An Empty Cistern or a Full Reservoir

God's people both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament have a choice - either be an empty cistern which cannot hold God's Living Water or be a Full Reservoir of God's Living Water.

God spoke through Jeremiah, "For My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hew themselves cisterns - broken cisterns that can hold no water" (Jeremiah 2:13, NKJV).

Here are some statements of truth:

1. God was saying that Israel had committed two evils: One evil was they forsook God, the God of living waters. The second evil was they hewed out for themselves cisterns - broken cisterns which could hold no water. In other words, they left God's plan and made their own plans. And because their own plans were man-made, they couldn't prosper.

2. God is speaking the same thing to the contemporary Church. We need to follow God's plan for everything we do so we won't be empty, broken cisterns that can hold no water. God doesn't want His people to be empty cisterns; He wants them to be full reservoirs able to hold much living water of the Holy Spirit. Believers won't be able to be full reservoirs without the anointing of God upon their lives. When all believers are anointed the entire Church will be anointed to fulfill God's plan.

Anointing for the Office of Priest and King

In the Old Testament anointing oil was used to commission men to stand in the office of a priest. A good example was the anointing of Aaron and his sons as priests:

"And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister to Me as priests" (Exodus 30:30, NKJV).

Anointing oil was also used to commission men to stand or function in the office of a king - for example the anointing of David.

"Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him (David) in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward" (1 Samuel 16:13).

God said, "I have found My servant David, with My holy oil I have anointed him" (Psalm 89:20).


All believers have already been made kings and priests unto God

The New Testament Scripture clearly says we have been made kings and priests and we should be reigning as such in this world now:

"To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen" (Rev. 1:5, 6, NKJV, emphasis added).

".... and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth" (Rev. 5:10).

Paul said, "For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:17, emphasis added).

Here are some statements of truth:

1. Christians are "Those who receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness" and they should be reigning through Jesus Christ at the present time - not during the next age!

2. All believers are called to be priests and kings. Because of this fact, all believers are expected to function as intercessors (priests) and rulers (kings).

God desires His Church to be a Full Reservoir

I believe God wants every one of His children to be a full reservoir to His glory. But believers won't be able to be full reservoirs without the anointing of God upon their lives.

You may say that you are already an anointed of God because you are baptized in the Holy Spirit, you speak in tongues and you have it all. But the sad truth is that one initial filling with the Holy Spirit years ago is never enough and you need continuous filling if you want to do God's work effectively.

Someone once said, "People living on past experiences are living on stale manna".

A Spirit baptized Christian without the flesh anointing or unction of the Holy Spirit is living on stale manna. By the way, the word "unction" means "The continuous act of anointing of the Holy Spirit" according to my Greek Dictionary. In short, "unction" means "flesh anointing".

The psalmist said, "But my horn You have exalted like a wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil" (Ps. 92:10).

Here are some Scriptural incidences of refilling (fresh anointing) of the Holy Spirit:

1. Peter and John arrested (Act 4)

Peter and John were arrested by the Jewish leaders. Later they let them go after forbidding them to speak or teach in the Name of Jesus. Then they gathered the disciples to pray for boldness (Acts 4:29).

"And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness" (Acts 4:31, NKJV, emphasis added).

These early Christians were initially filled with the Holy Spirit (in Acts Chapter 2). But now they received the unction of the Holy Spirit - the fresh anointing.

2. Christians in Ephesus (Ephesians Chapter 5)

Paul said to the Christians in Ephesus, "And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, ...." (Ephe. 5:18).

In saying this, Paul was not telling these Christians to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit again; they had already received the Holy Spirit as recorded in Acts 19:1 - 6. Paul was telling them to maintain a constant experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit.

Unction is generated through the Word by the Holy Spirit

The divine unction of God is always associated with the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. The spoken Word must be quickened and anointed by the Holy Spirit to give power.

The writer of Hebrews said, "For the word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Heb. 4:12, KJV, emphasis added).

The Word is quickened and made powerful because of the anointing. The anointing is a divine quickening that is released from the Holy Spirit through the one speaking as the Word is communicated to bring life and reality to the hearers. In other word, unction gives power to the preacher and this unction ministers the Word to the spirit (heart) of the hearers. Without the anointing and the unction the Bible and the messages preached are just words without power. Some Bible teachers called the spoken Word as "rhema" Word - but this is not a Biblical sord and you cannot find it in any version of the Bible.

Paul said, "... that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheitance in the saints, ..." (Ephe. 1:17, 18).

You can listen without hearing and you can look without seeing. Truth can be truth on fire or truth on ice. The difference lies in the unction of the Spirit working through the one who speaks and the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon the listeners.

John said, "But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him"(1 John 2:20, 27, emphasis added).

Taking what Paul and John said together, the "all things" actually means "the revelation in the knowledge of Jesus". Furthermore, Jesus is the Word (John 1:1). To abide in Jesus means also abide in His Word - quickened (anointed) by the Spirit of God.

Breaking the Yoke with the Anointing

In Scripture the word "Yoke" speaks of bondage, burden and pressure upon God's people - both literally and figuratively (spiritually).

Israel was under the yoke of bondage of the Assyrians:

"It shall come to pass in that day that his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, and his yoke from your neck, and the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil" (Isaiah 10:27, emphasis added).

God allowed Israel to come under the heel of Assyria, a nation He called "the rod of His anger" (Isa. 10:5), because of their disobedience, neglect, willful refusal to listen to God. Notice that God did not only take the yoke away, but He destroyed it because of the anointing. The power of the enemy was broken and God's people were set free.

God is also doing the same thing to Christians today. His anointing will break the yokes of religious and traditional bondage. God wants us to return to the understanding that when the Son sets us free, we are free indeed. Knowing the truth of this is what sets us free. God wants us to live by His light, not by our own light. He has an anointing and a flow of life and power for His people so that all Christians can live in freedom and without fear of bondage.

The Yoke of relationship with Christ

Jesus said, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:28 - 30)

Jesus is telling us that while there is a yoke of bondage, there is also the yoke of relationship with Him. He wants us not to be yoked with the world, but to be yoked with Him. In other words, He will carry our burden. The world's yoke gives us burden and pressure, but His yoke is easy to bear.

In Christ all yokes of bondage are already broken

Paul said, "Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee" (2 Cor. 1:21, 22, NKJV, emphasis added).

We need to live in this truth - God has anointed us, we have the Anointed One (Jesus) within us. Christians are sealed with the same Holy Spirit that came upon Jesus:

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; ... " (Isaiah 61:1).

We are living in the last of the last days and end-time prophecies are being fulfilled - earthquakes, terrible floods, terrible droughts and all kinds of natural disasters, famines, new diseases, global-warming, wars and rumors of wars, devastating accidents causing the loss of hundreds of lives, senseless killings and uprisings and rampant evil.

One of the strongest yokes of bondage that people are living under today is fear which is linked to the bondages of pressure, stress and anxiety. The divine answer to fear is found in - 1 John 4:18 and 2 Tim. 1:7, 9.

God wants us to live in victory over our circumstances that the curse has brought upon this world. The curse came through Adam, but the victory comes through Christ. We can rejoice in the midst of all our troubles for the yokes that Satan put upon us are already broken because of His anointing over our lives.

Be full reservoirs, and never settle for empty cistern which cannot hold the Living Water of God!

Ancient Boundaries and Ancient Paths

It is the eternal nature of God to set boundaries and paths for His people. These boundaries and paths can be both physical and spiritual. If His people walk outside the physical boundaries they would be in danger of being attacked by their enemies. The walls of the walled cities in Old Testament time were meant to keep people saved from enemy attack.

This message concerns spiritual boundaries and spiritual paths. If God's people walk outside the boundaries and walk outside the paths set by God they will live a life of defeat. Furthermore, they will die spiritually which will also lead to early physical death.

God's boundary for Adam and Eve is a vivid example:

"And the Lord God commanded the man, 'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die'" (Genesis 2:16, NIV).

Eve was deceived by the serpent and she removed God's boundary for herself and Adam. Not only had she eaten the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, she also gave some to Adam (Gen. 3:6). The result was what the Bible says "The Fall". The immediate consequence of the Fall was death, symbolized by their loss of fellowship with God. Adam and Eve did not sin simply as private persons, but as representatives of all members of the human race. Their sin is the sin of all (Romans 5:12).

