KHANDIE'S KORNER - December 12, 2004 | |
Timely Insights into God's Word from Khandielese Reyes | |
This Weeks Message- (scripture taken from King James Version) "DISCIPLESHIP" Then
the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed
them. And when they saw him, they worshipped
him: but some doubted. And Jesus came and
spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in
heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and
teach ALL nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost: Teaching them to OBSERVE ALL THINGS whatsoever I have commanded you:
and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matt 28:16-20) A
disciple simply put is one who learns of Christ, believes on the doctrine of Christ,
follows after his example for Christian living, and teaches others the same. The Lord gave a great commission upon his
ascension to the Father and that was: Go ye
therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them
to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even
unto the end of the world. Amen The NKJV reads as: Go Therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching
them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even
to the end of the age. Amen The Apostles of Christ took this commandment very
seriously and immediately began declaring the Gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord to as many
as would hear and receive. Their message was
so anointed by the Holy Spirit that it would pierce the hearts of man, causing them to ask
of the Apostles: What must I do to be saved?
Once they received the gospel, repented of their sins and were baptized they
then were taught the commandments of the Lord
and the importance of following after his example. This
great commission from the Lord was not given only for his apostles during that time, but
is commanded of born again professing believers in the church today. However, sadly there is not much in the area
of discipleship in the church today as the focus tend to be more on MEMBERSHIP than on DISCIPLESHIP. In the church today, we have adhered to one
portion of scripture while neglecting the other and yet the two go hand in hand. For example, we have preached the gospel of our
Lord Jesus Christ to countless of souls, and many have heard the good news and have
received it well. But, how many who have
heard truly REPENTED of their sins, before repeating what the church calls the
sinners prayer? There may be countless
of souls who prayed a prayer, but how many prayed from the heart before declaring the
words I accept you Jesus as my Lord and Savior?
The bible declares that repentance AND remission of sins should be preached
in the name of Jesus among all nations, but VERY LITTLE is preached on REPENTANCE and yet
without repentance, one cannot TRULY come to Christ and receive remission of sins. REPENTANCE comes first, and then sins are forgiven
NOT the other way around. This is the first
error of the church. Those who hear the
Gospel of our Lord should be falling before him in Godly sorrow and TRUE repentance of the
heart having the understanding that they are in need of a Savior and cannot save
themselves, not through works or any other way. Instead,
we see many seeking the Lord for a desire to have all their problems and woes disappear
instantly upon accepting him. Which explains
why SO MANY last for but a season, for when greater tribulation comes upon them, they
immediately depart from the faith and go back to their old ways. This is the fault of the one whos placed
himself in the role of a shepherd, for he did not accurately feed the sheep. I say placed himself, because if one is TRULY
called of God he/she would have the heart of Christ who LOVES his sheep so much so
that he laid down his life for us, and would carefully watch over the sheep feeding them
proper nourishment. Which brings me to the
second fault of the church who lacks discipleship and have neglected the other half of the
commandment of our Lord. Not only did he say
to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and Son, and
Holy Ghost, but the other half of this commandment says: TEACHING THEM TO OBSERVE ALL THINGS THAT I HAVE
COMMANDED YOU saith the Lord. Now,
if we are truly following this command to the letter, why is it we have so many professing
believers still bound by sin, still living the old life, hearts still filled with lust,
envy, bitterness, hatred, unforgiveness, strife and the like. Why do we yet still have so many that believe they
can live their lives as they so choose, no matter how sinful and yet STILL make it into
the kingdom of heaven? It is apparent that
such have NOT observed ALL things that the Lord has commanded, and why? Because they have not be taught so, instead the
lessons theyve learned has been what can they get (mostly material) out of Jesus! When was the last time the Apostle Paul taught a
message on prosperity ALONE? And WHEN did the
Apostle Peter, or John, or any of the others teach MAINLY on seeking Christ for
material gain? Instead, the HEART of their
message was CHIRST JESUS! NOT what we can get
from Him, but what we can GIVE to Him. How we
are expected to live NOW that weve been born again.
REPENTANCE, LOVE, FORGIVENESS, ENDURANCE, SHARING, CARING FOR ONE ANOTHER,
etc. THESE were the topics of the messages they preached and it obviously worked as
mans hearts turned from selfishness and greed, to sharing and giving. Paul was so bothered by SIN IN THE CHURCH that at
one point he commanded the leadership there to remove the man who was in sin, calling such
cancerous. The church today on the other hand
make no such demands but instead turn a blinds eye from sin, excusing and covering such
up! It is no wonder why the church today see
LESS of the Power of the Holy Spirit at work, than they did in the days of the Apostles of
Christ as we are living one portion of scripture and discarding the rest. Now, one may say what is the problem of teaching
on prosperity, after all there is scripture references to where the Lord desires his
children to be prosperous and many will quote the scripture Beloved, above all
things I wish that ye prosper and be in good health
.But what about the REST of
the scripture which reads: EVEN AS THY SOUL PROSPERTH!
When ones soul TRULY prospers he will find that he has NO desire for
the things of this world as he has stored up his treasures in heaven where ALL is eternal. And, when the Lord has richly blessed him with
prosperity, he finds that it is so HE may be a blessing to OTHERS! This is the way of the Lord. NOT selfishness and greed, but love and giving. THIS is the heart of Christ and those who follow
after him in this manner are truly observing all things whatsoever he has commanded. We need more Discipleship and TRUE leadership within the church. There is nothing MORE heartbreaking to me than when I see those who have been led to Jesus in the form of a sinners prayer only to afterwards be sent away to fend for themselves, WITHOUT proper nourishment and having no preparation of what is to come as they are not told much about trials and tribulations, and how to stand in the midst of it all (Im speaking of babes in Christ and not mature Christians). When membership has become more important than discipleship. When the church compete with one another boasting of its 1000 or more membership, but cannot TRULY declare that all 1000 or more have truly received the gift of salvation. What good are names on a membership card if hearts are still far from Christ? If you LOVE ME, FEED MY SHEEP saith the Lord. And not just any form of doctrine, but the MEAT and TRUTH of His word. Discipleship is needed NOW more than ever. Hearts should be turned to Christ out of genuine LOVE for him, lives should be lived that would be pleasing to HIM, ALL should be taught the TRUTH of His word, NONE should be left behind. 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! The Lord be with you this day and always! Shalom Uvracha (Peace and Blessings)
.. Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh,
May the peace of the Lord be with you today and always KhandieleseDaughter & Servant of the Lord God |
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