Pure Vessels : A Handbook for Reviving Biblical Christianity in the Heart of Today's Cultural Christian

By Damon Albert

This book has been born out of a deep desire to see a Christianity displayed in this current age that has somehow slipped far beyond the thoughts and lives of your average Cultural Christian. It is a heartfelt longing to see a return to genuine Biblical Christianity. A Christianity that is so clearly defined in Scripture and even modeled throughout the centuries of Christian faith, but seems to have all but disappeared with our current generation. The words of this book have not been written lightly. They have come from a place of much prayer and personal time questioning God about the apparent weak, unholy, and powerless state of many of those who profess the name of Jesus as Savior of their souls, but display very little of Jesus as Lord over their lives. It has been written as a tool to help bring clarity to some very tough questions that should be asked by anyone who wears the label Christian.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Apr 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9781257363780

Book preview

Pure Vessels

Pure Vessels 

A Handbook for Reviving Biblical

Christianity in the Heart of Today’s Cultural Christian.

by

Pastor Damon Albert

Copyright © 2010 by Damon Albert

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means— whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of both publisher and author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

ISBN 978-0-557-32728-7

I dedicate this book to my wife Audra, children

Colton and Kayla, my mom and dad, and to the Christian who reads this with an open heart, allowing God to use His Word to guide your

steps and life.

Damon Albert currently preaches and provides ministry oversight and direction to multiple ministries across the globe and is also the Director of Camp Ezri, a ministry to at risk kids based out of Berkeley County West Virginia USA. Over the past 20+ years, Damon has served the kingdom as an Assistant Pastor, Senior Pastor, Church Planter, Evangelist, Radio Host, Author, Program Developer and Revival Speaker for multiple denominations and ministry streams. His life message emphasizes the need for every believer to live a radically set apart life for Jesus, free from compromise and religiosity.  Damon does not preach as a man who has only heard about the delivering power that Jesus can have on a life, but as a man who has experienced it firsthand. Damon was radically delivered out of a lifestyle of drugs, alcoholism, and street violence. During those years and as Damon continued to live in rebellion against God, his life was almost cut short on numerous occasions. This was the fruit of the lifestyle of violence and drugs that he was living and was the ultimate plan of the devil to claim another victim of sin and death. "For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). But the Lord had another plan for Damon and showed him great mercy… "But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Damon has now spent much of his life preaching a message of freedom that can only come through Christ. He has seen the Lord move in supernatural ways to bring deliverance and freedom not only to his own life but to many others around the world.  Although Damon has been blessed to serve the Kingdom in various roles and places of responsibility, the position that Damon is the most excited about is his position in Christ", for he was once lost but now he is found, he was blind but now he can see. Damon is available for preaching engagements. www.campezri.org

Scripture references are from the NIV translation, unless otherwise noted.

Contents

Chapter 1 Humanistianity      1

Chapter 2 An Honest Look      11

Chapter 3 Salvation without Regeneration      17

Chapter 4 Lessons from the Past      27

Chapter 5 Kingdom Vision      35

Chapter 6 Plan your own Funeral      45

Chapter 7 The Great Distraction      61

Chapter 8 What happened to the Blood?      73

Chapter 9 The Preaching of the Cross      82

Chapter 10 You can live Holy      90

Chapter 11 Got Power?      101

Chapter 12 Pursuing Personal Revival      107

Preface

This book has been born out of a deep desire to see a Christianity displayed in this current age that has somehow slipped far beyond the thoughts and lives of your average Cultural Christian. It is a heartfelt longing to see a return to genuine Biblical Christianity. A Christianity that is so clearly defined in Scripture and even modeled throughout the centuries of Christian faith but seems to have all but disappeared with our current generation. 

The words of this book have not been written lightly. They have come from a place of much prayer and personal time questioning God about the apparent weak, unholy, and powerless state of many of those who profess the name of Jesus as Savior of their souls, but display very little of Jesus as Lord over their lives. It has been written as a tool to help bring clarity to some very tough questions that should be asked by anyone who wears the label Christian. 

