ACCOUNTABILITY TO COMMUNITY

Jude 1:17-19 ESV
"But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, 'In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.' It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit."
Passions void of the Spirit misplaces our identities and original content given to us of God. The foundational Apostolic Father’s saw this. It divides the community. Anytime we step outside of the Trinity and their function in us, community goes out the window and we become a kingdom of self all up in ourselves. This is the rule of faith capsulized in being connected to God and God to us. The relational workings between the Trinity works in us to bring about harmony in what’s handed to us.

EVIL PRESENCE

Luke 8:35-36 (KJV)
“35 Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.
36 They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed.”
“Healed of evil spirits?” The same was said of Mary Magdalene. “And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils,” (Luke 8:2). Being healed of the presence of evil is equally important as being delivered (free). Deliverance is never complete (sustained) without healing and healing cannot begin without deliverance; healing and deliverance are dependent upon each other. The spirit of things may be evil but never more evil than the invitation given them; to divorce them would mean we need to divorce our own will.

LIVE ACCEPTED

Genesis 4:3-5 (KJV)
“3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.”
The lesson in this is, we do not give to be accepted, we give because we are accepted; likewise, we do not live holy to be accepted, we live holy because we are accepted. When giving and holiness becomes an issue of rejection, we totally miss what giving and holiness is all about. Living accepted empowers us to give and it empowers us to be holy in our giving.

EVER PRESENT

Proverbs 15:3 (KJV)
“The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.”
Evil or good, nothing in our lives happens outside of His presence; He sees it all. “Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest” (Isaiah 66:1)?
The earth is His footstool and the heaven being His throne; simply means, geographically, we are at His feet in His throne room. Absolutely nothing escapes Him. He does not exist without being aware of every movement in our lives; yet, if we live and move about as though He is not there at all, we are missing the greatest comfort and strength we could ever know.

MONEY CAN’T BUY ME LOVE

Proverbs 11:1-4 (KJV)
“1 A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.
2 When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.
3 The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them. ...
4 Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.”
“Money Can’t Buy Me Love” Being right with God is worth more than all the money in the world. Symmetry is portioned by trust in God and God alone; spiritual balance can only happen relationally.

CAN DO

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (KJV)
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”
Do not let perfect scare you, let it empower you. Perfect here connects with furnished; everything we need to function as believers is supplied to us by God. He has taken the “Can’t do” out of us and has put the “can do” in.
Scripture is not designed to plug things up it is designed to unplug things; it is designed to open us up and give us clarity to be. “Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite” (Psalm 147:5). Understanding how things work and why they work is largely the power to accomplish. So, let us say about ourselves what Paul has said, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13).

Deuteronomy 30:6 (KJV)
“And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.”
Only God can rend the flesh and expose the heart; only God can bring us to the place of vulnerability. Our sensitivity to God is given to us by God that we may live.
“Yet even now,” declares the LORD,
“return to me with all your heart,...
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the LORD your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
and he relents over disaster.
Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
and leave a blessing behind him,
a grain offering and a drink offering
for the LORD your God?
Blow the trumpet in Zion;
consecrate a fast;
call a solemn assembly;
gather the people.
Consecrate the congregation;
assemble the elders;
gather the children,
even nursing infants.
Let the bridegroom leave his room,
and the bride her chamber.
Between the vestibule and the altar
let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep
and say, “Spare your people, O LORD,
and make not your heritage a reproach,
a byword among the nations.
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’”
(Joel 2:12-17 ESV)