Jesus is the Lord of our past & the God of our future

The Bible teaches us that the Lord will go before us as we go into the new year and He will guard our rear. While it is true that we have sinned in the past. Jesus can transform our transgressions into proceeding into the furtue with thoughtfulness. Jesus is the God of our past and He leads our way into the future.

Gifts vs. Abilities

All persons are born with natural inclinations toward certain abilities. Some are skilled with music, others sports. When you are born again from the Spirit of God, you are given Spiritual Gifts intended for use to build up the Body of our Lord. It may be that previously you could never teach, but now in the Church you teach effectively. It may be that you were never generous, but now are exceedingly generous and so forth. These are not by accident or coincidental, but they are of the Spirit of the Lord. They are intended to glorify God and His work on earth.

Having Been Market With The Truth

Once God has revealed Himself to you and you have seen the "heavenly vision" you must strive to fulfill your calling. One cannot compare yourself to someone else, either greater or lesser. The only thing that matters is what God intends for you at this time. If you repress the truth, then the truth will no longer be effective against your conscience. One must press on with the truth so that we can join Christ in His labor.

Continuous Convesion

Our lives need to be characterized by "continuous conversion." The natural man is planted deep within our soul and to bring ones self into total submission requires continuous conversion. This is different than salvation, because once one trusts in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation, they are guaranteed to escape eternal punishment. By continuous conversioon, this is like sanctification whereby all areas that we hold private are turned over to the Lord and they are His. It is through sanctification that we become useful to our Lord and this has the goal of discipleship.

The Secret Places of Your Soul

Success in spiritual warfare is dependant on your fighting your battle before the Lord. Strongholds or other forces that keep you from spiritual victory are not won in the flesh or external places of your life. They are won with a decisive battle of your will before the Lord. Here, nothing is held back and your decision of your will assures your victory. When the victory is won here, there is nothing in the external that can defeat you.

What It Means to "Walk in the Light"

Jesus promises us that if we walk in the Light like He is in the Light that by means of the Cross, our sins will be forgiven us. But what does He mean by walk in the light? In part, it is agreeing with Him about sin and joining Him by fighting against it. Second, it is a sorrow over the sin that is in our life, but a joy knowing that Jesus has the power and the will to remove it. Third, it is a recognition of sin for what it is, that is, its outward and inward working. Lastly, it is the allowance of the Spirit of God to pick up were we are weak to purge sin both at the conscious and unconscious level.

The Birth of Lord Jesus

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, He entered into time and space and took the form of man. Jesus' existence is without beginning or end, but Mary became the mother of the human nature of Christ. His taking on of flesh was necessary for him to offer a substitutionary atonement for fallen man on the Cross. In the same way, all of the human race, through they be born of the flesh, are required to be born of the Spirit if they are to be saved by Him. By being born of the Spirit of God, they allow Christ to be formed in them so that Christ's work is in and through believers in Him. This is the will of God.

I Defy You...

It is not possible to be in the presence of the Living God and His Son and defy them of who they are. Through His Word, the world was spoken into being.
God builds up, but He also tears down. He creates and he kills. He raises up and He throws down. Nobody can deliver out of His hand. The issue is not is He who He says He is or can He do what He says? No. The issue is am I willing to submit myself to Him? In our sinful flesh, we cannot. But if in His presence you are born of His Spirit, then no longer are you separated from God and you agree with His purposes.

The difference between salvation & discipleship

There are many who are saved who are not yet disciples. The old saying goes " salvation is free, but discipleship costs everything." Salvation is trusting in Jesus Christ alone and His finished work on the Cross as your only means of going to heaven. Discipleship requires you to be crucified with Christ resulting in putting to death sin and self interests. When one does not die to sin, the Old Man continues to live. But when you die to sin and to self, the result is a new nature apart from worldliness. The first step after salvation is to agree with Christ about your sin. The second is putting it to death with the help of the Spirit so that you can walk in newness of life.

No One Can Come to Jesus Unless He is Drawn by the Father

Most people think that it is of their own volition that they become Christian or not. The truth is that unless the Father draws you, you cannot believe. The crossroads then is what happens once He (the Father) draws you? Then, by an act of will, you will either come to Him or not. Coming to Him means coming to Him on His terms which involve the surrender of your will. This is the real reason some are not Christian. It is not a matter of intellectual belief - they surely believe, but it is a matter of choice and all that comes with that. Be assured, that to all who come, they will by no means be disappointed.

