The State of The Church

Isaiah 62:1-3 ESV

 

“For Zion's sake I will not keep silent,

    and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet,

until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,

    and her salvation as a burning torch.

The nations shall see your righteousness,

    and all the kings your glory,

and you shall be called by a new name

    that the mouth of the Lord will give.

You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,

    and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.”

 

What is the present state of the church? Well, let’s first define what church (ekklésia) is and what it isn’t. The church is the people of God who have been called of God out from the world and to God. It is the universal (total) body of believers in Jesus Christ who are called into God’s eternal kingdom.

 

The church is NOT a building, NOT a denomination (Baptist, Methodist, etc.), NOT a business, NOT a civic organization, and it is NOT a corporation under the state. So, even though these structures and these organizations are called “church,” they, in and of themselves, are NOT the church.

 

The true church (body of believers in Jesus Christ) presently is under persecution from Satan and from his many followers and messengers (prophets, priests, preachers, etc.). And that persecution takes on several different forms depending on the spiritual lives of those who claim to follow Jesus with their lives.

 

Deception

 

The first type of persecution of the church, and the most predominant in America, is via deception. But it isn’t just true believers who are being deceived, but it is also a massive number of people professing faith in Jesus Christ in lip service only who are also being deceived.

 

For one, the church was deceived into believing that they had to unite with the government in an unholy union in order to not have to pay taxes. In America, the church was already tax exempt. But what this union did was bring in government worship and government influence into the church.

 

Then they convinced the church that they had to become more like the world in order to attract the world to their gatherings in order to “win the world,” but to what? Not to Christ. Not to genuine salvation from sin. For, they compromised with the world to attract the world to their gatherings.

 

They were then deceived into believing that they also had to dilute the gospel and to remove from it the parts that offend people. They had to alter the gospel message to make it more palatable to the world and to human flesh, because the cross is an offense to those who are perishing.

 

And since what they are building now is not God’s building made up of living stones with Jesus as the chief cornerstone, but what they are building are kingdoms of men/of humankind on this earth, they don’t want to offend the people on this earth for they want them to join their kingdoms.

 

So, they began teaching a gospel absent of true repentance and absent of any requirements for obedience to Christ and for submission to him as Lord, and they reduced the gospel to some kind of acknowledgment of Christ which would then guarantee them salvation and eternal life with God.

 

Then they did a total flip-flop. Now the predominant gospel being taught is teaching that we are NOT to repent of our sins, and that we are NOT to obey Jesus Christ or his commands, and that we are NOT to submit to his Lordship over our lives, for they call that “works-based salvation.”

 

So, this leaves much of the church in a state of spiritual apathy and lethargy focused more on entertaining and being entertained, patronizing the flesh of humans, patterning their gatherings after fleshly desires, and living to please the flesh guilt-free in place of living to please God, in true repentance, obeying their Lord, and submitting to his will and purpose for their lives.

 

All-Out Attacks

 

The other main type of persecution against the church right now is mainly focused on those who would not be deceived, who rejected the lies, who are living the truth, who are walking in the Spirit in righteousness, who are exposing the lies, and who are persistently proclaiming the truth.

 

Satan wants to silence them/us, so he is either attacking us physically, or he is scheming against us with his lies against us, and his false accusations, and his attacks against our character and/or against what we are teaching. And like he did with Jesus, he is trying to discredit us or what we are teaching.

 

So, we are being called crazy, hyper-religious, self-righteous, intolerant, judgmental, hateful, prideful, etc., and we are being accused of teaching what is false, i.e., of teaching works-based salvation, i.e., that we must work to earn our own salvation, which is against Scripture (Eph 2:8-9).

 

But those of us who are truly listening to the Lord and who are following the teachings of Scripture (in context) in truth are not teaching works-based salvation. But we are teaching that our salvation and our faith in Jesus Christ involve works, but they are the works of God which he prepared in advance that we should walk (in conduct, in practice) in them (Eph 2:10).

 

We are teaching what the Scriptures teach regarding our salvation, and that is that those with genuine God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ submit to Christ as Lord. The believer in Jesus dies with Christ to sin and is resurrected with Christ to newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24).

