- Aug 14, 2019
- 9,081
- 8,284
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- Australia
- Faith
- Non-Denom
- Marital Status
- Divorced
I don't know your circumstances. If you've read some of my posts, you will know that I believe that what is called church is pretty much devoid of any sign of the life of Christ, in the western world at least. The main reason for that is anyone can just rock up and get involved. Only around 5% of church goers are born again. They the are the real church. You cannot expect unbelievers/make believers to live a godly life. The fact that you see no love is evidence of my assertion.I have been at that point for most of my life and known that just preaching the Gospel at people is a waste of breath, not to mention extremely destructive to a captive community of people.
What does frustrate me though is that as concession people have encouraged me to display the gospel with my life.
Unfortunately this also has been a failure, my life has been absolutely nothing of any use as far as attracting people to the Gospel. Why would anybody want to take on something that consigns a person to years of loneliness and rejection (at the hands of the so called Loving Family of God), followed by screwed up marriages and more loneliness and rejection? I speak of myself but also quite a number of other people I know.
Where is the testimony that Christ spoke of that we would be known by our Love for one another?
"just preaching the Gospel at people is a waste of breath, not to mention extremely destructive to a captive community of people." I don't know what you mean by that.
I was in the RAN when I got saved. As far as I was concerned, church was a place of torture for an hour. I was forced to go for 3 years, between the age of 10 and 13. My boss was a Christian. He preached the gospel to me one evening, while we were at sea. I got born again right then. No church, no "Just as I am", no prayer line, no hype, just the gospel. I was the happiest man on the planet.
I also tried to witness to others. One of my colleagues saw the transformation. He said that he wished that he had my faith. Yet only one person in 3 years came to Christ through me. Oh, talk about a captive community. Being on a ship is about as captive as you get apart from prison.
I started a Bible School, just 6 weeks part time, to help Christians be established in their faith. One of the things I've learned is that the devil will use discouragement as a weapon against us. It's our responsibility as Christians not to give in. Yes, not easy. The Christian life is impossible if we are trying to do the living. Now if we give up and let Christ live instead of us, the burden comes off us and onto Him. If we keep focused on Him and not ourselves,we will have peace, even in the midst of the storms of life. I was in hospital Tuesday night with a heart problem. I'm 68, not quite ready to go. I was in peace the whole way through. My heart came good after our friends prayed.
God permits all kinds of troubles. I say permits. He does not cause those problems. God's intent is to bring us to an end of ourselves. We bring most problems on ourselves. When we quit trying to live the Christian life and let Christ live instead, we will have victory. We won't be exempt from trials - they are necessary - but we will triumph in them.
We recently counselled a woman who was abused, as a child, by her lay preacher dad. She had every reason to reject Christ but she has not. However, the wounds she suffered meant that she took it out on her husband, who was about to pull the pin. Lord Jesus, through us, set her free. Her marriage is restored. One of her close friends told me that they were amazed at the change.
Christ came to set us free and give us abundant life. If that is not your experience, then something is not right. There are a number of articles on our web site that will help you. God's people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Feel free to email us with any questions. We've had a number of people from interstate come and receive help, including a couple from Perth. It's quicker from Auckland to Melbourne than Melbourne to Perth. We are here to help.
The Living Word - Christian Life Frankston
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