Word of God

Mar

2011

A Study of the End Times

“For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.” (Mar 13:8)

“… and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world …

“…when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” (Luke 21:11, 25-28)

Journal,

Jesus is describing the events that lead up His second coming. The rapture will be the major keynote that precedes the great tribulation. When the rapture occurs the planet will undergo horrors that have never been known. Jesus said…

“For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.” (Mat 24:21-22)

In a study of the end times it is important to distinguish between the 1^st and 2^nd coming of Jesus. It is also important to differentiate the rapture from the Lord’s actual return to the earth. While I remain pre-trib in my beliefs I don’t take an exception with other views. Who knows it all anyway?

So, whether a person is pre-trib, mid-trib, or end of tribulation view, the evidence is overwhelming that we are in that place in time that precedes the return of Jesus Christ.

In addition to the beginning Scriptures here are other Scripture indicators that figure the end-time era of redemption history. Take time to study these Scriptures. Allow the Holy Spirit to fill in the blanks. (This is a good guide for anyone doing a Bible study.)

Place your cursor over the Scripture reference and it will appear.

Can a land be born in one day? Cf. Isa66:8. (Compare this to the ‘beginning of birth pangs’ of Mark 13:8 Also see Acts 1:6, 7.)

The things of Daniel 12:1-4. (Leads to the great tribulation and the final judgment.)

As in the days of Noah. Cf. Luke 17:24-30; 1Pet1:18-22; Gen6:1-5.

Corruptions of the race. Cf. Rom1:25-32; 2Tim3:1-5.

The focus of Jerusalem. Cf. Zech12:1,2,9,10; 13:1-6 (Wounds? – Psa22:16); John19:37.

Placement of God’s people. Cf. Eph2:1-9; 4:30-32; Col3:1-4; Hosea 6:1-3.

The rapture. Cf. 2Th2:1-13; 1Th4:14-18; 1Co15:51-58.

2^nd coming. Cf. Mat24:29-37. (Parable of fig tree is Israel. Cf. Mat21:9-20; Luke13:34-25)

Final prayer of God’s people. Cf. Rev22:17-21; 2Tim4:7,8 — Do you love his appearing?

What does all this mean to God’s people? I’m glad you asked. Let’s talk a bit about…

The Covenant of the Spirit

What distinguishes the new covenant from all the former covenants is that at the moment of believing in and receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit enters the heart of the believing one. Every believer thereby becomes a Christ possessed person.

“… the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Col 1:26-27)

This means that in our walk with the Lord each believer can learn to judge for himself or herself that which is of God and that which is not of God. It is this discerning and judging of all things by the Spirit that develops in the believer over time. This is crucial when it comes to end time happenings.

“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.” (1Co 2:12-13)

The issue is that in the new covenant while the Lord does place us in a body of believers according to His will and purpose, yet He does not deal with us as groups. In the new covenant there is no need for a certain body of prophets or ‘special’ spokesmen to represent God in the earth.

All the apostles emphasized this. John says,

“As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides (permanently), and you have no need for anyone* (Greek word ’tis’ means a special single someone, or a guru) to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.” (1John2:24-27 Please read the reference.)

John’s point is that God’s new covenant people are never to be in bondage to anyone, and especially to someone who sets himself up as the spokesman for God. Does this mean we should not listen to others? It doesn’t mean that at all. God gives us pastors for a purpose.

My main point is that new covenant believers should never become movement chasers, prophet chasers, or group chasers. Listen to the Lord with your heart. Do your own praying. Study for yourself. The new covenant walk opens up in a powerful way when we get personal with the Lord. (The Lord is much more involved in your life than you realize.)

Yes, these can be scary times but not so for the child of God. Our instructions will never change. Listen to the Lord:

“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” (Joh 14:1-3)

The apostle Paul said that the Lord was coming after a people who ‘love His appearing.’ Do you love His appearing? Do you long for His appearing? This is one of the preeminent signs of a true believer.

Jesus said it this way:

“He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.” (Joh 12:25-26)

Here is your song. Take time to listen to, ‘How Great is Our God.’

Always in love with Jesus,

Buddy

Nov

2010

When Wisdom Becomes Foolishness

Then the Lord said, ‘Because this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote, therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous; and the wisdom of their wise men will perish, and the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed.” (Isa 29:13-14 NASB)

Journal,

With the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D., the seed bed was already in place for the rabbis to create an entirely new Judaism. This new Judaism would branch out from the sect of the Pharisees. It was this seed bed that Jesus spoke against:

Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?” (Mt15:3)

Without question this new Judaism had a number of problems. They had a powerful contender for the hearts of the Jewish people from a fast growing movement in Judaism that was taking on the name Christian. Rabbinic Judaism began developing alongside Christianity but in opposition to the Christian faith. The Christian faith would soon outgrow its Jewish clothing to encompass all the nations of the world. Rabbinic Judaism would forever remain very small in comparison.

That was the beginning of their problems. Whereas Rabbinic Judaism had no temple or a priesthood in place, the Jewish Christians could easily appeal to Moses and the prophets with regard to their Lord and Savior. The Messiah had come and was now the high priest of the new covenant. No further sacrifice was needed. The eternal blood of the covenant had been shed. The Spirit of Messiah now resided in the hearts of all true believers.

In a letter written to Jewish people we read this:

Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Heb 13:20-21 NASB)

The path of foolishness begins…

The depth of foolishness began with the rejection of Jesus Christ. But how could the rabbis counter the Christian movement? Over time they began issuing warnings to the Jewish peoples about reading certain portions of the Old Testament. A curse was placed upon the reading of the book of Daniel and trying to calculate the times of Messiah. A strong warning was put in place against the study of Ezekiel with a special view to the ‘chariot of God.’ (Daniel set forth the very time for the coming of Messiah. Ezekiel spoke of the ‘form’ of God.)

The former testament began to taking on a dead shroud for the Jewish people. The glory of Israel had been rejected.

Paul wrote about the death shroud:

But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ. But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” (2Co 3:14-16 NASB)

It continued. The rabbis discarded the Septuagint translation, the writings of Josephus and the writings of Philo. The Targums were held at a distance. Everything that could have any bearing on Jesus Christ must be discarded. The people would have to view the Scriptures through another lens, the lens of the rabbis. They would set themselves up as the ‘final voice of God’ to the people. Even God would learn from them. (Don’t be surprised. This is in the writings of the rabbis.)

Why was Jesus and the apostles such a threat to the Jewish authorities

Why is the big question – Why does Talmudic Judaism to this day carry such a blindness to those who are held in its sway. Why is Judaism filled with such darkness? It all has to do with authority. The authority of the Jewish leaders was in question. In Talmudic Judaism the rabbis have actually taken the place of God. They consider themselves to be greater than Moses or any of the prophets. Their word is the final word.

We ought not be surprised? The Old Testament warned that the traditions of the elders would evolve into rabbinic Judaism. Listen again as God speaks through Isaiah, saying,

Because this people draws near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence consists of tradition learned by rote….

…Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous; and the wisdom of their wise men will perish, and the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed.” (Cf. Isaiah 29:13,14)

It is crucial to place the apostolic writings in their proper role. The apostles were not simply called to be apostles to the Church. They were apostles to Israel, with Paul having an extended role with a view to the Gentiles. It is in this sense that apostles took up the mantle of the prophets of old. Jesus said to them,

I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others [the prophets] have labored and you [the apostles] have entered into their labor.” (Jn4:38)

The prophets spoke to the coming of Messiah. They were His beforehand servants. The apostles spoke after the fact, that is, Israel’s Messiah had come, had ministered to the people, had been rejected, was crucified, rose from the dead, ascended on high and is now at the right hand of the glory on high. The apostles were His witnesses.

A second thing that needs to be understood has to do with Israel’s judgment of 70 A.D., over the rejection of Jesus Christ. These two issues are placed side-by-side by the Lord. Listen carefully:

So you are witnesses and approve of the deeds of your fathers; because it was they who killed them [the prophets], and you build their tombs. For this reason the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and some they will persecute, so that the blood of all the prophets, shed since the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation.” (Cf. Luke 11:46-51)

A Matter of Redemption

This is a matter of redemption history. Why would the blood of the prophets and apostles be charged against that generation? It would be due to the greater sin of their leaders. If anyone should have recognized Jesus Christ as Israel’s Messiah, it would be that generation. All the prophets from ancient time spoke of the days of Christ. And the time of Messiah had been prophesied by Daniel.

The deeper side is that when the high priest and the elders of Israel rejected Jesus Christ, they were rejecting God Himself. You see, the blood that ran through the veins of Jesus was the very blood of God. And because they had rejected God Himself, there was no other sacrifice to be had. All that was left was a judgment. Israel would be given a transitional time for entering into the new covenant of Christ.

