Guest Week: Brian Collier: 12/27/23

 

Isaiah 33:22 states, "For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us."

In the birth of Jesus, we see God's plan unfolding as He becomes all that we need for salvation. He has become our judge, demonstrating divine righteousness. As our lawgiver, Jesus embodies God's perfect law, revealing the way to salvation. Lastly, He is our king, ruling over our hearts and offering eternal salvation through His sacrificial love.

I love this country and am thankful our forefathers established three branches of government. Too often, however, believers are led astray by the lure and lie that our hope and faith should rest in those bodies. Or that trusting in one more victory at the ballot box will set things aright. This is a lie of Satan. He would have us believe that our hope should be placed in institutions, or inspiring leaders, or even hallowed documents like the Constitution. The Bible (and history) teaches us, however, that all those things can and will fail and falter. This verse reminds us that in a world shaped by human laws and systems, our ultimate judge, lawgiver, and king is God.

Just as God's plan of salvation unfolded in the birth of Jesus, we are called to share the redemptive message to a lost world. Our charge is to remind those around us that there is no salvation outside of Christ, there is no peace without His presence, there is no justice without His law, and there is no purpose or direction except through the Word. Let us each carry this message of the hope of Christ into this new year, and God bless you all in this Christmas season.

Making The Case: Humility

 

“For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” – Colossians 3:3

This week, Lord being our help, I hope to explore the value of humility as found in the world and the Word.  Making the case for humility.

When we think of humility, specifically humility before God, and how it is perceived by the world; it becomes clear that the virtue is not long sought after or heavily exalted.  Humility is against human nature.  Oftentimes those who are passive or introverted will be perceived as humble, and contra wise, those who are extroverted and assertive as proud.  However, just because you are quiet doesn’t mean you are humble.  Humility is a matter of the heart.  Humility is not the thing that will bring you worldly wealth, power, or prestige.  While appreciated at times, it is not in high demand among popular culture.  In the world, humility before God is questioned, mocked, and scoffed at.  “Why would you commit your life to something unseen?”  “Why would you serve something that you cannot even touch?”  “Why would you go to church to worship Santa Claus?  I mean, that is all that God is.”  The concept that we are less than something which is unseen is completely outside of our carnal understanding.  It’s a fairy tale.  Are we so blinded by our own arrogance that we cannot stop to see the value of belief?  What is so attractive about the seen that supersedes the unseen?  What assurance is there offered in riches, companionship, or praise of men?  Are not even our days here on earth fleeting and limited?  God will teach the humble this and allow us to understand that the only hope we have is hope in Christ!  The world cares for itself and not humility and therefore it cares not for Christ.  Truthfully, were we not the same?  “Such were some of you but ye are washed, ye are sanctified, ye are justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”  If you were to offer talent, power, intelligence, beauty, and humility before a carnal man and ask him to take his pick of one; odds are good, humility would not be his top pick.  Humility is despised by the world, but it is valuable to God.  This is only logical because that which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.  So, no wonder that what the world rejects, God accepts; no wonder we are called to be pilgrims here but citizens there.  Strangers in the temporal but known in the eternal.  Aliens in the natural but adopted in the spiritual.  Humility as in the Word of God is as much a necessity to the Christian life as breathing is in the natural life.  Humility bases our purpose and exalts His.  In this sense we are dead (to our own way), and our life is hidden with Christ in God. 

A Christian who is consistently laboring towards his own devices, while simultaneously trying to serve God, will be in constant strife.  We must humble ourselves before God and let Him have His way.  It is a matter of yielding, and the proud do not yield.  What makes humility so precious is not what we can gain by having it, but who we can glorify.  God, and God alone.  He is worthy, he is holy, and if you will let Him; he will humble the sinner, edify the saint, and revive the church.  

The Path: Death & Judgment

 “His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” – Matthew 25:21

The heart of a human being starts beating at five weeks.  It will beat at approximately 110 to 160 strokes per minute until a year after delivery.  Then it slows down to an average resting heart rate.  We know when the heart starts beating, but no one knows when it will stop.

Death is the beginning of eternity.  It is God’s providence which will decide when our time on earth is done.  When the final sun has set on our mortal life, we meet God at judgment.  There we will be judged according to the deeds done in the body, so says the scripture.  To the Christian, death is a promotion.  Jesus lived, so that we might live.  When you are sanctified by the Holy Ghost you live a life of spiritual victory here on earth.  A life free from sin and walking in fellowship with our heavenly Father.  Beyond that, you have the promise of life in heaven to come.  Eternal life in heaven with your Savior Jesus Christ.  Heaven is a place where God reigns, where there is no night, nor sorrow or pain.  It is a place of magnificence and splendor.  The person who “lays up his treasures here on earth” will reap only the grandeur of this world.  This brief, material world, cannot compare to the glory of heaven.  Those who lay up treasures in heaven, by doing the will of God, will reap spiritual blessings here and life eternal in the heaven to come.  Here we are ambassadors for Christ.  When you are an ambassador in a foreign land, it is not your goal to set up permanent residence there.  To buy up acres of land.  Build gigantic houses.  Create monuments for yourself and integrate into the culture.  You are not a citizen; you are an ambassador.  You are only supposed to be there for a little while.  We are meant to be an ambassador here in this world and a citizen of heaven to come.  Sanctification is your passport back to your homeland, death is the passage, and Jesus is the one who comes to bring you home.  Christ returns to call your name, marking the end of this world, and the beginning of the one to come.  Just as Christ’s coming into your heart to sanctify you was a personal manifestation, so Christ’s coming to call you is a personal conclusion.  The end of this life, and to the sanctified believer, the glorious welcome of “well done” by Jesus Christ himself.  Therefore, the goal, the mission, the desire of our entire being should be to hear “well done.”  This is the end of the path of the sanctified.  Of the Christian.  The sinner awaits the same call from this earth, but a different passage.  God is a just God.  The judgment of God is sure, clear, and absolute.  The punishment of living and staying in sin is hell eternal.  There is no backdoor in hell, no escape route, no second chance.  The judgment is swift and final.  So, in the end, it won’t matter how big our house is, or how fast our car goes.  Your bank account or social status will not count for anything.  When the heart stops, what’s done is done, and all that will matter is “well done.”  All that will matter is that you have Christ living in you, and that you are living for Christ. 

