Strength training is a type of physical exercise specializing in the use
of resistance to induce muscular contraction which builds the strength,
anaerobic endurance, and size of skeletal muscles.Other benefits of
strength training are, develop strong bones, control weight, boost
stamina, manage chronic conditions and sharpen your focus. It is
estimated that Americans spends around $2.6 BILLION! per year on gym
memberships. Another type of strength training so to speak is developing
the mind. According to statistics, the USA spend approximately $809.6
BILLION per year on education. There is nothing wrong with strengthening
our body and our mind, but when the rubber meets the road, both of
these areas are limited. How so? Well, if a portion of the body (an arm
or a leg for example) does not function then the entire body suffers
loss. In the same way, if one of the five senses does not function, then
knowledge also becomes limited.
The Apostle Paul in his letter to the church at Thessalonica writes, "Now
may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your
whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thessalonians 5:23) We see that man is not
only body and soul (mind, will, emotions and intellect) but he is
spirit. Man was made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26) and
God is Spirit (John 4:24). If man is indeed spirit with a soul in a
body then a dilemma exists. The part of man that is most important and
needs to be strengthened, the spirit, becomes the part that is most
neglected. It's not that we haven't tried to develop the spirit. We had
thought that the only way to do this was through religion or religious
education. Interestingly enough, most Bible Colleges, Seminaries and
Local Churches only teach knowledge and tend to fail at bringing
students and or congregants to a place of understanding spiritual
things.
The knowledge obtained tends to become the only thing that is important,
but again it is limited. This is why the apostle Paul warns us,
"Knowledge puffs up..." (1 Corinthians 8:1) Paul was explaining to the
church that their knowledge of things had filled them with pride and
self-sufficiency, which could lead them to stray from the truth. The
knowledge that they had filled their minds with was sense knowledge.
Knowledge that comes through ones senses. This is the type of knowledge
is the type of knowledge that fills the mind of every person. However,
the Bible does exhort the believer to grown in the knowledge of the
Father and Jesus the Son. (Ephesians 1:17, 2 Peter 3:18) This type of
knowledge only comes through revelation by the Holy Spirit. The Holy
Spirit enables the believer to use the wisdom of God to use knowledge
wisely.
Jesus tells us, "I will pray the Father, and He will give you another
Helper, that He may abide with you forever, the Spirit of truth, whom
the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but
you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you." (John 14:16-17) and "However,
when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all
truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears
He will speak; and He will tell you things to come." (John 16:13)
Here Jesus tells us that the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit would come
and take Jesus' place after He had fully completed His work of
redemption. Unknown to most, the Holy Spirit does not communicate
knowledge to the intellect, except in rare cases, but communicates with
our spirit. Until we know this fact and act upon it, for most there will
be no development of faith nor will we come into the knowledge of our rights and privileges as God's children.
We must also keep in mind that the spirit will never grow and be
strengthened in the things of God until it receives eternal life through
"confessing with the mouth the Lord Jesus Christ and believing in the heart that God raised Him from the dead."
(Romans 10:9) By new birth, the Holy Spirit recreates our human spirit
and imparts to us the Father's nature. With the Father's nature comes
the Father's wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:30). This is the process by which
the believer uses knowledge wisely. In fact, God imparts His entire
nature within the believer (2 Peter 1:4). We may not have worked fully
with the Holy Spirit in developing His nature in us, nevertheless it
does exist within our recreated spirit. This is why it is so important
for believers to grasp the fullness of redemption.
It takes faith to
come to the place where our spirit become so developed that it
dominates the soul and body. Once this happens I believe that the
believer will walk in the same limitless life that Jesus walked in His
ministry on earth as the Son of Man.
Showing posts with label spirit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spirit. Show all posts
Monday, August 30, 2021
Revelation Knowledge
Monday, July 11, 2016
What Is Really Real
The world becomes so real to us because we are in a body with five senses, sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch. It is the five senses that makes the physical realm real to us. Everything a person learns from birth is through the five senses. However, if one of these senses becomes impaired then learning is also impaired. There is another realm, the spiritual realm, that most have heard of and many believe to be, but have not come to a place where the spiritual realm is above and more real than the physical realm. The main reason for this to be so, is that living in the physical realm does not require faith, whereas, the spiritual realm can only be perceived and made real through faith. But there is also another side to understanding that the spiritual realm is more real than the physical realm.