 

We are teaching what the Bible teaches when it says that Jesus died on that cross that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness, and when it proclaims that Jesus died that we might no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave his life up for us (1 Pet 2:24; 2 Co 5:15, 21; 1 Co 6:19-20).

 

We are proclaiming what the word of God says when it teaches that Jesus gave his life up for us on that cross to deliver us out of our slavery to sin so that we might now become slaves of him and of his righteousness, and that if we remain living in sin, enslaved to sin, and if we are not walking according to God’s Spirit, in obedience to our Lord, we will die in our sins (Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; Gal 5:16-21).

 

So, because so many who profess the name of Jesus are buying into the lies and they are being deceived by the enemy of our souls, and because so many believers in Jesus who are following the Lord in obedience are being persecuted for their walks of faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord will not keep silent. He will keep sending out his messages through his servants.

 

And this is because Jesus died that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. So, he will keep sending forth the truth of his word until his persecuted ones who are teaching the truth are heard and believed and until his church living under deception is revived and renewed.

 

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

 

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

 

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

 

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

 

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

 

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg

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Talk About Jesus

An Original Work / April 3, 2021

Talk about Jesus when the sun arises.

Don’t be a phony, putting on disguises.

Talk about Jesus middle of the daytime,

Not just at church or in your prayers at mealtime.

Talk about Jesus to your friends on Facebook.

Don’t be ashamed of him or of the Good Book.

Talk about Jesus in your tweets on Twitter.

Don’t vacillate in your beliefs or flitter.

Talk about Jesus in the early evening

On the internet’s sites, blogs, even texting.

Talk about Jesus naturally as most things.

Make him a part of everyday conversing.

Talk about Jesus, not just on holidays.

Is He your best friend? Then, that you should convey.

Our faith in Jesus not just for special days.

If we believe Him, each day, then, we should say.

Straight Paths for Your Feet

In Hebrews 12 we are taught that we must get rid of every hindrance to our walks of faith which is weighing us down and is keeping us from walking in full surrender to our Lord. And we are to forsake every sin which clings closely to us, i.e., which is our habit (practice, addiction).

 

For, we can’t walk the walk or run the race God has marked out for us if we are being dragged down by, distracted by, and/or involved in any sinful practice and/or anything that is pulling us away from our Lord and from our full commitment to him, and from our surrender to his will for our lives.

 

Then, it talks about how the Lord disciplines (reproves, chastises) us for our good, that we may share his holiness. “For the moment, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (v. 11).

 

Hebrews 12:12-17 ESV

 

“Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no ‘root of bitterness’ springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.”

 

Therefore, we are to build ourselves up in our most holy faith by exercising good spiritual disciplines of prayer, Bible study, obedience, and submission to Christ as Lord (master) of our lives. And we must rid our lives of everything that is contrary to living godly and holy lives, pleasing to God.

 

For, Jesus Christ died for us on that cross that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. In his death he put sin to death on our behalf so that sin would be put to death in our lives so that we would no longer be slaves to sin but that we would be slaves to righteousness.

 

So, in his power and strength, we are to daily put all sin to death by denying it any power over our lives and by refusing to yield to temptation. We are to no longer give sin a place in our lives by obeying its deceitful lusts. But we are to rid our lives of all filth, immorality, lying, and cheating, etc.

 

And we are to live holy lives, separate (unlike, different) from the world and unto God, because we are being made to be like Jesus. So, we aren’t to blend in with the culture or to become one (united) with the people of the world. We are not to make peace in the sense of compromising our faith, morals, and/or the gospel, in order to not offend the people of the world.

 

We are to see to it, as well, that none of us fails to obtain the grace of God, i.e., our salvation from our bondage to sin, and from the punishment of sin, and the hope of eternal life with God, because of bitterness of spirit to the point to where we turn away from the Lord.

 

For, the Scriptures are clear that we are all going to be judged by our works. If we live to the flesh, we will die in our sins. We will not inherit eternal life with God. But if we live to please the Spirit, from the Spirit we will reap eternal life (Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8).

