The Church Alive!!

In all my years of ministry, I have observed some great things that have happened in our kingdom work, but also some tragic things. I read about Paul the Apostle and his commitment to the church in church buildings and out of church buildings, and an obvious truth came out of his life. His priority was always the "message of Jesus," and he would fight to get that message out. No matter what, Paul preached the Word of God, and the Word of God spoke of the Messiah coming to save the world, and Jesus is the Messiah. I feel like we have strayed from the mission Jesus has for all of us. Life is all about "purpose," and purpose sets into motion focus and then function. We can never kick purpose out of our plans as the body of Christ, and be led away by lesser efforts. Why? Because purpose at its root is our identity, and for those who are born again, our identity is about furthering the work of Jesus by sharing His message of salvation.

All who are born again have met Jesus on our Damascus road, which looks like the following: Romans 3:23 says, "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." ALL means ALL! Then, a loving God reaches out to ALL with a way to heaven or paradise. Romans 5:8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. In Paul's life, before meeting Jesus, he was an enemy of God because of the sin in his life, and not just because he was trying to get believers killed. Paul had a sinful condition, just like you and me, but on the road to continuing his life in sin, Jesus met him, and he was changed. I was living my life on the earth and going about regular things a person of 11 years of age would do, and in the midst of me traveling this earth, Jesus met me at First Baptist Church, West Plains, Mo. He met me in the back row and and even though I was blind, he opened my eyes to a new life that was found in accepting Him by faith. I was changed and no longer blind to the purposes of God. I COULD NOW SEE!!

We all have a point where we are shown our sin condition and Jesus meets us and we have a choice to make. Will I surrender to Jesus and His ways, or will I continue walking down the wrong road? The road to destruction is a wide road and there are many who take that path, but the narrow path is the one offered by Jesus. When thinking about what to do when met by Jesus we conclude "I am an enemy of God because of my sinful nature." The word is CONVICTION. Paul wrote this to the Romans in Romans 7: 7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.

For Paul, something had to change. And change he did! Jesus blinded him to his wrong purpose and offered him a new way, and Paul was born again in the Spirit. The scripture in Romans 7 continues on as Paul tells what happened and how he was changed. Romans 7:9 But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. The Spirit controls you if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) 10 And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. 11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

The example of Paul being born again vividly illustrates God's grace for him and reminds us of God's grace for all who receive it. Paul was changed at the "soul level," and his purpose for living was radically changed. That is the same for all who are born again in the Spirit, and that change happens at the point of salvation. It is at that point that a born-again person "comes alive."

It is right here at this point when we forget to find God's purpose for our new lives that are now spiritually based. Jesus said this in John 14:12 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. 13 You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. 14 Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it! Asking for anything, as we read in the verses above, is the "clarion call" for all who know Jesus, and that call is made loud and clear by Jesus at the onset of our born-again experience because we are BORN AGAIN! All things are new as written in 2 Corinthians 5:17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! This scripture is not meant to just be a verse we read, even memorize, and then quote. It is true and IT IS ALL TRUE!

Point number 1 for the church coming alive is WE MUST BE BORN AGAIN AND THEN FOLLOW THE LEADING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT FROM THERE ON!! I will give point number in my next blog. I hope this helps.

Vesselogical Out,

David Warren