No Admittance

Houses are built with doors to gain access from the outside of the house to the inside and vice versa. Doors also keep things on the inside from getting out, but more important they keep unwanted things outside from getting in. The same holds true for in the lives of every person. Although people do not have literal doors in their life, the term is used as a metaphor for opening ones life for good or evil to enter in. Jesus tells us a story concerning this...

"When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.” (Matthew 12:43-45)

For us to understand what Jesus is saying we have to look at what has transpired. First, the Pharisees once again were looking for something to accuse Jesus of, namely breaking the Law. His disciples were plucking heads of grain and were eating them, it was the Sabbath. Basically, the Pharisees were accusing them of breaking the law by working on the Sabbath. (Matthew 12:1-2) Jesus puts them in their place by referring to what King David, one of their most respected patriarchs did, in that he took the showbread that was for the priest only, ate it and gave it to his men to also eat. Jesus also quotes Hosea 6:6, "I desire mercy and not sacrifice." (Matthew 12:3-8) 

Next, Jesus heals "a man who had a withered hand" and again it is on the Sabbath. The next thing that occurs is "a great multitudes followed Jesus and He healed them all." (Matthew 15::16) The people, "...brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw." (Matthew 16:22) The Pharisees, who refused to accept anything that Jesus said or did as anything from God said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.” (Matthew 16:24) Jesus then gives the Pharisees a some food for thought concerning any kingdom that is divided and even gives them a prophetic word concerning what He would eventually do, "how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house." (Matthew 12:25-29) (Jesus went into the devils house, bound him and plundered hid goods) 

Jesus warns the Pharisees of "blasphemy against the Holy Spirit." Although the Pharisees have seen the Father working signs and wonders through Jesus, it wasn't enough to soften their hardened hearts, so they ask Jesus for a sign to satisfy their unbelief. Jesus' then reveals their spiritual condition. (Matthew 12:38-42) Finally Jesus uses the above illustration to expose what was going on in the lives of the Pharisees.

Jesus speaks about an unclean spirit who, for some reason, has gone out of a man. He wanders around and after a certain period of time, he then comes back to the house (the man) from which he was thrown out. He sees that the house (the man) is empty, swept and put in order.  The Greek word for "put in order" is kosmeo, from which we have the word "cosmetics." It basically means decorated, tidied up or embellished. We notice that the evil spirit  does not move into the house and take possession of it, but he goes away and finds seven other spirits more wicked than himself to come with him to enter the house. Why would he do this? He was cast out the first time, so by bringing seven stronger evil spirits more wicked than himself, he is not going to be driven out that easily. Jesus finishes this illustration by saying, "the last state of that man is worse than the first." At the beginning, he was possessed by only one evil spirit. Now he is possessed by eight evil spirits. This is why the spiritual condition of this man had become worse.

This illustration show us that humans are thought of as a house, a house which is either going to be the house of God or the house of the devil. In other words, there are only two possible situations: we live under God’s power or we live under the power of Satan. (Acts 26:19) There is no neutral ground between these two. The Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign as proof of who He truly was. Even if Jesus showed them a sign, their belief in Him would only last for a time, because their unbelief and wickedness would once again prevail over them and they would soon return to their former ways and even become worse than what they were before. Wickedness was at home in them in the same way that an evil spirit made his home in the man in this illustration. If driven out by seeing a sign, it would seek another place to take up residence but would find no other place as comfortable or peaceful as what it had in the Pharisees.    

Here is an important point of this passage. The fact that a person has been set free from the power of Satan does not mean that he will automatically remain free. A half-hearted repentance, the point that Jesus was making concerning the true condition of the Pharisees, and or unrepentant sin will leave a vacuum that the devil is able to exploit. Paul tells us, "do not give place to the devil." (Ephesians 4:27) So, if you are struggling in an area of your life that you seem to be lacking victory, just turn to the Lord with a heart of godly sorrow and receive His forgiveness and deliverance. " If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9) The devil is defeated (Colossians 2:15), sin no longer has the dominion over you (Romans 6:14) you are a New Creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), you are more than a conqueror (Romans 8:37) and you can live in victory everyday (1 Corinthians 15:57) through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. So close the door to the devil and open it up for the King of Glory to come in. PTL    

Please Close the Door

Houses are built with doors to gain access from the outside of the house to the inside and vice versa. Doors also keep things on the inside from getting out, but more important they keep unwanted things outside from getting in. The same holds true for in the lives of every person. Although people do not have literal doors in their life, the term is used as a metaphor for opening ones life for good or evil to enter in. Jesus tells us a story concerning this...

"When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.” (Matthew 12:43-45)

For us to understand what Jesus is saying we have to look at what has transpired. First, the Pharisees once again were looking for something to accuse Jesus of, namely breaking the Law. His disciples were plucking heads of grain and were eating them, it was the Sabbath. Basically, the Pharisees were accusing them of breaking the law by working on the Sabbath. (Matthew 12:1-2) Jesus puts them in their place by referring to what King David, one of their most respected patriarchs did, in that he took the showbread that was for the priest only, ate it and gave it to his men to also eat. Jesus also quotes Hosea 6:6, "I desire mercy and not sacrifice." (Matthew 12:3-8) 

Next, Jesus heals "a man who had a withered hand" and again it is on the Sabbath. The next thing that occurs is "a great multitudes followed Jesus and He healed them all." (Matthew 15::16) The people, "...brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw." (Matthew 16:22) The Pharisees, who refused to accept anything that Jesus said or did as anything from God said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.” (Matthew 16:24) Jesus then gives the Pharisees a some food for thought concerning any kingdom that is divided and even gives them a prophetic word concerning what He would eventually do, "how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house." (Matthew 12:25-29) (Jesus went into the devils house, bound him and plundered hid goods) 

Jesus warns the Pharisees of "blasphemy against the Holy Spirit." Although the Pharisees have seen the Father working signs and wonders through Jesus, it wasn't enough to soften their hardened hearts, so they ask Jesus for a sign to satisfy their unbelief. Jesus' then reveals their spiritual condition. (Matthew 12:38-42) Finally Jesus uses the above illustration to expose what was going on in the lives of the Pharisees.

