In this message I would like to address a topic that has been on my heart and mind for some time now. You hear a lot about "love" and "Forgiveness" when the subject of Christianity comes up The questions I would like to put before you are these; "What does love really mean?" "When we say we forgive someone, do we actually forgive them if we keep bringing up the past?" Hopefully I can bring some light to the subject of love and forgiveness. We as human beings in a fallen state are on a journey and while on this journey we are continually going to encounter many opportunities to not only forgive, but ask for forgiveness and along the way we will have many, many opportunities to show love in one form or another. The journey you are on is your journey and no one else's. The people you encounter along the way are your opportunities to grow spiritually by either receiving help from them or offering your assistance to them. What happens with these encounters are an indication to where you are on your journey. Ever wonder how far along you are? If you are wondering what this journey you are on is, let me fill you in. The journey we are all on is to get back to our real home, which is back to where we came from, Heaven. Our life here on earth is temporary, we are not meant to stay in this world while it is in a corrupt state. While we are here we are supposed to be about doing the will of God.
Let's begin with the word "LOVE." In the english language this word is used in many different context's. For instance, I can say I love my dog, or I love coffee, or maybe I love my friends. In another way I tell my wife that I love her, or maybe you tell your boyfriend or girlfriend, I love you. And in another instance I can say I love God. The word love is used to describe a feeling towards someone or something. If we would examine the word "LOVE" a little deeper we would find that there are several meanings to this word. I'm sure many of you have been through some sort of study on the word love, especially if you have attended a church of one denomination or another. Many psychologist, pastor's, sociologist, and various other author's of the love realm have written books on the subject of Love. I am not one of those people, but I have been through some classes on the subject. What I found is that the word love carries a lot more weight when separated out into its many meanings. Take a look at these meanings and hold onto them while we go through this message together. These definitions are of a biblical origin, although you won't find all the words in the scriptures, they do come from examples given in scripture.
Information below is taken from the web site "About Religion" http://christianity.about.com/od/glossary/a/Storge.htm
Storge Love (STOR-jay): Storge is family love, the bond among mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers. Examples of family love are found in Scripture, such as the love and mutual protection among Noah and his wife, their sons and daughters-in-law in Genesis. The love of Jacob for his sons; and the strong love the sisters Martha and Mary in the gospels had for their brother Lazarus. The family was a vital part of ancient Jewish culture. Exodus 20:12 gives a very good indication of how God thought about the family.
Eros Love (AIR-0se): is the physical, sensual love between a husband and wife. The word Eros like Storge does not appear in the scriptures but is indicated by example. The word Eros is a Greek term, eros, or erotic love, is portrayed in the Old Testament book, "The Song of Solomon." Within marriage, sex is used for emotional and spiritual bonding and for reproduction. In the Bible, God's word to us, is very clear about sex outside of marriage is forbidden.
Philia Love (FILL-ee-uh): Philia means close friendship or brotherly love in Greek. It is one of the four types of love in the Bible. This form of love is found throughout the New Testament. Christians are frequently exhorted to love their fellow Christians, Romans 12:10
Agape Love (uh-GAH-pay): Agape is selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love, the highest of the four types of love in the Bible. This Greek word and variations of it are found throughout the New Testament. Agape perfectly describes the kind of love Jesus Christ has for his Father and for His followers, John 14:21. Jesus lived out Agape by sacrificing Himself for the sins of the world.
So as you can see by these definitions there are various types of love that we as humans can demonstrate. As a follower of Jesus Christ we are to strive for the highest form of love, Agape. We will however always express the lesser forms of love to each other. Once we begin to express the Agape love to our fellow man we will begin to see that it is expressed far more in the form of sacrifice. Now let's move on to another word that we should consider very seriously while we are on this journey of life, especially as followers of Christ. That word would be "FORGIVENESS."
What exactly does it mean to forgive? Is it just someone saying I'm sorry and someone else saying, that's okay, forget about it? Maybe it is more of a heartfelt it's okay, nothing to forgive. Does forgiveness mean we say I forgive you but I can't forget what you did? Maybe we should spend a little time here examining what forgiveness truly means.
Forgive (for-give) to stop feeling anger toward (someone who has done something wrong) : to stop blaming (someone). To stop feeling anger about (something) : to forgive someone for (something wrong). To stop requiring payment of (money that is owed).
Here we have the general idea of what forgiving means, which basically is just get over it, stop blaming, stop being angry, forget about the tool they borrowed or the money they owe, maybe it's letting the harsh words that were spoken to or about you go. I wonder though if it is that simple. Do we just get over something by saying I forgive you? Does forgiving but not letting go really forgiveness? Now let's look at the biblical take on what it means to forgive.
In Matthew 18:21-22 Jesus is answering Peter's question "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven." The message to Peter was this, there is actually no limit on how many times you must forgive someone. It isn't a matter of just saying I forgive you and still hold anger or resentment in one's heart. As Jesus continued teaching on this subject He used a parable to explain the importance of treating others as you would like to be treated, which sounds familiar, you've heard of the "Golden Rule" right? The parable Jesus uses is about a king and a servant, the servant owing the king a large amount of money, the servant couldn't pay back what he owed, and the king threatened to throw the servant into the dungeon or prison until he paid off his large debt. The servant ask the king to be patient with him, basically begging the king not to throw him in prison. The king had mercy on the servant and forgave him the large debt, freeing the servant from the burden. Now the servant had workers under him and one of them owed him some money, not near what he owed the king. The servant demanded payment but the worker could not pay the small amount to the servant so he grabbed the worker or fellow servant and choked him demanding payment, the fellow servant begged him to be patient with him and he would repay everything he owed. The servant that was shown forgiveness of his debt did not do likewise with his fellow servant, instead he had the man thrown into prison until he could repay his debt. When the king heard about this he was angry with his servant and had him handed over to the jailers and tortured until he could repay his debt.
Here we see that forgiveness is more than just saying I forgive you, it goes beyond the basic mere words said in a situation that merits true forgiveness. The scriptures teach us much about forgiving our brother's and sister's in the Lord. Looking at the scripture in Matthew 18:21-22 that is mentioned above, we learn there are no limits in forgiving someone who sins against you. Jesus taught His disciples that if you are going to follow after me, you must forgive. Being forgiven was instituted by God way back right after Adam and Eve rebelled against God. God forgave mankind for what they did. God then set up a system for mankind to follow to receive forgiveness of their sins. This went on for thousands of years until Jesus Christ came to earth in human form. So forgiving is not some new concept brought about by some new age thinking, forgiveness was established by God, the creator of everything. So, when I say I forgive you for something that you did that wronged me, then my act of forgiveness as a follower of Christ must go much further than a few words spoken to you. My forgiveness must reach into the very heart of God and be shown in a way that relates to the forgiveness that Christ demonstrated on the cross. In Ephesians 4:32 we are told to "...be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another...". The latter part of the scripture makes it even more powerful,"even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you."
Mark 11:25 tells us that if we have something against anyone, we are to forgive that person while we are praying. This does not mean to wait until that person offers an apology, it means in your heart, to forgive. Colossians 3:13-15 gives us some fairly clear instructions on how we are to behave as followers of our Lord Jesus Christ. We should note here that Paul was talking to Jewish Christians and just before Colossians 3:13 starting with Colossians 3:5 he was telling these followers to "put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you." From that point on Paul lists several things of this world that we need to get rid of in our lives. Why do we need to do this?, "because of these sins, the anger of God is coming." Paul is saying that to hold onto these things of the world displeases God a whole lot. The scripture goes on to say in verse 10 "to put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your creator and become like Him." So, as we learn to walk in Christ more and more, then we can see that we must become more like Him in every area of our lives and less like the world that we used to be like. To become more like Christ there must be a higher calling to forgive one another as Christ forgave us. "Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other's faults, and FORGIVE ANYONE who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you MUST forgive others.
Love and forgiveness seems to be the central message that Jesus Christ left us with. Throughout His ministry here on earth Christ was about bringing hope to a lost and dying people. The hope He brought for all mankind was that redemption was and is possible. He continually reached out to people to comfort, encourage and heal. In order to tie the message of love and forgiveness together we need to look at a couple of scriptures that state these two messages as a central theme. Let's first look at 1 Corinthians 13:1-3. The form of love that is used in this chapter is "Agape" type love. Agape is selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love, the highest of the four types of love in the Bible. Throughout chapter 13 of Corinthians Paul uses this form of love. So what is he saying then? Paul is saying if you do not express this form of love towards other's you are nothing more than the Pharisee's who love to be seen for but don't really practice what they preach. Paul makes it clear that if you don't express Agape Love towards others, all of your understanding of scriptures, all of your faith you claim to have, and all your giving to the poor or even sacrificed your body, you have gained nothing if you don't Love other's with the love that God has provided. Read the chapter and let God's Holy Spirit penetrate your heart with His love. Let's step back a ways and see just what Jesus Christ said about love. Matthew 22:36-40 gives us just what Christ taught about love. The Pharisees approached Christ and ask Him "what is the greatest commandment in the law of Moses." Jesus's reply pretty well stopped them in their tracks. "You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." Christ did not stop there, He went on to say: "A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments." The word LOVE in this chapter is again in the form AGAPE. Agape is selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love. So if God is telling us to love with this kind of love, then doesn't it stand to reason that FORGIVING comes under the realm of this kind of love. In Luke 23:34 Jesus Christ was being crucified as the Heavenly Father required for the redemption of mankind. Upon the cross, just before He gave up His Spirit, Jesus spoke to His Father and said: "Father, forgive them for they don't know what they are doing." The word afhiemi (af-ee-ay-mee) FORGIVE in this passage carries this meaning in Greek: send away, I let go, release, permit to depart, I remit, forgive, I permit, suffer. In other words, Jesus while suffering because of all those around Him chose His Father's will and offered an unconditional love for them by giving His life for theirs. He ask His Father to let them go, release them from the wrong they have done.
The two most valuable characteristic's that a follower or believer in Jesus Christ can carry and express are LOVE and FORGIVENESS. Along with that they carry the Good News of the gospel, that being that Jesus Christ lives today, and there is hope for a lost and dying world. If every believer of Jesus Christ would grasp this truth and out of Agape love, Forgive those who have wronged them, then there truly is a chance for peace in the world around us. An unconditional forgiveness comes from a heart that carries the love of Christ within, an Agape love that never dies, that always gives and sacrifices. The world is waiting to see your light, is it shining on a hilltop for all to see, or is it shaded by an unforgiving, unloving heart that fails to see that those around you are in great need of what you have to offer. In my humble opinion, you cannot not have one without the other. These two attributes given to us through Christ must work together. For how can one say I Agape (Love) you and not find it in their heart to forgive?
Might we like Christ be able to not only say I love you unconditionally but offer our unconditional love to them just as Christ did on the cross. May the God of heaven bless you greatly as you reach out with His love and His forgiveness to a lost and dying world.
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Be Encouraged, Christ Will Return
If there was ever a time for people to lose hope this may well be the time. There is so much going on in the world abroad it doesn't take long to become very discouraged. It seems like there just isn't any way out of the mess that the world is in. It's bad enough when our own personal lives are in a mess and we are faced with daily discouragements, but when you add the serious problems going on around us and throughout the rest of the world, hope seems a long way off. The constant news of wars, rumors of wars, the extreme unseasonable weather hitting us continually on all sides, the lawlessness that seems to be growing, the acceptance of a world view on things that used to be considered immoral just add to the overwhelming situation that we find ourselves and the world in today. The list goes on, hope seems to be lost, nobody can give the right answer to the problem, the governments are failing and terrorists groups appear to be gaining a foothold in many countries. Before you totally give up let me give you some hope and let me show you what God says about these times we are facing. I believe you might be surprised that all is not lost and there is hope waiting for you.
Let's take a step back in time and see what God said about these times that we face today. You see, God did not leave mankind without hope, in fact, He gave mankind the greatest hope of all through His one and only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. To see what God said we need to turn to the Scriptures, His Word to us that we do have hope in Him. When you look into the Genesis account from the scriptures, you discover some interesting things, for instance, when God created man, He put him into a perfect garden and called it the Garden of Eden. It was here that God communed with man or simply had a one on one relationship with His creation, God's highest form of creation. Man had total access to God. God wanted man to give his love freely so He also gave man the freedom to choose. In order for man to choose He had to be presented with a choice so God placed a tree of knowledge of good and evil in the center of the garden and told man not to eat from this tree or even touch the tree and if he did man would die. This was man's choice, to eat from the tree or not to eat from it, which meant, obey My instructions or rebel against Me. Man was created to live forever and was to spread God's love and His kingdom to the rest of the earth and world outside the garden. To make a long story short man made the decision to take fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God approached man in the garden during the cool of the evening and found man hiding and covered with fig leaves. God knew what they had done and had to pronounce a sentence of death on them. Mankind would be spiritually separated from God from that moment on and would know longer have the freedom to communicate with his Heavenly Father. Mankind would also begin to experience a physical death and would over a period of time physically die. You can read the whole story in the book of Genesis starting with chapter 1. Read specifically Gen. 1:1-2:4 which gives the story of creation. The story of Adam begins with Gen. 2:4-5:32.
You might be asking about now, "what does this have to do with what's going on today?" The story of Adam and Eve set the stage for the hope of mankind. You see when God approached man after they had sinned and pronounced their sentence, He also left them with the hope of be reunited with Him. Before we move on though I have to make something very clear, man (mankind) did not just decide to rebel against God their Father, Satan was already on the earth and Satan was the one who approached the woman and deceived her and in turn offered the fruit to her husband. So when Adam and Eve took of the fruit that they were not supposed to partake of they made the decision to rebel and say to not only themselves but to God that they were going to do things on their own and didn't need God to guide them. They like Satan lifted themselves above God, and that rebellion got them the death sentence. Here's the thing, God knew before hand that man was going to sin or rebel against Him, but because He loved His creation God had already made a way for their relationship to be restored. Look at the section of Genesis where God is speaking to the serpent (Satan) and what He tells the serpent will happen. Gen. 3:14-15 is the scripture that gives hope to all mankind. This is where God tells us that He will send his only begotten Son to make a way for mankind to be redeemed back to rightful relationship with Him (God). It says "I will cause hostility between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring. He (Christ) will strike your head, and you will strike His (Christ) heel." This is in direct reference to Jesus Christ or who would later be referred to as the Messiah by the Israelites. We remember Jesus Christ every year by celebrating not only His birth (Christmas) but also His death (Easter) on the cross. We also celebrate His resurrection and return back to heaven where He sits at the right hand of the the Father. This is the hope that is referred to in Genesis 3:15.
