KingdomLife Principles

Is Your Church Full of Immature Brats?

2011-11-05T15:29:00.000-04:00

"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men hold them in subjection [tyrannizing over them. Not so shall it be among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, And whoever desires to be first among you must be your slave— Just as the Son of Man came not to be waited on but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many [the price paid to set them free]." [Matt 20:25-28 (AMP)]

Schools are full of immature kids, including bullies, know it all rebels, and trouble makers. As hard as the principals, teachers and school boards try to eliminate these problems, they never go away. Does this mean school is worthless and they all should be closed down or rejected for such failure? Does this mean all education should be trashed because it does not work? What conclusions can we honestly make, are the troubled people the leaders fault?

Churches have adult bullies, "know it alls", and trouble makers. They cause arguments, division, and grief for the pastors. They cause fights in the worship band, hurt feelings with the media team, and pressure the leadership with demands and threats. The churches fall into conflict! Because of these issues, many people in our day run away from the church, reject "the traditional church" or judge the pastor. All this does one thing, paralyze the churches from focusing and fulfilling the work Christ demands. And this is nothing new, and does not excuse the evil either, because we're talking about adults, not kids.

Paul dealt with the same issues 2000 years ago! "Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe's household, that there are contentions among you." [1 Cor 1:10-11 (NKJV)] This does not make the issue trivial or minor. Christian adults have no excuse for this behavior. But, you must realize enemy spies and satanic fakes in the church are expected.

"If we act out of the old passions our relationships with others will be marked by conflict. There will be 'quarreling and fighting'" —Teacher's Commentary. The churches filled with such trouble are condemned "...for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?" [1 Cor 3:3 (NKJV)] That is they are acting like lost, ungodly adults that we have to ask, "are you not [proving yourselves] ordinary (unchanged) men?" [1 Cor 3:4 (AMP)] No church or pastor should put up with this behavior because our Lord commands us to remove such people. "I didn't tell you that you could not have any contact with unbelievers who commit sexual sins, are greedy, are dishonest, or worship false gods. If that were the case, you would have to leave this world. 11 Now, what I meant was that you should not associate with people who call themselves brothers or sisters in the Christian faith but live in sexual sin, are greedy, worship false gods, use abusive language, get drunk, or are dishonest. Don't eat with such people." [1 Cor 5:10-11 (GW)]

And do not be afraid to be accused of judging, because we are ordered to judge the person who claims to be a Christian and is exposed by his actions as a hypocrite. "After all, do I have any business judging those who are outside {the Christian faith}? Isn't it your business to judge those who are inside? God will judge those who are outside. Remove that wicked man from among you." [1 Cor 5:12-13 (GW)]

So why do we have such strange and childlike attitudes in the church? First, and foremost because pride, not humility, is the attitude of the day. Instead of servants, the church has many chiefs who want to control and manipulate others. Or others exhibit pride that refuses instruction or oversight. Instead of humble servants allowing the leaders to guide and direct, there are many so full of pride they will not accept instruction, nor give up their own ideas and control. "WHAT LEADS to strife (discord and feuds) and how do conflicts (quarrels and fightings) originate among you? Do they not arise from your sensual desires that are ever warring in your bodily members? You are jealous and covet [what others have] and your desires go unfulfilled... You burn with envy and anger and are not able to obtain [the gratification, the contentment, and the happiness that you seek], so you fight and war. You do not have, because you do not ask." [James 4:1-2 (AMP)]

The difference between religious brats and mature servants is plain. "However, the wisdom that comes from above is first of all pure. Then it is peaceful, gentle, obedient, filled with mercy and good deeds, impartial, and sincere. A harvest that has God's approval comes from the peace planted by peacemakers." [James 3:17-18 (GW)] The Christian Christ wants, will simply follow the pastor's instructions, to please Jesus. They will submit willingly to other's ideas and leadership. There is no concern of conflict, because they scatter peace all around them. But the brats and bullies leave a trail of strife.

"Be gentle and forbearing with one another and, if one has a difference (a grievance or complaint) against another, readily pardoning each other; even as the Lord has [freely] forgiven you, so must you also [forgive]." [Col 3:13 (AMP)] Pride will not forgive or bend.

"The Spirit Whom He has caused to dwell in us yearns over us and He yearns for the Spirit [to be welcome] with a jealous love? But He gives us more and more grace ( power of the Holy Spirit, to meet this evil tendency and all others fully). That is why He says, God sets Himself against the proud and haughty, but gives grace [continually] to the lowly (those who are humble enough to receive it). So be subject to God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him], and he will flee from you. Come close to God and He will come close to you. [Recognize that you are] sinners, get your soiled hands clean; [realize that you have been disloyal] wavering individuals with divided interests, and purify your hearts [of your spiritual adultery]. [As you draw near to God] be deeply penitent and grieve, even weep [over your disloyalty]. Let your laughter be turned to grief and your mirth to dejection and heartfelt shame [for your sins]. Humble yourselves [feeling very insignificant] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up and make your lives significant]" .[James 4:5-10 (AMP)]

Pride is a terrible sin! God will have nothing to do with anyone who lives in it. The one and only action God wants from spiritual bullies and trouble makers is such a spiritual awakening that they are crushed with guilt to the point of tears. Then a true repentant acknowledgment that their actions in the church were clear rebellion to Christ's authority. The crimes they committed undermined and weakened the church. Your hands are soiled. Now "go and sin no more." And Christian get some backbone, the church is worth fighting for, your family and friends are going to hell without Christ. The church of Jesus must be preserved, strengthened, and fully supported by you. Stand up to the bully, know it all, and trouble makers. "Remove that wicked man from among you." Don't give the church to the devil!

Unchanged, Unscathed, and Unchallenged

2011-11-05T14:01:00.002-04:00

The hidden agenda of many American church goers is to be spiritually blessed in their lives, but exit each week from the worship gatherings unchanged, unscathed, and unchallenged. Their favorite verses are...

1. "All things are lawful for me..." 1 Cor 6:12 (NKJV)

2. "Judge not, that you be not judged." Matt 7:1 (NKJV)

3. My God loves me just the way I am. "For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice... For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice." Romans 7:15,19 (NKJV) Their mantra is, "No one is perfect, Even Paul did not obey God, so stop judging me for my weaknesses. ."

Living by excuses, they allow the world and its attitudes, values, and pleasures to be the standards practiced and loved. And there is no deep desire to change, repent, or be moved by God's moral high ground and culture. The Kingdom Life is rejected and exchanged for the wicked American culture. Vegas, Hollywood, booze, liberalism, occultism, pleasure, and greed are what captures their minds, excites their taste in music and movie interests, and drives them to make all kinds of sacrifices including finances and time to participate in. They will spend hundreds of dollars for concerts, parties, and pleasure trips. The books they read, the places they go, and the pleasures they seek makes them say repeated, "I don't have time to spend for Christ, I'm too busy." The pleasure and enjoyment of their children, also, trumps the will of God. And there is no guilt for any of these choices.

They feel God is here to bless them, make them rich, happy, and fulfilled in their pursuit of the American dream, but the sad fact is, they hold to their ideas, and refuse to make radical changes in their lives. Is this ignorance, immaturity, or worse? So let's look at the popular scriptures used today by the unchanged church attenders. First the context...

Excuse #1 "All things are lawful for me..." 1 Cor 6:12 (NKJV)

"Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?" 1 Cor 6:1 (NKJV) Some in the church at Corinth were suing others of the church by going into court and causing all kinds of havoc and hatred inside the church. Paul rebukes them and asks them if they are ignorant? He reminds them that they will one day judge the world with Christ in His worldwide future Kingdom and even rule over the mighty Angels of Heaven. So why can't they even get along and solve simple problems. And if they can't then a radical change of attitude must be practiced! "Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated?" 1 Cor 6:7 (NKJV)

So far the context of this scripture is NOT "all things are lawful" but STOP acting like the selfish world because they are wrong. Then Paul reminds the Church, in the PAST they were wicked. "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." 1 Cor 6:9-11 (NKJV) A radical change of action is demanded by the gospel of Jesus.

So the context is clearly not "all things are lawful!" Do you think he is arguing that suing Christians, immoral sex outside of marriage, married folks committing adultery, homosexual relations, stealing, coveting and greed, drunkenness and partying, foul mouthed abuse, and conning people is lawful? He demands that the reader must understand the past practices are gone, but the present life in Christ radically changes a man and they do not practice any of these UNLAWFUL things! "And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them." Eph 5:2-7 (NKJV)

The unchanged church attenders of Corinth are making the same argument that the present day make, "all things are lawful for me." That was the false doctrine brought into the church by wicked men. Their argument was clear, the human body is separate from the spirit of man, and therefore does not impact their eternal future. Self-indulgence is the old lie practiced here in Corinth and Paul destroys this lie. "Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body." 1 Cor 6:13 (NKJV)

For the third time Paul demands change, total and complete change. He declares that all things are NOT lawful, but sinful and wrong. "Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! ...Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?" 1 Cor 6:15,18-19 (NKJV) The change demanded is first ownership, you do not even own your body anymore if you are really a Christian. So next, you do not make your choices equal to God's. Instead, Christ died for you with an awful price and you are ordered to live to glorify Him. And that means to stop your sin, and fulfill the Kingdom demands of Messiah Jesus NOW!

Excuse #2 "Judge not, that you be not judged." Matt 7:1 (NKJV)

To cover up their sins they quote this American favorite, easing their consciences. To believe that you only answer to God, and that you have the right to decide what is right and wrong according to your opinions is such a lie I am sorry that I have to deal with it. God is clear if you really want the truth.

"I wrote you in my [previous] letter not to associate [closely and habitually] with unchaste (impure) people— Not [meaning of course that you must] altogether shun the immoral people of this world, or the greedy graspers and cheats and thieves or idolaters, since otherwise you would need to get out of the world and human society altogether! But now I write to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of [Christian] brother if he is known to be guilty of immorality or greed, or is an idolater [whose soul is devoted to any object that usurps the place of God], or is a person with a foul tongue [railing, abusing, reviling, slandering], or is a drunkard or a swindler or a robber. [No] you must not so much as eat with such a person. What [business] of mine is it and what right have I to judge outsiders? Is it not those inside [the church] upon whom you are to pass disciplinary judgment [passing censuring sentence on them as the facts require]? God alone sits in judgment on those who are outside. Drive out that wicked one from among you [expel him from your church]." 1 Cor 5:9-13 (AMP)

Our conduct is judged by God and before we were even born His Word clearly tells us what is right and wrong. It does not matter if you do not feel convicted of a matter, like you need a feeling of guilt before you must comply to God's Law. Nor does it matter if you think it is Pharisaical to obey God's Law because you are free! The Pharisees were judged by Jesus for disobeying His Word, NOT obeying it too much or consistently. Read Matthew 23 as Jesus exposes their hypocrisy of disobedience. We are told [1 Cor. 5:13] to judge those who claim to be a Christian (that wicked one), and throw them out of the church community without mercy if they practice these sins. When they will not stop their sin we do not have the right to choose to tolerate them. God has already judged the matter and given us clear instruction. This is what it means to judge, our God has already made the judgment and recorded in His Word. You either defy Him or comply by obeying Him in the action He orders us as a local church to do.

Let's make sure this is clear. God has already judged the world and passes the sentence of eternal death for all spiritual criminals. Therefore we are not to judge them by killing them, shunning them, or any other type of punishment. And before you jump up and ask "we have to let robbers hurt people?" NO! We do not tolerate or accept evil. But the secret here is simple, the HOLY JUDGE hands off the physical judgement to the government. The Bible is very clear...

"Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. 4 For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. 5 Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath tbut also for conscience’ sake. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing."

"Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor." [Romans 13:1-7 NKLV] Remember Paul and his people were a slave nation to Rome and he still explains God's agent of capital punishment for the wicked is the government. They are God's hand of judgement by using force against the wicked which protects the citizens from criminals. You do not have to agree with the wicked who rule, but you are still required by God to pay your full taxes to keep order and justice for all.

Remember Christian, we are not in this world to condemn the world, but are commissioned to preach repentance and help them stop their evil and selfish acts and receive Christ's forgiveness. Jesus did not come to condemn but to save. The Kingdom Life is a whole new way of life with a powerful culture that people dream to be a part of. The Church, government, and family authorities are instructed to make judgments that are based clearly on God's Word, which effect you and everyone else.

Excuse #3 "My God loves me just the way I am."

A loving parent does not just sit back and watch their child starve, be injurred, or exposed to evil. They protect them. For you to believe that God sits back and leaves you powerless to suffer under sin and evil is a slap in His face. "For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice... For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice." Romans 7:15,19 (NKJV) God loves you too much to abandon you to the devil and his darkness. Why would you hide behind these few sentences of Paul, and think Paul lived his Christian life a slave to sin, always frustrated and unable to do good? READ THE REST OF HIS WORDS!

Under his old life as a Jew, Paul understood the law of God and it's rightness, but he did not have the power or strength to change and obey it. He explains that Jesus made the way for all to change. Using the law of adultery as a simple illustration, he explains if you divorce your wife to marry another you commit sin. But if your spouse dies you can remarry and this is okay to God. "Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter." [Romans 7:4-6 NKJV]

Paul is explaining the past life, not the present Kingdom Life. When you "were in the flesh" is not the same as when "you are now are in the Spirit". Born again believers receive the grace of God by the Spirit now dwelling inside of them. Knowing and understanding the LAW OF GOD will not save you, but it will convince you of the horror and destruction of sin. It will make you cry out eventually, "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" [Romans 7:24 NKJV] And when you do, you are finally ready to receive FREEDOM FROM SIN AND THE POWER TO LIVE IN OBEDIENCE.

"There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be." [Romans 8:1-7 NKJV]
"So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness." [Romans 8:8-9 NKJV] If you are born again, the flesh is your past, the Kingdom Life is your forever now! God's grace is constantly released in you because "He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you." [Romans 8:11 NKJV]

To stay in the flesh with all those excuses of sin exposes your real state, you are not born again. Your mind may agree with God's truth like Paul did until his conversion, but your church affliation and good deeds will not release you from sin or God's judgement. Your only hope is to actually be saddened and sorrowful for your sins and stop making excuses. If you do not repent you will stay unchanged, unscathed, and unchallenged while you blindly march to eternal death, with a smile on your face.

Life Change - Real Character Change Through Jesus

2010-05-13T18:06:00.003-04:00

Romans 12:1-3 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. [2] And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. [3] For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

The Miracle of New Life

After your conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s will is to transform your personality or character from a selfishly motivated individual into a loving Christ-like disciple of Jesus Christ. All good or righteous character is God’s nature. So, the Holy Spirit now indwelling you must gradually empower you through grace with an inward strength that permanently changes your character.

As Christ settles into His new home inside your spirit He purifies you. You know, does a thorough house cleaning, taking full control of your life or becomes Lord of all your life [Hebrews 12:15].You must understand this from the beginning. True Christianity is not fire insurance or a happy pill. The salvation of any person is an act of mercy by God.

We are convicted criminals before God because we all have broken His Law. Sin is an act of rebellion or neglect, breaking God’s protective Laws. We have dark criminal minds in God’s view and we were born with such sinful nature that judgment hangs over our heads. For instance, if I traveled in my car through a red light preoccupied with a cell phone and “accidentally” killed a child, I would be charged and put in jail for a crime. If I did it on purpose the law demands even greater justice also.The law demands justice for all my crimes. No matter what my excuse is, the crime was committed.

We are spiritual criminals from birth and our minds and personalities reflect the dragon, the devil, not Christ. And like a cancerous tumor wrapped around our organs, sin is fused into our thoughts and personalities.Therefore, God’s mighty power is released through His Holy Spirit to change your mind about life, about the way you do things in relation to others, and how you respond to God and others.

This transformation is so thorough that it is the same as the metamorphosis that changes a caterpillar into a butterfly. In fact, the Greek word used in Romans 12:2 is the foundational word for the English word, metamorphosis. It should be plain then, God’s intention is an absolute overhaul starting from the old way of thought to a butterfly type transformation of your character.

In our case it must be from the ugly scale skinned dragon to a pure new child of God. The old caterpillar must die and the new life of Christ must be clearly visible and real for all men to see. The old way of thinking must be choked out and killed. The old way of doing things must be ruined and destroyed. Change, real change is the goal! Impatience must be smashed. Selfishness must be rooted out and dried up. God’s ways must be learned and followed. Militant obedience must be established. Immoveable trust in God’s promises must be cemented into the soul. Love, gentleness, creativity, righteousness, goodness, and all Christ-like character must be chiseled into your personality. I am sorry to say, most all men are so bent toward selfishness this change will only come with great pain inflected upon them.

Total Transformation

Ancient shepherds in Israel had a unique way of transforming a persistently rebellious sheep from their flocks. When one continued to wander and get itself into trouble, the good shepherd would take and break one of its legs. He would then mend it, and carry the sheep over His shoulders for the entire time the sheep was healing. Everywhere the flock went the shepherd carried this sheep. He fed it and watered it personally. At the end of the terrible experience the shepherd gave his patient freedom, but never worried again. The sheep would never again leave his masters side.

"My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him”[Hebrews 12:5]. “But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons” [Hebrews 12:8]. I know ungodly American leaders command parents not to spank their children. But God Almighty says to love your children so much you must hurt them a little to warn them and drive them away from lives full of deep hurts and sinful disaster. [Proverbs 22:15; 23:13; 29:15] This is how verse 8 makes sense. God so loves you He will hurt you to change you.

According to God’s reasoning, people are so deeply blinded by the caterpillar life they must be chastened [disciplinary-correction] or forced to butterfly transformation. “Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” [Hebrews 12:11]. Righteousness is Christ-like character actively flowing from inside a true disciple of Jesus Christ from the Holy Spirit. New convictions and immoveable standards of morality form like volcanic islands bubbling from the sea.

Since God’s grace is to cause you to desire His will and empower you to “prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God“ you must change your mind about the things God is causing in your life. Stop resisting the circumstances He brings that do not fit into your dreams. Change your dreams! Stop planning your future! Open your mind to His future for you. Offer yourself upon the altar of absolute surrender to His will. Let Him take away things that will hurt you in the end. Let your Father correct you without throwing another temper tantrum. Or He will correct you and hurt you more!

Spanking always relaxes a rebellious screaming child. The more you resist the grace of God, the more He will discipline you for your good. Remember there are only two choices when responding to God’s confusing grace, surrender or bitterness. God’s warnings are clear, “...looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled…” [Heb. 12:15].

C.S. Lewis wrote the famous series, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. This allegory depicts Jesus as Aslan the mighty Lion. After he sacrifices His life for the world and is raised from the dead the story continues with many Christian lessons. One expresses how Aslan has to use His claws to deeply cut and hurt His little ones destroying the old dragon skin and peeling off this outer layer to reveal the true new nature given through the Holy Spirit life deep within. Make no mistake true change is painful, but like all mothers know, the pain of delivery is nothing compared to the joy of their little new born baby.

Since no person is willing to hurt themselves enough to get rid of the old sinful skin of the dragon, God’s painful character development is done by your Almighty God. He does not use a magic wand but painful circumstances, trials, tribulations, and your immediate authorities. The word character comes from an ancient word for engraving. Craftsmen used hammers and sharp tools to permanently change the characteristics of a piece of leather or metal with decorative shapes or letters. God’s craftsmen are around you everyday hurting you for your good and engraving God’s character design on your personality. Don't turn on those people in anger or bitterness, instead remember Christ's example, "Father forgive them, they know not what they do." He was sacrificing His life for our eternal forgiveness and they did not know how they were fulfilling God's purposes. Surrender to God's hands of training and look past their evil!

