Can We Really Help?
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As we look at the way society
seems to be going, there is no doubt that we are in need of a true savior.
The world is trying all the different ways to fill the voids in their
lives. I believe that society is searching for someone or something to
fill this void, to erase the emptiness that can't get filled. Religion has
bound us in the rigors of right and wrong.
Jesus is dealing with the issues of life and death. Jesus is one
who walks with us down our road, with all the triumphs and heartaches, to
guide us; not only to point us in the right direction, but to walk down
that path with us. His path
leads us to victory and to be just like Him.
In this walk Jesus calls us to a higher calling, maybe even one we
can't yet see or believe for… yet.
The challenge for today's Christian is not to walk by sight, but to
walk by faith (2 Cor. 5:7) "For
we walk by faith, not by sight".
After all, we are to be men and women of faith.
So the goal of this is to show that we are to be calling those
things which are not as though they are, (Rom. 4:17).
WE must also remember as the Word says in Gal.5: 6 "but
faith works through love".
Meaning that if we have the God kind of love, we will believe for
people not against them. We
must recognize that God says that judgment will start in the house of God
(1Pet.4: 17). I
believe that as long as we are looking at the world and its problems it
helps us to ignore the areas that we struggle in.
Often we judge ourselves by our intentions and everyone else by
their actions.
All things that are exposed, are made manifest by the light....in
YOU!
"What business is it of mine to
judge those outside the church? Are
you not to judge those inside? God
will judge those outside". (1 Cor. 5:12-13a) If we judge the world, we will judge their
sin and we have no right to do that. (Matt.7:1-2 & John 3:17-18).
In Eph.5: 11-14: it says that we are to expose
sin "And have no fellowship
with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.
For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by
them in secret. But
all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for
whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore,
He says: "Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will
give you light". This
means that we are to expose sin with the light of the Glory of God in us.
We do not expose them by what we see or perceive in our opinion
realm. (Matt 5:16) "Let your light so
shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your
Father in heaven”. It
has always been easier to judge by our mind (usually unrenewed or
unchallenged) and with words of judgment or opinion.
A brother in the Lord once said to me, that the Lord told him, that
religion always works from the outside in; whereas God always works from
the inside out. He changes
our heart with His presence and His Word, and then He works His way
outward until His Word changes our very desires.
Religion looks at the sin and judges your level of spirituality by
what you exhibit on the outside. We also judge people by what our church
tells us or allows; such as their list of do’s and don’ts. They
usually tell people to live a life that they can’t maintain themselves.
It seems to me that the more we criticize others the farther from a
Christ like nature we are. "What Would Jesus Do?” We must ask ourselves the question "What
Would Jesus Do....in me?” The world needs to see this same Jesus, who is alive
and active as a light, a hope to the world through YOU.
He’s the same Jesus that heals the sick, sets at liberty those
that are captive, binds up the broken hearted, raises the dead, through
YOU! (Luke 4:18) Oh, how much God loves the world. "For
God so loved the world that
He gave His only begotten Son...”
(John 3:16a). The world will turn to or reject the Jesus in you. The Jesus
that comes from you spending time in the Word of God (being taught by the
Holy Spirit) and building an intimate relationship with Jesus and the
Father. “And I, brethren, when I came to
you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you
the testimony of God. For I
determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him
crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling and
my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom,
but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should
not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God”. (1
Cor.2:1-5) We are to be Jesus’ hand stretched out to a world of need.
We are not to be influenced by their sin, but allow the pure light
(Matt.5:16, 2 Cor.4:4-6, 2 Pet.1:19) and simplicity of the gospel
(Rom.12:8, 2 Cor.1:12) to flood their hearts.
This is only built at the feet of Jesus, by the Holy Spirit
teaching and illuminating the Word to us.
We will then take this out into a world of darkness and allow the
light of God to influence a world of sin.
Let the Holy Spirit do His job as a convictor.
We must remember that the focus of the ministry of Christ was
SERVANTHOOD, He was a servant to all.
(Matt. 20: 26-28) "Yet it shall
not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let
him be your servant. "And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be
your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to
serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
When we spend time
in His presence and His Word we build a “Jesus” atmosphere.
Then we take this atmosphere out into the world and allow Jesus
(the atmosphere) to teach, heal, help and restore hope through us.
We must remember that Jesus served a new way of life to the world,
which He called “The Gospel or good news”.
Jesus worked in the world, but He didn’t let the world work in
Him. He was a light in a dark
place. “The
people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat
in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.
From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for
the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Matthew 4:16-17) and
in Luke he said “To give knowledge of
salvation to His people by the remission of their sins, through the tender
mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; to
give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide
our feet into the way of peace".
(Luke 1:77-79) We are to be a hope and a possibility
We must always remember we are to be a hope and a
possibility in a hopeless society.
We are to be a light (the Glory of God) in a dark and sinful
world. There is a place
for believing God for our needs, but you have to come to a place where you
will listen to Him, minister to Him, Love Him, allow Him to talk more than
you talk. You need to listen, more than you want Him to listen to your
needs. there will come out of His light that will pierce your
darkness. There will be more deliverance received in His presence than
anywhere else. What you are doing is building a relationship that contains
a “Jesus Atmosphere”, in you. Out of this atmosphere you will walk
into the world and transfer His supernatural ability to a world that so
desperately needs Jesus. The
real Jesus, The same one of the Bible, “Jesus
Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Heb.13:
8) We are called here to teach the
Word of God without religious traditions, which chokes the life out
of Word of God (Mk.7:13). We
believe that the Word of God gives us the understanding (a foundation)
on how God’s kingdom principles (or His Will: Eph.5: 17) work,
and sitting at His feet gives us the confidence that He will do what He
says He will do (2 Cor.1:20).
The answer to the question “can we really help?” is
not dependent on God but YOU and your willingness to mature in His
presence with great commitment and compassion for a world in desperate
need. My goal in
this teaching is to get people who have a true heart for God to feel the
need of the world, then minister to the world out of their relationship
with the Lord, rather than their religion or criticism.
The call is to love Him, talk to Him, fellowship with Him, study
His Word, then the answer to the question “can we really help?”
is YES! Yes,
you can transfer the Life & love of Christ to a world that needs it
and desires it. If this
teaching has helped or challenged you, pray the following over your life
and then thank God continually for helping you make the changes to
maturity. In
the Name of Jesus Amen Pastor Randy Mattern |