The worship the Father wants

The worship the Father wants

SCRIPTURE:

But the time is coming and is already here, when by the power of God's Spirit people will worship the Father as he really is, offering him the true worship that he wants. God is Spirit, and only by the power of his Spirit can people worship him as he really is.” John 4:23-24

OBSERVATION:

How do we worship God? What is the kind of worship that the Lord wants? What does it mean to worship God in spirit and in truth? In her meeting with Jesus, the Samaritan woman pointed out one of the key reasons for the Jew-Samaritan divide. While Jews insisted everyone had to worship at the temple in Jerusalem, the Samaritans believed they were justified in worshipping God in their holy mountain. Jesus however, explained to her that the time was coming and had in fact already come when the true worshippers would worship God neither on the mountain nor Jerusalem, but wherever they were.

The important thing was not where God was worshipped, but how He was worshipped. And it was most important to worship Him in the way that He wanted. Jesus described this worship as worshipping God in Spirit and in truth. Because God is spirit, we need to worship Him in spirit. But what does this actually mean?

Now, we know that there is a spirit inside each of us, and it is our spirit that gives life to our bodies. Our bodies are gifts from God, and by which we are able to move and act and speak and do things. And we are to worship God with our bodies, presenting it as living sacrifices to Him. However, more than that, God requires something deeper than just worship from bodily actions. We can perform the outward actions of worship with our bodies and our mouths, but have no genuine desire in our hearts or our minds may be actually far off somewhere else.

God wants us to worship Him from our spirit deep inside us. The mind is also involved here, as we need to focus on God to connect with our spirit. Then, there is the will, the conscious decision to make our minds and heart focus on God to adore and worship Him as the great and mighty living God He truly is.

Still, on our own, no matter how hard we focus on our own, or what actions we do, or how much we will ourselves to worship, it is not enough. Worship from our carnal selves cannot please God. Rather, it is only in worshipping by the Holy Spirit that we can give God the worship He wants.

APPLICATION:

Therefore when we worship, ask God to pour out His Holy Spirit into us. Open wide our mouths, and receive the Holy Spirit He pours out into us. Then praise Him freely out of the Holy Spirit He pours into us. Our human spirits will rise with the Holy Spirit to give praise to God in the way that pleases Him most. Those of us who have received the gift of languages should praise God in that language as the Spirit flows out of us. Praise Him in tongues, and in our native language. Praise Him by yielding to the Holy Spirit to lead us. Nothing on our own can please Him, but when we allow the Holy Spirit to help us worship, God is pleased.

There is an element of faith here, as we must believe God pours out His Holy Spirit into us in Jesus name, and then we must open our mouths to let the Spirit praise and worship God through us. There is a cooperation and a yielding between us and the Holy Spirit, helping us to worship God, to worship Jesus!

PRAYER:

Precious Heavenly Father, we so long to worship You in the way that most pleases You. Pour out Your Holy Spirit into us more and more. Let Your Spirit overflow and move through us, and speak out marvelous praises to worship and glorify Your name! Fill us more and more O Lord, that we might praise You more and more! You deserve all glory, all power, all praise! Teach us O Lord to worship You. Grant us fresh ways to worship You by Your Spirit day by day. In Jesus name, Amen!

ETERNAL JUDGMENT

FOUNDATION SERIES ON THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST (VII)

ETERNAL JUDGMENT

SCRIPTURE:

Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt Daniel 2:2

"Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.' Matthew 7:22-23

 “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear. Matthew 18:40-43

Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ “But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’ Luke 13:25-27

But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. Romans 2:5-8

OBSERVATION:

The final foundation of the doctrine of Christ mentioned in Hebrews is Eternal Judgment. How crucially importance it is for us to live life today in light of this fearsome knowledge. God has appointed a day when everyone will be brought before Him for judgment.

If this life was all there is, and we fade into nothingness after we die, we would be perfectly happy to eat, drink and be merry. However, the Bible clearly gives us a stern warning that death is not the end, and that there will be a day of judgment. At the end of the day, it does not matter what we think, or how angry we are at the way God has planned things or how He has brought various circumstances in our lives. All that matters is that we are to be judged based on what is given us, and we must give account of our lives before the living God!