Jesus is the object of our faith

If you have been saved, you should know that Jesus Christ alone is the object of our faith. This is very important because any other object for our faith is deceiving. Some say that they have had super natural experiences, but experiences are the last thing we want to trust in because more often than not, they have a false bottom. When you came to faith, it was because you placed your faith in Jesus Christ alone and His finished work on the cross and your only grounds for salvation. Now that you are saved, this is no time to shift the object of your faith, but it remains in Christ alone without waivering.

Raising Christ Up

In our Church Era, the only way to lift up Jesus Christ is by way of the Cross. There is nothing short of the Cross that saves and when people realize the Cross of Christ for themself, they are drawn to Him and are saved. As a Servant of Christ, it is our duty to lift Him up before others, magnifying His Holy Work and continue seeking the lost in His Name.

You Cannot Find Someone Until They Are First Lost

Many who love evangelism share a common secret. The secret is that one cannot go seeking people for Christ until they are lost in their own sin. The hardest thing for the natural man to admit is that he/she is a depraved sinner in need of a Savior. For the person who glories in their sin, they don't feel lost. One day they will be trapped in their own sin and realize that there is no way out short of a miracle. The miracle of course is the Cross of Christ. And it is indeed a miracle because it gives infinite power to the finate soul. It is as the song goes "I once was lost, but now am found. I was blind, but now I see."

Ask not is He faithful, ask if we are faithful to Him

You see, in the Christian Life, its not about us, it is all about God. Even Christ came into the World "to do my Fathers work." There is nothing that is not under the providence of the Almighty. He even knows the number of hairs on our head!
So what does one do with a God such as this? He wants us to be faithful as He is faithful because all things work together for good for those who love Him.

"Ask & It Will Be Given to You" but What Am I Asking?

The reason we ask of the Father is because it is through His Word that He creates in us a need that only He can fill - the power of redemption. The Bible also teaches that the Word is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who believe, it is the power of God. If we ask not, God will not create the spiritual need for Him that leads to redemption. But when Christ is lifted up, to those who see, they are drawn to the Cross of their Salvation. So preach the Word, because faith comes through hearing.

Wrestling with and before God

It seems unavoidable that we will all confront our Maker in all things. The Bible teaches us that all things come together for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purposes. This is the explanation for those who are in the path of God's perfect will. The Bible also teaches us that Jacob ( and we) will wrestle before God. This is because we are trying to convince the Holy One of our preferences concerning His permissive will. In Jacob's case, he said he would not stop until God blesses him. In my or your life it may be something else, but you can be sure that if you ask for something outside of God's permissive or perfect will, you will lose the battle and he will leave a scar with you to remember the battle.

Rightly Dividing the Word

When I was in seminary, people would ask me what I had learned. I would say, "don't worry, I don't express my own thoughts, but the qualified thoughts of others." But this is not the goal of siminary. The goal of seminary is for yourself to rightly divide the word and express it to others. There is everything right with learning from others, but it is more important to express it for yourself in your own words which makes it heart knowledge for you and blesses the hearer of these words.

God's Stamp of Approval

"Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid" Jesus tells us. "Come unto Me and I will give you peace, because not as the World gives do I give to you." The profound sense of absolute peace is God's stamp of approval when you decide to trust in Him. The World gives a temporal peace, but not the profound peace of the Prince of Peace. This does not mean that when you trust in Christ your troubles deminish. Quite the contrary, they multiply. But what does happen is that you are not worried over them because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the World.

Individuality - Personality - The Total Person

Individuality is the characteristic of the Outer Man. Personality runs deep and is the mark of the Inner-Man. Individuality separates its self off from other people and is self-willed. Personality submits to another personality in wedlock if you will by the force of love. It is the Inner-Man that God transforms into the likeness of Christ. Even Christ said in the Gospel of John "I and the Father are One." When you transform the Outer Man by the will of the Inner-Man you have the Total Man which is what Christ is. He is an individual submitted to the will of the Father where He and the Father have the same will and desires.