Ancient Boundaries and Ancient Paths for Christians

Today we may not have physical boundaries to subject to, but we do have many other boundaries: moral boundaries and boundaries pertaining to our spiritual calling. These boundaries identify us as citizens of the Kingdom of God, even as the walls (physical boundaries) of Jerusalem identified the citizens of Jerusalem.

The New Testament Christians were clearly distinguished by (and sometimes scorned for) the boundaries they chose to maintain. But the contemporary Christians, by and large, have moved their boundaries in spite of clear Scriptural admonishment to the contrary:

"Do not move the ancient boundary which your fathers have set" (Proverbs 22:28, NASB).

They have also refused to listen to the Lord:

Thus says the Lord, "Stand by the way and see and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; and you shall find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it'. And I set watchmen over you, saying, 'Listen to the sound of the trumpet!' But they said, 'We will not listen'" (Jeremiah 6:16, 17, NASB, emphasis added).

Moral Boundaries

1. Boundary between the sexuality of male and female

One of the ancient boundaries we have to take heed of is the boundary of sexuality - because homosexuality is forbidden by God. God created male and female for the purpose of sexual union between male and female and not between male and male or female and female.

The removal of this boundary caused the destruction Sodom (Genesis 19).

Lot invited the two angels (they were male) to spend the night in his home. This is what the Bible says:

"Now before they (the angels) lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot and said to him, 'Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally'" (Gen. 19:4, 5, NKJV, emphasis added).

Before they could do anything, those homosexual men were instantly struck with blindness (Verse 11) and the angels later destroyed Sodom together with Gomorrah (Verse 24).

The same moral boundary applies to Christians today also:

Paul said, "For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due" (Romans 1:26, 27, NKJV, emphasis added).

2. Boundary between male and female in look and dressing

Paul said, "Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering" (1 Cor. 11:14, 15, NIV, emphasis added).

The above needs no comment.

3. Boundary between Christians and non-Christians

Paul said, "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever" (2 Cor. 6:14, 15).

A Christian should not have partnership with a non-Christian in business. Similarly a Christian should not marry a non-Christian. In other words, a Christian should not "cut" a convenant with a non-Christian.

Paul further said, "Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord, do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty" (2 Cor. 6:17, 18).

Very often Christians indulge in the same ungodly activites as non-Christians to the point that a believer cannot be distinguished from an unbeliever. If they keep on doing this the Lord will not receive them as sons and daughters!

Boundaries of God's Calling

When God calls you to fulfill the purpose of His will He also places a boundary to your calling.

Paul said, "and we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).

In order to receive the blessings of God - "All things work together for good", there are two conditions which must be fulfilled first. The believer must love God and he must faithfully works out God's calling for him according to God's purpose. In other words, he must stay with the boundary of his calling.

The following two examples will make this clear:

1. Paul - One who stayed within the boundary of his God-given ministry

Paul said, "We (together with Timothy), however, will not boast beyond measure, but within the limits of the sphere which God appointed us - a sphere which especially includes you. For we are not overextending ourselves (as though our authority did not extend to you), for it was to you that we came with the gospel of Christ; ..." (2 Cor. 10:13, 14, NKJV).

2. Saul - One who failed to stayed within the boundary of his calling

A good example of a person who failed to stay in his calling was king Saul. Saul was God's choice (1 Samuel 9:16, 17). He started out fine, but later he disobeyed God and Samuel. He presumptuously offered burn offering and peace offering at Gilgal. It was Samuel's duty to offer burn offering and peace offering. He acted beyond the boundary of his calling (1 Samuel 13:5 - 14). Saul was eventually rejected by the Lord from being the king over Israel (1 Samuel 15:26).

Boundary for the Pastoral Ministry

Paul said, "And He (God) Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, ..." (Ephesians 4:11, 12, emphasis added).

When God calls someone to be a Pastor He also places a boundary for his ministry. Out of the five ministries stated, the ministry of a Pastor is the only "residential" (not mobile) ministry. The Greek word for "Pastor" is "poimen" which also means a "shepherd" - a feeder of sheep. Being a shepherd he looks after the Local sheep fold on behalf of the Good Shepherd - Jesus Christ (John 10).

If the Pastor of a Local Congregation travels too much and minister to other Local Churches he removes the Boundary set by God. The result can be "Burnout" - a disease of the over-committed. The sheep in his own sheep fold will suffer.

Someone said, "The will of God will stretch us, but will never lead us to burnout. The will of God will never lead us where the grace of God cannot sustain us". Therefore a Paster or any other minister of God who is experiencing burnout is not walking in the will of God.


But this does not mean a Pastor cannot leave his Local ministry at all. This problem can be resolved if there are more than one Pastor in the Local Church. I have mentioned before, God's will for the Church in every city city or locality is - One Church with plurality of shepherds. But men have turned it around - Many Churches with a single shepherd.

Boundary for Male-Female role relationships in the Church

Please read my earlier message "Male-Female Role Relationships in the Church" (Posted on 19th. April 2006) where you'll find Biblical answers to many questions the contrmporary Church finds too sensitive to ask. One of which is - "Should a woman take the role of man in the Church"?

All I need to comment is, in line with the Scripture and the New Testament teaching, every female Pastor has, knowingly or unknowingly, removed the Divine Boundary set up by God. Consequently every female Pastor is not walking in the will of God.

Rebuilding the Ancient Boundaries

Boundaries can only be rebuilt by only one way - by convictions. The root of the problem is that the contemporary Church has little or no convictions. It is because of this that the Church has no boundaries which, in turn, lead every person to do whatever he feels like. The Church is supposed to impact the world for Christ, but Christians have turned it around - allowed the world to get into the Church!

Jesus said, "But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; ..." (John 16:7 - 10, NIV).

Clearly, convictions are established by the Holy Spirit (the Counselor). The Holy Spirit convicts in three areas: in sin, in righteousness, and in judgment. We need to give good thought to the area of righteousness. Today there is very little righteous living.

The key to our conviction is to have a consistent prayer life. Where there is no prayer, there is no Holy Spirit to convict. You can base your convictions on the Bible, but only if you are a person of prayer. If you aren't a person of prayer, you'll not have the guidance and instruction from the Holy Spirit that you need.

The Scriptures have never been a source of conviction apart from the Holy Spirit. The New Testament Pharisees are ample proof of this. They knew and could quote all the Old Testament Scriptures, but that knowledge was useless to them because they had the wrong spirit. With their knowledge of the Old Testament, they were able to crucify the Son of God. That is why Jesus said it was to our advantage that He leaves to send the Counselor. Without the Helper, we could have ended up no better than the Pharisees!

The Holy Spirit convicts us of righteousness by reminding us of what Jesus was like. He is our righteousness. When we have no prayer life, we lose sense of the righteousness of Christ.

The Church must get back to prayer, allowing the Holy Spirit to instill immovable conviction and rebuild the ancient boundaries.

The Holy Spirit and the Church

Every believer knows that the Church is brought forth by the Holy Spirit. This is revealed in the first few chapters of the Book of Acts. But the majority of Christians do not understand the utmost importance and significance of the Holy Spirit in the life of believers collectively. The Church is the Body of Christ and ultimately all true believers collectively will become the Bride of Christ.

An interesting Parable

By way of introduction let us take a close look at Genesis 24 where we read about Abraham looking for a bride for his only son Isaac. It is a picture of God the Father looking for a Bride for His only son Jesus Christ. This is a true story and also scripturally a parable - an unnamed parable.

In this parable Abraham represents God, Isaac represents God's Son and Rebekah, the chosen bride represents the Church. Th servant or steward, who is unnamed, is the Holy Spirit. This is so typical of the Holy Spirit - He never attracts attention and does not even name Himself.

If you consider all that is involved in the story it will give you a vivid picture of how the Church is totally dependent on the Holy Spirit. The agent that selected the bride was not the son but the steward. The moment Rebekah made the right response and indicated that she was the chosen bride the steward opened up his treasure and began to bestow gifts. He had ten camel loads of gifts which were quite a lot. The fact that Rebekah visibly adorned herself with the gifts was the evidence that she was the chosen bride.

This picture clearly shows that it is totally contrary to all logic that any Church that rejects the gifts of the Holy Spirit could claim to be the Bride of Christ.