Again and again, the Bible tells us of a great separation, between those who will enter God’s kingdom, and those who are thrown into the blazing furnace of eternal suffering. All of us are evil, all of us are destined for eternal death and suffering, but thanks be to God, He has given us the hope of salvation through His Son.

Our part is to respond to His great invitation of mercy, and accept His precious gift of salvation. Again, He warns us not to be deceived. This Salvation does not give us a license to go on sinning and still inherit eternal life. The Lord warns us that some will profess to have known him, to have fellowshipped with him, and even to have done miracles in His name. Yet, He would not accept them, because they still lived lives of continual sin.

To know God is to turn away from sin. There must be a constant regeneration, a turning away from sin that depicts the life in a true follower of Jesus Christ. When we turn to God, He forgives our sins, but we are to leave our lives of sin. This is an ongoing process because we still struggle with sin, but if we keep on persevering and looking to God, He gives us the grace and strength to overcome and move from glory to glory. Again, we must remember, we are saved to move away from sin. If we persistently go back to sinful ways, there is no more sacrifice of sins left. We must not give up, but keep struggling to fight against sin, to truly press on and experience, freedom not to sin.

APPLICATION

We are called to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. To follow Christ as the way of salvation is not a matter of profession but active living out the faith we have in following Him. If we believe He is real, then we must live in a way that pleases Him, otherwise, our actions prove our professions false. Sin attracts, and promises great enjoyment, but the pleasures are only temporary, very temporary, and the consequences can be eternal. Let us fix our eyes not on what is seen, which is temporary but what is unseen, which is eternal!

PRAYER

Heavenly Father God, precious Lord Jesus, we thank You and praise You for Your grace and Your warnings in Scripture which leads us to fear You and steer ourselves away from sinful living that can forfeit us our salvation. Help us put our whole trust in You, Lord, and lean on You for Your grace and power to move away from sinful living to a holy living which pleases You. Forgive us for our careless and flippant attitude to sin. Strengthen us, and give us wisdom, that we may not take sin lightly, but turn our lives more and more towards You, in light of Your eternal judgment. Help us, precious Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.

RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD

FOUNDATION SERIES ON THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST (VII)

RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD

SCRIPTURE:

“Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. John 5:28-29

So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. 1 Corinthians 15:42-44

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.1 Corinthians 15:51-57

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

(The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. Revelation 20:5-6

OBSERVATION:

The sixth of the key foundations written in Hebrews is the Resurrection from the dead. There are actually two great resurrections in Scripture. The first resurrection comes at the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus, when He returns on the clouds with great power and glory. There will be the trumpet call of God and the voice of the archangel, and the dead in Christ will rise first. The second resurrection happens at the end of the millennial reign of Jesus Christ with His saints, when everyone will be brought back to life again to be judged before God, and anyone whose name is not found in the Book of life will be thrown into the lake of fire to everlasting torment.

What will happen at this first resurrection? Paul describes an incredible change where those in Christ will receive new bodies which are imperishable and spiritual. This first resurrection will include those in Christ who died earlier as well as those in Christ who are still living when Jesus returns. Our current bodies are weak and perishing, decaying constantly as we grow older, but the new bodies that we will receive in Christ are invincible, immune to disease and sickness or any kind of deterioration. We get an idea what this new body will be like by looking at our Lord’s actions after He rose from the dead. He could suddenly appear out of thin air in the presence of the disciples, seemingly able to pass through walls and over great distances in a short time. Yet He could also eat, and His disciples were able to touch Him. He also bore on His body the marks of His suffering at the hands of the Romans soldiers and from the cross. He was also able to fly, ascending up to Heaven in front of the disciples. Blessed and holy that have part of the first resurrection. What are these resurrected for? They will form the world government with the Lord as the Head, and will have various levels of authority given them based on how well they served the Lord faithfully during their lives on earth.

