"Judging The Church"

"Judging The Church"

"The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard

this and began looking for a way to kill him, for

they feared him, because the whole crowd was

amazed at his teaching."

(Mark 11:18)

Jesus Christ throwing out the money changers

You say, "That's cruel."  Is it?  Judgment begins at the house of God.  The people were buying and selling in the Holy temple.  It hasn't changed; thousands of years later, the Lord Jesus Christ still judges His church before He judges the world.  We must be a holy generation, a royal priesthood; our altars must be sanctified and sacred.  We have come to the end and it has begun.  What?  I'm talking about the period before the great and terrible tribulation, when the world will be judged, the period of "Judging The Church." 

Jesus declared the temple the House of prayer

for the Nations

The Church of God is still a house of prayer for the Nations.  Sin cannot abide in a holy place; sin has not place in a place of worship, except at the altar  ...  in the baptismal waters, and in the posture of repentance.  The Church must be clean before a Holy God; the saints must keep ourselves holy in daily repentance.  "But, we're already forgiven; so it's done, right?"  you ask.  We are not "once saved, always saved."  The Apostle Paul said that he must keep his body under subjection lest that he, after having preached to others, would himself, become a castaway.  There is only one who can remove us from the hands of God  ...  we, ourselves, by sin. 

Forgiveness

Living a clean and holy life is a daily thing.  Sin will keep our prayers from being answered; sin keeps us from hearing the voice of the Lord; sin stops a move of God; sin hinders His presence  ...  Sin and God do not coexist. 

Holy offerings

We must bring our offerings from a pure heart, and that's what the house of God is for; it is the place to lay ourselves before the holy face of Almighty God in a posture of surrender, a sincere cleansing of our souls before the One who knows all.  It's beautiful "to come clean" before God; to be forgiven of all sin and cleansed of all unrighteousness, to be forgiven and walk away clean, renewed, and holy in His sight.  It is the step to receiving the Holy Ghost and speaking in tongues as His Spirit gives us the utterance.  Then, when we are baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, we come up out of the water innocent, forgiven, clean, and holy.  It's the greatest thing in the world!

Jesus' entry into Jerusalem on

Palm Sunday

When Jesus Christ rode into town on Palm Sunday, everything changed.  Huh?  The world would never be the same.  "It is Finished" had begun; sin was about to be eliminated; the final price was about to be paid; mankind was about to get an eternal pardon; hope for a lost world was about to be manifested; there was about to be a lamb slain for the world; the blood was about to be shed that would cleanse all of humanity  ...

                                             

Blood applied to the doorposts so the

death angel would pass over

In the old testament, animals were sacrificed for the shedding of blood "to cover" the sins of the people.  Blood must be shed to cover sin.  The shedding of blood is also a protection from destruction.  When the tenth plague was issued in the book of Exodus, "to smite all the firstborn" in order to free the Israelites from bondage, the Israelites were instructed to place lamb's blood on the doorposts of their homes, so that the death angel would pass over them; they would be protected and the death angel would only go to the homes without the blood applied to kill all the firstborn.  This was also a prophetic symbol and shadow of the blood the Lord Jesus Christ would shed on the cross to protect us from eternal death without Jesus Christ and to not only cover our sins, but eliminate them forever.  

The death of the Lord Jesus Christ

on the cross

The Lord Jesus Christ took the sins of the world upon Himself, shed His precious holy blood for all mankind, and died on the cross.  The blood  ...  the blood; it's all about the shedding of the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ  ...  It Is Finished!

The Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead

three days after He was buried in the tomb

He's ALIVE forevermore!  Death couldn't stop Him; the tomb couldn't hold Him; the rugged cross and nails couldn't destroy Him  ...  He gave His BLOOD, His life, His all for You and me, that we might have life forevermore!

Jesus risen!

It's worth it, dear ones, to be judged here, so that we have the opportunity to get ourselves in line, now, before it's everlasting too late; we must come clean before the One who made the heart and knows the heart.

Judge us, Oh Lord!  We repent; we humble ourselves before You; cleanse us of all unrighteousness, we pray; give us pure hearts, holy and acceptable unto You; forgive us of all of our sins, and wash us in that precious blood You shed for us.  Thank You, Lord, for riding into town, for taking our place on the cross, for dying that we might live, for rising to live again that we might rise to newness of life in You! 

 Thank You, Lord, for keeping Your saints holy, for cleansing the temple, for "Judging The Church."

(Visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com.

PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas, Pastor Kenneth Phillips)