Rebekah made her decision in total reliance on the steward. She had never seen Abraham, never seen Isaac and she had never been where they lived. The only source of information she had about every thing was imparted by the steward and the only way to get there was to follow the steward.

This is a reminder and a picture of how totally the Church depends on the Holy Spirit. There is no other way we can know about God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son unless the Holy Spirit chooses to reveal them to us. There is no other way we can receive our inheritance and there is no other way we can be marked out as the true Church! He is the exclusive administrator of the entire inheritance from God! The Church cannot bypass or snub the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said, "Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven" (Luke 12:10, NKJV).

Revelation of the Council of the Godhead

God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit take council together. Out of this council proceeds the counsel that determines the course of history. Everything the Godhead does is out of collective decision.

Here are some examples:

1. Creation of man - God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; ...." (Gen. 1:26).

2. The Fall - The Lord God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil" (Gen 3:22).

3. Commission of Isaiah - The Lord said, "Whom shall I send and who will go for Us" (Isaiah 6:8)?

Notice that the counsel of the Godhead always proceeds out of plurality.

In order for us to get revelation on how God is saying or doing we need to gain access to hear the council of the Godhead. The key is the Holy Spirit.

Jesus, at the close of His ministry on earth, said to His disciples:

"When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you" (John 16:13 - 15, NKJV, emphasis added).

The Holy Spirit hears the council of the godhead and therefore He can tell us what is coming. The Holy Spirit is the only channel of access to the council of the Godhead. We, the Church, are interested to know because it is the council of the Godhead that decides the course of history.

Paul said, "But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him'. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God" (1 Cor. 2:9, 10).

The Church has the Mind of Christ

Paul said further on in the same Chapter (1 Cor. 2).

"But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For 'who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?' But we have the mind of Christ" (Verses 14 to 16).

It is very important to note that Paul did not say, "I have the mind of Christ". His emphasis was on the plural. It is impossible for any on of us to completely appropriate the mind of Christ on our own. The mind of Christ is imparted by the Holy Spirit just as the ministry gifts for the Church are imparted by the Holy Spirit. Some one said - "God has hidden His wisdom in the other members of the Body so no one can say he has it all!"

The spiritual principle we need to grasp at is: The counsil of the Body of Christ is a projection of the council of the Godhead. In other words, the council of God's people proceeds out of the council of the Godhead in heaven.

I believe the way God took Israel out of the bondage of Egypt gives us a pattern of how the Church should do things collectively as a Body of believers. Israel moved together and stayed together under the direction of God. When they entered into the Promised Land under Joshua, God absolutely insistent of one thing - every Israelite had to be there, not one was to be left behind. God is also saying the same thing to the Church - either we all do it or no body does! Individualism has no place in the Church. The Corinthian Church was in a mess because of individualism. They had the doctrine, they had the gifts, but they lack one important thing - right relationship!

The Essence of the Gospel

I believe the gospel is essentially an invitation from the Godhead to join them. It is an invitation to join the fellowship of the Godhead. The is made clear by John:

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched - this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. This life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ" (1 John 1:1 - 3, NIV, emphasis added).

Your salvation and my salvation have been collectively decided by the council of the Godhead before we were born!

Human authority in the Church

The ultimate human authority in the Church, in line with the Godhead, is plural. However within that plurality there are God ordained principles to follow. The primary principle is - Unity but not equality. Please read my "Father's Day" message - "God's Mandate for fathers".

Jesus said, "I and My Father are one" (John 10:30). He also said, "My Father is greater than I" (John 14:28).

In the Godhead there is perfect unity and yet there is no equality. So, within the unity (in the Church) there is also a distinction that does not put every body on the same level. Unfortunately in the contemporary culture, influenced by the New Age philosophy, unity means egalitarianism - the belief that all people are equal and should have the same rights. Egalitarianism says, "I am as good as my father, I'm as good as the president, I'm as good as the Pastor; don't say any body is better than any body else, we are all alike. Egalitarianism is taking democracy to the extreme. The spirit behind it is not the Spirit of God. Actually it is contrary to the deepest principles of God. God does not run the universe as a democracy - no such thing as casting of vote! Similarly there is no such thing as casting of votes in Church administration! There are denominational Churches doing just that - casting of votes to elect a Church president and a Bishop. This is totally out of line with, and totally against any New Testament Church principle.

Principles pertaining to the Godhead and the Church

In the Godhead there are three eternal principles that must be taken in the right order - Fatherhood, Headship and Fellowship. The same principles apply also to the Church.

I have dealt with the principles of Fatherhood (Eph. 3:14, 15) and Headship (1 Cor. 11:3) in my message - "God's Mandate for fathers". Out of Fatherhood proceeds Headship and where both are functioning in harmony then you can have fellowship (1 John 1:1 - 3).

Practical application for the Church

It is useless to have a lot of theory if you cannot apply it to the Local Church. So, in my opinion, if we want to reproduce the council of the Godhead to the council on earth (the Church) we have to receive the counsel of the Holy Spirit. The Church is totally dependent on the Holy Spirit. In order to receive the Holy Spirit we have to behave in a way which attracts the Holy Spirit - not offend Him but to please Him. To do that we have to be rightly related to one another in the Local Church - He comes only where we are rightly related and stays away when we are not.

So, the key to effective collective leadership is right relationship within the leadership. Right relationship will reproduce what is in the Godhead - Fatherhood, Headship and fellowship. The essence of what we are looking for is discerning Fatherhood, recognizing that Fatherhood gives Heaship and when they are both properly functioning we will have fellowship; our relationship will be such that the Holy Spirit will be with us and in us, and He will open to us the counsel of God.

In my opinion, in order to succeed as a leader, you have to find out (to discern) your appointed function and you have to function in right relationship to the other leaders who are in the council in which you are a part.

The key is the fear of the Lord.

Paul said, "... submitting to one another in the fear of God" (Eph. 5:21, NKJV).

The psalmist (David) said, "The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him, and He will make them know His covenant" (Ps. 25:14, NASB, emphasis added).

The word "secret" in other passages of Scripture is translated as "counsel" which comes from the council of the Godhead. In other words, the secret council (the counsel of the council) of God is for those who fear Him and His covenant becomes a reality to them. Until we enter into the secret council of the Lord we simply cannot understand His covenant.

Covenant is one of the hardest things for the natural mind to understand but only comes by way of revelation. God gives His revelation not on the basis of Seminary or Bible School training or intellectual ability but on the basis of Christian character. The basic character requirement is the fear of the Lord. Therefore the secret council of the Lord is only available to those who fear Him; following that comes the the revelation of His covenant. What a fantastic wealth of promises of God attached to the fear of the Lord!

Motivation for Living

What makes life worth living? What gives meaning and purpose to life? I hope to answer these searching questions Biblically in this message.

Many churchgoers have never been challenged by the leadership of todays's Local Churches. Pastors and leaders are so worry about losing members that they never call members to any real commitment, sacrifice or effort. Many seek to please men by compromising the truth of God's Word in their preaching or teaching. They failed to understand true Christians don't want leaders to please them. They never understand inwardly members are longing for chanllenges; longing for something they can give their life for and something worth living and dying for. In general, if a thing isn't worth committing yourself to, isn't worth much. Today's Christianity has little to offer because they demand so little. On the other hand, Jesus, the Head of the Church, demands everything from His people. The Bible says unless you forsake all and follow Jesus you cannot be His disciple! Jesus offered a great deal, but His demands were on the same level as what He offered - which I think is reasonable.

It is hoped that this message will motivate you, as a believer, by giving meaning and purpose to your life whether your Local Church fails to motivate you or not. We'll take our Lord Jesus Christ and the apostle Paul as examples.

The Earthly Life of Jesus

What is the real motivation in the life of Jesus? What was it that caused Him to go through with the tasks that were committed to Him? I believe the one great overruling motive for everything He did was to do the will of God - that was how He started, that was why He came and that was how He ended. If we desire to be like Jesus, if we desire to have any strength and stability in our Christian walk, our desire must arise from the same motivation. It should be our sincere desire to do God's will.

Psalm 40 paints a prophetic picture of Jesus of His eternal nature before He became a carpenter's son of Nazareth. It is a prophetic picture of the motivation that made him willing to give up His place in the Glory of Heaven, to be born of a human child and to live a life of humility, struggle and suffering.

"Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; My ears You have opened. Burnt offering and sin offering You did not required. Then I said, 'Behold, I come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me, I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart'" (Ps. 40:6 - 8, NKJV, emphasis added).

