ALL THINGS OUT FROM GOD (HGM 18 JUNE 24)

Paul writes to the Church as Corinth and to us. “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (II Corinthians 5:17) In the Greek, it reads, “behold, all things are out from God.” Which is so true, “ALL” things are out from God.

 A. In this passage we find a description of Christianity or what constitutes a Christian. A Christian is someone who is “IN CHRIST” or as Paul says in Colossians 1:27, Christianity is, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Christ in us, or us in Christ, this is Christianity and a Christian and if we are in Christ, we are a new creation. 

B. How is Christ in us? How are we in Christ? Paul writes, “He that is joined to the Lord is ONE SPIRIT (with Him.)” (I Corinthians 6:17) Salvation takes place when the LORD joins us to Himself and He makes us ONE SPIRIT with HIMSELF. Paul elsewhere describes this joining as being, “baptized into Christ.” (see Romans 6:3-5) He says we are PLANTED into His death, and thus, His resurrection. Christ is in us through the joined of our human spirit to Himself through His Spirit. 

C. An essential to see about this joining is that we are not generally given THINGS from the LORD aside from, or added to, Christ. For example, we are not given a THING called “salvation” because of Christ. Oh no. We are given all things IN CHRIST. We are joined to Jesus Christ Himself, IN WHOM there is all life. Much difficulty in the Christian life arises from trying to get things from God instead of receiving and living out from the Christ in whom are all things. 

D. God has wrapped up ALL THINGS in His Son, and He has freely given all things IN HIM. (Romans. 8:32) Thus, there is nothing that God has for us except it be found in His Son. So, we cannot receive the THINGS of God except we receive the Christ in whom are all things. The fact that God is sometimes merciful to bless people aside from what is in Christ does not diminish this overall Truth. 

E. Now what this ought to tell us is that if we are joined to the LORD, we have in Christ all that God has, indeed, all that God is. The goal, at that this point, is not to receive MORE from God or other THINGS and it is not to obtain more experiences. Oh no. The purpose of God once we are saved is that Christ be formed in us (Galatians 4:19) and that we be formed together with Him. (Romans. 8:29) If that is happening, then all that is IN Christ will likewise come into our experience. Christian growth or sanctification is never the result of getting more of Christ. Rather, it is a matter of the Christ we have already received being made manifest in and through us: 

F. Paul writes, “That no flesh should glory in his presence. 30But of him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: 31That, according as it is written, He that glories, let him glory in the LORD.” (l Corinthians 1:29-31) 

G. This brings us back to our passage from II Corinthians. 5:17. You will note that it is our joining to the LORD that makes us a new creation. You will also note that everything that is of the new creation is, well -- NEW. And just as importantly, all of this newness that constitutes the new creation comes FROM God. Again, the Greek actually reads, “and all things (that constitute the new creation) are OUT FROM GOD. 

H. So, what we have is this: When we are joined to the LORD and become one with Him in spirit, what is birthed is a new creation in Christ Jesus. We become one with Christ in both His death and His resurrection, old things are passed away through His death and all things have become new. Note that we do not bring anything new into this relationship. Christ brings all and IS ALL, to us in this spiritual joining. That is why Paul says, “ALL THINGS ARE FROM OUT OF GOD.” In contrast, nothing new is from OUT OF US. 

I. A Christian is one who has been joined to the LORD made one with Him, and thus, has received all that Christ IS, and all that Christ has done. Despite the fact that it will take a lifetime and more for Christ to be unfolded and experienced, it still does not negate the fact that we have already received all things freely in Christ. Our joining to the LORD not only births a new creature, but immediately negates the old. All that we are in Adam, the natural and the flesh, the old Adam life is now under the work of the Cross. It has no place in the new creature. It is passing away. 

J. Notice that a Christian is not one who is made to LOOK LIKE JESUS or merely ACT like Jesus by following certain principles. Oh no. That is not sanctification. Rather, a Christian is one who is joined to the LORD and THROUGH WHOM Jesus Himself wants to live. When Paul said, “Christ, who is our life,” (Colossians 3:4) he was pointing to the fact not that Christ has given us a life to live for Him, but that HE IS OUR LIFE and wants to live in and through us. 

K. God is not making Christians into little Xerox copies of Jesus. Rather, He wants each of us to manifest through us the Christ who dwells in us and to be living evidence of the fact that we are joined to Him.

