A Good, Good Father

The majority of people on earth tend to always blame disasters and or traumatic situations on God. This is not limited to those who are of the world, but unfortunately many who call themselves Christians. In contrast, you almost never hear people thank God when something good happens. Why is this? Although God told the Prophet Hosea to speak these words Israel, I believe the same words are an indictment against all people who blame God for disasters and or traumatic situations. "My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me." (Hosea 4:6 NLT) 

God's will, nature, character, purposes and plan is clearly revealed in the Bible, especially in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. But as Hosea tells us, a lack of knowing God has promoted the idea that He is the one responsible for disasters and traumatic situations happening. Jesus reveals some very important information concerning His connection with the Father in a conversation that He has with His disciples. "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him. Philip said to Him, Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us. Jesus said to him, Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves." (John 14:7-11) As we clearly see, Jesus entire life and ministry reveals the Father's will, nature, character, purposes and plan. If we want to know God the Father, we simply study the life and ministry of Jesus. 

There is another reason why people blame God for bad things. It also deals with the area of having a lack of knowledge. This time, it deals with a lack knowing the schemes that the Bible reveals concerning God's enemy, Satan. The very names that Satan is associated with as revealed in the Bible (and they are many) are a direct reflection of his nature and actions. To discover how this all came about, we begin by using what is know as the Hermeneutical Law of Double Reference. It is speaking of or to one person in reference to another person beyond or behind them.  There are two main scripture references that we can look at to discover these events, Isaiah 14:4-23, Ezekiel 28:1-19. 

In short, Lucifer was a magnificent created being, a powerful Archangel that was at the throne of God. However, in the pureness and holiness of heaven he manifested self-will against God's will; I will ascend into heaven; I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High. We see that he fell through pride and self-will, the very essence of sin; He wanted to be independent of God and be worship as God, so in his rebellion against God, he was cast down by God because iniquity (lawlessness) was found in him. 

Although the Bible does not reveal the actual origin of sin, we do find here that Lucifer, now Satan is  credited as the originator of all sin, the beginning of sin, sin personified, the first and original sinner. The Bible records Satan's nature and actions to be, the enemy (Matthew 13:39); Antichrist (1 John 2:18-22); the adversary (1 Peter 5:8); the accuser (Job 1:6-7); a liar and murderer (John 8:44); a thief (John 10:10); the opposer (Zechariah 1:3); the deceiver (Revelation 12:9). Although these are just a few, we can clearly see who he is which is what he does. Basically, he opposes God, people and everything good with his evil schemes.

As we see in the above, the two reasons why people blame God for bad things is through a lack of knowing God, that is, His will, nature, character, purposes and plan and also through a lack of knowing the schemes that Satan. Satan's lawless acts continuously oppose God, people and all that is good.  However, God is good and does good all of the time. (Psalm 119:68) Grace and peace be with you all.

God's Billboard

No matter where you travel throughout the USA you will always find commercials, billboards, magazines, websites and pretty much any type of media advertising churches. There is certainly nothing wrong with using advertising methods to reach people. But what is the bottom line? How many souls are being saved and added to the church with all the costly advertisements run each year? According to researchers approximately 4000 new congregation start up every year in the USA but approximately 7000 existing congregations close their doors every year. If fact even with the millions of dollars in advertisement each year, research shows that church attendance has been and is still declining. So how can the church in the USA save money on advertising and still grow? Simply, we must return to the very principles that have always caused church growth without paying one cent for advertising.

Jesus emulated before twelve men, His Father's will, nature, character, purposes and plan for three and one half years. During this intense time of training He sent them to do the same thing. Notice His instructions, "And when Jesus had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease...Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give." (Matthew 10:1, 8) In Luke's gospel we see another set of disciples that Jesus also sent out, "After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. Then He said to them, "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest...heal the sick there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you." (Luke 10:1-2, 9)

After Jesus' resurrection and before His ascension, He meets with His disciples and gives them further instruction, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs." Amen. (Mark 16:15-20)

Do we see the picture that Jesus has painted not only for His disciples but for all who believe. As soon as a person became born again, God planned that they should advertise the transformed life that they experience in Christ by healing the sick in the Name of Jesus no matter where they would go throughout the world. Jesus' entire ministry was a battle against demonic forces. It is the same for the church today. All sickness, disease, pain and sin is a result of Satan's hatred of all humanity. The very ministry of Jesus was carried out in the early church as normal life in the Kingdom of God. No matter where believers went, miracles, signs and wonders were always present at the preaching of the Gospel.  What Jesus told His disciples is true for today also, Freely you have received, freely give.

