Mat 5:13
Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt
have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for
nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
Mat 5:14
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is
set on an hill cannot be hid.
Mat 5:15
Neither do men light a candle, and put it under
a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the
house.
Mat 5:16
Let your light so shine before men, that they
may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
We are blessed if we are taught. In order for us to be effective when we are
teaching, we must be taught. Even if you
have a very high education, you must have that acknowledgment, “I need to be
taught.”
Karen and I got married a while back. David Stegmeier and I used to know everything
about raising children. I soon came to
realize that I didn’t know much about raising children at all. Karen suffered because of it.
We must be able to be taught by the Word of God, the Spirit
of God and the Body of Christ. Some
think that they will not take anything unless it is from God. You must be taught by the Body. He always uses one that would be humbling to
learn from.
It is blessed to know that He is the builder of the Church. This building is not the church. It is individuals that have been saved by the
Blood of Christ and have their names written in the Lamb’s Book of life that
are the church.
It is blessed to know the head of the church. It is no man.
A man is the poor yardstick and the wrong one. When we know Jesus Christ and bear the fruit
of the Spirit then we know the head. We
don’t have an earthly headquarters, it doesn’t matter your skin color or if you
can speak English or not. We must know
the head.
It is wonderful to be part of the Body of Christ. It is blessed to know that Jesus Christ has a
church victorious today on earth.
I was in a meeting one time and in this meeting a young
minister began to tell everything that he thought was wrong with the
church. The older pastor, Brother
Cornelison listened and listened and listened a little longer. Finally he helped him to know, “God has a
church shining in her beauty now.”
There are a lot of things going on in the world today but it
is not in the church. When we leave God
and have a wrong attitude, that is not in the church. He has a way of keeping us healthy. He knows how to deal with anything that comes
in our life.
Eph 4:11
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists;
and some, pastors and teachers;
In 1 Corinthians 12, we learn that the gifts and the
callings are from God. If you call
yourself you will always make shipwreck.
He gave apostles, evangelists, preachers, and teachers. God did not give these gifts to beat up
anyone with.
We have all met preachers and teachers that use a baseball
bat, mean teachers and preachers. That
did not come from God ever. We are human
and have a natural mind. We see
something wrong and then we want to set the record straight. Get on your knees and get the love of God in
your heart. You will do more wrong than
good if you get a mean spirit.
It is people that have forgotten Jesus that begin to smite
their fellow servant. Our job is to
edify, to do our best to perfect.
Naturally I believe that we as a local congregation are doing our best
with our instruments. The desire of the
instruments, the choir, the teachers, is only to do better.
One of these days my journey is going to end. I want to pass that torch. I want individuals to be prepared to do a
better job pastoring than I have done, that I can teach everything that I have
learned.
The work of the ministry is sometimes praying for and
visiting the sick. It is sometimes doing
this or that.
Col 1:25
Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which
is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
Col 1:28
Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom;
that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
Col 1:29
Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which
worketh in me mightily.
A minister must be able to teach. Part of my teaching and part of a minister’s
teaching is to do our best to help every soul to be their best in Christ
Jesus. Our ways are not God’s ways. I got saved a while back and among the
scriptures that became real to me was Isaiah 55 “My ways are higher than your
ways.”
Just a week or two ago God came back to me and spoke, “Son
you need to remember something, your ways are not my ways.” God’s ways are always a lot higher than our
ways.
As a pastor, I seldom preach on pastoral authority. I would think that everyone understands the
value of a pastor. I don’t have an
appreciation for a minister that is a bully in the pulpit. Everyone that I have met has left a real sad
taste and a broken heart.
God definitely gives pastors. It is not just to give me a job. It is for the benefit of laboring that we
might help precious souls to be perfected.
That is the whole goal.
When we get saved we become a new creature. There must be the time when we know, I
confessed and repented of my sin, had an attitude, “I will go all the way with
you God.”
Most of us had a past.
Most of us had hang-ups with religion.
We believed error. You can get
saved with error. But when God shows you
the truth, you must have an attitude, “I am leaving that and I am walking in
the truth.”
When light and truth comes then they must have the attitude,
“God wash me from the error.”
Jesus suffered without the gate that he might sanctify
us. That means to cleanse and set us
apart. We were all born with a nature to
sin. “God I am glad that I got saved, I
want to get rid of this which keeps drawing me back to sin.”
A cleansing takes place in the heart, in the mind, in the
tongue. God wants us to be clean, pure,
and holy. The Holy Spirit of God is the
reprover. If God tells you to do something
then do it. If He tells you to not do something
then don’t do it. Don’t grieve the Spirit
of God.
The laborers need to be a new creature, sanctified and meet
for the master’s use. We must be easily entreated. Jesus sent them out two by two. We all need people that help us to be
balanced. We need someone to help
us.
If you say, “No one can tell me anything then you are lost. You are walking in darkness.” Meet for the master’s use; an example of the believers
in how you treat your wife, your sister, your mother, your children…
Examples of the believers.
We take heed to ourselves. That
is the best example that you can be. How
I look, act, treat strangers…
Take heed to the doctrine.
We must emphasize doctrine. If we
lost doctrine then we lose the truth. If
any man will do the will of the Father he shall know of the doctrine. If we don’t do God’s will then we will not
know the doctrine.
Jas 3:14
But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and
lie not against the truth.
Jas 3:15
This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is
earthly, sensual, devilish.
Jas 3:16
For where envying and strife is,
there is confusion and every evil work.
Jas 3:17
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle,
and easy to be intreated, full of mercy
and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
Jas 3:18
And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
Ask the teachers, “Have you ever had an angry student?” We live in a world of angry people. Don’t let this world fill you with bitterness
and strife. That wisdom is not from
above but it is earthly…
Pro 13:10 Only by pride cometh contention: but with the
well advised is wisdom.
Where envy and strife is confusion and every evil work. Only by pride comes strife. If you have strife then there is pride.
You may disagree but you cannot have biter envy and strife
or it gets worse and worse.
The wisdom from above is pure and peaceable. There is pure love among the brothers and
sisters in Christ. Have you ever told
someone a story and they always have to one up you?
Gentle and tender hearted, easy to be entreated: have you ever asked a question and they treat
you like, “You are so dumb you will never understand that.”
There are somethings that children will teach you.
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