ALL THINGS OUT FROM GOD (FROM HGM ON 18 JUNE 24

Paul writes to the Church as Corinth and to us. “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (II Corinthians 5:17) In the Greek, it reads, “behold, all things are out from God.” Which is so true, “ALL” things are out from God. 

 A. In this passage we find a description of Christianity or what constitutes a Christian. A Christian is someone who is “IN CHRIST” or as Paul says in Colossians 1:27, Christianity is, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Christ in us, or us in Christ, this is Christianity and a Christian and if we are in Christ, we are a new creation. 

B. How is Christ in us? How are we in Christ? Paul writes, “He that is joined to the Lord is ONE SPIRIT (with Him.)” (I Corinthians 6:17) Salvation takes place when the LORD joins us to Himself and He makes us ONE SPIRIT with HIMSELF. Paul elsewhere describes this joining as being, “baptized into Christ.” (see Romans 6:3-5) He says we are PLANTED into His death, and thus, His resurrection. Christ is in us through the joined of our human spirit to Himself through His Spirit. 

C. An essential to see about this joining is that we are not generally given THINGS from the LORD aside from, or added to, Christ. For example, we are not given a THING called “salvation” because of Christ. Oh no. We are given all things IN CHRIST. We are joined to Jesus Christ Himself, IN WHOM there is all life. Much difficulty in the Christian life arises from trying to get things from God instead of receiving and living out from the Christ in whom are all things. 

D. God has wrapped up ALL THINGS in His Son, and He has freely given all things IN HIM. (Romans. 8:32) Thus, there is nothing that God has for us except it be found in His Son. So, we cannot receive the THINGS of God except we receive the Christ in whom are all things. The fact that God is sometimes merciful to bless people aside from what is in Christ does not diminish this overall Truth. 

E. Now what this ought to tell us is that if we are joined to the LORD, we have in Christ all that God has, indeed, all that God is. The goal, at that this point, is not to receive MORE from God or other THINGS and it is not to obtain more experiences. Oh no. The purpose of God once we are saved is that Christ be formed in us (Galatians 4:19) and that we be formed together with Him. (Romans. 8:29) If that is happening, then all that is IN Christ will likewise come into our experience. Christian growth or sanctification is never the result of getting more of Christ. Rather, it is a matter of the Christ we have already received being made manifest in and through us: 

F. Paul writes, “That no flesh should glory in his presence. 30But of him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: 31That, according as it is written, He that glories, let him glory in the LORD.” (l Corinthians 1:29-31) 

G. This brings us back to our passage from II Corinthians. 5:17. You will note that it is our joining to the LORD that makes us a new creation. You will also note that everything that is of the new creation is, well -- NEW. And just as importantly, all of this newness that constitutes the new creation comes FROM God. Again, the Greek actually reads, “and all things (that constitute the new creation) are OUT FROM GOD. 

H. So, what we have is this: When we are joined to the LORD and become one with Him in spirit, what is birthed is a new creation in Christ Jesus. We become one with Christ in both His death and His resurrection, old things are passed away through His death and all things have become new. Note that we do not bring anything new into this relationship. Christ brings all and IS ALL, to us in this spiritual joining. That is why Paul says, “ALL THINGS ARE FROM OUT OF GOD.” In contrast, nothing new is from OUT OF US. 

I. A Christian is one who has been joined to the LORD made one with Him, and thus, has received all that Christ IS, and all that Christ has done. Despite the fact that it will take a lifetime and more for Christ to be unfolded and experienced, it still does not negate the fact that we have already received all things freely in Christ. Our joining to the LORD not only births a new creature, but immediately negates the old. All that we are in Adam, the natural and the flesh, the old Adam life is now under the work of the Cross. It has no place in the new creature. It is passing away. 

J. Notice that a Christian is not one who is made to LOOK LIKE JESUS or merely ACT like Jesus by following certain principles. Oh no. That is not sanctification. Rather, a Christian is one who is joined to the LORD and THROUGH WHOM Jesus Himself wants to live. When Paul said, “Christ, who is our life,” (Colossians 3:4) he was pointing to the fact not that Christ has given us a life to live for Him, but that HE IS OUR LIFE and wants to live in and through us. 

