The World Needs Jesus

There’s a lot of whinging and lamenting amongst Christians, especially older Christians, about what’s going on in our country and the Western world in general.

We are aghast at what is being presented as truth to a generation that, because it does not know God,  is easily swallowing the lies spread by the left-biased mainstream media. The Far-left, Marxist agenda dresses itself up in words like love and tolerance, telling us that love equals acceptance of everything. It claims to be unifying and creating equality, but it pits different groups in society against each other as, for example, it proclaims cries of “Oppressed” to women and blacks, and “Oppressor” to men and whites. (and its become so politically correct, I’m probably not even supposed to refer to people by their colour!! Sorry! )

No longer are we permitted to be proud of our national culture and desire to uphold our country’s uniqueness. Instead Nationalism has become a dirty word as the UN seeks to encourage migration until it makes all countries indistinguishable from each other. I remember cleaning out paint pots in my school art classes. What colour did I get when I mixed all the left-over paint together? An ugly khaki brown colour.  Every nation is unique and needs to remain so. We do not need to be all blended into one.

Indeed, there is much to lament about as Christianity is presented in the mainstream media as an outdated, judgemental, narrow-minded world view based on myths and traditions.

Asleep At The Wheel

The sad truth is that those of us who are whinging and complaining (and I have to put my hand up as guilty), have been asleep at the wheel and allowed the corrosion of Christian values and character in our country to carry on under our watch. We have presented religion without love and power when we should be more like Jesus, who showed Himself on earth to be a powerful, exciting and passionate revolutionary, one who is always compassionate and in touch with the everyday struggles of ordinary people. He exposed cold religion and changed the world, not from a position of political or military might but with the power of a love that challenged hearts and souls to change. He came to baptise with the Holy Spirit and with FIRE!

Quenched The Holy Spirit

Fellow Christians I fear we have quenched the Holy Spirit. We have carried on in a luke-warm bubble of complacency, ignoring the promptings of the Holy Spirit to stand firm and preach the gospel with power.

Where has our luke-warmness come from? At the risk of being harsh, it seems to me there are many who claim Christianity as their world-view but they know very little of living the Christian life as Jesus demonstrated. Real Christianity comes with conviction and repentance and the power to live differently to the world. Signs and wonders will follow those who believe – healing, deliverance, tongues and more. Real Christianity faces sin, repents and has the power to live a changed life

“Low Dose Christianity”

One of the dangers of living in country that was once proudly Christian is that you can catch what I call a “low dose” of Christianity.

A vaccine usually contains a very low dose of the disease you are trying to inoculate yourself against.

Too many people have heard a wimpy, watered-down version of the gospel and become inoculated against it.

When this happens here are two possible reactions:

1. Reject it. You say you’ve investigated Christianity and found it wanting. End of discussion
2. Accept it and follow a watered-down version that allows you to still go on living as you have. You’ve got your “ticket to heaven.” Sadly, it’s a lack-lustre kind of life and you may end up abandoning Christianity in the future.

“Low-dose Christianity” teaches that sin doesn’t matter. The message of God’s grace has been distorted to mean you can go on sinning because God will forgive you. It teaches nothing about repentance, holiness and the power that is available to us when we receive the Holy Spirit. These people don’t want to be challenged to go further with God because they believe they’ve got it all sorted.

Go Deeper

The world needs the of powerful, radical, world-changing message of the first century church, not a low-dose version. So, if you think you’ve heard a bit about Christianity or call yourself Christian, but it hasn’t changed your life, ask God to give you the full dose.

Christians, there is always a deeper level of relationship with God available to us. Do not be afraid of going further.

If you’ve experienced the life-giving power of Jesus, then let’s not hold back in sharing the good news. Be fired up to demonstrate the power of the Holy Spirit to a world that is hungering after something worth dying and living for.