"For the Common Good"

Victory Can Be Yours!

Article #37 – “For the Common Good”

            There is way too much time wasted with believers desiring to know what their God given gift or gifts are.  To serve God, step out in faith and the Holy Spirit will provide the gift or gifts that are required to perform the task at hand.  There are a variety of gifts, and a variety of ministries, and a variety of effects.   Ponder these words again from 1 Corinthians 12.  “But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” (Vs 7)  Who is to receive these gifts?  “But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.” (Vs. 11)  This is how God uses His people to accomplish His purposes, if, we are willing and desire to serve Him.  His people consist of every believer with all of them making up the Body of Christ.  “For the body is not one member, but many.” (Vs. 14)  As members of the body of Christ, we all have different roles.  “But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.” (Vs. 18) 

            This is somewhat redundant from last week’s writing but it is so important that we understand that we are individual members of the body of Christ and as a member of the body, we have the power of God at our disposal to serve Him in ways that we cannot even imagine.  Remember from Ephesians that God has prepared work for us to do.  “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10)  Who is Paul talking about, he is talking about you.  We may not know, until we go to be with the Lord, what work it is that God has prepared for us.  It could be things like helping others, sending cards of encouragement, being a prayer warrior, Bible teacher, song leader, witnessing to others, being a leader in the church, Help in the kitchen at dinners, or any number of other things to serve God.  God is the craftsman, and created us to do the works He has prepared for us.  It appears that we are to do this work, possibly in spite of ourselves, “that we would walk in them”.  We just need to desire to serve God, step out in faith, and be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit.  “All are not prophets, are they?  All are not teachers, are they?  All are not workers of miracles, are they?  All do not have gifts of healings, do they?  All do not speak with tongues, do they?  All do not interpret, do they?  But earnestly desire the greater gifts.  And I show you a still more excellent way.” (1 Cor. 12:29-31)  You see, God wants His children to do His business for Him and for that He is going to be passing out great rewards.  Those rewards will include reigning with Him in eternity.  Can you even imagine working, or reigning side by side with the King of kings and the Lord of lords?  Wow!

            You, too, can have victory in Jesus!  Next week we will look at “the more excellent way”.

Lowell Parrish

"Gifted Body"

Victory Can Be Yours!

Article # 36 – “Gifted Body”

            “But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” (1 Cor. 12:7)  This verse explains a great deal about the gifts that God has given the Church in order for it to function properly.  It is important for us to know that each believer, each one, is given the manifestation of the Spirit or the supernatural gifts from God for the good of the body of Christ.  The gifts are given to each one for the profit of all.  They are not given for personal edification.  These spiritual gifts are not given to us because we want them; they are given to us as the Holy Spirit wills.  “But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.” (1 Cor. 12:11)  What a blessing and comfort it is to know that when we go forward to serve God, He is with us to provide every aid, strength, courage, compassion, knowledge, wisdom, or whatever else it may be to carry out His works.

            God, through Paul, explains that the Church, the body of believers, is one body with Christ as the head and we are individually members of that body.  “For the body is not one member, but many.” (1 Cor. 12:14)  He uses the analogy of the human body to illustrate.  We have many different roles within the body.  Just as the human body, we can’t all be a hand or an eye or nose.  If we were all eyes, how would we hear or smell, or walk?  The Church is the same; we cannot all be pastor-teachers.  “And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues.  All are not apostles, are they?  All are not prophets, are they?  All are not teachers, are they?  All are not workers of miracles, are they?” (1 Cor. 12:28, 29) 

            However, it takes all members of the body to perform for the profit of all or the body will not function as it is intended to do.  If you have an attack of gout in your big toe, it affects your entire body.  If you have the flu, your whole body aches.  If you have hearing or vision problems, the whole body is negatively affected and does not function as it should.  It will still function but not as our living God intends for it to perform, which is to bring honor and glory to Him and to show those outside of the Church, the attributes of God.  That is the intended ministry or purpose of the Church, to show the rest of the world the love, grace, and mercy of the one and only living God.  That was the purpose for God to choose Abraham to establish a new nation, the Jewish nation, so that the whole world would, through them, see God.  They failed in many ways.  God now desires that the Church demonstrate God’s many and great attributes.  Like the Jews, the Church is not doing so well either, because the body is broken and not functioning properly.

