Living in Liberty

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Elder Bryce Lowrance

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Are You A Success?

29 July 2014

"After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judæa; and there he tarried with them, and baptized. And John also was baptizing in Ænon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized. For John was not yet cast into prison. Then there arose a question between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purifying. And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him." (John 3:22-26)

How does God measure success?

By modern day standards, the success or failure of an organization is basically measured in its outward appearance of strength. When it comes to religious institutions the correlates to numbers. People see a large, wealthy church and respond, "Wow, God must really be blessing them. Look how big they are!"

However, if numbers were the only marker for a successful ministry or church in the first century, then John the Baptist would seem to be failing after only a few years of preaching. He had a good increase in support but now his numbers are dwindling.

Jesus' first disciples came from the followers of John. And now, it would seem more people are flocking to Jesus rather than John.

However, John is not a failure. The focus of his ministry was to be the forerunner of the Messiah and point Him out when He arrived. The fact that do many are now going straight to Jesus rather than through John shows that he did his job well.

The decrease in the physical number of John's disciples is because they were growing in grace under his ministry and were clearly taught they should follow Jesus. John, by the world's standards was failing. But, by God's standard of spiritual growth, John was having a very< successful ministry!

By the way, if it was all about the numbers, then Jesus was a failure too! Yes, He had thousands of followers when he fed them in the wilderness. But, as soon as he started preaching, there were only a few hundred at most that continued to follow Him.

God's standard of success is the quality of spiritual growth in an individual or in a church not in how many people you can get in the pews by any means necessary.

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Tags: harmony_of_the_gospels, john, john_the_baptist

Welcome

Brentwood Hills Primitive Baptist Church is a community of believers working together to transform our lives to the image of Jesus Christ. We believe it is our duty and privilege to live the gospel of the doctrines of grace in such a way as to edify the families within our church and other children of God in our community. Through regular worship based on strong Biblical principles, fellowship, admonishment, and outreach, we glory in the grace of the sovereign God working in our lives thereby showing the Spirit of God in the world.

Brentwood Hills was organized in 1906 in Fort Worth, Texas as Laodicea Primitive Baptist Church. You can find much of the history of the church, as well as other churches here: Primitive Baptist History Database

We identify ourselves as an old-line Primitive Baptist church. If you read our Articles of Faith, you’ll see that we hold to such doctrines as the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible. We recognize the King James Version (KJV) as the only English translation worthy of being called the Bible. We believe in salvation solely by the grace of a sovereign God. We believe that Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, came to the earth to do the will of His Father, which was to deliver from the sentence of death all those the Father gave Him before the world began. We believe that Jesus fully satisfied the Father by atoning for all the sins of all His people. In time, we believe the Holy Spirit comes to each person that belongs to Jesus and regenerates them. Then (and only then) can anyone have faith, which is a fruit of the Spirit, by which you are able to believe the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. Whether or not you ever hear the gospel, or believe it if you did hear it, or obey it if you did believe it, rest assured that Jesus will remain forever faithful to you because, if He died for you, He will never deny that you belong to Him.

We believe that everyone for whom Christ died will without fail be raised again from the dead to a glorified life. Even if we are alive when He returns to raise the dead, we shall be changed to a glorified life. All the Redeemed will meet the Lord in the air. Then He will take us to Heaven and there we shall forever be with the Lord. The wicked will be raised at the same time as the righteous, but the wicked shall go away into everlasting punishment along with Satan and his angels. Until that glorious day when Christ returns to raise the dead, He has provided a place for His people to find rest for their souls. This place is the Church. Jesus Christ set-up His church on this earth before His death on the Cross. The church is there for those of His people who have come to believe that God saved them by His Son, Jesus Christ. To believe that Christ “paid it all” gives believers the strongest motivation to serve Him. Once enlightened to this glorious truth, then the child of God should feel an obligation to become and remain an active member of the His church. To serve the Lord in His church makes for one of the great blessings to experience this side of Heaven. It fulfills you to serve in His church and it gives your life purpose and meaning.