Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Saturday, September 13, 2008
I will come to give you life to the full
1 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
19 There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. 20 Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?” 21 Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, [1] is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
God bless you all
lawrence & julie
7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
19 There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. 20 Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?” 21 Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, [1] is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
God bless you all
lawrence & julie
Saturday, August 2, 2008
For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.
Mar 5:24 And [Jesus] went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him.
Mar 5:25 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,
Mar 5:26 And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,
Mar 5:27 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.
Mar 5:28 For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.
Mar 5:29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in [her] body that she was healed of that plague.
Mar 5:30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?
Mar 5:31 And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
Mar 5:32 And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.
Mar 5:33 But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.
Mar 5:34 And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.
meditation
Mark 5:27 after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak.
Mark 5:29 Immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.
It's good to see each of you here, and thank you so much for coming. One of the main reasons that we're in the area, as many of you may know, beginning next Friday evening Amazing Facts will be conducting a revival with 3-Angels Broadcasting at the Chattanooga Convention Center. We're hoping that those of you who are able will come and support these meetings that will be broadcast live around the country and the world.
Let me give you a little background. We're planning on doing another net program. I hesitate saying the because we're in the midst of one now. I know that it's concluding soon. In March of 2005, Amazing Facts. Is going to doing the Net-2005 meeting. The title for it is: The Prophecy Code. It's going to be the final events of Bible Prophecy. We haven't said much about that, but we've been planning with the leaders of the church for some time, and as we discuss this and have talked to different people at camp meetings, one of the common things I hear everyone say is, "Almost as much as an evangelistic meeting or another net program, we really need revival in the church." So much that we do is focused on outreach, and of course your messages are tailored a little differently when you are trying to reach a secular world tahn when you're speaking to the church. But there really is a desperate need in the church. The world is not without an effect on our spiritual relationship with Jesus. I'm a pastor. I'm exposed to a lot of the struggles that are represented in the families of our people, and I travel all over the world. As a matter of fact, in the last month I've been on the other side of the world and back. Praying preaching, talking to our church family. And there is an urgent need for revival.
I remember reading in the Spirit of Prophecy where a promise or prediction is made that prior to the Second Coming that there will be a revival among God's people, a primitive Godliness. And there will also be a counterfeit. And I think we're seeing some of that.
I want you to know that I don't think, I'm not presumptuous to think that Amazing Facts and 3-ABN could schedule when a revival is going to happen. That's God's business, that's the Holy Spirit. But I do believe the Bible tells us that we can choose to pick a time to pray. In 2 Chronicles 7:14, that familiar verse, Solomon was dedicating the temple and he said, "If My people, who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray Se we can choose to do that. and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." And that's all we're doing friends. We're going to pick a time when we can come together to humble ourselves, to seek His face, confess our sins and ask for revival. I believe if we do that, that God will answer His part. He says that if you do this, I'll do this. And so, that's what this is all about.
I don't know if you have ever longed for that first love experience. I'd surmise that there are people in the church that have never felt that they've been converted. And this is an opportunity for them. So, if you're in the area, then you can come to the convention center. I hope you do. Be praying for these meetings. Also pray for the net program that will begin next March.
How many of you participated in the Net 99 or Millennium of Prophecy? Or you've seen them on TV? Will you give me another chance? Pray for that series. Please pray for these meetings and I hope that you'll come.
It's hard for me to preach the same sermon back to back. I've never done very well at that because I just heard that one just a few minutes ago. [We have two church services and normally the preacher preaches the same sermon for both services.] Whenever I preach, I usually preach to myself. So, I want to make sure I'm excited, or you won't be. During the special music I turned to this passage and felt impressed to talk about it.
Turn with me in your Bibles to Mark 5. I'd like to talk about touching Jesus. Touching Jesus. Mark 5:25 tells this poignant story about a certain woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years. And she suffered many things from many physicians, and she had but wasn't any better, but rather grew worse. Now, I just came back from a medical convention in Gatlinburg. I notice that when Luke tells this story that he leaves the part about the physicians out.
But this woman had a very embarrassing malady that not only spent her strength, it drained her resources, And according to the laws in the Bible, it rendered her unclean. She was not allowed to go to the temple to worship. She may have been a woman of means. It seems to indicate she had no family. You can understand having this kind of a prolonged illness could a problem. She suffered many things from many physicians. She had gone to men and they may have been sincere, very good physicians, but they weren't able to help her. They may have recommended a variety of treatments; some could have been painful, others humiliating, and she spent a lot of money on the treatments.
I have a friend that took her car to the mechanic to find out why it stopped running. After doing an investigation, he called and he said, "It ran out of gas, but I'm going to have to charge you fifty dollars for being stupid." Even some physicians will say, "I'll do the best I can, and even if it doesn't heal you, you still get the bill."
She suffered much. And she spent all. And she didn't get better, but she got worse. Twelve years of being drained is what this amounts to.
