The Last Adam

Paul said: "And so it is written, 'The first man Adam became a living being,' The Last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man" (1 Cor. 15:45 - 49, NKJV, emphasis added).

The apostle Paul here compared the first Adam and the Last Adam. Jesus was called the Last Adam. He became a life-giving spirit. Adam was of the earth; Jesus is the Lord from heaven. Jesus, being spiritual, comes after Adam who was natural. This is a spiritual principle. Jesus was called "Last Adam" because there would be no other man after Him who would affect the destiny of the human race in the same way.

Significance and necessity of the Virgin birth

After the serpent had deceived Eve, the Lord God said to the serpent:

"Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel" (Genesis 3:14, 15, 16, emphasis added).

Notice that God was talking about the Seed of Eve (a woman). We all know that, biologically, a woman has no seed, the male carries the seed. Every person born after Adam is born in sin - a born sinner. He has the nature of his illegitimate stepfather - Satan.

Jesus had no earthly father. He was born of a woman. This is what makes the virgin birth a must - the bloodline follows the father. Medical science has found that under normal birth conditions not one droup of blood passes from the mother to the child. The mother does not furnish blood for the child. The blood is formed from the union of the child's father and mother.

The embryo formed in Mary's womb was the Word of God. Therefore, it produced pure blood, filled with life. God was the Father and Mary was the mother. Jesus was on earth, born of a virgin, with the blood of God in His veins. The Bible calls Him " the Last Adam." If He had an earthly father, He would have had death in His blood. Man is born with both life and death in him. But Jesus' blood was not polluted. Ther was no death in Him, You and I die because there is death in our blood.


Jesus, the willing supreme sacrifice

It is impossible for Jesus to die before the appointed time given by the Father. In the Gospel according to John, Jesus made several profound statements:

"No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father" (John 10:18).

"I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me" (John 14:30).

People tried to kill Jesus several times, but they could not (Luke 4:29, 30); He simple walk out from their midst. The anointing of God was on Jesus so strong that none could lay hold on Him. There was no death in Him. There was no sin in Him. He was filled with love!

Jesus was born of a woman, but God's blood flowed in His veins. It had to be so or He could not have been the supreme sacrifice. The sacrifice had to be a man (male) who was perfect - following the Old Testament sacrificial law. He had the life of God flowing in Him, and He gave it as a sin offering for the world.

If Jesus had not been born of a virgin, you would still be in your sins. It had to be so, or redemption could never have become a reality.

Jesus and His Anointing

Have you notice that Jesus was thirty years of age when He was baptized? Until that time, He had not healed one person. He had not raise anyone from the dead; He had not done a single miracle - not one! Surely He was as much the Son of God at age twenty-nine as He was at age thirty.

The real reason Jesus healed the sick, raised the dead, and cast out demons was because He was anointed with the Holy Spirit to destroy the works of the Devil. He didn't heal the sick because of His divine power, because He was the Son of God, or because of His deity. He stripped Himself of His divine power. He didn't use any power inherent in Him as God's Son to heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons, or destroy other works of the Devil.

Notice that it was after the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus in the bodily form of a dove (Luke 3:22) that He began to heal the sick, cast out demons, and perform miracles (Luke 4:34 onward).

Peter said: "... how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him" (Acts 10:38).

The power Jesus used in His ministry was not something He brought from heaven with Him. It wasn't inherent in Him as being the Son of God. The Bible says God anointed Him.

Let us think a little. If Jesus healed the sick because of His divine power, why did God anoint Him? He was God manifested in the flesh. Jesus healed the sick and worked miracle because of the anointing of God!


The Son of Man; the Son of God


Jesus came to earth as a man. He did not take the nature of angels nor the nature of God in His divine power. He took on Him the nature of man. Jesus became a man. Jesus continually affirmed, "I am the Son of Man." The Bible says you will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven. He will still be the Son of Man when He comes back. Jesus identifies with man. Because He was in the earth as a man, He could legally destroy the works of the Devil.


Satan didn't know who Jesus was until the day the Holy Spirit came on Him. In fact, John the Baptist began to have doubts also. When John was put into prison, he sent two people to ask Jesus if He was the One to come or should they look for another. Jesus simply said: "Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them" (Matt. 11:4 - 6, emphasis added).


Jesus came to preach the truth - the Good News which is the Gospel. He entered the earth legally because He was born here. He was born of a virgin; the blood of God flowed through His veins. He was the Son of Man; yet He was God manifested in the flesh and therefore, He was also the Son of God.


John said: "... For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8).


Jesus came to earth to get back everything Satan had stolen from Adam. Yes, Jesus was the Son of God. Yes, He was deity in this earth. But He did not operate in divine power. He performed miracles by the anointing of the Holy Spirit - the same Holy Spirit that is available to you and me today!


The legal aspect of being born in the earth


We need to understand that God only give authority to man who is born in the earth. This is of utmost importance.


Jesus said: "Most assuredly, I say to you he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other say, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep" (John 10:1, 2, NKJV).


The sheepfold is the earth. We who are in the earth, are the sheep of His pasture (Psalm 95:7). The door represents the legal entry. Any being coming into the earth by any other way than through the legal entry (door) is a thief and a robber. Now, what is the door? The door is Jesus - being born here in the earth of a woman. He that enters not into the earth by being born here, but by attaining entrance some other way, the same is a thief and a robber and he does not have legal authority on earth.


Satan is the one who is here illegally. He climbed up some other way - not being born here and therefore, has no right to be here. He is the thief and the robber! He comes to steal, and the kill and to destroy (John 10:10).


Out of His own mouth, Jesus revealed a great truth of the Bible: Only people born on earth have authority here. God delegated the first authority to Adam, but Adam turned it over to Satan who entered this earth illegally. But the Last Adam (Jesus) has come that we may have life. He has come to destroy and take away those things Satan perpetrated upon man. He came to restore man to his rightful authority.


When Adam became subordinate to Satan, he was born from life unto death. Jesus came to reverse the process and cause man to be born from death into life - the born-again experience. Jesus was the last Adam; there won't be another. He obtained eternal redemption for us!


The born-again experience


Jesus told Nicodemus: "You must be born again" (John 3:7). Even though man is legally born in the earth, he is a child of the Devil and he must be born again from the spiritual death to spiritual life.


Jesus, The Way


Jesus is the only way to heaven. It is not through a Church door. It is through Jesus - the Door. Jesus is the Way. Many religious systems claim to be "the way," but they are not. There is no other way except through Jesus. If you don't go through Jesus, you are not going to make it. You can't climb up the backstairs!


Demons and evil spirits came into the earth illegally by climbing up the back way, but you are not going to get into heaven any other way except through the Door, which is Jesus, He is the Door of the sheep.


Jesus became sin


Paul said: "For He made Him who know no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21).


God made Jesus to be sin. Jesus never sin but He became sin for us. The sin problem is cured. What about the sinner's problem? Yes, the sinner's problem is also taken care of.


The writer of Hebrews said: "For by one offering He ahs perfected forever those who are being sanctified. But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, 'This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord; I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,' then He adds, 'Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.' Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin. Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holies by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh (the Sin Offering) ..." (Heb. 10:14 - 19).


Let us go back to Hebrews 9:


"Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption" (Heb. 9:12, emphasis added).


Eternal redemption is ours! He entered the Most Holy place (heaven) to obtain redemption for us. Let us read further:


"For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God" (Heb. 9:13, 14, emphasis added).


Jesus offered Himself to God through the eternal Spirit within Him. In other words, He opened His eternal Spirit to God once He died on the cross (Luke 23:46).


Adam and the Last Adam - contrast


In order to obtain eternal redemption, an eternal Spirit had to be sacrificed. Notice that Jesus' Spirit did not cease to exit. In fact spirits never cease to exist. Jesus' Spirit became spiritually dead so that our spirit can be spiritually alive.