Are you ready for Christ’s coming?  Are you ready for death and judgment?  Are you sanctified?  Did you love Christ enough to renounce your ways each day and follow His?  Do you love God and love your neighbor?  Do you walk in the path of His Holy Word?  To this world, these things count for very little, but at death and judgment, they will count for everything.    

The Path_Grow In Love

“As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.” –John 15:9

Sanctification.  The indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  The born-again experience, whereby we are brought out of the darkness of sin and called into the light of holiness.  Delivered from all sin and walking in the newness of life.  This is made possible because of Jesus; because he lived, died, resurrected, and ascended back to heaven.  As was mentioned last week, the sanctified life is just that, life.  It is a life in Christ, with Christ, and through Christ. 

It is a life in Christ.  That means you are in fellowship with Him, unified with Jesus.  You declare and manifest Jesus as the Lord of your life.  It's Christ in you.  Christ has filled you with his Spirit.  Each day he is guiding you, directing you, correcting you, and leading you.  This sanctified life is life through Christ.  Jesus gives us power through the Holy Ghost.  It is by his grace that we are saved, and by His grace that we are kept.  The same power that created the universe lives in you to keep you free from sin.  The Holy Ghost will lead you on the path of righteousness each day. Jesus leads, you follow and live.  This is the life of a true disciple of Christ.  This relationship, much like a godly marriage, will not continue without continued commitment.  Christ has given all, you/we must do the same.  Every day.  With such a commitment comes the necessary avenues of grace to cultivate a deeper union.  Firstly, by praying to God.  The Christian who is often praying will stay in the will of God.  A sinful man will not pray.  A selfish man will not pray.  A self-centered man will not pray.  A carnal man will not pray.  Pray is both a privilege and a proving ground.  It is among the disciplines of faith set forth by God to bring us along in relationship with Himself, and with His Son Jesus.  Coupled with prayer is the habitual study of scripture.  If prayer is water to our spiritual man, the Bible is bread.  It is a fundamental nourishment that we need to grow.  The Apostle Peter called it milk, writing: “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:” We must pray, we must read the Bible, but also, we must make every effort to fellowship with other like-minded believers.  God’s church is not a building, but a body.  A body of believers that are determined to make it to heaven and disciple others to do the same.  Walking in the light of God is not a walk that we have to walk alone.  These are means that God has designed which will keep us in fellowship with the Holy Spirit.  If we commit to them the Holy Spirit will guide us, and we follow in faith.  As we follow, our faith grows.  As we grow, we bear fruit unto holiness.  This is abiding in the vine.  In the same chapter (John fifteen), Christ likened this relationship to a vine and branch.  The branch cannot bear fruit unless it is connected to the vine.  Jesus is the vine, and we are the branch.  When we abide in Jesus, as it says in the book of Galatians, we bear the fruit of “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”  These will naturally occur in your heart and therefore they will be in your life.  Your children will see it, your spouse will know it, and the world around you will wonder; what has happened to this man (or woman)?  Tell them!  You are sanctified!  This is growing in grace.  Not sinning and repenting.  Not living in condemnation and failure.  Not tormented by sin.  No!  Delivered!  Redeemed!  The sanctified life is a life of victory and deliverance!  A life of walking in perfect love towards God and man, guided by the welcomed instruction of the Holy Ghost. 

Some time ago I came across a married couple.  The husband was near death, and had to be cared for, but his wife was still very able. She sold everything to go live in a nursing home with him.  Sold their house, cars, most of their clothes.  All their worldly possessions could fit in a suitcase.  Yet, with all this gone they were some of the richest people I had ever met.  Over sixty years had gone by.  Sixty years of good times and bad.  Laughter and heartache.  Prosperity and poverty.  Yet through it all their love was only growing and growing, while their commitment remained steadfast.  This is a sanctified life. This is a life with Jesus Christ. A life of perfect love.  Continue, and grow, in that love. 

The Path_Sanctification Part Two

“That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” –John 17:21

God wanted fellowship with man from the beginning.  He did not reject us, we rejected him.  When Adam and Eve were placed in the garden, they were in perfect fellowship with God the Father.  However, once they sinned by eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil that sin separated them from God.  God through Jesus brought redemption for us, redemption back to that perfect fellowship.

Sanctification is being born again by the Holy Spirit.  It is being separated for God’s Holy purpose.  It is the coming of Jesus Christ by the Holy Ghost into your heart.  It is salvation from all sin.  It is full redemption.  Any man or woman who is sanctified is brought back into perfect fellowship with God; and God desires this for every one of us.  The scripture says that: “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:” Once you have sought and obtained forgiveness for the sins you committed, then you can be sanctified by the Holy Ghost, which will bring you back into fellowship with Jesus Christ.  This unity bears a strong likeness to the unity of a man and wife.  When a woman marries a man, she is first prepared for the ceremony by putting on a white dress.  You are prepared for Christ at repentance.  Your committed sins have been forgiven and you stand before God and Christ ready to be married.  After the bride is prepared, she then comes to the altar to meet the waiting groom.  As the bride reaches the groom the “vows” begin.  The woman promised herself to the man, and the man to the woman.  They then become one flesh.  This means that a union is formed, and the woman takes the name of the man.  She is accepted into the man, just as we are accepted into Christ.  Your name is changed, you are adopted into His holiness.  To be sanctified, first you must be prepared.  Then you must approach the altar and vow yourself to Christ.  You must forsake sin.  You must promise to be faithful to Christ.  You must promise to be obedient to Christ.  You commit everything to Christ, a total surrendering of yourself.  There can be no secret sins.  No other idols.  No other love in your life.  This is a marriage. It is all you are, for as long as you live.  You are committed to Jesus Christ.  When the vow is made with all your heart, the Holy Ghost will come into your heart and pronounce you wed to Christ.  He will sanctify your heart to Christ and Christ alone so you can say: “I am thine, wholly thine, prone to wander never.  Sanctified by power divine all the Lord’s forever.”   We are sanctified by grace through faith with obedience.  When you obey God and commit your all to him, you must then in faith ask for the gift of the Holy Ghost to come in and sanctify you.  He will do it, and you will be brought back into full fellowship with the Father.  You will be one with Jesus Christ.  This is sanctification, and it is not the end, it is only the beginning.  The wedding is not the marriage.  It is the beginning of marriage. There is a life to live, a marriage with Christ to enjoy.  The relationship has just begun.  There is learning, growing, leaning, and yielding to be done; then some more yielding, growing, leaning, and learning. 

