Preaching and Teaching

Gerry

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Colossians 1:28-29: "So, naturally, we proclaim Christ! We warn everyone we meet, and we teach everyone we can, all that we know about him, so that, if possible, we may bring every man up to his full maturity in Christ. This is what I am working at all the time, with all the strength that God gives me." JBP

The word "maturity" is rendered "perfect" in the KJV, meaning "completeness" or as Phillips says maturity. This verse should be our motto and our banner, as Christians. It is what we have been called to do and what we should be doing as we go about our daily lives, carrying out the command to reproduce ourselves. It is what Jesus called us and ordained us to do, and there is no greater blessing or anything more rewarding than to see the fruits of our labors.
 

Gerry

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1st April 2003 at 11:48 AM altya said this in Post #2

You are a real teacher - thanks Gerry

Thanks for those kind words. I rejoice that we have the Ultimate Teacher in the Holy Spirit, and that all we can do as human beings is to share with others what we have been given. Teaching is a way in which we can share in the sufferings of Christ that Paul spoke of in Colossians 1:24. Though we cannot share in His suffering as the Son of God, or the suffering He did as He made the sacrifice for our sins. But we can share in His suffering for righteousness sake and you may be sure that when we identify with Him in the preaching of the Gospel, we WILL suffer the pain of attacks and rejection, just as He did.

May God give us grace to rejoice in this suffering!
 
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endure

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yeah, praise God.

just the other day i was in church and many responded to the altar call, and i really looked on it as a casual happening, it didnt give me joy, i didnt get happy about it, and God spoke to me and said "you ought to be excited about what makes me excited".

truely, i have no other purpose but to fullfill his purpose.
i am only his servant, so what makes him happy should be my passion and drive in life. my soul reason for living, is to do his will.
so then why, do people like myself sometimes take salvation of the lost so casually?

we cannot say we are one with God and are in union with him if his delights are not our delights, my God. little things like a passion for saving the lost, mean so much.
 
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Gerry

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1st April 2003 at 02:29 PM endure said this in Post #4

yeah, praise God.

just the other day i was in church and many responded to the altar call, and i really looked on it as a casual happening, it didnt give me joy, i didnt get happy about it, and God spoke to me and said "you ought to be excited about what makes me excited".

truely, i have no other purpose but to fullfill his purpose.
i am only his servant, so what makes him happy should be my passion and drive in life. my soul reason for living, is to do his will.
so then why, do people like myself sometimes take salvation of the lost so casually?

we cannot say we are one with God and are in union with him if his delights are not our delights, my God. little things like a passion for saving the lost, mean so much.

WOW! You have raised many interesting questions here! I think one problem is many Christians think when they are saved that they have to go through many lears of training and/or spiritual growth BEFORE they have anything to offer anyone else. So they wait and wait and wait till they feel they are fully prepared and ready to go. Trouble is the waiting grows too comfortable and soon we are settled into a rut, and then we decide that, "God didn't call me to witness, or preach or whatever." Sadly wrong.

We simply need to force ourselves out of our comfort zone and go to work. Juat as we were comfortbale waiting, we find a new comfort in working. Winning souls becomes a passion and we live to do it. The most interesting thing to me is that we soon develop a "taste" for it and learn that it is actually, not only rewarding, but F-U-N!

I recommend to so many people almost daily, it seem, to start with a tract ministry. You can even start this without actually speaking to anyone. You can simply leave them in places they will be found and potentially read by someone needing Jesus. Gasoline pump handles guarantee SOMEONE will find it. There are so many other places.

Then you can graduate to hading them to people. You may say something like, "Hi, may I give you something good to read", as you hold it out to them. They have the option to accept or reject, and you need say nothing more to them either way, unless thay ask you. In which case, you need to be ready to respond.

1 Peter 3:15: "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:" But this is the easy part!

Some may ask simply, "What is this?", as thay take it from you. There again the answer is so easy. "Oh, that's just a little something that explains how to go to Heaven. We all want to go to Heaven, don't we?".

You can see from that how easy it is to get into a conversation, that is short, quick, and to the point. There is never a need to argue, or debate, or answer foolish questions, like, "Where did Cain get his wife?" lol That is an attempt to derail the conversation from Christ.

When that question comes up, I always reply something like this: "Well, I don't know, but I tell you what I find intriguing about all that. Did he get a Mother-in Law to? Now THAT could be a problem! Most people get a good laugh here, and I am back on track by saying something like: Mother-in-Law or not Cain still had to be saved. It was a little more difficult for him than it is for us. All we have to do is....", and you see, I am right back on subject.

The good thing with witnessing this way is that there is no "hard sell"; no beating people over the head or forcing anything on them. They are always free to stay or go at their choosing, and either the Holy Spirit is working in that heart or He is not. If He is not, then you can stay there for weeks to no avail. But if He IS working there, your job is sooooo easy, because the Holy Spirit has already prepared that heart and all you have to do is present them with the Gospel.

What a blessing to have the hard work already done and all we have to do is just TELL them how to accept Jesus into their heart.

I think the passion comes with the doing. Just as often we do not like certain foods that are good for us, but if we go outside our "likes/dislikes" and begin to eat those things, often we learn to LOVE the foods we once hated. I think Spiritual things are much the same. Certain passions are developed by the "doing" of them.
 
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reeann

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I've been meditating on my recent backslidden condition. I have a couple of sins that on one hand I knew was there (not REALLY trusting God to work things out, seekign the approval of people rather than God). I was giving God only a portion of me and not all of me. I still worry if God has all of me right now. But one thing is for sure; God is changing me again, refining me. I will not boast that I am some super christian this time, this time, I am trusting God to use an insecure child and turn her into a faithful woman who will always choose Him first.
 
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Gerry

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Amen Reeann! What a wonderful and proper attitude. For without Him, we are nothing! I am reminded of what He said in John 15:5: "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing."

And nothing means nothing! Without Him, we cannot even so much as take a breath.
 
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GraftMeIn

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2nd April 2003 at 12:08 AM Gerry said this in Post #6



WOW! You have raised many interesting questions here! I think one problem is many Christians think when they are saved that they have to go through many lears of training and/or spiritual growth BEFORE they have anything to offer anyone else. So they wait and wait and wait till they feel they are fully prepared and ready to go. Trouble is the waiting grows too comfortable and soon we are settled into a rut, and then we decide that, "God didn't call me to witness, or preach or whatever." Sadly wrong.



So true we are all ment to serve as a witness for Christ. A good witness only needs to tell what they know, they do not need to know it all. If someone asks a question you can't answer be honest about it and offer to look into it for them. You'll even grow spiritually yourself in the process.
 
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