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Showing posts with label healing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label healing. Show all posts

Thursday, July 31

The Holy Bible is Infinitely More Than A Book

Let's talk about God's Word written to us in the book of The Holy Bible.


          As we relax quietly and read, we ask for The Holy Spirit to come, praying in the name of Jesus Christ, “Please meet with me here in God’s Holy written Word and interpret for me what God had in His heart when He entrusted these words to His prophets to write them down.” God, that's what I want to know. Please, please speak to my spirit. Upload to me what You want me to know for this hour. And we just relax and wait.


          Remember (Isaiah 40:31), "They who... WAIT upon The LORD will renew their... STRENGTH… they will rise up on wings like eagles... They will run and not be weary... They will walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:31)." Once you experience “Him” just once you can't get enough of it! And, the Truth is, there are so many accounts and stories of real-life experiences God's people accounted for in The Scripture.


          Now see, when Jesus went to be with the Father He told His disciples in John 16:7 to listen to Him because, if He didn't go away, The Holy Spirit Comforter, our "Teacher", couldn't come. All right!? “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you (John 16:7).”


          So, we have to develop the same passion to get to know the Holy Spirit as our teacher and our guide as we sought Jesus for salvation. That's where things start to come together for you. And so we start to listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit and, as He speaks, He comes in to our spirit. He takes Scriptures that, at face value may say one thing to the biblical scholar but, when we get The Holy Spirit interpretting the words for what God had in His heart and for what God may want for us to know for that particular time in our life, that's when real “Life” comes. That's when The Holy Spirit in that message relays to us the “Life” that is Jesus Christ. And that's when “Real Life” for us begins! When The Holy Spirit blows the Life of Christ into our spirit and soul, that’s what is absolute and wonder-full.


          See, we have to have the book. We have to have The Holy Bible. We have to have the written Words of God. We can have that “place of meeting” to go to and call on The Holy Spirit to meet us there, to begin to instruct us, to teach us, to comfort us, to strengthen us, to give us God's wisdom, to give us God's understanding, to give us His peace and joy…

WATCH and enjoy your time in God's Holy written Word as you sit still waiting and listening to hear the wonder-full, still, small voice of The Holy Spirit...
"🎶 Now playing 🎶 The Bible Rendezvous with The Holy Spirit"

 


          Jesus Christ is "The Life" of God that walked this earth for 33-plus years. And He is The One Who brought Life back to this earth. He brought God, in spirit, to this earth on two legs. Then, when Jesus was to go to be with The Father, He said, "Listen, I'm going to send a Comforter, The Holy Spirit". He did and now The Holy Spirit is Jesus Christ in the earth. The Holy Spirit is here, bringing to us The Life of Jesus Christ... if we w-a-n-t Him. When we w-a-n-t Him, we look for Him in the written Word of God, The Bible.


          Now, in order to understand God, we have to know God's Word. We have to be passionate about getting into The Holy Bible, the written Word of God. This isn't something where you can read a Scripture or so a month and think you're really gonna hear something from God. The Holy Scriptures, that is our place of meeting... where The Holy Spirit brings to us those things that Jesus Christ receives from God for us. And if we don't get it from The Holy Trinity, it's not right. This is why anxious spirits come to try to keep us "out" of the written Word of God, to keep us out and away from making that connection with The Holy Spirit in “the place of meeting with Him” in The Holy Scriptures. Satan knows and his demons know that if they can keep us separate from God then they can keep us dead… withOUT Life.


          The Scripture says what? “No man shall come unto The Father but by Jesus Christ (John 14:6b).” Jesus Christ IS Life. He is "The Way, The Truth, and The Life. No man shall come unto The Father but by Jesus Christ (John 14:6)." Wait a minute.



          When we call on The Name of Jesus Christ, The Holy Spirit comes. It's The Holy Spirit that brings "Life". “Life” is another name for Jesus. WithOUT The Holy Spirit that brings Jesus Christ, the Letter, or The Bible, in and of itself, "kills". “The Letter” is dead without The Holy Spirit's interpretation.


          See “Jesus Christ”, another name for Him is "Life". He is "The Way, The Truth, and The Life. No man shall come unto the Father but by Jesus Christ (John14:6)." We have to go to Him first.