The Lion’s claws of hurtful circumstances are tearing off the old dragon skin. The cocoon of trials that covers you [dark tribulation and testing], holds you still while you are being transformed [Romans 5:3]. As your old man is being pulled off daily, as you die daily to your old self and trust His loving way of spiritual growth, change slowly happens. Will you turn in bitterness or surrender completely to His sovereign hand of purification and artistic character development? Do you still think like a selfish child? “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things” [1 Cor. 13:11]. To renew your mind, surrender and trust God, there is no other way to maturity except in His sovereign hand!

What Happens When You Are Born Again

2010-05-13T14:34:00.000-04:00

“Therefore, 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 “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

A born again person is someone who has a direct connection with Almighty God by receiving the Holy Spirit inside their human spirit through faith in Jesus Christ. They are new creatures by the revolutionary change that takes place inside them when the Holy Spirit enters their spirit, and this permanent transformation establishes them as adopted children of God.

The conscience of the human is clouded and dark without God’s holy presence emblazing the holy standards of His Law upon it. This is revealed in Acts 2:37 as Peter presses the Jews with the criminal charge of breaking God’s Law by murdering the Messiah. “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’” From outside of a person God’s Dunamis power slams the Law into the human spirit, and cuts into the conscience! God’s Word explains this in Hebrews 4:12,13. “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” The Law proves the case against you is true, you are guilty of the crimes God holds against you.

Faith operates from inside the human spirit, and the very first function of faith is to believe [trust in, rely upon, and cling to] Jesus Christ as the one who died in your place for all the spiritual crimes you committed. Real faith is not blind faith but a clear examination of the facts that Christ lived, died, and was resurrected from the dead; and He did it to pay for your crimes. It is by faith, and faith alone, that you are even able to see and admit you broke the moral standards of God’s Law.

The Holy Spirit enters the repentant sinner, and this river of life [the flood of grace, yes this is His divine influence] causes a chain reaction of events inside. “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God…” [Romans 8:16 NKJV] The corroborating evidence is the divine grace that immediately flows from the All-Powerful God now inside the human spirit, flooding him with new holy desires and energy. Like plugging a pinball machine into the electrical wall socket, new spiritual life ignites and activates all kinds of new things once dormant or non-existent in the human spirit without God. Yes, the Holy Spirit activates, or gives life to the dead spirit of the sinner, His grace flowing and connecting the Christian directly to Him and making him a brand new creature. “Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God.” [2 Peter 1:3 from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.]

The grace of God surges into the human spirit lighting up the conscience, establishing and stretching faith, starting cravings for fellowship, activating spiritual gifts, initiating a hunger for worship, kick starting new ideas of creativity, stirring new thoughts and ideas for discernment, and enlightening the heart with new wisdom; all functions residing inside the human spirit but now newly turned on by His mighty power! This flow of supernatural energy never ceases, because God’s grace has no end. And these new godly desires are the evidence of being a new creature in Christ. “It is God who produces in you the desires and actions that please him.” [Philip. 2:13 GW]

“Desire God's pure word as newborn babies desire milk. Then you will grow in your salvation.” [1 Peter 2:2 GW] Because your spirit is the home of wisdom, God causes a hunger for His Word to gnaw at your heart. His will is to turn you from a simple fool into a wise and strong spiritual adult. “Behold, You desire truth in the inner being; make me therefore to know wisdom in my inmost heart.” [Psalm 51:6 AMP] What is wisdom? It is seeing life from God’s perspective! So as you begin to satisfy the hunger growing inside for God’s truth, your spirit will experience wisdom, establishing the foundations in your soul [mind, will, emotions] to identify the foolishness of immorality.

And along with the new source of wisdom coming from God’s truth, your conscience is also receiving divine influence from God’s Holy Spirit, as conviction presses your mind when you are about to do something morally wrong, or gives assurance when you are about to do something morally right. Your new spirit now senses good and evil by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. In time, as you grow in understanding the Bible, strong convictions grow, and new power is experienced to keep you from doing wrong. The spirit of the born again creature becomes strong and “by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” [Hebrews 5:14 NKJV]

As a new creation, discernment begins to grow in your spirit. Discernment is different than judgment in the same way the duty of a jury is different than the judge in a court of law. The jury studies the facts, testimonies and evidence to come to a clear conclusion of the truth or falsehood of the parties entangled in dispute or accused of a crime. The judge, an expert in the truth of the law, takes this information with authority and makes binding decisions. Your judge is God and truth is revealed to you by God’s Spirit. For “God has unveiled and revealed them by and through His Spirit, for the [Holy] Spirit searches diligently, exploring and examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God [the divine counsels and things hidden and beyond man's scrutiny]. For what person perceives (knows and understands) what passes through a man's thoughts except the man's own spirit within him? Just so no one discerns (comes to know and comprehend) the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.”

“Now we have not received the spirit [that belongs to] the world, but the [Holy] Spirit Who is from God, [given to us] that we might realize and comprehend and appreciate the gifts [of divine favor and blessing so freely and lavishly] bestowed on us by God. And we are setting these truths forth in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the [Holy] Spirit, combining and interpreting spiritual truths with spiritual language [to those who possess the Holy Spirit].”

“But the natural, non-spiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them [of progressively recognizing, understanding, and becoming better acquainted with them] because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated. But the spiritual man tries all things [he examines, investigates, inquires into, questions, and discerns all things], yet is himself to be put on trial and judged by no one [he can read the meaning of everything, but no one can properly discern or appraise or get an insight into him]. For who has known or understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart. [Isa 40:13.]” [1 Cor 2:10-16 AMP]

And this seven-fold Spirit of God [Rev. 5:6] makes sure every Christian has a spiritual gift activated at spiritual birth. “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” [1 Peter 4:10] The Greek word for gift is “charisma” made from the root “char” which means joy. It is also important to understand, “charis” means grace, which is the desire and power to do God’s will [see Phil. 2:13]. The flow of divine grace is therefore channeled through one of the seven grace gifts of Romans 12 for the purpose of empowering you to help other believers supernaturally.

Authentic worship is centered in your newly enlightened spirit. The Lord Jesus tells us, “God is a Spirit (a spiritual Being) and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (reality).” [John 4:24 AMP] This does not mean singing songs, even though praising the Lord with singing can be a part of worship. The Bible says spiritual worship is a complete surrender and sacrifice of your life to serving and obeying him. “I APPEAL to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship.” [Rom 12:1 AMP] So, the Holy Spirit begins flooding your spirit with new longings to love and serve God with all your heart.

God wills that a new believer quickly see the amazing importance of the supernatural ability of creativity that pours from God’s vast resources inside the born again spirit. Because the devil is real and hates you, you must “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” [1 Peter 5:8] You must be able to look at every situation, problem, or idea from a fresh and new perspective to survive and grow spiritually. “For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds, [Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed one), Being in readiness to punish every [insubordinate for his] disobedience, when your own submission and obedience [as a church] are fully secured and complete.” [2 Cor 10:4-6 AMP] God knows you will not make it without the mighty power of His creativity flowing through your spirit. You cannot allow a mountain of excuses, strong arguments and lies to discourage you and make you give up your walk with God.

You need this ability to find your escape from powerful temptations! “For no temptation (no trial regarded as enticing to sin), [no matter how it comes or where it leads] has overtaken you and laid hold on you that is not common to man [that is, no temptation or trial has come to you that is beyond human resistance and that is not adjusted and adapted and belonging to human experience, and such as man can bear]. But God is faithful [to His Word and to His compassionate nature], and He [can be trusted] not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with the temptation He will [always] also provide the way out (the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently.” [1 Cor 10:13 AMP]

The true born again believer also has a new powerful force that is turned on at new birth which draws him to the Lord Jesus and other believers. This new fellowship is not friendship, but much deeper and complying. The apostle John wrote, “that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ...We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.” [1 John 1:3; 3:14 NKJV] Friendship is only an outcome of your soul [mind, will and emotions]. But, uniting in spirit with the Lord Jesus cements Christians and motivates them to communicate with their spirits, using their gifts and abilities to love one another.

This is just the beginning. Now it is time to start the adventure!

Step 7- With All Diligence Add Genuine Love

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In our life as a Christian, we are commanded to climb to the final height of God's purpose for man by adding genuine love [agape] to our brotherly kindness. The construction remember, says, "make every effort... to Christian affection add love. [2 Peter 1:7 (GW)] This is a progression, because you are to add agape love to brotherly love. Therefore, brotherly love must be already practiced before you can add something new to this practice.

Genuine love is not magic, or unheard of in the secular world. For example, if your child, or father, mother [a close relative] were to contract a deadly disease or suffer a terrible accident and need a $250,000 operation, and you did not have insurance to cover it, would you sell your home, car, furniture, cash in all investments, etc. to save their life? Almost everyone would do it in a heartbeat because your geniune love for your children drives you to such sacrifice. You would not even have to think about it! But, what if I needed the operation, would you do it for me? Everyone one of you would pray for me! Some might send a small donation. Most of you would shrug your shoulders, comment on how heaven is a better place, and let me die!

The point is, God has geniune love for every person, and most love their children this way, but do not even love their spouse this much. Moms will put up with anything from their children, but divorce their husband for purely selfish reasons because of disappointments and disagreements. This is where the supernatural must come in, and why we are commanded to expand out hearts to practice geniune love as a controlling motive and focus of our mature faith. Brotherly love expands your heart to love fellow Christians with the same love you practice with close family. But, agape love enlarges your heart beyond the church family, to love the world like Christ does, by continually sacrificing to save them from eternal damnation in hell!

13 For if we have been beside ourselves, it has been for God's glory; or if we are now in our right senses, it is in order to be of service to you. 14 For the love of Christ overmasters us, the conclusion at which we have arrived being this—that One having died for all, His death was their death, 15 and that He died for all in order that the living may no longer live to themselves, but to Him who died for them and rose again. 16 Therefore for the future we know no one simply as a man. Even if we have known Christ as a man, yet now we do so no longer. 17 So that if any one is in Christ, he is a new creature: the old state of things has passed away; a new state of things has come into existence. 18 And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and has appointed us to serve in the ministry of reconciliation. 19 We are to tell how God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not charging men's transgressions to their account, and that He has entrusted to us the Message of this reconciliation. 20 On Christ's behalf therefore we come as ambassadors, God, as it were, making entreaty through our lips: we, on Christ's behalf, beseech men to be reconciled to God. [2 Cor 5:13-20 (WEY)]

constraineth (KJV) = from (sun) and (echo); to hold together, i.e. to compress (the ears, with a crowd or siege) or arrest (a prisoner); figurative to compel, perplex, afflict, preoccupy :- constrain, hold, keep in, press, lie sick of, stop, be in a strait, straiten, be taken with, throng. - Strong's Talking Greek and Hebrew Dictionary. Paul explains that the love of Christ drives and controls believers [grace = desire and power to do God's will] to no longer live selfishly, but focus and follow the will of Jesus with the same love, who totally shared His life, through the cross of torture and death, for all mankind. He has appointed us to serve in His ministry of reconciliation, by broadcasting the message of His sacrifice. We must be living sacrifices [Romans 12], spreading the good news to the whole world. Without agape love driving you, you will not passionately accomplish this! And believe me, this clearly explains the reason John claims this is phase four, or the final phase of Kingdom Living!

It is not a special calling, but in time and with training from God, He intends to move you to a whole new phase of your life [Phase 4]! "For although, considering the long time you have been believers, you ought now to be teachers of others..." [Heb 5:12 (WEY)] Let those words sink into you! Many Christians make excuses that they do not have to be a missionary, pastor, preacher, teacher, etc. because they have not been led or called to do it, as if you need a special bonk on the head before you are responsibile for the world going to hell for eternity! If you are born again, the grace of God will push you to do His will and join His ministry team! If you are a hypocrite, keep making excuses, you will end up in hell with the world anyway. And without agape love, you will ignore the fate worse than the death of your child, as your community, nation, and world rush to eternal judgment.

Step 6- With All Diligence Add Brotherly Kindness

2010-05-12T23:57:00.001-04:00

"And in [exercising] godliness [develop] brotherly affection..." [2 Peter 1:7 AMP]

As you mature, true, deep change grips your heart and soul. Godliness is rare in America, and from the polling and experiences of people, it seems to be rare in the church. Not all the accusations are true, they were all false as they attacked Christ, but enough evidence points to this reality today, and we are suffering from the vacuum of godlessness. Less than 20% of Americans even attend church on any weekend. So, before you hope to travel in this narrrow road of "fraternal affection," we will have to see the critics and quitters come back to church and prove they have "brotherly love (kindness), love of the brethren." Divorcing from your fellow believers, and claiming the church does not meet your needs, proves John's warnings. "Those who say that they are in the light but hate other believers are still in the dark. [10] Those who love other believers live in the light. Nothing will destroy the faith of those who live in the light. [11] Those who hate other believers are in the dark and live in the dark. They don't know where they're going, because they can't see in the dark." [1 John 2:9-11 GW] John spells it out for us. "They left us, but they were never really with us. If they had been, they would have stuck it out with us, loyal to the end. In leaving, they showed their true colors, showed they never did belong." [1 John 2:19 from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.]

Remember, John explains, "God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. [6] If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth." Darkness is clearly Satan and His domain.
Ephes. 6:12
    For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Col. 1:13
    Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

1 Thes. 5:4-5
    But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. [5] Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

The excuses for staying away from church are endless and sickening. But the fact is, anybody who loves sports proves it in how he lives. On his day off, he puts off chores and family to watch the game. Or she sneaks to the gym for dance, exercise, and tennis. People spend many hours doing what they want and love, and ignore what they hate. The Greek word is "to detest (especially to persecute); by extension to love less :- hate (-ful)." To love football more than joining Christians at a church meeting, is loving "religion" less. And this is the idea, whether people are willing to admit the word "hate" or "detest" for what they feel about the church. There is no love, that's for sure. Anyone in this state, is in darkness, and not a Christian, whether they protest my words or not!

The whole concept of this step is clear, it takes a god-like person to love people in close quarters who are not your children or relatives. It takes a commitment of kindness to put up with people's flaws and weaknesses, their cultural differences, and their immature attitudes and actions. Parents do this with their kids, but Christians refuse to see that some fellow believers are spiritual babies. If you are a spiritual child you want to think of yourself and not others. Conflict and problems always follow children, if you are a parent you know this. But godly people enlarge their hearts to be kind to their Christian family.

And this brotherly kindness does not come easily, it takes a lot of forgiveness, and patience, and a whole lot of godliness, to develop true brotherly love for the people who make up a local congregation of the church. Remember, we are not led to believe that you receive a membership card from heaven, making you a member of the large international group called the "Church" in some kind of abstract way, leaving you free from being joined to the team of a hard working group of local people, "the called out ones" of your city. For example, you cannot be an NFL player, unless you are a member of a local NFL team. Once you are off the local team, you may be qualified, but unless another team picks you up, you are retired and just a fan. You must take a position on a team and take on the responsibility of helping your team win, encouraging and helping fellow members develop their skills and make your team stronger, and learn to work together for the good of the team.

Take the first church as the pattern. Acts chapter two describes the powerful start of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Three thousand believed the words of Peter, left their circle of friends and united into a brand new community of people who also were committed to Jesus. They did not just believe in their heads, go back to the way they lived, and expect to go to heaven. Repentance demanded a total, revolutionary change of direction and life immediately.

Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” 41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.
46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

Trus salvation brings radical change and a new allegiance is powerfully imprinted inside a new Christian. "And they continued steadfastly" is based on a Greek word with powerful meaning. It covers these actions, "to be earnest towards, i.e. (to a thing) to persevere, be constantly diligent, or (in a place) to attend assiduously all the exercises, or (to a person) to adhere closely to (as a servitor) :- attend (give self) continually (upon), continue (in, instant in, with), wait on (continually)." The Acts record reveals the instantaneous reversal of three thousand people from their old lifestyle and the cementing of a new "team" of furiously committed people to Christ and each other. They went to extremes in their care for and support of each other, even though they just met! Obviously, the core leaders, were with Jesus about three years. But the heart of God's care was created inside these new disciples very quickly. And we too are ordered to focus and keep the family together just like they did so long ago. "Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart..." [1 Peter 1:22 NKJV] And repeated again "Continue to love each other." [Hebrews 13:1 GW]

But, the work comes after the initial excitement of new life and the supernatural grace that surges inside the young Christian. Mature believers must work hard to keep the unity of the team by nurturing the babes and immature in Christ, being examples of patience and love, and leading in the purposes and work of God. Paul challenges believers to work hard at this. "Through the peace that ties you together, do your best to maintain the unity that the Spirit gives... This is to continue until all of us are united in our faith and in our knowledge about God's Son, until we become mature, until we measure up to Christ, who is the standard." [Ephes. 4:3, 13 GW] Peter adds, "Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; 9 not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing." [1 Peter 3:8,9 NKJV]

After holding to the conviction that it is God's will we unite and love as brothers, the next step is actually developing brotherly affection for the saints. Remember the Lord taught, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." [Matthew 6:2] This means investing in your spiritual family, by focusing on serving and helping them in the faith, their value will grow in your heart. This is how we are instructed to accomplish this change of heart. "Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; 13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality." The more you intentionally invest in your Christian brothers, the more you will cherish them! The full depth of this exciting spiritual step is that you become consumed with the growth and blessing of your fellow believers. they are more important to you than anything of this world. If you think of sports, it would be like being a player-coach.

So those of us who have a strong {faith} must be patient with the weaknesses of those whose {faith} is not so strong. We must not think only of ourselves. [2] We should all be concerned about our neighbor and the good things that will build his faith. [3] Christ did not think only of himself. Rather, as Scripture says, "The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me." [4] Everything written long ago was written to teach us so that we would have confidence through the endurance and encouragement which the Scriptures give us. [5] May God, who gives you this endurance and encouragement, allow you to live in harmony with each other by following the example of Christ Jesus. [6] Then, having the same goal, you will praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. [7] Therefore, accept each other in the same way that Christ accepted you. He did this to bring glory to God. [Romans 15:1-7 GW]

"Brothers and sisters, I encourage all of you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to agree with each other and not to split into opposing groups. I want you to be united in your understanding and opinions." [1 Cor. 1:10 GW] Therefore, you must know the tricks and traps of the devil. "False prophets were among God's people {in the past}, as false teachers will be among you. They will secretly bring in their own destructive teachings. They will deny [contradict] the Lord, who has bought them, and they will bring themselves swift destruction." [2 Peter 2:1 GW] Now before you get false ideas, I want to make sure you understand that unity and harmony does not mean compromise and acceptance of false doctrine or evil practices. The early church was united and devoted to the apostles' doctrine. To keep the unity of all for the sake of maturing them to be like Christ and fulfilling the purposes of God demands that the church will have to remove false brethren from their team. "Now, what I meant was that you should not associate with people who call themselves brothers or sisters in the Christian faith but live in sexual sin, are greedy, worship false gods, use abusive language, get drunk, or are dishonest. Don't eat with such people." [1 Cor. 5:11 GW] "Brothers and sisters, I urge you to watch out for those people who create divisions and who make others fall away {from the Christian faith} by teaching doctrine that is not the same as you have learned. Stay away from them." [Romans 16:17 GW]

Don't be confused here! It is loving and kind to stop children from hurting themselves or someone else. And parents always correct and guide their children. This is the power and importance of Christian fellowship. God established the positions of mature church leaders: missionaries, evangelists, preachers, teachers and pastors to guide and protect the infants and immature from themselves and the devil. Like shepherds of old they are raised up to supervise the fulfillment all these things: the unity and fellowship of the team, the maturing and strengthening of the team, and the safety and protection of the team.

