How is it that we can't seem to model the reality of God the way the saints of old did?

" I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith. that God has entrusted once for all time, to his holy people. I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches saying that God's marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives." He's saying, listen, there are some people that have come into the body of Christ and they're defiling the church. They're teaching another Jesus Christ. They're teaching the hyper-grace that we have experienced in our society for so long, people have abused the grace of God and continued in their sinful ways. The Bible says that we are to be careful becasue these people are among the people of God, causing many to fall away.

John gives certain tests for how we can discover if we or other professing believers are true Christians. How do you know when you've really got true faith? He tells us about four tests that we can find in scripture.

In November 2024, a church was forced to tear down their church structure and move because the landowner evicted them. God had better plans. After much prayer within a short time, the church was relocated in December 2024 to a new piece of property that they're leasing. However, they had no building. They were able to sell the scrap metal from the prior building to erect a steel frame and they had their first worship service under a tree. The following week God had provided the funding for the entire structure to be enclosed with new sheet metal. Is anything too hard for our God? No. Testimonies have been received that people in the surrounding village observing the new church being constructed are amazed at what the Lord is doing there. ""Praise him for his mighty works; praise his unequaled greatness!" Psalm 150:2

"So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:11.

The Lord is softening Israel's heart to the gospel. He's opening and creating a little curiosity and making Israel a little more inquisitive. But he's also opening an opportunity for the church just to be there. The ministry of our presence now is more important than ever.

What Paul's really getting at, in a nutshell, is the character of Jesus in terms of His humility. In 2 9, Paul says it like this, he says, Though he was rich, for our sakes he became poor. In other words he shed all the things that declared his greatness. All of the things that declared his power, his might his very being as God. Those riches, He shed and for our sakes became poor. In other words, he clothed himself with humility. He didn't say yes, because I'm God, I'm not going to become man. He humbled himself though. He was rich for our sakes. He became poor. And if we recognize weaknesses in our lives. It's gotta lead us to a place of humility.