Monday, April 23, 2018

"The Fight Is On"

Excerpts from the series "A Fresh Glimpse of The Dove - The Fight Is On"    4/15/18

   I believe there is an ever increasing number of people today in and even out of the church who are tiring of the glitzy, glamour filled halls of religion we call the church today.  No longer are we satisfied with the religious robotics called worship that does little more than move carnal flesh.  The desire of many is for something that brings a true change to their lives.  A change that builds within them a faith that says life is worth living.  That it can truly be filled with joy, peace, freedom, purity, harmony, success, etc.   

Christianity Today - ‘The Rise of The Nons’:  This is a group of people who since the year 2000 have bailed out of ‘church as we know it.’  Why? many ask.  There are various reasons…I believe one of the main reasons is what is being offered.  The church has become so ‘trend concious’ until we’ve allowed the preaching of a life-changing gospel to take the back-row seat.  


There is and must be a God birthed desire for the reestablishment of a moral compass that will help define and give directions for what is right and what is wrong….what is good and what is bad.  

For to long we’ve allowed outside influences legislate to us, to our children, to the church as a whole, what is acceptable and what is unacceptable.  In truth this is nothing more than the blind leading the blind…the results?  They both end up in the ditch of despair!!  I say enough is enough; it is time for the church to return to preaching / teaching and living a Bible based lifestyle.   Jesus didn’t come to birth a church that is so materialistically controlled until the desire to see the lost converted ceases to be our primary pursuit.   He didn’t come to reveal to a sin crusted humanity a “feel good gospel” that does nothing to prepare man for eternity. He came for one purpose; to give His life as a sacrifice…as a ransom…as a redeemer.  He came to seek and to save the lost!!  He wanted to give man a way out of hell and a way into heaven.  And I say with the Apostle Paul, ”….knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.  Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy.”  

In short it is time to resist what is wrong and stand for what is right while at the same time shouting to the devil and his minions “The Fight Is On!!”  The Fight Is On for the very core of what we as Christians stand for…no longer will we be dictated to by those who have no understanding of God, His will or His Word. 

II. Fight For It Or Lose It:  Passivity is not an acceptable part of the make up of a child of God.  We cannot and must not just sit back and let the enemy, religious or otherwise, take what God has blessed us with.  To do so is to doom the future of our children and grandchildren and definitely the demise of the Church as God intended it to be.  Part of the great commission demands that we ‘cast out devils’.  (Mk. 16:17)

The Monument Men: In WWII Adolf Hitler  who dreamed of being a great artist, led the Nazis' in the largest art heist in history.  German forces plundered thousand of paintings, sculptures, artifacts and relics.  Hitler’s plan was to house these treasures for himself in a massive and beautiful museum he would one day build.  Had it not been for a group of Allied forces called the Monument Mens, many of these prized possessions of European culture would have been lost with the demise of the Third Reich.  Organized as an Allied military unit during the war, this band of about 350 male and female art historians, museum curators and professors searched out the stolen loot.  By the time the war had ended, the Monuments Men had helped track down (and eventually return) about five million cultural and artistic objects.  The early stages of their salvage expedition, the Monument Mens were given little to no respect by combat soldiers; yet these men and women fought hard.  One man in the task force, Second Lieutenant Rorimer, had incredible resolve.  He once stood in front of a chateau that was on the list of protected monuments.  The building had been set fire and three of its four walls knocked down.  This monument was barely standing.  Rorimer heard a rumble of approaching bulldozer.  The massive machine thundered it's way toward the protected monument on a demolition mission.  Rorimer, jumped in front of the bulldozer and boldly thrust out his hand, demanding the driver to stop.  A commanding officer rushed over and demanded that the Monuments Man had no authority to tell anyone what to do.  Rorimer had not intention of backing down.  He was there to protect a protected monument!! And protect it he did!!

We need some Monument Men/Women today who understand the value of what  we stand for and what God’s Word demands and promises.  Men/women who are willing to fight the hords of hell and their co-horts for the what we know is rightfully ours.  We either must fight for it or lose it.  I say..."The Fight Is On".  What about you?

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