-
I was with someone this week that said,
-
"Mention things like Jesus,
-
and then mention things like Gandhi
-
in the same conversation."
-
Listen, those two things,
-
they can't come together.
-
There is no Gandhi and
Jesus coming together
-
unless Gandhi repents of his sins,
-
puts his faith and hope in Jesus Christ
-
as the all-sufficient Savior.
-
But there is no uniting of arms
-
and just being one big happy
-
kumbaya family with these people.
-
These are the people that
Paul is warning about.
-
These are the plausible arguments
-
that Paul says they appeal
-
to your human intellect.
-
They appeal to your emotion.
-
Doesn't it make sense
-
that Jesus would want us all to get along
-
and set doctrine aside?
-
And Paul says, "No!"
-
You can't do that.
-
And we as a body must say no.
-
We must recognize this
is happening out there.
-
That's one of my jobs is
defend against these things
-
by proclaiming truth
-
so when you hear heresies come in,
-
you identify it.
-
You mark it.
-
I need a church
-
because I need help to press on
-
when the going gets really tough.
-
I don't have the goods.
-
I don't have the grace in myself.
-
I don't have the strength or the wisdom
-
or the perspective in myself
-
to make it through
-
this waste howling wilderness of sin
-
without the brethren
strengthening me in God.
-
And you don't either.
-
To press on with the going gets tough.
-
To realize and remember
-
that Christ saved me individually
-
to include me in His body.
-
And they were selling their possessions -
-
look at that!
-
They're selling their possessions.
-
The things that they wanted to hold on to.
-
Well, that's been in my family
-
for three generations.
-
That piece of property over there.
I can't part with that.
-
That's how people are here.
-
They've got to hold on to things.
-
You know why they can sell
-
that piece of property
-
that's been in the family
for three generations now?
-
Because something's more important!
-
This person over here,
-
even though they may be
-
another economic level than me
-
and their skin color may be different,
-
we have this in common:
-
we have believed on the same Christ
-
and I love them
-
and I'm willing to sell my lands for them.
-
The glory of Christ's Kingdom
-
is what He's doing in the trenches
-
in local churches
-
where He's building your life
-
and you sit under pastors and elders.
-
And they teach you
-
and they feed you
-
and you grow.
-
And the truth grows in you.
-
You don't even realize it's happening.
-
But you're in the atmosphere
-
of where Christ pours His water.
-
You see Christ is the
fountain of living water.
-
But He has a well in the earth.
-
Guess what the well is?
-
The well is His church.
-
That's where He deposits His water.
-
This is the church.
-
It is a world of love
-
and it goes back to the
spring of God Himself.
-
He overflows with love towards us.
-
And if He so loved us,
-
how can we not love the others?
-
Look to Jesus.
-
Turn away from yourself.
-
Turn away from what
you're believing today.
-
Turn away from what you're trusting.
-
Look to Jesus Christ -
-
the dying Lamb of God.
-
The Bible says,
-
upon Whom God poured His wrath out
-
for your sin and for my sin.
-
God poured His wrath out
-
on the Son of God,
-
as if He hated Him because He hated us
-
and our sins.
-
But Jesus took that in our place.
-
Our God took that in our place
-
that we might be saved.
-
Turn away from everything else.
-
Turn to Christ.
-
I admonish you.
-
I beg you.
-
I plead with you.
-
Turn to Jesus Christ.
-
For more information go to:
-
GospelForNewEngland.com