Jesus met a Pharisee named Nicodemus who said, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” (John 3:2) The following statement that Jesus makes must have shocked and astonished this respected religious and educated man. Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3) Next, Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” (John 3:4) Although Nicodemus was a religious leader and educated as such, we see that he could not understand spiritual things because he was trying to understand Jesus' statement through his senses, or by-way-of the physical realm. Jesus tells Nicodemus a truth that reveals the reality of a realm beyond what Nicodemus could comprehend, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again." (John 3:5-7)
Jesus clearly shows us that no one can perceive the reality of the totality of the spiritual realm unless one is born from above. I say totality because people who delve into occult practices can perceive things in the spiritual realm, but it is limited to only the demonic side. To be born again by the Holy Spirit opens ones eyes (spiritual eyes) to the entire spiritual realm, both light and darkness. The Apostle Paul tells us, "But the natural man (sense oriented) does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 2:14) For this reason, many blame God for all the problems that occur throughout the world. For many believers, God's Word does not seem real to them. Yes, they say, God's Word is truth and infallible, but their senses have blocked them from the reality of the spiritual realm providing them only with a mental assent towards God's Word.
For instance, you may have a pain in your body and you say, "By His stripes I am healed" and yet in your mind you hear another voice saying, "but the pain is still there." You find yourself continually making two confessions. One with words from your mouth confessing God's Word and the other with the intellect. With that said, I would like to share the following story that gives us a better perspective of this. Two men were waiting at a bus stop one day and as they talked they discovered that they were both believers, which led into the following conversation...
I have prayed and prayed, and have received no benefit. I have had others pray for me and the disease grows worse. Can you do anything for me?
Yes, I believe I can. Did you ever realize that healing belongs to you, that you need not pray for it?
I never heard anything like that.
It is true. Let me prove it to you. The Bible says in Isaiah 53:4, "Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted." Tell me, what does Isaiah say God did with our diseases?
I don't know that I fully understand.
"Surely He (that is Christ) has borne our sicknesses, and carried our pains; yet we esteem him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted." Do you understand now?
Yes I do.
Isaiah goes on to say, "Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief" (made Him sick). Do you understand that it pleased the Father to bruise Him? That He made Him (Jesus) sick with our diseases.
Yes, but what does that mean to me?
It means that these pains and afflictions you are suffering were laid on Jesus. Jesus actually bore them just as He bore your sins. Isaiah also tells us, "He was wounded for your transgressions, he was bruised for your iniquities; the chastisement of your peace was upon him; and with his stripes you are healed." God actually laid your iniquities upon Jesus. Because He did this, you do not have to bear them. In the same way, God laid your sickness and pains on Jesus so you do not have to bear them either.
I never saw it like that before. You mean God actually laid my sickness upon Jesus, and made Him sick with my diseases?
Yes, that is what the Word of God declares. The Father made Jesus sick with your diseases that you might be perfectly well in Christ. Healing is a gift, and it is yours now. Therefore, Satan has no right to put on you what God put on Jesus.
Like many other believers, as it was with the one man in the above story, the fact that healing belongs to every believer is almost to incredible to believe, simply, because, as the one man said to the other, "I never heard anything like that." Jesus said, "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed." (John 8:36) If He has set us free from sin, then sin has no dominion over us. If He has set us free from disease, it also has no dominion over us. If He has set us free from Satan, Satan has no dominion over us either. According to God's Word, we are free. "Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage." (Galatians 5:1) Refuse to allow Satan to have anything to do with this body in which we live. "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16)
Our body belongs to God. We are simply the overseers living in it. You are to see that Satan does not trespass on God's property. You may ask, "How am I to keep him from it?" Jesus said, "In my name you will cast out demons." (Mark 16:17) Jesus has given all believers the right to use His Name. If believers can cast out demons in His Name, then we also can cast out the sickness that a demon has brought. Jesus said, "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you." (Luke 10:19) Though He was speaking to the seventy (seventy two in some versions) it still applies to all believers, "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." (Mark 16:17-18)
Notice that Jesus tells us, "...these signs will follow those who believe..." The only condition that is required and spoken by Jesus to do these things, is to anyone who believes! The Name of Jesus can stop disease from reigning over you. There is no disease that has ever come to man which His Name cannot destroy. Oh how the church has lost its faith in the integrity of God's Word for such things as healing, deliverance, provision, etc. How unfortunate regeneration has been limited to simply the born again experience. How most believers put their faith in what man can do, than what the Most High God has accomplished through the Lord Jesus Christ. It seems like far to many believers have forgotten, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12) But for those who read this, let us rejoice and thank the Lord as He raises up a generation that will live by faith and be ushers of possibly the greatest move of God ever to come upon the earth.
Spiritual things are as real as material things, but for many they go unrealized. The Apostle Paul tells us, "For we walk by faith, not by sight." (the senses) (2 Corinthians 5:7) We are not only to walk by faith, but we are to talk by faith. When we learn to walk and talk by faith, the dominion of darkness is broken. But as long as you walk by reason and follow the suggestions of the senses you are going to live and walk in the realm where the works of the kingdom of darkness will hold sway over your life. But if you will learn through the Word of God and the moving of the Holy Spirit to walk and talk faith, you will be a victor. The Apostle John gives us the key, "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith." (1 John 5:4) This verse should be known and confessed by every believer. It should be a part of our conscious knowledge that can use day by day. Why? "...we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." (Romans 8:37) PTL!!!
