How effective are you for the kingdom of God?
In order to be a follower of Jesus Christ, you must choose to walk as he did and make choices that may make you unpopular with this world that is perishing. Jesus said that he would set up his kingdom and that the gates of hell would not prevail against it. He spoke of how we must pick up our cross daily and seek his kingdom until he comes. It is not enough to simply say we believe in Jesus. Our lives should bear witness to the change that was made in us as we accepted the gospel of Christ. We must walk as disciples in our faith as the Holy Spirit works in us to repent and turn from our old ways. There is no such thing as an “almost” believer.
In chapter 19 of the book of Acts, we read about the seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, would watch as the Apostle Paul would drive out demons from those who were afflicted. They decided that they wanted the power to do the same. They heard of a man who was possessed by an evil spirit and thought they would go and help him even though they were not followers of Jesus Christ.
They went to the man’s house and said to the demon, “In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” One day, the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know and I know about Paul, but who are you?” Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped and overpowered them all. He beat them so badly that they ran from the house naked and bleeding. They lost out to a demon and there is an important message for us here.
Only God is omniscient and omnipresent, meaning all-knowing and all-present. Not even Satan nor his demons can know everyone and be all places at all times. When the sons of Sceva tried to drive out an evil spirit, the demon answered and said that he KNEW Jesus and he KNEW ABOUT Paul, but he had no idea who these seven guys were. Why was that? Obviously, these guys were not a threat to Satan or his demons. Sceva’s sons had heard about Jesus through Paul, but they never made Jesus their LORD. These men did not have the power of Christ to battle the spiritual forces of evil and they were badly injured from trying to do it on their own. They were an easy mark for the unclean spirit who came against them.
You can apply this same truth to your life. Is your name known in hell? Are there demons who have heard about you and the work you are doing for Christ? Have you become a thorn in the side of Satan as you try to reach the lost with God’s love? Or have you settled into complacency in your Christian walk which makes you comfortable in this world? If the enemy of your soul does not consider your faith a threat, perhaps you need to examine yourself to know if you are truly saved!
I understand that all believers are a work in progress by the Holy Spirit and we each are at different levels in our walk. Even long-time followers in the faith can suffer a period of backsliding. But those who belong to Christ should experience true heart change as his love compels you to seek what is right. Jesus said in Matthew 7:16 that you will recognize a tree by its fruit. Those who belong to Jesus have crucified the sinful nature and now live by the power of the Spirit. You became a new creation as God’s light shines through you.
If you live for Christ, you will experience grief in all kinds of trials as your faith is proved genuine. Jesus said that all men will hate you because of him as darkness hates the light. The spiritual forces of evil will come against you for the work that you do for the kingdom. But in the end, the indescribable reward that God has for you will far outweigh any suffering you endure now. It is a reward that will last into eternity.
If your name is written in heaven, it should be known in hell!
19 comments
Comments feed for this article
December 30, 2008 at 5:34 pm
bshelley
You are exactly right. One must consider if they are not taking some flaming arrows, they may not be in the battle. Many Christians are so unsure of their salvation that they are reluctant to share what, to them, is not very Good News. They simply don’t fully comprehend full atonement. Keep up the good words. Bryan
LikeLike
December 30, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Marianne Lordi
That is a good way to put it, Bryan! I appreciate you comment and I sadly agree with what you said.
Bless you, Bryan
LikeLike
December 30, 2008 at 9:56 pm
Jeremy Strang
Marianne,
That was great! You seem to keep on confirming, well actually the Lord is confirming, you as the author for our ladies site.
God bless and I hope to actually give you a call after the 1st of the year. Email me your number again. BY the way, I am fully on with VOM.
God bless, Jeremy
http://www.time2stand.wordpress.com
LikeLike
January 5, 2009 at 12:29 pm
robin
I understand your passion, but let’s remember too, that the Bible states that No One knows the Day or Time of Christs Return. While it is important to warn, only God can truely save our unsaved family and friends. I just have to have faith, and pray, pray, pray. God will move through our prayers. The Word Is Alive and True, every part of it.
LikeLike
January 5, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Marianne Lordi
Hi Robin, Thank you for your comment and for stopping by. You have a wonderful site and it is good that you get God’s message out.
But let me reason with you about your comment. You are right, no one does know the day or time of Christs return. HOWEVER, Jesus did give us many signs so that we would know when the time is near. And it is near according to all the signs. But even before he comes back, there are loved ones who can die without the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and end up in hell! And yes, only God can save our friends and family who are lost. But, he has commanded us to preach the good news to the end of the earth. Why is that? Because in his word it states that “Faith comes from HEARING and hearing from the word of God.”. (Romans 10:17) God does not tell us to just have faith, he said we must reach the world with our testimony. Of course we must pray and pray unceasingly. We as believers are now disciples with a mission to reach the world with the good news of Jesus Christ. Even though the Holy Spirit alone can unveil someone’s eyes to the truth, we are called to plant the seed and let God cause it to grow.
And remember, John the Baptist was born to lead the way to Christ. His work on this earth was solely to be the voice calling in the desert to announce the Messiah. How did he do this? He warned the people that they must get right with God, leading to Jesus as being the way to do that.They had religion but their hearts were far from God. God had Jonah WARN the NInevites that they must repent or be destroyed. That is what we are now commanded to do also. I am not suggesting we go out screaming, “Repent, Repent” on the street corners. But if you are filled with the Spirit, He will lead you to the one that he has for you to give the good news. Pray but listen for his direction to reach someone in his name.
