Miki Hardy

The man that finds it, hides it, and full of joy he goes and sells everything he has, and buys the field. Salvation is like a treasure hidden in a field, and is worth everything we have. How can we hold on to our lives and live a  comfortable christianity? That is totally contrary to the description of christianity given by Jesus. The church of Jesus Christ has been swallowed by religion and most christians are accepting christianity as a small part of their lives. A new breath of life is needed, a new gospel is necessary so that Christ may lay hold of the lives of christians to the extent that Christ becomes their priority.

Many christians give a certain percentage of their income because they feel that they have to do it, but they do not do it willingly. They feel condemned if they do not give that amount. They do not realize that their offering is not acceptable to God if they do not bring it wholeheartedly. What a deception. The Lord looks at our hearts and accepts whatever we give with a joyful heart. The church has been living under the law and is acting like the pharisees. Let us enter into a deeper relationship with the Lord and be free to give according to the desires of our hearts.

We need to preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified for many reasons. The main one is because this message is the central point of christianity. Jesus’ perfect life on earth was not sufficient to save mankind, without the cross. When Jesus asked his disciples to take up their cross and follow Him, He was pointing to a life that they would lose, if they were to be His disciples. That was the condition to serve Him, and we cannot put that aside as if it was a simple demand.

The preaching of the cross is the power of God to deal with the flesh, and bring it to subjection. Then the life of the Spirit will be evident in our lives. What the law could not do, God did by sending His son in the likeness of the flesh, to condemn sin in the flesh. Romans 8:3.

The church has been influenced by the world and it is time to consider the damage that was caused. How did the world influence the church to the point that it has lost its power. When the church deviates from the simple but powerful gospel of the cross of Jesus Christ, the life of the Spirit diminishes. And the next step is to try and manufacture something to replace the life of the Spirit. Unfortunately nothing can take the place of the Holy Spirit, who alone needs to build the church. Many leaders of churches have great difficulty to admit that this drawing away from the cross, has brought the church to where it is now.

For example, the music in many churches does not differ much from that in the world. and there are so many other examples where the church has compromised the gospel. We have tried to build a spiritual building by copying the world system. No wonder it will never work. At the end of the day the gospel is compromised and thus it loses its power to change lives.

The key is for leaders of churches to humble themselves and repent. The next step is to seek the Lord in a genuine way and to allow Him to speak to them and direct them. The church is at a cross road and if there is no repentance, the church will get weaker except for those who decide to allow the Holy Spirit to bring the change. There will certainly be some shaking in the lives of the leaders. The Lord needs to uproot before He can plant. It is a challenge that is worthy to accept.

What is the Holy Spirit saying in these days? Can we hear the sound of the trumpet? The Spirit is saying: “Return to the simple and powerful message of the cross, which is the apostolic gospel”. It will bring order, fear of God, sanctification and holiness. This is what the church needs in this hour. Let us be humble enough to accept this truth, and to repent of having brought strange fire in the house of the Lord. The Holy Spirit is drawing men and women to take the fire of the gospel to a hurting church. Let us take our place in this glorious plan of God.

As we hear all the calamities that are falling on this world, it is evident that the platform is being set up for the soon return of Jesus Christ, to take His church with Him. Jesus Himself gave some indications as to the approximate time of His return, and we ought to take it seriously. The church cannot ignore the things that are happening in this world, the many false doctrines that are entering the church, the iniquity that is abounding, the love of many growing cold and so many  prophecies of the Old Testament that are coming to pass. Christians, the time is short, make sure our lives are right with God. Jesus is coming soon.

Jesus had just rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. The disciples said: ” What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” Matthew 8:23-27. They marveled and yet it was not the first time that they saw a miracle before their eyes. Many times it happens to us also, when we need a miracle from God, as we face a difficult situation in life, may it be a sickness, a trial or a test. The problem seems so big that we lack faith and we start fearing. We should never forget that NOTHING is impossible to our God. Prayer and fellowship with Jesus will keep our faith alive, so that we may trust Him in ALL circumstances.

The Lord is the one who wins our battles. We cannot fight our battles in our strength because our strength is but weakness. It is evident that Jesus, the apostles of the early days and the churches, never fought a carnal battle like so many do today in their christian walk. Our defense should simply be the lives we live and the revelation of the gospel that we carry. Those fighting us in the flesh are just losing their time because they will never win. As we keep a pure heart the Lord is fighting our battles. We therefore rejoice and will always rejoice in the Lord.

It is evident that we cannot do away with the word of God in our lives.It is absolutely  necessary for all christians to hear from God. We cannot live without listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit, may it be while praying or through the reading of the word of God or hearing a sermon. The people of Israel were fed with manna everyday and God has given us, Christians, His word so that we may be fed and we may grow in the knowledge of Christ.The value of God’s word in our lives is unlimited.

This is a very straight forward statement from God, through the prophet Zacharia. And yet we easily depart from that simple truth and try to do it in our own strength and understanding. We organize, we create our own ways and methods, but in vain. It is time to return to that powerful truth and come out of our religion…. We must realize that the Holy Spirit, and Him alone, is the power to build the church of Jesus Christ. Let us come closer to Jesus in prayer and humble hearts so that we may have faith that the Holy Spirit alone can manifest the power of God to save, heal, deliver and set free the captives.