Here are some statements of truth:

1. The above is a picture of what was spoken by Jesus to God the Father. This is confirmed by the writer of Hebrews - Heb. 10:5 - 7.

2. Hebrews further indicates that Jesus set aside the first sacrifice according to the Mosaic Law to establish the second - His own personal sacrifice (Heb. 10:8, 9).

3. The will of God for Jesus let up to the sacrifice of Jesus Himself on the cross was the ultimate destination of God's will culminated according to what was written in the scroll for Jesus!

"By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" (Heb. 10:10, emphasis added).

Our scroll and our suffering

I believe, just like our Lord Jesus Christ, God has a scroll for every person's life so that we may do everything that is written - this is His will for every one of us.

Paul said, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:10).

Written in our scroll there are times of joy and suffering. I don't think any of us can avoid suffering. The question is, are we going to grow by suffering or are we going to be defeated by it. There is an appointed share of suffering for every one of us.

Paul said, "I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church" (Col. 1:24).

The Motivational Strength of Jesus

We now turn to some words of Jesus (all in John's gospel) during His earthly Ministry to bring out the continuing unchanging motivation that guided and impelled Him all through His earthly life.

1. Jesus at Jacob's well

Jesus' disciples went out to buy food, and on returning they found Jesus at Jacob's well talking to a Samaritan woman. They offered Him some food, but Jesus said to them:

"I have food to eat of which you do not know. My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work" (John 4:32, 34, NKJV, emphasis added).

Then He talked about the harvest which according to Jesus the time was ripe (white) for harvest. But His disciples failed to see the urgency of the harvest.


Here are some statements of truth:

I. According to the context, without partaking of natural food Jesus actually had been physically strengthened. There is a source of supernatural vitality which comes from doing the will of God.


Paul said, "Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day" (2 Cor. 4:16).

The lesson learnt is, as Christians we have to learn to live on an inner source of strength and vitality. Always go for the spiritual and God will make up what is needed in the natural.

II. Being sent to do the will of God, Jesus had a different perspective from that of His disciples concerning the urgency of the harvest. Jesus saw what the disciples could not see because He was united with the will of God.

It could be true in your life and my life. We fail to see the urgency of the world situation we are facing today. There is so much unrest politically and socially. I believe the changes are tremendous; and the opportunities are also tremendous. It is a real tragedy, as children of God, if we could not see what evil forces we are confronting now. If you are not really committed to do the will of God you'll remain spiritually blind. Many Local Churches are in spiritual slumber!

2. Jesus' righteous judgment

Jesus said, "I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me" (John 5:30).

The only judgment that is righteous and acceptable in the sight of God is judgment according to the will of God and never according to our own will. But there is a lack of realism in the Church today. Instead of judging people with righteous judgment we relate to people on the basis of what we hope they would be. We project ourselves with our emotion hoping people would be changed by our kindness shown to them. But it just won't work out this way. The truth is if a person is unreliable three times, he won't be reliable at all.

Jesus said, "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much" (Luke 16:10).

3. Jesus' finished work

Jesus said, "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me" (John 6:38).

At the end of His earthly ministry Jesus prayed to the Father:

"I have glorified You on earth, I have finished the work which You have given Me to do" (John 17:4).

At the last moment on the cross the Scripture says:

"After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, 'I thirst!' So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, 'It is finished'" (John 19:28, 30, NKJV, emphasis added).

That was His food - did God's will and completed it. There was nothing more for Jesus to do - He had seen it to the end!

Notice that in Greek, the powerful phrase "It is finished" is one single word "teleo" which means, "perfectly completed", perfectly accomplished" or "perfectly executed".

The Motivational Strength of Paul

The same motivational strength that directed Jesus also directed the life of Paul.

1. Back to Jerusalem

Paul was speaking to the elders of the Church in Ephesus:

"And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, ..." (Acts 20:22 - 24, emphasis added).

It was the will of God for Paul to finish the ministry which he received from Jesus (V. 24) in all circumstances.

2. Sharing the suffering of Christ

"... that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His suffering, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection of the dead" (Phil. 3:10, 11).

Not many of us can say what Paul said. Paul didn't want to see Jesus suffer alone. When you are really committed to a person you are not only just interested to share his joy but equally interested in sharing his suffering.

Paul was essentially saying, "If Jesus is going to bear the cross I want to be there". Paul was a man with a simple motive - to attain to the resurrection of the dead; not just to go to heaven. I believe God unerringly discern our motives. He deals with us much more according to our motives than the things we actually do.

3. Time of Paul's departure

Paul said to Timothy, "For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Tim. 4:6, 7, emphasis added).

I believe the above was the most victorious statement made by Paul in his entire ministry.

In the Livitical Priesthood according to the Mosaic Law every offering of animal sacrifice had to have a drink offering of wine pour out on it (or with it). What Paul said was essentially, "My contribution to the Church of Jesus Christ is like the offering, but with it I have to pour out my life as a drink offering". That was Paul's way of doing God's will.

I really believe the only offerings that God will ultimately accept are those accompanied by the drink offering that our own lives pour out on it! God does not want us to be martyrs - He desires that we offer ourselves entirely to Him, to do His will and to finish it.

Warning Against Presumption

Jesus uses three parables in the Bible to warn His people against presumption. It is a warning against presuming on a relationship with God that they don't actually have. His warning raises two questions - one, what kind of people receives God's provision, and two, what kind of people misses God's provision? You may find the answers in these parables.

1. The Parable of the Vineyard (Matthew 21:33 - 46)

A landowner (God) rented out a vineyard to his workers (vinedressers - Jewish workers). He expected them to bring some fruit as payment of the vineyard. They refused to do that and even killed the landowner's servants who came to collect the fruit. Eventually they killed his son (Jesus) as well.

The following verses describe how the landowner dealt with the vinedressers:

Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scripture: The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder" (Matt. 21:42 - 44, NKJV, emphasis added).

The vinedressers made a mistake, they assumed that they could take over the ownership of the vineyard for themselves. They didn't realize that they were only stewards appointed by the owner and they had an obligation to the owner. In New Testament Scripture, the word "vineyard" speaks of the "Kingdom of God".

The Jews' presumption

The real issue which was raised in this parable was the issue of fruit. God wanted His people (the Jews) to bring forth fruit. Jesus Himself was telling His own Jewish people that if they fail to bring forth fruit He would take the vineyard from them and give it to another nation. To the Jews another nation means a Gentile nation. These were terrible words to the Jewish ears. Because of their special background (being God's chosen poeple) and all the privileges that God had bestowed upon them they couldn't conceive the idea that they would lose their privilege positon and these privileges would be given to another nation.

A new holy nation

The other nation in Jesus' mind was not a specific nation such as the UK, the USA, Australia or Germany. I believe it is a "nation with a new nature" that God has brought forth through Jesus Christ.

Peter wrote to the Jewish believers who were pilgrims under persecution:

"But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy" (1 Peter 2:9, 10, NKJV, emphasis added).

That is the nation that Jesus had in mind - it is made up of both believing Jews and believing Gentiles. The problem with these unbelieving and presumptuous Jews was that they presumed they had a relationship with God, which actually by their misconduct, they had forfeited. They presumed because of their background. God did exactly what Jesus had warned them He would do. He took the privilege position away from them and gave the Kingdom of God (His vineyard) through the Message of the Kingdom, the Gospel, to what we called today - the Church.

The Church (the new holy nation) is formed out of many different nations (Jews and Gentiles) and Jesus reminded them this had been predicted by the psalmist:

"The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone" (Ps. 118:22).

There are only two ways (Matt. 21:44) by which a person may respond to the Stone:

1. You may fall on the stone in repentance, "broken" and be saved.

2. But if you refuse to bow before the Stone and humble yourself and acknowledge your need of God's mercy, the Stone will fall on you and destroy you - grind you to powder!

2. The Parable of the Wedding Banquet (Matthew 22:1 - 14)

The gospel writers mentioned two banquets; one at the beginning of the day (morning) which is called the Wedding Banquet (NIV) or the Wedding Feast (NKJV) an the other at the end of the which is called the Great Banquet (NIV) or the Great Supper (NKJV).

A certain king (God) invited His people, the Jews, to attend His Son's wedding but they refused to come. They even killed some of His servants who were sent to invite them.