          When we call on the name of Jesus Christ, The Holy Spirit comes. He listens for the name of Jesus Christ and races to brag on God, brag on Jesus… in the ears and in the heart of a person who calls first on the name of Jesus Christ. That's when He meets with us there and begins to relay, with full joy, the things that God has for us. That is why Satan works so hard to distract us from God's written Word. If you want to know God, you have to know His Word (The Holy Bible).


          If you want to know Jesus, you have to know the written Word of God. If you want to know The Holy Spirit, you have to stay in the written Word of God. And the more we get in there, and The Holy Spirit teaches us, the more our old nature is then cut away. In turn, the more the nature of Christ is built back in the place of our old flesh nature in our lives.


          And that's how we slowly but surely "become 'one'" in Jesus Christ... if we will stay the course. That is the, sort-of, "roadmap" to becoming ONE with God in Christ Jesus. ...


Watch “The WAY In To Oneness” Toward The Mark MINUTE for answering the question, "Why does Satan work so hard to distract us from God's Word?"
🎶 Now playing 🎶 How-to for finding our way in-to “one-ness” with The Holy Trinity ...and see if there is something The LORD may be wanting to share with you from what He graciously taught us in #TheLifeChangingWordOfGOD!

 

          I remember when it really hit me that, my dad no longer alive and here with us, I would never hear Dad's voice again. Well, even more devastating and important, infinitely more importantly, we are “lost” when we don’t get to hear our Heavenly Father’s voice.


          If we don't open The Scripture (God’s written Word), if we aren’t calling on Him in The Holy Bible, in The Gospel of Christ Jesus, and waiting there patiently, reading and asking The Holy Spirit to come and bring to us The Word of our Father... we voluntarily negate our Father's voice. A void exists with our craving for the “Life” of God in Christ Jesus in us.


          We have the ability to either walk with God in Christ Jesus, and to continue that walk with Jesus, or to cut it off. It gets back to "we have to w-a-n-t" Christ, "we have to w-a-n-t” God, we have to get into the written Word of God to listen for our Father. And He always wants to speak with us!


          But He will not fight through a bunch of noisy clutter and distractions around us. That's why it's so very important for us to draw near to Him so He can draw near to us (James 4:8). We sit in the quiet, take our thoughts captive and be self-controlled, in order that we be positioned and be ready to hear what He has for us. And it will be a defining time and message with us… always, always. The Holy Trinity comes to change you in that moment, in that day, in your future, and even in your past too.


          “For the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit (Romans 8:2-4).”


          And see, that's why God has given us His written Word where we get to go rendezvous "with" The Holy Spirit, and meet with Him where He then relays to us what our Father gave Jesus for us to know. Now that could be defining The Scriptures for us, explaining what is "between the lines" in The Scriptures, or it could be a word we ask for and need for right now... “God, please give me wisdom for …; please give me knowledge for …; please give me understanding of …” and on and on.


          Like we were talking about on the podcast message where I had this vision one time... it was the American president and the Russian president and the Cold War was raging... and rumors were flying around everywhere from the reporters causing chaos concerning potential nuclear attacks and such! So, in order to clear up all the confusion and noise, the governments put red phones in our White House and in the Kremlin in Russia. That “Red Phone” was a direct connection line for the two presidents to call and talk directly to one another without the interference or the confusion.


          That's exactly what God had in mind when he had given us “our Red Phone” that is The Holy Spirit. He sent Christ Jesus, and then sent The Holy Spirit, so we could have “a direct line” to Him as we meet in The Holy written Word of God. And, our meeting with The Holy Spirit in The Bible, that's “our Red Phone" to God, so that all of the confusion can be abolished.


          So, now, (James 4:8) if we will draw nigh to Him, He then will draw nigh to us. It's kind of like a sword fight, getting into that place where we can hear the voice of The Holy Spirit. We have to pull down, take captive, and put aside every thought (2 Corinthians 10:5,6) that would exalt itself above God in our heart, in our mind.


          “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled (2 Corinthians 10:5-6).”


          It's work getting in there, but we've got to read the love letter from God if we're going... to be filled with the love of God.



🎶 Now playing... 🎶 Uncovering the open line of communication available to us through The Holy Spirit, "our RED PHONE" personal connection access line to God in Christ Jesus. ...

 

 

...constantly listening for The Holy Spirit's voice to bring us the things that are Jesus Christ's. And then, there's an additional step we have to take next.