But there is more to the greater sin. Jesus said to Pilate,

You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.” (Jn19:11)

The greater sin was the sin of knowledge. Many of the leaders especially of the Pharisees knew that Jesus was the Messiah. I realize we find this hard to believe, but a careful search of the gospels shows this to be the case. (It wasn’t the godly leadership that rejected Jesus. It was those of the house of Satan.)

And so we hear in the book of Hebrews this final warning:

For if we go on sinning willfully [Jewish people by rejecting Jesus] after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.”

The apostolic writer goes on to say,

Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.’ And again, ‘The Lord will judge His people.’ It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Cf. Heb10:26-31)

The book of Hebrews has to do with whole of the Jewish people. It was written as a final warning not long before the destruction of Jerusalem and of the temple in 70 A.D. The temple went up in a fiery judgment. The time of transition was over. The gospel had been sent to the Jew first. The new covenant no longer had a Jewish exclusiveness to it. It would belong to the people of the world. For God so loved the world….

Christianity was not some upstart religion

The point is that Christianity was not some upstart religion to be counted among the various movements in Judaism of the day. The testimony of God, the testimony of Moses, the testimony of the prophets, of David, of John the Baptist, the testimony of nature itself, the wonders and miracles, and the testimony of those Jews who had truly received Him as Lord and Savior, all bore witness against those who would reject Him. No further testimony was needed. That testimony remains in place today along with multiplied millions of people who have accepted Jesus Christ as their own Lord and Savior.

An example of the testimony is where Paul wrote,

Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped.”

When hearing this the Jewish mind would instantly go to the prophet Ezekiel.

When Jesus said,

And what if you should see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before,”

… their minds would have gone to the book of Daniel and other of the prophetic writings. (Cf. Ph2:6; Jn6:62)

These terms ‘form of God’ and ‘Son of Man’ were almost exclusively used with regard to the One who was spoken of as the ‘Wisdom’ of God, the ‘Form’ of God, the ‘Glory’ of God, the ‘Power’ of God, the ‘Son’ of God, the ‘Rock’ of Israel, and the ‘Shepherd’ of Israel. There are other appellations, but these will suffice for now. The fact remaining is that Jesus is all that these names speak of and more. The testimony was so plain that the rabbis had to remove the testimony from the people. Thus a curse was placed upon the reading of Daniel, etc.

Why such a curse upon Daniel? Not only did Daniel prophecy the time of the coming of Messiah, but he also had a vision concerning the Messiah receiving His kingdom. Daniel’s vision was a beforehand vision concerning the ascension of Jesus Christ. The prophets of old spoke in ‘prophetic perfects.’ This means they saw the very thing they were prophesying. It was as though they were there. So Daniel saw Jesus coming to the throne.

What gives wonder to this is that the apostles saw the earthly departure of Jesus into the heavens whereas Daniel saw Jesus entering into His glory.

What the apostles saw:

And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.” (Act 1:9 NASB)

What Daniel saw:

I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days, and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.” (Dan7:13,14)

The Son of Man – The Form of God

The ‘Son of Man’ designation by the time of Jesus it had become a major designation for the Messiah. The term ‘form of God’ was an expression that had a special view to Messiah. This expression actually reaches back to Moses.

When Moses entered the holiest of holies, he stood before the radiant glory that rested over the mercy-seat. In the resplendent light, Moses saw a form. While the Hebrews were commanded not to make any actual form to represent God, listen to what God says to Miriam and Aaron:

‘If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, shall make Myself known to him in a vision. I shall speak with him in a dream. Not so with My servant Moses, He is faithful with all My household; with Him I speak mouth to mouth, even openly, and not in dark sayings, and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant, even Moses.'” (Num12:6-8.)

Did you catch it? When Paul said that Jesus existed in the form of God, this meant that it was Jesus who appeared over the mercy seat in the radiant light. Paul explains it also by saying that Jesus is ‘the image of the invisible God.’ So we have God who is unseen, but who is fully seen in Jesus Christ. Thus we have Paul saying that in Jesus is the fullness of Deity in bodily form. We also know that Paul himself had been accosted by the radiant light on his way to Damascus.

What does all this have to do with the wisdom of the wise perishing? It has much to do, indeed. When Isaiah spoke of the wise losing their wisdom, it was with a view to rabbinic traditions that would eventually evolve into a full-blown religion called Talmudic Judaism.

The point at hand is that Talmudic Judaism is a blinding religion. It places a death shroud over the book of God. In fact the best thing you could ever tell a Jew is for them to read their own Bible. If they will do that, it will destroy the shroud of Talmudic Judaism.

Here again we must come back to Isaiah. Listen:

The entire vision will be to you like the words of a sealed book, which when they give it to the one who is literate, saying, ‘Please read this,’ he will say, ‘I cannot, for it is sealed.'” Then the book will be given to the one who is illiterate, saying, ‘Please read this.’ And he will say, ‘I cannot read.'”(Isa29:11,12)

What I’ve just shared is the prelude to the earlier quote from Isaiah, where God says, “The wisdom of their wise men will perish.”

What is going to make the wise men’s wisdom perish

It comes back to the book that will be opened by Jesus and will continue to be opened by God’s servants through the ages.

God speaks further in Isaiah, saying,

On that day the deaf will hear words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see. The afflicted also will increase their gladness in the Lord, and the needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.” (Vv18,19)

Yes, the gospel messaged weaves itself through all the Old Testament. And Talmudic wisdom will deflower itself and show itself for what it really is. It has been a death shroud to hide the glory of Israel from the Jewish people. Two thousand years ago and old man prophesied over the child Jesus and His mother, saying,

Behold, this Child is appointed for THE FALL and RISE of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed.” (Luke 2:34)

The fall came with the rejection of Jesus. The rise comes with the acceptance. The cross was a sign that has been opposed by Rabbinic Judaism throughout the church age.

Oh yes, the Bible is a wonderful book. It is the only book of any religion that actually records history before it happens. It is the only book that speaks from the throne of God. Listen to this ancient prophecy given by Moses. (It is alluded to by Peter on the day of Pentecost 33 a.d.)

Then He said, ‘I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end shall be; For they are a perverse generation, Sons in whom is no faithfulness. ‘They have made Me jealous with what is not God; They have provoked Me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.” (Deu 32:20-21 NASB) — This quote is from the song of Moses. Compare Rev15:3

And so we hear the apostle Paul quote from Isaiah the prophet, saying,

For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.’ Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” (1Co1:19,20)

Take time to listen to the Song of Moses and the Lamb…

In Christ always,

Buddy

Nov

2010

The Corinthian Dilemma – The Demise of a Church

Every kind of honor and happiness was bestowed upon you, and then was fulfilled that which is written, ‘My beloved did eat and drink, and was enlarged and became fat, and kicked.’ Hence flowed emulation and envy, strife and sedition, persecution and disorder, war and captivity.

“So the worthless rose up against the honored, those of no reputation against such as were renowned, the foolish against the wise, the young against those advanced in years. For this reason righteousness and peace are now far departed from you, inasmuch as everyone abandons the fear of God, and is become blind in his faith, etc.” – The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians

Journal,

The purpose of this entry is to provide a bit of education on the issues that Paul had to deal with concerning the church at Corinth. It is well worth the reading.

Let’s begin with Clement. The afore quote is from a letter of Clement to the Church of Corinth. Scholars are in favor that this letter was written by the traveling companion of the apostle Paul. When Clement wrote this letter both Paul and Peter had been martyred not too many years prior.

Paul speaks of Clement and other workers who helped him;

[They] have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.” (Phil4:3) [Clement lived A.D. 30-100]

This letter by Clement was written either following the destruction of Jerusalem, or just prior. It was only one of several letters written by those who knew the apostles, that were read in the Churches. Clement along with Barnabas, and a couple more writings, were given consideration with regard to being placed in the New Testament canon of Scriptures. The church historian Eusebius held Clement in high esteem. (Clement is in the 1st volume of ANF and is found in the Alexandrian manuscripts.)

What were the problems at Corinth?

There were so many that it would take too much effort to try to address them all. However, there was one very serious situation that called for special concern by the apostle Paul. It had to do with the gifts of the Spirit and in particular the gift of speaking in foreign or other languages.

There is much more to this story. The City of Corinth was less than 50 miles across the Corinthian Gulf from Delphi. To the Greeks, Delphi was considered the center of the earth. There was a stone set in place that was called the navel of the earth. Delphi had the Delphic oracle, which belonged to the Earth goddess, and was supposedly guarded by a serpent, Python. (Keep the serpent Python image in view.)

At the Delphi temple they practiced a pagan glossolalia or speaking in tongues, but not in any language that could be understood. This influence of the pagan glossolalia was strongly felt not only in Corinth, but also in the entire Grecian world. (You can study this in most encyclopedias.)

