“The times, They are a Changin’ . . .” Bob Dylan
This famous ballad runs through my mind often recently, especially now, reflecting on
our personal quarantine and what the continual threat COVID-19 brings and all the mayhem
it has birthed. I want this time
to count; you know? Not
only my time on earth, but my time in quarantine as well. I never want to be the same again after
experiencing this earth-rattle, this extensive death and division. I want it to be an Ebanezer, a
marker for me (and fellow Believers) of a time we stopped our usual behavior, left
it all far behind to follow HIM.
Fair Warning
Not everyone who reads
this will agree with me – not even every Christ-Follower will stand
by, or understand, what I share today, and that’s okay. Like you, God has given me freedom to seek Him
fully, while simultaneously inviting me to listen to the Holy Spirit with my
own, human ears. Through my God-given rights as a human, I also have the
freedom to believe what I see as Truth, to share what I am led to share and, and
to stand up for what I believe, especially in this turning point of both humanity
AND Christianity as we know it.
Something So Broken – We MUST Pay Attention
Oh, how my broken heart bleeds
over the chasms now dividing our Country! I hold my breath, my pulse racing as I hear
the death toll rising, as I see the extreme tension, and an unrecognizable
division and judgement, ESPECIALLY between those claiming to be “Christians”. I’m
sure you’ve sensed this too, but more than brokenness between Believers,
this current tension is taking over the Gospel Arena (let me explain): Believers are so caught up in who and
what they believe here on earth, between who and what they DON’T believe, who is right and who is
wrong . . . the very GOSPEL is getting lost, moment by moment, disguised
and hidden, misunderstood and most definitely, NOT lived out as God
ordained. Does that scare you? It scares
me to the very core, forcing me to my knees. It's a scary time - a time when the GOSPEL is not shining, even though the ground (hearts) are futile.
This is a time of vulnerability,
when people need peace and answers – when they need trustworthy friends and
leaders, when they need hope of abundant life on earth, the promise of eternal
life in Heaven: they need JESUS. This
sacred time of vulnerability is being eclipsed by our
hunger to, “be right” and, to have the most knowledge from the best sources.
Taking Sides
Never, in my wildest dreams, could
I have imagined such a separation, specifically among those who seem and claim,
to have personal relationships with Christ.
These sides and stances have hit in fierce fashion, especially now,
brought about by the Pandemic. Interestingly enough, its not only two
sides which have been birthed, but several, each one “knowing” and believing THEIR
truth is THE TRUTH.
I believe there are many, at
this very moment, feeling as I do, sensing an unprecedented break within
the sodality of humanity, one which could divide and conquer us forever,
as a Nation and as a People who align ourselves with Christ. I am
convicted of this very thing: the broken things playing out in this virtual
world of ours; the non-stop news and every response to it, the non-stop
theories and all supposed “truths” behind each one; the remedies, even the
bitter loyalties to earthly leaders . . . NONE are particularly OF or
FROM or TO Our Jehovah God.
Absolute Truths
Oh, My Friends! The ONLY TRUTH
on earth and in heaven, will clearly be found in God’s Word,
not in what we sense or feel as followers of Christ! As Believers, even during this Pandemic and World-Wide
Crisis, we can act as if “our side”, our version and interpretation of
what see the Holy Spirit’s revealing, is THE absolute truth. We forget God’s children CAN and DO
hear, sense, see things differently, and that is okay. We are HUMAN. WE mess up the message, you guys. What
we need to do is look into the actual Bible, the Word of God. What does it say? At the end of this
message, there will be several pertinent verses which we can all apply to our
most current situations.
Salvage and Surrender
Apart from diving into God’s Word
and re-aligning ourselves with HIM, the ONLY other thing we can do during this
time of brokenness between Believers and confusion within the World, is to lay
it all down – TOTAL SURRENDER. Giving
away our thoughts, feelings, “knowledge”, opinions, and offering them up to
God as a Holy Sacrifice. When
we surrender, we lose that fake, insincere authority we try so hard to place
upon ourselves, and we physically, literally, verbally, give it all back to the
One who WAS, WHO IS and IS to COME.
When we surrender all feelings we’ve tied up within these divisions, be
it political, pandemic or otherwise, the very walls of division start to
crumble and fall. The
chasms start to heal. The Ebanezers
can be built. We can look on with
hope for a future GOD sees.