            You, too, can have victory in Christ Jesus our Lord.  More about the church will follow.

Lowell Parrish

"Ambassadors for Christ"

Victory Can Be Yours!

Article # 35 – “Ambassador for Christ”

            How do we become ambassadors for Christ?  How do we perform the good works that God has prepared beforehand that we should walk in them?  For starters, God has given us the Holy Spirit to dwell within us to guide and to teach us.  The Holy Spirit “will guide you into all truth”, as promised in John 16:13. 

Secondly, He has given the Church gifts, “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; …” (Eph. 4:11, 12)  Notice the purpose of these offices, to equip the saints for the work of service.  So, they are given that we might be properly prepared for service.

Thirdly, spiritual gifts are given by God, so that we can perform the work that He has prepared for us. “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.  And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord.  There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.  But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” (1 Cor. 12:4-7)

He, also, gives us His word, the Bible.  What does Paul tell Timothy about the Bible?  “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim. 3:16, 17)  Without the Bible, it would be extremely difficult if not impossible to adequately serve God and be an ambassador for Him.

Many people believe that God has given each believer a spiritual gift.  I am not one of those, which does not necessarily make me right and them wrong.  I believe that God has made available to every believer, as stated in the verses above, a variety of gifts, variety of ministries, and a variety of effects.  When you are doing the Lord’s work, He can and will use whichever gifts are needed to perform the task at hand.  If the work you are currently engaged in requires supernatural wisdom, He will provide it.  If the work you are engaged in requires more faith, or more knowledge, the gift of helps or compassion, he will provide whatever is necessary at the moment it is needed.  The verse would suggest that a single gift may be used in a variety of ways for a variety of purposes.  These gifts are given by God “for the common good” as stated in the above passage.  If every believer was given only one gift, he would be so proud of it that he would be playing with it to show it off for his own gratification rather than glorifying God.  Each individual in the Church is to be about accomplishing God’s work in order to bring honor and glory to Him.   

How do these gifts come to us?  For a gift or gifts to come to a person, the person must just step out in faith and desire to serve and glorify the living God and you will be given the resources needed to fulfill your ministry.  Those resources can come to you in a variety of gifts, a variety of ministries, and with a variety of effects. “But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.”  (1 Cor. 12:11) (Emphasis mine)

You, too, can have victory in Jesus!  More on spiritual gifts to follow.

Lowell Parrish

"The Body of Christ"

Victory Can Be Yours!

Article #34 – “The Body of Christ”

What does the Church look like?  What makes up the Church?  The Church, and I am not speaking of the building that you worship in, is the body of believers.  The Church is made up of individual believers who have been ‘born again’.  How you become ‘born again’ is clearly described in the gospel of John, chapter 3, where Nicodemus comes to Jesus in the night.  Jesus tells Nicodemus, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)  The dialogue between the two continues with Jesus saying, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)  It is all about believing in Jesus, “whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”  The moment that we believe in Jesus Christ, we are indwelled by the Holy Spirit and become part of the body of the Church.  “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation-having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.” (Eph. 1:13) That is who makes up the body of believers, those who have believed in the only begotten Son of God.  Not only is a person saved from condemnation, and become an individual part of the body of Christ, you have been given eternal life with God. 

Now, as a part of the body, the Church, we have a role to play.  Paul states, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Eph. 2:10)  That means that as a part of the body, we should serve God by serving others especially other believers.  “So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.” (Gal. 6:10)  As part of the Church, we are to be ambassadors, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ …” (2 Cor. 5:20)

 Anyone would ask, how do we do that?  Well, God is not going to just throw us out there and say; get it done, without giving us the tools to accomplish the things He wants us to do.  He gives us the Holy Spirit as a helper as Jesus stated in the gospel of John.  “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.” (John 16:7)  And He continued, “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; ...” (John 16:13)

You, too, can have victory in Jesus!  More will follow concerning God given gifts.

Lowell Parrish

"Responsibility"

Victory Can Be Yours!

