Repentance: The Starting Point

As Christians, the Word of God is our sole authority for faith and practice. Truth and meaning is defined by the Word of God and not by the world’s self proclaimed “politically correct.” The Bible is the standard for truth… it is a “dictionary” defining its own terms. “Repentance” is a Biblical term and must be understood according to its biblical definition. This word is from the Greek word “metanoia” derived from “meta” meaning change and “noia” meaning mind. Literally repentance means to “change your mind.” This word implies to turn from the desires of the carnal mind that we inherited from Adam and to turn to the desires of the spiritual mind that we inherited from Christ when we were born again. The battlefield is in the mind. There are two types of repentance. Repentance unto salvation is the first step in turning to God in order to receive the new birth. This type of repentance happens when we are born again. The second type of repentance is returning to God when we have been born again but have fallen from fellowship. This type of repentance in our daily walk allows us to turn from our sinful nature and unto fellowship and communion with God and with his son Jesus Christ. When we who have been born again, break our fellowship with God, the verse in 1 John 1:9 applies so that we can repent, turn around, and return back to him: if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness..

Most people will not listen when they hear the word repentance. They think that “repent” means to judge another person or themselves for doing wrong. They will not mention the politically incorrect word “sin” because sin is contrary to the politically correct definition of “tolerance.” According to John 3:19-20: And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
The next verse applies for those who have been born again: But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

Is repentance a gift or an obligation for us to act? The answer is found in Numbers 21 which provides an extended metaphor for repentance. After waking up and conquering the land, God commanded Israel not to allow the enemy to inhabit the land. If Israel did not drive out the Canaanites, their influence would contaminate God’s chosen people. God commanded Israel to repent by obeying and turning their hearts away from the world’s influences and toward God. God had led Israel out of the land of Egypt and had sustained them with manna in the wilderness. However, this generation of the children of Israel hardened their hearts against God and against Moses saying, “why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?” Israel believed the devil’s lies that the comforts of Egypt were better than the comfort of God’s provision. Because they confessed the unthankfulness of their hearts by grumbling and complaining, they walked outside of God’s protection and allowed the venomous snakes to attack. When the children of Israel were bitten by the snakes, they cried to Moses for God to deliver them. Moses acted according to God’s plan to deliver the children of Israel. He lifted up a bronze snake so they could look unto it and live. The people’s unbelieving brought the venomous snakes into the land. Although God had given them miraculous provisions, they were unthankful and complained. Their unthankful hearts drove them away from God’s hand of protection and many died when they were bitten. When the people acknowledged that they had sinned, this was the point of their repentance. They had to have the desire to turn from their sin to receive God’s deliverance. Their act of repentance was to turn from looking affectionately for the things of this world and instead, looking affectionately unto God and the power of God’s deliverance represented by the bronze snake. Their repentance allowed God to to deliver them from the biting serpents. The purpose of the bronze snake was to make God’s deliverance a public spectacle. God does not work in darkness and obscurity. God always works openly and in the light of his manifest glory.

In John 3:14 Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about the unseen things hidden in darkness that affect us. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the son of man be lifted up that whosoever believeth upon him should not perish. God always provides a way of repentance for redemption of his people. Colossians 2:14 says, Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.

As Lot was fleeing Sodom and his wife turned around and “beheld” or cherished and considered fondly the city of Sodom, she turned into a pillar of salt. “Beheld” is the same word used in Numbers about the children of Israel who “looked cherishingly” upon the bronze serpent. We must “gaze lovingly and cherishingly” at the cross of Christ for the supreme sacrifice that was paid there. Sin was made a public spectacle upon the altar of the cross. Without the cross of Christ there is no victory over sin. Repentance is to turn from sin and toward the grace of God through the supreme sacrifice of the innocent blood of his son Jesus Christ.

