Entitlement is a sin, and an expression of ungratefulness, even laziness. We must not enable those who are asking for things they could earn for themselves or things they don't need.
Monday, July 29, 2019
Joyful Through and Through, In and Out!!!!
Many people I know believe that we must be nice to unbelievers so they will like us and then they will like Jesus because they like us.
I questioned this a few years ago when this thinking was becoming popular, prayed about it and here is what God gave me from His word.
1 Corinthians 15:13 "33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
And Isaiah 26:10 "10 Though grace is shown to the wicked man, he does not learn righteousness. In the land of righteousness he acts unjustly and fails to see the majesty of the LORD."
It was interesting to me that the brothers who loved this "lifestyle" evangelism were friendly to the unbeliever and mean to those believers that disagreed with them. So where was their friendliness toward the brethren?
1 John 3:13-14 "…13 So do not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death. "
The reason I questioned this style of non-evangelism through a lifestyle, was because the people I knew who were practicing it tended to be ashamed to mention the name of Christ for fear of being seen as weird and losing ungodly friends. They wanted to be liked by the world rather than caring about pleasing Christ.
It was their excuse to remain silent to avoid rejection.
There were some people who believed this "lifestyle" evangelism was right because its what the "preachers" were telling them. They had a sense of false guilt if they were bolder about the gospel. After all, if someone became angry with us it was our fault for making them angry.
I have seen entire rooms of people defend the wicked man when a truth tellers calls them out on their wickedness as though the truth teller was evil for making the wicked man feel bad about himself.
Isaiah 5:20 "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!"
We live in a culture now that believes no one should feel bad about themselves. Sadly knowing we are sinful and in need of a Savior is what brings the broken hearted person to salvation through trusting Christ.
Matthew 5:3-5 "3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.…"
Thankfully when we have confessed our sinfulness we no longer remain mournful but become joyful through and through, in and out.
I questioned this a few years ago when this thinking was becoming popular, prayed about it and here is what God gave me from His word.
1 Corinthians 15:13 "33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
And Isaiah 26:10 "10 Though grace is shown to the wicked man, he does not learn righteousness. In the land of righteousness he acts unjustly and fails to see the majesty of the LORD."
It was interesting to me that the brothers who loved this "lifestyle" evangelism were friendly to the unbeliever and mean to those believers that disagreed with them. So where was their friendliness toward the brethren?
1 John 3:13-14 "…13 So do not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death. "
The reason I questioned this style of non-evangelism through a lifestyle, was because the people I knew who were practicing it tended to be ashamed to mention the name of Christ for fear of being seen as weird and losing ungodly friends. They wanted to be liked by the world rather than caring about pleasing Christ.
It was their excuse to remain silent to avoid rejection.
There were some people who believed this "lifestyle" evangelism was right because its what the "preachers" were telling them. They had a sense of false guilt if they were bolder about the gospel. After all, if someone became angry with us it was our fault for making them angry.
I have seen entire rooms of people defend the wicked man when a truth tellers calls them out on their wickedness as though the truth teller was evil for making the wicked man feel bad about himself.
Isaiah 5:20 "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!"
We live in a culture now that believes no one should feel bad about themselves. Sadly knowing we are sinful and in need of a Savior is what brings the broken hearted person to salvation through trusting Christ.
Matthew 5:3-5 "3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.…"
Thankfully when we have confessed our sinfulness we no longer remain mournful but become joyful through and through, in and out.
The Holy Spirit, Being and Doing Together
When I have told people that unbelievers can sense the Holy Spirit in us I was not intimating that we can just remain silent and let that witness be all that happens.
We are a witness by the power of the Holy Spirit without speaking but God commanded us to speak the gospel to people.
We are to do more than just "be" we are to "act" too. The challenge is to "be" to validate our words when they come out. If we "be" then what we act will be authentically Holy Spirit witness.
If we "be" but do not act then maybe we are not "being" but pretending to "be."
I know it sounds strange but becoming "being" Christ like must be first before our witness can be believed. We should be speaking all the time, truth to unbelievers and encouragement in righteousness to believers.
If we are born again we will be busting at the seams with fatness of truth, it will not only be seen spiritually but in actions too, they must match up.