"But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city" (Matt. 22:7).

This was historically fulfilled when God released the Roman's army against Jerusalem and against the Jewish people. Jerusalem was burnt and the temple destroyed - all because they refused God's invitation. The wedding which was scheduled had to be postponed because the guests didn't come. It is a terrible thing to refuse God's invitation; it is the greatest insult.

Salvation comes to the Gentiles

God then commanded His servant to invite othe guests - "So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests" (Matt. 22:10, NKJV, emphasis added).

When the Jewish people refused, Jesus commanded His disciples to go to all the world and make disciples (both bad and good) of the Gentile world. Notice Jesus put the "bad" before the "good". Generally speaking, it is the bad people that respond to the gospel first.

Jesus said to the religious people, "Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you" (Matt. 21:31).

Religious people think they are good enough already and so they do not need God.

The wedding garment

In those days wedding garments were provided by the generous host of the wedding. Some of the guests that came to the wedding banquet presumed that they could get in without the appropriate garment. It is dangerous to presume that you have a close relationship with God that you actually don't have.

Many are invited but few are chosen - few met the condition of wearing the wedding garment. The wedding garment represents salvation through faith in Jesus Christ and being clothed with His righteousness and not your own (2 Cor. 5:21).

"I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the rob of righteousness, ..." (Isaiah 61:10).

3. The Parable of the Great Supper (Luke 14:15 - 24)

This is not just a great banquet as the NIV says; it is a supper, a meal at the end of the day. It speaks of the end of the Age. Jesus was not referring to the Jewish people - they were not in focus. The privilege of invitation was given to believers in Christ, both Jews and Gentiles. This privilege has been offered to the professing Christians for more than 20 centuries.

The Christians' presumption

We are Christians, followers of Christ; we have the Church and the gospel has been proclaimed. None of us deserves any thing, but by grace we received all the privileges from God for being children of God. But we are in danger of making the same kind of mistakes that the Jews made - presuming that we have a relationship with God because of the privilege we enjoyed. It looks like the roles have been reversed. Now we are the people who think "we have got it all"! We are born again, baptized in the Holy Spirit and speak in other tongues. Everything we say is true, but the fact is that none of us has more than we had received from God. We are at the beginning of our pilgrimage journey with the Lord. We need to keep on receiving God's invitations - whatever He has for us.


These are the excuses believers made to the host of the Great Supper:

"But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.' And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.' Still another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.'" (Luke 14:18, 19, 20, NKJV).

These are mere excuses because: Who would ever buy a piece of land without seeing it first? Who would buy five yoke of oxen without testing them first? Why a newly married man would refuse an invitation?

Obviously some Christians are too busy to respond to the call of God. They were busy with other things: Real estates, business venture and social relationship.

Jesus said Christians are just like those in the days of Noah and the days of Lot (Luke 17:26, 27, 28). What they did was all legitimate (eating, drinking, buying and selling, planting and building) but they were so engrossed and preoccupied in their materialistic pursuits that they had no time to respond to God's invitations.

True guests for the Great Supper

A lot of professing Christians today are not prepared to come to the Great Supper. They were so busy making money that when they do come and sit and listen to 45 minutes of sermon they assumed they have done God a favor!

"Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the mained and the lame and the blind.'" (Luke 14:21).

Then the second invitation went out, "Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled" (V. 23).

The lesson learnt? Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled" (Matt. 5:3, 5, 6).

The Kingdom of Heaven is meant for many of those who are not invited the first time. The later invitations include those who are not so sophisticated and materialistic that they don't need any more. They are poor, humble and meek people who hunger and thirst for righteousness.

Paul said, "For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17).

The Marriage Supper of the Lamb

This parable of Jesus is not like any of His other parables; it is also prophetic. It speaks of the future event when the Bride of Christ (the true Church) is taken to heaven (the rapture) to attend the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Please refer to my earlier postings - "The Bride of Christ" and "The Marriage Supper of the Lamb".

"Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints" (Rev. 19:7, 8, NKJV, emphasis added).

Here are some statements of truth:

1. This Marriage Banquet is a supper, unlike the Wedding Banquet which was a breakfast referred to by the parable of the wedding banquet (Matt. 22:1 - 14). This happens in heaven, a future event; whereas the parable of the wedding banquet refers to the calling of the Jewish people befor Jesus built His Church.

2. Jesus Himself clothes His Bride with fine linen which is the righteous acts of the saints. Fine linen has great significance all through Scriptures.

Jesus was wrapped in fine linen before Joseph laid Him in the tomb (Mark 15:46).

The priestly garment was made with fine linen (Ex. 28:39).

The Lord Himself clothed His people with fine linen (Ezek. 16:10 - 13).

Our First Love

To the first of the seven Churches listed in the Book of Revelation Jesus Himself declares we have lost our first love. What really amazes me is the consequences of losing our first love as described in the last Church listed. When the Church loses her first love she inevitably turns to love another - the love of money takes the place of the love of Christ! In the eyes of our Lord His Church is going from Ephesus to Laodicea - from a loveless Church to a naked Church. But in the eyes of men the "hard-working" Church becomes a prosperous Church. Why? God's people love the Church of Christ more than the Christ of the Church! The Church makes them rich but Christ doesn't.

The Lord said to the Church in Ephesus (first Church listed):

"I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love" (Rev. 2:2 - 4, NIV, emphasis added).

The Lord said to the Church in Laodicea (last Church listed):

"I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked" (Rev. 3:15 - 17, NIV, emphasis added).

I believe the Church in Laodicea is a vivid description of the Church today - the end-time Church. I also believe the Bible is more up-to-date than today's newspapers. The love of money, which is a root of all kinds of evil (1 Tim. 6:10), has taken the place of the love of Christ. Clearly the driving force behind it is growth (in number) and prosperity of the Church. That's why there are now many nega-churches with thousands of churchgoers. The Church says, "I am rich; I have acquired wealth" because they have more and more people in the pews. And more people means more collection of tithes and offerings. People love to attend Church services because the gospel message had been diluted and in many cases replaced by "itching ear" messages (2 Tim. 4:3).

The Church in Ephesus - A bit of history

The Church in Ephesus had its beginning on Paul's second missionary journey (50 -52 AD) when he visited this city with Priscilla and Aquila. In Acts 19, we see the outbreak of a great revival in Ephesus with many people being saved, filled with the Spirit, healed, delivered from demonic oppression, and completely changed.

The Ephesian Church had experienced a glorious beginning and had risen to prominence among first-century Christians. There were many commendable qualities in these believers: They were an active hard-working group of people; they persevered in the face of strong obstacles; they were intolerant of evil men, false apostles, and those who were distorting the gospel; and they have not grown weary following the Lord. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with them because they had left their "first love" - the Lord Jesus Christ!

The greatest pursuit in life

Our ultimate love and loyalty belong to God and therefore Jesus said, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength" (Mark 12:30, NKJV).

Jesus also said, "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who love son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me" (Matt. 10:37).

Our Lord couldn't have spoken in more graphic terms to describe the importance of our relationship with Him. He assumes we do love the members of our family, but He requires us to love Him even more. He requires our love for Him as the greatest pursuit in our lives.

The Ephesian Church was diligent in doing good deeds and enduring in their Christian faith, yet God was not satisfied. Their origianl love was gone. Just being busy didn't impress Him at all. He wanted their hearts. He got their labor - it wasn't enough.


How does our first love fade?

For many of us, our spiritual walk may have gotten off to a good start, but God is concerned about how we are doing today. We may be involved in essentially the same activities (going to Church, attending praying meetings, attending home-cell groups, attending Christian meetings and conferences and attending Church family camps) as we were when Christ first came into our lives, but now these activities have lost their joy and meaning for us. Or, we may even begin to grow apathetic and uninterested in spiritual things. We then gradually pull away from God and away from any meaningful Church involvement. Anger, exhaustion, and exasperation then start to show up in our attitudes. The desire to draw close to God diminishes. Our first love begins to fade.

Many people think the opposite of love is hate but I believe the opposite of love is indifference, apathy, and with an "I don't care" attitude. This is precisely what happens to the Laodicean Church, being lukewarm - neither hot nor cold (Rev. 3:15).

Commitment to the Lordship of Christ

In God's perspective we should grow in our love for Him daily. If we are focusing all our efforts on simply hanging on, we are bound to make little progress. We must arise and not just "sit there until we die" (a recent message). It does not take many people to change the Local Church, it just takes commitment.

