Sunday Sermon
LET THE CHURCH ARISE
JTRF 6th Anniversary Message
Date: July 8, 2007
Speaker: Pastor Gerry Gregoire
Scriptural Reference: Proverbs 6:9-11 and Mark 16:14-15
Listen to Audio Sermon

TODAY, WE WANT TO LOOK AT THE STATUS OF THE CHURCH, PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. LETS START BY LOOKING AT PROVERBS 6:9-11.

Proverbs 6:9-11 (Amplified Bible)

9How long will you sleep, O sluggard? When will you arise out of your sleep?(A)
10Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to lie down and sleep--
11So will your poverty come like a robber or one who travels [with slowly but surely approaching steps] and your want like an armed man [making you helpless].(B)

THE MESSAGE VERSION OF THE BIBLE PUTS IT THIS WAY:
Proverbs 6:9-11 (The Message)

A Lesson from the Ant
6-11 You lazy fool, look at an ant. Watch it closely; let it teach you a thing or two.Nobody has to tell it what to do. All summer it stores up food; at harvest it stockpiles provisions. So how long are you going to laze around doing nothing? How long before you get out of bed?A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there, sit back, take it easy? Do you know what comes next?Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life, poverty your permanent houseguest!

I BELIEVE THE LORD SHOWED ME THAT THIS WAS A SPIRITUAL PICTURE OF WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE CHURCH. LIVING LIFE SPIRITUALLY DIRT POOR, POVERTY OF THE GIFTS THAT GOD HAS GIVEN. LACK OF ZEAL IN MOST CHURCH. THEY HAVE BECOME SPIRITUALLY DRY SKELETONS WITHOUT ANY MEAT ON THE BONES.
LIFELESS AND INEFFECTIVE BECAUSE THEY ARE SPIRITUALLY ASLEEP, FORGETTING GOD'S PLAN FOR THEM.

CHECK OUT MANY CHURCHES AND YOU WILL FIND THAT A SOCIAL LIFE TRUMPS SPIRITUAL GROWTH. REFUSING TO BECOME WHAT GOD HAS ORDAINED IT TO BE, AN EXAMPLE, A SAMPLE IF YOU WILL TO NON-BELIEVERS, A VIBRANT ORGANISM THAT CONTINUALLY OVERCOMES THE TRICKS AND LIES OF SATAN, AND BRINGS MEN TO GOD.

IN THE GARDEN, GOD WANTED A LOVING RELATIONSHIP TO DEVELOP WITH HIS CREATION, BUT FREE WILL DID THEM IN.

HE PROMISED THEM A SOLUTION. LETS GO TO GENESIS 3:15

Genesis 3:15 (Amplified Bible)
15And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her [a]Offspring; He will bruise and tread your head underfoot, and you will lie in wait and bruise His heel.(A)
AND FROM THAT TIME ON GOD WAS PUTTING TOGETHER HIS PLAN TO ACCOMPLISH WHAT HE HAD PROMISED TO HIS CREATION.
HE HAD TO BUILD THE NATION , ISRAEL, TO BRING HIS PROMISE THROUGH. IT TOOK OBEDIENT, DEDICATED MEN AND WOMEN TO CAUSE HIS PLAN TO COME INTO BEING. THERE WAS ALWAYS A REMNANT. MAYBE ONLY A REMNANT WILL UNDERSTAND TODAY.

THERE WERE MANY BUMPS IN THE ROAD, AND GOD WAS SO SERIOUS ABOUT HIS PROMISE THAT HE TOOK DRASTIC MEASURES. LET LOOK AT GENESIS 6:5-8

Genesis 6:5-8 (Amplified Bible)
5The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination and intention of all human thinking was only evil continually.
6And the Lord regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved at heart.
7So the Lord said, I will destroy, blot out, and wipe away mankind, whom I have created from the face of the ground--not only man, [but] the beasts and the creeping things and the birds of the air--for it grieves Me and makes Me regretful that I have made them.
8But Noah found grace (favor) in the eyes of the Lord.

HE WAS SERIOUS, HE WANTED A PEOPLE THAT WOULD OBEY HIM AND RESPECT HIM SO THAT HE COULD FELLOWSHIP AND BLESS THEM. BUT MAN HAD A FREE WILL AND WOULD ALWAYS WANT HIS OWN WAY.

