Bethsaida Fellowship Worship Center

Welcome to Christmas Service this Sunday.

TODAY'S READING

TITLE: INNER PURITY

Matthew 15: 1 - 20

Humility and Service
Marks of a disciple.
Philippians 2:3 (AMP)
3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit [through factional motives, or strife], but with [an attitude of] humility [being neither arrogant nor self-righteous], regard others as more important than yourselves.

Humility is one key distinguishing character of a true disciple of Jesus Christ. As described in the scripture, a humble person is one who is not arrogant, neither are they self-righteous but instead they regard others as more important than themselves.

Jesus himself displayed the same humility in that though he was equal with God, he made himself of no reputation and took on the form of a bond servant humbling himself to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2)

The bible tells us that God himself resists the proud but He lifts the humble. Humility is not something we pray for, it is something we put on willingly because the bible tells us to put on humility, it goes on to tell us to humble ourselves before the Lord and He will lift us up.
It is only when we humble ourselves that we are then able to serve others with a genuine heart because we don’t see ourselves as better than them. The more God lifts us up, the more we need to humble ourselves because if we do not, pride can take root in our hearts and we get to a place where we feel entitled to this and that. It is at that place that we stop serving people and we start using people for our own benefits because we have a sense of entitlement and we feel we are better so we must have this and that.

Jesus tells us in Matt 23:11 that the greatest among us will be the servant of all, meaning the more we grown in Christ the more we should grow in our service to others but is that the case?
Jesus did not come to be served but to serve and He did that from a place of humility. May we be his true disciples as we walk in humility and serve one another!

VERY SOON, YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO CALL YOURSELF A BELIEVER IN CHRIST, UNLESS….

Every one of us that calls ourselves by the name of Christ will need to FASTEN HIS/HER BELT TIGHTLY in the days ahead!

This is because the height to which God will take His church in this end-time will astound many. Furthermore, the RAPID PACE at which He’ll do so will be even more astonishing!

In an increasing measure, our notion of what it means to follow Jesus will be blown into smithereens by God Himself. For our generation BARELY has a clear understanding of what TRUE discipleship really means. God will be revealing the lofty standards to us in the coming days – to a degree that MOST believers will simply NOT believe.

These standards will not be revealed for our admiration, contemplation, or debate. They’d be for compliance. STRICT compliance. However, MOST believers will NOT BE WILLING to comply with those standards! Not because the necessary grace will not be available (it will be abundantly available), but because they’ll consider the price to pay for followership to be too high (and even irrational)!!! Yet, God will NOT compromise an inch to swell the number in the camp.

Notwithstanding, this group of unwilling ‘believers’ will still want to associate themselves with Jesus! For there would be nowhere else for them to go. They’ll be TOO RELIGIOUS to go into atheism. TOO SPIRITUALLY ‘ENLIGHTENED’ to go into Islam. And TOO ASHAMED to return to the carnal church system they had abandoned.

So, they’ll become A NEW WAVE of believers that are neither here nor there! Neither fully with the foolish deception in the church system of today. Nor yet with the RADICAL, UNCOMPROMISING disciples that God will raise in preparation for the imminent return of the Bridegroom.

In reality, these ‘believers’ will be followers of Satan! For we are approaching the DAYS OF SEPARATION when those that are not WITH Christ are ACTUALLY against Him! Against Him in the camp of the enemy.

The demands that God will be making are NOT entirely new. They are ALL clearly stated in the Bible. We see them every time we sit diligently to meditate on the Word of God. It’s just that the TRUE and FULL meaning of those demands has been ‘veiled’ from our minds by the pervasive lukewarmness that has enveloped Christianity for centuries.

This is the lukewarmness that has, generally speaking, DEFINED the framework of Christianity as we grew up in the faith.

The lukewarmness that gives us a SAFE BERTH in THE WORLD - instead of our standing as STRANGERS and PILGRIMS in the world (1 Peter 2:11, Hebrews 11:13).

The lukewarmness that teaches us that we can possess a bit of THE WORLD while following Christ - instead of FORSAKING ALL to follow Him (Luke 14:33, 12:33).

The lukewarmness that gives us a bit of control over our lives - instead of being TRULY CRUCIFIED with Christ so that we live ONLY for Him (Galatians 2:20)

The lukewarmness that makes us comfortable with the traditions and religious rites of THE WORLD - instead of realising that our lives are CONTROLLED from A KINGDOM that is NOT of this world (John 18:36).

