Amish Voice, March 2013

8 / 12

The Amish Voice 8
Many believers have very little to do
with God outside of their time in church on
Sunday morning. Very few churchgoers
seem to have a good understanding of
scripture and, in fact, not many even take
their Bible to church. The preacher can tell
them almost anything and they will nod
their heads in agreement. After the service,
it is often hard to find people who are inter-
ested in discussing biblical matters as their
interests are more in whatever else is going
on in the world and in their lives.
They are not being very wise as, firstly,
they are putting their eternal salvation in
the hands of a preacher who could be mis-
leading them and, secondly, they clearly
show that they have put God in second
place to the things of the world.
peaks harshly against this where it
says, Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know
ye not that the friendship of the world is
enmity with God? whosoever therefore will
be a friend of the world is the enemy of
God.
Are you an adulterous enemy of
God or a son of God?
Sons Of God
When we first put our trust in Jesus, we
become sons of God; we are born again
and adopted into the family of God. But
what sort of son limits the time he spends
with his Father to two hours a week on
Sunday? In he Lord says, A son
honoureth his father, and a servant his
master: if then I be a father, where is mine
honour? and if I be a master, where is my
fear? saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O
priests, that despise my name. And ye say,
Wherein have we despised thy name? We
greatly dishonour God when we allow the
spirit of this world to control us and guide
our thoughts to anything and everything
other than the things of the Lord.
ells us that "those who are led by the
Spirit of God are sons of God." A son of
God is led by the Holy Spirit and is fo-
cused on godly matters, not himself and
affairs of the this life.
Everyday Life
The Holy Spirit never leads us to be
friends with the world (everyday life). That
is the Devil's job. He is very good at it and
never gets tired. We have to be alert at all
times. If we are to be the son God wants us
to be then we must be led by the Spirit and
resist all temptation to follow the world.
ell us, I beseech you there-
fore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that
ye present your bodies a living sacrifice,
holy, acceptable unto God, which is your
reasonable service. And be not conformed
to this world: but be ye transformed by the
renewing of your mind, that ye may prove
what is that good, and acceptable, and
perfect, will of God.
God's will for us is that we become like
Jesus and live holy lives. We can only do
that by turning away from our fleshy lusts
for the things of the world which are tem-
porary and bring sin and death to those
who love them. The things of the world
may bring short term pleasure but the result
of pursuing them may well be eternal sor-
row.
In Ecclesiastes, King Solomon spoke of
his search for happiness through worldly
activities. Even though he had enormous
wealth, absolute power and great wisdom,
nothing satisfied him. He tried everything
he could think of to find happiness but
found that what the world had to offer was
meaningless. In Ecc. 12:13 he said, Let us
hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God, and keep his commandments:
for this is the whole duty of man.
The fact is, our lives and possessions
are here today and gone tomorrow. Many
in the church unwisely seek worldly pleas-
ures, wealth, and power but Solomon
showed that even his exceedingly great
wealth, power and wisdom failed to bring
lasting happiness. After all his efforts, he
came to understand that contentment can
only be found in God.
ell us how temporary
men and their glory are: For all flesh is as
grass, and all the glory of man as the flow-
er of grass. The grass withereth, and the
flower thereof falleth away: But the word
of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is
the word which by the gospel is preached
unto you. and ells us, And the
world passeth away, and the lust thereof:
but he that doeth the will of God abideth
for ever.
In Jesus warns casual believ-
ers, So then because thou art lukewarm,
and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee
out of my mouth. rges us,
Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the
faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not
your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in
you, except ye be reprobates?
If you are in the faith then you will be
led by the Holy Spirit. If your focus is on
what the world you then you are being led
by the spirit of the world. In Hebrew, the
word for faith and faithfulness are the same
word so when ells us that the just
shall live by his faith it also means that the
"the righteous will live by his faithfulness."
Does your faith have you faithful to the
world and its lusts or faithful to the one
who died for you?
Are you in the faith or a
Sunday Christian?
I urge you to examine yourself and see
if you are in the faith as Jesus said in Matt.
7:21, "not everyone who says to me, 'Lord,
Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but only he who does the will of my Father
who is in heaven" — Mike Alexander
Sunday Christians —Mick Alexander
So then because thou
art lukewarm, and nei-
ther cold nor hot, I will
spue thee out of my
mouth.
Rev. 3:16