Judgement always starts with the prophets warning the people. Then it spreads to the priests who speak to God on behalf of the people. If the people do not listen to the voices of the prophets and the priests and do not repent, then God’s righteous judgement will follow. Repentance according to the Word is to turn away from sin and toward God, followed by penitence, restitution and obedience.

Part of repentance is to make restitution which means to “come clean.” Cleanse my heart O Lord, create in me a new heart. God will redeem us as we follow his heart through our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. Repentance becomes real when we seek to do his will from a cleansed and a pure heart of his righteousness. Restitution is to make it right with the two parties you have wronged, both man and God. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. Repentance is the key to unlocking the healing and deliverance of God in our lives. How do we make restitution to God for the sins we have committed against him? The answer is in Romans 12:1. I beseech ye therefore brethren that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice holy and acceptable unto him which is your reasonable and sanctified service. To make restitution to the people you have wronged, seek them out and ask them forgiveness… ask them how you can make it right. Repentance is to humble our hearts before the Lord, to turn from our wicked ways, to pray, and to seek his face. Then will he cleanse our hearts from all unrighteousness and we can walk in fellowship and communion (co-union) with him.

Repentance is to turn away from the world and unto Him…
Turn your eyes upon Jesus; look full in his wonderful face; and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his wonder and grace.

May God richly bless you!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael

Covenant Keepers

Fred Smith, a business leader and Christian from Dallas wrote a book in which he described an incident he witnessed at a small coffee shop. He noticed a farm couple: a big burly man and his petite wife. After eating breakfast the man bent over and picked up is wife, revealing a full body brace. Everyone in the Coffee shop watched as he gently and lovingly placed her into their car and drove away. No one said a word. Finally, after several minutes, the waitress said, “now there’s a man who keeps his covenant.”

Jesus made a covenant with his family. He said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” A covenant is a binding promise made in the past to continue to perform now and into the future that which we have pledged. Our covenant with God is to set up a cultural outpost to stand against the schemes of the devil in the darkness of this fallen world. Romans 12:1 says, “therefore I beseech you brethren by the mercies of God that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God which is your reasonable service.”

The appeal that Paul makes is grounded upon the mercies of God, appealing to the people of God. He called them “brethren” in his male dominated culture. However his address to the family of God applies to both men and women. Chapter 12 of Romans begins the covenantal response of God’s people to God’s grace. By God’s mercy and grace we have been given salvation. Included with God’s gracious gift of salvation is our righteousness, justification, sanctification and redemption. The indicator of our receiving God’s mercy and grace, is our extension of a thankful heart back to God, his son Jesus Christ, and to others to which God has called us to minister.

The verbs in Romans 12 are the keys to our appropriate response in our covenantal relation with God. These verbs include: loving without pretense; detesting that which is evil, cleaving to that which is good; loving one another with brotherly love, burning with the flame of the spirit; serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope; continuing in prayer; distributing to the saints’ needs; giving hospitality; blessing those who persecute us; rejoicing with those who rejoice and weeping with those who weep; condescending to those of low estate; repaying no one evil for evil; providing all things honestly; and as much as lies within us, living peaceably with all men. We are to be overwhelmed by the mercy that God has shown to us. In understanding his mercy, our covenantal response is to “go and do thou likewise.”

God had set up the sacrificial system in the Old Testament for Israel to follow as a covenantal act of faith. The sacrificial animal would symbolize the ultimate supreme sacrifice for our sins, paid for by God’s only begotten son. Because Jesus’ sacrifice of his own blood fulfilled our covenant with God on our behalf, the presentation of our bodies as living sacrifice in Romans 12:1 is not a sin sacrifice, but rather a sacrifice of praise. Our sacrifice of praise manifests itself in our bodies as we allow our minds to be transformed according to his Word. A living sacrifice indicates that we should be devoted not to the things of this sinful world, but rather our devotion is wholly and holy separated from worldly things and therefore acceptable unto him. As men of God our acceptance of of Christ’s supreme sacrifice is revealed by our Godly demeanor, our humble hearts, and our merciful behavior.

