The Apostle Paul tells us, "But to each one of us grace was given
according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore He says: When He
ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men. (Now
this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended
into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who
ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) And
He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists,
and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the
work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all
come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of
Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and
carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in
the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in
love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from
whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint
supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does
its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in
love." (Ephesians 4:7-16)
Honestly, volumes have been written on this passage of scripture so I am
not going to attempt to discuss the entirety of this passage, only that
which will challenge what we believe and why we believe it. The first
thing Paul tells us is that upon Christ's ascension He "gave gifts to men."
There is no record in the Epistles that tells us that once the Lord
gives something to His church that He takes it away for any reason. In
fact, Paul is quoting Psalm 68:18 concerning these gifts, but let's look
at the next verse in Psalm 68. "Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation!" Selah (Psalm 68:19) No doubt, David knew the Lord as one "Who daily loads us with benefits."
The gifts of "apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers" are
benefits to and for the church. So why would the Lord remove gifts from
the church that are for its benefit? Actually, He wouldn't! So what are
the benefits of these five wonderful gifts? "...for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the
edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the
faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the
measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no
longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind
of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of
deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all
things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined
and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the
effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of
the body for the edifying of itself in love."
Understand, it takes all five of these gifts to accomplish these things.
However, many sectors of the church have
rejected the gifts of the apostle and prophet. There are many reasons for this but we will only look at what seems to be the main three reasons...
Reason one; The gospels reveal that Jesus personally chose the twelve
apostles, one of which was chosen for perdition and that the position of
the apostles became a permanently fixed number after the resurrection
meaning the number twelve then became an eternally established number.
Let's think about this. Although the Apostle Judas Iscariot killed
himself, the remaining eleven apostles chose Matthias to replace him.
Well, maybe the other eleven were acting outside of the Lords will, but
if they were, how then did these uneducated and untrained men (Acts
4:13) know Psalm 109:8 "Let another take his office." (Acts 1:20)
Also, if twelve apostles was a fixed number after the resurrection and
Matthias was not appointed by the Lord through the remaining eleven
apostles, but Paul was, (which puts the number back to twelve) then why
is Barnabas called an apostle? "But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this..."
(Acts 14:14) This would make the number of apostles after the
resurrection fourteen with Matthias or at least thirteen with Barnabas
if we eliminate Matthias. Of course we see that the Lord appointed more
than Twelve apostles after His resurrection. In fact. if we look at
Ephesians 4 again, it was after the resurrection that the Lord gave some
to be "apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers", all plural and without a specific number or an expiration date.
Reason two: Today there are certain denominations that believe that the phrase “when that which is perfect is come”
(1 Corinthians 13:10) is referring to the canonized scripture. As a
result of this interpretation many believers have also been taught that
not only ministries of the apostle and prophet
but also the gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12, 14) have been done
away with by Christ and are no longer necessary for the Church. Is this
true? Well, if it were, then we need to ask ourselves why there is so
much division, lack of love and lack of spiritual maturity in the
church. The Apostle Paul dealt with this very issue with the church at
Corinth and says, "And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to
spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with
milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to
receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still
carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are
you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, “I am of
Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?" (1 Corinthians 3:1-4)
Again, looking back to Ephesians 4 we see the purpose of these five
gifts working together is for the benefit of the church (see above). So,
we must conclude, that 1 Corinthians 13:10 does not mean the
elimination of the apostle and prophet or spiritual gifts due to the
canonization of the scripture, but that it refers to when Christ comes
again. It should be obvious that when Christ returns there will be no
need for these gifts to function, the gift giver Himself will be on the
earth again. To eliminate the gifts of apostle and prophet from the
church would be like having an automobile with two cylinders not
functioning. No matter if you have a four, six or eight cylinder
automobile with two cylinders not functioning the auto will not run
properly, if it runs at all, and you will damage the engine.
Reason three: Another reason for the elimination of the gifts of apostle and prophet
from many sectors of the church is, Christ only used apostles and
prophets in the first century to lay the foundation of the Church,
therefore, these two ministries are no longer needed today. Is this
true? According to the Apostle Paul, "having been built (the church) on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone." (Ephesians
2:20) Paul does not specify only certain apostles and prophets or only
for a certain dispensation of time, but simply the church is built "on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone." In
fact, even today the foundation of the church continues to be strong
because true apostles and prophets are building on Christ the Chief
Cornerstone.
