What Endures?

Ecclesiastes 3:14 says “I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.”

To have a legacy, then do things according to the Word of God. The things we do and the prayers we pray according to His will continue on…they will last into eternity for the Word of God never returns void.

According to Isaiah 55:6 and following:

6. “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
7. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”

Returning to the Lord means to “turn around.” This is the meaning of the word “repent.” He will abundantly pardon when we return to him. He is waiting for our repentance so that he can excercise his loving kindness and tender mercies. The reason is because God doesn’t think like we think…
8. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
9. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:”

God’s divine design has a purpose…to abundantly bless…
11. “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
12. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”

In Ezekiel 22:17 the prophet says by revelation: “And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 18. Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross (dregs or slag:) all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver.
19. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.
20. As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you.
21. Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof.
22. As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the LORD have poured out my fury upon you.”

God is a God of righteous judgement. The fire is for purifying. According to 1 Corinthians 3:12-14, the fire will reveal that which is of lasting value.. The fear, respect, and reverence of the Lord built upon the firm foundation of Jesus Christ shall be preserved into eternity.

Ezekiel 22:23-26: “And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 24. Son of man, say unto her, Thou art the land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon in the day of indignation.

What is the root of the problem? The answer starts in verse 25 and continues in the following verses:
25. There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.”
“26. Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.”

When God’s priests stop making a difference between the holy and the unholy, then God’s righteous judgement shall follow. God is faithful to his word. The choice for God’s people and for His priests is to “separate” themselves from the unholy things of this world. “Sanctification” or Holiness, means to separate according to the purpose for which the Creator intended. Holiness starts with the prophets who speak to the people on behalf of God, and the priests who speak to God on behalf of the people.

27. “Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.
28. And her prophets have daubed them with untempered morter (white wash,) seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the LORD hath not spoken.”

The priests, the princes, the prophets and the people’s forsaking the Lord is the root of the problem…the prophets and the priests are responsible for keeping the house of the Lord holy.

29. “The people of the land have used oppression and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.
30. And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.”

Where is the church today? God was looking for a man to “stand in the gap” and to keep Israel from the righteous judgement of God. The question is “shall God judge Christians today with the unrighteousness and wicked of this world? The Lord said to Abraham, if I find ten righteous in the midst of the city, I will save the city. Otherwise, I will snatch the righteous from Sodom and Gomorrah and then destroy the wicked city.

John 3:14 says “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be”“lifted up:
15. That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life..
16. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Even though God is a righteous judge, he made a way for mercy and grace to triumph over judgement:
17. “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

What endures? We have been given God’s gracious gift of eternal life when we were saved by his grace. Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God which liveth and abideth forever. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away but my Word will not pass away.

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

Blessing Israel

Phil’s Hanlen’s prayer was to love what God loves , to hate what he hates, and to see life through God’s eyes. God’s answer to Phi’s prayer was a calling to minster to soldiers in Israel and to bring the message of God’s heart for Israel.

God is referred to as “the God of Israel” over 200 times in the Bible. After the fall of man resulting from Adam and Eve’s disobedience, God set a plan in motion to redeem mankind. God made a promise to Abraham that he would make from him a great nation. According to Genesis 12:3, God said , “I will bless those who bless you and those who curse you I will curse. Through you will all the families of the earth be blessed.”

The story of redemption is the story of God’s fulfilling his promise to Israel.. Through God’s dealing with his people Israel, God paints a picture of his character in relationship with his people. The law given to Moses is the law of God that God gave to Israel as the “oracle of God.” The reason that we bless Israel is because they are his chosen people from whom Jesus Christ would come to redeem mankind.

