Hey guys, welcome to another episode of Transforming Temples. I pray, from the last few episodes of TT, something has transformed in your life to make God smile upon you. Wow, I wonder how often we have God smiling upon us. We can so quickly be grounded in our daily routines and exclude Him. Now that is very dangerous behavior. “What are we doing?” If we look around, I would say God is asking this very question right now. So, what are we doing?
Our world, our nation, and our church, we see chaos, confusion, and it is out of order. Our country is built on the foundation of God, has turned to idols and away from the Truth. We have replaced God with greed, strife, division, hate, and worldliness. Truth has been diluted with an error. Christians are saying yes to ungodliness. We have become complacent and okay with present-day environment and practices. Judgment is upon us because we have turned away. Yet and still, we are not moved and still blinded by our sin. I compare it to the lukewarm church spoken of in Revelations 3:15-16, not cold or hot. The tragedy is we don’t recognize they are pitiful, weak, and blind. Wiersbe states, “what a picture of the apostate church of today with its prestige, wealth, political power, yet spiritually poor.” Lukewarm is not a place we want to be. God detests a lukewarm Christian because he does not care about his faith. They are not enthusiastic nor hostile. We depend on fleshly wisdom and human ability.
Jesus does not want us to be rejected on that day, as described in Matthew 25:31-46, which speaks of the separation of the sheep from the goats. The goats thought they were faithfully serving, but God saw another picture. God saw they were not engaged at all, nor were they concerned about the lowly ones, less fortunate, and sinners. The type of people Jesus placed Himself among all of His earthly ministry. They showed no mercy or compassion. Most of all, there is no middle ground. You’re either committed to the mission, meaning, you’re all in for Jesus, using your resources, time, talents, gifts for His people, and His kingdom or you’re not. You’re either a sheep or a goat.
I asked earlier are you being transformed into any specific area of your life since my last Youtube. Let me ask in another way, “Do you know if you’re growing spiritually?” How far away are you from His presence? During this season, I hope we’re all on our knees. I pray the body of Christ is focusing on a personal, intimate relationship with Jesus and practicing it. He is calling us back to undivided worship fixed upon Him ONLY and the work He has called us to do. Is Jesus Lord in your life? Take a look at your calendar. You can often see where you spend your time. Do you have joy in Jesus? Do you get excited about spending time with Him?
If you have browsed Transforming Temple’s website, you’ll see the name of my blogs, called Tough Truths. My burden is for the spiritual growth of church believers. Transforming Temples is a platform to build faith and equip the Saints. This is a crucial time because there is an epidemic flowing through our church, and it is not good. Satan has amped up his evil. He has infiltrated the church like never before. We’re falling prey to his tactics, falling away from the Truth, and believing the lies of our adversary. The Word says in the latter days; this would happen. Well, here we are. We have lost our passion for Jesus and compassion for ALL people. What are we doing?
Now is one of the most defining times of our generation. It is severe, and we need to act like it. God is a personal God, not someone you check in with occasionally, and then go on with your day. The church is to be a collective representation of Christ on earth. How can we be aware of the perils of the enemy if we are not faithful in prayer and reading scripture? Without it, we’re open to the adversary, our hearing is dull, and our eyes are blind. We need to know how to respond and to speak up about the truth, Not socially acceptable, not politically correct, but the Word of Truth.
We have to take back what Satan has stolen. We’re in a battle right now—the agenda of God’s Kingdom against the kingdom of darkness. Satan attempts to remove God from every establishment. So far, he has been successful. This is enough to make you want to study your bible and do what God is telling you to do. We can’t be distracted. Lay down your earthly pleasures and fall in love with Jesus. Be obedient, and let’s take back the world. Sad enough, too many Christians don’t have the joy, the thirst, the hunger for Jesus, or His mission because we are double-minded, and used as an instrument for the devil.
If you’re not studying the Word, then you won’t understand what is going on right now. There are chaos and confusion. Each day we hear one lie after another. We need to know the biblical perspective of what is going on in the world. This allows us to understand how to pray, what to pray about, and how God can use us. The Church mission is contrary to the world. We need to know what is behind the current events of today, how it impacts us, the body of Christ, and how to respond. God has given the church a voice. We must use it to win, make disciples, and be on one accord. We must stand. The scriptures tell us to expose the evil works of Satan. When we are quiet, satan takes more control. Christians need to speak up for the Truth. The bible states not to be ignorant of Satan’s devices.
What are some of the devices? He loves to get into your head and your emotions. He likes to make you fear. He loves to intimidate you so he can control you. He plays on words with the attempt to deceive you by accepting the things that are an abomination to God. If you’re not walking intimately with Christ, then he has already infiltrated your mind. “Judgment begins at the house of the Lord; therefore, we must set our affections on things above, not this world.” Saints must choose God over man, over social circles, over culture, and political parties. Jesus says you’re either for me or against me. If you are an unstable Christian, Satan will manipulate you. He will give you false security, empowering you to sin against God. Social media is one of the devices satan will use to get our children, and many Christians lead astray.
This is the finest hour for the church to rise in Christ. Christ is above the principalities and schemes of the devil. This is why we can rise above culture and take back our territory for the kingdom of God in this world now. We can only do this with total surrender to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Finally, let’s look at what our response should be. I just stated total surrender as one of the critical factors. Next, is an active prayer life, seeking God’s direction, being confident in Christ, and allowing the Holy Spirit to live through you. Put your feelings and your emotions in check. Love being in love with Jesus by doing whatever is necessary to glorify Him and bring Him honor. Remember, the world is speaking atheism and get rid of God. Therefore, the church response is to show the world they lie, show our integrity, our faith, our witness. We need to understand what is going on behind the seams. We know God is coming back soon, and this should be the heart cry of every Christian. Go out and win souls to Christ, then teach, and train them to be warriors for Christ.
In closing, Believers must be equipped to hear what is Truth, deny our flesh, our comforts, personal thoughts, and ideologies that do not line up with the Word of God. Life now is not what we have seen before. We can’t go back, so we must get serious about our faith in these very beginnings of end times. We need to stand and speak what Truth is. Choose God over man.