But she heard about Jesus. Everything starts to change. She heard a word about Jesus. Somewhere, somebody was talking about Jesus and she heard. Maybe she heard about one of His miracles or one of His parables, but her heart was stirred. She heard that everybody that came to Jesus was healed. You know that the good news in the Bible is that nobody ever came to Jesus and the problem was turned away. I can't find an account of it. There are a few who turned away from Jesus, but didn't turn anybody away. Even the thief on the cross, when Jesus' hands were nailed to the tree, they couldn't keep Him from saving. That's good news. We forget that.
She heard about Jesus and something inside sparked and she thought, "If I could go to Him, If I could talk to Him and explain my problems." Maybe she was hoping for a private audience because, you know, people could come and maybe confess that they had leprosy and some people's problems were obvious. Even Bartimaeus: Jesus said, "What do you need?" "Lord, I'm blind." But he had to ask what he wanted. This woman didn't want to discuss it, but she thought, "If I could go to Him I believe He could help me."
She heard about Jesus. Someone was talking about Him. And evidently the Lord was passing by. Now, in order to get the whole picture, you have to back up to Mark 5:21-23. After Jesus has this experience where He cast the demons out of the Demoniac and he comes across the lake, the first thing that happens is the contingent meets Him. And it says there is a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him. This was while He was by the sea. Behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And he fell at His feet and begged Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, that she might be healed, and she will live."
Again He's on His way. So, Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.
Now, you see what's going on. The Lord is on His way somewhere when all of a sudden we hear about this woman. He's going from point A to point B, but something happens in between. He's on His way to touch a little girl that is dying. And this woman who had heard about Jesus finds out that he is going by. But twice it's mentioned: "a great multitude and they thronged Him." Now I want you to picture this. It's after Jesus multiplied the bread, and He has performed a number of miracles, and the crowds are gathering. This is the zenith of His ministry. And as He is going up the street, His twelve disciples probably have little earpieces in their ears and black sunglasses and they look like CIA as the President is shaking hands. They're trying to serve as bodyguards, but they can't help Him because it's something like what happens at one of these soccer stadium stampedes where the wave of people behind just press in and squash you on every side. Do you have the picture? The word used is "thronged." The great multitude pressed. What that tells me is Jesus was touching a whole lot of people that day. But that's not recorded because it was a different kind of touch.
She heard about Jesus. She came behind Him in the crowd. Not even where He could see her. The crowd gets in the way. How many times have you heard someone say, "I would be a Christian, but so-and-so did this to me." You visit people. When you're past, they stop going to church. You wonder why. Do you know what the number one answer is? It sounds like the words to a country song: "someone dun me wrong." And it's not the people in the world: they are usually offended or hurt by somebody in the church. This sermon isn't going to stop that from happening. I'm just hoping that those who are looking for somebody as an excuse to stop going to church, the devil will make sure they find the excuse because he's always got his agents mixed up among the sheep. For those of you who are sincere, pray to God that you will not be an obstacle, that you are not part of that crowd that gets in the way.
She wanted to see Jesus. Maybe she wanted Jesus to reach out and touch her, but there wasn't even time for that. As she saw that he was getting away, in her desperation she had reached the bottom. She had been humiliated. She had been in pain. She was bankrupt. She was exhausted of of all human hope.
She lunged through the crowd between this cage of legs she may have seen, probably being trampled and she just managed to get a fleeting grip on the hem of His garment. But that robe of Christ has great power. And you know, the good news is that the same power the robe had back then, it has today. And the same way she got a hold of the robe, you can get a hold of it today. It wasn't the linen or cotton fabric, it's a symbol of His righteousness that she got hold of.
The amazing thing is that she reaches out and says within herself: . . .she touched His garment: for she said, "If I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well." Mark 5:27,28. Does that sound like doubt or faith? She reached out and she touched Him in faith.
You know, many people were healed by the touch of Jesus. Usually He touched them. Here in this case, she touched Him.
You know, I'm troubled sometimes you read stories in the Bible where they would take a handkerchief from Paul or Peter and they would bring it to people, or other would stand in the street and hope that the shadow of one of the apostles would pass over them and they were healed. Before I became a Seventh-day Adventist I went to charismatic churches and I would meet people who were absolutely sincere because the would say, "I went to this service, I was sick, I prayed, and god healed me." How can you tell me there's something wrong with their theology? God healed me in that church.
I sat down a few weeks ago with a former Seventh-day Adventist minister. We had a nice lunch together. I didn't say anything to challenge his beliefs, but he offered it. He said, "Well I know what the Seventh-day Adventist church teaches. I used to be a pastor, but my mother was gravely ill, and she went to a charismatic service and she was healed. I just wanted to go to a church that had that power. I thought, how sad, because friends, Jesus never said "It's My faith that makes you whole," He said, "It's your faith that makes you whole." There are people who went to Jimmy Bakker and Jimmy Swaggert's churches and God healed them there because of their faith in God and it had nothing to do with the preacher, it didn't even have anything to do with their theology. Jesus healed people. He said, "Your faith has med you whole."
