We had another good church service which my husband and I attended online. Pastor continued his Crash and Burn message series this morning. He asked: Where is your citizenship? Too often we struggle to have dual citizenship. We need to remember we are citizens of Heaven living in a messed-up world where we are messengers to deliver God’s message.
Conditions of our world are becoming more unfavorable for Christ followers. We can remember that the world hated Jesus first. We consider ourselves blessed to live in America. But America is not truly a Christian nation anymore. America was founded on Christian principles, but sin has always been around. We have been like the frog in the pot – dropped in when the water was cold but now it is getting hot.
We may feel like we are facing giants in today’s society. We serve a God who has a reputation for facing and defeating giants. Numbers 13:25-31 tells the story of the group of scouts who went to explore the land God was promising to give the Israelites. Most of the men who returned spread a bad report. (Spreading misinformation is happening all around us today.) Instead of following God, they wanted to go back to Egypt.
Only Caleb and Joshua said: “…the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid…” Numbers 14:8-9. Instead of going, the Israelites waited and got stuck in the wilderness for 40 years. Numbers 14:20-35.
The Church needs to remember why we are here. When Jesus sent His disciples out to spread His message, He said “Go…” He didn’t say anything about surviving or coming back. We trust because He says: “I will be with you!” Five powerful words: The Lord is with us!
The gates of hell can not withstand the attacks of God. Who is on the offense? We need to stop being on the defensive and go on the offense. We need to lead revival- not for the exiting believers but for non-Believers. What will the cost be if the Church doesn’t engage our world head on?
We need to be out I the messed up, fear-stricken world taking the message of the Good News to the people.
The Point: Our messed up, fear-stricken world is starving for the truth and peace of the Gospel and we are the messengers.
Believers aren’t going to a party. We are going into battle. Put on the full armor and go to the battle! Ephesians 6:11-18.
The message can’t be contained, it needs to be delivered.
How do we do this?
Conditions of our world are becoming more unfavorable for Christ followers. We can remember that the world hated Jesus first. We consider ourselves blessed to live in America. But America is not truly a Christian nation anymore. America was founded on Christian principles, but sin has always been around. We have been like the frog in the pot – dropped in when the water was cold but now it is getting hot.
We may feel like we are facing giants in today’s society. We serve a God who has a reputation for facing and defeating giants. Numbers 13:25-31 tells the story of the group of scouts who went to explore the land God was promising to give the Israelites. Most of the men who returned spread a bad report. (Spreading misinformation is happening all around us today.) Instead of following God, they wanted to go back to Egypt.
Only Caleb and Joshua said: “…the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid…” Numbers 14:8-9. Instead of going, the Israelites waited and got stuck in the wilderness for 40 years. Numbers 14:20-35.
The Church needs to remember why we are here. When Jesus sent His disciples out to spread His message, He said “Go…” He didn’t say anything about surviving or coming back. We trust because He says: “I will be with you!” Five powerful words: The Lord is with us!
The gates of hell can not withstand the attacks of God. Who is on the offense? We need to stop being on the defensive and go on the offense. We need to lead revival- not for the exiting believers but for non-Believers. What will the cost be if the Church doesn’t engage our world head on?
We need to be out I the messed up, fear-stricken world taking the message of the Good News to the people.
The Point: Our messed up, fear-stricken world is starving for the truth and peace of the Gospel and we are the messengers.
Believers aren’t going to a party. We are going into battle. Put on the full armor and go to the battle! Ephesians 6:11-18.
The message can’t be contained, it needs to be delivered.
How do we do this?
- Purposefully form relationships with non-believers.
- Ignore the mess of the messed-up world or messed-up person. Cleaning them up is not our job. (The messier they are the more they need Jesus.) Show compassion. The Holy Spirit will sort them out if they surrender to Him.
- Stick to the message of Jesus. He wasn’t political. Lives are changed only by the truth and light of Christ.
I went through an hour’s worth of songs (always an inspiring time) and came to this song for today: Mighty to Save!
Numbers 14:6-9
6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. 8 If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. 9 Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”
Lord, Thank You for being with me. Help me to be a faithful messenger sharing Your Good News!
![]()
6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. 8 If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. 9 Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”
Lord, Thank You for being with me. Help me to be a faithful messenger sharing Your Good News!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your comments are always appreciated!