Two of the most enjoyable and interesting people I’ve met are Dexter and Birdie Yager. They had one of the largest organizations within Amway. I have never been part of Amway, but my wife and I used to get together with the Yagers for dinner occasionally, and each time it was an evening we would never forget.

As we discussed previously, a recent study on the church in America revealed the shocking fact that an estimated 65 percent of all Americans considered themselves to be born-again Christians, but only 3 percent had a Christian or biblical worldview. To have a Christian worldview means to view the world as Christ does—to know and adhere to His teachings.

When we first began hosting conferences, it was relatively rare in the church. Now many groups and churches host them. I think this is great, and I am for anything that draws Christians from different streams and promotes interchange in the church. We began hosting conferences because we were given a mandate from the Lord that they were to be used like the feasts of Israel—calling together those from different tribes in the body of Christ to help impart and maintain the common vision that we are all a part of the whole body.

The real strength of any church will be seen through how strong the people are, not how great the preacher or pastor is. One of the greatest weaknesses in the modern church is that the people are rarely being equipped and released to do the work of the ministry as is mandated in Ephesians 4:11-16. We can therefore also expect its fulfillment to produce the strongest churches. Because the following Scriptures are the most concise and articulate of the purpose of true ministry in the church and its result, let's read it again before proceeding.
 

As we covered previously, the primary work of the kingdom is restoration. It is God's nature to restore that which has fallen, and when He does, He will make that which has been restored better than before, just as the "new creation" is even greater than the former. The restoration that we are called to accomplish now is helping to prepare the way for His kingdom. Because the church is the primary vehicle for the restoration of the earth, the church needs to be restored first.

The next fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5 is PATIENCE. As we have stated, there is actually one fruit of the Spirit and these are all characteristics of it. Therefore, they are all linked and intertwined so that if you have one you will have the others as well. Even so, Scripture links faith and patience, especially in Hebrews 6:11-12:
 

Our study of the end times is for the purpose of not only knowing what is going to come to pass, but to be prepared for it. For this reason we will seek to go a little deeper in our understanding of the stronghold of racism, which Scripture indicates to be one of the major forces bringing destruction at the end of this age.

To be prepared for this evil power, we must first become free of it. The first principle of true freedom is

This week we continue our study with Ephesians 5:25-29:

This week we continue our study of our purpose in Christ with the crucial statement made in Ephesians 2:15-16:

I am often given trade and news journal subscriptions from groups that I sometimes cannot understand why they think I would have an interest in them, but nonetheless, I appreciate them reaching out. Lately these different journals, from unrelated industries or groups, have been taking on a common theme. Now there seems to be a continuous cry from all sectors of society to help save their freedoms. This is a revelation.