[1]John 14:12
What Jesus did, we can do
[2]Luke 10:17
The Seventy return
[3]Matthew 18:18
What you bind and loose
[4]1 Corinthians 3:9
Working with God
[5]2 Timothy 2:15
A workman that does not need to be ashamed
[6]Luke 9:26
If we are ashamed of Him, He will be ashamed of us
[7]1 Peter 4:14
Count suffering as a blessing
[8]Philippians 1:29
Suffering is granted to us
[9]Romans 8:17
We suffer with Him so we can be glorified with Him
[10]Luke 18:29-30
You will be repaid many times over
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Welcome to the fifth and final installment of our
Revival Series! If you have followed the first
four in this series, then you have:
Cleaned Up: Gotten rid of all the sin in your life
that you can find.
Prayed Up: Learned to pray as God would have you
do, and pray continuously.
Geared Up: Put on the Armor of God and taken up
the Shield and Sword
Looked Up: You have taken your eyes off of the
things in this world and are looking to God.
Now, we will cover "Step Up"! The first verse of
the song "Step Into The Water"[a] says:
"It's time we the people stand up for what is right
It's time we squared our shoulders back and raised our
swords to fight
For the Bible is my weapon and the Spirit is my shield
The Church needs more of its members to be workers in the
field"
I don't think a truer statement has ever been written!
The Church needs more of its members to be workers in the
field".
Mark 16:15 records the Great Commisson; Jesus tells His
disciples to go into all the world and preach the
Gospel. No Christian is exempt from this calling.
Every one of us is to seek ways to spread the Gospel in
every way we can. Some may be called to the
Mission Field while others my only witness in their
local area. Where we are called to makes no
difference, as long as we go where the Holy Spirit sends
us.
Not only are we to witness, but we are to do the works
that Jesus did.[1] Cast out demons, heal the sick,
bring salvation, and create peace. Many will tell
you this was limited to the eleven apostles, plus
Matthias and Paul. However, the scriptures
themselves tell us this is not true. At lease
seventy others[2] went out and preached and cast out
demons. Jesus calls everyone to a ministry of
deliverance; many times it requires the removal of evil
influences, or at least binding and loosing.[3]
Christians should not shy away from doing these things.
We do what the Word of God says do, and let God worry
about making it come to pass.
We are told that we are laborers together with God;[4] God
is building the Church for His Son and we are part of
the Church, but we also labor to build the Church.
What a great calling! Working together with God on
the biggest project of all time-the salvation of human
kind! Think about it; you what your life to mean
something? Then work with GOD to carry out His
Will. Is there any greater calling that to assist
your Creator with His number one project, that being the
salvation of all that He as created?
When Christians realize that they are called to be
assistants to the Most High God, Creator of All That Is,
they will see just how important this work is!
Paul goes on to tell Timothy that he should study to
show himself approved as a workman that does not need to
be ashamed.[5] We should each be striving for this
every day; performing our duties for God in a manner
where we will not be ashamed when we stand before Him.
Jesus tells us that if we are ashamed of Him here on
earth, He will be ashamed of us when we stand before Him
and the Father![6] Do not let shame or fear stop you
from presenting the Word of God to the lost. Many
will sneer and make fun of you, for the Scriptures
themselves say that the Word is foolishness to those who
are unbelivers. So expect to be treated badly by
the world, and don't let it bother you. Remember
that it is much more worse to be ashamed of you work
before God than it is to be ashamed before men.
There are also parts to the job of a Christian that are
not as much fun. This week I had to rebuke a lady
who was very confused and was teaching a hearsay that
was happening even in Paul's time. This lady was
teaching that after you are saved by Grace, you are
required to return to the law recorded in Leviticus and
follow the rules on what to eat, etc. Things like
this cannot be done lightly, and much prayer must go
into it.
Understand that when you decide to stand up for Christ
you will end up suffering for Him. Many, many
Christians will not put themselves in a position where
they will suffer for Him. They will avoid the pain
of suffering at all costs, even if it means that they do
not have a decent testimony for Him. We are not to
see suffering for Him as a bad thing, but rather
something to glorify in.[7] Suffering for Christ is a
blessing! Suffering for Christ is not a curse, but
a blessing that was granted to us by God the Father,[8] for
by this are we purified and made strong in the Word.
If we did not have a sinful nature we would not have to
suffer in this way, but the old man must be broken down
so that the new man may reign in our lives.
We also suffer with Christ so that we can be glorified
with Him.[9] What does this mean?
It was not enough that Christ died and was resurrected
for our salvation, but He also suffered under the curse
of sin to remove it, as perfect atonement. The
Father honors Jesus Christ for not only His death and
resurrection, but His suffering to give us power and
peace. If we suffer for Him, then we suffer with
Him as we bring His message to the world, and for that
we are mistreated. Since we suffer with Him, God
the Father will honor us with Him when we are in His
presence! Remember for last week, that we are
hidden in Christ Jesus; if we suffer, we suffer in Him
and will be honored with Him. There is no greater
thing that can happen to you than for you to stand
before God and be honored along with Jesus Christ for
your suffering in His Name!
It is time for you to Step Up and begin to live the life
of the redeemed. It is time to be the witness that
God asked you to be. It is time for you to put
aside your fear and shame and preach the Gospel, not
caring what others will think of you.
Do you want to hear "Well done, good and faithful
servant"? Do you want to be welcomed into His
rest? Then step up and serve Him above all else!
Will it cost you? Most probably it will. I
have few friends, almost none of which are close enough
to want to spend time with me. Why? Because
they don't want me to be so uptight about religion.
I have one friend that I can sit down with and talk
openly about the things of God without him acting like
he has ants crawling on him. My wife is leaving me
and her biggest complaint (not her only complaint) is
that I am "too Christian". She said she could deal
with my other issues, but the Conservative, Evangelical,
Sold-Out Christian is more than she can handle.
Yes, your Christianity will cost you. However,
Jesus promises to make up for it.[10] And when Jesus
promises you something you can believe it will come to
pass! Glory to God! He looks at what I have
lost for His Sake, and counts it as gain.
The number of people who identify as Christians is
steadily decreasing; soon the all those who don't want
to suffer and sacrifice for God will have moved on to
something easier. Only those who are willing to be
reviled, cancelled, hated, lose their friends, lose
their families, and even lose their lives will remain in
the Church, but what a glorious, God Worshipping, Christ
Serving, Spirit Filled Church it will be.
It is time for you to pick a side; will you step up for
Jesus Christ, or will you be one who falls by the
wayside?
Revive Us Again[b]
We praise Thee, O God!
For the Son of Thy love
For Jesus Who died
And is now gone above
Hallelujah! Thine the glory
Hallelujah! Amen
Hallelujah! Thine the glory
Revive us again
All glory and praise
To the Lamb that was slain
Who has taken our sins
And has cleansed every stain
Hallelujah! Thine the glory
Hallelujah! Amen
Hallelujah! Thine the glory
Revive us again
Revive us again
Fill each heart with Thy love
May each soul be rekindled
With fire from above
Hallelujah! Thine the glory
Hallelujah! Amen
Hallelujah! Thine the glory
Revive us again
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[a]"Step Into The Water", written by Kirk
Talley, published 2005 (?)
[b]"Revive Us Again", written by William Mackay in 1867.
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