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Awaken Pt1 Series
Contributed by Cameron Conway on Aug 16, 2010 (message contributor)
Summary: Who are we? Really who are we? As the body of Christ, the visible expression of Jesus the Messiah on the Earth, who are we? Are we who we’re supposed to be? Are we living to the fullest degree that Christ called us to? Or are we asleep? For if we a
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Awaken Pt1
For more messages and resources by Cameron Conway visit https://conwaychristianresources.com
The following series is a revision and the long awaited completion to a rant I first wrote last year. It has been expanded with new material and has been divided into several bite sized parts which will be released every week, until it is finally completed. Saying this, be aware that this is not written in a chapter by chapter format rather it is a continuous manifesto without literary divisions. It is meant to be read in its entirety in order to fully grasp the messages. So I challenge you that as the weeks go on you will refer back to the previous installments and reacquaint yourselves with what has been spoken before so you may fully receive what is written. I pray that these words will grip your hearts and haunt your souls with the questions we fear to ask ourselves, the answers buried in our spirits and the commissions Christ has placed upon us. May the Holy Spirit seize your hearts and speak to you anew.
Before we begin I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes, it was spoken by Leonard Ravenhill and I pray you receive the message of it; “A prophet is the villain of today and the hero of tomorrow”
Who are we? Really who are we? As the body of Christ, the visible expression of Jesus the Messiah on the Earth, who are we? Are we who we’re supposed to be? Are we living to the fullest degree that Christ called us to? Or are we asleep? For if we are, today at this very moment, the call to awaken from our slumber must be answered. For it is Christ himself who cries out into our hearts.
“Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” Ephesians 5:14
First off, who are we now? We are the Body of Christ of course, that’s what we’re told on Sunday mornings every week, that’s what we’re told by televangelists, and that’s what we’re told right in the Bible, see for yourself.
“For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.”. 1 Corinthians 12:12
“Now all of you together are Christ’s body, and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it.: 1 Corinthians 12:27
” And the church is his body; it is filled by Christ, who fills everything everywhere with his presence.”. Ephesians 1:23
“Don’t you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which belongs to Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never! 1 Corinthians 6:15
That should be convincing enough for now. But what does that all mean? Well the best place to answer that is the book of Acts. The chronicles of the first generation of Christians, who are not the highest possibilities of Christian life but rather our stepping stones.
We see them feeding the poor, taking care of the widows, praying together, working miracles and most importantly preaching the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ. That he came, died and rose. Conquering sin and death, casting down the Prince of the world and becoming not only our Savior, but the King of the World. But I’m getting ahead of myself now. The key point was that they left the upper room and preached the gospel. When is the last time your church on a Sunday morning all got up and went outside and started preaching to who ever was around you? Or is that too scary a thought? What’s so frightening about the simple gospel of Jesus Christ?
“ For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” ! Corinthians 15:3-4
What’s so scary about telling people about that? The Church, the Western Church (which will be the main focus of this rant) has done a good job with the social aspects of the early church, we run soup kitchens, thrift stores, and give when it’s comfortable to the needy. Overall we do a decent job following Isaiah 58:1, the social gospel, where people are convinced to convert because they were showed kindness, they see genuine love and are attracted to it (John 13:35, 1 John 4:7) “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” But the doing of good works isn’t everything, if it were, we would be saved by those works alone. Our works are rather a sign that we are already Christians, just like faith without action is dead.