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore He says:
    “When He ascended on high,
    He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.”

9 (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)

11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 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; 14 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, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—16 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 4:1-16 KNJV]

So what is necessary for you to acheive Step 6? Decide that the church, the organized church with spiritual leaders, is God's church. Yes there are false teachers and false cults and movements. So be careful and find God's people. If you have divided yourself from them you are in error and resistant to God's authority. Humble yourself and repent, and quickly find a local congregation of Christians that follow the clear teaching of the Bible, and submit to the pastor's authority, and commit yourself to the work of the great commission and the ministry of fellowship. And fellowship is living the "one another commands" of the New Testament. This is how you will develop brotherly affection.

Step 4- With All Diligence Add Endurance

2010-05-12T23:46:00.001-04:00

2 Peter 1:6 AMP "and in [exercising] self-control [develop] steadfastness (patience, endurance)..."
I hope you have read Step 3 already, because it is necessary before you will understand this next major action of your spiritual training. It is one thing to finally get enough strength to defeat an opponent in one contest, but quit another to become the reigning champion with the steadfastness to continue over time, to defeat the challengers from that day forward, one battle after another. In military battles, there is finally one crushing victory that changes the tide of the whole war, and the victor becomes stronger and more powerful. From that moment on everything has changed! If you remember the description of the third phase of a Christian's life, John stated, "I write to you, young men, because you are strong and vigorous, and the Word of God is [always] abiding in you (in your hearts), and you have been victorious over the wicked one." [1 John 2:14 AMP] This Greek word, nikao is "to subdue (literal or figurative) :- conquer, overcome, prevail, get the victory." The true strength of the mature saint is expressed in these words.

Using your self-control (especially continence), you must begin the process of training for the spiritual marathon that lays ahead of you. Under constant trials and pressures, the Spirit of God leads you to a place where you will sustain a "cheerful (or hopeful) endurance, constancy :- enduring, patience, patient continuance (waiting)." Things will look hopeless, the victory, impossible, and the future very dark. Only God converts the wicked. Your Master calls you, the young and vigorous, and strong because the Word of God always reigns in your heart, to join in the spiritual fight for your generation! You must have a trust that does not give in...

18 Jesus approached and, breaking the silence, said to them, All authority (all power of rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.

19 Go then and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20 Teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you, and behold,     I am with you all the days (perpetually, uniformly, and on every occasion), to the [very] close and consummation of the age. Amen (so let it be). [Matt 28:18-20 AMP]

This is not a command to preachers and missionaries, but to every disciple of Jesus. And a spiritual war is so trying God trains His saints through circumstances to strengthen them to be able to have the endurance and faith to press forward in this fight throughout their generation. This is explained in James, chapter 1, "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." Yes, all the rough trials are just basic training to turn you into the strong Christian that you must become to complete your mission.

The enemy of God, Satan the Tyrant, holds the people of the world in his blinding grasps to haul them with him, to eternal damnation in hell. If you take this command of Christ to heart, your days will be filled with problems and trials because you take up the fierce war for the souls of men. Only as your faith is tested patience is produced in you. Let me allow the apostle Paul explain this to you.

3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. 8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 11 For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So then death is working in us, but life in you.

13 And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke, ”we also believe and therefore speak, 14 knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. 15 For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.

16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. [2 Corinthians 4:3-18 NKJV]

Every Christian needs to see their mission is to join this cause, because their generation will pass away quickly. God has witten His Word to instruct the church in the training up of a team of spiritual giants who carry the love of God to their cities and communities, but not in their own abilities, but invested with the mighty power of God resting upon them. This invisible power has everything to do with the devil and his demons, not some kind of trickery to convince the lost world they need Jesus. Paul already tells us, "However, their minds became closed. In fact, to this day the same veil is still there when they read the Old Testament. It isn't removed, because only Christ can remove it. [15] Yet, even today, when they read the books of Moses, a veil covers their minds. [16] But whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. [17] This Lord is the Spirit. Wherever the Lord's Spirit is, there is freedom. [18] As all of us reflect the Lord's glory with faces that are not covered with veils, we are being changed into his image with ever-increasing glory. This comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." [2 Cor. 3:14-18 GW] So while we persevere in spreading the Good News of Jesus, every force, distraction and lie Satan can muster to stop you from your mission will be flung upon you. Only while you stand strong under this relentless attack from hell, will the seed of God's Word be planted in the hearts of men, and the grace of God save many. If you give up, the attacks will stop, but the people around you will die and go to hell. If you are strong and vigorous, and endure by sharing the Word of God that is in you, your experience will be "hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; ...perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed."

Opposition from every side is proof that you are in the middle of the war, and God is using you to bring life to the perishing, even when you cannot see any victory, or success. This happened to Jesus, "... when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. 14 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. 15 And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all." [Luke 4:13-15 NKJV] If all you remember is Jesus was famous and crowds followed him like a movie star, you have missed the whole point. The mobs demanded free food, medical treatments, and deliverance from the Roman tyrants. The Lord was covered in the Spirit's power, but Jesus preached repentance for the people to turn from their greedy, immoral life styles, and demanded they completely turn back to total obedience to the law of God. As He refused to give the crowds what they wanted, they turned against him.

Even at the very beginning of His public preaching ministry the crowds turned savage against him, attempting to murder Him! "Everyone in the synagogue became furious when they heard this. [29] Their city was built on a hill with a cliff. So they got up, forced Jesus out of the city, and led him to the cliff. They intended to throw him off of it. [30] But Jesus walked right by them and went away." [Luke 4:28-30 GW] He needed protection from the devil, and the dynamic power of God miraculously preserved His life!

He was steadfast as the scribes and Pharisees followed Him everywhere like the paparazzi, but not to get pictures to sell, instead they wanted to find some dirt they could use to shut Him up. His message of repentance was relentless, and the spiritual hypocrites hated Him. Finally, the crowds refused to hear Him, so Christ started preaching cute little stories, and explained why in Matthew 13:

“Because it has been given to you [the disciples of Jesus who repented] to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:

    ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
    And seeing you will see and not perceive;
15    For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
    Their ears bare hard of hearing,
    And their eyes they have closed,
    Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
    Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
    So that I should heal them.’

Now it was hard enough with all the opposition of those controlled and blinded by satan attacking Him through the entire three years of His ministry, but then most of His disciples also quit following Him. John describes it this way, When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. 65 And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.” 66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. [John 6:61-66 NKJV] All the way to the cross Christ endured being "hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; ...perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed." The crowds cried for Him to be crucified, they spit at Him, jeered and tainted Him, and in a maddening rush of hatred watched Him die. Only a very small band of rag, tag followers mourned for Him.
Our God wants you to endure all things by "looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin." [Hebrews 12:2-4 NKJV] The sad thing is, few people who go to church are willing to follow Christ and do these things that God demands. And so, the vast majority of people go to hell, and their blood is on our heads. [Ezekiel 3:18]

Now be sure of this, you will not progress to the next step, until you have suffered the trying of your faith. And this always means conflict with a dying, blinded world around you who does not want to believe in Jesus, who does not want to stop doing their thing, and is very comfortable living in sin and rebellion against God, just like all their best friends. You are not being tested because your car broke down, man made things break and wear out. Do you think your faith is being tested because you suffered an accident, or you lost some one in an accident? The Lord says no! [Luke 13] Only when you attempt to share the gospel with your community and face the wrath and rejection of the self righteous are you being tested. You are facing the largest test of all. Will you proceed and obey the great commission, or quit and quietly be a silent Christian, allowing your life to be your testimony. Even if all you have left in you is to pray for your enemies, at least you are not losing your faith. Waiting for God to convert sinners is different than quitting, and losing your faith. Self-control, not giving into temptation as a permanent life style, leads to the cheerful, strong patience that believes God will give the gift of eternal life to the blind and wicked people all around you. In His way and in His time. Never, never, never give in!

Step 2- With All Diligence Add Knowledge To Your Virtue

2010-05-12T23:41:00.001-04:00

When you read John's description of the third phase of Kingdom Life you see the three areas of learning and training necessary for the immature believer to grow into a spiritual adult. Meaning that while you are in phase two, the goal and focus must be to graduate in all of the three areas before God considers you mature, which is what a phase three Christian is: a strong, spiritual adult. John says, " I write to you, young men, because you are strong and vigorous, and the Word of God is [always] abiding in you (in your hearts), and you have been victorious over the wicked one." [1 John 2:14 AMP] Three clear areas, means three clear steps must be achieved and obediently practiced before our Lord pronounces us spiritually mature. And Peter helps us understand what these next steps of obedience are, with the same command to use all diligence to first 1] add knowledge, 2] next self-control, 3] and then endurance. So we must focus our efforts on each step, one right after the other, until we complete all three.
Here's what he says, "For this very reason, adding your diligence [to the divine promises], employ every effort in exercising your faith to develop virtue (excellence, resolution, Christian energy), and in [exercising] virtue [develop] knowledge (intelligence)...: [2 Peter 1:5 AMP] With the same focus and drive needed to thoroughly repent and leave your old sinful life behind, now you must add knowledge! You are no longer an infant, now you are an immature spiritual child. Children learn, learn, and learn. Children go to school, mimic their parents, and copy their friends as they grow up, and growing up is hard to do. God's goal is to turn you into strong, dedicated, intelligent, and powerful spiritual warriors who can defeat the enemy, withstand temptation, and join the workforce of the King. This is the same goal for kids today, parents what them to grow up, go to college, get a job, and do great things.

If you studied Step 1, which you need to, you will remember that Hebrews 5 listed the milk, or fundamental knowledge needed to understand the will of God. His educational process is well designed for life change, character change, and ministry preparation. God demands that you become a disciplined learner, a disciple of Jesus. You must understand that this is school! Yes, the thing you might have hated, if you are now an adult. Church is not to be a relaxing, fun filled spiritual shot to make you feel good until next week. Church is a gathering place for committed believers to gather for strength from God's Word, to build each other up, to reach others for Christ, to pray together to pull down Satan's power in their community, and to examine themselves for spiritual health and purity. Remember you have a lot to learn, God has a clear plan for you, and you must take action! Do not lose focus.

Start with "the elementary stage in the teachings and doctrine of Christ (the Messiah), advancing steadily toward the completeness and perfection that belong to spiritual maturity. Let us not again be laying the foundation of repentance and abandonment of dead works (dead formalism) and of the faith [by which you turned] to God, With teachings about purifying, the laying on of hands, the resurrection from the dead, and eternal judgment and punishment..." (Heb 6:1-2 AMP)

STEP 1 - Repentance of sin and abandonment of dead works
Remember when you leave sin you must replace it with good works, not to earn salvation, but prove your salvation. Children of obedience live their lives and spend their time doing the things Jesus would be doing if He were still here. The Holy Spirit in each believer has strong desires to accomplish the same good work in our day that Jesus did in His time. Acts 26:20 [AMP] illustrates this expectation; "But made known openly first of all to those at Damascus, then at Jerusalem and throughout the whole land of Judea, and also among the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works and live lives consistent with and worthy of their repentance." He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing." (Eph 2:10 from THE MESSAGE) Once you are living a holy life [walking in obedience], you are ready for your education. Yes God intends to train you to graduate from school and get to work, just like your parents expected you to finish school and grow up and get a job!

STEP 2 - Develop Knowledge
Use the strength of your virtue to graduate from Christ's school of obedience and ministry... You must do like you did in worldly education, start in elementary school and establish the foundations. You must use your brain and "Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth." [2 Tim 2:15 AMP] God will let you know when you graduate from His school! An introduction of the ABC's of spiritual learning are:

1. The faith [by which you turned] to God [Hebrews 6:1 AMP]
[Explained in Session 1 of the Spiritual Growth Seminar] To really understand the faith, you must read the Bible from the beginning to see the history of sin and mankind, God's solution for your sin, and the promises of eternal life through Christ Jesus and not your own sacrifice, as explained in the four gospels of the New Testament. Do not get lazy here, you read more than this in elementary school. You must understand what happens when you are born again.

2. ...teachings about purifying [Heb 6:2 AMP] The original Greek is "baptisms" in the plural, meaning that you must understand water baptism, and Holy Spirit baptism. [See Baptism: The Sign of Joining Christ and His Church; and Revival: Signs of a True Work of God ] The outpouring or immersing of water is a symbol of inward change similar to a wedding band is a symbol of a new covenant and relation. Similarly, the outpouring of the Spirit is a powerful outward presence of God that does what it did in Acts 2, deeply convicting sinners of their evil and causing them to repent and truly be converted. This powerful flow of God's grace is why we are saved today, 2000 years after the church first began.

3. ...laying on of hands [Heb 6:2 AMP] This is the principle of authority, not some mystical secret, that must be studied and learned. This is illustrated in the first church to make it clear this is the point of this important foundational knowledge. "As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away." [Acts 13:2,3] God established the church, not man! He organized it to work as a team to fulfill His purposes under established authority He gives in His word. "Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct... Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you." [Hebrews 13:7,17 NKJV] You must understand and submit to earthly authority to be obedient to God, otherwise you weaken and hurt the church, which is His plan for all Christians. Think of a sport with a coach, if the players refuse to submit to the coach and work together they lose! The Lord demands that local Christians obey Him by grouping together as local churches, and obeying His purposes. Read Revelation 2 and 3 and see how He oversees teams [churches], not individuals, and expects every individual believer to submit to the leaders and get busy fulfilling His Kingdom asssignments.

How Valuable Is Your Church To God? Part 2

2010-03-22T13:31:00.003-04:00

As we look at the second city church [Smyrna], it verifies the single important action that is approved by the Lord, "I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich);" [Rev 2:9 (NKJV)]. This second church report shows again that consistent Kingdom work to reach the world is the primary purpose of the church, and the Lord checks on it in every church in the world! And not only that, it is so important to save people from hell, that every sacrifice the church makes, including imprisonment and open persecution, which this church suffered including confiscation of all their finances and possessions. Our Lord highly honors and rewards churches for such dedication. He praised this church for endurance and in spite of their heavy losses, He poured out powerful grace upon them and mightily saved many through this spiritual battle. In our time, we get obsessed on how much money we have to spend on buildings, programs, and many other expenses. Did you notice that this church could do none of these things and was still able to obey the great commission, with Christ's blessing.

"And to the angel [messenger] of the church in Pergamos write, 'These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword: I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells." [Rev 2:12-13 (NKJV)] There should be no confusion in your mind, the hard work of spreading the Good News and teaching disciples is similar to what a business demands of it's workers hired to help make money. But God values people, not money, more than anything. The eternal stakes are immeasurable. He is "not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." [2 Peter 3:9 (NKJV)]

Focus saints, no excuses! Look at each other and ask, are we exhausting ourselves in efforts to love our community to Jesus? in the last 90 days, what have you and your church members done to reach your city for Jesus? Do not tell me what your pastor did, but what have you done to help? Are you volunteering and sacrificing your time to help reach the lost? Each and every evaluation we have read so far repeatedly starts with whether the church is doing the work. And what is extraordinary to us is the most valued church to Christ is the church that will not give up working, no matter the cost or causalities inflicted by Satan and His attacks through the people of the world.

This church was in a city of such cultural and anti-Christian sentiment that it was obviously the seat of Satan. They killed Antipas for his faith in Jesus. But, they would not quit, even when the church was not popular, they worked to win souls. But, unlike the Ephesian church, the worthless teachings of Nicolas were accepted here. Perhaps they hoped for peace with the hostile culture, but when they did this, the Lord became hostile with the church. They joined the denomination of Nicolas and corrupted the people. They were being defeated from within by compromising with Nicolas instead of hating corruption. The whole church was ordered to "Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." [Rev 2:16-17 (NKJV)]

The next city is Thyatira, and this church is very productive. The Lord states, "I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first." [Rev 2:19 (NKJV)] Notice the Lord's five point score card. He was excited that this church reaches out to the community, serves each other through true fellowship, and ministers to the needy. And they did not lose their love like Ephesus, but instead grew in greater and greater outreach. This church seemed to be the most blessed and productive church evaluated by Jesus.

But, this church was attacked by the enemy in a different way. False preachers flooded the church with supposed prophecies and revelations. "Her spiritual counterpart at Thyatira lured God's 'servants' by pretended utterances of inspiration to the same libertinism, fornication, and eating of idol-meats, as the Balaamites and Nicolaitanes (Rev. 2:6, 14, 15). By a false spiritualism these seducers led their victims into the grossest carnality, as though things done in the flesh were outside the true man, and were, therefore, indifferent." "The deeper the Church penetrated into heathenism, the more she herself became heathenish; this prepares us for the expressions 'harlot' and 'Babylon,' applied to her afterwards" [AUBERLEN].—Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

The church was deceived by these charismatic teachers and Christ judged them "because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce..." [Rev 2:20 (NKJV)]. Many would falsely say this church was okay because their works were greater after they accepted the charismatic experience of this new denomination, but Christ is adamant the immoral sin that they practiced proved they were rejected and not moved by God's Spirit. Greater success did not make them approved by our Lord because this attack would silently destroy His work. This is no new doctrine, Jesus warned early in his discipleship training of the apostles.

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' [Matt 7:15-23 (NKJV)]

Paul gives us further information warning us that the church would be flooded with charismatic preachers to deceive the church, and carefully ruin the gospel with a twisted gospel. "...having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith;" [2 Tim 3:5-8 (NKJV)] What he is saying is, just like the magicians that copied Moses' miracles to deceive, modern day charismatic preachers would use miracles to deceive the church and create a popular gospel that does not work. It does not change the moral character of their followers, but instead excite and fool them to think they were still going to heaven.

The result of this Satanic deception is so damaging that it corrupts the whole church like a candy coated drug given to helpless children. Paul explained this, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables." [2 Tim 4:3-4 (NKJV)] Like a plague, this attack of the enemy is so powerful it would totally ruin the church if left unchecked. The problem is this error has not gone away, the church is still mixed with deceived religious people created by the false gospel stripped of repentance.

Why 2/3 Of Your Church Kids Will Quit Church

2010-03-16T14:22:00.004-04:00

The hard facts are in, the Bible believing churches of the U.S. will lose two thirds of all their children to hell! “The next generation is already calling it quits on the traditional church…” declares Ken Ham, the head of Answers in Genesis. His researchers lay down the grim assessment in his book, Already Gone, that we are losing our kids while attending elementary, middle and high school. And the saddest part is the statistics prove the church is making it worse, and driving them away to be hardened and resistant to the church.

Josh McDowell already published his warning, titled, The Last Christian Generation. He declares, “The majority of our young people no longer embrace true Christianity. We must reintroduce them to who Christ really is. They know the facts, but they don’t know him.” He goes on to say, “They have redefined what it means to be Christian. The majority of our churched young people do not believe Christ is the Son of God, do not believe the Holy Spirit is a real entity, and think “doing good” earns them a place in heaven. Their attitudes and behavior are virtually no different than those of non-Christians.” With great concern, Josh McDowell documents the urgency of the crisis!

