World Christian Leadership And Training Ministry

Culture of Christianity

 

 

Knowing who God says we are is the most important aspect of personal awareness. God says, "He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created" (Genesis 5:2). Human Beings are created not evolved from some subspecies or dropped here on Earth by some alien spaceship. It does not matter how many half-man, half-ape skeletal models scientists put together in an attempt to deceive humanity, God says, He created mankind. That settles it for me, "Because God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent" (Numbers 23:19 ).

God also said He created them male and female. I know the scientific community has come out with all kinds of "theories" concerning finding genes that predispose people to be "homosexual" anomalies that may be born appearing as male or as female, but as they grow older the "real" person comes out. Some say they are males trapped in a female body or females trapped in a male body and therefore, a sex change operation is in order, so they can finally be who they really are. If someone is not satisfied with the gender they were born into, then they can change it to whatever they choose and God will not stop them, or society, from doing anything they choose. They can even pass laws to validate their depravity, but the Word of God will not change to accommodate them.

Sexual preference is a choice. We were created as free will creatures. Our free will choices do not make us a male or female, but they do define if we are a man or a woman. Any sexual Relationships, outside of marriage, is sinful. If God did not stop Adam and Eve from sinning, He will certainly not stop any one of us from exercising our free will to sin. God does not stop us because He has already put His laws into effect. Every time a person breaks a law of God, they set in motion forces that bring consequences to bare on their lives.

Sin is much like gravity, you can ignore it or even not believe in it, but take one step off a ten story building and the consequences will quickly rush up to meet you. " God is not mocked; for whatever a man (or woman) sows, that he will also reap" (Galatians 6:7). God has also, created a law for sin in any form. It is stated clearly in Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death ." You can ignore sin or even choose not to believe it exists, but commit a sin and consequences will surely come to bare on your life in due season.

There is no escaping the consequences of our actions, including our words. However, God has placed into effect laws that do take preference over or override certain other laws. God is love, He is the Light of the world and light always drives away the darkness. The laws of salvation take precedence over the laws sin and death. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through Me" (John 14:6). Jesus takes precedence over sin and death.

Although, death is assigned to anyone who sins (James 1:15), God has provided a way to escape. Through believing on His Son, Jesus, the consequences of all of your sin can be cancelled, by "confessing with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believing in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9). Because you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you also have the right to repent of your sin(s) in the future and be forgiven immediately.

Who people are as individuals, as well as, a human race is fully connected to the coming of Jesus. Humanity was created for God. God gave us a free will, knowing that a free will creature always chooses evil over good (God), while it is bound inside our fleshly bodies. We are creatures with a soul. The soul has been described as the mind, will, and emotions. The soul is not who we are. We are human beings who possess a soul. We are made in the image and likeness of God. God is Spirit, not a spirit, but "The Spirit" from which we are made in His image and likeness (John 4:24 ).

Until we receive our "glorified" bodies we will always be entangled in spiritual warfare, choosing sin over God. Of course, God made us with all of this in mind, therefore, He sent His only begotten, Jesus, to die for us, before the foundation of the world (John 17:24). We, as human beings, are inexorably connected to Jesus Christ.

If you can receive what I have written above, then you should know that we must love one another; we must have compassion for one another; and we must do everything we can to tell someone about Jesus. Christians should be compelled to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There are many ways to do that, but we should all be doing just that.

Once the revelation comes that Christians are different from the rest of the world, because we have Jesus, then who you are will become clearer and clearer to you. Who are you that God saved you for such a time as this? Who are you, to be alive today in a world that is so hungry for spiritual knowledge, from the Holy Spirit, that you do not look for every opportunity to tell someone about your Jesus?

Who you are is found in your vision for people that God implanted into your heart. The answers are all written in the Bible. It is in the pursuit of this revelation that God will release all that you need to know in order to fulfill your destiny as a Christian. Destiny does not just happen as we live our lives each day. No, destiny only happens as we pursue it in our walk with the Lord.

Personal awareness is who God says we are. These are just my thoughts and ideas, but for me they are His truth. No one can make anyone else believe anything they choose not to believe. God will not even try to make someone believe in Him. He makes His knowledge available to anyone and everyone that desires it.