 

We can cry over our sins and it be nothing but worldly sorrow, and we can want to spend eternity in heaven, even to the point of tears, but if our hearts do not change, and if we do not repent of our sins, in truth, and then follow our Lord in obedience, we will be rejected by God.

 

Hebrews 12:25-29 ESV

 

“See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, ‘Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.’ This phrase, ‘Yet once more,’ indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”

 

If someone has told you that if you “believe” in Jesus that you are now saved forever and that heaven is guaranteed you when you die, that may or may not be true depending on the context. For, there are many “if” clauses in the Scriptures in relation to those promises.

 

Basically, coming to faith in Jesus Christ means we die with Christ to sin so that we can live to Christ and to his righteousness, in his power and under his command. But then we must daily, by the Spirit, be putting sin to death, and we must be walking (in conduct, in practice) according to the Spirit.

 

And we must continue in that faith until the end, putting sin to death, walking in obedience to our Lord, knowing what his word teaches us and then putting it into practice in our daily lives. For, we must abide in Christ and in his word, and we must persist in our walks of faith until the end.

 

If we don’t, and if we refuse to submit to the Lordship of Christ, and if we choose not to obey his commands (New Covenant), because we think we don’t have to, and if we hold on to our sinful lifestyles and we deliberately keep on sinning against our Lord, we don’t have eternal life with God.

 

And one day soon, which may have already begun, God is going to (or is presently) judging the people of this earth, not yet in the sense of the final judgment, but in the sense of severe discipline on his people and on the people of this earth, in order to turn hearts to him or back to him.

 

For, this is what is meant by “in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.” He is disciplining his people and the people of this earth (Rev 13) in the physical realm so that they will believe in him and turn their hearts to him, and so they will forsake their sins to follow his commands.

 

So, we need to take this to heart. We need to fear (obey, respect, honor) God and not take him and his grace for granted. For, he will judge us by our works, and he is going to tell many people who called him “Lord” that he never knew them, and that they must depart from him. So, believe Him!

 

[Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8]

 

Here I Am, Lord

 

By Daniel L. Schutte

 

I, the Lord of snow and rain,

I have borne my people’s pain.

I have wept for love of them –

They turn away.

I will break their hearts of stone,

Give them hearts for love alone.

I will speak my word to them.

Whom shall I send?

 

Here I am, Lord

Is it I, Lord?

I have heard You calling in the night

I will go, Lord

If You lead me

I will hold Your people in my heart

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t6mz8yoocY

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They Scheme Against Us

The priests and the captain of the temple of God, and the Sadducees came upon Peter and John, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. So, they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day.

 

The next day they brought Peter and John before them and they questioned them regarding by what name John and Peter healed a man. So, Peter told them that the man was healed by the name of Jesus Christ whom they had crucified, but whom God had raised from the dead.

 

Peter went on to tell them that Jesus Christ is the stone that was rejected by them, the builders, and he has become the cornerstone. “There is salvation in no one else,” Peter told them, “for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

 

Peter was referring to prophecies from the Old Testament regarding Jesus as the stone of God’s building, his church, which they, the Jews, had rejected. As the cornerstone, Jesus is the head of his church, his body. Only through Jesus Christ can anyone be saved from sin and have eternal life with God.

 

[See: Ps 118:22-23; Is 28:16; Matt 21:42-45; Eph 2:20-22]

 

Acts 4:15-17 ESV

 

“But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, saying, ‘What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.’”

 

People today are still rejecting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives. And included among those who are rejecting him are many who claim to believe in him and who profess to be part of his church, his body. Verbally they may profess him, but by their lifestyles they reject (deny) him.

 

For some, it is because they are blindly following false teachers and false teaching because it sounds good, and they are not taking the time to test what they are hearing against the Scriptures (in context), or they don’t want to test what they are hearing, because they want to believe the lie.