Jesus came 400 years after the last Old Testament prophet Malachi. Jesus came to fulfill the prophesies that God had made to Israel. Jesus before his crucifixion entered the city of Jerusalem as the one who would fulfill the prophesies in the Old Testament. On Palm Sunday, Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem as the people declared, “Hosannah to the son of David, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” Only one week later, Jesus was put on trial and the powers of darkness conspired against God’s righteous innocent only begotten son. The religious leaders lead the crowd in their chant: “crucify him. We have no king but Ceasar.” Jesus Christ was crucified for our redemption… he laid down his life as the perfect sin sacrifice on our behalf that we who were dead in trespasses and sins may be made the righteousness of God in him.

We bless Israel because God chose Israel to fulfill his promise of redemption. The story of God’s relationship to Israel is still ongoing. God has called Christians to continue to bless his chosen people…we are called to be eternity minded. Therefore, our purpose is to endure through trials of this life and to see our calling from God’s perspective. According to Romans 11: “I SAY then, Hath God cast away his people? …God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew.” However, because Israel has hardened their heart to the truth of the word of God in this present age, God’s grace has been opened to the Gentiles. As Christians, we have been grafted into the root of Israel, God’s original “olive tree.”

According to Revelation 7, the number of those of the tribes of Israel who will be sealed are 12 thousand from each of the twelve tribes of the house of Israel. According to Psalm 122 the Lord says, Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you.

Phil Hanlen and Ryan Van Deussen have been called to minister to the soldiers in Israel. Their organization, Ambassadors and Embassies’ mission is to “love your neighbor.” They have decided to take their call from 2 Corinthians 5: “Now then are ye ambassadors for Christ. As God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.” They will be going to Israel to deliver gifts and send message of love for the soldiers who protect Israel.

God continues to bless Israel. Our calling and the calling of Phil’s ministry is to live out God’s love in action by giving back to those whom God has blessed.
Phil and his friend Ryan Van Deussen will travel to Israel in October. At this event they will present Israeli soldiers a gift package. This gift is a way to show God’s love to these soldiers who have dedicated their lives to protect God’s chosen people. Our battle is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual wickedness from on high. Supporting Phil’s mission is one way that we can put on the whole armor of God and act upon the promise of God, “those who bless Israel I will bless.”

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

Perfected, Established, Strengthened, and Settled

 

An important theme of 1 Peter 5:5-11 is in verse 10:  “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.”  The context of this verse starts in verse 5.  “Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.”

God is a God of grace and wants to lift us up.  The requirement is that we humble ourselves…that we be clothed with humility.  The story of Job is a story of humility.  Job suffered and never knew the reason why.  However, he never stopped believing God, even in the midst of tribulation, distress, pain, and suffering.  Throughout his painful ordeal, Job’s confession was, “the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.  Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Our sinful nature has been propagated ever since Adam’s original sin.  Because of our sin nature, we’ll be pushed to the limit of our earthly nature.  At such times, our prayer will be like Jehoshephat’s, “We have no plan and we don’t know what’s going on, but Lord our eyes are upon you.”  This is a foxhole prayer that God will honor when we acknowledge that we are powerless.

1 Peter 5:6. “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

7 casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”

Trials will show us what we’re really made of.  We all have adversaries.  Some men may think that their wife is their adversary.  To understand our true enemy, we must first humble ourselves.  Our resentment bank will keep us from humbling ourselves.  Our fallen nature wants to get revenge…  It thinks that justice means seeking “just retribution.”  However, God says that we must humble ourselves to stand in his power and not our own.  The key to resisting the devil is to stand firm in the faith.  According to 1 Corinthians 13, the love of God beareth all things, hopeth all things, and endureth all things.

Everyone needs God’s help.  Tribulation in this world is designed by God so that we can understand that we can’ make it on our own…that we are powerless in our own strength.

9 “Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.”

God allows suffering for his purpose.  Suffering is necessary to bring us to the place that we need to be…   humbled before our Lord.

“But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.”