So, when people come to the Lord and are healed, we try to ricochet the credits somewhere else and we get all mixed up. God can heal you wherever you are. He can talk through a donkey; that doesn't endorse the truth. God can do anything He wants.
This woman reached out in faith and she was healed. Matter of fact, often Jesus, when He healed people, He would clarify that; He'd say, "Go in peace, your faith has made you whole. She reached out I faith. This gets very interesting. And immediately. . . Mark 5:28,29. ". . .If I might touch His clothes, I will be made well." Immediately the fountain of her blood stanched, dried up and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction..
First of all, in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and I'm not trying to be critical, we are a very cerebral church. We think it is an information-based message, and that's good. That's where it should start. There are other churches that are very kinesthetic, touchy-feely churches. I'm a more cerebral person. When I first began to pastor Sacramento Central we had a lot of huggy- touchy people there. They always wanted to hug the pastor at the door and they could feel me just stiffen up. I'm just not a touchy-feely person. I'm working on it. For a while they had a hu- Doug campaign when I first got to that church. I went to charismatic churches and one of the things that attracted me before I became a Seventh-day Adventist was they were all so touchy- feely-huggie emotion. Everything was feeling, felling feeling.
We sometimes think because we believe it's important to have faith, and faith must be based on logic and understanding, and we forget that feeling is not all a bad thing. But getting them mixed up is where we get into trouble. She had faith first, then she had feeling. And if you believe that God forgives your sins, you will start feeling better. You'll have joy. But you need to have faith first. And because she touched in faith, she felt differently.
Are you going to tell me that when Naaman came out of the water afet having leprosy, an advanced case, and his skin is restored to the skin of a little baby he didn't feel something? Maybe he was missing digits and they started to pop back into place. Don't you think he felt that? Of course he felt something. People that Jesus healed, they felt something. But they came with faith first.
Immediately her blood was dried up and she felt in her body that she was healed. And Jesus immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My clothes?"
And the disciples looked at Him indignantly like He's been out in the sun too long. Mark 5:31. But His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?' They probably thought He had low blood sugar, He's been ministering too long, He needs a break. Can you picture that? Just getting pushed and squashed on every side so He's almost lifted right off the ground, and then He says, "Who touched Me?" It must have sounded like a mad thing to say. Thousands were touching Him. And they got no benefit. You know why? It was a different kind of touch.
When I was dating my wife, I had been a bachelor before. But I was doing evangelistic meetings. And you shake a lot of hands and touch a lot of people. I remember when Karen, when I first started dating her we were driving somewhere and we must have gotten to the place in our relationship where she felt casual enough to put her hand behind my neck and to just tickle my neck. I almost ran off the road. It was a different kind of touch. It was a touch of love and affection and it was different.
You know, a lot of people like the crowd that day touch Jesus, they go to church, they are very close, and they leave, and they don't know they touched Him because they don't reach out in faith. And the person right next to you can have their life transformed and you won't feel anything.
The Bible says the Holy Spirit left Samson and he didn't even know it. Sometimes we're oblivious to what God is doing all around us. Jesus knew. She had reached out differently. "Who touched Me?"
But the disciples said, "What are you seeing?" He ignored them and looked around to see who had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling, she thought, "Maybe I've taken some power I was not supposed to have." And so she's not going to run off. Fearing and trembling, "Maybe this thing will be reversed. Maybe I was supposed to get permission first. That would be awful." Can you imagine having the healing taken away? Mark 5:33,34. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.
And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace , and be healed of your affliction." "you've reached out and touched Me in faith. Now I endorse it by saying, 'Be healed. Let it remain. Stay healed.'"
You know, that's one way you often tell the genuine healing of God and some of the temporary healing that might be psychosomatic that people experience in a frenzy, in an evangelistic meeting or one of these healing services. Some people might feel some placebo effect for a while, but it doesn't last. I used to go to these services. People throw away their crutches and throw away their wheel chairs and their glasses and they really do feel better. Check on them three days later.
What she was feeling was not just a feeling, He said, "Be healed." It stayed. Just like when He said, "Let there be light." It stayed. It was creative power. "Be healed of your affliction." His word confirmed what her faith had found.
While He's still speaking, remember he's on His way to the house of Jairus to heal this girl that is very ill. I can picture Jairus is there in the crowd as Jesus stops to have this dialogue with this woman and he's urging Jesus on. "She's unclean anyway. Let's go." He means well, but they're trying to usher Jesus on as yearning for his daughter who is dying. Time is of the essence.
And right then some messengers come. What happened? Why, had He stopped for that woman. Mark 5:35, 36. While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue's house who said, "You daughter is dead.. Why trouble the Teacher any further?" You know, it's no trouble for Jesus, is it. As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not be afraid; only believe." Before Jairus could lose faith, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Don't be afraid. Don't let this destroy your faith. You came to me for help. Don't let their word destroy your faith that I can help."