Now that mankind was living in rebellion against God everything began to fall apart. You see, before man sinned he lived in a perfect place and communed with his Heavenly Father on a regular basis. Now mankind no longer lived in a perfect place because God removed him from it and placed mankind outside the garden, Gen. 3:22-24. Here mankind would have to work hard and woman would give birth in pain. The world around them was hostile and harsh. God provided a way for mankind to keep in touch with Him by providing a sacrificial system that would cover their sins and allow mankind to come into His presence. That system of sacrifice required blood to be shed for the forgiveness of their sins. This was a temporary system and would only cover their sins for a certain season of time and it would have to be done all over again, time after time. Genesis 3:21 leads us to believe that God started the sacrificial system of the shedding of blood here when He, God, had slain animals to cover Adam and Eve with their skins. The hope that mankind had in the old testament times was the looking forward to the coming of the Messiah, their redeemer. In the meantime mankind fell further and further from their relationship with their God, Genesis 6:5-6. Even after the flood Mankind continued to make decisions that did not involve God. Just like Adam and Eve had done, mankind once again rebelled against God by building a tower that was supposed to reach the heavens, Genesis 11:1-9. This was the result of man going it alone without God. We are still trying to go it alone in the world and that is why we have such a messed up world today. The Messiah did come some 2,000 years ago, Matthew 2:1, and He did what the scriptures spoke of. He went to the cross, gave His life and shed His blood. In doing this He once and for all made a way for mankind to come back into a relationship with their Heavenly Father. Christ said "I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except by me." The old sacrificial system and the law were fulfilled through the death, burial and resurrection of God's only Son, Jesus Christ. No further blood sacrifices would be necessary, the law had been fulfilled. Now, we live under grace and no matter what people may do, their sins can be forgiven once and for all through God's son Jesus Christ. It would require faith and faith is the only thing that truly pleases God, Hebrews 11:6. Faith is what God requires, faith is putting your trust in God's Son as the savior of the world, not in religion, not in man, not in some man made idol, not in mother earth, not in anything except God and His Son Jesus Christ.
Yes, we still live in a messed up world, but that is because mankind to this day has failed to not only acknowledge Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of God, but does not accept Jesus Christ as the Savior of their souls. Mankind continues to rebel against God by convincing themselves that they don't need God, they don't need a savior. Mankind still rebels against God, they still partake of the forbidden fruit by reaching out and tasting that which the world offers and God forbids. The world as we know it today is headed for a collision course. The world as we know it refuses to accept God's way and still believes that mankind can solve its own problems. We see the result of that ever since Adam and Eve disobeyed God and chose to go it their own way. The world has been falling apart ever since. Wars, disease, pestilence, famine, earthquakes, and every other sort of disaster mankind has had to face. The scriptures tell us that all these things are going to become more severe before Christ returns to this earth to set up His Kingdom, Matthew 24:1-51. We all know that birth pains begin to increase before the actual delivery takes place and so will the misery only get worse as we approach the time of the end of this age. Jesus Christ left His disciples with this message so they can keep themselves focused on what is important and that my friend is their relationship with Him. This world as we know it is on a collision course with Armageddon for sure, but our focus should not be so much on that as on our relationship with the one who will bring you through the worst of times. Yes, the day is quickly approaching for the return of Christ for His bride the church or His true followers. Before He returns He will rapture His bride from this earth to meet Him in the air and forever be with Him in heaven.
Yes, this earth or world as we know it is destined for destruction, but it is not going to happen until God the Father says it's going to happen. You see, God wants as many of His children to return to Him as possible and that means He wants everyone back with Him. But, the only ones that can return to Him are those who truly believe that He is God and there is no other God and believe that His only begotten Son Jesus Christ died on the cross for our salvation, was buried, then resurrected on the third day and now sits on the right hand His Father. There is going to be a day when the Father tells His Son Jesus Christ to go and fetch all the believer's and bring them back home. I believe that day is quickly approaching and time is running out for this world. I would like to encourage each and every one who does not know Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son as their personal Lord and Savior to seriously consider letting Jesus Christ come into your life and set you free from your life of slavery to sin. He will set you free as you turn your life over to Him to be the Lord and Savior of your soul.
Jesus said in Rev. 3:20 "I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with me." When Christ was speaking to religious people and religious leaders as well as to everyone else, He made this very clear that "He is the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the father except by Me." In other words He was telling people no matter what status you may have, no matter what religion you claim to belong to, no matter what the Budda's claim or the Dali Lama's proclaim, no matter what the religious rules one may live under, no matter what the Muslims say, and no matter what you do for good deeds, there is only one way to be back in true relationship with the Heavenly Father and that is through His Son, Jesus Christ. You can choose just like Adam and Eve did, you can choose to deny Christ as the only way back to the Father or you can choose to become a follower of Christ by turning your life over to Him by repenting of your sins and accepting Christ as the Son of God and the Lord of your life. It's your choice, but again, God explained what will happen to those who choose to go it alone. For those who accept Jesus Christ will be back in relationship with God, and will have a place in heaven. Those who deny or reject Christ will suffer an eternal death by being forever separated from God. My friends, this is your choice, the outcome of your life and relationship depends on the decision you make, don't wait to long because you don't know when your life will end. There is hope in Jesus Christ for those who place their faith in Him.
You can make the decision to have Christ as your savior by praying to Him and asking Him to become your Lord and savior. You must repent or turn from your sins and let Him be Lord of your life. There are many, many scriptures that tell us what to look for before Christ returns to this earth and sets up His Kingdom. I have read many of these scriptures and read a lot of different author's books on the last days, etc. There are warnings all around us and many of the troubles that we are experiencing during this time are just that, warnings. Warnings do not come if something important is not going to take place. God's hand of blessings is being lifted from many parts if not all of the nations and that includes the USA. We do not know the day or hour of Christ's return to this earth, but God did give us some things to watch for. Christ said we can know the season before He returns and I believe that season is on this generation. Look at Matthew 24:32-41 where it says; "Now learn the lesson of the fig tree..." and also "Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until..." A believer's hope is in Jesus Christ and no one else. He will return one of these days, a day when the world will least expect it. The warnings are all around us and the situation in the world is only getting worse. The further one distances themselves from God, the harder this life will be. If you want a "peace that passes all understanding" then you need to put your trust in the only one that can give it to you and that is Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son.
If you want to put your trust in Him, then you need to be willing to repent of your sins, confess them to God and ask Jesus to come into your life and make it new. You do this by praying to the Heavenly Father. If you do not know how, then just pray by talking to God. You can pray this prayer if you like, but it must come from your heart, in other words, you must be sincere; Heavenly Father, I come to you in your Son's name, Jesus Christ. I am a sinner and am lost without Him. Please forgive me of my sins, (confess with your words to God your sins) and make me a new person. I receive and accept your Son Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Jesus, come into my heart and life and restore my relationship with the Father. I believe that you died and shed your blood for my sins and you were resurrected on the third day so that I could also could be resurrected one day and be with you in heaven. Thank you Father for forgiving me of my sins and for your Son, Jesus Christ. Help me to obey your commands and live according to your will and word. Amen! Now that you prayed that prayer you need to get a Bible and start reading His word and keep talking to God daily. Find a believer in Christ and tell them what you did. Find a church that teaches God's Word and attend as often as you can. May God bless you richly in your new life and your walk with Jesus Christ.
Let's take a step back in time and see what God said about these times that we face today. You see, God did not leave mankind without hope, in fact, He gave mankind the greatest hope of all through His one and only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. To see what God said we need to turn to the Scriptures, His Word to us that we do have hope in Him. When you look into the Genesis account from the scriptures, you discover some interesting things, for instance, when God created man, He put him into a perfect garden and called it the Garden of Eden. It was here that God communed with man or simply had a one on one relationship with His creation, God's highest form of creation. Man had total access to God. God wanted man to give his love freely so He also gave man the freedom to choose. In order for man to choose He had to be presented with a choice so God placed a tree of knowledge of good and evil in the center of the garden and told man not to eat from this tree or even touch the tree and if he did man would die. This was man's choice, to eat from the tree or not to eat from it, which meant, obey My instructions or rebel against Me. Man was created to live forever and was to spread God's love and His kingdom to the rest of the earth and world outside the garden. To make a long story short man made the decision to take fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God approached man in the garden during the cool of the evening and found man hiding and covered with fig leaves. God knew what they had done and had to pronounce a sentence of death on them. Mankind would be spiritually separated from God from that moment on and would know longer have the freedom to communicate with his Heavenly Father. Mankind would also begin to experience a physical death and would over a period of time physically die. You can read the whole story in the book of Genesis starting with chapter 1. Read specifically Gen. 1:1-2:4 which gives the story of creation. The story of Adam begins with Gen. 2:4-5:32.
You might be asking about now, "what does this have to do with what's going on today?" The story of Adam and Eve set the stage for the hope of mankind. You see when God approached man after they had sinned and pronounced their sentence, He also left them with the hope of be reunited with Him. Before we move on though I have to make something very clear, man (mankind) did not just decide to rebel against God their Father, Satan was already on the earth and Satan was the one who approached the woman and deceived her and in turn offered the fruit to her husband. So when Adam and Eve took of the fruit that they were not supposed to partake of they made the decision to rebel and say to not only themselves but to God that they were going to do things on their own and didn't need God to guide them. They like Satan lifted themselves above God, and that rebellion got them the death sentence. Here's the thing, God knew before hand that man was going to sin or rebel against Him, but because He loved His creation God had already made a way for their relationship to be restored. Look at the section of Genesis where God is speaking to the serpent (Satan) and what He tells the serpent will happen. Gen. 3:14-15 is the scripture that gives hope to all mankind. This is where God tells us that He will send his only begotten Son to make a way for mankind to be redeemed back to rightful relationship with Him (God). It says "I will cause hostility between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring. He (Christ) will strike your head, and you will strike His (Christ) heel." This is in direct reference to Jesus Christ or who would later be referred to as the Messiah by the Israelites. We remember Jesus Christ every year by celebrating not only His birth (Christmas) but also His death (Easter) on the cross. We also celebrate His resurrection and return back to heaven where He sits at the right hand of the the Father. This is the hope that is referred to in Genesis 3:15.
Now that mankind was living in rebellion against God everything began to fall apart. You see, before man sinned he lived in a perfect place and communed with his Heavenly Father on a regular basis. Now mankind no longer lived in a perfect place because God removed him from it and placed mankind outside the garden, Gen. 3:22-24. Here mankind would have to work hard and woman would give birth in pain. The world around them was hostile and harsh. God provided a way for mankind to keep in touch with Him by providing a sacrificial system that would cover their sins and allow mankind to come into His presence. That system of sacrifice required blood to be shed for the forgiveness of their sins. This was a temporary system and would only cover their sins for a certain season of time and it would have to be done all over again, time after time. Genesis 3:21 leads us to believe that God started the sacrificial system of the shedding of blood here when He, God, had slain animals to cover Adam and Eve with their skins. The hope that mankind had in the old testament times was the looking forward to the coming of the Messiah, their redeemer. In the meantime mankind fell further and further from their relationship with their God, Genesis 6:5-6. Even after the flood Mankind continued to make decisions that did not involve God. Just like Adam and Eve had done, mankind once again rebelled against God by building a tower that was supposed to reach the heavens, Genesis 11:1-9. This was the result of man going it alone without God. We are still trying to go it alone in the world and that is why we have such a messed up world today. The Messiah did come some 2,000 years ago, Matthew 2:1, and He did what the scriptures spoke of. He went to the cross, gave His life and shed His blood. In doing this He once and for all made a way for mankind to come back into a relationship with their Heavenly Father. Christ said "I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except by me." The old sacrificial system and the law were fulfilled through the death, burial and resurrection of God's only Son, Jesus Christ. No further blood sacrifices would be necessary, the law had been fulfilled. Now, we live under grace and no matter what people may do, their sins can be forgiven once and for all through God's son Jesus Christ. It would require faith and faith is the only thing that truly pleases God, Hebrews 11:6. Faith is what God requires, faith is putting your trust in God's Son as the savior of the world, not in religion, not in man, not in some man made idol, not in mother earth, not in anything except God and His Son Jesus Christ.
Yes, we still live in a messed up world, but that is because mankind to this day has failed to not only acknowledge Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of God, but does not accept Jesus Christ as the Savior of their souls. Mankind continues to rebel against God by convincing themselves that they don't need God, they don't need a savior. Mankind still rebels against God, they still partake of the forbidden fruit by reaching out and tasting that which the world offers and God forbids. The world as we know it today is headed for a collision course. The world as we know it refuses to accept God's way and still believes that mankind can solve its own problems. We see the result of that ever since Adam and Eve disobeyed God and chose to go it their own way. The world has been falling apart ever since. Wars, disease, pestilence, famine, earthquakes, and every other sort of disaster mankind has had to face. The scriptures tell us that all these things are going to become more severe before Christ returns to this earth to set up His Kingdom, Matthew 24:1-51. We all know that birth pains begin to increase before the actual delivery takes place and so will the misery only get worse as we approach the time of the end of this age. Jesus Christ left His disciples with this message so they can keep themselves focused on what is important and that my friend is their relationship with Him. This world as we know it is on a collision course with Armageddon for sure, but our focus should not be so much on that as on our relationship with the one who will bring you through the worst of times. Yes, the day is quickly approaching for the return of Christ for His bride the church or His true followers. Before He returns He will rapture His bride from this earth to meet Him in the air and forever be with Him in heaven.
Yes, this earth or world as we know it is destined for destruction, but it is not going to happen until God the Father says it's going to happen. You see, God wants as many of His children to return to Him as possible and that means He wants everyone back with Him. But, the only ones that can return to Him are those who truly believe that He is God and there is no other God and believe that His only begotten Son Jesus Christ died on the cross for our salvation, was buried, then resurrected on the third day and now sits on the right hand His Father. There is going to be a day when the Father tells His Son Jesus Christ to go and fetch all the believer's and bring them back home. I believe that day is quickly approaching and time is running out for this world. I would like to encourage each and every one who does not know Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son as their personal Lord and Savior to seriously consider letting Jesus Christ come into your life and set you free from your life of slavery to sin. He will set you free as you turn your life over to Him to be the Lord and Savior of your soul.
