"The Church: The Sword of the Spirt --- God's Word"

Key Points:

* God has given to the church all that it needs to be built and established upon him. God is not marked neither can he be deceived by what man says. He has a way of proving man's heart. He proves our hearts by his WORD.
* When Jesus sent his disciples out to preach the gospel, he allowed them to see how he was going to prove the heart of man. Not by their outward appearance, not by their words, but instead he would prove them by his WORD.
* He told the disciples he was not sending peace but a Sword. This sword that he was sending was his preached word. Once the word was believed it would cause a separation between those who received it and those who did not.
* This is where the challenge will begin. Now each man would have to decide who they loved the most (God of their loved ones).
* This sword that God said he would send will divide and separate all things that is not of God. It will expose the heart of man and prove if this man truly does love God.
* This is the process that every believer in Christ must go through. God allowed the children of Israel to go through this process in the wilderness.
* It is by this process that God (not man) decides if we are worthy to be his disciple. Those who are worthy learn to love God and cleave to him in this process, but those who are not worthy chose family or other things over God.
* Please understand that God is the one that takes us through this process, he is the one that sends his word, he is the one that proves our hearts, and he is the on that deems us worthy of him or not. How did he do this?
* He proved our hearts by his word. He sent the Sword of the Spirit that begin to stir the pot, to break up unplowed ground, to go into the depth of man's hearts, and to begin to cut away at everything that was not pleasing to him. This put man at a crossroad of a decision. Now he needed to choose family, his own will, or God. Those who chose God are worthy to be called his disciples.