Jesus speaks about an unclean spirit who, for some reason, has gone out of a man. He wanders around and after a certain period of time, he then comes back to the house (the man) from which he was thrown out. He sees that the house (the man) is empty, swept and put in order.  The Greek word for "put in order" is kosmeo, from which we have the word "cosmetics." It basically means decorated, tidied up or embellished. We notice that the evil spirit  does not move into the house and take possession of it, but he goes away and finds seven other spirits more wicked than himself to come with him to enter the house. Why would he do this? He was cast out the first time, so by bringing seven stronger evil spirits more wicked than himself, he is not going to be driven out that easily. Jesus finishes this illustration by saying, "the last state of that man is worse than the first." At the beginning, he was possessed by only one evil spirit. Now he is possessed by eight evil spirits. This is why the spiritual condition of this man had become worse.

This illustration show us that humans are thought of as a house, a house which is either going to be the house of God or the house of the devil. In other words, there are only two possible situations: we live under God’s power or we live under the power of Satan. (Acts 26:19) There is no neutral ground between these two. The Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign as proof of who He truly was. Even if Jesus showed them a sign, their belief in Him would only last for a time, because their unbelief and wickedness would once again prevail over them and they would soon return to their former ways and even become worse than what they were before. Wickedness was at home in them in the same way that an evil spirit made his home in the man in this illustration. If driven out by seeing a sign, it would seek another place to take up residence but would find no other place as comfortable or peaceful as what it had in the Pharisees.    

Here is an important point of this passage. The fact that a person has been set free from the power of Satan does not mean that he will automatically remain free. A half-hearted repentance, the point that Jesus was making concerning the true condition of the Pharisees, and or unrepentant sin will leave a vacuum that the devil is able to exploit. Paul tells us, "do not give place to the devil." (Ephesians 4:27) So, if you are struggling in an area of your life that you seem to be lacking victory, just turn to the Lord with a heart of godly sorrow and receive His forgiveness. " If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9) The devil is defeated (Colossians 2:15), sin no longer has the dominion over you (Romans 6:14) you are a New Creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), you are more than a conqueror (Romans 8:37) and you can live in victory everyday (1 Corinthians 15:57) through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. So close the door to the devil and open it up for the King of Glory to come in. PTL    

Walking With Giants

After Israel was supernaturally delivered from the bondage of Egypt by the mighty hand of God we see something very notable that took place at their departure.  "He (God) also brought them out with silver and gold, and there was none feeble among His tribes." (Psalm 105:37) Not only did they leave Egypt with great wealth but their was not one person lacking in physical or mental strength and vigor. While Israel made their way through the wilderness, God not only led them, but provided for their every need. Finally, they reached the wilderness of Paran where the Lord instructed Moses to send out twelve spy's, one from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. (Numbers 12:16, 13:1-3) Upon the return of the twelve spy's we see that the report of ten was, "...we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants)..."(Numbers 13:33) These giants were giants in the physical sense. But God has raised up other giants. Men and women who were giant (so to speak) in the spirit. 

Looking back at the history of man in the Old Testament, we see the Lord revealing Himself supernaturally through frail, imperfect people. The earth walk of Jesus reveals God the Father's will again through the supernatural. The gospels reveal numerous miracles through Jesus that, like in the Old Testament, it was God the Father's way of revealing Himself. Also, during His earth ministry He gave this supernatural power to His Apostles as well as seventy other disciples. Finally, the earth ministry of Jesus ended, but it was not over. In the Book of Acts and on the Day of Pentecost the ministry of Jesus continues to be carried out in the church. We get to see some of these spiritual giants such as, the Apostles Peter and Paul as well as Stephen and Philip. We also see the supernatural power of God working through them. Men who were by no means perfect in the natural sense, but who were being perfected through their faith, love and desire to serve the Lord Savior, Jesus Christ. 

From the Day of Pentecost and continuing to present (until the return of Jesus), we find documented evidence of men and women who decided one day to believe the Scriptures rather than the doctrines of man and were used of God in the realm of the supernatural. These spiritual giants were no different than those in the early church. They also were frail and imperfect, but they also had an affinity for God above all else. Like their predecessors, they also lived with persecution, not just from the world, but unfortunately, from the religious within the church. Some finished their course well and others not so well. Yet the impact that they had globally, especially in the church still lives today. 

Church history reveals many of these giants of faith raised up by God to bring reformation and restoration to the church which also impacted the world. Shortly after the civil war, once again God raised up many of these giants of the faith. The impact they they brought is what we call revival. Millions gave themselves to the Lord. Countless numbers received miracles and some raised from the dead, just like the ministry of Jesus and the early church and yet they were greatly criticized by the faithless religious. Some of these giants are, John Alexander Dowie, Marie Woodworth-Etter, Evan Roberts, Charles F. Parham, John G. Lake, William J. Seymour, Smith Wigglesworth and Aimee Semple McPherson.  

The Lord used these believers and others to usher in one of the greatest moves of the Holy Spirit since the Day of Pentecost. In fact, this move of God was named the Pentecostal movement. It was a reflection of the daily activities of the early church with the glory, presence and power of God manifesting, which brought much of the church, in a sense, back to its beginnings. Unfortunately, ignorance, unbelief and complacency has once again crept back into the church to where the supernatural works of God are once again downplayed, despised and rejected by another generation of the religious in the church. But the good news is, the supernatural has not left the church. The Apostle Peter tells us, "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began." (Acts 3:19-21)   

The times of refreshing and restoration will come to the church before the Master returns. He is coming back for a church filled with faith, fully dedicated to Him. A church that is sanctified and cleansed by His Word (not mans doctrine). A glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but a church that is holy and without blemish. (Ephesians 5:26-28) So let us repent from our lack of faith and be like John the Baptist and prepare the way of the Lord.  

The Power of Worship - Part 3

We have look at the power that true praise and worship has in releasing the power of God, defeating the enemy and blessings His people. Can we honestly say that the power of God is released in the average church worship service today? For most, it is not. So what is going on? For some time now, what is called contemporary praise and worship has infiltrated the church almost by storm. However, since the start of the 21st century there has come a noticeable difference in the lyrics that needs to be addressed. Revelation paints a glorious picture of the worship that take place before the throne of God, “The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!" Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created." (Rev. 4.8-11)

We see further, “Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; For You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth." Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!" And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: "Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!" Then the four living creatures said, "Amen!" And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.” (Rev. 5.9-14)

Although this praise and worship is taking place in heaven, it no way infers that praise and worship should be different on earth. The point in this is, true praise and worship comes from a heart that is filled with great reverence, awe, fear, joy, adoration and exaltation that is directed to the Lord. We are to praise and worship Him. If you listen closely to many contemporary songs that have filled many congregation today, it has become somewhat difficult to know whom the song is addressing. The name of Jesus is hardly ever spoken and there is rarely the acknowledging Him as Lord. There are also many songs that do not contain scripture in the lyrics, but many of the songs that use scripture in the lyrics tend to take the scripture out of context, which twists their true meaning. Another unfortunate aspect that we see in many contemporary songs today is the words, He, Him, His have been replaced with me, my, I.