Wrapping Up
· We are in a mighty, spiritual war unlike anyone
in our lifetime has ever seen.Those claiming to be Christ-Followers have
muddied the water during this Pandemic and Global Crisis, with confusion, masking
and mixing TRUTH, all because of selfish actions and our inability to or
deviance in, SURRENDER.
· These selfish actions look like Christians
believing they are superior in thought, word and deed, among other things. It looks like heavy judgement toward those
who do not see things the way you do, do not hope the way you hope, don’t long
for the change your heart longs for. Your
rhetoric slaps seeking people in the face, all because you believe you feel “right”
and see them as “wrong”.
· Believers are responsible for their
actions and reactions – we have LIFE and DEATH in our tongues, in
our very words – what a powerful gift! We
can use this power to deepen the chasm of confusion, further separating the
hurting world from Christ, OR we can choose surrender, allowing the Father to the
Fruit of the Spirit within us!
· The Bible is clear about true followers
of Christ; those who have a personal relationship with Him
will indeed, embody the Fruit of the Spirit. Will it be a perfect display or constant,
godly example? No, but we WILL see
HIS character within every, true Believer, at any stage of that Holy
relationship.
· The
Bible is clear about the very Fruits WE are to possess, to express and daily live
out.
We can learn more about them from His Word and can ask the Spirit to
bring MORE Fruit into our lives so that, we will look LESS like ourselves
and our own opinions, and MORE like CHRIST.
· More
Fruit of the Spirit = more Christ-like behavior. This means, as we surrender, choosing first
to LOVE rather to combat, the world will see more TRUE LOVE: a love without exception, a reckless love
from a chasing God who offers abundant life on earth and eternal life in
Heaven.
il Will we figure out the Pandemic quarrels? No, because we are human and because more
information comes in and out on a daily basis. What We CAN DO, is allow God to use us
in HEALING our Nation, our World, and particularly, the Body of Christ. In the healing, which can and will come
from our actions, the deep chasms of pain, hatred and misunderstanding will
start to close. Although they
may never fully be sealed back together, the Gospel will once again be clearly
lived-out and shared.
We can look back on the broken cracks, those where healing has
been at work, and see them as an Ebenezer – reminding us of the very time and
places when God STOPPED the BEATING HEARTS OF BELIEVERS, softened them, called
them to repentance, and brought them back to the ultimate calling – bringing souls
to a greater, personal knowledge of God.
Thank you for joining me today in this journey
God continues to lay on my heart. I pray
the video attached will also bring hope and clarity to the messages I believe
God SO clearly longs for His people to hear.
Thank you too, for taking the time to look through God’s Word, passages
listed below, pertaining to these very topics.
May the Word of God continue to pierce through our hearts, knock us to
our knees and boldly, lovingly, commandingly, call us to TRUTH.
Ryan
But the fruit of the Spirit
is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control; against such things there is no law.
1
John 4:8 ESV
Anyone
who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1
Peter 4:8 ESV
Above all, keep
loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
Galatians
5:22 ESV
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Romans
13:10 ESV
Love does no wrong to a
neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.
That each one of you know
how to control his own body in holiness and honor;
Ephesians
4:1-3 ESV
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge
you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in
love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
1
John 4:7 ESV
Beloved, let us love one another, for
love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.
Colossians
3:14 ESV
And above all these put on love, which binds
everything together in perfect harmony.
So now
faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Matthew
7:15-20 ESV
“Beware of false prophets,
who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You
will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from
thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good
fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot
bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree
that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ...
If I speak in the tongues
of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging
cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries
and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but
have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and
if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain
nothing. Love is
patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It
does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
2
Peter 1:1-21 ESV
May grace and peace be
multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine
power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through
the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us
his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become
partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in
the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to
supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge;
Ephesians
2:8-9 ESV
For by grace you have been saved through
faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not
a result of works, so that no one may boast.
1
Peter 1:3-9 ESV
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a
living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an
inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for
you; In this you rejoice, though now for a
little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that
the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes
though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and
honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. . .
2
Timothy 1:7 ESV
For God gave us a spirit
not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
2
Peter 1:5-7 ESV
For this very reason, make every effort to
supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and
knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and
steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and
brotherly affection with love.
Psalm
92:13-14 ESV
They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our
God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and
green,
Colossians
1:10 ESV
So as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord,
fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in
the knowledge of God.
If I speak in the tongues
of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging
cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all
knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not
love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have,
and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient and
kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not
insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