Article #33 – “Responsibility”

            In the past few weeks, I have attempted to point out some of the responsibilities of the church and each of us as a part of that body.  This has been an effort to challenge each one of us to look closely at what our individual responsibility is and how we are stacking up.  It is not meant to discourage, rather to encourage us to focus our attention on the Lord and the ministry each of us should work at.  I am sure that we all fall way short of what we are capable of doing.  Because of the tremendous love for our Savior, it is important for each believer to take time regularly to assess his ministry, and then excel still more, just as the Apostle Paul encouraged his readers in Thessalonica.  “Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more.” (1 Thess. 4:1)

            This may seem difficult or even impossible to most.  I feel that the Apostle Paul was discouraged many times, because he was unable to do all he felt he should.  That seems to be evident in reading Romans 7:14-25.  We must not allow failure, in any degree, to stop us from continuing to serve our living God.  We have within us a power stronger than Satan.  We have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us to empower us for whatever our ministry is to be.  There is no greater force than we already have to propel us on our victorious way.  Therefore, we must prepare ourselves to get on with it. 

            I read a comment one time about Elijah, that while he was living beside the creek Cherith, he was in the process of becoming; becoming effective for God in his ministry against Ahab and the Baal prophets. (1 Kings 17:1-8)  I believe that each one of us is also in the process of becoming.  We are today, in the process of becoming more than we were the day before.  Every day should bring more maturity and a better ministry for Christ.  God has gifted each believer with the tools he needs to be effective.  “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.  And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord.  There are varieties of effects but the same God who works all things in all persons.  But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” (1 Cor. 12:3-7)We just need to allow the Holy Spirit to help us put those tools, or gifts, into use.

            If you are a believer, you are a minister of Jesus Christ.  That ministry is only as good, or as bad, as you choose to make it.  The choice is yours; let it be one which will honor God.         

            You, too, can have victory in Jesus!  More to follow.

Lowell Parrish

"Your Testimony?"

Victory Can Be Yours!

Article # 32 – “Your Testimony?”

            In the writings of the Apostle Paul, he is constantly instructing the believer how he should appear in the eyes of the unbeliever.  When instructing the Thessalonians about the rapture of the church, he said they should be alert and sober and not asleep. (1Thes. 5:6-8)  I feel Paul was saying that when the Lord comes for us we must be found busy in the Lord’s work.  The sole purpose of the continued earthly existence of the person who believes in Jesus Christ is to be winning souls for Christ.  We are to be a living testimony of Him.  Paul states; “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.  Do all things without grumbling or disputing; that you may prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom you appear as lights in the world.” (Phil. 2:13-15)  Paul is very simply saying that it is God who is working within us in order that we may be an effective witness to the world.  We must appear as good in an evil society.  If we allow God to have His way in our lives, that will be accomplished.  If we do not choose to allow Him to have control, the world will not recognize us as children of God.

            In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught His disciples, “You are the salt of the earth, if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again?  It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.  You are the light of the world.  A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the peck-measure, but on a lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your father who is in heaven.” (Matt. 5:13, 16)

            If you believe in Jesus Christ, you are a light.  Is your light covered or does it appear to those you come in contact with?  Let us not become as salt which has lost its taste.  We cannot change what we have been, but we can change what we are.  Let your lifestyle be a reflection of Christ so those in the dark may be drawn to light.

            You, too, can have victory in Jesus!  More to follow.

Lowell Parrish

"The Churches Outreach"

Victory Can Be Yours!

Article # 31 – “The Churches Outreach”

            It is impossible to discuss the role of the church without focusing on outreach.  The church must be involved outside of the body.  We, as brothers and sisters in Christ, must not only love one another, but all men.  “Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.  If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners love those who love them.” (Luke 6:31, 32)  The church, like the individual, can be self-centered.  If the church is concerned primarily with its own existence, welfare, and programs, it cannot be effective as God intended.  God has chosen the church to reach out to the lost, and to have love and compassion for all who are in need, to show His attributes to the lost world.  The church is to exalt God in everything that it does.  “If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you?  For even the sinners do the same.” (Luke 6:33)  The Bible teaches we are to have love for our neighbor, love for our brethren, love for our enemy, and love for all men.  If we as individuals or the church as a whole are self-centered this cannot be possible.

