Getting Back To The Old Path

Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, 

where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.  

Jeremiah 6:16a

            It is sad to see that the body of Christ has gotten off the old path and have lost their way by following after the world and new technology presented today. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with new technology when used for good, following the ways of the world, diluting and sugar coating the word of God has taken us so far away from the path of God that we are now perilously close to being like the Pharisees in whom whom Jesus said worshipped with their lips but their hearts were far from God. God had made this same statement to Isaiah regarding the children of Israel:

Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:  Isaiah 29:12-14 

             When we consider that the Old Testament was a shadow of that which was to come, we can see how even as the children of Israel strayed from God, so the body of Christ has today.  Everything that we do for God is to be done with a God-first mentality and the anointing of God.  If God is not in it, we are laboring in vain.  It is not about how big we can grow our church; God is looking for quality, not quantity.  It is not about making a name for our self; God gets all of the glory and it is the name of Jesus that is to be praised. 

            We need to get back to the old path of seeking God for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  It is only through the Holy Spirit that God’s plan can be accomplished in our life.  God's vision will only be fulfilled by men and women who have experienced the anointing, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. 

            If the body of Christ is to be effective in the world, we have to take a stance that affects the world.   When Jesus ascended, He did what He promised and sent His Holy Spirit back.  

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.    John 14:26

            The purpose of the Holy Spirit is not only to comfort us and give us peace not of this world; it also gives us the authority to affect the world!

And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.  John 16:17-18

            We cannot effectively operate without the power of the Holy Spirit and the name of Jesus.  Before the body of Christ was instituted, Jesus told the disciples:

And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.  Luke 24:49

            When we receive the Holy Spirit, we are now equipped with power and authority and yet we sit passively by and look at the darkness of the world.  We talk about it, complain about it, but do nothing to affect a change.  We are not saved; delivered from this world, to be passive!  God did not save us to sit!  As true believers and followers of Jesus Christ, we have much work to do.

It is impossible to be effective or pleasing unto God when we are burdened down by sin and the cares of this world.  God expressly tells us to come out from the world, to be separate, to be holy, and to be peculiar.  No doubt, for some, this is a difficult thing to do but with God it is possible to live a sin-free life with the help of the Holy Spirit within us.  

            However Satan has defeated many with the deception of bright lights and the glitz of stardom, fame and fortune. Men and women of God have sold out to the new technology under the guise of reaching the masses and have sadly missed the mark because we are not letting people know that they need God in a personal way and that it is more than a profession and acceptance of God with their lips but the receipt of the Holy Spirit that gives us power to overcome.

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me . . .  Acts 1:8

            Peter describes us as 'strangers' or 'pilgrims'  passing through this land' on our way to a place prepared for us and urges us not to partake of the things of the land.

Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;  1 Peter 2:11

             Jesus himself tells us not to be concerned with the cares of this world:

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is , and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?  Matthew 6:30

          Beloved of God, let's get back on the path that was laid for us in the beginning by God!  We don't set our patterns and standards after the world, we set them after the word of God.  it is his word that is to be our example and our guide.  Just as Apostle Paul instructed the Corinthians to study the old testament, so should we study the bible in its entirety so that we get on and stay on the path of old.

Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.  Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.  2 Corinthians  10:11-12

 

(Bible Studies)

11/13/19

05/07/21