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Weekly Reminder...
The Weekly Reminder is an informative tool to help people who read it consider what the man of God has said. This weekend’s articles are based on what was heard on October 17 & 18, 2009 in the Westbury assembly.written by Br. Samuel Damus
We were being warned again last week that Jesus is coming back therefore we must get ready. We must prepare ourselves for His return. There is accountability on our part to do what is necessary to be ready. We are responsible for doing our very best to keep the work that the Lord has given us to do until He returns. Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). The message we have heard is that God is light and in Him there is no darkness therefore if we are His servants we must also walk in the light.
“I am the Light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life”. To walk in the light is to live a righteous life. We are responsible towards keeping ourselves from the lust of our flesh as the scriptures tell us in Colossians 3:5 first, “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” These practices are done by those that walk in darkness in which we were a part of as well (verse 7) but now we stop to do them. Secondly the Lord has called us to “put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another” (verse 12-13). These actions must replace our former practices. This will happen when the law words of God that we hear every weekend is applied to (and governs) our daily lives. While these first two steps are accomplished it is the third step that takes up most of our Christian lives; that is watching and keeping ourselves free from sin.
Jesus said, “Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold” (Matthew 24:12). Many who had turns from sin and began to walk in the light went back to their old ways because some loved the darkness rather than light (John 3:19). Others did not guard well the light that was in them only being hearers of the word and not doers (James 1:22). That is why Jesus warned us when He said, “take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness” (Luke 11:35). We must be awake when we are on guard as our (spiritual) life depends upon it. “Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober” (1 Thessalonians 5:6). What are we on guard for? That we don’t slip back into darkness. Paul tells us to make no “provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Romans 13:14). When we find ourselves doing less for God (praying, worshipping, edifying) we have just let our guard down and made provision for the flesh. Being idle or doing nothing for God is a sign that you are walking in darkness. “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:6-7).
“Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God's place in your hearts”
- Living Bible – (1 John 5:21).
“But you, dear friends, must continue to build your lives on the foundation of your holy faith. And continue to pray as you are directed by the Holy Spirit. Live in such a way that God's love can bless you as you wait for the eternal life that our Lord Jesus Christ in His mercy is going to give you
– Living Bible – (Jude 1:20-21).
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written by Br. Jean Leonidas
We are called with one hope (Ephesians 4:4) and that hope is to one day make it to the kingdom of God with a glorified body. A body where sin won’t have its place but a Godly nature replaces our fleshly nature. This is the purpose for us coming to the house of God every time the doors are open. The man of God is working diligently in giving us the profound word of God to help us be counted worthy to attain such an honor. This is the help and the preparation that is being done in our life today to help us be ready for the future.
Br. Antoine was helping us realized that we cannot make it to the kingdom with the fleshy nature that we obtained from our natural birth. He said, “We must be born again by being changed completely by the spirit and the word of God”. He showed us that the church or the people of God must be ready to meet Christ in the air at His appearing. He quoted Romans 6:4, where it was showing us this birth that must take place. This birth should cause us to walk in newness of life to where God’s words are becoming a revelation to us. Br. Antoine went further in saying “this newness of life in us must be approved by both God and man”; he said, “There must be a testimony”. Paul once made a similar comment where he wanted to live his life void of offence before God and men (Acts 24:16). This can only happen when we have Christ’s spirit dwelling in us and we are walking according to the word of God. This birth is not any different than the birth that Christ spoke of to Nicodemus in John 3:1-12. In verse 5 Christ said, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God”. Br. Antoine went on to say that we must also have a prayer life while we are continuing this walk. Another thing He said and I plan to keep deep within my heart is “anyone that is not praying to God cannot do His will”. As I heard this the scripture that came to my mind was in Mathew 6:10 where it says, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven”. Without prayer we won’t be able to practice the will of God. Prayer is a way of humbling ourselves and seeking what God wants for our personal lives and for the lives of His people. The bottom line is that God has a plan and He has sent His Son to help accomplish that plan; as Christ needed to pray throughout His life on earth, so does the people of God.
Another scripture that was given to us was in Colossians 3:4 where it states, “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory”. If only we can come to church and just read that scripture, close our bibles and go home and wait for Christ to appear so WE CAN APPEAR IN GLORY WITH HIM. From what Br. Antoine was showing us, it is not that simple. The scripture says, “Christ must first be our life”. This means we have given Him our whole life and this new birth has taken place in us; the situations and conditions in this life have proven we have the mind of Christ in us. The scripture continued to show us in verse 5 where it says, “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry”. This sanctification process is a necessity for us to appear with Christ at His appearing. Practicing the word of God is a must.
We are in a church were we are not looking at just the end result but we are also majoring on the essentials to help us get to that end result. The apostle Paul spoke concerning this process in Romans 8:29-30 where he said we have to be predestinated, justified and glorified. As a child of God right now, while in the church I must yearn for this process to be working in my life while having the hope to appear with Christ. To receive the spirit of God should be first priority in my life and the word of God must become a revelation to me in every aspect of my life. While we are in the house of God we shouldn’t only have a hope to appear with Christ but also to accept the life that we are to live for Him. There is a work that must be put in. After all Proverbs 13:12 states: “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life”. There are going to be many that had hope to appear with Christ but had neglected to live for Christ and will find themselves gnashing their teeth.
May God help us while we are in this life that we have a hope and a determination to seek God for His spirit, to obey His precious words in order to live a life that is pleasing onto Him.
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