Sunday school and children’s churches are not teaching the kids the foundations of scripture, therefore, many by middle school doubt the Bible because they have everyone telling them the Bible is not accurate, has mistakes, it was written by men, and science has proof the Bible is false. Government [Public] controlled schools demand evolution is true and force it upon every child in science classes. Immoral sexual standards are forced on them in health classes. The American history courses have been rewritten to remove all positive facts of God and the founding of our nation. While little Bible stories with little substance or personal application is taught in the children’s ministry of most churches, the kids DO NOT hear answers or evidence of Biblical truth. According to Ham, 39.8% of churched middle schoolers have stopped believing all the accounts and stories in the Bible are true. Then add 43.7% more of churched kids who jump ship as high school students and reject the Bible stories as truth. Only 10.9% more do this by the time they enter college. 83.5% were lost way before they got to the universities.

Drastic measures must be taken right now by true churches, or we will be like modern Great Britain, within 30 years. They have multitudes of abandoned church buildings that have been converted to everything except the worship of the living God. Only a tiny remnant of the population go to church. Every church leader must call their church to emergency prayer and an immediate reformation of their education departments.

It is not a babysitting ministry, but a ministry that must have dollars plowed into it for a complete overhauling of purpose, direction, and practice. You must enlarge your vision to equip the parents to train up their children in the way they should go. You must wed the power and resources of the church to the fathers and mothers of the children. You must capture their attention with powerful life changing truth. This is the only way you will save them!

Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord [the only Lord].

5 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your [mind and] heart and with your entire being and with all your might.
6 And these words which I am commanding you this day shall be [first] in your [own] minds and hearts; [then]
7 You shall whet and sharpen them so as to make them penetrate, and teach and impress them diligently upon the [minds and] hearts of your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up.
8 And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets (forehead bands) between your eyes.
9 And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Deut 6:4-9 (AMP)

An obsession toward teaching the truth is the recognized way according to the Lord. I am sure there are a few solutions to this epidemic spiritual disease, but let me tell you what the Lord has led our church to do to bring life and salvation back to our children. We have joined up with 252 BASICS a nationally known ministry that helps churches build a strategy of teaching relevant and exciting Biblical truth while reuniting and equipping the parents with the principles of Deuteronomy. God brought us into a bunch of large inflatable games and bounce houses, which gave us a free family carnival outreach ministry to our community. The combination has thrust us into family ministry with new excitement and relevance. As we meet new families we introduce them to our 252 BASICS concepts, and children are responding. Changes are beginning to happen in their lives. The FamilyTimes materials are helping parents train their children and develop character.

The core of change for every church is this: we must clearly answer the doubts that the government schools are pounding into the kids heads [remember Satan did this to Eve], we must develop character through a specific plan of action and education, as we clearly teach the Good news of Jesus. We must decide if the government indoctrination is what our children need to hear day after day. We must put into the hands of parents, simple, easy to use resources to teach their kids during the week the powerful truth of scripture. The crisis is real, the kids are losing their faith right under your noses! Rise up and change, and do it now!

How Valuable Is Your Church To God? Part 1

2010-03-15T18:23:00.007-04:00

Did you ever consider that God looks at your city, sees all the Christians who live there and considers them one local church family, and demands that you take responsibility and join in unity to obey Him and work to reach your local world with His love? Check out the seven letters recorded in Revelation 2 and 3. Each church, singular, not churches, that dwelt in the following cities of EPHESUS, SMYRNA, PERGAMOS, THYATIRA, SARDIS, PHILADELPHIA, AND LAODICEA received a note directly evaluating their church from the Lord Jesus. Inside each of these ancient cities were church denominations [groups] which Christ valued like $1s, $5s, $10s, $20s, $50s, $100s and even counterfeit bills. Yes Jesus gave Christian groups inside the city church different values, some were worth more to Him than others. Some were worthless. Some were repulsive to Jesus. Does it sound weird that the first century church had the same problems we have in the 21st century?

Who is to be pleased at your local church? The visitors? The church members? God? Leaders it is time to get your priorities straight! Every Christian, you too! These seven churches answered straight to Jesus, and yours does too! First and foremost you must focus on Christ's commands, not your human wisdom of what you think the culture around you is needing or wanting, or what your most powerful members like, or what you're comfortable with.

God made humanity, and His Word and Wisdom are timeless. His mercy and grace are timeless. His power to save sinners is unlimited. His Holy Spirit is not weak but more than able to convict sinners of every generation: genX, Y or Z. These churches were not judged because they did not have master degrees in Greek culture, nor condemned for not seeing the intricacies of the characteristics of generation next. Look closely at the judgment Jesus renders on these seven ancient churches. It is time to completely transform your minds and get a brand new perspective based solely on what the Lord Jesus Christ, the boss of the international church demands. You are not a spiritual social club! You are not a religious organization! You are not a spiritual self help association! Neither are you a gospel choir training center to enter contests for fun and trophies!

Jesus told the first church in the Revelation text to, "repent and do the first works..." [Rev 2:5 (NKJV)] He means for the church "to 'do the first works' -- the works which flowed from thy first love. Not merely "feel thy first feelings," but do works flowing from the same principle as formerly, 'faith which worketh by love.'" —Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary. You know, the work driven by such genuine love it forces you into crazy, mission-minded actions, that you re-vision and see yourself as a team member of Christian soldiers fighting the devil and rescuing the perishing. You must stop telling your leaders what you want, and submit to their leadership. You must volunteer to work for Jesus, like you would any job you apply to for money. And if you do not, He says, "'I will come' -- Greek, 'I am coming' in special judgment on thee." —Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary. Christ demands that you, yes you, join in and work hard for him!

Christ demands and approves of the church that does what it is supposed to be doing, WORK! We all must do His work "I know your works, your labor, your patience... and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name's sake and have not become weary." [Rev 2:2-3 (NKJV)] Our Lord approved and clearly states this is what He wants from the local church. The Lord says the church is His, He is the boss, and we are a team of people to work for him. He commissioned His local churches, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 'Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. [Matt 28:18-20 (NKJV)]

The city church of Ephesus was also distracted and divided by a false leader, Nicolas. His denomination was like modern movements today, named after the founder or his ways. Lutherans are named after Martin Luther. The Methodists were founded by John Wesley. And this denomination was called the Nicolaitans but it was a real problem because "they are not a sect, but professing Christians who, like Balaam of old, tried to introduce into the Church a false freedom, that is, licentiousness;" —Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary. Jude explains, "...persons who pervert the grace (the spiritual blessing and favor) of our God into lawlessness and wantonness and immorality," [Jude 1:4 (AMP])

They were also battling other false preachers and Jesus praised them by saying, "...how you cannot tolerate wicked [men] and have tested and critically appraised those who call [themselves] apostles (special messengers of Christ) and yet are not, and have found them to be impostors and liars." [Rev 2:2 (AMP)] This church had a challenge: to go along with the loosening of marriage and moral standards like Nicolas and others preached and keep relevant to the current culture, or stand against immorality, adultery, couples living together outside of marriage, and rejecting the Roman cultural standards of homosexuality. Sounds just like the USA today.

Who or what do you worry about, the strong feelings of the same Jesus who walked with sinners 2000 years ago, or the sinners He called to repentance? "Yet you have this [in your favor and to your credit]: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans [what they are doing as corrupters of the people], which I Myself also detest." [Rev 2:6 (AMP)] Even with Jesus seeing all the Christians in Ephesus as one local church, He expected the leadership and members of the church to not sing "We Are One In The Spirit" but instead not "tolerate wicked [men]" and Jesus approved that they "tested and critically appraised those who call [themselves] apostles (special messengers of Christ) and yet are not, and have found them to be impostors and liars. [Rev 2:2 (AMP)]

He did not want them to find the lowest denominator and "work together" in harmony. He wanted them to divide! The Lord's positive assessment was I "know that you cannot tolerate wicked people. You have tested those who call themselves apostles but are not apostles. You have discovered that they are liars." [Rev 2:2 (GW)] The words mean to not take up or bear with WORTHLESS (evil) people. Some were church planters [apostles] "who pervert the grace (the spiritual blessing and favor) of our God into lawlessness and wantonness and immorality..." [Jude 1:4 (AMP)] and were to be rejected, not tolerated. The Lord wants you to quickly remove them and get back to His Kingdom work with greater love than you had when you got your first dream job.

What makes entertainment good or evil?

2010-03-01T14:57:00.008-05:00

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things. 9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you. Phil 4:8-9 (NKJV)

if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them]. Phil 4:8 (AMP)

Since America has become a culture that communicates and interacts through media instead of personal contact we need to question and evaluate the morality of this section of our lives. We now make decisions, purchases, build relationships, and establish our opinions and beliefs on what we see and watch. What makes a media creation good? Is one television program good and another evil? Does a certain song have lyrics that make it wrong for a believer to listen to it? By what standards can a Christian establish, to make sure they are pleasing the Lord Jesus and not angering Him? Are there Biblical principles that move this conversion away from opinions and into a holy Biblical life of obedience?

Would you agree to these concepts when evaluating modern American media?
1/ When evil is glorified, the entertainment is evil
2/ When evil is shown to be wrong, it may be good, or sometimes still may be evil
3/ When evil is shown as the norm, with no consequences, it is wrong
4/ When Christ, or His ways and commands are attacked or condemned it is evil

Are there people who are not Christians intentionally creating works to propagate their religious opinions, social atheistic agenda, or immoral standards in a sneaky way? Do witches write music to proselytize people? Do anti-Christian artists blaspheme Christ on purpose through their movies? Have you even considered there are wicked people trying to destroy what you believe through their art form? Obviously, everyone is not trying to destroy the Christian faith except the Devil and his invisible spirits, but there are many who do. And yet, there is a consolidated front when it comes to the media.

For example, have you ever watched a television show or movie and the network gave a disclaimer that the following program is only the opinion of the creators and it did not reflect their view? I've never seen one before a movie or television program that glorified illegal drugs, immoral sex, murder, socialism, communism, abortion, vampire movies, mediums, witchcraft, or other occult themes, etc. No, I've only seen this happen before a Christian show that proclaims Jesus. As far as I can tell, the only thing the networks and producers disagree with and find revolting is my God and Savior, Jesus.

The Bible warned us 2000 years ago, “We know [positively] that we are of God, and the whole world [around us] is under the power of the evil one.” [1 John 5:19 (AMP)] Things have not changed in the modern age! Even without an intentional attack against Christ, the media outlets are under the influence and power of Satan and are those “who oppose the Good News.” 2 Tim 2:25 (GW) Christians are most always pictured as hypocrites, liars, weak minded, or out of touch with the modern world with no answers for mankind. Evolution [science] has soundly silenced the church in modern times according to the History, Discovery and science channels. The ideas of the Christian principles that founded America are nearly erased from the media, and most news outlets.

Within entertainment, faithless, empty American atheists who “believe in themselves,” seek fame and live to party every weekend are the exciting fun people to watch. Mediums help society, but Christians do not factor in our modern lives. Everlasting life is attained through sucking someone's blood, but not trusting the shed blood of Jesus for redemption. Since we are regularly shut out of the conversation in the media with disclaimers, no wonder the vast majority have rejected Christianity, and they really know little about Jesus and true history. BUT we are not silent believers as we try to proclaim the Good News of Jesus.

Christian when you search for what you will watch or listen to (fix your mind on), do you make choices by the following standards?

1/ “Let there be no filthiness (obscenity, indecency) nor foolish and sinful (silly and corrupt) talk, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting or becoming; but instead voice your thankfulness [to God].” Are your favorite sitcoms, cartoons, songs, video games or movies filled with silly and corrupt talk, and layered with coarse jokes? Are the story lines based on immoral sexual relationships that God condemns? Are the stars living together, not married, and glamorizing and romanticizing wickedness? If the story is so romantic and the buzz so positive, do you overlook and excuse the moral truth of the story or song? Do you make excuses there is nothing to watch if you make a moral stand?

2/ “For be sure of this: that no person practicing sexual vice or impurity in thought or in life, or one who is covetous [who has lustful desire for the property of others and is greedy for gain]—for he [in effect] is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one delude and deceive you with empty excuses and groundless arguments [for these sins], for through these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of rebellion and disobedience.” Eph 5:4-6 (AMP) There is nothing funny about watching people practice the spiritual crimes God will severely and eternally judge and send them to Hell for. There is nothing romantic about immorality! There is nothing exciting about murder and bloody slaughter on television. You are ordered to “guard and keep the deposit entrusted [to you]! Turn away from the irreverent babble and godless chatter, with the vain and empty and worldly phrases, and the subtleties and the contradictions in what is falsely called knowledge and spiritual illumination.” [1 Tim 6:20 (AMP)]

3/ How about these commands of God, do they effect what you fix your mind on?

“When you come into the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of these nations. 10 There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or daughter pass through the fire, or who uses divination, or is a soothsayer, or an augur, or a sorcerer, 11 Or a charmer, or a medium, or a wizard, or a necromancer. 12 For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and it is because of these abominable practices that the Lord your God is driving them out before you.” [Deut 18:9-12 (AMP)] For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim (household good luck images). Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, [1 Sam 15:23 (AMP)] They “practiced witchcraft and soothsaying, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger.” [2 Kings 17:17 (NKJV)] “He practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft, and consulted spiritists and mediums. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger.” [2 Kings 21:6 (NKJV)]

Do you understand what these words actually mean? The soothsayer tries to predict the future, today it is your neighborhood fortune tellers. What is your sign? Are fortune tellers good TV? The augur was a religious official who interpreted omens to guide public policy by the will of the gods. The necromancer is the one who practices magic or sorcery, we generally call them witches today. In Deut. 18:11 the word "charmer" means a dealer in spells, especially one who, by binding certain knots, was supposed thereby to bind a curse or a blessing on its object. In Isa. 3:3 the words "eloquent orator" should be, as in the Revised Version, "skillful enchanter." Source: Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary. The medium is someone who serves as an intermediary between the living and the dead; "he consulted several mediums". In Isa. 19:3 the word "charmers" is the rendering of the Hebrew _'ittim_, meaning, properly, necromancers (R.V. marg., "whisperers"). Wizard is a pretender to supernatural knowledge and power, "a knowing one," as the original Hebrew word signifies. The Merriam-Webster dictionary explains that divination is “the art or practice that seeks to foresee or foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge usually by the interpretation of omens or by the aid of supernatural powers.”

Anyone notice Charmed, Ghost Whisperer, Medium, Wizards of Waverly Place, Harry Potter, Angel, Ghost Hunters, Supernatural, etc. are popular with America? The “abominable practices of these nations” is now “harmless” and interesting television. It seems every cop show has an episode of a psychic who has hidden knowledge and solves the case. Who dares to question the networks and Disney with such stupid resistance when it is just fiction? Christian, my question is, can you enjoy what God hates?

What about movies and shows that were once left as late night “B” movies because they were so repulsive, are now being made mainstream as the culture values Halloween instead of Thanksgiving. This gory mindset of blood and guts is filling movie theaters with a steady flow of evil. Do you think God objects to such murderous entertainment? “But you shall not eat flesh with the life of it, which is its blood. And surely for your lifeblood I will require an accounting; from every beast I will require it; and from man, from every man [who spills another's lifeblood] I will require a reckoning. Whoever sheds man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God He made man.” [Gen 9:4-6 (AMP)] As America rejects Jesus more and more, they fill their lives with bloody, pagan interests and lifestyles of ancient times. “Take no part in and have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds and enterprises of darkness, but instead [let your lives be so in contrast as to] expose and reprove and convict them. For it is a shame even to speak of or mention the things that [such people] practice in secret.” [Eph 5:11-12 (AMP)]

Those old pagan cultures used to dance themselves into a sexual and bloody frenzy for wild pleasure and to worship their gods. “And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with knives and lances until the blood gushed out upon them.” [1 Kings 18:28 (AMP)] They also cut themselves for decoration and ritual practices. “You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead nor print or tattoo any marks upon you; I am the Lord.” [Lev 19:28 (AMP)] And today so many of those old habits are appearing in movies, practiced by rock bands, and copied by the American culture.

So Christian I ask you, does your favorite movie or show glorify thieves, like Ocean's Eleven, Twelve or Thirteen? Does your music contradict God and glorify immorality, giving praise to the Devil and his ways? How about examining the Bible? You know you will find war, murder, and all kinds of evil inside. “For it is a shame even to speak of or mention the things that [such people] practice in secret. But when anything is exposed and reproved by the light, it is made visible and clear; and where everything is visible and clear there is light.” [Eph 5:12-13 (AMP)]

The Bible is the true standard for good entertainment! It is accurate history and amazing drama, but plainly condemns evil. God's book is the correct standard to use for determining your entertainment choices because it is filled with romance, intrigue, action and adventure, but clarifies right from wrong, corrects and teaches God's ways, plus exposes the consequences of evil, and promises great blessing and a future for doing that which is right. Good entertainment is a reflection of the morals, the attitudes, and life that God enjoys, while correcting wrong and bringing justice to the down trodden. It is illustrating genuine love instead of selfishly following a person's dreams or lusts (desires). Comedy is funny, not dirty. It is not good entertainment if it reflects and focuses on the things that anger God. Even if it shows evil as evil, if it does not fix your mind on the sad consequences of evil and direct you to goodness, it leaves people without hope and still is bad entertainment. As Paul explains, fix your mind on virtue, that which is noble and excellence, not evil. “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination and intention of all human thinking was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved at heart.” [Gen 6:5-6 (AMP)] Christian, make the LORD SMILE!

What Do We Do With God's Old Testament Law?

2010-03-01T11:34:00.018-05:00

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven." [Matthew 5:17-20 NKJV]

President Barack Obama stated in 2006, "Which passages of Scripture should guide our public policy? Should we go with Leviticus, which suggests slavery is Ok and that eating shellfish is abomination? How about Deuteronomy, which suggests stoning your child if he strays from the faith? Or should we just stick to the Sermon on the Mount--a passage that is so radical that it's doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application? So before we get carried away, let's read our Bibles." He along with the majority of Americans attack the scripture and denounce the truth of God's will.

The common denominator seems to be ignorance of the O.T. scripture, which leaves most rejecting the protective love that God provides with His Law. And it is clear, the laws are so foreign to people today that even church attenders and Christians give the same arguments that Obama gives, and concludes no one needs to follow the Law today, just love God and do what you generally want, as long as you don't feel guilty and feel good about yourself.

For example, recently on a Christian radio station the subject of tatoos was brought up with a sad story of a young Christian not liking a Bible teacher rebuking her for having one. The announcer renounced the hypocritical teacher, encouraging others that in the same context the Bible covered cutting the edges of their beards and gave the impression that since that was stupid, the tatoo law must also be stupid. The problem is, if you actually go to this portion of scripture you find other laws sandwiched there. Leviticus 19:26-29 states: "Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times. [27] Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard. [28] Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the Lord. [29] Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness." According to their line of reasoning, the context includes magic and prostitution, should these also be ignored? Don't misunderstand, they did not mention these obvious sins, nor condemn or approve them, but only picked out of the context and focused on the tats and beards.

