A Way or The Way – Part 4

Pastor Giglio continues that the seventh distinctive in Jesus’ offer is that He gives us the very best now. In John 10:9-11, Jesus proclaims: “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” Jesus gives His best that we may be saved, have life and have it to the full, as He gives us the blessed assurance of forever with Him for the eternal perspective daily. It is all wrapped up under the banner of the great word called “done”. In John 19:28a, 30b, “ Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled … he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. The Greek word for the term “it is finished” is “Tetelestai” It is a Greek commercial word that means, “it is paid.” This illustrates that on the cross Christ paid in full the penalty for our sins. Where everything else being offered you is about “do”, Jesus is offering a gift to you today under the banner of “done”. It is not what you do, it is what Christ has already done for you. That is what is on the table today.

Philippians 2:9-11 “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

A beautiful way of thinking about Jesus’ offer is the example of a funnel. In this post-modern world, people look at the narrow end of the funnel and say, “Are you serious? Christ is the only way to salvation? Jesus’ death on the Cross is the only way to forgiveness? It just seems so marrow.” And it is narrow. In Talking about Himself being “The Way” to Heaven, Jesus proclaimed in Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Jesus is the name above all names. Acts 4:12 tells us, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” The truth is narrow; it always is. But, turn that funnel around and we can say, “Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. Whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13). Whosoever wills may come and drink freely from the river of life (Revelation 22:17). The truth is narrow, but the gospel is wide. Salvation is narrow, but the invitation of Jesus is wide. Exclusivity in desire and need is narrow, but Jesus’ offer is so wide that anyone can come.

God is no respecter of persons (Romans 2:11), so the gospel is available to everyone. It’s not that Christians think that they are the only ones good enough to be saved. Nowhere does Jesus say that. It’s worse than that! Jesus says that no one deserves to go to heaven; that is why it is called “grace”. Jesus has come to make a way for everyone who wants to call upon the name of the Lord to be saved. You may be struggling at the bottom of life just to make it today, but you can have a moment in life when you see a Savior, understand and believe in your heart that Jesus is God’s gift, and you receive Him. Right out of the depths you cry out, “Jesus, Will you saved me. There is no other name in heaven or on earth by which to be saved and whoever calls upon your name will be saved.”

Wherever you are, you can call out to Jesus and in a heartbeat, the angels in heaven would rejoice and sing, and the gates of heaven would open. The kingdom of Heaven would come and salvation would come in them. It changes your story; it changes your life. If you call on the name of the Jesus, in that instant salvation would come to you. Know with certainty in your heart that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. It doesn’t matter who you are. The truth is narrow, but the gospel invitation is wide open today. At the crucifixion, Jesus didn’t die with a narrow little view, but with His arms stretched wide open. The truth is narrow; it always is. Jesus is the Way.

In Christ, Brian

A Way or The Way – Part 3

Continuing from the last post, Pastor Giglio points out that that the third distinctive in Jesus’ offer states (3) His offer is grace - the free unmerited love and favor of God, the spring and source of all the benefits men receive from Him.” Ephesians 2:8 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” Grace is simply God doing what we cannot do. All these roads (supposed ways) going to the same  destination do have a similarity in them, in that (right or wrong) they are all about what we have to do to affect the “best” outcome in our future. But in Jesus’ offer, there is a word that you do not find in any other religious stream, and that is the word “grace”. Theologically speaking, it is a gospel word, a Jesus word, a Christian word, and what the word is all about is that God knows that we cannot do it, so loving and merciful God is going to do it for us. In our state of sin, we cannot make a way to Heaven, so God made a way to Heaven for us in sending His Son incarnate as “The Way”. God knows that we cannot be “good enough”, so God sent Jesus to be “good enough” in our place. John 3:16-18 tells us, 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. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

The fourth distinctive in Jesus’ offer states (4) He is giving you a personal relationship with God Almighty, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. Jesus didn’t say that there was some place of higher awareness, consciousness, understanding or being; neither that He was going up to nirvana, then coming back to help us get to a place of greater enlightenment. No, Jesus said that the kingdom of Heaven is a place, and that place is His Father’s house (a dwelling place). That means something to us because woven into our being is the sense of belonging and we desire to be in a “place”. Jesus says that there is a dwelling place in Heaven. There is our Father God there. God is noble and we can have a relationship with Him.

The fifth distinctive in Jesus’ offer is (5) that He is giving you the power of the Resurrection; the single greatest event on earth. Some would argue that the single greatest event would be the Cross (Christ dying for our sins), but the Cross is empty without the Resurrection. The Resurrection put the power into the work of the Cross.  The Cross was powerful to cancel sin, but it took the Resurrection to bring the power to raise  us up to life; to celebrate it, to breathe it and to live it. And the only person offering you a Resurrection today (not an incarnation or a multiple-time journey to where I do not know for sure, but a one-time event that radically changes the stake in this life and forever in eternity) is Jesus Christ. So that we can stand at the grave and we know that this grave will not be my final resting place, because Jesus has put Resurrection life on the table.

