To be mightily used by God is the desire of most true Christians more than anything else in the world. Most of us want to be a channel of God's power and to be part of the authoritative Army of God that God is raising up to cover this earth with the glory of the Lord - even as the waters cover the sea.
To do that, it is a vital necessity that we know how to deal a death blow to the negaive forces of unbelief. We must realize that as long as we are working the works of God here on earth, Satan will challenge our authority at every turn through every means he can.
This often means he will use other people, often even our loved ones, to bombard us with the negative forces of unbelief and render us powerless to the works of God. Let us consider some incidences of negative forces of unbelief facing people in the Bible.
The healing of Jairus' daughter (Mark 5:22 - 43)
Jesus was going to the house of Jairus to raise Jairus' little girl from the dead. When Jairus and Jesus stepped into Jairus' house, they ran headlong into the same condition you will encounter ofter as you work the works of God: They were met by "professional mourners." These mourners are "Job's comforters." Whenever you begin to believe God for something, they are always around to tell you why it cannot happen, why it should not happen, and why it is not God's will for it to happen.
When Jesus stepped into Jairus' home these mourners were weeping and wailing:
"Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly" (Mark 5:38, NKJV).
Thank God, Jesus was there on the scene with a very positive statement of victory. He declared boldly to them all:
"Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping" (Mark 5:39).
But Jesus' declaration elicited a very negtive reaction from these professional mourners:
"And they ridiculed Him" (Mark 5:40).
We are not dealing only with circumstances that occurred 2000 years ago. We are dealing with issure right down where we live, relating them to crises we meet in our world of reality today.
What are you going to do when you face these kinds of circumstances and problems? How are you going to deal with the negative forces of unbelief?
You will never be able to meet these challenges with logic. You cannot meet them with intellect. The Devil does not listen to logical arguments nor does he respond to theological discourses.
Jesus Himself set the example for us in how to solve this problem effectively. How much better off every one of us would be if we always folloed this example with diligence.
Jesus had the answer. He put all the scoffers completely out of the way:
"But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying" (Mark 5:40).
When the negative forces of unbelief come, the professional mourners who say miracles are not for today, voices which speak contrary to what God has told us in His Word and in our spirits, never give way to them, not for one minute!
A negative committee report (Numbers 13)
The children of Israel would have been 40 years better off if they had listened to the positive statements and promises of God insteand of the negative report of the spies who went to spy out the land of Canaan.
In leading the children of Israel out of Egypt, God had told them:
"But I have said to you, 'You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey.' I am the Lord your God, who has separated you from the peoples" (Leviticus 20:24).
God had let them out of the bondage of Egypt and right up to the border of the Promised Land, demonstrating many mighty miracles all along the way.
He had fed them, protected them, given them water. Their clothes and shoes did not wear out. There was not an infirm one among them. God Himself led them in a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day. Every time they turned around, every time they had a need, God met them and He filled their needs.
Yet when they came to the borders of that land which God had promised them, they sent a committee in, to look the land over and vote on whether they should possess it. The vote came out ten to two with negatives leading.
Here is their negative report: "But the men who had gone up with him (Caleb) said, 'We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.' And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, 'The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the giants (the descendants of anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight'" (Numbers 13:31 - 33).
Their report was so negative, they felt about as big as grasshoppers. They thought the Devil was ten feet high.
There were two men who did not believe the negatives, Joshua and Caleb. Cabeb delivered the minority report to Moses and the people:
"... Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it" (Numbers 13:30)
However he was outvoted and overruled.
Imagine, ten negative votes cause the entire host of childred of Israel to miss out on their land of blessing and opportunity and to endure countless hardships in the wilderness, wandering for 40 years.
It is time for us to stop wandering in the wilderness of confusion, uncertainty and negativity which is in the Church today and go in to possess everything that God has for us and that He has for others through us!
Rebuilding the Wall of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 4, 5, 6)
In the time of Nehemiah when the Jews begain to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, Satan threw the whole book of negatives at the Jews. Through the enemy leaders named Sanballat and Tobiah, the builders were subjected to all sorts of ploys and redicule:
"And he (Sanballat) spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, 'What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heap of rubbish - stones that are burned?' Now Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, 'Whatever they build, if even a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall'" (Nehemiah 4:2, 3).
But that did not move the Jews at all. They just called on God (Nehemiah 4:4, 5) and kept working. They buit the wall.
"So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to have its hight, for the people had a mind to work" (Nehemiah 4:6)
Next the enemy tried another tactic:
"... and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion" (Nehemiah 4:8).
The spirit of negativism is very contagious if we allow it to get started. soon it had infected even some of the Jews who began to worry:
"The Judah said, 'The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so much rubbish that we are not able to build the wall.' And our daversaries said, 'They will neither know nor see anything, till we come into their midst and kill them and cause the work to cease'" (Nehemiah 4:10, 11).
Thank God that He was still on the scene and again the enemy was defeated and the work for God continued:
"And it happened, when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had brought their plot to nothing, that all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work" (Nehemiah 4:15).
The next tactic of the enemy was sowing the negative of division among the Jews themselves - brethren cheating brethren, brethren accusing brethren.
What a great negative that is, even today. That is a tactic of Satan, a negative to stop the work of God. It did not work on the Jews building the wall. They solved their problem and the work went on.
However, the Devil is not one to give up easily and he had other tricks up his sleeve. You will find that when he is defeated in one area, he will crop up up in another area. That is why we must ever be watchful, prayed up and filled with Holy Spirit.
Sanballat and the enemies had another plan ready when the others failed. This time they invited Nehemiah down for a talk. They wanted to "reason with him.
There is no reasoning with the Devil, and Nehemiah knew that. His message back to the enemy was very positive:
"So I sent messengers to them, saying, 'I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you'" (Nehemiah 6:3).
The enemy came with these negative suggestions anot once but four other separte times and even worte a letter to Nehemiah (Nehemiah 6:4 - 7)! Nevertheless, Nehemiah continued to work the works of God and continued to speak with positiveness and authority.
"Then I sen to him saying, 'No such things as you say are being done, but you invent them in your own heart'" (Nehemiah 6:8).
Satan sent a false prophet (a secret informer)
You would think the Devil would quit after all these negatives had failed. But he appeared again and this time in the person of a so-called prophet of God (a secret informer) who warned Nehemiah to stop building and hide for his life:
"Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you; indeed, at night they will come to kill you" (Nehemiah 6:10)
Satan often will use even will-meaning, religious friends, religious leaders to try to discourage us. Nehemiah still held to God's positives:
"And I said, 'Should such a man as I flee? And who is there such as I who would go into the temple to save my life? I will not go in' Then I perceived that God had not sent him at all, but that he pronounced this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him" (Nehemiah 6:11, 12, emphasis added).
Not every prophet comes from God. Some have been hired by the enemy. We certainly need to know the difference!
In God's power, on God's Word, by God's revelation, Nehemiah stayed true to his task until he had victory. The enemy became discouraged.
The Wall completed
The work got done; the Wall was finished.
"So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations round us saw these things, that they very disheatened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God" (Nehemiah 6:15, 16, emphasis added).
The builders continued their work; they stayed true to the task that had been given them, acting on the authority of their heavenly instructions and not on the negativism of man.
Every true Christian must do the same and stay true to heaven's task no matter whom the enemy uses, or what method. We must turn our backs on the negative forces of unbelief and continue or great work for God.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
God's Badge of Authority
You cannot separate responsibility with authority. You cannot give someone responsibility without giving him authority to carry out that responsibilty. Jesus has given us the responsibility of bearing witness to Himself throughout the length and breadth of this world. He also had given us the authority to carry out this task.
God sent Jesus here for a purpose. He gave him a responsibility, and He gave Him the authority. Jesus came here for a purpose, not just to die on the cross, no just to shed His blood. That was the sublime, supreme purpose, but He came here for another reason. He came here to engage Satan in spiritual battle.
John said: "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8, NKJV).
Jesus came as the representative of God to work God's works against the kingdom of Satan and to take from the Devil the keys of the kingdom that he robbed from Adam and Eve.
Jesus came with God's authority. He spoke the Word and He worked the works of God. After the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, He took that authority vested in Him by God Almighty. He did not take that authority away from the earth.
Jesus gave His authority to His disciples
Jesus gave His authority to the disciples who followed Him while He was still here on earth, and He gives it to us as His disciples now:
Jesus said to His disciples: "As the Father has sent Me, I also send you" (John 20:21).
"Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you" (Luke 10:19).
The writer of Hebrews said: "For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' So we may boldly say: 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me'" (Heb. 13:5, 6)?
The disciples followed the method and example of Jesus and used the authority He transmitted to them as they went out. They literally turned the world upside down for God.
"These who have turned the world upside down have come here too" (Acts 17:6).
The Lord working with them
"And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs" (Mark 16:20, emphasis added).
This is the beginning of the key to unlock the door which holds the answer to our question:
"The Lord working with them ...."
We have always thought of our working with God, not stopping to realize the depths of spiritual reality that the Lord longs to work with us. An unusual phenomenon took place. God, Who created the heavens and the earth, this great God, began to work with men.
Why would God work with them? What was the key?
These disciples were changed from fearful, unbelieving, doubting men, to men of authority. When you are changed to a man or woman of authority, you have the basis of doing the works of God.
God worked with them because they were now men of authority. How to you become a person of authority? By whose authority do you stand to do the works of God?
All authority begins and ends in Jehovah God! All power, all authority is in God!
Jesus was sent with authority
When Jesus came to this earth, He came as the Son of God, with power and authority. He received it from His Father - God. God would not send His son into this worl to face the Devil without power and authority. God knew the strength of the Devil and He gave his son the necessary tools or weapons to do battle and to defeat and to destroy the enemy's power.
Jesus said: "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth" (Matt. 28:18).
He recognized that the Father had given Him the authority. He gave His own testimony in the synagogue when He opened the book of the prophet Isaiah and read:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed" (Luke 4:18).
He closed the book and gave it to the attendant in the synagogue, sat down and said:
"Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing" (Luke 4:21).
We are sent with authority
When Jesus sent out His disciples, he told them that as His Father had sent Him, with all authority, even now was He sending them:
"And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease" (Matt. 10:1).
He not only commissioned them to preach that the kingdom of heaven was at hand, but He gave them this further instruction:
"Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give" (Matt. 10:8)
In Matthew 18, Jesus put powerful weapons into the hands of the believers with these words:
"Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaen, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven" (Matt. 18:18, 19).
Jesus demonstrated the power He was giving His disciples in the miracles of the withered fig tree (Matt. 21:19, 20) and then gave them this great promise:
"Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive" (Matt. 21:21, 22).
He delegated His authority. We have the tools. I am not advocating that we all go out and promiscuously begin to heal the sick, I am saying that through fear, doubt, spiritual inhibitions, we have failed to recognize our position in God's Kingdom as disciples and ministers of Christ.
Could it be that we have used that excuse to people, "I don't have any power to heal," when confronted with sickness, the brokenhearted, the captives, because in reality we are not in touch spiritually with the divine flow?
Look at Peter in Acts 3. He said, "Such as I have!" (Acts 3:6, KJV). No matter how you spell; no matte how you interpret in using various translations of the Bible, it comes out the same - "Such as I have!" Peter had the authority, and he used it just as Jesus did. He spoke the Word!
"In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk" (Acts 3:6, NKJV).
Illustrtion of the power of delegated authority
Let me use a story, told to me by someone, to illustrate the power of delegated authority.
In the United States there are many small towns with just a small all-purpose store, where truckers stop for their needs - gas pumps, groceries and a post office.
This particular small all-purpose store is situated at the bottom of a small hill. One sunny day, a big 32-foot truck come down the hill at about 60 mph, violating the speed limit of 25 mph.
A man sitting in front of the all-purpose store, dressed in a blue uniform, saw this truck speeding down the hill. Without a moment's hesitation he stepped out into the middle of the street, held up his hand and brought the truck to a screeching halt.
The peculiar thing about this was that the man who stepped out into the street was an elderly gentleman. He was the town's only police officer, a retired coal miner. He was over 70 years of age, he was about five feet eight inches in stature and weighed about 150 pounds - well below that of an average American man. He had been given the position of watching the town and keeping peace at the general store.
That elderly man slowly walked over by the cab of that truck and spoke with a voice that echoed down the street: "Get out of that truck, mister!"
When the truck cab opened, a burly man of over six feet and about 250 pounds crawled out. The short, elderly "fill-in" policeman shook his old bony finger at this giant of a truck driver and shouted: "Where do you think you're going? What are you trying to do, kill somebody?"
"No, sir!" the truck driver replied: "I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean to violate the speed limit. The town seemed to come upon me so fast. I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean it."
"Follow me," the policeman order. He took him into the general store which was also the police station, wrote him a ticket and fined him right on the spot. The driver meekly paid the fine and went off silently.
My question is this: Do you think the truck driver, over six feet tall, 250 pounds, middle aged, strong, was afraid of the old retired coal miner in his position as police officer of this small town?
No. It is absurd to think so. The truck driver could have made a pretzel out of that man, but he did not because on that man's chest was a badge. It was a badge of authority which said: "This man represents the state of Pennsylvania and behind him is all the power of that state. If that is not enough, behind him rests the power of all the United States."
If you are a true Christian you should not be afraid of the Devil at all. You stand as the blood-bought, redeemed child of the living God. You stand will all power and all authority over all the power of the enemy. Jesus said: "As the Father has sent Me, I also send you" (John 20:21). You are sent with power and authority!
God's badge of authority
I am a man of authority. God's badge of authority gives me authority which the Devil cannot violate. Satan and evil must obey this authority for it comes from God Who is all powerful, Who has all authority.
No, the Devil is not afraid of us, but he is afraid of Jesus. He is afraid of the badge of authority that we wear because we do not stand alone. Behind us stands Jesus. Behind Jesus stand God the Father. With Jesus and God the Father are all the angels and a host of heavenly beings, ready to do the bidding of God Almight.
When we catch sight of those facts, we have keys in our hand.
Jesus spoke the word and it was accomplished. Peter and the other disciples spoke the word and it was done. That was their method of performing their God-given task.
We may speak the word with that same authority, with the same invincible forces behind us. We not only have the badge of God's authority upon us, we have His authority in us!
The word "authority" in Greek is "exousia" which literally mens "to be out." "Ex" means "out of" and "ousia" means "being." Therefore, "exousia" means "the ability to go beyond oneself."
It is used of that authority which a person has which is deleated to him from someone else. The Greek word also denotes complete mastery, superhuman power and complete jurisdiction.
The person delivering the authority is, in a sense, out of himself, and acting in and through the person to whom he has delegated that authority. This is truly wonderful!
Jesus had delegated His authority to us. In this sense, He is "out of Himself" and He is in us, acting in us and through us.
Also in this sense, we are out of ourselves; we go beyond ourselves and we are in Him - the Lord working with us (and through us) with signs following.
That is why the methods of the disciples were so powerful, so decisive, so dynamically effective. They had grasped the keys. They spoke the word. They acted in the power and authority of God Himself. Such a method can never fail. It works the works of God. You and I can do the same today - because as we speak and God works with us, confirming the Word with signs following.
God sent Jesus here for a purpose. He gave him a responsibility, and He gave Him the authority. Jesus came here for a purpose, not just to die on the cross, no just to shed His blood. That was the sublime, supreme purpose, but He came here for another reason. He came here to engage Satan in spiritual battle.
John said: "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8, NKJV).
Jesus came as the representative of God to work God's works against the kingdom of Satan and to take from the Devil the keys of the kingdom that he robbed from Adam and Eve.
Jesus came with God's authority. He spoke the Word and He worked the works of God. After the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, He took that authority vested in Him by God Almighty. He did not take that authority away from the earth.
Jesus gave His authority to His disciples
Jesus gave His authority to the disciples who followed Him while He was still here on earth, and He gives it to us as His disciples now:
Jesus said to His disciples: "As the Father has sent Me, I also send you" (John 20:21).
"Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you" (Luke 10:19).
