Matthew 7:21-23

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

This passage of scripture changed my walk forever.  The day I realized that the Lord was talking to me, was the day I truly understood my reverent fear of the Lord.  My love for the Lord can never be a casual endeavor, for as this passage demonstrates, we are gainfully susceptible to errors of our own understanding.  We must look for proof, evidence of the present, indwelling, Holy Spirit of God in order to determine our salvation.  That is the earnest of our salvation marking us for eternity.  Just as our love for God naturally transitions into a desire to obey His commandments and do Kingdom work, our understanding of the gravity involved with eternal separation from God ought to make all of us perform serious introspection regarding our own salvation.

Why is the power absent from the present church?  For those who would dismiss my arguments as insufficient due to my inadequate credentials I ask your patience in reviewing the message rather than ignoring the message for my perceived inadequacies.  We have wandered from the path, however small our variance, over time this departure has led us to ground far from the skinny path.  Christianity is simple.  Jesus said we are to love God with all our heart, mind, spirit, soul and strength as we love no other and love each other as we would want to be loved.  This is specifically ordered as we must first understand God’s love for us and begin to find ourselves lovable before we may extend that understanding to others.  God loved me when I was at my worst, my blackest, darkest, most wicked moment.  He died for that man so that I might be saved and redeemed to His Holy fellowship.  When I began to understand that awesome, unbelievable gift and begin to offer myself that love, I was able to extend it my neighbor.  Without my love for God, I never would have understood His love for me and without understanding His love for me I never would understand how I want to be loved and would never be able to love my neighbor in that method.

That is the sum total of my duty as a Christian, to love Him with all that I am and love them in that way as well.  That ought to permeate, develop, control, construct and guide all of my actions as a Christian.  I love Him therefore I obey.  I disciple out of love for God and a love for man.  Intentions are the basis of all judgment.  My intentions matter.  I ought not go into the field to see people say the sinner’s prayer or to bring bodies into the church but because I love the people God so loved before me.  Their salvation is paramount, but their salvation is a thing of Almighty God, through belief in Christ and seal of the Holy Spirit.  It is beyond me.  My job is to love and through demonstration of that love these people may or may not be touched by that indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  The outcome is God’s the work is mine as a demonstration of my love for God.  This ought to be my intention for all that I do.  That is where we have departed from the skinny path.  Churches have become focused on maintaining the walls, assets, memberships and programs of the church instead of simply loving God and obeying out of that love.  That is why it is hard to get servants because the church looks for volunteers to do the work of maintaining or edifying the church instead of Holy Spirit guided bodies out creating disciples, healing the sick, casting out demons, loving orphans and widows as Christ directed.  To do the work of the Holy Spirit we must be following the Spirits direction not the strategic asset plan for membership increase developed by church leadership in service to the mortgage, assets or growth plan.

Sermons have become couched by a dominating influence and need for continual donations.  This departs from Christ’s provision for our mission and relies upon a man centric capacity for fund raising.  The Work of salvation is a thing of God not a thing of man, it is impossible for us, that is why we needed Christ in the first place.  This concept of earning, works, performance, adequacy or qualifications as a properly dressed member of the church is a direct departure from God using the incapable to do the impossible.  My credentials, skills, talent and efficacy are in direct conflict with what God might do through me.  If I continue to depend on or judge myself or others as sufficient then I continue to miss the guiding principle behind Christianity is that God does the impossible through the most unlikely characters.  My responsibility is a willingness to obey the Spirit’s guidance out of a love for God.  My church membership, my talent, my treasure or my blood line have zero to do with following the skinny path.  God established the church, God sustains the church and God maintains the church, it also is not a thing of man.  That is why so many of our churches are on respirators, awaiting their last breath, because they fail to understand this concept.  The work is out there and waiting around for the sick, dying, lost or wicked to walk in the doors of our comfortable churches is man’s idea of service to God.  Where man is the driving force of any plan we need not the Holy Spirit of God.  Thus His quenching and departure from the door of our churches, outside knocking bidding us invite Him back in to sup with us.  As you can imagine this word is very difficult for church leaders to accept and I traditionally am offered ostracism or am simply ignored for more favorable “church building” ministries.

Then comes the lack of preparation associated with the mission of church edification.  The most difficult era in man’s history rapidly approaches.  None of us know the day or the hour, but we are all privy to the signs and acknowledgement of times in which we live.  Christ told us to love and He also repeatedly warned us to be ready.  Read His Words to the Apostles regarding this time in Luke 21 and you will begin to see Christ’s passion for making us aware of the trials we must as tribulation approaches.  What does being ready look like?  Has your church asked you this question?  How do we avoid cares, worries or as Christ put it “hearts overcharged with surfeiting”?  What does it mean to have oil in our lamps, our eyes focused on the heavens or being found doing the work to which we have been directed?  How do we discern, obey and avoid quenching the Voice of God through the Holy Spirit?  How do we shroud ourselves in the full armor of God and stand knowing that God is fighting for us?  These pivotal, foundational and necessary concepts that deal directly with Christian preparedness are roughly ignored in order to provide comfort to keep butts in seats.  Leaders are more concerned with child care or counting heads at sermons then they are in making sure each visitor fully understands and obeys the voice of the Holy Spirit.  This makes us powerless as the Holy Spirit is our only power and love our greatest weapon in testimony for Christ.  We don’t know victory because we have never investigated the victory that comes with a surety that God will always provide, protect and show up, especially in our greatest trials.  We have abandoned the development of a dependence upon Christ in exchange for a dependence upon church affluence, a very dangerous and deceptive practice, leaving the church devoid of the Holy Spirit, our people powerless and our ministries failing for the miracles of God.

Open your doors to the Holy Spirit, rejoice in His unfailing provision through Christ, look for the impossible and expect the miracle, especially when you are inadequate to the task.  Depend on Him and not your self or the church.  Love Him with all that you are and love them enough to get off your butt and go make sure they are okay.  Know victory, study scripture, pray unceasingly, fellowship with God, grow, learn and surrender to His masterful hands at work in your sanctification and preparation for your Earthly mission and heavenly service.  Rejoice in His Glory, Righteousness, Mercy, Grace and Peace for the Glory and Praise is His not ours.  In Jesus’ Name.