            We must not lose sight of the fact that the individual and the church are inseparable.  What is commanded by God to the individual Christian is also a command to the church.  Corporately, the church can be more influential in the world than a few individual evangelists.

            The aim of the church should be to train Christians who will, in their daily life-style, commend Christianity to the outsider by their behavior.  As a tree is known by its fruits, the church is known by the kind of people of the church.

            The church does not only work on Sunday.  Sunday is a day of worship and rest in preparation for the rest of the week.  The work of the church begins on Monday and continues until church takes up again on the following Sunday.  The work of the church takes place outside of the physical church building.  We hear a sermon on Sunday morning, but we are a sermon the rest of the week in the way we conduct our lives.  What kind of message do you share with all those you come in contact with?

            Several years ago, my duties at work included purchasing millions of dollars in materials to build our product.  There were dozens of salesmen calling on me to buy their goods.  I always conveyed to them that they must first show me a reason or an advantage as to why I should make a change to their brand or product.  The unbeliever is no different; we must through our changed life-style, show them why they should change, a change to believing that Jesus Christ is the only answer to life.

            You, too, can have victory in Jesus!  More to follow.

Lowell Parrish

"The Church Is One Body"

Victory Can Be Yours!

Article #30 – “The Church is One Body”

            The Church is a community of believers drawn together by God.  It should be a place of warmth where each brother and sister in Christ can share their joys and sorrows, share their abundance and have their needs met.  It should be a time and place where the gifts that God has given each believer can be used to strengthen the body.

            There should be no boundaries between believers or churches, there should not be doctrinal differences drawing us apart.  The doctrines of the Bible should be drawing us together, instead.  “There is one body, and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.” (Eph. 4:4-6)

               The differences between church bodies today, are man-made.  Man causes confusion by not allowing God to reveal the truth to him.  The Holy Spirit, if we will allow ourselves to be open to Him, is the One who reveals the truths of God’s word.  “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” (John 14:26)  If we all, as brothers and sisters in Christ, allow this to happen our differences will soon disappear and we will truly be as one family.

            Imagine for a moment if you will, the difficulty a new family entering a community with eight different church bodies.  What a burden this would be for them to find the right church.  They would have to spend a great deal of time checking for doctrinal differences, how each conducts the worship service, opportunities for spiritual growth, which one could most nearly meet their family needs, and give them an opportunity to serve the Lord.  What a shame that we all think we have to be different.  What kind of a testimony are we?

            God has chosen the church to evangelize the world.  The first century church was one body, a community of evangelists.  To the church in Thessalonica, Paul wrote; “For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything.” (1 Thess. 1:8)  Paul is saying that there was no need for him to evangelize in some places, because the Thessalonian church’s testimony has already done the job.  What a powerful witness that church must have been to all who came in contact with them. 

            May God help us to become what He intended, so we may be effective for Him.

            You, too, can have victory in Jesus!  More to follow.

Lowell Parrish

           

           

           

"Churches Today"

Victory Can Be Yours!

Article #29 –“Churches Today”

            Why can’t the church of today be as the first century church?  Because we do not follow the example laid out for us.  We do not continually devote ourselves to; study, prayer, fellowship, and the breaking of bread together.  Instead, the churches of today, in most quarters, find the leadership figuring how to entertain and fill the pews and the collection plates.  While the leadership is doing that, those attending church are coming to be entertained, glad someone else is doing it so they do not have to be involved, with little concern about the accuracy of what is being taught.

            Those attending church need to be as the Apostle Paul found the people in Berea, “Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” (Acts 17:11)  We, in our churches today also must be studying our Bibles daily in order to test what we are being taught from our pulpits.  You do not have to have a degree from a seminary to understand the Bible.  God did not inspire His word for the highly intellectuals only.  His word is written so that anyone can pick it up and allow the Holy Spirit to teach him from it.  We must study and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal God’s truth to us as we read and pray.  Prayer brings us into a closer fellowship with the Lord so we are more open to His truths.  If we just listen to the teaching of others and take for granted they are right, we can easily be led astray.  The apostle Paul was continually confronted with the problem of false teachers.  Many of his epistles were written to ward off false teachings threatening the foundation of the church. These false teachers were teaching against such things as; the deity of Jesus, against the resurrection, against the virgin birth, against the humanity of Jesus.  All of these false teachings were attempts to undermine the church’s foundation, Jesus Christ.  If we are not continually in prayer, study and fellowship; we cannot ward off such false doctrines.  “As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming.” (Eph. 4:14)