The writer of Hebrews said: "For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' So we may boldly say: 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me'" (Heb. 13:5, 6)?
The disciples followed the method and example of Jesus and used the authority He transmitted to them as they went out. They literally turned the world upside down for God.
"These who have turned the world upside down have come here too" (Acts 17:6).
The Lord working with them
"And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs" (Mark 16:20, emphasis added).
This is the beginning of the key to unlock the door which holds the answer to our question:
"The Lord working with them ...."
We have always thought of our working with God, not stopping to realize the depths of spiritual reality that the Lord longs to work with us. An unusual phenomenon took place. God, Who created the heavens and the earth, this great God, began to work with men.
Why would God work with them? What was the key?
These disciples were changed from fearful, unbelieving, doubting men, to men of authority. When you are changed to a man or woman of authority, you have the basis of doing the works of God.
God worked with them because they were now men of authority. How to you become a person of authority? By whose authority do you stand to do the works of God?
All authority begins and ends in Jehovah God! All power, all authority is in God!
Jesus was sent with authority
When Jesus came to this earth, He came as the Son of God, with power and authority. He received it from His Father - God. God would not send His son into this worl to face the Devil without power and authority. God knew the strength of the Devil and He gave his son the necessary tools or weapons to do battle and to defeat and to destroy the enemy's power.
Jesus said: "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth" (Matt. 28:18).
He recognized that the Father had given Him the authority. He gave His own testimony in the synagogue when He opened the book of the prophet Isaiah and read:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed" (Luke 4:18).
He closed the book and gave it to the attendant in the synagogue, sat down and said:
"Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing" (Luke 4:21).
We are sent with authority
When Jesus sent out His disciples, he told them that as His Father had sent Him, with all authority, even now was He sending them:
"And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease" (Matt. 10:1).
He not only commissioned them to preach that the kingdom of heaven was at hand, but He gave them this further instruction:
"Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give" (Matt. 10:8)
In Matthew 18, Jesus put powerful weapons into the hands of the believers with these words:
"Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaen, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven" (Matt. 18:18, 19).
Jesus demonstrated the power He was giving His disciples in the miracles of the withered fig tree (Matt. 21:19, 20) and then gave them this great promise:
"Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive" (Matt. 21:21, 22).
He delegated His authority. We have the tools. I am not advocating that we all go out and promiscuously begin to heal the sick, I am saying that through fear, doubt, spiritual inhibitions, we have failed to recognize our position in God's Kingdom as disciples and ministers of Christ.
Could it be that we have used that excuse to people, "I don't have any power to heal," when confronted with sickness, the brokenhearted, the captives, because in reality we are not in touch spiritually with the divine flow?
Look at Peter in Acts 3. He said, "Such as I have!" (Acts 3:6, KJV). No matter how you spell; no matte how you interpret in using various translations of the Bible, it comes out the same - "Such as I have!" Peter had the authority, and he used it just as Jesus did. He spoke the Word!
"In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk" (Acts 3:6, NKJV).
Illustrtion of the power of delegated authority
Let me use a story, told to me by someone, to illustrate the power of delegated authority.
In the United States there are many small towns with just a small all-purpose store, where truckers stop for their needs - gas pumps, groceries and a post office.
This particular small all-purpose store is situated at the bottom of a small hill. One sunny day, a big 32-foot truck come down the hill at about 60 mph, violating the speed limit of 25 mph.
A man sitting in front of the all-purpose store, dressed in a blue uniform, saw this truck speeding down the hill. Without a moment's hesitation he stepped out into the middle of the street, held up his hand and brought the truck to a screeching halt.
The peculiar thing about this was that the man who stepped out into the street was an elderly gentleman. He was the town's only police officer, a retired coal miner. He was over 70 years of age, he was about five feet eight inches in stature and weighed about 150 pounds - well below that of an average American man. He had been given the position of watching the town and keeping peace at the general store.
That elderly man slowly walked over by the cab of that truck and spoke with a voice that echoed down the street: "Get out of that truck, mister!"
When the truck cab opened, a burly man of over six feet and about 250 pounds crawled out. The short, elderly "fill-in" policeman shook his old bony finger at this giant of a truck driver and shouted: "Where do you think you're going? What are you trying to do, kill somebody?"
"No, sir!" the truck driver replied: "I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean to violate the speed limit. The town seemed to come upon me so fast. I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean it."
"Follow me," the policeman order. He took him into the general store which was also the police station, wrote him a ticket and fined him right on the spot. The driver meekly paid the fine and went off silently.
My question is this: Do you think the truck driver, over six feet tall, 250 pounds, middle aged, strong, was afraid of the old retired coal miner in his position as police officer of this small town?
No. It is absurd to think so. The truck driver could have made a pretzel out of that man, but he did not because on that man's chest was a badge. It was a badge of authority which said: "This man represents the state of Pennsylvania and behind him is all the power of that state. If that is not enough, behind him rests the power of all the United States."
If you are a true Christian you should not be afraid of the Devil at all. You stand as the blood-bought, redeemed child of the living God. You stand will all power and all authority over all the power of the enemy. Jesus said: "As the Father has sent Me, I also send you" (John 20:21). You are sent with power and authority!
God's badge of authority
I am a man of authority. God's badge of authority gives me authority which the Devil cannot violate. Satan and evil must obey this authority for it comes from God Who is all powerful, Who has all authority.
No, the Devil is not afraid of us, but he is afraid of Jesus. He is afraid of the badge of authority that we wear because we do not stand alone. Behind us stands Jesus. Behind Jesus stand God the Father. With Jesus and God the Father are all the angels and a host of heavenly beings, ready to do the bidding of God Almight.
When we catch sight of those facts, we have keys in our hand.
Jesus spoke the word and it was accomplished. Peter and the other disciples spoke the word and it was done. That was their method of performing their God-given task.
We may speak the word with that same authority, with the same invincible forces behind us. We not only have the badge of God's authority upon us, we have His authority in us!
The word "authority" in Greek is "exousia" which literally mens "to be out." "Ex" means "out of" and "ousia" means "being." Therefore, "exousia" means "the ability to go beyond oneself."
It is used of that authority which a person has which is deleated to him from someone else. The Greek word also denotes complete mastery, superhuman power and complete jurisdiction.
The person delivering the authority is, in a sense, out of himself, and acting in and through the person to whom he has delegated that authority. This is truly wonderful!
Jesus had delegated His authority to us. In this sense, He is "out of Himself" and He is in us, acting in us and through us.
Also in this sense, we are out of ourselves; we go beyond ourselves and we are in Him - the Lord working with us (and through us) with signs following.
That is why the methods of the disciples were so powerful, so decisive, so dynamically effective. They had grasped the keys. They spoke the word. They acted in the power and authority of God Himself. Such a method can never fail. It works the works of God. You and I can do the same today - because as we speak and God works with us, confirming the Word with signs following.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
The Task of Preaching the Gospel
To preach the Gospel to every creature in the world was the task and the commission that Christ gave to the Church, to man and women who were His disciples when he was here on earth. It is the same commission He has given us as His disciples today.
In order for us to preach the Gospel we need to answer this very important question:
What does it really mean to preach the Gospel?
The typical answers give to this question are, without exception are something like this:
"To preach the Gospel means to preach the Good News, which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ."
"To preach the Gospel means to preach that Jesus Christ died on the cross of Calvary for our sake. He shed His blood for the forgiveness of sins."
It means all those things, of course, but the above statements are very simple description of the real task of what it really means to preach the Gospel.
Preaching the Gospel - 2000 years ago and now
The task of preacing the Gospel is easy for you and me today when we compare with the task of preaching the Gospel 2000 years ago.
Preaching the Gospel 2000 years ago
The disciples faced the most difficult task in preaching the Gospel. They had to prove to the people around them that Jesus was the Son of God. They had to prove that Jesus was the ressurrected Son of the Living God. The major problem was that they have all seen Jesus as a man even though He performed miracles before them. But Jesus, as far as they are concerned, was fully man. Jesus rested when He got tire. He drank when He was thirsty. He ate when He was hungry.
The disciples had to face people who actually walked down the street with Jesus Christ, rubbed shoulders with Him, touched Him. He shed human blood when He died on the cross. They saw Him drop His head and give up the ghost. They saw His dead body taken down from the cross and buried in a grave.
How are you going to walk down the streets of the same city where this Man walked and say to the community and to the world, "Stop, this Jesus Whom you crucified on the cross was not a man. He was God's Son?" How are you going to do it?
To make the task even harder, they had to convince the world that Jesus was God's Son. Harder still, they had to convince the world that Jesus was God's Son from the foundation of the world. They had to convince the world that:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made" (John 1:1 - 3, NKJV).
He was before the beginning; He made the beginning; He is the beginning. They had to convince the world that Word from the beginning went through the greatest transitional process known - the Word, God, became flesh (John 1:14).
No amount of preaching in all the world could make people believe it. You may get a few people, because there are always some people who are ready to believe anything, but I am not talking about a few people.
The disciples went out and in the first 200 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus, the early Church took the entire known world for Chrsit. They conquered it. They were able to rise to the task. They knew what it meant to really preach the Gospel.
Preaching the Gospel now
It is relatively easy today to preach that Jesus is Lord because no one has seen Jesus. The "go ye" that Jesus gave to the disciples who followed Him while He was here on earth is the same "go ye" that we have as His disciples today. We have the same task - to convince a needy world that the crucified Jesus is the resurrected Christ Who lives and meets the needs of mankind today. We have to preach the Gospel by producing the proof of the resurrection power of Jesus Christ.
There are many, many Evangelists, Pastors and other preachers who claim to be "preaching the Gospel." We have more preachers than there have ever been, more ministries, more outreaches and more Churches. Yet the world is not being won for Jesus Christ as He meant it to be.
Faced as we are with the exploding population of the unsaved and the rampant evil of our present society, there is only one hope we have of reaching the world for Christ. It certainly is not through the ministry as we know it today in the present form.
I believe beyond the shadow of doubt that we are going to reach this world, the entire world, for Christ before Jesus comes agian. The task of spreading the Gospel calls for an army of God's people who are true disciples. They come from every walk of life working together in the power of God. Therefore the biggest need in our Churches today is for people to become disciples of Jesus Christ.
Making converts instead of disciples
The reason why we have not taken the world for Christ is because we have been making converts, not disciples.
A convert, according to the dictionary, is a person who is brought over from one belief or view to another. Converts are people who change their minds concerning religious concepts, then sit in the Church as pew warmers. They habitually go to Church once a week as if just to please God.
Converts are people who do not spend time in prayer, or in studying the Word of God, or out winning lost souls. They are lazy spiritually. They use their time in entertainment, gossip, watching television, surfing the internet and addicted to facebook as a form of social networking, and reading secular literature. They do this and that, and in the meantime, let their whole city or nation go to hell. Yet they think that one day the trumpet is going to sound and the Lord is going to rapture them. They have a rude awakening coming. The Church Jesus is going to rapture is made up of disciples, not just converts. True disciples are the Bride of Christ!
A disciple is not simply someone who has changed his viewpoint. He is someone who is galvanized into action to further those viewpoints. The dictionary defines a disciple as one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another, a convinced adherent of an individual.
A convinced adherent to Jesus Christ is going to do simething more than warm a pew in a Church. His is someone who, once he finds an experience with Jesus Christ, does not rest night or day. He tells everyone on the street, everyone in his workplace, about Jesus Christ. He witnesses and witnesses until he spreads the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the whole area of his personal "Jerusalem," "Samaria" and his "uttermost parts of the earth." A disciple does not sit down.
What Jesus said about a convert and a disciple
A convert
"If you want to be my follower you must love me more than your own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters - yes, more than your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26, NLB).
"And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:27).
"Whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:33).
Summary
1. A convert does not love Jesus more than anything or anyone including self.
2. A convert does not submit his will to Jesus.
3. A convert does not forsake all in order to follow Jesus.
A Disciple
"By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35).
"If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed" (John 6:31).
"By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples" (John 15:8).
Summary
1. A disciple of Jesus loves other disciples of Jesus.
2. A disciple obeys Jesus' commands and the Word of God.
3, A disciple bears fruit for Christ and Father God.
Real Witnessing
What exactly is giving witness to Jesus Christ? Is is not walking up to someone and saying, "Are you saved?" It is not asking someone, "If you die tomorrow are you going to heaven or hell?" It is not forcing someone to say the "sinner's prayer." Witnessing is showing the heathen world that Jesus is God and He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb. 13:8). Witnesing is showing that He is the Lord of all and proving it by performing a miracle.
An example of witnessing in the life of Peter
When Peter was brought before the religious leaders in the synagogue to be questioned about the crippled man who was healed, he said:
"Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power of godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go" (Acts 3:12, 13).
What a sermon!! Not just silver-tongued oratory, not just verbosity, big words and a lot of spiritual cliches - but a miracle!
The greatest sermon that can be preached in the world is that which the power of the Holy Spirit can demonstrate. All Peter did was to give evidence of that Jesus Christ is alive and that He still performs miracles.
It is easy to teach. Anybody can instruct somebody else. To face the power of the enemy and to produce the proof that Jesus Christ is alive is another matter.
That was the task that the early Church had to perform. They had to convince a world that had seen Jesus in the flesh, they had to convince a world that had seen Jesus act like a man - get hungry, tired, weary, thirsty, sleepy and so on. They had to go out and convince the world that inside that house of muscle and bone dwelt the Son of the living God!
The early church produced the proof. They turned the cities upside down, but they did not do it by just preaching. They turned nations upside down, but they did not do it by just preaching.
"... these who have turned the world upside down have come here too" (Acts 17:6).
They did the real witnessing!
How the early Church produced the proof
The Book of Acts recorded that miracles would take place and shook the community each time the disciples went into a community. Here are just some examples:
1. The first recorded such incident was the healing of the lame man at the Gate of the Temple as is written in Acts 3:
The man had been lame from the time of his birth, yet:
"Then Peter said, 'Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.' And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. so he, leeping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them -walking, leaping, and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God" (Acts 3:6 - 9).
2. Philip was not even one of the apostles known as "the eleven," but was an elected deacon (Acts 6:5). Yet when he went to Samaria to preach:
"And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing ad seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. And there was great joy in that city" (Acts 8:6 - 8).
3. When Peter came to Lydda, he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed:
"And Peter said to him, 'Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.' Then he arose immediately. So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord" (Acts 9:34, 35).
4. In Joppa, when a godly woman named Dorcas died, this tremendous miracle took place:
"But Peter put them all out, and knelt down and prayed. And turning to the body he said, 'Tabitha, arise.' And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord" (Acts 9:40 - 42).
Notice something? Every time these men were used of God in this manner, they then could tell the people that these things happened by faith in the Name of Jesus Christ. After the demonstration of the miracles, the people always turned and believed in the Lord.
We have the same task and the same God
How did we get so far away from our God-given task? We have no power because we have no proof that Jesus is the resurrected Son of the Living God, that He is the Living Word of God, that He is alive and moving in the affairs of men and women today.
Think about the spiritual condition this world would be in, if every minister who entered the pulpit had the spiritual potential to produce the proof of what he was talking about every time he preached.
We have the same task that the apostles had - to preach the Gospel. We do it on the authority and the commission of the same miracle-working God Who worked with the disciples "with signs following" to authenticate their teaching as they followed the method of proof producing laid out by our Lord Jesus Christ.
In order for us to preach the Gospel we need to answer this very important question:
What does it really mean to preach the Gospel?
The typical answers give to this question are, without exception are something like this:
"To preach the Gospel means to preach the Good News, which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ."
"To preach the Gospel means to preach that Jesus Christ died on the cross of Calvary for our sake. He shed His blood for the forgiveness of sins."
It means all those things, of course, but the above statements are very simple description of the real task of what it really means to preach the Gospel.
Preaching the Gospel - 2000 years ago and now
The task of preacing the Gospel is easy for you and me today when we compare with the task of preaching the Gospel 2000 years ago.
