Motivated by sight, obligated through obedience: Evangelism

It seems that I am always pondering our purpose as witnesses of the salvation that only Christ can bring, I frequently grieve at the utter insufficiency of my efforts. I am daily reminded that witnessing for Christ is not witnessing for my 'church,' or my 'denomination, or my 'bible study club.' We are not seeking converts to ourselves, but striving to add others to the Kingdom of God. Not only is there an overwhelming sense of utter inadequacy toward my efforts at being holy and faithful to this end, but there is also a welling up of gratitude for the sheer privilege to participate in the great commission. (Matthew 17:17-21)

As those who have witnessed the resurrection power of Jesus Christ in our own lives, we should be compelled to labor for that which is imperishable (1 Corinthians 9:23-27). Storing treasure up for ourselves in heaven is not shopping at some spiritual Walmart, or making pretty little arrangements to hang on our heavenly mansion walls (Matthew 6:19-21). NO! It is a desperation that presses us toward the work of heavenly joy, earning crowns to cast at His feet (Revelation 4:10-11).

Praise God! He gives us not only the Spirit to war against the wiles of the enemy (Romans 8:15, 2 Corinthians 7:1, 2 Timothy 1:7), but He gives us the commission, the work certificate, the denarius for a day's labor, His shed blood as payment toward the remission of sins. This is as good a reason to go into the field and labor as any! He grants us the tools that we need to sow, scatter, and water the seed of the gospel (Ephesians 1:1-23). By this, there is only hope to bless His name by remaining obedient to the call. We cannot reject our commission, it is imperative and inherent, to our discipleship (Matthew 19:19-20).

Peter and John were ordered by the Pharisees to silence their proclamation of the name of Jesus Christ. They could not remain silent because they had seen and experienced the living Christ. More so, they had been blessed with power from on high to go into all the world. They could not stop their mouths from 'speaking of that which they had seen and heard.' This is not a foreign, unrealistic experience reserved for only the apostolic ministry. This is your obligation. If you have been redeemed, you have been set apart, and if you have been set apart, you have seen and heard the salvation of the Lord. Witnessing  the resurrection of the dead is a firsthand experience you and I both observe when we meet with other believers, those who have been bought with a price bear witness to the dead-raising, life-giving power of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Acts 4:19-21).

Bless God that we can store up treasure in heaven. Understanding the value of the life that is to come simplifies the acceptance we must have with the the present life we live. Judging the ascetic appearance of the two reveals they have so little in comparison. What we value, is what we love. If we value anything greater than Christ, we have bowed to an idol. In the word's of Leonard Ravenhill, "We have not lost our first love, it says we have left our first love."

Please take a moment to listen to watch/listen to the video in the right column featuring an excerpt from a sermon Leonard Ravenhill preached concerning 'The Judgment Seat of Christ." It comes from the former "BraveheartedThots" website. Now known as "Ellerslie Short Films."

You can download the full-sermon at Sermonindex here.

The Holiness of God: Mark Cahill

Mark Cahill gave a talk at the Livingwaters Deeper Conference: 2009. It was titled, "The Holiness of God." Mark speaks emphatically about the necessity of sacrifice and its contribution to holiness that glorifies God. I listened to the talk earlier today and found it most encouraging. That is to be said, most of his talks will make you feel lukewarm, but this particular message was edifying, convicting, and spot on. Go check it out at Mark's website for free.

Does holiness, or the lack thereof, keep you from being a faithful, credible witness for Jesus Christ? 

Mark Cahill Ministries

The Holiness of God talk stream
The Holiness of God talk download

(Consider supporting Mark's ministry, he offers all his resources at donation value, meaning, what you want to pay is what you pay. They also give away tons of resources for free.)

Shift in direction: Detroit to Ann Arbor

Theoretically, the blog is called Deliver Detroit. But, lately I have been in Ann Arbor. Yes, I know there is not only a span of some forty miles that separate the two cities, a sharp contrast in culture, but also a completely different economic environment. If you have ever been to either, you may know what I am talking about.

With the glaring disparity between the two cities, there is one thing in common, they both have people, they both need preaching, and they both are within my reach. You see, for the time being, I now live happily between the two cities and able to commute to either in just under a half-hour.

That, said. The blog name will remain the same, of course, because it is paid for, and it still remains relevant. If you know my testimony, you know this is the city in which I received my deliverance. Detroit is also where I mostly work, and it is the place that will forever have my heart. The people still need deliverance. The city is in shambles, economic disarray, and spiritually under siege by they heartless prosperity and liberation gospels. I continue to pray on behalf of the people living there, both the lost and falsely converted.

Ann Arbor, is where I now fellowship, at least mostly. It is also where I have been spending most of my time doing street ministry. It is my belief that the Lord's hand has moved me in this direction over the past year. We have been reaching out to the homeless population, students on U of M's campus, those who frequent the downtown area on a regular basis. There will be more of a presence of posts related to this activity and less regarding Detroit.

So going forward, the original intent of this blog was to remain diligent in posting information related to street-ministry, open air preaching, and related material. You will also find posts related to ecclesiology, book reviews, and commentary, but I am going to once again try to re-focus on the purpose of this blog. If you are a regular reader, you know I have several 'series' of posts that remain unfinished. I would like to finish those as well.

Hopefully, I will hear from you more frequently, as you hear from me. I hope this blog fulfills my original intent to glorify Christ and to edify the saints. In due time, I will seek to accomplish that task.

In Him,

James

Introducing: Seeking a Kingdom Devotionals

I have created a new devotional blog. You may find it at http://seekingakingdom.blogspot.com, this is currently the primary URL.

The site is dedicated to posting devotionals with an emphasis on Kingdom centered and Kingdom mindedness. Essentially, the goal is to promote the edification of believers in Jesus Christ through devotions that focus on preparation, participation, and practical living for the Kingdom of God.

This site is currently still under construction. There will be accessibility via social media outlets like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and others that have yet to be determined. The goal is to encourage readers to spread these devotionals freely and to encourage others in hopes of magnifying God's wonderful guide to living a life pleasing to him, His word.

This site was constructed out of a desire to glorify the name of Jesus Christ, promote His Kingdom, and develop a heart of devotion in His followers.

The premise is simple. All of Scripture is profitable for cultivating a mindset in those who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ unto obedience, servitude, and application. Therefore, all devotions found here will be useful toward stopping for a moment, meditating upon the Word of God, and disciplining oneself into devotion to the Kingdom of God.

Interested in submitting?

The formula for the devotions is as follows,

• They begin with a portion of Scripture, the number of verses varying, yet remaining sufficient enough to convey context. The whole of the devotional should not extend beyond 600 words or more.

• That Scripture is then expounded upon in varying ways depending upon the style employed by its author. Then, a practical application, summary, or message is surmised from the entry.

• A prayer is offered. And the text is categorized for organization.

This site utilizes the thoughts and writings of several authors. Authors are attributed appropriately in their posts by their initials. Contacting site authors can be done through the contact tab in the menu bar at the site.

From time to time you may see a devotional posted from a well known source, author, or voice of the past. These devotions will be attributed properly and sources posted for reference.

Comments are welcomed and gladly accepted. However, they will be moderated and deliberated upon by the author of the devotion receiving comments, and the site administrator for validity, and profitability for edifying other site readers. Profane, obscene, perverse, spam, and other non edifying comments will be discarded swiftly.

Changing again

I am modifying the template once again. There was too much going on with the last one. I assume that it may repel the few readers that do come here, so I am attempting to centralize the blog around 'readability.' So, if you waste your blog reading time at Deliver Detroit, this is for you!

If not, well, subscribe and get in on the fun.