Adam died spiritually when he ate of the fruit. Jesus died spiritually when He opened Himself to sin. He allowed it to come. God put it upon Him. The Holy Son of God didn't sin! He became sin for you and me. He became a spiritually dead man. He was separated from His Father - a spiritual separation.


Jesus came to undo what Satan had done. Adam committed sin and died spiritually. Adam's spiritual death produced physical death - for the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).


See this contrast: Jesus became obedient to a physical death wheich was not due Him. He made the decision before He died to bear the sins and iniquities of the world. Also, He born the full penalty for those sins which was spiritual death or separation from God, to restor man to fellowship with God. Jesus reversed the process: Adam died spiritually, the physically. Jesus died physically, then spiritually.


Conclusion


Jesus made the decision to die while He was alive - to obtain eternal redemption for us. Men today must make the decision to live before they die - to receive eternal redemption!

God's Idea of Good News

God gives us His Word to set us free, and to cause us to be quickened according to His Word. This is the Gospel. The Gospel is good news. But sometimes, because of preconceived ideas and religious tradition we miss God's provisions. If we fail to divide the Word of truth rightly, or if we take Scripture out of context good news can become bad news.

Burdens (trials and tests) of life

Many believers think the trials and tests of life are ordained of God. Let us listen carefully to what Jesus said about this in Matthew 11:

"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, NKJV, emphasis added).

Some believers think we have to be burdened down in life in order to please God. The above Verse is God's idea of good news. Sometimes, men's tradition turns the good news to bad news.

In Old Testament days, people used a wooden yoke around the neck of oxen. It made their work easier, because it was handmade to fit the oxen. And if there was a knot in that yoke, it would rub those oxen raw in certain place.

Many believers take on burdens that God never intended for them to have. I believe that is the reason why so many Christians who go into the ministry take upon themselves all the burdens of others, instead of casting them on the Lord.

Peter said: "... casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7).

What Peter said above is God's will ad God's purpose for all of us. It is also good news for all of us.


Many ministers are burdened down because they have been taking all of the cares and burdens of everyone who came to them with prayer request. They prayed with them, but took the care on themselves instead of casting over on the Lord. If they have cast it over on the Lord, they wouldn't be burdened with it, but instead would thank God for the answer.

If you are a pastor you need to cast the care of the sheep on the Lord. Don't take all the cares of your congregation on yourself. Sometimes someone will come to you and ask for prayer concerning certain situation. You will of course pray for him and pray with him in agreement according to the Scripture (Matthew 18:19). But when you are through praying, someone might say, "Just keep praying for me, pastor." You should say no, because when you have said "amen", you already have released your faith over the situation if you have prayed in faith. It is finished as far as you are concerned. By doing this you have cast your care upon the Lord.

Jesus said: "And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive" (Matt. 21:22).

If you take all these cares on yourself, in a short time you won't be able to help anyone. You will have more burdens and problems than you know how to handle.

Burden of the Lord according to Jeremiah

"And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of the Lord? Thou shalt then say unto them, What burden? I will even forsake you, saith the Lord. And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of the Lord, I will even punish that man and his house. And the burden of the Lord shall ye mention on more: for every man's word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the Lord of host our God" (Jer. 23:33, 34, 36, KJV, emphasis added).

The word "burden" means "job task." In the above context it means "prophetic utterance" which, according to the people, is weighty and a burden as well. God placed the burden on the prophet who bore it to the people. But God does not want the people to consider this as burden. He would punish them for saying "a burden from the Lord." Every man's word shall be his own burden because he has perverted the Word of the living God. It other words, God is not the one laying heavy burdens on people. But the Devil does.

God is good and He wants to un-burden you of your heavy burdens. God wants to get the heavy load off you - not put it on you. It is religions that burdens you down. It's the problems and circumstances in life that burden you down.

Jeremiah continued to say: "Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence: and I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten" (Jer. 23:39, 40, KJV).


Anyone who says "the burden of the Lord" would face the above consequences. God's good news became bad news because the people had wrong idea abut burdens.

I believe one of the major problems with some people, especially ministers, is that they take all of the burdens of their entire congregation on themselves, instead of praying about them and releasing them to God.


God's thoughts and our thoughts


God said (through Isaiah): "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are highter than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8, 9, KJV).


I have heard many believers (including pastors) quoted the above, sometimes in prayer meeting, by saying: "Yes, God's thoughts are highter than our thoughts. God's ways are higher than our ways."


Yes, the Bible does say that. But, we must keep it in context or it can be very misleading. Let us think a little - If God's ways are higher than our ways, the we can't attain to God's ways - that is bad news. If you are to read the two Verses before this verse and put it in the context, you will have good news instead of bad news.


"Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his ways, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord: and he will have mercy upon him: and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon" (Isaiah 55:6, 7, KJV, emphasis added).


When God said, "My thoughts are not your thoughts," He was talking about the wicked man's thoughts. He was not talking about you, a born-again, Spirit-filled believer. He was talking about the wicked people who refuse the Word and will not repent.


Now we can understand, behind this confusion, is the Devil who perverts the Word of God and traps believers to quote Scripture Verses out of context. The truth of God's Word supposed to set you free to recieve good news and not put you under bondage.


Truth is revealed in context


It takes time and meditation to understand the Scripture. You can find all kinds of Scriptures that seem to say almost anything, if you take them of of context. But if you keep Scriptures in their context, they will reveal the truth to you.


God's ways can be our ways


Let us now read two more Verses following Isaiah 55:9 - "For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it" (Isaiah 55:10, 11, KJV).


God was essentially saying: "The Word I sent is like rain which comes down from heaven, and it causes the earth to bud, and causes it to bring forth fruit, and furnishes seed for the sower so that you can operate in My way. I have sent you the seed of My Word. Put it in your mouth and sow it. My ways will work for you, and you can operate in My ways."


Clearly, God actualy says the exact opposite of what most believers thought He said. That is good news. But men's religious idears make the Word unfruitful. We should hold fast to the truth, and the Word will be fruitful to you. God's way will work for you, if you work them.


All things work together for good?


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, KJV).


Most Christians are very familiar with the above Scripture. But it is also a source of confusion to many people. I heard this being quoted everywhere - from the pulpit, in prayer meeting and in conversation. Whenever there is news concerning some disasters in life - cancer, car accident and suicide etc, people will say, "Well, the Bible says, all things work together for good ...."


Once again, the problem is obvious - this Scripture has been quoted out of context. Let us put it back in the Bible context to find out what Paul really meant:


"Likewise the Spirit also helpeth in our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God" (Romans 8:26, 27, empahsis added).


Paul was saying that the Holy Spirit will rise up within you when you don't know how to pray. He will pray with words which you could not utter in the language that you know.


Notice that the three little words - "the will of" are in italics (in King James Version), which means they were not not in the original text, but were added by the translators. If we take it out (it is permitted to do so), Verse 26 reads: ".... because he maketh intercession for the saints according to God."


Praying according to God


The meaning is this - "When you don't know how to pray about a situation, the Holy Spirit, through your spirit, will make intercession through your voice in other tongues by praying the way God would pray."


Notice that you are praying the Word of God whenever you pray in the Spirit. If God were to pray for you, He would pray the Word over you. Whatever He said in His Word is what He would pray.

I believe, if we could get hold of this truth, it would solve a lot of problems in life. You can go to God with the problems, or you can go to God with the answers to the problems. If you will learn to pray the answer, it will solve tremendous problems. God's Word is the answer - good news to us. Remind God of what He said in His Word.


God said: "Put Me in remembrance; let us contend together; state your case, that you may be acquitted" (Isaiah 43:26).