Sometimes God is planning on answering your prayer, and the devil is trying to destroy your faith and the answer half-way. The evidence will seem like it's hopeless. Don't give up. Only believe. Again, he's saying, "Have faith."
And now He permits noone to follow Him except Peter, James and John. He tells the crowd to stay.
I also think I should jump back to the point after Jesus healed that woman, he could have let her go, but he wanted her to give a testimony. You know, when God had done something great for you, don't slink away. Tell others what God has done for you. When Jesus cast the demons out of that man He said, "You go, tell what great things God has done for you."
And so He tells the unbelieving people to stay behind. He brings with Him, Peter, James and John. He arrests the growing doubt of the father, comes to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and He sees a tumult. Evidently it was some distance, and in the time when the girl died to the time when Jesus died, they had already brought the hired mourners who are making a pitiful wailing sound. I have heard some of the mourning and music of the east. He gets there and they're already deep into all of the trappings of death. They probably have the servants that are ready to embalm her body, and Jesus gets there just before that procedure. They wept and wailed loudly.
Mark5:39cf. And when He came in, He said to them, "Why make all this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping."
And they laughed Him to scorn. In other words, these hired mourners are thinking, "You're out of your mind. We know she's dead. We've seen her body. She's blue, she' cold. She's not breathing." And she was dead.
It's interesting that Jesus often referred to death as a sleep. And yet, other people in other churches doubt that.
And He put them all out. Why did He put them out? They didn't believe. He took the father and mother, who were desperate to believe, and those who were with them (meaning Peter, James and John) and entered where the child was lying. How many is that? Peter ames and John, 3; Jesus, 4; father and mother, 5,6, and the girl. There were seven. And when He went in, He sent everybody else out.
And He went in where the child was lying and He took the child by the hand and said to her, "Talitha, cumi," which is translated, "Little girl, I say to you, arise."
Immediately the little girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age.
Now we have two examples of faith involved here. The first is about a person being healed because she had faith, she believed that if she could just touch Jesus in any way, she would be healed. And she was. By her faith in Jesus, she was healed.
The other is entirely different. It wasn't the sick person who asked for Jesus' healing power, but her father is the one that had the faith. The little girl couldn't have shown any faith, she was asleep, dead. She couldn't show any faith at all. She was dead.
Jairus was one of the rulers of the synagogue. He was probably a Rabbi, one of the learned men of the synagogue. When he met Jesus by the sea, he had faith that Jesus would be able to heal his daughter, but she wasn't with him. She was home, sick in bed. But now, the servants had told him that his daughter was no longer alive, but dead. "Why trouble the Teacher any further?
But Jesus told him, "Do not be afraid; only believe." You had faith, hold onto that. And so they continued toward Jairus' home.
What could have gone on in Jairus' mind? Is there really hope that my daughter can be restored to health? Can Jesus really do this for me? And he stayed close to Jesus, this man who had no reason to hope for his daughter.
When they got to the house, the mourning processes wer already underway. The hired mourners were hard at it, and Jesus said to them, "Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping." Jairus must have had some hope, some faith when Jesus said that. And when the little girl arose and walked, the parents were overcome with great amazement. Their faith had made their daughter whole
And Jesus asked that they not tell anybody what had happened. He had already told the people outside that the girl was asleep. But the parents knew. And so did Peter, James and John.
Faith. We have so many examples of faith rewarded in the gospels. Today, do we have that kind of faith, Can we, in our busy rushed lives, believe, trust and have faith in our Savior like these did? May the lord help each of to daily depend on Jesus.
I think Jesus is coming soon. And the world needs to hear. And the church desperately needs to know what it means to be real Christians, to have the faith and the feeling, and to be filled with that new life, to be reaching out in faith and touching Christ's robe and have His righteousness, and to be feeding on the Word.
God bless you all
Lawrence & julie
Mar 5:25 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,
Mar 5:26 And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,
Mar 5:27 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.
Mar 5:28 For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.
Mar 5:29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in [her] body that she was healed of that plague.
Mar 5:30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?
Mar 5:31 And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
Mar 5:32 And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.
Mar 5:33 But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.
Mar 5:34 And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.
meditation
Mark 5:27 after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak.
Mark 5:29 Immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.
It's good to see each of you here, and thank you so much for coming. One of the main reasons that we're in the area, as many of you may know, beginning next Friday evening Amazing Facts will be conducting a revival with 3-Angels Broadcasting at the Chattanooga Convention Center. We're hoping that those of you who are able will come and support these meetings that will be broadcast live around the country and the world.
