Pure Religion
Twylla Sundin
Mark 3:21
Jesus’ friends said He was beside himself. He began to do the unusual. He was not living in the normal fashion. He began to lay a foundation to build the Kingdom of God on earth. His friends and kindred thought His teaching was absurd and preposterous, a reproach to Him.
If you serve with zeal and vigor you must expect the world to tag you. Agrippa said of Paul, “Much learning doth make thee mad.” (Acts 26:24)
We should want to hear our Pastor get beside himself and preach to a Church that is beside itself. We will never impact our world patty-caking for Jesus and patterning ourselves after the normal Christianity of this world. We are to be like the apostles, teaching like the apostles. They taught the same message that Jesus taught them. We are Apostolic, saved by the power of God, baptized with the Holy Ghost and fire; baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of our sins. This is the Church that is going to impact the world.
The Church must get beside itself so that others will know it is not operating in the normal mode, but that we have been fired from within by the Holy Ghost to shake the earth with revival. We must become deranged (by the worlds’ standards), mad (according to some), but must be saturated and obsessed with vigor and zeal to shake the Kingdom of this world. We are to take authority and dominion over the powers of darkness because we are the people of the Name. We have gotten a hold of something that is mighty and powerful. WE are part of the Kingdom of God.
If we plan everything we do according to human intelligence and wisdom we will fail. But if we reach into the realm of Gods’ Holy Spirit and let our bodies and minds be baptized with the Holy Ghost and fire, we will go forth conquering. We will be beside ourselves.
We must think beyond human mentality and understand that in ourselves we are no match for this world. But with the power of God and the Word of God, we can shake this world. Let Jesus have His way and get beside ourselves.
We can never impact this world without Jesus, but if we take Jesus everywhere we go we will impact the world. We have a message that transforms the lines of men and women. We are children of God. We have authority and power.
We have become too number conscious. We have become conscious of earthly goods, human abilities of intellectualism, of education, of great plans, of great church facilities and of multi-million dollar educational plants. If you are depending on that to shake your city and our world, you are going to be disappointed. But if the Holy Ghost and fire burns within you and if you allow yourself to be consumed with it until you are beside yourself, you will shake the whole world with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Church has seen the days of old fashioned prayer meetings in school houses, in brush arbors, in tents and in store fronts. The Holy Ghost moved and the whole areas were stirred. It isn’t how great we are, but how great God is. We must get beside ourselves, out of the flesh and out of our own wisdom and might.
We must remind ourselves that though God has blessed us, we are still sinners saved by grace. We must continue to depend upon the Spirit of God. We must have an unction from God. We are not here to give book reports, we are here to teach, “Thus saith the Lord.” We must lift up the name of Jesus. Lets allow Jesus to move in our lives.
David’s father sent him down to check on his brothers. When he got there, he behold their despair, their sorrow and their confusion. Goliath had defied the armies of Israel. When no one would except the giants’ challenge, David said, “I will go.” Dave was no match for the giant, but he had something burning in his soul.
Rebuke the spirit that says we are no match for this world. Let the devil know that in Jesus’ name we are more than a match for hell and the devil. The world will hear the conquering tread of an Apostolic Church. Dave said to Goliath, “You come to me with sword and spear, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Hosts. I am not much, but I have something burning in my soul.
There is one sure way for the Church to possess the power, and that for every saint of God and every preacher to wake up every morning and say, “Jesus, I am nothing without you.”
It is dangerous to run with the negative crowd. It is dangerous to run with gossipers. It is dangerous to run with those who are always bad mouthing and touching the anointed of God. God is going to have a holy Church.
No matter how eloquent you are, if you have a lying tongue and a gossiping spirit, you are gong to pay the price for it. God said that He hates a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood. Proverbs 6:16-17. This Church is going to be pure and holy, old fashioned holiness. If we are going to impact the globe we must not give a second thought about toning it down. We need to be beside ourselves. Nothing can stop this Church. No hypocrite or reprobate can stop this Church. No religious system can stop this Church. By the truth and sell it not.
Some will call this Church a cult or “Jesus Only”. Can you imagine what they called the apostles? Or what they called the early apostolic fathers? Or what they called many grandparents and mothers and dads who suffered for the name of Jesus? We cannot care what they say, we know who we are and we know who called us.
Did the missionaries feel sorry for themselves? No, they stayed in the fields. They baptized their converts in Jesus’ name. Our heritage is rich. Our forefathers gave everything for this message. This generation needs to get hold of this. We need to be baptized with a spirit that says, I am a Jesus name saint. We should be one-God saints and should not be ashamed of it. If we are going to impact the globe, we are not going to do it by compromising or watering down the message. We are going to touch this world by standing firm.
The only way that preachers and saints are going to impact the world is with the Holy Ghost message that will bring drug addicts and alcoholics out of the gutter, gays our of that lifestyle, and put marriage back together. When people are saved in our congregations they give up their adulterous living. We do not believe in same sex marriages or abortion. We are a Church that is based on the Word of God.
God set each of us afire and make us a flam for you. There is a fresh anointing for us over and over again. The only truth we can stand on and live by is the word of God. Paul said, “Be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2) First and foremost, our relationship with God and the directives of His Word will set our course. Lets put our hands in the hands of the Man who stills the waters, leads us to green pastures and restores our soul, the Lord Jesus.