Jesus said in Rev. 3:20 "I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with me." When Christ was speaking to religious people and religious leaders as well as to everyone else, He made this very clear that "He is the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the father except by Me." In other words He was telling people no matter what status you may have, no matter what religion you claim to belong to, no matter what the Budda's claim or the Dali Lama's proclaim, no matter what the religious rules one may live under, no matter what the Muslims say, and no matter what you do for good deeds, there is only one way to be back in true relationship with the Heavenly Father and that is through His Son, Jesus Christ. You can choose just like Adam and Eve did, you can choose to deny Christ as the only way back to the Father or you can choose to become a follower of Christ by turning your life over to Him by repenting of your sins and accepting Christ as the Son of God and the Lord of your life. It's your choice, but again, God explained what will happen to those who choose to go it alone. For those who accept Jesus Christ will be back in relationship with God, and will have a place in heaven. Those who deny or reject Christ will suffer an eternal death by being forever separated from God. My friends, this is your choice, the outcome of your life and relationship depends on the decision you make, don't wait to long because you don't know when your life will end. There is hope in Jesus Christ for those who place their faith in Him.
You can make the decision to have Christ as your savior by praying to Him and asking Him to become your Lord and savior. You must repent or turn from your sins and let Him be Lord of your life. There are many, many scriptures that tell us what to look for before Christ returns to this earth and sets up His Kingdom. I have read many of these scriptures and read a lot of different author's books on the last days, etc. There are warnings all around us and many of the troubles that we are experiencing during this time are just that, warnings. Warnings do not come if something important is not going to take place. God's hand of blessings is being lifted from many parts if not all of the nations and that includes the USA. We do not know the day or hour of Christ's return to this earth, but God did give us some things to watch for. Christ said we can know the season before He returns and I believe that season is on this generation. Look at Matthew 24:32-41 where it says; "Now learn the lesson of the fig tree..." and also "Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until..." A believer's hope is in Jesus Christ and no one else. He will return one of these days, a day when the world will least expect it. The warnings are all around us and the situation in the world is only getting worse. The further one distances themselves from God, the harder this life will be. If you want a "peace that passes all understanding" then you need to put your trust in the only one that can give it to you and that is Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son.
If you want to put your trust in Him, then you need to be willing to repent of your sins, confess them to God and ask Jesus to come into your life and make it new. You do this by praying to the Heavenly Father. If you do not know how, then just pray by talking to God. You can pray this prayer if you like, but it must come from your heart, in other words, you must be sincere; Heavenly Father, I come to you in your Son's name, Jesus Christ. I am a sinner and am lost without Him. Please forgive me of my sins, (confess with your words to God your sins) and make me a new person. I receive and accept your Son Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Jesus, come into my heart and life and restore my relationship with the Father. I believe that you died and shed your blood for my sins and you were resurrected on the third day so that I could also could be resurrected one day and be with you in heaven. Thank you Father for forgiving me of my sins and for your Son, Jesus Christ. Help me to obey your commands and live according to your will and word. Amen! Now that you prayed that prayer you need to get a Bible and start reading His word and keep talking to God daily. Find a believer in Christ and tell them what you did. Find a church that teaches God's Word and attend as often as you can. May God bless you richly in your new life and your walk with Jesus Christ.
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Your life in Christ
There are two areas I would like to examine and present to you today. One being "What Christ has done for us" and second, "What Christians should do." In our society today it seems to me that there is a large and expanding gap between these two topics. It is in my opinion that the importance of what Christ did for has become watered down and lowered on the scale of importance to the Christians life. Many of our church's today don't preach or teach on the blood of Christ anymore. They instead take up social issues and follow along with the trend of what is popular for the time. This in turn affects how the "Christian" lives out there life in the world they are in. I want to look at one small portion of God's Word that speaks directly to these two topics. In actuality, they are related and cannot be separated. The scriptures I use are kept in context, so with that in mind let's take a look at these two topics and tie them together as they are intended.
The scripture references that are listed can be seen by clicking on the reference, this should bring up the scripture from an internet application. If it does not work then open your bibles and read from there, which I believe is best, this way you can make notes, underline, etc.. So let's begin.
What Christ Has Done. An important statement that we must become very familiar with if we are to live out our lives not only following Him, but in becoming an example of Christ as He intended us to be. Colossians 1:1-2:23 gives us the account of What Christ Has Done, Colossians 3:1-4:18 describes What Christians Should Do.
Before we get into the scriptures we need to gain an understanding of the purpose of this letter that was written to the Christians in Colosse. Colossian Christians became like a team without a coach, they had no specific plan or direction. Many false doctrines had slowly infiltrated the church in Colosse. The problem was "syncretism," combining ideas from other philosophies and religions (such as paganism, strains of Judaism, and Greek thought) with Christian truth. This became known later as "Gnosticism," emphasizing special knowledge (gnosis in Greek) and denying Christ as God and Savior. To fight against this devious way of thinking Paul stressed Christ's deity, his connection with the Father, and his sacrificial death on the cross for sin. (information from the New Living Testament, historical notes).
Paul lays out his letter to the Colossian Christians by emphasizing what Christ done for them and then goes on to explain what they as Christians or believer's in Christ should do. We will pick up our study in Col. 1:9-23. We see first of all that Paul as in many of his letters to the other church's mentions that he "has been praying for them" ever since he had first heard about them. Paul wants them to know that he "specifically ask God to give them complete knowledge of his will and to give them spiritual wisdom and understanding." Paul is saying in verse 10 that by having these two elements in their thinking and understanding they will be able to "live always with honor and please the Lord, and their lives will produce every kind of good fruit." Paul goes on to say that by having this in their lives "they will grow as they learn to know God better and better." Now Paul begins to share the purpose for his letter and that is to show the Colossian Christians that as they are "strengthened with God's glorious power they will have the endurance and patience" they need. They will also be "filled with joy, always thanking God the Father." This will enable them to "share in the inheritance that belongs to His people, who live in the light." Now we begin to see what Christ did for those who put their trust in Him. We find here that those who trust Him will share in the inheritance of His people who are living in the light of who Christ is. What is that inheritance? What we inherit is immeasurable, but most important is that we become one of God's children by adoption. When a child is adopted, that child inherits from the new parents everything that a biological child would inherit. There is no difference between an adopted child and a biological child in Gods view, so first of all we are considered a child of God with all the rights and privilege's that are offered from the Father. Then we also inherit the righteousness of Christ himself. He took on our sin and destroyed them on the cross, forgave us for our sins and clothed us in His righteousness. We inherit eternal life and our transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of Gods Son. There is much more to this but to explain it all would take several lessons. I encourage you to research this subject by itself and see that there is nothing to lose by following Christ and everything to lose by rejecting Him.
In Colossians 1:15-20 Paul tells us that "Christ is the visible image of the invisible God." In other words whatever we see in Christ is what His Father is like. I don't believe Paul was referring to the physical appearance of Christ, but to the very nature of God. We see that Christ is "supreme over all creation." It was through Christ that God created everything. This includes the "heavenly realms and on earth." Christ made the things we can see and those things that we cannot see, Col. 1:16. To many people do not believe that there are unseen realms or heavenly places. They think that all there is is what they can see for themselves. Paul tells us in these scriptures that there are such places and they were created by Christ. He plainly states that there are "thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world." This was "created by Him and for Him" In verse 19-20 we find that God the Father in all His fullness was "Pleased to live in Christ." This gives us the answer as to how Christ can be God and human at the same time. By this we learn again that God's grace was lived out in Christ and God the Father knew full well that His only begotten Son would pay the price by sacrificing His human body for the sins of the world. It was by this action that "God reconciled everything to Himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ's blood on the cross" In verse's 21-22 Paul tells us that this includes you and me. He continues on by pointing out that we were once far from God living in our sin and we were the "enemies of God, separated from Him by our evil thoughts and actions." This is what Christ has done, He (God) came to this earth, lived among us in human form obeying the law. "He reconciled us to Himself through the death of Christ in His physical body. As a result you are holy and blameless as you stand before Him without a single fault." Paul makes this one truth known to Christian's wherever they may be; "For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority. When you came to Christ, you were circumcised, but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision, the cutting away of your sinful nature. For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with Him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead."
Paul has been laying out the facts of what Christ did for all of us. He is showing the Christian's at Colosse that by allowing all these false teachings into there midst that they were being deceived as to what Christ did for them. Paul was setting the record straight as to who Christ is and what Christ done for us. In verse 27 of chapter 2 Paul explains to the Christians in Colosse that the message of the good news was kept secret for centuries but now through Christ the message was no longer secret, "For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing His glory." Col. 2:20 brings us to the essence of Christ's victory on the cross and why he had to take such a cruel road for us. "You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, Don't handle! Don't taste! Don't touch!"
In this next section we will see what Paul was telling the Colosse Christian's concerning "What they should do." Col. 1:23 gives us a good indication of where Paul is going with these instruction's to these Christian's. He is telling them that they "must continue to believe this truth and stand firm in it. Don't drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News."
Paul has established what Christ did for us in this letter, but he does not end it there. Paul goes on describing "What Christians Should Do" now that they have received Christ. Paul explains true Christian behavior is putting on the new nature by accepting Christ and regarding the earthly nature as dead. We change our moral and ethical behavior by letting Christ live within us, so that He can shape us into what we should be. Paul explains that setting our sights on the realities of heaven means striving to put heaven's priorities into daily practice. "For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. We are to concentrate on the eternal rather than the temporal. Philippians 4:7 and Colossians 3:15 gives us more insight on Christ's rule in our hearts and minds. What we find in these scripture's is that we cannot accept Christ as our Lord and Savior and continue to hang onto the worlds way of thinking. That old nature that Christ crucified is gone and to go back to that is like a dog returning its vomit. "Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and peace." Receiving Christ as Lord of our life means that He is now in control, but, He only controls those who want to be controlled, He does not force His will on us. Let's take a look now at what the scriptures are saying not only to the Christian's in Colosse, but to us in this day.
Like the Colossians, many today are doing the same as the Christians that lived in Colosse. A subtle and devastating attack has been taking place in our church's. Instead of placing our priorities on the eternal, or on heavenly realities as a priority, many members of our church's have allowed the philosophies and religions (such as paganism, strains of Judaism, and Greek thought, etc.) to enter into their way of thinking combining worldly knowledge to dictate over the truth of the Good News of Christ. Many have replaced popular religious thought to cast a shadow over the cross of Christ, and many other's have allowed the direction of society to determine what is right and wrong resulting in the replacement of the Word of GOD with new age thinking. Paul told the Colossians that they will have to follow after Christ and the truth of the Gospel if they want to have an influence on those around them. Col. 1:23 makes that very clear, saying we "must continue to believe this truth and stand firm in it." Then Col. 3:1-4 reminds us to "think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God." If we stand firm in the things of heaven, and remain faithful to Christ by continuing to trust Him, Paul says we will share in His glory. Paul continues to tell the Colossians to "put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you." Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don't be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world." According to the scriptures we all have been a part of these evil desires. The scriptures will not pull any punches to let you off easy, and that is why so many don't want to hear them, it makes them not only uncomfortable but shows them that they are guilty. "You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, and dirty language. Don't lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like Him." Once we have made the decision to follow Christ we are to put off the old nature, it was crucified. Although non of us are perfect, YET, we are not to go crawling back to our old ways just because the WORLD says it's okay now, things are changed, you don't have to give up all the pleasures the world offers because we are under grace now. The world says it's okay to do whatever you want, you are already forgiven. Paul was warning the Colossians to return to the truth of Gods Word, don't stray from that. He says, "Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like Him." "Christ is all that matters, and He lives in all of us." So now we begin to see just what we as Christians are to be doing. It's not always a matter of doing things, it's more about living as Christ lived. We are to get rid of those things that cast a shadow on the nature of Christ and water down what He came to do for us. Yes, we do live under grace and yes we are forgiven of our sin, but that does not mean we are to allow the world's influence to determine what kind of life we are to live. It does not mean that even though society says it's okay to cuss like a sailor doesn't mean we as Christians are to follow that example. When God's Word says something is sin it does not change with the changing of societies or the world's way of thinking. God told us that HE is God, HE does not change. "He is the same yesterday, today and forever." That means what God calls sin is still sin no matter what everyone else thinks. For those who claim to be followers of Christ must live out their lives according to the example that Christ left us with. We are not to allow the philosophies of the world or the twisted thinking of religions to sway our stand for the truth of the Gospel. Following Christ and claiming to be a Christian is not to be taken lightly. We are required to make some changes as the Holy Spirit of God points out those areas that are not pleasing to God. Christ has already done for us what the law could not do, He set us free to live out our lives here on this earth as an example of God's GRACE and LOVE that He has for all of His creation.
The rest of the letter to the Colossians lays out some guidelines for us to all follow Col. 3:16-4:18. Many of the things Paul talks about in the remainder of his letter are things that teach us to be submissive to Christ. " And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts." It would be good for us all to take to heart what Paul was pointing out concerning the influence the world can have on us if we are not guarded as to what we allow ourselves to listen to. Christ is the head of His church, so we have a great leader. We are not like that team that does not have a leader and therefore has no direction. Our direction is a heavenly one so let us keep our minds clear of those things that would cause us to stray off the course that God has put us on. We live in a very dangerous and ever changing time so we must be guarded even more so of the truth that lies within us. As the day approach's for Christ to return for His Bride(those who believe and trust Him), let us all set an example that is clear and refreshing to a world that is bound for death. The world whether it will admit it or not is searching and longing for a Savior, they don't want what they already have because it's not working. They want what we have and the only way the world will be attracted to it is if we let our light shine brightly from the hill top so the world can see it.