GOD WAS SO SERIOUS ABOUT HIS PLAN TO BLESS US THAT HE PERSONALLY CAME DOWN TO THIS EARTH TO SAVE US, TO SHOW US HOW TO WALK IN HIS WAYS THROUGH HIS PERSONAL EXAMPLE.

TO FULFILL THIS PLAN HE DIDN'T CHOOSE 100,0R 1000 PLUS MEN, HE CHOSE 12 AND WITH THEM HE INTENDED TO BRING THINGS INTO ORDER. THESE 12 MEN WOULD ALSO HAVE PROBLEMS WITH BELIEVING WHAT HE SAID, AS EVIDENCED BY THEIR BEHAVIOR AFTER HE WAS CRUCIFIED. THEY RAN AND SCATTERED EVERYWHERE IN FEAR AND UNBELIEF. BUT HE HAD MADE THEM A PROMISE OF A HELPER, SOMEONE THAT WOULD SHOW THEM THE WAY AND FILL THEM WITH POWER TO GET THE JOB DONE.

THANK GOD FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT! THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIS CHURCH IS CHRONICLED IN THE BOOK OF ACTS, SHOWS US WHAT CAN HAPPEN WHEN THE CHURCH FUNCTIONS IN THE POWER AND PLAN OF THE LORD. MIRACLES, HEALINGS AND CHURCH GROWTH.

JESUS HAD GIVEN THEM EXAMPLES OF WHAT TO DO, HOW TO DEPEND ON THE FATHER, PRAY AND NEVER GIVE UP. IT WOULD REQUIRE FULL CONSECRATION TO WHAT HE HAD SPOKEN. HIS WORDS WERE POWERFUL THEN AND THEY ARE STILL POWERFUL TODAY! HE WOULD GIVE THEM THE HOLY SPIRIT TO HELP THEM REMEMBER THOSE WORDS.

LETS LOOK AT JOHN 14:26 ---
John 14:26 (Amplified Bible)
26But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you.

JESUS HAS DONE EVERY THING POSSIBLE TO INSURE OUR SUCCESS. BUT REMEMBER THE FREE WILL THING HE GAVE US. WELL THAT SEEMS TO TAKE CONTROL OVER AND OVER AGAIN TO CAUSE US TO MISS THE TRUTHS OF GOD. TOO MUCH STUBBORNNESS AND LACK OF CONSECRATION IN MANY CHURCHES TODAY.

WHEN JESUS APPEARED TO HIS APOSTLES, AT ON THE ONSET OF THE CHURCH ,HE SAID SOMETHING POWERFUL:

LETS LOOK AT MARK 16:14-15
Mark 16:14-15 (Amplified Bible)
14Afterward He appeared to the Eleven [apostles themselves] as they reclined at table; and He reproved and reproached them for their unbelief (their lack of faith) and their hardness of heart, because they had refused to believe those who had seen Him and looked at Him attentively after He had risen [[a]from death].
15And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach and publish openly the good news (the Gospel) to every creature [of the whole [b]human race].

LOOK AT VERSE 14, WHAT WERE THEY DOING WHEN HE APPEARED TO THEM? RECLINING AT TABLE. THEY WERE HANGING OUT AND NOT ACTING ON WHAT HE HAD SAID. HE REPROVES THEM FOR THEIR LACK OF FAITH. THEY HAD SPENT THREE YEARS WITH JESUS , AND YET THEY WERE NOT DOING WHAT HE HAD SAID. THEY DID NOT CONSIDER THE TESTIMONY OF THOSE WHO HAD SEEN HIM AFTER THE RESURRECTION AS VALID. IT JUST COULDN'T BE! THEY HAD NOT COMPREHENDED WHAT HE SAID ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT'S POWER. IN VERSE 15 HE SAID TO THE GO! THE WORD GO MEANT MORE THAN GO AS WE KNOW IT.

THE GREEK WORD WAS POREUOMAI IT MEANT ARISE, GET UP AND START MOVING. TAKE THIS JOURNEY TO PIERCE THE DARKNESS AND TEST OUT WHAT I TOLD YOU, ATTEMPT AND EXPERIENCE IT FOR YOURSELF.