That doesn't mean God is forgetful. God wants you to speak it, so that you will hear it! Faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). He wants you to pray the Word of God always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit (Eph. 6:18).


All things don't work for good


Let us come back to the context of Romans 8:28. After you have prayed according to God, then you know that all things you have prayed about will work together for good.


We need to clarify here. If it were true that all things did work together for good, then you would have to say, "Adam sinned, but it worked together for good; so I guess my sin will work together for good." It wasn't God's will for Adam to sin. Neither is it God's will for you to sin. Your sins are not going to work together for good. You see how believers can take something that is true in its context and try to fit it in somewhere else where it doesn't belong. It is not only confusing but also a false truth. It is, infact, an error.


Working out our own salvation?


Paul said: "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure" (Phil. 2:12, 13, NKJV, emphasis added).


Paul was not telling you to just work up your own plan of salvation. God has already given us His plan in Romans 10:


"... that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9).


In the context, Paul was telling us to carry our salvation into effect. If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, then put it into action. If you have confessed that Jesus is Lord, then made Him the Lord of your life. If you haven't, then you have not put God's plan of salvation into effect.


Independent of circumstances of life


Paul said: "Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content; ..." (Phil. 4:11).


This Verse has been quoted over and over again by people who don't believe in prosperity. They say, "After all, the apostle Paul said to just be content with whatever you have."


If you read the few Verses before and few Verses after Verse 11, you will notice that Paul was referring to the fact that the Philippians' care for him had flourished again. They had sent an offering to him again.


I believe Paul had leaned how to be independent of circumstances. Paul, in effect, said: "I have learned, in whatever state I find myself, I will be independent of circumstances of life."


God wants you and me to operate independent of life. That is good news.


Conclusion


If you study the Bible diligently, you will discover that God's Word is good news. Never ever take Scriptures out of context and turn it into bad news.

The Better Covenant

The eleven Chapter of Hebrews mentions various type of sufferings and hardships men of God (heros of faith - Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthae, David and Samuel) had to go through under the Old Covenant:

"Others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented - of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountain, in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us" (Hebrews 11:36 - 40, NKJV, emphasis added).

The "promise" of Verse 39 refers to the promised Messiah. They were people of faith and through faith "obtained a good testimony." But they didn't see the fulfillment of that promised in their days. Since God has provided some better things for us, we are not obligated to all the things they suffered under the Old Covenant. We have a better Covenant. It is established on better promise.

The writer of Hebrews said: "But now He (Jesus) has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises" (Hebrews 8:6).

Many of us are wondering why all this happened to them. Why they were not delivered? I hope to answer some of these questions. To begin with, God is not to be blamed for their sufferings. But He had provided a way of escape.

God makes way of escape

The Scripture reveals a few ways of escape. First let us look at what Paul said concerning temptations and trials that come our way of life.

"No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it" (1 Cor. 10:13, emphasis added).

I have heard the above being quoted - "God won't put any more on you than you are able to stand."

But that was not what the Apostle Paul said. Let me paraphrase what Paul actually said:

"Satan can't tempt you supernaturally. He has to tempt you by that which is common to man. He can't come with some supernatural temptation. He has to come to you through the five senses. We, as believers, have the advantage of supernatural weapon because the weapons of warfare are not carnal, but they are mighty through God. But Satan's temptation is limited to the carnal things."

Satan is the tempter and destroyer

Did you notice that Paul did not say God sent the temptation? So many believers interpret this to mean that God sent the temptation or the trial. But Jesus, used "The parable of the sower" in Mark 4 to indicate that it was Satan who brought the trials and the afflictions of life.

Jesus said: "Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful" (Mark 4:18, 19).

The way of escape ignored

Let us now go back to what Paul said: "... but with the temptation (God) will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it" (1 Cor. 10:13).

It is clear that, as Satan brought in the "temptation," God provided a way of escape. It is therefore valid to say that those men of God mentioned in Hebrews 11 either they didn't find the way of escape or they chose not to take it, but to suffer persecution.

I believe you could die in the service of God, but it is much better to live and serve Him. Present your bodies a living sacrifice and you will be able to serve Him better alive.

Paul said: "For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you" (Phil. 1:23, 24).

Someone aptly put it: "You don't win a war by giving up your life for your country. You win a war by getting your enemies to give up their lives."


The New Covenant is better than the Old Covenant


Why is the New Covenant better than the Old Covenant? The Scripture clearly says that there are some promises people have in the New Covenant that people did not have under the the Old Covenant.


Under the Old Covenant


To get some insight into some things what happened under the Old Covenant, we have to go to Ecclesiastes to get Solomon's assessment of life under the Old Covenant:


"Then I returned and considered all the oppression that is done under the sun: And look! The tears of the oppressed, but they hve no comforter - On the side of their oppressors there is power, but they have no comforter" (Eccl. 4:1).


The problem is that people under the Old Covenant didn't have the Holy Spirit who is our comforter and guide. Under the Old Covenant they didn't have a comforter. They didn't have one called alongside to help, to teach them all things.


The oppressor had power, but those who were oppressed didn't have any power, because they didn't have a comforter.


Solomon went on to say: "Therefore I praise the dead who were already dead, more than the living who are still alive. Yet, better than both is he who has never exested, who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun" (Eccl. 4:2, 3).


Solomon summed the whole thing up by saying, "You would really be better off dead than alive under this situation." Then after thinking about it, he said, "You would really be better off if you had never been born than to have been born and dead."


Under the New Covenant, Jesus said that when the Holy Spirit (Spirit of truth) is come, He will guide you into all truth; He will show you things to come (John 16:13, 15).


Under the Old Covenant, the Holy Spirit came only upon the prophet, the priest, the king and a few who were used by God for special services. The average layman did not have access to the Holy Spirit in those days.


Under the Old Covenant, there wasn't much people could do about the oppressor and his power. If they stayed under the umbrella of the Covenant God made with them (the book of the Law), then they had divine protection. But once they go out from under the umbrella of protection, then they were legal game for Satan, and they had no power to overcome him. This was the curse of the law.


Under the Old Covenant, there was no remission of sins. There was only atonement or a covering of sin. The sin was still there. People were still conscious of their sin. Only under the New Covenant does the blood of Jesus take away the consciousness of sin.


Under the New Covenant


Under the New Covenant, we are redeemed from the curse of the law (Gal. 3:13). Also, under the New Covenant we have authority to use the Name above all names, the Name of Jesus. We now can resist the Devil and he will flee from us because there is power in that Name.


Jesus said to His disciples: "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you" (Luke 10:19).


Under the New Covenant, Jesus gives us power and authority over the Devil. So we have the advantage. Satan's temptation is limited to that which is common to man (in the five senses). We have now supernatural weapons the people didn't have under the Old Covenant.


A man to stand in the gap


God said: "And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found none" (Ezekiel 22:30, KJV).


God also said: "And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor; therefore his arm brought salvation for Him; and His own righteousness, it sustained Him" (Isaiah 59:16, NKJV).


The man needed to stand in the gap is the intercessor. God seemed to say: "We are going to do something about it, for this is not right. I need a man to fulfill this purpose."


Our intercessor has come


John said: "My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (1 John 2:1, NKJV, emphasis added).


The word "Advocate" means "Intercessor." Our Lord Jesus Christ is our Ingercessor.


Paul said: "It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us" (Romans 8:34).


The writer of Hebrews said: "Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermos those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them" (Heb. 7:25).


So we see, for those men of God mentioned in Hebrews 11, there was no intercessor. There was no man to stand in the gap and make up the hedge. But now we have a man. His Name is Jesus. He is our Intercessor. This will answer many of our questions about why things happened as they did under the Old Covenant.