Our God is a God of grace.  He is the only God that is gracious.  The gods of other religions are gods of vengeance and retribution.  Our God loves to do good to those who don’t deserve it.  Because of His grace he called us to his eternal glory.  We who have humbled our hearts before him are the ones who have been saved by his grace.  When we humbled ourselves, he opened our ears and eyes so that we could understand….so that we can know that we know that we are his and that he is ours.  Suffering is necessary to go where he wants us to go.  He wants to strengthen, perfect, establish, and settle us.

The requirement is that we “humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God.”  To perfect means to mend, to reconcile, to make whole and to heal.  Without our Lord, there is something missing in our lives.  God is always a God of plan and purpose.  Through the trials and perfecting, he will reveal his purpose and teach us the meaning of his character.

Hebrews 12 is about discipline.  Our father who loves us disciplines us.  Although it hurts, chastening produces within us a quiet growth in grace and character.  Some of us know how to be an all star and to bask in the limelight of worldly accomplishments.  However, we need to learn what it means to sit on the bench and pull for the other guy.  During these times, Almighty God is building his character in us.  God’s character is learned, not in the limelight, but by sitting on the bench and swallowing our pride.  Only on the bench can we learn to cheer and prefer others ahead of ourselves.  Our question is, “Lord, what are you trying to perfect in me through this trial?”  Through chastening and chastisement, the character that he is building within us is humility, self control, meekness and the love of God.

God wants to perfect us and to “establish” us.  He wants to make us as solid as granite.  Suffering will accomplish one of two things:  either it will make a man collapse, or it will solidify him to stand before a loving God.   Through the trial God will strengthen us as steel forged and tempered through the fiery furnace.  Casual Christians become casualties in the spiritual battle.  When we stop working out and preparing for the battle, we will slide into complacency.   Perseverance and persistence through trial produces character.

God says, “have I not comforted you in affliction?  Have I not always brought you through the trial?  I will bring you through the fiery trial and the furnace of pain that you may be strengthened and tempered.  Therefore rest fast in my love…I have you in my own intensive care.  I want you to go through trials with a singing spirit.  Be a beacon light…  My glory will shine through you and the glory of Jesus Christ will be revealed in you.”

God wants to settle us.  He will lay a foundation in our lives that cannot be shaken.  When we’re shaken, he will shake out the things in this life that don’t really matter.  The shaking of life will make us understand our true foundation.  Our true foundation is Jesus Christ himself, the cornerstone upon which our life is founded.

The lessons of life will teach us to be established, strengthened, comforted and settled.  God is a God of grace who will humble us under his mighty hand so that he can lift us up…so that he can exalt us in due time to his honor and glory.

May God richly bless you!

Your brother in Christ,

Michael

Perfected by Trials

Jesus said, “in this world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.” There will be trials and testing in this life because we live in a fallen world. We inherited our sin nature from Adam. Sin means that we want to do things our own way instead of God’s way. Sin, like gravity, will have its own way with us. When we violate the laws of God, we’ll suffer the consequences, but when we obey his laws we’ll be blessed. In 1 Peter 5:1-11 Peter writes about suffering and trials. The hardest trials to bear are those we’ve brought on ourselves. We could have walked in the right way, but didn’t and now we’re suffering the consequences. According to 1 Peter 5:5:
“Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

It’s difficult to defer to others in the faith. God is opposed to pride. The way to overcome pride is to “humble ourselves.” Putting others before ourselves is the way that God will bless us. He resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. To come to Him we must give up ourselves. We’re blessed when we give it away. God said to Abraham: I’ll bless you so that you can be a blessing to all nations.

There’s a story about a young wife who made a foolish decision and incurred a large debt. Her husband said that she had incurred the debt and that she would need to pay it off by herself. His pride said, “you’re on your own.” He had not learned the meaning of grace. Grace is the giving of undeserved favor. At their counseling session, when his wife left the room the marriage counselor said to the husband, “do you know the meaning of the word “fool?” Just look in the mirror and you’ll understand the definition.”