Here is the problem, this same argument and line of reasoning is raised against every Christian leader that appears on national television, as they are discredited and mocked by news interviewers and ungodly people who, for example, think they have destroyed all arguments that call homosexuality a sin. You see, this also is covered in context with these other "worthless" biblical laws. Ignorance breeds mockery! We were warned in the last days, "These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit." [Jude 1:16-19] Please change the word "lust" to desire, and then you see the warning. People will do what they desire and ignore the law. Christ clarified this by saying, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’" [Matthew 7:21-23] This means they will not obey God's law!

Let's look carefully at what the Lord Jesus teaches. "Don't ever think that I came to set aside Moses' Teachings or the Prophets. I didn't come to set them aside but to make them come true. [18] I can guarantee this truth: Until the earth and the heavens disappear, neither a period nor a comma will disappear from Moses' Teachings before everything has come true. [19] So whoever sets aside any command that seems unimportant and teaches others to do the same will be unimportant in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does and teaches what the commands say will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. [Matthew 5:17-19 GW] The Law and the Prophets is what we call the Old Testament. This Bible version helps in some ways, but is soft by translating "entole" as Moses' Teachings instead of commands, as Strong's Concordance clearly defines the word. But hear the Lord, he did not come "to loosen down (disintegrate), i.e. (by implication) to demolish (literal or figurative); specially [compare Greek 2646 (kataluma)] to halt for the night :- destroy, dissolve, be guest, lodge, come to nought, overthrow, throw down." Without argument, He demands the law will remain until the final judgment when He destroys the earth, and replaces it with a new heaven and earth.

Don't forget our Savior is God! If you contradict Him, you have joined the antichrists who raise themselves above Christ by contradicting and claiming they know more than Him. "Whoever sets aside any command that seems unimportant and teaches others to do the same will be unimportant in the kingdom of heaven." Well this is a problem, everybody I know says we do not have to follow God's laws from the Old Testament because that was for the Jews and we are Christians. Everyone also demands that Christ died to free us from such bondage, and also this is legalism! Well who is right, Jesus or modern teachers? Remember in Acts and other New Testament verses we find Christians are not to become Jews, that was a major battle between false Jewish teachers and Paul and other godly church leaders.

God is love and His commands are the same as parental commands. "There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them, and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.” Compared to Israelites, the Egyptians had shorter life spans and chronic diseases according to modern scientific discovery. Love always is shown by protecting and providing for those in your care. And the all knowing Creator protected Israel with laws of diet to protect them from disease. He gave sanitation laws to protect them from spreading disease. He gave quarantine laws to stop the rapid spread of plagues. Preventive medicine was practiced by people who did not know about germs, virues, and air born pathogins.

The Lord gave other precepts to teach them how to love Him, and how to love their neighbors. The Lord Jesus explains this as He answers His critics. "Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in Moses' Teachings?" Jesus answered him, " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and most important commandment. [39] The second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as you love yourself.' All of Moses' Teachings and the Prophets depend on these two commandments." [Matthew 22:36-40 GW]

So what do we do with all those laws from the Old Testament? The key to answer this question is in what Christ proclaimed! "I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." We know that Christ fulfilled the Law by becoming the sacrificial lamb and shedding His blood, completing the ceremonial law forever. There is no need for any sacrifices for sin, these laws are fulfilled by Jesus! No need for a temple or tabernacle for worship, nor any of its practices. No need for anointing oils, candles, shew bread, and animal sacrifies. No priests, robes, or ark of the covenant. This is why Paul argues that being circumcised no longer has any spiritual meaning [1 Cor. 7:19; Gal. 5:21-23].

Our Lord also fulfilled another important prophecy about the commands of God. "I will give you a new heart and put a 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." [Ezek 36:26-27 (NKJV)] God's amazing grace is given to Christians so "that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." [Romans 8:4 (NKJV)] The New Testament or New Covenant was paid once and for all by Christ Himself dying on the cross, being buried, and rising again from the dead! With this in mind, we must understand God’s Word and see that eating certain foods will not make us right before God, but protect us from disease. Circumcision will not make God let us into heaven, but it has healthy benefits. Nor will any other act such as baptism or any spiritual duty we can practice get us into heaven.

There must be a clear understanding between the Law that convicts of sin and drives sinners to see their need of forgiveness and the liberating power of the Holy Spirit indwelling a Christian and empowering them to desire and fulfill God’s will. As believers we are not free to live our lives breaking God’s moral law. John clearly states, “Now by this we know that we know him, if we keep His commandments” [1 John 2:3]. I hope you are starting to understand the ceremonial law is what the Jews were freed from. The Messiah took care of that, and now the moral law can be obeyed because of the new spiritual birth produced by the shed blood of Messiah.

So what do we do with God’s old rules from Moses? Let's look at just one example of what God commanded Israel about 3500 years ago, “Whoever touches the dead body of anyone will be unclean for seven days [Numbers 19:11]. He gave no explanation and many today do not see the point. Well still in the 1800’s doctors were losing many patients without understanding why. In Vienna, Austria one out of six new mothers were dying. Doctors unknowingly spread bacteria and disease by examining recently dead patients and without washing went into the baby ward and helped with births. Dr. Ignaz Semmelweiss was concerned and started a novel idea and had all doctors under his supervision rinse their hands in water before helping a new patient. The death rate dropped to 1 in 86 mothers dying in child birth. But the medical community persecuted him for such a stupid idea and would not listen. If they would have understood God’s ancient law and followed it, the innocent mothers would have lived a normal life. What should we do with God’s law?

By the way, the beard thing has meaning! Under the ceremonial laws God orders, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: ‘None shall defile himself for the dead among his people, except for his relatives who are nearest to him: his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, and his brother; also his virgin sister who is near to him, who has had no husband, for her he may defile himself. Otherwise he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself. ‘They shall not make any bald place on their heads, nor shall they shave the edges of their beards nor make any cuttings in their flesh." [Leviticus 21:1-5]

The demon induced worship of the people around Israel was practiced by shedding their own blood. The evil spirits that possessed the false priests and worshippers whipped them into bloody frenzies. That is what Elijah the prophet witnessed. "And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.” So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. And when midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention." [1 Kings 18:27-30]

God always makes sure there is a difference between false worship and true worship. He did not want his people looking like or acting like those demon possessed priests of Baal. There is always a distinction between holy and unholy. When you are ignorant of the pagan rituals and practices of these demonic false religions you will not understand some things God was commanding ancient Israel to avoid. Rather then rejecting or mocking those "old fashioned" practices it would be good to get all the information first, then discover their purposes.

What Will Your Day Be Like In God's Court?

2010-03-01T10:10:00.000-05:00

Malachi 2:17 The Message

17 You make GOD tired with all your talk.

"How do we tire him out?" you ask.

By saying, "GOD loves sinners and sin alike. GOD loves all." And also by saying, "Judgment? God's too nice to judge ."

I was born in the U.S.A. and without my consent or opinion became a citizen at birth and subject to all the laws of the nation. If I decide I do not believe in the speeding laws I can break them until a police officer catches me and stops me. He will ticket me and order me to go to court and face the judge! If I ignore him and do not show up eventually another officer will come and arrest me and forcible take me to jail. I will face the judge again! I will be punished as a criminal.

In the same manner you have been born into this world that God created. Whether we like it or not, we all are under the universal laws of God. We all will face the real eternal, just Judge, and be tried by His holy laws. Sin is the religious term for crime. Sinners are spiritual criminals! If you decide you do not like God’s laws you can continue to break them and live a life of crime. But, your day in court will come. Revelation, the last book of the Bible says...

“And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. [Revelation 20:11-15 KJV]

Our “works” will condemn us because our works are our deeds. The only way out of everlasting punishment is to have our names listed in a book called “The Book of Life.” Jesus spoke clearly of this event while he ministered in Israel two thousand years ago. He taught, "Don't act so surprised at all this. The time is coming when everyone dead and buried will hear his voice. Those who have lived the right way will walk out into a resurrection Life; those who have lived the wrong way, into a resurrection Judgment” [John 5:28-29 TM]. Although our culture likes to use the term, “laid to rest” when someone dies, this is far from the truth. It does not matter whether you believe this or not, God’s Word declares: “Eventually, we're all going to end up kneeling side by side in the place of judgment, facing God. Your critical and condescending ways aren't going to improve your position there one bit. Read it for yourself in Scripture: ‘As I live and breathe,’ God says, ‘every knee will bow before me; Every tongue will tell the honest truth that I and only I am God’" [Romans 14:10-11 TM]. There are no exceptions!

So let’s see if your works are good before God, or if your choices have made you a criminal. Let’s start with God’s ten commandments. [Exodus 20]

1. No other gods, only me. [Some people serve Allah, others serve Hindu deities, others serve Mary the mother of Jesus, etc. Some serve themselves, just like Satan does. If you do not serve Jesus Christ as your sovereign Ruler you have broken this law.]

2. No carved gods of any size, shape, or form of anything whatever, whether of things that fly or walk or swim. [Even if you create a god in your mind, your imagination, you have broken this law. Do you think something like this, “My God would never create a hell or demand I face on a Judgment Day, he is too nice.”] Don't bow down to them and don't serve them because I am GOD, your God, and I'm a most jealous God, punishing the children for any sins their parents pass on to them to the third, and yes, even to the fourth generation of those who hate me. But I'm unswervingly loyal to the thousands who love me and keep my commandments.

3. No using the name of GOD, your God, in curses or silly banter; GOD won't put up with the irreverent use of his name.

4. Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Work six days and do everything you need to do. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to GOD, your God. Don't do any work — not you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your servant, nor your maid, nor your animals, not even the foreign guest visiting in your town. For in six days GOD made Heaven, Earth, and sea, and everything in them; he rested on the seventh day. Therefore GOD blessed the Sabbath day; he set it apart as a holy day.

5. Honor your father and mother so that you'll live a long time in the land that GOD, your God, is giving you.

6. No murder. [If you hate you are guilty—1 John 3:15]

7. No adultery. [Jesus warned if you even look at a person to lust after them you have already broke this law in your heart.]

8. No stealing. [cheat on your taxes, not work as you should]

9. No lies about your neighbor. [all deception]

10. No lusting after your neighbor's house — or wife or servant or maid or ox or donkey. Don't set your heart on anything that is your neighbor's.

Remember you do not have to break every law in our country to be a criminal, just one. That alone makes you a criminal and the police will be after you to bring you to justice. Well, you do not have to break every one of God’s laws, one is sufficient to make you a criminal, yes, an evil sinful person. Our holy judge will punish the “fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death” [Revelation 21:8]. As you see liars are in the same list as murderers. Have you ever told a lie?

The Bible declares Jesus Christ will come to this earth again, but with a different purpose! “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword , that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” [Revelation 19:11-16]

Please understand this final judgment will be by Jesus Christ! He is the Judge of judges and this tribunal will offer no appeals. The verdict is final! God knows every thought you think, every word you speak, and every act you take. Jesus already warned, “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment” [Matthew 12:36]. “God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day” [Psalm 7:11 KJV]. You are misinformed if you think God is too nice to judge you, like any normal person, He is outraged at rapists, murderers, tyrants, thieves, and kidnappers. He hates the hurt and pain that is poured out of mankind toward Him and the human race. He is so just He will judge liars, those who have immoral sex, those who murder their children and change the name to abortion, those who cheat on their taxes, disobey their parents, etc. In the first book of the Bible God reacted to our ancestors of many years ago…

“GOD saw that human evil was out of control. People thought evil, imagined evil — evil, evil, evil from morning to night. GOD was sorry that he had made the human race in the first place; it broke his heart. GOD said, ‘I'll get rid of my ruined creation, make a clean sweep: people, animals, snakes and bugs, birds — the works. I'm sorry I made them.’ But Noah was different. GOD liked what he saw in Noah” [Genesis 6:5-8]. Please think this through, God decides what is evil and what is good, not you or I. The Great Flood was the result of God’s judgment for the same sins you and the others of our world are committing.

In Acts 17 Paul preaches to the community: "The God who made the world and everything in it, this Master of sky and land, doesn't live in custom-made shrines or need the human race to run errands for him, as if he couldn't take care of himself. He makes the creatures; the creatures don't make him. Starting from scratch, he made the entire human race and made the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living so we could seek after God, and not just grope around in the dark but actually find him. He doesn't play hide-and-seek with us. He's not remote; he's near. We live and move in him, can't get away from him! One of your poets said it well: 'We're the God-created.' Well, if we are the God-created, it doesn't make a lot of sense to think we could hire a sculptor to chisel a god out of stone for us, does it? "God overlooks it as long as you don't know any better — but that time is past. The unknown is now known, and he's calling for a radical life-change. He has set a day when the entire human race will be judged and everything set right. And he has already appointed the judge, confirming him before everyone by raising him from the dead."

Again I repeat, the Judge is Jesus Christ and His commands are the standard of His judgment; not your feelings, your own opinion that you are a good person, or personal excuses will save you from His wrath. His delay is not because it is just a religious myth. He delays His final tribunal giving you time to get your name in His book. “Don't overlook the obvious here, friends. With God, one day is as good as a thousand years, a thousand years as a day. God isn't late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn't want anyone lost. He's giving everyone space and time to change. But when the Day of God's Judgment does come, it will be unannounced, like a thief. The sky will collapse with a thunderous bang, everything disintegrating in a huge conflagration, earth and all its works exposed to the scrutiny of Judgment.” [2 Peter 3:8-10]

Your only hope is to get your name in His Book of Life. You see the first visit that God made to this earth as a man was 2000 years ago when God miraculously impregnated Mary, a teen from Israel. You can read about it in Matthew and Luke. She gave birth to a son, God’s promised answer to our judgment. You know you have broken God’s law, right? You know you are guilty, right? You know He is coming to give you what you deserve, right? But, God sent His only begotten son, Jesus, to take the death penalty in your place. That was His passion, to die on the cruel, torturous cross of the Roman Empire and fully satisfy God’s fair judgment aimed at you. He sacrificed His life by taking your place.

So how do you get your name in His book? John an eyewitness and follower of Jesus wrote: "This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. This is the crisis we're in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won't come near it, fearing a painful exposure. But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is... whoever accepts and trusts the Son gets in on everything, life complete and forever! And that is also why the person who avoids and distrusts the Son is in the dark and doesn't see life. All he experiences of God is darkness, and an angry darkness at that."

Get real! Turn from your crimes and accept God’s gift of life through Jesus. Pray like this, “I am a criminal because I have broken your law [name them]. Please forgive me, I am sorry and now give my life to You. Jesus I surrender to your control.” Now read the Bible and obey it! Start in John. Read it until you understand it. Then study Matthew 5-7. Get into a church that believes and obeys the Bible. Be careful, there are false preachers and deceivers all around to confuse you.

Is It Time To Rethink the Bible?

2010-03-01T09:52:00.001-05:00

I've noticed a real error of many Christians, a habit of when they come to a portion of scripture they do not like, they decide they can ignore and trivialize that teaching of God by saying it is not literal or for today. This of course gives them complete freedom from obeying it and they can create a new meaning that fits their fancy. No one does this with the newspaper, but they probably should, since many are being proved to lie and spew out political and social propaganda. But God's Word is an historic revelation from the all knowing God, and He demands you accept it as literal fact. Paul warns Christians to take the Bible seriously. "Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved [tested by trial], a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing—rightly handling and skillfully teaching—the Word of Truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 Amplified Bible

The Bible is God’s Word. Not an interpretation of what some zealous men think God says, but His very Words! The Bible is not a religious piece of literature, but a direct revelation from the mouth of the Living God. It is a supernatural book! The Scripture itself claims this in 2 Tim. 3:16: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,…” The only God is all powerful and able to communicate with man. He not only is able, He has through His written Word, the Holy Bible. To understand the Bible is to understand what God wants man to know at this time. To understand the Bible is to comprehend God’s will and direction for the purpose of becoming a faithful friend and child of God.

Therefore, it is imperative that we read the Bible the same way we read a newspaper, history book or a math book. This is the only valid way to understand God and His Word. We must study it at face value, literally accepting all the natural and normal sense of the text. Obviously we must analyze it to discover what it’s expressions and terms meant to the original audience. For example, in Matthew 6:12 Jesus says “forgive us our debts” which today we would think means “Forget about our financial debts.” But He means sin.

Discover the Authors Intended Meaning

This must be clear, the Bible has only one meaning, but many applications. The meaning is not up to our interpretations, of what we each think it means to us. The author, God, had a specific meaning the moment He inspired human authors to pen the words and our duty is to discover that interpretation. Never substitute what you think it should say!

Instead, investigate the context of every scripture and make sure you do not masquerade your pet theology as truth or develop your spiritual whims by replacing the obvious literal meaning with supposed deeper hidden meaning, as all cults and false teachers do by using their books to explain away what God says. And you cannot turn the Bible into an allegory and therefore release yourself from the literal commands and statements of the Bible to make the Word say anything you want. You cannot bind it to the culture of the day it was written and therefore free yourself to disobey its “archaic moral values.” God is timeless.

Be clear on one more thing, the Bible does not have contradictions. If a contradiction appears to you, continue to analyze all possibilities using other portions of scripture to help you understand God’s Word. Remember the Bible is written in Hebrew and Greek, not English or any other modern language. There are not direct equivalent words for every ancient Greek or Hebrew text. Bias and choices are made by the Bible translators and to find the answers you will need a good concordance. You will find supposed contradictions melt away with a deeper search to understand the Word. Psalm 119:160 warns, “The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.” Find the sum of all the passages that deal with an issue before you claim to understand what God is saying.

Always Allow Scripture to Interpret Itself

In our day, we have found that media can manipulate anyone’s words with small sound bites. Just a few words out of its context can make an enemy sound like a real idiot. But, when further inspection is done to really find out what the person said in the full speech or written article a whole new light of meaning emerges. It is the same with scripture. Always allow God to define what he means, the Bible is a great dictionary of itself. You must find the meaning of words and ideas inside it. Always compare the portion you are trying to understand with other passages of similar content or themes.

“A text without a context is no more than a pretext” is a famous axiom. Context demands finding the point and direction of the entire book of the Bible being studied. Then, focusing on the context of the specific portion being examined with knowing who is being spoken to, the historical backdrop, and the immediate circumstances will help you see the true meaning of what God is teaching. Prooftexting builds an interpretation on the superficial reading of the passage and taken out of context to an absurd conclusion never intended by God.

Define Figures of Speech

According to the book, Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student, a figure of speech is “any deviation either in thought or expression, from the ordinary and simple method of speaking…” and it is a “form of speech artfully varied from common usage.” [Instit. Orat. IX, I. 11, cited by Edward P. J. Corbett, Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student (New York: Oxford Press, 1971), page 640] Such an expression whether it is a simile, metaphor or an idiom is always used to artfully visualize a thought or idea.

A simile is easy to recognize and very useful. Rev. 1:14 is a simple example: “His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire;…” The comparison of simile helps John describe what he really saw, “white like wool, as white as snow” but His hair was not really wool; “His eyes like...fire” but not really a flame but very bright and glowing which helps all his readers understand the glorious appearance of the Lord Jesus.

The metaphor also compares but with an implication, not connecting words [like, as]. A good example is Rev. 12:4 “His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born.” A physical dragon did not stand before Mary when she gave birth to Jesus in Bethlehem. The context must be used to find the figure of speech’s meaning. Or a comparison of other scriptures. We find the definition given in verse 9, “So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Satan tried to devour the child, through Herod who sent soldiers to kill every baby in town, the literal fact behind this metaphor.

