FOR ME TO LIVE IS CHRIST

ALIVE OR DEAD (1 Thessilonias 5:1-23, Philippians 1:21) "For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,who died for us, that whether we are wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing. (1 Thesslonians 5:9-11) How do we stay awake and alive as we live for Jesus each day. In this day and age as things are, I believe worse than in the days of Noah, (Matthew 24:37) Over and over again in Pauls writings, He puts out warnings, 1 Thessalonians is one of those books where he warns about dealing with false teachers and rejecting thier teachings (5:20-22), the New Testament speaks of untrustworthy leaders, with harsh terms, it will not be good for them in the end. We need to keep from falling into the trap the enemy sets through false teachers doing his biding. Jesus also warned, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves” (Matthew 7:15). To detect a false teacher, you need to compare what they say with the authinticity of the scriptures. If what they are saying is contray to the unity of scripture, and the “sound instruction” of Christ is not in it, "REJECT IT", because they “are conceited and understand nothing. These false teachers are only trying to cause unhealthy thngs to happen by causing controversies and quarrels about unholy words that result in envy [and] strife” (1 Timothy 6:3-5, Romans 16:17-18). What they do is water down the word of God and “pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:4). The bible tells us that we can know a good teacher by their fruits.(Matthew 7:16-20). Because when you check it out what a good teacher is saying, you will find that they are teaching the doctrine of Christ and they will be producing the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). When listening to them, you will have a good feeling about them and you will feel peace and the Holy Spirits presance when in their company. You will find that they have a loving relationship with Jesus in their lives. We have to seek the Holy Spirits guidance in decerning the Spirit, fpr the Holy Spirit can give us help in discerning false teaching and in so dong we also will live for Christ. A good exaple of a false teacher, was Jim Jones - Jim Jones lived from (1931–1978) was an American cult leader who founded the Peoples Temple, leading over 900 followers to commit mass murder-suicide on November 18, 1978, in Jonestown, Guyana. Initially a charismatic preacher, Jones established a socialist, utopian community in the Guyanese jungle, which devolved into a fatal, coercive, and paranoid dictatorship. I remeber when it happened. People should have been comparing what he was telling them to scripture and they would never have put him up as their leader and gradually as their "god" who they worshipped and obeyed without qiestion. Read Matthew 24, it gives a lot of information in what to watch out for in the last days. One of those to watch out for are false teachers, who the enemy will use to decieve many into following him. Here is how to detect a false teacher or (an aspiring cult leader) In order to detect a cult leader,one must see that they are and will be a highly charismatic, over the top, erratic in the way they lead, if you study what a narcissist is you will detect a narcissistic characteristic in them. You will find them to be a very demanding authoritarian figure that commands unquestioning loyalty and pushes the fact that he has to have absolute power over his followers. If you are seeing these charateristics over and over, it is a good sign to be aware of. If they are manipulating, isolating, and financially exploiting members, you will possibly be seeing a cult personality developing, where the leader is viewed as an object of worship, setting himself up as"god" who will not allow anyone to criticise or to question his authority. These my friends are huge red flags. I like it, that the pastor at our church always says, take what I say and compare it to scripture, and let me know if I am out of line. The tragedy that happens if we do not do this is, we can very easily fall into a dangerous blind trust of those who are claiming to be loving spiritual leaders, but who are really only in it for their own well being. The cult developes because members become so deceived, they resist anyone trying to tell them differently, or trying to get them away from the clutches of the false teacher. This is only one way false teachers work, there are many ways they try to decieve, that is why the scriptures are so important in detecting them. When we claim Jesus Christ to be the true leader and only trust in Him and His word, we will see how much He selflessly loves us. So much so, He was willing to die for us to give us everlasting life. (1 Thessalonians 5:10). That is why He calls us to live for Him, to be “awake and sober” (v. 6) and to test any teaching of others against His teaching in the word of God (vv. 20-22). If we will study the word of God and compare what we hear with the word of God, we will detect false teachers. We as believers need to respond to Christ’s teachings and love so we do not harm ourselves or others. Rather we will be “encouraging others and building other up” in such a way that they will want to live for Jesus and not die. That they will have a desire to live for Him while He gives them life on this earth, and yet have the desire to be with Him when He calls them home.. We need to be living “in peace with each other” (v. 13) and striving “to do what is good for each other and for everyone else” (v. 15). The only way to build this life style is by being daily in the word of God and relying on it, and trust in Christ’s Spirit to teach you and lead you (v. 19), So to do as Paul said, "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain," we will have to live a life of love and go about our Fathers buisness as we await Christ’s coming to take us home (v. 23). I pray this is your GOAL and YOUR PRAYER LOVING FOR JESUS O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee, For Thou, in Thy [redemption],* Didst give Thyself for me; I own no other Master, My heart shall be Thy throne, My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone. Living for Jesus who died in my place, Bearing on Calv’ry my sin and disgrace; Such love constrains me to answer His call, Follow His leading and give Him my all. Living for Jesus wherever I am, Doing each duty in His holy name; Willing to suffer affliction and loss, Deeming each trial a part of my cross. Living for Jesus through earth’s little while, My dearest treasure, the light of His smile; Seeking the lost ones He died to redeem, Bringing the weary to find rest in Him.