Sorry this is so long but I have one more point. Years ago, I was a “Christian” so I thought as I believed Jesus was the Savior. (Read my testimony page). But I had only a head knowledge. When I was told about needing a relationship with Jesus to be saved, I laughed and mocked for two years the person who gave me that message. Finally, I decided (now I know it was under the prodding of the Holy Spirit) to read the bible. Gradually, my heart melted and I saw that I did not have a real personal knowledge of Christ and I realized that I wanted one with him.
I was drawn to Christ from then on and I paise God for the person who did not care that I mocked him because I thought I knew everything. Praise God for putting this man in my life. Yes it was God who opened my eyes, but the seed was planted by someone sent by him.
It is not a suggestion to reach the lost, it is a command by God. For that reason, those who care need to draw near to Christ and seek his direction for where he wants us to bring his message. I just suggest that you look for openings to talk to your unsaved family first. God may be loosening the soil now for you to plant that seed.
God bless!
LikeLike
January 23, 2009 at 11:01 am
Jeff Goins
Thanks for your comment on my blog, Marianne, and for your passion for God’s kingdom. I agree with you that if we are to call ourselves followers of Jesus, that our lives ought to reflect how he lived. If what I’m calling “ministry” doesn’t look like how Christ led his life, then I had better reconsider what I’m really doing.
LikeLike
January 23, 2009 at 11:28 am
Marianne Lordi
Hi Jeff, you are so right in all that you say. I just pray that we will examine ourselves and find those areas of our lives that are not reflecting Christ! To be filled with Christ is to be emptied of self.
You have a great site with awesome messages. Keep up the great work!
LikeLike
March 1, 2009 at 7:33 am
giannina
Another great post!
Yes, we must evangelize the lost, and if it is done in a biblical way we very often will suffer persecution from those who reject the Gospel. Something may not be right if everyone “loves” us. That’s just the way it is. This can be quite painful, but it is part of our Christian walk and our Christian testimony. The Lord is our comfort and strength during these painful times. He will never let us down.
Blessings,
Cathy
LikeLike
March 1, 2009 at 9:11 am
Marianne Lordi
Thanks for your comment, Giannina. I appreciate your views and I love your site. You always speak the uncompromised truth.
I know a lot of people that call themselves Christian, but there hearts are far from God. That can’t be. It does not matter how many Scriputures you have memorized, it only matters how many you live.
LikeLike
March 7, 2009 at 12:47 am
concernedx2
Very good writing Marianne, You own the site, you publish the post, Jesus fills the picture from which you pour to satisfy the thirst of the weary. Ben Franklin said “the pen is mightier than the sword,” and you have no idea how true that is. Your post is enlightening and your response to Robin is outstanding; I hope she came back by to read it. I really have no remarks about this remarkable message so I’ll just say Amen! God Bless.
LikeLike
March 7, 2009 at 1:01 am
Marianne Lordi
Thank you for your “Amen” and for stopping by. I always appreciate and respect your thoughts. I get a lot of my inspiration from the writings from your posts. Thanks again.
LikeLike
March 30, 2009 at 12:02 pm
heirswithchrist
Great post. I love your writing style.
The Lord is your strength.
God will never forget your labour of love in Jesus’ name.
http://heirswithchrist.wordpress.com
LikeLike
March 30, 2009 at 12:31 pm
Marianne Lordi
Thank you for your encouragement. I needed to hear that! Bless you!
LikeLike
April 3, 2010 at 11:18 pm
j.d. stegall
this post was great b/c you talked about something that is not even preached from the pulpit of most churches today: hell. its too hard of a topic and pastors now-a-days don’t want to offend anyone. but yes if we are doing anything whatsoever for Christ then most definitely, our name will be feared in hell. it is one of my main goals for my writing ministry, that i don’t write to tickle ears but to write the hard stuff that compells people to look at their faith and why they believe and to change if they are “undercover”. ultimately, i believe it causes people to want to defend the faith against the lies of the devil and all those heretics out there. keep the great blogging going on,Marianne, you are blessing the LORD.
LikeLike
April 4, 2010 at 10:39 am
Marianne Lordi
Thank you, j.d. for your kind words and encouragement. One of the reasons I visit your site is because you speak the truth in love. You do not seek to tickle ears but rather to give the gospel in its entirety so that the power of Christ can be revealed. Jesus is love. But preachers who focus just on his love and what he can give us yet not bring up the cross, they are misleading the lost. Jesus said to be his disciple, we must pick up our cross DAILY and follow him. We must surrender our will to his.
We may be criticized for speaking the whole truth, j.d., but it is what we are called to do. God bless you for your faithfulness to Christ.
LikeLike
April 4, 2010 at 5:35 pm
j.d. stegall
you are correct 100%. we take are sufferings for Christ that he may be glorified. praise the LORD! for that. i’m more than happy also to have found a solid website with yours to partner up with.
LikeLike
April 4, 2010 at 6:48 pm
Marianne Lordi
I am also glad to partner with you, j.d., and let God’s light shine between us and what he gives us to write!!!!!
LikeLike
July 14, 2012 at 2:05 pm
Mezvila colaco
Praise da Lord Jesus christ may his name go higher n higher…thank u dearest one for preachng God’s word to us…..May he bless you with more wisdom and good health….
LikeLike
July 15, 2012 at 12:46 am
Marianne Lordi
Hi Mezvila, Thank you for your kind words of encouragment. God will always meet us where we are when we need him. The work we do for his kingdom is always before God! He will not forget the work you do for him. Be blessed, dear friend! God is with you.
LikeLike