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ReactorSTUDIES FROM BRETHREN IN CHRIST
SERMON MENU SELECTIONS??/??/2021 ~ Party Church & Rigid Religion |
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🎉 Darkness is detachment from the light. Many seek true God where men would rather try to dominate. Many edifices have been built to exalt our worship of God. One must ask, is it for God or man? Hear instruction and be wise, And do not disdain it. ~ Proverbs 8:33 What the Bible, and specifically God, tells us from His word is to be wise in its’ application, not despising what He asks of us, in proper worship of Him. ... things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. ~ Romans 15:4 What has been written is intended for our edification so we are able to be sensible in understanding our worship. So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. ~ Romans 10:17 Souls must know truth for salvation
By declaration it is the word of God that delivers our faith and not the whims or casual desires of any mere man’s proclamations. Worship is meant to please God as the focus and not the pleasures of man pleasing man. Understanding faith is a matter of knowing His word. ... And the LORD said to Moses, "Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. ~ Exodus 32:6-7 Corruption so quickly and easily enters into the false worship halls of man where greed and contempt guide selfish leaders. Exalting man’s ways over God’s requests, and commands, pollutes all that would be holy. On the one hand, overly conservative congregations may be ruled by leaders of iron fists, where elders treat members as children, declaring exclusive rights to power, and pathways to God through themselves, rather than humbly coming to the feet of Jesus. Ask, does appointed men reject the meek while pride infects their hearts? Most assuredly, poisoned hearts and finger pointers often are blind to their own disease of contempt. And for the other extreme, little scripture is studied while catering to the crowds thirst for hoopla and entertainment. "... made for yourselves a molded calf! You had turned aside quickly from the way which the LORD had commanded you." ~ Deuteronomy 9:16 Man often wants to turn worship of God into rather a celebration of man and his glory over that of the glory of God. People ignore that He sees every breath in all of our actions. God is in the middle of all we do. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you ... ~ Hosea 4:6 Key to proper worship is found in remembering what He has given through His word. Amazingly, man continues to divide and proclaim those things never instructed by God, to draw the simple hearted and weak minded, to conform under man instead of exalting God in His instructed ways. ... Then the king answered the people roughly, and rejected the advice which the elders had given him; ~ 1st Kings 12:12-13 Severe religion involves the harsh hand of man where perceived power grinds those hoping to find God in a blinded world. ... "My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!" ~ 1st Kings 12:14 Many religions of man hold the gun of threats and persecution over those that would follow, or who would be forced to follow. When man is followed in his errors, the door to God is missed. Punishment is not found in rejoicing in God’s unveiling. "He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him - the word that I have spoken will judge him ..." ~ John 12:48-49 The Bible clearly states that it is His word that is the standard, and not any excusing filled doctrine of man. It is God that forgives sins, not a pompous heart exalted over the hopes of men. "And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak." ~ John 12:50 The words given to us by Jesus and His prophets and apostles bring us to the threshold of God’s own truth, and His desires of our worship in the moment of life. The command is eternal life, and the question has been put forth, where will you spend your eternity? ... But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him. ~ Luke 7:29-30 Certainly the proud do not follow words and practices ordered by God Himself. Many people do not care for domination by what they can not see and hearts of men more often blaze in the light of contempt. Lawyers are well known for collecting fees without producing much. Scheming and cheating is rampant in our social demise. "... like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying: 'We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not weep.'" ~ Luke 7:31-32 Musical media & false praise does not please God