Preaching the Gospel 2000 years ago
The disciples faced the most difficult task in preaching the Gospel. They had to prove to the people around them that Jesus was the Son of God. They had to prove that Jesus was the ressurrected Son of the Living God. The major problem was that they have all seen Jesus as a man even though He performed miracles before them. But Jesus, as far as they are concerned, was fully man. Jesus rested when He got tire. He drank when He was thirsty. He ate when He was hungry.
The disciples had to face people who actually walked down the street with Jesus Christ, rubbed shoulders with Him, touched Him. He shed human blood when He died on the cross. They saw Him drop His head and give up the ghost. They saw His dead body taken down from the cross and buried in a grave.
How are you going to walk down the streets of the same city where this Man walked and say to the community and to the world, "Stop, this Jesus Whom you crucified on the cross was not a man. He was God's Son?" How are you going to do it?
To make the task even harder, they had to convince the world that Jesus was God's Son. Harder still, they had to convince the world that Jesus was God's Son from the foundation of the world. They had to convince the world that:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made" (John 1:1 - 3, NKJV).
He was before the beginning; He made the beginning; He is the beginning. They had to convince the world that Word from the beginning went through the greatest transitional process known - the Word, God, became flesh (John 1:14).
No amount of preaching in all the world could make people believe it. You may get a few people, because there are always some people who are ready to believe anything, but I am not talking about a few people.
The disciples went out and in the first 200 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus, the early Church took the entire known world for Chrsit. They conquered it. They were able to rise to the task. They knew what it meant to really preach the Gospel.
Preaching the Gospel now
It is relatively easy today to preach that Jesus is Lord because no one has seen Jesus. The "go ye" that Jesus gave to the disciples who followed Him while He was here on earth is the same "go ye" that we have as His disciples today. We have the same task - to convince a needy world that the crucified Jesus is the resurrected Christ Who lives and meets the needs of mankind today. We have to preach the Gospel by producing the proof of the resurrection power of Jesus Christ.
There are many, many Evangelists, Pastors and other preachers who claim to be "preaching the Gospel." We have more preachers than there have ever been, more ministries, more outreaches and more Churches. Yet the world is not being won for Jesus Christ as He meant it to be.
Faced as we are with the exploding population of the unsaved and the rampant evil of our present society, there is only one hope we have of reaching the world for Christ. It certainly is not through the ministry as we know it today in the present form.
I believe beyond the shadow of doubt that we are going to reach this world, the entire world, for Christ before Jesus comes agian. The task of spreading the Gospel calls for an army of God's people who are true disciples. They come from every walk of life working together in the power of God. Therefore the biggest need in our Churches today is for people to become disciples of Jesus Christ.
Making converts instead of disciples
The reason why we have not taken the world for Christ is because we have been making converts, not disciples.
A convert, according to the dictionary, is a person who is brought over from one belief or view to another. Converts are people who change their minds concerning religious concepts, then sit in the Church as pew warmers. They habitually go to Church once a week as if just to please God.
Converts are people who do not spend time in prayer, or in studying the Word of God, or out winning lost souls. They are lazy spiritually. They use their time in entertainment, gossip, watching television, surfing the internet and addicted to facebook as a form of social networking, and reading secular literature. They do this and that, and in the meantime, let their whole city or nation go to hell. Yet they think that one day the trumpet is going to sound and the Lord is going to rapture them. They have a rude awakening coming. The Church Jesus is going to rapture is made up of disciples, not just converts. True disciples are the Bride of Christ!
A disciple is not simply someone who has changed his viewpoint. He is someone who is galvanized into action to further those viewpoints. The dictionary defines a disciple as one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another, a convinced adherent of an individual.
A convinced adherent to Jesus Christ is going to do simething more than warm a pew in a Church. His is someone who, once he finds an experience with Jesus Christ, does not rest night or day. He tells everyone on the street, everyone in his workplace, about Jesus Christ. He witnesses and witnesses until he spreads the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the whole area of his personal "Jerusalem," "Samaria" and his "uttermost parts of the earth." A disciple does not sit down.
What Jesus said about a convert and a disciple
A convert
"If you want to be my follower you must love me more than your own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters - yes, more than your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26, NLB).
"And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:27).
"Whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:33).
Summary
1. A convert does not love Jesus more than anything or anyone including self.
2. A convert does not submit his will to Jesus.
3. A convert does not forsake all in order to follow Jesus.
A Disciple
"By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35).
"If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed" (John 6:31).
"By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples" (John 15:8).
Summary
1. A disciple of Jesus loves other disciples of Jesus.
2. A disciple obeys Jesus' commands and the Word of God.
3, A disciple bears fruit for Christ and Father God.
Real Witnessing
What exactly is giving witness to Jesus Christ? Is is not walking up to someone and saying, "Are you saved?" It is not asking someone, "If you die tomorrow are you going to heaven or hell?" It is not forcing someone to say the "sinner's prayer." Witnessing is showing the heathen world that Jesus is God and He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb. 13:8). Witnesing is showing that He is the Lord of all and proving it by performing a miracle.
An example of witnessing in the life of Peter
When Peter was brought before the religious leaders in the synagogue to be questioned about the crippled man who was healed, he said:
"Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power of godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go" (Acts 3:12, 13).
What a sermon!! Not just silver-tongued oratory, not just verbosity, big words and a lot of spiritual cliches - but a miracle!
The greatest sermon that can be preached in the world is that which the power of the Holy Spirit can demonstrate. All Peter did was to give evidence of that Jesus Christ is alive and that He still performs miracles.
It is easy to teach. Anybody can instruct somebody else. To face the power of the enemy and to produce the proof that Jesus Christ is alive is another matter.
That was the task that the early Church had to perform. They had to convince a world that had seen Jesus in the flesh, they had to convince a world that had seen Jesus act like a man - get hungry, tired, weary, thirsty, sleepy and so on. They had to go out and convince the world that inside that house of muscle and bone dwelt the Son of the living God!
The early church produced the proof. They turned the cities upside down, but they did not do it by just preaching. They turned nations upside down, but they did not do it by just preaching.
"... these who have turned the world upside down have come here too" (Acts 17:6).
They did the real witnessing!
How the early Church produced the proof
The Book of Acts recorded that miracles would take place and shook the community each time the disciples went into a community. Here are just some examples:
1. The first recorded such incident was the healing of the lame man at the Gate of the Temple as is written in Acts 3:
The man had been lame from the time of his birth, yet:
"Then Peter said, 'Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.' And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. so he, leeping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them -walking, leaping, and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God" (Acts 3:6 - 9).
2. Philip was not even one of the apostles known as "the eleven," but was an elected deacon (Acts 6:5). Yet when he went to Samaria to preach:
"And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing ad seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. And there was great joy in that city" (Acts 8:6 - 8).
3. When Peter came to Lydda, he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed:
"And Peter said to him, 'Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.' Then he arose immediately. So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord" (Acts 9:34, 35).
4. In Joppa, when a godly woman named Dorcas died, this tremendous miracle took place:
"But Peter put them all out, and knelt down and prayed. And turning to the body he said, 'Tabitha, arise.' And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord" (Acts 9:40 - 42).
Notice something? Every time these men were used of God in this manner, they then could tell the people that these things happened by faith in the Name of Jesus Christ. After the demonstration of the miracles, the people always turned and believed in the Lord.
We have the same task and the same God
How did we get so far away from our God-given task? We have no power because we have no proof that Jesus is the resurrected Son of the Living God, that He is the Living Word of God, that He is alive and moving in the affairs of men and women today.
Think about the spiritual condition this world would be in, if every minister who entered the pulpit had the spiritual potential to produce the proof of what he was talking about every time he preached.
We have the same task that the apostles had - to preach the Gospel. We do it on the authority and the commission of the same miracle-working God Who worked with the disciples "with signs following" to authenticate their teaching as they followed the method of proof producing laid out by our Lord Jesus Christ.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
The Faith of God
The Gospel according to Mark recorded: "Now the next day, when they (Jesus and His disciples) had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. In response Jesus said to it, 'Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.' And His disciples heart it. ... Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter, remembering, said to Him, 'Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.' So Jesus answered and said to them, 'Have faith in God. ....'" (Mark 11:12 - 14; 20 - 22, NKJV, emphasis added).
Jesus had the opportunity for a miracle not to show off, but to reveal His divine eternal purpose. In fact, Jesus always spoke, acted and taught with eternity in view. Jesus cursed the fig tree and it withered away. He told His disciples that they must have faith in God. If they have faith in God they not only can say to this fig tree "be eithered," but whatever they speak will come to pass (Mark 11:23, 24).
Faith of God and faith in God
The actual translation of the statement by Jesus, "Have faith in God" is this: "Have God's faith" or "Have the faith of God."
There is a big difference between saying, "Have faith in God," and saying, "Have God's faith." One is the act of man's willpower and the other is a work of God in our lives - not the work of a man, but the experience of God's power.
There is also a great difference between faith and believing. During my early Christian life, I have heard ministers said that, you are exercising faith when you go to a light switch and flip it on. Or they said, it takes faith to sit in a chair; you have to have faith that the chair will hold you up.
To take anything as magnificent as this tremendous manifestation of spiritual faith and relegate it to such natural, carnal, technical non-example does a great disservice to this power called "faith"! As a result it brings a lot of confusion into the Body of Christ.
God's Image in us
God created man in His image because He wanted to reproduce Himself. God's image in us, God's image in humanity that He deposited in Adam was an independent capability called free will. God entrusted in with Adam. He put no strings on him. He gave him a moral will.
God gave Adam the ability to act, to move and to think independently of God. The only relationship that God asked of Adam was that he be obedient and use his will to obey the words which God gave him.
God created man with five natural senses - taste, touch, sight, hearing and smell. Every one of us was created with these five natural senses. However there is not inherent in the human nature of man the quality or the characteristic of faith? Why? Because faith is a supernatural force; it is not a natural force. Through our natural forces, by our will, we have the inherent capability to believe. But there is a great difference to setting our wills to believe and in using the supernatural force of faith that "knows that you know that you know that you know."
Is every man born with a measure of faith?
Paul said: "For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith" (Romans 12:3, emphasis added).
It is true what Paul said - "God has given to each person a measure of faith." But he was speaking to believers and not unbelievers. Read one verse before and two vers after Romans 12:2 you will understand what I mean.
Paul was talking about "those who have presented their bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is their reasonable service" (Romans 12:1).
Paul said: "For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another" (Romans 12:4, 5).
It becomes clear if we do not take Romans 12:3 out of its context.
A little reasoning tells us that not every drunk, alcoholic, prostitute and every dirty, rotten, filthy person who lies, who cheats, who steals walking the face of this earth has this fantastic supernatural gift of God in their beings.
Man is therefore not born with any measure of faith. Faith is a gift of God to those who surrender their wills to God, to let Him become the Lord of their lives. In other words, faith is given by God to true Christians!
Receiving the Faith of God
I believe everyone would like to have the kind of faith that moves mountains and does exploits for God. We pray for it, we seek it, we struggle in our spiritual life for such faith. We are involved in a very deep struggle to rise to highter heights spiritually in order to be used by God.
James said: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning" (James 1:17).
Paul said: "For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it" (1 Cor. 4:7)?
These are profound statements. Man has nothing in himself but that he receives it from above. Everything we have comes from above - every gift, every ability etc. There is not merit or ability or gift which we possess by our own struggling. That is one thing God will not allow.
However, in seeking to "obtain faith," "step out in faith," "trying" to have faith, etc, men have in effect, tried to put God in a vulnerable position. In doing this they have caused much confusion and frustration. They struggle to have faith and their unknowledgeable words regarding faith have caused untold stress and perplexity in the lives of people who have not received answers to their prayers.
What happens in the spirit world?
Someone has said that ninety perscent of the people coming to Christ, in an evangelistic meeting, do not know what it is all about. What is actually happening in their lives? What is taking place in the spirit world?
The Spirit of God comes and deals with that man. The man has the ability through the power over his will to surrender his life to Jesus Christ. He has the power to surrender, the power to believe christ when he heard the "altar call."
Paul said: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Eph. 2:8, 9).
A person's salvation comes from grace by faith. This person is praying at the altar (or anywhere). He does not really know what it is all about, but he knows that he wants to surrender to the Spirit of God which he has felt in the meeting. His will is being broken, His rebellion is being broken down. God is getting the opportunity to rule his life. This is when the grace of God comes into action. By grace he is saved through, bot not of himself. It is the gift of God.
The gift of God's faith
At that moment when he surrenders his will, the faith that is not of man but the faith of God, imparts into his life. The faith of God which is a gift of God has entered into his life and suddenly he is a child of God. He has a relationship with God. The gift of God's faith is imparted to him.
If this great truth of God's faith were taught to every little child of God, to all our dear people, how many struggles it would save them, how much heartache and how many problems. If only they knew that what they have inside them (God's faith) never has to fluctuate, because it is God's which never fluctuates. It meets evey circumstance, every test, every trial and every sickness that tries to enter our bodies.
The vine and the branches
The Bible says that the Lord Jesus is the Vine and you and I are the branches.
Jesus said: "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).
The branch cannot bear fruit in itself except it abides in the vine. The live is in the vine. The Father is the Husbandman. He tends it. He gave it to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ gives it to you and me. You and I are just branches. You and I just bear the fruit but we do not produce it.
When it is God's faith, it never changes. it never changes. It never fluctuates. It is always there. The old roller coaster faith ride is gone. Your experience, your faith life is consistent because it is God's faith. It is extended in you and through you from the Vine (Jesus) through the branches (you and I) to the fruit - love, joy, peace, faith (or faithfulness), etc.
Paul said: "But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, ... (Acts 20:24).
Paul also said: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword" (Romans 8:35).
There is no doubt that Paul had God's faith.
What gives us our confidence is the fact that God is not depending on our faith at all. He is depending on His faith flowing through us. God's faith is the power that does not fail.
How to receive God's faith?
Paul said: "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17).
We receive God's faith through God's Word. God's Word consists of the written Word and the Living Word. We have God's faith when God's Living word is living in us. The Living Word never changes for it is eternal. It always is. The Living Word is Jesus Himself.
God's Word is eternal. It does not have beginning of life and end of life. It is not just something people have written about God even under the influence of the Holy Spirit; it is God Himself. God Himself has no beginning and no ending. You cannot separate God from His Word. God and His Word are one.
John said: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1).
When God sent Mose to deliver the children of Israeil from the bondage of the Egyptians, Moses feared that the Israelites would not believe him. He asked God: "Who shall I say sent me?"
God's answer was profound:
"Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I Am has sent me to you'" (Exodus 3:14).
So many people have faith in what Jesus could do when He was here on earth, and what He will be able to do in the future. Yet they fail to perceive Him as the now present Living Word. In other words, they fail to have faith in what Jesus is doing now.
This was the same problem Martha had even while Jesus was here on this earth. In John 11, when Jesus, the Living Word, came to Bethany where His friend Lazarus had died, Martha, the sister of Lazarus, accuse Jesus, saying, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died" (John 11:21).
Jesus assured the grieving sister that Lazarus would rise again. Martha said, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection in the last day" (john 11:24). But that was not what Jesus meant. Jesus, the Living Word, was on the scene now.
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live" (John 11:25).
Martha was saying that Jesus could have healed Lazarus in the past, or that He could raise him in the future. What Jesus was saying was, "Martha, I Am here right now to meet the need. I Am is here!"
There is no such thing "A day of Miracles"
Jesus was telling Martha that there is no such thing as a day of miracles - not a past day of miracles, not a future day of miracles, there is only a God, in every day and in every age, with the power to work miracles and to meet the needs of people who need miracles. God is always is. His Word is always is! God had neither beginning nor end. He never was; He never shall be; He always is.
When Moses crossed the Red Sea it was not a day of miracles. when God fed the children of Israel in the wilderness it was not a day of miracles.
We often hear people who believe in miracles now say something like "Miracles days are here again," but we are not even saying that today is a day of miracles. What we believe in is a God of miracles-working power Who is alive in every day and every age. The days of miracles have never ceased because the God of miracles has never died.