The way the oracle worked was that a male prophet at the temple would receive a question from an inquirer. The question could be personal, or about government affairs, or whatever. The inquirer would be brought into the presence of a young woman priestess of Apollo who was said to have a “pythonic spirit.” The young woman would speak in unintelligible utterances, often fall out in a frenzy, supposedly through the spirit of Apollo in her, and the prophet would interpret the message.

It seems that Paul encountered this pythonic spirit at work in Philippi.

It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave-girl having a spirit of divination [puthõna] met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling.” (Act 16:16 NASB)

The issue of gifting

It is important to understand that Paul never took away from their being a gifting from God concerning speaking in other languages. The problem seems to be that certain ones who had been to the Delphic priest were beginning to show up in the congregation, and very likely, even some of the priests and priestesses were entering.

The Christians would have been considered a threat to the Delphic oracle. In addition the Corinthian believers may have felt like they were in competition with the Delphic oracles. This was probably why Paul had to deal so much with the issue of speaking in tongues with the Corinthian church. You don’t find it in any of the other churches.

If you read the Corinthian letters with this background in mind, it will help you appreciate some of the things Paul is addressing. Listen carefully to the language:

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led.” (1Co12:1,2.)

From this we can assume that some of the Corinthian believers had taken part in the Delphic oracles. It was the spirit of divination that had led them astray. (Keep in view the term, ‘led
astray’. We are going to see it again in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians. )

Again:

Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus is accursed’; and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” (1Co12:3)

Someone was speaking by a spiritual power that declared Jesus was accursed. Paul’s contention was that the Holy Spirit would most certainly not say that Jesus is accursed. There is a vast difference between Jesus being accursed and Jesus taking the curse of the Law upon Himself at the cross. But these false outbursts of prophecies were leading the people astray.

Can a person confess the wrong Jesus?

For someone to truly make the confession that Jesus is Lord, would be an act of the Holy Spirit.

Anwk cross - Egyptian godsHowever, can someone say that Jesus is Lord and it not be of the Holy Spirit? Yes, if there is a occultic spirit involved. Paul addresses this issue in his second letter. He says it is possible to preach a Jesus who is not the Jesus of the Bible. (See the book 'The Beautiful Side of Evil by Michaelson.)

Listen to Paul:

But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.” (2Co11:3)

Remember the term ‘led astray.’ There it is again. Paul used it in both letters. In this second letter, Paul is coming even more strongly against the people being led astray.

Notice the background of being led astray is still the ‘serpent.’ The inference may possibly be to the pythonic spirit again. ‘Led astray’ is the Greek word phtheiro, which means to corrupt or spoil. The corrupting is a spiritual deception.

This word is used in Rev19:2, where it says,

He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting (phtheiro) the earth with her immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His bondservants on her.”

Paul shows how this corrupting influence works. He said,

For if one comes and preaches another Jesus who we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted you bear this beautifully” (2Co11:4)

The Corinthian group was coming under the influence of the occult. There is no other way to explain an involvement with a different Jesus, a different spirit, and a different gospel. You may think this is hard to do, but Church history has proven that this has always been a real danger for believers.

Clement has more to say.

Let’s come back to Clement’s letter which was written after the passing of Paul and Peter. I want to share a few notable quotes from his letter. It gives an idea of what happened to the church in Corinth, and what can happen in a church today if a spirit of occultism enters the scene.

Your schism has subverted the faith of many, has discouraged many, has given rise to doubt in many, and has caused grief to us all. And still your sedition continues.”

“The height to which love exalts is unspeakable. Love unites us to God. Love covers a multitude of sins. Love beareth all things, is long-suffering in all things. … Love admits no schisms.”

“All the generations from Adam even unto this day have passed away; but those who, through the grace of God, have been made perfect in love, now possess a place among the godly.”

“Through envy and jealousy, the greatest and most righteous pillars of the Church have been persecuted and put to death. … Peter, through unrighteous envy … Paul also obtained the reward of patient endurance, after being seven times thrown into captivity … Thus was he removed from the world and went into the holy place…”

Did the Church at Corinth ever revert itself? Who knows. We do have a promise that the Lord will not lose any that belong to Him. It is possible that the Lord simply removed His people to a place of His choosing. But this is speculation

Historically speaking…

Historically there is no evidence that ‘glossais lalein’ [speaking in another language] played a continuing role in the advance of early Christianity. There have been resurgences in this area but they almost always proved to be of the occult. Paul gives the only Scriptural explanation that we can find as to why. Some find this a difficult Scripture, but it needs to be considered.

Paul said,

Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away with.” (1Co13:8-10)

Paul doesn’t say when these things will happen. Some think he is speaking of heaven. Others think he is speaking of the apostolic era. But there is a word that Paul uses that may be the key. It doesn’t speak of heaven or of the apostolic era perse.

Listen carefully. Paul said,

But when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away.” (v10)

If we stopped there, it could easily mean heaven. But Paul continues;

When I was a child, I use to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.” (Vs11)

Paul is using a word here that he only uses one way. It has regard to maturity. He said,

But when the perfect (teleois) comes, the partial will be done away.”

I can’t emphasis enough the usage of this word. It is never used with regard to heaven. It means when something reaches its desired goal, or a state of maturity. What did Paul mean by perfect? It is possible that he had the transition of covenants in view.

The new covenant taking its place

Listen to this statement in Hebrews 8:13;

When He said, ‘a new covenant,’ He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.”

The old covenant had not disappeared as long as the temple was visible. As long as the temple sacrifices were in place the former covenant was still visible for all to see. This was a special time in the changing of covenants. Many of the people were still thinking on an old covenant level. They did not have the spiritual maturity that would replace entirely the old.

The temple sacrifices offered no atonement for sin. Yet a great many of the priests had received Jesus as Lord, and still involved in temple sacrifices. (Cf. Acts 6:7)

The book of Hebrews was written not long before the destruction of Jerusalem. It was like a final warning to the Jewish people.

The prophets testimony

This brings us back to the prophet’s testimony concerning the purpose of ‘glossais lalein’, that is, speaking in other languages. God speaking in Isaiah 28:11,12, said,

Indeed He will speak to this (Jewish) people through stammering lips and a foreign tongue … but they would not listen.”

Follow through with Isaiah 28:13;

… they may go and stumble backward, be broken, snared and taken captive.”

This is exactly what happened in 70 a.d. The temple was destroyed, Jerusalem burned to the ground, and the people were taken captivity into the nations. In addition, there was no longer any visible evidence of the former covenant in place. The transition was over.

What had happened? The superior covenant was fully in place. This is likely what Paul had in mind, when he said that prophecy would be done away with and tongues would cease. These things would be replaced by something superior, that is, a mature spiritual walk with the Lord, where each child of God is able to hear from the Lord for himself.

And this is where believers today need to learn to live their life on a new covenant level. When Paul speaks of prophecy, it is likely he was speaking of a prophet sharing from the voice of God. Yet in the new covenant experience, that is not God’s best. One of the defining marks of the new covenant is that every person hears God personally. Jesus said,

My sheep know My voice, and another they will not follow.”

Notice how the book of Hebrews begins;

God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.” (1:1,2)

God now speaks to His people through the voice of His Son. The Old Testament prophetic ministry had come to a close. We see this on the Mount of Transfiguration. When Moses and Elijah disappeared we hear a voice from heaven,

This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; LISTEN TO HIM.” (Caps for emphasis only.)

Did not Jesus say that the law and the prophets were until John?

In the new covenant every true believer has the attending voice of Jesus speaking into his or her life. This is one of the validating factors that we have entered the kingdom of the beloved Son.

In the former covenant, you had to seek out a prophet. Not so in the covenant of Christ. God spoke through the prophet, and said,

For all will know Me, from the least to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”

Time for a check up

And here is where we need to use caution. Paul did not say that these elements of prophecy and speaking in other languages would be ‘destroyed.’ What he said was that they would be rendered useless, or, ‘idled.’ Paul was simply telling the Corinthians, not to get over-focused on these particular gifts. There is no question that the Lord can speak to us through others. But to go about seeking a prophet today can do much damage to a believer’s walk with the Lord.

I realize everyone has their own thoughts, opinions, and experiences. But in the study of Scriptures, it is important not to let our experiences determine what we believe. We must learn to be true to the Scriptures.

Everything I have shared in this entry is for educational purposes. My advice to believers today is to remain on guard against any form of occultism. Familiar (pythonic) spirits love to enter into congregations and play off as being from the Lord.

Here is your song for today. Please listen to it. It is titled, ‘In Christ Alone.’

May the Lord’s blessings rest upon you and all that is yours,

In Christ always,

Buddy

Oct

2010

The gospel of the earliest believers…

“Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. … Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” (Luke 24:27,45)

Journal,

It goes without saying that the study of Biblical Christianity cannot be completed without the prophets. Why? Because Christianity fulfils itself in the ancient promises and prophesies given through God’s Old Testament servants. It was the Spirit of Christ that spoke in the prophets by which building materials in the form of God’s Words would be used in the new community of Christ. This community would be realized after the cross.

