Kouts Christian Church

“Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.  Do not destroy the work of God… whatever you believe… keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.  For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: "The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me"…  May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God,” [Romans 14:19ff]

            “Edification” in the sense the Bible is talking about means to “build another Christian up in Christ.”  The picture is literally the idea of contributing to a construction project so that a building can be completed.  The word “edifice” is found in the word “edification.”  We are the Church.  And we are the Church because Christ made us part of His Church.  And it is His Church.  But if we are not careful, rather than edifying, we can easily become a demolition crew. 

            If we read Romans 14-15 carefully, we learn that personal freedoms and preferences concerning Christianity are “allowed” but not always beneficial.  If the exercising of my personal preferences in Christ leads to the destruction of weak or young Christians, then I am not acting in love. 

            There are many opinions and disagreements over how a church should function.  But most of the controversy is not over doctrinal issues.  Most of the controversy is usually over preferences.  We begin to assume that our personal preferences are the “best” way for everyone, but this may not be the case.  As Ben Merold says, “If I go to a worship service and I like everything about the worship service, then it wasn’t a good worship service.”  In other words, it’s not about me and my personal preferences.  It’s all about what is best for the whole church.  It’s about what is best for evangelism.  It’s about what is best for missions.  It’s about what is best for all of the Kingdom of God.  So we need to keep in mind that my way may not be the best way.  At every stage of the Church’s history since Pentecost, a good section of the Church has had difficulty with change.  When God told the Church that gentiles could be saved without first following all of the rituals of the Law of Moses, many Jews had difficulty accepting the change.  God taught Peter a valuable lesson, but even Peter later, under pressure, reverted to his earlier position that circumcision must be necessary for gentiles to be saved.  Paul had to challenge the entire leadership of the church before people would accept what God was trying to do.  In fact, a group of “Judaizers” followed Paul’s activity and would later come to newly established churches and tell them that Paul forgot to tell them about circumcision:  You have to become a Jew before you can fully be saved in Christ.  The book of Galatians addressed this very issue.  But this was not the first, nor the last time that the Church struggled with change.  But sometimes change is required to bring life.  Sometimes change is necessary to help those who don’t understand the Gospel to see it more clearly.  Bible translators look for words in language that convey the idea of the Word of God in the present culture.  Missionaries use illustrations from everyday symbols and culture to convey the truths of the Gospel.  Jesus Himself did this, but it wasn’t always met with the best reception. 

            Jesus prayed for us to be one, as He and the Father are One.  He also challenged us to love one another… that the world might know that we are His disciples.  This sometimes requires patience with one another.  I, as a Christian, should not allow my personal freedoms to destroy the faith of young Christians.  It is a frightening thing to me that my choices, my preferences, if I defend them and forget love, could actually lead to the spiritual death of a young Christian.  We need to be careful.  We need to pray for one another.  The burden falls on “strong” Christians.  The challenge is to bear with the struggles of the “weak.”  The weak have no right to condemn what the strong prefer, but the strong should likewise not condemn the weak who still have a lot of growing to do.  Our goal for everyone is the mutual building up of all Christians. 

            I ask you for patience because change is always difficult for everyone.  And Kouts Christian Church needs to make a lot of changes if we hope to become the evangelistic church we hope to be that will attract people of all ages, but especially young families.  This is the calling that you and God have given me.  And though we belong to the Kingdom of God, we all must forsake being self-centered and seek to become Christ-centered.  What would a Perfect King expect from us if this is His Kingdom?  You hate the style of music I like and don’t get anything out of it (but others do).  I hate the style of music you like and I don’t get anything out of it (but others do).  But we love each other, don’t we?  We have committed to mutual love and edification so that we can build one another up and the world will see our Savior and believe in Him.  So, I will sing your music with a worshipful heart.  I will sing in the genre that you prefer and commit myself to like it… even LOVE it, because I love you.  Would you be willing to do the same?  Can we send a united Message to the world that we love one another?  Can we help and build one another up in the process? 