God's anointing is available to those who pursue their vision for other people. He will protect you on your journey to fulfill your destiny. You do not need to protect His anointing, you cannot do that anyway. However, you do need to guard your heart from evil, so that His anointing will remain available to you.

It is God's will for all of us to fulfill our destiny. If we do not succeed, it is not because God changed His mind. God's will for Moses was for him to lead His people into the Promised Land. Moses, by his free will, sinned and lost his right to fulfill God's plan. So, do not think that God will tolerate your sin because you are lauded, esteemed, and celebrated by people. He makes that clear in Ecclesiastes 8:11. His judgment may come slowly, but it will surely come.

Keep on the right path in pursuit of His Word. His Word is the key because Jesus is the Word. He does all things in order. What is the order of your life? It should be:

• God first
• God must be your first priority. Get to know Him by hearing and reading His Word on a daily basis. Spend time with Him in prayer. Build a personal Relationships with Him through His Son, Jesus.
• You are next
• Love your neighbor as yourself. Not more than yourself or less than yourself, but AS you love yourself. The closest neighbor you will ever have on earth is your spouse. How you treat your spouse is a perfect reflection of how much you love yourself.
• If you do not love yourself, your love for others is false. God knows who you were, but He chooses to see you as you are.
• Look in the mirror; do you love the person you see? Many people do not, including Christians. God loves you, so what is the problem? The problem is that you look in the mirror and see yourself in the past. God looks at you and He sees you in the present. God is an ever present God, stay in the present with Him.
• Your family is next
• Do not place anyone before your spouse, then your children, then other people. A husband and wife are a family. Children do not make a married couple a family (as the world teaches). Families produce children to add to their family. Place no person before your family. Your family is your first ministry.
• Your job is next
• Your job is the producer of your seed for tithing and sowing. It is tied to your gifts, talents, skills and most importantly, your ability to think and dream. You do not have to lose your job pursuing a ministry. God does not have to take from you before He can bless you.
• God gave you the job, so do not throw it away or jeopardize it trying to fulfill your wants and personal desires. Be a good steward of the things that God gives to you.
• Your ministry is next
• If you are involved in ministry remember to keep it in perspective to the things listed above. Do not let your ministry overshadow or come before any of them.
• If you are "Called" by God into the "fivefold" ministry, then it is God's assignment for your life and God will compensate you in many ways. Your Calling should be validated by your Pastor, after much prayer, fasting and time. Do not be in a hurry. The Calling comes first and then the sending. The sending may be years into the future. Try to remember that God tests the heart as well as your faith in Him. Be fully submitted to the man or woman of God that pastors you. If you cannot submit to the shepherd, then how can you be submitted to God? However, ultimately trust in the Holy Spirit to guide you from the season of your Calling into the time of your being sent.
• If you are involved in church ministry and it can be more than one ministry, but do not let it take over your life.
• Do not spend more time ministering to others than you spend ministering to your spouse and especially, your children.
• Your church is next
• Everyone must be pastored. That includes everyone regardless of your Calling. Become a member of a church and not just a visitor. God does not grow anyone or anything until it is rooted. It is okay to make a change in your church, but be sure God is prompting you to do so. Also, be willing to inform your Pastor why you are leaving, face to face or in writing. Do not just leave!
• God sends people into churches in order for them to be pastored. If God sent you, then God certainly can move you. Become a member of the church in which you can receive the Word of God. If you can no longer receive, then find a church in which you can. It is not about the Pastor or a particular church, but it is about you and your Relationships with the Lord.
• Even people in the "fivefold" ministry need to be pastored. Pastoring GOD'S people requires a high level of responsibility. Responsibility without accountability will always lead to irresponsibility, flakiness (separated from truth - doing your own thing) and failure. Apostles and pastors need mentors, people who have permission and the authority to speak directly into their lives. Everyone else needs a pastor to whom they are accountable.
• If your job is church staff, then remember it is a job. Your compensation comes from man for your daily labor in the church. Your staff job must comply with all state and federal regulations for employment.
• Your staff job is not your ministry! You should be paid for a normal workday, 8 hours, at a fair wage. Anything over 8 hours is overtime, unless you are management or in a salaried position. Even those in management should not exceed 50 hours/wk, so that God, yourself, your family, your ministry does not suffer. Your ministry is in addition to that job, you get paid by man to do your job, your get blessed by God to do your ministry.
• Volunteers should be doing all of the "extra" work needed to run a church. People will not volunteer to do things if they think they can get paid to do it. • Too many jobs on church staffs should be volunteer position or ministry assignments for the congregation. Paying church members for these volunteer position uses up huge amounts of money and resources that can better be used by the pastor to reach the lost.
• Staff members should be "trained" to work with volunteers. You are not their "boss" or their supervisor. Congregation members are volunteering to help you accomplish a task. They are not working for you; they are working to assist you.
• No one wants to work with a person who lacks people skills and Relationships skills. Volunteers will not return to work with anyone who does not appreciate them.
• You'll be surprised at how much more they know about what you need done and how to get it done, when you work with them and not over them.
• We all work for Jesus 24/7, but we do not work for anyone else 24/7. Do not confuse ministry with working on a church staff. Keep your life in God's order.

