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| Coming Out of The Comfort Zone
Matthew 10:26 “Fear them not therefore:
for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and
hid, that shall not be
known.” For many, speaking up is not an easy thing to do. With speaking up, comes backlash. And we all know what happens to those who rock the boat of societal issues. We see it in the news, on the job, at ladies coffee club meetings— scrutiny, slander, tongue wagging! Here is the fact of
it… Luke 6:22 “Blessed are ye, when men
shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their
company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as
evil, for the Son of man's
sake.” Now, I could sit
here and tell you how men and women have fought and died
for our freedoms, and that you surely can put up with some
cruel words said behind your back or even in your face, etc.
etc. etc. But, fact is, guilt is not of the Lord. However,
conviction is whole other story. A Change of Heart
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword…” The two-edged sword in the heart of a believer is like the instrument a surgeon uses to remove oh-so-delicately only what needs removed—all the while not harming that which is vital and healthy. Conviction leads to change. When man feels convicted, he turns to God. It is a simple case of cause and effect; because a person feels conviction, he turns to the Father for change. Scalpel,
Please Yes, when you take a stand, there will be a lot
of backlash from worldly people. Many will hate you. They will
seek to smear your name with the most outrageous of lies. And
believe me, many will not even appear to have a conscience for
what they will do to you. I will not lie to you. But here is
the fact of it, it is written in scripture that when we are
doing right, we will be persecuted. Does this bother you? Do
you have a need to be liked by the world, by those who
hate Jesus? If so, let’s take you into the operating
room… James 4:4 “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know
ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?
whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy
of God.” John 15:19 “If ye were of the
world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of
the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore
the world hateth you.” Armor Up
“If
any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up
his cross, and follow
me.” God does not send us out into battle
unprepared—quite the contrary. We have all we need, truth,
righteousness, the gospel, the shield of faith, the helmet of
salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of
God, and we have the blessing of
prayer. Weapon of
Choice God’s Word is our sword. Do you wonder why the
wicked seek laws that would shut us Christians up? God’s Word
is Powerful! The wicked cannot stand against it. Satan himself
must flee at the very sound of it!
The wicked cry that they are “Offended” by true
Christianity. It is written that the gospel of Christ
is offensive to those who are perishing. Beware, my
dear brothers and sisters—THAT is what the wicked want to stop
from being told, The Gospel of Jesus Christ! They want to call
it a “Hate Crime” for us to even imply that sin exists, and a
Savior implies a need to be saved, which implies there is sin.
The wicked claim that preaching against what they do and in
anyway calling their behavior “sin” puts their lives in
danger. (Does this sound crazy? Well, tell that to your
congressmen and women!) John 3:19 & 20 “And this is the
condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved
darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For
every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to
the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.”
I just have one more thing to ask you here. How
do you feel about preaching to those in prison? No, no, no,
though it is a great ministry, I am not suggesting you
volunteer to do prison ministry. I’m asking you this because
if you continue to stay in your comfort zone, prison is
where you may end up some day, just for telling someone about
Jesus
Christ!
© Copyright 2006 Debra J.M. SmithView Archives: Click Here Home |
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