This is why Peter said,

“As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person of time the Spirit of Christ *within them* was indicating as He [the Spirit of Christ] predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.

“It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven – things into which the angels long to look.” (1Pet1:10-12)

The main point is that if you want to better understand Biblical Christianity, you have to study the prophets. There is no short cut. There is nothing more important to the believer than to know what the Scriptures actually teach. Jesus Christ is the heart theme of the entire Bible.

This brings up a crucial issue with regard to studying the Scriptures Hebraically. To appreciate many things that are taught in the New Testament, you have to become acquainted with the ancient ways of God’s people. You need to become acquainted with the Hebraic thought forms that undergird the New Testament writings.

The apostles were Hebrew men. The prophets were Hebrews. Jesus was a Hebrew. (I’ll use Hebrew in the place of Jew, since the term Jew or Jewish has varied meanings. Even Israel today is leaning more towards the use of Hebrew.)

In this Bible study I want to challenge you to think about how you would be able to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with someone if all you had were the Old Testament Scriptures. The purpose of the challenge is to get you familiar with how the early Jewish believers could see Jesus in all the former writings.

Let me give you an early church picture.

Here is the scene…

It is 45 A.D. Pentecost was 12 years ago. The primitive church is still made up almost entirely of Jewish peoples, but it is causing no small stir everywhere. The synagogues in Judea are being pulled to and fro with a strange new message.

A sect of Jews called the Nazarenes are preaching that the man crucified under the rule of Pilate was the Messiah of Israel, and that He has resurrected from the dead. And they are preaching that this Man was the Son of God, and that He was also God manifest in the flesh. It is a disturbing message.

To make matters worse, something dreadful has just happened in Jerusalem. A young Jewish man named Stephen has been stoned. He was one of these new preachers. You would think that would slow things down a bit, but these preachers can’t be stopped. They are scattering everywhere, and everywhere they go they keep preaching Jesus as the Messiah. They are even saying that we must worship Him.

You find them boldly speaking in the synagogues debating from Moses that Jesus is ‘the’ prophet. Thoughts are racing through the minds of the peoples. “Who are these Jews?” “Where did they get the right to preach this message?” “Did the prophets teach any such thing?”

And the God fearers are beginning to feel deep stirrings in their hearts. “What about all these Gentiles who are asking about this new message?”

“And this rumor. Surely it is not true!?” A report is making the rounds that one of Gameliel’s star disciples has joined up with these Jewish folk, and he himself is now preaching that Jesus is the Messiah. His Hebrew name is Saul.

There you have it.

Keep in mind that no apostolic writings were available just yet. Everything being preached is coming right out of Moses, David and the prophets.

Listen carefully to Paul’s defense as he stands before King Agrippa.

“So, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, but kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance. For this reason some Jews seized me in the temple and tried to put me to death.

“So, having obtained help from God, I stand to this day testifying both to small and great, STATING NOTHING BUT WHAT THE PROPHETS AND MOSES SAID WAS GOING TO TAKE PLACE, that the Christ was to suffer, and by reason of His resurrection from dead He would be the first to proclaim light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.” (Acts 26:19-23 – Caps for emphasis only.)

Notice carefully that Paul said he preached nothing but what the prophets and Moses had said was going to take place. Why did Paul limit his preaching to Moses and the prophets? Why not draw on other great men from other nations. The reason is because of all the peoples on the earth, there was one people group alone that God had entrusted with the message of redemption. (Divine oracles or God speaking)

God’s gift through the Hebrews.

Paul explains this to the Roman Church. He said,

“Then what advantage as the Jew? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? Great in every respect. First of all, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God.” (Rom3:1,2)

The oracles of God have to do with the divine revelations. Have you ever wondered why our Bible from Genesis to Revelations is written by Semitic men? The apostle just explained why. (Think about it.)

Now listen to Paul as he cautions preachers and teachers concerning their sources for preaching and teaching:

“Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us you may learn NOT TO EXCEED WHAT IS WRITTEN, so that no one of you will become arrogant in behalf of one against the other.” (1Co4:6)

Paul’s point is that no matter how popular a minister may be, if he is not preaching according to what has been written, we are not to become enamored over him. No one has the right to preach a message that is not in accordance with the sacred oracles. (Of course the sacred oracles now take in all the writings from Genesis to Revelation. The apostles completed the writings of the prophets.)

We are wonderfully blessed to have the New Testament writings. The apostles were given the task of completing the sacred canon. (Remember that they were Hebrew men.) Never in a thousand years are we to take away from this wonderful book called the New Testament.

So what about the challenge? The purpose of the challenge is to get you to thinking Hebraically; to get you to search for the gospel that the prophets preached and that the earliest Jewish Christians preached.

Listen to how the prophets described the ever-increasing life that belongs to the child of God.

“But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day.” (Prov4:18)

The full day is likely what Peter had in mind when he wrote,

“So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in our hearts.” (2Pet1:19)

Think of the possibilities…

Think of the possibilities when we return to studying the Bible the same way the early Christians studied. What did they study, you say? They studied Moses and the prophets, the memoirs of the apostles and the directives to the Churches.

The Bible of the early Church was the same Bible that was used by the Jewish peoples. Until the teachings of the apostles were collected, the earliest believers simply studied Moses and the prophets. They did this in light of the new covenant.

But even when the memoirs of the apostles were being collected, Paul still admonished believers to never exceed what had been written by Moses and the prophets. (1Co4:6)

His point is that everything that is taught in the Christian Church must agree with what had been set forth in the former testament. Thus we have the statement, ‘The new is hidden in the old, and the old is revealed in the new.’

The theology of the early Church did not have the complexities that later came to dominate the Christian faith. Their beliefs were simpler. For one thing the early believers never departed from the ancient creed of Israel. Paul says,

“Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.” (1Co8:6 – Paul is drawing on the sh’ma of Israel. Cf. Deu6:4)

Think about it. The world would not have known where the Messiah would be born, and when He would be born had it not been for the prophet Micah and Daniel. Men from the east would not have journeyed so far to find the infant Jesus, had they not studied these ancient oracles.

The prophet said,

“On that day the deaf will hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see. The afflicted also will increase their gladness in the Lord, and the needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.” (Isa29:18,19)

Oh the wonders of the ancient writings. How our hearts burn within us while the Holy Spirit walks us through those sacred pages. What a wonder it is to behold Jesus in every book and on every page, to see Him as the Lion of Judah and as the Lamb of Abraham. To see Him as the bright morning star. Is it any wonder that the earliest Jewish believers could preach Jesus from Moses, David, and the prophets.

What do you think? Could you share with a Jewish person the gospel from his own Tanach. It is said that when an Orthodox Jew reads the New Testament he hears a Hebrew voice? Why is that? Its because the New Testament completes the divine oracles of God. Jesus is the God of all humanity and that includes Israel.

Just some things to think about.

Now for a song of meditation. Listen with your heart to ‘Praise Adonia’ …

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In love with Jesus,
Buddy

Sep

2010

Learn to live a focused life…

“…in [Christ] are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument. … Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.” (Col 2:2,6 NASB)

Journal

Our salvation begins the moment we truly believe in Jesus Christ and receive Him as our Lord and Savior. It is in this moment that the Holy Spirit enters our heart with God’s eternal seal of redemption. Every true believer is sealed for eternity.

From this moment on the Spirit of the Lord is in our lives to help process life according to the will and purpose of God. Listen carefully to the apostle:

“So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” (Php 2:12-13 NASB)

Far too often the afore statement is cut off in mid stream with the words, ‘work our your salvation with fear and trembling.’ This is a grave mistake. The focus is not on ‘fear and trembling.’ Rather the emphasis is on ‘God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.’

Keep in mind that the Greek word for salvation carries into English in the sense of preservation and deliverance. Thus the Holy Spirit is always at work in our life with deliverances and preservations. (Sometimes we need to be preserved from ourselves.)

It can be said that the Lord saved us, is saving us, and will save us. (Positionally our salvation has already been secured eternally in Christ.)

So then, what is our need? Our need is to learn to trust the Lord in all the affairs of life. Walking according to the spirit is a trust issue. We must learn to trust the Lord in all circumstances of life and not simply lean on our own understanding. (This is one of those ‘relax and let go’ things.)

The apostle said,

“In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1Th5:18)

Trusting in the Lord requires that we humble our own hearts and recognize our special need for spiritual guidance. This is where the idea of ‘fear and trembling’ come in. These two words have to do with deep respect and awe for the Lord and for His Word. Jesus told the apostles, “Without Me, you can do nothing.”

Listen to what God said through the prophet Isaiah:

“Thus says the LORD, ‘Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest? For My hand made all these things, thus all these things came into being,’ declares the LORD.