The Devil's purpose is to attack the Word of God
The devil's purpose is to attack the Word - both written and Living. He tried to attack the Living Word, but God is the Living Word and so he did not succeed.
Now he wants to attack the written Word of God. How can he do it? The only way that he can attack the Word of God is as it is lived out in our lives.
The Devil comes to us when we get sick and he says, "What about the promises of God? Didn't God say, 'I am the Lord that healeth thee; (Exodus 15:26, KJV). What about it?
The Devil attacks the Word of God through the circumstances of our lives. It is the only way that he can attack God, the eternal Word. Don't let him do it!
With God's faith we have a knowing that no matter what our needs are, God will take us through. It is only a matter of time.
When you have the faith of God working in your live, you have a deep knowing that you know that you know that you know that you know. You will go through it because you know thati it is only a matter of a period of time. You are going to have the victory because God's Word will triump. It will never be defeated!
Jesus had the opportunity for a miracle not to show off, but to reveal His divine eternal purpose. In fact, Jesus always spoke, acted and taught with eternity in view. Jesus cursed the fig tree and it withered away. He told His disciples that they must have faith in God. If they have faith in God they not only can say to this fig tree "be eithered," but whatever they speak will come to pass (Mark 11:23, 24).
Faith of God and faith in God
The actual translation of the statement by Jesus, "Have faith in God" is this: "Have God's faith" or "Have the faith of God."
There is a big difference between saying, "Have faith in God," and saying, "Have God's faith." One is the act of man's willpower and the other is a work of God in our lives - not the work of a man, but the experience of God's power.
There is also a great difference between faith and believing. During my early Christian life, I have heard ministers said that, you are exercising faith when you go to a light switch and flip it on. Or they said, it takes faith to sit in a chair; you have to have faith that the chair will hold you up.
To take anything as magnificent as this tremendous manifestation of spiritual faith and relegate it to such natural, carnal, technical non-example does a great disservice to this power called "faith"! As a result it brings a lot of confusion into the Body of Christ.
God's Image in us
God created man in His image because He wanted to reproduce Himself. God's image in us, God's image in humanity that He deposited in Adam was an independent capability called free will. God entrusted in with Adam. He put no strings on him. He gave him a moral will.
God gave Adam the ability to act, to move and to think independently of God. The only relationship that God asked of Adam was that he be obedient and use his will to obey the words which God gave him.
God created man with five natural senses - taste, touch, sight, hearing and smell. Every one of us was created with these five natural senses. However there is not inherent in the human nature of man the quality or the characteristic of faith? Why? Because faith is a supernatural force; it is not a natural force. Through our natural forces, by our will, we have the inherent capability to believe. But there is a great difference to setting our wills to believe and in using the supernatural force of faith that "knows that you know that you know that you know."
Is every man born with a measure of faith?
Paul said: "For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith" (Romans 12:3, emphasis added).
It is true what Paul said - "God has given to each person a measure of faith." But he was speaking to believers and not unbelievers. Read one verse before and two vers after Romans 12:2 you will understand what I mean.
Paul was talking about "those who have presented their bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is their reasonable service" (Romans 12:1).
Paul said: "For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another" (Romans 12:4, 5).
It becomes clear if we do not take Romans 12:3 out of its context.
A little reasoning tells us that not every drunk, alcoholic, prostitute and every dirty, rotten, filthy person who lies, who cheats, who steals walking the face of this earth has this fantastic supernatural gift of God in their beings.
Man is therefore not born with any measure of faith. Faith is a gift of God to those who surrender their wills to God, to let Him become the Lord of their lives. In other words, faith is given by God to true Christians!
Receiving the Faith of God
I believe everyone would like to have the kind of faith that moves mountains and does exploits for God. We pray for it, we seek it, we struggle in our spiritual life for such faith. We are involved in a very deep struggle to rise to highter heights spiritually in order to be used by God.
James said: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning" (James 1:17).
Paul said: "For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it" (1 Cor. 4:7)?
These are profound statements. Man has nothing in himself but that he receives it from above. Everything we have comes from above - every gift, every ability etc. There is not merit or ability or gift which we possess by our own struggling. That is one thing God will not allow.
However, in seeking to "obtain faith," "step out in faith," "trying" to have faith, etc, men have in effect, tried to put God in a vulnerable position. In doing this they have caused much confusion and frustration. They struggle to have faith and their unknowledgeable words regarding faith have caused untold stress and perplexity in the lives of people who have not received answers to their prayers.
What happens in the spirit world?
Someone has said that ninety perscent of the people coming to Christ, in an evangelistic meeting, do not know what it is all about. What is actually happening in their lives? What is taking place in the spirit world?
The Spirit of God comes and deals with that man. The man has the ability through the power over his will to surrender his life to Jesus Christ. He has the power to surrender, the power to believe christ when he heard the "altar call."
Paul said: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Eph. 2:8, 9).
A person's salvation comes from grace by faith. This person is praying at the altar (or anywhere). He does not really know what it is all about, but he knows that he wants to surrender to the Spirit of God which he has felt in the meeting. His will is being broken, His rebellion is being broken down. God is getting the opportunity to rule his life. This is when the grace of God comes into action. By grace he is saved through, bot not of himself. It is the gift of God.
The gift of God's faith
At that moment when he surrenders his will, the faith that is not of man but the faith of God, imparts into his life. The faith of God which is a gift of God has entered into his life and suddenly he is a child of God. He has a relationship with God. The gift of God's faith is imparted to him.
If this great truth of God's faith were taught to every little child of God, to all our dear people, how many struggles it would save them, how much heartache and how many problems. If only they knew that what they have inside them (God's faith) never has to fluctuate, because it is God's which never fluctuates. It meets evey circumstance, every test, every trial and every sickness that tries to enter our bodies.
The vine and the branches
The Bible says that the Lord Jesus is the Vine and you and I are the branches.
Jesus said: "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).
The branch cannot bear fruit in itself except it abides in the vine. The live is in the vine. The Father is the Husbandman. He tends it. He gave it to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ gives it to you and me. You and I are just branches. You and I just bear the fruit but we do not produce it.
When it is God's faith, it never changes. it never changes. It never fluctuates. It is always there. The old roller coaster faith ride is gone. Your experience, your faith life is consistent because it is God's faith. It is extended in you and through you from the Vine (Jesus) through the branches (you and I) to the fruit - love, joy, peace, faith (or faithfulness), etc.
Paul said: "But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, ... (Acts 20:24).
Paul also said: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword" (Romans 8:35).
There is no doubt that Paul had God's faith.
What gives us our confidence is the fact that God is not depending on our faith at all. He is depending on His faith flowing through us. God's faith is the power that does not fail.
How to receive God's faith?
Paul said: "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17).
We receive God's faith through God's Word. God's Word consists of the written Word and the Living Word. We have God's faith when God's Living word is living in us. The Living Word never changes for it is eternal. It always is. The Living Word is Jesus Himself.
God's Word is eternal. It does not have beginning of life and end of life. It is not just something people have written about God even under the influence of the Holy Spirit; it is God Himself. God Himself has no beginning and no ending. You cannot separate God from His Word. God and His Word are one.
John said: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1).
When God sent Mose to deliver the children of Israeil from the bondage of the Egyptians, Moses feared that the Israelites would not believe him. He asked God: "Who shall I say sent me?"
God's answer was profound:
"Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I Am has sent me to you'" (Exodus 3:14).
So many people have faith in what Jesus could do when He was here on earth, and what He will be able to do in the future. Yet they fail to perceive Him as the now present Living Word. In other words, they fail to have faith in what Jesus is doing now.
This was the same problem Martha had even while Jesus was here on this earth. In John 11, when Jesus, the Living Word, came to Bethany where His friend Lazarus had died, Martha, the sister of Lazarus, accuse Jesus, saying, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died" (John 11:21).
Jesus assured the grieving sister that Lazarus would rise again. Martha said, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection in the last day" (john 11:24). But that was not what Jesus meant. Jesus, the Living Word, was on the scene now.
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live" (John 11:25).
Martha was saying that Jesus could have healed Lazarus in the past, or that He could raise him in the future. What Jesus was saying was, "Martha, I Am here right now to meet the need. I Am is here!"
There is no such thing "A day of Miracles"
Jesus was telling Martha that there is no such thing as a day of miracles - not a past day of miracles, not a future day of miracles, there is only a God, in every day and in every age, with the power to work miracles and to meet the needs of people who need miracles. God is always is. His Word is always is! God had neither beginning nor end. He never was; He never shall be; He always is.
When Moses crossed the Red Sea it was not a day of miracles. when God fed the children of Israel in the wilderness it was not a day of miracles.
We often hear people who believe in miracles now say something like "Miracles days are here again," but we are not even saying that today is a day of miracles. What we believe in is a God of miracles-working power Who is alive in every day and every age. The days of miracles have never ceased because the God of miracles has never died.
The Devil's purpose is to attack the Word of God
The devil's purpose is to attack the Word - both written and Living. He tried to attack the Living Word, but God is the Living Word and so he did not succeed.
Now he wants to attack the written Word of God. How can he do it? The only way that he can attack the Word of God is as it is lived out in our lives.
The Devil comes to us when we get sick and he says, "What about the promises of God? Didn't God say, 'I am the Lord that healeth thee; (Exodus 15:26, KJV). What about it?
The Devil attacks the Word of God through the circumstances of our lives. It is the only way that he can attack God, the eternal Word. Don't let him do it!
With God's faith we have a knowing that no matter what our needs are, God will take us through. It is only a matter of time.
When you have the faith of God working in your live, you have a deep knowing that you know that you know that you know that you know. You will go through it because you know thati it is only a matter of a period of time. You are going to have the victory because God's Word will triump. It will never be defeated!
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
The Power of the New Testament Church - Part 2
Continuing from Part 1, the transformation of Peter clearly shows that God is not depending on what we are, but what He can make of us. What God did for Peter, He did for Paul. What He did for Andrew and Thomas and Matthew etc, He can do for you!
Two thousand years ago, the early, New Testament Church took over almost the entire known world for Jesus Christ. One man, Paul, ministered in such power and demonstration of God's Spirit that he reached all of Asia.
Today there are hundreds of Churches in every city in North America, every city in the UK, every city in most European countries and yet we cannot even take one city for God, not even one town. If what we are seeing in our Churches is all that God has for us, this world is in sorry shape. It is destined to hell!
We have not seen even the tip of the iceberg of what God wants, what He expects, and what He will have in the Church and manifested in the lives of His true disciples before Jesus Christ returns for His Church.
What happened to Peter must happen to us. What happened to all the apostles of the early Church must happen to us.
Two thousand years ago, a handful of people reached the then known world. Two hundred years after the death of Jesus Christ greater part of the world was Christian - governments, rulers, leaders, kings etc. They may not have been 100 percent committed, but at least they were giving some kind of lip service of Christianity. They were influenced in some way by the Church.
Now, two thousnad years after the death of Jesus Christ, nearly half the world has not even heard of Him!
What the early Church had?
The early Church had power and capability. But they did not have what we are having now. They did not have the complete Bible - but only had the Old Testament. They did not have the written Word as you and I have today. They did not have the mass media. They lacked the modern conveniences of transportation and communication. But they had something that made up for the lack of these things - they had an enduement of Power.
That leads us to this very important question: How can we, as ordinary men and women, ever hope to be like the saints of old or have the power the apostles of the early Church had? God, what must we do?
If only I could be ....?
I wonder if you have ever looked at the following men in the Bible and said: "Oh, God, if I could just be like of one of these great men in the Bible!"
If I could be like Moses!
Moses was so humble. He was so meek. He knew God in such a personal way. But if God appeared to you in such visible form that you saw the finger of God by fire, if you saw the backside of God's glory, and God told you with an audible voice, "Go and do this and go and do that," would you disobey Him?
Moses did disobey God. He had to forfeit the privilege of going into the Promised Land because God could no let sin and disobedience go into the Promised Land. Now, if not Moses, who would you like to be like?
If I could be like Abraham!
Abraham was the father of faith. Look at how he journeyed following God. He did not even know where he was going, but he was faithful in his commitment to follow God by faith and God counted it unto him for righteousness.
You want to have the faith of Abraham, so that you can reach out and lay hands on the sick, the afflicted people and touch them, but you were afraid. You did not have the faith to speak the Word. You felt you did not have the faith you should have.
There is no question that you love your wife. Now, just suppose a man came to you and said, "I hear that you wife, Ruth, is a very beautiful woman. I have come to get her. Give me you wife." What would you do? You would certainly say to the man, "Over my dead body! You would have to kill me first!"
But Abraham did just the opposite. He gave his wife away to another man out of fear for his own life. Abraham was journeying through a strange land and he was so afraid of what he might face that he told people his wife was really his sister. He delivered his wife into the hands of the ruler of that land so that he could escape with his life (Gen 20:2).
If not Abraham, who would you like to be like?
If I could be like David!
David panted and longed after God with a heart that expressed his innermost yearning. He worshiped and praised God as few ever have. David hungered and ran after God because he loved God. Not many have that kind of love for God. Because your heart is not like David's heart, you do not seek God as much as you ought to. There is something lacking you. You should be crying and craving after God.
Not many of us have committed murder and have taken another man's wife. But David did. He saw a woman who belonged to another man. He was so filled with the spirit of lust that he desired this women. Not only he took her, but also had her husband sent to the front line of battle so that he would be killed and he could have this woman the rest of his life.
Do you still like to be like David?
One thing many of us failed to understand is that these great men of the Bible were just men. They were just ordinary human beings. They had their faults and their failures. They knew shortcomings.
All of these men were great only because of what God did for them, because of what God made of them and did through them. The only reason why God uses any of us is because of His grace.
But for the grace of the Almighty God, God never would have used Moses. But for the grace of the Almight God, God never would have used Abraham. God is not depending on what we are. But upon what He can make of us.
The great men of the Bible sat where we sit
Not every on of us can be an Abraham, or a Moses or a David. In fact you cannot be anyone other than who you are. But you can be a Spirit-filled, transformed, powerful, and anointed vessel of God no matter who you are.
We often hear things such as "days of the apostles," or "power of the early Church." But there is nothing in the Scripture that says God gave the early Church or the first apostles a double portion of His power to get things off to a good start. Nor is there anything that says He waited until He found a group of worthy mand and women, different from other men and women, to begin building His Church.
The disciples of Jesus were ordinary men and women subject to temptation and failure, but God still chose them and He used them.
Not one person believed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ
We cannot find one disciple, not one follower of Jesus Chrust, not one religious leader in the entire Scripture who believed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We heard so much about one man, "doubting Thomas," that we have failed to comprehend and understand the entire picture. There was also a "doubting Peter." There was a "doubting John," a "doubting Philip," a "wondering Mary," etc. Not one disciple, not one follower of Jesus who walked closely with Him, not one of the women who followed Him, believed in the resurrection. Not one!
Let us consider some of the women in Jesus' time:
"Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him" (Mark 16:1, NKJV).
Why did Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother James, and Salome, go to the tomb of Jesus Christ? What was the purpose of their visit?
They went there to anoint a dead body. They fully expected to see the wrapped body of Jesus in that tomb. They did not in the least believe that He would be resurrected. As they went, they discussed among themselves who could roll away the stone from the mouth of the sepulcher so that they could anoint the body they thought was lying there.
When they arrieved at the sepulcher, however, they found to their surprise that the stone already had been rolled away. An angelic being clothed in a long white garment sat upon it.
The Bible says the women afraid, but the angelic being spoke to them and said this:
"Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucifed. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples - and Peter - that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him as He said to you" (Mark 16:6, 7).
The angel reminded the women that Jesus told them He would arise and that He had directed them to go to Galilee to wait for Him.
If these disciples, as followers of Jesus were such great believers, why did they go to the grave, to the tomb, to anoint a dead body that was not supposed to be there? It was because they did not believe the resurrection of Jesus.
Jesus commissioned people despite their weaknesses
"Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen" (Mark 16:14).
Jesus did not just rebuke Thomas, but He rebuked all of them for their hardness of heart.