Christian Culture requires Transformation (Romans 12:2) Who we are as Christians and who we are as people should be mirror images. We have to realign ourselves, as the Bible says, by transforming and renewing our minds, so that we no longer conform to the ways of this world (Romans 12:2). Knowing who we are in Jesus Christ is the only way will ever know who we are as people. We are Christians and our culture is based in the pursuit of being Christ like.

I think the greatest thing I can share with you on this website, that sums up all that I have written, is the pursuit of being fully indoctrinated into the Culture of Christianity. Being a Christian is to know in your heart that you are different from the entire world and its demonic culture. Christians are different. We have our own heavenly language which is tongues. We act differently by not using foul or profane language. We do not drink alcoholic beverages (it is not a sin if you do); or smoke tobacco products (it is not a sin if you do); or gamble (it is not a sin if you do); or use illegal drugs (it is not a sin if you do, but it is against the law); because we do not allow addictive substances to control our lives. It is the flesh that wants, desires, or craves additive substances and additive behavior. Our spirits are not addicted to anything. The mark of our Christian culture is freedom, even from addictions. (Please do not feel condemnation from what I just wrote, if you have an addiction, know that God can and will give you victory over it as "your heart" desires.)

Christians are not focused on trying not to break the Ten Commandants. Christians are focused on keeping the greatest Commandments, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." And the second is like it, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:37 -39). If we love one another, then the Ten Commandments are kept automatically. In our Christian Culture we should be known by our love for one another (John 15:9-17).

Christians strive to be more like Jesus Christ Himself. Although, we know we will not attain it (perfection in Christ) in this life, nevertheless, we pursue holiness, excellence, and love. If we fall short, then we have the right to repent and be restored immediately by the Father. He expects us to look, act, talk, walk, and be different from the world.

Christians tithe and sow seeds (offerings) liberally. We are not dependant on worldly sources for our needs. Listen, the resources MUST come to us because God promised us. Read (Malachi 3:8-11) and be familiar with God's physical, mental, spiritual, and financial guarantees. (There will be more on the tithe and offerings in the monthly messages.)

Christians are first and foremost, people of faith. Everything we have and will ever receive comes to us through faith. The Bible says "for whatever is not from faith is sin" (Romans 14:23 ). It is not possible to please God without faith (read all of Hebrews 11). Faith is trusting in God to do what He said He would do, even though our mind and our five senses cannot believe in it (II Corinthians 5:7). Do not be moved by what you see in the natural, when it does not agree with the Word of God.

One day soon, Jesus is going to return for His glorious church. The Body of Christ will not be hard to distinguish from the rest of the world. Christians will look like, act like, smell like, and be like the Lord Himself. There will not be any black, white, brown, yellow, or red churches. There will not be any lukewarm believers or even tares mistakenly identified as Christians. We will know who we are and so will the world around us. Jesus will know us and identify us by our love for one another.

There is much more to write about our Culture as Christians, but not here. I just want to bring an awareness of it. Jesus said we would be hated and even killed for believing in Him. Jesus is more than worth it! Jesus is Lord!