The flood of the enemy


Isaiah said: "When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will life up a standard against him" (Isaiah 59:19).


Notice that when a flood comes, it overflows everything. There is no way to contain a flood. If it could be contained, it would not be a flood. Therefore, there is no way to contain the enemy when he comes in like a flood. This is true under the Old Covenant. When the people did not keep the Law, their enemy did come as a flood, and there was no power under the law to stop him. There was power on the side of the oppressor, but none for the oppressed. So for the people under the Old Covenant, there was no way of containing the enemy, once they stepped outside of the Covenant.


The flood of the Holy Spirit


Today, under the New Covenant, we are living in the fulfillment of Isaiah 59:19. The standard has been lifted up. His arm (Jesus) brought salvation (Isaiah 59:16). The tide has turned, so to speak. The Holy Spirit is in us, and the enemy can no longer come as a flood. Instead the flood of the Holy Spirit is coming from the believers, and Satan can't stop it.


If Isaiah was living under New Covenant, he would have written:


"When the enemy shall come in, like a flood, the Spirit of God shall lift up a standard against him."


Take note of the punctuation. The phrase "lift up a standard against him" in the context, means "put him to flight." So, we can read it this way: "When the enemy shall come in, like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall put him to flight."


The role of the Holy Spirit in prayer


John said: "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water" (John 7:38, emphasis added).


The phrase, "will flow rivers of living water" means "will have flowing stream of living water."


Paul said: "Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weakness. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered" (Romans 8:28).


In other words, when the enemy comes in and we don't know how to pray, that river, that flowing stream of God's Spirit within us, begins to release the flood.


When you don't know how to pray, you should pray out of your spirit in other tongues. When the enemy comes in, the Holy Spirit begins to pray through your spirit. Out of your spirit come rivers of living water. That is the flood. It is the Spirit of God lifting up a standard against the enemy. And the enemy will be contained.


Sword of the Spirit


Paul said: "And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with perseverance and supplication for all saints; ... (Eph. 6:17, 18, KJV, emphasis added).


Notice that the sword of the Spirit is not just the Word of God which many Christians believed. It is the Word of God praying. There is a difference here. In other words, it is the Holy Spirit, through your spirit, praying the Word of God. Therefore, the Word of God is not a sword until it is in your mouth. God's Word spoken out of your mouth becomes the sword of your (human) spirit.


Jesus in you praying the Word of God


Jesus came inside you when you were born again. We know Jesus intercedes for us. I believe He does it through your sprit, and through your voice. In other words, it is the Spirit of truth (Jesus, the Holy Spirit) through your spirit, praying the Word of God.


If God were to pray for you, He would pray His Word over you. God wouldn't say one thing in prayer that He hasn't already said in His Word. If you had lack, He would pray abundance over you. If you were in darkness, He would pray light over you.


Jesus is our intercessor, and He speaks only what He hears His Father say. So Jesus, our intercessor, would be praying the Word of God over us.


Conclusion


The writer of Hebrews said: "God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us (Heb. 11:40).


Therefore, we are not obligated to all things the people suffered under the Old Covenant. We have a better Covenant. It is established on better promises.

Understanding Job's Problems

The Book of Job has been one of the most misunderstood books of the whole Bible. It can hold many believers in bondage if they fail to divide the Word of truth rightly.

Paul said to Timothy: "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15, NKJV).

Wrongly dividing the word of truth

A pastor's wife was a cancer patient. She stood behind the pulpit and proclaimed, "I am like Job, chastened by the Lord. After all the Scripture says, 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord'."

She was wrong on two counts - Firstly, she was not chastened by the Lord. Secondly, the Lord does not take. Let us reason this out:

Chastening of the Lord

The writer of Hebrews said: "My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives. (V.7) If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? (V. 8) But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons" (Hebrews 12:5 - 8).

The Greek word translated "chasten" in these verses means "to train up a child" or to "child train." Even if you don't understand Greek, Verse 7 reveals the meaning to you - Is there any father here on earth who has a child and would not teach or train his child? Clearly, the above Scripture is not implying that God is sending some calamity your way to teach your son. That would be child abuse, not child train. Then how on earth the pastor's wife says that God gives cancer (a deadly disease) to train her?

Furthermore, if God was going to give you cancer, He would have to steal it first. God does not have any sickness or disease. Sickness could not come from heaven, because there isn't sickness in heaven! Furthermore, in the light of Verse 8, since all God's children are partakers of chastening and if sickness and disease are the chasterning to the Lord, then no sinners would ever be sick. In other words, if you are not a child of God (but an illegitimate child or a sinner) you would not be chastened of the Lord. So if sickness and disease and problems of life were the chastening of the Lord, then no sinners would have any problem nor any sickness. Only Christians would have sickness and problems. But we know that is not true. Everyone faces problems in life.

The Lord does not take

Most Christians, including many pastors, say that the Bible is the Word of God and the Word of God is the Bible. We must not be presumptuous. We must understand that not everything recorded in the Bible is the Word of God. The Bible, especially in the Old Testament, records what people said and not everything they said is of God. In other words, not all Scripture is inspired of God.

Paul said: "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitble for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (2 Tim. 3:16, emphasis added).

There is a difference between what is "given by inspiration of God", and what is "inspired of God." If you fail to understand the difference you are going to have problem in understanding the Bible.

Job said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gives, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21, NKJV, emphasis added).

What Job said above - "the Lord has taken away" is not inspired of God. But the entire content of the Book of Job is given by inspiration of God. God did not inspire Job to say - "the Lord has taken away." The Bible merely recorded what Job said. What Job said was not the truth. There are many other verses in the Book of Job that are Job's own words but not inspired of God. We need to realize that Job couldn't read the first chapter of the Book of Job and find out that it was the Devil who took away. The following sections will make this clear.

The root of Job's problems

Let us look at some of the things Job said and we will get some insight into how these things (problems) started.

Job said, "For the things I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me" (Job 3:25).

Let us approach Job's problems from a Scriptural viewpoint.

The writer of Hebrews said: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1).

Paul said: "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17).

The above Scripture is a positive truth concerning hearing the Word of God.

Reciprocal truths

There is an opposite or reciprocal of truth concerning hearing the Word of God. Since faith in God comes by hearing the Word of God, then faith in the Devil would come by hearing the words of the Devil - the opposite end of the truth.

The Bible says that God has not given us the spirit of fear (2 Tim. 1:7) and so fear comes from the Devil. If you begin to listen to the Devil, it will produce fear. Faith is therefore the reverse gear of faith. So if faith is the substance of things desired (hoped for), then the reciprocal of that truth is that - "Fear is the substance of things not desired." Thre spiritual truth is - Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. And fear comes by hearing the words of the Devil.

If you listen to the Devil, you begin to believe the things the Devil says. Then you begin to speak what you believed. That was the reason why Jesus never would say anything except what His Father said. We should do likewise.

Live by God's Word or die by the Devil's words

We need to take note of the fact that when Jesus was tempted by the Devil in the wilderness, Jesus would not say anything other than what the Scripture said. When tempted to turn stones into bread, Jesus replied:

"It is written, 'Man shall not live by read alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God'" (Matthew 4:4).

Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3 which is the truth and He defeated the Devil by the truth of God's Word. If you listen to the Devil you will die by the Devil's words. This applies to everyone.

Fear comes by hearing the words of the Devil

We cannot blame the Lord for what happened to Job. Job was speaking his fears after listening to the Devil:

Job said: "For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me" (Job 3:25).

The Devil lied to Job. The Devil told Job that he was going to lose everthing he had. Even though God had put a hedge around him (Job 1:10), evidently, Job believed the Devil, because when calmity came, the first thing he said was:

"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name to the Lord" (Job 1:21).