If you are struggling with sin in your life and want to be free, as a Christian turn back to your first love and let Christ show you what you must do to make some changes. Your bondage has been broken and you have already been set free so rid yourself of the sin that is holding you back from serving Christ to the fullest. If you have never known Christ as your Savior and you want to be free from the bondage you are in, then I invite you to turn to Christ right now by turning your thinking in His direction. You cannot be free from your bondage by turning to some well known philosophy or a religion that makes laws and regulations for you to follow. The only way you can be free from your bondage is to put your trust in God's only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. The way you do that is to talk to Him, you do this through prayer. Christ said this about Himself concerning how one gets back into relationship with the heavenly Father and to be allowed in His kingdom, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." There is no other way for you to be forgiven except through Jesus Christ, Gods only begotten Son. You cannot be good enough, no religion can get you to heaven, no amount of good deeds will save you and no amount of money can buy your way back into the good graces of God. So go with Christ and tell God you are a sinner and want to be free from bondage. A simple prayer can be like this and if you pray this prayer and mean it in your heart you will be saved and free from bondage; Dear Heavenly Father, I believe in your Son Jesus Christ and I put my trust in Him. Please forgive me of all my sins. I accept your Son as my Lord and Savior, come into my heart and free me from my sinful nature. Thank you Heavenly Father for hearing my prayer, help me to become what you want me to be and help me to do your will for my life. In Jesus Christ name I pray, Amen.
Now that you have prayed this prayer, seek out a bible believing Christian and tell them what you have done. This affirms that you have meant what you have prayed. Find yourself a Holy Bible and begin reading in the book of John. Continue talking to Jesus daily and let Him be your courage and encouragement.
Christians, don't let the world's way of thinking sway you from the truth, if you are confused and struggling then get your bible out and start reading. Tell Christ your struggles and ask Him to guide you back into His truth. Make your stand with Christ by remaining in His Word and living out His truth. Be an example to others in such a way that those around you will see Christ in you. Let love be your guide and motivator. Live in peace by accepting others where they are at in their life journey. If you encounter someone who differs with you, love them anyway and pray for them. Share the Good News with the lost when given the opportunity.
Let me summarize "what Christ has done" and "what Christians should do."
What Christ has done; Makes us a child of God; provides an inheritance; clothed us in HIs righteousness; transfers us from kingdom of darkness to kingdom of Gods Son; Became a visible image of the invisible God; Came to be a sacrifice for payment of our sins; Reconciled everything to God; makes us holy and blameless before God; circumcised our sinful nature; raised us to new life; made riches and glory available to gentiles; Christ lives in us, broke bondage to the law.
What Christians should do; put on new nature, consider earthly nature as dead; change moral and ethical behavior; put heaven's priorities into practice; concentrate on eternal rather than temporal; let go of world's way of thinking; allow Christ to be in control of your life; follow after Christ and maintain truth of the gospel; put to death sinful, earthly things lurking within you having nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires; get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, and dirty language; don't lie to each other; be renewed and get to know your creator and become like Him; don't be greedy; clothe yourself with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and peace.
I hope this has helped you to see how the world can be destructive to your belief in Christ and the Gospel if we are not guarded against the tactics of the enemy. I hope you have seen that we as Christians have a great responsibility to set an example for the world as to who Christ truly is and what He came to do.
May God bless you all while on this earth and may the Lord of heaven touch your heart today and bless you continually.
The scripture references that are listed can be seen by clicking on the reference, this should bring up the scripture from an internet application. If it does not work then open your bibles and read from there, which I believe is best, this way you can make notes, underline, etc.. So let's begin.
What Christ Has Done. An important statement that we must become very familiar with if we are to live out our lives not only following Him, but in becoming an example of Christ as He intended us to be. Colossians 1:1-2:23 gives us the account of What Christ Has Done, Colossians 3:1-4:18 describes What Christians Should Do.
Before we get into the scriptures we need to gain an understanding of the purpose of this letter that was written to the Christians in Colosse. Colossian Christians became like a team without a coach, they had no specific plan or direction. Many false doctrines had slowly infiltrated the church in Colosse. The problem was "syncretism," combining ideas from other philosophies and religions (such as paganism, strains of Judaism, and Greek thought) with Christian truth. This became known later as "Gnosticism," emphasizing special knowledge (gnosis in Greek) and denying Christ as God and Savior. To fight against this devious way of thinking Paul stressed Christ's deity, his connection with the Father, and his sacrificial death on the cross for sin. (information from the New Living Testament, historical notes).
Paul lays out his letter to the Colossian Christians by emphasizing what Christ done for them and then goes on to explain what they as Christians or believer's in Christ should do. We will pick up our study in Col. 1:9-23. We see first of all that Paul as in many of his letters to the other church's mentions that he "has been praying for them" ever since he had first heard about them. Paul wants them to know that he "specifically ask God to give them complete knowledge of his will and to give them spiritual wisdom and understanding." Paul is saying in verse 10 that by having these two elements in their thinking and understanding they will be able to "live always with honor and please the Lord, and their lives will produce every kind of good fruit." Paul goes on to say that by having this in their lives "they will grow as they learn to know God better and better." Now Paul begins to share the purpose for his letter and that is to show the Colossian Christians that as they are "strengthened with God's glorious power they will have the endurance and patience" they need. They will also be "filled with joy, always thanking God the Father." This will enable them to "share in the inheritance that belongs to His people, who live in the light." Now we begin to see what Christ did for those who put their trust in Him. We find here that those who trust Him will share in the inheritance of His people who are living in the light of who Christ is. What is that inheritance? What we inherit is immeasurable, but most important is that we become one of God's children by adoption. When a child is adopted, that child inherits from the new parents everything that a biological child would inherit. There is no difference between an adopted child and a biological child in Gods view, so first of all we are considered a child of God with all the rights and privilege's that are offered from the Father. Then we also inherit the righteousness of Christ himself. He took on our sin and destroyed them on the cross, forgave us for our sins and clothed us in His righteousness. We inherit eternal life and our transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of Gods Son. There is much more to this but to explain it all would take several lessons. I encourage you to research this subject by itself and see that there is nothing to lose by following Christ and everything to lose by rejecting Him.
In Colossians 1:15-20 Paul tells us that "Christ is the visible image of the invisible God." In other words whatever we see in Christ is what His Father is like. I don't believe Paul was referring to the physical appearance of Christ, but to the very nature of God. We see that Christ is "supreme over all creation." It was through Christ that God created everything. This includes the "heavenly realms and on earth." Christ made the things we can see and those things that we cannot see, Col. 1:16. To many people do not believe that there are unseen realms or heavenly places. They think that all there is is what they can see for themselves. Paul tells us in these scriptures that there are such places and they were created by Christ. He plainly states that there are "thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world." This was "created by Him and for Him" In verse 19-20 we find that God the Father in all His fullness was "Pleased to live in Christ." This gives us the answer as to how Christ can be God and human at the same time. By this we learn again that God's grace was lived out in Christ and God the Father knew full well that His only begotten Son would pay the price by sacrificing His human body for the sins of the world. It was by this action that "God reconciled everything to Himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ's blood on the cross" In verse's 21-22 Paul tells us that this includes you and me. He continues on by pointing out that we were once far from God living in our sin and we were the "enemies of God, separated from Him by our evil thoughts and actions." This is what Christ has done, He (God) came to this earth, lived among us in human form obeying the law. "He reconciled us to Himself through the death of Christ in His physical body. As a result you are holy and blameless as you stand before Him without a single fault." Paul makes this one truth known to Christian's wherever they may be; "For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority. When you came to Christ, you were circumcised, but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision, the cutting away of your sinful nature. For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with Him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead."
Paul has been laying out the facts of what Christ did for all of us. He is showing the Christian's at Colosse that by allowing all these false teachings into there midst that they were being deceived as to what Christ did for them. Paul was setting the record straight as to who Christ is and what Christ done for us. In verse 27 of chapter 2 Paul explains to the Christians in Colosse that the message of the good news was kept secret for centuries but now through Christ the message was no longer secret, "For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing His glory." Col. 2:20 brings us to the essence of Christ's victory on the cross and why he had to take such a cruel road for us. "You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, Don't handle! Don't taste! Don't touch!"
In this next section we will see what Paul was telling the Colosse Christian's concerning "What they should do." Col. 1:23 gives us a good indication of where Paul is going with these instruction's to these Christian's. He is telling them that they "must continue to believe this truth and stand firm in it. Don't drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News."
Paul has established what Christ did for us in this letter, but he does not end it there. Paul goes on describing "What Christians Should Do" now that they have received Christ. Paul explains true Christian behavior is putting on the new nature by accepting Christ and regarding the earthly nature as dead. We change our moral and ethical behavior by letting Christ live within us, so that He can shape us into what we should be. Paul explains that setting our sights on the realities of heaven means striving to put heaven's priorities into daily practice. "For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. We are to concentrate on the eternal rather than the temporal. Philippians 4:7 and Colossians 3:15 gives us more insight on Christ's rule in our hearts and minds. What we find in these scripture's is that we cannot accept Christ as our Lord and Savior and continue to hang onto the worlds way of thinking. That old nature that Christ crucified is gone and to go back to that is like a dog returning its vomit. "Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and peace." Receiving Christ as Lord of our life means that He is now in control, but, He only controls those who want to be controlled, He does not force His will on us. Let's take a look now at what the scriptures are saying not only to the Christian's in Colosse, but to us in this day.
Like the Colossians, many today are doing the same as the Christians that lived in Colosse. A subtle and devastating attack has been taking place in our church's. Instead of placing our priorities on the eternal, or on heavenly realities as a priority, many members of our church's have allowed the philosophies and religions (such as paganism, strains of Judaism, and Greek thought, etc.) to enter into their way of thinking combining worldly knowledge to dictate over the truth of the Good News of Christ. Many have replaced popular religious thought to cast a shadow over the cross of Christ, and many other's have allowed the direction of society to determine what is right and wrong resulting in the replacement of the Word of GOD with new age thinking. Paul told the Colossians that they will have to follow after Christ and the truth of the Gospel if they want to have an influence on those around them. Col. 1:23 makes that very clear, saying we "must continue to believe this truth and stand firm in it." Then Col. 3:1-4 reminds us to "think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God." If we stand firm in the things of heaven, and remain faithful to Christ by continuing to trust Him, Paul says we will share in His glory. Paul continues to tell the Colossians to "put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you." Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don't be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world." According to the scriptures we all have been a part of these evil desires. The scriptures will not pull any punches to let you off easy, and that is why so many don't want to hear them, it makes them not only uncomfortable but shows them that they are guilty. "You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, and dirty language. Don't lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like Him." Once we have made the decision to follow Christ we are to put off the old nature, it was crucified. Although non of us are perfect, YET, we are not to go crawling back to our old ways just because the WORLD says it's okay now, things are changed, you don't have to give up all the pleasures the world offers because we are under grace now. The world says it's okay to do whatever you want, you are already forgiven. Paul was warning the Colossians to return to the truth of Gods Word, don't stray from that. He says, "Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like Him." "Christ is all that matters, and He lives in all of us." So now we begin to see just what we as Christians are to be doing. It's not always a matter of doing things, it's more about living as Christ lived. We are to get rid of those things that cast a shadow on the nature of Christ and water down what He came to do for us. Yes, we do live under grace and yes we are forgiven of our sin, but that does not mean we are to allow the world's influence to determine what kind of life we are to live. It does not mean that even though society says it's okay to cuss like a sailor doesn't mean we as Christians are to follow that example. When God's Word says something is sin it does not change with the changing of societies or the world's way of thinking. God told us that HE is God, HE does not change. "He is the same yesterday, today and forever." That means what God calls sin is still sin no matter what everyone else thinks. For those who claim to be followers of Christ must live out their lives according to the example that Christ left us with. We are not to allow the philosophies of the world or the twisted thinking of religions to sway our stand for the truth of the Gospel. Following Christ and claiming to be a Christian is not to be taken lightly. We are required to make some changes as the Holy Spirit of God points out those areas that are not pleasing to God. Christ has already done for us what the law could not do, He set us free to live out our lives here on this earth as an example of God's GRACE and LOVE that He has for all of His creation.
The rest of the letter to the Colossians lays out some guidelines for us to all follow Col. 3:16-4:18. Many of the things Paul talks about in the remainder of his letter are things that teach us to be submissive to Christ. " And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts." It would be good for us all to take to heart what Paul was pointing out concerning the influence the world can have on us if we are not guarded as to what we allow ourselves to listen to. Christ is the head of His church, so we have a great leader. We are not like that team that does not have a leader and therefore has no direction. Our direction is a heavenly one so let us keep our minds clear of those things that would cause us to stray off the course that God has put us on. We live in a very dangerous and ever changing time so we must be guarded even more so of the truth that lies within us. As the day approach's for Christ to return for His Bride(those who believe and trust Him), let us all set an example that is clear and refreshing to a world that is bound for death. The world whether it will admit it or not is searching and longing for a Savior, they don't want what they already have because it's not working. They want what we have and the only way the world will be attracted to it is if we let our light shine brightly from the hill top so the world can see it.
If you are struggling with sin in your life and want to be free, as a Christian turn back to your first love and let Christ show you what you must do to make some changes. Your bondage has been broken and you have already been set free so rid yourself of the sin that is holding you back from serving Christ to the fullest. If you have never known Christ as your Savior and you want to be free from the bondage you are in, then I invite you to turn to Christ right now by turning your thinking in His direction. You cannot be free from your bondage by turning to some well known philosophy or a religion that makes laws and regulations for you to follow. The only way you can be free from your bondage is to put your trust in God's only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. The way you do that is to talk to Him, you do this through prayer. Christ said this about Himself concerning how one gets back into relationship with the heavenly Father and to be allowed in His kingdom, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." There is no other way for you to be forgiven except through Jesus Christ, Gods only begotten Son. You cannot be good enough, no religion can get you to heaven, no amount of good deeds will save you and no amount of money can buy your way back into the good graces of God. So go with Christ and tell God you are a sinner and want to be free from bondage. A simple prayer can be like this and if you pray this prayer and mean it in your heart you will be saved and free from bondage; Dear Heavenly Father, I believe in your Son Jesus Christ and I put my trust in Him. Please forgive me of all my sins. I accept your Son as my Lord and Savior, come into my heart and free me from my sinful nature. Thank you Heavenly Father for hearing my prayer, help me to become what you want me to be and help me to do your will for my life. In Jesus Christ name I pray, Amen.
Now that you have prayed this prayer, seek out a bible believing Christian and tell them what you have done. This affirms that you have meant what you have prayed. Find yourself a Holy Bible and begin reading in the book of John. Continue talking to Jesus daily and let Him be your courage and encouragement.
