The Elusive Dream


A true believer is not one who manipulates people in pursuit of things nor is one who develops a friendship in order to control the other party for the reason of personal fame or personal gain. 

The world perceives "religionists" as self-serving and manipulative rather than be self-sacrificing to help people. The history of religion is littered with self-serving dishonest practices for the advancement of religion ant the gaining of egoistical positions to maintain their "spiritual self-identity". 

What a sad representation of the community of the Redeemed when the greatest commandment of Jesus was to love people has He loves people, so that the world would know that God is Love. It is a sad but true fact...religion has failed miserably in the love mission of Jesus Christ.

Why does an authentic, caring and loving community with other followers of, remain so much an elusive dream? One reason is the institutional religious system, merely offers selfish people another tool to serve their selfish agendas. Many religionists have never learned to live with the same self-sacrificing love that Jesus demonstrated to engage others beyond his own personal needs. They view people around them either as those they can exploit if they are cooperative, or forced to subvert if they dare challenge or question, and if they fail to subvert, the shame and blame game is played until the resistors leave voluntary or are excommunicated.
We will love well in the world only when we learn that the essence of love is in putting people before things, goals, ambitions...and yes doctrine, and  not using them for our own desires We will never understand the freedom of love until we know how loved we are by our loving God.
I have heard preacher's say that they would not step down from such a high calling (preaching) to fulfill the call of lesser importance, that of being the prime minister of Canada. Yet, they and many of the people they preach to fail to fulfill the greatest of all callings, the calling of Jesus Himself, that of loving people the way He loves people. Jesus did not have self-ambition, start any projects, plan any Sunday-event-meetings, or invent world wide ministries. He simply loved the people that He had an across-the-path encounter with. He is our great example...the one who loves us and taught us to love as He loves.
Folks the only way that the people of the world will get to know who Jesus really is is to love the way He showed us to love and love the way He loves. Religionists discard personal relationships in the pursuit of other things they consider more important...correct theology, doctrinal correctness, performance behavior, spiritual eliteness, behavioral conformity, personal acclaim and the list could go on. We have to realize that ANYTHING we make more important than loving people will only make us more a part of the world system that sacrifice people as sacrifices to the god of self-reliance.
We become so occupied with accomplishing something for God, that it becomes the means to reaching our goal, and we never grasp the truth that we are not called to work for God...we are called to work with God by allowing Him to work His work through us.
Wake up from the elusive dream so the dream can become a reality.

Comments

  1. You say and I quote: Jesus did not have self-ambition, start any projects, plan any Sunday-event-meetings, or invent world wide ministries.

    Actually the biggest project Christ started was the building of His Church. He said I will build my Church and the gates of hell would not prevail. (Matt.16:18)

    He has also given us a part in building His church but sad to say many today would rather try and tear down what Christ is building. They are usually negative ninety percent of time.
    Paul says in 2Cor.6:1 We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. Every time we rescue a soul from hell into the kingdom of God we help build His church.

    Paul also said in 1Cor.14:12 Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying (BUILDING UP) of the church.

    Paul said in 2Cor. 13:10 that God had given him the power to edify the church and not to destroy or tear down. Paul used the grace message to build up the church while some are using it today to tear down.(2Cor.13:10)

    Paul says in Rom.12:8 that God as given us gifts to help build up the church:
    Those with gift of exhortation should exhort.
    Those with gift of giving should give.
    Those with gift of ruling should rule.
    Those with gift of showing mercy should show mercy.

    Romans 12:8
    Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

    I could go on and on.

    Concerning planned Sunday event meetings the early church that Christ established before He left had planned events. Here`s what Paul says in 1Cor.16:1-3
    1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.
    2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
    3 And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem.

    Paul told them to plan on having their offerings ready by time he got there so he wouldn`t have to wait for it. We also learn from this Scripture that the Corinthian church approved certain saints for service and that was how Paul knew which ones to take with him.