How about the second resurrection? There is great fear here in knowing that one may not find his name written in the book of life and be thrown into the lake of fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Who are those who find their names written in the book of life? Firstly, it is called the Lamb’s book of life, meaning that it is those who follow the Lamb who will find their names there. Secondly, in the book of Revelation, it describes those whose names will not be found in it - those who are unclean, deceitful liars, cowardly, unbelieving, sexually immoral, idolators and practicians  in magic arts. Thirdly, speaking to the church of Sardis, Jesus said that to those who overcome, He will never blot out of the book of life. This also means that some whose names are already in currently can have it erased from it. We need therefore to make sure we press on and overcome in being faithful to Him till the end.

APPLICATION:

The First Resurrection is our great Christian hope for the future, and because of it we look forward to the Second Coming of Christ, when He will come to redeem all things, starting with us who are in Him. It is also a great deterrent for us to beware lest we miss this great resurrection. The Apostle Paul Himself made sure He was faithful to God, lest he himself be disqualified after preaching to others. How then can we ourselves not carefully work out our salvation with fear and trembling?

Let us never forget nor take for granted this great hope of the Resurrection that we have, looking forward every day to the glorious coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, ever grateful for His calling, always pressing to be faithful in our service. Even so come, Lord Jesus!

 PRAYER:

Precious Lord Jesus, we look forward to Your glorious coming! We so thank You for calling us to this glorious hope! Keep us safe O Lord, and committed in our hearts to follow You until You come, no matter what the cost. We praise You and love You and thank You, Lord. In Jesus name, Amen!

LAYING OF HANDS

FOUNDATION SERIES ON THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST (VI)

LAYING OF HANDS

SCRIPTURE:

'He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, that it may be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf. Leviticus 1:4

And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them. Mark 10:16

… they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." Mark 16:18

Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Acts 8:17

For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 2 Timothy 1:6

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. Acts 13:2-3

So the LORD said to Moses, "Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him; Numbers 27:18

Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure. 1 Timothy 5:22

OBSERVATION:

We first see the laying of hands in the Old Testament when the priest would lay his hands on the animal used as the burnt offering, and the guilt and sin of the worshipper would be transferred to the animal. This already gives us a picture of how hands are used as a conduit of transference of something from one place to another.

When Jesus walked the earth, a beautiful scene often in our memories is that of Jesus letting the little children come to him. He would take them in His arms and bless them, laying His hands upon them. Blessings would flow from the Lord to them through His hands.

The Lord also laid hands on people to administer healing. In the same way, healing power would flow through His hands, to heal people. Later, He also asked His disciples to do the same, to lay their hands on the sick that they would recover.

Laying of hands was also important in administering the baptism of the Holy Spirit, as recorded in the book of Acts. Spiritual gifts and anointing were also transferred through the laying of hands, like in Timothy’s case.

Also, the early church practiced laying of hands to commission new elders. Paul warned Timothy not to be hasty in particular to this commissioning, as to appoint an ill-suited elder could bring considerable damage to the church.

APPLICATION

Laying of hands should be a vital part of our Christian lives. Parents should often lay hands on their children and bless them in Jesus name. Whenever anyone in our family or friendship circle is sick, we should lay hands on them and speak healing in Jesus name. We can even lay hands on ourselves to pray for blessing or healing in particular areas.

In church life, we can ask our trusted leaders to lay their hands on us to bless us and administer the Holy Spirit and His gifts upon us. Leaders should lay hands on mission teams going out to minister, and also lay their hands on new members or leaders of ministry.

PRAYER

We bless You and thank You, Heavenly Father, for teaching us to lay hands. Help us remember, Lord, to reach out and bless others and bring Your healing to others, and even to ourselves. Increase our faith that we might believe, and expect Your work to be done  faithfully in our lives. May Your will be done in our lives, and help us grow more and more to know You deeply. In Jesus name, Amen.                    

