Whom will you serve?...the Wayfarer 10/2/14

Whom will you serve?
10/2/14

“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy.

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same?

And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others?  Do not even the publicans so?

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

(Matthew 5:43-48)

When we turn our “churches” into social clubs instead of houses of worship as they are intended to be, when what is important to those gathering is the gossip instead of the gospel of Christ Jesus, when what is honored is only tradition and those with whom we choose to gather, we have denied the inheritance given us through the sacrifice of Christ for the warm fuzzy provided by serving selfish and earthly desires and wants.

Large numbers on the board, both in attendance and in offering are quite meaningless when those numbers serve any purpose other than that given us by the Father we profess to serve.

What matters is not in the numbers in attendance, but in the numbers of those worshiping that Father, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, while pursuing that worship in Spirit and in TRUTH both while in attendance and even more so when alone.

What matters is not the large numbers on the board of what has been given, but in how what has been given is used.

“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them; otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues, and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

But thou when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory, for ever. Amen

(Matthew 6:1-13)

It is that FATHER to whom allegiance is owed, and service is due, not to ourselves alone.

The Sermon on the Mount, from which the preceding scripture was taken, is not just a poetic and beautiful writing, but is a summation of what is expected and acceptable to God as it was given us through His Son Christ Jesus.

It is only through Christ that we may be heard by our Father, His Father, the creator of, and final authority over, all mankind.

To be heard by that Father, we must know HIM, honor HIM, worship HIM as did the Son sent to provide a means to do so.

 


“I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.
 

I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.
 

They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.
 

But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
 

Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
 

Jesus saith unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
 

Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.

Ye are of your father, the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar and the father of it.
 

And because I tell you the the truth, ye believe me not.
 

 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?
 

He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.
 

(John 8:37-47)

That truth, given by Christ alone is still and yet the only truth. Service is willingly given to The FATHER, or to that other father just referenced.

“No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.

And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.

The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.”

(Luke 16:13-16)

Even so come quickly, Lord Jesus!

Amen and Amen.

The time has come to choose   a master, choose carefully, grasshopper!

2 Timothy 1:12 King James Version (KJV)

¹² For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

the Wayfarer