Non-denominational Church - Men's Ministry in Oviedo
April 21, 2019
Tom's Scripture for the day...
Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to the tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled aside the stone and sat on it. His face shone like lightning and his clothing was a brilliant white. The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and fell into a dead faint. Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be frightened!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified, but he isn’t here! For he has come back to life again, just as he said he would. Come in and see where his body was lying. . . . and now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and that he is going to Galilee to meet them there. That is my message to them.” The women ran from the tomb, badly frightened, but also filled with joy, and rushed to find the disciples to give them the angel’s message. And as they were running, suddenly Jesus was there in front of them! “Good morning!” he said. And they fell to the ground before him, holding his feet and worshiping him. Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be frightened! Go tell my brothers to leave at once for Galilee, to meet me there.” As the women were on the way into the city, some of the Temple police who had been guarding the tomb went to the chief priests and told them what had happened. A meeting of all the Jewish leaders was called, and it was decided to bribe the police to say they had all been asleep when Jesus’ disciples came during the night and stole his body. “If the governor hears about it,” the Council promised, “we’ll stand up for you and everything will be all right.” So the police accepted the bribe and said what they were told to. Their story spread widely among the Jews and is still believed by them to this very day. Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had said they would find him. There they met him and worshiped him—but some of them weren’t sure it really was Jesus! He told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and earth. Therefore go and make disciples in all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and then teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you; and be sure of this—that I am with you always, even to the end of the world.” (Matthew 28:1-20 Living Bible Translation)
Tom's song for the day...
INTRODUCTION TO OUR BIBLE THINK TANK
I have been going to church my whole life. I must confess it has been a long time since I have seen God at work in what I call the "mainstream church" today. Preachers of the Gospel are all talk and no show just like our politicians today. The only places I hear about God at work in the world today is the underground church in China, select Christian Churches in Muslim controlled countries and through the leadership of President Donald Trump. These are underground churches and I have heard certain missionaries who know what's going on behind the scenes tell me of their great unwavering faith. All of these missionaries keep their correspondence secret to protect the identity of those who practice their faith in countries where they will be severely punished for practicing their faith. To me, these are the real authentic Christians in our world today. Let me ask you a question...
Do you really think most professing Christians in our country today will actually lay down their life if necessary in their commitment to follow Jesus? Please contact me and let me know of any churches where God is actually at work. I will test the spirits of the church you mention and see if they are truly authentic in their sincerity to carry out the "Great Commission".
I believe there are millions of men all across our country who do not attend church anymore for the same reasons Jesus and John the Baptist did not hang around the Jewish religious leaders of their day. The religious leaders when Jesus walked this earth were also the government leaders because their government was a Theocracy at the time. As noted in the New Testament, Jesus would much rather hang around Tax Collectors and sinners and John the Baptist would much rather live in the desert and eat locusts and wild honey than mingle with these corrupt politicians who were were called Pharisees and Scribes in the Bible. My church attendance experience since leaving Seminary in 1983 has taught me that most church leaders today have the same self-righteous mindset that the religious leaders had when Jesus and John the Baptist walked this earth over 2000 years ago.
It's tragic how history has a way of repeating itself over time. King Solomon knew this to be true. I learned in Seminary that church growth has been declining since the 1960's. I have been asking myself why this has been happening ever since. I have done extensive research on this subject and would like to share what I have learned with the men who would like to take part in this Men's Mentoring Ministry Church in Oviedo. I believe the majority of our "Mainstream Church" leaders (Protestant and Catholic) are just as corrupt as the majority of our Government leaders today. God's Word says church leaders will be held to a higher standard on judgement day than our elected government officials because our government officials do not claim to represent God. If only they knew. I will share with you why I believe this is true with over whelming evidence as presented in my 30 point thesis posted on this website. These points will be brain stormed within the Think Tank of this Men's Ministry with the hope of confronting and correcting these issues that have plagued the mainstream church for far too long.