Jesus met a Pharisee named Nicodemus who said, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” (John 3:2) The following statement that Jesus makes must have shocked and astonished this respected religious and educated man. Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3) Next, Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” (John 3:4) Although Nicodemus was a religious leader and educated as such, we see that he could not understand spiritual things because he was trying to understand Jesus' statement through his senses, or by-way-of the physical realm. Jesus tells Nicodemus a truth that reveals the reality of a realm beyond what Nicodemus could comprehend, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again." (John 3:5-7)
Jesus clearly shows us that no one can perceive the reality of the totality of the spiritual realm unless one is born from above. I say totality because people who delve into occult practices can perceive things in the spiritual realm, but it is limited to only the demonic side. To be born again by the Holy Spirit opens ones eyes (spiritual eyes) to the entire spiritual realm, both light and darkness. The Apostle Paul tells us, "But the natural man (sense oriented) does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 2:14) For this reason, many blame God for all the problems that occur throughout the world. For many believers, God's Word does not seem real to them. Yes, they say, God's Word is truth and infallible, but their senses have blocked them from the reality of the spiritual realm providing them only with a mental assent towards God's Word.
For instance, you may have a pain in your body and you say, "By His stripes I am healed" and yet in your mind you hear another voice saying, "but the pain is still there." You find yourself continually making two confessions. One with words from your mouth confessing God's Word and the other with the intellect. With that said, I would like to share the following story that gives us a better perspective of this. Two men were waiting at a bus stop one day and as they talked they discovered that they were both believers, which led into the following conversation...
I have prayed and prayed, and have received no benefit. I have had others pray for me and the disease grows worse. Can you do anything for me?
Yes, I believe I can. Did you ever realize that healing belongs to you, that you need not pray for it?
I never heard anything like that.
It is true. Let me prove it to you. The Bible says in Isaiah 53:4, "Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted." Tell me, what does Isaiah say God did with our diseases?
I don't know that I fully understand.
"Surely He (that is Christ) has borne our sicknesses, and carried our pains; yet we esteem him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted." Do you understand now?
Yes I do.
Isaiah goes on to say, "Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief" (made Him sick). Do you understand that it pleased the Father to bruise Him? That He made Him (Jesus) sick with our diseases.
Yes, but what does that mean to me?
It means that these pains and afflictions you are suffering were laid on Jesus. Jesus actually bore them just as He bore your sins. Isaiah also tells us, "He was wounded for your transgressions, he was bruised for your iniquities; the chastisement of your peace was upon him; and with his stripes you are healed." God actually laid your iniquities upon Jesus. Because He did this, you do not have to bear them. In the same way, God laid your sickness and pains on Jesus so you do not have to bear them either.
I never saw it like that before. You mean God actually laid my sickness upon Jesus, and made Him sick with my diseases?
Yes, that is what the Word of God declares. The Father made Jesus sick with your diseases that you might be perfectly well in Christ. Healing is a gift, and it is yours now. Therefore, Satan has no right to put on you what God put on Jesus.
Like many other believers, as it was with the one man in the above story, the fact that healing belongs to every believer is almost to incredible to believe, simply, because, as the one man said to the other, "I never heard anything like that." Jesus said, "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed." (John 8:36) If He has set us free from sin, then sin has no dominion over us. If He has set us free from disease, it also has no dominion over us. If He has set us free from Satan, Satan has no dominion over us either. According to God's Word, we are free. "Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage." (Galatians 5:1) Refuse to allow Satan to have anything to do with this body in which we live. "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16)
Our body belongs to God. We are simply the overseers living in it. You are to see that Satan does not trespass on God's property. You may ask, "How am I to keep him from it?" Jesus said, "In my name you will cast out demons." (Mark 16:17) Jesus has given all believers the right to use His Name. If believers can cast out demons in His Name, then we also can cast out the sickness that a demon has brought. Jesus said, "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you." (Luke 10:19) Though He was speaking to the seventy (seventy two in some versions) it still applies to all believers, "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." (Mark 16:17-18)
Notice that Jesus tells us, "...these signs will follow those who believe..." The only condition that is required and spoken by Jesus to do these things, is to anyone who believes! The Name of Jesus can stop disease from reigning over you. There is no disease that has ever come to man which His Name cannot destroy. Oh how the church has lost its faith in the integrity of God's Word for such things as healing, deliverance, provision, etc. How unfortunate regeneration has been limited to simply the born again experience. How most believers put their faith in what man can do, than what the Most High God has accomplished through the Lord Jesus Christ. It seems like far to many believers have forgotten, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12) But for those who read this, let us rejoice and thank the Lord as He raises up a generation that will live by faith and be ushers of possibly the greatest move of God ever to come upon the earth.