            As your leader, my goal is not to take your music away from you.  My goal is also not to force my music on you.  But I certainly believe that our goal must  be unity, evangelism and serving our community for the glory of God.  Our focus cannot be on ourselves.  Our focus must be on Jesus Christ and the lost.  Are you willing to change for that?  Then please, with all of my heart, I ask you, be patient and pray for us all.

Love in Jesus,                                                                                                                 

George

“I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed --  in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.  For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.  When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."  "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain,” [1 Corinthians 15:50-58]

“Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.  We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.  According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.  For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.  Therefore encourage each other with these words,” [1 Thessalonians 4:13-18]

Jesus is RISEN.  Death no longer has a victory over us, it no longer has any sting.  We are saved through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  He has undone the effects of sin and death forever.  Those who trust Him with their eternity are never disappointed and are free from the fear that held us captive.  And when we accept the life that Jesus offers, we become immortal.  Our spirits within us are regenerated to live forever.  Our bodies will either die, experience the resurrection and be gloriously reunited with our spirits when Jesus brings them back with Him, or our bodies will never die if we are still alive when Jesus returns –but we will all be changed.  He is, without a doubt, returning to catch us up in the air to be with Him.  And, as if to give us an extra measure of assurance about our loved ones in Christ who have gone on before us, the bodies of the dead will rise first.  Imagine, the disembodied souls of Christians who have been with Christ until that very moment of His return for the Church are with Him, enjoying the peace and comfort of Christ’s Awesome and Holy Presence.  But they are not complete, and they have not defeated death in Christ completely yet either.  And we are not complete.  Though our spirits live, our bodies are dying.  But we will all be made complete TOGETHER.  Isn’t God awesome? 

Last Sunday we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus.  The resurrection of Jesus has rung the death knell for death and for this world as we know it.  The world continues to reel in pain, as in the pangs (contractions) of childbirth, awaiting the deliverance (delivery) of the Sons of God (all Christians) and its own deliverance (the new heavens and new earth).  As we watch the news in horror as we witness natural disasters intensify, though it is sad and grievous, it should not surprise us.  Just as labor pains intensify, they are bearable because we know they will not last forever, but become more severe right before delivery.  And our deliverance is near.  None of this should take us by surprise because Jesus told us this would happen.  And rather than grieve like the rest of the world does, we are challenged to look upward because our redemption is drawing very near. 

While the world reels, mocks and scoffs at God, let us be extra careful not to be caught up in the godlessness of our times.  The resurrection of Jesus is a certainty.  And because Jesus has risen, we too shall soon rise, whether that be from the dead or if we’re caught up in the air shortly after the dead have risen, it will all happen faster than it has taken for me to describe it to you.  Just as there is a Harvest of Firstfruits (Jesus, and the resulting Church), there will certainly be a Last Harvest (the catching up of the Church and the resulting final harvest of the earth). 

No, things are not “as they have always been.”  Things are changing.  Be careful that you don’t adopt a callous and blasphemous attitude like the one Peter warned us would prevail in the last days (that we see all around us:  2 Peter 3:1-13).  So, as we see the Day of Deliverance approaching, and because we know that Jesus is coming for us soon, let us heed the words of the Apostles and work even more diligently, giving ourselves “fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” 

The resurrection of Jesus has signaled the beginning of the Last Days.  The Kingdom of God has invaded the darkness of this world and it is only a short matter of time before the Kingdom comes in all its fullness.  Let us therefore work harder, not less, as is the trend of the Church today.  Let us all really question our priorities, if indeed we believe the Word of Jesus concerning His Return for His Church.  Let us not be caught off guard –let’s be READY (see Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21).  Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.  Fix your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith.  He is the Head of the Church, the Bridegroom who loves and longs for His Bride.  Let’s not disappoint the One who loves us so much that He died to pay the ultimate “bride price” to redeem us.  Let us be ready for that moment when it is proclaimed in all of creation, “Here’s the Bridegroom!  Come out to meet Him!”  Be ready, because we don’t know the day or hour when this will happen, but we can certainly be sensitive to the Season of the Lord’s return.  Jesus is ALIVE, and we should be alive and living for Him, as those who anticipate real life, the kind of life that conquers the grave.                

