Bible Studies

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The Sophomore’s Rut Part Four

The course that God has set before EVERY Church Age believer is to prepare himself or herself by conforming to the likeness of Christ (Rom. 8: 29) in thought and deed, and THEN participate in the Great Commission, proclaiming the unadulterated Gospel Message to the spiritually dead persons in their personal periphery, and to contribute to the making of disciples, those who have been born again.

Satan supports any religious organization that fosters alternative ideas about what the post salvation spiritual life is all about. He delights in seeing time and finances being spent on such alternative activities, making his world a better place to live, while the primary work that He gave His Church to perform is being neglected!
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Again, for the advancing disciple, the course that God has set before him or her includes the identifying, development, and application of the individual spiritual gift and accompanying ministry (area/type of service) that God selects and assigns to every single, born-again believer for the SPIRITUAL benefit and growth of OTHERS (1Cor. 12: 7, 18).

The key words here are SPIRITUAL and OTHERS.

A Hell bound atheist or unbeliever can provide others with logistical support such as food, clothing, and shelter.

The devil is all for programs that provide the needy with food, shelter, clothing, and medical attention, as such things contribute to making his world (Luke 4: 6) a better place to live. Where the devil and or his Eph. 6:12 forces of evil steps in, is when these same programs include the promotion of the Great Commission (Matt. 28: 19, 20).

While providing logistical aid to the poor and needy IS the “Christian” thing to do, it is no substitute for tending to the same recipients’ spiritual needs.

Your post salvation spiritual life is not all about you. It is also about ministering to the spiritual needs of the other people you interact with at home, school, social events, and recreational activities.

Many believers make the mistake of choosing an area of service that interests them, and then seeks God’s blessing and expects His support. With the discernment of a spiritually-mature believer, one can spot a Spirit-filled believer functioning in his or her assigned gift and role, and one who is doing his or her own thing with the limitations of his or her human talents and abilities.

Once one has identified the gift and accompanying ministry, it will fit like a tailored made suit, and the believer would feel like a fish out of water doing anything else.

Some justify their lack of participation in the Great Commission by taking the position that, “The spiritual well-being of others is none of my business.” But God made it our business on the day we chose to become a disciple (Matt. 28: 19, 20).

We are all “teachers” by the way we think, speak, prioritize, and behave. It is, or at least should be, the unspoken testimony of our daily lives that sets the stage for the opportunities for one to share the unadulterated Gospel Message with spiritually dead individuals, and edifying principles of Bible Doctrine with fellow believers, in our personal peripheries, and beyond.

Some of us are almost immediately made aware of what our individual gift and accompanying ministry is to be (Acts 9: 6, 15,16), whereas others will discover this later on, after God has prepared him or her, and his or her personal circumstances, opening the door(s) of opportunity.

This is a far cry from “playing Church,” showing up once a week to go through the motions, only to remain in the same rut where we have been for the last six weeks, six months, six years, or six decades, having gone no further in the plan that God has in mind.

When under the influence of the fallen nature within us, that is by nature, hostile and resistant to God and to the things of God, it is easy to get comfortable in the ruts that we create, or that others, or circumstances can bring to us. Within our comfort zone, there is no pressure or challenges to make the necessary changes needed to move forward in the plan of God.

End of Part 4

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