BAPTISM OF WATER

FOUNDATION SERIES ON THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST (IV)

BAPTISM OF WATER

SCRIPTURE:

Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

For surely you know that when we were baptized into union with Christ Jesus, we were baptized into union with his death. By our baptism, then, we were buried with him and shared his death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from death by the glorious power of the Father, so also we might live a new life. For since we have become one with him in dying as he did, in the same way we shall be one with him by being raised to life as he was. And we know that our old being has been put to death with Christ on his cross, in order that the power of the sinful self might be destroyed, so that we should no longer be the slaves of sin. For when we die, we are set free from the power of sin. Since we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that Christ has been raised from death and will never die again—death will no longer rule over him.  And so, because he died, sin has no power over him; and now he lives his life in fellowship with God. In the same way you are to think of yourselves as dead, so far as sin is concerned, but living in fellowship with God through Christ Jesus. Romans 6:3-11

OBSERVATION:

In our key verse on the foundations of our faith from Hebrews, the next major doctrine is that of baptisms, of which the New Testament focuses on two, baptism of water, and baptism of the Holy Spirit.

What does baptism actually mean? It comes from the Greek word baptizo and means “to dip” or “to immerse”. Hence, it actually means to be covered fully with water from head to toe. One can be fully immersed in this sense, by being dunked completely into a body of water which is what is done in the normal act of baptism by water, or he can be fully immersed by standing under a waterfall, which is more of like what happened in the baptism of the Holy Spirit when the Holy Spirit comes down and fills us, immersing the spirit man within us.

For this article, we will look first at baptism of water. Firstly, we must note that it is a command of our Lord Jesus for all His disciples, who are to be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Now, we must be clear that the act of baptism does not save us. If we have no true faith in God, and go through baptism, it is meaningless and does nothing. At the same time, if we say we have faith in Jesus, but refuse to follow such a direct and important commandment from Him, we must ask ourselves if our faith is really genuine. As Watchman Nee once said “Baptism is faith in action”. Also, we must take note that baptism does not guarantee the salvation of a Christian once and for all forever. As said before, we are to continue in our salvation in Christ Jesus, pressing on till the end and overcome to be saved.

What does the baptism of water mean to a Christian? Paul in his letter to the Romans beautifully expounds this. Firstly, we are baptized into union with Christ Jesus and into His death. When a person goes underwater, he figuratively dies a watery death. This is our old man being crucified with Jesus Christ on the cross. Once our old self has died, we are set free from the power of sin. This does not mean that we will never sin again, but that sin no longer rules over us. It means that all of us have the power and potential at any moment not to sin.

When we come back out of the water, we are figuratively rising from the dead with Christ, to new life. This is what it means to be born again - to have a new nature in Christ Jesus, free not to sin, and to live in fellowship with God.  

APPLICATION:

Once we turn to God and believe Jesus Christ died for our sins and accept Him as Lord and Savior, we are born again. The Holy Spirit comes into us, and we find that our nature has changed. We no longer feel comfortable doing sinful things, and there is a desire in us that wants to do good, to do things God’s way. We have actually become a new person, with different priorities, turning more and more towards God and the things that are important to Him.

The act of baptism of water symbolizes this process for us in a physical act. The death symbolizes our dying to our old life, and the resurrection symbolizes the new life that we have started to live. It is an outward act showing the truth of what has happened in our hearts.

What is the significance of water baptism for those of us who have already gone through it? Has the relevance gone and passed for us? No! Paul said “in the same way think of yourselves as dead, so far as sin is concerned, and living in fellowship with God through Christ Jesus!”  Every time we think of baptism of water, we are reminded that we died to sin, and are spiritually alive to fellowship with God, with our Lord Jesus!

Now Paul asked us to reckon ourselves or think ourselves dead to sin, because though that is the fact, in practice, there is still a struggle against sin for every Christian. There are times when we still fall into sin, when we lose faith for a moment, and fall back into old habits and old practices. If left unchecked, we can actually be entangled back in old sins and be overcome. Peter warned of this in 2 Peter 2:20 “If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning”.  Therefore, to persevere and overcome in our Christian life, we need to keep the principle of water baptism constantly before us, to think ourselves dead to sin, and alive to God, for His glory, for His righteousness, for His service.

Also, we must not just remain in the negative - that is to only die to our old sinful selves and stop at that. Then we really would be dead, and life would be dead, and our church services would be gloomy and boring. Instead, we must remember the second stage, coming back out of the water, alive! We are now alive to God, vibrant, full of energy, able to manifest love, joy, peace and every good fruit for His glory. Every time we see a baptism, remember, death to old self, life to Jesus, with Jesus, for Jesus!

