For just a moment I want to talk to the men.  Now ladies stay with me.  Ladies you can just rearrange the characters a bit – you will understand.  Now men imagine that you and I are the best of friends and we go to the same church.  We have a great friendship, we serve and do good works together and we are dedicated to showing up on Sunday, or whatever day, to church.  We are both professing Christians.

    Now let’s say that your wife is stranded along side the road and I see her needing help.  I stop and find out that she has a flat tire and I attempt to fix the tire but I do not have the proper tools.  The only thing I know to do now is to take your wife home to your house where you are waiting for her to come home.  Once we arrive I tell you the details of where I saw your wife and what’s wrong with her car.  She gets home safe and you are thankful.  I go on my way.  I showed my love, my concern, my passion to help and my good works. 

    You see I have demonstrated exactly what most professing Christians and professing ‘churches’ believe to be ministry.  I have done good; I have shown mercy; I have demonstrated love and I have professed to you the truth.

    But what if my visible love, passion, helpfulness and good works were not the full truth?  What if I did not tell one small detail.  After all, because of my love for you and for your friendship, I did not want to tell you one small piece in this story.   What if the detail I left out was so significant to the truth of this situation it would radically change the outcome?  Would you want to know that detail?

    What I did not tell you was that on my way to your home we stopped by a hotel.  On our way home I completely took full sexual advantage of your wife.  I fulfilled every lust filled act that I could think of. 

    Now how do you feel about my generosity?  My love?  My good works?  My passion?  Would this change how you feel about me?  Do the things you do not know hurt you?  Absolutely!

   See here is my point, people are being told that Jesus was born of a virgin – true.  People are being told that Jesus lived a sinless life – true.  People are being told that Jesus was crucified upon a cross, died and was raised on the third day – true.  People are being told that He ascended into Heaven – true.  People are being told that He has removed sins as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12) – true.  But all of this is only half the truth.  This is not the full Gospel.  The professing ‘church’ and professing ‘christians’ in America are only telling half truths in order to make the Gospel less offensive and somehow appease there carnality and stand under a blanket of self-preservation.

    See the part that is not being told to the majority of professing believers is this – if you are not born again you will not see the kingdom of Heaven (John 3:3) nor enter the kingdom of Heaven (John 3:5).  As a matter of fact Jesus says that whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him (John 3:36b).  Don’t isolate John 3:16 and abuse John 3:36a and Romans 10:9-10.  When the Son of God, Jesus Christ, was nailed to the tree He became a curse (Galatians 3:13) and bore our sin (1Peter 2:24).  Almighty God willfully crushed His only Son (Isaiah 53:10).  God the Father crushed His Son with a holy hatred and almighty wrath towards sin.  Jesus became our sin and was crushed to death by His Father.  We are all born into iniquity and through sin (Psalm 51:5).  The bible says that He has removed the sins of those who fear Him as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:11, 13, and 17 – don’t neglect ANY of the Scriptures).  The bible says to work out your salvation with fear (phobos – literally fear) and trembling (tromos – literally to tremble)(Philippians 2:12).

   You, sir, are no different.  Your heart and my heart are nothing but completely depraved and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9) before a holy God.  Our innermost being is completely at enmity with God.  There is no one who does good, no not one (Romans 3:12) and all have sinned (Romans 3:23).  Do you know this in the depth of your soul?  If so do you tremble at His Word?  Do you seek to know Him more?  Be with Him more?  Love the things that He loves more?  Hate the things that He hates more?

    Jesus never promises that the Christian life is to be easy.  As a matter of fact He promises the opposite.  He promises persecution (John 15:17-19).  Paul said everyone desiring to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2Timothy 3:12).  Jesus says we are to proclaim repentance and forgiveness in His name to all the nations (Luke 24:47).  Remember John 3:36b, Jesus says, “…whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”  Now do not get legalistic.  Jesus never said to be perfect and sinless, but rather to seek first the kingdom, repent, believe and deny yourself and then follow Him.  Jesus also said that many who profess my name will be cast into hell (Matthew 7:21-23). 

    We are called to examine ourselves (2Corinthians 13:5) and see if the Truth is in us.  But remember His commandments are not a burden (1John 5:3), rather they are a joy.  A true born again follower of the Lord Jesus Christ continually desires to know Him, worship Him, love Him, love the things He loves, hate the things He hates, spends increasing time in prayer and in His Word.  True born again believers have become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) in Christ Jesus.  The old has gone and the new has come.  But the one who says that he is without sin (1John 1:8) deceives himself and truth is not in him.  If you profess to have fellowship with Him (or in other words make a verbal profession of Christianity) and you walk in darkness (meaning – as a willful style of life) you are a liar (1John 1:6).  How do you know if your style of life is one of darkness – simple, what does the Scriptures have to say?  Ask yourself this: What most consumes my thoughts?  There is your style of life and your God!