            Another reason we are not like the first century church is because we do not have oneness of mind, or like-minded and sincerity of heart.  That is because we do not all properly interpret the bible.  Can you imagine what the church would look like if we all diligently studied our Bible with the purpose of understanding God’s whole truth and not compromising God’s truth to justify society’s actions?  “Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.” (1 Cor. 1:10)  Oneness of mind comes from using the word of God as He intended it to be used.  God is not an author of confusion, but we have caused confusion by abusing His word.  The Bible is often interpreted to serve our own needs, egos, or our own selfish interests. 

            You, too, can have victory in Jesus!  More to follow.

Lowell Parrish

"Growing the Church"

Victory Can Be Yours!

Article # 28 -- "Growing the Church"

The church today, needs to follow the example of the first century church.  Besides the four characteristics pointed out last week, there were even more.  “And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.  Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people.  And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:44-47)

            Notice what that first century church had; togetherness, sharing with others, like-minded, eating together, praising God together, and having favor with all the people.  The Lord was, also, “adding to their numbers day by day those who were being saved.”  Does that look like the church today?  In our small community of 2000 population, we have eight churches all having some significantly differences in doctrinal beliefs.  Does that sound like the picture of the church just written about in Acts 2?  Look at the church around your neighborhood.   Are they demonstrating one-minded, single-minded, of the same mind; having all things in common?  Why is that, we all have the same inspired word of God?

            They were no different than us.  The church could and should be that way today.  We have the same bonding agent as they, which is Christ.  The church was brought together as brothers and sisters, as children of God.  They were living, loving, and sharing as family.  This does not suggest communal living, as it speaks of them gathering from house to house.  They were simply going from place to place sharing a common bond between them.

            We must remember that these people were in constant danger as they were under heavy persecution from the unbelieving Jews.  The persecution of the church was so severe after the death of Stephen (Acts 7), that many of them fled from Jerusalem.  That was not the case of God splitting up the church.  It was Satan who was causing the persecution.  Instead, it was God using the scattering of the church to spread the gospel message of Jesus Christ to other parts of the world.  “Therefore, those who were scattered went about preaching the word.” (Acts 8:4)

            Why can’t the church today be as it was then; single-minded, together, sharing with others, praising God together?  The church should be more powerful today with all of the technology available.  According to polling, the church is not growing day by day, rather it is in decline.  Why?  Probably because we are allowing some big named preacher on television, radio, or even from our churches pulpit tell us how it is rather than getting into the inspired word of God, the Bible, and discovering for ourselves who God really is and what He has done for us and how we are to respond to Him.  If everyone read from the same script, we would all belong to the same church, the one where Christ is the head and we the body.

            You, too, can have victory in Jesus!  More to follow.

Lowell Parrish

"Necessities for a Healthy Church"

Victory Can Be Yours!

Article # 27 – “Necessities for a Healthy Church”

            What were some of the characteristics of the first church?  “And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42)   There are four points brought out in this verse; the first is that of continual devotion to the apostles teaching.  Notice that it was not done in passing or occasionally, but continually.  The church today could probably be described as seldom studying the apostles’ teachings.  The church, in order to be effective for God, must study the Bible with regularity in order to be prepared to carry out His will.

            The second point is that they were continually devoted to fellowship.  It is essential for us to have close fellowship with other believers.  The Bible teaches us to share our love, our joys, our burdens, and to encourage one another.  “And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more, as you see the day drawing near.” (Heb. 10:24, 25)  In order for us to grow spiritually, and to sustain our walk with the Lord, we must have a close fellowship with other Christians.

            The third point shows, they continually were breaking bread together in celebration of the Lord’s Supper.  This communion celebration was a constant practice for them in memory of the sacrifice of our Lord.  They celebrated this, not in the temple, but from house to house as this was strictly a celebration for believers only.