    You said Christ did not invent world wide ministries. Well we find that Paul had a world wide ministry. If you will take time to read the epistles you will read about Paul`s missionary journeys around the world. You will find that Paul was consumed with the preaching of Gospel for he said, necessity is laid upon me, woe is me if I preach not the gospel.(1Cor.9:16)

    Did Christ condemn those with worldwide ministries? The last command that Christ gave to the church before he went away was for it to have a worldwide ministry. (Mark16:14-20)
    14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.
    15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
    16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
    17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
    18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
    19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
    20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

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  2. HUBERT, For you to say that Jesus gave man a part in building His Church is in direct contradiction to the words of Christ..."I will build my Church"...nowhere does He say that He relinquished any part of building His Church to man. That may be what religion teaches but it is not truth. Let's suppose from practical point of view that your claim is correct, let's assume that a person does contribute something to his salvation. If that were possible, who would get the credit on earth and in heaven? If man somehow contributes to his own salvation or the salvation of someone else, it would follow that man himself gets the credit. And if man gets the credit, this certainly will detract from God's getting the credit. If it were possible to contribute something to attain heaven, then each person upon his arrival would be patting himself on the back because of what he did in order to obtain heavenly citizenship. With the idea that man is has some part to play has led denominations and ministries people singing, "Praise myself, I contributed to my own salvation and the salvation of others." It is unthinkable that people in heaven will be worshiping self rather than God. God said, “I will not give my glory to another” (Isaiah 42:8; 42:11).

    From a biblical point of view, mankind contributes nothing at all to his salvation. The problem with humanity is their sinfulness.

    True repentance is possible solely because of the goodness of God...The goodness of God is experienced because of His Grace...Therefore, the Gospel is good news to the community of humanity about Jesus’ Gospel of GRACE. Therefore, the Gospel is not about you scaring the hell out of people and notching your pistol but because you are the means of "saving a soul from hell"!

    Because of the religionizing of repentance, it is associated with being forgiven of our sin. However, turning away from sin is the fruit of true repentance while forgiveness of sin is a result of the finished work of Christ on the cross through the shedding His blood.

    Repentance is because of God goodness and is our responsibility by turning away from sin to God, it does not a result of saying the famous “sinner’s prayer”! There is no saving power in the “sinner’s prayer” itself...The saving power is God’s Grace...”for it is by Grace you are saved.”

    Forgiveness is solely because of God’s goodness and God’s doing and not by man’s goodness or by man’s doing.

    I do not trust you or any other man to build His Church, I trust Him alone to do it.

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  3. I never said one word about the fact that we have to contribute to our salvation. I don't know how you got off on that tangent.

    All I said was that the last command that Christ gave before He left the earth was to go into all the world with the gospel.

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  4. This is a direct quote from your response.

    "He has also given us a part in building His church but sad to say many today would rather try and tear down what Christ is building. They are usually negative ninety percent of time.
    Paul says in 2Cor.6:1 We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. Every time we rescue a soul from hell into the kingdom of God we help build His church."

    How does Jesus build His Church? with lively stones.
    Who are the lively stones? Those He gives salvation to.
    Therefore...by you saying that "we" I am assuming you include You in the "we".
    And what does it that you say the "we" does? "rescue a soul from hell". How is a soul rescued from hell...is it not through salvation?

    Therefore... that is contributing to a person's salvation. Jesus and Jesus alone SAVES!

    You can mo more rescue a soul from hell than you can find the snow that fell last year! Why? Because, there are no souls in hell to rescue.

    Jesus saves, Jesus saves, He bids me go free, I was bought with a price, even me, even me.

    "We" have not paid the price to rescue the souls from hell, neither are we mandated to...WE ARE TO POINT PEOPLE TO JESUS THE SAVIOR...to glory in the saving of a soul by insinuating that "we" contributed to it is boarding on blasphemy.

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