K. God is not making Christians into little Xerox copies of Jesus. Rather, He wants each of us to manifest through us the Christ who dwells in us and to be living evidence of the fact that we are joined to Him.

REBUKE THEM

We just got back from a trip to Poland and Czech Republic when I heard from some of the pastors about the Christian influence and statistics in their culture I was truly shocked. My last memories of Poland and Czech Republic was from 20 years ago when there was a great move of God within the people. Here are the numbers. In Poland: 71.8% Catholicism, 1.2% Other Christian, 20.9% Unanswered, and 6.9% No Religion, In Czech Republic it is worse. In Czech Republic: 47.8% No Religion, 2.0% Other Christian, 9.6% Believers without Religion, 1.2% Other Religions, and 30.1% Undeclared. Of note, while in Czech Republic the love, dedication, and commitment of the Body of Christ in Cesky Tesin was magnified even brighter by the darkness of their culture. But if you look at the influence and numbers of Christians in America, who brags she is a Christian nation, I must be honest America is not much better. Here are some of the latest statistics on America’s culture from 29 Mar 2024 by the Public Research Institute. More than 26% of Americans questioned said they were unaffiliated without a religion a 5 point increase since 2013. One in five or 18% of Americans left a religious tradition to become religiously unaffiliated - 35% Catholic and 35% mainline non-evangelical protestant. In 2016, three out of ten people left their religion, because of negative teaching and/or because of the treatment of gay and lesbian people. In 2023, that number rose to 47%. Among unaffiliated Americans under 30, 60% cite the LGBQT+ agenda as the top reason they stopped going to church. The LGBQT+ agenda is evil, it always has been and God has always called it an abomination, and He has not changed His mind no matter what man says and does. Christian Nationalism and GOP State legislatures pushing anti-LGBQT+ laws also caused young people to leave organized religion. Atheists, from 2% to 4%, and Agnostics, 2% to 5%, has more than doubled since 2013. Only 53% of Americans say religion is important in their lives, down from 72% in 2013. In 2013, 18% of white Americans, mostly Catholics grew, but 1/3 of those now no longer identify as a member of a church. 12% Hispanics who were raised Catholic 13% of those no longer identify as a member of a church. What happened? America, who use to be number one, now ranks 13th in spreading the Gospel message, after the collapsed spirituality of England, around the world is but a shell of what she use to be in God. Oh, my friends around the world please do not hook your wagon to the Church in America she is adrift from God. What happened? Well, I will tell you, the “Church” has drifted from what the Word of God instructs us to do. America stopped preaching against sin and switched to humanism for church doctrine, even in their Sunday School literature, which fosters a steady diet of useless conferences, separating people for ministry into groups by their sex and age (ladies, men, and children ministries), and counseling for every problem under the sun instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to deal and judge in the lives of people, and probably the biggest reason Americans are falling away from the truths of the Word of God like flies is because the Church in America has turned her back on the Person, the power, and the workings of the Holy Spirit. Yes, the Church in America has gotten away from the truths of the Word of God. Being non-judgmental, soft and mushy, and searcher sensitive to people who know not God is far more important to the Church in America than telling those who know not God the truth, what the Word of God says. So now the Church, I would say now world-wide, leaves people in their sin not wanting to offend them, but, this my friend is not what the Bible says to do. In Luke Jesus tells the disciples, “Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.” (Luke 17:3) WOW, “rebuke him” not forgive him and let him do it again and again, but “IF he repents (or stopping trespassing against you) forgive him.” So, we are NOT suppose to let things go unchecked. And, only if the person repents are we to forgive them. Now, this is far cry from what you hear coming from most speakers in the church when they tackle the topic of our brothers and sisters trespassing or doing or speaking evil against us. Oh no, we are told to fold our hands and look within our selves to see if we have caused an offense in our brother or sister, but that is not what Jesus said to do. Jesus said, to “rebuke them.” Paul also knew this truth. In 1 Timothy Paul shares, “Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.” (1 Timothy 5:20) In 2 Timothy Paul carried this truth forward to his spiritual son Timothy, “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” (2 Timothy 4:2-4) And also to Titus, “This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith;” (Titus 1:13) and “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ; 14Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. 