The sixth distinctive in Jesus’ offer is that He is giving you the Holy Spirit. In John 14:15-17, Jesus tells us, “If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever — the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” No religion is giving you a God-source inside of you; the Spirit of the living God indwelling us, to enable us to live out the life that God is dreaming about for us. Only Jesus gives the Holy Spirit.

Let's conclude this message on "Jesus Christ - the Way to Heaven" in the next post.

In Christ, Brian

A Way or The Way – Part 2

Continuing from the last post, Pastor Giglio explains that there are assumptions behind the human viewpoint that Jesus is just “a way”. Every supposition has assumptions behind it. Assumption #1: There is no such thing as absolute truth. This assuming belief is very prevalent in our culture today. Assumption #2: All ways to God are similar in nature and lead to the same place. This is a giant assumption. If you are part of one of the five great spiritual cultures on earth today (Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, or Judaism), it is likely that you are not going to embrace the “everyone is going to the same place” ideology. Each of these major religions are quite distinct and contradictive to each other in their beliefs. For thinking individuals, this assumption breaks down immediately.

Hinduism is basically about Karma and Reincarnation of life. Buddhism is basically about getting to a state of heightened awareness, enlightenment, nirvana, and clarity in understanding the essence of our being. Hinduism and Buddhism are not leading people to Heaven, an eternal place to be with Creator God nor offering ways to get to Him. Islam basically says that there is a Heaven, but predicates getting there by having “good works” that outweigh you bad works at the end of the day. That is a tough sled to push through life. Judaism believes in the books of Moses and keeping of the Law, but rejects Jesus Christ as their Messiah, the Promised One, the Son of God, lord and Savior of the world. But honestly, there are all kinds of branches, colors and stripes of Christians in the world today also. All of these major religions are not the same. Two of these world religions are not even offering Heaven at the end of the journey of life. It’s hard to say that “all roads lead to the same place”. Lastly, underneath this last assumption is, really, the breakdown of spiritual life in general through Assumption #3, which is that everyone can come to their own conclusion.

The problem for people with what Jesus is saying in John 14:6 (“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”) is “exclusivity” (the debarring from participation; possessed and enjoyed to the exclusion of others). Jesus uses the word :except”. No one comes to the Father except through me. Except is an exclusive word. In our culture, exclusivity does not play well. But, what Pastor Giglio wants us to see is that exclusivity is not irrational, not close-minded, nor arrogant. Exclusivity is not a bad thing, especially if you have a great need. All sinners need a way in a bad way.

Look at the uniqueness of Jesus’ offer, because the question about is Jesus “a way” or “The Way to Heaven is clearly answered through the offer that Jesus is making to us today. The first distinctive in Jesus offer states (1) He is God incarnate (in human flesh); fully God and fully man. Jesus is God with us on planet earth in the flesh. The second distinctive in Jesus offer states (2) He is the final payment for our inequity and the cancelling of our debt of Sin. He came to exchange a guilty life for an innocent one. That is what is on the table and being offered by Jesus here. Not one of the billions of, supposed, other ways on earth to get to Heaven can hold a candle to that. That God would come down from Heaven and lay down an innocent and perfect life for a guilty one to provide a way is amazing. Ephesians 2:4-5a tells us, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.” So, what is on the table today is “forgiveness”. Romans 6:23 explains, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” It is the cancelling of our sin debt with God by the only One who can make the final payment for all of our wrongs.

Let's continue this great message on Jesus - the Way by Pastor Giglio on the next post.

In Christ, Brian

A Way or The Way - Part 1

Our Wednesday evening Small Group continues our video Bible Study by Pastor Louie Giglio. He points out that we all have certain people in our lives that we go to when we want a good advice or recommendation. Confidants that we can ask about people, places and things. The reason that we talk to these people is not because we want to know what is good, but because we want to know what is best! Not an average opinion of what is good, but what will take us to the top.  When it comes to things that really matter (our physical, mental or spiritual health, our security, or our family), we get more exclusive with what we want. That is what we all want.

Giglio states that the Holy Scriptures speak to us in these terms. We were spiritually dead and there is only one way that could bring us back to life. There are all kinds of ways to talk about morality, society and religion, but there is only “One Way” that can bring us from death to life. The question today is whether Jesus is one of a thousand ways to God or is He “The Way” to God.

John 14:1-7 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. The Father Revealed

“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”

In John 14:5, the Apostle Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” This is the question that everyone on planet Earth is asking. Innately, most people believe that there needs to be “a way”, because they know that there is something beyond these four walls of this physical existence on earth. God wired us that way. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.” There is something woven into the fabric of who we are that speaks to something that is greater than just what we can touch, taste, feel, hear and see with our senses. We long for Heaven and a restored personal relationship with the Lord, our God.