1 Peter 5:6-11 teaches us about why God allows us to suffer through trials.
6Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

God wants to exalt and lift us us, but the requirement is that we humble ourselves under his mighty hand. Humility is a choice. Jesus said, don’t take the seat of honor, but take a seat in the back and if they want you, they’ll call you to the front. According to Proverbs, “A man’s gift maketh room for him and bringeth him before great men.”

It’s easy to be humble when we’re under the surgeon’s knife. When we turn to the Lord in these situations, the God of all comfort will comfort our hearts. We have a decision during the trials of life to humble ourselves and not to seek the limelight.

7Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

8Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

To devour means to eat ravenously. You can hear the bones crunching and see the blood flying when a carnivore is eating ravenously. When we fight like ravenous lions devouring each other, the only way to reconcile is to humble ourselves. We live in a life of dashed expectations…where people are bitter, proud, and personally offended. When a person is wounded beyond repair, this is a picture of hopelessness. Sins have consequences. God will forgive us and give us grace when we humble our hearts before the Lord. The antidote to this kind of hopelessness is in the next two verses.
9Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
10But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

Our God is the only God who describes himself as the God of all grace. Other gods seek retribution and “righteous vengeance” that results in condemnation. Suffering in this world seems to go on a long time. However, life in this world is but for a moment in eternity. After you suffer a while, God will perfect us, establish us, strengthen us, and settle us. Sanctification is the process whereby we are set apart according to the purpose for which he designed us. To be perfected means to make us better than we were before. We’re all works in process. As the psalmist said, mold me and make me after thy will, while I am waiting, yielded and still. While we’re being forged in the fire, the pain may be excruciating. However, forging and tempering us through the fire, is the way that he perfects and strengthens us.

The fruit of the spirit is a result of walking faithfully and patiently abiding in Christ. He will perfect us through the trials of life. Perfecting means that he will make us “solid as granite.” Granite is formed and solidified through the heat of molten lava. Discipline hurts but it results in solid character. God has called us to sit on the bench and to cheer for others to make them better. Our all powerful God cares about our character… through the trials we will come to know by experience to “humble ourselves under the might hand of God.” It hurts when we turn the other cheek and it takes more effort to “go the second mile.” When we go through the fire of life, he will strengthen us like forged and tempered steel. He strengthens us by trying us through the furnace of affliction. To settle means to lay a foundation. We will be shaken before we’re settled. Settling means to discover that which cannot be shaken.

God will give us examples through life who have been established, strengthened, perfected and settled. Life will become a joy when God teaches character through the trials of life. Our prayer is “Lord what are you teaching me through this trial? Through the fire and trials, mold me and make me after thy will… That I may be an Oak of righteousness for your honor and glory.

To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”

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

Becoming Oaks of Righteousness

Jesus read verses from Isaiah 61 at his hometown of Nazareth when he began his ministry. Isaiah had prophesied these words about the coming of the Messiah over 600 years before and Jesus opened the scroll and read these words to fulfill this prophecy:
Isaiah 61:1-3. “THE Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD (Jehovah) hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees (oaks) of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.”

Jesus read this passage through the phrase, “to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” This was the purpose of his first coming. At his second coming He will return as King of Kings and Lord of Lords when he proclaims “the day of vengeance of our God.”

Even though we are in are “the acceptable year of the Lord,” we can still rest assured that he binds up the broken-hearted and “comforts all that mourn.” Despite the tribulation, distress, pain, and disappointments of this world, God is still on the throne. He is sovreign over all. He never says, “I didn’t see that coming.” He’s never caught off guard. When we run to our Lord in our pain and grief, he will give us beauty for ashes, the oil of Joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit I of heaviness that we may be called “oaks of righteousness.”

According to Ecclesiastes 7:2-4,: “It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that (death) is the end of all men; and the living will take this to heart.
Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.”

Three weeks ago many of us in our Influencers Band of Brothers were blessed to attend the memorial service for Pete’s wife Suzan. All who attended were confronted about the reality that in this life, the mortality rate is 100%. However, we mourn not as others who have no hope. Suzan’s life was a witness and a living testimony of the good news of the gospel of Christ.