When the highest court of our land defines good as evil and evil as good, we should subject our hearts not to the world’s authority, but to God’s authority. The adversary rarely shows his true colors, but when our country advocates killing unborn children to harvest their body parts in the name of “science” this reveals evil in its true form… for the thief cometh not but for to steal, to kill and to destroy. In contrast, Jesus Christ came that we might have life and have it more abundantly.

If God is eternally omniscient, then his omniscience had a causative effect. This is the decreed will of God according to the Word of God. What was the causative effect of Jesus’ death and resurrection? Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Gethsemene, was not about his suffering and torture. When Jesus said “let this cup pass from me,” he was praying about being separated from God because of the sin sacrifice he would bear on behalf of the world. He said, “nevertheless, not my will but thine be done.” It’s better to suffer for doing good than to live in comfort to do evil. The causative effect of Jesus’s death was that “he who knew no sin became the perfect sin sacrifice on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in him.” God’s decreed will is his sovereign will and it shall come to pass according to his Word. The decreed will of God is different from the moral will of God. The moral will of God is related to God’s goodness, mercy and grace. God’s moral will also shall come to pass. The paradox is that God takes that which men intended for evil and turns it to good. According to Rom 8:28, all things work together for good to those who are called according to his purpose. The moral will of God is that he sent his son Jesus Christ to be our high priest on our behalf to make intercession for us. The moral will of God is that ye be kindly affectioned one to another. However, God allows bad things to happen to good people as part of his decreed will in his sovereign perspective. We cannot fully understand God’s perspective in this present life. However, when that which is perfect is come, then we shall know even also as we are known. God’s commandment in Romans 12: 2 is, “Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye may prove what is that (morally) good and acceptable and perfect (decreed) will of God.” Our responsibility to God is our covenantal response to his ability. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Before he was put to death for the faith one martyr said, “If God is my accomplice, then my life has come to naught. If I am his instrument, then my life was all for his glory… take my life and let it be consecrated Lord to thee.” His ways are higher than our ways and his covenantal love abides forever. Therefore, present your bodies a living sacrifice (in this life or the next) holy and wholly acceptable unto him which is your reasonable service.

May God richly bless you,
Your brother in Christ,
Michael

Our Mission

God is all-knowing. Therefore, he knew in advance that we who believe were destined to be his sons… his children according to the good pleasure of His will. Those who have received the Spirit of God can understand the will of God. However, the natural man, without the spirit of God receiveth not the things of the spirit because they are spiritually discerned. Misunderstanding the will of God results from inability to understand the reality of the spiritual realms of light and darkness. God has called each believer in Christ to be a leader in the spiritual battle. In Joshua 13:6 The the Lord said to Joshua that there were large portions of the Promised Land that Israel had not rightfully taken. Many years earlier, Joshua and Caleb were the only two of twelve spies who had given a good report about Israel’s ability to take over the land of Canaan. God had promised Israel that he would give Israel the land of Canaan but ten of the twelve spies did not believe God’s promise. They believed that the giants in the land and the armies of the unbelievers were bigger and more powerful than the power of God and the veracity of his promise. These ten died with the rest of this generation of the children of Israel. They perished, wandering in wilderness for forty years. However God had spared Joshua and Caleb who were now growing old. According to Joshua 16:10 when Israel finally entered the Promised Land, they did not dislodge the Canaanites… they did not drive them out completely. Instead, contrary to the Word of God, Israel made the Canaanites their slaves. In Joshua 18:3 Joshua said to Israel, “How long will you wait before you take possession of the Promised Land?” In this day and time, God still asks this question of his children who have been born again.