The sanctified life is just that, life!  A new life, in Christ, with Christ, and for Christ.  Whereas death once held for us eternal damnation, it is now a welcomed release from this world, and the very thing that will usher in the world to come.  Which is a home in heaven.    

 

The Path_Sanctification

 

“And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they might also be sanctified through the truth.” – John 17:19

What makes something sacred?  What makes it holy, separate, and sanctified?  Are you holy because a man dips you in water?  Are you sanctified because a priest tells you so?  Is it because you went to church, or paid a certain amount of money?  Where does holiness come from?  What is sanctification and how are we sanctified?

Sanctification is the act of making holy, whereby we are set apart for God’s holy purpose.  When you are born into this world you are born in sin.  You have the nature to sin, and soon you commit sins.  When the Holy Spirit convicts you of sin, it shows you that you are guilty before God, and doomed to hell.  Furthermore, the conviction of the Holy Spirit calls you to repentance and conversion.  This means you turn from your sin and seek to serve Jesus Christ.  However, while this cleanses you from sins committed, it does not keep you from sin.  Though a clean vessel you may be, you are not a filled vessel.  A vessel filled with God’s Spirit and fit for His purpose has no room for sin.  The is why we must be sanctified.  Sanctification was illustrated to us in the Old Testament in a physical way.  God had certain vessels that were separated for His purpose.  He also separated certain people to handle them.  Like a curator at a museum is trained to handle the precious artifacts therein.  The pots, candlesticks, dishes, and so forth were overlaid with gold and set apart for service.  These vessels were only to be used as God said they should be used.  They were sanctified vessels, and because they were sanctified, they were holy.  God made them holy.  God wants us to be sanctified vessels.  He wants us to be set apart for His purpose, and for His service.  When you are living a sinful life, you are living a selfish life.  A life contrary to God.  An unholy, unsanctified life.  Living according to your purpose.  The sanctified life frees us from sin and separates us to serve and follow God’s purpose.

Jesus said in John chapter three: “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  He went on to say: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” We must be born of the Spirit.  The Holy Spirit.  This is the only way we can be sanctified.  This is the only way to be truly free from sin.  The Holy Spirit sanctifies us and gives us the power to live every day in the will of the Father.  The power to keep from committing sin.  The power to love God above all else.  The power to keep Jesus’s commandments.  The power to love our neighbor as ourself.  Jesus died so that we might be sanctified.  When he said: “I sanctify myself.”  He was talking about his death on the cross.  He rose from the grave so that we might rise from the grave.  The grave of sin that holds us dead and bound in trespasses and sins.  Jesus went back to heaven so that he might send the Holy Ghost.  He sent the Holy Ghost to sanctify us and give us the power to live holy.  Uniting us with God to live in fellowship with God and his Son Jesus. 

Holiness is God’s character.  It is who he is.  We are not holy because we work at it or bribe our way into it, or gradually work at it for years and years.  We are holy because God makes us holy.  We commit ourselves to God and believe on Jesus Christ; asking the Holy Spirit to come into our hearts by faith.  That act of faith is met with an instantons action on Christ’s behalf.  The action of sending the Holy Spirit into our hearts.  When the Holy Spirits come, it sanctifies us and makes us holy.  It brings a change in us, from darkness to light.  From selfishness to selflessness.  From sinfulness to righteousness.  From worldliness to godliness.  It causes us to be set apart for God’s purpose.  To be sanctified.

 

The Path_Conversion

 “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.”-Acts 3:19

When you are under conviction, you realize that you are nothing more than an unworthy sinner in desperate need of a Savior.  That you are lost in a wilderness of sin, wandering around doomed to destruction.  The grace of God reveals this to us so that we might come to repentance, and through repentance we might be converted.

Conversion.  To convert, meaning change.  Convert from bad to good.  From sin to righteousness.  From disbelief to believing.  Every sinner must first be converted if they want to be saved, because sin is an offense to God.  The sinner is condemned before God, like the murder is condemned before the judge.  It is not enough for the murderer to plead guilty.  A guilty plea doesn’t serve justice. Justice must still be served.  To the murder comes the death penalty.  As a sinner, you are under the penalty of death.  Pleading guilty is not enough to absolve you of your crime, because justice must be served. What can be done?  How can justice be served?  The prophet Micah writes: “Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” What can we do to be just before God?  Repent.  We cannot work enough or give enough money.  Do enough “good deed”.  Salvation begins with repentance.  Jesus came to bear the justice of God for us, in so doing, justify those that believe in Jesus.  Our plea is not only: “I am guilty.”  Our plea is “I am guilty, but I believe.”  “I believe Jesus died, and he died for me.”  If you believe, you will seek Christ.  You will turn from sin and by faith believe that Jesus has the power to forgive, cleanse, and sanctify you wholly.  This is repentance. Repentance is a deep feeling of guilt, sorrow, and anguish that is accompanied by a complete turning away from sin.  It is more than just feeling guilty and asking for forgiveness.  It is confessing and abandoning sin.  It is the desire, resolve, and subsequent action of turning away from sin to wholly follow Jesus.  We must repent because we cannot continue serving sin and ever hope to serve God.  We must repent because it is the only way to be forgiven, to be cleansed, to be converted, and to be sanctified.     

Why does a bride put on a wedding garment?  Why the white dress?  It is a symbol.  It is to show that she is pure, clean, and betrothed.  Promised.  She promised herself to the groom and the groom alone.  This is repentance.  This is conversion.  We turn for the life of whoredom, and we are dressed in a garment of white.  Promising ourselves to the groom.  To Jesus Christ.  Ready to be received by Him.  What grace!  What love!  That Christ would reach so far so that we might be redeemed! 

The Path_Conviction

“Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.  And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:”-John 16:7-8

If you are around children very much, you can count on them to do at least one thing: disobey.  Like children, mankind is often disobedient to God, and prone to commit sin.  When children disobey their parents and make bad choices it grieves the heart of the parents.  When we disobey God, it grieves Him.  Parents, good parents, are disappointed when their children disobey, and they find a way to let the child know this.  God has his own way of letting us know, and it is with conviction.