          When I was doing music, I would get before The LORD and I would hear The Holy Spirit relay to me from Christ Jesus messages that He and I would make into songs. Then I would have a band, or me and another person like Bennie Nelson, and we’d take those songs out to church communities and events to share in word and music what The LORD had given to me. I love that!


          We have to take the Life that Christ has given us by way of The wonder-full Holy Spirit and spread that “Life” around to others. We do that, in part, by writing down and sharing our “Life’s experiences”. We need to start, and make a part of our Holy Spirit lifestyle, writing letters with the testimonies of our Life in Jesus Christ, to others.


          There have been times that I wanted to hear the voice of The Holy Spirit so bad, I was desperately wanting a word from The LORD, so much so that I w-a-i-t-e-d for hours. I would lay on my bedroom floor, praying and reading Scripture and w-a-n-t-ing desperately to hear from Him, and I wasn’t about to leave until I heard Him, no matter how long it took. Experiences with The Holy Trinity, like those, taught me that people who hear from God are desperate in s-e-e-k-i-n-g Him. You see? We need to get on our face, listen for The Holy Spirit's voice bringing the Life that is Christ's, and spread that “Life” around to others by writing of our “Life’s experiences”. Let's start writing more letters, testimonies of our Life in Jesus Christ, to others.


Watch “Becoming a Holy Ghost Writer” Toward The Mark MINUTE"
🎶 Now playing 🎶 How-to for sharing The Ultimate Place we can call HOME...
in God’s Word with The Holy Spirit relaying to us "Their" Holy Trinity Love! #TheresNoPlaceLikeHome #TheLifeChangingWordOfGOD!

 



          The Holy Bible is infinitely more than a book.
Watch full video podcast (click link) “There's no place like HOME" on our Rumble channel, all about our going to the meeting place of The Holy Bible where we get to be with God, The LORD and Savior Jesus Christ, and The Holy Spirit Who brings us in-to Their Ultimate in Love and FAMILY.


🎶 Now playing 🎶


Our passion is to share with others this adventurous life, being sold out to Jesus Christ, and offering our testimony with the lessons we've learned along the way. Welcome to our wonder-full journey, Friend. We're so glad you're here!

#FaithAndVision #PursuitOfOnenessInGod #SecretsWeFind #BetweenTheLines

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WHERE TO FIND US (Be sure to check for any TTM resource specials mentioned in the notes with each post.)

- Our Website: https://towardthemark.com

- Sign up for our newsletter: Keith@TowardTheMark.com

- Order Keith's first audio book, "Letters From The Front": keith@towardthemark.com/lftfbook

- Order Keith's second book, "Overcoming Intimidation": keith@towardthemark.com/overcome...

- Rumble: https://rumble.com/user/KeithAndBrenda

- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KeithShealysTowardTheMark/

- Email Us: keith@towardthemark.com

- To drop us a line:
Toward The Mark
P.O. Box 1152
Yorktown VA 23692-1152

- To support us through PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=Z8REL84ZKMT8Y

- The music in the Keith Shealy and TTM’s inventory is not for sale but is made available by request for a financial contribution to help us in the ministry… mp3 or CD compilation projects like “Between The Lines” and “Toward The Mark” are currently in stock.

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#towardthemark



From the bottom of our hearts we say “Thank You” to our TTM Family of Faithful Contributors by whose love for Jesus Christ, whose passion to see His Name magnified, and whose ongoing generosity makes this project possible. We also thank you for hearing our hearts and for your investment in praying and pursuing your purpose in your Life with The Lord, right where you are. We would be remiss if we went without offering you the opportunity to become a part of this outreach and many Toward The Mark projects like it. So, we invite you to prayerfully consider helping us. The opportunity to sow your seed into high-yield projects (in the spirit) is too good to not share with you. For your convenience we provide self-addressed envelopes upon request, and we also accept PayPal donations "HERE" also provided on our website and other TTM social media channels. All gifts are tax-deductible and appreciated.
Our prayers are fueled with hope and expectation for fulfilling our spiritual assignments in this world, sharing The Gospel of Jesus Christ and The Gospel Jesus Christ preached!

If you have yet to invite Jesus Christ into your heart to be your Lord and Savior, or if you have allowed something or someone to come between you and God, now is your time to get right with God. Right there where you are, pray this prayer to God, then REST-ASSURED and watch what God does...