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“‘But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.’“ (Isa 66:1-2 NASB)

If you wish to know how to pray a prayer that deals with this aspect of walking with the Lord, pray what David prayed:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.” (Psalm 139:23,23 – It would do you well to meditate on the whole of Psalm 139.

A walk in reality

Another issue of living from the Spirit is to understand that ‘walking in the Spirit’ means to walk in the very reality of the living God.

Jesus explains it this way:

“But when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and disclose it to you.” (John 16:13,14)

True believers know the reality of God in their lives. The word ‘truth’ (aletheia) addresses what is true in itself, in opposition to either an error or a falsehood, or even a misguided perception about a thing.

Jesus shared with the disciples how a walk of truth and of salvation would play itself out in the lives of believers. Follow this incident:

“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.’

Let me touch briefly on a belief held by the Jews. The Jews believed in what is called ‘the transmigration of the soul.’ They believed that the soul of a person could transmigrate forward in time and become the soul in a person in the future. Similar in many respects to reincarnation. This is why the people identified Jesus with one of the prophets.

“He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’

Here it begins to get very interesting. Something was going to happen that would show how the Holy Spirit would work in the new covenant.

Notice what Peter says:

“Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’

Why did Peter say this and not speak to the transmigration idea? The answer is given. Listen carefully and you will see it:

“And Jesus said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.’

Did you catch it? The reality of who Jesus really is came as a revelation from the heavenly Father. Peter did not come to this conclusion on his own. Thus you have how the Spirit of revelation works in the life of every true believer. It all has to do with the opening of the eyes.

Jesus continues,

“I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.’

So many get confused over this statement. Jesus was not calling Peter ‘the rock’ upon which He would build His church. The rock was Jesus and the church would be built upon the revelation of who Jesus really is.

“’I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.’” (Mat 16:13-19 NASB)

The short side of this is that the keys would be the revealing of Jesus through the preaching of the gospel. The door to heaven is Jesus Himself. (There is more to be said about apostolic authority but you get the idea.)

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Learn to live by the instructions…

This is also where the Bible itself plays an important role in our learning to walk in the Spirit. There is no book on this planet like our Bible. It carries in it the very presence of the Lord. It carries between its covers the very voice of God.

Look at your Bible as a garden of delights. Don’t read it like a newspaper. Read it like you are looking into the eyes of God. Read it for the pure joy of discovering the things of the Lord. Read it for the joy of hearing.

David gave some insight into this when he said,

“Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law.” (Psa 119:18 NASB)

When David spoke of God’s law, he is not limiting this to the letter of the law of Moses. The term translated Law in Hebrew, Torah, simply means ‘instruction.’ When David said ‘Wonderful things’, you can be sure He included God’s Messiah. But he was also asking for spiritual instructions from God.

David was a man after God’s heart, and the heart of God is His Son. The faith we live by originates in and is written in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. A true new covenant spiritual faith walk wraps itself around the Lord speaking into our hearts.

Thus we hear the Lord say,

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”(John 10:27)

Here is where we need to see the very heart of the new covenant. The prophet Jeremiah had this to say about God’s new covenant in Christ:

“‘This is the covenant I will make with them after those days,’ says, the Lord; ‘I will put My laws [instructions] upon their heart, and on their mind I will write them.’ He then says, ‘And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.'” (Heb 10:16-17 NASB)

Isn’t the new covenant wonderful! God writes both His love and his life instructions in our own hearts and minds.

While you think on these things, here is a song. Perhaps the Lord would like to speak something into your heart.

Revelation Song by ‘Phillips, Craig, and Dean.’

Always in love with Jesus,

Buddy

Sep

2010

A Dove on the Wire…

“And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2Co 12:9-10 NASB)

Journal,

It is fairly common for people to ask me how I am doing. The word was out some time back that I had cancer. But the word had not gotten out to everyone that I had received a healing from the Lord. It was an unusual healing. So once again the story needs to be told. Let me reach back to eight years ago…

Expect the Unexpected

It was August 6, 2007. I had been in cancer treatment for awhile. The findings were not good. Lymphoma had spread throughout my chest area and was now into my bone marrow. Our local hospital could do no more for me. They were sending me to M. D. Anderson in Houston. It pointed to a bone marrow transplant. (Pretty invasive procedure.)

But everything was alright between me and the Lord. I had told the church that it was a win-win situation. The only concern I had involved which kind of bone marrow transplant would I have to go through.

Back to the story – That day I am having my morning devotion on a hill behind the church. While reading In the book of Isaiah, the Lord speaks to my heart and says, ‘Expect the unexpected.’

When I looked up at the high wire directly over my head there sat a beautiful dove. I sat there just looking at her. The dove would look at me. She remained there until I stood up to walk home. Then she flew ahead of me towards the house.

It has always amazed me how of the Lord will speak to my heart while I am reading the Scriptures. That morning I was taking my devotion from the New Living Translation. Here is the portion where the Lord spoke to me:

“Oh, that You would burst from the heavens and come down! How the mountains would quake in Your presence! As fire causes wood to burn and water to boil,

“Your coming would make the nations tremble. Then Your enemies would learn the reason for Your fame!

“When You came down long ago, You did awesome deeds beyond our highest expectations. And oh, how the mountains quaked!”^{(Isa 64:1-3 NLT)}

The Lord had spoken into my life. His promise of ‘expect the unexpected’ made residence in my heart. (That is the way a promise from God works.)

I shared with the church what the Lord had said. But I yet didn’t know what ‘expect the unexpected’ meant. I thought perhaps I would receive the less of the two invasive stem cell transplant procedures. After all that was the purpose of sending me to Houston.

At M. D. Anderson I was put through a battery of tests. They gave me a thorough work through. Then it came time to evaluate where I stood. Betty and Nathan were with me.

Here is what happened. When we met with my primary physician, he went down the line on each test that M.D. Anderson had made. With each test he said, ‘No cancer.’ (Something along that line.)

At some point between Pineville, Louisiana, and Houston, Texas, the Lord had granted me a sovereign miracle of grace. It’s been three years now. Every checkup I’ve gone to since shows me clear of cancer.

And that is the story of my healing from the Lord

A work of God’s love

What did I do to gain a healing from the Lord? It wasn’t about anything I did. It was the work of God. To Him belongs the glory.

I wish that all believers would come to this understanding. God doesn’t heal us or give us miracles because we deserve them, or because we have earned them, or because we become good enough. Its all a matter of God’s love and of His sovereign grace.

The love of God is a Divine outflow of His own heart. It flows from God to His children. God then wants His love to flow out from His children to those who are without Christ, and also to other struggling believers. So He gives us testimonies of His grace and of His love.

This is what my healing testimony is all about. Paul said,

“The love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.” (2Co5:14,15)

But there is a problem. Before believers can effectively touch the lives of others, they need to know the love of God for themselves. This means that the believer has to get away from this, ‘I must become good enough’ before God can save me, or heal me, or bless me. Nobody gets good enough in themselves. It is a matter of understanding our relationship to God through His Son Jesus Christ.

It is only after the believer comes to know and understand the love and the grace of God for themselves, that they are able to minister positively and effectively to others.

With regard to God’s love, here is the place to begin.

All who believe the message of the cross and receive Jesus Christ as their Savior, are special to the Father’s love. He loves you just as you love your children. He wants the best for you just as you want the best for your children. (Be sure to place your cursor over each of the following Scripture references.)

This means that every true believer is…

1. …accepted in Christ. (Eph. 2:4-7)

2. …a gift to the Son. (John 6:37-40; Heb. 2:11-13)

3. …the beloved of Christ. (Eph. 5:25; John 17:24)

4. …represented by Christ in heaven. (1 John 4:17,18)

5. …loved eternally. (John 16:25-27; Rom. 8:37-39)

So where do you begin? Begin with yourself.

God loves you. You must learn to love yourself. But He also loves the Church, and He loves the lost man. You too are to love these things. Love is a key to reaching the person without Christ in their life. Learn to hate the sin but love the sinner. (Rom5:5-8)

Where does sovereign grace fit the picture…

Some like to argue over the issue of free will. It is really a poor argument when you put it in its proper Biblical perspective. Think about your own family. Your children have free will but they need to learn that there is a greater will that they should look to.

Yes, we have free will. But God also has free will. He is our loving Father. He always knows what is best for us. This is what the Lord was telling Paul. Listen again:

“Concerning this [whatever Paul’s struggle was] I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’

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“Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. … For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2Co 12:8-10 NASB)

Paul had learned a lesson. He was learning to yield Himself to the grace and to the will of the heavenly Father. God had a plan for his life, just as God has a plan for each of His children.

Hear from the prophet:

“‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.'”(Jer 29:11 NASB)

Do you want God’s will in your life? There is only one issue to deal with. You must learn to trust in both the love and the grace of God. Let your heart rest in the grace of a loving Father.