When we are born again we are not ashamed of Christ or worried about rejection from those who wish to intimidate us into silence. We have such wonderful boldness and joy that nothing that comes against us will silence us.
Hallelujah for the work of the Holy Spirit in the believers life!
We are a witness by the power of the Holy Spirit without speaking but God commanded us to speak the gospel to people.
We are to do more than just "be" we are to "act" too. The challenge is to "be" to validate our words when they come out. If we "be" then what we act will be authentically Holy Spirit witness.
If we "be" but do not act then maybe we are not "being" but pretending to "be."
I know it sounds strange but becoming "being" Christ like must be first before our witness can be believed. We should be speaking all the time, truth to unbelievers and encouragement in righteousness to believers.
If we are born again we will be busting at the seams with fatness of truth, it will not only be seen spiritually but in actions too, they must match up.
When we are born again we are not ashamed of Christ or worried about rejection from those who wish to intimidate us into silence. We have such wonderful boldness and joy that nothing that comes against us will silence us.
Hallelujah for the work of the Holy Spirit in the believers life!
The Devil's Work Every Single Day
The devil is busy placing angry thoughts into the minds of many to turn them against one another.
Pride keeps people angry when there is no reason to be angry.
The devil hates believers, even causing people to believe they are saved when they are not. These are the people who are easily enraged when they are confronted with their sin of pride.
When we encounter someone who has been told they need to rethink their belief or their actions and they rage as a result of the conversation we know we have met a prideful person.
Those who believe they are doing right do not rage at a challenge. They may even listen to the challenge to ponder it if they have not heard the principles presented before.
However the narcissist will rage nearly every time they are confronted. They will mock, demean and reject anyone who brings truth that contradicts their elevated view of themselves.
In short: Narcissists do not listen carefully to learn truth unless its what they want to hear. They rage when they don't like what they have heard.
When God said the angry man does not have ears to hear He does not mean they have no ears, He means they are "sticking their fingers in their ears" to deliberately resist hearing. This is the meaning in the original language.
We see this all the time when we speak to stubborn people. They refuse to answer simple questions when asked and ignore anything you say when they are not raging. They can learn to restrain their actions but the angry mentality remains.
This is the state of our world today, get used to it believers and be prepared to address it Biblically.
2 Timothy 3:1-5
"1 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.
2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,
4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these."
Notice God said these people will have a form of godliness, or "religion" but not the relationship with Christ. These people our pridefully holding on to their own self esteem, in so doing they deny God in favor of self. They do not say there is no god. They say they will make their own ideas of what God means in His Word.
These people claim to follow the Bible but they resist its truth mixing it with many other forms of false doctrine to satisfy their own lust for pleasure and power.
Pride keeps people angry when there is no reason to be angry.
The devil hates believers, even causing people to believe they are saved when they are not. These are the people who are easily enraged when they are confronted with their sin of pride.
When we encounter someone who has been told they need to rethink their belief or their actions and they rage as a result of the conversation we know we have met a prideful person.
Those who believe they are doing right do not rage at a challenge. They may even listen to the challenge to ponder it if they have not heard the principles presented before.
However the narcissist will rage nearly every time they are confronted. They will mock, demean and reject anyone who brings truth that contradicts their elevated view of themselves.
In short: Narcissists do not listen carefully to learn truth unless its what they want to hear. They rage when they don't like what they have heard.
When God said the angry man does not have ears to hear He does not mean they have no ears, He means they are "sticking their fingers in their ears" to deliberately resist hearing. This is the meaning in the original language.
We see this all the time when we speak to stubborn people. They refuse to answer simple questions when asked and ignore anything you say when they are not raging. They can learn to restrain their actions but the angry mentality remains.
This is the state of our world today, get used to it believers and be prepared to address it Biblically.
2 Timothy 3:1-5
"1 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.
2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,
4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these."
Notice God said these people will have a form of godliness, or "religion" but not the relationship with Christ. These people our pridefully holding on to their own self esteem, in so doing they deny God in favor of self. They do not say there is no god. They say they will make their own ideas of what God means in His Word.
These people claim to follow the Bible but they resist its truth mixing it with many other forms of false doctrine to satisfy their own lust for pleasure and power.
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