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 We lay special emphasis on
the message of the Cross which is being relegated to the background in the
churches today. The message of the Cross pivots on the teachings of
Christ Jesus and His apostles under the New Testament. The message of the
Cross, in other words, means the message of the New Covenant. The Devil, the old
serpent, offers the fruit of the tree of the knowledge that would open the
eyes so that “ye shall be gods, knowing good and evil” and that “was pleasant
to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise….” (Gen.3:3-6).
Those who have been deceived by the cunning devil
preach messages of the tree of the knowledge, quoting the Bible from one
angle in the same manner as the Devil quoted the Scriptures while tempting
Jesus. Such messages would make us arrogant, self-righteous,
self-centered and covetous. But, the message of the Cross would make us
humble, righteous, selfless and sacrificial. The message of the Cross mainly covers the
following:
- World-evangelism,
the need of the hour (Matt.28:19)
- Revival of
the churches and their restoration to the early New Testament pattern
(Acts 2:42-47)
- Ministry to
the saints (Rom.12:13 & 15:26,
Heb.6:10)and personal commitment to the one universal body of Christ
(I Cor.12:12-27, Eph.2:16 )
- Not glorying
in any thing or spiritual experiences except in the Cross of the Lord
Jesus (Gal.6:14)
- Witness to
the world through the Christian discipleship by self-denial,
cross-bearing and following Jesus (Matt.16:24-2
- Doing only
the perfect God’s will in the ministry as Jesus did (Jn.5:30, 6:38 & 7:17, Rom.12:2)
- Persecution
for His Cross (Gal.6:12)
- Loving the
neighbour in the spirit of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37) and sharing our material
blessings with the poor like Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31 & Matt.25:31-46)
By relegating the message of the
Cross, the churches end up in situations like the following:
- The glory of
the Cross which is of God and His Son is different and separate from the
glory of this world. The glory of the kingdoms of the world was
offered by the Devil to Jesus when He was tempted in the wilderness
(Matt.4:8). But, Jesus chose the glory of His Cross. These days,
the glory of His Cross is being replaced in the churches with the glory
of this world by the false prophets and teachers.
- Revival not
breaking out
- Preaching
superfluously on material prosperity and not on suffering or
cross-bearing
- Preparation
of the Church for the second coming of Jesus with no concern for
evangelism
- Praise and worship
services to God by the people whose heart is far from God and with sin
having dominion over their life
- Giving of
tithes and offerings to the ministers with little concern towards the
suffering “neighbour” and the “poor saints” of the House of God(Rom15:26)
- Ministry
through the spiritual gifts without charity (I Cor.13)
- Service to
the church without intercessory prayer and concern for the lost souls
- Man-made
reformation in the church without the dominion of the Holy Spirit on the
lives of its ministers
- Redundant
scriptural knowledge with no spiritual
ears to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit from the Word –
“Knowledge puffeth……” (I Cor.8:1)
- Self-righteousness
sans simplicity and humility
- Pride or
spiritual arrogance
- Expectation
of service from others without serving them
- Self-centeredness
in place of Christ-centeredness
- Self-importance
without honouring others
- Not
producing disciples of Christ or ministers of God under the New
Testament ministry but simply producing the outer-court “believers” under
the Old Testament ministry or “Sunday Christians” and making them serve
the Old Testament Levitical priests
- Having
fellowship with the members of the same denominational church with
little concern for the universal Body of Christ
- Feelings and
personal experiences taking the place of the Word of God
· Holiness by do’s
and don’ts without surrendering the body to the dominion of the Holy Spirit
(Rom.6: 13 & 12:1)
(In
this page, we publish a series of articles proclaiming the message of the
Cross, focusing on the above truths).
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Years fly away
Yet revival tarries;
Months fly away
Yet ye are postponing
God’s work;
Days fly away
Know ye not that these are last days?
Hours fly away
Yet, ye have not prayed for an hour;
Minutes tick by
Know ye not that each minute is very precious?
Oh, Sleeping
solder of Christ,
How long wilt thou sleep?
Awake thou that sleepest
For our enemy is very brisk working around the clock!
Oh, he tramples the vineyards of God
Preventing the buds from blossoming,
Retarding the growth of young wines,
Making the vine fruit clean bare by his teeth which are of a lion
Oh, Sleeping
Soldier of Christ,
How long wilt thou sleep?
Do ye not hear the heart-rending cries of lost sheep down from the valley
of sins and death?
Do ye not hear the footsteps of your Captain up from the Heaven?
Awake now; otherwise you will loose the battle!
(By Job Anbalagan)
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