Post by nicfos on Mar 8, 2005 12:17:22 GMT -5
HIT THE STREETS
Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still"(Exodus 14:13).
Do you struggle with fear, doubt and worry? Do you realize how many of your struggles, battles and relational conflicts are rooted in fear, doubt and worry? We fear what we shouldn't and we don't fear what we should. Our fear comes from a lack of trust in Jesus. The Bible says we must fear the LORD. "But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you"(1 Samuel 12:24).
Imagine what will be accomplished, and the full extent of revival we will see when we begin to fear the LORD and not fear people or what people think about us. We will become radical ambassadors for Christ.
I'm doing my level best to encourage a core group of people who are close to me, to witness for Christ on the streets. It seems clear to me that Jesus hit the streets and sought out the lost.
Have we not developed a Pharisaical view of the lost? "While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and `sinners'?"(Matthew 9:10-11).
Is this why we don't hit the streets to tell others about Christ, because we view the lost as not good enough for our churches? Have you ever wondered why Jesus went into the temple and turned tables over, yet he did not go into the houses of prostitution and turn beds over? The prostitutes knew they were sin-sick and needed help, but the religious spirit blinded the teachers of the law and the Pharisees from seeing they were Spiritually blind.
A blindness has swept over the church, and has caused us to recoil in fear, doubt and worry. We have withdrawn from the world into a Spiritual fatal position, fearing persecution, doubting our LORD and worrying about what others may say if we become radical for Jesus and start witnessing for Him.
Most drawings of Jesus shows Him in some soothing, loving act of kindness, like carrying a sheep, or holding children in His lap. This is how the church wants to see Christ. But, where are the drawings of Christ's real ministry, battling religious leaders, healing sickness, casting out demons, and turning over the tables in the temple? Where are the drawings of Jesus eating with rude, obscene and indecent sinners? Perhaps the artists of Christianity have led us to an incomplete view of who our Savior really is. The Bible brings clarity.
If we say and believe we want to be like Christ, let me ask, do we really know who He is? We pick and choose our own idea of Christ-likeness. To be like Christ means to hit the streets, to talk with hecklers, skeptics, and the truly sin-sick people of the world.
Has the church become to religiously sophisticated to witnesses on the streets and byways of the world? Have we become too territorial to share Christ in unfamiliar territory? Are we too content in our church to hold crusades in the city?
Look at these convicting verses:
"When I say to a wicked man, `You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself"(Ezekiel 3:18-19).
Dear Heavenly Father, send us out! In Jesus' Mighty Name, AMEN!
Re-arrange my life for Christ,
SCRIPTURE READING:
Mar 07 – Deuteronomy 20-22
Mar 08 – Deuteronomy 23-25
Mar 09 – Deuteronomy 26-28
Mar 10 – Deuteronomy 29-31
Mar 11 – Deuteronomy 32-34
Mar 12 – Joshua 1-3
Mar 13 – Joshua 4-6
Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still"(Exodus 14:13).
Do you struggle with fear, doubt and worry? Do you realize how many of your struggles, battles and relational conflicts are rooted in fear, doubt and worry? We fear what we shouldn't and we don't fear what we should. Our fear comes from a lack of trust in Jesus. The Bible says we must fear the LORD. "But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you"(1 Samuel 12:24).
Imagine what will be accomplished, and the full extent of revival we will see when we begin to fear the LORD and not fear people or what people think about us. We will become radical ambassadors for Christ.
I'm doing my level best to encourage a core group of people who are close to me, to witness for Christ on the streets. It seems clear to me that Jesus hit the streets and sought out the lost.
Have we not developed a Pharisaical view of the lost? "While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and `sinners'?"(Matthew 9:10-11).
Is this why we don't hit the streets to tell others about Christ, because we view the lost as not good enough for our churches? Have you ever wondered why Jesus went into the temple and turned tables over, yet he did not go into the houses of prostitution and turn beds over? The prostitutes knew they were sin-sick and needed help, but the religious spirit blinded the teachers of the law and the Pharisees from seeing they were Spiritually blind.
A blindness has swept over the church, and has caused us to recoil in fear, doubt and worry. We have withdrawn from the world into a Spiritual fatal position, fearing persecution, doubting our LORD and worrying about what others may say if we become radical for Jesus and start witnessing for Him.
Most drawings of Jesus shows Him in some soothing, loving act of kindness, like carrying a sheep, or holding children in His lap. This is how the church wants to see Christ. But, where are the drawings of Christ's real ministry, battling religious leaders, healing sickness, casting out demons, and turning over the tables in the temple? Where are the drawings of Jesus eating with rude, obscene and indecent sinners? Perhaps the artists of Christianity have led us to an incomplete view of who our Savior really is. The Bible brings clarity.
If we say and believe we want to be like Christ, let me ask, do we really know who He is? We pick and choose our own idea of Christ-likeness. To be like Christ means to hit the streets, to talk with hecklers, skeptics, and the truly sin-sick people of the world.
Has the church become to religiously sophisticated to witnesses on the streets and byways of the world? Have we become too territorial to share Christ in unfamiliar territory? Are we too content in our church to hold crusades in the city?
Look at these convicting verses:
"When I say to a wicked man, `You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself"(Ezekiel 3:18-19).
Dear Heavenly Father, send us out! In Jesus' Mighty Name, AMEN!
Re-arrange my life for Christ,
SCRIPTURE READING:
Mar 07 – Deuteronomy 20-22
Mar 08 – Deuteronomy 23-25
Mar 09 – Deuteronomy 26-28
Mar 10 – Deuteronomy 29-31
Mar 11 – Deuteronomy 32-34
Mar 12 – Joshua 1-3
Mar 13 – Joshua 4-6