 

And some (or many) who are rejecting Jesus Christ are also openly (or secretively) opposing his gospel of salvation and all those who are teaching the true gospel. And some of the ways in which they are coming against the truth and against the gospel’s messengers are these:

 

·       They scheme against and try to trick them into getting angry

·       They provoke them with lies that they made up against them

·       They play mind games with them hoping to confuse their thinking

·       They insult, taunt, mock, belittle and make cutting remarks at them

·       They attack the truth of the gospel and call it lies

·       They claim that what is false is truth and that truth is false

·       They convince people not to repent or obey or submit to Christ

·       They attack people’s walks of faith calling them “works salvation”

·       They teach Scriptures out of their context and spin them

·       They distort the Scriptures and teach the opposite of Christ

 

But this is nothing new. They did the same things to Jesus Christ when he walked this earth. They were always looking for ways to trip him up with his words, hoping that they would have cause to accuse him. They twisted the Scriptures then to their advantage so that they could continue in sin.

 

So, our opponents may not always outright command us not to speak the truth in Jesus’ name, but they may try to trick, manipulate, guilt-trip, and scheme against us in ways that are not so direct or obvious, but which may be more hidden and subtle. So, we have to watch for traps.

 

For, our enemy Satan is on a rampage against those who are following Jesus Christ with their lives and who are teaching (preaching, sharing) the gospel as Jesus and His New Testament apostles taught it. For they don’t want people to hear that they must repent, obey God, and submit to Christ.

 

Acts 4:18-20 ESV

 

“So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.’”

 

Again, we may not yet have people ordering us not to speak in the name of Jesus, but they may be trying to shame us into denying our Lord and into forsaking the narrow road in favor of joining them on the broad road leading to destruction, which is being disguised as the way of righteousness.

 

Satan is a master at trickery. So, please pray, and please be on your guard. For, whether on social media, or on Christian discussion sites, or on the blogging world, we are going to hear from people who are not sincere in what they say who are trying to trick us into some kind of compromise of truth.

 

So, don’t be too quick to respond to people. Pray for discernment. Test what you are hearing them say against the Scriptures. Don’t be fearful. Don’t distrust everyone or be paranoid. Just be sensible, but be alert, for the enemy is very clever and he will attack underhandedly.

 

But still our response should be that we will keep speaking the truth of the gospel of our salvation no matter what is thrown at us or what people say about us. We must be convinced of what we believe, and we must remain steadfast in faith and testimony no matter what opposition we face.

 

Here I Am, Lord

 

By Daniel L. Schutte

 

I, the Lord of snow and rain,

I have borne my people’s pain.

I have wept for love of them –

They turn away.

I will break their hearts of stone,

Give them hearts for love alone.

I will speak my word to them.

Whom shall I send?

 

Here I am, Lord

Is it I, Lord?

I have heard You calling in the night

I will go, Lord

If You lead me

I will hold Your people in my heart

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t6mz8yoocY

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Anointed to Bring the Good News

Isaiah 61:1 ESV

 

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

    because the Lord has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor;

    he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim liberty to the captives,

    and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.”

 

The prophecy is about Jesus Christ, for he quoted it about himself, as is recorded for us in Luke 4:17-21. When he had finished mostly quoting Isaiah 61:1-2 he then said, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

 

He was letting the people know that he was the Messiah who was to come. He was the fulfillment of this prophecy of Isaiah.

 

And this is what Jesus did when he lived on this earth, only the Good News that he brought was for all people, not just for those of poverty level. But the word “poor” can also mean those of contrite heart, those with humble hearts who were and are receptive to the preaching of the cross of Christ.

 

And what was the good news that he brought? It was that if anyone would come after him he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. For, he said if we hold on to our old lives (of living for sin and self), we will lose them for eternity. But if we lose our lives (die with him to sin) for his sake, we will have eternal life with him (Lu 9:23-26).

 

And that is exactly what Isaiah 61 teaches, too. For, Jesus didn’t die on that cross just to forgive us our sins, and just so we could go to heaven when we die. He died to deliver us out of our slavery (captivity) to sin so that we might now become slaves of God and of his righteousness (Rom 6:1-23).

 

The Scriptures teach us that Jesus died that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. He died that we might no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave his life up for us. And he shed his blood for us on that cross to buy us back for God so that we would now be God’s possession, and so we would honor God with our lives (1 Pet 2:24; 2 Co 5:15; 1 Co 6:19-20; Rom 6:1-23; Tit 2:11-14).