For each person that hears the Gospel there are four responses. The first response is to reject it outright. For these people, their heart is not ready to turn around, repent, and surrender all. The gospel confronts them with the truth that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. However, they have not reached the point of “conviction” and prefer to continue in sin.

Most church goers are in the second and third categories. Those in the second category are the ones who go to church and are nudged in the direction of “repentance unto salvation” but the exchange never happens in their hearts. Even though they walk down the aisle and are baptized, they live in Romans 7 where the “law of sin and death” separates us from a true and living relationship with our Lord. They have not come to an understanding of Romans 8, the “law of the spirit of life in Christ.”

Those in the third category belong to a certain “denomination” and say “Jesus is Lord” but don’t really mean it. These are the ones that Jesus talked about in Matthew 2:21-23 when he said: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
These people think they are saved, but they have not “done the will of my Father.” What is the “will of the Father” concerning salvation? According to Romans 10:9-10, they have not “confessed Jesus as Lord and believed in their hearts that God has raised him from the dead.” They believe in their own righteousness instead of the righteousness of Jesus Christ and the power of His resurrection on our behalf.

The fourth category is those of us who know that we know that we have received salvation. We who have been “born again of the spirit of life in Christ” have done a “180 degree turn” and have changed Lordships. We are no longer our own lord. Salvation is not “who we are” but rather, “whose we are.” As the Apostle Paul said in 2 Timothy 1:12, “for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day (of judgement.)” For those of us who are in this category “the spirit (of God) bears witness with our spirit (of Christ in us) that we are sons of God.” Those who have been saved by grace, have accepted the free gift of salvation according to Ephesians 2:8, “for by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Not of works lest any man should boast.”

Jesus said, “whosoever will may come.” He woos everyone, but not all accept his offer to receive God’s gift of salvation. Today is “the acceptable year of the Lord.” Hebrews 3 says, don’t harden your hearts like Israel did when they were led out of bondage in Egypt: “harden not your hearts as in the day of provocation, as in the day of temptation in the wilderness.” All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. However, we who have accepted his gift of salvation have been made the righteousness of God in Christ. God sealed us by entrusting his Holy Spirit within us when we accepted Jesus Christ as Lord. This is similar to our marriage covenant with our wives. When we take our marriage vows, one of the “covenants and conditions” is that “we’ll be under constant surveillance of our wives.” When we love our wives, we don’t want to do anything to disappoint her… we don’t want to break our fellowship with her by violating our sacred covenant of trust. Similarly when we were saved, God called us to live “holy.” “Sanctification” or “holiness” means to be “set apart for the purpose for which he designed us.” This is not a burden. We gladly submit because we love him. When we’re walking in fellowship with our Lord, when we’ve lovingly surrendered our hearts to him, doing his will is the joy and rejoicing of our heart.

However, our Heavenly Father knows that because we’re still human, we will sometimes stray from the “straight and narrow way.” Even though we’re still saved, we break fellowship with our Lord by trusting our own way instead of His way. When we stray, he still loves us and gives us a way to return our hearts back to him: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9). The job of the Holy Spirit is to lead us into the “all truth” for Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life. The Holy Spirit will “check us” so that we can “confess our sins” and maintain our fellowship with him. Our prayer, is “blot out our transgressions.” We’re guilty as charged when we stray. However, our Lord doesn’t beat us up when we sin. Jesus Christ didn’t come to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved. Today is the “acceptable year of the Lord.” He didn’t come to “kick us when we’re down.” He loves us much more that we could ever love ourselves. He came to set us free from the bondage of resentment and bitterness, to heal our broken heart and to open our blinded eyes. This is the freedom that we have in Christ: He set us captives free when confess that we’re broken by our own sins. Jesus Christ shed his innocent blood to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The purpose of the cross is that we may be made the righteousness of God in Him. When we understand and accept his grace and forgiveness, then we can give it away: “I forgave and set the prisoner free, only to find that the prisoner was me.”

