Post by Les Brewer on Mar 16, 2012 14:12:51 GMT
John Wolf
Calvary's Cross Ministries
Preaching Christ Crucified....I Cor.1:18-25
From the Pastor's desk and heart....
Good morning to all and God bless you today!
... The Whole Armor of God
Ephesians 6:10-20
"...and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;..."(vs.15)
What does this verse mean;"put on the shoes of the gospel of peace"?What does it mean;"preparation"?
Well,if you are a truly born again christian,and the Spirit of God is living inside of you,then you will know that the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ is the single most important subject known to mankind.Now,I know that there will be those who will take issue with me for saying this,however,if you are in a truly covenant relationship with the Saviour Jesus,then you know what it is to be forgiven of all the sins you've ever committed.You know what it is to have the guilt of your sins removed and washed clean by the precious blood of Christ.You know what it is to have the Holy Spirit residing within your spirit,renewing and refreshing you everyday.
And because you know this,you also know that it is the most important thing a person can decide,for all of eternity and that person's destiny hangs in the balance.Down deep inside of your spirit,in the deepest recesses of your being,you know that God is there,you know that you know,and no one can convince you otherwise.You've come to know that Jesus Christ is real and He's alive and well,and dwelling in your heart.
So,what does this have to do with the gospel of peace and being prepared with our shoes on?
Much every way.If you know that you know Jesus Christ and you know that He has come into your life,then the excitement of knowing your Creator has accepted you into the family of God,and made you one of His own,then the natural response to this, is to want to tell others of this "Pearl of great price",that you've found.
The first thing that happens to alot of new christians is,when they begin to tell others of the greatest discovery of their life,they find that others are not quite as excited about it as you are,mainly because Satan does not want others to come to Christ,so he influences them to laugh at you,make fun of you,ridicule you for your "new" religion.
Take heart,if the devil's crowd made fun of Jesus Christ and eventually killed Him by hanging Him on a cross,then he's not going to spare you either.But,you are in good company,the servant is not above his Master.If they called the Master of the house Bielzebub,what do you think he is going to do to His servants?
This type of persecution is to be expected from those who are not saved,but this is the type of war we are in,and in which this whole context of Scripture speaks about.But don't let this discourage you from telling others about Christ,we can't save them,only God can.All our responsibility is,is to plant the seed of the word in their heart.People are not our enemy,the devil is our enemy,and he will use anyone who will let them be used,even christians,to further his plans.
The shoes are a symbol of our readiness to speak the word,to go where we are lead to speak the word.
Paul told Timothy in II Tim.4:2,"Preach the word!Be ready in season and out of season.Convince,rebuke,exhort,with all longsuffering and teaching." Paul also told the Corinthian church in II Cor.5:14-15,that the "love of Christ"should compel us to tell others of this saving grace.That we should no longer live for ourselves,but for Him who died for us and rose again.This is the problem with so many christians today,they are so caught up in themselves,that they will not do the work God has given them to do,for fear that someone will look at them funny.I've got news for you.They are already looking at you funny!So get busy telling others about Christ and what He wants to do for them in their life.
I Peter 3:15 says,"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts,and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you,with meekness and fear;..." Yes,my friends,rejection by people because of your stand for Jesus Christ and righteousness,is never fun or enjoyable,no one likes rejection.Think of how Jesus must have felt.But it does come with the territory.If we are not willing to deal with the negative side of witnessing for Christ,then we might ought to check to see if we are really saved!
Remember,we serve God and His Son,not the wishy washy ways of the world,stand tall in the saddle and let God go before you and show you the way to victory.
Tomorrow the "Sheild of Faith". Stay tuned....I Love you in Christ....JW
Calvary's Cross Ministries
Preaching Christ Crucified....I Cor.1:18-25
From the Pastor's desk and heart....
Good morning to all and God bless you today!
... The Whole Armor of God
Ephesians 6:10-20
"...and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;..."(vs.15)
What does this verse mean;"put on the shoes of the gospel of peace"?What does it mean;"preparation"?
Well,if you are a truly born again christian,and the Spirit of God is living inside of you,then you will know that the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ is the single most important subject known to mankind.Now,I know that there will be those who will take issue with me for saying this,however,if you are in a truly covenant relationship with the Saviour Jesus,then you know what it is to be forgiven of all the sins you've ever committed.You know what it is to have the guilt of your sins removed and washed clean by the precious blood of Christ.You know what it is to have the Holy Spirit residing within your spirit,renewing and refreshing you everyday.
And because you know this,you also know that it is the most important thing a person can decide,for all of eternity and that person's destiny hangs in the balance.Down deep inside of your spirit,in the deepest recesses of your being,you know that God is there,you know that you know,and no one can convince you otherwise.You've come to know that Jesus Christ is real and He's alive and well,and dwelling in your heart.
So,what does this have to do with the gospel of peace and being prepared with our shoes on?
Much every way.If you know that you know Jesus Christ and you know that He has come into your life,then the excitement of knowing your Creator has accepted you into the family of God,and made you one of His own,then the natural response to this, is to want to tell others of this "Pearl of great price",that you've found.
The first thing that happens to alot of new christians is,when they begin to tell others of the greatest discovery of their life,they find that others are not quite as excited about it as you are,mainly because Satan does not want others to come to Christ,so he influences them to laugh at you,make fun of you,ridicule you for your "new" religion.
Take heart,if the devil's crowd made fun of Jesus Christ and eventually killed Him by hanging Him on a cross,then he's not going to spare you either.But,you are in good company,the servant is not above his Master.If they called the Master of the house Bielzebub,what do you think he is going to do to His servants?
This type of persecution is to be expected from those who are not saved,but this is the type of war we are in,and in which this whole context of Scripture speaks about.But don't let this discourage you from telling others about Christ,we can't save them,only God can.All our responsibility is,is to plant the seed of the word in their heart.People are not our enemy,the devil is our enemy,and he will use anyone who will let them be used,even christians,to further his plans.
The shoes are a symbol of our readiness to speak the word,to go where we are lead to speak the word.
Paul told Timothy in II Tim.4:2,"Preach the word!Be ready in season and out of season.Convince,rebuke,exhort,with all longsuffering and teaching." Paul also told the Corinthian church in II Cor.5:14-15,that the "love of Christ"should compel us to tell others of this saving grace.That we should no longer live for ourselves,but for Him who died for us and rose again.This is the problem with so many christians today,they are so caught up in themselves,that they will not do the work God has given them to do,for fear that someone will look at them funny.I've got news for you.They are already looking at you funny!So get busy telling others about Christ and what He wants to do for them in their life.
I Peter 3:15 says,"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts,and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you,with meekness and fear;..." Yes,my friends,rejection by people because of your stand for Jesus Christ and righteousness,is never fun or enjoyable,no one likes rejection.Think of how Jesus must have felt.But it does come with the territory.If we are not willing to deal with the negative side of witnessing for Christ,then we might ought to check to see if we are really saved!
Remember,we serve God and His Son,not the wishy washy ways of the world,stand tall in the saddle and let God go before you and show you the way to victory.
Tomorrow the "Sheild of Faith". Stay tuned....I Love you in Christ....JW