I say true apostles and prophets because
there are those who say they are apostles and or prophets who do not
fulfill the biblical function of the office but only use the title. I am
not trying to be critical toward those in the Body of Christ who
believe that apostles and prophets are no longer needed in the church
today, but only that we need to question ourselves to see if our
doctrine is in line with the entirety of God's Word. We need to be
cautious of creating doctrine by picking and choosing scripture that
"aligns with my thinking" while looking away from scriptures that
contradict "my way of thinking." We also cannot read into God's Word
things that are not mentioned verbatim with intellectual assumptions. We
need to let the Word of God and the Holy Spirit have the final say in
all matters of the church. So, with this said, LORD thank you for the
gifts...
Monday, January 30, 2023
Thank You For The Gifts
Monday, January 23, 2023
Let's Not Be Denied
Ice hockey is a fast paced contact sport that was developed in Canada in
the 19th century. In short, ice hockey has two teams of six skaters,
who attempt to drive a small solid rubber disk (the puck) into the
opposing goal with a stick that has a hooked or angled end used to move
the puck along the ice and for making goals. The sport has not changed
much except today it is played in an ice rink. One of the things that I
remember when at a ice hockey rink watching a game, was when the goalie,
(a player who guards his teams net to prevent the opposing team from
scoring a goal) would block a shot from an opposing team player from
entering the goal net. When this happened, the screen on the score board
which hung from the ceiling of the rink above the players in the center
of the rink would have big flashing letters that said, "DENIED."
In my travels in ministry, as well as reading various media by Christian
authors and viewing online videos of various ministries concerning the
church today, has cause me to grieve at what is going on in the church,
what the church has accepted as truth (which isn't), the twisting of God's Word
with liberal New Age influence interpretations of scripture and what it
refuses to do concerning building the church up spiritually. I not only
believe, but I also see the very thing that General William Booth, the
founder of the Salvation Army said over 100 years in full swing today in
the church. I quote, “I consider that the chief dangers which confront the coming century (meaning the 20th century, we are now in the 21st century) will
be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ,
forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics
without God, and heaven without hell.” Let's not be naive. This
statement is true in most sectors of the church whether Catholic or
Protestant. This should grieve every believer and should move us to
change.
The fact is, we are being "denied" or actually denying ourselves of the
wonderful blessings, gifts and callings that the Lord has given to the
church. Let us not be deceived with large numbers in congregation
thinking that God is somehow blessing us when the spiritual maturity of
the church is that of carnal Christianity. (1 Corinthians 3:1-4) Let us
not be taken by our large congregations when we are not building
according to God's Word and being led by the Holy Spirit. There are
numerous organizations with large numbers of people who are anti-Christ
and anti-church.
One of the things that should grieve us most is our lack of love for one
another especially when Jesus, our LORD, commanded us to "love one
another." In reality, the early church also had its share of problems,
but it had leaders that were willing to confront the issues with God's Word and
the leading of the Holy Spirit, not the opinions, thoughts and
intellect of man. For instance, Acts 15 reveals a situation between the
Jew and Gentile believers that arose and could have split the church
completely apart. The issue was over the necessity of the Gentile
believers as to whether they should be circumcised or not. However, the
outcome came down to who had the preeminence in the church, the apostles
and elders or the Holy Spirit? In making this crucial decision we need
to notice the order of things, "For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us..." (Acts 15:28) It seemed good to
the Holy Spirit above the opinions, thoughts and intellect of these
mighty men of God. They submitted to the Apostle James' answer because
they recognized the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking through him. If it
was only James' word, they would not have been in agreement. But they
submitted to the Holy Spirit speaking through James and submitted to one
another.
Let's be honest, if church leaders are truly being led by the Word of
God and what the Holy Spirit is speaking, there will be no division in
the church, only submission to one another in the Lord, as it should be.
However, this will not be accomplished without "...Faith working through love."
(Galatians 5:6) which begs another question. Are church leaders truly
letting faith work through love? Without faith working through love the
church will be denying itself of all the blessings that are for her
through Jesus Christ.
I believe one of the reasons why the church has lost much of its glory,
power and influence which we have not experienced as a whole for nearly
1700 years is due to its lack of dependency on God's Word and
the Holy Spirit. This has led the church into the "Dark Ages" for 1000
years which brought on what is called the "Protestant Reformation."