FIGURATIVELY, IT MEANT AS YOU GO, DIE TO YOURSELF AND LIVE IN WHAT I SAID. AFTER THIS HE SAID IN MARK 16:16-18

Mark 16:16-18 (Amplified Bible)
16He who believes [who adheres to and trusts in and relies on the Gospel and Him Whom it sets forth] and is baptized will be saved [[a]from the penalty of eternal death]; but he who does not believe [who does not adhere to and trust in and rely on the Gospel and Him Whom it sets forth] will be condemned.
17And these attesting signs will accompany those who believe: in My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages;
18They will pick up serpents; and [even] if they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will get well.

HE SAYS IN EVERYDAY TERMS, GUYS, THIS IS WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN WHEN YOU DO GO. WHAT A TESTIMONY AND POWER WERE LEGISLATED TO HIS CHURCH. NOT JUST THE APOSTLES BUT TO ANY BELIEVER IN THE BODY OF CHRIST. THAT INCLUDES YOU AND I.

IF WE WERE DOING WHAT JESUS SAID TO DO EVERY DAY, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE ENOUGH ROOM IN THE CHURCHES TO TAKE IN ALL THAT WOULD BE SAVED.
BUT IT AIN'T, (EXCUSE MY LANGUAGE), HAPPENING! WHAT HAS CAUSE THIS APOSTASY?

WE HAVE CHURCHES THAT DON'T RELY ON THE HOLY SPIRIT, THEY ACTUALLY HAVE WRITTEN HIM OUT OF THEIR BIBLES AND THEIR TEACHINGS. EVEN IN PENTECOSTAL CHURCHES THERE IS NOT A STEADY FLOW OF THE HOLY SPIRIT'S WORK. FALSE DOCTRINES AND TEACHINGS EVERYWHERE. IN MANY CHURCHES TODAY THERE IS NO FULL GOSPEL. THAT IS TO SAY SOME HAVE NOT INCORPORATED THE FULLNESS OF THE POWER THAT WAS IN THE EARLY BELIEVERS.

PEOPLE ARE MORE CONCERNED WITH MAKING MONEY AND HAVING IT THEIR WAY RATHER THAN GOD'S WAY.

WHEN YOU LOOK AT WHAT S HAPPENING IN THE WORLD TODAY, ITS EVIDENT THAT WE ARE PAST DUE IN RISING UP AND BECOMING THE CHURCH THAT CHRIST FOUNDED IN THE APOSTLES. YES, SURE IT HAD A SHAKY START BUT WHEN THEY GOT THE HOLY GHOST ON PENTECOST, THAT MADE A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN THEIR BEHAVIOR AND ATTITUDES.

THEY WERE RECLINING AND LAYING BACK WITH MUCH LACK OF FAITH. BUT WHAT HAPPENED ON PENTECOST CHANGED THEM AND HAS TO HAPPEN AGAIN. LETS LOOK AT ACTS 2:1-4

Acts 2:1-4 (Amplified Bible)
Acts 2
1AND WHEN the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all assembled together in one place,
2When suddenly there came a sound from heaven like the rushing of a violent tempest blast, and it filled the whole house in which they were sitting.
3And there appeared to them tongues resembling fire, which were separated and distributed and which settled on each one of them.
4And they were all filled (diffused throughout their souls) with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other (different, foreign) languages (tongues), as the Spirit [a]kept giving them clear and loud expression [in each tongue in appropriate words].

POWER CAME UPON THEM AND THEY BECAME ARDENT AND ON FIRE FOR THE LORD. LOOK WHAT PETER DID A SHORT TIME LATER. THEY WERE PIERCED WITH HIS PREACHING AND ASKED THEM, BROTHERS, WHAT MUST WE DO? HIS REPLY CAME IN ACTS 2:38-47

Acts 2:38-47 (Amplified Bible)
38And Peter answered them, Repent (change your views and purpose to accept the will of God in your inner selves instead of rejecting it) and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of and release from your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39For the promise [of the Holy Spirit] is to and for you and your children, and to and for all that are far away, [even] to and for as many as the Lord our God invites and bids to come to Himself.(A)
40And [Peter] [a]solemnly and earnestly witnessed (testified) and admonished (exhorted) with much more continuous speaking and warned (reproved, advised, encouraged) them, saying, Be saved from this crooked (perverse, wicked, unjust) generation. ARE YOU LISTENING?
41Therefore those who accepted and welcomed his message were baptized, and there were added that day about 3,000 souls.
42And they steadfastly persevered, devoting themselves constantly to the instruction and fellowship of the apostles, to the breaking of bread [including the Lord's Supper] and prayers.
43And a sense of awe (reverential fear) came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were performed through the apostles (the special messengers).
44And all who believed (who adhered to and trusted in and relied on Jesus Christ) were united and [together] they had everything in common;
45And they sold their possessions (both their landed property and their movable goods) and distributed the price among all, according as any had need.
46And day after day they regularly assembled in the temple with united purpose, and in their homes they broke bread [including the Lord's Supper]. They partook of their food with gladness and simplicity and generous hearts,
47Constantly praising God and being in favor and goodwill with all the people; and the Lord kept adding [to their number] daily those who were being saved [from spiritual death].

