NOTE: I cut and pasted this from a group email I received. I did not ask permission, but I doubt brother Jim Richards will mind. His thoughts below:
I am constantly amazed by people who think they can live any way they choose and life is still supposed to be great because they are a Christian! Pop theology would say, “God loves you unconditionally so how you live doesn’t matter.” I guess it’s an issue of defining unconditional love. Based on a flawed, humanistic definition, they take a quantum leap into humanistic philosophy, redefining unconditional love as unconditional approval and unconditional love as unconditional promises… I could go on but I’m sure you get the picture!
Just recently I was talking to a friend who has chosen a lifestyle that is clearly identified as sinful, i.e. destructive! His logic is that since God loves me, He wants me to be happy. Since this makes me happy God would never tell me I can’t have this! That’s like a child saying, “I love the taste of Drano. Since my mother loves me she would never tell not to eat Drano!” Sin is not a list of things we can’t do; sin is a list of things that destroy us no matter who loves us. God wants us to live life to its fullest but even when we don’t He still loves. But making it to Heaven and quality of life here on Earth are not one and the same!
The Kingdom of Heaven is a realm wherein the believer, because of his or her intimate connection, not their legal connection, to God has the absolute sense that all of God’s protection and resources are available to them. Jesus’ teaching about the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven provided us with the beliefs and logic that facilitates life in the Kingdom which should equate to Heaven on Earth! It includes warnings, instructions and practical application. Sadly, religion has equated the Kingdom of Heaven with the eternal Heaven, which makes it impossible to understand Jesus’ teachings.
In the current politically-correct church world, warnings, dealing with sin, repentance, good works and responsible living are presented as the antithesis of unconditional love. A loving parent never stops attempting to help their child “course correct” and get back on the path of life. An unloving parent lets the child go straight into destruction without saying a word.
God is unconditional in His love, i.e. He never stops loving; therefore, He never stops trying to get us back on the path of life. His love gives us warnings in advance of the heartache, pain and suffering that comes from selfishness, sin and carnality. He continues to warn, attempts to lead and direct even as we close our eyes and ears as we race down the path of destruction. But His love means He never quits. I don’t know about you, but I am so glad God never left me to my own devices!
Sadly, many preachers who want to promote love have no comprehension of how to correct, confront and redirect without condemning or rejecting the violator! Their cowardice and ineptness in the pulpit and in the counseling office comfort the deceived while they dance their way to self-destruction… all in the name of love!
As a minister I want people to live in the Kingdom Realm. This starts with submission to the King, but it is sustained by sharing in the resources of the Kingdom. It manifests in a life of righteousness: living morally, ethically, physically, relationally and spiritually as we should, considering that we are in Christ; Peace: a tranquil state of mind that comes by the realization that all our needs are met in God; and Joy: a state of internal joy, happiness, a calm delight, linked to rejoicing, gratefulness and celebration, all of which is empowered by the Holy Spirit. That’s the life we all wanted when we came to Jesus, it’s our role as ministers to help you walk in this realm.
The Kingdom is never earned, it is inherited. That means that it is given, but the responsibility lies with us to receive. Jesus was very clear that Kingdom living was determined by one thing: the Word of God in our heart.
If that’s the life we want, then we must consider the following passages that warn of what will keep us from being able to experience this righteousness, peace and joy in our heart: 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:19-21 says, Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Why does God list these particular practices? It’s not just the things on these lists. These and similar things that violate the way we were created, the righteous nature of the believer and godly character have such an effect on our heart that we cannot receive what God has freely given us in Christ! The Apostle John warns in 1st John that when we fail to walk in love by walking in selfishness, it violates our conscience and we cannot receive from God. I don’t know about you, but I intend to receive everything Jesus died to give me! I don’t want to hold to any of these attitudes or behaviors. The only reason we would hold to any of these is the belief that it will get us the peace and joy that can only be found in the Kingdom. There is no lasting peace and joy where there is not righteousness! The first law of the Kingdom is you have to want it more than you want anything else!
We are living in an age of polarization: light is getting lighter and darkness is growing darker. This is the generation that cannot endure sound doctrine. We are in a time of great compromise. Righteousness, godliness, morality and ethics are believed to be nonessential, while strife, immorality and rejection of God’s Word are considered non-consequential!
I’m not asking you to focus on the darkness. We can focus on the darkness of the world and get depressed or we can open our eyes to what’s happening and step out of our personal shadows into the light. We can leave the realm of compromise! We don’t need to be negative about ourselves or others. We don’t need to focus on what we’re against. We just need to make Jesus our focus; stay in the light, because in the light we have fellowship with Him, and in that fellowship we share in all He obtained through His death, burial and resurrection, i.e. the Kingdom!
When your life isn’t marked by righteousness, peace and joy, deal with it; own your part! Be vigilant to guard your heart. Walk in love toward all men! Test all things and hold fast to what is good! Stay intimately connected to God through the Lord Jesus! Have no fellowship with darkness. And passionately take this message of the Kingdom to the world! This may sound dark to you, but just like I said about my message last month, I have the sense that many of you who couldn’t have heard this before are ready for real answers now.
Thank you for continuing to give and helping me change the way the worlds see God! Watch for a new blog that I’ll be releasing in the next day or two that will help you understand exactly why we’re having more school shootings, who is really responsible for them and how easy it would be to stop them.