Here we see a bunch of wishy-washy, backboneless, spineless men and women who slept when Jesus prayed, who denied Him at the cross, who hid while He bled, who ran from the resurrection, who refused to believe He had risen even though He had told them beforehand.
The reason why Jesus commissioned these men and women with this great task despite their human nature, despite their weaknesses and their failures was because when He looked at them He was not looking at what they were. He was looking at what He could make of them.
Similarly, it is not your past performances God is looking at, not your failures or doubts or unbelief. He is looking at what He can make you. It is not what we are, it is not what we possess, it is what God can make of us that is the key.
The Church was born in demonstration of power
The Church was not born by great preaching. It was born in a demonstration of apostolic power manifested in the lives and ministries of men and women who were just as human as you and I, who got their eyes off their own weaknesses and failures and onto the power of God's grace and Hid Word.
Every one of us had experienced the negtive forces of doubt, fear, spiritual weakness, and many carnal emotions and failures.
In Hebrews 11 we read about heroes of faith who subdued kingdoms, who stopped the mouths of lions, who waxed valiant in fight, who escaped the edge of the sword, who walked throught the fire, etc. But we fail to understand that every one of them "sat where we sit." They had the same failures; they had the same shortcomings; they had the same weaknesses; they had the same doubts; they had the same problems, the same battles, the same temptations as you and I.
We can thank God that when God looks down upon man, He does not look at him for what he is. He looks at what He can transform that life into. God is not depending on the level of your faith. He is only depending on what He can make of you as you are willing to surrender your total being completely into His hands - all that you are and just as you are. You will then go forth in His power to fulfill His task:
"Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. And these signs will follow those who believe; ..." (Mark 16:15, 17).
Two thousand years ago, the early, New Testament Church took over almost the entire known world for Jesus Christ. One man, Paul, ministered in such power and demonstration of God's Spirit that he reached all of Asia.
Today there are hundreds of Churches in every city in North America, every city in the UK, every city in most European countries and yet we cannot even take one city for God, not even one town. If what we are seeing in our Churches is all that God has for us, this world is in sorry shape. It is destined to hell!
We have not seen even the tip of the iceberg of what God wants, what He expects, and what He will have in the Church and manifested in the lives of His true disciples before Jesus Christ returns for His Church.
What happened to Peter must happen to us. What happened to all the apostles of the early Church must happen to us.
Two thousand years ago, a handful of people reached the then known world. Two hundred years after the death of Jesus Christ greater part of the world was Christian - governments, rulers, leaders, kings etc. They may not have been 100 percent committed, but at least they were giving some kind of lip service of Christianity. They were influenced in some way by the Church.
Now, two thousnad years after the death of Jesus Christ, nearly half the world has not even heard of Him!
What the early Church had?
The early Church had power and capability. But they did not have what we are having now. They did not have the complete Bible - but only had the Old Testament. They did not have the written Word as you and I have today. They did not have the mass media. They lacked the modern conveniences of transportation and communication. But they had something that made up for the lack of these things - they had an enduement of Power.
That leads us to this very important question: How can we, as ordinary men and women, ever hope to be like the saints of old or have the power the apostles of the early Church had? God, what must we do?
If only I could be ....?
I wonder if you have ever looked at the following men in the Bible and said: "Oh, God, if I could just be like of one of these great men in the Bible!"
If I could be like Moses!
Moses was so humble. He was so meek. He knew God in such a personal way. But if God appeared to you in such visible form that you saw the finger of God by fire, if you saw the backside of God's glory, and God told you with an audible voice, "Go and do this and go and do that," would you disobey Him?
Moses did disobey God. He had to forfeit the privilege of going into the Promised Land because God could no let sin and disobedience go into the Promised Land. Now, if not Moses, who would you like to be like?
If I could be like Abraham!
Abraham was the father of faith. Look at how he journeyed following God. He did not even know where he was going, but he was faithful in his commitment to follow God by faith and God counted it unto him for righteousness.
You want to have the faith of Abraham, so that you can reach out and lay hands on the sick, the afflicted people and touch them, but you were afraid. You did not have the faith to speak the Word. You felt you did not have the faith you should have.
There is no question that you love your wife. Now, just suppose a man came to you and said, "I hear that you wife, Ruth, is a very beautiful woman. I have come to get her. Give me you wife." What would you do? You would certainly say to the man, "Over my dead body! You would have to kill me first!"
But Abraham did just the opposite. He gave his wife away to another man out of fear for his own life. Abraham was journeying through a strange land and he was so afraid of what he might face that he told people his wife was really his sister. He delivered his wife into the hands of the ruler of that land so that he could escape with his life (Gen 20:2).
If not Abraham, who would you like to be like?
If I could be like David!
David panted and longed after God with a heart that expressed his innermost yearning. He worshiped and praised God as few ever have. David hungered and ran after God because he loved God. Not many have that kind of love for God. Because your heart is not like David's heart, you do not seek God as much as you ought to. There is something lacking you. You should be crying and craving after God.
Not many of us have committed murder and have taken another man's wife. But David did. He saw a woman who belonged to another man. He was so filled with the spirit of lust that he desired this women. Not only he took her, but also had her husband sent to the front line of battle so that he would be killed and he could have this woman the rest of his life.
Do you still like to be like David?
One thing many of us failed to understand is that these great men of the Bible were just men. They were just ordinary human beings. They had their faults and their failures. They knew shortcomings.
All of these men were great only because of what God did for them, because of what God made of them and did through them. The only reason why God uses any of us is because of His grace.
But for the grace of the Almighty God, God never would have used Moses. But for the grace of the Almight God, God never would have used Abraham. God is not depending on what we are. But upon what He can make of us.
The great men of the Bible sat where we sit
Not every on of us can be an Abraham, or a Moses or a David. In fact you cannot be anyone other than who you are. But you can be a Spirit-filled, transformed, powerful, and anointed vessel of God no matter who you are.
We often hear things such as "days of the apostles," or "power of the early Church." But there is nothing in the Scripture that says God gave the early Church or the first apostles a double portion of His power to get things off to a good start. Nor is there anything that says He waited until He found a group of worthy mand and women, different from other men and women, to begin building His Church.
The disciples of Jesus were ordinary men and women subject to temptation and failure, but God still chose them and He used them.
Not one person believed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ
We cannot find one disciple, not one follower of Jesus Chrust, not one religious leader in the entire Scripture who believed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We heard so much about one man, "doubting Thomas," that we have failed to comprehend and understand the entire picture. There was also a "doubting Peter." There was a "doubting John," a "doubting Philip," a "wondering Mary," etc. Not one disciple, not one follower of Jesus who walked closely with Him, not one of the women who followed Him, believed in the resurrection. Not one!
Let us consider some of the women in Jesus' time:
"Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him" (Mark 16:1, NKJV).
Why did Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother James, and Salome, go to the tomb of Jesus Christ? What was the purpose of their visit?
They went there to anoint a dead body. They fully expected to see the wrapped body of Jesus in that tomb. They did not in the least believe that He would be resurrected. As they went, they discussed among themselves who could roll away the stone from the mouth of the sepulcher so that they could anoint the body they thought was lying there.
When they arrieved at the sepulcher, however, they found to their surprise that the stone already had been rolled away. An angelic being clothed in a long white garment sat upon it.
The Bible says the women afraid, but the angelic being spoke to them and said this:
"Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucifed. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples - and Peter - that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him as He said to you" (Mark 16:6, 7).
The angel reminded the women that Jesus told them He would arise and that He had directed them to go to Galilee to wait for Him.
If these disciples, as followers of Jesus were such great believers, why did they go to the grave, to the tomb, to anoint a dead body that was not supposed to be there? It was because they did not believe the resurrection of Jesus.
Jesus commissioned people despite their weaknesses
"Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen" (Mark 16:14).
Jesus did not just rebuke Thomas, but He rebuked all of them for their hardness of heart.
Here we see a bunch of wishy-washy, backboneless, spineless men and women who slept when Jesus prayed, who denied Him at the cross, who hid while He bled, who ran from the resurrection, who refused to believe He had risen even though He had told them beforehand.
The reason why Jesus commissioned these men and women with this great task despite their human nature, despite their weaknesses and their failures was because when He looked at them He was not looking at what they were. He was looking at what He could make of them.
Similarly, it is not your past performances God is looking at, not your failures or doubts or unbelief. He is looking at what He can make you. It is not what we are, it is not what we possess, it is what God can make of us that is the key.
The Church was born in demonstration of power
The Church was not born by great preaching. It was born in a demonstration of apostolic power manifested in the lives and ministries of men and women who were just as human as you and I, who got their eyes off their own weaknesses and failures and onto the power of God's grace and Hid Word.
Every one of us had experienced the negtive forces of doubt, fear, spiritual weakness, and many carnal emotions and failures.
In Hebrews 11 we read about heroes of faith who subdued kingdoms, who stopped the mouths of lions, who waxed valiant in fight, who escaped the edge of the sword, who walked throught the fire, etc. But we fail to understand that every one of them "sat where we sit." They had the same failures; they had the same shortcomings; they had the same weaknesses; they had the same doubts; they had the same problems, the same battles, the same temptations as you and I.
We can thank God that when God looks down upon man, He does not look at him for what he is. He looks at what He can transform that life into. God is not depending on the level of your faith. He is only depending on what He can make of you as you are willing to surrender your total being completely into His hands - all that you are and just as you are. You will then go forth in His power to fulfill His task:
"Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. And these signs will follow those who believe; ..." (Mark 16:15, 17).
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
The Power of the New Testament Church - Part 1
The New Testament Church was not born of silver-tongued orators. It was not born through the slick preaching of the Gospel such as we have today. It is easy to preach the Gospel today because we no longer have to prove anything. In general, our listeners do not expect signs and wonders following.
All you have to do to be successful now is to be a graduate of a Bible College or Seminary to gather some credentials. You can articulate your first point, your second point, your third point and your conclusion. Interject it with a nice story or two and a little humor and you have it made. If you can talk about your "God-given" gifts and the power of positive thinking and the power of mind over matter, then you are really successful.
I thank God for great preachers and there is no shortage of them. But, slowing and unknowingly the world is going to hell! Why? Because the Church cannot stop the influence of pornogaphy, sin, homosexuality, drugs and other evils.
The demonstration of Power
The New Testament Church was not born through great preaching, nor was it born through the manipulation of people. It was born in a demonstration power.
Jesus said, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; ..." (Acts 1:8, NKJV).
When the disciples came out of the upper room after they received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, they were staggering under the influence of that power. People said, they, including Peter, were drunk.
Peter stood up and said, "For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; ...'" (Acts 2:15 - 17).
When Paul came out of the desert after God overtook him and he was converted on the road to Damascus, he was able to say, ".. I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood" (Gal. 1:16).
He could go into cities and say, "When I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God ..., but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power" (1 Cor 2:1 - 4).
He also said the following:
"... though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee, concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless" (Phil. 3:4 - 6).
"But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ" (Phil. 3:7 - 8).
"And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power" (1 Cor. 2:4).
Paul and the other members of the early church shook the political world in which they lived because they had Power. The Church of Jesus Christ was born through a demonstration of apostolic Power.
What do we have today? We have a lot of theory. We have have a lot of theology. We have a lot of doctrine. But we do not have a demonstration of this power.
Jesus Christ is coming back again and the Church will be raptured. And I do not believe that the Church will be raptured in powerless, anemic, compromising, sleeping, unconcerned condition that it is in today.
The raptured Church is the Bride of Christ. It is the Father's reward to His only begotten Son, Jesus, for the great work of redemption accomplished here on earth, for leaving the glories of His abode in heaven and taking on Himself the likeness of sinful flesh, for suffering humilition, rejection and pain in order that He might offer salvation and life to the entire world.
I believe the Church of Jesus Christ will be raptured in an even greater demonstration of power than the tremendous outpouring of God's Spirit and Power in which it was born. The Church was born in Power. There was a mark upon it. There were flames of fire. There were other tongues. There were miracles. there was Power. You can read part, a tiny portion, of the blazing history of the newly born Church in the book of Acts. It is maginficent, tremendous and power packed.
God took a contingent of men and women, ragged, scared, many of them uneducated, unendowed with the treasure of this world and He so ignited their souls with the fire power of heaven that they literally swept their world for Christ.
I believe the final chapter of the Acts of the Holy Spirit and of God's men and women here on this earth has not yet been written! As the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ draws near, the power, the presence, the anointing, the glory, the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the demonstration of power to the world will come forth from the spirit world. It will rest upon, glow within, radiate from, and be manifested through the Body of Christ in an even greater way than the early Church saw it.
This demonstration will become greater and greater, until just before the coming of the Lord a remarkable demonstration of the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ will be spread before the entire world.
The entire world will know that Christ is alive, that He is the Son of God that He came here to this world for a purpose. They will see His power manifested in His people in an irrefutable display of His resurrected might.
Jesus said, "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the word as witness to all the nations, and then the end will come" (Matt. 24:14).
We are in that time of breakthrough, that time of the witness with power.
Reasons why the multitudes followed Jesus
The Bible is very clear; it does not pull any punches. It says openly and honestly exactly why the multitudes followed Jesus.
They followed Him because of the miracles He performed. They followed Him because they saw blind eyes opened, the saw deaf ears unstopped, and they saw the lame walk.
"Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased" (John 6:2).
Jesus knew their thoughts and their desires. He knew why they were following Him. Yet He did not chase them away. He did not rebuke them; He did not send away one person who followed Him for the miracles.
The woman with the issue of blood (Matt. 9:20) ... the blind man who cried out to Him (Luke 18:35 - 43) ... the father with the demon-possed boy whom the disciples could not heal (Mark 9:17 - 29) ... the Syro-Phoenician whoman who put herself in the place of a dog and said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table" (Matt. 15:27. ... He never chased one of them away. He healed every one of them. Why? Because Jesus came here for this purpose:
"For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil" (1 Jon 3:8).
Reasons why Jesus came
1. Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost:
Jesus said, ".... for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10).
Jesus come to transform lives - body, soul and spirit.
2. Jesus came to heal the sick and afflicted:
"Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched Him were made well" (Mark 6:56).
He never once told a person it was God's will for him to bear or suffer blindness, deafness, leprosy, lameness, or any other affliction. Jesus had the answer to their problems.
God's healing center - the Church
Ask any Pastor and he will tell you, the Church is the place where you get the right Biblical teaching. You are expected to sit quietly in the pews and listen attentively to what is being taught from the pulpit. Not many Pastors know that God has placed in our hands the keys to effectively witness for Him. It is His desire that every one of His children have a supernatural, Holy Spirit-empowered ministry to the needs of others. One of the needs is healing and health.
What God wants the Church to be and what the Church actually represents often are two very different things. The real purpose often is completely overlooked and many non-essentials are substituted.
The Church too often has become the social center, the recreation center, the supper fellowhip committee center, etc.
These activities may be perfectly well and good in their time and in their place. But it is not God had in mind for the Church. It was not His intended purpose that the Church be a social or recreational center. It is not the task He set for the Body of Christ, which is His Church.
The Church may even be the prayer and Bible study center and still miss God's mark, while deep human needs, sin, sickness, death remain unmet right ouside its door.
The temple Jesus visited had become a trading center, a merchandise center, but Jesus had other plan for it. Even cleansing it, getting rid of the evils that existed there, was only part of that plan. He sent His disciples out with a task to perform.
He said to them: "I will wait here. You go out to the highways and the byways and hedges and everywhere. Bring Me the sick, the lame, the blind, the dumb and the deaf. Go get the needs of the people and bring them into the temple." The temple represents the Church, the Body of Christ. The Church is not a den of thieves. It is a house of prayer, a place of intercession, a place where the people's need must be met by the supernatural power of the living God.