How can we know the way? Jesus responds in a beautiful, masterful and powerful way. Christ’s answer to whether He is “a way” or “The Way” to the Father in Heaven is very clear. Jesus’ motivation in the way that He answered, how He answered, why He answered and that He answered the question was to narrow the focus, so that the disciples and us could understand “the path” that we are asking for in our own lives in the process of thinking our way to a relationship with Jesus.

Let's continue this message on Jesus - the Way to Heaven" in the next post.

In Christ, Brian

The Main Thing

This week, Michael writes that there are two things to remember in order to keep our theology (study of God) in the right perspective. The first is that God is Sovereign overall. Second, He's still in control. Third, God has a wonderful plan for your life. He had a wonderful plan for His Son's life ... His plan for Jesus' life was for our redemption. This plan included Jesus' righteous innocent death in exchange for our sinful life.

The fourth thing is that God is good. He's a good, heavenly Father. Even though the sea billows roll, it is well, it is well with my soul. Despite trials and tribulations of this world, count it all joy when you encounter trials, for the testing of your faith will produce endurance and maturity in Christ. Therefore, let tribulation have its perfect work. The Apostle Peter needed to be tested to find out that in himself, he was not sufficient to serve his Lord. Would God's plan for America be better if God blessed America or would His plan be better if America realized her demise. Isaiah 55 says, “My ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts”.  As the Apostle Paul said, "my purpose whether life or death is for the further progress of the gospel."  Therefore, count it all joy to endure suffering for the Lord.

The purpose of our lives is the "great commission." Jesus commandment before his ascension, "Go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them...and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age." Making disciples is the purpose and the calling of the church, the called-out of God. Our Lord's question is, "Can I trust you with the gospel?"  Paul said, we have been given the gospel of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.  Salvation is the gift of God. The gospel of the good news is that Jesus came to rescue and deliver those who are perishing.  

When the trial comes, Jesus said, "I will see you through". He said, "My peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. Not as the world gives give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." Therefore in the words of Paul, "I press toward the mark of the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus."

We are the church, the called-out of God as His living epistles. We are God's love letters, written not with ink or in tablets of stone, but engraved in the tables of our heart. The word "confession" means to "speak the same thing."  The word “profession” means to walk the talk and talk the walk. As men and women of God, our calling is to "practice what we preach." We're the only sermon some people will ever see and hear.

Men and women of God place themselves under authority and order ordained by God. Our loving Heavenly Father will "break us from the world." Therefore, count it all joy when you fall into diverse trials and temptations.  For when tribulation has its perfect work you shall be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. Jesus said, blessed are they when men shall revile you and persecute you for my sake, for great is your reward in heaven. Our purpose and our calling is to make disciples of all men, women and children. We are the plan. For we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works which he has prepared beforehand for us to walk therein. For it is God who works in you to will and to do of His good pleasure.  

William Booth had trained his troops in the Salvation Army for two years to teach and preach in India. At their commencement he said, "It would have been better to have shown them five minutes in hell." We need to be shaken to confront the reality of impending death before we can focus on the solution. To understand the solution we must first acknowledge, we have a problem. The main thing as fellow laborers with Christ, is our great commission ...  to "snatch God's elect from the jaws of hell" by sharing the gospel message of salvation with urgency.  The gospel message is that Jesus Christ is the solution to the problem of sin and death ...  for he who was without sin was made the perfect sin sacrifice on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in him.

May we ever live to the praise of the glory of his grace!

Your brother in Christ, Michael

Comfort in God’s Mercy and Judgment – Part 3

Jeremiah 32:17 “Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.”

Continuing from last post, Pastor Kyle’s fourth of the comforting divine characteristics of God that Nahum wants us to remember is that God’s great reminds us that He’s got us covered. Sovereign God is all-powerful (Omnipotent) and can create or wipe out creation as He pleases. We can trust our Maker / Father God with every part of our life. Walk according to His plan. God’s Power covers and protects us like an umbrella. When we don’t live by God’s perfect way, we take away His protection.

Nahum 1:7 “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him.”

The fifth of the comforting divine characteristics of God that Nahum wants us to remember is that God is always good. Psalm 34:8 tells us, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” God is good all the time and all the time God is good. This is a basic, foundational and comforting fact for us to stand on.

Philippians 4:4-6 “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”

Kyle concluded with two big takes-homes from the book of Nahum. (1) Some situations have to be released into God’s hands with faith and forgiveness. God understands when we do not, despite our best efforts. Our Omniscient Lord has the big picture and our times are a small story within His over-arching big story, called history. We can trust God for our comfort in the storms of life. God knows fully, cares fully and understands fully those who take refuge in Him. (2) When we look around the burden of life weighs us down, but when we look up in faith, God takes the yoke of burden off. In Matthew 11:28-29 Jesus tells us, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” We are going to still go through life with a yoke, but our choice which one. Find rest for your soul. Look up to God.