Let me give you a little background. We're planning on doing another net program. I hesitate saying the because we're in the midst of one now. I know that it's concluding soon. In March of 2005, Amazing Facts. Is going to doing the Net-2005 meeting. The title for it is: The Prophecy Code. It's going to be the final events of Bible Prophecy. We haven't said much about that, but we've been planning with the leaders of the church for some time, and as we discuss this and have talked to different people at camp meetings, one of the common things I hear everyone say is, "Almost as much as an evangelistic meeting or another net program, we really need revival in the church." So much that we do is focused on outreach, and of course your messages are tailored a little differently when you are trying to reach a secular world tahn when you're speaking to the church. But there really is a desperate need in the church. The world is not without an effect on our spiritual relationship with Jesus. I'm a pastor. I'm exposed to a lot of the struggles that are represented in the families of our people, and I travel all over the world. As a matter of fact, in the last month I've been on the other side of the world and back. Praying preaching, talking to our church family. And there is an urgent need for revival.
I remember reading in the Spirit of Prophecy where a promise or prediction is made that prior to the Second Coming that there will be a revival among God's people, a primitive Godliness. And there will also be a counterfeit. And I think we're seeing some of that.
I want you to know that I don't think, I'm not presumptuous to think that Amazing Facts and 3-ABN could schedule when a revival is going to happen. That's God's business, that's the Holy Spirit. But I do believe the Bible tells us that we can choose to pick a time to pray. In 2 Chronicles 7:14, that familiar verse, Solomon was dedicating the temple and he said, "If My people, who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray Se we can choose to do that. and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." And that's all we're doing friends. We're going to pick a time when we can come together to humble ourselves, to seek His face, confess our sins and ask for revival. I believe if we do that, that God will answer His part. He says that if you do this, I'll do this. And so, that's what this is all about.
I don't know if you have ever longed for that first love experience. I'd surmise that there are people in the church that have never felt that they've been converted. And this is an opportunity for them. So, if you're in the area, then you can come to the convention center. I hope you do. Be praying for these meetings. Also pray for the net program that will begin next March.
How many of you participated in the Net 99 or Millennium of Prophecy? Or you've seen them on TV? Will you give me another chance? Pray for that series. Please pray for these meetings and I hope that you'll come.
It's hard for me to preach the same sermon back to back. I've never done very well at that because I just heard that one just a few minutes ago. [We have two church services and normally the preacher preaches the same sermon for both services.] Whenever I preach, I usually preach to myself. So, I want to make sure I'm excited, or you won't be. During the special music I turned to this passage and felt impressed to talk about it.
Turn with me in your Bibles to Mark 5. I'd like to talk about touching Jesus. Touching Jesus. Mark 5:25 tells this poignant story about a certain woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years. And she suffered many things from many physicians, and she had but wasn't any better, but rather grew worse. Now, I just came back from a medical convention in Gatlinburg. I notice that when Luke tells this story that he leaves the part about the physicians out.
But this woman had a very embarrassing malady that not only spent her strength, it drained her resources, And according to the laws in the Bible, it rendered her unclean. She was not allowed to go to the temple to worship. She may have been a woman of means. It seems to indicate she had no family. You can understand having this kind of a prolonged illness could a problem. She suffered many things from many physicians. She had gone to men and they may have been sincere, very good physicians, but they weren't able to help her. They may have recommended a variety of treatments; some could have been painful, others humiliating, and she spent a lot of money on the treatments.
I have a friend that took her car to the mechanic to find out why it stopped running. After doing an investigation, he called and he said, "It ran out of gas, but I'm going to have to charge you fifty dollars for being stupid." Even some physicians will say, "I'll do the best I can, and even if it doesn't heal you, you still get the bill."
She suffered much. And she spent all. And she didn't get better, but she got worse. Twelve years of being drained is what this amounts to.
But she heard about Jesus. Everything starts to change. She heard a word about Jesus. Somewhere, somebody was talking about Jesus and she heard. Maybe she heard about one of His miracles or one of His parables, but her heart was stirred. She heard that everybody that came to Jesus was healed. You know that the good news in the Bible is that nobody ever came to Jesus and the problem was turned away. I can't find an account of it. There are a few who turned away from Jesus, but didn't turn anybody away. Even the thief on the cross, when Jesus' hands were nailed to the tree, they couldn't keep Him from saving. That's good news. We forget that.
She heard about Jesus and something inside sparked and she thought, "If I could go to Him, If I could talk to Him and explain my problems." Maybe she was hoping for a private audience because, you know, people could come and maybe confess that they had leprosy and some people's problems were obvious. Even Bartimaeus: Jesus said, "What do you need?" "Lord, I'm blind." But he had to ask what he wanted. This woman didn't want to discuss it, but she thought, "If I could go to Him I believe He could help me."
She heard about Jesus. Someone was talking about Him. And evidently the Lord was passing by. Now, in order to get the whole picture, you have to back up to Mark 5:21-23. After Jesus has this experience where He cast the demons out of the Demoniac and he comes across the lake, the first thing that happens is the contingent meets Him. And it says there is a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him. This was while He was by the sea. Behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And he fell at His feet and begged Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, that she might be healed, and she will live."