Your conversion from sinner to saint begins with conviction.  Conviction is a realization that you have defied God and that you stand condemned before Him.  This realization (while not pleasant) is God’s grace working in your life.  It is there to help you realize that you are a sinner, you are disappointing God, you are lost, and you are condemned to hell.  Conviction is the work of the Holy Spirit seeking you out to bring you back home.  You see, being lost is bad, but being lost and not knowing you are lost is far worse.  Conviction is God calling you to leave your sin and turn to righteousness.  We all do or have done terrible things, even when we know they are wrong.  We lie, steal, cheat, and harm others.  We lose control and say terrible things.  We fall into addiction, lust, or greed.  These sinful things take you away from God, and deeper into sinfulness.  They do not go unnoticed by God, and the grace of God, and love of Christ, reaches down to bring you back to God.  He does this through the work of the Holy Spirit.  Consider that a man may go all his life, and only know poverty.  He has never known what it is to eat until you are full, and have food left over.  He has never had the ability to change the temperature of the water from cold to hot, with just a turn of the nob.  Never felt the touch of a silk suit tailored to fit.  This man has no concept of what wealth is because he has never known it.  Likewise, a sinner can live in this life and only know the beggarly elements of his sin.  Living with no concept of the wealth of God.  Wealth that is far more precious than food, water, and clothing.  It is the wealth of peace, contentment, righteousness, love, holiness, and best of all, eternity in Heaven.  You cannot see this looking at yourself.  You cannot truly understand this looking at your neighbor.  So, because of Christ, and through the Spirit of God, he shows you who you are in comparison with the righteousness of His Son.  He shows you the holiness of Christ, and when you see yourself in comparison with Jesus, conviction follows.  You are made aware that you are a lost, hell bound sinner who is in need of a Savior.  This is why it is vital for the church to preach and live the truth of the gospel; or we will only hope to present poverty. 

The Gospel of John chapter three, verse nineteen and twenty says: “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.”  When you are a sinner, it is like walking the edge of a cliff in the pitch-black darkness.  The next step could be your last.  The Spirit, the light, shows you your condition.  It is not seen with the eye, but with the heart.  A keen understanding of how wrong, and depraved you really are.  How lost you really are.  This is conviction, and it leads to repentance.

The Path_Committed Sin

“He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” -1 John 3:8

            Last week was about carnal sin.  The inherited nature to commit sins against a holy God.  This week, we will discuss committed sin.  Which stems from carnal sin.  Carnal sin is the root of the plant, committed sin is the stem. 

            If you were to walk outside and cut down a tree, for a short time there would be one less tree in the forest.  However, it will not stay that way.  The tree will grow back.  It will grow back because the roots remain.  Sin is made up of two parts, carnal sin, and committed sin.  Carnal is the root, committed sin is the stalk.  Committed sin is a willful transgression against a personally known law of God.  In short, you know it’s wrong and you choose to do it anyway.  The Bible says: “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.” (Heb 10:26-27) You might wear a coat to a friend’s house or restaurant.  Upon entering you take off your coat and place it by the door.  Another person comes in behind you wearing a similar coat and does the same.  In leaving you grab their coat by mistake and walk out.  Did you steal?  Yes, but did you sin?  No.  Why not?  Because you did it in ignorance.  It was not a willful choice; you made a mistake.  God who knows all things knows the difference between the willing act of sinning against Him, and a mistake.  Now, take the same situation, perhaps you see the person place a large sum of money in that jacket, and you realize the jacket looks like yours.  You decide that there is an opportunity to take it and the money without anyone noticing.  Upon leaving you do just that.  Did you steal?  Yes.  Did you sin?  Yes.  You coveted and stole.  Mankind is a slave to sin.  We lust and have sex before marriage.  We hate, and murder.  We are prideful and lie.  If a person commits sin, it is because they are of their father the devil.  When they commit sin, they bear his likeness.  He was the one that sinned from the beginning and tempted the first people to sin.  When a person commits sin, they are doing as the devil does, and would have everyone do, because the outcome of sin is separation.  Separation from God, from our fellow man, from true peace, and a home in heaven.  We cannot be in fellowship with God when we sin.  We cannot be in fellowship with our fellow man when we sin against them; and we cannot be at peace with ourselves.  Sin, and sinfulness is the enemy of holiness.  Holiness is the nature of God, and the nature that God wants mankind to be holy.  He wanted us to be holy and be in fellowship with him from the beginning.  When we stay in sin, committing sinful acts, we are in corruption of that true intention that God has for us; and we are bearing corrupt fruit.  Jesus said that a “corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit.”  If the carnal nature, that is carnal sin, is in your heart, it bears the fruit of committed sins.  If you are bearing the fruit of committed sin, then you are living contrary to a good, holy, righteous God.  Therefore, we are separated from God while on this earth.  What’s worse is when you die, you are to be judged by a righteous God and condemned to hell.  His judgment is righteous because you are choosing to stay in your sin.  Sinners will go to hell forever to stay in torment.  The devil’s deceitful act is to blind us to this and trick us into loving our sin.  The very same sin that separates us from God and dooms us to hell forever.

            Are you a sinner?  Are you committing sinful acts against a holy God?  Do not justify yourself or seek to comfort yourself.  Do not follow the false teachers into thinking that Jesus’s blood is only to cover you.  Or that you will not be held accountable for your actions against God.  Humble yourselves in the sight of God.  Pray to Christ as your Savior!  He is the Savior from all sin!  Jesus will make himself apparent in your heart and destroy the works of the devil.  

The Path: Carnal Sin

 

“For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.” –Romans 7:14

The Bible is like a map, it shows us a clear path to heaven. It tells us the path we must follow as travelers to eternity. What we experience in life will be different for each of us, but the path to heaven remains the same. Jesus said: “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”  Instead of wandering through life, a slave to sin; go to the Word of God. Find out where you stand before God, and where you are on the path. Then follow God’s guidebook, his map, all the way to heaven.