Spiritual things are as real as material things, but for many they go unrealized. The Apostle Paul tells us, "For we walk by faith, not by sight." (the senses) (2 Corinthians 5:7) We are not only to walk by faith, but we are to talk by faith. When we learn to walk and talk by faith, the dominion of darkness is broken. But as long as you walk by reason and follow the suggestions of the senses you are going to live and walk in the realm where the works of the kingdom of darkness will hold sway over your life. But if you will learn through the Word of God and the moving of the Holy Spirit to walk and talk faith, you will be a victor. The Apostle John gives us the key, "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith." (1 John 5:4) This verse should be known and confessed by every believer. It should be a part of our conscious knowledge that can use day by day. Why? "...we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." (Romans 8:37) PTL!!!
Monday, February 10, 2014
The Power of Worship - Part 1
During the ministry of Jesus on earth as the Son of Man, He had an encounter with a Samaritan woman who was from the City of Sychar. During His conversation with her He made this statement, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4.24) First let's look at what the word worship carries with it, to adore; to pay divine honors to; to reverence with supreme respect and veneration; to honor with extravagant love and extreme submission; to perform acts of adoration. In other words, worship is not just playing music and singing songs with nice lyrics, but is a deep heartfelt adoration for the Lord. To worship in spirit is to permit the Holy Spirit to move upon the believer’s redeemed spirit causing, honor, reverence, adoration and devotion to ascend to God. In other words, Jesus is saying that true worship only connects with God in the Spirit because He is Spirit. We also see Jesus telling the woman that true worship to God is also through truth. In John 14:6, Jesus proclaimed Himself the ultimate reality of absolute truth. Therefore, the believer worships the Father by depending on and responding to the Holy Spirit then through Jesus Christ (the Truth) worship becomes genuine and acceptable to God.
When looking at praise and worship in the early church it is easy to imagine how intense and powerful it was. However, we must remember that the church started with the Jews at Jerusalem, a people who once had a king named David who was also a priest, prophet, warrior and most importantly, a man after God’s heart. The Bible records that as David brought the Ark of the Covenant to the City of David that he and all the house of Israel played music before the Lord on all kinds of instruments. (2 Samuel 6:5) This is important for us to see because it is quite sad that the church today differs on what instruments are considered appropriate and which ones are considered inappropriate when in fact we see that Israel played music before the Lord on all kinds of instruments.
Another thing that we should note, is David the king danced before the LORD with all of his might. (2 Samuel 6:15) Unfortunately, David’s wife Michal despised him for leaping and whirling before the Lord. (2 Samuel 6:16) She equated him to one of the base fellows shamelessly uncovering himself. (2 Samuel 6:20) However, when we take a closer look at the word praise, it carries with it some interesting ideas: to make a show; to boast; celebrate; virtue; excellence; manliness. So, let's put some of these words together, and see why David danced with all of his might before the Lord. He was celebrating, acting virtuous’, excellent and manly. I always find it interesting how the people in the Old Testament were bound by the Law, yet free to express themselves in praise and worship while believers today are free from the Law but seem bound to express their heartfelt adoration and jubilation for the Lord through praise and worship. The early church did not have this problem, because the King of Kings was the focus, not themselves nor anything else.
Let us look at an extreme situation and what happened when the people praised God, “It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites, came to battle against Jehoshaphat.” (2 Chronicles 20:1) Judah was facing annihilation, but the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel and he spoke to the people, “…thus says the Lord to you: 'Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's.” (2 Chronicles 20:15) “You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord…” (2 Chronicles 20:17) We read further, “And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high.” (Chronicles 20:18-19)Notice in the midst of this peril, they stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high.
Next, “And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: "Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever." (2 Chronicles 20:21) Just as the prophet spoke, we see that the battle was the Lords, “So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped.” (2 Chronicles 20:24) With their focus on the Lord and lifting up loud and high voices, the Lord defeated the enemy. Do we see just how important praise and worship is? It is not about us, the instruments we use or don't use, it's about placing our focus upon the Lord, magnifying and exalting Him.
In this particular situation, we see God defend His people and defeat the enemy that was set against them. The same thing holds true today. When the church worships God as He has prescribed, in Spirit and Truth, then we are permitting Him to have access to our difficulties. We give Him permission to bring healing, deliverance, that is salvation in our midst. This is defeating the enemy who has brought these things upon God's people. Psalm 22:3 tells us, "But You are Holy, Who inhabit the praises of Your people." To inhabit means, to live or reside in; to be present in; fill. God does not just hear our praise and worship, but He enjoys being in our very midst. As we minister to Him as priests, He reciprocates and ministers to us His children. What a most wonderful thing to experience. But are you experiencing these things? Are you worshipping God in Spirit and Truth so that He can inhabit your praises?
