Rise Up Oh People of God – Part 1

Ephesians 6:12-13 “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against

principalities, other men: Peter, James, and John. So, who are your twelve, and who are your three? Beginning with four men or women dedicated to walk with their Lord Jesus Christ, Christianity has changed the world.  

The biblical instruction for the rise and expansion of the Christian church is in 2 Timothy 2:2, “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men and women, who shall be able to teach others also.” Growth is an exponential equation to the power of three. There are four generations in this one short verse. This logarithmic function means that four men or women replicating for four generations of growth raised to the power of three yields 716 “faithful men and women.” One more generation results in 2172 faithful men and women.

 

Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

 

German Lutheran pastor, theologian, anti-Nazi dissident, Dietrich Bonhoeffer said when Jesus bids a man or woman come, he bids them “come and die.” In order to live for Christ, we must die to self. What’s the cost of following Him? Philippians 1:21 says, “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” What dies? Our prideful sin nature. Galatians 5:19-25 explains that “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft [drug abuse]; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

Let's continue Michael's message on Christians influencing our culture.

In Christ, Brian