Preaching for the Unsaved and Edification for the Believer

Preaching is for the unsaved, edification is for believers who gather together to encourage one another to obey and live out their Christian life when they leave that gathering.

 
The whole one-man-paid-pastor system is not Biblical. Women are not to lead the gathering, but they are permitted to share as long as they are covered.

1 Corinthians 11 tells women to be covered when they participate in the gathering. The men are to be uncovered. This is a picture of Christ as represented by the man and the church represented by the woman. The church is covered by Christ and carries out its mandate as directed by the Holy Spirit.

This has nothing to do with modesty or submission to a human being; it has to do with the roles of the woman and the role of the men as representations of Christ and the church as one. Both man and woman are under Christ, and each submits to the other. Each of their roles was given by God, and each complements the other to fulfill God's purpose.

 
Since there is no such person as the head of the church, such as a Pastor or Bishop, the Holy Spirit is the leader, and He directs men to lead and women to share along with the men. Everyone participates as led by the Holy Spirit.

 
The husband is the protector of the woman, as Christ is the protector of the church. The man does not force or demean the woman, just as Christ never forced anyone; everyone has a choice and must do what was given to them to do by Christ.

Men lead by example, teaching, and support; they do not intimidate, make their own rules, or dominate over anyone.

 
Everyone shares freely as led by the Holy Spirit so that all may be edified.

 
Matthew 10:25-26 "25 But Jesus called them aside and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles (pagans) lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant."

May each believer spend more time self-reflecting and reading the Word for their calling, more than they evaluate what others are doing.

The Christian Walk is One of Self-Denial

Loving Christ is to Love His Commands

God said: Luke 16:18 "Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and whoever marries one who is divorced from her husband commits adultery".

 
1 Corinthians 7:11 "
(but if she does leave, she must remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband is not to divorce his wife."

Most people who call themselves Christians in our day have completely accepted divorce and remarriage, even though God hates divorce and commands all divorced people to remain single or to reconcile.

 
The state of adultery does not go away because of a piece of paper by the law of the land claiming to dissolve the marriage to allow for marrying someone else. Either we believe God or we do not!

The state does not marry people; God does when they proclaim their vows. He makes them into one spirit until the death of one of them.

 
Those who want to pretend they love God but then endorse what He hates are lying. Those who love God want to obey Him, they repent, they turn from their sinful ways, and they never lie against God to protect sin in order to be accepted by the culture.

 
This leaves us with the sense that very few people who are in the church gatherings have never been born again. They do not love God; their words do not match their lives, and they love the idea of Him as protection rather than a God of righteousness.

 
I have only heard twice in my life a couple who decided to live separately because they were a remarried couple. They were rejected by family as though they did something wrong by separating, but the family had nothing to say when they were divorcing their first covenant spouse.

 
Satan has blinded the eyes of so many people who love to play church in a social way but have no love for Christ. They have not been changed into a new creation by Christ; they want all the perks they think He has to offer them, but they do not want Him.

Matthew 7:20-23 "Therefore by their fruit you will know them. Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, ' Lord', shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven. …22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’"

I would not say that every divorced and remarried person is unsaved, but that if they are at some point, they will be convicted by the Holy Spirit and repent.
There are those who will eventually repent because the burden of the conviction of the Holy Spirit will press upon them until they begin to obey God.

Hebrews 12:5-7 "…5 And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises every son He receives.” 7 Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?…"

1 John 3:5-7 "…5 But you know that Christ appeared to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 No one who remains in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has seen Him or known Him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Christ is righteous.…"

Those who defend their sin, punish those who say it is sin and refuse to repent could not possibly be born again. When Christ saves someone He comes to live in them. His Holy Spirit will not allow anyone who belongs to Him to remain comfortable in their sin. Those who are not convicted of their sin and even defend it could not possibly have the Holy Spirit living in them.

 
John 15:4-5 "Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing."

Romans 6:1-2 "What then shall we say? Shall we continue in sin so that grace may increase? Certainly not! How can we who died to sin live in it any longer?"

1 John 2:4 "If anyone says, 'I know Him,' but does not keep His commandments, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him."

1 John 1:6 "If we say we have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth."

Matthew 7:16-18 "…16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.…"

I don't know how God could have made it clearer!!!!

The Need to Idealize a Human Being is a Weakness in Character

There is a clue when we question someone's preferred idol, whether in the form of a statue or a live person they elevate above others, and they become angry as though their heart worships it or them.

 
I have no sense of anger when someone criticizes someone I like or something they do. My love for that person is not based on thinking of them as perfect.

 
I am capable and comfortable with loving imperfect people because I am imperfect. I would hate it if someone idolized me because it would mean the pressure of having to live up to something impossible for me.

 
1 John 4:18 "There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love."

There is fear, anxiety, and insecurity in the heart of someone who cannot love anyone they think is imperfect. And, think of this, if they can only love perfect people, then perhaps they think they are perfect and worthy of worship themselves.

To idolize people is to place our trust in our perceived notion of them. As soon as the mask slips and the person who is idolized reveals their real self, all the love and idolization turn to hate. In other words, there is no real love involved in idolization of human beings; there is irrational expectation and self-involvement that requires others to measure up to our idea of perfection.

 
Psalm 20:7 "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God."

Psalm 37:3-5 "Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart."

Psalm 9:10 "And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you."

Psalm 28:7 "The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song, I give thanks to him."

1 Peter 1:3-4 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy, He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you."

No human being can come close to measuring up to Christ our Lord. We are to love them the way He loved us, in spite of our flaws and defects. And, we all have them!!!!!

Before the Throne of God Above (feat. Kristyn Getty) - Official Lyric Video

Those Most Arrogant are Most Immature

The Lies Fly and the Relationships are Destroyed

In political circles, the community, and even in churches, both sides, conservative as well as liberal, are telling lies continuously. Everyone feels justified in lying if they think they have a good cause.

 
Even those who don't out and out lie think that as long as some of what they say is true, then a little lie added in is acceptable; we call it embellishment, but it is really lying.

 
Many are interpreting things the way they wish to believe, another justification for passing on a lie. It's complicated, but not hard to discern if we have wisdom from God's Word.

 
Many will believe gossip when they hear from a third party, but have never seen the deeds or words for themselves. They justify listening to and passing on what they heard if one small part seems plausible.

 
We are living in the end times of great deception and countless good-sounding lies.

 
John 8:44
"44 You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies."

My challenge to believers is to resist repeating something you never heard and never saw for yourself. Refuse to listen to accounts of others who interpreted what they thought they saw without knowing all the details. This includes news articles and videos that cannot be proven or vetted.

 
Telling the truth we saw to a person who has a need to know is far different from passing on a guess about something we have little knowledge of and is none of our business.

 
If you have ever been the target of such gossip, you know how painful it is to watch friends and family members making false judgments about you based on what the gossipers are saying and not anything they saw for themselves.

Proverbs 20:18 "19 He who reveals secrets is a constant gossip; avoid the one who babbles with his lips."

Proverbs 11:13 "A gossip reveals a secret, but a trustworthy person keeps a confidence."

Ephesians 4:29 "Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen."
Proverbs 16:28 "A perverse man spreads dissension, and a gossip divides close friends."

I notice that gossipers rarely want to hear from God's word but will jump at the chance to hear the latest negative word about someone who is the object of their jealousy.

 
The internet would practically go dark if all the lies and gossip were removed. Just saying!!!