Caleb’s tribe of Judah endured. God always calls his people as missionaries on a mission: to endure and to drive out the spiritual darkness according to the light of the Word of Truth. This mission has not changed. Today, He has called us to reclaim our neighborhoods for the truth of the Word of God. He has called us to be his ambassadors: representatives of our heavenly homeland. The land of our new birth is heaven… we have been born again from above and from God’s eternal perspective, we are seated in heavenly places in Christ. We have been sent from above as ambassadors to represent our heavenly kingdom in a foreign land. We have been commissioned in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation to shine as lights. Since we are ambassadors, our houses are embassies… outposts for heaven in a world of darkness. As God said to Joshua before he took possession of the promised land, every place that thy foot shall tread upon, I have already given to you. Therefore, be thou strong and of a good courage, for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. In this foreign land, as God’s ambassadors, we have “diplomatic immunity.” Our homes are embassies, a piece of heaven in a foreign land. According to Second Corinthians, “now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For He hath made him to be the perfect sin sacrifice on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in him.”

Jesus Christ has made the ultimate payment for our sins to justify God’s righteous judgement by the supreme sacrifice of his innocent blood on our behalf. For by grace are ye saved though faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, (through Jesus having paid the price) not of works lest any man should boast. Because of the grace he has given us, we have been empowered by the power of the holy spirit to stand fast in the midst of the spiritual battle and having done all to stand. As his emissaries, he has called us in Christ’s stead to set the captives free and to preach the acceptable day of the Lord’s salvation.

We have been called to take back territory from Satan’s powers of darkness. When God calls us to battle against spiritual wickedness from on high, we stand in his power, armed with his spiritual armor. Therefore, resist the devil and he will flee from you. The adversary’s tactics never change… his strategy is to divide and conquer. He pits factions against factions: women against men, children against parents, those in government against those they govern. Satan’s powers of the darkness of this world are the root cause of division. Reconciliation means to make peace: to bring back together that which has been separated. Peace is only available through the prince of peace. Jesus said, my peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid.

The purpose of the armor of God is to stand against the schemes of the devil, and having done all to stand. Luke 4 records a confrontation between Jesus Christ and the devil himself. Satan’s proposition to Jesus was to “bow down and worship me and I will give you power over all the kingdoms of this world. They are mine to give because they were relinquished (by Adam) to me.” The key to standing against the enemy is to wield the sword of the spirit which is the Word of Truth. Jesus’s responded from the Word of God, “thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”

In the book of Acts Chapter 16 Paul caused a great disturbance in Phillippi when he cast a devil spirit out of a woman who had made a fortune for her masters by fortune-telling using a “spirit of divination.” When the light confronts the darkness there are always casualties of the spiritual warfare. Acts 19 records similar incidents about Paul’s spiritual battles in the city of Ephesians. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual wickedness from on high. As in the book of Acts, we have been called to shine the light of the truth of the Word of God in the darkness of our neighborhoods. As God’s emissaries, we have been called with a mission from God to deliver a message from our Commander in Chief. Not only has he called us to deliver the message, he has also called us to be the message… as though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ’s stead be ye reconciled unto God.

We have been given a mission from God. Therefore let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven. God has called us to the front lines of the spiritual battle as his soldiers in the “charge of the Light Brigade”… Our battle cry is “Give ’em Heaven!”

May God richly bless you,
Your brother in Christ,
Michael

Needful Things

We live in a finite world where there are many losses in a lifetime. The older we get the more losses we experience… we lose loved ones, houses, friends, possessions, and jobs. While there are many things that cause us to suffer in this life, all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose. We can either look back on our lives with regret or with thankfulness for the lessons we have learned. And not only so, but we glory in tribulation also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the holy spirit which is given to us. Sometimes the times of greatest loss are the times of the greatest deliverance. In Matthew 10:39 Jesus said,”He that loses his live for my sake shall find it.”