Though the protestant reformation which started in 1571 by Martin Luther
with his work entitled, "The Ninety-Five Theses" was meant to bring
reformation and restoration to the church, it also caused division and
disunity from those who refused to return to the Word of God and the
voice of the Holy Spirit. But even now, especially among the Protestant
churches the division and disunity continues to spread. I am not trying
to paint an ugly picture of the Body of Christ, but to bring us to the
reality of where we are. Until we are able to admit our faults to one
another and turn away from them, have a true love for Christ, His church
(all believers), God's Word and to be led by the Holy Spirit, we limit ourselves in bringing hope to a lost world.
However, there is good news. No matter where we find ourselves, the LORD is always at work in His church, even if it is a remnant that is willing to be a new wine skin to receive the new wine, the continuous working of the Holy Spirit. I also believe that the Body of Christ in
many sectors will begin experience the supernatural things of the LORD that have not been
seen since the inception of the church. PTL
Monday, January 16, 2023
Let Love Loose
The Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul reveals to us a very important foundational truth concerning Christianity, "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love." (Galatians 5:6) The Apostle John tells us, "My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth." (1 John 3:18) Let us never forget the wonderful yet challenging words of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)
Without faith,
we will not be able to love as God loves, yet, without love we will not
operate in the kind of faith that pleases God. This is why faith working through love is the quintessential of Christianity.
I believe that faith without love or love without faith on the part of
believers has been so lacking in the church, that it is the main cause
of all the division. The love that was in Jesus revealed
throughout the four gospels, is the love that is to rule the church,
every believer. When believers are ruled by love; motivated by love;
owned by love; they become imitators of the one who is love, "...God is love" (1 John 4:8) and as Jesus said, "...all will know that you are My disciples..."
The Apostle John has some strong language for the church concerning love
that we should not only think about but take to heart and act on. "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." (1 John 2:15) One of the things that John addresses is coming to grips with our love for the world and the things of world. This is not just toward material things, but the ungodly attitudes and actions of the the world. Let's be honest, most people
who consider themselves to be Christian, would not admit just how much
they are rooted in the world; How the cares of the world have become
more important to them than the things of God. John tells us that one
of the ways we can know how much the world has captured believers is
revealed in the fact that they do not love as God loves, because God's
love is not in them.
Next, John says,"...Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother...he who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him." (1
John 3:10, 14-15) Unfortunately, there is extremely to much
unforgiveness in the church. Let's face it, if you cannot forgive
another believer, you have hatred in your heart. John says, hating
another believer is spiritual death. In other words, the person who
hates a brother or sister of Christ, proves by their hatred that they
are not truly saved.
Unfortunately,
many people in the church will say, "But I confessed with my mouth that
Jesus is my Lord and Savior so how can you say that I am not saved?" I
did not say that you are not saved, the Holy Spirit said it through
John, plus we must also remember that though one confesses with their
mouth, they must also believe in their heart. (Romans 10:9-10) John
continues to reveal to us another problem that causes people to hate a
brother or sister rather than love them. "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love." (1 John 4:8) Simply put, if a person hates, they do not know God.
So,
how can we let go of any ill feelings that we may have toward a brother
or sister. It is by simply remembering and acting on the following, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) Remember, no matter how good you may think you were before making a confession of faith, "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) Jesus died for all even when we were antagonistic toward Him. "In
this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His
only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." (1 John 4:9-11) Put these scriptures together, we have, "faith working through love." The way we love as God loves, is applying faith and live through Christ, love personified.
Monday, January 9, 2023
It's Supernatural
The Bible records mans three fold being, "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) To fully develop man would be to
educate him in all three of these realms. To train only the physical is
to make him an athlete. To train only the intellectual would make him an
anarchist. To train only the spiritual would make him a fanatic. Adam
was created complete in all three of these areas. Though the fall of man
came, it did not change God's design for man. Through Christ, God has
restored man and once again man is complete (John 1:16; Colossians 1:9,
2:10). So, Gods plan for man through Christ, is that he be developed in
all three areas; yet, the area that man is least developed is the very
area in which he was created in the image and likeness of God, his
spirit.
Man's spirit is the only part of him that is capable of knowing and
communing intelligently with God. It was God's plan that man should be
His companion (Psalm 8:3-8), so his spiritual faculties were originally
attuned to interact with God. (Genesis 1:26-27, 3:8) Through the Fall,
man was alienated from God and his spiritual faculties were impaired;
yet, through Christ, this lost fellowship is restored and once again
mans spirit is capable of functioning in both the natural and supernatural realm.
