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A 9-11 Message for Followers of Jesus Christ

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So what are we supposed to do about this now? Saved and under Lordship does not mean we sit in a church until Jesus comes again singing kumbya. The key verses spell it out very plainly for us. You are my witnesses! Ask ten churches what witnessing means and you might get ten different answers. One might say we witness with our lives. Another might say that we say what Jesus has done for us. Another might say that we say who we were before and after salvation. Others might talk about social works and loving our neighbors. Still more will talk about missions works overseas. I am not here to say any one of these is wrong per se - just incomplete. The sentence in the key verses above indicates what we are witnesses of! We are witnesses that He is God! Now that may seem obvious but how often does our witnessing leave out the deity aspects of God? Church is not a social experiment on feeling better about ourselves. Church is not a vehicle of social relevance. Church is not eighty percent of what is out there in America today and 98% of what you see on Christian television. Today we have four steps to a better you and we call it a sermon? How to improve your marriage? How to feel more important in our community? Then we take a forced offering, sing "I am a "Friend of God" and send everyone home? Where is the deity of God? Where is the deity of Jesus Christ? People do not need to hear that Jesus is their friend. They need to hear that He is God. They need to hear that He is their only chance for salvation. Exclusionary? You betchya. Divides people? Absolutely. Wait a minute preacher. That is not what I have been taught. I've been taught about a loving, kinder Jesus than that. Where is my peaceful Jesus?

"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn   a man against his father, a daughter against her mother,   a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law--a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.'   "Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.  - Matthew 10: 34-39 (NIV)

Not peace but a sword? What does that mean? The Bible is the sword of the Spirit. The Gospel will divide people if it is being preached right. It will offend people if it is being preached right. We do not hear many sermons anymore about taking up our cross if we intend to follow Christ. That doesn't lead to more people in the pews and money in the offering. We are supposed to be witnesses to the fact that He is God! That He is Lord! That He is Savior! So the real question today for us is - who is He to you?

If Jesus Christ is just your friend then your witness will be to that fact. You may be able to convince friends to come to your church because the music is great and the kids programs are wonderful but without the Lordship everyone is still running their own lives. Without the salvation you may build a church but no one is coming into the Kingdom. When I was still in training to become a minister I once offered up to my pastor that there were two types of sermons. One that deals with salvation and the other which deals with spiritual maturity. This kind of thinking was filled with human logic. I was quickly corrected when he said that any sermon should be able to be brought back to the cross of Christ or it is not worth preaching. Talk about a valuable nugget! I have held onto that teaching ever since. What is the point of improving their marriage of they both end up in hell? What is the point of preaching earthly prosperity only to watch as the people end up in hell? This is not about preaching self help, motivation, seven steps to this or that, earthly purposes, or any other carnal, man-centered, egotistical thing we can come up with. It is not about holy laughter, expanding our territory, prayers of Jabez, drawing circles in the sand, seeker friendly, emergent church nonsense. It is about heaven and hell. It is about truth and deception. It is about sin and redemption. He is the Lord beloved and apart from Him there is no salvation. This is what we have been called to be witnesses of - all of us! Because one day everyone will stand before Jesus Christ and they will know He is Lord and Savior and perhaps the only chance they have of being saved before this day comes is your witness to who God is. 

I say these things in advance of tomorrow, the anniversary of 9-11, to remind us of what our role is supposed to be and who God is. We can lose sight of it so easily with the distractions of the world and the problems within the church. There is a world out there that is hurting, blind, and lost. They may not like hearing about God but that is irrelevant. 

Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.  - Mark 13: 13 (NIV)

We do not aspire to be hated. We aspire to be relevant to a dying culture. That is wrong. You cannot trick someone into believing in God. There is no guile, charm, or power we have to save anyone. All we can do is witness to them as to who God is and let God remove the veil from their eyes. When the Apostle Paul stood before King Agrippa he presented the Gospel to the stunned amazement of the King:

Then Agrippa said to Paul, "Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?"  - Acts 26: 28 (NIV)

We need such boldness today. Tomorrow is the anniversary of one of the darkest days in the history of America but there are darker days to come. The lord of this world will continue to blind our unsaved family members, friends, and co-workers until someone tells them who God is. There is no other legacy. If we cannot bring them back to the foot of the cross then we resolve that they will not be with us in heaven. God has revealed who He is to us. He has proclaimed it through His Word. He has saved us from the fires of eternal hell and in doing so He has become the Lord of our life. And thus, we have become His witnesses to the simple fact that He is God. The truth is the wound is always open. It is always time to witness. 

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Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to (more...)
 
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