 

When we believe in Jesus Christ with genuine God-persuaded faith, we submit to Christ as Lord, we die with him to sin, we are resurrected with him to newness of life in him, and we live for him in his power and strength. We humble ourselves before Him, and we repent of our sins, and we walk in obedience to his commands (Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24).

 

Isaiah 61:2 ESV

 

“To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,

    and the day of vengeance of our God.”

 

Jesus Christ was anointed to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, and he did both! He taught salvation from slavery to sin by God’s grace, but he also warned of judgment to come to all who refused him, and for all who would not trust him to be their Lord.

 

That is what he was doing in the passage in Luke 9 when he said that to come after him we must deny self, die daily with him to sin, and follow him in obedience, and when he said that if we don’t give up our old lives of sin that we will lose them for eternity, but if we do die with him to our old lives of sin, that we will have eternal life with him (Lu 9:23-26; cf. Jn 6:35-58).

 

Jesus didn’t teach the kind of gospel message that is mostly being taught today. He didn’t teach that we could merely acknowledge him as Lord and Savior with our lips, but that we could continue living for sin and self, and that we would still inherit eternal life with God.

 

His favor (his grace) to us is not freedom to continue living in sin, only now without guilt. Those who are feeding you this line of thinking are lying to you. For, if we do not die with Christ to sin, and if we do not live to Christ and to his righteousness, but we continue to live for sin and self, we will die in our sins (Rom 6:16; Rom 8:1-17; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8).

 

Isaiah 61:2-3 ESV

 

   

“To comfort all who mourn;

to grant to those who mourn in Zion—

    to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,

the oil of gladness instead of mourning,

    the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;

that they may be called oaks of righteousness,

    the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.”

 

This “mourning” here is not speaking of merely grieving over loss in our lives. This mourning is speaking of having contrite and humble hearts which grieve over our sin with a godly sorrow which leads to repentance.

 

Jesus will exchange our ashes for beauty, i.e., he will honor true repentant hearts by exchanging our sinful lifestyles for lives committed to Jesus Christ. For, when we believe in him, we are crucified with him in death to sin and we are resurrected with him to newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Rom 6:1-23; Eph 4:17-24; Rom 8:1-17).

 

Instead of grieving over our sins, we will now rejoice in our newfound freedom, in Christ Jesus, from the weight and from the captivity of sin. Now we will be able to walk in holiness and in righteousness in the power of God. We will be able to live lives which are pleasing to God.

 

Now we will be able to walk in fellowship with our Lord in harmony with him and with his word. Our desire should now be for him, and his word should be what we crave, not the sinful pleasures of our past life. And we should be living now to please him in all that we do.

 

Because of God’s grace (his favor) to us, we have the Spirit of God living within us and living the life of Christ out through us, as we yield control of our lives over to the Lord, and as we walk in obedience to his will and to his way for our lives. And our times with him in prayer and in his word are sweet to our souls.

 

And now we can do what Jesus did in his power and strength. We can share the good news of the gospel as Jesus taught it with the people of this world, and even with people who already profess faith in Jesus Christ but who have bought into a false gospel. And we can lead them to the truth.

 

And that is because we have the life of Jesus living within us, and we are in sweet fellowship with him, and his desires are now our desires, and we want to do his will, and we care whether or not people hear the truth, and believe the truth, and thus have a true hope of eternal life with God.

 

Based off the song “Edelweiss”

 

Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ,

Every morning you greet me.

Meek and pure, truth and light,

You look pleased now to meet me.

 

Flourishing, growing in Him each day,

Live with Him forever.

Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ,

Blessed to know him forever.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47H4C1V8D-k

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Not to Be Served But to Serve

Matthew 20:17-19 ESV

 

“And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.’”

 

You know what? Jesus not only prepared his disciples ahead of time for his death and resurrection, but he prepared them/us ahead of time for what they/we would have to suffer, too, if they/we were/are to be his followers. He said,

 

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels” (Lu 9:23-26 ESV).

 

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matt 24:9-13 ESV).