          "Dear Father God, in the precious Name of Jesus Christ, the King of kings and The LORD of all lords, I lay my life at Your Feet. I come before You, confessing that I am a sinner, and I ask for You to forgive me of all my sins - those that I know I have committed, as well as those that I am not even aware of.  I ask that You come into my heart and be my Lord. I lay my life, and everything in it, at Your Feet, and ask that You please take me and begin to change me to be like YOU. I ask that You redeem the time that has passed, and allow me the opportunity to become exactly what You have predestined me to be, from before the foundation of the earth. I commit my life to You now, and thank You for receiving me as Your own. In the wonderful Name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, I pray, Amen."  And AMEN (So be it)!


            WELCOME HOME!

            If you have just prayed this prayer, we want to congratulate you for making the greatest decision that you'll ever make! By accepting Jesus Christ, or rededicating your life to Him, as your personal Lord and Savior, you have begun the wonder-full process of being grafted into the family of God, and we welcome you "Home" to God's Family. We would also like to invite you to contact us so that we can send you information that will help you begin growing in your relationship and daily walk with God. We would encourage you to begin attending a Holy-Spirit-filled, full-Bible focused church right away.


            We advise you to begin reading The Holy Bible daily, whether you understand it or not. Always remember, God's written Word in The Holy Bible is LIKE NO OTHER BOOK that has ever been written! When we rendezvous with The Person of The Holy Spirit as we read what God has written there, it becomes stored in our heart for The Holy Spirit to access it to bring to our remembrance.  You will find that the Scriptures will become applicable to whatever you are going through, at any given time!

            There are wonderful Bible teachers that can, especially early in your walk with God, help you to receive good teaching and encouragement right away. Though informative, those Bible-teaching programs are never to be a substitute for close relationships with people who love and serve God. At times, the transformation process that you have now begun will be difficult, and you will be tempted to go back to your old ways of living your old life. It will be during times like these that hanging out with strong Christian friends and mentors will be crucially important. There really IS strength in numbers! (Selah)

            And remember... growing in Godliness requires us to keep purity of focus, keep steadfast, immovable, and uncompromising in the faith of Jesus Christ... and, now more than ever, no matter what, Keep PRESSIN' IN! You might consider using our book  LETTERS FROM THE FRONT, the special collection of keys to defeating hindrances that have kept many of God's servants from walking with the confidence and authority that Jesus Christ died to provide for us! Twelve life-changing chapters include:

;
Sin Makes Ya Stewpit!
The Cart's Before the Horse
The Crisis of Eroding Integrity
The Fruit's on the End of the Limb
Too Quick to Compromise
The Rarest of All Breeds!
Please...Stop Stinkin'
Three Keys to God-Pleasing Faith
Let It Go
Understanding the Fear of The Lord
Into the Secret Place
Give to Give


To help you further your fight to victory through the battles that confront every one of us in these turbulent times we live in, get your copy of our book, "LETTERS FROM THE FRONT." In this collection of 12 letters written from the front lines of battle fought in the spiritual, natural, and theater of the mind, Keith's Scripture messages will build your faith and help you reach God's full potential for your life.
"LETTERS FROM THE FRONT"
available at
TowardTheMark online.


We pray God uses this message, and all of our resources, to fan the flame in your heart for Christ Jesus, for His wonder-full Ways, and for seeking His Plan and Purpose for you to fulfilll in this life. We are eternally grateful for our loving Toward The Mark Family of sponsors who make this blog, and all of our work, possible by their faithful prayers and monthly financial support! If you have any questions about Toward The Mark, or if you would like to make a special tax-deductible donation, to place a special order for our books, magazines, stickers, or CDs, or to share a testimony or prayer request with us, please  e-mail us. Also feel free to write a letter and mail it to TOWARD THE MARK, P.O. Box 1152, Yorktown, VA 23692-1152.


Your Servants in Christ Jesus,

    
To Show GOD BIG in the eyes of those who see Him small… 
sums up the reason Keith stepped out in faith to focus on reaching the lost and strengthening believers everywhere, through Toward The Mark, Inc.  Keith and Brenda's prayer is that you will be encouraged and edified by the Secrets from God's Word that Keith recounts in our written and recorded products.

