When
Actions Speak Louder Than Words
Penned by: Kevin K O’Connor
Date penned: Aug 16, 2017
Thought: To examine the present hour we are
living in
Scriptural
Springboard: 1Th 1:5 For our gospel came not unto you in
word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as
ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.
There’s
an old saying; ‘Your actions are
speaking so loudly, I can’t hear what you’re saying’ and , there’s another old saying that I’ve heard
from a Brother in Christ named Bill Gothard and it’s ‘Freedom is not the right
to do what we want, it’s the power to do what we ought’. The world has grown
tired of those who are eager to tell them how to live, they are looking for
those who ‘show’ them how to live. So many have become experts at ‘appearing’
righteous when in fact, the truth couldn’t be farther from what they are ‘appearing’
to be; 2Ti 3:5 Having a form of godliness,
but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 2Ti
3:6 For of this sort are they which
creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with
divers lusts, 2Ti 3:7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of
the truth. And, it’s this fact ‘having a form of godliness
but denying the power thereof’ that the Lord Himself warns the Church of Laodicea; Rev 3:14 And unto the
angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These
things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness,
the beginning of the creation of God; Rev
3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither
cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. Rev 3:16 So then
because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue
thee out of my mouth. Rev 3:17
Because thou sayest, I am
rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and
poor, and blind, and naked:
Fortunately, we as Christians, have a God Who knows how
to follow through with action and is more than just mere talk; Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life. Joh 3:17
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn
the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Joh 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that
believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of
the only begotten Son of God. Joh 3:19
And this is the condemnation, that light is come
into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds
were evil. Joh 3:20 For every one that doeth evil hateth
the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. Joh 3:21 But he
that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that
they are wrought in God. Our God didn’t just talk
about doing something, He did it!
And, just as then, He’s getting ready to do
something Great once again, ‘in the fullness of time’ and that is He’s getting
ready to raise the dead in Christ and rapture the wise virgins as noted in Matt 25:1-13 and 1 Thessalonians
4:13-18 that’s NOT the complacent ones thinking that they will be
invited when they haven’t even come truly expecting to leave thus haven’t even
prepared themselves for it. It’s no wonder that God the Father is going to be
very, very upset with those who call themselves ‘Pastors’ who are to lead His
children in paths of righteousness and instead are leading them into paths of
complacency with reassurances that all those who were once saved are always
saved AND, all those that confess Jesus as Lord will be going in the upcoming
Rapture, --- hogwash! And instead of preaching what’s right, they’re preaching
what ‘sounds right’ but couldn’t be further from the Truth. Salvation is meant
for those who ‘bare fruit’ not those who name Him and
claim Him. The ONLY ones that I know of that are NOT required to ‘bare fruit’ are those who are on their death beds and aren’t
able to. Every branch in Him is meant to reflect the fact that it belongs to
Him! Joh 15:6 If a man abide
not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them,
and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. Joh 15:7 If ye
abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall
be done unto you. Joh 15:8
Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much
fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. But, to preach the Truth,
would mean ‘offending’ those who are the ones to help them pay their bills
through this life, and asking that is just too much for them to do. My desire
is to be sooo salty that by speaking the Truth, it
just doesn’t make people ‘comfortable’ that are living in accordance with God’s
Will, but offends those who are NOT living in accordance with His will.