Christians, don't let the world's way of thinking sway you from the truth, if you are confused and struggling then get your bible out and start reading. Tell Christ your struggles and ask Him to guide you back into His truth. Make your stand with Christ by remaining in His Word and living out His truth. Be an example to others in such a way that those around you will see Christ in you. Let love be your guide and motivator. Live in peace by accepting others where they are at in their life journey. If you encounter someone who differs with you, love them anyway and pray for them. Share the Good News with the lost when given the opportunity.
Let me summarize "what Christ has done" and "what Christians should do."
What Christ has done; Makes us a child of God; provides an inheritance; clothed us in HIs righteousness; transfers us from kingdom of darkness to kingdom of Gods Son; Became a visible image of the invisible God; Came to be a sacrifice for payment of our sins; Reconciled everything to God; makes us holy and blameless before God; circumcised our sinful nature; raised us to new life; made riches and glory available to gentiles; Christ lives in us, broke bondage to the law.
What Christians should do; put on new nature, consider earthly nature as dead; change moral and ethical behavior; put heaven's priorities into practice; concentrate on eternal rather than temporal; let go of world's way of thinking; allow Christ to be in control of your life; follow after Christ and maintain truth of the gospel; put to death sinful, earthly things lurking within you having nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires; get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, and dirty language; don't lie to each other; be renewed and get to know your creator and become like Him; don't be greedy; clothe yourself with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and peace.
I hope this has helped you to see how the world can be destructive to your belief in Christ and the Gospel if we are not guarded against the tactics of the enemy. I hope you have seen that we as Christians have a great responsibility to set an example for the world as to who Christ truly is and what He came to do.
May God bless you all while on this earth and may the Lord of heaven touch your heart today and bless you continually.
Monday, May 26, 2014
Rain In A Parched land
These past couple of months I have been wading through many different thoughts on just what my next blog post would cover. Nothing really has stood out until this past Sunday while in our church service. It was Memorial Day weekend and only one service was held. We had the usual time of prayer, worship and message. Of course this particular weekend was a time to honor our vets so our Pastor had all the vets past and present come up front and receive an American Flag. It was a special time with young and old veteran's standing up front to be honored. I believe that most appreciated the gesture of honor but I think most felt a little uncomfortable being in that position. During our worship service there were two words of knowledge given for our congregation, two somewhat different words, but yet both talked of freedom and healing. Let me share them with you and may God speak to your heart as much as He spoke to all those who received the message from God and were blessed from it.
Our military men and women have always fought to maintain our freedom's we have enjoyed in America. Many gave their lives for us so we could enjoy what we have today. War is an ugly and painful aspect of the human race. Wars are fought for various reasons, but the war that is fought for freedom is always a war that cost the most. It cost so dearly because freedom comes at a very high price, it comes from those who give and sacrifice their lives for others. Jesus Christ gave us our freedom from slavery just over two thousand years ago by giving His life on the cross. Yet there are many still who suffer from the slavery that Christ came to free them from. You might just be one of those who are still bound by the slavery of sin. You might be one that is struggling to be free from old habits, lusts, jealousy, hatred, anger, or you are just at a point where you want to just give up. You're saying that you have tried and tried but just can't do it anymore, it's just not worth the effort any longer. I want you know that God has not forsaken you, He has not forgotten you or the struggle you are going through. Listen to these two words of knowledge that were given on Sunday, May 25th 2014.
We all are at war while we are in this world. The apostle Paul stated in Ephesians 6:12 that we fight against powers unseen. As our military men and women have fought in the past and in the present to maintain our freedom, Christ, Gods only begotten Son gave His life so that we can have victory over our enemy. Christ was raised up from the grave and sits on the right hand of His Father so we can now have life and not death. He is our true commander and chief who fights our battles for us. He requires only one thing from us, that we TRUST HIM. Consider the two messages that God gave us through a couple of folks that serve God and obeyed Him by sharing what He placed on their hearts.
I am only going to summarize the messages because I cannot quote them word for word, but that's not necessary, the content of the message is what is important. The first word was given by a woman, she said that God gave her a word for those who are feeling like they want to just give up, it's not worth it anymore to even try. She went on to say that there are those who are hanging on to past sins such as anger, lusts, or are trapped in pornography, other's who cannot get victory over old habits that keep dragging them down. There are those who have to reach deep down within themselves and let God take care of the situation that is keeping them enslaved. This lady ended God's word to us by saying that if you want God to heal you spiritually and want to be freed from these shackles you have to reach out to God, you cannot just keep sitting back and hoping something good will happen, you have to invite God into your life and situation if you want complete victory over your sins and or situation that holds you back.
The second word that was given was from a man who has given words of knowledge before, He shared it with the Pastor and ask the Pastor to share it to the congregation. This word tied right into the previous word but went past the invitation part of the first word. Here is what God said to this man; the desert is a dry and barren place, nothing much grows in the desert because of the lack of water. When the rain does come the desert becomes one the most beautiful places to behold. It comes alive with blooms of many colors, colors that are rarely seen in the desert. Seeds that have been dormant in the ground for years burst into life and plants grow to give the desert it's spectacular beauty after the rain has fallen. If you are one of those who are suffering from any of the above situations in your life or any that are not mentioned and you feel as though you are in a dry and arid place, the rains are about to fall on you if you will obey what God is directing you to do. These rains from God will cause you to be refreshed and no longer feel dry and parched. Your life will blossom as the desert blossoms after a long awaited rain that falls on the desert floor to give it life and beauty.
(I want to emphasize that these words of knowledge or messages are summarized, not quoted word for word, the content of the message is important).
In Job 38:34-38 God is admonishing Job. Job as you know suffered a great deal when he was being tested and satan wanted to destroy him. God reminded Job who was in charge by asking him "who is wise enough to count the clouds? Who can tilt the water jars of heaven when the parched ground is dry and the soil has hardened into clods?" God was reminding Job just who He is and he reminded Job just who he is. You see, Job could not solve his problem, only God could do that and Job needed to be reminded that God still loved him and wanted to bless him beyond what he had lost. Job remained faithful but in his suffering he began to question God and His intentions. Maybe you are in a place like that right now, you are questioning God and His intentions with you. In Psalm 65:9-13 King David praises God for who He is and gives a description of who God is. David stated that "You take care of the earth and water it, making it rich and fertile." then he goes on to say that "The grasslands of the wilderness become a lush pasture, and the hillsides blossom with joy."
This my friend is what God wants to do for you. He wants to cause you to blossom like the desert after a long awaited rain. He doesn't want you to continue in the parched dry land wandering around without hope of relief. God has given us His Holy Spirit who comes as a rain over the dryness of your life. He comes to give you comfort and relief from your present situation. If you stop running from Him and let Him flow over and into you, you will receive that long awaited rain that only God can give. Listen to Him and let Him come into you by believing and receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. It is through Jesus Christ that you will receive the refreshing and comforting rain of His Holy Spirit. God wants to bless you, but He can't do that until you do things His way. The scripture's tell us that "Though we are overwhelmed by our sins, You forgive them all," Psalm 65:3.
You may be a believer already but are struggling with your walk with Christ, and if that's the case, remember God said it Himself, "Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; He will neither fail you nor abandon you," Deuteronomy 31:8. Jesus Christ said "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full," John 10:10. So what will it be with you? Are you going to continue to suffer and be bound by that which has you enslaved or trapped, or are you going to be the one who steps up and claims your freedom and have those shackles that have you bound broken so you can be set free? It's up to you which type of life you choose to live, a life of freedom through Christ, or a life of enslavement to your enemy?
Let me pray for you right now, Dear God, for those who are trapped and don't know how to escape, show them the light of Christ so they might be set free from what has them bound. Help them in their journey Dear Father, break the chains of destruction that has them bound. Bind up their enemy so that your people will have the freedom that Christ gave them when He gave His life for theirs. It is in the name of Jesus Christ that I ask for their freedom, Amen. Now you pray, Father in heaven, forgive me of my sins, I invite Jesus Christ, your only Son, to be the Lord of my life. I am bound by (name what holds you captive) and ask you to set me free. I no longer want to be a servant of the enemy. Thank you for hearing my prayer, I receive your forgiveness in the name of Jesus Christ. I am set free by the blood of Christ and claim victory over that which has held me captive. Thank you Heavenly Father for not forsaking me and for loving me unconditionally. I pray this in the name of your Son Jesus Christ, Amen.
If you have prayed this prayer then believe that it is done. God is faithful and will not go back on His Word. If you need help with what you have been going through I encourage you to seek out someone who believes in Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of God and ask them to pray for you. If you don't have a Bible, get one and start reading. If you have a Bible already, open it and start believing what God is showing you in His Word. God loves you no matter what you have done, He loves you unconditionally. Remember this, you have a choice, you can do it your way, which is the world's way of thinking, or, you can do it God's way which is the complete opposite of how the world thinks. Choose God and you will not be sorry.
Our military men and women have always fought to maintain our freedom's we have enjoyed in America. Many gave their lives for us so we could enjoy what we have today. War is an ugly and painful aspect of the human race. Wars are fought for various reasons, but the war that is fought for freedom is always a war that cost the most. It cost so dearly because freedom comes at a very high price, it comes from those who give and sacrifice their lives for others. Jesus Christ gave us our freedom from slavery just over two thousand years ago by giving His life on the cross. Yet there are many still who suffer from the slavery that Christ came to free them from. You might just be one of those who are still bound by the slavery of sin. You might be one that is struggling to be free from old habits, lusts, jealousy, hatred, anger, or you are just at a point where you want to just give up. You're saying that you have tried and tried but just can't do it anymore, it's just not worth the effort any longer. I want you know that God has not forsaken you, He has not forgotten you or the struggle you are going through. Listen to these two words of knowledge that were given on Sunday, May 25th 2014.
We all are at war while we are in this world. The apostle Paul stated in Ephesians 6:12 that we fight against powers unseen. As our military men and women have fought in the past and in the present to maintain our freedom, Christ, Gods only begotten Son gave His life so that we can have victory over our enemy. Christ was raised up from the grave and sits on the right hand of His Father so we can now have life and not death. He is our true commander and chief who fights our battles for us. He requires only one thing from us, that we TRUST HIM. Consider the two messages that God gave us through a couple of folks that serve God and obeyed Him by sharing what He placed on their hearts.
I am only going to summarize the messages because I cannot quote them word for word, but that's not necessary, the content of the message is what is important. The first word was given by a woman, she said that God gave her a word for those who are feeling like they want to just give up, it's not worth it anymore to even try. She went on to say that there are those who are hanging on to past sins such as anger, lusts, or are trapped in pornography, other's who cannot get victory over old habits that keep dragging them down. There are those who have to reach deep down within themselves and let God take care of the situation that is keeping them enslaved. This lady ended God's word to us by saying that if you want God to heal you spiritually and want to be freed from these shackles you have to reach out to God, you cannot just keep sitting back and hoping something good will happen, you have to invite God into your life and situation if you want complete victory over your sins and or situation that holds you back.
The second word that was given was from a man who has given words of knowledge before, He shared it with the Pastor and ask the Pastor to share it to the congregation. This word tied right into the previous word but went past the invitation part of the first word. Here is what God said to this man; the desert is a dry and barren place, nothing much grows in the desert because of the lack of water. When the rain does come the desert becomes one the most beautiful places to behold. It comes alive with blooms of many colors, colors that are rarely seen in the desert. Seeds that have been dormant in the ground for years burst into life and plants grow to give the desert it's spectacular beauty after the rain has fallen. If you are one of those who are suffering from any of the above situations in your life or any that are not mentioned and you feel as though you are in a dry and arid place, the rains are about to fall on you if you will obey what God is directing you to do. These rains from God will cause you to be refreshed and no longer feel dry and parched. Your life will blossom as the desert blossoms after a long awaited rain that falls on the desert floor to give it life and beauty.
(I want to emphasize that these words of knowledge or messages are summarized, not quoted word for word, the content of the message is important).
In Job 38:34-38 God is admonishing Job. Job as you know suffered a great deal when he was being tested and satan wanted to destroy him. God reminded Job who was in charge by asking him "who is wise enough to count the clouds? Who can tilt the water jars of heaven when the parched ground is dry and the soil has hardened into clods?" God was reminding Job just who He is and he reminded Job just who he is. You see, Job could not solve his problem, only God could do that and Job needed to be reminded that God still loved him and wanted to bless him beyond what he had lost. Job remained faithful but in his suffering he began to question God and His intentions. Maybe you are in a place like that right now, you are questioning God and His intentions with you. In Psalm 65:9-13 King David praises God for who He is and gives a description of who God is. David stated that "You take care of the earth and water it, making it rich and fertile." then he goes on to say that "The grasslands of the wilderness become a lush pasture, and the hillsides blossom with joy."
This my friend is what God wants to do for you. He wants to cause you to blossom like the desert after a long awaited rain. He doesn't want you to continue in the parched dry land wandering around without hope of relief. God has given us His Holy Spirit who comes as a rain over the dryness of your life. He comes to give you comfort and relief from your present situation. If you stop running from Him and let Him flow over and into you, you will receive that long awaited rain that only God can give. Listen to Him and let Him come into you by believing and receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. It is through Jesus Christ that you will receive the refreshing and comforting rain of His Holy Spirit. God wants to bless you, but He can't do that until you do things His way. The scripture's tell us that "Though we are overwhelmed by our sins, You forgive them all," Psalm 65:3.
You may be a believer already but are struggling with your walk with Christ, and if that's the case, remember God said it Himself, "Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; He will neither fail you nor abandon you," Deuteronomy 31:8. Jesus Christ said "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full," John 10:10. So what will it be with you? Are you going to continue to suffer and be bound by that which has you enslaved or trapped, or are you going to be the one who steps up and claims your freedom and have those shackles that have you bound broken so you can be set free? It's up to you which type of life you choose to live, a life of freedom through Christ, or a life of enslavement to your enemy?
Let me pray for you right now, Dear God, for those who are trapped and don't know how to escape, show them the light of Christ so they might be set free from what has them bound. Help them in their journey Dear Father, break the chains of destruction that has them bound. Bind up their enemy so that your people will have the freedom that Christ gave them when He gave His life for theirs. It is in the name of Jesus Christ that I ask for their freedom, Amen. Now you pray, Father in heaven, forgive me of my sins, I invite Jesus Christ, your only Son, to be the Lord of my life. I am bound by (name what holds you captive) and ask you to set me free. I no longer want to be a servant of the enemy. Thank you for hearing my prayer, I receive your forgiveness in the name of Jesus Christ. I am set free by the blood of Christ and claim victory over that which has held me captive. Thank you Heavenly Father for not forsaking me and for loving me unconditionally. I pray this in the name of your Son Jesus Christ, Amen.