In general, commitment means to entrust or to pledge involvement. For Christians, commitment is a means by which we enter into an obligation of relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, we are committed to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives. Every thing our lives involved in as Christians hinges on our attitude of commitment to our declaration that Jesus Christ is the Lord of our lives.

The principles of commitment

The Lord has committed to us His faithfulness, His righteous judgment, His trust, His trustworthiness and His Word. We in turn commit to Him in His Lordship, our faithfulness to His Gospel, our trust in His Word, and our entire lives in His service. It is a mutual commitment of love relationship. We have to fulfill or obligation to Him because we are His purchased possession (Eph. 1:14). We are obligated by this purchase to serve Him with love.

Paul wrote to Timothy, ".... According to the glorious gospel of blessed God which was committed to my trust" (1 Tim. 1:11).

"O Timothy! Guard what what was committed to your trust, ..." (1 Tim. 6:20).

"For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day" (2 Tim. 1:12).

The nature of commitment

1. Commitment demands the exercise of responsibility otherwise it is not a commitment.

2. Commitment demand the exercise of self discipline.

3. Commitment is an attitude which can be developed. It is an attitude which God's grace can work in our hearts if it is not there to begin with.


4. Commitment is designed to go hand in hand with hard work.

5. Nothing prospers, nothing grows, nothing increases, and nothing gets better unless there is commitment.

6. There is nothing more powerful in the earth today than a human being who is totally committed. You can see it in every walk of life, in every kind of vocation, in every kind of pursuit. Famous athletes and other successful sports stars are all committed.

7. True Christians are committed to the Lordship of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

8. Christians who are being used tremendously by God are committed. They deny themselves and carry the cross daily and follow Christ (Luke 9:23). They remain as amateurs and never professionals. There is no such thing as professional Christians.

9. The only difference between the men in the Bible and you and I is the level of commitment to our callings. Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Paul and many others have much higher level of commitment than most of us.

Spiritual Diseases

In our walk in obedience to the Lord we must beware of spiritual diseases. Briefly, here are two common spiritual diseases.


1. Spiritual Old Age

There are Christians who are relatively young in the Lord, but already have evidence the characteristics of what we called "spiritual old age". The resulting symptoms closely parallel the same conditions we often observe in those older people who have become set in their ways:

a. Unteachableness

Some Christians think they have arrived at a sufficient level of spirituality as compared with other believers. They may then develop judgmental attitudes towards other believers who are not as knowledgeable. When their "mature and seasoned" point of view is not accepted, they often become offended.

b. A loss of flexibility

Some Christians live in a predictable manner so as to avoid the threat of uncertainty and so as to maintain a sense of control. In so doing they become satisfied with a mere mechanical performance of their traditions, with little or no dependence upon God.

c. Focus on past events

Many Christians begin with a powerful revelation of God's love and grace, but do not continue on to stay in touch with Him. They try to live off the strength of their initial experience. They fail to cultivate a fresh, daily relationship with Him. Their spiritual walks are leading them nowhere.

d. An inward orientation

Some of us in the beginning had an outward focus that motivated us to extend ourselves to others in love, but after a time we may selfishly turn inward. By so doing we miss the opportunity to reach out for Christ to those around us.

2. Barrenness in Busyness

A Christian began his spiritual life full of zeal. He was the kind of person you never had to motivate in his devotional life, spending several hours each day reading the Bible and praying. Later on in life, he found a demanding job in a large corporation. Dealing with the daily pressures he encountered not only sapped his energy, but robbed him of time he needed with the Lord. This was a new phase of life for him and much had changed. The stress of handling work obligations and providing for his family was extremely taxing on him.

We all face the problem of losing sight of Jesus in the crowded events of the day. Jesus Himself spoke to this issue in Luke 17:26, 27, unsing both Noah and Lot from the Old Testament as examples:

"And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; ..." (Luke 17:27, 28, NKJV, emphasis added).

Obviously Jesus was not condemning eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building and marrying. He was condemning our excessive preoccupation with these things, preoccupation that dulls us to the sound of His voice. It is impossible to maintain a love relationship with someone whom you cannot hear!

Have you left your first love because you are preoccupied with worldly cares and concerns?

God's Mandate for Fathers

Many Local Churches have recently celebrated Fathers Day and Mothers Day. I am prompted to post a message, written Biblically from God's perspective, to Christian fathers. It is good to remind Christian fathers their God-given mandate (role and responsibilities) in Christian families. I believe many fathers take their fatherhood too lightly and many failed to fulfill their role and responsibilities toward their families. As you read on you'll discover that it is not easy to be a father if you are going to take God's mandate seriously. Someone said, to become a father is easy but to be a father is almost impossible.

Fatherhood on earth is an extension of Fatherhood in Heaven

Paul wrote to the Church in Ephesus, "For this reason (seeing the greatness of this plan by which you are built together in Christ), I bow my knees before the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for Whom every family in heaven and on earth is named - (that Father) from Whom all fatherhood takes its title and derives its name" (Eph. 3:14, 15, The Amplified Bible, emphasis added).

Here are some statements of truth:

1. Every fatherhood on earth is named after the Fatherhood of God in heaven. In other words, fatherhood is a projection on earth, the divine and eternal Fatherhood of God in heaven.

2. Before creation ever took place God was already a Father - the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The relationship of Fatherhood and Son-ship within the Godhead is eternal. Therefore fatherhood on earth is also eternally ordained. This revelation is of tremendous sanctity and importance.

Family on earth is an extension of the Family in Heaven

Jesus said, "In my Father's house are many mansions; ..." (John 14:2, NKJV).

The word "house" in Scripture is never used to indicate a physical or material building. In Greek the word is "oikia" - means a home or a family. Jesus was telling us God has a heavenly Family.

Therefore from eternity two things are always true - God is a Father and Heaven is a Home. Our home-life on earth is an extension of the Family in Heaven. In fact our home-life is derived from the eternal being and nature of the Godhead.

The concept of headship and authority

Together with the concept of fatherhood there is another concept that is also eternal - the concept of headship.

Paul said, "But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God" (1 Cor. 11:3).

Note the descending chain of authority - from God to woman and from eternity into time. God the Father is the Head of Christ eternally, Christ is the Head of the husband (male) and the husband is the head of the wife (female). Therefore the husband-wife relationship transcends time in this world. It is a projection in the Family Life of eternal relationship of God and Christ. This also gives us the pattern of authority.

Chain of authority in a family (home)

We all have authority by taking our right relationship in the above chain. Every chain of authority in the universe goes back to one source - God the Father.

In a home there will be God-ordained chain of authority when the husband is subject to Christ and the wife is subject to the husband. If either of these relationships is broken down the authority of the home is also broken down. If the husband is not subject to Christ he does not have the authority he should have; and if the wife is not subject to the husband she does not have the authority she should have.

The secret of authority is summed up by the Centurion whose servant was sick:

"For I also am a man placed under authority, having solders under me" (Luke 7:8, emphasis added).

The centurion didn't say he had authority, but said he was under authority. He knew that because he was under authority he had authority. He took his right place in the chain of authority. By saying the word "also" he revealed that he knew the concept of authority; and more importantly, Jesus was under the authority and headship of the Father!

When the husband is under the authority of Christ he has behind him the authority of Christ. Similarly when the wife is subject to her husband she has behind her the authority of the husband, which is the authority of Christ, which is the authority of God the Father. If the chain is broken at any point then authority in the family is broken down.

I believe this happens in majority of Christian homes today. This could be one of the reasons why Rick Warren wrote in his book "The Purpose Driven Life" - "Our families on earth are wonderful gifts from God, but they are temporary and fragile, ofter broken by divorce, distance, ..." (Pg. 118).

Paradox in the husband-wife relationship

Many women object being told they should be in subjection to their husbands. They feel that this put them in a position of inferiority. But the truth is, subjection is not inferiority.

Jesus said, "I and My Father are one" (John 10:30).

There is complete unity between Jesus and the Father; He is equal to the Father. On the basis of what we are discussing, there is also complete unity between the wife and the husband - they are equal and they are one.

Later on Jesus said, "I am going to the Father for My Father is greater than I" (John 14:28, emphasis added).