If the Church of Jesus Christ had been true to its task, there would be no need for Bible School or Seminary. There would be no need for gifted evangelists to go into the cities of the world to have healing meetings. Every Church member will work the works of God. But how can the Church go out and heal the world when the majority of the so-called Spirit-filled people sitting in our pews are on pills and medicines and drugs? When so many of them are hospitalized and cannot get deliverance from cancer, blind eyes, deaf ears, sleeping disorder, eating disorder and many other kinds of sickness and afflictions. This is a bad testimony to the lost. They are likely to say, "If these spirit-filled Christians are just like us, sick like us and suffering like us, why should we join their Church?"
Transfomation of Peter
An excellent example of a disciple who caught the vision of working the the works of God was the apostle Peter.
In the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus took Peter with Him and went apart for His times of prayer, what did Peter and the other disciples do while Jesus was praying? They slept (Mark 14:37)!
When Jesus Christ was on trial for His life, what did Peter do? He denied Him three times (Matt. 26:69 - 75)!
Where were Peter and the other disciples when Jesus was hanging on the cross? They were hiding. They would not approach the cross. They were afraid.
Yet in the third chapter of the book of Acts, we find this same Peter, approaching the gate of the temple and encountered a cripple who had been sitting at the gate day after day for many years. He had passed this crippled man on many prior occasions when all he could do was look at him with sympathetic eyes. But this time as Peter and John walked past the crippled man, something seized them and Peter said to this man: "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk" (Acts 3:6).
He took the crippled man by the hand and lifted him to his feet. Some thing had happen to Peter - he had an experience and he had the keys and the power. The faith that Peter displayed in the healing of the lame man was not tied to some theology he had learned. It was not tied to his understanding or to the words he said. It was tied to reality. He had been to the upper room where he had received something from the touch of God - power and authority. He spoke the Word and the crippled man was healed.
The crippled man and those who were there at the temple did not want further proof that Jesus is a man. They did not want proof that Jesus is not in the grave. They did not want evidence that Jesus Christ lives.
Here is a tremendous example of one man who learned what he must do to work the works of God. I believe, in the Name of Jesus, if it happened to Peter, it can happen to us! Peter had no special man-made qualifications that somehow turned him into a spiritual giant. He was an "ordinary" person, a fisherman. Yet here he was, stepping forth before the Scribes, before the priests and doing the works of God clothed in the authority and power of heaven itself. It can happen to us!
Jesus never sent Peter out without an experience that revolutionized his life and prepared him to meet human needs. In other words, He prepared him to be an actual extension of Christ's life and ministry.
One of the greatest miracles of God is how He can take ordinary, weak, failure-prone, wishy-washy men and women and transform them into powerhouses of dynamic ministry for Himself. He did it with Peter. He did it with James, John and Paul. He did it with other apostles. He can do it with you and me today! He is the same yesterday, today and forever.
All you have to do to be successful now is to be a graduate of a Bible College or Seminary to gather some credentials. You can articulate your first point, your second point, your third point and your conclusion. Interject it with a nice story or two and a little humor and you have it made. If you can talk about your "God-given" gifts and the power of positive thinking and the power of mind over matter, then you are really successful.
I thank God for great preachers and there is no shortage of them. But, slowing and unknowingly the world is going to hell! Why? Because the Church cannot stop the influence of pornogaphy, sin, homosexuality, drugs and other evils.
The demonstration of Power
The New Testament Church was not born through great preaching, nor was it born through the manipulation of people. It was born in a demonstration power.
Jesus said, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; ..." (Acts 1:8, NKJV).
When the disciples came out of the upper room after they received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, they were staggering under the influence of that power. People said, they, including Peter, were drunk.
Peter stood up and said, "For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; ...'" (Acts 2:15 - 17).
When Paul came out of the desert after God overtook him and he was converted on the road to Damascus, he was able to say, ".. I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood" (Gal. 1:16).
He could go into cities and say, "When I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God ..., but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power" (1 Cor 2:1 - 4).
He also said the following:
"... though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee, concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless" (Phil. 3:4 - 6).
"But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ" (Phil. 3:7 - 8).
"And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power" (1 Cor. 2:4).
Paul and the other members of the early church shook the political world in which they lived because they had Power. The Church of Jesus Christ was born through a demonstration of apostolic Power.
What do we have today? We have a lot of theory. We have have a lot of theology. We have a lot of doctrine. But we do not have a demonstration of this power.
Jesus Christ is coming back again and the Church will be raptured. And I do not believe that the Church will be raptured in powerless, anemic, compromising, sleeping, unconcerned condition that it is in today.
The raptured Church is the Bride of Christ. It is the Father's reward to His only begotten Son, Jesus, for the great work of redemption accomplished here on earth, for leaving the glories of His abode in heaven and taking on Himself the likeness of sinful flesh, for suffering humilition, rejection and pain in order that He might offer salvation and life to the entire world.
I believe the Church of Jesus Christ will be raptured in an even greater demonstration of power than the tremendous outpouring of God's Spirit and Power in which it was born. The Church was born in Power. There was a mark upon it. There were flames of fire. There were other tongues. There were miracles. there was Power. You can read part, a tiny portion, of the blazing history of the newly born Church in the book of Acts. It is maginficent, tremendous and power packed.
God took a contingent of men and women, ragged, scared, many of them uneducated, unendowed with the treasure of this world and He so ignited their souls with the fire power of heaven that they literally swept their world for Christ.
I believe the final chapter of the Acts of the Holy Spirit and of God's men and women here on this earth has not yet been written! As the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ draws near, the power, the presence, the anointing, the glory, the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the demonstration of power to the world will come forth from the spirit world. It will rest upon, glow within, radiate from, and be manifested through the Body of Christ in an even greater way than the early Church saw it.
This demonstration will become greater and greater, until just before the coming of the Lord a remarkable demonstration of the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ will be spread before the entire world.
The entire world will know that Christ is alive, that He is the Son of God that He came here to this world for a purpose. They will see His power manifested in His people in an irrefutable display of His resurrected might.
Jesus said, "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the word as witness to all the nations, and then the end will come" (Matt. 24:14).
We are in that time of breakthrough, that time of the witness with power.
Reasons why the multitudes followed Jesus
The Bible is very clear; it does not pull any punches. It says openly and honestly exactly why the multitudes followed Jesus.
They followed Him because of the miracles He performed. They followed Him because they saw blind eyes opened, the saw deaf ears unstopped, and they saw the lame walk.
"Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased" (John 6:2).
Jesus knew their thoughts and their desires. He knew why they were following Him. Yet He did not chase them away. He did not rebuke them; He did not send away one person who followed Him for the miracles.
The woman with the issue of blood (Matt. 9:20) ... the blind man who cried out to Him (Luke 18:35 - 43) ... the father with the demon-possed boy whom the disciples could not heal (Mark 9:17 - 29) ... the Syro-Phoenician whoman who put herself in the place of a dog and said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table" (Matt. 15:27. ... He never chased one of them away. He healed every one of them. Why? Because Jesus came here for this purpose:
"For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil" (1 Jon 3:8).
Reasons why Jesus came
1. Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost:
Jesus said, ".... for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10).
Jesus come to transform lives - body, soul and spirit.
2. Jesus came to heal the sick and afflicted:
"Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched Him were made well" (Mark 6:56).
He never once told a person it was God's will for him to bear or suffer blindness, deafness, leprosy, lameness, or any other affliction. Jesus had the answer to their problems.
God's healing center - the Church
Ask any Pastor and he will tell you, the Church is the place where you get the right Biblical teaching. You are expected to sit quietly in the pews and listen attentively to what is being taught from the pulpit. Not many Pastors know that God has placed in our hands the keys to effectively witness for Him. It is His desire that every one of His children have a supernatural, Holy Spirit-empowered ministry to the needs of others. One of the needs is healing and health.
What God wants the Church to be and what the Church actually represents often are two very different things. The real purpose often is completely overlooked and many non-essentials are substituted.
The Church too often has become the social center, the recreation center, the supper fellowhip committee center, etc.
These activities may be perfectly well and good in their time and in their place. But it is not God had in mind for the Church. It was not His intended purpose that the Church be a social or recreational center. It is not the task He set for the Body of Christ, which is His Church.
The Church may even be the prayer and Bible study center and still miss God's mark, while deep human needs, sin, sickness, death remain unmet right ouside its door.
The temple Jesus visited had become a trading center, a merchandise center, but Jesus had other plan for it. Even cleansing it, getting rid of the evils that existed there, was only part of that plan. He sent His disciples out with a task to perform.
He said to them: "I will wait here. You go out to the highways and the byways and hedges and everywhere. Bring Me the sick, the lame, the blind, the dumb and the deaf. Go get the needs of the people and bring them into the temple." The temple represents the Church, the Body of Christ. The Church is not a den of thieves. It is a house of prayer, a place of intercession, a place where the people's need must be met by the supernatural power of the living God.
If the Church of Jesus Christ had been true to its task, there would be no need for Bible School or Seminary. There would be no need for gifted evangelists to go into the cities of the world to have healing meetings. Every Church member will work the works of God. But how can the Church go out and heal the world when the majority of the so-called Spirit-filled people sitting in our pews are on pills and medicines and drugs? When so many of them are hospitalized and cannot get deliverance from cancer, blind eyes, deaf ears, sleeping disorder, eating disorder and many other kinds of sickness and afflictions. This is a bad testimony to the lost. They are likely to say, "If these spirit-filled Christians are just like us, sick like us and suffering like us, why should we join their Church?"
Transfomation of Peter
An excellent example of a disciple who caught the vision of working the the works of God was the apostle Peter.
In the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus took Peter with Him and went apart for His times of prayer, what did Peter and the other disciples do while Jesus was praying? They slept (Mark 14:37)!
When Jesus Christ was on trial for His life, what did Peter do? He denied Him three times (Matt. 26:69 - 75)!
Where were Peter and the other disciples when Jesus was hanging on the cross? They were hiding. They would not approach the cross. They were afraid.
Yet in the third chapter of the book of Acts, we find this same Peter, approaching the gate of the temple and encountered a cripple who had been sitting at the gate day after day for many years. He had passed this crippled man on many prior occasions when all he could do was look at him with sympathetic eyes. But this time as Peter and John walked past the crippled man, something seized them and Peter said to this man: "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk" (Acts 3:6).
He took the crippled man by the hand and lifted him to his feet. Some thing had happen to Peter - he had an experience and he had the keys and the power. The faith that Peter displayed in the healing of the lame man was not tied to some theology he had learned. It was not tied to his understanding or to the words he said. It was tied to reality. He had been to the upper room where he had received something from the touch of God - power and authority. He spoke the Word and the crippled man was healed.
The crippled man and those who were there at the temple did not want further proof that Jesus is a man. They did not want proof that Jesus is not in the grave. They did not want evidence that Jesus Christ lives.
Here is a tremendous example of one man who learned what he must do to work the works of God. I believe, in the Name of Jesus, if it happened to Peter, it can happen to us! Peter had no special man-made qualifications that somehow turned him into a spiritual giant. He was an "ordinary" person, a fisherman. Yet here he was, stepping forth before the Scribes, before the priests and doing the works of God clothed in the authority and power of heaven itself. It can happen to us!
Jesus never sent Peter out without an experience that revolutionized his life and prepared him to meet human needs. In other words, He prepared him to be an actual extension of Christ's life and ministry.
One of the greatest miracles of God is how He can take ordinary, weak, failure-prone, wishy-washy men and women and transform them into powerhouses of dynamic ministry for Himself. He did it with Peter. He did it with James, John and Paul. He did it with other apostles. He can do it with you and me today! He is the same yesterday, today and forever.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Biblical Philosophy of the Pastoral Ministry
Every believer is called into the full-time ministry. Every member of the Body of Christ serves full-time. But, no matter how much a Church member would desire, he cannot choose to assume the ministry of the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors or teachers - the so-called five-fold ministry, without a clear and unique calling from God.
Such a ministry (pastor in particular) should not be undertaken unless one has been especially called for such a purpose. Pastors are ministers of the Lord and He alone does the choosing. Those whom He chooses, have the benefit of a personal encounter and experience resulting in "knowing" that they are called.
In his epistle to the Christians in Ephesus, Paul said: "And He (Christ) gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists and some pastors and teachers, for the equiping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, ..." (Eph. 4:11, 12, NKJV, emphasis added).
To be a Pastor, one must not presume that because hs is scholastically prepared or because he, or others, decided he should pursue such a ministry; qualifies himself for such a ministry. Before specialized training is pursued, one must have received a personal call.
The "impossible" demands a Pastor needs to face
I came across a message written by an unknown author to Christians telling them what "impossible" demands a Pastor needs to face:
"Have you ever tried to preach fifty-two sermons a year to the same congregation - sometimes to almost empty audience?
Have you ever tried to please all the members of your Church?
Have you ever tried to lead a prayer meeting week after week when 148 of the 150 members are absent?
Have you ever attempted to visit all newcomers in your community? And of your congregation, have you visit all the sick at home; all the aged and the home-bound; and all who are hospitalized? Have you seek after the lost in your neighourhood?
Have you ever tried to get up in the early hours of the morning and drive more than 30 km to pray for one of your sick or dying members?
Have you ever had to lead when no one would follow?
Have you ever tried to get a little man to do a big job, or a big man to do a small job?
Have you ever tried to carry the burden of a lost world, plus the burden of your own Church and community?
Have you ever tried to love when others hate, or praise when others condemn?
Have you ever tried to bind up broken hearts or re-establich broken homes?
Have you ever tried to sympathize with and help fallen men and women when others seem not to care and even mock?
Have you ever tried to smile upon empty collection bags and realize that the world is moving away from God?
Have you ever tried to pour out your very own soul to get men to give themselves to Christ and have no response?
If not, then you cannot know what it means to be the Pastor of a Local Church!"
Let me add to the last line: If yes, then you surely know that a Pastor is a supernaturally called leader to shepherd a God-given flock.
The above demands call for supernatural strength and ability, wisdom and gifts to carry out all the tasks demanded by the ministry of a Pastor.
Timothy's Pastoral Ministry
I believe the two Epistles that Paul wrote to Timothy give the "blue-print" for a perfect Church ministry. First Timothy is Paul's advice to Pastors and Second Timothy is Paul's final messge to the Church.
The practical significance of Paul's advice to Timothy goes beyond those who are Pastors. Every Christian is called to a life of ministry and is to follow the example of the Pastor as the sheep following the shepherd.
Paul said, "These things command and teach. Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity" (1 Tim. 4:11, 12, emphasis added).
Paul had personally guided Timothy, a young Pastor. But Timothy encountered severe trials when he was assigned the task of leading the Church at Ephesus out of sin and error. He struggled with fear and human weakness. He was evidently tempted to soften his preaching in the face of persecution. At times he seemed ashamed of the Gospel. Paul had to remind him to stand up for the faith with boldness, even if it meant suffering:
Paul said, "Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the Gospel according to the powe of God, ..." (2 Tim. 1:8).
The two important and rich Epistles from Paul to Timothy outline a ministry philosophy that put to shame the worldly pragmatic philosophy prevailing in today's Churches!
Paul's admonitions and instructions to Timothy
With careful study of the two Epistles we are able to list out Paul's admonitions and instructions to Timothy. It is interesting to see if we can identify any "Timothy" in today's Local Churches. For the sake of clarity I am going to paraphrase the verses which are Paul's instructions to Timothy. The reader should read all the verses of Scripture concerned. I shall also give my personal comment based on the Scriptures and personal observation following each instruction from Paul.
First Epistle of Paul to Timothy
1. To correct those who teach false doctrine and encourage them to have a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sinsere faith (1 Tim. 1:3 - 5)
On the contrary, many teachers of the Word, or Pastors, or preachers of today are deceived themselves. Hence, they are not capable of correcting those who teach false doctrines.
2. To fight for divine truth and for God's purposes, keeping his own faith and a good conscience (1 Timothy 1:18).
Because of unbelief and deception, many ministers do not love the truth and do not fear God. Their own faith suffered shipwreck. Some of them even reject divine truth because of pride.
3. To pray for all men, especially those who are in authority (kings and government leaders) and the lost, and lead the men of the Local Church to do likewise (1 Tim. 2:1 - 8).