Next time, we will look at another Bible example of the Power of Worship. In the meantime, "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord." (Psalm 150:6)
When looking at praise and worship in the early church it is easy to imagine how intense and powerful it was. However, we must remember that the church started with the Jews at Jerusalem, a people who once had a king named David who was also a priest, prophet, warrior and most importantly, a man after God’s heart. The Bible records that as David brought the Ark of the Covenant to the City of David that he and all the house of Israel played music before the Lord on all kinds of instruments. (2 Samuel 6:5) This is important for us to see because it is quite sad that the church today differs on what instruments are considered appropriate and which ones are considered inappropriate when in fact we see that Israel played music before the Lord on all kinds of instruments.
Another thing that we should note, is David the king danced before the LORD with all of his might. (2 Samuel 6:15) Unfortunately, David’s wife Michal despised him for leaping and whirling before the Lord. (2 Samuel 6:16) She equated him to one of the base fellows shamelessly uncovering himself. (2 Samuel 6:20) However, when we take a closer look at the word praise, it carries with it some interesting ideas: to make a show; to boast; celebrate; virtue; excellence; manliness. So, let's put some of these words together, and see why David danced with all of his might before the Lord. He was celebrating, acting virtuous’, excellent and manly. I always find it interesting how the people in the Old Testament were bound by the Law, yet free to express themselves in praise and worship while believers today are free from the Law but seem bound to express their heartfelt adoration and jubilation for the Lord through praise and worship. The early church did not have this problem, because the King of Kings was the focus, not themselves nor anything else.
Let us look at an extreme situation and what happened when the people praised God, “It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites, came to battle against Jehoshaphat.” (2 Chronicles 20:1) Judah was facing annihilation, but the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel and he spoke to the people, “…thus says the Lord to you: 'Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's.” (2 Chronicles 20:15) “You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord…” (2 Chronicles 20:17) We read further, “And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high.” (Chronicles 20:18-19)Notice in the midst of this peril, they stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high.
Next, “And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: "Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever." (2 Chronicles 20:21) Just as the prophet spoke, we see that the battle was the Lords, “So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped.” (2 Chronicles 20:24) With their focus on the Lord and lifting up loud and high voices, the Lord defeated the enemy. Do we see just how important praise and worship is? It is not about us, the instruments we use or don't use, it's about placing our focus upon the Lord, magnifying and exalting Him.
In this particular situation, we see God defend His people and defeat the enemy that was set against them. The same thing holds true today. When the church worships God as He has prescribed, in Spirit and Truth, then we are permitting Him to have access to our difficulties. We give Him permission to bring healing, deliverance, that is salvation in our midst. This is defeating the enemy who has brought these things upon God's people. Psalm 22:3 tells us, "But You are Holy, Who inhabit the praises of Your people." To inhabit means, to live or reside in; to be present in; fill. God does not just hear our praise and worship, but He enjoys being in our very midst. As we minister to Him as priests, He reciprocates and ministers to us His children. What a most wonderful thing to experience. But are you experiencing these things? Are you worshipping God in Spirit and Truth so that He can inhabit your praises?
Next time, we will look at another Bible example of the Power of Worship. In the meantime, "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord." (Psalm 150:6)
Monday, December 2, 2013
The Unveiling
In Paul's first letter to the church at Thessalonica he reveals an important piece of knowledge concerning the make up of man, "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Modern psychologists do not understand this so they do not really know man. Their problem is they cannot get past the realm of the senses. We see that man is a spirit with a soul inside a body. We see this further carried out when we look back to the creation of man, "Then God said,"Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness..." (Genesis 1:26) Finally, we see what being created in the image and likeness of God actually mean, "God is Spirit..." (John 4:24) So, behind the sense ruled soul (mind, will, emotions and intellect) is the real person (man), who is spirit.
Most of the church for centuries has been unfamiliar with this fact. They have not understood the full depths of the new creation, that is, mans recreated spirit through faith in Jesus Christ, "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..." (2 Corinthians 5:17-18) What an incredible fact! Just think if believers could learn to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit in their recreated spirit and keep intimate fellowship with the Father, there would be no limitation to where we could go in spiritual things, "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us..." (Ephesians 3:20)
The Holy Spirit was given to believers to guide us into all truth or reality, "when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth..." (John 16:13) However, the Holy Spirit has a difficult job at best trying to lead believers who live by their reasoning faculties. Therefore, truth seems to allude them and they tend to never move beyond the regeneration experience. Peter refers to the recreated spirit as, "...the hidden man of the heart." (1 Peter 3:4) For many, this has a somewhat literal meaning in that the recreated spirit within the believe is concealed rather than seeing it as an open avenue to receive all of the inheritance that we have now through Jesus Christ, "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ..." (Romans 8:16-17) and "Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light." (Colossians 1:12)
The reality of the new creation, the recreated spirit of man was foretold through the prophet Ezekiel, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them." (Ezekiel 36:26-28) Notice the extremes that God said that He would do. He was not going spiritually heal man as some have been erroneously taught to believe. Nor was He going to fix-up or renovate man. No, He said, "I will put a new spirit within you; I will put My Spirit within you..." God said that He was going to give man a new spirit. He is going to make a new man out of him. This is the reality of the new creation.