It seems that once again in order to reach the lost soul, the church has cut the Lord out of the equation. Music is a very powerful medium and if the church is not willing to worship God in Spirit and Truth with their focus on exalting Him, then we cannot blame our children for listening to secular music that focuses on the works of the flesh. This is not to say that contemporary music should be eliminated from the church, but that those responsible for music in every congregation should scrutinize the lyrics of every song before they refer to them as praise or worship songs. This also does not insinuate that hymns are the only songs that are pure worship; on the contrary, some of the sweetest sounding hymns also have lyrics that are not focus on the Lord but on the believer. In addition, many hymns place the focus on the afterlife for the believer. Examples of this are, “When we get to heaven we will have the victory;” “When we get to heaven we will be new;” “When we get to heaven we will have rest;” yet God’s Word assures the believer of their victory, new life and rest in Christ right here on planet earth. Regardless of which style of music individual congregation’s desire, the church today must put its focus on the Lord if it is going to truly worship Him.

The church must never exclude an intimate time of ministering to the Lord through praise and worship. We must refrain from placing a limited time of praise and worship in our gatherings. We must reject songs that are not the Word of God as well as songs that do not directly exalt the Lord. To abandon true praise and worship for any reason is to say that God is not worthy of our admiration and we do not need His presences to have a successful church service. Again, church leaders must scrutinize songs so that the music and lyrics is completely God focused. Otherwise, we cannot say that we are worshiping the Lord. Church can no longer fall prey trying to please men instead of God or just sing nice songs if we truly want to experience the glory of the Lord in our congregations. I want to challenge you the reader to take time everyday in praise and worship to the Lord. So let us "Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered..." (Psalm 68:1)

The Power of Worship - Part 2

As we saw last time, when God's people look to Him and not their circumstances and begin to praise and worship Him, He moves in our midst defeating the enemy and bringing deliverance to His people. Another story that the Bible record showing us the power of praise and worship is seen in the Book of Acts as seen in the lives of Apostle Paul and Silas. They were taken into custody for casting a demon out of a woman who was used to earn money for her master, “Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed. And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, "Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.  Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" (Acts 16.22-29)

We see several things unfold in this account. Paul ans Silas were beaten with rods, placed into the inner prison and their feet fastened in stocks. This would mostly be enough for the average believer to murmur and complain to God for being abused in such a way. But instead of murmuring and complaining, "...at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God." What took place due to their actions of placing their focus on the Lord rather than their circumstances, we note that "...the prisoners were listening to them." This is an important lesson for us to learn. How many people, saved or unsaved are listening to our words without us even knowing? Let's be honest, most believers, way to often murmur and complain aloud about their circumstances not giving any thought to the damage their words are causing and the negative affect that their words are having. They must believe that God somehow does not know their struggles or worse yet, that God Himself has brought these circumstances upon them for some reason that only He knows.

If Paul and Silas murmur and complained instead of praying and worshiping God, the situation would not have had the impact that it had. The fact that they chose to pray and worship gave God permission and access to release His power. Remember Psalms 22:3 "But You are holy, Who inhabit the praises of Your people." Let's look at God operating in this situation, "Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed." The power of God manifested right in the inner prison. Right in the midst of what we would consider a bad situation.

Finally, we see the distance that praise and worship can go in a situation such as this, "And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, "Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.  Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved? The results of this situation is, “Now when he (the jailer) had brought them (Paul and Silas) into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.” (Acts 16.34) Praise the Lord. The jailer and His household were saved opening a door for a church plant in Philippi.

Praising and worshiping God in any situation or circumstance unleashes the power of God. It defeats the
enemy and opens door for the preaching of the gospel and the salvation of lost souls. Next time we will take an honest look at the way most congregations today approach worship which will beg the question, "Are we really worshiping or just sing songs?" 

In the Midst of the Storm

One of the many exciting stories recorded in the gospels of the life of Jesus is found in the three synoptic gospels. Although the following account is very similar in detail in all three gospels I will still share some parts from all three. 

"Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side of the lake." And they launched out. But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. But He said to them, "Where is your faith?" And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another,"Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!" (Luke 8:22-25)

There are many interesting aspects to this story. First, we notice "a windstorm came down on the lake." Naturally, windstorms do happen because storms are the result of the fall of man. However, I believe this particular windstorm had demonic origins. Why do I say this? Before the fall, Adam was given dominion not only over the creatures that were on the earth, but God made him to have dominion over all of the works of His hands. (Psalm 8:6) Also, prior to this incident Mark records, "Jesus healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him. And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God." But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known. And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons:" (Mark 3:10-15)   Think about it, at this particular time all those on earth who either had direct authority or delegated authority over the forces of darkness were in this boat. The devil may have thought if he could take them out he would still have the authority that Adam forfeited to him. (Luke 4:6)

Although the storm was filling the boat with water to the point that they were in jeopardy, Jesus was still asleep. This is a very important key for believers to understand if we are to walk daily in victory over every circumstance in this life no matter how insurmountable they may seem. We must keep in mind that Satan is defeated (Colossians 2:15, Hebrews 2:14), that we have authority over all of the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19), that we also have been given the power of attorney to use the Name of Jesus which carries with it all authority (Matthew 28:18, Mark 16:17-18, Philippians 2:5-11), that we also have God's Word that is living and powerful (Hebrews 4:12) and the we are God's Children (John 1:12, Romans 8:15-16)

We all of these mighty weapons of God available to us. By using them, we too can rest in the midst of the storm. However, do we apply to our lives what Solomon said, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6) You see, walking in victory comes down to whose words you are going to believe, the words of man, the words of the devil or the Word of God? (Matthew 16:13-23)  Naturally, we must believe God's Word over man's and Satan's words, but how can we cause God's Word to work in our lives?

We must first understand that although reading the Bible and confessing scripture is a great thing, if we are not acting upon it, then we are not really applying faith. Simply put, this is how true Bible faith works, we believe God's Word and then act upon it. James tells us, "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves...But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works." (James 1:22, 2:18) So how can I be a doer of the Word? How can I show my faith by my works?