            They were also, continually devoted to prayer.  Prayer is of the utmost importance in the life of the individual and to the church as a whole.  It is an integral part of the spirituality of a believer.  It is through prayer that we can have God’s peace in all circumstances that confront us.  The Scripture refers continually to the apostles’ praying for others and requesting prayers for themselves in carrying on God’s work.  We have a direct hot-line to heaven and we must use it on a regular basis, remembering that there is nothing too great for the power of God and nothing too small for His fatherly care.  The apostle Paul states “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thess. 5:16-18)

            There are other features of the early church which will be discussed later.  The qualities illustrated here are examples which the church today should be continually devoted to following.  The four examples again are: study, fellowship, communion, and prayer.  If the church is not practicing these essentials on a regular basis it will not function properly, it will not die, but could become very ill.  As John described the Lord as saying of the church of Laodicea; “So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” (Rev.3:16)

            You too, can have victory in Jesus!  More to follow.

Lowell Parrish

           

"The Church"

Victory Can Be Yours!

Article # 26 – “The Church”

            What is the church?  There are many different ways people define the church.  Most probably see the church as a big beautiful building with a steeple, bell tower, high walls, and stained glass windows.  Others perceive it as a building where you go to be married or buried.  In this small city, with a population of 2000, we have eight such buildings.

            However, biblically, the church is not a place, but people.  The church is the body of Christ, those who believe in the finished work of Jesus Christ.  Christ is the head of the church and all believers are individually members of it.  (Eph. 5:23; 1 Cor. 12:27)              The church had its beginning at Pentecost, 50 days following the resurrection of Jesus.  At that time the Holy Spirit came to indwell each believer and to baptize each believer into the church.  Daily there were new ones being added to the body of Christ. (Acts 2:47)

            The Apostle Paul writes to the believers at Corinth about the body of Christ.  “For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.  For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.  For the body is not one member, but many.” (I Corinthians 12:12-14)  I would interpret Paul as saying, it does not matter whether you are Catholic, protestant, connectional church or independent, we all collectively belong to one body.  That is the body of Christ, which is the Church.  “There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.” (Eph. 4:4-6)  If you are a believer in Jesus Christ then you are a part of that one body.  Each person of that body is a brother or sister in Christ to each other member of that body.  Conversely, if you do not believe in Jesus Christ, you are not a part of the Church no matter what church you belong to or attend.

            Paul continues on about the members of the body.  He states that it does not matter how much or how little honor it seems and individual has.  Each member is essential to the proper functioning of the whole body.  “If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be?  If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?” (1 Cor. 12:17)  We are all important to the body for proper functioning to occur.  If one part of the body does not function properly, the whole body cannot function properly.  “And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.” (1 Cor. 12:26)  Therefore, if you believe in Jesus Christ, you are an important part of the body of Christ and you are valuable to the proper functioning of that body.

            You too, can have victory in Jesus!  More to follow.

Lowell Parrish

"Your Testimony"

Victory Can Be Yours!

Article #25 – “Your Testimony”

          I am sure that many have asked why a person rejects Jesus Christ.  We, who are now believers, may have forgotten all the reasons why we refused to believe before we finally did.  During the earthly ministry of Jesus, the Jewish leaders rejected Him because He was a threat to their political, economic, and social status.  The rest of the Jewish population was looking for a political savior.  They were under Roman rule and wanted political freedom.  They were not concerned with life in the future, the eternal condition of their soul; they were worried about the day to day struggles.

          Have the reasons really changed that much?  I do not believe they have.  In looking back, I can remember a pastor calling on me and asking me to start coming to church.  I told him that I felt that church goers were hypocrites, going to church on Sunday and living like heathens the rest of the week.  He told me that there is always room for one more.  Some feel they must keep up a certain image or a certain status within a community, a club, certain social groups, or at work.  There are others who are too busy trying to provide for today to think about the future.  Then, there are those who know the way, who simply refuse to believe because of stubborn pride.  What a problem pride is for everyone, including believers.  "God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble." (James 4:6b)  "Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted." (Matt. 23:12)

          Sadly I say, I think the biggest reason the outsider rejects Christ is the believers.  We are not a good testimony for Him.  We are pious, and know we have something that all should have, and yet we do not share Him.  We, the church, should set examples in our daily living that would attract outsiders.  We should show, in our lifestyle, something that all the world want to share and make a part of their life as well.  We should always be concerned with what we can do to turn others on to Christ.  Our testimony should be one that attracts rather than repel.  "Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.  Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person." (Col. 4:5, 6)

          Our witness to the world is not only on an individual basis, but also as a group, the church as the body of Christ.  (As illustrated in Acts 2: 42-47)  Christianity is living with the Holy Spirit dwelling within each believer.  It is also a way of life that should be a living testimony to the world.  "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we should walk in them." (Eph. 2:10)

          You, too, can have victory in Jesus!  More to follow.