Unfortunately, the church has missed its greatest method of advertising. God's method of advertising that reveals Himself to the natural mind was and still is through miracles, signs and wonders. Due to the lack of sound doctrine being taught today, there is a severe lack of spiritual development or growth among most believers. The apostle Paul had to deal with such with the church at Corinth. "And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?" (1 Corinthians 3:1-3) The writer of Hebrews faced the same problem. "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." (Hebrews 5:12-14) Ouch!!!

Now I know that some who read this may have been taught that God does not do the miracles today as He did in the early church. That God uses sickness and disease in a believers life for various reasons that only He knows as a means of the continuing work of sanctification. That God chooses who He wants to heal and when He wants to do it. But this is extremely distant from the truth. Even logic should dictate that we are missing it when we look at so many in the church today that are sick and diseased.  Disease and sickness are never the will of the Father, to believe that they are is to be disillusioned by the devil. If healing had not been in the plan of redemption, the Father would not have spoken it in His Word. Jesus healed all who came to Him, because He was carrying out the will of the Father.

The only reason sickness is in the body of Christ is due to a low state of knowledge of our rights and privileges in our redemption that has been provided by God through Jesus Christ. It is only our ignorance of our rights and or refusal to act upon God's Word that keeps believers ill. Every believer has a right to be free from sickness and disease. You are the ruler of your body. You have the greater one in you. All that is needed is for you to command sickness or disease to leave in the Name of Jesus. Healing is not only for the believer, but for all believers to also "lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." This was, is and always will be God's method of advertising and revealing Himself to the natural mind.

"Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses, weaknesses, and distresses) and carried our sorrows and pains [of punishment], yet we [ignorantly] considered Him stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God [as if with leprosy] But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole. (Isaiah 53:4-5 AMP). "He personally bore our sins in His [own] body on the tree [as on an altar and offered Himself on it], that we might die (cease to exist) to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed." (1 Peter 2:24 AMP)...

"And these attesting signs will accompany those who believe: in My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages; They will pick up serpents; and [even] if they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will get well." (Mark 16:17-18) This is free advertisement God's Way!!!

Made New In Christ

There are four major expressions in the Epistles that far to many Christians have not embraced and applied into their lives. They are, "In Him"..."In Christ"..."Christ in you"..."Christ in us." These expression are what is referred to as the believers identification. The Bible tells us, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ..." (2 Corinthians 5:17-18)

I want you to meditate on those verses of scripture because it is a necessity if we are going to walk in the complete freedom that redemption has purchased for us. If God had simply forgiven humanity for the crimes that were committed against Him from the fall of man and did nothing more, then every person, including believers, would continue to commit sin. However, God through all of His wisdom does not only forgive the sinner, He makes him a new creation! Not only does He remit, wipe out, our sin (Isaiah 43:25; Acts 2:38) but He takes away the dominion of sin over the believer, so that the believer never has to walk in sin again. "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace." (Romans 6:12-14) Of course this does not mean that a believer's free-will has been taken away. Every believe still has the choice to exercise faith and stay free from sin, or live in the flesh and live in sin.

You see, God imparts His very nature into everyone who is born again. "...put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness." (Ephesians 4:24). "which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." (2 Peter 1:4) The old things have passed away and now all things become new "In Christ." The Apostle Paul tells us, "For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin." (Romans 6:5-7) What spectacular news, "knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin."  The old man, the body of sin, is done away with in the new creation. The sin nature is gone and God's nature has taken its place.