The Lord has been gracious enough in my life to allow me to move and minister in multiple Christian circles. I have had the blessing to work alongside and observe many varying streams of Christianity. This unique opportunity has given me the ability to observe similar conditions throughout many expressions, movements, and theologies found in the body of Christ. Charismatic, Non       Charismatic,       Denominational, Non

Denominational, Fundamental, Pentecostal, Holiness, Full Gospel, Half Gospel, Home Churches, Mega Churches, Church of God, Church of Christ, Church of Everyman for Himself, pick your flavor whatever it is. Have you not seen serious lacks in many of these streams when compared to genuine Biblical Christianity? Maybe you have never noticed? Maybe you do not know what true Biblical Christianity is supposed to look like. Maybe you are not familiar with the founding fathers of our faith and what they taught was Biblical and what was heresy. It causes me to wonder, what if Paul or Peter could address the Christian church of today. What would they say? What would their suggestions be? What would Luther or Wesley do if they observed the current condition of the movements and ministries they founded? What would William Booth do if he walked into a Salvation Army ministry today? What would George Whitefield have to say to today’s vocational preacher with four weeks paid vacation, housing allowance, and a mere forty-hour work week? But more importantly, what does the Lord think of what Christianity has become? What does He think of those who wear His name yet do not reflect His character? What does He think of those who wear a cross around their neck but have never taken up their own cross as He commanded? I suppose He has already told us what He thinks of that. 

So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of My mouth – Revelation 3:16 HCSB, then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you, you evildoers!’ – Matthew 7:23 NIV.

What we need in the body of Christ today is a return to Biblically based Christianity. We need the unadulterated preaching of God’s Word by men and women who do more than profess faith in Christ, but they walk and live on earth like Christ walked and lived.

Damon Albert        xi

¹My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. ²He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. ³We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. ⁴The man who says, I know him, but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: ⁶Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. 1 John 2:1-6

We need to put off the things that hinder the work of the Gospel, things like compromise, humanism, false doctrines, self-centered living, entertainment based ministry, political correctness, people pleasing, and the preaching of salvation without regeneration. What we need is a return to acknowledging Christ as Lord and not just Savior. What we need is to have a greater desire to please God than man. What we need most desperately to revive the heart of today’s Cultural Christian is a return to the Old Path. 

This is what the LORD says: Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it,

and you will find rest for your souls, But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ Jeremiah 6:16.

What we need is the Lord’s Power manifested in our lives to make and create Pure Vessels for His Glory. 

Chapter 1

Humanistianity

Consider for a moment all the glorious benefits of the Christian life. Where should we start? How about forgiveness of sins, eternal life, a renewed mind, freedom from a life of sinful desires, right standing before God, access to the presence of God, justification, health to our physical bodies, the list could go on and on. Although all these things are wonderful and extraordinary blessings from the Lord, I cannot help but think our list sounds like it should be entitled, The What’s in it for Us Gospel. In all reality as I consider some of the recent products of Christian literature, and review in my mind what I have listened to and observed come from the mouths of some of our more prominent main stream so called spokesmen of the Gospel, I have come to the conclusion that much of what is being presented as Biblical Christianity in reality is Humanistic, self-gratifying, and even new age. Consider one preacher who has written a top selling book that teaches Christians how to have their best life now, and another author who wrote a book about expanding your bank account. It must make you wonder if the next book may be titled What’s in it for You. But these guys are by no means alone. Another world renowned

preacher recently took up an offering for his new jet, because as he put it God wanted him to have the best jet and his old one was out of style. I must wonder what Bible these men are reading, or are they? Certainly the example set forth by Christ, followed by the disciples, the first century church, and many of the fathers and mothers of our faith doesn’t produce a Christianity that is fueled by positive thinking, mental assent, and materialism. But how did we get so far from Biblical Christianity, to now find ourselves in a "Christianity that is so watered down until the solution is so weak that if it were poison it would not hurt anyone, and if it were medicine it would not cure anyone."-Dr. A.W. Tozer

To begin to explain how we arrived at this place we must first look at