In John Chapter 6 the question is, “is Christ sufficient?” Needful things… If we’re needy, what is it that we really need. The context of John 6 changes the upbeat mood of the story from those who followed Jesus as the “rock star” of his day, to a more somber mood that Jesus’ true purpose was to be crucified and for God to raise him from the dead. Your attitude about life will determine the flag under which you serve. What is the cost of following Jesus and what will life be like as a follower of Christ? Many of his followers forsook him when Jesus told them about his suffering and death. Jesus warned about the impending crises that his followers would face. In Matthew 24:9 when his disciples asked Jesus about the signs of the times, he answered that they would have to pay a heavy price… they would be persecuted and martyred for being his disciples and hated by all nations because of Christ. There is always a spiritual battle behind the earthly battle. The flame of the spirit of the church of God has been fueled by the blood of Christian martyrs throughout the history of his Church. What’s important is that the gospel of deliverance is spread. However, in the last times, many shall fall away from the faith and false prophets shall deceive many. The one who stands firm to the end shall be saved… He who endures shall be delivered. Jesus set the bar so high that no one could follow… that salvation would not be through our own futile efforts, but only by his grace alone by faith alone through Christ alone. The key to deliverance is that even though there is suffering in this life, Jesus Christ who knew no sin sacrificed his life on our behalf so that we may be made the righteousness of God in him. For I have been crucified with Christ nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ liveth in me… therefore, my life is hid with Christ in God.

What endures in this life? If you attach your identity to things that are here today and gone tomorrow, life will be an exercise in frustration. Where are your going in life? If you have no destination, you’re never lost. Jesus said, “I am the way the truth and the life, no man cometh to the father but by me.” As the Apostle Paul said, “I press toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

After Jesus spoke to his followers in John 6, and many of his followers left him, Jesus said to his disciples, “are you all-in?” Many said, “I’d rather follow the world and my own comfort than give up everything to follow you.” The hard questions expose the idols in life. Are we really willing to trust in God by following our Lord Jesus Christ? Are we willing to endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ? In the sermon on the mount, Jesus said, “lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth where moth and rust corrupts, but rather lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, for where your treasure is, there shall your heart be also.”

Is anything in your life too precious to give up to follow Christ? The first of the ten commandments says, “Thou shalt have no other Gods before me.” Literally this verse means that God said “you shall have no other gods between your face and my face.” Do your children, your wife, your job or your possessions come between you and God? Jesus said, whosoever loses his life for my sake shall find it. The most penetrating question is “Would you worship and praise me no matter the consequences in this life?” In order to worship God, we must put our most valuable possession upon the altar. Lordship means that all I have is thine. To confess that Jesus is Lord means that I am his and he is mine. My times are in thy hands. Life is much easier when you give up and give it away… Despite the trials and tribulations of this world, take my life and let it be consecrated Lord to thee… Needful things: are you all in? As John the Baptist said, “I must decrease that he may increase.” You can have all this world, just give me Jesus. All I need is thee…

May God richly bless you,
Your brother in Christ,
Michael

What does Jesus Ask?

In Matthew 16, when Jesus took his disciples to the Gentile region of Caesarea of Philippi, surrounded by the idols and influences of the heathen nations, he asked them, “who do men say that I am?” They answered, “some say that you are John the baptist, or Elijah, or Jeremiah returned from the dead. Peter answered, “thou art the Christ, the son of the living God.” Jesus said, “heaven and earth has not revealed this to you, but my Father which is in heaven.”

Jesus asked another question in Luke 6:46, “And why call me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” Jesus said that the one who is greatest among you shall be servant of all. You are slaves to whom you obey. They claimed that they were “all in” but Jesus said that unless you obey, unless you give up all that is in the world to follow me, you are not my disciple. Christians in our culture today like to leave our options open. We often say “no” to his will.
Jesus said but what are men of this generation like? They do not understand the things of the spirit of God. They, like their idols, hear but cannot hear and they see but they cannot see. In other words, they are apathetic… present but not engaged. They have a lust (over desire) for the affairs of this world instead of a passion and compassion for the things of the spirit. God has sanctified us through the power of his holy spirit. Holiness (sanctification) means to set apart… As the master designer he has separated us for the purpose for which he designed us… to be holy and without blame before him in love.

