God’s Word is not a Buffet
Acts 20:26-28, "Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27 "For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. 28 "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood." We see in verse 27 that Paul declared to the elders of the Ephesian church that he had not "shunned" to declare the whole counsel (or will) of God to them. The word "shunned" in the Greek means "avoided." So, we can read verse 27 this way: "For I have not avoided to declare to you the whole counsel (will) of God." Then he added in verse 28, "Take heed to yourselves "because" the Holy Spirit had made you overcomers, to shepherd the church."
Hebrews 13:17, "Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you. "Rule" here means those who lead you. Those who lead or watch out for your souls must give an account. "Account" means to give satisfactory reasons or an explanation for one's actions. It means there will be a reckoning. Each one of us, has a personal accountability to God.
James 3:1, "My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.
People hold to many reasons (excuses) for not heeding certain parts of God's Word. "That is not for today." That was just for Old Testament times." In fact, one evangelist I heard, actually told us that we should ignore the books of 1st and 2nd Corinthians because they were written to a carnal church! Yes, some think the Word of God is a buffet!
God did not preserve His Word so that we pick and choose what we want to believe. We are required to conform to His Word, not, to conform His Word to what suits us.
Please hear my heart. The church since it's conception, has been under attack by satan and his cohorts. Satan's goal is to deceive, divide, control, and destroy God's people - His church. What are His methods? What have his schemes included?
Ephesians 6: 10,11," Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." These verses talk about the devil's "wiles". Wiles means deceit, cunning arts, craft and trickery. Note: we need the whole armor of God and the power of His might to be able to stand against them!
2 Corinthians 2:11, "lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices." We are not to be ignorant of his devices. "Devices means evil purposes. See, the devil uses his cunning arts, deceit, and trickery for his evil purposes, which are to destroy God's people and God's work, which He desires to do through us. Satan's deceit and trickery has the goal of bringing disunity, quarrels, strife, and distrust into the house of God. Why? Because, a house divided against itself will not stand. (Matthew 12:15). His goal is to make the people of God powerless. Satan saw the good. He saw the power of the early church. He saw the success of the early disciples in bringing others to Christ. He moved in with his counterfeit and caused the powerful, united church to become powerless, fearful and disunited. He accomplished this, I believe, by blinding eyes and through the manifestation of false gifts in the occult. This brought fear into the lives of believers concerning the Holy Spirit - His person, His work, His gifts, His fruit and His rule in the lives of His people. Yes. Satan's goal has been to stop or invalidate the power, the work, and even the presence of the Holy Spirit in the children of God, the body of Christ and in His church. He has caused many to avoid and thus fail to partake in God's provision for power; and to walk away in fear and with a lack of understanding of what having the Lord's very presence in us means!
Sadly, with this rejection or lack of understanding of the person, fruit, work, and power of the Holy Spirit, we have, for quite some time now, seen the church weaken because they have left the gifts of the Holy Spirit sitting on the buffet table!
I understand and I know I have shared about the gifts in a previous blog, however, I believe with my whole heart that many of the church are weak and ineffective because they are not using the gifts He has given to His body members, so that we can fulfill His will and purpose, here and now. Believe me, I am not pointing fingers at anyone. As I see the lack of the gifts of the Spirit in most churches today, it only reminds me of my own lack. Even though I believe the gifts should be a very important part of the church's ministry today and have experienced these gifts in my ministry, I confess they were not as prevalent as they should have been.
1 Corinthians 12:31a, " But earnestly desire the best gifts." To "earnestly desire" is the Greek word, zeloo which means to be zealous for, to burn with desire, to pursue ardently, and to desire eagerly or intimately. God strongly desires us to walk in the fullness of His Spirit, but, it requires a willingness on our part. It requires a willingness to spend time in His Word, and prayer so that we will be prepared to walk in the fullness of His power. I have been lax in spending that time with Him and have not eagerly desired to have all that He wants for me, so that I may effectively do the work of His kingdom. May God forgive me. May He help us all to seek Him with our whole hearts, so that we do His will and walk in all that He has given us to do. I pray you will join me in seeking to know the Holy Spirit as never before. The time in which we live requires it.
The gifts God has given to His church were given so that the power of the Holy Spirit, Who resides in us, and be manifested through us.
Paul wrote to the Corinthian church to bring correction and to encourage them concerning what they were doing right in their partnering with the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 1: 4-9, "I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, 5 that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, 6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, 7 so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." Note: verse 7 says, "so that you come short in no gift." He does not want us to leave whatever gift He may have for us on the buffet table. Realize Paul is talking to the "brethren", to believers, to the body of Christ, when he penned 1 Corinthians 12:1," Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant" ; and 1 Corinthians 12:31.
As a member of the body of Christ, beloved, please be open to allow the Holy Spirit to "gift" you for a particular need as He deems necessary: i.e. when there needs to be a manifestation of His power and presence to bring life, hope or healing. Be willing to fulfill all of God's will and desire for you and the church.
Romans 12:2, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Transforming our minds comes only by the Word of God. Why do we need to transform our minds? So that, we may know the perfect will of God.
Ephesians 4:11-16, "And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ-- 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love." The five fold ministry gifts are given for the equipping of the saints for: the work of ministry/ edifying the body of Christ/ for unity/ and for the knowledge of the Son of God until we attain the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. To equip the saints, we must teach them the whole counsel of God. As a teacher, leader or preacher, if there are areas where you are not strong or knowledgeable about, bring in trusted teachers who can teach in those areas.
If you are not called to be a part of the five fold ministry, realize that you can study the Word of God and desire earnestly to know His will and plan and learn to walk in the fullness of Christ and all that that entails.
I believe it grieves the Holy Spirit when His Word is treated as a buffet and many wonderful truths and gifts that He has given for His body to use are left laying on the table. It leaves parts of His body wanting, because we are not operating in the fullness of His counsel and Word.
Please church, seek diligently for all that God has for you. As the time of His appearing approaches, we are going to need to discern all of God's Word to survive. Remember, if possible, even the very elect will be deceived and there will be a great falling away. Let us not be among those.
Lastly, Mark 13:21,23 and 37, ". 21 "Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'Look, He is there!' do not believe it. 22 "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 23 "But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand. ... 37 "And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!"
Brethren, our survival is going to depend on the gifts of the Holy Spirit operating in our lives. We must recognize His voice and be able to use His gifts of the word of knowledge, the word of wisdom and the discerning of spirits.
Do not despair, He has provided all that we need. His desire is that we walk in it!
Be steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.