So, there is an apparent paradox here; Jesus is equal to the Father and yet the Father is greater than Him! This paradox is resolved if we read what Paul said:

"Who (Jesus) being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men" (Phil. 2:6, 7, emphasis added).

Exactly the same is true in the relationship between husband and wife - they are one and yet the wife is subject to the husband. Just like Jesus who is not inferior to the Father, the wife is also not inferior to her husband. If the wife loses the subjection she loses the unity; you can't have it both ways! This is the divine pattern of headship and subjection and it never changes.

Divine pattern for home-life

Paul said, "Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all" (1 Cor. 15:28).

Paul was talking about the "fullness of time" (time to the end). The Father through His eternal relationship with Christ has put everything under Christ. Then in the fullness of time, Christ will then turn around and put Himself again under the Father, so that in their relationship, God through Christ will be all in all throughout eternity.

This is a divine pattern for home-life. The husband should delight to honor his wife. He should do everything possible to "lift up" his wife, and make her feel respected and honored and esteemed. Likewise, the wife when she is treated that way should in turn gladly and willingly honor her husband's headship. The Christian home should be the closest thing to heaven made heavenly available on earth by God so that every home on earth should be a reproduction of the Father's Home in heaven.

The responsibilities and ministries of fathers

In every home, in every dispensation, every father by virtue of his fatherhood, has three specific ministries delegated by divine authority from which he cannot abnegate in the sight of God.

These three ministries are: Priest, prophet and king in this divine order.

1. Priest of his home. As priest he represents his family to God. His primary job is to pray and intercede for his family.

2. Prophet of his home. As prophet he does it the other way round - he represents God to his family. In other words, he stands between his family and God.

3. King of his home. As king he governs his family on behalf of God. He also provides for hie family.

No father can ever delegate the above responsibilities to the mother, to a pastor, a Sunder school teacher, a counselor, a youth worker or any other such persons.

Renegade and delinquent fathers

Today there are many renegade fathers. A renegade father is one who reneges from the three primary responsibilities ordained by God as head of his family - husband, father and a spiritual leader.

These three responsibilities may be seen in the life of Noah (Gen. 7) and Abraham (Gen. 18:17 - 19).

Someone said there is no such thing as delinquent children, but many delinquent fathers - delinquent fathers produce delinquent children. If your children fail you fail. You can be very successful in you job, you can be a senior Pastor, a president of many Banks, a sports star, but if you are not successful as a husband and a father in your home you are a failure in the sight of God. I believe both wife and children, in their hearts know a man ought to lead. Most women if they have to lead, they are forced to do so by default because men fail to fulfill their functions.

Result of the father's failure

When a father fails to fulfill his function ordained by God the result is a curse.

1. "You shall beget sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours; for they shall go into captivity" (Deut. 28:41).

Because of a curse your children shall go into captivity and bondage of the occult and drugs.

2. "Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children" (Hosea 4:6).

Surely it is a terrible and dreadful thing if God forgets your children!

3. "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse" (Malachi 4, 5).

Notice that the last word of the Old Testament is a curse. If God had not given us the New Testament His last word to the human race would be a curse. What will bring a curse? Failure of the father to maintain right family relationship! God demands the fathers to repent and turn their hearts back to their children.

God is merciful:

"And he (John the baptist) will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord" (Luke 1:16, 17).

Please also read my earlier posting "The Elijah Ministry" (1st. March 2005).

Promise of restoration foretold

Says the Lord, "As for Me, this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants' descendants, from this time and forevermore" (Isaiah 59:21, NKJV).

The Lord demands that Christian fathers filled with the Holy Spirit and heed His Word and submit to the Lordship of Christ.

Teach Us to Number Our Days

The psalmist (Moses) said, "Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom" (Psalms 90:12, NKJV).

Moses prayed that God would instruct us how to make full use of the limited number of days of our lives. Let Him grant us wisdom that we may act and live wisely. Moses said this because life is only a short journey and we must make full use of it before it vanishes away.

James said, "For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away" (James 4:14).

I believe we don't ask ourselves this question often enough - What is your life? Even if we did ask we would be shocked with the answer. We tend to take life for granted - we just live on and believe that we are just here, we are going to do certain things today and tomorrow, with little or no purpose.

The fact is life is just a vapor, it is passing away quickly. Once it is passed away it will never return again. If you are to ask a 13 year-old teenager how old is he, the answer you are likely to get is - "I'm nearly 14". When you get to the age of 40 and above, you don't tell people what you are going to be next year; you begin to realize that your life is just a vapor.

We need to take heed to the fact that there are many different forces at work to blind you from realizing what your life is. There are all sorts of entertainment (Films, TV, Computer games, and Internet surfing) and other things that demand our precious time. People come away for holidays to forget. There is an atmosphere of forgetfulness that permeates the culture and keeps us from facing reality. Life goes at the same speed for everybody, it does not matter whether you are a king, a queen or a president or a janitor. You can't hold on to one minute. People lament if they lose a $50 bill, they get upset about it naturally. Have you ever thought if you lose 50 minutes of your time you'll never get them back again? But you can get another $50 bill. Time is beyond your control.

One appointment we all have to keep

As believers in Jesus Christ one day we are going to answer for the way we spend every minute of our time. There is one appointment that every human being is going to keep. You might say "death", but it isn't because there will be those alive when Jesus Christ comes again - they will not die naturally. The one appointment that we all (saints or sinners) are going to keep is the Judgment of God on our life - The Eternal Judgment. Please read my earlier postings - "Judgment of True Christians" and "Total Judgments of God". Eternal Judgment determines your destiny for eternity. Different judgment seats for the unbelievers and those who don't know God and don't submit to Him - this judgment is called the Great White Throne Judgment.

There is a different scene of judgment for those who have known Christ (born again Christians). This is called the Judgment Seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10) which is not a judgment of condemnation (1 Cor. 3:12 - 15). He will either reward you or penalize you. If you fail to get your reward, your soul will be saved but you are just a naked soul. There are only two kinds of action or behavior: Either good or bad, nothing in between; either white or black; and either the light or the darkness. In my opinion if you are one of those people (there are many in the average Local Church today) who thinks how little do you have to do to be saved, then you are not saved. You have the wrong motive. That attitude is totally contrary to God.

Jesus said, "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad" (Matt. 12:30).

Clearly there are only two kinds of relationship or activity - gathering or scattering. What would God hold you accountable for scattering? For wasting your time, your talent, your gifts and your money. You'll have to give an account of every one of those things wasted.

The danger of passivity

I believe the greatest single frustration in the ministry is passivity of Church leaders and members. It is much easier to deal with opened opposition than it is with passivity.

Jesus spoke to His disciples, "Do you not say, 'there are still four months and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together" (John 4:35, 36, NKJV, emphasis added).

Here are some statements of truth:

1. Jesus was talking about procrastination - about putting it off, not now, let us begin in another day. Satan will entice you and then let you go. But when he finally lets you go, it would be too late for you do what you ought to have done earlier! Satan does not have to prolong you for good; he just has to hold you long enough to keep you from doing things that matters most.

2. Notce the two things that Jesus mentioned - wages and fruit.

Wages - Wages are the things (money or kinds) you received for a job done. Jesus said if you reap you'll receive your wages. You may have to go through difficulties and trial; you may have to live in the bare minimum, but sooner or later He will adequately remunerate you.

Fruit - Your fruit (in this context) is not here on earth but in eternity. You will only see your fruit in eternity.

Why are we sitting here until we die?

There is an interesting picture in the Old Testament (2 Kings 6 and 7). The Northern Kingdom of Israel was attacked by a large army from Syria. Samaria, the capital city was being besieged and the people were just in the verge of total famine - "until a donkey's head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and one-forth of a kap of dove droppings for five shekels of silver" (2 Kings 6:25).

It gives me a picture of the spiritually famished Church today. All you can get is the donkey's head of liberal modernistic theology and man-made rules. Instead of the visitation of the Holy Spirit (dove) you only get a measure of droppings of the dove! You can laugh, but it is a very sad picture.

At the gate of Samaria sat four leprous men who were not allowed in because they were unclean. They said to one another "Why are we sitting here until we die" (2 Kings 7:3)? Does that describe some of us? We are not lepers, but we are just the same, sitting (inside or outside the Church) until we die!

