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Continue In My Love |
Dear Brethren,
We are a fellowship of true believers who are earnestly
endeavoring to live up to God’s very high standards and moral excellence, as we struggle to live
Christian lives of caring concern for one another. Jesus has made it possible for us to live at that
high level by His death and resurrection. We read in Galatians 6:2: "Bear ye one another's burdens,
and so fulfil the law of Christ." Jesus warns us that the gate is narrow, and the path is difficult
that leads to eternal life, and very few people find the way (Matthew 7:14).
Where is God’s True Church? Where are the faithful brethren who have been called
out of the deceived world? Our faith has its origin in the principles and
doctrines of the Church which Jesus Christ founded nearly 2000 years ago. Jesus
said, "As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my
love." (John 15:9)
God’s Church is scattered all across the lands. Today, Jesus is warning the
end-time Church of its half-hearted approach to the love of God (Revelation
3:18). Most of those in this final Church era will go into the Great Tribulation
because they take God's love for granted, and will not live up to Jesus’ minimum
standard of pure religion. We live in precarious times because people are no
longer "on fire" to live God's way - they are just limping along. "Pure religion
and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and
widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world."
(James 1:27 )
Those who are zealous, try to set their standards very high - and there are not
too many people to whom that is attractive (Revelation 3:19). It is important to
point people to God - and not to a man, or an organization. It is the will of
God that we reach out and serve one another as though we were serving Jesus,
Himself (Matthew 25:40). It is our desire that God’s Spirit guide us in all that
we do. We are begotten Children of God, and look forward to being born
spiritually into the Family of God. Everyone who is being led by God’s Spirit is
a Child of God, because God is the spiritual Father of those who have received
His Spirit (Romans 8:14-15). No matter where they live or attend Sabbath
services, they are our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Jesus prayed the night before He died, “that they may be one.” (John 17:11) God
intends that all His people who share our common faith, be truly unified in His
Spirit. The love and esteem that the Children of God demonstrate toward each
other extends far beyond group affiliations. We are dedicated to doing the work
of God as we prepare to be the Bride of Christ. The work of God is believing the
teachings and principles of Jesus and the good news He brought to us concerning
the soon to be established Kingdom of God (John 6:29). It includes the witness
and warning of that Gospel message. As like-minded people, we are zealously
seeking the establishment of the Kingdom of God by Jesus Christ, and serving
others who are also striving toward that same goal.
We believe that God has given His people a reprieve to have the time to go on to
perfection (Hebrews 6:1). Unless we learn to lay our lives down for the
brethren, as Jesus did, we will not have a part in the Kingdom of God. "Hereby
perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought
to lay down our lives for the brethren." (1John 3:16) In the past, too many
people in God’s Church have believed that our faith consists mostly of the
ceremonial observance of rituals and the letter of the law, rather than the
spirit of the law which entails being the living sacrifices that we must be
(Romans 12:1). The Church must be our environment where we are able to grow in
grace and knowledge while being permitted to lead quiet and peaceable lives in
all Godliness and honesty.
We fellowship with those who are truly seeking to serve God and one another. We
are here to assist those who have a sincere desire to grow spiritually. To be
close to God, we must diligently seek Him through prayer and Bible study on a
daily basis. In this way, we come to love one another in sincerity and truth,
and have a close relationship with our Creator. He will impart His Holy Spirit
to us and when this gift is received, His Spirit “will bear witness with our
spirit that we are the Children of God.” (Romans 8:16)
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Sermon: |
"Continue In My Love"
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