In Christ, Brian

Comfort in God’s Mercy and Judgment - Part 2

Romans 1:18-20 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.”

Continuing Pastor Kyle’s message from the book of Nahum, he proclaims that the second of the comforting divine characteristics of God that Nahum wants us to remember is that God’s vengeance and wrath prove He is always just. About Himself, God says, “I am holy, just and righteous. I am of purer eyes than to behold iniquity. The soul that sins shall die”. God must punish sin because His laws declare that our sins must be punished. Sin separates us from God and God will certainly punish all sin. If He were only justice, then we would all be condemned. However, God is loving and merciful. But, God sent His Son Jesus Christ to take our sins upon Himself and to bear God’s wrath so that we could receive salvation through His atoning sacrifice. The wrath of God is death and by Christ, we are saved from God’s just wrath. As Revelation 6:16 -17 asks, When the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand? God’s justice is always there. We may live in a fallen world, but God is just and in control. Justice shall prevail.

Psalm 103:8 “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.”

Pastor Kyle’s third of the comforting divine characteristics of God that Nahum wants us to remember is that God’s slowness to anger shows us that we can always run to Him. We live in the “Age of Grace”. We are always able to run back to God when we fall. Our Father God waits for us. Know that we are safe with our Heavenly Father. Commentator Matthew Henry on this characteristic of God states; “He is slow to anger, not extreme to mark what we do amiss nor ready to take advantage against us. He bears long with those that are very provoking, defers punishing, that he may give space to repent, and does not speedily execute the sentence of his law; and he could not be thus slow to anger if he were not plenteous in mercy, the very Father of mercies. Peter 3:9-10 tells us, The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. What does that translate to us today? Well, that is the very next point.

Let’s continue Pastor Kyle’s message from the book of Nahum in the next post.

In Christ, Brian

Comfort in God’s Mercy and Judgment - Part 1

Nahum 1:1-7 “The burden against Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite. God is jealous, and the Lord avenges; the Lord avenges and is furious.
The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserves wrath for His enemies; the Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and will not at all acquit

the wicked. The Lord has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet. He rebukes the sea and makes it dry, and dries up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel wither, and the flower of Lebanon wilts. The mountains quake before Him, the hills melt, and the earth heaves at His presence, Yes, the world and all who dwell in it. Who can stand before His indignation? And who can endure the fierceness of His anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by Him. The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him.”

Last Sunday, Pastor Kyle continued in our sermon series through the books of the Minor Prophets in the Bible. These were weighty times in history, but there are times in life today when some messages can hit you like a lot of bricks because they carry a great burden. The reality is that Lord God Almighty is the true comfort and the clear choice for us still is to turn to God.

Exodus 20:1-6  And God spoke all these words, saying: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. “You shall have no other gods before Me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image — any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth

 generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

Pastor Kyle gave us five comforting divine character qualities that Nahum wants us to remember. (1) That God’s jealousy means He loves us. Exodus 34:14 says: For you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. We are used to the negative human jealousy; that passion of peculiar uneasiness which arises from the fear that a rival may rob us of the affection of one whom we love, or the suspicion that he has already done it; or it is the uneasiness which arises from the fear that another does or will enjoy some advantage which we desire for ourselves and is awakened by whatever may exalt others, or give them pleasures and advantages which we desire for ourselves. But divine jealousy is being suspiciously vigilant; anxiously careful and concerned for. God is concerned for His people. Kyle tells us to not get hung up on what Father God wants to get out of our life. Almighty God redeemed us and bought us for a price, therefore owns us and we belong to Him. That fact is comforting. The Lord God purchased us back from sin and death with the atoning blood of Christ. That fact is comforting also. Yet, God desires for us to respond to Him in repentance of sin and acceptance of Salvation, in a choice for commitment and obedience. Why? Let’s go to point #2 to see more clues.

Let’s continue Pastor Kyle’s message from the book of Nahum in the next post.

In Christ, Brian

By Man Came Death

1 Corinthians 15:21-22 “For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.”

I started reading a new book by Creation Evangelist Ken Ham, where he states that the Western Civilization as a whole is becoming less Christian in its worldview as atheistic Macro-evolutionists indoctrinate the masses with lies of  moral relativism, while systematically eliminating public prayer, Bible reading, Christian terminology, and any understanding the truth of Holy Scripture and their virtues and values to the point that the majority of our next generation do not understand what sin is, why there is death in the world, and who Jesus is? A related article states that these above verses, coupled with others throughout the Old and New Testaments, teach a very important principle not fully appreciated by those Christians who would hold that man evolved from lower animals or even that his tenure on Earth was preceded by millions of years. For if the earth is old, then death is part of the natural order of things, and billions upon billions of organisms have lived and died, struggling for existence, surviving only if they were “fit.” But, that’s not what the Bible says.