Job was essentially saying: "I knew it was too good to be true; I was expecting it to happen."

Job's fear broke the hedge of protection

I believe Job didn't just fear. He was highly developed in his fear when he said - "For the thing I greatly feared ..." (Job 3:25).

Ecclesiastes 10:8 gives us some insight into Job's situation - "He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh a hedge, a serpent shall bite him" (KJV).

The serpent speaks of the Devil. Job's fear broke the hedge that God had put around him and the serpent bit him. Let us imagine the scenario. Satan said to God: "You have made a hadge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side until I can't get to him." God said: "Yes, that's Me. That's what I did and I will not take the hedge down."

The one who broke the hedge was Job and his fear and not God. Read the first three chapters of the Book of Job you will understand how fearful Job was. Not only he was fearful but also extremely worried, he was fretting, and was praying and offering sacrifices on behalf of his sons:

"His sons would go and feast in their houses, each on his appointed day, and would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, 'It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.' Thus Job did regularly" (Job 1:4, 5).

Notice that Job did all these things but he had faith in none of them. He did everything out of fear and not in faith. The Scripture says that whatever is not from faith is sin (Romans 14:23).


Job refused to listen to wisdom


Solomon gave some insights on Job's problems - he failed to listen to the voice of wisdom.


Wisdom spoke out: "Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded, because you disdained all my counsel, and would have none of my rebuke, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes, when your terror comes like a storm, and your destruction comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but they will not find me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord" (Proverbs 1:24 - 29).


Wisdom won't come to you when you have operated in your own way. Job can't get wisdom because he was worrying, fretting, and in fear. Wisdom would not come to him because he had no faith for it.


The promises of Wisdom: "When you lie down, you will not be afraid; yes; you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden terror, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; for the Lord will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught" (Proverbs 3:24 - 26). Job received none of these promises.


Job's realization and revelation


"Deliver me from the enemy's hand. Redeem me from the hand of the oppressors. Teach me, and I will hold my tongue; cause to to understand wherein I have erred. How forceful are right words" (Job 6:23 - 25)!


Finally, Job came to his senses and he had figured out that the root of his problems was the Devil and not God. And he realized that his tongue had something to do with it. He also came to understand and convinced that the right words are very forceful.


Job's repentance and restoration

Repentance


Job answered the Lord: "I know that You can do everthing, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. You asked, 'Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?' Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Listen, please, and let me speak; you said, 'I will question you, and you shall answer Me.' I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes" (Job 42:1 - 6, emphasis added).


Here Job admitted the problem of his tongue - "I have uttered what I did not understand." In other words, he said, "I utterly missed it. But I've learned some things that I didn't know."


Restoration


"And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends; also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before" (Job 42:10, KJV).


God has been accused of doing many things to Job. But this is what God really did to Job. Notice that if the Lord didn't have Job captive, it had to be the Devil. Furthermore, when the Lord turned his captivity, also indicates that Job immediately had the Devil captive. This came about because Job prayed for his friends.


Conclusion


Have you noticed that most people never talk about the things God gave Job? They usually talk about what they thought God took away from him. But God was not the taker. He is the giver of all good gifts. Job allowed himself to be ensnared by the Devil becaus fear broke the hedge of protection.


God is a good God. The Devil is a bad enemy. We also need to understand that there are some things that happened under the Old Covenant that won't happen under the New Covenant.


For one thing, under the Old Covenant there was no intercessor. God had no man to stand in the gap and make up the hedge that had been broken. But we have a Man today - The Lord Jesus is our intercessor!

Disappointment and Discouragement

A recent report show that there are more pastors who get fed up, discouraged, disappointed and leave the ministry than those who have to leave ecause of some gross sin. Christians cannot afford to take disappointment and discouragement too lightly because these are the little foxes that spoil the vine, the little germs that are unseen by the naked eyes, that eat away and eventually destroy the whole body - even the Body of Christ. They must be attended to overcome.

Disappointment is so common that it happens to everybody in any given length of time. But Satan uses this to war against pastors and other servants of God. Disappointment is the forerunner of discouragement. Every man who attempts great things for God and sees little progress can be overtaken by disappointment. If from disappointment, he yields to discouragement he can become a quitter. Someone said, "Blessed is the man who expects nothing for he shall never be disappointed." I think he was rather presumptuous. Such a man is a disappointment already. He is a disappointment to God, His Maker, to his mother who bore him, and also to himself for not making some mark or impact in society.

Disappointment can be stepping-store to success and progress, or it can be a step in regression and failure. A boy can dream of getting a bicycle for Christmas and be disappointed if it does not materialize. There is a way out for him. He can save enough from his pocket money to buy one. This will teach him to earn his way through life. Giving everything to a child to avoid disappointment is to train that child for a life of getting. He will never learn the lesson that it is better to give than to receive.

A student sets his sights on high marks. He did not make the grade he wanted to. He can either quit or use that disappointment to press through, apply himself more diligently, and rise to success.

Similarly, as a servant of God, the pastor should not succumb to disappointment. He should work more diligently than he did before. He should study God's Word more diligently, pray harder, plan more thoroughly, get help and learn from other pastors and share his problems with senior members of his congregation. Apply himself more enthusiastically and he will eventually, successfully reach his goal.

Disappointment should not be allowed to mature into discouragement

Elijah was disappointed and so God encouraged him. When he got discouraged, God rejected him and sent him on his way to anoint his successor. Disappointment is normal, but if you dispair it is abnormal. Only those who set goals, who try and fail, get disappointed. It is those who despair, who stop trying and fail.

I believe the old motto, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again" has stood for good for all men. It is the constantly disappointed yet constantly persistent that break the records. You see this in all Olympic Games; you see this in the man who conquered the English Channel; you see this in the "spider-man" who climbed the tallest buildings in the world unaided. It is the mountain climbers that are disappointed at failures, but who persist and reach the top of Mount Everest.

Paul's disappointments became appointment

"Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. So passing by Mysia, they come down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, 'Come over to Macedonia and help us.' Now after he had see the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them" (Acts 16:6 - 10, NKJV).

Paul wanted to make a great thrust into Asia Minor, but the Spirit forbade him to go. It was a great disappointment for he saw the potential of a great and quick thrust of the gospel. Paul didn't pout and say, "I'm willing to make the sacrifice, pay the price, for the glory of God, but, okay, Holy Spirit, if you don't want me to go, I'll go home and do something else."

Paul used his disappointment for another attempt - to Bithynia, a small province near the Black Sea and Russia. But again the Holy Spirit said, "No." But Paul was not a quitter. He allowed his disappointments to turn into appointments (with God).

As he yielded to the Holy Spirit who sent him to Troas, a vision was given to him. From there the doors were opened to him to journey to Macedonia (together with Corinth and Athens, the ancient Greek states). That was the place he was called to preach the gospel.

Dealing with disappointments

Do not stop and refuse to go on at the first disappointment. You could be withholding your talents from an area where the Holy Spiri can make you more effectively. Stubbornness has no virtue out of the will of God. God can turn your disappointment to appointment.

On the other hand, some disappointments in the will of God need not be disastrous. Even Jesus faced disappointments. Here are some examples;

1. Jesus was disappointed when the Jews refused to come to Him - "But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life" (john 5:40).

2. Jesus was disappointed when Philip asked Him to show him the Father - "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me" (John 14:9)?

3. Jesus was disappointed at the Garden of Gethsemane, when His disciples fell asleep while He prayed - "What? Could you not watch with Me for one hour" (Matt. 26:40)?

If you face disappointment, shattered dreams and hope, stand on the rubble, it will give you an ability to stand higher, and reach for bigger things. You may weep alone standing on that pile, but those tears will only clear your vision to see beyond today. Scratch that frosty window pane to see clearly beyond your confinement. It may even break to make your vision clearer.