The supernatural realm is really the realm of the believer. No one knows
how much the soul and spirit can be developed and even within
Christendom, we have been slow to come to the realization that man is
spirit and his spirit is his basic nature. We have sought to educate him
along intellectual lines,
utterly ignoring the spiritual. Thus man has lost his sense of
relationship and responsibility toward God and man. By ignoring the
spiritual side of man, we inadvertently have magnified the intellectual
and physical parts of man, which has left him craving the supernatural of
God, yet, not having the ability to release it in his daily life.
Whether most want to admit it or not, man has a love for the miraculous
because it is in his DNA. He was created in the image and likeness of
God.
The intellect of every believer is ever conscious of the supernatural
forces that operate around him, but due to the lack of spiritual
development in most, he cannot understand or interpret them. This is
perhaps the main reason why believers long to not only experience the
supernatural, but to perform miracles. The curiosity for the miraculous
is deep-seated in every believer because he has been born again by a
miracle-working God. It has been a scheme of Satan that has blinded us
and has kept us from finding the door that will lead us back to our lost
inheritance in Christ. Although believers are to operate in the
miraculous, many questions arise concerning their validity for today,
such as, "Are these things for today? Did miracles end with the death of
the disciples in the early church? Are the so-called miracles that men
claim to perform today fraudulent, psychic or works of Satan to deceive
many?
Unfortunately, there has come a falling away on the part of most sectors
of the church concerning the miraculous. In one area, modernism has
dominated the church bringing the denial of the supernatural element
in Christianity. This in turn has made Christianity simply an ethical
religion. There are also those who declare that miracles ceased with the
death of the apostles; that Christianity does not need the miraculous
today to convince men of the Deity of Jesus. This in turn has placed
Christianity among the other powerless world religions. Then we have a
third group who claim miracles are still being performed; that the sick
are healed, that prayers are answered, and that God is a living reality
in the daily life of the believer. This third group of people have it
correct. They know that man needs a miraculous touch now more than ever.
The miraculous was the very thing that God used to bring His people
Israel back to Himself; the very thing that drew heathen kings to
acknowledge that the Lord is God; the very thing that drew people to
Jesus the Savior through the early church as well as turning the world
upside down; it is the very thing that is needed today to save our land
and nation. The entire church must return to the God of Miracles and
believe that He will once again reveal Himself and His Christ to all men
through miracles, signs and wonders. These are the very things revealed
in scripture that opened the door many times to the preaching of the
Gospel and the saving of souls.
The Apostle Paul tells us, "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." (Romans 15:18-19) Paul shows us that the preaching of the gospel is not complete without "mighty signs and wonders by the power of the Spirit of God." This he tells us is the full gospel! God desires to intervene "now" in
the affairs of man. So, let us stand against all doubt, fear, unbelief
and intellectual reasoning that so easily ensnares and robs us of the
miracles that God has for us and the lost world around us. "Let God
Arise" and we will see the salvation of the Lord like never before!
Monday, January 2, 2023
Actions Speak Louder Than Words
When someone truly believes something, no matter what it is, they have
no problem acting on it. Well it is the same with God's Word. If we
truly believe it we will have no problem acting on it. However, when
someone has only a mental or intellectual understanding of the Word,
they will only admire it or admit that it is true, but they do not act
on it. Acting on God's Word is letting Christ act through us and it
gives God the opportunity to use us for His purposes.
Jesus said, "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and
the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on
that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” (Matthew 7:24-27)
Building on the rock is building on God's Word and
it requires action. Therefore, the one who hears God's Word must become
a doer, that is, a builder. If he is not a doer of the Word, it is like
building a house on sand and when the storms of life come the entire
structure (the person) falls. So, the wise man is a doer of the Word,
whereas, the unwise person hears it but does not act on it. The main
reason why many do not act on God's Word is due to reasoning which
erodes faith and therefore their spiritual life is built on sand. If he
has faith in anything, it is in man, what man has done.You can tell
whether a person is building on the sand or on the rock, by noticing
whether they are putting into practice, that is, acting on God's Word. The one who thinks that knowledge is all that is necessary will fail.