The list of our compromise with worldliness is long! And that long list stands COMPLETELY AGAINST some of the conditions of discipleship that Jesus laid down in the Gospels. Especially in Luke 14:26,27,33. In these verses, Jesus repeatedly used the phrase ‘CANNOT BE MY DISCIPLE’ to emphasise the non-negotiable status of those conditions.

When Jesus was setting those lofty standards, He was not drawing up some hypothetical scenarios. He was making a categorical statement of facts! Therefore, our intellectual expertise at RATIONALISING AWAY the full import of those words will not nullify the VALIDITY of His demands. Or the seriousness of the Lord in insisting on those standards in these days.

In PRACTICAL TERMS, what does this mean for us?

It means if you are going to TRULY stand WITH Jesus, and stand FOR Him in the coming days, please get ready to LOSE family, friends, close associates, and even fellow believers in INCREASING NUMBERS in the days ahead! (Luke 14:26).

It means you may LOSE your status, position, preferences, perspectives, fads, esteem, etc, in an INCREASING MEASURE in the coming days! (Luke 14:27). The cross will truly cross out all the CROSSables in your life – so that Christ can reign in your mortal body unhindered.

It means you are very much likely to LOSE your possessions, financial independence, financial security, etc, in the coming days! (Luke 14:33). It is on this subject of POSSESSIONS that MOST believers will part ways with Jesus!!! For we live in days that the god of mammon keeps his victims in CHAINS OF IRON! (Matthew 6:24)

In line with all these CLEAR DEMANDS that Jesus stated, every faith will be RIGOROUSLY TESTED by God in the coming days (1 Peter 1:6-7). Following Jesus according to our OPINION or UNDERSTANDING will no longer be the NORM as we have it today! Obedience will be non-negotiable. And EVERYTHING will be TESTED. Everything as in EVERY aspect of our lives!!!

“Why is this so?” We may be tempted to ask.

It is because FAITHFUL is the name of the Bridegroom that is coming to reign in glory (Revelation 19:11). Therefore, FAITHFUL shall also be the name of every SINGLE member of the Bride that is waiting to reign with Him in that same glory (Ephesians 5:27, Revelation 17:14). This latter verse reads, “… and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and FAITHFUL.” This is why heaven will RIGOROUSLY test our lives for FAITHFULNESS in the coming days. And this will be HARD for most of us. Very, very HARD!

This is what it means to “… MAKE READY a people PREPARED for the Lord.” We see the fore-shadowing of this in Luke 1:27 in the preparation for the FIRST COMING of the Lord. The preparation for His SECOND COMING will be even more intense – for He is now coming for His Bride. His purchased possession. It is for this reason that God is releasing His truth to the church as we are all witnessing today.

But, friends, make no mistake, this move of God will meet a very, very COLD RECEPTION among His people! This is why Jesus will BARELY find TRUE FAITH on earth when He returns (Luke 18:8). Today, we are now in the DAYS OF PREPARATION that will separate the WISE VIRGINS from the FOOLISH VIRGINS (Matthew 25:1-13). And the WISE SERVANTS from the EVIL SERVANTS (Luke 12:43-46).

It is what you do TODAY that will determine where you’ll sit TOMORROW in relation to Christ. And there’ll be no compromise or short-cuts. NONE whatsoever!

This friendly notice is just to challenge us to, once again, THINK CAREFULLY about the admonition of Jesus in Luke 14:28. This is what He said: “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not FIRST SIT DOWN and COUNT THE COST, whether he has enough to complete it?”

Have you bothered to sit down and COUNT THE COST recently? God’s tidal WAVE OF SEPARATION is approaching rapidly. When it hits our shore, where will that wave sweep you – WITH Christ or AWAY FROM Christ? Please don’t respond to this question with any tinge of sentiment. For the coming demand of the Gospel will come with NO SENTIMENT – NONE whatsoever.

Therefore, please COUNT THE COST, and STAND READY – for the WAVES OF SEPARATION are approaching rapidly! May your faith stand the test of this coming FIRE OF SEPARATION. Amen and Amen.

Thanks for reading, God bless you.

(PS: The SHARP DISTINCTION that will emerge in the church in the days ahead is the subject of a coming article. It’s titled, ‘GOD IS SENDING A SHARP SWORD INTO THE CHURCH’. Please watch out for the article. Thanks.)