11 September 2007
Rhema Inspiration
ARE YOU FOLLOWING JESUS?
Jesus said that whoever serves Him
must follow Him (John 12:26). Are you following Jesus?
How many church members do you know who are
following Jesus? People who choose to respond to these
questions have the free will to answer them according
to particular church standards or according to the
Lord’s standards. Present day church standards
are found in the teachings, practices, activities,
programs, beliefs, and traditions of each particular
group. The Lord’s standards are found in the Word
of God.
How you answer these questions is
up to you, but I want to ask you to consider something
before you make your final decision as to how you will
answer. The Bible tells us that a day is coming when
all people will face judgment. The Father has given
judgment into the hands of His Son Jesus, and Jesus is
going to judge according to the Word rightly divided.
Some people will be judged at the Judgment Seat
of Christ, and others will be judged at the Great White
Throne Judgment. But in both cases the “standard
of judgment” will be the Word of God.
We must learn to apply the Bible
to ourselves. Let’s do that with Luke 6:46. Jesus
is asking church members, including us, “Why do
you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not the
things which I say [in His
Word]?” If we will
have ears to hear, this gives us an idea of the
questions some may hear at judgment. Let’s look
at one more scenario that Jesus said would take place
at judgment time. In Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus prophesied
that some church members would call Him, “Lord,
Lord,” and talk about what they had done in His
name while on earth. His response to them will be,
“I never knew you; depart from Me, you who
practice lawlessness!” Could it be that some who
have faithfully followed church standards rather than
the standards of the Bible will hear those words?
I know that many pastors today
would not say or write what I am writing. They want to
make you feel good in your present circumstances. I
like and need to be encouraged as much as anyone on
this earth; I have gone through some very difficult
circumstances and survived only by the grace of God.
Please hear me when I say that I need encouragement,
and I want to encourage people, including you, but I
know that something is just not right in the way that
many church members are being trained. Many are not
being properly prepared for now or for the future. I
want people to feel good at judgment, but I know that
the Bible says that some are going to be weeping if we
don’t prepare them as we should. (I wrote the
words in this paragraph with fear and trembling).
In closing, I encourage you to do
a thorough study of Scriptures such as Luke 9:23 and
Luke 14:27 and 33. Let Jesus, in His own words, tell
you what it means to be one of His disciples. Will you
begin allowing the Holy Spirit to teach you the words
of Jesus and let those words set the standards by which
you live your life? Will you become a follower of Jesus
according to His standards and requirements? There are
true and mature apostles, prophets, evangelists,
pastors, and teachers who are training people to follow
Jesus according to the Lord’s standards and not
according to various church standards. Find them
quickly! There are churches that are seeking to live by
the standards of the Lord and not by standards of men.
Find them! Pray and study until you have your senses
trained to know the difference, but most of all, make
sure that you have denied self and are daily taking up
your cross and following Jesus. I sought God before
writing to you today; I am asking His Holy Spirit to
make sure that I am fully surrendered to Him. I try to
apply these words first to me. God bless you!
_____________________________
BIBLICAL APPLICATION:
If anyone serves Me, let him follow
Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If
anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor. … And
if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not
judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to
save the world. He who rejects Me, and does not receive
My words, has that which judges him—the word that
I have spoken will judge him in the last day. For I
have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who
sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I
should speak. And I know that His command is
everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as
the Father has told Me, so I speak. John 12:26, 47-50 NKJV
Pastor Wayne Wilson
New Covenant Church of Jesus
Christ
3147 Klondike Road, SW, Conyers,
GA 30094 USA
770-760-1101
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© 2007 New Covenant Church of
Jesus Christ, Conyers, GA USA
www.JesusAndHisWord.org