What an incredible promise that has come to pass on all who are in Christ. The new creation means that the old sin nature has been taken out and replaced with God's divine nature. Man is no longer called the "old man" but the "new man, created in the image of God in righteousness and true holiness." (Ephesians 4:24) As a sinner, the old man could not approach God, but now through faith in Jesus Christ, God has performed a miracle. He has recreated man. The old man has stopped being and the new man has taken its place. The "hidden man of the heart" is now born by the very Spirit of God and has access to "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ." (Ephesians 1:3) Now that we know these facts, we should see just how imperative it is to develop our recreated spirit by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God. In doing so, believers will walk a daily victorious life knowing that "God always leads us in triumph in Christ..." (2 Corinthians 2:14)
Most of the church for centuries has been unfamiliar with this fact. They have not understood the full depths of the new creation, that is, mans recreated spirit through faith in Jesus Christ, "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..." (2 Corinthians 5:17-18) What an incredible fact! Just think if believers could learn to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit in their recreated spirit and keep intimate fellowship with the Father, there would be no limitation to where we could go in spiritual things, "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us..." (Ephesians 3:20)
The Holy Spirit was given to believers to guide us into all truth or reality, "when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth..." (John 16:13) However, the Holy Spirit has a difficult job at best trying to lead believers who live by their reasoning faculties. Therefore, truth seems to allude them and they tend to never move beyond the regeneration experience. Peter refers to the recreated spirit as, "...the hidden man of the heart." (1 Peter 3:4) For many, this has a somewhat literal meaning in that the recreated spirit within the believe is concealed rather than seeing it as an open avenue to receive all of the inheritance that we have now through Jesus Christ, "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ..." (Romans 8:16-17) and "Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light." (Colossians 1:12)
The reality of the new creation, the recreated spirit of man was foretold through the prophet Ezekiel, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them." (Ezekiel 36:26-28) Notice the extremes that God said that He would do. He was not going spiritually heal man as some have been erroneously taught to believe. Nor was He going to fix-up or renovate man. No, He said, "I will put a new spirit within you; I will put My Spirit within you..." God said that He was going to give man a new spirit. He is going to make a new man out of him. This is the reality of the new creation.
What an incredible promise that has come to pass on all who are in Christ. The new creation means that the old sin nature has been taken out and replaced with God's divine nature. Man is no longer called the "old man" but the "new man, created in the image of God in righteousness and true holiness." (Ephesians 4:24) As a sinner, the old man could not approach God, but now through faith in Jesus Christ, God has performed a miracle. He has recreated man. The old man has stopped being and the new man has taken its place. The "hidden man of the heart" is now born by the very Spirit of God and has access to "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ." (Ephesians 1:3) Now that we know these facts, we should see just how imperative it is to develop our recreated spirit by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God. In doing so, believers will walk a daily victorious life knowing that "God always leads us in triumph in Christ..." (2 Corinthians 2:14)
Monday, September 30, 2013
The Purpose of the Church - Worship
I believe that the chief purpose for the church's existence is to glorify and worship God. My reasoning comes from what will take place in the presence of God at the end of time which is recorded in Revelation 4:8-11 "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!"..."You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your pleasure they exist and were created." Notice that worship is directed towards God alone. What I mean is that if we look at many of the hymns of old and most of what we call contemporary Christian music of today, we will find that the majority of the lyrics are not focused on God but on the believer. For instance, many hymns put everything that believers are entitled to in this life off until they leave this life for the next. Also, the larger portion of the lyrics of contemporary Christian music tend to be beggarly prayers, that is, pleading with God by asking Him to do something that He has already done and made available to believers through Christ. Some other lyrics have taken scripture out of context or have declarations that are never acted upon and sadly, the lyrics almost never mentions the Name of Jesus.
Neither the Old or New Testament reveal a specific form or order of worship, but there is a way that God is to be worshiped. In John's gospel Jesus encounters a woman from a city called Sychar near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph, by a well. Although she insisted that she, a Samaritan (basically backslidden Israelites) worshiped the same God as the Jews worshiped, Jesus gives her a revelation of true worship, "Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:21-24)
Jesus reveals to the woman that God is Spirit. This removes any concept that God is an image or relic of any type. He also reveals that true worship of God will only be accomplished by worshiping Him in spirit and truth. Any other worship is actually idolatry. To worship in spirit believers must understand that God is Spirit and relates to humanity in the spiritual realm. With this knowledge, the believer then yields to the Holy Spirit who moves upon and energizes the believers recreated spirit to connect with God. God's Word is truth (John 17:17) so to worship God in truth means to worship according to His Word. In other words, the Bible records various ways to worship God, singing and speaking praise, shouting, lifting hands, clap, stand, bow, dance and playing a variety of instruments.