Idioms are used even today as expressions of comparison but distorting the literal words to intensify the point. When Jesus confronted Paul for the first time, found in Acts 26:14, Paul describes the incident like this, “And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.' “ Notice the words Christ used were not literal, but an expression of Paul’s resistance to God’s will, like an ox kicking against the prodding of a farmer when using the beast to plow a field.

Another type of Biblical figure of speech is a substitution, where a writer replaces the normal word for a meaningful substitute to increase the impact of the statement. The Jews thought God so sacred to mistakenly even speak His name was sinful. Therefore, they would substitute the word heaven for God. They meant God, but said heaven.

The Bible also uses a form of parallelism to amplify and clarify its message. This is common in poetic forms such as Psalms and Proverbs. Psalm 2:4 states:

“He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;

The Lord shall hold them in derision.”

As you think about it, both lines say the same thought, and both amplify and expand that idea for greater impact. Like a poem, the Hebrew lines tend to have a flow not translatable into foreign languages.

2 Cor. 1:13 “For we are not writing any other things to you than what you read or understand. Now I trust you will understand, even to the end …” God wrote the Bible for everyone to understand, not just scholars and preachers. This is why face value, basic reading is the only way an average Christian would understand God’s will. For example, Biblical leaders and authors never gave any reason to think a secret, hidden meaning exists that only the Watchtower Society, or The Mormon Movement, or The Roman Catholic Institution would have the real answers exclusive to their secret knowledge. Give the Bible to a person who does not know God, put them on a deserted island, and they will be able to understand God’s plan for mankind, God’s opinion on man’s sinful rebellion, and God’s solution and salvation for mankind. And I guarantee you, he will not believe any of these exclusive, separate religious ideas preached by cults or practices privately kept by some religious denominations. Instead the plain and simple reading of the Bible leads to plain and supernatural salvation through the sacrifice and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 5:6 "Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience."

Mark 13:22 "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect."

First Fear, Then Wisdom

2010-02-26T16:52:00.002-05:00

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever." [Psalms 111:10 (NKJV)]

The fuzzy minds of modern religious thought seems paralyzed with twisted fantasies of FREEDOM from God's Law instead of FREEDOM TO OBEY God's even harder and higher demands of Jesus Christ! Jesus did not lower the bar, He raised it. Men are not naturally good people and please God, BUT SLAVES OF SIN, THE DELUSIONAL LIES OF SATAN AND BENT ON REBELLION AGAINST GOD. Jesus Christ did not die on the cross for Christians to disregard HIS WILL, but to cut the bondage of selfish disobedience [sin], and emblazon their hearts to crave the crazy, extreme holy life, of abandonment to His KINGDOM.

For example, Jesus never rebuked the Pharisees for obeying His commands TOO MUCH, or with all their hearts. Many modern day Americans are convinced too much obedience is fanatical and off the wall. This is a misrepresentation of Christ's criticism of the religious leaders of His day. "Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying: 'The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.'" [Matt 23:1-3 (NKJV)] They were not obedient, but fakes and liars. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves..." [Matt 23:15 (NKJV)] They majored on the outward and easy forms of faith and skipped the real stuff. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone." [Matt 23:23 (NKJV)] Many church goers are filled with the culture and practices of the world neglecting the weightier matters, like the Pharisees, not Christ's demands for following Him. The natural conclusion is then, the same criticism Christ gave them, must fall heavily upon the American Church also. Many, many say, and don't do. Don't do what?

The great prophetic promise to Israel was... "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." [Ezek 36:26-27 (NKJV)] Christ taught His followers that they must be and do more than the Pharisees, which they could through the Holy Spirit that would indwell them when they were born again. "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven." [Matt 5:18-20 (NKJV)]

Is righteousness just an abstract idea or a real life change? Jesus goes on to explain that the Law is not canceled but amplified. Your righteousness as a Christian is more than the Law of old. "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.' But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. [Matt 5:21-22 (NKJV)] The world is judged for murder, but the Christian is ordered to do even more than that, and not even be angry! Unbelievers are condemned for adultery, but not the Christian. Instead even the thought of immorality is wrong. "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." [Matt 5:27-28 (NKJV)] The Pharisee is condemned for adultery, but the Christian is not to even think of this sin! The standard for Christians is much higher, and our righteousness must be way above others! "...if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? [Matt 5:47 (NKJV)] The underlying question is repeated over and over from Christ. What do you do more than others?

The Lord Jesus wants His followers to fulfill the Law through their actions. "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." [Matt 7:12 (NKJV)] "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." [Matt 22:36-40 (NKJV)] So how can Christians be free from the Law and still obey the Law?

The Pharisees tried to earn righteousness by their religious law and man made rules but failed because "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Remember Jesus stated that "they say, and do not do." They believed in their heads, but failed to live righteously in spite of their beliefs. They did not have the power to live what they believed in. Our righteousness comes from Christ, it cannot be gained by practicing religion. This would be like you trying to give life to a rubber chicken. "For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith." [Gal 5:5 (NKJV)] The human attempt to follow God's standard is impossible without the miracle of a new heart and a new spirit. And salvation is freely offered to everyone through the death and resurrection of Jesus who paid the death penalty the Law demands for sin. "But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness." [Romans 6:17-18 (NKJV)] That's right, salvation FREES YOU FROM UNRIGHTEOUS LIVING, and DELIVERS YOU INTO SLAVERY TO RIGHTEOUS LIVING.

"Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother." [1 John 3:4-10 (NKJV)]

"A good understanding have all those who do His commandments." Wisdom is finding out what God wants us to do, and doing it. If you are now understanding the will of God and the power of salvation is to fulfill Christ's commands you may still have a problem with fear. We are given a choice in this life, to fear God or man.

To fear the opinions of the U.S. government more than God's Word is foolishness. To follow the scientific or social opinions of the universities over the clear revelation of God's Word is foolishness. To fear the criticism of MTV and your favorite star over your God is foolishness. To mimic your beloved movie star over the Lord Jesus Christ is foolishness. To fear the peer pressure of your fellow workers or students over the principles of conduct of Christ's commands is foolishness. To hope for the praise of people around you, instead of the praise that comes from YOUR CREATOR is foolishness. BUT... "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever." Are you wiser than a first command breaker [Exodus 20]? Is the praise of your friends more important to you than the praise of God?

Overview Of Phase One: The Spiritual Infant

2010-02-26T16:35:00.002-05:00

GOAL: To be freed from the lifestyle of spiritual crime. Deliverance from sinful habits takes focus and effort, and you must learn how to receive God's grace for the power necessary for freedom.

[1 John 2:12 NKJV] I write to you, little children, Because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake.
What does "little children" mean to us? The Greek means...teknion = an infant, i.e. (plural figurative) darlings (Christian converts) :- little children.

From this we can see he is talking about brand new Christians, and like brand new babies the only thing you can say is, "Praise God, you are alive, like a new born baby!" The only truth that the new convert knows and has experienced is that their "sins are forgiven." But, the believer comes with a lot of old baggage, habits, false ideas, wrong attitudes, selfishness, pride, and all kinds of disgusting things to God. In the first steps of repentance and salvation, the sinner admits all known sin, accepts God's mercy of Christ's substitutionary death for their crimes, and surrenders to His Lordship.

So what does the new Christian need, now that they are babes in Christ?
Repent! Repent! Repent! If we can picture a real baby here it will help. What needs to happen to a new baby? They must leave their worthless existence of just lying there helpless and weak; and grow, get stronger, mature, learn to sit up, crawl, and walk. They need to develop communication skills, become self sufficient, then understand the need to care for others, etc. Change needs to happen! A new Christian needs to learn how to grow in grace in order to receive the strength and balance necessary to learn to walk in the Spirit. This simply means to leave the weak life of sin and live rightly through the powerful grace of Christ now pouring out of their spirit.

Yes, pouring out from within them! When you are born again, you are a new creation, all things pass away, and all things become new. The Holy Spirit of God invades your being literally, flooding you with eternal life, God's Spirit with all the power, strength, wisdom, etc. that you will ever need. The old life must be killed off completely, so that godliness can grow and take over.

Here is the old stuff according to Galatians 5:19 NKJV, "Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, [20] idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, [21] envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." The King James breaks it down this way...

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these;

Adultery, [moicheia = adultery]

fornication, [porneia = harlotry (including adultery and incest); figurative idolatry :- fornication]

uncleanness, [akatharsia = impurity (the quality), physical or moral :- uncleanness.

lasciviousness, [aselgeia = continent); licentiousness (sometimes including other vices) :- filthy, lasciviousness, wantonness.

[20] Idolatry, [eidololatreia = image-worship (literal or figurative) :- idolatry]

witchcraft, [pharmakeia = medication (pharmacy), i.e. (by extension) magic (literal or figurative) :- sorcery, witchcraft. In the past drugs were most always connected with sorcery and witchcraft, not recreational like modern society.]

hatred, [echtho (to hate); hateful (passive odious, or active hostile); usually as a noun, an adversary (especially Satan) :- enemy, foe]

variance, [eris = quarrel, i.e. (by implication) wrangling :- contention, debate, strife, variance.]

emulations, [zelos = properly heat, i.e. (figurative)zeal (in a favorable sense, ardor; in an unfavorable one, jealousy, as of a husband [figurative of God], or an enemy, malice) :- emulation, envy (-ing), fervent mind, indignation, jealousy, zeal.]

wrath, [thumos = passion (as if breathing hard) :- fierceness, indignation, wrath.]

strife, [eritheia = properly intrigue, i.e. (by implication) faction :- contention (-ious), strife.]

seditions, [dichostasia = disunion, i.e. (figurative) dissension :- division, sedition.]

heresies, [hairesis = properly a choice, i.e. (special) a party or (abstract) disunion :- heresy [which is the Greek word itself], sect.]

[21] Envyings, [phthonos = ill-will (as detraction), i.e. jealousy (spite) :- envy.]

murders, [phonos = (to slay); murder :- murder, + be slain with, slaughter.]

drunkenness, [methe = apparently a primary word; an intoxicant, i.e. (by implication) intoxication :- drunkenness.]

revellings, [komos = a carousal (as if a letting loose) :- revelling, rioting.]

and such like: [there are more sinful habits also]

of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. [These are spiritual crimes punishable by eternal punishment in hell! How many people do you know that love to party (revelings)? Get smashed and take drugs (witchcraft, drunkenness)? Look again at this list of common everyday practices of the people around you.]

All have sinned, and the first thing God wants of you is to begin drinking in His Word, the Bible, for the purpose of convicting and convincing you of all the wrongs you have been practicing, and continue your humbling process of admitting your sins and repenting of them all. Repenting does not mean you mentally agree they are wrong, but begin to feel like God does about the above list. HATE THEM! Be repulsed by them. Grow in your desire to rid them from your life. Beg God for mercy, forgiveness and the power to turn away from them permanently. This demands diligence on your part to agree with God, leave it forever, and mature.

Think again of a little child. They persist diligently trying to roll over, then sitting, then crawling, and finally standing and walking. It seems to be a growing desire in them to change and mature. Yes, they fall, stumble, and trip; but they get up and try again and again. And when they finally learn to walk, they are weak, unsteady, and inconsistent. New Christians have the same weak, unsteady life that a young child has.

What Process Of Maturity Is Being Done By God?
As quickly as a child learns to change and grow, so the Christian has the same supernatural process going on inside them as the Comforter [The Holy Spirit coach and counselor] helps them as they do their part of reading and diligently studying God's Word [1 Peter 2:2 "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:"] to understand and know God, His ways, and His will for them. And make no mistake, His will is that as quickly as possible you must learn to "Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife" [ 2 Timothy 2:22-23 NKJV]. Grace continues to flow like energy from God pushing and shoving the new baby to hunger for the truth of His Word, hunger for fellowship with the Father, and hunger for a connection with other believers. This relentless process is like the relentless growth of a baby as it puts on weight, enlarges in size, and increases in knowledge.

1/ So the desire of the sincere milk of the Word is the grace of God electrifying and energizing your spirit and soul with holy impulses from the Holy Spirit life within.

2/ Then the constant flow of grace enriches your life to a powerful place of strength to obey His commands and to repent from the dead works of disobedience.

What Does The New Christian Need To Understand?
1. The commands of Jesus Christ!

[Matt 28:18-20 THE MESSAGE] Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: "God authorized and commanded me to commission you: 19 Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 20 Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age." All the commands of Christ must be understood, fully implemented, and practiced. There are at least 49 commands that the Lord gave to pass on to each generation of disciples. So, the major focus must be to fully repent of all sins, by mastering all His commandments. This is now possible with the grace of God rushing through your spirit.

2. Also the new believer must understand the importance of devoting themselves to the fellowship of the church. As you just read the disciples are to train the next generation of Christians. The new babies must see the importance of clinging to mother [the church]. This clinging is explained in Acts 2...

Acts 2:41-47 AMP
41 Therefore those who accepted and welcomed his message were baptized, and there were added that day about 3,000 souls.
42 And they steadfastly persevered, devoting themselves constantly to the instruction and fellowship of the apostles, to the breaking of bread [including the Lord's Supper] and prayers.
43 And a sense of awe (reverential fear) came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were performed through the apostles (the special messengers).
44 And all who believed (who adhered to and trusted in and relied on Jesus Christ) were united and [together] they had everything in common;
45 And they sold their possessions (both their landed property and their movable goods) and distributed the price among all, according as any had need.
46 And day after day they regularly assembled in the temple with united purpose, and in their homes they broke bread [including the Lord's Supper]. They partook of their food with gladness and simplicity and generous hearts,
47 Constantly praising God and being in favor and goodwill with all the people; and the Lord kept adding [to their number] daily those who were being saved [from spiritual death].

All four commitments are absolutely necessary for healthy spiritual growth. This is group devotion to the apostles' doctrine, group devotion to fellowship, etc. Not individually doing these are your own. There is nothing wrong with praying and studying by yourself, but like a baby, you do not know anything! Humble yourself and listen to your elders!

3. There is responsibility on the new believer to wrestle with their past, be honest about their sins, start a campaign to get support from their fellow believers, fight through old dirty habits, and plan on being clean from sin; like drug users or alcoholics do to get freedom from their destructive habits. Most do not see that they are in trouble with sin, or that bad. But, this is God's will for thorough repentance!

Peter explains, "SIMON PETER, a servant and apostle (special messenger) of Jesus Christ, to those who have received (obtained an equal privilege of) like precious faith with ourselves in and through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: May grace (God's favor) and peace (which is perfect well-being, all necessary good, all spiritual prosperity, and freedom from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts) be multiplied to you in [the full, personal, precise, and correct] knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. For His divine power has bestowed upon us all things that [are requisite and suited] to life and godliness, through the [full, personal] knowledge of Him Who called us by and to His own glory and excellence (virtue). By means of these He has bestowed on us His precious and exceedingly great promises, so that through them you may escape [by flight] from the moral decay (rottenness and corruption) that is in the world because of covetousness (lust and greed), and become sharers (partakers) of the divine nature. For this very reason, adding your diligence [to the divine promises], employ every effort in exercising your faith to develop virtue (excellence, resolution, Christian energy)..." [2 Peter 1:1-5 AMP]

Virtue is moral excellence or character, which again, clearly means, to fully obey all Christ's commands. Your heart must be totally committed to this total makeover. With the grace of God flowing inside, the Word of God giving strength, the mature saints supporting and leading you by example, and training you through teaching, your life will change dramatically!

What is the Milk of the Word For the Babies to Study?
1. Milk is baby food. Without teeth you cannot eat steak! So before you get ahead of yourself, make sure you fill yourself with what God calls spiritual milk. Even the first century churches got in trouble by not focusing on the foundational teaching before they jumped ahead to more exciting stuff!

[Heb 5:12-14 AMP] "You actually need someone to teach you over again the very first principles of God's Word. You have come to need milk, not solid food. [13] For everyone who continues to feed on milk is obviously inexperienced and unskilled in the doctrine of righteousness (of conformity to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action), for he is a mere infant [not able to talk yet]! [14] But solid food is for full-grown men, for those whose senses and mental faculties are trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between what is morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to divine or human law."

2. Here is a list of the milk of God's Word...

[Heb 6:1-3 AMP] "THEREFORE LET us go on and get past the elementary stage in the teachings and doctrine of Christ (the Messiah), advancing steadily toward the completeness and perfection that belong to spiritual maturity. Let us not again be laying the foundation of repentance and abandonment of dead works (dead formalism) and of the faith [by which you turned] to God,

2 With teachings about purifying, the laying on of hands, the resurrection from the dead, and eternal judgment and punishment. [These are all matters of which you should have been fully aware long, long ago.]

3 If indeed God permits, we will [now] proceed [to advanced teaching]."

Do you notice all these subjects together focus on turning from sin, and fully obeying Christ as His disciple! Well, this ends the overview we will offer a lot of teaching to help you through this spiritual phase of eternal life! If you have questions remember to contact us personally or through the website [anytimechurch.com]. God bless as you grow up in the faith!

The Four Phases of Christian Life: How Do You Know If You Are Growing Spiriitually?

2010-02-26T16:11:00.001-05:00

The moment of conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ, when you are really born again, the Holy Spirit invades your spirit making you a spiritual infant. This is phase one of the Christian experience. Like physical birth you are "a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!" [2 Cor 5:17 AMP] Now we understand that there are four phases of spiritual life from 1 John, chapter 2. And John describes this first spiritual state with these words, "I am writing to you, little children, because for His name's sake your sins are forgiven {pardoned through His name and on account of confessing His name}." [1 John 2:12 AMP]

PHASE ONE: THE NEW BORN SPIRITUAL INFANT "Little children" is translated from the Greek word for infant, showing the parallel to the natural birth stage of a person. The new baby is alive but weak and totally dependent upon his parents to survive. A new spiritual baby is forgiven, but spiritually ignorant and helpless just like a new born baby. This is where the church family is required to "make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you..." [Matt 28:19-20 AMP] The parents nurture and teach their child everything about life, and the spiritual church family nurtures and teaches all the commands of Christ to their spiritual babies.

PHASE TWO: THE SPIRITUALLY IMMATURE CHILD The next stage of life for the Christian is the immature, child stage. John describes this group of saints like this, "I write to you, boys (lads), because you have come to know (recognize and be aware) of the Father." [1 John 2:13 AMP] The toodler through teenage years are times of great change, learning, and development, but they are still years of immaturity. The difference that is experienced by the believer in this phase, compared to the infant stage is stated to be "because you have come to know the Father." Again John explains it this way, "Here's how we can be sure that we know God in the right way: Keep his commandments." [1 John 2:3 (from THE MESSAGE)] Development and school are a part of the toodler to teen years and so it is to be the same in spiritual maturity. Peter warns these years are hard spiritually, just like growing up can be challenging. He warns, "Don't lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn't know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God's life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, 'I am holy; you be holy.'" [1 Peter 1:14-16 (from THE MESSAGE)] And Paul explains graduating from school is a lot of hard work, "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled." [2 Cor 10:5-6 KJV]

PHASE THREE: THE MATURE SERVANT OF GOD Every parent wants the best for their kids! They need to graduate, get trained, get a good job, and change the world for good, etc. And Your heavenly Father wants you to do the same. You can see phase three in John's words, "I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one." [1 John 2:14 KJV] Three clearly defined things must be achieved to be considered mature according to John. In everyday life, the strong and vigorous young men and women finish school and join the work force, commit to military duty, or enter college for specific training to accomplish their dreams and goals. In a similar manner, strength of character comes from long exposure to God's commands, until they are forged into your nature, and you can be described as not just knowing the words of God's commands, but you live them! God has plans for your future!