False worship remains where people believe pleasing themselves is a sign of godliness. As revealed in scripture, musical instruments, dancing, and hoopla, does not approach the heart of God. Man believes he can earn God’s respect by actions. Just because one feels offerings please God by outward music or mere words of mourning, screaming, or praising Him and His sacrifice - will bring His favor, often are misled and or deluded by these smug attempts. God desires inward actions over outward displays that more often are hypocritically motivated. If your congregation claps during worship to the preacher’s orations or laughing and clapping to flippant video clips, careful. Does your church display the preacher on all the multiple plasma screens or present scripture for examination? Again, careful following the blind who exalt themselves. These practices are not to God but to the celebration of man. And how does God see this foolishness of false worship? Children, not mature adults, speaking to one another, and not to Him. More to be seen, these ingenuine attempts to worship Him do not please Him for the focus is on self expectations rather than God Himself or true repentant hearts. "... 'This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'" ~ Mark 7:6-7 There should be no argument that it is man and his institutions that fall away from God, and not God falling away from man. It is crucial to hold a genuine faith with God through His word over the teachings of man. If your church tells stories and fables more so than the actual examination of scripture, woe is the warning. ... "All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition." ~ Mark 7:8-9 It is the whole of scripture that needs to be acknowledged to incorporate proper worship. Too often men pick and choose, rejecting the convicting condemnation of their own errors, referring rather to, out of context blurbs, to commend themselves as acceptable in the highest. Proud men calling to themselves defeat the glory in the humble who seek to find it, God’s own mercy. Men have no power to reach into heaven itself, where we all should be listening. "... narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." ~ Matthew 7:13-14 God speaks to the so called faithful, warning that it is not easy to follow God over man. Courage and boldness in believing His word drives saints to heaven. Casual Christians and or overly serious zealots miss the focus of His simple message. In His word He is found. "... have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' " ~ Mat. 7:21-23 Many shocked hearts will fall before Him who never knew Him, trapped by their own hypocrisy. Practicing worship through men does not buy one a ticket to heaven. Practicing sin regularly certainly excludes one’s access to His kingdom. People assembling and accepting one another does not necessitate favor with God, if behavior goes against His clear character requirements. As said, one can not climb out of sin on the coattails of another, and more often the other is a ditch digger, rather than a mountain climber. It takes a devoted keen heart to avoid the lawless excusing's or dominations of man. A herd of pigs is headed for that edge of death; turn back from the group mentality and come to Him alone in praise and prayer. Eternal life is a one on one relationship with God Himself. The path to heaven requires a strong heart loyal to His call. Those offended now, without repentance, will bow in shame before Him. This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. ... ~ 2nd John 1:6-8 The simple message is to look to your own heart asking if His word is the guide of your walk. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. ... ~ Ephesians 5:17-19 His will is that we hear His wisdom asking we seek Him from the inside, and not remain blinded by the outside mask where man celebrates his own unhumble greatness. He requests and commands we sing of calm hearts free of outward distractions. Clearly, God has little desire for outward displays of false worship, and will examine each heart as it is from the inside. ... ... giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another ... ~ Ephesians 5:20-21 It is by God first we submit through Jesus Christ that we find our bond with one another. Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. ... ~ 2nd John 1:9-11 Again, the Bible is abundantly clear that it is His doctrine to be followed, and not the traditions or dominating whims of man. Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." ~ John 14:6 And it is by Jesus that God is found. It is His will that we come back to Him in His creation of life. Man is not the creator, though many are deceived in praising man over God. Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? ... ~ 2nd Corinthians 6:14 It is a fine line in knowing His knowledge that saves over the lawlessness of man’s follies. People seek God and many have turned away in their disgust of man and his habitual and historical manipulations in lies. God calls and if it is ones will to find Him, His word has been once delivered for our return. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. ~ Colossians 2:8 God’s word continually warns, both would be believers and believers alike, to beware of men who would deceive innocent hearts. God’s principles and ways come by knowing His word. Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, ... ~ Colossians 2:18 False religion is like candy to the soul if restraint is not employed. Dead statues to shiny artisans glass, there are many slippery slopes for those hoping for things that are not. As vapors of lies rise, sold by those who fatten upon cheating the truth, the innocent are consumed in falsehoods. "... I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God." ~ Revelation 22:8-9 Notorious is how family and traditions can perpetuate false religion. More a social function or habit, little true faith wells up from the heart, of those who believe they know, and are saved because they go through the motions of attending a local church of some kind. Casual Christianity kills. Stubborn arrogance rejects His call to come. Weekend warriors, always resisting, they dream of a prize that will remain out of reach at the moment of truth upon God’s own footstep. When one relies on others to do the spiritual work, one lives through the lives of others, or the preacher. Eternity is not a one hour deal. Many fear the crash of letting their pride fall and coming to God naked in honest confession. Regular scripture infusions develop paradise beyond measure, and in seeking His kingdom, all arrives for peace is obtained. To entertain or dominate are constructs of man
