RESETTING THE COMPASS

RESETTING THE COMPASS

                When I talk about what the church is called to be and what it must become in these last days, I am bound to step on nearly everybody’s toes. Everyone believes that his or her church is the remnant church of God. If they didn’t they probably not belong to it. But I am not talking about denominations and I am not recommending denominations. I am rather talking about live churches and dead churches.

                Again I am not talking about how loud or soft the music is or how many programs they have. I am talking about the one thing to which we must now reset our compasses. Jesus Christ the Son of God is true north. He is our Way, our Truth, our Life and our Salvation. It is the name of Jesus; above all else, that offends the world. It is the name of Jesus spoken in faith that rattles the devil’s cages. It is the mighty name of Jesus that sets us free from every bondage and sin.

                The Body of Christ has been divided by thousands of tiny side issues. We present to the world a divided front, a weak and indecisive group of believers that rarely agree about anything. We spend more time shooting at each other than we spend shooting at the enemy.

                You can talk about God all day and no one takes notice, but if you mention the name of Jesus then tempers flare and politicians cringe. But why might that be?

1.       They have gone to a great deal of effort to re-write Jesus out of American history. People no longer hear the prayers of past presidents as they prayed in the name of Jesus. It has all been stuffed in a box somewhere behind the mop and broom and they don’t want it brought out again.

2.       Jesus is specific. He stands out as a singular Person that can be worshipped or rejected, but He can’t be ignored. Everyone has to make a conscious decision about Jesus. His claims are far too radical to dismiss. He was either the Creator of heaven and Earth, the Law Giver on Mt. Sinai, the presence in the Most Holy Place, the true Lamb of God who alone can take away the sin of the world, the risen Savior who was dead but lives again. Who is soon to return in glory… or He is the most deluded person in all of history.

3.       You can argue doctrines all day long and accomplish nothing. But Jesus requires a decision either for or against… and those who choose against Him form the citizenry of the kingdom of Satan, on a runaway train to hell.

4.       This decisive dichotomy has always been the case even when Jesus walked our planet, but even  more so here in the last days where all answers are  becoming final.

5.       So the church can no longer afford to putter around with a basket full of human ideas. We must reset our compasses and they must point to Jesus, the Author and finisher of our faith.   

6.       Neither can we afford to be divided by our basket full of human ideas. The Body, the Bride of Christ is being formed and we are either in or out, wise or foolish, hot or cold.

7.       This being the case, then we must now be devoted entirely to Jesus and not to our basket full of human ideas. Everything must be backed by the Word of God, not as it has been tortured so that it says what we want it to say, but as it is made abundantly clear by the Holy Spirit.

8.       The Jews of Jesus’ day had hundreds of doctrines and laws. These doctrines and laws eventually put Jesus on the cross. But Jesus cut through all of them and beginning with Moses and all the prophets He revealed to His disciples all of the things concerning Himself in all of the Scriptures.

9.       And Jesus told them saying: “Unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” John 8:24. He also said, “When you lift up the son of Man then you will know that I AM HE.” John 8:28.

10.   Jesus is the ”I AM”, of the burning bush. The “Son of Man” in the fiery furnace, the One who said, “Before Abraham was, I AM and when they asked for Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, when He said, “I am He, those stout Roman soldiers fell back under the power of that name.

                In Jesus dwelt all of the fullness of the godhead in bodily form. He said to Phillip, “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father. Jesus is the Alpha and Omega the beginning and the end, the Aleph and Tav. He is King of kings and Lord of lords.

                John testified that He was indeed God. All authority has been given to Him in heaven and on earth. He is the visible manifestation of the invisible God and God has bestowed upon Him a name that is above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father.

                Yes, we need to reset our compasses, because it is in His name, and in His blood and His indwelling power that we conquer. Satan’s kingdom will be utterly destroyed. The nations of the world along with the coming global government of the antichrist will be crushed into powder and blown away by the wind. We had better learn how to operate in that name… to live by His Spirit and His Word. Our flesh is nothing. We have no weapons with which to fight invisible forces. We only have the name of Jesus. We have His Spirit and His truth and with these weapons we will conquer.

                Right now we are in final training for the battle ahead. Are we learning how to live by and conquer Satan by the Spirit and power of Christ and the Word of God or are we just gliding along trying not to make waves in a world that hates Jesus with a passion?

                It is time to stand up and to be counted one way or the other. It is time to stand with Paul as he declared: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Romans 1:16.

                We are quickly approaching the specific time when in the midst of gross darkness, Jesus will say, “Arise… shine, for your light has come… for the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.” Is. 60:1

                Our goal in this life is not to immolate the character of some reformer, or leader, or minister, or to become the perfect model of our denomination or our creed. Our goal is to be conformed to the image of Christ and as such He must become our Model, our template, our Spirit and our life.

                True north my friends: It’s time to set our compasses on true north.