Disappointments are like clouds that have "come to pass" - it may seem like those clouds have set in to stay, but they always pass. It is in the darkest night that the stars are the brightest.

Don't let disappointments blind you to God's alternatives. The breakthrough is ahead. The goal will be reached if you have one. Your ship will come in if you have launched one. Don't get mired down in despair in the midst of disappointment. Job's farm, cattle and crops may be lost, the family may have gone and he might have been disappointed, yet he came out victorious. Similarly, your loved ones may turn against you, your business may have gone sour or bunkrupt, but don't turn sour on God. He is not responsible for it, but the Devil is! God is responsible to get you out, and He will. Let Him give you a new start to make up for the failures of the past.

You have the help of the Holy Spirit to bring you out of disappointement. Don't struggle to make it on your own. The life guard can rescue you from drowing much easier if you stop panicking and struggling. Yield to the Holy Spirit and let Him lead you out.

Importance of self forgiveness

As a Christian you are forgiven. But to know that you are forgiven is one thing, and to forgive yourself is another thing. Let us look at the case of Paul. In his disappointements he could have reasoned, "God is rejecting me because I persecuted and killed believers. Families are separated, women are widows, and children are orphans because I had men killed. That is why God is rejecting me."

Paul did not reason that way because he knew that if he was forgiven the past is past. Paul had to claim forgiveness, forget the past, and press for the future:

"Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehanded; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:13, 14).

We must do likwise. We may carry the marks to let us remember the pit from whence we have come. As we repent, He will forvive us and the Holy Spirit will minister to us.

Your past can be therapeutic guilt or neurotic guilt like what what David went through after he sinned against God with Bathsheba. He repented and wrote a beautiful psalm:

"For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin I always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight - that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge" (Ps. 51:3, 4).

David did not allow that guilt to destroy him. He confessed, repented and fasted and then washed himself and went on to be the anointed servant of God. His guilt brought remorse, confession, repentance, reconciliation, and a commission to greater usefulness in the kingdom of Israel.

You may be disappointed in yourself, in your own failure or that of others. Whatever it is, don't dwell there. If others have failed, go to them and talk it over. Don't let the tentacles of a cancerous disappointment destroy your life. The best way to neutralize your enemy is to forgive and live him. We love our enemies and pray for them that they might find the love of Christ.


Discouragememt - road to disaster

I have already mentioned that if we don't handle disappointments effectively, they will develop into discouragement. Discouragement, unless arrested, will result in disaster. Discouragement can grip a nation as easily as it can an individual. Discouraged people will take drastic action. whenever you find discouraged people in a nation, revolution will follow.


A pastor must never allow discouragement to set into the ranks of his congregation. That is why he must not get discouraged or he will spread the spirit of discouragement as an infectious disease among the people in the Local Church. Because these people are Christians, they are taught not to strive or fight those in authority over them. And so they become frustrated and suffer silently. If they understand that there is no such thing as a perfect Church or perfect pastors they will not run and abandon ship, but stay put, and pray the situation through. It is not, however, the responsibility of the sheep to change the shepherd. The owner of the sheepfold will change the shepherd if the lambs are being devoured or straying away. If there are no lambs being born and the sheepfold is diminishing, drastic measures are in view.


When a pastor is discouraged and see no future for the success, growth and maturity of the flock, he should at least humble himself and pray and seek the Lord for direction. Perhaps the Lord would heal his discouragement and open doors for him to pastor another Local Church.


Unfortunately, some self-righteous pastors would consider that a defeat, and become more determined than ever to stick it out. So they go into the pulpit, lash out at the people instead of loving them, condemn them for lack of co-operation instead of encouraging them with a God-given vision. If only the floundering, visionless, discouraged, whining pastor would realize that the state and condition of the Church reflects his own vision, commitment and works. The sooner he will face himself, correct his own life and works, the sooner he will see a change in the congregation.


Art of encouraging oneself in the Lord


Pastors and other men of God must realize that they cannot look to people, to the arm of flesh for encouragement during crisis times. Leadership can be a very lonesome position if one does not maintain a close relationship with God. Moses, Jesus, Paul and David (just to name a few) - all of them have cultivated the art of encouraging themselves in the Lord.


David encouraged himself


A good example of encouraging oneself in the Lord is found in 1 Samuel chapter 30. David and his men were away on a mission. While they were away, the Amalakites invaded David's camp at Ziklag and carried away their wives, children and possessions. Discovering this disaster, the men turned against David which caused him to be greatly distressed:


"And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters; but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God" (1 Sam. 30:6, KJV, emphasis added).


Psalm 42 give us some insight of how he did this remarkable thing. He had a good talk to his discouraged soul:


"Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God" (Ps 42:11).


The Spirit of God within him was not going to let the soul remain discouraged. After being strengthened David consulted God and He gave him a battle plan. The Amalakites were defeated and destroyed and David and his men retrived their loved ones and their possessions.


One man who encouraged himself in the Lord turned a disaster into victorious celebration. That is true leadership. This is a great lesson for pastors and all leaders in the Church of Jesus Christ. God need leaders who wait upon the Lord and obedient to Him - These leaders "Shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31).

The Minister and his Battle

Continuing with our theme of the pastor's ministry and the ministry of any servant of God, we now touch on the area of battle against the works of the evil one. If we are to walk in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus, it is inevitable that we have many battles to fight. It is wishful thinking that there will be no battles if we are tearing down the kingdom of Satan. The kingdoms of the world are in the hands of Satan. He offered his kingdom to Jesus in return for a little worship. We are commissioned to establish our Lord's Kingdom. That means doing away with Satan's. The more threat you are to him, the more he will harass you. Stay quiet and be no threat to him and he will leave you alone.

Nehemiah did not face oppositions, ridicule, attack, threats and mockery until he started to rebuild the walls. David lived a peaceful, quiet life until he was annointed king. Elijah was not threatened and hunted until Baal's false prophets were killed. John the Baptist was not beheaded until he introduced the Messiah and exposed the sins of Herod. Paul became the persecuted when he received the vision of the true Messiah and sought to convert every Jew from Judaism to Christianity. The illustrations are endless and all speak the same message.

Facing up with the battle

Sit quietly in your comfortable pew or stand behind the pulpit like a clown, you can be sure the enemy will not bother you. Declare war on the enemy and his hordes will come out full force. You can get fearful and retreat (that's what the enemy wants) or you can take the stone that the builders' rejected and successfully face Goliath. You can take Aaron's rod that budded, and the Rod of the stem of Jesse, and go and do exploits with that Name. A sword left in the scabbard is no threat to the enemy. It is when it is drawn in a skillful hand that a battle looms.

What shall we do then? To those who have joined the mighty army, who love not their lives unto death (Rev. 12:11), who know that greater is He that is in them than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4), there is no question. They are out in the front lines. They fight with victory in view. Nothing surfaces in their lives that will detract them from victory. Their purpose in life, their commitment and objective, is to establich His Kingdom. We must understant that "The battle is not yours but God's" (2 Chron. 22:15). But He chose to use us.

This calls for a disciplined life. Just like an Olympic Games swimming gold medalist who trained for years to break his own record and every record. He lived swimming and each day was taken up with it. He watched his diet, watched his exercise, cast aside other interests an put everthing he had into one vision - getting an Olympic gold medal for his country and himself.

Christian workers and ministers need to have the same measure of commitment and devotion. We need to ask ourselves - Is there no prize to win? Is there no contest? Is there no adversary that seeks to hinder or destroy us? Does our heavenly citizenship give us no pride? Are we not zealous and willing to pay the price to be winners? Are we not listening to our Coach, the Holy Spirit? How long will it be before He disqualified us? Discipline and commitment will either make or break an athlete, a pastor or any Church worker!