The bottom line is, worship is not just songs to sing that contain nice lyrics, but an attitude of the heart, exalting, honoring and adoring God Himself. The Holy Spirit speaking through the apostle Paul says, "For we are the circumcision, (Christians, circumcision of the heart) who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." (Philippians 3:3) This too should challenge believers to lay aside all the songs that take the focus off of God and causes believers to petition God for all their needs, wants, worries and concerns that He has already met and provided for His children through Christ. We should also consider eliminating songs that put all the promises that God has made available to His children off until we reach heaven as well as songs that have taken scripture out of context. These things may sound callous and even difficult to do, but they are necessary if the church is to truly worship God. Let's look once again at the revelation that John received concerning true worship.
"And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. 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." (Revelation 5:6-14)
This my friends is worship!!!
Neither the Old or New Testament reveal a specific form or order of worship, but there is a way that God is to be worshiped. In John's gospel Jesus encounters a woman from a city called Sychar near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph, by a well. Although she insisted that she, a Samaritan (basically backslidden Israelites) worshiped the same God as the Jews worshiped, Jesus gives her a revelation of true worship, "Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:21-24)
Jesus reveals to the woman that God is Spirit. This removes any concept that God is an image or relic of any type. He also reveals that true worship of God will only be accomplished by worshiping Him in spirit and truth. Any other worship is actually idolatry. To worship in spirit believers must understand that God is Spirit and relates to humanity in the spiritual realm. With this knowledge, the believer then yields to the Holy Spirit who moves upon and energizes the believers recreated spirit to connect with God. God's Word is truth (John 17:17) so to worship God in truth means to worship according to His Word. In other words, the Bible records various ways to worship God, singing and speaking praise, shouting, lifting hands, clap, stand, bow, dance and playing a variety of instruments.
The bottom line is, worship is not just songs to sing that contain nice lyrics, but an attitude of the heart, exalting, honoring and adoring God Himself. The Holy Spirit speaking through the apostle Paul says, "For we are the circumcision, (Christians, circumcision of the heart) who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." (Philippians 3:3) This too should challenge believers to lay aside all the songs that take the focus off of God and causes believers to petition God for all their needs, wants, worries and concerns that He has already met and provided for His children through Christ. We should also consider eliminating songs that put all the promises that God has made available to His children off until we reach heaven as well as songs that have taken scripture out of context. These things may sound callous and even difficult to do, but they are necessary if the church is to truly worship God. Let's look once again at the revelation that John received concerning true worship.
"And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. 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." (Revelation 5:6-14)
This my friends is worship!!!
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Let Us Worship Jesus Our King
The word worship means, to honor, revere, adore, pay homage, render devotion and respect. In John 4 Jesus encounters a woman from a city of Samaria called Sychar. The conversation leads to a discussion about worship. We see that the women states that Jews and Samaritans worship God just in different places. But Jesus says that the Father was seeking those who would worship Him not in a specific place but in spirit and truth. It’s not a matter of playing music and singing songs with Godly lyrics, it’s whether believers do it Gods way or not. To worship in spirit, is to allow the Holy Spirit to move upon the believer’s redeemed spirit causing , honor, reverence, adoration, devotion and respect to ascend to God. To worship in truth is to worship according to the Word of God which is Gods way.
We see in Luke 24:53 "And were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen." The early church was able to see God in all things because He is LORD of heaven and earth. God was showing Himself through signs and wonders, He had moved on the hearts of the people where they had a common cause, they participated in mutual assistance, they ate meals together, they were excited and they showed it with an attitude of gratitude. Although this move of God had not been called Christianity yet, it would become a new culture that superseded all other cultures. They were the family, the children of the living God. The church was not an institution made up of buildings in various locations, it was people from various location that formed a living body. That living body was one filled with praise and worship.
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." (Colossians 3:16)
"Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name." (Hebrews 13:15)
"But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
(I Peter 2:9)
As the early church, we to are called to proclaim Gods glory by ascribing praise and worship to Him continually. So let's lift up our voices, shout it loud and sing praises to whom all blessings flow!!!
We see in Luke 24:53 "And were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen." The early church was able to see God in all things because He is LORD of heaven and earth. God was showing Himself through signs and wonders, He had moved on the hearts of the people where they had a common cause, they participated in mutual assistance, they ate meals together, they were excited and they showed it with an attitude of gratitude. Although this move of God had not been called Christianity yet, it would become a new culture that superseded all other cultures. They were the family, the children of the living God. The church was not an institution made up of buildings in various locations, it was people from various location that formed a living body. That living body was one filled with praise and worship.