We couldn't do this without the help of our friends!
This blog message, along with the complete collection of original podcasts, songs, blogs, books, CDs, and other Bible-based resources from Toward The Mark is made possible by the faithful prayer and financial support of our wonder-full Family of Sponsors. We'd like to invite you to come on-board, to become a part of the Family as well, by becoming a monthly financial partner. Your support will go toward fulfilling our God-given calling to help provide effective, contemporary outreach tools that are available to everyone, the churched and un-churched alike, all who desire to know more of the Love, Truth, and full-Gospel salvation of Jesus Christ. We invite you to partner with us, as we, "press Toward The Mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14)."

Keep PRESSIN' IN!


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and write "on" your heart His LOVE LETTERS for your Life!




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Thank you in advance for sowing your financial seed into the fertile soil of this ministry! We pray God bless you with a 100-fold return for your generosity!





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Monday, October 21

Winning The Lost ... We Can Only Give From What We've Got!

Beloved, let us love one another: for Love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knows God. He that loveth not knows not God; for God IS LOVE (1 John 4:7-8)."


Think of what the church in this country could do if every one of our members possessed God's passionate Heart for uniting Him with His People. We have to play a more effective role in winning the lost, as well as encouraging currently-active believers in the church. Rather, millions of dollars are being squandered away on things like the construction of facilities, the purchase of buses and other equipment, and developing exorbitant programs that, for the most part, never come to be fully utilized for the purpose for which they were acquired. It's just bad stewardship!
The church in this country needs to sober up to the Mind of Christ Jesus. Church leaders having their own agendas need to drop their plans, stop favoring those who can finance or facilitate the fulfillment of those ideas and dreams, get on their faces before God, and become a part of His Plan for His people... as "individuals" first. People and the promotion of their individual relationship with The Lord God must be as important to us as it is to Him. Therein is the bottom line in this whole thing of God's Design for winning the lost... His Way!
Folks in the church, all of us, must seek to fulfill the Will and Dream of The Lord God. We must learn to love His people, all people, no matter their social standing, skin color, or level of income. The church in this country has been contrary to the Will of God for way too long.
The triumphal return of Jesus Christ is near, and it's the church's responsibility to inform the lost. It all boils down to this... it is due time the church in America finally wakes up and becomes The Church of The Lord Jesus Christ! We must throw off any garments that have been stained with the putrid stench of religion, and begin to seek The Lord God's Thoughts, Will, and Ways. “Keep yourselves in the Love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh (Jude 1:21-23)."
How do we pursue winning the lost God's Way? We start by pursuing a close and personal relationship with The Lord Jesus Christ, making our main objective to become Christ-like. We begin reading the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the Gospel Jesus Christ preached, daily, asking for the tutor-ship of The Person of The Holy Spirit, asking Him to explain each verse of the Gospel for what the prophets truly meant when they wrote it down. “Thomas said unto Him, Lord, we know not whither Thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus said unto him (Thomas) I AM The Way, The Truth, and The Life: no man cometh unto The Father, but by Me (John 14:5-6)." The more our personal relationship with Christ Jesus grows, so does our becoming one with The Godhead, with The Three-In-One Holy Trinity. We must pursue The Lord God with all diligence, not for what He can give us but for Who He IS, not for what's in His Hand but for what's in His Heart!
Christ Jesus said, "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. I am the Vine, ye are the branches: He that abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in Me, and My Words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My Disciples. As The Father hath Loved Me, so have I Loved you: continue ye in My Love. If ye keep My Commandments, ye shall abide in My Love; even as I have kept My Father's Commandments, and abide in His Love (John 15:4-10)."
To make our personal relationship with God through Christ Jesus the main objective in our personal life, it takes pursuing Him, first and foremost. As we are diligent in going after God for Who He IS, and we discover more and more about Him and His Heart, then our heart grows to love what He Loves, to hate what He hates, and to increasingly desire Him, His Will, and His Ways in our own heart's desires. It's truly remarkable that way our Father God meets every desire of our "heart" for every life-giving "thing" we need. It's all-consuming that way He makes all the things be added to our heart by His Nature. Jesus teaches us about this in Matthew 6:33, saying, "But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His Righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." The same way, by seeking to reach out to others from what matters to God and His Heart, all of the things that matter to the lost become fulfilled in Him and His Heart of Love.
