Timely Insights into God's Word from Khandielese Reyes

“Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.  And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.  And he spake this parable unto them saying, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?  And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.  And when he cometh hom, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.  I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, MORE than over the ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.  Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?  And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.  Likewise, I say unto you, thee is joy in the presence of the angels of God over ONE sinner that repenteth”   (Luke 15:1-10) 

Those who are called into the office of “evangelism”, who possess the heart of Christ and are consumed by his love understands what it means to have “A Heart for The Lost”.  For this was the teaching of our Lord in that he not only taught but demonstrated in his actions Love, Mercy, Compassion, Grace and Forgiveness.  Every “professing” believer should possess these VERY SAME qualities as well, and demonstrate the LOVE of Christ Jesus our Lord by reaching out to those who’ve yet to know and receive Him.  This is not a task that should be left up to ONLY Pastors and Teachers, Prophets, Apostles, and Evangelists as EVERYONE who “profess” to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior can and SHOULD be an effective witness of his grace and mercy to one who’s lost.  This is an assignment for EVERY Christian, but sadly every believer does not have “A Heart for The Lost”, even though they themselves was once lost and doomed for eternal damnation.  How very selfish and disgraceful is this in the eyes of The Lord. 

In the above scripture passages, the Lord shares a parable of seeking that which was lost.  In this parable, it is not difficult to understand it’s meaning with reference to one who is “lost” in this world and is found by the Lord.  The Lord declares this of such a one, that there is joy in heaven, joy in the presence of the angels of God, over ONE sinner who repents MORE than of ninety nine who need no repentance.  While reading these passages of scripture, two thing stood out more than all the rest to me.  The first was that “sinners” DREW NEAR Him to HEAR Him and the second was that the Pharisees and Scribes murmured AGAINST the Lord for RECEIVING them.  What I found most interesting in these passages of scripture was first THEY (the publican and sinners) DREW NEAR HIM to HEAR HIM, indicating that what he was sharing was so effective and shared in such a way that it caught their attention.  Rather than run away from him, they ran TO him to hear his speech that would inevitably change the course of their lives.  The Lord’s words then came to me: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and GREATER works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” (John 14:12)   I had to wonder what was preventing the church today from doing these “GREATER WORKS”, and why is the speech of the church LESS effective in drawing “publican and sinners” to the Lord, and MORE effective in seemingly pushing them away.  In other words, what are WE (the body of Christ) doing that differs from The Lord to the point of being ineffective to the unbeliever.  When many read the above verse (John 14:12), it is assumed the Lord is speaking of “outward tangible works” such as healing, deliverance and such but this is not what he’s referring to at all since there is NO healing, or deliverance that could be GREATER than what the Lord has ALREADY done, even to the point of raising the dead.  What he is referring to is the ability to cause an INWARD change in the heart of an unbeliever THROUGH our testimony of Him which can ONLY be done by the POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT!  THIS is the greater work!  For he cannot testify of himself thus WE are His witnesses and not through speech alone, but through the visible testimony of change in our very lives which would be the evidence of his unfailing love, mercy, and forgiveness.  For once we were as they (and some still are yet profess not to be) in that we openly, publicly and willfully committed all manner of wickedness and evil.  But, being drawn to Him by the Power of the Holy Spirit and the testimony of a believer, we were then able to spiritually see the ugliness of our sins and the beauty of His Love and forgiveness to the point where we cry out in repentance, accept his gift of forgiveness and salvation, and became a NEW creation in Him.  From there, we should then begin to live our lives as such, and become a witness to others of the very one who CHANGED our lives by removing the darkness that once enveloped the heart, and pouring in HIS light of Love.  Using then the power of the Holy Spirit, we can then become an effective witness of him to the unbeliever that they may as we have, come out of the darkness into the Light.  THIS, is the “GREATER” WORK!  Thus, the church (Body of Christ) what we lack we must gain, and the speech we once spoke must be changed IF we are NOT being an effective witness of Him.  For our lives should be lived in such a way, that the unbeliever should be requesting of us saying “what must I do to be saved?”  The Lord shared his heart with the sinner speaking the TRUTH in LOVE and receiving ANYONE who was willing to listen, ANYONE who truly desired an inward change.  The church today however for the most part speaks to the lost in CONDEMNATION and expects one to enter into the church ALREADY cleansed before RECEIVING from Christ, the inward necessary CLEANSING.  This is foolishness as how can one enter in already perfect, while seeking to BE PER-FECTED!    In the days of old, such were labeled as “Fire and Brimstone Preachers” however the Lord does NOT desire scare tactics and condemnation as the more one is told how WORHTLESS they are, the LESS they will be desirous to hear the rest of your speech.  NO, the Lord desires one to WILLINGLY come to him seeing their need of salvation, and having an INWARD desire TO REPENT and receive His loving forgiveness.  THEY MUST SEE HIM, and their NEED FOR HIM but how can they see this if the speech they hear is condemnation and not truth delivered in LOVE!  Now, there is a difference on how we are to deal with a “believer” still bound by sin, as opposed to a unbeliever for WILLFUL sin cannot remain in the Body (of Christ) and Must be uprooted and plucked out for a little leaven, leavens the whole lump and one small cancerous cell if left untreated will begin to spread and destroy the entire body.  Therefore WILLFUL sin within the Body of Christ must be dealt with, but again it must be done IN LOVE in order to be effective.  The TRUTH must be boldly spoken, but not spoken as to condemn but to bring the sinning brother or sister to repentance out of LOVE for him/her.  Unlike an unbeliever, the believer should KNOW better, is without excuse since he/she proclaim acceptance of the Lord, HIS WORD and commandments should also be etched in the heart and lives MUST demonstrate this.  Otherwise, the witness of such a “believer” is ineffective to the unbeliever.  Therefore, hate, division, strife, bitterness, unforgiveness, sexual perversion, lying, cheating, fornication, adultery and the like MUST be removed from the Body of Christ Jesus our Lord!  These are visible stains within the church for all to see and inevitably mock the name of The Lord.  To be effective we must speak and live as HE, that the unbeliever will not only HEAR and desire the speech, but SEE the inward change and come, that they to may receive.   

