This week, Michael writes: "Phileo" love is brotherly
love. People say that they want brotherhood. However, the question is,
"what price are you willing to pay?" Mickey Mantle said when he
was sitting in a bar watching a baseball game after he had retired from the
Yankees, "I should be out there playing. But what I really miss is
the locker room, the brotherhood of the guys on the team." What are their
core values and what do they value when it comes to the church? The
statistics show that if men are faithful followers of Christ, 90 percent of
their families receive Christ. However, only 17 percent of families come
to faith if only the wife is a Christian.
When you usually call people
in the church "man or woman of God," they'll usually look away. When
you ask them why they are ashamed, they'll say, "Because I feel
unworthy." The lawless world's code says that we're what we make of ourselves
and that grace doesn't matter. It teaches that the goal is to be a self made person.
We're taught to resist receiving anything as a gift of grace. However,
according to Ephesians 2:8, by grace
are you saved by faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God not of
works lest any man should boast.
The devil's tactic is to
take the people of God off of the spiritual battlefield. Great cultures
and nations always fail from within. It's not other nations that conquer a
great civilization, but by corruption from within. Ephesians 6 speaks about the
armor of God. For we wrestle not
against flesh and blood, but against spiritual wickedness from on high. Every
sphere of influence whether family, government, education, entertainment, and
even churches are weakened from within when they compromise their faith, forsake
the spiritual armor of God and are overtaken by the powers of darkness. When
factions fight for power in the voting booth, the president's worldview will be
forced on the culture. However, even if we elect a Christian president, the
culture has already been infiltrated by spiritual wickedness and the sinful darkness
of unbelief in the halls of power.
God will allow persecution
inside and outside the church to purge the culture in order to find out who the
real Christians are. According to the flesh, it's difficult to discern
who's really a Christian. The casual Christian man or woman feels fearful,
insecure, inadequate and lonely. He's casual relationally with Jesus and with
others. Casual Christians end up being casualties in the spiritual
battle. The average Christian is under challenged and has no mission to
which they can commit their life. Christ’s church asks us to give
faithfully, to attend regularly and to serve diligently. However, the
church often fails to emphasize the main question, "How's your walk with
God?"
The nominal Christian guy is
stressed and struggles with guilt and shame. He struggles with being a
culturally acceptable Christian rather than a Biblical Christian. They may
have father-wounds because their dad never said, "I love you." Their
dad never helped them spiritually or morally. He's overcome by the "lust
of the flesh." They’re angry but can't quite put their finger on the
cause of their anger. They have problems with their marriage and doesn't
pray for or with their spouse. They can't communicate with them like they
want and need for them to communicate from the depth of their heart. They
never have a date night with their spouse and will not attend marriage retreats
or conferences with them. They know that they don't give enough, serve
enough, pray enough, read their bible enough, or love enough. They spend
most of their time in “sin management” rather living in God's grace, mercy,
forgiveness and love. They’re terrified of losing control and feel
uncomfortable on spiritual turf. They fear rejection and avoid situations
where they may be asked to pray out loud or participate in meaningful biblical
discussions. Even deacons and elders in many churches realize they don't
really have a deep, committed, and abiding relationship with their Lord and
with the Word of God.
Let's continue Michael message on brotherhood and sisterhood in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
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