John 16:7-11 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgement, because the ruler of this world is judged. NKJV
The Marketing Of God
We in the Laodicean church age, have but one major problem in our Evangelistic method. God is not with us. I know that is an astonishing statement to make, yet not I think, an unreasonable one. When a person is convicted of sin, they are convinced deep in their being that they are sinners and sinners against God in particular, They are full of a sense of their own undone-ness, their own menstrual stinking, filthy raggedness, the embarrassed stench of which they know has found itself lodged in the nostrils of a Holy and pure God. They are convinced of their own nakedness before the whole host of a Holy heaven, revealing the hanging and rolling, undulating shaking belly-fat of their sin. They are grossly obese with their sin, undone and they know it, feeling the weight of the long shadow of coming and righteous judgement made ready to fall with blunt force trauma on their screaming little heads, to smash them all to pieces. In this convicted state, for the first time ever, they see their complicit alignment with both darkness and the devil and they are greatly alarmed, knowing they can do nothing to rectify the rot and thus, being so desperate, they seek the services of a mighty and merciful Saviour.
Now if that’s conviction on sin and I think it is, then you will agree with me surely, that it is a rare as rocking horse poop. Yes, we in the Laodicean church age, have but one major problem in our Evangelistic method. God is not with us. I know that is an astonishing statement to make, yet not I think, an unreasonable one.
Most of the folks in our churches are lost. We have sold them a pup and they have simply been converted to cultural Christianity. Many of those unsaved folk with some bravery and integrity, even with authenticity and anger, shall leave our ranks. Thousands upon thousands of them do so, each and every year, carrying with them both distrust and disappointment in abundance and frankly, who can blame them for they were conned into a false kingdom instead of being convicted and converted into the true Kingdom of Christ.
If we are going to rightly market the message, then we had better first answer the door, face the fella whose been knocking for a long time now and buy some of His goods, for amazingly, Jesus still loves us and despite His impending vomiting, is through the greatness of His gagging, still inviting us to buy the cure. Yes, there is a cost attached to it, but I believe it is well worth the paying. How about you?
Listen: - "And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, 'These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say,'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing' — and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked — I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. Revelation 3:14-19 NKJV
Pray:- Lord sell us this gold, sell us these garments and then O Great Ophthalmologist, go to work on our eyes that we might truly begin to see. Clothe us please, with those so distinct, washed and wonderfully white, other worldly garments. Fulfil that prayer of Moses and make all Your people prophets, even the true proclaimers of the Gospel in its fullness and with it, O Lord have mercy upon us, with it, send us fiery persecution and bring us forth like gold refined in such a fire. Finally tonight then O God, though we squint and squirm though we might pull away from You, please grab us and stretch open the sockets of our eyes, smearing in Your all seeing salve, that clarity might come at last, yes, that clarity and conviction might come to us at last. Amen.
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