Next, the success of every believer is determined as "the Word of God is [always] abiding in you (in your hearts)." [1 John 2:14 AMP] The importance of this in non-optional. To graduate from God's school of obedience and live successfully is founded on this fact. The Lord promised in the Old Testament, "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success." [Josh 1:8 KJV] Don't be lazy, or you will never succeed!

Just like Christ withstood the temptations of the devil, using God's Word that filled His mind and heart, God's will is for you be be mature in your faith so that you also withstand the enemies attacks, and not fall! When Peter explains the seven steps of obedience to climb to spiritual maturity he proclaims, "For as these qualities are yours and increasingly abound in you, they will keep [you] from being idle or unfruitful unto the [full personal] knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed one). For whoever lacks these qualities is blind, [spiritually] shortsighted, seeing only what is near to him, and has become oblivious [to the fact] that he was cleansed from his old sins. Because of this, brethren, be all the more solicitous and eager to make sure (to ratify, to strengthen, to make steadfast) your calling and election; for if you do this, you will never stumble or fall." [2 Peter 1:8-10 AMP] Your success is vital, and Paul reinforces this in his letter to the Ephesians, as he explains the preparation and training necessary to withstand temptation. "Put on God's whole armor [the armor of a heavy-armed soldier which God supplies], that you may be able successfully to stand up against [all] the strategies and the deceits of the devil." [Eph 6:11 AMP]

After Jesus withstood the evil day of great temptations, He then began His ministry. Therefore, we can understand then, to graduate from phase two, the school of immaturity, is to begin phase three, which is to follow our Lord's example and serve our Lord. God uses the strong and vigorous, truth filled saints because "the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds..." [2 Cor 10:4 AMP] The work required to see hardened sinners converted, the church healthy and strong, and the culture and communities transformed is a spiritual task beyond any human plan or effort. Remember the immature disciples were unable to help people who were strongly controlled by the enemy. At that point, the Lord Jesus "said unto them, 'This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.'" [Mark 9:29 KJV] Paul adds, "For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the despotisms, against the powers, against [the master spirits who are] the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere." [Eph 6:12 AMP] The eternal destiny of your world is no joke, and it takes strong, dedicated believers to serve the King of Kings, relying on God's power to fulfill His mission.

PHASE FOUR: THE EXPERIENCED TEACHER OR MENTOR Finally, as time and experience take their course God intends for every believer to move into the final phase of their maturity. Spiritual grandfathers and grandmothers are essential to the stability and future of the church. John used a word for phase three Christians, "young men," that in normal usage then described a man up to forty years old. Then a new phase of life was entered. In the same fashion God expects the battle hardened veteran to slow down and pass on the legacy of the faith to others. John uses the words, "fathers, because you have come to know (recognize, be conscious of, and understand) Him Who [has existed] from the beginning." [1 John 2:14 AMP] The understanding and wisdom of the faithful servant must be passed on to the next generation or the church weakens and fails to be the testimony of Christ Jesus. Let these words sink into your heart, "By this time you ought to be teachers yourselves..." [Heb 5:12 (from THE MESSAGE)] Time, not a special calling, is clearly voiced as the reason to become a teacher in the church. This is the reason you find in Acts the church leaders are called, elders, with teaching responsibility. This is why Paul ordered Titus to teach to the end that "the older women similarly to be reverent and devout in their deportment as becomes those engaged in sacred service... They are to give good counsel and be teachers of what is right and noble, so that they will wisely train the young women..." [Titus 2:3-4 AMP

Now that you understand the four phases of spiritual life, you need to know what God requires of you to grow spiritually and please your Lord. We are not left to our own opinions for this, but God's Word provides clear steps of action for every Christian to take. This is covered in the Seven Steps of Obedience To Spiritual Maturity found in 2 Peter 1. Do you love the Lord? Are you willing to grow up and serve Him? I pray that you do!

Who Is The Real Jesus?

2010-02-16T21:51:00.005-05:00

Argument #1

There is no evidence He ever existed… he is like the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus.

Answer

Of all the religions of the world, only Christianity stakes its credibility upon historical fact. The philosopher, lawyer, and theologian John Warwick Montgomery states, “The historic Christian claim differs qualitatively from the claims of all other religions at the epistemological point: on the issue of testability.” Only Christianity stakes its claim to truthfulness on historical events open to all critics to investigate. And like any truth it stands up to all tests.

All other religions of the world are believed by millions or billions of people despite the lack of genuine evidence for their claims. No genuinely historical and objective evidence exists for the foundational claims of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, or any other religion except the claims of Christ! All others depend on subjective evidences or blind faith. Dr. Henry Morris a scientist and Christian states: “As a matter of fact, the entire subject of evidences is almost exclusively the domain of Christian evidences. Other religions depend on subjective experience and blind faith, tradition and opinion. Christianity stands or falls upon the objective reality of gigantic supernatural events in history and the evidences therefore. The fact in itself is an evidence of its truth.”

First we must address the Bible record and determine whether it is a true historical document of eyewitness accounts or another religious fraud. Many scholars, lawyers, and skeptics have determined to prove it so, but have failed. For example the famous British scholar and archaeologist Sir William Ramsey was convinced the Bible was fraudulent. So he went to Israel on an expedition to dig up the evidence to prove the New Testament was manufactured by religious men years after the supposed events.

After fifteen years he proved that Paul lived, traveled and wrote a lot of the New Testament. Over the next twenty years he documented evidence in the most minute detail of most events of the New Testament. He proclaimed, “Luke’s history is unsurpassed in respect of its trustworthiness…” And admitted “Luke is a historian of the first rank… In short, this author should be placed along with the very greatest of historians.”

Outside historical evidence demands acceptance of Christ’s existence also. The Roman historian Tactitus mentioned Jesus three times. Josephus was a Pharisee and a priest, and as a Jewish historian wrote: “Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was Christ, and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him: for he appeared to them alive again the third day: as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians so named from him are not extinct at this day” [Antiquities of the Jews, Book XVIII, Chapter III, Section3].

Argument #2

He was nothing like the man described in the Bible. The church changed the Bible at one of their church councils.

Answer

Again this accusation is not based on historical fact. Even the enemies of Christ in Israel recorded in The Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin, 43a that Jesus was a sorcery because he did miracles. Luke 11:15 reports the Jewish leaders said, “He casts out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils.” Since they rejected him as their Messiah they had to come up with a reason for his miraculous activities. If his enemies admitted his supernatural life then the evidence had to be overwhelming as the New Testament affirms.

Next, empirical evidence refutes the assumption the church changed the Bible to make Jesus sound so miraculous. The first church council was 325 A.D., almost three hundred years after Christ died. By that time thousands of copies of the New Testament books were already spread across the world and it would have been impossible to gather them all up and fix them. From the documents of church pastors and leaders who wrote letters to one another in the years 100 A.D. to 300 A.D. every verse of the New Testament except eight was quoted and has currently been verified to match the current New Testament. Since we have manuscripts and pieces dating before the first church council that completely agree with our present versions this argument is a worthless myth. Remember these people lived in a primitive world without telephones, television, and modern transportation. They could not find everybody in the world to fix the Bible three hundred years after the fact. Archeologist William Albright made exhaustive studies and concluded, “In my opinion, every book of the New Testament was written by a baptized Jew between the 40s and 80s of the first century… very probably sometime between AD 50 and 75.

”The evidence for the authenticity of the New Testament is many times greater than any other ancient historical document. A simple example is Caesar's first century account of the Gallic Wars. This is the only record of these wars and no one has questioned their reliability. There are no originals and the ten copies in existence were written in 900-950 A.D. Modern skeptics refuse to treat the truths of the New Testament and the Bible like this document. For example, Michael Grant, a Fellow of Trinity College in Cambridge Great Britain has written books such as The Twelve Caesars and The Army of the Caesars and admits this. He wrote, “But if we apply the same sort of criteria that we would apply to any other ancient literary sources, then the evidence is firm and plausible enough to necessitate the conclusion that the tomb was indeed found empty.”

Argument #3

He was only a good man and a teacher.

Answer

This is a problem because Jesus claimed he was one with God [John 10:30] and came to save the world from their sin [John 3:16,17; 12:47]. It is not good to make claims that are not true. This would leave him a liar or a lunatic. But if he came to save us from sin as he claimed he could not be just a good teacher. Peter lived in direct contact with Jesus for three years and claimed he Messiah and sinless. “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth” [1 Peter 2:22 NIV].

Good teachers do not rise from the dead. No other religion makes such claims and the resurrection of Jesus has more historical evidence than any other miracle in history. After Christ rose he appeared to over five hundred people at one time. On multiple other times he spoke with, ate with, and showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days” [Acts 1:3] these many eyewitnesses would not be shut up as they spread across the world proclaiming this truth. The goodness of Jesus did not change the world, the truth of the resurrection did.

Argument #4

He never claimed to be God.

Answer

Yes he did and his enemies understood it and used it to condemn him to the cross. When he asked his followers what others were saying about him, Peter said he was Messiah [Christ]. When we examine Matthew 16:15-17 it is clear Jesus accepted this title. John also makes it clear he was the Messiah. Isaiah the prophet made it clear hundreds of years beforehand that the Messiah would be “Mighty God” [Isaiah 9:6]. Jesus was hated by his enemies because he taught the people to believe in him as God [John 5:18; 10:30-31]. He even applied a well known title of God to himself [John 8:56-59]. He would go around and forgive people of their sins. Only God can forgive sins [Mark 2:5-7]. Jesus answered directly to the Jewish leaders at his trial that he was God [Mark 14:61-64].

Not only this, he fulfilled all prophecies of the promised Messiah or Savior. A few are listed:

He will betrayed by a friend [Psalm 41:9; Matthew 26:49]

The price of his betrayal will be thirty pieces of silver [Zechariah 11:12; Matthew 27:5]

His betrayal money was to be cast to the floor of a temple [Zechariah 11:13; Matthew 27:5]

He would be forsaken and deserted by his followers [Zechariah 13:7; Mark 14:50]

He would die 483 years after the declaration of Artaxerxes to rebuild the temple of Jerusalem in 444 B.C. [Daniel 9:24]

He would be buried in a rich man’s tomb [Isaiah 53:9; Matthew 27:57-60]

He would come back to life on the third day after his death and ascend to heaven [Psalm 16:10; Acts 2:31]

And finally, Jesus performed his miracles to prove he was God.

Calmed a storm [Matthew 8]

Walked on water [Mark 6]

Healed a paralyzed man [Luke 5]

Raised a dead boy [Luke 7]

Is Jesus your God and King?

Jesus cannot be seen as just another man! We are all confronted by the facts of his life and this forces us to make a decision. The scripture records these truths in much detail so we all can believe and act upon these facts.

You cannot dismiss him as irrelevant! It is intellectual suicide to simply ignore the truth. The day Christ rode the donkey into Jerusalem the multitudes proclaimed him as their Messiah King. They believed because he proved his deity. You cannot afford to dismiss Him!

Conclusion:

“I know men; and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between Him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander the Great, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I myself have found empires; but upon what do these creations of our genius depend? Upon force. Jesus alone founded his empire upon love; and to this day millions would die for Him.” Napoleon

Who Is God?

2010-02-16T20:34:00.004-05:00

The first thing we must admit is that the only way we know anybody is by meeting them personally or having someone who has, tell us about that person. When we speak of God we must use the same principle. The only way we can know God is if He introduces Himself to us or someone who has met Him, shares that information with us.

A second concern arises then, what if two, three or one hundred people say they know God and everyone describes Him differently and in contradiction? How do we know which person is telling the truth and the other ones are confused or lying? And more to the point, what makes the Bible believable and its description of God accurate?

The answer is simple. Every historical, archeological, scientific, and prophetic statement made in the Bible is absolutely true. Even to the point where scientific information for example, is stated correctly when the men of the day did not understand it yet. In contrast, Hindus say the earth was formed on top of elephant backs, standing on turtles, etc. Mormons claim a civilization lived in America and Jesus visited them 2000 years ago. No archeological evidence supports this. Jehovah’s Witnesses claimed prophetic returns of Jesus and they never happened and then had to cover up their past untrue statements.

And these are just a few examples of every other religious book and its claims. Whereas, the Bible is still constantly being proven true as more and more discoveries are being made. Hundreds of prophecies about the coming Messiah – Jesus, were all fulfilled. In a court of law, the Bible would stand against every religion and claim. This is why the Bible’s description of God is so important! The following claims are from its pages.

God always existed, not the universe. God is all powerful, all knowing, everywhere, and nothing is impossible for Him to do. He is holy, just, pure, love, and all truth.

God has an appearance:
Hebrews 12:29 …our God is a consuming fire.
Exodus 19: 16-20…Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended…whole mountain quaked.
Exodus 33:18-23 [Moses said to God] “Please show me Your glory?” Then He said, “I will make My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” And the Lord said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”

Daniel 7:9-10 As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took His seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him.

Compare these descriptions with Revelation, chapters 1 and 19. God has an appearance but so different from us that looking at His face would kill us. He is described by eyewitnesses as being so powerful and explosive in presence that people were always afraid. The glowing supernatural presence is frightening. Now the next description is very hard to understand.

God is a trinity The prophecy foretold:
Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; … and His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Matthew 1:22-23 The fulfillment hundreds of years later:
She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name JESUS…which means, “God with us.”
Matthew 3:16-17 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven [sky] was opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on Him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.”

The Trinity is revealed as God the [Everlasting] Father [voice from heaven], God the Son [Jesus standing in the river], and God the [Counselor] Holy Spirit [visible in the sky just above Jesus]. We do not believe in three different Gods. The Bible makes it clear there is only one God. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!” Deuteronomy 6:4 This is taken by faith, because it is hard to understand. But both facts are together, not contradictory.

Jesus is the second person of the trinity, He is God
So Jesus always existed, He was not created. He miraculously became a human for a short time. While on earth He demonstrated that He has supernatural power and authority beyond anyone. Then His resurrection and ascension are further proof of His deity.

Also, Jesus took part in creation.
All things were created through Him Colossians 2:9
John 1:3-14 Through Him all things were made; …
[Jesus] the Word became a flesh… [human]

Without being any less God, He also became fully human by being born the child of Mary, miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit. He grew up from a child to a man being tempted to disobey God in all ways like us. And he lived normally, for example, He got tired, hungry, thirsty, etc. Also He died.

Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 2:52; John 4:6; Hebrews 4:15
Jesus is the Messiah promised by God
Christ [Greek] = Messiah [Hebrew]
Jesus [Greek] = Yeshua = Joshua [Hebrew]

The Bible clearly claims that Jesus of Nazareth is the Promised One from the Old Testament. Matthew 16:16 “You are the Christ…” Mark 14:61-62; John 1:40-41; 4:25-26; Acts 2:36 Jesus is sinless, yes, the only person who is perfect. As the God-man on earth He was totally obedient to the Father. He was tempted in all ways like us but did not ever sin against God‘s Law, he never broke the Law. John 8:46; Romans 5:19; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:22

The Bible also makes it clear that Messiah Jesus is our Savior from the criminal violations that we have committed. Jesus did not need to pay the death penalty for law breaking for himself, instead He died for you and me. His resurrection guarantees pardon and eternal life for all of us who admit our crimes, plead for forgiveness through Christ‘s sacrifice on our behalf, and repent [turn from our ways to follow Christ’s commands and example]. We can be freed from sin and have a personal relationship with God through Jesus.

Jesus is our example:
While on earth, Jesus taught and modeled how God wants us to live. Remember He is God. He illustrated His compassion for people. Reading Matthew through John shows God’s intolerance of injustice, obedience and devotion to authority, and many other real standards of motive and action. All given to teach us how to live. John 13:1-5; Ephesians 5:1-2; 1 Peter 1:14-15; 2:21-23; 1 John 2:4-6

Jesus is Lord
Lord is the term the Jews used in Jesus’ day for God. But also it was used in common terms for earthly masters or bosses. Therefore, we can see the importance of understanding that God wants us to show respect and honor to Him by obeying His will. Again this is the concept of repentance, changing from running your life your way, to following Jesus and serving Him.
Romans 10:12-13; Philippians 2:9-11

Jesus is our Intercessor
He is the one mediator between God and man. We can only say we know God and love Him when we love Jesus and obey Him. God came to us through Jesus. He is the way to God and heaven, the absolute truth, and the only way for any man to receive eternal life and go to heaven when we die. Now He is seated at the right hand of the Father, being the place of honor and He is always there to defend us. Romans 8:34-39; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Hebrews 7:23-25; 1 John 2:1-2

Finally, Jesus will return physically to this planet when the time is right. It will be a time of reward and judgment where Christians will be rewarded and live with Him forever. Matthew 16:27; 24:36-42; John 14:1-3; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 22:12-13

So check out the facts. Then begin to understand God by the eyewitness accounts written between 40-90 AD and autobiographical revelations of God as given through the Bible. He created the universe, He intervened in the lives of people from the beginning, He shows mercy to all rebels that hate Him and defy Him if they humble themselves, admit their crimes and traitorous acts of rebellion, accept His provision of reconciliation, the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, in their place, and follow His Son in obedience. Will you?

Does Doctrine Matter?

2010-02-16T17:16:00.005-05:00

2 John 1:9-10 NKJV Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. [10] If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him;

If you drift through the modern American churches it will not take long to hear the echo of “...doctrine is not important, it just divides the church. Let’s unite and show God’s love!” This new tolerance message proclaims all brothers are equal before God anyway, and it is pride that demands one group or denomination is right, condemning the others. Well, John makes it Biblical, true doctrine is supposed to divide [verse 10]! We are not talking about small issues that are not clearly defined in scripture, but the plain truth.

Our Lord has strong emotional feelings about wrong doctrine. Rev. 2:14-15 quotes Jesus as saying, “But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. [15] Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.” [NKJV] Since Jesus Christ hates wrong doctrine, he warns those believers who do not care about His doctrine to “Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth” [Rev. 2:16]. Doctrine is such an important issue with God He warns us He will fight us if we do not follow His teaching. It seems doctrine is important!

Since John makes it clear in our text that anyone who does not live out the doctrine of Christ is going to hell whether religious or not, believing and living out Christ’s teaching is significant and non-optional [verse 9]. You would not know it from our modern churches. Barna research shows just 9% of the adults claiming to be born again has a biblical worldview. This falls to 7% of protestants in general. This is based on the doctrine that absolute moral truth exists and founded in six core beliefs: the accuracy of Bible teaching, the sinless nature of the Lord Jesus, the literal existence of the devil, the all knowing and all powerfulness of God, salvation by the mercy and grace of God alone, and the responsibility of each Christian to obey the great commission.

This is further explored through pastoral leadership. Southern Baptist pastors are the most Biblical [71%], other Baptist churches were next [57%], then followed non-denominational protestant pastors [51%], charismatic and Pentecostal [44%], pastors of black churches [35%], leading mainline denominations [28%] and United Methodist [27%]. [Read the whole report, Only Half of Protestant Pastors Have a Biblical View, online at Barna.org.] The immoral choices and practices of the majority of church attendees is now clearly exposed!

