| Whatsoever
Things Are True
by Dan Coburn Pastor, Emmanuel Baptist Church pastordan@mtida.net Ever witnessed a seizure? It seems to a casual observer, like the body is literally trying to tear itself apart. It is violent. It is terrible, frightening and leaves us feeling beyond helpless. This is what it looks like to God when His body, His Church has a big fuss. We have been two weeks on Unity; how important it is to God, and how Jesus prayed for it in the hours before His betrayal and death (John 17). When there is dis-unity among the believers, the Holy Spirit is grieved, and the world is turned off. Nugget: Fusses in fellowship have caused more harm to the cause of Christ than all the schemes of Satan. They distract and skew our entire being, and render us unable to remain stable in an unstable world. These happen invariably when: We elevate to the level of Doctrine, Personal Preference. There is an enemy out there, but you are on the same side. This is tragedy (a seizure). Soldiers will fight each other when they lose sight of the enemy. Conversely, it's hard to rock the boat when you are busy rowing. Lucy said to Snoopy: "There are times you really bug me. But I must admit there are other times I want to give you a hug". Snoopy replied: "That's the way I am; Huggable and bugable". This sums up your "brothers and sisters". We are commanded to love, and God teaches us love from time to time, by surrounding us with unlovable people. What? Nugget: Christ's love shines most brightly in you when the object is - undeserving. "So what do I do?" 1) Practice to Preserve unity. A kind word turneth away wrath. 2) Practice Joy: Again, you don't set your jaw and work it up, it is fruit from being in the Spirit - Gal. 5:22. 3) Persevere in Prayer: You cannot stand fast with anxiety as you will be pulled in multiple directions, manifesting in no shortage of things to worry about. A woman in 1900s England asked her pastor - G. Campbell Morgan: "Should I pray about little things?" His response: "Madam; can you think of anything that's a big thing to God?" 4) Ponder the right stuff - Phil. 4:8- "Whatsoever things are true, lovely, of good report, if there be any virtue....." Proverbs 23:7 - "As he thinketh in his heart, so is he." "Bringing every thought into captivity" 2nd Cor. 10:5. 5) Prioritize Obedience: Just do it. "But I don't have the power preacher." True, but the Holy Spirit does. Do you have the Indwelling Christ or not? Stand Fasts don't get blown around. Want to make some noise? Want to make a difference? Obedience screams at a lost world. Application: The critical ingredient is -- Fellowship. The World will not help you, in fact, the world will try incessantly to trip you up. But - "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." Heb. 10:25 Nugget: This isn't for the preacher's benefit. It isn't to increase the coffers. It is for you, and it is vital. Find a Church that preaches Jesus and challenges you, and Plug In. You can't do it on your own. God bless.
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