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Psalm 133
1Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
2It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;
3As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.
1 Corinthians 1:10
Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
There is a need to put aside differences and the differences that I am referring to are not the fundamental truths of God's Word. The fundamentals are the fundamentals, the deep things of God are revealed in the same way the righteousness of the Gospel was revealed.
Romans 1:17
BUT... It is so important to recognize when you're wrong and not allow the flesh to deceive you into thinking you must find a way to prove yourself right. Otherwise, there's no room for growth in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Hebrews 12:1
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
This is what causes division!
James 3:13-18
13Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.
14But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
15This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
16For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
17But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
18And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
Now how do you know when you're wrong? This is obviously a good question but if we are born again we have the Spirit of God to correct us in other words YOU KNOW WHEN YOU''RE WRONG!!!
However, we (and I include myself) grieved the Spirit when we ignore the conviction of being wrong and instead of talking with our hearts we talk with our minds or the intellect we have of God's Word. Notice that this is a form of corrupting the Word of God!
2 Corinthians 4:1-7
1Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;
2But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
3But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
4In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
5For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.
6For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
7But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
2 Corinthians 13:5-8
5Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
6But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates.
7Now I pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates.
8For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.
One of the most important changes that MUST take place in a born again believer is the change in vocabulary! We are so quickly to identify ourselves in front of others and say I'm a pentecostal, baptist, lutheran, reformed, methodist and the list goes on and on. However, all of these denominations are all subject to biases and stereotypes. For instance a brother or sister identifying themselves as a pentecostal will be subject to perhaps being thought to be legalistic, religious or of the oneness heresy and this is probably far from being the truth. A confession of being a baptist would probably mean to someone that they don't believe in healing for today or in the gifts of the Spirit of the church that was given to edify the church and perhaps this again is not the case. And I can go and on. Often there were people who have hurt individuals to which they have identified themselves as part of a particular denomination. The results? The individual puts up a wall when ever he or she hears that particular denomination mentioned. So how should we identify ourselves? With the Word of God, of course! Who are you if you're born again? You're born of God, a Child of God, a Servant of the Most High, a Friend of God and so forth as the Word declares you to be because of Jesus who is the Word of God!
Colossians 1:9-14
9For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
10That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
11Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;
12Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
13Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
14In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Notice that Colossians states He translated US into the Kingdom of His Dear Son not denomination or religious affiliations or titles!
Is there a need to be under a covering (or umbrella) other than what God actually states in His Word?
Now by no means am I implying to those who are members of a church of a certain denomination that you are heading in the wrong direction or that you should leave or abandon the current church you are attending or meeting with (unless the Spirit of God is leading you to which you must ask God for discernment, wisdom and most importantly confirmation and unless of course that church is not preaching, teaching and reaching souls with the Gospel). The purpose of this post is to remind you of Him who has called you into His grace and He has called you by name: Friend, child, beloved and so forth. There is no need to state that you are of a certain denomination because the one who people see and read through your words and actions is Jesus Christ.The unadulterated Word of God unites so why abandon a flock of brother and sisters that all have one thing in common? WE all need to mature in love and unity! It's true when the Word of God states that bitterness defiles many BUT Greater is He that dwells in You than he that dwells in the world! Speak the truth of God's Word unadulterated, live the truth by dying daily which includes admitting when you're wrong (you will know when you're wrong) and always use what God states you are in His Word because anything else is washed down with water that isn't pure! The Word of God has been purified seven times Psalm 12:6! Naaman (2 Kings 5) washed himself seven times in the Jordan River (which typifies the unadulterated Holy Word of God) and although the rivers he was accustomed to appeared to be cleaner they were not pure!!!
1Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
2It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;
3As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.
1 Corinthians 1:10
Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
There is a need to put aside differences and the differences that I am referring to are not the fundamental truths of God's Word. The fundamentals are the fundamentals, the deep things of God are revealed in the same way the righteousness of the Gospel was revealed.
Romans 1:17
BUT... It is so important to recognize when you're wrong and not allow the flesh to deceive you into thinking you must find a way to prove yourself right. Otherwise, there's no room for growth in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Hebrews 12:1
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
This is what causes division!
James 3:13-18
13Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.
14But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
15This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
16For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
17But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
18And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
Now how do you know when you're wrong? This is obviously a good question but if we are born again we have the Spirit of God to correct us in other words YOU KNOW WHEN YOU''RE WRONG!!!
However, we (and I include myself) grieved the Spirit when we ignore the conviction of being wrong and instead of talking with our hearts we talk with our minds or the intellect we have of God's Word. Notice that this is a form of corrupting the Word of God!
2 Corinthians 4:1-7
1Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;
2But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
3But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
4In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
5For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.
6For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
7But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
2 Corinthians 13:5-8
5Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
6But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates.
7Now I pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates.
8For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.
One of the most important changes that MUST take place in a born again believer is the change in vocabulary! We are so quickly to identify ourselves in front of others and say I'm a pentecostal, baptist, lutheran, reformed, methodist and the list goes on and on. However, all of these denominations are all subject to biases and stereotypes. For instance a brother or sister identifying themselves as a pentecostal will be subject to perhaps being thought to be legalistic, religious or of the oneness heresy and this is probably far from being the truth. A confession of being a baptist would probably mean to someone that they don't believe in healing for today or in the gifts of the Spirit of the church that was given to edify the church and perhaps this again is not the case. And I can go and on. Often there were people who have hurt individuals to which they have identified themselves as part of a particular denomination. The results? The individual puts up a wall when ever he or she hears that particular denomination mentioned. So how should we identify ourselves? With the Word of God, of course! Who are you if you're born again? You're born of God, a Child of God, a Servant of the Most High, a Friend of God and so forth as the Word declares you to be because of Jesus who is the Word of God!
Colossians 1:9-14
9For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
10That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
11Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;
12Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
13Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
14In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Notice that Colossians states He translated US into the Kingdom of His Dear Son not denomination or religious affiliations or titles!
Is there a need to be under a covering (or umbrella) other than what God actually states in His Word?
Now by no means am I implying to those who are members of a church of a certain denomination that you are heading in the wrong direction or that you should leave or abandon the current church you are attending or meeting with (unless the Spirit of God is leading you to which you must ask God for discernment, wisdom and most importantly confirmation and unless of course that church is not preaching, teaching and reaching souls with the Gospel). The purpose of this post is to remind you of Him who has called you into His grace and He has called you by name: Friend, child, beloved and so forth. There is no need to state that you are of a certain denomination because the one who people see and read through your words and actions is Jesus Christ.The unadulterated Word of God unites so why abandon a flock of brother and sisters that all have one thing in common? WE all need to mature in love and unity! It's true when the Word of God states that bitterness defiles many BUT Greater is He that dwells in You than he that dwells in the world! Speak the truth of God's Word unadulterated, live the truth by dying daily which includes admitting when you're wrong (you will know when you're wrong) and always use what God states you are in His Word because anything else is washed down with water that isn't pure! The Word of God has been purified seven times Psalm 12:6! Naaman (2 Kings 5) washed himself seven times in the Jordan River (which typifies the unadulterated Holy Word of God) and although the rivers he was accustomed to appeared to be cleaner they were not pure!!!