15These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.” (Titus 2:11-15) With all of these verses in the Bible that teaches us to rebuke sinners I wonder why we have gotten off track? You know! In Ephesians Paul gets to the heart of the issue, “But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ. (Ephesians 4:15) Sadly, we live in the age of relativism. Relativism is a philosophy behind which is the premise that there is no such thing as absolute Truth. In other words, I can adjust the Truth to fit me, or my situation. Furthermore, Truth is not constant -- nor the same for everyone. It is made "relative" to everyone and everything. Now, if we really give it some thought, we will see what "relativism" is really saying. It is saying there is NO Truth. That's right. For if Truth changes it is not Truth. Truth, by definition, never changes. We might expect such insanity from the world. But unfortunately, relativism is invading the body of Christ. Except that we don't call it relativism. We call it "tolerance," or "inclusiveness," or perhaps worst of all, we call it LOVE. "Love?" Yep. It has become "love" to lie to people, or to water down the Truth. After all, we certainly wouldn't want to hurt their feelings or offend their pride. We certainly would not want to be "judgmental." So just tell everyone, no matter whether they are lost or living in sin, that they are just fine. Pat them on the back and send them off into further darkness. Of course, I am not suggesting that we ought to go around trying to straighten everyone out. Not only would we be obnoxious, but we would not straighten them out. But there is a big difference between remaining silent and letting God work, and proactively agreeing with someone that sin is ok. There is a huge difference between bearing with the sins of others, and forever allowing them to think that what they are doing is not sin at all. God tells us to "speak the Truth in love." Here we see three things. Number one, we are to SPEAK the Truth. We are not to always or forever remain silent. We are to speak. Is it ever best to remain quiet? Sure. But if we remain silent about the Truth, we should remain silent in love. Too many of us remain silent out of the fear of looking bad or of making enemies. No. If we are to speak the Truth in love, then when we are silent it should be for the same reason: Love. Secondly, we are to speak the TRUTH. But Truth alone will not do. Thirdly, we must speak the Truth in LOVE. Truth which is spoken in love is always redemptive. There is carried with it the purpose of pointing someone to Jesus Christ so that they can find freedom in HIM. Now notice: Speaking the Truth in love is not some whimpish, soft-spoken plea. No. It is a direct statement of the nature of things, without apology. But always with the hope and intent of redemption. Speaking the Truth in love can quite possibly offend people. It is possible that they will get mad at you, and even hate you as an enemy. That's what happened to Jesus, and He ALWAYS spoke the Truth in love. In this day and age of relativism, if you speak the Truth in love, you WILL make enemies. You will make enemies of those who want you to sanction sin. And you will make enemies of Christians who refuse to face their own accountability before God. In the final analysis, if I refuse to speak the Truth in love with regard to others, it is because I am probably not speaking it with regard to me. I am probably refusing to face the Truth which God has before me. I need to decide: Will I allow God to adjust ME to fit His Truth? Or will I insist that I adjust the Truth to fit ME? Will I suggest that the Truth of God is relative? Jesus Christ said, "You shall know the Truth and the Truth shall set you free." This starts by calling sin by it's name. It starts by calling myself what I am: A sinner. But that's not all. Knowing the Truth means knowing Him. And that spells a redemptive freedom which I cannot experience by any other means. Written by David Stahl