Have you read and studied Jesus' "High Priestly Prayer" found in John Chapter 17 of the Bible? I believe Jesus' main theme in His earnest plea to our Heavenly Father is for all of us as brothers and sisters in Christ to become One with Him as He is One with His Father in Heaven. What troubles me about this prayer is I see no evidence of any Oneness between professing Christians in the mainstream church today. Do you? Have you ever taken time to try and add up all the factions that have divided the so called "church" in America today? Does it look like God answered His Son Jesus' prayer? I think the answer is obvious. So, why is the church so divided? This topic will to be brain stormed with the help of the Holy Spirit in this Bible Think Tank to be made up of Godly men who have a true devotion to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and His perfect will for our lives. Therefore, our main purpose or mission statement for this men's mentoring ministry is to become One with Jesus as He is One with Our Heavenly Father. I believe to accomplish this it bowls down to this one primary goal stated by the Apostle Paul below:
To transform our mindset to have the true mindset of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I believe to have the true mindset of Jesus we need to learn how to have flexible objectivity within the scope of our thinking process that allows us to ponder all the possibilities of reason outside the box of our personal biases. This is what it means to be "thinking outside the box". We need to learn how to escape the limitations of our own finite mindset and enter into the infinite mindset of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is our teacher and guide when it comes to our imagination and innovation when exploring the infinite thoughts of God. Jesus said He will be in the midst of those who gather in His name. In other words, He will be in the invisible midst of our thinking process and will teach us about all things pertinent to His perfect will for us as His future Bride and our role as participants in His Kingdom to come on earth as it is in Heaven. Every man in this men's ministry will participate in this think tank with equal time and opportunity to share what's on our minds. We will always treat each other with utmost respect regardless of our differences in opinion. All of our thoughts that come to mind in this Bible Think Tank will be filtered through the template of the Bible to make sure they are in line with God's will as defined by His written word found in the Holy Bible.
On Judgement Day many people will stand before Jesus as God's appointed Judge thinking they will be a part of His Kingdom and He will give them some shocking news...
"I will tell them plainly, I never knew you. Away from me you evildoers!"
Why is it that so many professing Christians disregard this blatant warning as if it is irrelevant to their personal knowledge of who Jesus is as both God and man and how we should relate to Him as our best friend? What is the key word in this sentence? It's obviously the action word - knew. The Apostle John wrote the following in John 17:3.
"Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."
I think I am safe in saying that if we do not know Jesus, He does not know us as well. The best way I can describe what this relationship should look like in human terms is a "Soul Mate". Jesus is that soul mate we have all been looking for. Am I right in my reasoning?
The Bible refers to the church as being the future Bride of Jesus. We, as a church body of fellow believers in Jesus, are supposed to be getting ready for His return so we can consummate our Marriage with Him in a spiritual sense. Don't you remember Jesus said He is going away to prepare a place for us in our future home called Heaven? It was the Jewish custom for the men to go and prepare a home for their future brides before they had their Wedding Ceremony. The Bible uses the word know on many occasions to refer to sexual intercourse. God describes sexual intercourse as when a husband and wife come together and become ONE in the flesh. It's a no brainer that God is all about being ONE in spirit with Him and our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
What can we deduce from this proclamation from Jesus? Am I right to assume that if Jesus does not know us then we don't really know Him as well? I most certainly do not want to hear Jesus tell me when I meet Him face to face one day that He does not know me. Do you?
Doesn't it make sense that we better be sure that we really know Jesus before we meet Him one day? Let me ask you a question. Which phrase gives us more assurance of our Salvation? KNOWING we are saved or BELIEVING we are saved. The key to salvation is knowing Jesus not just believing in Him. Belief is too shallow and falls short of our understanding of the deity of Jesus. Do you see the difference? Belief is just an introduction to our life long commitment to get to know Jesus in the most intimate way possible. The Bible says to be absent from the Body is to be present with the Lord. The only way to be absent from the body is to die. Are we ready to meet our maker?
I posted this website and am in the infant stages of planting this Men's Mentoring Ministry Church in Oviedo, FL. I am praying that certain men will show an interest in being a part of this church body to help get this men's ministry up and running and help achieve the objectives I have stated on the Ministry Page. That being said, let's take the necessary steps of faith to see this ministry come to fruition. Jesus said, "you will know them by their fruit". In other words, it is what we produce in in life. It is helpful to understand that agriculture was the predominant industry that sustained the livelihood of the Jewish nation at that time. The fruit metaphor is an excellent example of what Supply and Demand is all about. Please see my resume to see what fruit I have produced in life with the help of God's Spiritual gifts, strength, wisdom and leadership. I hope and pray what God put on my heart to write in this Thesis will have more credence once you evaluate the fruit I have produced in the past.
Never forget Jesus said we will know God's Elect by the quality and quantity of fruit we as ambassadors for Jesus have produced.
I pray God will bring select men in the Oviedo area who have become disillusioned with the many fake mainstream churches to prayerfully consider becoming a part of this men's mentoring ministry. Come now let us reason together as we get to know Jesus as our best and most intimate friend. Maybe this will be a church you and I will be comfortable with for a change. I promise you I will do my best to help you become an important part of this Men's Mentoring Ministry as we assemble all the parts to function in unison with the Holy Spirit. Let's start a conversation. Please contact me for more information on a time and place to meet. I would love to get to know you personally as a friend and fellow brother in Christ.
Welcome to Bible Think Tank Men's Mentoring Ministry Church in Oviedo, FL. Thank you for spending time perusing our website. Please call if you are interested in a time and place to meet.
Tom Randolph
Founder/Facilitator of BibleThinkTank.com
My 24/7 cell phone number is : 321-527-937
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