In Mathew 5: 46 and 47 Jesus delivered the “sermon on the mount.” Jesus said many radical things in this message… He challenged those who said they loved and followed God. Jesus said if you love only those who love you… don’t even the pagans do that? Is your success defined by keeping the rules of the world? What does it mean to love unconditionally with the love of God? As believers, he created within us a new spirit, a new man. The spirit of Christ in us is the blessed assurance that we are sons of God… It is the token of our inheritance, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which he’s committed to me against that day of judgement. The message that Jesus delivered is that the problems of this world are opportunities for God to show his power to deliver. There is no justice and fairness in this world… bless them that persecute you and despitefully use you for great is your reward in heaven. The world says for us to build up a resentment bank so that we can get revenge, so that we can exact “just retribution.” However Jesus said that you have the power to be different… to allow God to balance the scales of justice in his own time frame. Jesus implied that compassion for the affairs of this world is opposed to passion for the affairs of heaven. Why does God allow the morals of the world to dominate the culture? Why does he allow the body of Christ to be influenced by the passions of this world? He has called his people to make a choice… to pray for the world, to intervene on their behalf, to love with the unconditional love of God in the renewed mind in manifestation. The love of God loves the unlovable, that’s why it’s unconditional. Forgiveness is to forgive the unforgivable. Any man can claim his rights and any demon will make sure he gets them. Human “rights” are often spiritual wrongs. Jesus said that your enemies in the flesh are not your real enemies. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of darkness, against spiritual wickedness from on high. Often the trials and tribulations of worldly relationships are given to us so that we can repent… so that we can turn our hearts away from the things of this world and toward the things of God. But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, for they do gender strife. The bondservant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome. The love of God and the wisdom from above is first peaceable, easy to be entreated, without hypocrisy and without partiality. A bond slave gives up his “right” to seek vengeance. God has called us to be an holy nation, a royal priesthood, a peculiar people. We are outlives from this world of darkness… from the world’s perspective we are “freaks of nature.” From God’s perspective we are an holy nation, separated from this world and separated unto the purpose for which he designed us. To be a bond slave for Christ, we must give up our human rights in order to live righteous in him… in him we live and move and have our being. For I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Ye are slaves to whom ye obey. Make me a captive Lord, and then I shall be free…

May God richly bless you.
Your brother in Christ,
Michael

God’s Calling

In Matthew 11 Jesus asked, “To what then shall I compare this generation, and what are they like? We played the flute and you didn’t dance, we played a funeral dirge and you didn’t mourn. You don’t understand because you have no passion and no compassion. How then, can I explain to you the things of heaven?”
He said to Nicodemus, “you call yourself a master and a teacher of Israel and yet you don’t understand the things of the spirit and of faith?”

Every winning team must master the basics and do them consistently. The fundamentals of the faith are the things that really matter. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. We’ve got to follow through on our basic assignment according to Colossians 3:2: Set your affections on things above, not on things of the world. 2 Timothy 2:4 says, “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”

Casual and apathetic are words that characterize men of this world. Apathetic is not caring about the things that matter. The greatest danger is not that you’ll fail in something that matters but that you’ll succeed in something that doesn’t matter. Men of God do not fall from fellowship deliberately… they just gradually stop showing up. Success is not what the world calls success.. Rather, success is according to God’s terms. Success is mostly showing up for God’s assignments… to be available and open to his calling. Availability is availing myself of his ability. Disappointment is the result of missing our divine appointments. Disappointment is “disrespecting God” by failing to meet with him at his appointed time. Every moment in life is an appointment with God. Life becomes difficult when apathetic men make wrong choices because they chose not to meet with God. Influence begins with influencing my own mind… grabbing hold of the reins of my own mind to hold every thought captive to Christ.

