​We have to understand that we are born spiritually unhealthy and weak. Oswald Chambers, in his devotional book “My Utmost for His Highest,” states it so clearly by telling us “God nowhere holds a man responsible for having the heredity of sin.  The condemnation is not that I am born with a heredity of sin, but if when I realize Jesus Christ came to deliver me from it, I refuse to let Him do so, from that moment I begin to get the seal of damnation.”  Whew! Tough stuff. Being a Christian isn’t for cowards!

Real spiritual death is this…

John 3:19
And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil.

That light needs to be turned up, and it is time to LIGHT THE FIRE!
 
I’m not saying to go out and burn and loot…that is NOT what Jesus would do. The FIRE needs to be Christ IN YOU!

I have some comments here that I shared at a Christian Convention some years ago. I think are quite pertinent today, and I’d like to share them with you now.

Right now, our nation is in the beginning embers of a fire that will destroy it.  We need to seek God and work together to be that fire that helps cleanse it.  We need to be that light, to lead the way to Jesus, our only hope of salvation, and by His Spirit, uncover and reject the lies and deceptions of the evil one.

Many today worry and complain about the rising crime rate, the breakup of the family and the general decline of our culture and moral values.  But what they don’t seem to realize, is that the cause of it all, is that they don’t value truth.  They love the darkness more than the light!

Today tolerance is more valued than truth.  As the very soul of the America I love becomes more self-absorbed, sensually oriented and pleasure obsessed, we can expect to witness the prophecy of 2 Timothy.  Men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God.

I am convinced that the moral principles in America are prisoners of war and the Christian heritage of this country is missing in action.  This is where WE have to come in.  Only a passionate return to repentance and righteousness will heal the ills of this nation.

Don’t think the Democrats or Republicans are going to do it. This is not a government problem; this is a MORALITY problem.

Abraham Lincoln once said, “The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of the government in the next.” Lincoln and others like him knew the importance of raising up one generation under God, so the next would remain under God.

Some may deny what I am about to say, but we have ALL failed in some respects in the following:

• We have not prayed enough
• We have not praised God enough
• We have not taught our children the precepts of God enough
• We have not sought God enough
• We have not sacrificed enough
• We have not raised our voices in the community enough
• We have not been a bright light enough…we are often just a dying ember ourselves!

People, we may have been instrumental in helping our children achieve academic excellence, physical health and a happy, safe childhood. But we have been detrimental if we have not armed them with salvation and the word of God, in the Light of Christ. The community cannot and will not do it. It is up to us. The first church your kids need to go to is your HOME! Our children may have the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the girdle of truth, the shoes of the gospel and the shield of faith, but they are unarmed and vulnerable if they do not have the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

Pay attention now to the signs of the times and the direction of God to re-establish the family as He has directed. The further mankind gets away from the precepts of God, the more horror will encroach upon our families and us.  We need to teach that to our children and constantly tell that to our communities.

We must reject the lies of sexual immorality and sexual perversion, pornography, and the like by manifesting God’s truth in all avenues of OUR lives. We must continue in prayer as never before. We must make provision for our children to learn not only the God-breathed moral truths but also how to search it out in His Word.

We must participate in a church of God’s choosing and give our time, our tithes and our talents. Have “prayer walks” around our churches and individual neighborhoods. Not going door to door, forcing our opinions on uninterested, uncalled of God individuals, but rather, walking the areas mentioned, praying them out of their homes and into a leading into salvation and proper fellowship.

We must get involved in community activities and get the Christian, Spirit-led opinion out there. We must get involved in our children’s school and the curriculum and activities surrounding it. We must bring God’s vision and viewpoint to every nook and cranny of our communities.

We must answer comments of the family and in the workplaces with what GOD says, not what we think, not what the church says, but what GOD says is pleasing and acceptable to Him.

We must fast more frequently, as individuals and as a church. We must diligently and daily search the scriptures. We must pray for ALL the Christian churches to open their doors, first to God’s truth and then to all who are in need.

Churches need to stop acting like businesses trying to attract customers. We don’t need to take members from each other’s churches. We need to open our hearts and arms to the “unchurched”.

Churches need to stop competing with each other, and put the call to God out to the highways and the byways through their people.

This is war folks. Destroy the enemy of our souls, not each other! This will take sacrifice, teamwork, dedication, hard work, diligence, and persistence—all the things at which the flesh is not so good! But we must seek God like never before. We can do this, we must do this!