Taken at face value, however, the Bible indicates a far different scenario. Evidently, at the beginning, all living creatures were created to live forever. There was no death, for all were designed to be vegetarian per Genesis 1:30. God had warned them of disobedience to His one command in Genesis 2:16-17, And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” All of creation was placed under the Curse of death at that time, the animals, the plants, the ground, and mankind; all would be dying. Sadly, as we know all too well, this situation continues today.

The article concludes that if death is a part of the created order, what can our opening Bible passage mean? Furthermore, if death was not specified as the penalty for sin, what does the death of Christ mean? Belief in the concept of the old earth destroys vital doctrines, including our redemption through Christ’s death. Thankfully, the reign of death and the Curse will end one day, when Jesus comes again. Are you ready?

Blessings in Christ, our Redeemer

Is Jesus King or Pawn? – Part 2

Acts 2:22-24 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know—Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.”

Continuing Pastor Giglio's message on is Jesus King, he points back that in yesterday's post Isaiah 46:11 speaks of God calling a bird of prey from the east, the man who executes My counsel, from a far country. Daniel 1:1 tells us that in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. In Daniel 2:2-3 tells of Nebuchadnezzar’s troubling dream. In Daniel 2:27, 31-35, Daniel interprets that dream as a Rock hewed out by Almighty God’s hand – a chief cornerstone, a tried and tested stone for a sure foundation, for that Rock shall break every kingdom that there is. In Daniel 2:47, Daniel declares: “there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets.” After the “fiery furnace” rescue of Rack, Shack and Ben, Nebuchadnezzar writes in Daniel 4:1-3 of the Most High God, “How great are His signs, and how mighty His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion is from generation to generation.” The dream of Nebuchadnezzar’s was interpreted by Daniel (the bird of prey from the east) in 603 B.C. and in 539 B.C. Babylon was conquered and fell.

There are people today that think that they are a king or queen, and need to see Who really is King of kings and Lord of lords.  But, if you feel like a pawn today and concerned about your tomorrow, then be reminded that we have been connected to Jesus. Christ is the true King of kings and Lord of lords, and you are never a pawn in life, if you belong to the King. Your times are in the hands of the King of kings. Jesus is in the fire, delivering us in the furnace before He gets us out of the furnace, showing His superior strength in our lives. In the difficulties before He gets us out of the difficulties. We are always looking for the “eject” button, while Jesus is looking for the “insert” button, where He can come into the equation, the difficulty, the challenge, the pressure or the stress and show Himself enough for us in the fire.

Pastor Giglio says that the key point is: You are not a pawn, if you belong to the King. The king's domain is his kingdom, in which the Believer is a citizen. Even under pressure, you are not a pawn, if you belong to the King. Inside and outside power do not have “final say” over you, if you belong to the King. The King is the king, and He has final say in what happens to you. A committee may decide, the Board may vote, your boss may a decision, people may make choices, the diagnosis may come on the radar and all kinds of pressure may happen, but if you are connected to the King then you are never a pawn. Nobody is wreaking God’s plan. If you have submitted to Him, then this is a “game-changer” and a distinctive in this world.

The way we honor the Lord, influences how we honor people. But, let’s make sure that we never worship anyone but God. That we make our focus to worship the One True God at all cost, any cost and every cost. In the process, we will honor everyone we can, as long as we can, wherever we can. Focus on being faithful and God will focus on making you fruitful. Focus on making sure your heart is “right” and God will sure that the arc of your life was great. The Lord Jesus Christ is King!

In Christ, Brian

Is Jesus King or Pawn? - Part 1

Our Wednesday evening small group Bible Study is going through a video series on who is Jesus by Pastor Louie Giglio. In this last lesson, Pastor Giglio states that no matter where you live, how much money you have, what your job is or what you are in control of, there is always something else that can sweep right into your world and shut it down. But, just because we cannot be in control of everything and everyone, doesn’t mean that we need to feel insecure. It doesn’t mean that we have to go through life worrying how things are going to turn out. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” Today, we can trust and rest in the One who stands above it all.

A Grand Master Chess Player can vision 15-20 moves ahead and what the board will look like at that point. If only we could allow God to help us to think today beyond the nest move! There is going to be peace and hope come into our lives, because we are “next move” people. A situation comes into our world out of left field, a tragic phone call comes, news that we were not expecting appears, or somebody moves in a way that we did not imagine; what is our next move? We are a generation of “next move” people and God is a God of all the moves. So, for us to align our lives with Him, roots us in hope and peace.

Isaiah 46:5-11 “To whom will you liken Me, and make Me equal and compare Me, that we should be alike? They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver on the scales; they hire a goldsmith, and he makes it a god; they prostrate themselves, yes, they worship. They bear it on the shoulder, they carry it and set it in its place, and it stands; from its place it shall not move. Though one cries out to it, yet it cannot answer nor save him out of his trouble. Remember this, and show yourselves men; recall to mind, O you transgressors. Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet

done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure,’ Calling a bird of prey

from the east, the man who executes My counsel, from a far country. Indeed I have spoken

it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it.”