If you have prayed this prayer then believe that it is done. God is faithful and will not go back on His Word. If you need help with what you have been going through I encourage you to seek out someone who believes in Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of God and ask them to pray for you. If you don't have a Bible, get one and start reading. If you have a Bible already, open it and start believing what God is showing you in His Word. God loves you no matter what you have done, He loves you unconditionally. Remember this, you have a choice, you can do it your way, which is the world's way of thinking, or, you can do it God's way which is the complete opposite of how the world thinks. Choose God and you will not be sorry.
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Grace, Undeserved and Priceless
You have heard the expression, "God's grace, it's all you need." Have you ever wondered just what that means? I mean really and honestly wondered just what is Grace? This is a word that is easy to say, easy to share with someone as to what they need, yet sometimes so difficult to not only understand, but to accept for ourselves. One thing for sure, I certainly do not understand it very well, but the more I look into it, the more it begins to affect how I see things in the world around me. It has always amazed me how some people can have the world cave in around them and they are able to continue on with a smile on their face and a bounce in their step and not hold any anger or grudge for those who may have said something hurtful or done them some kind of harm. I would like to share with you for a moment what I have been learning about Grace, the unconditional, forgiving, moving on kind of Grace. This is the same Grace that God has shown to each and every one of us.
When one really stops and thinks about this subject and where grace came from you begin to see that God's grace has been around long before He created this world and placed mankind on it. I would like to share a passage from Andy Stanley's book "The Grace of God." He begins his book with the creation and how God chose to create this world not because He was obligated to but because He wanted to.
I mean think about it, here is an all knowing God, the creator of everything, which would mean that He, God, knew that His grace was going to be needed even before He placed man on earth. This is really quite awesome, an all loving God creates a great big earth for mankind which He knows is going to turn against Him, yet, He goes ahead and completes His plan. That is Grace. Why didn't God just abort His plan or start over or just change the outcome by not placing that one tree in the garden? Seems to me God wanted to give man the opportunity to not only receive His love but wanted man to give his love back without any restrictions. The tree of knowledge of good and evil would be that opportunity for man to show their love for God by obeying God's one command to not touch the tree. God knew what was going to happen, he even warned the first humans what would happen if they did touch the tree. The real kicker is that God had already made a way for man to get back in good with Him. That is Grace. Why did He do this would be my next question. In 2 Timothy 1:9 we are told that God planned to show us His love and grace before the world was formed. Ephesians 1:3-6 also tells us that God had planned to show His love for us before the creation of the world. That's Grace. God knew mankind would fail, and that we did not deserve His love or grace, but yet He completed His plan anyway. Mankind did not deserve God's grace and there was nothing man could do to earn it or deserve it, nothing at all. God, knowing what man would do went ahead and made plans for His one and only Son to be the ultimate sacrifice for mankind to have a way back into God's presence. That's Grace. There would be no way for man to earn their way back to God, there was nothing man could do to pay the price for their rebellion/sin.
There are many instances in the scriptures that show God's marvelous grace. In every instance God did not have to show His love or shed His grace on any of these individuals or groups of people. They did not deserve anything but punishment. Yet, God chose to give His grace in every instance. Let's look at two of these stories that relate to God's grace. One of them would be Jonah. You know the story so I am not going to tell the whole story here, you can look at it in Jonah 1:1-5:11. There is so much more to this story than a man who refused to do what God wanted him to do. You have to understand what God was calling Jonah to do. First we need to look at the people of Nineveh. Again from Andy Stanley's book "The Grace of God;"
The one thing we can learn about Jonah's distress, is that Jonah created this distress all by himself. From the belly of the fish Jonah cried out to God in his distress and God heard him. God answered Jonah's prayer even though he did not deserve it, Jonah 2:2. Through a process of lessons God brought before Jonah, Jonah learned some valuable lessons about himself. There was the lesson about a vine that God caused to grow over Jonah to protect him from the scorching heat. Jonah was pleased that the vine grew over him to protect him. During the night God caused a worm to attack the vine, which caused the vine to die and Jonah was not happy. Now look at what God said to Jonah about the vine. Jonah 4:10-11, But the Lord said, "You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?
The only thing that saved Nineveh was the only thing that saved Jonah, God's Grace. None of them could do anything to deserve this grace and there was no way for them to earn it. It was God's love for His creation that caused Him to shed His Grace on the entire area.
After Jonah, the people of Israel, the nation that was to be the light to the rest of the world fall further and further away from God. Unlike Nineveh, Israel failed to repent of their wayward ways until finally God had to do something to set them back on course. That discipline came in the form of exile. For 70 years Israel was held captive by another nation. Then sometime after that the prophets went silent. There was not another word from God for 400 years. Not in the sense they had experienced in the past would they hear from their God. Then after this long period of darkness and silence God makes an announcement. Andy Stanley says it this way:
There are many more stories that we could look at but there just isn't enough time and space on this blog post. Levi, now called Matthew wrote the Gospel of Matthew, in the beginning of this gospel Matthew listed the genealogy of Jesus and in it you will find several that would not be considered proper for such a King that Jesus was. You find Rehab a prostitute, King David, an adulterer and murderer, etc.
The list can go on, but I need to bring this to a close. Nicodemus was a religious man during the time of Jesus, he came to Jesus at night to ask Him if He was the Messiah. Jesus after talking with Nicodemus for awhile told Nicodemus that he needed to be born again. In other words Nicodemus, you need to be reconnected with the Father. Nicodemus lived by the law and he was a devout, religious man. Yet, Christ told him that he needed to experience The Father's Grace. It is the same grace that Jonah experienced, the same grace that the people of Nineveh experienced and the same grace that Matthew experienced. It is the same grace that is offered to every individual on this earth, even you and me.
Every soul thirst's after the grace of God. The problem is, is that we all try to quench that thirst with things that do not satisfy it. Many have tried drugs, alcohol, sex, money, work, relationships, anything to satisfy a thirst that cannot be satisfied except with the grace that God offers to each and every one. As Andy Stanley states; "The Grace of God is the life of the Savior coursing through the souls of believers to sustain us through those things that will not or cannot change." There is one thing that we all must understand, no matter what religion you adhere to or chose to follow, you need to know that "Christ's death and resurrection signaled to the world that the Kingdom of God is not reserved for good people. It is reserved for forgiven people." (Andy Stanley, "The Grace of God). Forgiveness only comes through Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son. It was God the Father's plan from before man was placed on this earth. There is no other plan that will bring the forgiveness of your sins.
This my friends is Gods plan for your life, that you all might be found forgiven through His Son who bled and died for you and me. It was His sacrifice and the Grace of a loving Father that made a way back for you. If you have not experienced God's grace as of yet, don't you think it is time? Why keep running from God like Jonah did. Jonah couldn't run far enough because he could not outrun God. Neither can you. His Grace is available to you just by asking. God offered the most fair way for everyone to come back to Him. Not through some religion or false god, but through the living God. His way is fair because 1. Everybody is invited. 2. Everybody gets in the same way. 3. Everybody can meet the requirement.
In the story of the prodigal son, we find the younger son left home, lived hard and spent all of his inheritance. He came to his senses and decided to return home. Upon arrival at his home, the father seen him coming and told his servants to kill the fatted calf and lets celebrate. It's an amazing story. The father did not ask what he had done, he just welcomed him home and celebrated the fact that he had returned. That my friend is grace. And that is how our heavenly Father welcomes us back when we put our trust in His one and only Son, Jesus Christ. Isn't it time you returned home, a great celebration awaits you. Your sins are forgiven once you ask for it. Pray this simple prayer from the heart; Heavenly Father, I am a sinner and I want to come home. Forgive me of my sins and rebellious nature. I put my trust and faith in your Son Jesus Christ. Thank you for your forgiveness Father. Guide me now in the new life you have for me and help me to live according to your will. In the name of Jesus your Son, amen.
Now it's up to you, you aren't going to get a better offer than the offer of God's grace. He is waiting for you to respond to His love and grace.
I know this is lengthy, but I needed to share what is on my heart. I hope you will listen to what God is saying to you right now. Also, I want to give full credit to Andy Stanley for the quotations I used from his book, "The Grace of God." I would recommend getting a copy and reading the full length version, it will be time well spent. There is so much more I would like to share on this subject so I may in the next post continue on with this subject. It is difficult to get the true feeling of God's Grace in a short message, so I hope you will stick with me for future posts on this subject. It truly is AMAZING GRACE. Thank you for taking the extra time in reading this blog post.
When one really stops and thinks about this subject and where grace came from you begin to see that God's grace has been around long before He created this world and placed mankind on it. I would like to share a passage from Andy Stanley's book "The Grace of God." He begins his book with the creation and how God chose to create this world not because He was obligated to but because He wanted to.
Why did God create anything? Some argue that he was lonely, but I don't think so. Even if that were the case, an argument could be made that the act of creation was an extraordinary act of grace. God created life, which created the potential for you and me. Creation gave you an opportunity to "be." And God was under no obligation to give you or me that opportunity. Why is there something rather than nothing? Because God decided there should be something. And part of that something is you! In the beginning God created, and this was a marvelous act of grace.Why did God after creating light, sun, moon, planets and stars to measure the passing of time, did He say "It was good?" Read on what Andy Stanley says about this:
I think most people take that to mean that God looked at His handiwork and thought to Himself, Nice Job! You know, the kind of thing you would say to yourself after painting a room in your house or washing your car. That's good. Sounds a bit silly when you stop and think about it.....
Another option suggests that creation was good in a moral sense. But that doesn't really work either. Dry land isn't morally good or bad. It's just dry land. But God declared it good. Strange, isn't it? Good for what? Good for whom? Good for God? Did God benefit from the division of the land from the sea or from the creation of birds and fish? Was all of that for His sole benefit and enjoyment? Did it really matter that the seed-bearing plants would reproduce after their own kind? Was it for God that certain plants were created for food and others just for their beauty? Would God, who is spirit, benefit from either? In other parts of the Scripture, we discover that all of creation declares God's glory (Ps. 19:1). But who hears this declaration? You; that's who. And me. God declared each phase of creation good because it was good for us.
"Then..." (Gen. 1:26) as in, after everything was ready. "Then"--as in, after the stage was set. "Then"--as in, after God got everything the way He knew we would need it to be. "Then God said, "Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us."...So God created human beings in His own image. In the image of God He created them" (Gen. 1:26-27).
And what did God do with them? He told them to enjoy themselves. Everything He had painstakingly fashioned, He created for them. Heres' how Moses described it.Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground--everything that has the breath of life in it---I give every green plant for food." And it was so. (Gen. 1:29-30). Andy Stanley says this;
Pay attention to the words in red italics.
God created all this not for Himself, but to give it away. He handed the keys to us. He created a world that would perfectly suit us and sustain the entire human race.This is the whole point of what I am trying to get across, we did nothing to deserve all this awesome creation and pristine abundance. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. That's Grace.
I mean think about it, here is an all knowing God, the creator of everything, which would mean that He, God, knew that His grace was going to be needed even before He placed man on earth. This is really quite awesome, an all loving God creates a great big earth for mankind which He knows is going to turn against Him, yet, He goes ahead and completes His plan. That is Grace. Why didn't God just abort His plan or start over or just change the outcome by not placing that one tree in the garden? Seems to me God wanted to give man the opportunity to not only receive His love but wanted man to give his love back without any restrictions. The tree of knowledge of good and evil would be that opportunity for man to show their love for God by obeying God's one command to not touch the tree. God knew what was going to happen, he even warned the first humans what would happen if they did touch the tree. The real kicker is that God had already made a way for man to get back in good with Him. That is Grace. Why did He do this would be my next question. In 2 Timothy 1:9 we are told that God planned to show us His love and grace before the world was formed. Ephesians 1:3-6 also tells us that God had planned to show His love for us before the creation of the world. That's Grace. God knew mankind would fail, and that we did not deserve His love or grace, but yet He completed His plan anyway. Mankind did not deserve God's grace and there was nothing man could do to earn it or deserve it, nothing at all. God, knowing what man would do went ahead and made plans for His one and only Son to be the ultimate sacrifice for mankind to have a way back into God's presence. That's Grace. There would be no way for man to earn their way back to God, there was nothing man could do to pay the price for their rebellion/sin.
There are many instances in the scriptures that show God's marvelous grace. In every instance God did not have to show His love or shed His grace on any of these individuals or groups of people. They did not deserve anything but punishment. Yet, God chose to give His grace in every instance. Let's look at two of these stories that relate to God's grace. One of them would be Jonah. You know the story so I am not going to tell the whole story here, you can look at it in Jonah 1:1-5:11. There is so much more to this story than a man who refused to do what God wanted him to do. You have to understand what God was calling Jonah to do. First we need to look at the people of Nineveh. Again from Andy Stanley's book "The Grace of God;"
Nineveh was the capital city of the Assyrian Empire, one of Israel's most vicious enemies. The Assyrians had turned cruelty into an art. They had perfected torture. They dismembered and disfigured people, skinned then alive, boiled them in oil, and impaled them on stakes. From Jonah's point of view, these people weren't worth saving. The last thing he wanted to do was be God's emissary of grace. They didn't deserve grace. They deserved judgment.So one can see why Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh to preach a salvation type message. But God had other plans for such a degenerate, cruel and lost people. Jonah 1:1-2 tell us that the sins of the people of Nineveh had come up before Him and God wanted to give them a chance to repent. Jonah didn't think they deserved grace. But Jonah didn't stop to think that he did not deserve grace either. No one deserved God's Grace, no one. So Jonah ran, he ran as far as he could to escape the mission God had placed before Him. Now to make the story short, Jonah could not outrun God and ended up in a great fish's belly and was placed back on the beach. God called out to Jonah again and told him to go to Nineveh and preach the message God would tell him to preach. So Jonah did that. Nineveh was a large city, the scripture says it was three days journey to cross it. It is estimated that it was about 120,000 in population and that was just inside the city walls that were seven miles in length around the city. After Jonah preached to the city, the whole city had repented, including the king. Did any of these people deserve God's grace, NO. But God loved His creation so much that He would extend His grace to the evil people of Nineveh so they could experience God's love also.