Individuality first stiffens and then kills

Humankind is created for the enjoyment and glory of God. Individuality assets self-will over Gods-will and separates us from God and stiffens the work of the Spirit. When we speak of someone being born again, it is a reference to the surrender of self in favor of God. It is a yieldness to God by His help. This does not mean we are without sin, but what it does mean is that our sins are forgiven because we put ourself under Christs authority.

Sacrifice, Discipline and Obedience

The will of God is that we follow Him through obedience. Sin complicated this so that it separated our natural and spiritual life. In order to feed the spirit, it is necessary to starve the flesh. This is called sacrifice. It is through sacrifice that we discipline ourself so that our spiritual life may flourish. When we walk by the Spirit of God, then be sure that God is with us in all that we do.

You Must Deny Yourself

Jesus says whoever wants to follow Him must deny himself. He is saying that one cannot be a disciple without self-sacrifice. It is a matter of putting the flesh to death so that the spirit may flourish. This isn't easy because it requires the submission of your own will in favor of His. All people agree about what is bad or evil, but not all agree about what is good. What is good in the natural realm opposes the work of Jesus Christ in the World.

The Heart of the Father

It is the heart of the Father that all people shall be saved. Justification is "right standing" before God. The Cross of Jesus Christ is the only means of justification and salvation, but it is a sure way. The only reason that all people are not saved is not because of God, but because people duplicate the sin of Lucifer and are too prideful to accept the Cross for their salvation. Jesus instructs us to follow the narrow way, because the broad way which many follow leads to destruction. Nobody can plead with God for the forgiveness of sins. It is because of the Father's great love for us that He provided a way to Him where He would accept the unholy sinner as a holy saint. By the blood of Christ we are forgiven and sins are remembered no more.

Repentance leading to transformation

True repentance is a gift of God. In our flesh, we are too self centered to truely repent. True repentance takes the form of realizing that it is against God whom we sin and it should lead to profound sorrow. It is as David said in his confession "Against You alone have I sinned." Repentance leads to transformation. Gal. 4:19 speaks of "Christ being formed in the believer." This is the transformation spoken of. The goal of the Father is that the believer image the Son and do His work in the world.

Present Your Body as a Living Sacrifice

The reasoning for the presentation of the body as a Living Sacrifice is because it is the Temple of the Spirit of God for those who are saved. God has give humans authority over all of creation and that includes the body.
Our flesh has yearnings that conflict witht he Word of God and our responsibility is to bring the Body into subjection of the Word of God. While grace is abundant, it is not right to use grace as an excuse for lack of disciple in our lives.

Maintaining Life is a Fight

It doesn't come as a surprise that life is a fight. Our bodies are created for life, but everything outside of the body that does not mentor life is your enemy. Don't think things are any different in the spiritual realm. Here we hear of spiritual warfare so there is even a greater fight in the heavenlies. We are not born with moral excellence. Instead it is acquired, but not without a fight. The Apostle Paul speaks of fighting the good fight, but in the end, keeping the faith. This is our objective too, to fight the good fight and keep the faith.

Preaching the Gospel in the Spirit

Never be downcast if your local pastor does not possess the preaching elequence of Tony Evans. You see, no man can save and the power of the Gospel is unleashed in the Power of the Spirit. It is the Spirit that illuminates the eyes of men and it is the Spirit who purifies the heart. It matters not if Billy Graham speaks of an ordinary guy like Ron Akerson, the result is still the same which is unleashing the Power of God in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Blessed are those who mourn

The standard of a healthy Christian life is not only having a vital and active relationship with the Living Jesus, but also yearning and mourning for other's to have a relationship with Jesus also. To this Jesus adds, to those who mourn, they will be comforted. Living for the Kingdom of God is one of having passion for the coming Kingdom and you entering it now followed by others who you lead there.

Jesus did not come to destroy the Law, but fulfill it

The reason that the Law is important in our Age of Grace is because it is God's expression of Moral Excellence. It sets the standard for behavior and is absolute. To fallen man, it is not obtainable, but that does not change the fact that it is good and pleasing to the Father. Our world has resorted to relativism rather than adherence. It choses to make the Law and option rather than an absolute. People say things like "I'm Ok and you're Ok." This is instead of being convicted of their sin and seeking a Savior. Without the realization of man's depravity and inability to please God, man cannot be saved. Jesus says "nobody comes to the Father except through Me."