Thursday, March 17, 2011

I'm not Joel Osteen

"But by the grace of God, I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain"(1st Corinthians 15:10a ESV) Truly I give thanks to the Lord for His work in my life. Why not? With amazement I look back and reflect on what He did to draw me to Himself and place me in the gospel ministry. I am thankful for the unique way in which He has equipped me to serve Him and His people. (Romans 12:7-8; 1st Corinthians 12:7,11; 1st Timothy 3:1-8)
So, what's up with the title of the post? There have been some comparisons made as to the way we minister the gospel. The comments range the gammut of "why don't you talk more about this?" to "I need to feel more of the Spirit", "more emphasis needs to placed on"..... Ay yay yay! At first when one hears these comments, it can be a real head-scratcher. Where did this come from? I thought that we were preaching the word (2nd Timothy 4:1-5) and seeking to worship the Lord in Spirit and in truth. (John 4:24, 6:63; Galatians 5:25, 6:8; 2nd Corinthians 3:6; 1st Thessalonians 5:19) The answer to where this is coming from....... Christian radio and satellite tv. Now, before you think that I am advocating the tossing out of radios and tv's, hear me out. Whereas I believe there are some edifying programs and ministries on the airwaves, there are also false prophets and false teachers. (1st Timothy 1:3, 2:14, 6:2; 2nd Peter 2:1) I believe that mainly new and/or immature believers fall for these false teachings due to a lack of biblical knowledge and discernment. With one individual we had the opportunity to sit down, open up the Scriptures and pray for the Spirit's illumination of our hearts and minds. This individual was conforted by the truth of God's Word. (John 17:17) There are still a few others with whom we need to share. It is my prayer that the Lord would draw us closer to Himself and closer to one another as a body of believers. This work is the Lord's. It is His church. He bought it with His blood. (Acts 20:28; 1st Corinthians 1:2; Ephesians 5:21-33) May God be glorified in and through all things!

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