PRAYER  

We praise You and love You, Heavenly Father, precious Lord Jesus, for the beauty of water baptism. We thank You for this image You gave us, of dying to our old sinful selves, and coming alive again, to live for You and with You! We thank You for the fresh energy and life and vibrancy that comes with the life You live in us! Help us live life with that truth in our hearts, even starting to act out that truth in faith! We bless You and worship You, Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.

FAITH TOWARDS GOD

FOUNDATION SERIES ON THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST (III)

FAITH TOWARDS GOD

SCRIPTURE:

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. John 3:16

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17

… If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:9-13

Do you want to be shown that faith without actions is useless? James 2:20

OBSERVATION:

In the first doctrine of repentance, we realize that we need to turn to God, that we are lost in our old way of life, destined for death and destruction. Then, once we turn to God, God in His mercy and love, shows us that there is a way that we can be saved. He has provided us a Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, and by putting our faith and trust in Him, we receive eternal life. When we hear His Word, and believe, we come into His precious salvation.

This gift of eternal life is for everyone and anyone who will believe, regardless of race, gender, or social class. In the parable of the wedding banquet, the Lord asked His servants to invite everyone without distinction so that His house would be full!  

What does it mean to put our faith in Jesus? It is to believe in what He said, to follow after Him as the Way of eternal life!

Now, there is a common teaching prevalent in many churches today that says that faith is a one time event and that once a person says the “sinner’s prayer” to ask Jesus into his life, he is forever saved. However, in the original Greek Bible, there is a present continuous tense in the Scriptures related to faith. In John 3:16, it should more correctly read “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever continues to believe in Him should not perish but go on having eternal life!” Likewise, in Romans 10, it should be read “with the heart one continues to believe unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession continues to be made unto salvation”.

Salvation is a process, and faith must continue until the end until salvation is complete. There were those who stopped this process, like Demas who turned back to the world, and in the last day, Christ Himself warned that the love of many would grow cold. We need to press on to the end, continuing to put our entire trust in Jesus for salvation, and as He promised, those who overcome and stands firm to the end will be saved. The faith that He calls us to is a faith so sure and steadfast on Him, that not even death or suffering can move us from trusting in Him as the way of salvation.

Also, true faith is also always accompanied by actions. As James writes, faith without actions is dead. When Abraham was called by God to leave Ur of the Chaldees, he showed his faith and trust in God by moving out. Likewise, Rahab showed her faith in the God of Israel by risking her life to help the spies sent out by Joshua. If we truly have faith in Jesus as the way of Salvation, our lives will show it. We will be interested in the Word. We will take His teachings and warnings seriously. We will want to know Him personally as Savior and Lord, and to live our lives in a way that pleases Him.

APPLICATION:

Faith is not just believing that there is a God, or even that Jesus is God. It is believing that what Jesus said is true, and that by trusting in Him to forgive our sins, by following Him as the Way to eternal life, we will remain in His salvation. Faith is not just a feeling, it is a conviction, a decision to put our complete trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord. Our faith may be small at first, like a mustard seed, but let us start acting out on that little faith, starting to live life following Jesus, believing that He will send His Holy Spirit to help us and guide us. Let us start reading the Bible, believing that God will speak to us. Let us start talking to others, telling them that Jesus is our Savior and Lord personally and how He has blessed us.

Imagine we had a very wealthy great granduncle who promised us an inheritance of 10 million dollars in 10 years time. If we believed this would happen, how would we live life today? Wouldn’t we have a deep joy day by day knowing something great was happening to us soon? Wouldn’t we hold precious our relationship with that great granduncle? In the same way, if we believed in the great wonder and beauty of our future in Heaven, wouldn’t we have that same joy in our hearts? Wouldn’t we hold precious our relationship with our Lord through whom we have this future?

