Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today we are going to take a look at a passage of Scripture, but before we do that I wanted to tell you a little story.
Have you ever noticed that when people start to become famous, many people will crawl out of the woodwork, claiming to be a distant relative. They might not know them at all, but all of a sudden they show up and tell everybody that they are your brother!
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
First of all, not everybody is a brother in the faith. The disciples warned about false brethren, false apostles, and false prophets. Just because they hang out at a church doesn’t necessarily mean that they are a genuine brother in the faith. After all, some of them are wolves in sheep’s clothing. A true brother in Christ will possess a great desire in their heart to obey the will of God. If they really do not have that attitude, then they are not a part of God’s family at all.
Mark 3 ³³ And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren? ³⁴ And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! ³⁵ For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.
A sincere child of God will serve God’s purpose rather than their own. For example, when a person gets a job, they will do what the employer tells them to do, rather than making their own decisions. When a child sits in the classroom, they will do what the teacher tells them, rather than doing what they want to do. A married woman is required to do the same, by obeying her husband in everything.These are the qualities of humility and submission, and anyone who professes to follow Christ must be of this same school of thought, otherwise they will never truly become pleasing unto God. True brothers in the faith will possess a great desire and passion to submit to God’s will, which is the outward evidence of genuine faith inside of their heart.
“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6
We live in some wicked days, where many people profess spirituality but openly deny the teachings of Christ. They profess to be disciples of the Lord, but don’t do the things that He teaches. They assert that they are part of the family of God, but in all actuality, they don’t really seek Him with a diligent heart. They claim that they know Him, but most of their daily activities are spent frivolously chasing after the things of this world, such as a new car, a new house, or even a woman. They spend many hours of their day seeking after riches, pleasures, and temporal desires, yet still claim that they have a close relationship with God. They seek what they can see, rather than diligently seeking the unseen things of God. Diligence is defined as putting forth a steady, earnest and energetic effort to obtain something, or being completely devoted to accomplishing a specific undertaking. Some people will attempt the Christian Life in a half-hearted manner, but those who do will not be in Paradise. The things of the world are going to cloud their vision, and obscure the narrow path of Christ.
Mark 4 ¹⁸ And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, ¹⁹ And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
As a dad, how would you feel if your child ran into the house, said a quick hello, grabbed a few items and then said..”See you later, I’m going to go hang out with my friends…” How much of a relationship can develop out of that? I probably spend more time each week at the gas station.than that. If you are going to have a serious relationship with the Heavenly Father, it requires the diligent usage of your time. God sees your efforts and will reward you accordingly.
“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13
Those who don’t pursue God in such a manner, really don’t know or understand Him at all. All it is is a profession, without an obsession.
Revelation 3 ¹⁵ I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. ¹⁶ So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Some people will claim to know the Lord at the judgment, but they never actually did. Instead, they spent their time on everything else rather than growing in a close relationship with Him.
Luke 13 ²⁵ When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: ²⁶ Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.
²⁷ But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.
So to truly be a brother in the faith, one must become obedient to the will of God. After all that Jesus has done for us on the cross, that’s the very least we can do! The entire New Testament is filled with commandments that we need to follow in order to claim fellowship with the Lord. In fact, those who are outside the teachings of Christ are outside the love of the heavenly Father.
John 14 ²¹ He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. ²² Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? ²³ Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. ²⁴ He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.
People can claim that they love God, but salvation requires much more than just words, it requires complete submission and obedience to His will. To claim God as our Father, people must first separate themselves from this wicked world. This is what Moses did when he left Egypt, as did Lot when he left Sodom and Gomorrah. In these latter days, people are so far into the world that many of them will be incapable of doing this. They certainly will claim Christianity as their faith, but in the end it’s only religious chatter.
2 Corinthians 6 ¹⁴ Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? ¹⁵ And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
¹⁶ And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
¹⁷ Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, ¹⁸ And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
There are people in the Church that they risked their own lives out of love for the Apostle Paul. Onesiphorus loved him so much that he continued searching through Rome until he finally found him. The truest friendship of all, are those who are bonded together through their faithful obedience to Christ and His word. That is an everlasting friendship, and the signs of…
…. A True Brother
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious goups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.❤️
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