BROTHERS AND SISTERS, ITS SIMPLE, WE MUST RETURN TO THE MIND SET THE APOSTLES HAD AT THE BEGINNING. THE APOSTLES, THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT, HAD FRESH IN THEIR HEARTS WHAT JESUS WAS ALL ABOUT. THEY HAD SHARED AN INTIMACY WITH HIM AS HE WALKED WITH THEM, AND THAT IS WHAT WE NEED TODAY IN OUR CHURCHES. THAT IS WHAT THE HOLY SPIRIT BRINGS TO US, THAT INTIMACY THAT SEEMS TO HAVE LEFT MANY CHURCHES. WE ARE NOT DEPENDING ON THE HOLY SPIRIT ENOUGH. HE LEADS AND GUIDES US AND REMINDS US OF WHAT JESUS SAID AND DID. SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY WE LOST THAT INTIMACY THAT HE BRINGS. THEY FINALLY CAUGHT ON TO GOD'S PLAN , THAT IT WAS NOT THEM, BUT HIM!

THEN THERE WAS POWER AND LOVE AND UNITY AND THEN GOD ADDED TO THE CHURCH.

HOW DO WE GET THERE? HOW DO WE GET BACK THAT SAME POWER THAT WAS MANIFESTED IN THE APOSTLES? AN APOSTOLIC MIND SET. SOUND SIMPLE? MAYBE IT IS!! LETS SEE.

IN EVERY GENERATION WHEN THE LORD RELEASES SUPERNATURAL ACTIVITY AND INTERVENTIONS OF HIS SPIRIT IN THE EARTH, HE HAS ALWAYS RAISED UP A FORERUNNER PERSON OR PEOPLE WHO WILL PREPARE THE WAY FOR HIS COMING.

IN OUR BIBLE THERE HAS BEEN PEOPLE LIKE MOSES, JEREMIAH, EZEKIEL, ELIJAH AND JOHN THE BAPTIST WHO PREPARED THE WAY FOR THE LORD'S DEVINE INTERVENTIONS. YET, THE FORERUNNER GROUP MOST MENTIONED IN THE BIBLE IS THE COMPANY IDENTIFIED IN JOEL 2 WHO WILL RECEIVE THE OUTPOURING OF THE SPIRIT JUST PRIOR TO THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE DAY OF THE LORD. THIS FORERUNNER COMPANY WILL BE INTRUSTED WITH PREPARING THE WAY OF THE LORD? JUST PRIOR TO HIS SECOND COMING. LOOK AT JOEL 2:28-31

Joel 2:28-32 (Amplified Bible)
28And afterward I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.
29Even upon the menservants and upon the maidservants in those days will I pour out My Spirit.
30And I will show signs and wonders in the heavens, and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke.
31The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.(A)
32And whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered and saved, for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the remnant [of survivors] shall be those whom the Lord calls.(B)

THIS GROUP WILL OPERATE WITH AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE TIMES AND SEASONS IN WHICH THEY LIVE THEY WILL ALSO GIVE CLARITY AS TO GOD'S PLAN AND THE NECESSARY RESPONSE OF THE HUMAN HEART TO GOD DURING THE HOUR OF THE GREATEST POWER UPON THE CHURCH AND THE GREATEST CRISIS THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN. THEY WILL NOT ONLY PROCLAIM BUT WILL LIVE OUT THE MESSAGE THEY DECLARE. ARE YOU LISTENING?