The reality of Satan and demon spirits


There is a battle to be fought because of the fact that we do have an enemy. We must recognize the real person (spiritual) that talked to Eve in the Garden; the real person that talked to Jesus in the wilderness; the real person that sought our Lord's worship, sought to get Jesus to tempt the Father; sought to get Jesus to draw on His diety (Matt. 4:1 - 11). This real person is Satan. Satan and his demons were there to derange the mind and soul of the man at Gadarenes (Luke 8:26 - 39). Satan gave residence to seven of his demons in Mary Magdalene (Mark 16:9). He bound a daughter of Abraham, a Jewish believer for 18 years (Luke 13:10 - 16).


Here are some of the evil works of Satan:


Satan claims authority over this world


"Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in moment of time. And the devil said to Him, 'All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish'" (Luke 4:5, 6, NKJV).


Satan is the father of every lie


Jesus said: "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it" (John 8:44, NKJV).


Satan comes as an angel of light


Paul said: "And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light" (2 Cor. 11:14).


Satan goes after you as a roaring lion


Peter said: "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8).


Sinners are under the control of Satan


Jesus said to Paul: "I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me" (Acts 25:17, 18).


Paul said: "But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them" (2 Cor. 4:3, 4).


Satan sometimes afflicts the righteous


"And the Lord said to Satan, 'Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not lay a hand on his person,' So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord" (Job 1:12).


Every calamity is the act of god (Satan, the god of this age)


Many people (Christians and non-christians) attribute every calamity to divine providence - An earthquake takes place, a tornado passes through, a typhoon or monsoon wrecks the vessels at sea. The Insurance companies hasten to say, "It was an act of God", but they don't say which "god."


If a storm was sent by God, then why did Jesus rebuke the storm (Matt. 8:23 - 26)? Can anyone with reasonable thinking conclude that the Father sent a storm to drown His own Son? Or to drown His own children that were in the boat? It is the Devil that comes to kill and destroy (John 10:10). God comes to heal and restore the the bruised, the broken-hearted and to save the lost. He comes that we may have life, and that we may have it more abundantly.


Satan causes cancer, accident and heart attack etc


I was told this story. A little girl was killed by a road accident. At the funeral, the pastor went into detail how God needed another voice in His heavenly choir and chose to take this little girl. If such unscriptural nonsense could be attributed to God, would it not make more sense to translate this child as He did Enoch? Does God need a painful destructive accident to take a loved one hom? It is absurd and sounds blasphemous to attribute such action to a loving God.


No! God, our loving heavenly Father, does not need an accident, a cancer or even a heart attack to take us home. He could just say to us as He did to Moses (in my on words), "Lay down, Moses and fall asleep. I will awaken you in My house in glory" (Deut. 32:49, 50). Or He could just take us as He did Enoch who walked with God right into heaven (Gen. 5:24).


I was told another story. A pastor and his wife with seven children were serving God in a small Local Church. In the process of time, both of them had terminal cancer. The pastor died first and then followed by the wife. Their pastor friends praised God for them for being so faithful. Even without the husband, the wife, inflected with cancer, still carried on His work until the very end. The truth is, even if God allowed it, for some reason, it was Satan who cause this painful situation.


Our defense and victory


There are a number of things believers can do. I have posted a number of messages on spiritual warfare. Please refer to them.


Our defense


James said: "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4:6, 7, emphasis added).


Peter said: "Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experience of suffering is required of your brotherhood throughout the world" (1 Peter 5:8, 9, RSV, emphasis added).


Paul said: "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil" (Eph. 6:11, NKJV, emphasis added).


From the above Scriptures the things we need to do are: Be humble and submit to God and resist the devil; be sober, be watchful and be strong and firm in your faith; and put on the whole armor of God. Notice that we are not able to resist Satan unless we submit ourselves to God first.


An important key in spiritual warfare is to recognize that the attacks of the enemy are are never from within, but always from without. His attacks on Eve, on Christ, or on Job were always from without. His attacks on Christians are also from without. The reason being, he has been removed, cast out from our innermost being when Christ came in and took up residance.


Paul said: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Cor. 5:17, emphasis added).


The phrase, "in Christ" means, "to be united to Christ by faith." It denotes a close union. All of our strength and support derived from Him. It denotes that we partake of His fullness. It means, "abide in the vine" (John 15:4). Our old carnal nature (the old man) within us have passed away and crucified with Him.


Our victory


Paul said: "... that you have put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lust, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness" (Eph. 4:22 - 24, emphasis added).


The Devil can only fire his fiery darts of lust and temptation to the spirit of your mind. Once you have located the enemy, and you know his tactics, you, who have the whole armor of God on, can lift the shield of faith and quench all those darts.


The beliver's battle is different than that of the man under the law of sin. The man of Roman 7, who is under the law of sin, has warring going on in his mind, but he does not have the indwelling Christ to give him the victory, and so he is brought into captivity of the law of sin (Romans 7:23). But there is no condemnation, there is no sense of guilt to the man who is in Christ and lives after the Spirit of God (Romans 8:1).


As servants of God, we must take this spiritual warfare very seriously. There are real evil forces out there. Principalities, powers, spiritual wickedness, powers that want to overcome and control man's spirit, soul, mind, emotions and will. The mind is their entry gate. To be victorious we must gird up the loins of your mind (1 Peter 1:3), because Satan attacks the mind with all types of tempatations and imagination, seeking to take back control of that which he lost.


The enemy is always about his business, watching every step, ever action that we make. He watches our loose moments when our guards are down. He looks for opportune times when we may have special needs and urges. Then he strikes when we are least prepared and taken unawares.


Paul said: "For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting ong th breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation" (1 Thess. 5:7, 8).


We have been give the full armor for victory. We have been promised the constant presence of the Lord (Ps. 125:2). The Lord has given us authority over all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19). We are designed to be victorious under every kind of circumstance.


Paul said: "If God is for us, who can be against us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:31, 35, 38, 39).


We are endowed to be overcomers - read Revelation 2 and 3.

The Pastor and the Local Church

The Local Church is part of the Universal Church in a certain locality where believers come together regularly to worship God. It is also called a temple of God, the household of God, and a spiritual house.

Peter said, "Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:5, NKJV, emphasis added).

Paul said, "Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in which the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit" (Eph. 2:19 -22, emphasis added).

The above Scriptures say believers are living stones and the Lord Jesus is the chief cornerstone. These Scriptures also say a lot about the Church but say nothing about how the Church is to be built. One thing we know is that the builder is the Lord (Ps. 127:1). And He builds according to His pattern. What pattern? The tabernacle of Moses is a pattern of the Local Church. Moses was commissioned to build exactly the pattern given to him by God. The tabernacle was the habitation of God, the house of God - a type of the Church. Please refer to one of my previous messages.

The Local Church is built upon Christ

Paul said: "For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple" (1 Cor. 3:9 - 17, NIV, emphasis added).

Here are some statements of truth:

1. Jesus Christ is the Chief Corner Stone - the foundation which has already been laid.

2. The Local Church is built upon Christ. Pastors are God's fellow workers. They are not responsible for the foundation, but are responsible for how they build thereon.

3. The quality of workmanship and the materials are fearfully the pastor's responsibility. there is no place for hay, wood and straw, but but for gold, silver and precious stones. God will test and reveal by fire, the pastor's workmanship. If what the pastor built survives, the pastor will receive his reward.