James tells us, "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But
he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and
is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be
blessed in what he does." (James 1:22-25)
There
is a grave danger of deluding our own selves in this way; we know the
Word; we may be familiar with the original Greek or Hebrew; we may know
the history of the Word, but that is all wasted energy if we do not live
the Word, practice it, act on it. For instance, one who acts on God's
Word, when they come to a hard place, and need money, without a second
thought, they will turn to the Lord, to the Word, because they know that
"...My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19) You have taken your place and have acted the part of a real believer, trusting on the integrity of God's Word no matter what the circumstances may dictate. Instead of turning to the world, you turn to the Father to provide.
Maybe a loved one is sick. Instead of being fearful, you remember, "Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses) and carried our sorrows; (pains) yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:4-5) You remember, "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 healed." (1 Peter 2:24)
Maybe
some calamity has come, some rumor, something that the devil has
stirred up against you. Instead of going into a mode of panic you
confidently confess, "No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me, says the Lord." (Isaiah 54:17) Your trust is in God's Word, because you can bank on Him to be faithful to do what He says He will do.
Unless
one is a doer of the Word, he is not a believer of the Word. He has
nothing but a mental assent of God's Word, a mere empty profession of
religious words. Jesus would call them a sand foundation, a house on the
seashore waiting to be destroyed by the next incoming tide. What danger
there is with a religion of words if there is no corresponding action.
It is a doer of the Word that receives things from God. Idle words may
entertain men, but they do not reach God. Please do not take these words as condemning, but encouraging, as the apostle Paul tells us, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13) and in and through Christ so can we.
Therefore, I
want to encourage you in this. As we become doers of the the Word, not
be a hearer only, the Lord begins to do in us and through us great and
wonderful things. So, do not let reason or vain thoughts have their way
but, "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) PTL...
Monday, December 26, 2022
Beginning Again
At the stroke of midnight on December 31st one year ends and then one
second after midnight a new year begins. Civilizations around the world
have been celebrating the start of each new year for at least four
millennia. In the United States, the most iconic New Year’s tradition is
the dropping of a giant ball in New York City’s Times Square at the
stroke of midnight. Millions of people around the world watch the event,
which has taken place almost every year since 1907. Over time, the ball
itself has ballooned from a 700-pound iron-and-wood orb to a brightly
patterned sphere 12 feet in diameter and weighing in at nearly 12,000
pounds. For many, celebrating New Years is similar to one celebrating
their birthday. Like a birthday, for many, New Year’s Day provides the
chance to celebrate having made it through another year. However, for
many, New Years day means a new beginning. We see this played out
through the many resolutions that people make on New Years.
A New Year's resolution is basically a decision to do or not do
something in order to accomplish a personal goal or break a habit. It
comes at a time when people look back at the past year and make an
effort to improve themselves as the new year begins. Unfortunately,
statistics reveal that only 8% of people who make New Years resolutions
succeed in keeping them. This means that 92% of all New Years
resolutions fail. Why? Mostly, people make unrealistic resolutions and
or they are not really prepared mentally to fight off doubt and continue
with their goals. But what about believers? Should they make New Years
resolutions? There is certainly nothing wrong with making New Years
resolutions, but the same conditions that bring failure still exist,
unless believers put their trust fully in the Lord.
The Bible tells us, "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) Even the Apostle Paul learned a lesson of trusting the
Lord in a greater way while he was being buffeted by a messenger of
Satan. The Lord revealed to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12: 9) Paul's response is quite interesting, "Therefore
most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of
Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in
reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake.
For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:10)
All believers, like the Apostle Paul must rely upon God's grace to get
them through every area of life not only New Years resolutions. Grace is
defined in Philippians 2:13 (AMPC) "[Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight." And in Ephesians 3:20 (AMPC) "Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]" in a condensed way, God's grace is the power, strength, ability
and energy of God at work in the believer to accomplish His will.
Another area to consider is understanding who believers are in Christ.
When believers come to a full knowledge of no longer being identified
with who they were before they were born again and know who they are in
Christ, then they will understand what Jesus meant when He said, "nothing is impossible to those who believe."
(Mark 9:23) Knowing who one truly is in Christ sets believers free from
shame, condemnation, guilt and inferiority. They will walk in a freedom
that will cause them to not simply make a resolution(s) but find the grace and
power in God's Word to overcome and live victorious. For instance, "Therefore, if
anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away;
behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has
reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ.." (2 Corinthians
5:17-18) The old nature, the old person
that you were prior to your salvation is gone. You have been made
completely new in Christ and have right standing with God. (Keep in mind
that it is one's spirit, not their soul, ie, mind, will and emotions,
and not their body that has been recreated)
Finally, you must have and use your own faith.