THIS WILL BE EXEMPLIFIED THROUGH PROPHETIC DEMONSTRATION
AS WELL AS THE AUTHENTIC NEW TESTAMENT LIFESTYLES. THIS COMPANY GIVES THEMSELVES FULLY IN THE END OF THE AGE. AS SUCH, THE MESSENGERS AND MESSAGE THEY PROCLAIM WILL BECOME ONE REALITY. ARE YOU GETTING THIS? THEY WILL OPERATE IN A SPIRIT OF INTIMACY WITH JESUS , THE BRIDEGROOM, IN UNITY WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT AND WITH ONE ANOTHER. THIS WILL FULFILL THE FIRST PART OF REVELATION 22:17

Revelation 22:17 (Amplified Bible)
17The [Holy] Spirit and the bride (the church, the true Christians) say, Come
HERE THE BRIDE IS SAYING TO OTHERS COME AND BE REFRESHED IN THE PRESENCE OF OUR GOD. WE KNOW WHAT ITS LIKE FROM OUR OWN EXPERIENCE.

THEY WILL BE LOVINGLY GIVING THEMSELVES TO SERVICE, GIVING, FASTING, PRAYING, HUMILITY, FORGIVENESS AND SIMPLICITY JUST AS IN THE EARLY CHURCH. YES, A LIFESTYLE OF MEEKNESS BEFORE THEIR GOD. ONE MISSING IN MANY CHURCHES TODAY.

IF WE ARE TO BE THOSE FORERUNNER, IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT WE REDISCOVER THE PATH OF THE APOSTLES AS DEMONSTRATED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. WE MUST EMBRACE APOSTOLIC CHRISTIANITY? OFTEN, THAT TERM IS MISAPPROPRIATED. FOR OUR PURPOSE HERE, WHEN WE SPEAK OF THAT WHICH IS APOSTOLIC, WE ARE NOT SPEAKING OF ONLY THOSE WHO ARE CALLED APOSTLES, BUT WE ARE SPEAKING OF THE MANNER OF LIFE AND MODEL OF CHRISTIANITY THAT THE APOSTLES LIVED, THAT IS SEEKING OUT AND RESTORING OF ALL THAT WAS ONCE AUTHENTIC, ALL THAT WAS HELD DEAR, ALL THAT WAS BELIEVED, ALL THAT WAS UNDERSTOOD, AND ALL THAT WAS VITAL IN THE EARLY CHURCH. THEY BELIEVED AND ACTED LIKE JESUS WOULD RETURN SOON! THAT SPARK SEEMS TO BE MISSING TODAY!

THOUGH WE LIVE IN THE 20TH CENTURY, IN A CULTURE THAT IS DELUGED WITH PERVERSITY AND PLEASURE AND PREDICATED ON IMMEDIATE GRATIFICATION OF THE FLESH, WE WANT TO BE THE ONES WHO REDISCOVER AND WALK IN THE ANCIENT PATH AND EMBRACE APOSTOLIC CHRISTIANITY WITHOUT EXCUSE IN OUR GENERATION.

LOOK WHAT JEREMIAH 6:13 TELLS US.
Jeremiah 6:13 (Amplified Bible)
13For from the least of them even to the greatest of them, everyone is given to covetousness (to greed for unjust gain); and from the prophet even to the priest, everyone deals falsely.

IN JEREMIAH'S DAY CORRUPTION HAD POSSESSED THE NATION OF ISRAEL, INCLUDING THE RELIGIOUS ESTABLISHMENT. THERE WAS GREED BECAUSE OF A DESIRE FOR PERSONAL GAIN, DECEPTION FOR THEIR OWN PROSPERITY. THEY HAD CHANGED THE MESSAGE THAT THEY WERE PREACHING TO PLEASE THE PEOPLE

INSTEAD OF SOUNDING THE ALARM AND TELLING THEM TO TURN FROM IDOLATRY IN VIEW OF THE IMPENDING JUDGEMENT OF GOD, THEY WERE DECLARING A FALSE, BUT COMFORTING MESSAGE OF PEACE. THE PEOPLE'S TRUE SPIRITUAL STATE WAS NOT DIVULGED NOR DID THEY PREPARE THE PEOPLE FOR WHAT WAS ABOUT TO HAPPEN. THAT SHOULD NOT HAPPEN IN OUR CHURCHES TODAY.

CHILDREN OF GOD, DOES THAT SOUND FAMILIAR? JEREMIAH GAVE THEM A SOLUTION IN JEREMIAH 6:16 '

Jeremiah 6:16 (Amplified Bible)
16Thus says the Lord: Stand by the roads and look; and ask for the eternal paths, where the good, old way is; then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk in it!(A)

KING JAMES SAYS:
Jeremiah 6:16 (King James Version)
16Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.