Every person that is born into this world is born with sin within them. If a tree branch is bent, it will grow in the direction it was thus shaped. In the same way, mankind is bent to sin. Like a newborn baby desires milk, sinful desires are part of being a human being.  It is in our nature at birth. We are born with the desire to do wicked things. To serve our own lust and passions. It can be hard to see in little babies, but it does not take long until they grow up and begin to lie, cheat, and steal to get what they want.  This natural desire the Bible calls carnal. It exists within a person, and it identifies with the works of the devil. Like a seed, sown in the ground that yields fruit after a time.  This carnal sin within your heart if left alone will grow up into many sins.  It will grow into hatefulness, greed, pride, and many other wicked things.  While the fruits of this seed of carnal sin within may not always be seen, you can be sure that the seed will produce all these unholy things and much more.  War, murder, slavery; atrocities that cause this world to be almost unbearable.  It all flows from this awful carnal sin.  It can destroy your life, the lives of those around you, and it will destroy your soul.  This is the lost condition that every man is born into.  If the world completely understood what this monster known as carnal sin was capable of, there would never again be another church empty.  Yet, Satan has “blinded the minds of them that believe not.”  What a blow it would be to Satan’s kingdom if everyone could come to see and understand what carnal sin is and what it causes.  This is the beginning of each person’s path.  The initial step on the trail of life.  We find ourselves separated from God.  Lost, and in need of a Savior.  How did we get in this condition, why are we lost?  We find the answer in the book of Genesis.  Adam, the first man, was placed in the Garden of Eden to live in perfect fellowship with God.  Satan entered in and deceived the woman, who deceived the man, and the first man Adam disobeyed God.  He was then cast out of this perfect relationship with God.  They were not only cast out in body, but in spirit as well.  While the body lived on, the holiness, righteousness, and perfect fellowship with God died within.  They were separated from the God.  Like when you are in the same room with someone and cannot speak the same language.  The fellowship only goes so far.  Where righteousness once existed within them, now only sin is there.

This is why we need Jesus.  He is our redemption.  He is our resurrection.  He brings us out of carnal sin, and back into righteousness.  Through Jesus we can be in fellowship with God again.

 

Have You Received The Holy Ghost?

“He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.”-Acts 19:2

Perhaps you are like the believers in the Bible that say: “we have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost?” Many people have not heard of the Holy Ghost.  Many have not received the Holy Ghost.  Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed? 

The Holy Ghost.  The representative of God the Father, and Jesus the Son of God.  Jesus said: “the Comforter which is the Holy Ghost whom I will send in my name.”  The Holy Ghost comes because Jesus sends Him.  The Holy Ghost is directed by God, and by Jesus Christ.  The Holy Ghost is not like any other “ghost” or “spirit”.  It is not a rogue agent, seeking to possess without permission.  The Holy Ghost is the character and goodness of the God who created Him, and the Christ who sends Him.  It is this Holy Ghost that makes a person holy, righteous, and godly.  It is the Holy Ghost that helps teach us to be like Jesus.  It is the Holy Ghost that gives us power to live holy, and defeat Satan and his demons.  Without the Holy Ghost there is no holiness.  Without the Holy Ghost there is no life.  The one baptism that we must be baptized with, is the baptism of the Holy Ghost.  The Holy Ghost is very much like the air we breathe.  The air flows and moves without being seen with your natural eyes.  Yet we can see the effects of it.  The dancing of a leaf on a tree.  The swirling of the dust on the ground.  The air surrounds us, and it fills us.  It fills our lungs with oxygen, giving life to the blood that flows through our veins.  Without it, we suffocate and die.  With it we breathe and live.  The Bible tells us that when God created the first man, he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul.  When you are filled with the Holy Ghost, the life of Christ is breathed into your soul, and you become alive.  You might ask: am I not already alive?  In the natural sense, yes.  You have air in your lungs, blood in your veins, and a beating heart.  You are living.  However, when you are burdened with sin, and living in wickedness.  Hating yourself, and your neighbor.  A slave to passions of drink, lust, theft, sex, and many such things.  Though you are walking around, you are not alive.  You are dead in trespass and sin, so says the Word of God.  You are without the true life, everlasting life.  The true life that can make you thankful when you have nothing.  That can make you content when you are in distress.  That can make you love your enemies, bless them that curse, and pray for them which despitefully use you and curse you.  The true life that can make you an honest man, a loyal husband, and loving father to your children.  That can make you a holy man of God. The life within your soul that lets you know that you are born anew and walking the holy way to heaven.

This is part of what the Holy Ghost is and what the Holy Ghost does.  Like the air, or the wind, it is what it does.  The impact on the outside is evidence of the presence on the inside.  Just like when you walk outside and feel the wind on your face, it brings you into connection with all life on earth.  Life that feels the same wind you feel, and breathes the same air you breathe.  So, when the Holy Ghost comes inside your soul you can feel it.  It brings you into connection with Almighty God.  This is the character of the Holy Ghost.  The Holy Ghost is life.  This kind of life can come to you if you believe in Jesus and turn from your sin.  Then determine to serve Jesus and ask the Holy Spirit to fill your heart and soul.  The Holy Ghost will come and give you everlasting life from God.  

On Holiness

 

“But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.” – Romans 6:22

 

Holy means dedicated to the service of God.  As the spade and sickle are dedicated for farming.  The pot for water.  Beads for bracelets.  Mankind is created for one purpose.  Holiness.    

 God wants us to live a holy life.  His command to do so if found all through the Word of God.  In the beginning, we were created in God’s image and given fellowship with Him.  We were holy because he created us that way.  When the first man and women sinned, and we lost that holy condition.  From that point on God sought to bring it back to us.  Sin separates us from God, but holiness reunites us.  The redemption is available through the blood of Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ brought access to holiness back to mankind.  Like a bridge to cross a river, Jesus is the bridge to cross from the banks of sin to the banks of holiness. Holiness does not go to church a certain number of times.  Or giving a certain amount of money.  Holiness is about the heart.  It is a baptism of the Spirit.  When you are submersed in water you take on the character of that water.  You change from dry to wet.  So, it is when you are baptized with the Holy Spirit.  You take on the character of the Holy Spirit.  Which is holiness.  The tongue that would cruse God, will bless him.  The heart that would hate your neighbor now loves him.  You reach for a Bible instead of a bottle of liquor.  You desire to live for God, instead of living for yourself.  The reality of holiness is that holiness is a reality.  How can we be holy?  It is not by good works, or knowledge, or family stature.  We are not made holy and kept holy because who we are, but because of who Jesus Christ is.  We are made free from sin, by the works of Jesus Christ, and His sacrifice on the cross. 

When you believe in Jesus you can be made free from sin, and you can become a servant to God, instead of a servant to the devil.  The devil writes a poor paycheck.  God gives liberally.  The blessing of holiness is the highest calling of man, and nothing glorifies God more than a life of holiness.  There is no greater joy than to walk in truth.  Do you believe this?  If you have faith, you can have holiness.      

The Profit Of The Earth

“Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field.” -Ecclesiastes 5:9

Many people in America today are removed from farming, and thereby condition to think that the product just arrives on the shelf.  This of course is not true. It had to be grown somewhere, at some point.  It all comes from the earth.  We all depend on the Earth’s production for sustenance, and God is its creator; therefore, everything we have comes from God.  Regardless of race, creed, economic status, or location; we all are tied to the profit of the earth. 

We depend on the profit of the earth, and this profit is for all.  The poor can partake as well as the rich. The wheat that makes the bread which is served in the White House is grown in the same ground as the wheat that makes bread served in prisons.  We are all universally dependent. God designed it that way. In one part, I believe, so that we can sustain ourselves should our own devices of comfort fail us (i.e., if grocery stores cease to exist, we can still grow our own food).  Also, as a teaching agent; a universal principle to remind all creation that we are indeed dependent on Him, and “not sufficient of ourselves to think anything of ourselves.” Creation is a testimony to the goodness of God, and an example of the identity of God.  He loved us, and he built for us a beautiful world to live in. A world that is good. It amazes me that as much as we pollute the sea, the sea continues to provide. As much as we strip the land, the land still provides. Furthermore, all of our “somethings” come from somewhere.  When you think about it, can anyone in human history claim genuine invention?  You would not have Edison’s light bulb without sand. You would not have Henry Ford’s car without steel.  You cannot have groceries delivered to your door through Amazon if there is no electricity, cars, personal computers, or food.  Everything we have, everything we know, comes from God.  The highest estate of man is ultimately dependent upon the creation of God.  A creation that was spoken into existence in six days’ time. A creation that we still don’t fully understand. All of this, freely given to us, along with and for our temporal existence. And this is all just temporary. A habitation for our natural bodies, and a proving ground for our spiritual bodies.

 If God, freely gave so much for something that is so limited.  How much more is waiting for us in heaven? How much greater is a reception in his own kingdom? How much grandeur the life to come? Furthermore, if God designed this earth to provide for all; does it not follow that he would do the same for his glorious plan of salvation? A salvation that he gave His Son for.  Christ said, “whosoever will let him come and take of the water of life freely.”  The profit of the earth is for all. The cool mountain stream will quench the thirst of any man that comes to drink; how much more the Son of God will quench the thirst of the sin parched heart?  Jesus will fill those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.  If the profit of the earth is for all, then surely salvation through sanctification is for all.  Jesus died so that we could be saved, saved from all sin, both sins committed and the cause that drives us to commit them.  God created this earth for all, he gave His own Son as salvation for all; all we must do is meet the condition.

Guest Week: Going Through With God by Adam Spencer

 

Going Through With God

 

“David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee” (1 Samuel 17:37)

 

The definition of Deliverance is “Rescue from danger or any evil”. It appears so many people in the world and many Christians, fall into a mindset of thinking that Deliverance is to be entirely withdrawn from a situation and to not have to face it at all. But I have found through examples in the scripture and in my own life that that’s not the case. A life serving God is by no means a life free from problems and trials. Faithful men and women deal with issues of life every day. But it is so necessary to realize that your physical situation in life does not have to affect your Spiritual health or your relationship with God. “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7) We are given a peace through God that the world is unable to provide, even through seemingly unbearable situations.

            In the days of Moses, God sent plagues on the people of Egypt, and throughout the first 9 plagues, a line was drawn separating the Children of Israel and the Egyptians to protect God’s people. But when the final Passover plague came to Egypt, there was no line drawn or a place that the Children of Israel could hide, but a sacrifice was required of them, and God made for them a way of escape. Likewise in the days of Daniel, when he was forced by a decree of King Darius to be cast into the den of Lions, God did not send an angel down to pull him out of the den, but he shut the mouths of the lions and Daniel came out unharmed.

            These scriptural examples have been left on record to show us that Deliverance doesn’t always look or feel the same. It can be littered with pain and hardship throughout, but the most encouraging part of it all is that through these times of trial, God builds his people up. If we can cast all our care on him in the most trying times of life, he has promised that he will not only take us through but will use these times to strengthen and teach us to be better servants for him. It’s just been an encouragement to me to know that I serve a God that is with me on the highest mountain, and in the lowest valley, and he’ll do the same for each person that is serving him too.

            “I will lift up my eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord which made heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121:1-2)

Whosoever Will

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.  And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” -  1 Corinthians 6: 9-11

The Lord God is a God of hope, justification, restoration, and sanctification.  God does not choose the way the world choses.  The world does not accept, or embrace what we could be, but rather what we are.  It loves those who by reason of strength, charm, or good fortune, have exalted themselves above the rest.  God through Christ reaches out in a far different way; he calls out “whosoever will.”

If a man walked into a job interview, drenched with the stench of alcohol, and clothed in tattered clothing; do you think he would get the job?  How many colleges do you imagine would admit an applicant that was illiterate?  Would a professional sports team draft a blind man?  Imagine with me for a moment, if a radical known the world over for hunting and killing Christians walked into your church Sunday morning.  What if he strolled right up to the pulpit, opened the Bible and began to read Matthew 7: 7 -8?  What would you do?  Would you believe him?  Would you be terrified of him?  Can it happen?   It has already happened, the very scripture at the top of this page was penned by a man such as this.  A man that vehemently persecuted the church, and imprisoned followers of the gospel.  A man that made it his life’s work to destroy Christianity.  Then one day Jesus stopped him in his tracks and changed his life forever.  How thankful we ought to be that God sees through a lens that is totally different from the world.  If God can take a man such as Paul, a man that killed Christians; if he can sanctify this man, if he can make a: preacher, teacher, minister, apostle, out of this man.  What can he do for you in your life?  He does not see us as the world does.  He doesn’t see us for what we are, but what we could be.  Though we see a filthy, ruined, broken life.  He sees a white, clean, complete, testimony.  Though we are sin enslaved prisoners.  He sees liberated ambassadors.  A child of the king, an heir to salvation, and a preacher of the ministry of reconciliation. A person that can proclaim to all who will hear “he did it for me and he can do it for you!”  Simply put, Jesus can change your life, if you give it to him.  As the old hymn goes “give up, and let Jesus take over.”

The gospel is for whosoever will, not for whosoever is qualified.  You don’t get your life in order and then come to Christ.  You must come to Christ and give your all to Him.  Past, present, and future.  As rose among thorns, God can make something beautiful blossom from a sharp, barren, and harsh vine.  If you give your all to Him.

How Goodly Are Thy Tents!

 

“How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel!”-Numbers 24:5

Balaam the seer, found in the Numbers twenty-two through twenty-four is a unusual man of God.  If nothing else, he is another example of how God uses fallible men to accomplish His infallible purpose. 

Balaam’s words of blessing and fortune must have been know of men, because he was highly sought after by King Balak of Moab.  When the nation of Israel came and encamped against him, he propositioned Balaam to come and curse the people of Israel.  Curse the people of God.  Three times Balaam sought the Lord, and three times the Lord responded.  Balaam summing up the Lord’s commandments quite well in saying “how can I curse whom God hath not cursed.”  The story is full of lessons, but what struck me this week is that the words from Balaam the third and final time he heard from God.  Balak wanted Balaam to see the people of Isarel, so he took him up on a mount where Balaam could get a good view of their camp.  I guess to make certain that he knew who and what he was to curse.  Yet Balaam in a vision of God saw them and much more.  He responded with “How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles O Israel!” How significate, sizable, attractive, and excellent; are the tents and tabernacles of Israel!  Through the vison of God, looking on at the Israelites he saw the power of God, the order, might, and vast expanse of the Lord.  Not only who they are but who they would be.  He saw the star of Jacob and the Scepter of Israel.  The promise of Abraham.  He saw the tabernacle of worship, the altar, the court, the priest, and their sacrifices.  He saw the plan of salvation.  He saw Christ. 

It has been said that the way God instructed the people of Israel to camp, from above forms the shape of a cross.  From the mount, he would have seen such a layout, and seen the magnificent vision of Christ.  It could be so, but certainly whatever he saw, he saw the purpose of it and resolved as we should by testifying: “Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!”

Ambition

“Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me.” –Psalms 131:1

Ambition is a funny thing, like water, too much or too little can be harmful.   When we become complacent and slothful, it is detrimental to us and those around us.  If we look to achieve that which is not in the will of God; or meddle in matters where we are not meant to be, this too can be damaging.  Is there such a thing as too much ambition?  As Christians, can we have error in our ambition? Is there something wrong in wanting to achieve?  What hurt could come from wanting more?

Through inspired words, the beautiful book of Psalms delineates the scope of human emotion.  It is the heart of David poured out on page, with prophecy, doctrine, poetry, exhortation, and much more intertwined.  David was the second king of Israel behind Saul.  The reason Saul was not king was because his heart was haughty, eyes lofty, and he exercised himself in matters/things too high for him.  King David, the author of the book of Psalms, saw firsthand the effect of being too ambitious.  When Saul was instructed to kill the Amalekites, the prophet (voice of God) Samuel told him kill all; leave neither man nor beast.  Saul decided to keep the best of the flock, saying the people wanted to offer it as a sacrifice to God.  He manipulated the commandment of God to suit his own personal desires.  He wanted the spoil, the people wanted sacrifice, and nobody stopped to consider what God wanted.  Saul was anointed king under God over the people of Israel, and he spent too much time thinking about how he was over the people, and not enough time considering that he was under God.  His ambition lifted his heart beyond his authority; outside of his occupation, he lost the kingdom (and eventually his life) because of it.  David took instruction from this, and his ambition was only towards the things of God.  The desire to praise him, to worship him, and to fight for him was David’s heart; even in his sinfulness he saw that God and God alone was who the offence was against (Psalms 51).  He loved God more than the praise of men.  He loved God more than this world.  He loved God and God was the guide of his life.  As followers of Christ, living dead to this world, and alive to God; the ambition that takes us outside of the commandments of God it is an error of ambition.  The ambition that carries us to a place where we “fear the people”, is misplaced.  Saul’s greatest sin was that he loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.  Therefore, he was unfit to lead.  Across the world there are pastors, teachers, bishops, board of directors and many more in leadership roles who are sacrificing the will of God for the praise of men.  They are doing it because their ambition has carried them outside their occupation.  It will do the same to you and me if we are not careful.  You can want a scholarship, job, property, or possession so much that it carries you to a place where you forget God.  Many a man has wanted better for his family only to find himself traveling all over the world and neglecting his family.  His kids may have a first-class education, but they don’t have a first-class father.  Many a minister had every room in the church filled, with no room for God in the church.  Many a mother laid aside being a mother to become an executive.  You can have ambition to be a pastor of a certain church or a bishop over a certain circuit.  A leader or minister.  But the question must be raised: Is this God’s will?  Or our will for ourselves?  It is a careful thing.  Is God simply a means to your end?  If so, he won’t be and your end is doomed.   

Satan is subtle, but God is greater and knoweth all things.  We can take instruction from scripture and find that humility, and a fixed eye of Christ is the antidote to haughty, lofty ambition.  When our “eye is single” focused only on Christ and what He wills, the rest is distilled into its proper form.  When our greatest desire is for Him to guide our lives, there is no error in this ambition.   

Canaan Land

“For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.” – Proverbs 2:21

Abraham was called out of his dwelling and asked to “go out” not knowing where he was going.  He did so, trusting in God to lead him to a land God had promised him called Canaan land.  Abraham’s faithfulness to God is why he is the patriarch of the Jewish people.  In the lineage of Jesus Christ.  A friend of God. 

In the Bible, Canaan land was/is the land that Abraham and his seed was promised after he left his home.  In Genesis we find the beginning of God’s people and in the book of Exodus we find the story of God taking the Jews out of slavery and into the promise land, which is Canaan.  Furthermore, once you read over in the New Testament you begin to understand that God gave for us the example of Canaan so that we might understand and experience the spiritual Canaan land.  A land where we can spiritually live, because of Jesus.  When you are forgiven of your sins you are brought out of bondage, and when you receive the Holy Spirit you are sanctified and brought into Canaan.  You can be living in Canaan land, no matter where you are on this earth.  Canaan was prepared for Abraham, and in a way, Abraham was prepared for Canaan.  The man of faith, the man of righteousness, the upright and perfect man; that was the man who could dwell in Canaan.  Jesus prepared the way for us.  The faithful, righteousness, upright, perfect, and sinless Christ.  He took our punishment for us, rose from the grave, and made the way that we could live holy and upright in this life.  It was Abraham’s seed who would one day enter and possess the land in the physical sense.  So, in the spiritual sense it is the born again, sanctified holy, blood redeemed follower of Jesus Christ that will live in the spiritual Cannan land. 