Pastor Giglio points out that in life, there is a “big picture” going on and the question is not who is moving the pieces within the chessboard of life, but Who is moving the pieces of history today? God, through all ages, has raised up people of power to accomplish His purposes in time and eternity. Jesus, standing before the “outside” power of Roman Authority caused them to ask: “Are you a king?” or “Are you a pawn?” The promised Messiah was going to be a great and mighty Ruler, the One to bring the Kingdom of God, the One that they all were waiting for … the Promised One. But, Jesus looked like He was just a pawn in the hands of power. As Jesus affirms that He is a King, at the end of the day, the “inside” (Jewish) power has it’s way with the “outside” (Roman) power and take Christ away to crucified Him.

The answer to was Jesus a King or a Pawn is clear. Jesus was not the pawn on that day, but everyone else there (both inside and outside powers) were the pawns on that day. In fact, Jesus was the King on that day and everyone else was a role player in the purpose and plan of Almighty God. The Roman Empire was conquered and fell in 476 A.D. and here we are worshiping Jesus, the living Savior of the world, today. Jesus Christ is King!

Let's continue this eye-opening study's message in the next post.

In Christ, Brian

The Pursuit of Righteousness – Part 2

Michael continues that in the old game show, "To Tell the Truth," the question was, "Will the real you please stand up." When God sees us he sees the righteousness of Jesus Christ himself. Who is the real you?  The real you is the person who God created us in Christ Jesus when we were born again of God's spirit.  According to Colossians 1:26-27, the riches of the glory of the mystery is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

God has called us to be godly so that we don't need to be afraid of judgment today and come Judgment Day. We are sons and daughters of God by new birth in Christ. He has created in us a new life in the spirit of Christ in us. We have been saved by grace through faith. As Galatians says, the just shall live by faith. Faith produces knowledge of the cause and purpose of our lives. Faith produces fidelity ... to stand strong to the end.

As a man or woman of God, we do things because of whose we are. We were made the righteousness of God because of Jesus' payment for sin on our behalf. For he who was without sin became the perfect sin sacrifice for us that we may be made the righteousness of God in him. The real you is "Christ in you". It's His feet behind my feet, His hands behind my hands, His eyes behind my eyes, and His heart behind my heart. Faithfulness is not because of what we do, but because of who we are and whose we are. Devoted means that we have dedicated ourselves to His purposes and cause because of our righteousness in Him.

Each moment in time can be "our finest hour." Each moment is an opportunity to fulfill our "divine appointment" to walk in fellowship with our Lord Jesus Christ. Our acceptance by our Heavenly Father is through His son, for there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.  

The sin nature will pursue the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. However, you are slaves to whom you obey. We have the power of the Holy Spirit to flee from these things and instead to pursue the righteousness of God in Christ in us. For there is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the spirit of life in Christ has made me free from the law of sin and death. Therefore we can approach our father as sons of God. We can live for our Father's glory, for it is God who works in you to will and to do of his good pleasure.

May God richly bless you!

Your brother in Christ, Michael

The Pursuit of Righteousness – Part 1

This week, Michael writes that as the people of God, we need to keep our eyes on eternity.  Even though we live in the here and now, our eyes are on the hereafter.

In the books of Timothy, natural men and women of this world are opposed to the things of righteousness. Many harmful desires of the flesh plunge us into destruction and depravity. The battle between light of righteousness and the darkness of sin rages on. Ephesians 6:12 tells us, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against spiritual wickedness from on high.” Charles Spurgeon said that we are the result of a siege that God waged against the fortress of our worldly hearts. He has broken down the walls of the Believer and led captivity captive.

Per the poem written by English poet Francis Thompson, Jesus Christ is the "hound of heaven", who continuously pursues us. "The name is strange. It startles one at first. It is so bold, so new, so fearless. It does not attract, rather the reverse. But when one reads the poem this strangeness disappears. The meaning is understood. As the hound follows the hare, never ceasing in its running, ever drawing nearer in the chase, with unhurrying and imperturbed pace, so does God follow the fleeing soul by His Divine grace. And though in sin or in human love, away from God it seeks to hide itself, Divine grace follows after, unwearyingly follows ever after, till the soul feels its pressure forcing it to turn to Him alone in that never ending pursuit." 