 

Matthew 20:20-23 ESV

 

“Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. And he said to her, ‘What do you want?’ She said to him, ‘Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.’ Jesus answered, ‘You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?’ They said to him, ‘We are able.’ He said to them, ‘You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.’”

 

Do we ever get our focus in the wrong direction? Do we ever want what is not ours to have, or what is focused on self instead of on God? Do we ever get more focused on what we want rather than on what God wants of us and for us? Do we ever get the wrong idea of why Jesus saved us from our sins?

 

Have you ever had the Lord, then, set you straight, saying something like this, “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of man”? I clearly remember one day when he said that to me in my spirit, and he was absolutely right. I was off base. I needed to refocus.

 

The Christian life is not about us and what we want out of life. It is about God and what he wants for us and out of us. So, Jesus is asking us, too, “Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” Are we? Do we know what that cup is? It is a cup of suffering for our walks of faith in Christ.

 

It is dying with Christ daily to sin and to self, and it is walking (in conduct, in practice) according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh. So, it involves daily saying “No!” to ungodliness and fleshly passions and saying “Yes” to living godly, upright, and self-controlled lives by God’s Spirit (Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; Tit 2:11-14).

 

But it isn’t just that. It is living the life that Jesus lived. True, we are not sinless like he was, but we are delivered from our slavery to sin by faith in Jesus Christ, and we are empowered of God’s Spirit to now live to Christ and to his righteousness, and to obey him in the power of God’s Spirit.

 

And when we do this, when our lives our fully surrendered to the Lord Jesus, to walk the walk that he walked, we will also be hated, persecuted, falsely accused, slandered, betrayed, denied, ridiculed, called all sorts of names, forsaken, forgotten, abandoned, and even killed for our faith in Jesus.

 

Matthew 20:24-28 ESV

 

“And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’”

 

We who are believing in Jesus Christ with our lives, who have died and are dying with him to sin and are living to him and to his righteousness, are not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought, but we are to think of ourselves with sober judgment.

 

We are to humble ourselves before God and before other humans and we are to serve our Lord in doing what he says, and we are to serve our fellow humans in the ways that Jesus served others when he walked this earth. And this includes loving those who hate us, too.

 

Our lives should be surrendered to Jesus Christ, and we are to be committed to him and to continuing the work that he began when he lived on this earth. Our lives are no longer our own to be lived how we want, for Jesus bought us back for God that we would now honor God with our lives.

 

A Believer’s Prayer

 

An Original Work / July 31, 2012

 

With my whole heart, Lord, I pray

To be Yours, and Yours always.

Lead me in Your truth today.

May I love You and obey.

Lead me in Your righteousness.

When I sin, may I confess;

Bow before You when I pray;

Live for You and You always.

 

Love You, Jesus, You’re my friend.

Life with You will never end.

You are with me through each day,

Giving love and peace always.

You will ne’er abandon me.

From my sin You set me free.

You died on that cruel tree,

So I’d live eternally.

 

Soon You’re coming back for me;

From this world to set me free;

Live with You eternally.

Oh, what joy that brings to me.

I will walk with You in white;

A pure bride, I’ve been made right

By the blood of Jesus Christ;

Pardoned by His sacrifice.

 

https://vimeo.com/114796263

Whoever Believes in Jesus

John 14:12-14 ESV

 

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”

 

The Works of Jesus

 

What works did Jesus do when he lived on the earth? He healed the sick and afflicted, he raised the dead back to life, he delivered people from demons, he comforted the sorrowful, he fed the hungry, he calmed the storms, and he performed many other miracles.

 

But what else did he do? He preached repentance for the forgiveness of sins, he proclaimed that he is the only way to God the Father and to eternal life with God, and he taught that if we are to come after him we must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience (Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58).

 

And what else? He chastised the rulers in the temple of God who were living in hypocrisy, for they were living one thing while preaching another, and they were going through the motions of religion while they were involved in wicked deeds, in secret. They tried to look good on the outside, but they weren’t good. So, he told them plainly that it would not go well for them.

 

He also didn’t go with the flow. He went against it, which is one of the reasons they hated him, because he was not like them, and he did not “dance their dance.” He didn’t conform to the norms of society (of the world), but he conformed to God the Father’s likeness.