FOLLOWING THE HEAD

For a lot of pastors, denominational leaders, and even the rank and file of church members learning Jesus is the head of the Church, His Body is a real revelation. All direction for this Body of Christ is to come from the Head. The Lord (Jesus) does not expect my hand to be my brain. Rather, He expects my hand to serve as my mind directs. Thus, nothing should originate within the Body. However, there should be a receptivity within the Body to perform that which is directed by the Head. We forget this when we become overly concerned about this or that, and we begin to move about on our own. This is one reason why the “Church” is so feeble. It lacks life because it does not know how to live from the living Head. Instead, it tries to produce what it feels the Head may want to do. ALL doctrine and programs must originate with the Head, Jesus Christ. He only asks us to function. He clearly tells us that we are the members, not the head. Paul tells us in I Corinthians, “Now you are the body of Christ, and members in particular.” (I Corinthians 12:27) You know I have to shake my head and wonder why for the most part the message of death to self, death to our carnal flesh to where we are justified, to where we are sanctified and the voice of the LORD comes ringing loud and clear, “they do not want to die.” No one wants to die to themselves. No one what to follow the Head Christ Jesus. No one wants to set themselves aside as Jesus did, oh no, they want to live, live, live, live and satisfy their fleshly desires, and I am talking about Christians here, and why should they? After all most churches and denominations are run by immoral unspiritual men and some I personally know are just down right ungodly. For most churches and denominations money, personal power, and influence has trumped true fellowship, true worship from the heart (and not all of the fleshly exhibitions of light shows and the praise and worship team bumping and grinding on the stage), and sadly the word of God. In most churches, especially in America, deeds are the focus and not creeds or “good works” have replaced belief to grow spiritually. Instead of believing in Christ and His power and allowing Him to deal and judge in their hearts changing lives for His glory they are told to work, work, work “do more in 2024” in most churches is the motto. In 2002 Rick Warren (will not call him a pastor) wrote one of the most destructive books to the Body of Christ called the Purpose Driven Life. The nominal apostate church and denominations loved it for it was the blueprint for the future control and manipulation of the good meaning folks who wanted to just serve God. Well, my friend we are not in search of a purpose for our life God tells us our purpose in the word of God, oh no, we are in search of a person named Jesus Christ, who is to be our life. Our purpose is to love Christ, be His delight, to glorify the LORD, and worship Him. But sadly, liars and thieves like Rick Warren (and many more) are not called a “pastor,” but are now called “life coaches” and they support many of the mainstream immoral issues of the world like lesbianism, sodomy, and the LBGTQ+ issues. They, like Rick Warren, who is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and conjured up “Chrislam” or the joining together of Christians and Muslims into one faith. His book the Purpose Driven Life was nothing more than a collection of humanistic teachings that swept through the nonspiritual churches and denominations world-wide. His book was nothing but a bunch of lies and deception built on humanistic principles and ways of the world, yet the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), the biggest evangelical denomination and others turned it into the Gospel deceiving millions, I know we were attending a SBC church then. No wonder the SBC is woke today just read their literature. During the George Floyd riots of 2022 and 2023 they told their pastors to say, “only black lives matter.” The seeds were planned in the hearts and minds of the good Baptist people from the reading of the Purpose Driven Life and now they are bearing destructive fruit in their lives. Here are the facts: Rick Warren was smitten by Robert Shuller of the Crystal Cathedral and the Hour of Power, and a Calvinist who was inspired by Victor Hugo a French romantic writer and politician. His most famous works were the Hunchback of Notre Dame and Les Misérables about the French revolution, and Normal Vincent Peale a protestant pastor and author best known for popularizing the concepts of positive thinking. Now here is where “work” comes into Warren’s madness and lies. Rick Warren was also influenced by Peter Drucker (shame he was not influenced by God) a liberal Lutheran Austria-Hungarian who merged humanistic behavior with business practices. Thus, the Purpose Driven Life was born which gave way to working your way to heaven while you feel good about yourself. It also gave rise to all of the seeker-sensitive churches you find in America and around the world. Where they do not want to offend you, but let you alone in your sin. Well, that is not what the Bible says. The Bibles says, “we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) They turn down the lights to give you a good night club feeling (like when you were in sin) then bombard your senses with hard music, colored lights, smells, a fog machine, strobe and flashing light to where your senses are overloaded and your spirit is numb, all manipulation and control. All of this is Peter Drucker’s contribution and influence on the church. No message of saved by grace through faith, but saved by works as your pleasure yourself with your senses. It is heinous and ungodly, yet the apostate church laps it up every service. We have been in some seeker-sensitive churches where we had to walk out and the look we got as we fled ungodliness was priceless. My friend if the world is running after you, you can bet God is not. What this generation needs to see is a real move of God to change the direction of the church which is to change the direction of the world from lawlessness to faith in Christ. What this generation and the previous generation need to do is follow the Head. It seems to take us a long time to discover (if we do) this, because we are so accustomed to directing from our own head, and our body doing it. But, the LORD is saying to us, “No, not this. Now you have become a particular member in My great Body of which I am the Head. All direction, all doings must originate with Me.” He has to have us as a Body through which He executes, lives, and moves. What a burden would be lifted from us if only we could believe Him. We direct our own little traffic. How do we know how to do this? Because we have often done this, but sometimes the LORD is not above shocking us to get us out of our old groove of self-direction. Now, some of us are not doing bad things, no murder, adultery, etc. so we feel justified in our attempting to be the Head. It often can take the LORD a long time to get us out of this, because we are geared to it. The more we see ourselves as in charge and running the show the longer it will take to come into the things of God. It becomes not God’s show, but our show, our ideas, our plans, our purposes. In Isaiah 53 we read, “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:4-5) Many quote it from memory, but how many read and memorize the next verse? “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Oh no, we do not want to follow the Head, we do not want to identify as a sheep that has gone astray and the part where the LORD hath laid on Him (that would be Jesus) the iniquity of us all, well that means we are not in charge if we believe this. No, my friend we are not in charge not even of our self, maybe our attitude, but certainly not the Body of Christ. Shame on you Rick Warren for your deception and known error. Jesus is the Head (the Vine) and we are His branches. Written by David Stahl

