The real work of the church
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I think judgement days tells us a lot about what the real work of the church is...notice this often quoted passage.
The Final Judgment 31 “But when the Son of Man[a] comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. 32 All the nations[b] will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ 37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters,[c] you were doing it to me!’ 41 “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.[d] 42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’ 44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’ 45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’ 46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.” Yes, I know salvation is by grace and not by works lest we boast...salvation cannot be bought...however Jesus is saying, if you are a Christian, these are just things that naturally flow from your life.... We will not gather our robes around and close our eyes to the needs of others. Every time when Jesus was asked what pleased God or how to please God, His reply was the same: If you want to be great in the kingdom, you must become the servant of all. THE SERVANT.....often an unwanted job! We had rather someone else carry our lord than us carry the load of others....I know a Biblical servant is more than just serving others ...however serving others is a part of being a servant! |
Re: The real work of the church
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when someone sent these pictures to my of my kids out late at night giving cutwater, food, and blankets to people on the streets i wept....I hopeI have been an example of loving like Jesus loved...
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Re: The real work of the church
Dear Precious Homeland Friends:
“I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee” Ps. 22:22 Greetings to you from the vast mission field of Brazil. We just were at a wonderful church dedication. I would have been proud for any of you precious homeland friends to have been with us at those special services. I was awed at the beautiful building, their choirs, and their worship. Everything seemed just right! They had told people not to send pictures to us when they were building, as it was a surprise so all we knew was that they were building! When we got there and saw the building we were overcome by thankfulness seeing what this family has done for the Kingdom of our Lord. They are the overseers of a huge group of our churches in the far northeast Sao Paulo state. It is so wonderful to see people grow in the Lord and become great men and women of God. I sat there and wept remembering the first visit in that village so many years ago and to see what had developed over the years. No wonder a man of God of long ago said, “Who has despised the day of small things”. A simple visit led to a house meeting and in time a house meeting led to a tiny small church and a tiny small church led to a huge church with many daughter works. We just conducted a ladies conference in south Brazil and had a packed out church every night. Many of our precious pastor’s wife’s gave advice, council and teachings to many of the younger ladies. The home church choir was featured every night with over 80 voices. It was so beautiful. What worship and harmony! We also visited over 20 churches while we were in the south and found so many people strong and reaching out to other areas. The fires of evangelization burn brightly among our people. At this writing we are laying the groundwork to start another outreach so we ask that that each one take this need before the Lord. Our greatest need for this outreach is a truck. You may remember at one time our son Michael had a truck but it was stolen and later found burned! Since that time we have not been able to replace that loss. As most of you know trucks and even cars are very expensive in Brazil but God sees the need and owns everything! I think with the trade in of an older car he uses and 5000 dollars he could get a usable truck. We are hosting a teen camp in the very near future and we have invited other churches to participate. We have a burden to influence the next generation for Jesus Christ. Please pray that God will do a mighty miracle for our youth and their lives will be influenced to work in the harvest fields. The project for the street and slum children is coming right along. We are in the process of building the fence around the land for security purposes. The 3rd land payment is coming up the end of August and we believe we will have the money right on time. Just as God has provided for the last two payments we know once again He will use his channels to help us while we are in the states during the month of August. I always think of the scripture that says, “Faithful is he that calleth you, who will also do it.” (I Thessalonians 5:24) Once the land is paid for we will begin working on many projects on the land. We have a new radio broadcast in the state of Minas Gerias. Please help us pray that we can make contacts with new souls that are interested in truth. Thanks again for making this ministry possible, and with your help; we continue… with much LOVE. Working For A Greater Harvest, Bishop and Sister Janice Alvear |
Re: The real work of the church
Sis, I totally agree with you about the importance of "doing to the least of these".
My comments on the earlier post was meant to look at where we were spiritually when we werent as advanced and didnt have comforts and modern technology vs now with all our convenience and provision. Im not advocating withholding help to ANYONE...good Lord please dont think that. What I would like a conversation about is how do we guard against an over reliance of technology and comforts and still hold fast to a undiluted faith? Or do you not see this as a issue that is a danger? Im not being critical...not trying to... I just want to know if Im over thinking this. |
Re: The real work of the church
Sis Alvear, great thread. I really like it.
I believe that this is the forgotten place of the American Church right now. Servitude. We have a generation that is all about me! I, Me, and Mine. Then they wonder why there is no prosperity in their lives but the Word says.... Act 20:35 I have showed you all things, how that so laboring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. |
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