Since the majority of pastors reject doctrinal truth they do not call people to repentance and obedience to God’s doctrinal standards. Paul commands preachers to “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. [3] For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; [4] and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables” [2 Tim. 4:2-4 NKJV]. Since less than 10% of adult church members want to live Biblical lives, pastors who rebuke and exhort their congregations to absolute truth and obedience are not going to be popular or have jobs.

As the majority of pastors preach false comfort and eternal life without obedience, people feel good about themselves. Rejecting the absolute commands of Christ and His Word the congregations live their lives satisfying their own desires and feel comfortable and safe believing the fable that they are going to heaven too! This always starts on false ideas and teaching and then is lived out in lifestyle. This is seen in what is preached, but also in what is ignored! Does your pastor rebuke and exhort you on a regular basis? Or do you like [your own desires] the quiet encouraging type?

For example, false doctrinal teaching about marriage, divorce, and sexual activity outside of marriage [one man and one woman] throws stumbling blocks before this nation. Broken homes permanently harm children emotionally and leave bitterness and frustration. The government pays out billions of dollars trying to support single moms and their children. Billions are spent on insurance and medical expenses for sexually transmitted diseases. Millions of babies are murdered through abortions. All this because people ignore God’s loving commands protecting and providing life in a better way. Is doctrine important?

Doctrine is the Foundation of Life Change!
“All scripture” is given to us by God to change our life styles after we are born again in Christ. The “apostles’ doctrine” [Acts 2:42] was based on Christ’s commands not suggestions [Matthew 28:20]. One of the earliest documents of the church is a pass around work called “The Didache of the Apostles,” which is the Greek word for doctrine. Paul commanded all Christians to change, beginning with right doctrine, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” [Romans 12:2].

“Exhort bondservants to be obedient to their own masters [authorities], to be well pleasing in all things, not answering back, [10] not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.

[11] For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, [12] teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts [selfish desires], we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, [13] looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, [14] who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. [15] Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.

[3:1] Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, [2] to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. [3] For we ourselves were also once [past not present] foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. [4] But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, [5] not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, [6] whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, [7] that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. [8] This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men” [Titus 2:9-3:8 NKJ].

What Steps Should You Take to Please God?

First, if you are under the teaching of a pastor or church that is not teaching the whole absolute truth of God leave. “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him.” But you say, “I like my church!” I know you are protesting because your friends and family are there. Or you might have already decided the Biblical church is boring, the music is dead, the pastor preaches too long, etc. Repent! “Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them” [Romans 16:17].

Then, join a Biblical church and take responsibility. “...be careful to maintain good works.” The people of your city are going to hell! It is not what you like that matters, join a team of believers who are fulfilling God’s purposes and get busy.

Step 1: With All Diligence Add Virtue

2008-08-04T11:38:00.006-04:00

For this very reason, adding your diligence [to the divine promises], employ every effort in exercising your faith to develop virtue (excellence, resolution, Christian energy)..." [2 Peter 1:3-5 AMP] 2 Peter 1:3-5 [4] We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you — your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust. [5] So don't lose a minute in building on what you've been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, (from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)

The Lord Jesus died for you. He bought you from the terrible slave master, Satan, with His own blood at the cross of Calvary, over 2000 years ago. Your sin [the one or many criminal acts of disobedience to God's Law] kept you under God's wrath and final judgment as you lived and acted like the devil. God's wrath and demand for justice is the same as the demand for justice that the U.S. government demands for all criminals who break the law. The same disgust that anyone has for the rape and murder of a little child, is the same feeling and hatred that God has toward all spiritual crimes of sin.

But if you are now born again, as a new believer, you have your sins forgiven [1 John 2:12], but like a new born baby you are totally weak and helpless to do that which is right before God. You are now a new spiritual creation, but like an infant with no strength, you are trapped and can only lay helpless and drink milk. It will take months of life before the newborn can be strong enough to lift his head, control his arms, sit up, crawl, and stand up and finally walk. The intent of the parent and God is for the child to forever leave behind that helplessness and weakness to the end that he can get up and walk and talk for the rest of his life. At this point they are only interested in these basic developments, and are not yet concerned in the infant going to college, riding a bike, or playing baseball.

Just like weakness and helplessness is the state of a new baby, sin is the overpowering force that weakens and overwhelms all mankind. And like a baby, this weakness must be overcome completely and left behind forever so that standing and walking is the new way of life. God's will is plain, he wants you to put all your faith into a powerful resolve to completely and totally repent [turning away] from all sin, overcoming all sinful acts, breaking all sinful habits, and learning to walk totally free in the Spirit of freedom and obedience. You are a born again "Child of Obedience." Peter makes it clear:

1 Peter 1:14-19 AMP
14 [Live] as children of obedience [to God]; do not conform yourselves to the evil desires [that governed you] in your former ignorance [when you did not know the requirements of the Gospel].

15 But as the one Who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all your conduct and manner of living.

16 For it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy. [Lev 11:44,45.]

17 And if you call upon Him as [your] Father Who judges each one impartially according to what he does, [then] you should conduct yourselves with true reverence throughout the time of your temporary residence [on the earth, whether long or short].

18 You must know (recognize) that you were redeemed (ransomed) from the useless (fruitless) way of living inherited by tradition from [your] forefathers, not with corruptible things [such as] silver and gold,

19 But [you were purchased] with the precious blood of Christ (the Messiah), like that of a [sacrificial] lamb without blemish or spot.

God's will then is for you to take your first action step, which is to concentrate on your repentance. Like an addict who fights to be free using a sponsor, group meetings, and every means necessary for deliverance, so you must focus your attention using all diligence [Greek word from Bible = to “speed” (“study”), i.e. urge on (diligently or earnestly); by implication to await eagerly :- (make, with) haste unto.] What this means is, if it takes a year or more of constant struggle and effort, do not let anything distract you from this process, because this is God's will for your life!

So where do you begin? Remember at first an infant is so weak it can only drink milk. So, too, you need to start by drinking the milk of God's Word, you will need spiritual strength. And yes, the Bible is big, and has a lot to say. But wait a minute, like the infant, only concentrate on the milk, not the whole Bible. You will have plenty of time later to get into the meaty stuff. So what is the milk? The Bible tells us...

"By now you should be teachers. Instead, you still need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word. You need milk, not solid food. [13] All those who live on milk lack the experience to talk about what is right. They are still babies. [14] However, solid food is for mature people, whose minds are trained by practice to know the difference between good and evil."

"[6:1] With this in mind, we should stop going over the elementary truths about Christ and move on to topics for more mature people. We shouldn't repeat the basics about turning away from the useless things we did and the basics about faith in God. [2] We shouldn't repeat the basic teachings about such things as baptisms, setting people apart for holy tasks, dead people coming back to life, and eternal judgment. [Hebrews 5:12-6:2 God's Word]"

First notice you must begin drinking the milk that focuses on telling you what is right and what is wrong. You must look for the places that explain what sin is [what is wrong to do] and also find what the Bible says what to do [righteousness]. You will have to put great effort into this, you must drink much and often in this one area until your mind is "trained by practice to know the difference between good and evil." Therefore start with the Ten Commandments as explained in Exodus 20. Read Gal 5:19-21 AMP: "Now the doings (practices) of the flesh are clear (obvious): they are immorality, impurity, indecency, Idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger (ill temper), selfishness, divisions (dissensions), party spirit (factions, sects with peculiar opinions, heresies), Envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."

Find in the Bible the places That people will say are negative, the places that tell you what sin is. Look up the words until you understand them. Be thorough in your pursuit of the truth. Paul told the yound believer Timothy; "Lust for money brings trouble and nothing but trouble. Going down that path, some lose their footing in the faith completely and live to regret it bitterly ever after. But you, Timothy, man of God: Run for your life from all this. Pursue a righteous life — a life of wonder, faith, love, steadiness, courtesy. Run hard and fast in the faith. Seize the eternal life, the life you were called to, the life you so fervently embraced in the presence of so many witnesses." (1 Tim 6:10-12 from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)

You must understand the habits, bondage, and evil of the "normal person," without Jesus. God's perspective is far different than man's! This is why much time is spent in the New Testament explaining this sinful condition and the difference between right and wrong. God says all Christians' past, your past, before new birth, was a demonic, devil inspired life of total selfish evil. Most do not feel that about themselves.

Listen carefully to Ephesians 2:1-3 [AMP] "AND YOU [He made alive], when you were dead (slain) by [your] trespasses and sins in which at one time you walked [habitually]. You were following the course and fashion of this world [were under the sway of the tendency of this present age], following the prince of the power of the air. [You were obedient to and under the control of] the [demon] spirit that still constantly works in the sons of disobedience [the careless, the rebellious, and the unbelieving, who go against the purposes of God]. Among these we as well as you once lived and conducted ourselves in the passions of our flesh [our behavior governed by our corrupt and sensual nature], obeying the impulses of the flesh and the thoughts of the mind [our cravings dictated by our senses and our dark imaginings]. We were then by nature children of [God's] wrath and heirs of [His] indignation, like the rest of mankind."

Then read and study Matthew 5-7 looking for the commands of your Lord Jesus. You probably will not comphrehend what he wants you to do, or you may find yourself to weak to do them. But, do not lose heart, begin exercising your muscles like the infant, step by step working at the commands. If you watch a little child they never give up trying to reach things, touch things, and taste things. There is an unexplained desire to grow up even when it seems no changes happen for days. Slowly and almost unnoticed they get stronger and stronger and after months make steps of progress. After failing many, many times they achieve a new level, whether it is rolling over, or finally standing up.

You too have a powerful ally working inside your spirit, the mighty Holy Spirit of God is training you to walk in obedience. As He releases grace it starts all kinds of desires to please God, He points you to important scriptures, convicts you of wrong and blasts your conscience as you blow it and disobey. You will find growing desires to please God, growing willfulness to stop your disobedience, and slowly you will find increased strength and longings to be free from the bondage of sin accompanied with new power to stand up in righteous living. My experience was excruciating because I was ignorant and had no mentor or teacher to explain to me what was happening. I cried out to God with many tears because this longing for freedom grew to such a feverish pitch I thought God was not listening to me. I was not patient like a baby, but felt abandoned by God. I was wrong!

These feelings were the direct result of great grace releasing inside of me to "Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart." [2 Timothy 2:22 NKJV] Do not under estimate this powerful grace! The standard of the Law that convicts sinners to eternal judgment, is the normal lifestyle of a Spirit born Christian empowered by this steady release of grace. As Paul explains, "And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the Messiah) have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature) with its passions and appetites and desires. If we live by the [Holy] Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. [If by the Holy Spirit we have our life in God, let us go forward walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit.]" [Gal 5:24-25 AMP]

Do not neglect this first step of the Christian life. Just like the normal development of a child, you cannot go to school until you learn to walk and talk, feed yourself, etc. And remember infants get bruises and bloody lips attempting to walk, but they do eventually walk. You will honor God by the intensity of your efforts to please your Heavenly Father. Leave the overwhelming ignorance and weakness that sin does to you and take the promises of grace and power forcibly to the level of walking in the Spirit!

Eph 4:17-24 (from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)

And so I insist — and God backs me up on this — that there be no going along with the crowd, the empty-headed, mindless crowd. [18] They've refused for so long to deal with God that they've lost touch not only with God but with reality itself. [19] They can't think straight anymore. Feeling no pain, they let themselves go in sexual obsession, addicted to every sort of perversion.

[20] But that's no life for you. You learned Christ! 21 My assumption is that you have paid careful attention to him, been well instructed in the truth precisely as we have it in Jesus. [22] Since, then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything — and I do mean everything — connected with that old way of life has to go. It's rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life — a God-fashioned life, [23] a life renewed from the inside [24] and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.

Step 3: With All Diligence Add Self-Control

2007-11-12T14:29:00.002-05:00

To become strong enough in character to overcome temptation takes a huge amount of time and learning. God will not hit you over the head with a magic wand and say, "Now you have received the gift of strength, go now and sin no more!" Instead you must study long and hard and know God's Word inside and out. You must have true spiritual knowledge from the leading of the Holy Spirit within you, and the reading and mediating of His truth with your mind. Your training is for moral and mental toughness to be able to stand against everything Satan throws at you to discourage you from fulfilling your mission from God. You must use your knowledge to gain the next step!

Let's look at the life of Christ to help you comphrehend this important factor. When Christ was twelve, he went to Jerusalem with His family and got involved with the scholars of Judaism. His family lost track of him and were frantic until they found Him in the temple with the religious leaders. Luke describes the reation of the leaders, "After three days they found Him [came upon Him] in the [court of the] temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astonished and overwhelmed with bewildered wonder at His intelligence and understanding and His replies." [Luke 2:46-47 AMP] He had such knowledge that He blew away the smartest and most scholarly religious leaders of the whole nation as a twelve year old, but He was not ready for His mission. His knowledge needed to be exercised for the next eighteen years to stregthen him for His amazing task. "And He went down with them and came to Nazareth and was [habitually] obedient to them; and his mother kept and closely and persistently guarded all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom (in broad and full understanding) and in stature and years, and in favor with God and man." [Luke 2:51,52 AMP]

For eighteen years Jesus waited for his mission and obeyed His earthly parents, learned to interact with His brothers and sisters, trained and became a carpenter, and exercised His knowledge to love His Father and His earthly family. He served His family and gained wisdom and full understanding through this life experience.

Our Lord needed to have self-control, an inward strength that never caves in under pressure or temptation, to satisfy the Father and fulfill His mission of the salvation of mankind. His learning development was more than just saying, 'He was God in the flesh.' The flesh part still made Him a human, and therefore He had to learn strength through hard trials and experiences. In Hebrews we find this description,"Though he was God's Son, he learned trusting-obedience by what he suffered, just as we do." [Hebrews 5:8 from THE MESSAGE] I hope through this verse you will understand that God's will for you is to be a spiritual adult that is strong and obedient just like Christ. Your training must be understood to be all incompassing like a professional football coach would train his players. Read carefully this next portion of scripture and change your mind about discipleship and serving Christ.

We read in the Luke 4:1-2 from the Amplified Bible, "THEN JESUS, full of and controlled by the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led in [by] the [Holy] Spirit [2] For (during) forty days in the wilderness (desert), where He was tempted ( tried, tested exceedingly) by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they were completed, He was hungry." [Deut 9:9; 1 Kings 19:8.]

The coach, the Holy Spirit, pushed Jesus into isolation, with no food, and was allowed to be ruthlessly attacked by the devil until he was near starvation. This trial was overwhelming without the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit releasing His power within the Lord as stated here, and remember it says He was tempted and tested exceedingly! Without the inward strength of self-control no man would have survived such an onslaught, but would have given in and sinned against God. Does this say anything to you about your attitude of sin and "I can ask for forgiveness later." God's will for you in self-control is to stand against temptation without failing and sinning again and again. Football players get tougher and stronger through tough practices by playing against strong opponents who try with all their might to defeat them. Therefore if you fail, God does not quit with a true believer, but increases the training as He directly compares you to Jesus...

"Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]. He, for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God. [Ps 110:1.] [3] Just think of Him Who endured from sinners such grievous opposition and bitter hostility against Himself [reckon up and consider it all in comparison with your trials], so that you may not grow weary or exhausted, losing heart and relaxing and fainting in your minds. [4] You have not yet struggled and fought agonizingly against sin, nor have you yet resisted and withstood to the point of pouring out your [own] blood. [5] And have you [completely] forgotten the divine word of appeal and encouragement in which you are reasoned with and addressed as sons? My son, do not think lightly or scorn to submit to the correction and discipline of the Lord, nor lose courage and give up and faint when you are reproved or corrected by Him; [6] For the Lord corrects and disciplines everyone whom He loves, and He punishes, even scourges, every son whom He accepts and welcomes to His heart and cherishes. [7] You must submit to and endure [correction] for discipline; God is dealing with you as with sons. For what son is there whom his father does not [thus] train and correct and discipline?" [Heb 12:2-7 AMP]

You might not want this kind of training, but believe me, it does not matter what you like. The Father unleashes the Holy Spirit, your coach also, to drag you into obedience through trials and tribulation, so submit to His mighty hand because His will is for you to get tough and stand against the devil, just like Jesus did!

"In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides]. [11] Put on God's whole armor [the armor of a heavy-armed soldier which God supplies], that you may be able successfully to stand up against [all] the strategies and the deceits of the devil. [12] For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the despotisms, against the powers, against [the master spirits who are] the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere. [13] Therefore put on God's complete armor, that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day [of danger], and, having done all [the crisis demands], to stand [firmly in your place]." [Eph 6:10-13 AMP]

The Lord's final exam, ending His training, was the terrible temptations for 40 days in the wilderness. He finished those 40 days to be given three more choices that demanded every bit of self-control He had. As he was starving and He had no sign of the wilderness experience being over, Jesus was tempted to use the supernatural power He possessed to turn stones into food without specific permission from the Father. He needed the knowledge He had at twelve and quoted the scripture, but he also needed to strength and power of character He learned through the things that He suffered to say no and wait for the Father's time. The other two were just as important, and He passed His final exam. He entered the battle controlled by the Spirit but... "Then Jesus went back full of and under the power of the [Holy] Spirit into Galilee, and the fame of Him spread through the whole region round about." [Luke 4:14 AMP]

Now He had power from the Holy Spirit covering Him like a blanket, He was now strong in the Spirit as all Christians are offered! If He had used His own power He would not be our example, because we do not have such power. But He overcame the devil in the exact way all believer's can, through the combined "armor of God": knowledge [the belt of truth]; virtue [the breastplate of integrity and of moral rectitude and right standing with God (AMP)]; faith [shield of saving faith, upon which you can quench all the flaming missiles of the wicked [one]. (AMP)]; preparation [His 18 years of waiting are what we see in Eph 6:15 "And having shod your feet in preparation [to face the enemy with the firm-footed stability, the promptness, and the readiness produced by the good news] of the Gospel of peace." [Isa 52:7.] (AMP)]; grace [helmet of salvation which is the mighty power of grace pouring out of His spirit] and God's Word [the sword that the Spirit wields, which is the Word of God. (AMP)] In school you spend a lot of time learning before you are gvien your final exams and graduate.

This is why Paul taught it so clearly in the book of Ephesians. What do you think God wants you to strongly stand up against? He wants you to "resist and stand your ground." He wants you to stand and not fall from "the strategies and the deceits of the devil." The plain sense is this, just like the devil tried everything in His power to trick and con Jesus into sinning, He wants to convince you that "you are not perfect," and "everyone has a weakness, so sin some, Jesus is merciful and forgives you constantly." You must know His lies and resist temptation with the power of self-control, a fruit of the Spirit! Until you do, you will not be mature [Hebrews 12:2]. Remember you will only be considered mature "because you are strong and vigorous, and the Word of God is [always] abiding in you (in your hearts), and you have been victorious over the wicked one." [1 John 2:14b AMP] You must focus on your preparation and training, to gain the strong and vigorous ability of self-control, which is an inward strength that gives you the power to say no to sin and the devil. And remember, only by being surrounded by and pressed by unkind people, angry family members, temptations and struggles over an extended period of training and preparation will you find the ever increasing strength of self-control. It takes everything you have learned from the Bible, and the strong righteous desires from grace, along with diligence, to successfully withstand temptation and sin, and be considered by God, a mature Christian of self-control.