A MEDITATION ON EASTER

Around Christmas time last year, I shared some thoughts on Christ not being a baby and now as we draw closer to what many call the Easter season I would like to share some thoughts on this topic. First, the word we use to express the great victory of Christ, “Easter” is found once in the KJV of the Bible and has nothing to do with the Gospel; the death, the burial, and (our blessed hope of glory) the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The word “Easter” is found in Acts and is talking about Peter not Jesus, “And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.” (Acts 12:4) and is translated from the Greek as Passover, again it has nothing to do with the Gospel message. I am not going to go into all of the pagan rituals and religious traditional practices that surround the historical myth of Easter my intent is to lift up the name of Jesus. But, my friend we have “truly” (taking something from the physical realm and projecting it into the spiritual realm) drifted so far from the true meaning of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and the great price He paid for my sin and your sin. We have insulted God’s supreme act of giving His only begotten Son and the truth for an emotional swell during the holiday season, to increase church attendance, and to spread one’s denominational message under the guise of sharing the Gospel. We do so much in church that displeases God and cover it up by saying we are sharing the Gospel. God, please forgive us. God does not need special services that effect our emotions and feelings to share the Gospel message. God needs dedicated and consistent children to follow Him and His basic plan. A few years ago, I heard a statement from a pastor (of a church we once attended) that just shook me to my knees. He said after Jesus was arrested and crucified the light of the world went out. How my spirit quivered within me. How my stomach churned and ached for this fellow’s words were not true, but it was in keeping with the emotional Easter tradition. At no point in time has Jesus not been the light of the world. My friend even when Jesus obediently and willfully laid His life down, He was still in control; of all Heaven, earth, hell, and will always be the light of the world. His light will never go out. Death could not hold Him, the grave could not hold Him, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:55-57) Because this is true about Jesus we too can say, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” Let us not be led by our emotions and plans to practice an Easter season, but let us be led by the Holy Spirit to know and understand the true message of the Gospel. This my friend is the message that will change your life forever. At the Passover Supper (before He went out into the garden) Jesus knew the garden experience was there and He knew that the cross, death, the grave, and hell was waiting Him. Yet, Jesus went out with a hymn in His heart, “And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.” (Matthew 26:29) How could He do that? He could sing because He had the victory already in His heart. The victory and trust He had in His Father to carry Him through the garden, onto the cross, and into and out of the grave. He knew His Father would never leave Him nor forsake Him. The victory was first won as the Father pressed out the life and will of Jesus at Gethsemane (which means where oil is pressed), “Then saith he unto them, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. 39And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” (Matthew 26:38-39) Knowing what was before Him Jesus could still break bread with His disciples, “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.” (Matthew 26:26) Knowing what was ahead for Him Jesus could still give thanks, “And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; 28For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matthew 26:27-28) He could only do this because it was the most sublime manifestation of faith ever expressed. We think He had faith when He restored sight to the blind, strengthened limbs, and raised the dead. Yes, that was wonderful, but we must see the spiritual side of things. We must see the necessity of faith in the realm of the Spirit, not in the flesh (like the Easter myth), but the realm of the Spirit where we have the faith to dare to believe like Jesus. It is Jesus’ victorious life which leads up to His victorious death and that is what presents Him as the Lamb without spot and blemish. When seen on the Mount of Transfiguration, He is a Lamb without spot or blemish, but it is a Lamb that has been slain! We are not saved by His life we are saved by His death. His life is exemplary, it is beautiful, but He did not come to display great character and to do miracles, He came to die for us. The way of life is through a region of death and unless we partake of His death, we shall never reign with Him. “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:” (Romans 6:3-5) The truth of the season is a bitter-sweet message of death so that we may live. It is not about new clothing, many church activities, special foods, and musical programs to get people to come to church, but it is about us loving God enough to be willing (like Jesus) to fall into the ground and die, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” (John 12:24) And, to love God’s word enough in simplicity to share it without fanfare and emotional ceremony knowing the Holy Spirit will do His work in lives. Then too we will be able to say we have before the throne (our heart) of God today a victorious risen Lord. Let us keep the love feast of Jesus’ sacrifice. Let us honor Him and His work in us and for those who we are to lead to the cross for His glory. Let not this season be a myth or holiday, but an invitation to life, the life of God. Written by David Stahl