The leprous men decided to do something. They reasoned that they had nothing to lose; if they enter the city they will die there - either be killed or because of famine. If they sit here they would also die. But if they would surrender to the Syrians they may be allowed to live. But what they didn't know was that God created great noise of chariots and of a great army. The Syrians were so frightened that they run away in such a hurry that they left everything behind. So the leprous men had more than what they could eat and took away their spoils.

The moral of this picture is very simple - If you are not satisfy, go forth and do something and God will surely satisfy you! Don't just sit there and perish.

Progress in the Christian life

All progress in the Christian life is by faith. If you are not willing to go forward in faith you cannot go forward. Christians are like bicycles. You can't steer a bicycle unless it is moving. God cannot guide you unless you are moving. As long as you are stationary you can't ask God to guide you - you have to begin to move in faith.

Basically our priorities are what determine our life. You say you have no time to pray, but you have time to eat. You have time to eat because it is your priority. Jesus said there is only one top priority for Christians:

"Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matt. 6:33, emphasis added).

You cannot have righteousness apart from the Kingdom of God.

Paul said, "For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17).

Many of us have a false picture of being a Christian. We wear a little tag showing that we are born again; we are baptized in the Holy Spirit and we speak in tongues. But what have we done about our Christianity?

John said, "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God. even to them that believe on his name" (John 1:12, KJV, emphasis added).

Notice we only become sons of God when we begin to exercise the power He has given to us. Christianity is never static. If we fail to exercise the power and authority given to us we will not be sons of God!

Solomon said, "But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto a perfect day" (Prov. 4:18, NKJV).

If you are walking in the path way of righteousness (or just) the light is going to be brighter today than yesterday and brighter tomorrow than it is today. If it is not true of you, you have better check if you are on the path of righteousness.

Walk with sacrifice

Whenever we walk in faith, we also walk with sacrifice. Christianity is a life of sacrifice.

2 Samuel 6 describes how David brought the Ark back to Jerusalem.

"And so it was, when those bearing the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, that he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep" (2 Sam. 6:13).

The above gives us a picture of the Christian life. It is impossible to follow Jesus without sacrifice. That is how far you can go, six paces, if you do not offer any sacrifice - a long way from your destination. What are we going to sacrifice? The answer is obvious; you have to sacrifice your time, your inconveniences, your money and your entertainment.

In my opinion committed Christians should enjoy celebration and not entertainment. Entertainment basically means you sit there watching other people do something. The longer you do it, the further you get from reality. Celebration means you are in it, you get involved, you are a part of it, and you are on the stage dancing, singing and making joyful noise to the Lord!

The most important ministries in the Local Church

The preaching of the Word is important but not the most important. You can hear a good sermon and be blessed by what you heard, but as long as you just sit there, remain passive and do nothing about what you heard, you'll soon forget.

I believe the most important ministries in any Local Church are:

1. Prayer and intercession

Any believer can pray and ask for God's mercy (supplication), but intercession is a ministry gift. There is nothing more important in the Kingdom of God than prayer and intercession. I don't think the Local Church and individual members can accomplish significant things for Christ without prayer. As we approach the end of time, forces of evil are becoming so much stronger and so much bolder. If we think we can do away with prayer and intercession and spiritual warfare in the Local Church and still please God, we are deceiving ourselves.

2. Mission outreach

Paul gives an answer to the problem of bringing the gospel to the lost:

"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they ar sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring food news!'" (Romans 10:14, 15, NIV).

Here Paul reiterates the need for mission of the Church. The mission of Christ was in behalf of those who had rejected God the Father. The rejected Father sent the Son and the Son sent His Church. That is the basis for the world mission of the Church. It is the mandate of Christ that those who have not heard do hear. They cannot hear without a preacher, and there cannot be a preacher without a "sending". The mandate of Christ is that the gospel be preached in every land and nation, to every tribe and tongue, to every living person.

Conscience and Guilt

It is never easy to understand what "conscience" is. It is even more confusing if you fail to understand that there is a difference between the "soul" and "spirit" of man. Please refer to my earlier posting "The Saving of Souls" (17th Oct 2005) before you read on.

Briefly, the soul of man relates man to the intellectual and emotional realm. It is that part of man which consists of his mind, his will and his emotion; whereas the spirit of man relates man to the spiritual realm. It gives man the ability to relate to God and to know about God. It makes him God conscious. Conscience is a function of the human spirit. It has been created by God with the ability to "see" general moral truths (such as honesty and faithfulness) and the ability to apply them to particular cases so that we have the desire to tell the truth, and to keep our promises even when it is inconvenient to do so. People everywhere, irrespective of race and culture, have an inner sense of right and wrong and an inner fear of judgment. This inner judge is called conscience. Therefore even in the fallen state, the natural man has a measure of conscience. The natural man is not totally immoral and lawless but has some desire to do "good". This can be attested by the Scripture.

The Unbelievers' Stand in God's Sight

The question we need to ask is - How God deals with people who don't have a revelation of Him in the Word, either in the Law or subsequent portion of Scripture?

Paul said, "For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them)" (Romans 2:13 - 15, NIV, emphasis added).

Here are some statements of truth:

1. The law refers to bothe Moses Law (God give perfect Law) and other forms of law - verified by Greek Lexicon.

2. There are only two ways of achieving righteousness, one is by keeping rules and the other is by trusting God in faith.

3. The natural instinct of every human being when challenged in the issue of righteousness is to start to think in terms of rules. Rules have a place in life, but Christianity is not a set of rules.

4. Unbelieving Gentiles don't have the direct revelation of God's Law, but there is something inside them which does the same for them as the law would do, so that they show the work of the law written in their hearts. This is the work of conscience. What is written in their hearts is not the law but the working of the law.

5. The work of conscience is not to make us righteous but to bring us to the point where we see we need G0d's mercy to be made righteous.

6. Paul pictured a kind of court scene going on inside us. Conscience is our prosecutor. But we are all inclined to justifiy ourselves - one thought says we tell a lie, the other says n0, we just exaggerate a little bit.

There are no innocent people in the world


In God's perspective there are no innocent people in the world. It is in fact a careless presumption to believe that some people who have not heard of Christ are innocent. The opposite of innocent is guilty. And so, if the natural man is never innocent then he must be guilty.

Let us apply some simple logic. If the natural man is truly an innocent person, he needs not hear about Chirst. He has no need of redemption. God never punishes innocent people because such people are also righteous. The innocent person needs no Savior; he can save himself by his innocence.

The fact remains the people who die without hearing the gospel will be judged according to the knowledge they have. They will be judged guilty for rejecting God the Father. God never condemns innocent people.

The following paragraphs explain why:

Every person knows about God

The New Testament reveals the universal guilt of man - all natural men are sinners and they need a Savior. It announces the coming Christ to a world that had already rejected God the Father!

Jesus said, "For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance" (Matthew 9:13, NKJV).

Paul said, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be know of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened" (Romans 1:18 - 21, NKJV, emphasis added).

Here are some statements of truth:

1. God's wrath as revealed is not against innocence or ignorance but against ungodliness and unrighteousness - which is suppressing of truth. Men know the truth about God, but they do not allow this truth to work in their lives. They suppress it in order that they might live their own lives and not be convicted by God's truth.

2. God reveals what theologians called "general revelation" about Himself. So every man knows God. But man's problem is not that he doesn't know God but that he refuses to acknowledge what he knows to be true.

3. The revelation of God has been going on since the foundation of the word. It is not a once-for-all event but continues in a constant way. The revelation comes by way of creation. God's invisible nature is revealed "by the things that are made".

4. The revelation of God is sufficient to render man inexcusable. Since all men know God and all distort or reject that knowledge, they are not innocent. No man can plead ignorance as an excuse for not worshiping Him.

God judges according to the knowledge people have

The New Testament makes it clear that people will be judged according to the light that they have. This is implied by Paul:

"For as many as have sinned without the law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law" (Romans 2:12).

Applied generally, this means that each person will be judged according to the measure of moral light and understanding made available to him. Those who have had the full knowledge of God's moral standards revealed to them through the Law of Moses will be judged by that law. But those who did not have the fuller revelation of the Law of Moses will not be judged by that law, but only in accordance with the general revelation of God granted to the human race as a whole through the wonders of creation (Rom. 1:20).

It is important to mention here that idolatry as a "religion" does not please God but adds insult to injury to the glory of God:

"I am the Lord, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to carved images" (Isaiah 42:8).

"Religion" does not redeem people but may add to their guilt.