• We must urge each other and our youth to again seek, know and honor the absolute truth of the Word of God
• To recognize perversion of any kind and with PATIENCE and GENTLENESS, lead the participants out from abominable activities
• To urge our youth to wait, with pure and chaste behavior for godly, secure, and rooted individuals to be their mates
• To remain committed to the family structure ordained by God, in order to bring up the next generation into the full flower of a clean, free and morally strong nation under God
• We can do it. We can get back what other generations have lost.
• In doing that, we will be living with power and glory.
• We will be the beacons of light to lead people to the Light of the World, Christ Jesus.

PEOPLE…IT IS TIME TO LIGHT THE FIRE!

Sadly, many people feel that way. They have been taught that God is some Puritanical Prude up there waiting to throw out guilt trips to everyone who misses the mark that He has set. WRONG!

Let’s see what God says about sin…

Some of the words used to describe sin:

• Falling short – missing the mark
• Unrighteousness – doing wrong, hurt
• Iniquity – lawlessness
• Trespass – give in to temptation when you knew the right way
• Transgression – cross a line that God has drawn
• Ungodliness – living in rebellion against God
• Disobedience – neglecting hearing and heeding God’s commands
• Ignorance – breaking God’s commands inadvertently – but still no excuse

All of the above are descriptions of doing something that is against the course of life that God has set. All are the result of the broken Adam nature, not what God created. All are spiritual “dirt” that will keep you out of God’s presence.

That is why the sacrifice of Jesus, taking the punishment for YOUR SINS, is so important to understand!

• Not religion
• Not legalism
• Not good works (although important)
• Not money
• Not wishing
• Not anything but the blood covenant Jesus made for YOU

Best definition of sin is found in 1 John 5:17:
…all unrighteousness is sin.

Sin…so what, think some. So what? I’ll tell you “so what”…

• Sin, regardless of the degree, always has an effect…separation from God
• Adam was told if he ate of a certain tree he would die…HE DIED
• That death was spiritual (separation from God) and physical (dead, dead)
• Once sin entered in – so did physical and spiritual DEATH

This isn’t hopeless folks…death can be overcome by LIFE. A re-attaching, a re-union, a re-connecting with God…the God of life.

And that is not done in a church or a religion…but in your heart. You may be in a church or religion, but He has to be in your HEART. Only YOU can initiate this restoration with God. Take that moment to humble yourself, ask forgiveness for all your sins. GIVE PERMISSION for Jesus to come into your heart, to offer the cleansing His presence gives. His nature will come IN you, and that will never lead you to sin.

You WILL die physically because of the legacy of Adam, but you will live eternally with God because of the legacy of Jesus Christ.

1 John 1:9:
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Let’s end with the encouragement of the Word of God and not the finger pointing of the world, the flesh and the devil.

Psalm 13:5:
But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.

Ephesians 5:20:
Always giving thanks for all things in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father.

Psalm 34:10:
The young lions do lack and suffer hunger, but they who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing.

Psalm 34:17-19, 22:
The righteous cry and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

The Lord redeems the soul of His servants; and none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.

This is the God we serve. The world may call you a “bad, naughty sin boy or girl”, but Jesus knows we were born AFTER Adam’s sin and were handicapped in it. Jesus is the cure, the restoration…take it.

He loves you…just love Him back.

God bless you always.

1 Peter 1:16:
Because it is written, You shall be holy, for I am Holy.
 
Holiness…sticky subject for some. Preaching God’s truth, NOT RELIGION, reveals that we are “unholy.” OUCH! Too many don’t like that and run. We resent that God says we were born “unholy.” We resent and turn off or turn away from the One stating that truth.

But in a soul that God pursues, it also awakens an intense desire to change…a conviction of heart. If it’s only in your head, it’s information. But if God pierces your heart, it’s transformation!

God is in the business of producing saints, not a bunch of “holy rollers.” He destined us to be holy, so He cares deeply to bring us back into a life of holiness.

• Not boredom…not a bunch of rule keeping, but an exciting, vibrant life, full of joy unspeakable
• He wants us to live a life of unstained holiness
• Unstained daily activities, unstained speaking, unstained thinking, unstained actions
• He wants every detail brought before the scrutiny of the Lord

But you can’t do that on your own. You have to humble yourself before God for a moment (and you don’t need to be in a church to do that—just right where you are) and ask Jesus to forgive you of all you have done under the influence of the broken Adam nature. Invite Jesus into your heart to be your King, your Master, your Trail Guide. He will show you the way and fill you with His Spirit which is the only nature that can actually meet the commands of God.

His holiness must enter in you, that it can come out through you in your thoughts, words and deeds.

2 Corinthians 7:1
Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

1 Thessalonians 3:13
So that He may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before our God and Father…

Romans 12:1
I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

1 Peter 1:8
And though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, You greatly rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Don’t just seek happiness, seek holiness and God will give you happiness (in the form of His holiness and joy) unspeakable.

Holy-moley…go for it!