   Please know that I am not talking about sinless perfection but rather a style of life that proves regeneration (inital salvation) to be true through an ongoing process of sanctification (a process of looking more like Jesus).  You may be saying that you can not judge a book by its cover, but this is not true.  Jesus said you can judge a tree by its fruit (Matthew 7:15-20).

    What you don’t know can kill you!  The American professing ‘church’ is in great need of repentance!

Urgency to Rise – a call to the American ‘church’

Choose your God!

You can not serve both God and money.  Matthew 6:24

Choose this day who you will serve.  Joshua 24:15

    “If we could spend only one minute in the flames and torment of hell, we would see how unloving the so-called “gospel” is that prevails in much of  missions today.”  pg 131

    “Paul recognized that Jesus Christ was the ultimate answer to all man’s problems.  Although he was concered about the poor saints, you cannot miss the primary emphasis of his life and message.”

    “I have spoken in churches that had millions of dollars invested in buildings – churches with pastors known as excellent Bible teachers with a heart of love for people.  Yet I have discovered that many of them have absolutely no missionary program of any kind.

    In preaching to one of these churches, I made the following statement: ‘While you claim to be evangelicals and pour time and life into learning more and more biblical truths, in all honesty, I do not think you believe the Bible.’

    My listeners were shocked. But I continued.

    ‘If you believed the Bible you say you believe, the very knowledge there is a real place called hell – where millions will go and spend eternity if they die without Christ – would make you the most desperate people in the world to give up everything you have to keep missions and reaching the lost as your top priority.’

    The problem with this congregation, as with many today, is that they did not believe in hell.”

    “Jesus Himself often spoke of hell and coming judgment.”   pg 132

    “Many Christians hold within their hearts the idea that, somehow of other, ways of redemption are available to those who have not heard.  The bible does not give us a shred of hope for such a belief.

    How different our churches would be if we started to live by the true revelation of the Word of God about hell. Instead, local churches and missions, both in the West and in the East, have been infected with death and continue to pass out death to the millions of lost souls who surround us.

    The Church Jesus called out of this world to be separated unto Himself has, to a great extent, forgotten her reason for existence.  Her loss of balance is seen in the current absence of holiness, spiritual reality and concern for the lost. Substituted for the life she once knew are teaching and reaching for prosperity, pleasure, politics and social involvement.”   pg 133

Brother K.P. Yohannan – Revolution in World Missions

for a free copy – click below

Revolution in World Missions

For the next several weeks, I will be sending out quotes from K.P. Yohannan’s book, Revolution in World Missions.  This book is a must read for every professing Christian.  It will challenge you to think about many of the ways that you live, think, believe and thought to be true.  The book is free and can be ordered at the link below.  God bless!

“Since that day I have insisted we recover the genuine Gospel of Jesus – that balanced New Testament message that begins not with the fleshly needs of people, but with the plan and wisdom of God – “born-again” conversion that leads to righteousness, sanctification and redemption.  Any “mission” that springs from “the base things of the world” is a betrayal of Christ and is what the Bible calls “another gospel.” It cannot save or redeem people either as individuals or as a society.  We preach a Gospel, not for the years of time alone, but for eternity.”

“The only trouble with half-truths is that they contain within them full lies.”  pg 105

“To keep Christian missions off balance, Satan has woven a masterful web of deceit and lies.  He has invented a whole system of appealing half-truths to confuse the Church and ensure that millions will go to hell without ever receiving the Gospel.”  pg 111

I just want to personally thank all of my fellow Brothers and Sisters in Christ who blog to help spread the Gospel.  If I could be so bold, please pray for my family and I as we are sensing a calling from the Lord to move to Carlsbad, New Mexico.  We will know very soon.

Thank you to all of you who email me, comment back and have helped to call the American ‘church’ and others back to the Cross of Christ. 

If you have not yet seen the begining attempt to do so and you wish to join, please feel free to view the blog link below, share with others, post on your blog, email, or put on your myspace and facebook. 

Come Back to The Cross

God bless,

Jeremy Strang – www.Time2Stand.net , www.Time2StandLadies.wordpress.com and Urgency to Rise.

Thank to Bill at Life Cypha for sharing this with me!  Check out his blog page as well.  Click here!   

True Church conference in Muscle Shoals, AL starts in one week!

This is a great message from John Piper on Recession.  This will make you re-think about how bad you think we have it. This is a great message!

It’s Time 2 Call the ‘church’ back to truth and individuals to Salvation through God’s Word!

Click Here

Don’t miss this years True Church Conference.