If our desire to reach out to others is birthed from anything other than our deep and abiding love for God, then our efforts will only be in vain. When the things that God loves becomes the very things that we love, then our efforts to reach out will never be in vain, nor misleading. It is a deep and abiding love for others that repels any outreach efforts born out of religion. The general epistle of 1 John 4:7-8 explains how crucial it is that our desire to reach out to others be born of deep and abiding love for God first, "Beloved, let us love one another: for Love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God IS LOVE (1 John 4:7,8)."
There are foundational steps that one must take in order to win people with the Love of God through Christ Jesus. Remember, it is not our love, but Christ's Love, that breaks bondages. In order to give His Love away, we must acquire it from Him first. Anything else, from anyone or anywhere else, is counterfeit.
"Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked Him (Jesus) a question, tempting Him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love The Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets (Matthew 22:35-40)." So, how do we reach out for Christ Jesus in winning the lost, God's Way? We love them the way He does! That may sound simple but, truly, it's more difficult than we might imagine.
Why is winning people God's way so difficult? God's way entails befriending those He Loves, and He loves all people, not just some people. We can't just befriend the rich people, God Loves all people. We can't just befriend the pretty people, God Loves all people. We can't just befriend the popular people, God Loves all people. To befriend all the people God Loves is difficult for most of us.
Why do we find it difficult to reach out to all people with God's Love? Because we live in a day and time when self-hatred and feeling insecure has grown into a full-fledged epidemic, sadly, even people in the church have grown in self-hatred and insecurity. But, what does this have to do with loving others? Everything!
You may be asking yourself, "What does Keith mean by saying John 12:32 applies even more now, today?" In order for Christ Jesus to be made visible to the lost world, the members of The Body of Christ must lift Him up in their own daily lives. I like the phrase "magnify the Lord" because it means "we show Christ Jesus BIG in the eyes of those who see Him small". We, as individuals, must magnify The LORD in the eyes of everyone with whom we come in contact! When someone looks at us, they must see the Love of God in action! The only way that this can take place is by our being in partnership with God.
People not knowing God enough to know just how much He Loves them is a deep-rooted spiritual problem in the church body today. As a direct result, the things we do outside of the Love of God ultimately misses the mark. Believe me, when a person sees themselves through the eyes of God, and realizes how much they mean to Him, then is when healing and wholeness will be soon to follow. I believe that most of the church in America has become impotent concerning winning the lost God's way because the vast majority of its members do not have an intimate relationship with The Lord God. As a result, they are like the blind leading the blind. "And (The Lord Jesus) spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch (Luke 6:39)?"
Our churches are filled, in large part, with thousands of precious people who are bound in the chains of self-hatred. Those people are trying to love others and that will never work. It's just a fact, you simply cannot give to others something you haven't got. You can only offer the Love of God to others when you've got the Love God has for yourself. The only cure for this terrible problem is to the pursuit of "oneness with God"! We must abide in God if we are ever going to be able to love and befriend others for the reasons that God does, and wants us to!
The Love of The Lord God is the expression and the fulfillment of The Great Partnership between God and the Believer. Without Jesus Christ, on the outside of a partnership in oneness with Him, we can do nothing. In Partnership with Christ Jesus, in oneness, we can do all things. He strengthens us. You see, only "in partnership with God through Christ" will we be able to fulfill His Will and His Plan for our lives, "For in Him we live, and move, and have our being... For we are also His offspring  (Acts 17:28)." You see, it is our being "in" Partnership with God, first, where we must live, that is where we can win people to Christ the right way, God's Way. In other words, in Him is where we must live, and that doesn't mean by periodic visits!
Let's take a look at the word "abide" (refer back to John 15:4-10). To abide in means "to dwell in" or make your dwelling there. Thus, abiding in God means that we live our lives, or make our dwelling there, on a 24/7 basis in God. It's not a geographical place of residence, like a house location with a street address. It is a mental and spiritual state of being, described by Luke, "And when He (Jesus) was demanded of the Pharisees, when the Kingdom of God should come, He answered them and said, The Kingdom of God comes not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the Kingdom of God is within you  (Luke 17:20)." This message is what we find in Paul's message to the Romans, "For the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in The Holy Ghost  (Romans 14:17)."
Righteousness, peace, and joy are inward qualities of the heart. They are within us. Furthermore, they are not qualities of human nature, they are the fruit of The Spirit which, as Paul notes, they are "in The Holy Ghost".
Question: If we do not abide in Father God, in Christ Jesus, nor believe in Him wholeheartedly, how can we expect to be able to present Him to others accurately? After all, how can we successfully lead someone to a place where we have never been ourselves? The "place" I am speaking of is found in oneness, in Partnership, with God Himself. Let me explain further, using an experience from my personal life of corporate-level sales.