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." (Colossians 3:16)
"Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name." (Hebrews 13:15)
"But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
(I Peter 2:9)
As the early church, we to are called to proclaim Gods glory by ascribing praise and worship to Him continually. So let's lift up our voices, shout it loud and sing praises to whom all blessings flow!!!
Friday, June 4, 2010
I Won't Grow Up
The character of Peter Pan is most remembered by his constant attitude of wanting his own way. He verbalized this by saying "I won't grow up". The writer of Hebrews sternly challenges the church to "grow up" in Christ. He tells them that enough time has passed and they should be mature believers and yet they seem to be having difficultly moving beyond elementary Christianity. The Apostle Paul tells the church at Corinth that a time came in his life when he "Became a man and put away childish things".
When raising children, parents are to bring correction and direction to their children for the purpose conforming to a standard of right and wrong as well as to bring them into maturity, that is, to "Grow Up". But why does it seem to be the opposite in the lives of many believers in the church in the USA? Why do we read scripture that challenges us to maturity, yet act childish by rejecting correction and direction? Could it be that maturity is based on ones own standard and not the Word of God?
This appears to be one of the problems with some of the churches that the writers of the New Testament seemed to be dealing with as time progressed. Today we have God's Word to draw from to show us what we should do, how we should live and who we are to become. The book of Acts paints a wonderful picture of how the church should and can be in Christ when believers give up their ways and by grace through faith live in Christ.
The early church was a unified body of individuals; individuals sharing common interests, characteristics, policies, activities and joint ownership.To the early church, their Christian faith was a day to day reality not a once or twice a week routine. This was because the risen Christ was a living reality to them and it was evidenced in the resurrection power at work in their lives through the Holy Spirit.
“With one accord” speaks of the same mind or with one mind. The early church seemed to have an entirely different perspective of God's Kingdom than the church seems to have today. To them Christ is King, they were under grace not the Law, they lived through faith not feelings, were directed by the Word of God and continuously witnessed a demonstration of spirit and power. The very things that gave the early church unparalleled success are the very things that liberal theology and the wisdom of men have rejected as not for today. The same grace that was available almost 2000 years ago to save, heal and deliver, comes from the same God who DOES NOT CHANGE, and is available today for everyone who believes.
Today the USA has a president who has said that the USA is NOT a Christian country. Millions of dollars are spent each year to support missions abroad and yet the USA is deemed "NOT CHRISTIAN". (Selah) It is time for the church in the USA to put away childish things, grow up and be of one mind. The church is to turn the world upside down but is failing to do so in a country who believes (or maybe one time believed) that the USA is "One Nation under GOD"!!! Just think how powerful the church would be if we were more concerned about Jesus and His Kingdom than us and our kingdoms...
When raising children, parents are to bring correction and direction to their children for the purpose conforming to a standard of right and wrong as well as to bring them into maturity, that is, to "Grow Up". But why does it seem to be the opposite in the lives of many believers in the church in the USA? Why do we read scripture that challenges us to maturity, yet act childish by rejecting correction and direction? Could it be that maturity is based on ones own standard and not the Word of God?
This appears to be one of the problems with some of the churches that the writers of the New Testament seemed to be dealing with as time progressed. Today we have God's Word to draw from to show us what we should do, how we should live and who we are to become. The book of Acts paints a wonderful picture of how the church should and can be in Christ when believers give up their ways and by grace through faith live in Christ.
The early church was a unified body of individuals; individuals sharing common interests, characteristics, policies, activities and joint ownership.To the early church, their Christian faith was a day to day reality not a once or twice a week routine. This was because the risen Christ was a living reality to them and it was evidenced in the resurrection power at work in their lives through the Holy Spirit.
“With one accord” speaks of the same mind or with one mind. The early church seemed to have an entirely different perspective of God's Kingdom than the church seems to have today. To them Christ is King, they were under grace not the Law, they lived through faith not feelings, were directed by the Word of God and continuously witnessed a demonstration of spirit and power. The very things that gave the early church unparalleled success are the very things that liberal theology and the wisdom of men have rejected as not for today. The same grace that was available almost 2000 years ago to save, heal and deliver, comes from the same God who DOES NOT CHANGE, and is available today for everyone who believes.
Today the USA has a president who has said that the USA is NOT a Christian country. Millions of dollars are spent each year to support missions abroad and yet the USA is deemed "NOT CHRISTIAN". (Selah) It is time for the church in the USA to put away childish things, grow up and be of one mind. The church is to turn the world upside down but is failing to do so in a country who believes (or maybe one time believed) that the USA is "One Nation under GOD"!!! Just think how powerful the church would be if we were more concerned about Jesus and His Kingdom than us and our kingdoms...
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