Again He's on His way. So, Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.
Now, you see what's going on. The Lord is on His way somewhere when all of a sudden we hear about this woman. He's going from point A to point B, but something happens in between. He's on His way to touch a little girl that is dying. And this woman who had heard about Jesus finds out that he is going by. But twice it's mentioned: "a great multitude and they thronged Him." Now I want you to picture this. It's after Jesus multiplied the bread, and He has performed a number of miracles, and the crowds are gathering. This is the zenith of His ministry. And as He is going up the street, His twelve disciples probably have little earpieces in their ears and black sunglasses and they look like CIA as the President is shaking hands. They're trying to serve as bodyguards, but they can't help Him because it's something like what happens at one of these soccer stadium stampedes where the wave of people behind just press in and squash you on every side. Do you have the picture? The word used is "thronged." The great multitude pressed. What that tells me is Jesus was touching a whole lot of people that day. But that's not recorded because it was a different kind of touch.
She heard about Jesus. She came behind Him in the crowd. Not even where He could see her. The crowd gets in the way. How many times have you heard someone say, "I would be a Christian, but so-and-so did this to me." You visit people. When you're past, they stop going to church. You wonder why. Do you know what the number one answer is? It sounds like the words to a country song: "someone dun me wrong." And it's not the people in the world: they are usually offended or hurt by somebody in the church. This sermon isn't going to stop that from happening. I'm just hoping that those who are looking for somebody as an excuse to stop going to church, the devil will make sure they find the excuse because he's always got his agents mixed up among the sheep. For those of you who are sincere, pray to God that you will not be an obstacle, that you are not part of that crowd that gets in the way.
She wanted to see Jesus. Maybe she wanted Jesus to reach out and touch her, but there wasn't even time for that. As she saw that he was getting away, in her desperation she had reached the bottom. She had been humiliated. She had been in pain. She was bankrupt. She was exhausted of of all human hope.
She lunged through the crowd between this cage of legs she may have seen, probably being trampled and she just managed to get a fleeting grip on the hem of His garment. But that robe of Christ has great power. And you know, the good news is that the same power the robe had back then, it has today. And the same way she got a hold of the robe, you can get a hold of it today. It wasn't the linen or cotton fabric, it's a symbol of His righteousness that she got hold of.
The amazing thing is that she reaches out and says within herself: . . .she touched His garment: for she said, "If I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well." Mark 5:27,28. Does that sound like doubt or faith? She reached out and she touched Him in faith.
You know, many people were healed by the touch of Jesus. Usually He touched them. Here in this case, she touched Him.
You know, I'm troubled sometimes you read stories in the Bible where they would take a handkerchief from Paul or Peter and they would bring it to people, or other would stand in the street and hope that the shadow of one of the apostles would pass over them and they were healed. Before I became a Seventh-day Adventist I went to charismatic churches and I would meet people who were absolutely sincere because the would say, "I went to this service, I was sick, I prayed, and god healed me." How can you tell me there's something wrong with their theology? God healed me in that church.
I sat down a few weeks ago with a former Seventh-day Adventist minister. We had a nice lunch together. I didn't say anything to challenge his beliefs, but he offered it. He said, "Well I know what the Seventh-day Adventist church teaches. I used to be a pastor, but my mother was gravely ill, and she went to a charismatic service and she was healed. I just wanted to go to a church that had that power. I thought, how sad, because friends, Jesus never said "It's My faith that makes you whole," He said, "It's your faith that makes you whole." There are people who went to Jimmy Bakker and Jimmy Swaggert's churches and God healed them there because of their faith in God and it had nothing to do with the preacher, it didn't even have anything to do with their theology. Jesus healed people. He said, "Your faith has med you whole."
So, when people come to the Lord and are healed, we try to ricochet the credits somewhere else and we get all mixed up. God can heal you wherever you are. He can talk through a donkey; that doesn't endorse the truth. God can do anything He wants.
This woman reached out in faith and she was healed. Matter of fact, often Jesus, when He healed people, He would clarify that; He'd say, "Go in peace, your faith has made you whole. She reached out I faith. This gets very interesting. And immediately. . . Mark 5:28,29. ". . .If I might touch His clothes, I will be made well." Immediately the fountain of her blood stanched, dried up and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction..
First of all, in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and I'm not trying to be critical, we are a very cerebral church. We think it is an information-based message, and that's good. That's where it should start. There are other churches that are very kinesthetic, touchy-feely churches. I'm a more cerebral person. When I first began to pastor Sacramento Central we had a lot of huggy- touchy people there. They always wanted to hug the pastor at the door and they could feel me just stiffen up. I'm just not a touchy-feely person. I'm working on it. For a while they had a hu- Doug campaign when I first got to that church. I went to charismatic churches and one of the things that attracted me before I became a Seventh-day Adventist was they were all so touchy- feely-huggie emotion. Everything was feeling, felling feeling.