And yes, you have a dove in your life. It is the same dove of the Holy Spirit that came to rest on Jesus at the river Jordan.

Why not take time to talk with your heavenly Father. Why not open your heart to Him and get to know Him better. Why not ask the Father speak some promises into your life. In my 50+ years in the ministry, the greatest lesson that I have learned is the lesson of trust.

Here is your song for today. Listen carefully. The Lord has something to say to you.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3usXFCh56iA[/youtube]

In Christ always,

Buddyx

You can drop Buddy a personal line in the form below. (Will not appear in comments.)

Sep

2010

Footprints in the sands of time…

— The dream remains as fresh today as when I received it those many years ago. I knew it was of the Lord. He had often spoken to me in dreams and visions, as well as by other means.

In the dream I was crossing a large open field. The field was dry and brown. The grass had withered. As I looked back across the field I saw a group of people pointing at me. Then they pointed at the ground. What are they looking at? Why are they pointing at me?

What I saw startled me. As I looked back where I had walked, I could see that each footstep I made had green grass springing up in it.

As near as I could determine, the dream was about my calling in life. I was to bring the life of the Lord wherever He sends me.

Yes, I realize that dreams are very personal. And it really isn’t my intent to draw attention to myself. There is something else I want to say.

Could the dream be about you? Could it be that God’s purpose in every believer’s journey in this world is to bring life to others? Could it be that the Lord has a dream He wants you to pursue? Think about it. —

Journal,

It was March, 1976. I was 35 years old, Betty was 33, our three children, Nathan, Andre, and Shana, were 11, 6, and 2, respectively. We had so little money and no one to back us. I had my guitar, my Bible, a precious family, and one other thing. The Lord had given me a stewardship to raise up a ministry in Central Louisiana that would center on training disciples for the kingdom of God.

Was it a crazy idea? Some would say yes. All I can say is that if God gives you a crazy idea, go for it. This is the way the kingdom of God works. The Lord will give one believer a certain work to do. He will give another believer another certain work to do. Some of these works may seem impractical, impossible, and just plain crazy. Don’t worry about that part. If the Lord is in it, He Himself will see to it.

This is what Paul had to say about crazy works:

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Eph 2:10 NASB)

Yes indeed, Christian Challenge was and continues to be a good work from the Lord. But it didn’t begin on March 9, 1976, when we had our first service in a broken down store building. Christian Challenge began in eternity. It would be another footprint in the sands of time. This is what Paul is telling us. God prepared our works beforehand.

The footprints of faith…

It is important to understand that a walk of faith is highly personal. It is essentially a walk under the protective covering and guidance of the Holy Spirit. The all important work of the Holy Spirit in each believer’s life is to take the things of the Lord Jesus and share them with the believer.

Hear what Jesus said before He went to the cross:

“I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.

“He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.” John 16:12-15

Living by faith is never a step into darkness. It is a walk governed by the light of the Lord.

Jesus said,

“I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” John 8:12

Paul adds,

“For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” 2Co4:6

With each step of faith there is something you always leave behind and there is something you always gain. You leave behind your fears. You gain a life that is filled with the richness of Jesus.

The faithfulness of the Lord

God gives us two safe guards for our walk with Him. Every child of God is given the Holy Spirit as a testifier to truth. Every child of God is given the Scriptures by which the Holy Spirit teaches us God’s ways.

The working principle of faith begins with properly handling God’s written word. Paul said to Timothy,

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” 2Tim2:15

Faith is a spiritual reality produced in the believer by the Holy Spirit and God’s Word. Where there is no Word of the Lord, there can be no true faith walk.

Paul said it this way,

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word (voice) of Christ.” (Rom 10:17 NASB)

And Jesus said it this way:

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.” (Joh 10:27-28 NASB)

So, where are your footsteps taking you

Have you thought about how life is moving on? Have you made your unqualified surrender to the Lord? The unqualified surrendered is summed up in the ‘Abba! Father!’ prayer.

The ‘Abba! Father!’ is simple but it is going to cost you everything, just like it costs Jesus everything. It is a prayer where you give up all your rights to control your own life. It is a prayer of the will.

I made my Abba! Father! prayer many long years ago and it has remained the guiding principle of my life. More than anything in this world I want to bring glory to the Lord.

How about you? Did you know that most of our struggles in life have to do with our will.

Are you ready for this prayer to set the tone for the rest of your life? One thing I can assure you of. If you make this prayer the faith-principle of your life, you will learn something about God’s peace that you never knew existed. Here it is. — ‘Father, not my will, but Your will be done!’

Think about it.

Always in Christ,

Buddy

Aug

2010

I Don’t Have Time To Be Afraid

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, `My refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.’” (Ps91:1,2)

Journal,

When David speaks of the shelter of God, or the shadow of God, or even the secret place of God, he often has in view the holiest of holies. But David was also seeing past the symbolisms of the tabernacle and into the very heart of redemption.

David often spoke of Jesus. David was’t the only Old Testament prophet who had visions of Jesus. In fact the underlying theme of the entire Old Testament centered on the coming Messiah.

It begins in Genesis:

“[To Satan]And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.”” (Gen 3:15 NASB)

From the Old Testament prophets to the apostles the message never changes:

“[Preaching of Peter]And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also. But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.” (Act 3:17-18 NASB)

Think God for the prophets of old

Do you find that strange that the Old Testament prophets saw Jesus beforehand? They did and they often wrote in ‘prophetic perfects.’ A prophetic perfect means that the prophet is experiencing first hand the very thing he is seeing. It is as though the prophet was transported in time.

Let’s see what David knew about God’s great work of redemption. In Psalm 31, David expresses sorrow over the strife of life, when he suddenly breaks forth into God’s love for His people. David says:

“How great is Your goodness, which YOU HAVE STORED for those who fear You, which You have wrought for those who take refuge in You, before the sons of men!

“You hide them in THE SECRET PLACE of Your presence, from the conspiracies of man; You keep them in THE SHELTER from the strife of tongues.” (Psalm 31:19,20 nasb.) – Words in bold are for emphasis only –

The Hebrew for “the secret place of Your presence”, can equally be translated, “the secret of Your face.” The idea is that God hides His people from the view of their enemies, that is, by bringing them to the very place that He Himself dwells.

David also speaks of God’s people as being, ‘the hidden ones.’

“They make shrewd plans against Your people, and conspire together against Your TREASURED ones.” (Psa 83:3 NASB)

The Hebrew for ‘treasured’ is ‘tsâphan‘. It means to hide or to keep secret. This word is used for concealing something of great value. All true believers are the treasures of God in the earth.

Hidden in Christ

This wonderful truth is brought to fulfillment in the new covenant. The lives of all true believers are hidden with God in Christ. In the new covenant we are brought into heaven’s holiest of holies.

Let’s see how the tabernacle sets forth this truth of our hiding place. The only furnishing in the holiest of holies was the ark of the covenant. Two angels have their gaze firmly fixed on the golden mercy seat. Their wings touch in the center. Above the mercy seat was a brilliant light. In the light was a form.

Peter explains the prophetic intent of the holiest of holies. Notice how Peter connects the Old Testament prophets, with the apostles, and with the two angels over the mercy seat:

“It was revealed to them[the Old Testament prophets]that they were not serving themselves, but you [true believers in Christ; the treasured ones], in these things which now have been announced to you from heaven [by the apostles]-things into which ANGELS long to look.” (1Peter 1:12)

In the Light over the mercy seat was a form that only Moses was allowed to see. The form was the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ. We see this by tying the Old Testament and the New Testament together.

When the Lord rebuked Miriam and Aaron over their presumptuous attitude towards Moses, He said to them,

“Not so, with My servant Moses, he is faithful in all My household; with him I speak mouth to mouth, even openly, and not in dark sayings, and he beholds THE FORM OF THE LORD. Why then were you not afraid To speak against My servant, against Moses?”(Num 12:7-8 NASB)

Who did Moses see? He saw the image of the invisible God. This is exactly who Jesus is. To the Jews, God’s Messiah was known as the form of God, the glory of God, the image of God, the Word of God, and at times even the Shekinah of God.

Now listen carefully. Paul said of Christ,

“Although HE EXISTED IN THE FORM OF GOD, He did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself…” (Phi2:6)

Now back to the tabernacle.

John wrote,

“And THE WORDbecame flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

– Transpose ‘the Word’ with any of these terms, ‘the Glory’, ‘the Form’, ‘the Image’, etc. All these words were part of the ancient Hebrew expressions for Messiah.

Actually the Greek word for ‘dwelt‘ calls attention to the holiest of holiest in the tabernacle. The glory that rested over the mercy seat was now tabernacled in Jesus Christ. The Greek for ‘dwelt’ is ‘skenoo‘. In Revelation 7:15 this word is translated, ‘spread His tabernacle’.