The one thing we can learn about Jonah's distress, is that Jonah created this distress all by himself. From the belly of the fish Jonah cried out to God in his distress and God heard him. God answered Jonah's prayer even though he did not deserve it, Jonah 2:2. Through a process of lessons God brought before Jonah, Jonah learned some valuable lessons about himself. There was the lesson about a vine that God caused to grow over Jonah to protect him from the scorching heat. Jonah was pleased that the vine grew over him to protect him. During the night God caused a worm to attack the vine, which caused the vine to die and Jonah was not happy. Now look at what God said to Jonah about the vine. Jonah 4:10-11, But the Lord said, "You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?
The only thing that saved Nineveh was the only thing that saved Jonah, God's Grace. None of them could do anything to deserve this grace and there was no way for them to earn it. It was God's love for His creation that caused Him to shed His Grace on the entire area.
After Jonah, the people of Israel, the nation that was to be the light to the rest of the world fall further and further away from God. Unlike Nineveh, Israel failed to repent of their wayward ways until finally God had to do something to set them back on course. That discipline came in the form of exile. For 70 years Israel was held captive by another nation. Then sometime after that the prophets went silent. There was not another word from God for 400 years. Not in the sense they had experienced in the past would they hear from their God. Then after this long period of darkness and silence God makes an announcement. Andy Stanley says it this way:
Then, with perfect timing and the grandeur of an act 3 overture, the grace of God shook the world. A piercing pinpoint of light attracted the attention of mystics on the far side of the Arabian Desert (Matt. 2:1-12). Somewhere in the pastures surrounding the backwater town of Bethlehem, an angelic host ripped the veil between heaven and earth to bring a stunning announcement: the Messiah is born (Luke 2:8-20)!... In time, He would prove to all that in the birth of the Redeemer, God had not only come to rescue humanity from the death grip of sin; He had become one of us.The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen the glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth, John 1:14. John gives the account of Jesus extending grace and truth to some of the more undesirable people of the nation. Jesus called a tax collector named Levi. A tax collector, which derives from the word telones. Telones could use Roman authority to extort as much tax as he wanted. The actual tax went into Rome's coffers; the surplus made the tax collector very rich. The tax collector had to instill fear in the people to extort enough money to not only pay the Roman coffers, but to maximize his profit. The people hated the tax collector and had no use for them. Then along came Jesus, full of compassion and grace. He called Levi and renamed him Matthew. Jesus simply said to him, come, follow me. Matthew was torn between his heritage as a Jewish descendant and his role as a telone. Levi was ridden with guilt. Levi had stooped to the lowest level of a Jewish person. Levi came from the lineage of the levites which were the guardians of the temple. They were very religious and were to be the guiding light to the rest of the nation of Israel. It was bad enough to become a Roman tax collector, but to be from the lineage of the levites besides, was considered traitorous. Then one day Levi encountered Jesus and experienced the grace that God had for the worst of the worst.
There are many more stories that we could look at but there just isn't enough time and space on this blog post. Levi, now called Matthew wrote the Gospel of Matthew, in the beginning of this gospel Matthew listed the genealogy of Jesus and in it you will find several that would not be considered proper for such a King that Jesus was. You find Rehab a prostitute, King David, an adulterer and murderer, etc.
The list can go on, but I need to bring this to a close. Nicodemus was a religious man during the time of Jesus, he came to Jesus at night to ask Him if He was the Messiah. Jesus after talking with Nicodemus for awhile told Nicodemus that he needed to be born again. In other words Nicodemus, you need to be reconnected with the Father. Nicodemus lived by the law and he was a devout, religious man. Yet, Christ told him that he needed to experience The Father's Grace. It is the same grace that Jonah experienced, the same grace that the people of Nineveh experienced and the same grace that Matthew experienced. It is the same grace that is offered to every individual on this earth, even you and me.
Every soul thirst's after the grace of God. The problem is, is that we all try to quench that thirst with things that do not satisfy it. Many have tried drugs, alcohol, sex, money, work, relationships, anything to satisfy a thirst that cannot be satisfied except with the grace that God offers to each and every one. As Andy Stanley states; "The Grace of God is the life of the Savior coursing through the souls of believers to sustain us through those things that will not or cannot change." There is one thing that we all must understand, no matter what religion you adhere to or chose to follow, you need to know that "Christ's death and resurrection signaled to the world that the Kingdom of God is not reserved for good people. It is reserved for forgiven people." (Andy Stanley, "The Grace of God). Forgiveness only comes through Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son. It was God the Father's plan from before man was placed on this earth. There is no other plan that will bring the forgiveness of your sins.
This my friends is Gods plan for your life, that you all might be found forgiven through His Son who bled and died for you and me. It was His sacrifice and the Grace of a loving Father that made a way back for you. If you have not experienced God's grace as of yet, don't you think it is time? Why keep running from God like Jonah did. Jonah couldn't run far enough because he could not outrun God. Neither can you. His Grace is available to you just by asking. God offered the most fair way for everyone to come back to Him. Not through some religion or false god, but through the living God. His way is fair because 1. Everybody is invited. 2. Everybody gets in the same way. 3. Everybody can meet the requirement.
In the story of the prodigal son, we find the younger son left home, lived hard and spent all of his inheritance. He came to his senses and decided to return home. Upon arrival at his home, the father seen him coming and told his servants to kill the fatted calf and lets celebrate. It's an amazing story. The father did not ask what he had done, he just welcomed him home and celebrated the fact that he had returned. That my friend is grace. And that is how our heavenly Father welcomes us back when we put our trust in His one and only Son, Jesus Christ. Isn't it time you returned home, a great celebration awaits you. Your sins are forgiven once you ask for it. Pray this simple prayer from the heart; Heavenly Father, I am a sinner and I want to come home. Forgive me of my sins and rebellious nature. I put my trust and faith in your Son Jesus Christ. Thank you for your forgiveness Father. Guide me now in the new life you have for me and help me to live according to your will. In the name of Jesus your Son, amen.
Now it's up to you, you aren't going to get a better offer than the offer of God's grace. He is waiting for you to respond to His love and grace.
I know this is lengthy, but I needed to share what is on my heart. I hope you will listen to what God is saying to you right now. Also, I want to give full credit to Andy Stanley for the quotations I used from his book, "The Grace of God." I would recommend getting a copy and reading the full length version, it will be time well spent. There is so much more I would like to share on this subject so I may in the next post continue on with this subject. It is difficult to get the true feeling of God's Grace in a short message, so I hope you will stick with me for future posts on this subject. It truly is AMAZING GRACE. Thank you for taking the extra time in reading this blog post.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
2 Chronicles 7:14, Future of a Nation
In 2 Chronicles 7:14 God left an open door for the Israelites to return to Him. King Solomon had finished the temple that was to be dedicated to God. This temple was something to behold for sure. It took many years to complete and Israel was going to be the caretakers so to speak. The people of God were Abraham's descendant's and were to be the example to the rest of the world as to how the human race was to live according to the law of Moses. Unfortunately because disobedience or should I say rebellion entered into mankind through Adam and Eve, everyone, including the Israelites had been contaminated with sin. Because of this not even the people that God chose to represent Him could live perfectly. So, God in His love for His creation made a way for mankind to return to His presence.
When you follow the progress of mankind through the scriptures we find just how God made a way for sins to be forgiven and man could worship God again. God, through His mercy and love told man that blood would have to be shed for forgiveness of sin to be obtained. This brought about the sacrifice of specific animals for this purpose. Everything had to be done according to Gods law and by His instructions. The Israelites found that because they could not go through life without committing sin, they would have to sacrifice many animals. The temple would be the place of many sacrifices and special times of gathering in the presence of God. The problem was that the Israelites just could not keep it together and because of their constant rebellion against God they had to be dealt with. Disciplining the whole nation would be the method that God would use to bring these people back into His presence. His discipline came in many forms. Animals would have to be sacrificed so the sins of the people would be forgiven, but God knew something had to be done to turn the Israelites back towards Him. It would seem that these chosen people were only going through the motions of the sacrifice and not the repentance part. Repentance required a change of heart and a turning from one direction and go another. It's not to say that at times they did not repent, because they did. The problem was they kept getting pulled back into the world system and walked away from their God. That is when God had to take some harsh action to let them know that what they were doing was wrong and they needed to come back to Him. Before God took any kind of action against His people He first sent them prophets to let them know what they needed to do. In most of these messages sent through the prophets God revealed His course of action. In other words He gave them fair warning and plenty of opportunity to turn back to Him.
When you read the Old Testament and look at the history of God's chosen people you will find there were many times God was very displeased with His people and many times the Israelites had to suffer some very hard times. One sure thing we can learn from the history of Israel is that God never abandoned them, even when He was displeased with their actions. So throughout the Old Testament times God showed mercy and forgiveness to His people. To return to God there were specific guidelines laid out for them to follow, if they followed God's instructions then God would meet with them and forgive their sins and place them back in the land He set aside for them. It's important to understand just how God dealt with the nation of Israel when they sinned against Him. What we learn about the nation of Israel and how God dealt with them gives us a clear picture of how He will deal with all of His children. God is a Just God and He is a merciful, loving and forgiving God. So when He allows or brings difficult times to fall on His children, rest assured, He has their best interest at heart. Let's look at an example of when God dealt harshly with His chosen people.
Looking at 2 Kings 16-17 we will find that some evil kings had been ruling Israel, but with intermittent good kings. The kings that were labeled as good though did not fully do away with the evil practices that their evil predecessor's left behind. As one looks into these kings and their practices we find a pattern that developed with the people, they went along with the king and went against the Lord their God also. There didn't seem to be much resistance to going against their God. Some of the practices that entered into the nation of Israel were in direct disobedience to God's commands. In 2 Kings 17:14-15 idol worship had become their preferred focus of worship. Also, from the king down the people began to follow the example of the nations around them which was in direct disobedience to the Lord's command not to imitate them, Deut. 18:9-14. As you study this one portion of scripture you must realize these actions and way of life did not happen overnight, many years of disobedience brought them to this point in the life of the people of Israel. 2 Kings 17:16-18 continues with the actions the people took concerning their way of worship, for instance, they rejected all of Gods commands concerning witchcraft, sorcery, worship of Baal and the forces of heaven which were the sun, moon and constellations. They sacrificed their sons in the fire as the customs of other nations were, they sought out fortune tellers instead of the Lord their God. The scripture says they "sold themselves to evil." Because of their continual evil acts and rebellion against God, The God who delivered them on numerous occasions caused them to be captured by the Assyrians and sent into exile.
Before I bring this into the present day let me share with you when the people called Israel became God's chosen people. We need to go way back and look at Genesis 12:1, this is where God promises Abram that he would become a great nation. God told Abram that He would bless him and make him famous, that he would be blessed and would bless other's. God would "bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you." The story you read about this nation God brought into existence through Abraham is a story filled with mystery, intrigue, murder, deceit, blessings and curses, marriage, and the ups and downs of a nation. Through the journey and making of this small nation God delivers them, disciplines them, blesses them and removes them. One thing that will be noted throughout the story is that no matter what these people did, God never abandoned them. He continually expressed His love for them even when they were bad.
Turning now back to 2 Chronicles 6-7:14 where the building and completion of the Temple that was now being dedicated to God for Him to dwell in among His people. In verse 14 of chapter 7 you have God responding to the prayer of dedication from Solomon the King of Israel at that time. review with me for a few minutes a recapping of what this nation had gone through up to this time. Look at 2 Chronicles 6:24-39 and you will find the dedication prayer King Solomon is praying. Summarizing it you may come up with something like this; "Victory does not come when sin dwells in the hearts of God's people, God will send drought to remind His people that sin dwells in their hearts, disaster will continue as long as sin remains in their hearts. Solomon interjects that foreigners are attracted to God when they hear and see what God is doing for His people when sin is not present in His people. Foreigner's may capture and take your people into exile when they have sin in their hearts, but during that exile your people might repent of their sin and pray to You and repent of their sin so that God will forgive them and return them to their land." Now we jump over to 2 Chronicles 7:12-16 and see Gods response to Solomon's prayer.
God affirms Solomon's prayer one night and says this; "I have heard your prayer and have chosen this Temple as the place for making sacrifices. At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or command grasshoppers to devour your crops, or send plagues among you. Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to every prayer made in this place. For I have chosen this Temple and set it apart to be holy, a place where my name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart." As we all know, Israel is a type of the church to come, or of a people that God would consider His own.
Speaking now to the church today, and when I say church I am not talking about any one denomination of Christian church's, I am talking specifically about God's church or those who are true followers of His Son Jesus Christ. A true follower of Jesus Christ is one who believes in Him as Gods only begotten Son, repented of their sins and ask Christ to be the Lord and Savior of their life. They have placed their faith and trust in Him and Him only. That is a true follower of Jesus Christ. John 3:16 states this very well, and it is Jesus who said it. Also Christ made this statement in John 3:3, "I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God." John 14:6-7 Christ tells Thomas, one of His disciples "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me." Now I want us to look at something very enlightening and profound. In 1 Corinthians 3:16 Paul tells Christ's followers that they are the Temple of the Living God. This particular verse refers more to the body of Christ or all of His followers. The New Living Translation says it like this; "Don't you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?" This gives a very good indication that God dwells within His people and we are His Temple as a corporate body. Now look at 1 Corinthians 3:19, here you will see that this becomes very personal. Again from the New Living Translation; "Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself." Now stay with me, I'm going to tie this together shortly. Remember what I said about Israel watching over the temple and being an example as to how the rest of the world was to live according to Gods commands? Specifically this became the responsibility of Aaron and his descendants. In Numbers 18:1 (NLT) We find Aaron and his descendants were to be held responsible for any offenses related to the sanctuary and they will be held responsible for violations connected with the priesthood. The priesthood were the ones specifically responsible for the care of the Temple and sanctuary or the inner part of the temple.