4. Church members collectively are God's field, God's building and God's temple. God's Spirit lives in the Church.

5. The Church is sacred and if anyone destroys the Church, God will destroy him.

We need to understand that gold speaks of Divinity and siver speaks of Redemption - which are precious. Only the most precious and costly materials are to be used in God's building. Solid values that which has been purified by fire can only be used in this glorious temple. These are to be genuine precious stones. There are many stones ad artificial diamonds on the market today that outshine the real things. We must not use substitutes. Sparkling personalities, polished talent are not accepted unless it comes from an experience of the New Birth. I am talking about pastors and his Church members.

The Church - Christ's Body

The Church is God's eternal purpose. His plan, work, sacrifice is always for the Church. The Church is not a passing fancy, a spare time project or after-thought. It s ordained from the beginning of time. Every direction and experience of Israel was given with the Church in mind. Prophecies inspired in the mouth of His prophets spoke of His glorious Church.

The Church is referred to as His Body (Eph. 1:23). It is a complement unto Him, and without her He is incomplete. That is an awesome thought. He intends to reveal His glory, wisdom and power through her. Christ expresses His total being through His Body, the Church. Through her, His love, wisdom, compassion, and power are all expressed. How important it is that we do not live our own life, but let Him live His live through us.

Paul grasped this truth clearly: "I have been crucifed with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ live in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Gal. 2:20, NKJV).

Pastors cannot effectively build God's holy Church by their own wisdom and effort. Like weaving, the making of the coverings of the Tabernacle, it has to be done through the skillful hands of the Divine weaver. In other words, the pastors need to be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. God alone knows where the dark threads of sorrow, Gethsemane and crucifixion should go. He alone provides the white thread of holiness. He alone knows when to insert the scarlet thread of the bleeding sacrifice, to accentuate the royal purple thread of kingship. God will not leave it to the pastors to choose the thread and do their own weaving. Pastors need to constantly seeking the Lord, in order that the Holy Spirit will come to teach them how to build, not only the lives of members of the congregation, but their own lives as well - after His likeness.

Awesome responsibility of the pastors

The weekly worship service of the Local Church is the pastor's responsibility. It is part of his duty of building up the Body of Christ. The pastor needs wisdom to select the song leader, the backup singers and the musicians. It is also important that the song leader prayerfully seeks the Lord for what choruses and hymns should be sung. Every chorus, every hymn, every remark, every Scripture should be part of the building of the Body. it is sad to say that very often the "worship team" - the pastor, song leader, backup singers and musicians come with little or no practice and preparation. As a result there is a lack of smooth flow as to the theme or tempo. As a result the congregation's adoration and worship expressions are yanked and jerked around like a roller coaster. Too often it is a tiresome series of highs and lows, instead of an ascending of incense where worship ascends, carefully orchestrated by the Holy Spirit unto a sweet-smelling savour unto the Lord.

Whether the pastor himself is the preacher or he has invited a visiting preacher, the pulpit ministry is his responsibility. What purpose is a sermon if it is not for building up the Body of Christ? Too often it is a ranting and raving "Hallelujahs", "Amens". "Glory be to God", "The Lord is a good God" that bear no content worthy of such lofty expressions. Too often if is a recital of disjointed, unrelated Scriptures and keep the worshipers rustling through the pages of the Bible trying to keep up with the barrage of Scripture references.

The pastor's sermon needs to be prayerfully prepared, and carefully thought out to convey a message, so that it will be food for the soul, strength to the weary, muscle for the difficulties ahead. The pastor must not leave the worshipers depressed, short-changed, empty and disillusioned, unprepared to face a complex world. The pastor is responsible for himself and his staff/leaders to so prepare and direct the sorship service that the worshipers will say, "It was good for us to be in the house of the Lord"!

To build the Church is the greatest challenge heaven or earth can offer. It is the Lord's Body, the residence of God. It is made up of people, of God's elect. He is building His dwelling place for all eternity. But He uses people - He has invited pastors to be fellow-laborers. It must be done expeditiously. It must be done according to His Divine "Pattern." - It is composed of those who have experienced repentance towards God; of those who love Christ and hate sin; of those who are filled with the Spirit and walk in the Spirit.


Leadership is commissioned to develop, mature, and cause such to be fitly framed together, forming a habitiation for God (Eph. 2:21, 22; 4:13). The health and maturity of such a Body will not result from forms and ceremonies, from endowments and luxurious buildings. it will come from the presence and manifestation of the living Christ. It will come when the people worship Him in Spirit and in truth, for He inhabits the praises of His people. It will come when the manna is gathered and enjoyed daily. The pastor is reponsible to present Christ, the Living Manna, in a palatable form to all assembled.

Where the Church is will-fed, well-exercised, well-informed and well-challenged, she will be well. The pastor's ceaseless efforts, ceaseless prayer with tears and crying, ceaseless study of the Word with example and experience, ceaseless anticipation in its growth and maturity, will lead into ceaseless joy, satisfaction and peace.


The Lord's vision becomes the pastor's vision


The pastor needs to exchange his weakness for the Lord's strength. The Lord's burden becomes his burden. The Lord's vision becomes his vision. He is gripped with an urgency to reach, teach and perfect the Body of Christ. His vision is extended beyond the Local Church, beyond his denomination and country. Even as the Lord sees only one Church, the pastor must also see one Church. People may worship differently; their methods of prayer may be different; their music may be different, but they all love Christ. They are forming not many Churches, but one Church, one Tabernacle. Each member is fitly framed together. The golden rod of the Spirit has passed through each member binding them together in love. To such a Church He whispers: "I have loved you with an everlasting love (Jer. 31:3). I will never leave you nor forsake you (Heb. 13:5). My beloved is mine!"


The Lord longs that His Church would give Him due love and honor.


To His Church He says: "Be ye holy for I the Lord am holy. Be conformed to My image, for you are My Body. I am preparing you to be a Holy Bride for a Holy Bridegroom to dwell in an eternal holy place prepared for you."


To the pastor (shepherd) He pleads: "My shepherd, there are so many in your care that are not holy. I have chosen you as their shepherd, but their perfection I am charging you with. Have you cared for the wounded, or did you know they were wounded? Worse yet, have you wounded them by your cutting remarks and failed them by your careless living? Do you know those sheep by name and have you loved those lamb? I am holding you, pastor, responsible to feed them so they can be reproductive and profitable. Every unprofitable servant in your charge will be a charge against you. Have you lived for your sheep or have you merely lived off the sheep? When they suffer, do you suffer with them; when they rejoice, do you rejoice with them? What did you do when false teachers, wolves in sheep's clothing, deceived them and carried them away with false doctrine? Did you go after the wayward and lost, forsaking your own to restore the lost? With all these I have charged you with, and many more, shall I charge you with being an unprofitable servant?


The pastor and his reward


To pastors who have responded to the call of God and have been fruitful and have fought the good fight of faith, the Lord's reward for them is commendable. As Paul said: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day" (2 Tim. 4:7, 8, NKJV, emphasis added). Besides the "crown of righteousness" here are some other rewards:


To those who have been faithful in soul winning:


"Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever" (Daniel 12:3, NKJV).


To those who have been humble servants:


"And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward" (Matt. 10:42).


To those who have been faithful stewards:


"His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord'" (Matt. 25:23).


To those who have been faithful in the Lord's wineyard (Church):


"Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor" (1 Cor. 3:8).


To those who have sown bountifully:


"But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully" (2 Cor. 9:6).


To those who have been faithful in their work:


"For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works" (Matt 16:27).


To those who have been faithful to find the lost sheep:


"And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!' I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance" (Luke 15:6, 7).


To those who have been faithful in benevolence:


"But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil" (Luke 6:35).


To those who have endured persecution:


"Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Matt. 5:11, 12).


The above are only some of the rewards and you will find many more. For example, those who have been identified as overcomers mentioned in the seven Churches in Revelation 2 and 3, will receive many other rewards.


Our God is a good and faith God!