What’s the difference between an oak and a seedling? An oak has stood the test of time. It has persevered through the ages… through good times and bad. When we turned to him for salvation he planted us as a seedling in the holy ground of his Word. When we faithfully return to him for fellowship, like the oak tree that has endured over many seasons of life, he will give us beauty for ashes, the oil of Joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit I of heaviness that we may be called “oaks of righteousness” to the glory of our Lord.

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

Oaks of Righteousness

Most men don’t have a group of friends, a band of brothers who will support them through the trials of life. Fellowship of the believers through our Lord Jesus Christ is the bond of love that unites us within the body of Christ. We’re all on a journey together. When we walk in fellowship one with another and with our Lord, we will become the men that God intended us to be.

God will humble us through the tribulation, trails, and disappointments of this life. Through the trials and dashed expectations, Jesus will bring us closer to himself. Peter said to Jesus, “I’ll die for you.” However, he didn’t understand the price he would have to pay to stand up for his Lord. Trials are designed by God to turn our hearts away from the world and back to him.

1 Peter 5-6-11 says,“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”

When our hearts are prone to criticize, condemn and complain, we need to return our hearts back to the Lord. Through Pain and tribulation we realize that we can’t find comfort in this world. Tribulation will force us to run to our Lord and to our brothers in Christ for comfort. Our God is the God of all grace. Our relationships are based on grace and not on the obligation of the Law. The law will remind us that we are sinners. However, through his grace we understand that our righteousness is not because of what we do, but because of his gracious gift of salvation. When we come to know the grace and love he had for us, then we can receive grace. We cannot give grace until we’ve received it. When we realize that for which we have been forgiven, then we can forgive others. When we know him and follow him, then we shall know the truth and the truth shall set us free. To be a person of grace, we must give grace.

“But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.”

The purpose of trials, difficulty, and tribulation is so that God will get the glory. Our glory is only through or Lord Jesus Christ. He is the way, the truth and the life. This is The gospel of the good news… That ye who were dead in trespasses and sins may be made the righteousness of God in Him. Through the suffering of this world when we turn to him, he will perfect us, he will establish us, he will strengthen us, and he will settle us.

Isaiah 61 is about “oaks of righteousness.” Isaiah 61:1-3 says: “THE Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees (oaks) of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.”

Jesus read these verses in his hometown of Nazareth and boldly proclaimed that he came to fulfill this prophecy. This was his mission statement…. The reason for his ministry. He read through the verse that said, his purpose was to “proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” He has come so that we could know him and follow him. He did not come to condemn us. He came so that we could bless God. He said that there is a narrow gate and a narrow road that leads to life. He himself is the narrow road. Through the suffering of this life, we will understand that our life is hid with Christ in God. For what doth it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul? Therefore to be his true disciples, we must lay down our own life, take up our cross daily, and follow him. When we’re broken by the trials of this world and run to him, he will give us beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness that we might be called oaks of righteousness to God’s glory. When we realize that we can’t make it on our own, we can confess as Paul did, “thy strength is made perfect in my weakness, thy grace is sufficient in me.”

The doctrine in Matthew 5 is contrary to the “success doctrine of this world.” Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are the meek. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. Blessed are they that mourn. Blessed are the pure in heart. Blessed are the peacemakers. Spiritual vitality will intensify and extend when we forsake our selfish pride and put our trust in him. Jesus said, “Blessed are they when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake, for great is your reward in heaven.”

God says in Isaiah 55:8-11, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”

The hallmark of Christianity is that ” they shall know them by their love for one another.” Our challenge is to reach others by showing them our love for our Lord Jesus Christ and our love for one another. Galatians chapter 5 says “stand fast therefore. In the liberty wherewith Christ has made you free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Our challenge is to “use not Liberty as an occasion to sin, but to serve one another in love…”

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