Blessings,
Jim Richards
I am constantly amazed by people who think they can live any way they choose and life is still supposed to be great because they are a Christian! Pop theology would say, “God loves you unconditionally so how you live doesn’t matter.” I guess it’s an issue of defining unconditional love. Based on a flawed, humanistic definition, they take a quantum leap into humanistic philosophy, redefining unconditional love as unconditional approval and unconditional love as unconditional promises… I could go on but I’m sure you get the picture!
Just recently I was talking to a friend who has chosen a lifestyle that is clearly identified as sinful, i.e. destructive! His logic is that since God loves me, He wants me to be happy. Since this makes me happy God would never tell me I can’t have this! That’s like a child saying, “I love the taste of Drano. Since my mother loves me she would never tell not to eat Drano!” Sin is not a list of things we can’t do; sin is a list of things that destroy us no matter who loves us. God wants us to live life to its fullest but even when we don’t He still loves. But making it to Heaven and quality of life here on Earth are not one and the same!
The Kingdom of Heaven is a realm wherein the believer, because of his or her intimate connection, not their legal connection, to God has the absolute sense that all of God’s protection and resources are available to them. Jesus’ teaching about the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven provided us with the beliefs and logic that facilitates life in the Kingdom which should equate to Heaven on Earth! It includes warnings, instructions and practical application. Sadly, religion has equated the Kingdom of Heaven with the eternal Heaven, which makes it impossible to understand Jesus’ teachings.
In the current politically-correct church world, warnings, dealing with sin, repentance, good works and responsible living are presented as the antithesis of unconditional love. A loving parent never stops attempting to help their child “course correct” and get back on the path of life. An unloving parent lets the child go straight into destruction without saying a word.
God is unconditional in His love, i.e. He never stops loving; therefore, He never stops trying to get us back on the path of life. His love gives us warnings in advance of the heartache, pain and suffering that comes from selfishness, sin and carnality. He continues to warn, attempts to lead and direct even as we close our eyes and ears as we race down the path of destruction. But His love means He never quits. I don’t know about you, but I am so glad God never left me to my own devices!
Sadly, many preachers who want to promote love have no comprehension of how to correct, confront and redirect without condemning or rejecting the violator! Their cowardice and ineptness in the pulpit and in the counseling office comfort the deceived while they dance their way to self-destruction… all in the name of love!
As a minister I want people to live in the Kingdom Realm. This starts with submission to the King, but it is sustained by sharing in the resources of the Kingdom. It manifests in a life of righteousness: living morally, ethically, physically, relationally and spiritually as we should, considering that we are in Christ; Peace: a tranquil state of mind that comes by the realization that all our needs are met in God; and Joy: a state of internal joy, happiness, a calm delight, linked to rejoicing, gratefulness and celebration, all of which is empowered by the Holy Spirit. That’s the life we all wanted when we came to Jesus, it’s our role as ministers to help you walk in this realm.
The Kingdom is never earned, it is inherited. That means that it is given, but the responsibility lies with us to receive. Jesus was very clear that Kingdom living was determined by one thing: the Word of God in our heart.
If that’s the life we want, then we must consider the following passages that warn of what will keep us from being able to experience this righteousness, peace and joy in our heart: 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:19-21 says, Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Why does God list these particular practices? It’s not just the things on these lists. These and similar things that violate the way we were created, the righteous nature of the believer and godly character have such an effect on our heart that we cannot receive what God has freely given us in Christ! The Apostle John warns in 1st John that when we fail to walk in love by walking in selfishness, it violates our conscience and we cannot receive from God. I don’t know about you, but I intend to receive everything Jesus died to give me! I don’t want to hold to any of these attitudes or behaviors. The only reason we would hold to any of these is the belief that it will get us the peace and joy that can only be found in the Kingdom. There is no lasting peace and joy where there is not righteousness! The first law of the Kingdom is you have to want it more than you want anything else!
We are living in an age of polarization: light is getting lighter and darkness is growing darker. This is the generation that cannot endure sound doctrine. We are in a time of great compromise. Righteousness, godliness, morality and ethics are believed to be nonessential, while strife, immorality and rejection of God’s Word are considered non-consequential!
I’m not asking you to focus on the darkness. We can focus on the darkness of the world and get depressed or we can open our eyes to what’s happening and step out of our personal shadows into the light. We can leave the realm of compromise! We don’t need to be negative about ourselves or others. We don’t need to focus on what we’re against. We just need to make Jesus our focus; stay in the light, because in the light we have fellowship with Him, and in that fellowship we share in all He obtained through His death, burial and resurrection, i.e. the Kingdom!
When your life isn’t marked by righteousness, peace and joy, deal with it; own your part! Be vigilant to guard your heart. Walk in love toward all men! Test all things and hold fast to what is good! Stay intimately connected to God through the Lord Jesus! Have no fellowship with darkness. And passionately take this message of the Kingdom to the world! This may sound dark to you, but just like I said about my message last month, I have the sense that many of you who couldn’t have heard this before are ready for real answers now.
Thank you for continuing to give and helping me change the way the worlds see God! Watch for a new blog that I’ll be releasing in the next day or two that will help you understand exactly why we’re having more school shootings, who is really responsible for them and how easy it would be to stop them.
Blessings,
Jim Richards
Comments
Post a Comment