HE WAS SAYING GO BACK TO THE OLD WAYS OF SERVING GOD, THAT'S WHERE THE REAL PEACE IS.

LETS CLOSE BY LOOKING AT THIS FIVE FOLD PROCESS THAT JEREMIAH GAVE THEM.

1. STAND IN THE WAYS
THIS SPEAKS OF THE VOLUNTARY SEEKING OUT, OF THE WAYS THAT OTHERS WHO HAVE WALKED WITH GOD IN THE PAST HAVE WALKED.(HEB 13:7) CAPTURE THE ENOCH SYNDROME.

Hebrews 13:7 (Amplified Bible)
7Remember your leaders and superiors in authority [for it was they] who brought to you the Word of God. Observe attentively and consider their manner of living (the outcome of their well-spent lives) and imitate their faith ([a]their conviction that God exists and is the Creator and Ruler of all things, the Provider and Bestower of eternal salvation through Christ, and their [b]leaning of the entire human personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness).

2. AND SEE
THIS IS COMING TO THE REVELATION THAT THERE IS A STARK CONTRAST BETWEEN THE LIFESTYLE AND JOURNEY. THE MANNER AND THE PRACTICES OF THE FATHERS IN COMPARISON TO MODERN PRACTICES. DEALING WITH THE INCONGRUITY IN OUR HEARTS (NOT FITTING TOGETHER) AND AMONG US AS A COMMUNITY OF BELIEVERS.

3. ASK FOR THE ANCIENT PATHS, WHERE THE GOOD WAY IS
THIS IS ACKNOWLEDGING WITH SINCERITY THAT COMING TO THE ANCIENT WAY IS FAR BETTER THAN THE MODERN MUTATION WE CALL CHRISTIANITY TODAY AND IN THIS LIGHT ASKING GOD TO RESTORE US AND TO GRANT US THE GRACE TO LIVE A LIFE WHICH WALKS THE NARROW PATH.

4. WALK IN IT
THIS IS EMBRACING THE LIFESTYLE OF APOSTOLIC CHRISTIANITY BY THE GRACE OF GOD. THOUGH THE WORLD CONTINUALLY TRIES TO PULL US OFF COURSE WITH THE DESIRE TO PLEASE THE FLESH, WE MUST PUSH AGAINST THIS DESIRE FOR IMMEDIATE GRATIFICATION AND CHOSE TO WALK THE PATHS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS BY SAYING YES TO HIS GRACE. WE MUST REALIZE THAT IT IS A NARROW WAY THAT LEADS TO THE NARROW GATE SPOKEN OF IN MATTHEW 7:13-14.

5. THEN YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOUL
WHEN WE WALK THE ANCIENT PATH OUR SOUL EXPERIENCES TRUE REST IN GOD. THOSE WHO CHOSE TO WALK THE BROAD PATH, HAVE NO REST. DO YOU HAVE THAT REST TODAY? ALL THAT IS LEFT FOR THEM IS JUDGEMENT BECAUSE THEY HAVE REFUSED TO HEED THE WORD OF THE LORD.

WHAT IS OUR CONCLUSION?
WE MUST RECOGNIZE OUR NEED FOR AN AUTHENTIC EXPRESSION OF CHRISTIANITY IN OUR DAY. WE MUST BE JEALOUS TO REDISCOVER THE APOSTOLIC PATH, THE ANCIENT WAY. WE NEED TO GIVE OURSELVES AS THE SLAVES OF ALL, JUST LIKE JESUS. THE PREREQUISITE FOR FOLLOWING CHRIST IS TO BEAR OUR CROSS, TO EMBRACE A CERTAIN DEATH TO ONE'S OWN PERSONAL PURSUITS AND PASSIONS. FOR AUTHENTIC AUTHORITY TO COME INTO OUR LIVES, IT MUST BE PRECIPITATED BY THE PAIN AND HUMILIATION OF THE CROSS. THIS IS THE MEEK YOKE. THIS IS THE APOSTOLIC PATH LET US STAND IN THE WAY AND SEE AND ASK FOR THE ANCIENT PATHS, THE GOOD WAY AND WALK IN IT.