So many of us have tried to get rid of the old nature on our own, not realizing that all it takes is faith in what God says in His Word. For the most part, most believers have not understood or may not have been told that the old nature has been done away with and the new creation, God's nature, has been imparted to our spirit. We must not depend on experience, but truth. We must renew our minds with God's Word. As we do this, His Word will become the reality and we will know that sin no longer has dominion over us. As we persistently fix our thoughts by renewing the mind with God's Word, we will discover who we are in Christ which will lift us out of weakness and failure into His strength. Remember,  "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace." (PTL)

All Honor Is Yours O LORD

 One of the most frequent and least understood topics in the bible is that of the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is actually a positive influence upon believers and makes for a healthy vibrant church. The Bible records, “Then fear came upon every soul…” (Acts 2:43) However, today “The fear of the Lord” seems to be a subject that is not one for discussion especially to be preached from a pulpit. It seems that people only want to hear about God’s love and mercy, which He has beyond measure, but they shun away from other important aspects of Christianity, one being the fear of the Lord. When we mention the fear of the Lord, people tend to respond in a way to say that God is not to be feared and thereby create God in their own image. Yet the Bible clearly reveals God as one to be feared.

In the Old Testament fear is described as; affright; be afraid; dread; terror; reverence. In the New Testament it is described as virtually the same but adds, quake, tremble. To have dread or terror of the Lord is from the perspective of those who God will judge who do evil and refuse to repent before a just God, “Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust, from the terror of the Lord and the glory of His majesty." (Isaiah 2:10) However, this is not so for the believer. For the believer, the fear of the Lord is to have reverence and awe for the one who has shown His mercy and has provided the way of escape from the wrath to come, through Jesus Christ, “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:9)

Solomon records many aspects of the fear of the Lord, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge" (Proverbs 1:7). "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil" (Proverbs 8:13). "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Proverbs 9:10). "The fear of the Lord prolongs days (life)" (Proverbs 10:27). "The fear of the Lord provides strong confidence" (Proverbs 14:26). "The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life to avoid the snares of death" (Proverbs 14:27). "The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom" (Proverbs 15:33). "The fear of the Lord cause one to depart evil" (Proverbs 16:6). "The fear of the Lord leads to a satisfied life void of evil" (Proverbs 19:23) "The fear of the Lord leads to riches, honor and life" (Proverbs 22:4). 

When looking at these aspects of the fear of the Lord we can see that it is really to one's advantage to stand in awe and reverence of the Lord Most High. Signs and wonders in the early church produced a great reverence and awe of the Lord. "Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles." (Acts 2:43) Keep in mind, that these people, now born again, opposed and mocked the disciples. (Acts 2:13)  Now the effect of a great work of God's grace through the ministry of the apostles had released a profound change in the peoples hearts. This was the real deal.

I believe the connection between the fear of the Lord and the signs and wonders is the people remembered the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus; they remembered the wonders that happened; they remembered the events that occurred on the Day of Pentecost; and without doubt, they knew that the LORD was with them. This is a clear indication as to whether believers truly know that the LORD is with them. It is not a matter of reading scripture or being told that He is, it comes down to acting as though He is. If believers truly respond in this manner, they too will experience the same powerful work that the LORD accomplished through the apostles and enjoy standing in awe of the Lord giving Him all the honor due His glorious Name...

Freedom In Christ

The most destructive force on the earth throughout the history of man is sin. Sin has never changed. It has only become more destructive. The Bible reveals sin as, Transgression; "Whosoever commits sin transgresses the law: for sin is the transgression of the law." (1 John 3:4). Unrighteousness; "All unrighteousness is sin..." (1 John 5:17. Unbelief;  "...for whatever is not from faith is sin." (Romans 14:23). Iniquity; "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." (Matthew 24:12). Trespass; "For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man..." (Romans 5:17). Lawlessness; "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness?" (2 Corinthians 6:14). Evil doing; "Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!" (Matthew 7:23)

Sin can be defined as missing the mark; the act of disobedience against divine law; outwardly violating divine law; to cross over a line or boundary; to fall away; and or the ignorance of what should have been known. Simply put, sin is rooted in lust, pride and self-will, all motivated by selfishness which simply focuses on, me, myself and I. When comparing these things with what we see in society we can clearly see the destructive nature of sin at work in every level of human life. Sin is not a respecter of persons. There is no amount of money, education or society class that can prevent sin from its destruction. There is not even one person that can boast that they are a good person, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)

Although the destructive affects of sin are virtually endless, it will always lead to the same end, "For the wages of sin is death..." (Romans 6:23) This does not refer to physical death although sin works at taking physical life away. This refers to spiritual death, that is, separation from God for eternity with its end in the Lake of Fire and Brimstone. Unfortunately, much of the church today does not even want to mention the word sin, because it is said that the word sin come across as offensive, but that is exactly what it is. It is an offense to God and should be seen in the same manner to man. Sin destroys individuals, marriages and families. It promotes moral depravity, sickness and all manner of addictions. Sin destroys and leads into bondage and eventually death.