PRAYER:

We praise You and worship You, precious Heavenly Father, marvelous Lord Jesus. You made the way that we could be saved. You made everything possible so that we might have such a great future in Heaven with You! Help us, Lord, empower us, let us always have a faith that is strong and real in You. Increase our faith in You O Lord, that Your reality will become stronger and stronger in our lives. Help us always cling on to You and put our whole trust in You. Help us always look to You as our Great Savior. We love You and praise You and honor You, Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.

                                                                                                                                                                                  

REPENTANCE FROM DEAD WORKS

FOUNDATION SERIES ON THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST (II)

REPENTANCE FROM DEAD WORKS

SCRIPTURE:

Therefore produce fruit worthy of repentance. Matthew 3:8

Therefore by the deeds of the law, no flesh shall be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. Romans 3:20

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, and they are these: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, quarreling, rivalry, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like. About these things I tell you again, as I have also told you in times past, that those who do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21

OBSERVATION:

A popular preacher once remarked “Repentance is just to change your mind”. Yes, indeed, but what a change! As Charles Spurgeon once said. Too many evangelists and teachers of the Word today downplay the importance of this first doctrine. But John the Baptist got it completely right when he proclaimed “produce fruit worthy of repentance”.  Repentance is not a once off event. It is a continuous turning towards God. King Josiah of old turned to God like no other before Him. Once discovering the law of God, he set his kingdom to turn to God and to do what pleased Him.

What are we turning from? There are two main facets to dead works. Firstly, we turn from trying to be justified before God by our own deeds. The law given to the Jews was the most perfect set of requirements that man needed to be right before God, but it was just impossible. It was instead put in place to show the world that they simply could not be made righteous before God by their own efforts. The Scripture says that our righteousness are like filthy rags before God. Everyone needs a Savior and God has provided one, His only Son. Repentance is interlinked with faith. If we ever think we have done enough for God and don’t need or no longer need the salvation of His Son, we tread on dangerous ground. We must turn away completely from reliance on our own works, and completely put our trust in our Lord Jesus alone for salvation.

Secondly, we must turn away from the works of the flesh, which Paul spells out clearly in a long list of sins in his letter to the Galatians. It was a warning that he said again and again to the church, that who continued to do such things would not inherit the kingdom of God. Here, Paul was not talking about isolated sinful acts, but the way of life that continued committing these sins. He is talking about repentance again here, which is a turning away from such sinful living and turning towards living in the holy way that pleases God. Again, we must be clear that this turning away is a continuous process. The temptations of the world pull us to turn to them back again, and there is a struggle in our will to turn towards Jesus, towards Father God.

APPLICATION:

Repentance has largely to do with the struggle of our mind. The mind stayed on God will reap righteousness while the mind straying towards sinful desires will succumb to the temptations of the world.  Repentance must have that element of humility, of coming before God knowing that we have nothing good in ourselves, that all we have comes from Him and depends on Him. It is knowing that we have no power on our own, even to turn away from sin, but to seek His strength and power to help us overcome. Repentance has also the element of knowing the fear of the Lord. For the fear of the Lord keeps us away from sin.  Holy fear helps us turn to God, and as we turn to Him more and more, we pass from fear to love, in freedom not to sin, and freedom to move and act in His power.

PRAYER:

We praise You and love You and thank You, Heavenly Father, precious Lord Jesus. We come before You O Lord, to respond to You as You call us. The temptations of the world pull at us, and call to us, but we look to You, Lord, to give us strength. The more we see You, the more the temptations fade away, Lord Jesus. Help us draw deeper and deeper into You, that we may know You. Lead us away from a sinful life, and draw us to a life that pleases You in holiness and love. We bless You and thank You and praise You, Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.

                                                                                                                                                                                  

BUILDING OUR FOUNDATION ON THE ROCK

FOUNDATION SERIES ON THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST (I)

BUILDING OUR FOUNDATION ON THE ROCK

SCRIPTURE:

Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. Hebrews 6:1-2

He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. Luke 6:48

OBSERVATION:

In the parable of the wise and foolish builders, the Lord emphasized the importance of all His disciples building the foundation of their faith upon His words, especially the Sermon of the Mount. Later, in the letter of Hebrews, we find an interesting list of six main doctrines that was seen as the fundamental principles of Christian understanding in the early church. Only after fully understanding these six areas was a Christian ready to go towards “perfection” or “adult understanding” in some versions.