Lowell Parrish

"Faith"

Victory Can Be Yours!

Article #24 – “Faith”

Why is it so difficult to live a full and complete spiritual life?  Why is it so much of a struggle?  I believe it is because our faith is not strong enough.  We do not allow God to have control in our lives.  We do not have the confidence that He will help us in our day to day living.  Jesus told us not to be anxious about anything, that our heavenly Father will provide all of our needs. (Matt. 6:25-34)  He knows before we do what our needs are.  It is a weak faith that causes us to worry.  We do not spend enough time studying His word so our faith can be adequately strengthened.  Where does our faith come from?  “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” (Rom. 10:17) 

We are not the only ones, and certainly not the first, to struggle with insufficient faith.  We need only to look at some of the past Biblical heroes.  Look at Abraham and how he made mistakes because of his lack of faith.  He and Sarah couldn’t wait for God to provide the promised son.  Look at Elijah and how he ran from Jezebel after God had helped him destroy all of those prophets of Baal. Many of our strongest Bible characters had issues like ours with insufficient faith to live our daily live fruitfully.  But, you can read Hebrews chapter 13 to see how they came to trust God with a fervent faith.

            What does the word say about the gospel?  “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.” (Rom. 1:17)  This means to me, that it is through faith in Jesus Christ by which we are saved, and it is by a continuing and growing faith that we must live.  We must remain in His word to grow into maturity in our spiritual lives.  It is only by listening to Him through His written word that we can grow strong enough in our faith to live a life with total trust in Him.  When we have the trust that He will sustain us in all circumstances, then we can quit worrying about tomorrow and concentrate on serving Him and others, today.  Much of our valuable time is spent in worrying about tomorrow.  When we find ourselves worrying about the future, we should review the passage found in Matthew 6:25-34. “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matt. 6:34)   

We must come to realize what a fantastically great and living God we have.  He loved us enough to sacrifice His only Son that we might have eternal life through Him.  And, He loves us enough to provide even the smallest details in our daily life, if we will allow Him to have a part in it.  “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever.  Amen.” (Eph. 3:20, 21) (Emphasis mine)

            You, too, can have victory in Jesus!  More to follow.

Lowell Parrish

"Eternal Security"

Victory Can Be Yours!

Article #23 – “Eternal Security”

Many, and maybe most people, believe that you can lose your salvation.  That shows that they have no confidence in Christ, no security in Him.  That is simply not a Biblical position.  However, I know some who will not even allow a discussion with them on this issue.  They are so entrenched in what they have been taught that they do not want anyone to change their mind on the subject.  That is a terrible and painful position to hold.  This position means that if you sin you will lose your salvation and must re-establish it again before something drastic happens to you.  How horrible!  A person who holds that position will be so busy trying to keep his salvation that he would not be able to be concerned about someone else’s need to be saved.  Another danger in holding that position is that a person would have to come to the point of thinking they are perfect and without sin.  And, still another and maybe more horrible consequence of believing you can lose your salvation is that you, like a young person I know, has just given up completely.  What a horrible way to have to live, especially if you have once believed in Jesus.

We must understand that no one but Jesus was, is, or can be without sin.  “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8)  We cannot live in this world without occasional sin.  Jesus faced the same circumstances and temptations that we face and did not sin.  The only reason He did not sin was because He is also God.  He is both man and God where we are simply part of a fallen, sinful human race.  Even Paul, the greatest evangelist the world has ever known, sinned.  “For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.  Wretched man that I am!  Who sill set me free from the body of this death?  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!  So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.” (Rom. 7: 22-25) 

Thank God, He has given us a remedy for this awful problem of sin in our lives, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)  This passage means that if we confess our known sins that God will even forgive those sins that we do not recall or are aware that we have committed, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  Whoa, what a gracious, merciful, and loving God we have!