First, we we must be people who abide in God's Word (John 8:32-33) To abide in God's Word is to accept it wholeheartedly with exception, to believe it without doubting, to stand upon it without wavering. We must be convinced that what God has promised He is also able to perform (Romans 4:20-21). Now we find scripture that is directly related to the circumstance, confess it with our mouth, believe it in our heart and then thank Him for the answer even when there is not one shred of physical evidence. You see, by thanking God for the desired results (which must be according to His Will which is His Word 1 John 5:14-15) I am acting on His Word. I thank Him not because of a manifestation, but because I agree that His Word is true and it never fails. (Isaiah 55:11) Jesus said it this way, "For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." (Mark 11:23-24)

Mark 11:23-24 is one of the most controversial passage of scripture to most in the church today. However, this is the epitome of true Bible faith. Doubt will always neutralize faith. Peter had faith to walk on the water, and he did, but doubt caused him to sink. The doubt was brought on by fear. Doubt neutralized his faith!!! (Matthew 14:28-31) Jesus tells us that we must believe that those things we say will be done. Finally, Jesus tells us that we must believe that we receive what we have asked for and you will have them. Believe that you receive, not receive and then believe. True Bible faith receives what God has already said. What God has already promised. What God has already work through Christ, even though there is no physical  evidence.  "Now faith is a well-grounded assurance of that for which we hope, and a conviction of the reality of things which we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1)

The apostle.Thomas did not exercise faith even though Jesus told His disciple that after His death He would rise. (Matthew 16:21, Mark 8:31, Luke 9:22) Nor did he believe even after many reported that in fact Jesus was risen. Not only did Thomas have to see the risen Lord, but he had to examine Him (the holes in His hands and feet, evidence seen) before he would believe. (John 24-29) This is the greatest struggle for most believers, believing that you have received without any physical evidence. Why? Because most believers have been taught to be skeptical of the supernatural. They have been trained to only accept things that their five senses can understand. This is exactly what Thomas did and Jesus rebuked him for it. He did not believe the Lord's Word concerning His resurrection. If he had, once he heard that Jesus was risen, he would have believed and acted upon it by rejoicing even though he himself had not seen the Lord. Instead, he had to see the Lord to believe that He was risen.

As the story winds down we see Jesus take control of the situation, He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. This should be the response of every believer when facing the difficulties of life. James tells us to count it all joy when you fall into various trials (James 1:2) In other words, do not let the trial have control, let joy rise up and then stand on God's Word remembering that God did not bring the trial (James 1:13) Also remember, believers are not called to fight the devil, Jesus defeated him. We are called to fight the good fight of faith. (1 Timothy 6:12) It is our faith in the integrity of God's Word that puts us over, not physical manifestations.

Think about this. If you are struggling with physical pain or some sort of sickness in your body, do not deny its existence, that would be lying. What you do, is deny its right to exist in your body which has been purchased by Jesus and is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) Why do you take this position? Because God's Word says, "who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness, by whose stripes you were (past tense) healed." (1 Peter 2:24 also see Isaiah 53:4-5)  You believe what Peter says, (it's God's Word) denying the right of the physical manifestation of pain or sickness to have place in your body. As Jesus rebuked the storm, you rebuke the devil and the symptoms that he is trying to put upon you or has manifested in your body.

Finally, Jesus confronts the disciples asking them, "Where is your faith?" The other accounts of this story say, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith." (Matthew 8:26) and "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?" (Mark 4:40) In either case, it comes down to an issue of faith. Will we exercise faith in God's Word or will we let fear and or doubt have place? Will we believe only if we see a manifestation or will we believe because the Word of God says so? For most, this can be an arduous ordeal. Why? It is because church leaders continue to teach believers through a somewhat subliminal message to trust in their senses and not God's Word. The only way to reverse these faithless words of doubt, fear and unbelief that have filled the hearts of God's beloved children, is to renew the mind with God's Word. (Romans 12:2, Ephesians 4:23)  Renewing ones mind and dealing with these stronghold takes a process of time. It comes down to each individual and just how deep these strongholds have captured their mind.

But be of good cheer, because God has given you a measure of faith (Romans 12:3) Through reading, studying and most importantly meditating on God's Word your faith will grow. (Romans 10:17) So, if you find yourself in the midst of a storm, "Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." (Galatians 6:9) Don't lose heart. Don't give up "Let us hold fast the confession of our faith without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." (Hebrews 10:23) God is faithful. His Word never fails. "It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11) and always keeping in mind, "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony (that is, the Word of God) (Revelation 12:11)   
 

Which is Easier?

Not to long after the birth of Jesus, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and says, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him." (Matthew 2:13) So Joseph takes Mary and Jesus to Egypt. After the death of Herod the king the angel of the Lord appears again to Joseph in a dream saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child's life are dead." (Matthew 2:20) and so he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. Luke adds something that is interesting to this account, "And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him." (Luke 2:40)

 Next, Luke tells us that Joseph and Mary take Jesus, who was twelve at the time, to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of the Passover. (Luke 2:41-42), and again we see something very interesting concerning Jesus,  He was "...in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers." (Luke 46-47) Luke records once again, "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." (Luke 2:52) Point being, we see that from childhood Jesus increased in wisdom.

As we look through the Gospels, we see that the religious leaders who were in office during the time that Jesus walked the earth as the Son of Man were always looking for a way to discredit Jesus. Every time they did so, the wisdom of God in Jesus defused the entire situation and put the religious leaders to shame. Jesus certainly did not respond to their evil with any malice in His heart. He responses to them was because He was "...grieved due to the hardness of their hearts..." (Mark 3:5)  One particular time, Jesus got into a boat and went into His own city, "Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you." And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, "This Man blasphemes!" But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" — then He said to the paralytic, "Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." And he arose and departed to his house." (Matthew 9:1-7)

There are a few lessons that we can learn from this situation. One of them is that many Christians for some time have been taught erroneous doctrine that have caused them to not believe God's Word. However, their are many other Christians who believe that God has not changed nor His Word. What He did through Jesus and the early church still applies today. Jesus tells the scribes that their hearts think evil. But look at the wisdom of God in operation. Of course it would be easier to say to someone "Your sins are forgiven you" because things are "easier said then done." But are they? Although the scribes do not respond to His question, Jesus says to the paralytic, "Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." The paralytic responds to Jesus' Word, "And he arose and departed to his house."