One important factor we must note here is that the foundation stones are not just stones that have done their job and then are discarded away. These foundation stones continue to form the base of the entire building, and every other stone leans on the foundation ultimately for strength. We should not think that once we repented, that is done and over with, or once we have been baptized by water, its relevance to us has passed and we can forget about it.

Repentance and faith towards God are continuing processes that keep on going as we walk the Christian walk in following Christ Jesus. There are times when we turn away and need to turn back to God again. There are times, when our faith wavers and we need to put our faith in Christ again. The more we turn back to God, the more we put our trust in Him, the stronger our walk becomes. The Christian life is not a bed of roses, and there are difficult and challenging times, but when we keep turning back and keep believing in Jesus as Savior in spite of the adverse circumstances around us, our faith grows stronger and stronger.

The baptism of water symbolizes the death of our old man and resurrection of our new man with Christ. Yet, in life, we still see the old man living out in us. It is in remembering our baptism, that we can remember to reckon our old man dead, and let the new man in us come alive! The baptism of the Holy Spirit is of course always continuing. We need more and more of the Holy Spirit, poured out into us from Jesus, that we receive power to live life following the Spirit. The laying on of hands, speak of the active ministry every believer has in imparting healing and blessing in prayer upon others. The resurrection of the dead, reminds us that this life is only temporary, and whatever we suffer here is insignificant compared to the glorious resurrection and new bodies we will receive when our Lord returns! Eternal judgment as well is an important vision always before us, that we may be careful how we live life in the few hours we have on earth, to endeavor to make it pleasing to our Lord Jesus before whom we will stand.

APPLICATION:

Let us aspire to be grounded in these six fundamental doctrines, and think and meditate on these often in our Christian walk. Let us remember that we need to repent, to turn away from evil towards God. Let us remember to put our faith in Jesus, more and more, to know His reality to greater and greater degrees in our lives. Let us remember water baptism, as the death of our old selves, and Holy Spirit baptism, as empowerment to live Christian lives by Christ’s strength. We too should pray that we learn how to lay our hands to bring healing and blessing in Christ, while also remembering the resurrection of the dead which we hope for. Finally, let eternal judgment always be in our thinking to inspire us to live carefully for the Lord.

PRAYER:

We praise You and worship You, Heavenly Abba Father. All truth belongs to You, and we thank You for Your Word which was given to us to help us. Help us O Lord, understand and apply these six fundamental  doctrines so that we may be well grounded in the faith and able to move to greater work for You.  We bless You and worship You, Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                                                                                  

Praying like the persistent widow

SCRIPTURE:

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:1-8

OBSERVATION:

In divine teaching about perseverance in prayer, our Lord Jesus painted the picture of a widow that kept bugging the town judge to give her justice against her adversary. Eventually, although the judge was an ungodly man and did not care about others, he finally gave in to the widow to stop her bothering him. Using this illustration, the Lord explains that we who keep praying to God are like the widow, and if we keep crying to God day and night, He will see that we get justice, and quickly.

Four things we can learn from this parable. Firstly, we must be persistent in prayer. If we pray a half-hearted once-in-a-while prayer, we can hardly expect God to answer. But if we pray earnestly and persistently day and night, our prayers will be heard, and God will respond.

Secondly, the motive of the prayer is important. The widow prayed for justice from a judge. We pray to a God who is all righteous and all just. If we pray for something that is unjust or not right, how can we expect to get an answer? We must pray for what is right. We can pray all we want for millions of dollars so we don’t have to work and live an easy, indulgent life, but how can we expect God to answer such a selfish prayer?  

Thirdly, we must pray with passion. The widow was so aggressive and passionate in her pleas to the judge that he was worried that she might come and attack him! The Lord said in Matthew 11:1 “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent take it by force”. Violence here does not mean harming others but being forceful and passionate in pursuing something. We need to be strong in our prayers, believing God is our Father!