We sometimes think because we believe it's important to have faith, and faith must be based on logic and understanding, and we forget that feeling is not all a bad thing. But getting them mixed up is where we get into trouble. She had faith first, then she had feeling. And if you believe that God forgives your sins, you will start feeling better. You'll have joy. But you need to have faith first. And because she touched in faith, she felt differently.
Are you going to tell me that when Naaman came out of the water afet having leprosy, an advanced case, and his skin is restored to the skin of a little baby he didn't feel something? Maybe he was missing digits and they started to pop back into place. Don't you think he felt that? Of course he felt something. People that Jesus healed, they felt something. But they came with faith first.
Immediately her blood was dried up and she felt in her body that she was healed. And Jesus immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My clothes?"
And the disciples looked at Him indignantly like He's been out in the sun too long. Mark 5:31. But His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?' They probably thought He had low blood sugar, He's been ministering too long, He needs a break. Can you picture that? Just getting pushed and squashed on every side so He's almost lifted right off the ground, and then He says, "Who touched Me?" It must have sounded like a mad thing to say. Thousands were touching Him. And they got no benefit. You know why? It was a different kind of touch.
When I was dating my wife, I had been a bachelor before. But I was doing evangelistic meetings. And you shake a lot of hands and touch a lot of people. I remember when Karen, when I first started dating her we were driving somewhere and we must have gotten to the place in our relationship where she felt casual enough to put her hand behind my neck and to just tickle my neck. I almost ran off the road. It was a different kind of touch. It was a touch of love and affection and it was different.
You know, a lot of people like the crowd that day touch Jesus, they go to church, they are very close, and they leave, and they don't know they touched Him because they don't reach out in faith. And the person right next to you can have their life transformed and you won't feel anything.
The Bible says the Holy Spirit left Samson and he didn't even know it. Sometimes we're oblivious to what God is doing all around us. Jesus knew. She had reached out differently. "Who touched Me?"
But the disciples said, "What are you seeing?" He ignored them and looked around to see who had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling, she thought, "Maybe I've taken some power I was not supposed to have." And so she's not going to run off. Fearing and trembling, "Maybe this thing will be reversed. Maybe I was supposed to get permission first. That would be awful." Can you imagine having the healing taken away? Mark 5:33,34. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.
And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace , and be healed of your affliction." "you've reached out and touched Me in faith. Now I endorse it by saying, 'Be healed. Let it remain. Stay healed.'"
You know, that's one way you often tell the genuine healing of God and some of the temporary healing that might be psychosomatic that people experience in a frenzy, in an evangelistic meeting or one of these healing services. Some people might feel some placebo effect for a while, but it doesn't last. I used to go to these services. People throw away their crutches and throw away their wheel chairs and their glasses and they really do feel better. Check on them three days later.
What she was feeling was not just a feeling, He said, "Be healed." It stayed. Just like when He said, "Let there be light." It stayed. It was creative power. "Be healed of your affliction." His word confirmed what her faith had found.
While He's still speaking, remember he's on His way to the house of Jairus to heal this girl that is very ill. I can picture Jairus is there in the crowd as Jesus stops to have this dialogue with this woman and he's urging Jesus on. "She's unclean anyway. Let's go." He means well, but they're trying to usher Jesus on as yearning for his daughter who is dying. Time is of the essence.
And right then some messengers come. What happened? Why, had He stopped for that woman. Mark 5:35, 36. While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue's house who said, "You daughter is dead.. Why trouble the Teacher any further?" You know, it's no trouble for Jesus, is it. As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not be afraid; only believe." Before Jairus could lose faith, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Don't be afraid. Don't let this destroy your faith. You came to me for help. Don't let their word destroy your faith that I can help."
Sometimes God is planning on answering your prayer, and the devil is trying to destroy your faith and the answer half-way. The evidence will seem like it's hopeless. Don't give up. Only believe. Again, he's saying, "Have faith."
And now He permits noone to follow Him except Peter, James and John. He tells the crowd to stay.
I also think I should jump back to the point after Jesus healed that woman, he could have let her go, but he wanted her to give a testimony. You know, when God had done something great for you, don't slink away. Tell others what God has done for you. When Jesus cast the demons out of that man He said, "You go, tell what great things God has done for you."
And so He tells the unbelieving people to stay behind. He brings with Him, Peter, James and John. He arrests the growing doubt of the father, comes to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and He sees a tumult. Evidently it was some distance, and in the time when the girl died to the time when Jesus died, they had already brought the hired mourners who are making a pitiful wailing sound. I have heard some of the mourning and music of the east. He gets there and they're already deep into all of the trappings of death. They probably have the servants that are ready to embalm her body, and Jesus gets there just before that procedure. They wept and wailed loudly.
Mark5:39cf. And when He came in, He said to them, "Why make all this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping."