Also note that John speaks of Jesus as ‘the Father’s glory.’ Now note how Paul specifically calls Jesus, “The Lord of glory”

“…but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have CRUCIFIED THE LORD OF GLORY.“(1Co 2:7-8 NASB)

It is on the Mount of Transfiguration where Jesus reveals who He really is to three of the apostles. He appears on the outside what He is on the inside. It says,

“And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light.” (Mat17:2)

But why David would speak of the holiest of holies as the hiding place for God’s people? David could see by the Spirit into the redemption of Christ. He saw past the veil, and into God’s redemption plan that would stretch across eternity past and eternity future.

Another picture we have of our hidden life is with the high priest. When the high priest entered into the holiest of holies, he carried over his heart all of Israel. The twelve stones on his vestment represented the twelve tribes. And so when the high priest entered past the veil, he carried with him and over his heart all of God’s people.

Listen carefully to the apostle:

“But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

“…how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Heb 9:11-12,14 NASB)

And again,

“… even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” (Eph 2:5-7 NASB)

The ever present reality

The mercy seated of the tabernacle represented the very throne of God. We have been raised up together with Christ and seated with Christ at the right hand of the throne of God.

The Old Testament saints somehow knew in their hearts that the Lord Himself was their ever present security in life. As Moses looked down on the scattered tents of Israel, he said,

“Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were born or You gave birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” (Psalm 90:1,2)

Here Moses uses the same word that David used with regard to the ‘secret place’ of the tabernacle.

Again think about the two cherubim with their golden wings spread over the mercy seat. Listen again to David:

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, `My refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.’” (Ps91:1,2)

David uses the same word again which references the secret place of God’s presence, that is, the mercy seat in the holiest of holies. God’s people dwell under the very presence and protection of angels.

Here is where we come to the great mystery of God’s love for His people. The Psalmist Asaph speaks of God’s people as His ‘treasured ones.’

David puts things together when he writes,

“One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple.

“For in the day of trouble He will CONCEAL me in His tabernacle; in the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock [the Rock is Christ]. And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.” (Psalm 27:4-6)

The Hebrew for ‘conceal’ is the same word for God’s ‘treasured’ ones. God’s people are His treasures in the earth and for all eternity. This allows us to have a better understanding of a kingdom parable concerning a treasure. Jesus said,

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field [world], which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” (Matt13:44)

The story is the story of the cross. Jesus Christ gave His life for the hidden treasure. Jesus came to seek that which was lost. Now the treasure is hidden again, but this time it is hidden in Christ.

Paul said,

“For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.” (Col3:3,4)

All that we have read in David’s writings have their fulfillment in the finished work of the cross. Being hidden in Christ means that every believer is eternally secured from the power of darkness. We can never be separated from God’s love. Our life is placed in the Light of God’s very being. Peter said that our calling was into “His marvelous light.” (1Pe2:9) – Pass your curser over this Scripture for the full effect –

While this may seem difficult to grasp, what we need to realize is that our faith is to be based upon our position in Christ. Our position in Christ is secured. We have already been raised up and seated with Him in the heavenly places. Our concern is in living out our present life with the knowledge of our eternal placement. God gives us heavenly life as a foretaste of eternity. Heavenly life is God’s oversight of our lives.

Take time to listen to the message of the song, ‘Your Love Never Fails.’ (Jesus Culture)

Always in love with Jesus,

Buddy

Aug

2010

Fruitfulness in the Kingdom

“Drip down, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds pour down righteousness; let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit, and righteousness spring up with it. I, the LORD, have created it.” (Isa45:8)

Journal,

What a celebration to be remembered. Saturday was my 70^th birthday. I could not have had a more wonderful day. All my family gathered, children, grandchildren, great-grand children. And of course the church had to pull a sneak attack with a surprise party. And to top everything, there was a request for the Martin family to share some gospel music.

My, how the time does fly. Seems of late I find myself traveling more and more down memory land.

I’ve often thought, ‘Who am I that the Lord would grant to me such a stewardship as Christian Challenge. This is such a wonderful ministry. Seems all our members carry the heart of a disciple. We are a family.’

Its not that we are bigger or better than any other ministry. Actually we have never been very large. It certainly doesn’t have anything to do with me personally. I’ve always felt very small when it comes to kingdom work. And yet the Lord has helped us to gather much fruit for His kingdom.

The Psalmist said it best of all…

“Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to Your name give glory because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth.” (Psalm 115:1)

Christian Challenge began as a fledgling ministry in 1976. We had no financial backing. No denominational support. What we had was a stewardship

Through the years we’ve trained hundreds of believers for service in the kingdom of God’s beloved Son. Some have entered the mission field. Others are now pastors. But every student that has come through our School has carried something of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ from the School.

Yes, the CCI School for Christian Workers is very unique. It all relates to our ministry philosophy. We center exclusively on Biblical discipleship. The motto of Christian Challenge International is, ‘How Beautiful Upon the Mountains.’ The motto for the School for Christian Workers is, ‘Preparing Servants for the Nations.’

So, here we are again. For those who would like to know more about the world of a disciple, the 45^th CCI School for Christian Workers is forthcoming. Pray about it.

Would you like to know how a fourteen week course can radically change a believers spiritual life view. Here is your chance. (Note: The School is nondenominational. We’ve trained believers from a number of Christian backgrounds.)

Here is a short study on some of what we teach in our Disciple’s Heart Training Program.

Learn to Extract the Precious from the Worthless

This is what the Lord had to say to the prophet Jeremiah:

“Therefore, thus says the LORD, “If you return, then I will restore you– Before Me you will stand; And if you extract the precious from the worthless, You will become My spokesman. They for their part may turn to you, But as for you, you must not turn to them.” (Jer15:19)

It is crucial that believers learn how to appraise spiritual things accurately. Those who are born from above have a unique ability to recognize the things that are of God. The believer’s ability to place a value on all things becomes more acute with spiritual maturity.

Paul said that a spiritual man ‘knows’ and ‘appraises’ all things.

“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God.” (1Co2:12)

The word ‘know’ is *eido* in Greek. It means ‘to see, perceive, to turn the eyes, the mind, or the attention to anything; to get knowledge of; to be skilled in, or to know the meaning of.”

Then in verse 15, Paul says,

“But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one.”

The word ‘appraises’ is *anakrino* in Greek. It means to examine, to ask questions, search, discern, and enquire into, to scrutinize, to sift. In a forensic sense it means to hold an investigation to determine the excellence or the defects of any thing.

The apostle is bringing out the strength and beauty of a believer’s spiritual life. The crown of a believer’s walk is his ability to know that which is of the Lord. It is this spiritual ability that protects a believer from error. Satan cannot successfully mislead a mature child of God.

This brings us to the importance of discernment. The ability to know if a thing is of God is important because the supernatural realm makes up more than the things of God. Satan is a spiritual being. The hallmark of Satan’s work is deception. Paul said,

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this spiritual darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Eph6:12)

We are especially warned that in the last days there will be a great increase of deception at work in the earth. The Lord said that this deception would be so acute that even the very elect will have to maintain a special guard. (Cf. Matt24:24; 1Tim4:1-6; 2Tim3:13.)

To take this a step further, the work of demons is closely linked to the prideful flesh of man. Demons work with fleshly people. And what the fleshly person attributes to God are ‘soulish’ powers that are in cooperation with spirits of darkness. (Cf. Gal 5:19-21)

How do we know if it is a soulish power at work in a person, or if it is truly of the Spirit? When prideful flesh is at work it glories in itself. The balance comes in where God’s people are told to keep a pilgrim attitude about life. We are to hold tightly to Jesus, and loosely to the world. Paul said,

True Biblical discipleship has a spiritual base. It is an outflow of a proper relationship with the Lord. This proper relationship has a heart attitude that is set forth in the word ‘humility.’ We are to live with humble hearts before the Lord, never striving after things of the world. The Lord Himself said that if we will seek first God’s kingdom, and His righteousness, then everything else will be provided for us.

Here are some things that can help you to maintain a proper balance in your walk with the Lord:

First – Keep in view that not all supernatural things are from God. Don’t be afraid of offending the Lord by questioning. Remember that everything the Lord has, the enemy has a substitute.

Second – Understand that anyone can be deceived, if but for a time, even the most devoted of believers, if the believer is ignorant of how Satan works. It is this knowledge that will help keep you on guard.

Third – Learn to trust your own spiritual judgment. This is what the renewing of the mind is about. As we consecrate ourselves to God’s service, we find our ability to judge becoming keener. (Cf. Rom12:1-3)

Fourth – Understand that discernment and testing aren’t necessarily the same thing. You discern by the Holy Spirit. You test by the Word of God. Therefore when you may sense a thing is wrong, don’t ignore that sensing. But the more you become acquainted with God’s Word, the more you will be able to determine why what you sense is wrong. [Be willing to test every experience; dreams, visions, etc., by the Word of God.]

