-Removed-
As I’ve said before, I notice your enthusiasm for the Lord.
The lover of Jesus is like the salmon fish swimming upstream against the downward current.
We have to exercise our spiritual being.
We have to exercise our praying innermost being.
We have to go against the total flow of this age which is invariably away from the presence of God.
Yes, Paul said that we should EXERCISE ourselves unto godliness. This I believe means to exercise that spiritual praying "organ" of our being once we have been born anew by God.
"But profane and old-womanish myths refuse, and exercise yourself unto godliness.
For bodily exercise is profitable for a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise for the present life and of that which is to come." (1 Timothy 4:7)
To prepare to live in the coming age of the kingdom, if we are saved, we need to exercise ourselves unto godliness. We need to be in the practice of exercising our spiritual component of our being once we have received the Lord Jesus.
Originally posted by @sonshipWhy the sole focus on mouth worship?! Suzianne had a better answer to my question:
Any "incompleteness" is due to the medium being used.
It is a brief discussion forum [b]post and not a chapter or a book.
You'll have to do better then that.[/b]
Originally posted by @ghost-of-a-duke
Is it better to say something or do something?
Suzianne, "Or is it better to do BOTH?"
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Originally posted by @ghost-of-a-dukeHey, that's OK if you think Suzianne had a better answer.
Why the sole focus on mouth worship?! Suzianne had a better answer to my question:
Originally posted by @ghost-of-a-duke
Is it better to say something or do something?
Suzianne, "Or is it better to do BOTH?"
That's okay.
I agree with her answer.
The title is Use the Mouth ... . But it is not JUST "Use the Mouth ... ". It is -
"Use the Mouth to Live Christ". That is "to Live Christ".
To live for Him, to live unto Him, and to serve Him we have to be in fellowship with Him. We have to go against the current of this world which is always to take the heart AWAY from God.
When your heart is touched with the symphathy to do a good deed, use the mouth to be empowered by the grace of Christ.
"Lord Jesus, I want to help this person in You. I want to minister Christ to this person in my practical assistance. Lord Jesus, each step of the way be with me and guide me and strengthen me.
You, Lord, are able to do far above all that I could ask or think."
I encourage Christians to contact Christ in order to live Christ, ie. to let the available Christ live again through you.
Didn't you read it? I both read it and experience it.
"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit,
for apart from Me you can do nothing." (John 15:50)
The life power is IN the true vine Christ. The flow of the life power is in ABIDING in the true vine as attached branches.
An helpful excerpt from "The Speciality, Generality and Practicality of the Church Life" by Witness Lee.
PRAY-READING THE WORD
Next we have the fifth verse, 2 Timothy 3:16: “All Scripture is God-breathed.” The Lord is not only the Spirit within our spirit; He is also the Word in the Scripture. Every word in the Bible is His breath. The Scriptures help us to call on the Lord, to breathe the Lord in. The Greek word, pneuma, translated as Spirit also means breath or air or wind. Therefore, the Lord Jesus as the Spirit is the breath of life to us. If you know that the Lord Jesus is the Spirit, the breath, it is easy to breathe Him in. One who does not know how to breathe may say that calling on the Lord is too simple. To him, saying, O Lord Jesus! O Lord Jesus! is too simple. However, if he does not like to be so simple, there are sixty-six books that can be used. He can open up to any chapter, to any verse, to any line, and begin to pray. As an example, he may pray, “In the beginning God created. Amen! In the beginning, O, in the beginning. Amen! God created. God created the heavens and the earth. Hallelujah!” (Gen. 1:1).
The Bible is a wonderful storehouse. Come to the Scriptures and pick up all the riches of Christ (Eph. 3:8). Do not come only to read by exercising your mentality. That may dry you up. Along with your reading, you should exercise your spirit to pray what you read. If you would do it, you will surely be filled with the Lord. This is to feed on the Lord. So many can testify that this is true. When you have tasted it, you will never give it up. However, do not insist upon it as an item of our Christian faith.
For more see - http://www.ministrysamples.org/excerpts/PRAY-READING-THE-WORD.HTML
Originally posted by @sonshipTo cross the road safely one needs to both look and listen. If I went out into the world to preach the importance of 'looking' but failed to give equal airtime to the importance of 'listening' I would actually be doing more harm than good.
