We are living in perilous times. A time where the world seems to have a great influence on the church. The church seems to have adopted some of the world practices and have lost sight of the holy/godly principles exemplified through Christ Jesus.
The thought I would like to share with you is "WILL THE REAL SAINTS PLEASE STAND UP!" Matthew 5:20 reads, "For I say unto you except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no way enter into the kingdom of heaven." Jesus was speaking to the multitude of people who came from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and from beyond the Jordan as well as His chosen disciples. All had witnessed; some, his teachings in their synagogues; some, the preaching of the Kingdom; and some, the healing of all manner of diseases among the people. Jesus seeing the great multitude, set for Himself a place in the mountain where His disciples came unto Him. Here Jesus taught about those who were truly blessed. He let them know in no uncertain terms, did He come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. He let this great multitude of people know that their righteousness had to go beyond that of the scribes and Pharisess or they would in no way enter into the kingdom of heaven.
The scribes were a group of religious leaders made up mostly of the Pharisees who interpreted and taught the Law of Moses by God. They were experts in the knowledge of the law and cases where people were accused of breaking the Law. They possessed great writing skills, kept records and recorded events. The Pharisees mainly sought to attract the attention of and excite the administration of men. They led and headed the plans to kill Jesus. The whole spirit of their religion could be summed up, not in the confession of sin and humility, but in proud self-righteousness of conflict with any true beginning of man's relationship to either God or His fellow believers. To say the least, and to put it mildly HYPOCRITES! We cannot confess to be a child of God through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, fire baptized, Holy-Ghost filled and live contrary to the Laws of God. Jesus' Sermon on The Mount covered so many vital and important things that are found in Matthew 5:21 through Matthew 7:29. Jesus taught and spoke with one of authority and not as the scribes and Pharisees who turned the Law of Moses by God into a mass of rules, traditions and legalisms that they themselves could not follow.
2 Timothy 3:5 reads, "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." We must turn away from being a hypocrite, looking holy but not having any power to live in total submission to God. We cannot only teach the word, know the word, recite the word, but the power comes from applying the word in our everyday lives. We have to be living examples of the power from the Word of God that was given by the very inspiration of God; profitable for doctrine; for reproof; for correction; for instruction in righteousness that we as children of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. We must turn away from having an appearance of godliness and denying the power to come out from the world and be separated; no longer being entangled in the yokes of bondage; denying the power to stop lying, backbiting, fornicating, being selfish, rebellious, and disobedient. We must deny all of those things pertaining to the world. From such we must TURN AWAY!
James 1: 22 reads, "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." Doers of the word do not deceive themselves. They allow the word to change, lead and guide them. Doers of the word, realize that they are absolutelyNOTHING without God. Doers of the word know that it is in Christ Jesus that they move, exist and have all of their being. Doers of the word trust in the Lord with all of their heart and do not lean to their own understanding, but in all of their ways acknowledge Him and He directs their path.
We can no longer sit and listen to message after message, hear word after word and not allow it to transform us in the renewing of our minds. That is why the holy, acceptable and perfect will of God cannot be proved, because we are only a hearer of the word and not a doer!
Our righteousness far exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees by realizing our total dependence on God through Christ Jesus. There is not a set of rules or doctrine by man that can keep us, it is only by the blood of Jesus, the Word of God and the power of the Holy Ghost that we are kept. The Word itself gives us Basic InstructionsBefore Leaving Earth. Being a Saint of God in holiness is not a stern, bold or proud look, nor is it how pretty our hats or suits are; how much our Mauri's alligators or Stacy Adams shoes cost, or how expensive our cars and or the square footage of our houses are; or how extensive our education is; nor is it our boasting of good works, how great we sing or how eloquent we sound when speaking before men. Our righteousness must genuinely be of God and that can only come as a result of a true, sincere and intimate relationship with Him through Jesus Christ who sought to please His Father.
So again, I ask you, "WILL THE REAL SAINTS, PLEASE STAND UP?"
Inspired in June of 2007