In 2 Timothy, the Apostle Paul knew that he was approaching the end of his ministry and this life. He reminded Timothy of the sins of our fallen nature that we inherited from Adam. To turn from sin, Paul exhorts his converts to turn instead to righteousness.  Because we have been created a new man or woman in Christ Jesus. Paul said to flee from sin and to pursue righteousness. According to 2 Timothy 3: 1-5 “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”

Paul didn't say to convert these evil men.  Rather he said turn away from them.  To flee from them, instead pursue six things:  In verse 11, as a child of God, he says to pursue godliness: “But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.” Godliness is defined as: A pious life; a careful observance of the laws of God and performance of religious duties, proceeding from love and reverence for the divine character and commands; Christian obedience. Godliness is defined as living life according to righteousness in the presence of Almighty God. Righteousness is purity of heart and rectitude of life; conformity of heart and life to the divine law. It is nearly equivalent to holiness, comprehending holy principles and affections of heart, and conformity of life to the divine law. It includes all we call justice, honesty and virtue, with holy affections; in short, it is true religion.

The love of God keeps no record of wrongs done. God doesn't build up a resentment bank. To approach our loving Heavenly Father, we must approach Him with a heart of love and grace. Let’s pause and continue Michael’s message on the pursuit of righteousness in the next post. 

In Christ, Brian

Life is for Togetherness – Part 2

Ecclesiastes 4:4 “Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man's envy of his 

neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.”

Continuing Pastor Kyle's message, he stated that the voice of isolation creeps in and skews our perspective. A perspective is a lense by which we view the world. We filter our worldview through a perspective that is shaped by all kinds of things in our lives. Through this bias lense, we see people not as God sees them nor how others see us. These filters skew reality to communicate messages a certain way, but God can see through every filter, seeing us for who we really are and for who He created us to be. We are not often good at recognizing the lense by which we view reality. Isolation puts a filter on our view of reality that we are not even aware of, but process all of life through. Whether we say, “I’m better than the rest”, “I am not as good as the rest”, or comparing and judging everyone to ourselves for better or worse, it is not reality. People many times set out to do great things for the wrong reasons. The only way to fix the lense of isolation is to choose togetherness.

Togetherness with the wrong people is arguably the only thing more dangerous than isolation. Being wired for togetherness, we are all terrified at heart to be alone, and in our search for companionship, fellowship and belonging, we often form the wrong kinds of connections, finding ourselves not where we want to be with no way out. A 3-fold cord can be either positive or negative. Once you twine and weave those strands, they are strong and hard to get undone. Wrong relationships drag you down rather than pull you up; messy and causing chaos in your life. We seek a cathartic (purifying and therapeutic) relationship in our life. But, we find ourselves normalizing what we are trying to overcome; things that the devil wants us to normalize, but God wants us to overcome. Crawl out of that hole.

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Togetherness with the “right” people makes you a better you. There are things that magnify the wrong qualities and things that magnify the right qualities in our life. Togetherness with the right people magnifies the qualities that God wants to grow and enrich in us. Know that God has great friendships in store for you, but you must walk in them. Good works includes good relationships for the Christian. Good works lead to great relationships. God pouts people into our lives, but great relationships and friendships only happen when we walk in them. God may have new friendships in store for you for this season of your life, to bless you or to be a blessing in someone’s life today. Walk in it, not fight it. 

Some friends are forever. Some are for a season and that’s okay. It is natural that most people have only five or less “inner-circle”, close friends in their life. Not every relationship we have is supposed to be an amazing, “best friends forever” scenario. That is not genuine. We can put an unrealistic amount of pressure on relationships. Do current friendships meet a need for this season of your life? Then, it is a win for the kingdom of God and a win for you! There are relationships in your life that God uses to make you into a better you; to grow into the likeness of Jesus. 

Know that the fruit grows at the end. We really want a 3-fold cord relationship. The reward in Christian relationships is in our worries and cares losing their scale and impact in our perspective to become manageable for us together in the end. Life is for togetherness. Do not walk alone.

In Christ, Brian

Life is for Togetherness – Part 1

 

Ecclesiastes 4:6-12 “Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind. Again, I saw vanity under the sun: one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy business. Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

Last Sunday, Pastor Kyle gave a special sermon on the anniversary of the founding of City Church of Anaheim, California. He stated that the one lie which we are all tempted to believe in our lives is that we are to bear our burdens alone. There is actually great power in togetherness. The age-old truth, and the purpose of the Christian church is that life is for togetherness. Genesis 2:18a tells us the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone.” God created us with a sense of family within community for a shared human experience in the bond of being connected to one another. Father God longs for us to belong in His family and in His church – together in ministry. The goal is not the meaningless pursuit of the things in life that will not produce lasting joy or cause us to feel isolated and empty, but happiness and fulfillment in communal love. 

Galatians 5:16-26 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now

the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy,

drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that

those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;

against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”

There are ties in the human struggle that it feels like life is pointless. But, God gives us a choice each day to either live in isolation or togetherness in spirit and in relationships. It is easy to get to the point where we say, “I do not want to burden anyone else, so I shall do this myself.” But, this is really shutting people out who love and care for us. Saying, “I can do this myself” or “I am the only one who can do this” is narcissistic at the root and removes our opportunity to receive from others. It may sound noble to say such things, but it is not. Isolation masquerades as wisdom. If you want to make lasting changes, you need to get out of isolated rows and choose to get into circles where the power of togetherness kicks into high gear and life-changing experiences take place. 

