to Jesus, yet He gave all of His best gifts and He welcomes ALL to the Kingdom. If you care for the welfare of others as much as you care for your own welfare, you will do well in His sight.
But what does God REALLY want me to do? Does the Bible say?
YES! It actually does. Jesus Himself gave this command:
"Go ye forth into all the world, teaching all nations and baptizing them in my name for the remission of their sins."
He said that these signs would follow all who believe in Him:
"They will heal the sick, cast out demons, raise the dead and greater works than these shall they do, because I go to my Father...".
Well, this presents a bit of a problem doesn't it? I'm sure you can't imagine yourself fighting demons or opening graves in the night, calling forth the bodies.
Thankfully, Jesus doesn't want you opening graves either! That's His job for the rapture. But He does say that you will raise the dead, and this is what He did several times in His ministry - when he came upon someone who had just died. It was part of the healing, and I believe with all my heart that we as a church body, are very close to the day when this will be a reality. It's just a matter of having enough faith.
As soon as you became a Christian, you began to battle demons, so don't let that scare you. Most of you will not know what it's like to see or fight one hand to hand combat style. You WILL however, have to learn spiritual warfare, or you will be rendered useless in your walk for Jesus. I know you want to be victorious and you want to make Jesus proud of you.
We are commanded to go about our daily duties, showing a good witness to everyone around us, living lives that are a good example of Christ's love and righteousness. We are to speak of Jesus, to intervene in sickness and adversity with the power and authority of God. We are to pray for others, to minister to the needs of the poor, and to attend church services.
It doesn't say that we must be there every time the door opens, but Jesus asked that we do not forsake the gathering together for worship. It is important to attend church for these reasons.
To pay your tithes - to work where you are needed in the ministry - to hear scripture spoken to build your faith - to have a strong body of believers around you that will support you and encourage your walk so you don't fall back into the snares of the world - to pray together as a group.
Jesus said where two or more were gathered together in His name, He would be there also. And that whatever two or more agreed upon on earth, it would be settled in Heaven. So the collective praying of the church congregation is more effective than one voice alone.
You must realize that God hears every thought and word from each of us. He hears and cares, but Satan interferes at times. The Angels are even recorded in the Bible as having to fight demons for several days to get help through. The more power you put into your prayers and your personal belief system, the more effective your prayers will be.