HOME GROUP MEETING 20 FEB 24

48 Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. Commentary: Jesus spoke a rebuke into the man's heart. If the soil is right the rebuke will lodge and bring forth fruit in time. The basis of the man faith was the reports from the signs and wonders Jesus performed in Jerusalem. This must have been quite disturbing because he just came from people who did not need a sign to believe. The king's servant must had been Jewish. 

49 The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. Commentary: His interest the really important matter was in the healing of his son. To him believing was beside the point, he knew Jesus could heal his little boy and that was the only thing he had on his heart to accomplish. The nobleman was not trying to desperately get to Jesus, but desperately trying to get his son to Jesus. 

50 Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. Commentary: There is no more to be done. The man requested the healing and Jesus did it. The last words "and he went his way" gives us an incomplete picture of the nobleman without even a thank you. 

51 And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. Commentary: The word of Jesus was effective when he spoke, well our words are to be as effective if not greater. Often we hear "you are healed" and they are not. Is it a poor excuse for not having the reality of the healing power? Nowhere in the Bible did Jesus pray for someone, He healed them. 

52 Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. Commentary: Even though the servants faith operated on a lower level it worked well enough to have his son healed. Faith is mystery. How does it work? By love Galatians 5:6. The distance from Capernaum to Cana was 16 miles. Word came "at the seventh hours" his son lives that was enough. There was no need to go home and check. Maybe his faith was not so low. 

53 So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house. Commentary: Because most of the household had no contact with Jesus they likely relied on the reports that were going around. Whatever a lower or higher faith in operation we will never know, but for sure there was brought a light into the household that was not there before,. The man saw more of Jesus. 

54 This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judaea into Galilee. Commentary: Again two means witness. The "second miracle" here mean Jesus came to be a witness particularly to those in Galilee, but other parts of Israel not so much. Of the crowd that gave Jesus the Hosanna entry into Jerusalem most were from Galilee. Most of the disciples were from Galilee. So, Jesus came to a place where He could gather the fruit, bringing those into faith who would later be the ones to continue the message and purpose of the Father.