I spent many years in businesses selling expensive items, like corporate-level graphic services, motor yachts, sport boats, and recreational vehicles, just to name a few. In the early part of my sales career I realized that there are three keys to becoming successful in the sales profession. First, you must wholeheartedly believe in the product or services you are selling. Secondly, you must have firsthand knowledge of the products. Thirdly, you must be able to effectively communicate the knowledge and information, passionately, to a prospective buyer. If you don't believe in, and are not passionate about, the product or service you are trying to sell, your customer will not believe or have passion for it either.
How did I obtain my confidence and knowledge about the products that I sold? I invested a whole lot of time making long and sometimes grueling trips to the facilities where the product was manufactured. Once there, in the facility, I took time to study the production line at each point of the product's construction. Next, I spent time with the factory sales rep's and the engineers that designed the products. by the time I finished at the factory, I left there with an intimate knowledge of every phase of the product's features, benefits, construction techniques, materials it was made of, and more. To add even more details to the information I had gained, I would also bring each product's specifications sheet home with me, to memorize as much as possible at night. Not only did I have the common knowledge of the sales profession, I was determined to "be" the sales professional who truly believes in the product we are selling, the one who had the unmatched potential for making the sale!
No matter what it is that you set out to present and promote, whether it's the sale of a boat or the pursuit of oneness with Christ Jesus, you must have an intimate knowledge of what you advise and advertise, in order to represent it with true passion and confidence. If you do not have an intimate knowledge of the inner-workings of the product you're selling, you run the risk of misleading prospective buyers, misrepresenting what your customers can expect, and leading the company into court battles that inevitably promise to be very costly and damaging. False advertising is against the law of the land; the abomination of misrepresentation is against The Law and Prophets of God! There's no way but the right way, no matter how you slice it!
Can you see why our pursuit of becoming one IN God with Christ Jesus through the Gospel Jesus Christ preached is key to winning the lost God's Way? Misrepresentation of God The Father and the Gospel of The Lord Jesus Christ is at the root of the Church's condition today. We have got to stop and realize that people are desperately craving more than a group of church-goers who've been put through a ten-step evangelism program for knowing how to march down the strip and hand out tracts on a busy Saturday night.
What people are desperately looking for is the Love of God The Father, and God's Love only comes from God Himself by coming to Him by The Way, Truth, and Life... Jesus Christ! Those who know The Love of God are able to express HIS LOVE to others because of the way they are able to see themselves and others through God's Eyes of LOVE. The lost are desperately looking for those who represent God's Love because they operate in The Love of God. At the root of the lack of God's Love in the church communities everywhere is the misrepresentation of God and His Gospel that Jesus Christ preached. We must realize that human love is from a human vessel, but God's Love comes only from a Christ-like vessel. When we pursue God (Love, Himself) and The written Gospel that Jesus Christ preached (God's Love sent in human flesh, the Life of His Son) we are in pursuit of becoming "one" with Him, then wholeness will come with Him in us, and He begins to enable the rescue of those in prisons and chains of bondage. So, in order to be there for giving the Love of God, we must first have the Love of God ourselves. We can only give the Love of God through Jesus Christ when we've got the Love of God through Jesus Christ ourselves. Make it your goal to befriend people who are outside of your own circle of friends, and share with them all that The wonderful Holy Spirit brings to light in all those times God has answered your prayers and walked and talked with you in your life. The results will bless both you and them, as your hearts become filled with gratitude that compels you to offer up thanksgiving to Him, for Him, and for everything He IS and does. Remember...
In Matthew 6:33, Jesus gives us the starting place where it all must begin, "But seek ye first the Kingdom of God (the Kingdom that IS God), and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." And in Matthew 22:35-40 are the very keys we've got to pursue and possess for winning the lost, from Jesus Himself, "Thou shalt love The Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."  So, let's begin to love by looking through God's Eyes, by reaching out the way God does, and by... winning the lost, God's Way!
As you hold on to this thought, Part II "Winning the Lost...We Can Only Give From What We've Got", we look forward to giving you the final thoughts, Part III "Winning the Lost...Count the Cost in Truth in Love", coming very soon. Thank you for reading and sharing.


  

  

  

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Sin Makes Ya Stewpit
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Too Quick to Compromise
The Rarest of All Breeds
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