In 2 Thes 1: 11-12, We are called to encourage each other unto words and good deeds to God’s glory. According to 1 Peter 2:9, We have each been called by God, who through Christ, has made us worthy of our calling to be a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people that we should show forth the praises of him who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light… However, the natural man is one who looks in the mirror and forgets who he is. How do we walk worthy of our calling? We having received his holy spirit, glory not in ourselves, but in him who has called us to be his servant. Lordship means to make myself a slave to my Lord Jesus Christ… to make his heart’s desire my heart’s desire and to make his will my will. For it is God which worketh in you to will and to do of his good pleasure.

God is involved with every aspect of our lives… he cares about the little things. He cares that we master the fundamentals. Not my will but thine be done. It’s not what you know but rather who you know. Lordship is wanting what he wants. Delight thyself in the Lord and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Never seek a ministry and never seek to be useful to God. Rather, seek God himself and then he will work in you to will and to do of his good pleasure when your good pleasure is his good pleasure. Our desire is to hunger and thirst for his righteousness in the spirit… to seek his fervor for the Word of God and to do his will. I found thy words and I did eat them and they were unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart.

Spiritual power cannot be separated from faith. The work of faith is energized by the power of the holy spirit when we walk according to his will. God has chosen men who are weak in this world so that his power can work within them… thy power is made manifest in my weakness.

The body of Christ is a family and not a business. Policy should never take precedence over caring for the flock of God over which he has called you to be an overseer. A calling to minister cannot be fear based. Rather, it must be faith based and faith works by love. It’s counter intuitive to call the poor men to pray but this is exactly what God calls his men to do. We rely not on the riches of men but on faith that God is faithful to provide… not that we are sufficient in ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God.

According to 2 Corinthians 5: 20-21, God has called us to fulfill our calling to be an ambassador for Christ. He has committed unto us the word of reconciliation and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. To reconcile is to bring back to God, those who have been separated beginning with our own minds. Therefore, we pray you in Christ’s stead be ye reconciled to God. This is the fundamental message that he has called us to deliver and to master: For he who knew no sin became the perfect sin sacrifice on our behalf, that we may be made the righteousness of God in Him…

In other words, our calling is this: Give ’em heaven!

May God richly bless you,
Your brother in Christ,

Michael

Our Hope

Christianity is the only doctrine of hope among the great religions of the world. Hope is the confidence that everything works out according to God’s ultimate plan… according to his divine design; according to his sovereign will. Biblical speaking, hope is different from what the world says hope is. Hope according to the Word of God is the ultimate fulfillment of God’s purpose.

The first three verses of First John Chapter 3 are about truths related to the hope: past, present, and future. 1 John 3:1-3: Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

God’s love is manifested in that he has made us his children. Beloved now are we the sons of God, as such we are! Prior to God’s intervention through Jesus, we stood before God as complete strangers, having a debt of sin that we could not pay. When Jesus intervened on our behalf and we confessed him as Lord, God placed his seed of holy spirit within us and made us his sons.

Words are inadequate to describe the beauty of God’s created spirit within us. According to 1 Corinthians 2:9 …Eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. At the present time, it does not yet appear what we shall be. However, in the future we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is! As 1 Corinthians 13 says, for now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face we shall know him even also as also we are know by him. Our Heavenly Father loves us so much that he always cheers for us as his dear children. Even though we see our own frailties and imperfections, he sees us not as we are, but as we shall be. For even if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart and knoweth all things.

Our spiritual response is that we are sons of God and that the hope of the return of Jesus Christ covers all of the negative contingencies of this present life. The hope of the return liberates us… it frees us to live, not according to the problems of this present world, but that we may live genuinely according to the security we have in anticipation of the Hope of his return.

Humanity chases after the things that do not really matter. Being a man of God means to chase after the Man of God Jesus Christ who gave his life on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in him. Our hope is in Him, for all things work together for good to those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose. For this light affliction which is but for a moment worketh a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Our Hope is the blessed assurance of knowing how the story ends.

May God richly bless you.
Your brother in Christ,
Michael