 

Jesus spoke the truth plainly, although he did speak in parables, too. He was not one who “beat around the bush,” who avoided confrontation, or who tried to soft pedal the truth so that people would not be offended. He wasn’t mean, but he was definitely strong where he needed to be.

 

Jesus loved the people and he loved God the Father, and he learned obedience through the things he suffered, although he was sinless. And he showed his love for God and for the people in all the things that he did, not just when he was feeding them or healing their diseases.

 

So, Jesus said that we who follow him with our lives will do the works that he did. It doesn’t mean each one of us will do all of them, but there are some that all of us should do such as sharing the gospel (the true gospel) with the people of this world.

 

And then he said that we will actually do greater works because he is going (and he did go) to the Father. So, how is it that us doing greater works than him is related to him going to the Father? Could it be that “greater” means that they will be far reaching?

 

For, Jesus could only reach the people he could physically be with. But when he left this earth, and he sent his Holy Spirit to indwell his followers, now we can, in the power of the Spirit, do the kinds of things Jesus did, only now all over the world, wherever the Lord opens the doors.

 

Whatever We Ask

 

Scripture must always be interpreted or understood in its context. Jesus didn’t say that he would give us whatever we ask of him. He said he would give us whatever we ask of him in his name. And to do something in someone’s name is to do what that person would approve of or do.

 

In other words, a person’s name on something has his/her stamp of approval. It says it meets his/her standards, and that he/she agrees with what is being done or said. So, to ask something in the name of Jesus is to ask according to what he would approve.

 

Also, the ones doing the asking are those who genuinely believe in Jesus via dying with Christ to sin and being resurrected with Christ to newness of life in him, to be lived to him and to his righteousness. And they are those who are doing the kinds of things that Jesus did, in obedience to him.

 

John 14:15-17 ESV

 

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”

 

Jesus said that if we love him we will obey him. We will do what he says, which is also what his New Testament apostles taught us with regard to how we are to live to please God in all our conduct. This isn’t saying we will never sin (1 Jn 2:1-2), but that sin should not be what we practice (Gal 5:16-21).

 

For, Jesus Christ died on that cross to deliver us from our slavery to sin so that we would now be slaves of God and of his righteousness. He died that we might no longer live for ourselves but for him who gave his life up for us (Rom 6:1-23; Eph 4:17-24; Rom 8:1-17; 2 Co 5:15; Tit 2:11-14).

 

But this is not optional. We don’t “get saved” and then we get to choose whether or not to follow Jesus with our lives. For, Jesus said that to come after him we must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience. He said his sheep listen to (heed) him and they follow (obey) him.

 

And Scripture teaches us that if we don’t obey the Lord that we don’t know him, and if we claim to be in fellowship with him but we walk (in conduct, in practice) in sin, that we are liars who don’t live by the truth. And, if we live according to the flesh, we will die in our sins (1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 1:5-9; Rom 8:1-17; Rom 6:16; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; 2 Co 5:10).

 

So, if you want to be in relationship with Jesus Christ, to have your sins forgiven, and to have the hope of eternal life with God, you must die with Christ to sin and live to Christ and to his righteousness. And you must not make sin your practice, or you will not inherit eternal life with God.

 

A Believer’s Prayer

 

An Original Work / July 31, 2012

 

With my whole heart, Lord, I pray

To be Yours, and Yours always.

Lead me in Your truth today.

May I love You, and obey.

Lead me in Your righteousness.

When I sin, may I confess;

Bow before You when I pray;

Live for You and You always.

 

Love You, Jesus, You’re my friend.

Life with You will never end.

You are with me through each day,

Giving love and peace always.

You will ne’er abandon me.

From my sin You set me free.

You died on that cruel tree,

So I’d live eternally.

 

Soon You’re coming back for me;

From this world to set me free;

Live with You eternally.

Oh, what joy that brings to me.

I will walk with You in white;

A pure bride, I’ve been made right

By the blood of Jesus Christ;

Pardoned by His sacrifice.

 

https://vimeo.com/114796263