We may sometimes sin but we cannot lose our salvation if we have believed in Jesus Christ.  “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)  Many other passages are clear on this matter. (John 5:24; 6:35; 11:26; Acts 16:31; Gal. 2:16; Eph. 2: 8, 9)  If the Bible says it, believe it and have confidence in Jesus Christ.

You, too, can have victory in Jesus!  More to come.

Lowell Parrish

"Beware"

Victory Can Be Yours!

Article #22 – “Beware”

My Old Testament teacher in college defined what religion is (in his mind); whatever a person needs to make life have meaning.  Now that is a teacher, who was also a pastor of a local church, who was busy with leading students down the wide path.  “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.  For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.  Beware of the false prophets, who come in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” (Matt. 7:13-15) That professor was one of those described as one in sheep’s clothing but teaching a false doctrine.  He did not believe in the inerrant word of God.  He believed that much of the Bible was stories rather than actual accounts of happenings.  How can he or those who think like him find any truth in the Scriptures.  How can you believe some of it, such as the sacrificial death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, and see the rest of it as just stories.  We must beware of such as these.  We must be diligent to use our Bible and check all that we hear and read.

            You can occasionally come in contact with some who believe that we are all going to be in Heaven together whether Christian, Mormon, Atheist, Catholic, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or whatever else; as long as you are dedicated to your belief.  The Bible tells us that there is only one way to get to Heaven and that is through the one and only, Jesus Christ.  “And there is salvation in no one else: for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) There is only one way to be reconciled to God and that is through Jesus.  The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians about the resurrection.  Without the resurrection there is no hope.  He put it this way, “For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.” (1 Cor. 15: 16, 17)  

We must understand the gospel, the good news about Jesus Christ.  The gospel is, “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”  (1 Corinthians 15: 3b, 4)  Once we have come to understand the gospel, we must not let anyone move us away from that belief.  “But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.  For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.” (2 Cor. 11: 3, 4)  The world is full of false teachers, beware and test everything by your Bible.

You, too, can have victory in Jesus!  More to follow.

Lowell Parrish

"What's Right In Your Eyes?'

Victory Can Be Yours!

Article # 21 – “What’s Right In Your Eyes?”

You have probably heard people say that they do not believe the Bible literally.  That is a troubling statement.  What portions do you believe and what portions do you not believe to be true?  If you believe that certain miracles are only stories instead of fact or, you believe some of the Old Testament accounts are not fact, then do you believe that Christ died for your sins?

Over the past few decades it has been contended by many, maybe most, that there is only one absolute and that is; there is no absolute.  When this is the way people view things then everything is done according to one’s own opinion.  The book of Judges makes a comment that would describe that approach to life, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 21: 25)  When this condition exists, we have no standards to guide us to do the right thing.  It is all according to someone’s opinion.

The Israelites had that problem and God gave them the Ten Commandments.  This was to be their guide to living a civilized lifestyle, something to measure their actions.  Without intending on getting into politics, look at what is going on at our border with Mexico currently.  The United States has laws on the books that should control this problem of illegal aliens.  Those laws are the standard, the gauge to what should be done to control this situation.  However, the law or standard is not being enforced and chaos reigns supreme.  We should be looking to the standard to solve the problem but instead are fighting over whose opinion should trump the other’s opinion.  We can read or see on television daily how all of that is working out.  The solution is simple, enforce the law that exists; enforce the standard.

That is only an example of the results of not having any absolutes.  God is, whether we want to acknowledge Him or not, is our absolute.  He is our standard and gives us the rules that we should live by to keep us on path.  When do not believe in God’s word as the inerrant word of God, we begin to live our life by doing “what is right in his own eyes”.  That is what is going on in our nation and in our churches, today.  We have turned our back on God, our only absolute, and are struggling to find our way.  “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”  (2 Tim. 3: 16, 17)

We need to understand that God’s word is to be taken literally or, we will continue to do the things that seem right in our own eyes.  “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Prov. 3: 5, 6)

You, too, can have victory in Jesus!  More to follow.

Lowell Parrish