Hey, that's OK if you think Suzianne had a better answer.
That's okay.
I agree with her answer.
The title is [b]Use the Mouth ... . But it is not JUST "Use the Mouth ... ". It is -
"Use the Mouth to Live Christ". That is "to Live Christ".
To live for Him, to live unto Him, and to serve Him we have to be in fellowsh ...[text shortened]... rue vine Christ. The flow of the life power is in ABIDING in the true vine as attached branches.[/b]
To live Christ it is no less important to show it through your actions, not just your mouth.
Again, that is your weakness in this thread.
Originally posted by @ghost-of-a-dukeDuke, if I had started a thread on working for Jesus, you probably would have immediately found weakness and PULLED the talk in some other direction.
To cross the road safely one needs to both look and listen. If I went out into the world to preach the importance of 'looking' but failed to give equal airtime to the importance of 'listening' I would actually be doing more harm than good.
To live Christ it is no less important to show it through your actions, not just your mouth.
Again, that is your weakness in this thread.
You know:
Me: "green"
you: "Ahh, But Blue"
Me: "Turn left"
You:: " What about Turn RIGHT ? You left that out."
I expect you to counter emphasize pretty much any Christian theme I may start talking about.
... Contrarian.
You're an Atheist. Pull in the opposite direction of the Theist - on general principle.
Originally posted by @ghost-of-a-dukeWeakness is putting it nicely.
Your weakness is found in the incompleteness of your message.
"If you love someone, you tell them." - Good start. But you fail to follow on. - "If you love someone, you also show them with your actions."
That is the weakness in your concept.
Its hypocritical mouth worship that leads to damnation.
Originally posted by @ghost-of-a-dukeMany live Christ without saying a single word.
To cross the road safely one needs to both look and listen. If I went out into the world to preach the importance of 'looking' but failed to give equal airtime to the importance of 'listening' I would actually be doing more harm than good.
To live Christ it is no less important to show it through your actions, not just your mouth.
Again, that is your weakness in this thread.
Originally posted by @sonshipIn the last 10 yrs how many threads have you started on the teachings of Christ pertaining to good works?
Duke, if I had started a thread on working for Jesus, you probably would have immediately found weakness and PULLED the talk in some other direction.
You know:
Me: "green"
you: "Ahh, But Blue"
Me: "Turn left"
You:: " What about Turn RIGHT ? You left that out."
I expect you to counter emphasize pretty much any Christian theme I may start ...[text shortened]... an.
You're an Atheist. Pull in the opposite direction of the Theist - on general principle.
Oh .. forgot you are not talking to me... so I will answer ... NONE. NOT ONE SOLITARY THREAD ON GOOD WORKS.
In fact every time you are confronted with a passage from Christ about how critical good works is you find ridiculous reasons why it does not apply to you.
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The apostle of Christ accomplished much in the book of Acts. All kinds of both spiritual and practical service for God was done by the hands of the apostles.
In Acts 13 we see that in the case of Paul and Barnabus, they began "the word" how? by their ministering unto the Lord.
They began their missionary journey of labor not by busy Christless activity but by prayer and worship to the need of God.
"Now there were in Antioch, in the local church, prophets and teachers: Barnabus and Simeon, who was called Niger, and Lucius the Cyrenian, and Manaen, the foster brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
And as they were MINISTERING TO THE LORD ... and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for Me now Barnabus and Saul for the work to which I have called them." (Acts 13:1,2)
Their effective service to God began with them " ministering to the Lord" Jesus, contacting Him, petioning, praising, and seeking His heart.
This was the engine. And the Holy Spirit then set apart Barnabus and Saul the apostles to go to "the work" which God had ordained for them.
This is a proper model for all service to God.
" And as they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for Me now Barnabus and Saul for the work to which I have called them." (Acts 13:1,2)
Here is a difference between a typical humanitarian work and work for God. These men did not first attend to the multiple and urgent needs of people. They wanted to be effective.
So they sought God's need asking God what God wanted of them. They turned their ministry first to the Lord. And then God said to separate two of them to go to the work that He had for them.
And what a work they accomplished in the power of God.
The human tendency is to fail to wait on God for even a moment. The Apostles began first by contacting God and God's heart - "ministering to the Lord".
And in the Lord's grace they went then to "the work" God ordained for them.