the truth of Holy God for a life that brings peace to you and glory to the Father through His Son. In a world besieged by sin, you can rest on one certain truth, one sure hope, and that is the hope of eternal life by the simple fact that you are Christ’s; if that is, you indeed are His.

“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” – 2 Peter 3:9

The promise spoken of in 2 Peter is that of Christ’s return. The Lord is not slack. Generation after generation, the Lord is making those that He chooses by faith to be His own. Christ is bringing in His kingdom with enduring patience that you too would come to Him by repentance from your own understanding. He doesn’t want you to perish in eternal torment. It’s not the will of God that you die. God is the judge and offers a way for you to be no longer condemned. His yoke is easy, and His burden is light.

He’s coming back to separate the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the tares, the just from the unjust, the holy from the wicked, the living from the dead; you must be numbered among those that belong to Christ.

These are the two promises: eternal life and the return of Christ for you who are forgiven by His grace and sanctified by the Holy Spirit to inherit His kingdom with Him.

He’s coming back for those that are His. Christ is putting all enemies under His feet, and the last enemy He will conquer will be death. Then death and hell and all those who have rejected Christ as King of kings will burn for eternity. But His people are those made holy by the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. The offer from Holy God to you: to be born again by the resurrection of Christ Jesus, given a living hope, gathered all together with the faithful when Christ will hand us up with His kingdom unto the Father that God may be all in all. Amen.

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” –Romans 10:9-10

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” – 2 Timothy 1:7

You that are afar off, you that have gone out of the way, you that have succumbed to the spirit of fear, return to God.

If you failed the test and became fearful these past couple of years, it’s not too late for repentance toward God to be forgiven and restored. The spirit of fear is not of God; it is the spirit of antichrist. You need to get settled in your heart. Return to the assembling together with other believers as we are commanded of God. If you are genuinely saved but did stumble, you must understand what happened and prepare for more trouble. We all must prepare.

As we are well instructed in 2 Timothy 1:7 above, fear takes your power and turns love into confusion and this, in turn, is the cause of an unsound mind in the believer. That’s not pop psychology; that’s what the true and living God says.

You must return to Holy God because this thing isn’t over by any stretch. The testing of the American Church is just getting started. You need God; you need your fellows.

“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” – 1 John 2:16

More challenges with the lies and manipulation of the global order are underway. The tactics aren’t new. They are the same as at the fall in the garden; it’s sweet-sounding lies, offers to satisfy the needs of your body, and the ridiculous notion that you can be wiser than God himself while living under your moral compromise. It’s the same way Eve was tempted and similarly was the three-fold attack against our Lord in the wilderness after His baptism by the prophet John. Jesus overcame, and you too can overcome the accuser. “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” – Revelation 12:11

Only a group of believers can be strong together. The likeness of a wolf in scripture is not by mistake. Wolves hunt by cutting the weak from the flock to devour them. It’s a classic pack hunting tactic.

“The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.” Proverbs 4:19

But now you know. Reject wickedness and come back into the Light.

“The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.” Proverbs 28:1

Serve in the righteousness of Christ because self-righteousness will fail you every time. Understand that you’re not alone. The Christian life is one of trials and temptations. Isolation one from another allows the enemy to win. Don’t continue in the lies. Shake it off by seeking the Father and get back up to serve Him again. It’s a trite cliché because it’s true: when a fall comes, it’s about what you do next that matters.

“Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” – James 4:8

Set your mind on Christ with singleness of purpose and set your heart on faith; get back in the fight for His holy name. Don’t be remembered in the halls of heaven as having left the field, during an opening skirmish, never to return. Be of sound mind and pure heart in the power and love of Christ Jesus. Draw nigh unto God, for He is faithful.

“I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.” – Revelation 3:8

When God sets before a man an open door, that door cannot be shut. Conversely, when God closes a door, no man can open it.

Revelation 3:8 has a very specific context, but we are not in error to draw out a broader application. The works of God, that is, the ministries of His faithful, are the topic.

God’s ways are better. His timing is best. There is no sin that cannot be forgiven and no shame that cannot be covered by the blood of Jesus Christ.

The faithful who do His works and keep His name are indeed rewarded with the means, mode, and opportunity to bring glory to His holy name. Our Lord declares it to be so in Luke 12:48, “…for unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required…” and so it is.

When the Lord Jesus Christ fills a man’s heart with the desire to teach His word, to evangelize His holy name, to witness of Him to the lost, to preach His kingdom, and to minister among the saints, He will not be denied.

Indeed, means, mode, and opportunity to bring glory unto the Father should be the heart’s desire of every soul that is forgiven of their sin by the blood of Jesus Christ and begotten again by the power of His resurrection. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation.