Very Brief on Living in the Power of Jesus

         The Lord continues to teach us about living in the Spirit, in the Holiness and righteousness of Jesus.  Jesus gave us the power to live pleasing to Him, the same power that rose Him from the dead, so we should live in that same power overcoming sin and death.  

        So if I say that I am walking in the power of Jesus, then I am saying that I am living my life without sin in Holiness and Righteousness.  Isn’t the blood of Jesus all-powerful enough to keep me from sinning?  Do I say that I struggle with sin and yet call myself a Christian?  If I say that I struggle with sin then I am really saying that the blood of Jesus –  the Holy and Righteousness blood of Jesus is not powerful nor sufficient enough to deliver me from sin. 

       But reality is, if I say I struggle with sin, then not only am I denying the power of the blood of Jesus, but I love sin more than the Goodness and Holiness of God.  The world and Satan wants us to believe that living in the Spirit – living in victory over sin is not possible…well, was the resurrection of Jesus possible?? 

         Has not God given us all we need to live a godly life?  I can do nothing in my power to please the Lord, it is only in surrendering completely to Him and understanding that I am powerless but He is all-powerful and mighty!! This is the Gospel!! Amen!  Oh, but this is offensive to many church people who love sin, who do not know the power of God. 

           Please don’t misunderstand me, I am not talking about “sinless perfection”, I am talking about abiding in the Spirit and discovering all the goodness of God.  Having all of God is Good, devoting all of myself to the goodness, righteousness, fairness, mercy, grace, love, wisdom, power, majesty, knowledge, understanding of the Lord is all GOOD!!

          Many people like to tell me, “you need to have balance”…what is balance??  Peppering all the goodness of God with some sin and the world??  That is senseless.  Why not abide completely in all the goodness of God and experience that little piece of Heaven that He allows us to experience while on this earth when we are obedient to Him…that wonderful deposit that surpasses anything the world has to offer.. that wonderful deposit that surpasses anything my flesh has to offer…that wonderful deposit given only by God through obedience to Him so we can know of the greater things to come in eternity!!  

         That wonderful deposit is what gives me the confidence of eternal life…this confidance is not given by man, nor is it given by church, nor is it obtained by “asking Jesus into your heart”, it is given by God to those who are obediant to Him through Jesus Christ, it is this wonderful deposit that drives me ever so closer to Him.  Is there something in this world more valuable than this??  What will I sell my inheritance for??  A bowl of soup? 

      What great joy!! Praise the Lord!! Hate sin, Love Jesus.  Forget about the world, Love Jesus.  Heavenly minded is Good.  Worldly minded brings death.  Live in the Holiness and Righteousness of the Lord without sin. 

       Seek all understanding and all things from the Lord.  Jesus is Alive!! He is Alive and waiting for us to ask Him for the power to overcome sin…Jesus is Alive and waiting for us to ask Him for understanding and wisdom…Jesus is Alive waiting for us to repent…Jesus is Alive and waiting for us to trust in Him…Jesus is Alive and wants us to depend fully on Him.  Look up and know that Jesus rose from the dead and is Alive forever, waiting for us to talk with Him about everything!  He wants to share all His goodness with us, but we must turn our heads up and talk with Jesus and listen to Him.  Do you know the voice Jesus Christ?

Faith and Works

James 2:18-19    But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. NKJV

•      Works without faith = works performed in self effort to numb the conscience and find approval by God.  These type of works are done out of selfishness and desire the things of the world.  They are a sort of insurance just in case God turns out to be real.  The other side of the insurance is: “just in case God is not real, enjoy life to the fullest.”

      These works are performed in case God is real, and at the same time life is enjoyed and lived to the fullest in case God is not real, which leaves a “faith” that is no faith at all. This road is wide and leads to destruction.

•  Faith without works = This proclaims “not of works lest any man should boast”.  This too allows for living life to the fullest as unbelievers do and keeping the conscience numbed by proclaiming faith in Christ.  This road is wide and leads to destruction.

 

•  God given faith:   James clearly states the balance of faith and works which requires denial of self and Loving the Lord above all things and loving others.   It is not a conscience effort of either faith or works, but a realization of who God is and His interaction with mankind, having ears to hear Him.  The Word of God planted in good soil (ears to hear), takes root (faith develops) and grows to bear fruit (works) pleasing to the Lord as He is glorified.  This is the narrow road.

Does Church Treat You Like the World?

      We live in a world that does not seem to care….in the world we are all replaceable and just another number.  Is God the same way?  Does God treat us the same way as the world?  

 “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Matt 10:30-31 NKJV

Who did God send His Only Beloved Son to die for?  Mankind. 

The world treats people as nothing, as equal with animals, insignificant, etc…

God Loves us down to every single tiny detail.  So why should the church act like the world?  Do you understand your uniqueness and how special you are when you go to church?  Or does the church treat you like the world?  Do you sit there in church among the others who listen, daydream…then get up and leave? 

We should all recognize the importance of everyone just as God does, if we are His children.   We should love one another by interacting in real time with real life with each other.   Giving our sincere heart and time to each other.  Taking the opportunities to forgive one another.  Taking up our cross and suffering wrongly if need be in order to love instead of seeking vengence.  Taking up our cross to give our time to our brothers and sisters in Christ to listen with a sincere heart.  We cannot do this in a passive church service, we must interact with each other in real time with openess and honesty.  Loving each other.  We cannot truly love if we are not servants and taking up our cross.  We need to serve one another.  By loving one another we become lights to the world.  Forgive and Love.  Bear each others burdens.  Give to others who have need.  We can all afford to give; it is only a matter of what are you willing to give up in order to give?  This is real church. 

The Law of God; Impossible to Follow?

        It is taught by some that the Old Testament Law is impossible to follow perfectly, therefore all are guilty of the Law deserving of eternal punishment in Hell.  I do not find this teaching true.  What is it that makes us guilty before God?  Human rebellion called sin as brought to light by The Law of God.  The Law does not fulfill the righteous requirement which is to be without sin, to be Holy and perfect as God is Holy and perfect.

      The Law makes us fully aware of our sin and our sinful state; showing us our need for God’s Mercy and Grace. Salvation does not come from the Law but comes from God Himself. God consistently spoke of a Redeemer who would fulfill the righteous requirement of the Law.   

      God does not give us impossible standards to follow then hold us accountable to them.  The Old Testament Law was very much well within the means of human accomplishment.  How?

      The Lord made provision for sin through the Law.  What does that mean?  Sin is death and the Law requires punishment by death; the shedding of blood.  When someone broke a law, they would have to kill an animal.   In this way God demonstrated His mercy on the people by having the animal die instead of them because of their sin.  However, the blood of an animal does not fulfill the righteous requirement of the Law. 

        As long as people followed all the Law including the sacrifices for sin, then the people could be blameless as far as the Law is concerned, and avoid the wrath of God; but they were in bondage to follow it. As it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” Galatians 3:10 NKJV

          We see that the Apostle Paul states he was blameless concerning the Law:

 “concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.”  Phil 3:6  NKJV

       Also the parents of John the Baptist (and no John was not “Baptist”! ) are recorded as blameless concerning the Law:

“And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.” Luk 1:6 -NKJV

      So what is the problem?  God did not provide eternal life through the Law but pronounced a curse that in order to live one must follow the Law, which was a heavy burden, leaving the people to continually offer sacrifices for their sin.  If the Law solved the sin problem, then people would not need to offer continual sacrifices.

      The bondage of sin was physically demonstrated and the consequences of sin lived out through the Law.  In this way the Law would lead people to cry out for freedom from sin, learning to hate it and would hunger and thirst for righteousness.  The Law created the perfect longing for a release from the bondage of sin and death.   

     Animals were not created in the image of God, humans are, and mankind was given authority over the animals, therefore animals could not take away sin.  All humans are born under the rebellion of Adam and Eve, therefore humans cannot take away sin.  Only God Himself can take away sin.

      Through the Law and prophets the people learned about a future Ruler who was to  rule them with justice, salvation, and peace in an eternal Kingdom where all goodness and beauty dwell.  A Ruler who comes from Heaven itself and called God’s Son:  “I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, “You are my Son ; today I have become your Father.”  Psalms 2:7 (NIV)

     The Son of God came to take away the sins of the world!!  To free us from the bondage of sin and death!! His Name is Jesus the Messiah (Yeshua Hammashiach), the Salvation of God, the Anointed One.  And here is the amazing thing:    

      “He (Jesus) condemned sin in the flesh,  that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Rom 8:3-5  NKJV

       The Law was about exposing sin and death, its consequences and our desperate need for God’s Mercy and Grace.  Jesus lived in this flesh without sin, suffered the wrath of God, shed His Blood, and rose from the dead, giving life and righteousness to all those who believe in Him!!  Taking away sin for those who believe, so that we are no longer enslaved to sin, but live in fellowship with God through Jesus!!

           We are powerless over sin and death, but Jesus has conquered these for us.  Today we live in a wonderful time of salvation.  As sinners trapped in rebellion against God, we cry out to Jesus desperate for Him and He will answer and give His Holy Spirit; the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead and gives us power over sin and death!! 

          Life is only found by listening to the Spirit and allowing Him to work in our life.  Through the Spirit we live without sin, being freed from the bondage of sin and death.  Indeed the sacrifice of Jesus, the Perfect Lamb of God does indeed take away the sin of the world!

           When temptation comes our way, we call out to Jesus and ask Him to take it away and He will.  In this way, we remain in continual prayer with Him and conquer our own flesh and the influences around us through His Spirit; walking in the Spirit.

           If we call ourselves Christians and in the same breath call ourselves sinners, then we make God a liar and the Cross of Jesus without effect.  You cannot walk in sin and the Spirit at the same time.  It’s either one or the other.       It is certain that we will make mistakes and we will sin (sin not leading to death) against God and He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin if we confess them to Him, but those who are born of God do not continue in bondage to sin (sin leading to death), enslaved to it which is death.  As John says it:    

          “There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that.  All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.”  1 John 5:16-17 NKJV

        “Sin leading to death”; enslaved to sin example:  How can I say Jesus saved me from my sin if I lust after women, watch pornography, have affairs, only think of God once a week while attending church and pursue all the things the world has to offer the rest of the time, love money, etc…?   It is contradictory to say Jesus saved me from sin and yet I walk in the desires of my flesh and put them into action.  You cannot serve two masters.  That is like saying the lifegaurd saved me from drowning but yet I drowned….that does not make sense.

         “Sin not leading to death” example:  I am born of God and seek the Lord, learning day by day to follow the Spirit, living in fellowship with Jesus, but one day I rush off to work, get consummed with it and forget about God.  Of course the Spirit will bring this to my attention,  convict me and I confess this to the Lord, asking for forgiveness.

    Seek first the Kingdom of God all these things will be added to you.

What is Love?

 John 3:16  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. NKJV

     How do we know God loves us?  Because He gives.  He gives us physical life and all that is needed to survive, such as food, clothes, shelter, etc… God continually gives, whether people hate Him, deny Him, or Love Him.  More importantly, God gives us eternal Life by giving all that He has – His only Son, Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ willingly gave His Life over to suffer the wrath of God, so we don’t have to suffer the wrath of God.  

  Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’*  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’*  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” NKJV  Matt 22:37-40

    If I say that I love the Lord my God with all my heart, with all my soul, and with all my mind, what does that mean?  To say a prayer and ask Jesus into my heart?  No.  It means to follow the same example God Himself gives us.  God gave and gives us ALL that He has, showing us His Love for us, even while we are still in rebellion against Him. 

     So, if God gave His ALL, which is Jesus Christ – His only Beloved Son – then what is it for me to give all that I have, which is my entire life to Jesus?  If I say that I love Jesus, I am saying that I have no regard for my own life, but rather give Him complete obedience and devotion; no longer trusting in my own plans and desires, for I know within my flesh is nothing good, but instead trust God to direct my life for His Glory by the Holy Spirit given through Jesus Christ. 

     If I no longer love my own life, then I am free to give to others.  I am free to give them forgiveness, even though they may have done very wrong things to me.  I am free to give as the Lord gives me the ability to do so.  I am free to give to whoever asks, for surely the Lord provides the opportunities for me to put my faith into action. 

    I am a man born into this human body that is corrupted by rebellion against God. 

     Jesus is Perfect, Holy, and Most Precious and yet He gave His Perfect Life for sinful mankind.  What is my life in comparison?  Do I regard my life more than the Life of Jesus?  Do I truly believe Jesus reigns above all things, or do I continue to try and elevate myself above Him by not surrendering my life to Jesus?  If I truly believe that all that is within me is evil, then I will not want to have anything to do with my own dreams, desires, plans, etc… “for my heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked”… Jer 17:9

    If I truly believe that Jesus is Perfect and True, then I will ask Him to allow me to follow His plans – which are perfect; I will ask Him to direct all of my earthly life for His Glory, keeping in mind the Hope that He gives, which is eternal life and abundant joy in this life. 

To love is to give. 

What does it mean for me to have faith?

  6/5/2009 

What does it mean for me to have faith?

•  I have faith that I am losing nothing by not seeking my own pleasures
• I have faith that I am losing nothing by not seeking my own dreams
• I have faith that I am losing nothing by not seeking my own passions
•  I have faith that I am losing nothing by not listening to worldly beliefs
•  I have faith that I am losing nothing by not listening to worldly philosophies
• I have faith that I am losing nothing by not listening to worldly wisdom.
• I have faith that not eating the food of Egypt and eating the Manna from Heaven is Life and Joy. 

       What does that make me? A peculiar person, separated out unto the Gospel of God, a sojourner and pilgrim, having faith in Jesus Christ instead.  Calling on Him who is near, giving myself as a living sacrifice, giving Him my very life center, which is my heart, my core essence, my entire self, my entire life that is all contained in one word – heart. 

       Without my heart my body is dead.  My heart pumps blood into every cell of my body, giving me physical life.  Without Jesus my soul is dead. If I give Jesus my heart, then His life pumps into my dead bones, giving me life abundantly.  When I surrender my life to Jesus, He takes over my heart and pumps His Life into every cell of my soul. 

      I have faith that I lose nothing but gain everything in Him, but yet I do lose everything but gain all things in Jesus Christ, looking forward to the resurrection of the dead, forever to live with Him in such a place I cannot even begin to fathom.  How great the Hope He has given us!  The more we understand and experience the wonders of His Glory, Grace, and Mercy and the more we dwell in His Light, then the darkness of the world is clearly seen and becomes utterly dark compared to the light. 

Mat 6:23 NKJV – But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great [is] that darkness!

        Imagine this:  If we spend a lot of time in a room that is brightly Light and turn off the Light, everything is so utterly dark, but as we spend time in the darkness, our eyes get used to the darkness and adjust, so that now the darkness becomes light, our reference is no longer the bright Light but the light in the darkness.  We then begin to say that it is not so dark anymore and manageable.  If then our light is darkness how great is that darkness!!  When the bright Light shines in, oohh…. How painful at first, we scream and cover our eyes, slowly peaking through letting some of the Light in, squinting and blinking, until we are fully opened to the bright Light.  Now we proclaim, oh how dark, utterly dark the darkness that previously surrounded us was, but now we see all things in this bright Light and how beautiful everything is!!

      Therefore, let us ever so abide in His Light, and have nothing to do with the darkness.  The Light exposes all false teachings.

Repentance

6/4/2009

       Do I say that I believe in Jesus by faith and trust in Him?  Sure we all say that and agree, but what does that mean? 

       It means that the Lord has revealed to me the greatness of His love and mercy through His Word and made alive by His Spirit, giving me access to Him through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.  When I truly understand this, nothing in this world can compare to such wonders, therefore I turn from all my own pleasures that only lead to death, all my own dreams that only lead to death, all my own desires that only lead to death, all my own passions that only lead to death, all worldly beliefs, worldly philosophies, worldly wisdom that only leads to death.   Turning away from all the things of the world and committing your entire life to Jesus is repentance.

      Why should I trust things that come from my own heart knowing that it is deceitful and desperately wicked above all things?  Should I not rather trust in the Spirit as He leads me, thereby trusting in Jesus Christ – eating the Bread of Life – for He is Pure, Holy and Mighty God, above all things- eating the Manna from Heaven!  Therefore, I turn from all those things that lead to death which is the food from Egypt, and turn to the One who is Life, Jesus Christ!

The Manna Part 3

6/4/2009

What is the food of Egypt?

“…We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic…” Numbers 11:6

        Eating the food of Egypt is doing all the things we did while enslaved to the world, enslaved to the pleasures of our flesh and the world.  All of our own hopes, dreams,  hobbies, desires, pride, lusts, disobedience… all these things are pleasing to the flesh but lead to destruction.  Our own heart is deceitful above all things – Jeremiah 17:9,

       Why follow our desires if they lead to death? Commit our heart to Him who is incorruptible and the Solid Rock – “casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” 2Cr 10:5 NKJV –

          Where is our faith?  Why do we bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ? Because He is Worthy, Holy and True, the Solid Rock.   All our own thoughts and heart are deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it?

            We have access to all things that are according to His Will in Jesus Christ for each and every one of us, but we must all submit to His Will, being lead by the Holy Spirit, abiding in Christ, repenting from all our idols.  Let us be diligent to seek the Lord in honesty and ask Him to reveal all our idols so we can get rid of them.   Let us cry out to Him in fasting and prayer.

          Nothing in this world is worth holding onto.  Let us never believe the teaching of a man as if it is gospel, but seek the Lord Himself as He has given us access to Him – He has all knowledge, all understanding, all Wisdom, all Power, everything is given to Him, who is Jesus Christ – all we need to do is ask, but shall we ask while we hold onto idols? 

         Let us repent and call upon the name of the Lord, and He will give us wisdom and understanding and all things pertaining to this life and that to come.

The Manna Part 2

6/3/2009

What is the Manna?

            Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its color like the color of bdellium. –The people went about and gathered it, ground it on millstones or beat it in the mortar, cooked it in pans, and made cakes of it; and its taste was like the taste of pastry prepared with oil.  Num 11:7-8 NKJV

            Just as the Manna does not seem so appealing: So too, it does not seem so appealing to give up all our own passions, desires, dreams, hopes, worldly treasures, hobbies,  video games, T.V. shows, self-centeredness, pornography, lusts of the eyes, pride of life, lust of the flesh, yes indeed all things pertaining to this flesh and world –yes our entire life “because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” – 1Pe 1:16 NKJV

       Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest [your] hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, [as] in your ignorance; – 1Pe 1:13-14 NKJV

“So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple” Luke 14:33 NKJV – This is eating the Bread of Life – The Manna. (John 6:51; John 14:6; Luke 13:24; Luke 14:26; Mathew 7:13-14; 21; Mathew 10; 2 Peter 1:10; Philipeans 2:12, Hebrews 11, James 4:3-4, Gal 2:20, etc… I can name examples from every book of the Bible, but time fails me)  Jesus proclaimed that He is the Bread of Life, the Manna, but many turned away for that was a hard saying. 

            Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did.  But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man. John 2:23-25 NKJV –

            Jesus Christ lived and taught such a radical message; attacking the natural flesh from every angle – so much… – so radical – so violently opposing the natural evil world and flesh that He was killed for it!  And millions upon millions of followers have followed suit and still do even today, being slaughtered for their faith in Jesus Christ.    

            Jesus conquered evil and the flesh and death, by rising from the dead!! Where else is such teaching? Humans are not able to preach such a message as Jesus did, for all we know  as sinful man  is the pleasure of the flesh and world, how can we know to preach something so violently opposed to that which is natural such as Jesus did? 

          Only the Son of God, God came in the flesh, only a Holy and Righteous God could possibly have preached such a message as  was delivered to Moses and fulfilled perfectly in Jesus Christ.  All other religions, and denominations, and all else proclaim  teachings  that are pleasing to the flesh and the world; testifying against themselves that they are from human sources!!!

          Praise be to God and His wonderful Wisdom that confounds the wisdom of men!!!  We can only live in this world as Christians with the supernatural power; with the same One who raised Jesus from the dead – The Holy Spirit.     If we don’t live in this power, we are helpless against the things of our flesh and the world, for nothing else conquered the world besides Jesus Christ!  

 – And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Rom 8:10-11NKJV

The Manna Part 1

6/3/2009

And the LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people! – Exd 32:9 NKJV

        Let us not gather ourselves with those who rise up and play as the children of Israel did while they waited on Moses, let us learn from their example and be ever so diligent to wait patiently for the Lord to return and for the redemption of our bodies.  Let us be satisfied with what He gives to us in Jesus Christ who is our Manna from Heaven.  Let us not become like the children who grumbled and complained in the desert, unhappy with the Manna but wanted meat. 

          Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: “Who will give us meat to eat? – We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; – but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!” – Num 11:4-6 NKJV

         But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was aroused against the people, and the LORD struck the people with a very great plague. – Num 11:33 NKJV

        Oh let us never grow weary of eating the Bread of Life!!  For sure there is suffering in eating the Manna from Heaven in which is great reward; let us never sell our inheritance for a bowl of soup like Esau!! Never let us look back to please our senses; to please our flesh desires; Oh Lord “…lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil…” The children looked back at all the food of Egypt, all of that food leads to death and destruction.  Let us always surrender to Him who has Life!  “…give us this day our Daily Bread…”