Fifth – Be willing to adjust the way you do things. Even the apostles had to make changes. Peter would not go to Cornelius’ house until the Lord opened his understanding. (Cf. John7:17)

In all this, every believer must study the Scriptures to make sure they have a clear understanding of the gospel message.

The above us just a sample of what you can expect. in our School. There is so much more.

OK, let’s not leave without a song. Here is ‘Sanctuary, by Randy Rothwell…

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May the Lord richly bless you as you learn the walk of obedience,

In Christ always,

Buddy

Aug

2010

Jesus Laid Death in the Grave….

“But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?'” (1Co 15:54-55 NASB)

Journal,

If the fact be told, Christianity is the only religion that sets aside death and judgment for her believers. Every other religion leaves humankind in a state of uncertainty and often even in hopelessness. In this entry I want to deal with that most crucial issue in the human experience, death and judgment.

As a beginning place I’ll share words from three men who represent the best that their religion had to offer; Rabbi Saccai of Judaism, Mohammed of Islam, and the Apostle Paul of Christianity. Each man speaks to what their religious world offered with respect to death and judgment.

Let’s begin with Saccai. Rabbi Saccai lived before and after the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. His full name was Rabbi Yochanan ben Saccai. [Yochanan is Hebrew for John.] Some scholars believe that Rabbi Saccai was the ‘John’ who sat in judgment of the apostles and possibly participated in the trial of Jesus.

If that is the case here is the Scripture reference that may apply to Rabbi Saccai:

“On the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem; and Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of high-priestly descent. When they had placed them [Peter and John] in the center, they began to inquire, ‘By what power, or in what name, have you done this?’…

“[After the council had deliberated] And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.” (Act 4:5-7,18 NASB)

Yochanan ben Saccai was so well known and revered in Judaism that when anyone spoke of John of the Sanhedrin, no futher identification was needed. He was so highly regarded in Judaism that he had the title, ‘the light of Israel, the right pillar of the Temple, and its mighty hammer.’

[The Jews loved titles as do many among Christians today. Jesus warned believers against the use of titles. That’s why I have little for those who like to be called ‘apostle’ or ‘prophet’ so and so. To me it reeks of pride.]

As for Rabbi Saccai, this man was the major influencing factor in giving shape to Talmudic Judaism after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 a.d.. But did he deserve the title, ‘light of Israel’? I’m afraid not. That title belongs to one Person alone, the Messiah.

Here is the Saccai’s death bed testimony as recorded in the Talmud:

Rabbi Saccai’s deathbed testimony

“When dying, his disciples came to see him. He burst into tears. Ask, ‘Why?’ ‘If I were now to be brought before an earthly king, who lives today and dies tomorrow, whose wrath and whose bonds are not everlasting, and whose sentence of death, even, is not that to everlasting death, who can be assuaged by arguments, or perhaps bought off by money I should tremble and weep; …

“…how much more reason have I for it, when about to be led before the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be he, who liveth and abideth for ever, whose chains are chains for evermore, and whose sentence of death killeth for ever, whom I cannot assuage with words, nor bribe by money! …

“…And not only so, but there are before me two ways, one to paradise and the other to hell, and I know not which of the two ways I shall have to go whether to paradise or to hell: how, then, shall I not shed tears?”

Think about Yochanan ben Saccah’s death bed testimony. Does it sound like he had any assurance in that which was to come?

Then we have this statement from the writings of Islam, concerning Muhammed’s own insecurity.

How Muhammad looked at death

“Muhammad said: ‘By Allah, though I am the Apostle of Allah, yet I do not know what Allah will do to me.'” (hadith 5:266) – In Islam the only guaranteed way to enter heaven is by martyrdom. This is the driving force of suicide bombers.

Now compare these statements to Paul;

The testimony of the apostle

“For me to live is Christ and to die is gain…But I am hard pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.” (Phil1:21-24)

Paul carried in his heart what old timers called ‘divine assurance.’ Every true believer carries this assurance.

Can we carry this further? How about the Hindu religion? It is the same. They preach ‘another’ Jesus. He is one of the many reincarnations of God, called an Avatar.

How about superstitions…

It doesn’t matter how many crosses a rock star may hang around his neck, this has nothing to do with Jesus of the gospels. The cross is not some amulet to wear to give good luck. The only cross that saves is the message of the cross. Paul said this message is, “foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.“ (1Co1:18)

What then is the point? The point is that there is only one Jesus Christ. He Himself is in the message of the cross. And when Jesus Christ is preached, and received, and accepted as the atonement of our sins, and as Redeemer and Savior, for the believing one there is a seal placed upon their heart.

This seal carries in it the testimony of divine assurance. The seal carries in it the very life that Jesus came to give us. The seal contains the presence of heaven as a continual reminder that we are simply pilgrims on a journey.

And the seal carries in it that the believer has already been judged in Christ and that heaven is the believer’s assured destiny. Christian believers are the very children of the throne.

Consider:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.“ Joh 5:24

Follow through with these Scriptures.

“Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.” (Heb 2:14-15 NASB)

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.” (Php 3:20-21 NASB)

” [God] and raised us up with Him [Jesus}, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Eph 2:6-9 NASB)

Yes, Jesus laid death and judgment in the grave

This is why there is no such thing as a person not knowing if they are saved or not. You either believe in and trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, or you don’t. There is no middle ground. If you truly trust in Jesus as Lord of your life, this means you have left the world of darkness, that you have turned from your sins, and that you now carry in your heart a divine seal of salvation.

Paul adds to this in saying,

“For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” (Rom8:14)

And again,

“The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ…” (Rom 8:16,17)

John the beloved adds to the record by saying,

“The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself … and the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life…” (1John5:10)

Now we know why…

…Rabbi Jochanan ben Saccai faced death with tears and dread. and why Mohammed did not know what Allah would do with him. And we also understand why true believers have no dread of death or fear of eternity. It is because God’s ‘seal’ of the heart carries with it the very essence of our heavenly home.

God’s children all carry in themselves a heavenly consciousness. We know that this world is not our home. We share in the testimony of Jesus Christ.

“And He was saying to them [Pharisees], “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.” (Joh 8:23)

“If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.” (Joh 15:19)

“[Father] I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they [all true believers] are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” (Joh 17:14)

The simplicity of faith in Jesus

God’s divine seal of assurance goes much much deeper than our emotions. It is a thing of the heart. Paul said that with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. What he is saying is that the confession is an automatic response to what has happened in the person’s heart. We speak what is in our hearts. If Jesus Christ is our Lord, we will certainly let people know it.

The apostle also warns against believers following after strange teachings and following after things that may not be of God:

“But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.“ (2Co 11:3NASB)

Did you catch it? Our entire walk in our journey of life is to be based on a simple devotion

to Jesus Christ. Don’t be led astray from the simplicity and purity of your devotion to Jesus Christ.

It is the simple message of faith in Jesus Christ, and in the finished work of the cross that we must preach and tell the world. If we are preaching anything else, there can be no work of salvation. The apostle quoted Isaiah, in saying,

“Lord, who has believed our report [message]?” He then says, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” (Cf. Rom10)

Christ Himself actually speaks to the hearts of men and women in the preaching of the cross. This is what makes preaching so powerful. Paul says it plain enough when he said to the Corinthians,

“For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” (1Co2:2)

He then explained why this was the only message he preached;

“So that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.” (Cf. 1Co2:5)

With all this in mind, let me share just a bit about…

The Jordan message…

Crossing the Jordan is a figure of speech that believers use for our passage into the eternal kingdom of God. As a long time minister of the gospel it has been my great honor to attend to the going home of so many of God’s children. It is as the Psalmist said,

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones.” (Psalm 116:15 nasb)

The Lord called me to preach the gospel of His Son when I was twenty-four years old. I will soon be seventy. But the Lord did something a bit extra on my behalf. He has also allowed me to sing the gospel in the form of songs that He has given me.

Some years ago the Lord gave me a song to share about the believer’s journey into His eternal kingdom. The song is entitled, ‘At the Crossing of the Jordan.’

There is nothing professional about the song, but it does carry with it a message from heaven. Take a moment to listen to ‘At the Crossing of the Jordan.’ Its me on the guitar with help from some dear friends and family. The song speaks to our journey home. Let it speak to your heart.

That’s it for now.

May the Lord be gracious to you,

Buddy

Word of God

A Study of the End Times

When Wisdom Becomes Foolishness

The Corinthian Dilemma – The Demise of a Church

The gospel of the earliest believers…

Learn to live a focused life…

A walk in reality

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Learn to live by the instructions…

A Dove on the Wire…

Footprints in the sands of time…

I Don’t Have Time To Be Afraid

Fruitfulness in the Kingdom

Jesus Laid Death in the Grave….

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