However, according to the Bible, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (John 3:16-17)
"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) No matter how destruction sin is, God has provided away to be set people free. "The Word became flesh..." (John 1:14) Deity and humanity came together in Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul tells us, "For sin shall not have dominion over you..." (Romans 6:14) In other words, if you have received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then sin no longer has power over you (unless you give it permission).

The Apostle John tells us, "Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God." (1 John 3:7-9) What a wonderful truth from God. If you are struggling with any sin in your life, speak this passage of scripture aloud to yourself continuously. The Bible tells us, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17) Speaking God's Word aloud will build your faith and eventually your faith in God's Word will be greater than the sin you are dealing with. Eventually the sin will be whisked away by the power of God and you will walk in forgiveness and complete freedom from sins reign. 

"Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.   And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:31-32) "Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed." (John 8:34-36) If you are in Christ, YOU ARE FREE!

Whose Report Will I believe

A see-saw (also known as a teeter-totter or teeter board) is a long narrow board pivoted in the middle so it can alternate in an up-and-down or backward-and-forward motion. The Bible records a situation that happened in the history of Israel that involved a puppet king name Ahab. The reason why I refer to Ahab as a puppet king is due to the things his wife Jezebel did. In reality Jezebel governed Ahab who governed Israel.

Once again Israel left God to worship false gods and during this time Jezebel massacred the prophets of the Lord. However, Obadiah, a man who had charge of Ahab's house, who feared God, hid one hundred prophets. Obadiah meets the Prophet Elijah who tells Obadiah to contact King Ahab so that Elijah could meet with him. "Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him,"Is that you, O troubler of Israel?"  And he answered, "I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father's house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals. Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table." (1 Kings 18:17-19)

Ahab calls Elijah "O troubler of Israel." However, the reality was, Elijah was trouble for the devil because the devil works overtime deceiving God's people into believing that God is not true to His Word. Elijah was bringing the Word of God to Ahab and Israel. The devil has been using this tactic from the beginning of man. "Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said..." (Genesis 3:1) The devils lies can be seen as truth when God's people lack in two main areas of their life. One is a lack of the knowledge of God's Word. Hosea the Prophet tells us, "My people are being destroyed because they don't know me..." (Hosea 4:6 NLT) The best way to get to know God is through His Word. His Word is His revelation of Himself and His plan to man.

The other area is that many of God's people lack is faith. Faith is defined in two ways. The first is what is called sense knowledge faith. This is faith based on a persons senses, touch, taste, smell, see and hear. For many in the church it means they will not believe God's Word unless they see physical evidence first. It means that many will say they believe that the Bible is the infallible Word of God yet they will not act on what is says beyond what their senses can understand. Unfortunately, this is unbelief disguised as faith. The other kind of faith, the kind that pleases God (Hebrews 11:6). It is believing God's Word and acting upon it without any physical evidence, even when the circumstances dictate other.  This is what is called revelation faith. It is of the spirit not of the senses.

Look at what Elijah says as he confronts the children of God, "So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. And Elijah came to all the people, and said,"How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." But the people answered him not a word." (1 Kings 18:20-22) For most in the church today, if they were confronted with these words, mostly likely two things would happen. One, they would be offended and leave the church or they would do as Israel, not say a word and look for proof.

All to often, correction is taken as an offense which reveals a lack in the above mentioned areas, not knowing God and lack of faith. In Israel's case, they were waiting on physical evidence that God was God and Baal was nothing but a lie from the devil. Elijah clearly shows us that there are only two opinions, God's truth or Satan's lies. Isaiah asks, "Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?" (Isaiah 53:1) Jesus and the apostle Paul ask the same. (John 12:38; Romans 10:16) In each case, the question was aimed at God's children due to a lack of faith.