Jesus tells us, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." (Mark 9:23) Today, as it was for Jesus then, it should be no more difficult to say, "Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise and walk." The problem that many Christians have with such things as these, is something that has not changed since the fall of man. It is a lack of faith in the integrity of God's Word. Although the disciples that Jesus chose and named apostles observed His ministry for over three years, they too dealt with the same issue prior to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. They did not believe. Not only did Thomas need tangible evidence of the resurrection (John 20:24-25) but Jesus rebuked all the disciples after His resurrection due to the unbelief and hardness of heart. (Mark 16:14) Even though Jesus foretold the apostles of His death and resurrection (Matthew 16:21); even though Mary Magdalene and the two disciples that Jesus met on the Emmaus Road told the apostles that Jesus was alive (Mark 16:9-13); it was a lack of faith in God's Word (Jesus' Words to them) that caused them to easily dismiss the will of God.

Sadly enough in many sections of the church today the same thing happens. There is an unpersuadableness, a lack of true Bible faith in the Word of God. Look at how the multitude responded to what Jesus did for the paralytic, "Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men." (Matthew 9:8) What a drawing card for those who do not know the Lord. Letting God perform the supernatural through His children as evidence of His great love and all that Jesus did for humanity. However, the only way that these things can be a part of the church today, is the doctrines of man that have created doubts and unscriptural mind sets must be dealt with and put to an end. They must be replaced with the revelation knowledge of the Word of God. Let us pray the prayer that Paul prayed for the church and believe, "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened..." (Ephesians 1:17-18) and then be a doer of the Word...

Let's Get Down to Business

 Prayer is a vital part of the believers life. In his book, E.M. Bounds on Prayer, Bounds states, “Prayer is the medium of divine revelation. It is through prayer that God reveals Himself to the spiritual soul today, just as in the Old Testament days He made His revelations to the people who prayed. God shows Himself to the person who prays.” The Lord desires, not only to have His children pray to Him, but have communion with Him through prayer. Prayer has many meanings such as: to ask; to beseech; to call to one’s aid; communicating with God; an act of communion with God.

The act of communion with God involves more than just praying in a general sense. In fact Jesus tells us what ineffective prayer is,  "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words." (Matthew 6:7) He also tells us how to pray effectively,
"For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." (Mark 11:23-24)

The apostle John reveals a very important key for us when it comes to asking the Lord for anything, "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him."(1 John 5:14-15) So how can we know that what we ask Him is according to His will? How can we move from hoping that He will answer our request to having assured confidence that He will answer?

Peter says it this way, "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue." (2 Peter 1:2-3) and the writer of Hebrews says, "Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high." (Hebrews 1:3)

Take notice to two important things here. First we see that "His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue." So when we pray we must believe that He has given us "all things that pertain to life and godliness." But how do we acquire "all things that pertain to life and godliness?" Through having knowledge of Jesus Christ. This is not sense knowledge, that which we understand in our minds, but revelation knowledge, that which is conceived in the spirit.

The other thing that we must understand is, upholding all things by the word of His power.  Notice that it does not say that power of His word. Literally, God's Word is His power or His power is manifest by His Word(s). A great example of this is in creation, "Then God said...and it was so." (Genesis 1). So, if His power is in His Word(s) (which it is) and His power has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Christ, (which He has) then praying the Word of God is the way that we can, as John said, "...that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.". His Word is His Will and His Will is His Word.

So, let us no longer just talk at the Lord with many words, but pray His word knowing, "So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11) God's Word get results every time if, one, "does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them..." In short, we pray His Word, believing that we have already received the petitions that we have asked of Him and His promise is, you will have them.            

I Really Doubt It

I love the Body of Christ and I should, because I'm a Christian. I get to meet many believers from various parts of the church and make it a point to ask a few questions to see what is going on throughout the church. Recently I had a conversation with a believer that was not connected to a local church. (The Bible teaches that all believers need to be connect to a local expression of the church, not some mystical me and Jesus church) Naturally, I asked this person why they were not connected. Their response did not shock me because it is one of many typical responses that many confused believers have today. However, I was grieved because once again the issue of faith (or should I say a lack of faith) was the root of this issue.

The apostle Paul write, "...that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it..." (1 Corinthians 12:25-26) (I am going to take some latitude with these verses at the end as I share this persons personal story with us) During the 1980's this person (whose story I'm about to tell) went to a major US city to attend a healing and deliverance meeting sponsored by a well known female minister that flowed in this ministry. (If I mentioned the ministers name you would immediately recognize it) This person saw first hand all those who came forth received healing and gave a testimony that they were indeed healed. The person left the meeting with a new excitement for the LORD and His desire and love to heal hurting people.

A few years had past and this person purchased a book by a very well known Christian author. (If I mentioned the authors name you would immediately recognize it) The author wrote a book as a follow up on the healing ministry of this  particular minister. The author of the book revealed that several people who had claimed to have been healed had either died from or were struggling with the same sickness that they were supposedly healed of. In short, the author concluded that the ministry was false and that God does not heal today like He did in the early church. If God does heal today, it is because He picks and chooses who receives healing and who does not. With that, it only took a short period of time when this person bought into this well known authors logic which eroded their faith in Christ for healing. Now for nearly two decades this person has not been connected to any local church.

Unfortunately, there always seems to be people in the Body of Christ who work hard at disproving that believers have access to the power of God today for healing, deliverance, provision, etc. The real reason behind this is a subtle deception that has nothing to do with faith, but causes one to doubt in the immutable Creator of all things. Problems arises when believers do not apply faith to God's Word and permit the wisdom of man to take precedence above the knowledge of God. No doubt (no pun intended) this is exactly what happened to this author.