And,
what I see amidst those who confess Jesus as Lord is two distinct groups just
as our Lord noted in Matt 25:1-13 not indistinct but clearly defined. One group
that while it says it’s part of the group that is going to be raptured, are in
fact the one group that actually is the most complacent resting on their
confession ‘that no one knows the day or hour’ and because of that fact, aren’t
about to be getting excited about the thought of leaving at any moment or
change the way they live from day to day, instead, they rest in their assurance
‘that no one knows’ so why should they bother? And then again there’s the other
group, that isn’t ‘resting’ on such assurances but instead are pressing near to
Him with all of their hearts! The passion and intensity in their hearts is hot
as fire! And these are the ones from day to day and moment to moment are truly
expecting to be gone and so are the first ones to say ‘Lord willing’ if such
and such happens, this is what I plan on doing, not ‘this is what I’m doing
today or at such a such time’. Jas 4:13 Go to now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into
such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Jas 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall
be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a
little time, and then vanisheth away. Jas 4:15 For
that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or
that. Jas 4:16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing
is evil. Their own words testify as to what group
they are actually in. I daily hear from confessing Christians as to all that
they have planned at such a such a time with no mention at all of ‘Lord willing’
they will be doing such and such at a certain time. I for one can’t help saying
it BECAUSE, I’m truly expecting Him to remove me at any moment! In fact, I hope
He takes me BEFORE I’m even able to complete this ‘penning’. In the same way, I see that was exactly as it
was for the foolish virgins our Lord told us about in Matt 25:1-13,
feeling totally complacent and comfortable that there was absolutely no reason
for them to ‘get bent out of shape’ concerning their lamps, they were after all
‘virgins in waiting’ for the Bridegroom. How so very sad for them having to
miss out on such a joyous event, one they were actually waiting for by the way –
ONLY in such a way that wasn’t from their hearts, but only from their lips. 1Th 1:5 For our gospel came not unto you in
word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as
ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake. Those
that are relying only on their ‘confession’ of Jesus as Lord will NOT be those
actually expecting to be gone at any moment, thus their usage of the phrase of ‘Lord
willing’ at such a such time, will NOT be part of their vocabulary. Within this
nation of complacent Christianity that % of those who actually use that phrase
is about 1 in 10, and that’s about what I’m seeing to be the percentage of
those that will actually be going in the upcoming rapture besides those
mentally unable to know right from wrong (handicapped or too young).
Those
that are in a ‘passionate love affair’ with Jesus can be found by listening to
the words they choose to use concerning all of their ‘planned events’ we all
have from day to day. Those that say they ‘will be doing such a such’ compared to those who say ‘Lord willing, I’ll be
doing such a such’. From the issues of
the heart, the mouth speaks and reveals the actual state of the heart. Being a ‘wise
virgin’ means having a change of behavior compared to those who are not wise,
not just having the same confession of waiting for the same Bridegroom, but
having a change of heart that is reflected through the words they choose to
use. In the parable as noted in Matt 25:1-13, it was reflected as not having enough oil in
the lamps of those in which they belonged. In today’s verb age, you could say,
it’s noted in the words that people choose to use concerning their daily
activities. Those who are TRULY expecting Him, use the phrase ‘Lord willing’
those who aren’t say ‘I plan on doing such a such’. Mat_12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak
good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth
speaketh. Mat_15:8 This people draweth nigh unto
me with their mouth, and honoureth
me with their lips; but their heart is far from
me. Just as His Word says, ‘out
of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh’.
Oh, with our lips, we may confess that we are his, but the ‘actual state of the
heart’ will be noted by listening to the choice of words concerning daily
activities.
While
these words may sound absolutely strange to those who don’t use that verb age
(Lord willing), to one that truly is expecting Him at any moment, it seems
strange NOT to say it! The fire in the heart will be seen by the words that is
spoken from the heart in a person’s daily planned activities. But, if this ‘penning’
has made you sensitive to this, please note, you probably won’t hear that phrase
(Lord Willing) coming from ‘hardly any’ that confess Jesus as Lord within this
nation (1 out of 10), that’s a very low percentage, and I for one have hardly
heard it at all from those that I personally know who confess that Jesus is
Lord.
From
the abundance of the heart, the mouth reveals what’s actually there. This I believe
to be the telltale sign that truly shows which group a believer is actually in.
Since most of us aren’t literally carrying lamps around with the oil that can
be seen, we all have hearts that are reflected through the words we chose to
use that reflect the contents therein.
Words and our choice of them, truly depict
our hearts. No one had to guess I was and am in Love with my present wife while
I was courting her, my words depicted (and still do depict) that fact. How’s
our hearts depicting the fact that the Bridegroom is getting ready for the
greatest event this world has known since He came to earth, lived and died, and
rose again? Are they reflecting those feelings, or are they reflecting the
thought ‘no one knows the day or hour’? You can quote the Word perfectly and
totally miss His heart, the Sadducees and Pharisees did. How sad that people
are no different today than they were then.
Heavenly Father, may our relationship with You be more than with our lips only, but may our hearts be
in such a passionate love affair with Jesus our King, our words cannot and will
not hide that fact. For, it’s in the Everlasting, Glorious, and Matchless Name
of Jesus we pray, Amen.
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