Every day believer's must ask themselves this question, "Whose report will I believe." If we truly believe the report of the Lord (God's Word) then the evidence will be our confession and actions even when we have absolutely no tangible evidence. Even when the circumstances are so insurmountable that it looks like there is not even a remote possibility of deliverance. This is the kind of  faith that moves God. This is the kind of faith that gets the job done. This is the kind of faith that pleases God and this is the kind of faith that makes the impossible possible. "Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." (Mark 9:23)

So do not get on the devils seesaw ever again. He will try to get you to falter between two opinions. Do not let him talk you out of what God said He would do. "God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?" (Numbers 23:19) When he tries to bring you a report that is contrary to God's Word, simply,  "submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you..." (James 4:7-8) "Resist him, steadfast in the faith..." (1 Peter 5:9) The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you... 

Moving Forward

 Now that 2021 is history, we need to look ahead. But for us to do this we must assess or examine ourselves to see if we have accomplished or completed the mission in which the Lord has called us to and or what, if anything that we have built. The apostle Paul tells us, "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?" (2 Corinthians 13:5) and "For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss..." (1 Corinthians 3:11-15)

So what is the litmus test to show us these things? First, we must look at our own life. Jesus said, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5) What is the fruit that has been produced in your life? First, has your knowledge of God's Word grown opening you to a greater realm of faith and revelation of spiritual things? This is probably the most important thing for believers. Throughout the Epistles we see that believers are exhorted to grow in the knowledge of God and our Lord Jesus Christ. The knowledge that believers are to come into is not a mental accent but that of revelation knowledge, that is, a full or complete knowledge which can only come by-way of the great teacher, the Spirit of Truth (John 14:17), "...The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things..." (John 14:26) "...who will guide you into all truth..." (John 16:13)

Next, have you acted upon the knowledge that you have received through God's Word? True Bible faith does not come because we believe God's Word. Believing God's Word will only build a capacity for faith. Faith is only built when we believe and act upon the Word. As we do this the Word becomes a part of our daily use being reflected in our conduct and speech. As faith grows, Satan's dominion and or deception that he tries to impose upon us weakens. Circumstances are less formidable because, fear, doubt and unbelief are destroyed. We also learn to possess and take advantage of our rights and privileges provided for us by the Father through Jesus Christ.

Now that we are believing and acting upon God's Word, growing in faith, what have we built or are building? One of the things to keep in mind when building the church (Jesus builds His church through us) is to be careful that we do not get caught in the mindset that quantity (numbers) is a true representation of fruit. Many church leaders have fallen prey to such without the slightest inclination that they have compromised quality. What this means is believing that numbers equals success can be misleading. The fact is, the success of Jesus ministry was five people at the cross, (John 19:25-26) one hundred twenty (Acts 1:15) in an upper room and finally five hundred others that saw Him after the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:6). This is the result of His three and one half years of ministry, ministering to multitudes.

There is certainly nothing wrong with a large congregation. However, when ten or twenty percent of the congregation is doing the work of ministry while the other eighty or ninety percent are consumers, then it should be apparent that there is a lack of spiritual growth or quality. When church leaders need to fill a ministry position in the church and find it necessary to petition the denomination headquarters or place an add in the local newspaper to do so, once again we see a lack of quality. This is not building with gold, silver and precious stones, but with wood, hay and straw that will eventually be tested with fire. Being a former firefighter, I can assure you that wood, hay and straw make for a blazing fire.

The church has the mandate to "Go make disciples." Disciples will do their share of the ministry that the Lord has called then to. Disciples make a strong infrastructure on which to add or multiply the number of believers. So as we have now entered 2022, let's let the Holy Spirit build the church through us using the building plan that we have, God's Word, the Bible. Let's move into a greater realm of faith, which will cause eighty or ninety percent of the believers doing the work of ministry as the other ten or twenty percent are being equipped for the work of ministry. Let us not repeat any of the previously years, but be "transformed into His image" (2 Corinthians 3:18). Let us go on to perfection (Hebrews 6:1)