If believers placed faith in the integrity of God's Word there would be no question at all that God is still in and will always be in the business of healing. He has not changes (Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8) which means His Word has not changed (Psalm 89:34, 119:89, Isaiah 55:11, Jeremiah 1:12, John 1:1, 14) God and His Word are one!!! To say that God decides who He heals and who He doesn't means He show partiality towards people which is also contrary to scripture, (Acts 10:34, Romans 2:11, Ephesians 6:9). Jesus said, "as you have believed, so let it done for you" (Matthew 8:13), "Be it according to your faith" (Matthew 9:29), "If you can believe all things are possible to him who believes" (Mark 9:23) and the writer of Hebrews records, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6) It sounds like the condition to receive anything from God requires faith, not chance. If anyone meets God's condition to receive, which is faith, then they shall have. "For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says." (Mark 11:23) 

We must come to grips with these verses. It is not a matter of yesterday, today or tomorrow, but "whoever" can believe without doubt. The issue of people receiving healing and then losing it comes down to permitting doubt to have place if or when a symptom tries to manifest after they have received healing. It comes down to whether or not one believes God's Word and acts on it or if they respond to their five senses which say, "I won't believe unless I see, feel, etc.". All sickness and disease comes from Satan. Peter tells us (talking to believers) "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith..." (1 Peter 8-9) Although Peter is talking about humility and that some may suffer persecution for their belief, the point is Satan still works against believers. Sickness and disease is one of the areas that he tries to put on believers. Unfortunately, for many believers, he seems to have an element success. But believers are to resist him steadfast in faith!

The author of the book that this person read somehow either forgot, did not consider or just does not know the power of God's Word. He himself apparently does not act on God's Word through faith, nor resist the devil in the manner Jesus shows us, "It is written." His only objective seems to have been to discredit healing in the church for today. This author apparently has more faith in his own wisdom than in the Word of God. It apparent that the research for his  book excluded what God's Word says about this issue. I am not trying to create division, but it is time for Christians to stop buying into the nonsense of faithless words spoken or written by faithless authors and church leaders.

Fortunately, the person that I talked with was relieved and encouraged as I showed them what God's Words says on the matter. Hopefully, the day will come when Christian author's only write books that build up the Body of Christ and stimulate faith rather than tearing it down. Things like this causes schism in the church as well as causing believers who truly love the LORD to suffer when all they have to do is believe God's Word.

Although this was the short version concerning this matter, I have one more thought that I would like us to consider. This may be a hard word for some, but when we allow doubt to say that God does not do the things that His Word says He does or if we allow doubt to say that He does things that are contrary to His Word, we will find ourselves creating God in our own image. Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it." (Luke 18:17) It's time to exercise child like faith in a loving faithful God who is our Father! 

When You Look, What Do You See

Today one of the problems that captivates most people, including believers, is image. Just standing in the checkout line of most stores, all you see is tabloids and magazines concerned with how one looks. Basically image deals with how one projects themselves, which in turn becomes what people think you are. Although this issue has been present throughout man's history, since the mid 1990’s it has had a profound affect on the church. There is a greater concern about image that unfortunately is at the expense of integrity. What do I mean by this?

Today many church leaders seemed to have adopted various worldly concepts and have brought them into the "Body of Christ." Some of these concepts are; the church building needs to look appealing and non-threatening to an unbeliever meaning, remove anything that presents a Christian view (banners, scripture verses, etc.); church members need to refrain from using certain Christian phrases that may make unbelievers uncomfortable; the church needs world class entertainment to keep people interested and coming back; music must be upbeat only with a time limit; worship means maybe one slow song but no true expression of worship; and sermons also known as a message, are to be short and sweet to make people happy and feel good about themselves (this type of sermon is considered to be "relevant" for today). The thinking is that if the church does these things, we then can expect to reach unbelievers and have a successful ministry.

Naturally we should have clean facilities, but are we representing Christ or the local coffee shop? One of the things that separates believers from the world is how we talk and act. When the presence of the LORD begins to touch lives during a service believers should be shouting the name of Jesus. When Jesus entered Jerusalem look at the response of the people, the religious leaders and Jesus Himself...

"Then they brought the colt to Jesus. And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him. And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road. Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying: "'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!'  Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples." But He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out."

(Luke 19:35-40)

Notice that "the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice." This was a multitude of disciples not unbelievers. To keep believers from shouting or speaking "Christian Phrases" is to deny God the honor that He is worthy of. It is ignorance motivated by fear in church leaders that want to squelch believers from verbalizing their excitement about Jesus because it may offend an unbeliever or make them feel uncomfortable. Though the people may not be shouting out the praise due to the LORD one day the stones supporting the building may.     

There is certainly nothing wrong with doing drama or having special music during a church service. The problem lies when we saturate people with entertainment to keep them interested and coming back to "Our Church". The following is the entertainment that the LORD provided in the church to multiply the number of believers...

"And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all." (Acts 4:33

"And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed." (Acts 5:14-16)

"And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people." (Acts 6:8)

"And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. And there was great joy in that city." (Acts 8:6-8)

Not to belittle or make light the power of God in any way shape or form, this is the entertainment that unbelievers truly desire. They do not want Broadway plays and concerts, but a demonstration of the Spirit and power. (1 Corinthians 2:4). However, this takes faith in an all powerful God who has not changed. It also take courage for church leaders to step away from the pressures that the world wants to conform the church to, and let Jesus build His church through His people.

Music is a powerful medium especially during church gatherings (not to exclude any other time). It is a means to usher in the presences of the LORD as we exalt and magnify Him through singing. David tells us, "...In Your presence is fullness of joy..." (Psalm 16:11) and "But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Your people". (Psalm 22:3) Why would any church leader want to exclude Gods presence as to not offend an unbeliever or to make them feel uncomfortable? I have been in numerous congregational and small group meetings where unbelievers were so taken by Gods presences that some were saved, some healed, some delivered and some a combination of them all. I have been in other meetings where the presence of God was so strong that the praise and worship continued unplanned for two hours. There was no preaching during this time and in the LORDS presence time seemed to stop. It was extremely power having such an affect on both believers and unbelievers that many still talk about the experience today. To exclude and intimate time of ministering to the LORD through worship or to place a limited time frame on worship is to say that God is not worthy of our admiration and we do not need His presences to have a successful church service.

I find it very interesting how church leaders advertise that they share a "Relevant Message" at their meetings but rarely preach from the Bible or use the Word of God in context. Honestly, the gospel (God's Word) has always been, is and will always be the only relevant message that the world will ever need to hear.  Church leaders must stop being ashamed of the gospel of Christ and begin to preach and teach God's Word without reservation or apologizing for what it says. Paul says,  "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek." (Romans 1:16) Notice that the unadulterated Word of God has the power to save all people. To not preach and teach God's Word is to deny Jesus the preeminence in His Church. He is the Word!!! (John 1:1-2, 14, Revelation 19:13) 

When the Prophet Samuel was sent by God to the house of Jesse to anoint a king to replace king Saul He made this statement concerning David, "...For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, (Image) but the LORD looks at the heart (Integrity)." (1 Sam. 16.7) We should not be concerned as to how we match up with the worlds image, but realize that Gods presences and glory far surpasses the best the world has to offer. We should concern ourselves with being a people of integrity as we serve the one true God, more than trying to adjust our image with worldly concepts that are motivated by Satan and infested with sin that only appeal to the flesh.     

