March 23 2 Timothy 4:1-4
Good morning from Pastor Glen Brock, Baptist Tabernacle Church, Wendell, North Carolina… “I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all long suffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables. 5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:1-4)
Through Prayer and Supplication with Thanksgiving, God is blessing the family and fellowship of our local church body, however, because of the abundant blessings and the outpouring of His Amazing Grace, Satan is working Double Time to thwart, hamper and to destroy the unity of the fellowship and to create Drama and Chaos, all with the idea of challenging the work of our Lord! Over the past 2 years, we have experienced phenomenal growth and baptisms, and the face and dynamic of our church family has expanded to include new and fresh faces. There will always be “Growing Pains,” but Satan has brough the “Pain” to new levels! Amazingly, there hasn’t been a day, in the past several weeks, that I haven’t received a call reporting a new issue or a situation where one is at odds with another! First, I am excited that there are individuals that are committed to the cause of Christ, but the petty bickering and the politics of church life that cloud the true mission and purpose of the church causes great concern! Our Savior, Jesus, warned of the opportunities to be self-centered and to forget who we serve, and follow our own way! How exciting it is to be ready to step behind the sacred desk, to share His Good News, and be greeted with some simple and ridiculous situation that has ZERO, NO Eternal Significance, yet is presented as if the entire future of mankind rests in the immediate solution to the issue, and it is my responsibility to solve it in the moments before I preach! Unless the building is on fire or someone is having a heart attack, most things are not a “life and death” issue! Regardless of the challenges, I love what I do, and I love doing it with you, the Family of Believers at BTC! We are not perfect, but we are forgiven! Please stop to consider if the issues at hand are really important to the growing body of Christ, or just our own desires! We are to live peaceably with all folks, as much as we can! We are to love God completely, and we are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves! Programs, Bylaws, Processes, Opinions, Biases, Habits, Traditions do not dictate the Cause of Christ! Please take a moment to inventory your own life and ask the question, are my actions and are my motivations bringing honor to God and are they edifying to the Body of Christ? PLEASE DO NOT LET SATAN USE YOU TO THWART THE MESSAGE OF CHRIST! As the Shepherd of this amazing flock, I feel every hurt and every victory and every triumph and every struggle that you are going through, and I will continue to love, support and pray for all of you amazing folks for as long as God gives me life! Step back, evaluate your motives and double down on prayer that God will use you for HIS GLORY, not your own! Stay Strong, Stay Focused… THE BEST IS YET TO BE!