What does this mean? All believers one day must come to the place where
their own faith has grown and has brought them to know without doubt, "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) This is actually a realm of Christianity
that few believers come to. Not because they do not desire to have this
level of faith, but, it is mostly due to a lack of studying and meditating on
God's Word which builds the believers faith and renews their mind. (Romans 10:17, 12:2)
When believers apply these things in their life it will change their
behavior and thought patterns which in turn will cause them to
accomplish their personal goals, but moreover the goals and or vision that the LORD has given. These things are not self imposed, but Holy
Spirit inspired. The apostle Paul tells us to, "...Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." (Galatians
5:16) So, you see we do not have to make New Year resolutions to only
have them fail. We can live in the power and ability of God everyday
through faith in Jesus Christ to overcome every obstacle of life and do the
impossible where others may fail. So this New Years, do not make a New Years
resolution per se, but, "...lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of you." (Philippians 3:12) My prayer for you, as the Apostle John said, "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers" (3 John 2) HAPPY NEW YEAR...
Monday, December 19, 2022
Merry Christmas
"It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" is a popular Christmas song
written in 1963 by Edward Pola and George Wyle. It was recorded and
released that year by singer Andy Williams on his first Christmas album,
"The Andy Williams Christmas Album." The song is a celebration and
description of activities associated with the Christmas season, focusing
primarily on getting together with friends and families. But is the
Christmas season the most wonderful time of the year? Honestly, for
many, they find nothing wonderful about the Christmas season. There are
many reasons for this. For some, they are all alone, some remember a
loved one who has passed away, some may fall prey to stress and cannot
wait for the Christmas season to end and some are of a religious
persuasion that do not celebrate any of the aspects of the Christmas
season. Every person will experience the many difficult situation that
life brings. However, everyone of us has a choice. For all of us, we can
focus on the problems, or remember the good things and good times.
For Christians, although we know that Jesus was not born on December 25th, we should never forget first and foremost, the depths of
what the Christmas season really means. I remember the Charles Schulz
Christmas program, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" that made its television
debuted in 1965 and is still being aired today. Basically, Charlie Brown
wants to discover the meaning of Christmas
in which Linus explains in brief the birth of Christ the Savior. When
we look closely at the birth of Christ, we discover the immeasurable
love of God toward humanity. The Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul
reveals mans condition since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, "...having no hope and without God in the world." (Ephesians 2:12) and "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
(Romans 3:23) Mankind could not find his way back to God on his own. He
was in need of a mediator that could stand before God on behalf of
man. The only way that this could be accomplished is that God Himself
would assume mans liability for all the crimes which man committed since
the fall. This meant that deity and humanity must come together to meet
mans greatest need, redemption.
The incarnation of Christ is certainly a remarkable event in the history of man and should certainly be celebrated. It is what Christmas
is all about. However, when the difficulties of life try to rob such a
wonderful event from our hearts and minds. Let's remember that there was
even a greater event that took place in humanity. Jesus, the God-Man
was born for one main purpose, to save humanity from Satan's power and give to all people eternal life with God to those who confess with the mouth and believe in the heart the LORD Jesus Christ as the one and only Savior. (John 3:16; Romans 10:9-10; Colossians 2:13-15)
The
Apostle Paul tells us of the commission that he received from Christ for
humanity, "...to open their eyes, in order to turn them from
darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may
receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are
sanctified by faith in Christ." (Acts 26:18) and "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17) The
Savior would have to suffer in two realms, the natural through the
horrific beating and crucifixion of His body and the spiritual realm.
His spirit would become impregnated with sin (2 Corinthians 5:21) and He
would be separated from the Father (Matthew 27:46) and spend three days
in hell (Matthew 12:40, Acts 2:31, Ephesians 4:9) where He suffered and
was tormented beyond our comprehension.
The Bible tells us that Jesus paid in full mans sin debt, by dying a
death that all people should die. He then arose from the grave, ascended
to heaven, offered His own blood and sat down at the right hand of the
Father (Romans 5:17-21, Matthew 28:1-10, Luke 24:51, Hebrews 9:12,
10:12) So, during this Christmas season if you feel the weight of life
trying to come upon you, let's remember what Jesus the Savior has done
for each of us. In doing so, the burdens will be lifted (Matthew
11:28-30) and we can enjoy this wonderful festive Christmas season. Have a very Merry Christmas.