The real problem is not trying to reach the unbeliever per se, but how congregations go about it. We must stop reducing the church to a palatable organization where we fit into the world, but once again become a life filled Body that turns the world upside down. The church must begin to operate in faith and return to preaching the full gospel. The apostle Paul makes it clear as to what the full gospel entails, "For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me, in word and deed, to make the Gentiles obedient, in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. And so I have made it my aim to preach the gospel..." (Romans 15:18-20) 

As Paul tells us, the Full Gospel is preaching God's Word (the gospel) in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God. This is the churches legacy; this is how multitudes will be saved, healed and delivered; this is church growth Gods way!   

Won’t it be wonderful when the church becomes the envy of all once again. Well I have some good news and some not so good news, you can decide for yourself. We will see the so called "Open Church" (not the name of a congregation, but how they precieve themselves) continue to compromise the truth (God's Word) for the sake of unbelievers who unfortunately never come to Christ. We we see what is known as "Seeker Friendly" church's who currently have thousands of members begin to shrink and some will even be forced to close their doors (this is already happening) because all their programs and entertainment have not truly fixed broken lives. We will see many main line denominations reject sound doctrine and teach such things as Christ not being the only way to eternal life (this also is currently happening). Some will even be deceived by Mormon's, J---- Witnesses, Muslim's or other false religions and join their ranks. 

However, on the other hand, there are some church leaders and congregation that have not bowed their knee to the world for the sake of having a world pleasing image. They have maintained their integrity in Christ and have not compromised God's Word. They are not trying to please the world but save people from the world. They understand and embrace the kind of faith that pleases God which will open the door to many lost souls being saved, healed, delivered and becoming true disciples. We will see reformation taking place in some denominations. Many denominational church leaders will throw away doctrines that they have embraced for years which are contrary to God's Word. They will begin to live in a realm of faith that they have been taught to reject.   

Even now there is a stirring in many believers, young and older, who want more of Christ than they are receiving where they current attend. They have participated in many church programs that are built on psychology rather than the Word of God and they are still not walking in the freedom that Christ has provided. Even now many are seeking a congregation where the Full Gospel (as Paul presents it) is the norm and where true Christian community is experienced replacing the social club atmosphere. Why are these things happening and why will they be? Because the church is Christ's Body which He loves. Even now He is cleansing her so that she will be a "glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish." (Ephesians 5:27) The sad news is, many will once again harden their hearts to Him and open their hearts to the world.

As I close I would like to share a quote from General William Booth, Founder of the Salvation Army. Although the church has entered the twenty first century, his statement is still worth pondering…

“The chief danger of the 20th century will be religion without the Holy Spirit, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God and heaven without hell.” (William Booth Quotes) How prophetic...

Jesus; Name Above All Names

The incarnate Son of God was manifest to restore humanity to the place that God had originally intended. All that Adam was before he committed treason and forfeited the dominion and authority that God had given him over creation, was God's goal of the restoration of man. The Apostle Paul tells us, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. " (Romans 3:23) This means that not one human being could ever satisfy justice for Adam's transgression. So God Himself would be the only candidate that could fulfill such an incredible undertaking. 

The Apostle John tells us, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1) and "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us..." (John 1:14) The angel Gabriel announced to Mary, "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." (Luke 1:31-33) and so it was, Deity and humanity came together. The Word was conceived in the womb of a woman, became flesh and His name is JESUS.

The Apostle Paul tells us, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:5-11)

Because Jesus willingly gave up His sinless, perfect life for every man, woman and child, "God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name." In other words, God the Father has super-eminently exalted Jesus, has given Him the highest position above all else and there is no other name that can be compared with his. It stands alone! Hebrews tells us, "having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they." (Hebrews 1:4) These things are very important for all believers to understand because not only is the name of Jesus above every other name, His name carries with it ALL AUTHORITY in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. This means that every created being in those three realms must bow in submission to His name.

We may be quick to say "amen" to this but the possibilities that surround His name are beyond our understanding. Basically, in His name, He has given the church (believers) "carte blanche" to all the resources and promises of God. The good news in this is, all believers have been given the legal use of His name so that, "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." This mean the devil and every demon. We see this played out in the ministry of seventy other disciples that Jesus sent out, "Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name." (Luke 10:17) Let us take note that this was before His resurrection and the exaltation of His name. So think how much power and authority the believer has today in His name. Honestly, it is almost incomprehensible.

God did not do this for Himself. He made this incredible investment for the benefit of the church (all believers). He made this investment so that all who would believe upon the name of Jesus would have the liberty to use His magnificent name to meet their every need and also to enforce what Jesus' death and resurrection has secured, power over the enemy. However, all of these things that the name of Jesus provides for the church do not manifest simply because the Bible reveals these things. Faith must be released through the believer and then the believer must act upon his released faith."But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works." (James 2:18)      

So let us remember this; God the Father has bestowed upon Jesus honor, glory, power, all authority and has "seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all." (Ephesians 1:20-23) Glory be to God!!!
   

Bad Things Do Not Come From God - Part 15

Luke's gospel reveals another very important issue where Jesus plainly reveals to us where sickness comes from. This is important because many Christians today live with numerous sicknesses and affliction in their bodies and minds that are not from God though their church leaders have told them that they are . God does not have some hidden mysterious reason to bring sickness and or affliction upon His children for any reason!

Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, "Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity." And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.
(Luke 13:10-13)

The first thing that we notice is this woman's affliction was being cause by "a spirit of infirmity." There is not one shred of evidence that some how God was behind this or that this woman some how deserved to have this dreaded condition. This was a demon spirit that was causing her condition. Now let's look at a typical reaction by the ruler of the synagogue (many of today's church leaders) to what Jesus did for this woman.

But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd,"There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day." (Luke 13:14) Clearly the Jews believed in healing; however, here we see that the ruler of the synagogue was looking for a reason to discredit Jesus, but what was really operating behind the scenes was the same thing that opposed Jesus in Nazareth...

Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?" So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house." Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching. (Mark 6:1-6) Notice that it does not say that Jesus would not do mighty works, but that He COULD NOT do no mighty works. Why? "Because of their unbelief."

