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Wednesday, August
13, 2008
DOA
James 2:26 For as the body without the
spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. (KJV)
When the spirit leaves a body and the body
is brought to the hospital it is considered DOA, dead on arrival. When
someone shows up before the throne of God to give an account of their life
only to find out that the works they did as a so called body of believers
was not of God, then they are considered DOA also.
Matthew 7:21-23 Not every one that saith
unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that
doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. (22) Many will say to me in
that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name
have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? (23) And
then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that
work iniquity. (KJV)
You know, these people described in the
above verses were actually believers, and from the looks of things it
involved many. Have you ever met someone that claimed they knew you early
on in life but they left and you forgot about them? Well that’s basically
what has happened to many well intentioned people who committed their lives
to God only to walk a different path than He intended for them to follow.
Oh and they may be believers, but they chose not to walk by faith but
rather a different path that even though it looked good and sounded good to
mankind it was not pleasing to Our Father in heaven. So where did they go
wrong, and how did they end up being turned away from a reward that God had
intended for them to inherit?
Matthew 7:24-27 Therefore whosoever
heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise
man, which built his house upon a rock: (25) And the rain descended, and
the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell
not: for it was founded upon a rock. (26) And every one that heareth these
sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man,
which built his house upon the sand: (27) And the rain descended, and the
floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and
great was the fall of it. (KJV)
It looks to me like there wasn’t much of
a foundation to build their church on, which got blown away with winds of
doctrine. Being the fact that you are the temple of the living God, what is
your church built and founded on; man’s shifty sandy doctrines, or have you
built a rock solid case that won’t be moved? Faith is your ability to hear
the message personally from Christ Himself and then follow through with
what He is asking, in deed as well as in word. Those that build their
foundation on man’s doctrine and according to what man thinks a church
should be built on will find themselves in a precarious position; when
instead of giving God the answer He is looking for concerning their
salvation they will still have question marks that will not allow them
access into the heavenly realm.
Luke 14:26-30 If any man come to me, and
hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and
sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. (27) And
whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my
disciple. (28) For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not
down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
(29) Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to
finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, (30) Saying, This man
began to build, and was not able to finish. (KJV)
You know, I often wondered why God asked
Abraham to sacrifice his own son, but now having seen the example he set,
being a doer of the word as well as a hearer, I see why. How many have
really counted the cost of serving the Lord, no matter whom or what the
Lord may ask us to give up or walk away from, even if it is something near
and dear to us? If there is something or someone in this world you hold in
higher esteem other than our Lord and you are not willing to bear the cross
and die to self in these areas, well simply put, you cannot be a disciple
of our Lord either. How many times have we seen in the paper or on TV where
some prominent preacher or someone proclaiming Christianity gets caught
doing something that is completely contrary to sound doctrine, and they
become a laughing stock to the world? The same thing will happen to many
well intended Christians who may have begun in the Spirit but somewhere
along the line allowed the flesh and its desires to take control, sometimes
so subtly they didn’t even notice it. Are you in it for the long haul, no
matter where the path of life leads and which way it goes, even it is
opposite of someone or something we held near and dear to our old nature?
You need to count the cost, because faith without works, following through
with what our Lord is asking of you, is dead, done, over, not happening.
The word hate in verse 26 means to love less; not be angry with or to the
point of wishing ill on someone.
Romans 4:18-20 Who against hope believed
in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that
which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. (19) And being not weak in faith,
he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years
old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb: (20) He staggered not at the
promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to
God; (KJV)
You know, when you look at things according
to the outward or the carnal point of view the deck was stacked against
Abraham, it didn’t look good for the home team. When one watches sporting
events on TV the home crowd has a tendency to boo and get discouraged when
their team is behind, or it doesn’t appear to be making much progress.
However, for those that have a strong relationship with the Father through
Jesus Christ, they know God has the final say so in all situations no
matter how it may appear early on. Are you staggering around looking for an
alternative way, or are you strong in faith giving glory to God knowing in
all not just some things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved
us.
Romans 4:21-25 And being fully persuaded
that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. (22) And therefore
it was imputed to him for righteousness. (23) Now it was not written for
his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; (24) But for us also, to whom
it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord
from the dead; (25) Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised
again for our justification. (KJV)
Are you fully persuaded and holding to
the promise of God built upon the foundation of His apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ being the chief corner stone, or are have you built a case on
sand, quick sand that won’t hold up but rather let down? Our Lord Himself
died so that we wouldn’t have too, being raised to the right hand of the
Father so that He could be the mediator between us, giving us a personal
message for our justification. Have you received His message today; are you
standing on His foundation, Jesus Christ? After all it takes a spiritual
foundation and rock to withstand a spiritual storm so that you don’t end up
another casualty with a toe tag marked DOA.
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