It is no small thing for people to “go out” on faith.  We live in a world of natural, and we are called by God to leave it (spiritually) and dwell in the spiritual.  The natural man looks, touches, reasons, and uses logic to govern his life.  He lives for himself, and the things that he cares about.  When God called Abraham, he was living in a city of commerce, he had a family and extended family.  His situation was one of comfort and stability.  It was everything that the natural man aspires after.  It was the equivalent of the modern-day house in the suburbs with a healthy investment portfolio, and median to high paying job.  God called Abraham and told him to “go out;” to leave all that he had and trust that God would bring him into a better land.  Those who live in Canaan land will always be people of faith.  A people who shuns the natural and seek the spiritual.  A people who “go out;” following the will of God over and above everything else.  It takes faith to enter Canaan land, and faith to stay in Canaan land.  Faith to follow the will of God and remain in the will of God.  The people of Abraham, the people of Canaan, the people of Jesus Christ; are and always will be, a people of faith.  If you are to be sanctified and remain sanctified, then you must “go out.”  You must leave your old life, old ways, and old wishes; basically, you must die to your idea of everything and trust in God completely.  God will bless this sacrifice and give you his Spirit; not by measure, no, rather by promise.  The Holy Ghost will come and dwell within your heart bringing you into the land of Canaan.  This is why the upright shall dwell in the land and the perfect shall remain in it.  Faith becomes your new operating principle, forsaking your own way and following His way.  This is living in Canaan.   

It is a good land, the land of Canaan.  When you are sanctified, you find the same marvelous truths that Abraham found, which is, serving God is far more wonderful than serving anything else.  The way of faith is far better than the way of sight.  The spiritual, better than the natural, and the land of Canaan is and always will be the land of promise.  God’s promises never fail; if you trust him, he will comfort and keep you.  For the upright dwell in the land, and it is a good land.

Jesus The Christ

 “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.” – Mark 6:3

 

Jesus was and forever will be the only Son of God.  The scripture tells us that he willingly left heaven and was “made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”  He was/is the redeeming emissary, the son of man, the Son of God.  This we must believe to be saved.

I know it’s painfully obvious, but Jesus was a man.  There was a Jesus of Nazareth.  He walked this earth.  He had a home, a mother, a father, brothers, sisters, and cousins.  He knew hunger, cold, exhaustion, and pain.  He was a man.  A human being, much like you and me.  There is no question about this.  It takes nothing to believe this and thousands of years later many still look on Jesus as the Jews of Mark chapter six did.  “Is not this the carpenter?”  As if to say: we know this man, we know his family, his background, and he is just another man.  It means nothing to believe in Jesus as you would believe in another man.  We believe men can heal our hurts, we believe men can help our marriages, we believe men can help us to be happy, rich, safe, and prosperous.  We trust in man for practically everything in our life, but not our sin.  What man can you call today to cleanse the wickedness within?  What man can you look to who will banish the lostness, and loneliness you feel?    Who can rid you of the guilt and dark passions that linger in your heart?  If you see Jesus as just another man, your unbelief shackles Him.  It keeps Christ from doing miraculous things in your life.  We cannot look to Jesus as we would a doctor or psychiatrist; with this mentality of “you fix me, and I pay you.”  Jesus Christ is not just “another man”, he doesn’t want money or token sacrifices.  There is no amount of tribute that can be paid to call down His power.  It is not barter; it is faith.  Faith that brings the power of Jesus Christ to save.  It is God’s grace that allows us to approach the throne.  You must believe that Jesus is the Son of God, have faith, and follow Him.    

When you believe that he is the Son of God, the bread of life, the living water, the resurrection, the truth, the King of Kings; when you truly believe this, all things are possible.  There is no hurt that Jesus cannot heal and no sin that Jesus cannot cleanse.  The power of Jesus Christ in our lives is limited only by our belief, and our trust in him.  When you view Jesus as just another man, he can only be that for you.  Only when you believe that he is the Christ, the Son of the living God can you be saved.  The question is who do you say the Son of Man is?  Do you believe he is Jesus the man or Jesus the Christ?

Go

“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” -Mark 16:15

 

Crop rotation is the process of planting different crops in the same field, to improve overall soil health.  By rotating your crop year in and year out you keep from farming the same seed in the same soil, because doing so will rob the land of the beneficial nutrients that you need to grow a healthy crop.  Planting the same seed in the same soil will produce sterile ground and substandard yields.

 

The innovation of crop rotation was igneous when it comes to trying to improve yields.  No one person owes all the fertile land.  It is segmented and privatized, so where you plant doesn’t change.  Down here in Georgia we have good land in Seminole County.  Farmers in Dougherty County can move to Seminole County, but they can’t move their land with them.  They must work on the land they own.  Therefore, to produce better yields and keep their land fertile they practice crop rotation.  As sanctified people, we don’t have to contend with limiting factors like land capacity.  Jesus said “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”  The seed is the Word, salvation from sin through Jesus Christ our Lord.  The field we are sowing in is the whole world.  Everyone, everywhere.  When we go out to spread the gospel, we are all going out into a vast field of labor.  Unlike farmers in South Georgia, we are not bound by land rights, because the Father owns it all.  To quote John Wesley (as I am fond of doing) “I look upon all the world as my parish.”  The local Walmart, and the foreign nations are all fields of labor to the Christian.  With so much acreage to cover, it is a wonder why we insist on planting the same seed, in the same field, year after year, after year.  Preaching to the people we are comfortable preaching too.  Our children, our family, our cousins, our young people.  Church people sowing in the field of church people.  Rich people, sowing in the field of rich people.  White people in the field of white, black in the field of black; the list goes on and on.  Comfort and complacency restrict us from taking a wider gaze or looking to a broader horizon; lest we find a field that would require immense sacrifice.  Except for the commandment of Christ, we could go into all our people and preach; but Jesus said, “go ye into all the world.”  If we plant the same seed, in the same field, year in and year out, eventually the beneficial nutrients will be robbed and there will be less and less fruit.  Christ knew this and this is why he left this commission for the church to “Go”.  If we just focus on getting our kids sanctified, by and by we might lose them; why?  Because the demonstration of the gospel that they will see is one robbed of one of its great beneficial nutrients, namely the lost/unchurched coming to Christ.  When you see a sinner come to know Jesus, it has a tremendous impact on your faith.  Furthermore, when you take part in the spreading of a gospel that saves the sinner, it affirms your faith.  Finally, when you are active in a ministry that brings people to salvation from all walks of life; that will bring forth fruit in you, because you are taking part in a salvation that works everywhere.  However, we can’t find that precious to our soul if we are not spreading salvation everywhere!   

 

The early church maintained a militant focus to spread the Gospel.  I believe it was because they loved God and loved their neighbor.  In loving God, they knew that God loved them and wanted what was best for them.  There is nothing quite so wonderful as the blessing of seeing a soul converted, sanctified, and living for Jesus Christ.