If Pastors, elders and leaders are truly honest to themselves and to God, they seldom spend time in prayers, intercessions and supplications let alone leading Church members to pray.
4. To call women in the Local Church to fulfill their God-given role of submission and to raise up godly children, setting an example of fatih, love, and sanctity with self-restraint (1 Tim. 2:9 - 15)
Nowadays it is common to find ordained women Pastors and preachers. The Scripture clearly forbid women to teach and have authority over men. Pastors are shepherds and they lead and protect the sheep and so it is ridiculous to have women to lead and protect men Church members.
5. Carefully select spiritual leaders for the Local Church on the basis of their giftedness, godliness and virtue (1 Tim 3:1 - 13).
Many Pastors are unable to dicern the spiritual gifts of Church members. Even if they are able to discern, many of them will not let them use their gifts for reasons known only to themselves. I believe many Pastors fear their inaccurate teachings will be revealed and so feel embarrass about it.
6. Recognize the source of errors and those who teach it, and expose them publicly to the rest of the Church (1 Tim. 4:1 - 6).
In some Local Churches Pastors, leaders and members are so used to errors in spiritual things that, they are not able to recognize the source of errors even though they have the Scriptures to refer to.
7. To teach and preach principles of true godliness, helping believers to dicern between true godliness and mere hypocrisy (1 Tim. 5:24 - 6:6).
When you have Pastors and preachers who are not capable in discerning between true godliness and hypocricy, how do you expect them to teach Church members to discern?
8. To instruct the rich not to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God (1 Tim. 6:17 - 19).
Jesus said that it is difficult for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. Due to fear of losing the rich men as Church members many Pastors tend to avoid giving this instruction. It is not unusual to find the rich holding leadership positions in the Local Church, even if their lifestyle is worldly and questionable.
Second Epistle of Paul to Timothy
1. Not to be fearful or timid but minister in power, in love and with a sound mind (2 Tim. 1:7).
Many Pastors and elders fear men and try to please men instead of trying to fear and please God. They compromise the truth of of God's Word. And so, their preaching is devoid of power.
2. Be a teacher of apostolic truth or the apostles' doctrine so that he may reproduce himself in faithful men (2 Tim. 2:2),
It is doubtful if we can find many Pastors or preachers whos teachings or doctrines follow strictly to the apostolic truth.
3. Be diligent to present himself approved to God, interpret and apply Scripture accurately (2 Tim. 2:15).
The actual verse says that if we "rightly dividing the word of truth" God is pleased and we need not be ashamed. This also means it is shameful if the word of truth is interpreted wrongly! If this instrution is followed strictly, the Church will not be deceived by false doctrines.
4. Preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching (2 Tim. 4:1, 2).
I believe the simple command - "Preach the Word" is the centerpiece of every truly Biblical ministry philosophy. The Pastor's task is to proclaim the Scripture and give sense of it and nothing else. All other content is extraneous.
5. Do not compromise in difficult times (2 Tim. 4:3, 4).
The difficult times that Paul referred to is when "they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables."
In my opinion we are going through the "difficult times' now. I believe when people will not tolerate the truth is the right time when courageous, outspoken preachers are most desperately needed to proclaim it.
Why are people unwilling to endure sound preaching and teaching? it is because they love sin. Sound preaching confronts ad rebukes sin, and people in love with sinful lifestyles will not tolerate such teaching.
6. Endure afflictions and hardship (2 Tim. 4:5).
Paul reminded Timothy that Pastors or ministers cannot be those who yearn for earthly applause. Neither can they be lovers of earthly comfort. Paul knew Timothy could not have the kind of ministry God desired of him unless he was willing to go through some suffering.
If the Lord calls someone to be Pastor, He will certainly enable him supernaturally to endure afflictions and hardship.
What Paul did not instruct Timothey to do?
It is interesting to consider what Paul did not instruct Timothy to do:
1. Paul said nothing to Timothy about how the congregation of believers may respond to his ministry method.
2. He did not instruct Timothy to attend a Bible Seminary or College for training before his is considered qualified to pastor a congregation.
3. He did not ask Timothy to build a Bible Seminary or College to train others how to endure as a Pastor.
4. He did not lecture Timothy on how to be successful in building mega-churches, and how to raise funds to expand existing Church premises.
5. He did not tell Timothy how much offering he needs to collect and how influential his Church needs to be to attract rich Christians.
6. He did not instruct Timothy to remember to celebrate Christmas and Easter in his Church so that inactive Church members have a reason to come to Church at least once or twice a year to be entertained.
When Pastors fail to lead the Church to seek for fruitful spiritual activities they have to look for external worldly substitutes. Otherwise the Church would be empty. But this is never the will of God!
Conclusion
Paul said nothing whatever about a "successful" Local Church. In Scripture external success is never a valid goal. The appropriate goal for the Church is not success, but excellence. Paul was encouraging Timothy to be all that God had called and gifted him to be. He was not advising Timothey to seek success; he was urging him to pursue excellence! After all this is what pleases the Lord who is waiting for His Glrious Bride, wonderfully prepared for Him. Timothy was expected to play his part to prepare the Lord's Bride. Shouldn't all Pastors also play their parts to prepare the Bride of Christ?
Such a ministry (pastor in particular) should not be undertaken unless one has been especially called for such a purpose. Pastors are ministers of the Lord and He alone does the choosing. Those whom He chooses, have the benefit of a personal encounter and experience resulting in "knowing" that they are called.
In his epistle to the Christians in Ephesus, Paul said: "And He (Christ) gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists and some pastors and teachers, for the equiping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, ..." (Eph. 4:11, 12, NKJV, emphasis added).
To be a Pastor, one must not presume that because hs is scholastically prepared or because he, or others, decided he should pursue such a ministry; qualifies himself for such a ministry. Before specialized training is pursued, one must have received a personal call.
The "impossible" demands a Pastor needs to face
I came across a message written by an unknown author to Christians telling them what "impossible" demands a Pastor needs to face:
"Have you ever tried to preach fifty-two sermons a year to the same congregation - sometimes to almost empty audience?
Have you ever tried to please all the members of your Church?
Have you ever tried to lead a prayer meeting week after week when 148 of the 150 members are absent?
Have you ever attempted to visit all newcomers in your community? And of your congregation, have you visit all the sick at home; all the aged and the home-bound; and all who are hospitalized? Have you seek after the lost in your neighourhood?
Have you ever tried to get up in the early hours of the morning and drive more than 30 km to pray for one of your sick or dying members?
Have you ever had to lead when no one would follow?
Have you ever tried to get a little man to do a big job, or a big man to do a small job?
Have you ever tried to carry the burden of a lost world, plus the burden of your own Church and community?
Have you ever tried to love when others hate, or praise when others condemn?
Have you ever tried to bind up broken hearts or re-establich broken homes?
Have you ever tried to sympathize with and help fallen men and women when others seem not to care and even mock?
Have you ever tried to smile upon empty collection bags and realize that the world is moving away from God?
Have you ever tried to pour out your very own soul to get men to give themselves to Christ and have no response?
If not, then you cannot know what it means to be the Pastor of a Local Church!"
Let me add to the last line: If yes, then you surely know that a Pastor is a supernaturally called leader to shepherd a God-given flock.
The above demands call for supernatural strength and ability, wisdom and gifts to carry out all the tasks demanded by the ministry of a Pastor.
Timothy's Pastoral Ministry
I believe the two Epistles that Paul wrote to Timothy give the "blue-print" for a perfect Church ministry. First Timothy is Paul's advice to Pastors and Second Timothy is Paul's final messge to the Church.
The practical significance of Paul's advice to Timothy goes beyond those who are Pastors. Every Christian is called to a life of ministry and is to follow the example of the Pastor as the sheep following the shepherd.
Paul said, "These things command and teach. Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity" (1 Tim. 4:11, 12, emphasis added).
Paul had personally guided Timothy, a young Pastor. But Timothy encountered severe trials when he was assigned the task of leading the Church at Ephesus out of sin and error. He struggled with fear and human weakness. He was evidently tempted to soften his preaching in the face of persecution. At times he seemed ashamed of the Gospel. Paul had to remind him to stand up for the faith with boldness, even if it meant suffering:
Paul said, "Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the Gospel according to the powe of God, ..." (2 Tim. 1:8).
The two important and rich Epistles from Paul to Timothy outline a ministry philosophy that put to shame the worldly pragmatic philosophy prevailing in today's Churches!
Paul's admonitions and instructions to Timothy
With careful study of the two Epistles we are able to list out Paul's admonitions and instructions to Timothy. It is interesting to see if we can identify any "Timothy" in today's Local Churches. For the sake of clarity I am going to paraphrase the verses which are Paul's instructions to Timothy. The reader should read all the verses of Scripture concerned. I shall also give my personal comment based on the Scriptures and personal observation following each instruction from Paul.
First Epistle of Paul to Timothy
1. To correct those who teach false doctrine and encourage them to have a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sinsere faith (1 Tim. 1:3 - 5)
On the contrary, many teachers of the Word, or Pastors, or preachers of today are deceived themselves. Hence, they are not capable of correcting those who teach false doctrines.
2. To fight for divine truth and for God's purposes, keeping his own faith and a good conscience (1 Timothy 1:18).
Because of unbelief and deception, many ministers do not love the truth and do not fear God. Their own faith suffered shipwreck. Some of them even reject divine truth because of pride.
3. To pray for all men, especially those who are in authority (kings and government leaders) and the lost, and lead the men of the Local Church to do likewise (1 Tim. 2:1 - 8).
If Pastors, elders and leaders are truly honest to themselves and to God, they seldom spend time in prayers, intercessions and supplications let alone leading Church members to pray.
4. To call women in the Local Church to fulfill their God-given role of submission and to raise up godly children, setting an example of fatih, love, and sanctity with self-restraint (1 Tim. 2:9 - 15)
Nowadays it is common to find ordained women Pastors and preachers. The Scripture clearly forbid women to teach and have authority over men. Pastors are shepherds and they lead and protect the sheep and so it is ridiculous to have women to lead and protect men Church members.
5. Carefully select spiritual leaders for the Local Church on the basis of their giftedness, godliness and virtue (1 Tim 3:1 - 13).
Many Pastors are unable to dicern the spiritual gifts of Church members. Even if they are able to discern, many of them will not let them use their gifts for reasons known only to themselves. I believe many Pastors fear their inaccurate teachings will be revealed and so feel embarrass about it.
6. Recognize the source of errors and those who teach it, and expose them publicly to the rest of the Church (1 Tim. 4:1 - 6).
In some Local Churches Pastors, leaders and members are so used to errors in spiritual things that, they are not able to recognize the source of errors even though they have the Scriptures to refer to.
7. To teach and preach principles of true godliness, helping believers to dicern between true godliness and mere hypocrisy (1 Tim. 5:24 - 6:6).
When you have Pastors and preachers who are not capable in discerning between true godliness and hypocricy, how do you expect them to teach Church members to discern?
8. To instruct the rich not to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God (1 Tim. 6:17 - 19).
Jesus said that it is difficult for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. Due to fear of losing the rich men as Church members many Pastors tend to avoid giving this instruction. It is not unusual to find the rich holding leadership positions in the Local Church, even if their lifestyle is worldly and questionable.
Second Epistle of Paul to Timothy
1. Not to be fearful or timid but minister in power, in love and with a sound mind (2 Tim. 1:7).
Many Pastors and elders fear men and try to please men instead of trying to fear and please God. They compromise the truth of of God's Word. And so, their preaching is devoid of power.
2. Be a teacher of apostolic truth or the apostles' doctrine so that he may reproduce himself in faithful men (2 Tim. 2:2),
It is doubtful if we can find many Pastors or preachers whos teachings or doctrines follow strictly to the apostolic truth.
3. Be diligent to present himself approved to God, interpret and apply Scripture accurately (2 Tim. 2:15).
The actual verse says that if we "rightly dividing the word of truth" God is pleased and we need not be ashamed. This also means it is shameful if the word of truth is interpreted wrongly! If this instrution is followed strictly, the Church will not be deceived by false doctrines.
4. Preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching (2 Tim. 4:1, 2).
I believe the simple command - "Preach the Word" is the centerpiece of every truly Biblical ministry philosophy. The Pastor's task is to proclaim the Scripture and give sense of it and nothing else. All other content is extraneous.
5. Do not compromise in difficult times (2 Tim. 4:3, 4).
The difficult times that Paul referred to is when "they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables."
In my opinion we are going through the "difficult times' now. I believe when people will not tolerate the truth is the right time when courageous, outspoken preachers are most desperately needed to proclaim it.
Why are people unwilling to endure sound preaching and teaching? it is because they love sin. Sound preaching confronts ad rebukes sin, and people in love with sinful lifestyles will not tolerate such teaching.
6. Endure afflictions and hardship (2 Tim. 4:5).
Paul reminded Timothy that Pastors or ministers cannot be those who yearn for earthly applause. Neither can they be lovers of earthly comfort. Paul knew Timothy could not have the kind of ministry God desired of him unless he was willing to go through some suffering.
If the Lord calls someone to be Pastor, He will certainly enable him supernaturally to endure afflictions and hardship.
What Paul did not instruct Timothey to do?
It is interesting to consider what Paul did not instruct Timothy to do:
1. Paul said nothing to Timothy about how the congregation of believers may respond to his ministry method.
2. He did not instruct Timothy to attend a Bible Seminary or College for training before his is considered qualified to pastor a congregation.
3. He did not ask Timothy to build a Bible Seminary or College to train others how to endure as a Pastor.
4. He did not lecture Timothy on how to be successful in building mega-churches, and how to raise funds to expand existing Church premises.
5. He did not tell Timothy how much offering he needs to collect and how influential his Church needs to be to attract rich Christians.
6. He did not instruct Timothy to remember to celebrate Christmas and Easter in his Church so that inactive Church members have a reason to come to Church at least once or twice a year to be entertained.
When Pastors fail to lead the Church to seek for fruitful spiritual activities they have to look for external worldly substitutes. Otherwise the Church would be empty. But this is never the will of God!
Conclusion
Paul said nothing whatever about a "successful" Local Church. In Scripture external success is never a valid goal. The appropriate goal for the Church is not success, but excellence. Paul was encouraging Timothy to be all that God had called and gifted him to be. He was not advising Timothey to seek success; he was urging him to pursue excellence! After all this is what pleases the Lord who is waiting for His Glrious Bride, wonderfully prepared for Him. Timothy was expected to play his part to prepare the Lord's Bride. Shouldn't all Pastors also play their parts to prepare the Bride of Christ?
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
The New Heaven and the New Earth
People always like new things - new house, new car, new furniture, new food, new clothes and new experience etc. Whenever they can afford it, they look with eagle eyes for new things.
After revealing to John the church Age, the Great Tribulation period, and the Millennium, the Lord reveals one last time period that most Bible scholars called "eternity." God will create a new heaven and a new earth. And with these new creations, everything is made new.
Everything made new (Rev. 21:1)
"Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea" (Rev. 21:1).
Here John glimpsed a new heaven and an new earth, but they will be different from the original creation when God divided the waters to create seas and cause the dry land to appear (Genesis 1:9, 10). The new earth will not have sea in it.
However, I believe the word "sea" here can also have a different meaning. We sometimes call life the sea of trouble. The "sea" stands for bitterness and sorrow. But there is no pain of any kind in the new heaven and the new earth.
The New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:2 - 4)
"Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away'" (Rev. 21:2 - 4).
John also saw descending from heaven the New Jesusalem, the capital of the new heaven and the new earth.
Who will live in the New Jerusalem? The Church that is the Bride of Jesus Christ will enter it with her Bridegroom and live there forever. The Jews and those who are saved during the millennial kingdom will also live in the new heaven and new earth.
In the original creation, God put Adam in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:8), but in the new creation God will put His Church in a special city called the New Jerusalem. This will be a Holy City because it will come down out of heaven. This city is not the whole creation or the whole new earth. It is just one part or one city that will come down to the new earth. Just as Babylon was the capital of Babylonia, the New Jesusalwm will be the captial of the new heaven and new earth.