Love in Jesus,
George

"For Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth,"     [1 Corinthians 5:7-8]

"Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ." [Colossians 2:16-17]

Jesus is risen!  Do those words excite you?  If they don’t, then they should! An old church tradition has a worship leader state, “Jesus is risen!” after which the congregation responds, “He is risen indeed!”  He really is alive.  He’s the only person in all of time to be bodily resurrected from the dead and glorified.  Jesus is a prophetic fulfillment of the Hebrew Festival of Firstfruits.  But Jesus is also our Passover.  Our entire reality –all there  is or ever shall be- is found in Christ.  He is the fulfillment of every promise of God.  All future promises that have yet to be fulfilled will also be fulfilled in Christ.  I find it very interesting that the early Festivals of the Hebrew calendar have already been fulfilled:  Passover (Jesus became our Passover Lamb), Unleavened Bread (Jesus eliminated our sin on the cross), and Firstfruits (Jesus was the first to rise from the dead).  These three Festivals were fulfilled in Christ during His “Passion” week, during the first month of the Hebrew calendar.  One other festival was fulfilled in the third month, Pentecost (or the Feast of Weeks) which was fulfilled when the Holy Spirit came in power on Pentecost and the Church began.  All four of those Festivals occur in the season of the first harvest of the year, the spring season.  But there are three more festivals that have yet to be fulfilled:  The Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles.  All of those Festivals occur in the seventh month of Hebrew Calendar –the season of the last harvest of the year, the fall season. 

The seven Festivals were and still are practiced every year.  They have very specific regulations for each Festival and the regulations are “shadows” of a greater Reality, who is Jesus Christ.  When we see a shadow, we understand that we are not looking at a real thing, but the real thing is casting the shadow because the reality is being exposed by the light.  This is the Way of God.  He doesn’t show us everything that will happen in the future, but He does make definite promises and we see only a “shadow” of what is yet to come.  I cannot escape that the Festivals also center around Israel.  There is a very rocky road ahead for Israel because the Reality of the three later Festivals is coming back.  But the Church will escape the coming Wrath (and I think the time is very near).  We can rejoice that we are not reserved for God’s wrath because we heard the Message of the Gospel and have responded to it (1 Thessalonians 5:9).  The Church is such an awesome part of God’s plan, because if we remain faithful and long for the Appearing of our Great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, we will avoid the coming Wrath.  These are the Days of Grace.  We have the freedom to choose God and choose to serve God.  And we enjoy this Time of God’s Favor because the first four Festivals have been fulfilled in Christ, and He is now our Reality. 

Jesus is Risen.  And because He has risen from the dead, we also anticipate our own bodily resurrection (1 Corinthians 15) –well, that is, if our bodies have died when Jesus returns… because another, exclusive promise to the Church is that those who are still alive in Christ at the Lord’s return… will never die (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).  We will be caught up with Christ and transformed, forever glorified.  It’s good to be in the Church.  It’s good to love a Savior who loves us so much.  But let’s be found faithful when He returns.  Please continue to serve diligently for the Lord because your labor is not in vain.  Seek first the Kingdom of God and the Lord will take care of everything else.  Make Him First in your life, before all other priorities, and you will find sweet order and wisdom flowing into your life.  And we can praise God for all of these things (and so many more) because Jesus is alive, sticking up for us every single day, without exception, until all is made perfect.  This is our hope, this is our Reality. 

Happy Resurrection Day, and the Spirit and the Bride say, “Come!”  Come Lord Jesus, come.  We anticipate Your Return with joy and awe.           

Love in Jesus,
George