In the church today, the LORD is unable to heal many of His children due to them being trained in unbelief by unbelieving church leaders. These church leaders teach unbelief because they have relied on the words of faithless Bible teachers and seminary professors rather than letting the Holy Spirit lead them into all truth. It is baffling that pastors, shepherds of Gods people, are not true shepherds because they do not truly Feed His lambs, Tend His Sheep and Feed His Sheep as the Shepherds did in the early church. This can only be accomplished by truly following Jesus, applying faith to His Word and rejecting the commandments of men. (John 21:15-23, Matthew 15:7-9)

Not see the conclusion of this matter...
The Lord then answered him and said, "Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound — think of it — for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?" And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him. (Luke 13:15-17)  

Who had bound this woman? Satan! God had nothing to do with this woman's infirmity. But who freed this woman? The LORD!!! Also look at the words that Jesus uses, "whom Satan has bound — think of it — for eighteen years." Jesus, in a sense is saying, if you really think about this, you will see that Satan is behind all sickness and affliction (Bad things) not God. Logical thinking will reveal that God is the one who is behind healing and health, think about it. When Jesus' adversaries did think about it, they were put to shame.

For eighteen years this woman had to suffer with this condition because the leaders of the people were not truly leading the people for the LORD. You see it is faith that unlocks all the mysteries of God and gives us the knowledge of Jesus Christ. It is the Holy Spirit that leads the believers to a realm that transcends all the faithless teaching that do not reveal Gods true nature and the believers rights in Christ. It is faith in and acting upon God's Word that releases the power of God. So think about what Jesus said, "all it takes is a mustard seed of Faith" and you will clearly see that bad things do not come from God!

Bad Things Do Not Come From God - Part 6

Now let's look at another incident that the Bible records in which many Christians have been trained to believe concerning bad things coming from God, the life of Job. The first thing that we must understand is that the Old Testament revelation of God is incomplete (Ephesians 1:9, Colossians 1:26). We must also understand that Jesus Christ alone completely reveals the will of God in all matters, (John 5:19-20, 14:7, 9) which we will see as this series continues to develop. We must also recall the things that have been clearly  revealed in scripture thus far that have evidenced sin and Satan being the actual causes of all the bad things happening to humanity, through man's constant rejection and rebellion toward God.

The thought behind Job's condition is that although God may not have directly caused all the bad things that happened to Job (Job 1:6-19, 2:7) it must be His will because He let Satan have his way with Job. This type of thinking creates serious error concerning the true nature of God. It indicates that God uses or lets Satan attack people for some mysterious divine purpose that only He knows; that God operates in any way He desires even if it contradicts His Word; when God allows something to happen, whether good or bad it must be His will and therefore what happened to Job was God's will. Can you see the twisted logic in this thinking.

Just because God permits something to happen, in Job's case, many terrible things, does not mean that it is God's will. We must understand that all the bad things that happen on the earth are clearly not God's will. If they were then we would have to blame God for all of the sin, injustices, losses, tragedies, pain, destruction and even demon activity because it must be His will. Honestly, to think like that is nothing more than a demonically influenced view of God, it is flat out Anti-Christ. So why did these things happen to Job?

For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me.
(Job 3:25) The Apostle Paul tells us in his second letter to Timothy...
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
(2 Timothy 1:7) Notice that Paul tells Timothy that he is dealing with a SPIRIT of fear. A spirit of fear is not from God but from Satan. Paul tells the church at Ephesus...Nor give place to the devil.
(Ephesians 4:27) Job gave the devil an open door through a spirit of fear to attack him in the areas that Job feared and dreaded. Notice that both accusations and attacks against Job were limited...
And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person." So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. (Job 1:12)
And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life." (Job 2:6)

It is quite apparent that Job was dealing with fear and dread of losing certain things but not everything, such as his own life. Therefore Satan was not permitted to take his life. Also to show that he (and I might add his friends) had no idea why these things were happening, they did exactly what Adam and Eve did when they were confronted with their sin (Genesis 3:12-13), it's called the blame game. (Job 3 - 31) Finally a young man named Elihu spoke up and corrected Job and his three friends for playing the blame game. Look at two of many statements that Elihu makes concerning the true nature of God...
Therefore listen to me, you men of understanding: Far be it from God to do wickedness, and from the Almighty to commit iniquity. For He repays man according to his work, and makes man to find a reward according to his way. Surely God will never do wickedly, nor will the Almighty pervert justice. (Job 34:10-12)

There are some things that Elihu point out that are very important to grasp. Elihu considers what is taking place to be wicked and God does not cause wickness! Next he reveals that God repays or permits things to happen to people based on their works and their ways. Finally, Elihu says, "Nor will the Almighty pervert justice." God is just and responds accordingly toward man in every situation because He shows no partiality. (Romans 2:11) In other words, every person either meets or fails to meet the conditions that God has established and by this they receive the reward of their actions good or bad. The Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul gives us a great example of this...

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. (Galatians 6:7-8) The words may be different but the principle applies throughout the entire Bible and will continue throughout the history of man until Christ returns. Next Elihu says...

As for the Almighty, we cannot find Him; He is excellent in power, in judgment and abundant justice;
He does not oppress. (Job 37:23) Look at these words that describe God, "...He is excellent in power, in judgment and abundant justice; He does not oppress." The word oppress in this verse means that God does not afflict, depress, browbeat, deal with harshly, hurt, ravish or weaken. We can certainly all agree that Job was experiencing all of these things, BUT THEY WERE NOT FROM GOD NOR WERE THEY HIS WILL FOR JOB!!!

Finally we see at the end of the Book of Job his repentance (Job 42:1-6) which took away the devil's place in his life and placed God in the position of authority over his life. We also see the true nature of God (Job 42:10-17) that of blessing. Unfortunately, due to poor teaching concerning the Book of Job, two main things arise in the lives of many Christians who truly love the LORD. They have been trained to accept bad things happening to them as God's will and or when bad things happen to them, they enter into the blame game and in doing so subtly blame God for bad things happening. Either way the results of this type of thinking produces serious doubts concerning the true nature of God and reduces the full redemptive work of Christ to nothing more than the born again experience and then muddling through life here on earth until one dies.

There are several reasons why so many Christians think this way, one being a lack of true Bible faith not being taught or preached in most congregations today due to a lack of faith among church leaders. If Christians leaders would put faith in the integrity of God's Word, teach and preach it to the church, the world would see the true nature and power of God in the church and run to Christ for the abundant life that is only through faith in Him!