CONFESSION TO REPENTANCE

Our spiritual life is far more than the accumulation of information that we gather, such as understanding doctrine and the written Word. Rather, the “measure” of our spirituality is the result of the accumulation of the decisions that we make during our span of life. When we stand before the LORD at the Judgment Seat of Christ, the level of spiritual life to which we have attained will be compared (measured) against His overcoming life. Paul writes in Ephesians, “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man (spiritually mature), to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:13) Life is never easy; it is a struggle in which we must continually choose what we will do, or which way we will go. Because of the many desires that we have, along with the responsibilities that have been placed upon us, at times it may be difficult for us to make the right choice. As we choose rightly, we will become one of the overcomers whom the LORD will lift into being seated with Him in His throne, at the appointed time. The accumulation of the choices that we make is all that we will take with us (that which we have spiritually become) when we depart from this life. If our decisions for the LORD outweigh our self-serving choices, then this becomes the level of spiritual growth to which we have attained, and will establish the place of our relationship to the LORD for all eternity. Our being an overcomer means that there is a separation between that which pertains to our self-satisfaction and fulfillment, and that which is according to the will and purpose of our LORD for us. As we go through life, the more decisions that we make toward that which is spiritually edifying, the easier it will become to continue making these decisions, and we become more detached from all those things that could pull us down. In the beginning, it may be difficult, but it becomes easier as we continue to choose rightly. Our lives, in many ways is comparable to walking in a large circular spiral. As we move around the circle and continue to choose that which is spiritually edifying, when we return to our starting place, hopefully, we will be a distance higher than we had been when we first started. If we choose toward self-gratification, we will arrive a distance lower than we had been, when we first started. Life may seem repetitive (as it mostly is), but the accumulation of these seemingly mundane daily choices that we make, will greatly affect our eternal position before the LORD. We may be struggling, and at times, seemingly losing more battles than we are winning. But, as we spend quality time in the presence of our LORD, asking Him for the strength to make the right decisions, we will be enabled to do so and we will begin to move upward. Jesus said that the Kingdom is within us so we cannot build His kingdom on earth. The first aspect of His Kingdom is “righteousness.” Thus, the righteous decisions that we make will draw us upward toward Him. When we choose the LORD and place ourselves under His reign and rule, we place ourselves on a platform called “righteousness.” For us to be able to walk in this righteousness we must get some things straight in our thinking and our doctrine. And one area is the correct process we all must undergo to be saved. Sadly, people have been told if they walking the aisle or repeat some magic words after someone they will be saved, but this is not true. Scripture is crystal clear to what we must do to be saved. We are to have Christ formed in us. This is the goal the purpose of all we do in God my friend, not to become a xerox copy of Jesus, oh no, we are to have Christ formed in us. Paul in Galatians writes, “My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you.” (Galatians 4:19) This forming begins when we confess or agree what God is saying about us is true and then we repent. How can we become another Jesus? Like His character and nature? Like His abilities and persona? We cannot my friend, but we can become like Him. We are who we are, but with the help of God’s good graces, mercies, and a desire to be changed into His icon, and surely to do and say the things Jesus would do, but not become Jesus. There is a huge difference here my friend. In my humble opinion Christiandom has so many foundational truths wrong. Most Christians and some Believers I know have no concept of what justification or sanctification means and how it works for our benefit. I will be talking on the radio on these topics in the months to come. Most Christians and some Believers I know do not know the process of how we are saved. And why? Well, we have dumbed down the process for expediency in crusades and Sunday services to repeating words (the so called the sinner’s prayer which is not in the Bible) without the sinner coming to grips with what sin has wrought in their lives and destroyed every relationship they have. How can we confess our sin if we have no heart knowledge of what we have done? Sadly, it is all a sham. John writes, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-9) Again, the word “confess” here means we agree with God what He is saying about us is true. Not what we say about ourselves, but what God says about us. We agree with God and say, “yes LORD I am that man.” Then and only then can we begin to make a heart change toward God. Until then we resist God and what He says about us. We go in our own direction, like sheep we have gone our own way. Agreeing with God on who and what He says about us is the beginning of salvation. Most Christians have never experienced this revelation. Then we must repent! Jonah has it right, “Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?” (Jonah 3:9) In Acts Luke shows us another side of repentance, “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;” (Acts 3:19) I am so amazed at the number of Christians who have no clue of what repentance is. Most think it is something they have to do with God, like confessing or believing Jesus died for our sin (the old man that resides in our soul that has not been joined with Christ during our new birth) nature. Oh no, repentance is a British military term which means to about face and go in the opposite direction. So, if I am walking north down Sneads’ Ferry Road and I want to go in the opposite direction or repent then I must about face and walk down the same road in a southern direction. Repentance means if I steal then I will repent and steal no more. If I lie then I repent and I will lie no more. So, our salvation is dependent on two concepts, confession (agreeing with God) and repentance (about face and going in the opposite direction from whatsoever sinful behavior we were doing). Now these must be done in this order. Confess then we repent or we will not have the wherewithal to know we need to repent. Most Christians believe confession is more important than repentance, well I would think both have to be done to be saved. Most Christians will confess every Sunday as they tearfully walk the aisle under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, leave the alter, and head to the bar or some other place or person God wishes they not visit. The older I get the more I see confession (even as important as it is) can be cheap, actions speaks louder than words. In our repentance, for it to really work, we must come to a place where we truly hate the behavior that keeps us from the heart of God. I mean if we like something a little, it is still a hook in our jaw. The choices we make are seen best in our confession and repentance. Do we really want what God wants? If so, then we will be serious about our commitment and dedication to God and what He wants for our lives. And this my friend is seen best in our confession to repentance. Written by David Stahl