The other portion of the above scripture in Luke 15 that stood out to me was where the “Pharisees and Scribes” murmured against the Lord for receiving the sinners as they proclaimed: “This man (speaking of Jesus) receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.”  Here are the self-righteous, puff-up and prideful, arrogant and haughty, unloving, uncaring, unmerciful know-it-alls in the church today for many have this very same attitude towards those who receives openly and lovingly the unbeliever who’s the drug addict, the prostitute, the beggar, the murderer, the adulterer, the perverted, the thief, the liar, and the like.  Such would not consider going to these who are lost and sharing with them the Love of Christ but yet will condemn and murmur against another believer who would!   Did Christ not come to save that which was lost?  Did he give his life for a certain type of sinner or for ALL sinners!  Is one sin more uglier, more worse than the other or are ALL sins equal in spiritual destruction if it remains in the heart and life of an individual.  What makes the sin of pride and hate less than the sin of a murderer, after all both have the ability to kill!   And what’s the difference in selling one’s body for profit as oppose to withholding the truth/peddling the gospel/and selling your own soul for the same, both ways are sin EQUALLY!  And how many adulterers do we have sitting in the pews this day?  Not just adultery against your earthly husband or wife, but how many have played the harlot against the LORD who is the HUSBAND of us ALL by rejecting His love and seeking other means of pleasure in this sinful world to take his place.  Anything that has been placed in a position above HIM where IT receives all your attention/affection and love is like committing adultery against him.  Do you think this is not sinful?  Therefore, how can we (the Church) label a sin as being so great that the sinner does NOT deserve to hear there is a way of escape from their sins, and that way is through Jesus Christ our Lord.  That he/she does not deserve the Love of the Lord for their lives are too sinful and wicked.  Have we forgotten that we to are sinners as there is NONE (according to scripture) that is good, NO NOT ONE, and ALL have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.  What makes one who had sinned differ from one who’s still sinning is the one who once had, has since REPENTED!   REPENTANCE is what’s different in the life of one vs. the other.  BOTH are still sinners, the difference is ONE has repented and received the Lord’s forgiveness and the other has YET to do so but BOTH deserve the opportunity, even one who would be considered as “most” wicked.  Therefore, as the Lord’s heart is for the lost, EVERY BELIEVER should have “A Heart for The Lost” as well, especially remembering that we were once lost ourselves but have now been found.  Everyone, deserves the opportunity to hear of the “Good News” that there IS hope, there IS a way out of bondage, and it is ONLY through Jesus Christ our Lord for HE IS the Way, the Truth and the LIFE!  

Allow the Lord this day to begin developing within you a Heart for the Lost.  See your neighbor as you once were and remember how you felt when you had not Christ.  The Loneliness, the emptiness, the continual search to be filled and yet could find nothing in this world feasible as only the Lord can heal the inward hunger.  Have his love, his compassion, his mercy, towards the lost as someone had for you.  Someone had “A Heart for The Lost”, for you when you were without direction and they stopped and shared with you the Gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Now, go and do the same!  Have “A Heart for The Lost”

I Love you all so very much.  Have a blessed week in the Lord and remember:  Whatever we do, do ALL for the GLORY of GOD, who ALONE is worthy of the GLORY and the PRAISE!

Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh,
Adonai Elohim Tzeva-ot
Asher Hayah Va-ho-veh VaY’vo

Holy, Holy, Holy
Lord God Almighty
Who was and is and is to come!

May the peace of the Lord be with you today and always……

Khandielese
Daughter & Servant
   of the Lord God