Let's continue Pastor Kyle message of togetherness in the next post.

In Christ, Brian

You Shall Not Steal

Deuteronomy 5:19 “You shall not steal.”

I read an interesting article on the Ten Commandments that focus on the Eighth Commandment. It pointed out how people may deny the existence of objective truth with their mouths, but try to steal from them and you will soon see how furious they become that you do not believe theft is objectively wrong. All human beings have an instinctive awareness of God’s law because they are made in His image, but some statutes are reflected more in human societies than others. The eighth commandment of God’s Ten Commandments, which prohibits theft, is one of these commandments. We can find countless societies throughout the world that violate the command against idols, but we would be hard-pressed to find a culture that approves of outright theft. There are several types of theft, including the violent seizure of goods by a recognized thief. Yet, human beings rob one another in other ways as well. A second kind of theft consists in malicious deceit, when goods and possessions are carried off through fraud.

Proverbs 11:1 “A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight.”

Another lies in a more concealed craftiness, when a man’s goods are snatched from him by seemingly “legal means”. Few of us are likely to burglarize others’ homes or rob someone at gunpoint. However, we are tempted to steal in other ways. The eighth commandment from God also prohibits us from taking our neighbor’s goods and possessions “by means that appear legitimate”. Fraudulent merchandising and inaccurate weights and measures are two such means. Unjust weights and measures are forbidden throughout Scripture. There are several ways that a seller can alter measurements to fool buyers into thinking they are getting more than they are actually receiving. This is equivalent to theft because it takes more from a buyer than he should be paying. It falls under the thief category of "getting something for nothing”. Christians must never use false measurements or lie about what they are buying and selling. Do we really think that God doesn't see it?

Exodus 20:15 “You shall not steal.”

The article pointed out that some of the most sophisticated means of theft are codified in law by our lawmakers. Politicians routinely promise to raise taxes on one group of people to pay for services for another group of people. This creates tax rates that demand a higher percentage of income from some people than others. This falls under the thief category of “steal from the rich to pay the poor”. Christians are to follow the laws in place and pay their taxes (Romans 13:6–7), but, as they are able, they must not perpetuate legalized theft. Voting a tax rate on others that we do not vote on ourselves is the same as stealing from our neighbor. You don’t rob Peter to pay Paul. It is still theft in the eyes of God. 

Blessings

Spiritually Buried and Raised with Christ

Colossians 3:2-3 “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

An article that I was reading stated that the apostle Paul, looking forward to the time when we shall “ever be with the Lord”, wrote in Philippians 1:23-24: “I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account”.

The fact is, however, that we can be “with Christ” even while still abiding in the flesh, as Paul himself emphasized. This is the great principle called positional truth. “Positionally,” we are already “with Christ,” for that is where God sees us and how He relates to us. He has “raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus”.

Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

Before we could be raised up with Christ, however, we first had to die with Him. God even saw us as buried with Christ when He was buried, and this is the great truth symbolized in our baptism. Romans 6:4says, “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” Romans 6:8-12 goes on to say: “We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.”

The article explained that Christ died for us, so our deserved death became His substitutionary death, and His victorious resurrection becomes our own unmerited deliverance from death in eternal resurrection life. This is the “Good News” and this is our position now, and our assured everlasting possession then, for we are with Christ, who “dies no more.” This truth is not only a wonderful doctrinal teaching, but a focus for our thoughts, and real incentive for godly living.

Blessings

Treasure Hunt - Part Two

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 says, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

Michael continues that only two things from this earthly life will last: our eternal spirit of life in Christ and the lives of those who have been born again of God's Holy Spirit by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. The material things of this world will come to naught. They are here today and gone tomorrow ... they will take wings and fly away.

Hebrews 12:25-29 says, “See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire..”

The treasures of this world are the things that can be shaken. That which is shaken loose shall be burned. That which cannot be shaken are treasures in heaven. Women and men of this world want to see the mighty works of God, but they don't understand the holiness of God. Holiness means to be set apart for the purpose that God intended. Those who are ready to turn from the treasures of earth and instead turn to and treasure treasures in heaven, are those whom God will save according to the truth of His Word of salvation.  

It's not the wrath of God that calls men and women to salvation.  Rather, the goodness and love of God woos people to turn away from the things of this world and unto the Lord Jesus Christ.  He is the one who loved us and gave himself for us. The mercy, grace and love of God calls everyone to repentance. This is the good news of the gospel of grace, that God has committed to us. Be on the treasure hunt, but treasure treasures in heaven.

2 Corinthians 5:20 “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.”

May we ever live to the praise of the glory of His grace.

Your brother in Christ, Michael