Revelation 19 revealed the wedding of the Lamb - the marriage of Jesus and His Church. Now invitations will be given to the marriage supper here on earth when Jesus comes back. The New Jerusalem will be the Bride's new home after the Millennium. It will be a real city with physical attributes, but it will also be like a bride that it will be pure and radiant.
In the original creation, God came down from heaven to walk and talk with Adem (Genesis 3:8, 9). In the wilderness, God dwelled in the Ark of the Covenant from which He talked to His people (Exodus 25:1 - 22). In the new creation, God will come down with His people.
In the original creation, death came upon Adam and he worked, and experienced sorrow and pain because he sinned. And because Eve sinned, she experienced sorrow and pain in childbirth (Genesis 2:16, 17; 3:17 - 19). But in the new creation situation will be entirely different. We who will enter the New Jerusalem will no longer experience death or even sorrow. In that place there will be nothing sad and no more pain, for the former things will pass away, and it will become a completely new world.
A Declaration of God (Rev. 21:5 - 8)
"Then He who sat on the throne said, 'Behold, I make all this new.' And He said to me, 'Write, for these words are true and faithful.' And He said to me, 'It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain water of life freely to him who thirst. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death'" (Rev. 21:5 - 8).
Following the Millennium, Jesus will not fix or repair this old creation. He will re-create everything. This is more than a verbal promise because He says, "Write, for these words are true and faithful."
The new creation is inevitable because it is the spoken Word of Jesus. He proved His power to create when He fashioned all things at the beginning of creation. As the Alpha and Omega, He is the first and the last word in all things. All authority is His. What He declares will be done.
In the original creation, a rever watered the Garden of Eden and divided into four other rivers (Genesis 2:10 - 14). The new creation will have a fountain that provides the water of life. All who thirst after God will be given the privilege of freely drinking from the water of life.
He who overcomes (i.e. overcomers) will inherit the new creation and all true Christians are overcomers. God is their God. They are His children and joint heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17).
The list of those who will not have a part in the new creation includes:
1. The cowardly - those who are too embarrassed, ashamed, or afraid to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.
2. The unbelieving - those who reject Jesus.
3. The abominable - those who defile themselves with abominable sins such as stealing, taking the mark of the Beast, taking drugs, and drunkenness.
4. Murderers - those who kill.
5. The sexually immoral - fornicators, adulterers, homosexuals, and rapists.
6. Sorcerers - astrologers, Satan worshipers and all forms of occultism.
7. Idolaters - those who worship anyone or anything other than God.
8. All liars - those who deceive the lost, falsely accuse Christians, falsely claim to be a Christian, or add to or take away from the Bible, etc.
They will be cast into the Lake of Fire.
The New Jerusalem, the Bride of the Lamb (Rev. 21:9 - 27)
The New Jerusalem is the Bride of Jesus Christ (Rev. 21:9 - 11)
"Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, 'Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife.' And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal" (Rev. 21:9 - 11).
The adornment of the Bride of Jesus Christ is the same as the adornment of the New Jerusalem. Therefore the appearance of the New Jerusalem is the same as our appearance spiritually. That is why the Bible calls the New Jerusalem the Bride of Jesus Christ.
The green color of the precious jasper stone stands for divinity and life, the spiritual green pasture that provides eternal life. Therefore the New Jerusalem is a place full of infinite divinity, inexhaustible satisfaction and endless life.
The twelve gates and twelve foundations (Rev. 21:12 - 14)
"Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb" (Rev. 21:12 - 14).
The Holy City (New Jerusalem) will be surrounded by a thick, high wall with twelve dates. An angel will be sitting on each gate. The name of each of the twelve tribes of Israel will be written on a gate.
However John did not explain the purpose of the wall. Does the New Jerusalem need security? No one knows the answer.
The Holy City will have twelve foundations. Each foundation will have the name of one of the twelve apostles of Jesus on it. This is significant because the Bible tells us that the Church is "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone" (Eph. 2:20). It also says Jesus "through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen" (Acts 1:2). With the help of the Holy Spirit, the apostles preached the gospel, won converts, organized congregations, wrote the Scriptures, selected elders, and taught their followers. They relinquished everything for Jesus and His Church, and were threatened, beaten, imprisoned, and killed. They earned the right to have their names inscribed on the foundations of the Holy City.
Measurements of the Holy City, its gates and its wall (Rev. 21:15 - 17)
"And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breath, and height are equal. Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel" (Rev. 21:15 - 17, emphasis added).
A measuring reed (stick) in John's days was approximate 10 feet long and the most common material used in heaven seems to be gold. The same angel who talked with John took a golden measuring stick to measure the city, its gates, and its wall.
The Holy City will be laid out like a square. Its length will be the same as its width, and its height will equal its length. It is in consistent in shape as the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle and the temple of God. The one in the Jerusalem Temple were cubes, so it seems that the shape if God's temporary residence among the Jews will be the shape of God's permanent residence among His people.
Notice that the Holy City will be enormous. Twelve thousand furlongs are 2,400 kilometers, or about 1,440 miles. So the length, the breath and the height of the New Jerusalem are about 1,440 miles. The architecture of heaven is obviously inscrutable, for by human design that kind of structure would be impossible.
The wall around the Holy City will be 144 cubit (216 feet) thick. It dows not matter whether one uses angel's measurements or man's measurement, the result will be the same. The thick wall will provide plenty of protection.
The construction material of the wall, the foundations and the gates (Rev. 21:18 - 21)
"The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each in dividual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass" (Rev. 21:18 - 21).
The wall will be made of a gem (jasper - opal, diamond, or topaz) that is beautiful, hard, and transparent. People will be able to see through it into the Holy City, and the light of God will beam out of the city. The city itself will be made of gold as pure as glass.
The twelve foundations of the wall are made of all kinds of precious stones, ant the twelve gates are twelve pearls; each gate is one big pearl.
There is a reason for the gates of the New Jerusalem being made of pearls. Pearls are produced from oysters. When sand creeps into the oyster's shell, it injures the body of the oyster. Therefore the oyster produces a secretion to cover the intruder, and in the process of time, a lustrous peal is formed.
Likewise the pearly gates of the New Jerusalem are made of pearls because the people who enter all possess faith like pearls. While they lived in the world, they were not discouraed by numerous trials that came their way. Rather, they overcame them through prayer. They endured the trials and tribulations by producing perseverance and faith.
The city's being made of pure gold means that all the people who enter it will have a divine nature, throwing away their human nature, and will live forever.
No temple, no sun, no moon and no night (Rev:22 - 27)
The New Jerusalem will not have a temple because God and Christ will be the Temple. Likewise, the Holy City will not need a sun or a moon because the Father and Son will be the light (Rev. 21:22 - 25).
Visitors will go to the Holy City to give glory and honor to the Lord. Only those with their names found in the Lamb's Book of Life will be permitted to enter (Rev. 21:26, 27).
Jesus is coming quickly (Rev. 22:1 - 20)
The second last Verse of the Book of Revelation (and of the Bible) says, "He who testifies to these things says, 'Surely I am coming quickly.' Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!"
John was in fear and disappointment after witnessing things that would happen to the Church during during the next two thousand years, and the things that would happen during the Great Tribulation following the rapture of the Church. But after he saw the glorious new heaven and new earth, he was overwhelmed with joy and looked forward to the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. He prayed, shouting with a loud voice, "Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!"
The person who has finished reading the Book of Revelation should also shout loudly, "Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!"
After revealing to John the church Age, the Great Tribulation period, and the Millennium, the Lord reveals one last time period that most Bible scholars called "eternity." God will create a new heaven and a new earth. And with these new creations, everything is made new.
Everything made new (Rev. 21:1)
"Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea" (Rev. 21:1).
Here John glimpsed a new heaven and an new earth, but they will be different from the original creation when God divided the waters to create seas and cause the dry land to appear (Genesis 1:9, 10). The new earth will not have sea in it.
However, I believe the word "sea" here can also have a different meaning. We sometimes call life the sea of trouble. The "sea" stands for bitterness and sorrow. But there is no pain of any kind in the new heaven and the new earth.
The New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:2 - 4)
"Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away'" (Rev. 21:2 - 4).
John also saw descending from heaven the New Jesusalem, the capital of the new heaven and the new earth.
Who will live in the New Jerusalem? The Church that is the Bride of Jesus Christ will enter it with her Bridegroom and live there forever. The Jews and those who are saved during the millennial kingdom will also live in the new heaven and new earth.
In the original creation, God put Adam in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:8), but in the new creation God will put His Church in a special city called the New Jerusalem. This will be a Holy City because it will come down out of heaven. This city is not the whole creation or the whole new earth. It is just one part or one city that will come down to the new earth. Just as Babylon was the capital of Babylonia, the New Jesusalwm will be the captial of the new heaven and new earth.
Revelation 19 revealed the wedding of the Lamb - the marriage of Jesus and His Church. Now invitations will be given to the marriage supper here on earth when Jesus comes back. The New Jerusalem will be the Bride's new home after the Millennium. It will be a real city with physical attributes, but it will also be like a bride that it will be pure and radiant.
In the original creation, God came down from heaven to walk and talk with Adem (Genesis 3:8, 9). In the wilderness, God dwelled in the Ark of the Covenant from which He talked to His people (Exodus 25:1 - 22). In the new creation, God will come down with His people.
In the original creation, death came upon Adam and he worked, and experienced sorrow and pain because he sinned. And because Eve sinned, she experienced sorrow and pain in childbirth (Genesis 2:16, 17; 3:17 - 19). But in the new creation situation will be entirely different. We who will enter the New Jerusalem will no longer experience death or even sorrow. In that place there will be nothing sad and no more pain, for the former things will pass away, and it will become a completely new world.
A Declaration of God (Rev. 21:5 - 8)
"Then He who sat on the throne said, 'Behold, I make all this new.' And He said to me, 'Write, for these words are true and faithful.' And He said to me, 'It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain water of life freely to him who thirst. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death'" (Rev. 21:5 - 8).
Following the Millennium, Jesus will not fix or repair this old creation. He will re-create everything. This is more than a verbal promise because He says, "Write, for these words are true and faithful."
The new creation is inevitable because it is the spoken Word of Jesus. He proved His power to create when He fashioned all things at the beginning of creation. As the Alpha and Omega, He is the first and the last word in all things. All authority is His. What He declares will be done.
In the original creation, a rever watered the Garden of Eden and divided into four other rivers (Genesis 2:10 - 14). The new creation will have a fountain that provides the water of life. All who thirst after God will be given the privilege of freely drinking from the water of life.
He who overcomes (i.e. overcomers) will inherit the new creation and all true Christians are overcomers. God is their God. They are His children and joint heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17).
The list of those who will not have a part in the new creation includes:
1. The cowardly - those who are too embarrassed, ashamed, or afraid to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.
2. The unbelieving - those who reject Jesus.
3. The abominable - those who defile themselves with abominable sins such as stealing, taking the mark of the Beast, taking drugs, and drunkenness.
4. Murderers - those who kill.
5. The sexually immoral - fornicators, adulterers, homosexuals, and rapists.
6. Sorcerers - astrologers, Satan worshipers and all forms of occultism.
7. Idolaters - those who worship anyone or anything other than God.
8. All liars - those who deceive the lost, falsely accuse Christians, falsely claim to be a Christian, or add to or take away from the Bible, etc.
They will be cast into the Lake of Fire.
The New Jerusalem, the Bride of the Lamb (Rev. 21:9 - 27)
The New Jerusalem is the Bride of Jesus Christ (Rev. 21:9 - 11)
"Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, 'Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife.' And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal" (Rev. 21:9 - 11).
The adornment of the Bride of Jesus Christ is the same as the adornment of the New Jerusalem. Therefore the appearance of the New Jerusalem is the same as our appearance spiritually. That is why the Bible calls the New Jerusalem the Bride of Jesus Christ.
The green color of the precious jasper stone stands for divinity and life, the spiritual green pasture that provides eternal life. Therefore the New Jerusalem is a place full of infinite divinity, inexhaustible satisfaction and endless life.
The twelve gates and twelve foundations (Rev. 21:12 - 14)
"Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb" (Rev. 21:12 - 14).
The Holy City (New Jerusalem) will be surrounded by a thick, high wall with twelve dates. An angel will be sitting on each gate. The name of each of the twelve tribes of Israel will be written on a gate.
However John did not explain the purpose of the wall. Does the New Jerusalem need security? No one knows the answer.
The Holy City will have twelve foundations. Each foundation will have the name of one of the twelve apostles of Jesus on it. This is significant because the Bible tells us that the Church is "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone" (Eph. 2:20). It also says Jesus "through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen" (Acts 1:2). With the help of the Holy Spirit, the apostles preached the gospel, won converts, organized congregations, wrote the Scriptures, selected elders, and taught their followers. They relinquished everything for Jesus and His Church, and were threatened, beaten, imprisoned, and killed. They earned the right to have their names inscribed on the foundations of the Holy City.
Measurements of the Holy City, its gates and its wall (Rev. 21:15 - 17)
"And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breath, and height are equal. Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel" (Rev. 21:15 - 17, emphasis added).
A measuring reed (stick) in John's days was approximate 10 feet long and the most common material used in heaven seems to be gold. The same angel who talked with John took a golden measuring stick to measure the city, its gates, and its wall.
The Holy City will be laid out like a square. Its length will be the same as its width, and its height will equal its length. It is in consistent in shape as the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle and the temple of God. The one in the Jerusalem Temple were cubes, so it seems that the shape if God's temporary residence among the Jews will be the shape of God's permanent residence among His people.
Notice that the Holy City will be enormous. Twelve thousand furlongs are 2,400 kilometers, or about 1,440 miles. So the length, the breath and the height of the New Jerusalem are about 1,440 miles. The architecture of heaven is obviously inscrutable, for by human design that kind of structure would be impossible.
The wall around the Holy City will be 144 cubit (216 feet) thick. It dows not matter whether one uses angel's measurements or man's measurement, the result will be the same. The thick wall will provide plenty of protection.
The construction material of the wall, the foundations and the gates (Rev. 21:18 - 21)
"The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each in dividual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass" (Rev. 21:18 - 21).
The wall will be made of a gem (jasper - opal, diamond, or topaz) that is beautiful, hard, and transparent. People will be able to see through it into the Holy City, and the light of God will beam out of the city. The city itself will be made of gold as pure as glass.
The twelve foundations of the wall are made of all kinds of precious stones, ant the twelve gates are twelve pearls; each gate is one big pearl.
There is a reason for the gates of the New Jerusalem being made of pearls. Pearls are produced from oysters. When sand creeps into the oyster's shell, it injures the body of the oyster. Therefore the oyster produces a secretion to cover the intruder, and in the process of time, a lustrous peal is formed.
Likewise the pearly gates of the New Jerusalem are made of pearls because the people who enter all possess faith like pearls. While they lived in the world, they were not discouraed by numerous trials that came their way. Rather, they overcame them through prayer. They endured the trials and tribulations by producing perseverance and faith.
The city's being made of pure gold means that all the people who enter it will have a divine nature, throwing away their human nature, and will live forever.
No temple, no sun, no moon and no night (Rev:22 - 27)
The New Jerusalem will not have a temple because God and Christ will be the Temple. Likewise, the Holy City will not need a sun or a moon because the Father and Son will be the light (Rev. 21:22 - 25).
Visitors will go to the Holy City to give glory and honor to the Lord. Only those with their names found in the Lamb's Book of Life will be permitted to enter (Rev. 21:26, 27).
Jesus is coming quickly (Rev. 22:1 - 20)
The second last Verse of the Book of Revelation (and of the Bible) says, "He who testifies to these things says, 'Surely I am coming quickly.' Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!"
John was in fear and disappointment after witnessing things that would happen to the Church during during the next two thousand years, and the things that would happen during the Great Tribulation following the rapture of the Church. But after he saw the glorious new heaven and new earth, he was overwhelmed with joy and looked forward to the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. He prayed, shouting with a loud voice, "Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!"
The person who has finished reading the Book of Revelation should also shout loudly, "Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!"
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