Fourthly, we are to leave vengeance to God. Romans 12:19 says “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.” The widow did not take matters into her own hands and attack her adversary, but left it to the judge to take action. In the same way, though we are wronged on earth, we are not to take vengeance. Instead, we are told to love our enemies, to forgive others, to leave vengeance to God. We are not the judge, God is. Our part is to trust God to be just, and concerned with our own selves being right before Him.

God is looking for people who will be persistent and passionate and seek justice and righteousness in their prayers. The Lord wondered if at His second coming He would find faith on the earth. In the time of great trouble that He predicted, Christians will come under the most heavy persecution ever seen, and there will be a great falling away. Would we be among those who keep praying to God, who keep trusting in His justice and righteousness in spite of all that will happen?

APPLICATION:

We need to be persistent in prayer, pray with passion, and pray with right motives. Then, we also need to learn to leave vengeance to God, not become consumed in our own anger or unforgiveness. Let us pray that we will be faithful in prayer and trusting God till the end and be able to stand before the Lord!  

PRAYER:

We praise You and love You and thank You, Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus, for this lesson on prayer. Teach us Lord and empower us to pray passionately, persistently and rightly. Strengthen us we pray to forgive those who hurt us, to bless those who hate us, to leave vengeance to You, trusting in Your complete righteousness and justice. We bless You and thank You and love You, Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.

A servant, a friend, a son

SCRIPTURE:

So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’” Luke 17:10

Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 10:43-45

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. John 15:12-15

For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother. Matthew 12:50

OBSERVATION:

Our Lord Jesus is our Master. By calling Him Lord, we acknowledge that we are His servants. One of the key lessons the Lord taught His disciples was to have the attitude of a lowly servant. In washing His disciples’ feet, the Lord showed them there was no dishonor in serving others, even in the lowliest of tasks.

Also, in serving the Lord, in whatever capacity, we are not to become proud and think that we have done a lot for God, and expect special blessing or favor or commendation for our efforts. Instead, we should have the attitude of thankfulness that we are worthy to serve at all, and that it is our duty to do the very best we can for God.

And the wonderful thing is that the Lord does not mean for us to just remain as servants but to be lifted up to be his personal friends and even family members. Yet, even as friends and family, our service does not stop. Rather, it is precisely in that relationship that we serve all the more, doing what the Lord commands, and doing the will of our Father in Heaven. The more we serve and obey Him, the closer we become to Him, and the more God reveals to us concerning His business. We then grow to understand better how God works, what is important to Him, and how we can please Him. As Christ taught His disciples, so the Holy Spirit teaches us today, and it is this impartation of knowledge that builds our friendship and family relationship with God.

APPLICATION:

Praise God that He did not just call us to be His servants, but to be His personal friends and family. The entire Bible is the story about God’s plan to draw a people to Himself who would not only serve Him but be His personal friends and family forever. We are so fortunate to be called into this plan, and we need to be forever grateful.

Remember that even in that close, intimate relationship and fellowship with God as personal friends and family, we do not lose our attitude of servanthood. We are saved to serve, and that is our purpose, and to those who truly love God, it is a joy to serve Him.

Where and how should we serve Him? We need to be careful here not to fall into pressures from well-meaning leaders who may direct us to areas of service that they think is suitable for us. Each one of us has a particular calling from God into areas that He knows is best. When an opportunity for service comes, we should pray to God, and if we feel at peace, then to give it a try. There are times to say “yes”, and times to say “no”, and there is a balance between service to our own family at home and service in the church or other ministries. Also, in all our service, we should not think of ourselves purely as just servants, but also as family of God, knowing that all that we do is for the good of the family. The pure hired servant only thinks of wages, but the servant adopted into the family loves the family and wants the very best for the family regardless of wages.

PRAYER

We praise You and thank You, Abba Father God, precious Lord Jesus, that You called us to be part of Your family. And You did not just mean us to be only servants, but to be Your personal friends and sons and daughters. Continue O Lord, to help us know the joy of serving You. Lead us, Lord, to be able to serve You in the ways You know is best for us. Guide our paths, and give us wisdom in the choices that we make. May we always honor You in what we do, and have the humility and attitude of a servant just as You did when You came to earth, Lord Jesus! We bless You and thank You and love You, Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.