What Spirit Causes Shepherds to Deal Harshly With Flocks?
Scriptures To Ponder:
For we do not fight against flesh and blood, but with powers and principalities
Woe to those shepherds who have dealt harshly with my flocks and driven them away from me!
Evangelists Driving People Away From Christ?
Why would evangelists drive people away from Christ?
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It's becoming popular practice to name the spirits that cause people to act in ways that are ungodly. People will often spend more time arguing over whether it's a Jezebel spirit, an orphan spirit, a spirit of fear and so on rather than getting to the crux of the matter and praying for the poor mislead person that is under the burden of that spirit.
This morning it was put n my heart to revisit a post I made a few years ago on this topic on my former blog My Christian Contemplations. When I reread it, I was shocked to see how many spelling and grammatical errors I had missed in my proofreading. I am so grateful for discovering Grammarly!
Here is the revised version of Evangelists Who Drive People Away From Christ - that I wrote back in 2015 with the synonym and a few other errors corrected with the help of the free Grammarly proofreading app.
Evangelists Who Drive People Away From Christ -Is This You?
This morning, I read a post by an Evangelist apologizing for the method in which he had tried to reach atheists in a YouTube he'd created titled "Atheism is Absurd". Have you noticed a growing trend of condemnation in the teachings of many evangelists?
Perhaps you've noticed preachers proudly announcing,
"I'm not a Q-tip preacher, here to tickle your ears."
Where on earth do you find any of this in the teachings of Christ?
This post contains my personal reflections on how some evangelists drive more people away from God rather than bring people to God and scriptures that may help us guard against the spirits that may lie behind this problem.
How can we ensure we're bringing people to Christ rather than driving them away?
How can we guard against the sin of pride that creates a stench of "Holier than thou" in people's nostrils?
Here are some scriptures that help me refocus when I start "getting too big for my britches".
Welcoming People into Christ's Family
First, we need to ask ourselves "What did Jesus teach?"
Christ said,
"Let He who is without sin cast the first stone." and "I did not come to condemn the world but to save it."
When his apostles wanted to call down fire from heaven on the Samaritans, Christ rebuked them saying:
"You don't know whose disciples you are."
What was the result of Yeshuah, who was without sin, not casting a stone?
It is the same result we find, when God reaches out in love and Grace, to us when we are mired so deeply in sin that it seems like there is no way out.
People reborn through God's Grace, like Saul on the road to Damascus, become some of the greatest apostles for Christ.
Those who are forgiven much love much - just as the woman who washed Jesus' feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.
What Directions Did Jesus Give?
Christ gave many directions for reaching out in love to others. Can you find these scriptures in your Bible?
- Love one another as I have loved you. [Christ gave His life for us. Would you do this for others?]
- Whatever you do for the least of these my brothers, you do also for me.
- Forgive 70 times seven times. - [a figure of speech meaning an infinite number of times.]
- Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
- Let your light so shine before men, that they will see your good works and glorify Your Father in Heaven.
- Be merciful just as your Father in Heaven.
- Judge not and you will not be judged, condemn not and you will not be condemned, but forgive and you will be forgiven.
- God did not send His Son into the world that it would be condemned, but that it would be saved.
What Attitude Did Christ Recommend When Dealing With Others?
We are to be humble. Even Jesus did not condemn others.
"Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be the servant of all others."
How Did Jesus Reach Unbelievers?
First, Jesus accepted people as they came to Him, as God welcomes us home just as we are.
Jesus even told a wonderful parable of a Father welcoming a wayward son stinking of pig manure home with open arms. Are you familiar with this story?
Christ reached out in compassion. His people told of God's Love for us.
Christians Bringing People to Christ Through Love
Can you think of Christians in our modern world who are bringing people to Christ through love?
Some famous examples I can think of are Mother Theresa and the Billy Graham Crusades.
Billy Graham was once asked about the huge success of his crusades and the number of people dedicating their lives to Christ.
His reply?
"We don't tell them about what they're doing wrong- we simply share God's Love.".
I recently read an excellent testimony of a former atheist who is an astrophysicist -a person well acquainted with biology, stats, chemistry, and so on.
This astrophysicist came to Christ as a result of their studies.
Sometimes, it is easier for people to relate to others who were once in the same state of ignorance, or circumstances.
In the Bible, Christ says, "My sheep hear my voice."
Christ is appearing to many unbelievers in visions and dreams and creating new Evangelists to effectively reach these lost ones -just as Saul was reached on the Road to Damascus.
Only those Called to God will open their ears to the Truth.
So what can Christians do to help the lost find their way home?
It is important to do as Christ commanded :
"Love one another as I have loved you."
By showing the Love of Christ to others, we leave the door open for further discussion.
When someone thanks us for something, we need to remain humble and acknowledge God's hand in our lives.
We can tell people, "The thanks belong to Jesus, it is only because of Jesus that I can do anything."
I have heard many testimonies of people delivered from all sorts of afflictions because they were able to reach out to Christians who had shown quiet faith and love towards them in the face of scorn and ridicule.
We need to shine with the Love of Christ and be beacons to guide people safely through the rocks and stormy seas, back home into God's Love and acceptance.
Remember, God was not in the raging storm but in the still small voice.
Which scriptures would you recommend?
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