What Shape Is The Church In
What Shape is the Church in
Jeremiah 3:21 A voice is heard on the bare heights, the weeping and pleading of the sons of Israel, because they have perverted their ways, they have [eagerly] forgotten the Lord their God.
Just like ancient Israel had perverted its ways and forgotten the Lord their God
America has perverted its ways and forgotten the Lord their God.
We know the shape of America and the world, but do we know shape of the church?
1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. - Revelation 2:1-4
Our (the Church’s ) sin of negligence
How much time do we spend with God?
How much time do we communicate with God?
You know I understand people have kids, people have jobs, we have things that we have to do. We have certain obligations in this life to make a living. But what about our free time what are we doing with it?
You know a lot of times we get saved, we come to an altar, and we accept Jesus as Savior, but we often time become neglectful to make Him Lord of
our lives.
Some of you who are reading this, some of you have a spouse.
Do y'all communicate with one another at all? Did y'all just get married, and that was it. You're just strangers who live together, you pass by each other every day and you never even say hi. You don't even acknowledge one another's presence. Of course you don't do that, if you did that there would be no reason for you get married.
And church that is sometimes how we treat God, we treat Him like He's a total stranger. We neglect to communicate with Him when things are good, but when things go from good to bad that's when we want to pray, that's what we want to read, that's when want to repent. Church all those are things we need to be doing every day. We may fail to realize this, but we do.
Church we have idols in our lives. We might not be bowing our knee to them, we might not be lifted up on a pedestal, asking for prayers, but Church the world and the world's devices has gotten a hold of us.
We've become lazy, idle, and separated from sin, but not from the world.
Let’s face it church the world and it’s devices has had a tight grip on us.
Come on now God tells you go read your Bible. And you tell Him, “I will right after I finish watching this episode of the “Blacklist.” Next thing you know you go from watching 1 episode to binge watching a whole season. (I’m speaking hypothetically I’m not trying to put words in God’s mouth but how many times does God tell us to do something right then and there, but we choose to do something else) God looks at you and says, “you have time for Raymond Reddington, but you ain’t got no time for me.”
During covid,
You had many people opening up their bibles for the first time
As for some church folk they used rona as an excuse to get out church so they could do what they wanted. I’ll go to Walmart but I won't go to church. I’ll go here and I’ll go there, I’ll go almost everywhere expect church.
Some churches in other states suffered a server persecution during this epidemic. You were allowed to start riots in the street because you are given the right to assemble and protest "peacefully." You know the media is telling us now a days that rioting is good for our mental health.
You were allowed to go to the beach and party for spring break. But you couldn’t go to a gospel sing. You were allowed to go to a strip club, but you couldn’t go hear the Word of God.
Daniel 9:7 — The New International Version (NIV)
7 “Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you.
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.- Ephesians 4:32
You know I can get on here and honestly say to you I have had people who had hurt me, but no one has hurt me like the devil has hurt me. I’ve had some people I’ve known walk up to me and apologize for something they supposedly said about me. As for me, at times I can’t recall what was said, nor can I recall who said what, and sometimes I can’t even recall how it made me feel. You see some people apologize,some people forgive, but you will never hear the devil tell you that he is sorry.
Listen, the devil is not no cartoon character with horns, a pig tail, a unibrow, a goatee, buck teeth and a pitch fork. The devil is an enemy that comes in many shapes, sizes and forms. He can even disguise himself as an angel of light. And he likes to feel peoples minds with a bunch of lies and nonesense. For the thief comes not, but kill steal and destroy - John 10:10
The devil can cause you to be mad at someone who has never done a thing to you, if you allow him too. All you have to do is simply believe one little lie. The devil can cause you to be bitter towards others because of someone else’s fault. And sometimes even your fault.
I speak from a personal experience.
I haven’t really been a Christian that long, but I have come realize you are going to get critics from all sides. Both from the world and from among your brothers and sisters from a church.
The world calls you a bigot for correcting them.
The church people get little bit irked when people have a different a point of view on things that do not concern sin.
Listen we’re not going to agree on everything.
It’s doesn’t make me right and you wrong, nor does it make me right and you wrong.
Church we also need to be reminded:
1. It’s okay to correct and rebuke, when it is needed, but to constantly remind people of what they did was wrong is wrong. Sending them hate mail is wrong, telling people that God can’t redeem people after they stumble is wrong. Threating to hurt their family; I don't care what side of political spectrum that they are on or what office they hold. Listen The devil torments peoples minds enough without us reminding one another of each others mistakes.
2. A righteous man falls 7 times but gets back up - Proverbs 24:16
Just because you are saved doesn’t exempt your from falling.
Falling is not really a Christian thing nor is it a sinner thing. Falling is more of human thing. every human on planet earth has fallen. For if we say we are without sin we decive ourselves. You say wait brother Jesus was once human. Yeah but there is big difference between you and me and Jesus. And that difference is Jesus is perfect. That’s why he had born both of the spirit and of a virgin who knew no man.
3. Social Media is not a place to bless someone out for something they did wrong nor is it a place for someone to vent their personal life too. It gives the devil too muchleeway to put his own two cents in.
If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. It doesn’t say go out and tell it to the whole world. - Matthew 18 : 15-17
The song is called let us have a little talk with Jesus not let us post little post on Facebook. Not let us tweet a little tweet on Twitter. Not let us make a little Giphie about it and post it on Instagram. Not let us make a video about it post it on YouTube. But let us have a little talk with Jesus.
You want to know some truth you got a percentage of people who don’t care at all, they are going to do what they are going to do regardless. God is going have to give them the very own nebcahdezar experience or their own road to Damascus experience to knock some sense into them.
But you got a percentage of people who don’t have a problem with Jesus. Don’t always have a problem with being corrected when it is needed.
Sometimes church we are part of the problem you and me church sometimes we put a stain on our witness as a Christian.
And they don’t see Jesus in us.
Instead lifting each other up when we fall, we pin each other down.
Do we stop preaching the truth?
No, but we don't have to resort in calling each other names.
Gossping about people etc...
This concludes today's sermon , I pray that God uses it to bless you; have a wonderful day! - Jacob
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