Jump over to 1 Peter 2:5 where Peter is talking to Christian Jews who had scattered because of the persecution that came because of their belief in Christ. Peter tells them; "And you are living stones that God is building into His spiritual temple. What's more, you are His holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God." Peter goes on to talk about the corner stone of the building which is Christ and how that corner stone is of "precious value" to those who believe in the corner stone, but those who reject the corner stone "stumble over it because they are disobedient to the Word." Now in the 9th verse Peter says this; "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light." Isn't that something, those who believe in God's Son Jesus Christ and put their faith in Him are considered in God's sight a chosen people who are the temple of the living God. Do you see the connection to 2 Chronicles 7:14? God knows that we are born into sin or rebellion against Him, but He had already made a way for His people to return to Him and be placed back in the land He set aside for His chosen people. When His people do not carry out their responsibilities as a child of God then God the Father will discipline those children. Israel suffered much for the rebellion and evil ways but God never abandoned them, He made a way back and that is through His Son Jesus Christ. Now here's the thing, we as followers of Christ have responsibilities. First of all we are to trust only in Christ, our faith should be totally in Him. If it is in something else like our government, our money, our friends, our own abilities, our wisdom, anything other than Christ, then we have sinned or rebelled against God. My point for this message is this, if God's own people are not doing the things God has set before us to do then we are a nation of people most miserable. How does this relate to restoring our land if we humble ourselves? When God's people fail their responsibility by disobedience then it is my belief that God will bring the same disaster's and plagues on the nation as a whole so that His people will return to Him.
In our nation today we have sin running rampant and it seems as if there is nothing to deter it. We live in a nation that pornography has taken over the minds of all ages, adultery is no longer considered a no, no. Fornication, lying, angry people every where, murder, stealing, slandering of our neighbor, sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties, and abominable idolatry's. In other words we have allowed the surrounding nations to influence us and we have followed their examples of idolatry and evil doing, basically we did as the Israelites of old had done, we sold our souls to evil. If you are offended by this just listen to the news media, read the newspaper, look around you, and then ask yourself this question, "what have I done to change the situation around me?" When God calls us to do a work for Him, what do we do, accept it or run from it? When the church does not speak out on evil then who will? When the church is silent concerning that which God called them to speak out against, then who will? To many local church's in our nation have sold out to evil and allowed the world around them to influence them as to how they should preach, teach and worship. It is time for the body of Christ to wake up and come alive again. It is time for the body of Christ to step forward and be counted as the light in a world of darkness.
The Body of Christ is to be a shining light on a hilltop for everyone to see, not a shaded lamp that does not dispel the darkness. We as believers in the Son of God are to share His love in a lost and dying world. We can do this by following God's command way back in Solomon's time, "Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land."
We have allowed our government and those opposed to the Gospel of Christ to tear down the ten commandments of God on which almost all of our laws are based on, in essence saying we don't need God's law. We have allowed prayer to be taken out of our schools and now our children are brought up without the knowledge that there is someone far greater than the school system. We are allowing our rights under our own constitution to be steadily taken away so that we no longer can teach and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have allowed our government to slowly take the place of God by letting them take care of us and tell us there way is better. My friends, God will not tolerate sin in the camp, He will purge it from the body and if that means hard times, then I hope we remember 2 Chronicles 7:14.
When you pray this type of prayer, do not take it lightly for God looks at the heart of the matter, not the words so much, Numbers 7:45, 1 Samuel 15:22, Psalms 40:6-8, and finally, and you should read this one for sure, Isaiah 1:10-20. There are three conditions that must be meant when we pray this kind of prayer, 1. We must come to Him humbled. 2. We must pray and seek God's face. 3. We must turn from our wicked ways. If we as a people called by God will do this then it says God will hear from heaven and will forgive our sins and heal our land. That is a promise from God we can stand on. Deuteronomy 28:10 says; "Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you."
There is one thing for sure, if we turn back to God and follow His ways, He said He would never abandon us or forsake us. He has never left us, but be assured He is disciplining us and we need to accept it and turn back to Him.
When you follow the progress of mankind through the scriptures we find just how God made a way for sins to be forgiven and man could worship God again. God, through His mercy and love told man that blood would have to be shed for forgiveness of sin to be obtained. This brought about the sacrifice of specific animals for this purpose. Everything had to be done according to Gods law and by His instructions. The Israelites found that because they could not go through life without committing sin, they would have to sacrifice many animals. The temple would be the place of many sacrifices and special times of gathering in the presence of God. The problem was that the Israelites just could not keep it together and because of their constant rebellion against God they had to be dealt with. Disciplining the whole nation would be the method that God would use to bring these people back into His presence. His discipline came in many forms. Animals would have to be sacrificed so the sins of the people would be forgiven, but God knew something had to be done to turn the Israelites back towards Him. It would seem that these chosen people were only going through the motions of the sacrifice and not the repentance part. Repentance required a change of heart and a turning from one direction and go another. It's not to say that at times they did not repent, because they did. The problem was they kept getting pulled back into the world system and walked away from their God. That is when God had to take some harsh action to let them know that what they were doing was wrong and they needed to come back to Him. Before God took any kind of action against His people He first sent them prophets to let them know what they needed to do. In most of these messages sent through the prophets God revealed His course of action. In other words He gave them fair warning and plenty of opportunity to turn back to Him.
When you read the Old Testament and look at the history of God's chosen people you will find there were many times God was very displeased with His people and many times the Israelites had to suffer some very hard times. One sure thing we can learn from the history of Israel is that God never abandoned them, even when He was displeased with their actions. So throughout the Old Testament times God showed mercy and forgiveness to His people. To return to God there were specific guidelines laid out for them to follow, if they followed God's instructions then God would meet with them and forgive their sins and place them back in the land He set aside for them. It's important to understand just how God dealt with the nation of Israel when they sinned against Him. What we learn about the nation of Israel and how God dealt with them gives us a clear picture of how He will deal with all of His children. God is a Just God and He is a merciful, loving and forgiving God. So when He allows or brings difficult times to fall on His children, rest assured, He has their best interest at heart. Let's look at an example of when God dealt harshly with His chosen people.
Looking at 2 Kings 16-17 we will find that some evil kings had been ruling Israel, but with intermittent good kings. The kings that were labeled as good though did not fully do away with the evil practices that their evil predecessor's left behind. As one looks into these kings and their practices we find a pattern that developed with the people, they went along with the king and went against the Lord their God also. There didn't seem to be much resistance to going against their God. Some of the practices that entered into the nation of Israel were in direct disobedience to God's commands. In 2 Kings 17:14-15 idol worship had become their preferred focus of worship. Also, from the king down the people began to follow the example of the nations around them which was in direct disobedience to the Lord's command not to imitate them, Deut. 18:9-14. As you study this one portion of scripture you must realize these actions and way of life did not happen overnight, many years of disobedience brought them to this point in the life of the people of Israel. 2 Kings 17:16-18 continues with the actions the people took concerning their way of worship, for instance, they rejected all of Gods commands concerning witchcraft, sorcery, worship of Baal and the forces of heaven which were the sun, moon and constellations. They sacrificed their sons in the fire as the customs of other nations were, they sought out fortune tellers instead of the Lord their God. The scripture says they "sold themselves to evil." Because of their continual evil acts and rebellion against God, The God who delivered them on numerous occasions caused them to be captured by the Assyrians and sent into exile.
Before I bring this into the present day let me share with you when the people called Israel became God's chosen people. We need to go way back and look at Genesis 12:1, this is where God promises Abram that he would become a great nation. God told Abram that He would bless him and make him famous, that he would be blessed and would bless other's. God would "bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you." The story you read about this nation God brought into existence through Abraham is a story filled with mystery, intrigue, murder, deceit, blessings and curses, marriage, and the ups and downs of a nation. Through the journey and making of this small nation God delivers them, disciplines them, blesses them and removes them. One thing that will be noted throughout the story is that no matter what these people did, God never abandoned them. He continually expressed His love for them even when they were bad.
Turning now back to 2 Chronicles 6-7:14 where the building and completion of the Temple that was now being dedicated to God for Him to dwell in among His people. In verse 14 of chapter 7 you have God responding to the prayer of dedication from Solomon the King of Israel at that time. review with me for a few minutes a recapping of what this nation had gone through up to this time. Look at 2 Chronicles 6:24-39 and you will find the dedication prayer King Solomon is praying. Summarizing it you may come up with something like this; "Victory does not come when sin dwells in the hearts of God's people, God will send drought to remind His people that sin dwells in their hearts, disaster will continue as long as sin remains in their hearts. Solomon interjects that foreigners are attracted to God when they hear and see what God is doing for His people when sin is not present in His people. Foreigner's may capture and take your people into exile when they have sin in their hearts, but during that exile your people might repent of their sin and pray to You and repent of their sin so that God will forgive them and return them to their land." Now we jump over to 2 Chronicles 7:12-16 and see Gods response to Solomon's prayer.
God affirms Solomon's prayer one night and says this; "I have heard your prayer and have chosen this Temple as the place for making sacrifices. At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or command grasshoppers to devour your crops, or send plagues among you. Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to every prayer made in this place. For I have chosen this Temple and set it apart to be holy, a place where my name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart." As we all know, Israel is a type of the church to come, or of a people that God would consider His own.
Speaking now to the church today, and when I say church I am not talking about any one denomination of Christian church's, I am talking specifically about God's church or those who are true followers of His Son Jesus Christ. A true follower of Jesus Christ is one who believes in Him as Gods only begotten Son, repented of their sins and ask Christ to be the Lord and Savior of their life. They have placed their faith and trust in Him and Him only. That is a true follower of Jesus Christ. John 3:16 states this very well, and it is Jesus who said it. Also Christ made this statement in John 3:3, "I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God." John 14:6-7 Christ tells Thomas, one of His disciples "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me." Now I want us to look at something very enlightening and profound. In 1 Corinthians 3:16 Paul tells Christ's followers that they are the Temple of the Living God. This particular verse refers more to the body of Christ or all of His followers. The New Living Translation says it like this; "Don't you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?" This gives a very good indication that God dwells within His people and we are His Temple as a corporate body. Now look at 1 Corinthians 3:19, here you will see that this becomes very personal. Again from the New Living Translation; "Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself." Now stay with me, I'm going to tie this together shortly. Remember what I said about Israel watching over the temple and being an example as to how the rest of the world was to live according to Gods commands? Specifically this became the responsibility of Aaron and his descendants. In Numbers 18:1 (NLT) We find Aaron and his descendants were to be held responsible for any offenses related to the sanctuary and they will be held responsible for violations connected with the priesthood. The priesthood were the ones specifically responsible for the care of the Temple and sanctuary or the inner part of the temple.
Jump over to 1 Peter 2:5 where Peter is talking to Christian Jews who had scattered because of the persecution that came because of their belief in Christ. Peter tells them; "And you are living stones that God is building into His spiritual temple. What's more, you are His holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God." Peter goes on to talk about the corner stone of the building which is Christ and how that corner stone is of "precious value" to those who believe in the corner stone, but those who reject the corner stone "stumble over it because they are disobedient to the Word." Now in the 9th verse Peter says this; "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light." Isn't that something, those who believe in God's Son Jesus Christ and put their faith in Him are considered in God's sight a chosen people who are the temple of the living God. Do you see the connection to 2 Chronicles 7:14? God knows that we are born into sin or rebellion against Him, but He had already made a way for His people to return to Him and be placed back in the land He set aside for His chosen people. When His people do not carry out their responsibilities as a child of God then God the Father will discipline those children. Israel suffered much for the rebellion and evil ways but God never abandoned them, He made a way back and that is through His Son Jesus Christ. Now here's the thing, we as followers of Christ have responsibilities. First of all we are to trust only in Christ, our faith should be totally in Him. If it is in something else like our government, our money, our friends, our own abilities, our wisdom, anything other than Christ, then we have sinned or rebelled against God. My point for this message is this, if God's own people are not doing the things God has set before us to do then we are a nation of people most miserable. How does this relate to restoring our land if we humble ourselves? When God's people fail their responsibility by disobedience then it is my belief that God will bring the same disaster's and plagues on the nation as a whole so that His people will return to Him.
In our nation today we have sin running rampant and it seems as if there is nothing to deter it. We live in a nation that pornography has taken over the minds of all ages, adultery is no longer considered a no, no. Fornication, lying, angry people every where, murder, stealing, slandering of our neighbor, sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties, and abominable idolatry's. In other words we have allowed the surrounding nations to influence us and we have followed their examples of idolatry and evil doing, basically we did as the Israelites of old had done, we sold our souls to evil. If you are offended by this just listen to the news media, read the newspaper, look around you, and then ask yourself this question, "what have I done to change the situation around me?" When God calls us to do a work for Him, what do we do, accept it or run from it? When the church does not speak out on evil then who will? When the church is silent concerning that which God called them to speak out against, then who will? To many local church's in our nation have sold out to evil and allowed the world around them to influence them as to how they should preach, teach and worship. It is time for the body of Christ to wake up and come alive again. It is time for the body of Christ to step forward and be counted as the light in a world of darkness.
The Body of Christ is to be a shining light on a hilltop for everyone to see, not a shaded lamp that does not dispel the darkness. We as believers in the Son of God are to share His love in a lost and dying world. We can do this by following God's command way back in Solomon's time, "Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land."
We have allowed our government and those opposed to the Gospel of Christ to tear down the ten commandments of God on which almost all of our laws are based on, in essence saying we don't need God's law. We have allowed prayer to be taken out of our schools and now our children are brought up without the knowledge that there is someone far greater than the school system. We are allowing our rights under our own constitution to be steadily taken away so that we no longer can teach and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have allowed our government to slowly take the place of God by letting them take care of us and tell us there way is better. My friends, God will not tolerate sin in the camp, He will purge it from the body and if that means hard times, then I hope we remember 2 Chronicles 7:14.
When you pray this type of prayer, do not take it lightly for God looks at the heart of the matter, not the words so much, Numbers 7:45, 1 Samuel 15:22, Psalms 40:6-8, and finally, and you should read this one for sure, Isaiah 1:10-20. There are three conditions that must be meant when we pray this kind of prayer, 1. We must come to Him humbled. 2. We must pray and seek God's face. 3. We must turn from our wicked ways. If we as a people called by God will do this then it says God will hear from heaven and will forgive our sins and heal our land. That is a promise from God we can stand on. Deuteronomy 28:10 says; "Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you."
There is one thing for sure, if we turn back to God and follow His ways, He said He would never abandon us or forsake us. He has never left us, but be assured He is disciplining us and we need to accept it and turn back to Him.
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