In pursuit of God one must hear His word. Darkness falls where there is no place. Coming to God involves the moment, not the building or location. God is not interested in dust, but the life in the hearts of men. There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. ~ Proverbs 14:12 We all have diverse experiences leading back to God, and each of us has in common an equal share of ignorance. No man can save one from the grave where God waits for our awakening, to eternal life in His light or cast away to the darkness of death’s damnation. In time and substance, we all see the shadows and edges of His truth, as it will inevitably arrive upon His coming. For us to see in this time and age, there is the truth of “The Way,” and it must be our guide, as any old way will not suffice. To arrive, one must find service in those ways He calls out for. Many churches hold the graveyards of living souls lost, far away from the truth. For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. ~ 1st Corinthians 14:33 It is not by the will of God that we remain confused, but find what He is, and of what He asks. A building does not make a church. A gathering of hearts in service to one another in Him is what He calls for. God looks for something stronger than the decaying grains of earth where selfish hearts try to possess what cannot be owned. Freedom is a cry to eternity. As wombs prepare for life, so His creation has formed a way to be born in Him. Let all things be done decently and in order. ~ 1st Corinthians 14:40 Those who claim God is evil, and such not existent, miss the fact He calls out for the goodness in us to return from the brink of destruction. Pure words of orderly and decency encompass His truths. For things to be done in order calls out for His way, over any way placing preference in man’s customs over God’s. The house of God stands upon an eternal foundation where man’s traditions are cast upon the winds, where sand consumes all of his vain futility. Water that cannot be grasped is what man siphons to build his shifting doctrines, where God draws the water of life for all to drink. Come, return to Me, is His eternal call to the life He loves in love. ... those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. ... ~ Titus 3:8 Created in Him for good works, His call is to maintain a careful thought for the good of all. It is a call to come out of the darkness of evil to bathe in His light of truth. What is the profit of life without purpose? The purposeless fall into despair, and all kinds of unholy lazy practices, centered on carelessness and ungodliness. It would appear the legacy of man is to conquer and divide, swirling on the chaos, where God calls to unite and join. It is God who declares what is good. ... Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight! ~ Isaiah 5:20-21 Hypocrites are found generally where the proud dwell. When many various opinions are tolerated, wisdom comes up empty. Truth has no common ground in lies. Shady at best are those attempting to circumvent His truth with cleaver language or forgiveness where there is none. Darkness will find its reward. The battle lies in each of our hearts where darkness meets the light. Godliness is suppressing evil before it surfaces where thought is put in to action with words of expression. Our words will judge us. Without His knowledge there can be no wisdom in deciphering the madness of living or finding those meditations from above. In life, it has always been a pluralistic world. It has always been hard to find God while seeking the comforts of man. Fear and or desperation drives hearts to lie cheat and steal as they proclaim love in the face of their honest deceptions. "... have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone." ~ Matthew 23:23 Justice and mercy in faith is hard for the arrogant to see. Impulse drives the merciless where false justice has no faith in the cruelty it coldly pans out. God is clear in His desire that we live truthfully, with loving believing hearts. It can be at times the one’s we trust the most become the most heinous. "Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! ..." ~ Matthew 23:24-26 Often it is selfish hearts that are led into false religion, be it zealously harsh or casually flippant. The saying any hole will do is the tragedy of our times where loyalty, honor, and integrity have somewhat vanished. Rigid religion involves hard unthankful hearts demanding conformity to rules of man’s standards over true inner worship in praise of God. The outward whips or scourges of man forever condemn, as an oppressive attitude, denying free conscience to believe on high. God has always paid attention to what is on the inside over the outside. Often, true hearts internally suffer the most in the midst of vicious cruelty at the hands of the outwardly callous. The godless allow sin to fully dwell in them with no attempt at self-control. God help us all, for be it the awful subjugation, under the evils of mankind. Will there be a good outcome for the battle we fight in the hope we hold? Only if we are found in Him at His coming, the only sure and brightest truth to be had for us all. "... Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." ~ Matthew 23:27-28 No one but God can see the depths of a heart where deception can hide in the face of men. Blessed are all those who find genuine hearts where love and purpose of life find God’s will. The inside matters more than the outside. ... "Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness. ..." ~ Luke 11:39-41 Men mistaken material gain for holiness. Magnificent buildings or Lear jets do leave the hopeful without true charity consumed by the greed of the few. Country club churches do not invite the despicable and deny the downtrodden in their antiseptic-ness. Hungry people do not desire another theme park. Spiritual starvation overtakes the land as poverty engulfs us. Religious freedom and answerability to one’s own conscience was a foundational construct in the building of this country. Straight from the Bible, men of wisdom discovered the keys to a better society built from the ashes of past persecutions and vicious dominations. So quickly these persecutions are returning, and a once great nation of ideals is now in peril of loosing what it fought so hard for, to have an educated people in a land of God given free faith. This nation was so conceived to establish the protection of religion, not to find it again returning to the halls of godless injustice and an overburdening by the greedy. Each of is called to fulfill our ministry, the influential-ness of who we are, a most personal work, done in our homes, communities, or countries we have come to reside. "... and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Woe to you Pharisees! ..." ~ Luke 11:42-43 Love of God is the root of justice among men. When man glorifies man, God is hidden from view where man’s foolishness blinds all who cannot see, claiming a front row seat in the back of His glory. God will ask, and so must you too, where is your heart? "... you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them." ~ Luke 11:44 Unbeknownst to many are holy men who tragically have empty bottomless selfish hearts. Not all is done in the light of truth. God sees all predatory cold dark wickedness. Godliness comes from the inside, not the outside, and as we know, sin likes to hide. If you hide, ask if you stand in His light. It has been throughout time that hypocrites have divided men from the unity so many of the meek seek for. The warning cry goes out to all nations and times to take notice of His Day of Judgment, where all hearts will find the revealing of their true character, past any and all handicaps. Pray a clean heart to be found. ... but not to disputes over doubtful things. For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. ... ~ Romans 14:1-3 When one desires to come to God, overly critical disseminations cripple God’s call through the barriers of man’s pettiness. Torn clothing and body piercings do not declare a tortured or not heart, from within terror likes to hide. Outward judgments may turn away the most needy. Often the condemned are the most critical. God calls for us to care for one another as we grow in His principles of truth. We were created to build more than destroy. When any civilization tears its’ moral fibers from the standards of His declared decency, no fair outcome can be achieved. Death comes to all disbelievers. If in that death, life is found, the angels rejoice. ... One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. ~ Romans 14:4-5 It is God that builds hearts, and in the diversity of us all, His plan hopes for us all. God wants us to live for ourselves fully established in Him, not through opinions and various doctrines that litter the ages of all time. His book delivers the answers that heal the soul from blaming others and brings about truth above men that surely bears out. Without personally examining His word, how can one know? ... So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way. ~ Romans 14:12-14 True faithful souls care to lift all that is about them. God’s kingdom is a ladder helping those below to climb. Jesus’ hand is at the top reaching down. God asks that we consider our actions be they more encouraging than discouraging. Often people fall away from faith because of another’s biting word or casual practice, surly missing the personal call directed at each heart from God. Let no man nor machine interfere with your access to the divine, and in time, you too may become that once in a lifetime inspiration for a soul lingering to find where there is no doubt. ... Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. ... ~ Romans 14:15-17 Again, petty righteous arrogant hearts condemn where God would rather call for understanding sympathetic natures under the afflictions we all bear. To maintain a polite quality is godly. Finding God does not come from a church that feeds the body without nourishing the soul; to find joy in the peace of God. A church is meant to gather those that would care to spiritually find and discover His word, not a social event shallow of His substance. Often the Lord’s supper is dismissed for more humanistic concerns of entertainment. To many modern churches have become children’s playlands, and adult coffee / ice-cream houses. False worship often is a call to eat and drink in a fellowship hall that is more a social club than house of worship. Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them. ~ Hebrews 13:9 It is so easy for men to be deceived with doctrines that intrigue, and promises that dazzle. To this day foods made holy is denied by those who still choose not to believe or foolishly believe in men who deny the word of God. Severe judgment and despising hearts condemn many meat eaters where God does not. Above food or bodily exercise, His grace is to be sought as an incomparable prize. Would we judge His creation where He does not? "You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you." ~ Acts 7:51 Preference for man’s ways of worship often rejects the way God does call out for. The blind cannot hear what they cannot see; that would be God’s will over man’s. Jealousies, anger, resentments, there are many traps in the heart of a soul to snare the spirit, keeping it from being free to love God in the open. Now the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocricy, ... ~ 1st Timothy 4:1-3 All lonely hearts seek God’s own comforts
Declared by the Bible itself, most mainstream religions, even so called Christian churches, have little to do with what God’s will is - for believers in His kingdom. Thin is true honest houses of worship where man rather unleashes his greed in all the dens of thieves that infest humanity. ... when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. ~ 2nd Timothy 4:2-4 Preach the word is the command. Churches filled with parodies and entertainment deceive the many that will be out on their luck when reckoning comes. Are we to become something without God’s own word? Tragic when man kicks the caretaker out to become the thief of souls. "... the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury." ~ Revelation 18:3 Churches built to exalt the few will find swift destruction. ... "Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. ..." ~ Revelation 18:4-5 For all those who hope to find, He calls to return to the good senses He teaches by His own words. Without knowledge of His ways, servitude creep under mans oppression will not find the grace He offers to all true believers. False religion does two things, treats God’ word casually or use it to persecute the meek. If it does not align with God word, He instructs us to come out of her, false religion. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. ~ Ephesians 5:11 In these days of legalized lawlessness, and mass murders at every corner, many choose political correctness over controversy? Or in places, the reverse would apply. When hate is taught to children, it is a hard climb to recover from. Many lusting abuses from so called churches of all kinds have enraged so many, and left attitudes of churches as untrustworthy. Rampant pedophiles in the secret hidden lives of religious leaders gone bad sour all that would be faithful. Only fear chases cowards where lies have never been true though man perpetuates discord among all that would be decent. The curse is men's worship of darkness over the light of God’s own truth. Anger and unbridled lust causes hardship for all involved, especially when the anger for man’s sins is directed at God. Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ... ~ 1st John 2:15-16 His truth inspires the hope of better lives
The world is a test for all to exercise godliness over godlessness. The just of heart see all, where injustice is blind to all things. Most if not all face those deadly sins crippling the spirits will to persevere. Uncontrolled lust and thoughts of superiority inhibit a healthy relationship with all others as well as most importantly, God. "So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth." ~ Revelation 3:16 In the spectrum or extreme liberalism verse conservatism, however put, bottom or top, lowest or highest, where God’s mercy dwells is where He is worshiped in hearts of His spirit and truth, over the shenanigans and or any sideshows of man. When people or organizations attempt to brainwash individuals into submission, can this be considered true faith in all good conscience, as an offering to God? If your hot for the church, and the preacher, it may not necessarily mean you are hot for God. Many who claim faith may have ill-placed it in man over God. Let us choose to increase our faith, always learning to be better in understanding what He would have us to be, not in the domination of man over man, but under His own grace and mercy, we must humbly ask for forgiveness, all of us, for the arrogance and snubbing attitudes that destroy us. Without worshiping God in His Spirit and Truth, His glory in us is diminished, especially when the glory is placed in man over God. Eternal life is not to be fumbled by man’s hands
Replacing God’s will with human desires rejects Him. Darkness has one truth called absence. |
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