Kingdom Ready

In Matthew 10.22 Jesus says the following.

“You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.”

What comes to mind is how offensive the gospel, and the commandments of God and his Messiah are. How offensive is it to say that there can only be one right way? There is a huge gay-rights movement in America today; try telling one of them that their sexuality is a sin against God. That’s being intolerant of other people’s life styles.

This summer a few of us went on a two week evangelism road trip. Most of us did little 15 minute sermons, among them was JohnO. He taught from the first three chapters of Revelation, which is Jesus’ message to the Churches Asia. I thought of this randomly this morning and read the chapters before school.

His message to the church in Laodicea stuck out in my mind.

“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spit you out of my mouth. Because you say, ‘ I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor blind and naked.” Revelation 2.15-17

When I read the record of Jesus’ last hours before he was taken captive, one thing that really sticks out to me is the scene in the Garden of Gethsemane. We see the disciples falling asleep when Jesus really needs them. When we hear or read about it, we think “surely I wouldn’t sleep when Jesus needed me!” However, the truth of the matter is that we are sleeping. The Church of Jesus Christ whom Jesus left talents to, is for the most part burying them in the ground. Everyone likes to say, ” I have the spirit!” We’re also supposed to be the salt of the earth! The light of world! The bond slaves of Jesus! Where is our light? I imagined that light Jesus described as a huge lighthouse on the top of the hill, and all we’re doing is lighting match! As quickly as we light the match the wind blows it out. Leonard Ravenhill in his book “Revival God’s way,” he says the following.

I came across a quote recently from Leonard Ravenhill. He was talking about Sin and he said the following.

“It’s not the ability to never sin again, it’s the ability not to sin. It makes all the difference in the world.”

I just wanted to see what everyone thinks about sin. How often does a person that has accepted Christ sin? Do you think that at a certain point you can be sinless in this life? These are things I’ve been wondering.

4 Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins; and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has seen him or knows him.

I was reading through Matthew yesterday and I stumbled across chapter 9 verses 36 through 38.

Seeing the people, he felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a sheperd. Then He said to his disciples, ” The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.”