And they laughed Him to scorn. In other words, these hired mourners are thinking, "You're out of your mind. We know she's dead. We've seen her body. She's blue, she' cold. She's not breathing." And she was dead.
It's interesting that Jesus often referred to death as a sleep. And yet, other people in other churches doubt that.
And He put them all out. Why did He put them out? They didn't believe. He took the father and mother, who were desperate to believe, and those who were with them (meaning Peter, James and John) and entered where the child was lying. How many is that? Peter ames and John, 3; Jesus, 4; father and mother, 5,6, and the girl. There were seven. And when He went in, He sent everybody else out.
And He went in where the child was lying and He took the child by the hand and said to her, "Talitha, cumi," which is translated, "Little girl, I say to you, arise."
Immediately the little girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age.
Now we have two examples of faith involved here. The first is about a person being healed because she had faith, she believed that if she could just touch Jesus in any way, she would be healed. And she was. By her faith in Jesus, she was healed.
The other is entirely different. It wasn't the sick person who asked for Jesus' healing power, but her father is the one that had the faith. The little girl couldn't have shown any faith, she was asleep, dead. She couldn't show any faith at all. She was dead.
Jairus was one of the rulers of the synagogue. He was probably a Rabbi, one of the learned men of the synagogue. When he met Jesus by the sea, he had faith that Jesus would be able to heal his daughter, but she wasn't with him. She was home, sick in bed. But now, the servants had told him that his daughter was no longer alive, but dead. "Why trouble the Teacher any further?
But Jesus told him, "Do not be afraid; only believe." You had faith, hold onto that. And so they continued toward Jairus' home.
What could have gone on in Jairus' mind? Is there really hope that my daughter can be restored to health? Can Jesus really do this for me? And he stayed close to Jesus, this man who had no reason to hope for his daughter.
When they got to the house, the mourning processes wer already underway. The hired mourners were hard at it, and Jesus said to them, "Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping." Jairus must have had some hope, some faith when Jesus said that. And when the little girl arose and walked, the parents were overcome with great amazement. Their faith had made their daughter whole
And Jesus asked that they not tell anybody what had happened. He had already told the people outside that the girl was asleep. But the parents knew. And so did Peter, James and John.
Faith. We have so many examples of faith rewarded in the gospels. Today, do we have that kind of faith, Can we, in our busy rushed lives, believe, trust and have faith in our Savior like these did? May the lord help each of to daily depend on Jesus.
I think Jesus is coming soon. And the world needs to hear. And the church desperately needs to know what it means to be real Christians, to have the faith and the feeling, and to be filled with that new life, to be reaching out in faith and touching Christ's robe and have His righteousness, and to be feeding on the Word.
God bless you all
Lawrence & julie
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Saturday, June 21, 2008
“Where is your faith?”
Jesus Stills the Sea
22 Now on one of those days Jesus and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they launched out. 23 But as they were sailing along He fell asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended on the lake, and they began to be swamped and to be in danger. 24 They came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm. 25 And He said to them, “Where is your faith?” They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?”
Growing faith
Most humans have within them a desire to achieve, to succeed. Ted Turner certainly is an excellent example of someone driven to achieve, to succeed. His story is pretty incredible on the human level of achievement. He had some ideas about news broadcasting. He took those ideas, placed them at work in the marketplace and in a few short years had the most successful news organization on the face of the entire planet.
We've all seen folks who have undertaken some monumental task in life and managed, against all odds, to achieve a successful resolution or has risen from some insignificant level of impact on others to a level that impacts hundreds or thousands of lives. And when we've seen or heard these stories, we've said (to ourselves), "Wish I could do that." Or, "I could never do that...but I wish I could."
I don't know of a single person who calls him or herself a Christian who doesn't want greater faith. In a room of ten thousand Christians, I believe that if you asked every Christian there who wants to increase his or her faith to raise a hand, there would be ten thousand hands raised. Who wouldn't want greater faith?
The really sad thing is that out of those ten thousand Christians, probably not a dozen will actually see their faith grow significantly. Most will live stunted lives, faith small, works minuscule and goals lofty. I say "goals lofty" because most of us have lofty goals. We all want to be achievers. We all want to do great things. Every Christian wants to be a great man or woman of faith. But few will make it.
If you follow along, I can show you how you can build your faith, how you can become a Christian man or woman of faith. (Notice I did not say "to become a great Christian.")
It is a simple matter in one respect, but I must tell you also that it is a thing that is hid to most. Indeed, I fully recognize that many will read this and will not discern the truths given here, will not comprehend spiritually, though they may nod assent intellectually. Spiritual truths are for those who are spiritual. God opens eyes as He will and reveals to each of us as He chooses. I know that some of you reading this will "see" some truths you've not seen before. Some of you will understand what you read.
But some of you will, though you agree with every truth given, really not understand it. You will not have that sudden insight, that flicker of comprehension that comes from deep within and which grasps your mind and heart and soul suddenly and will not release you. You won't have that experience.
You won't have that experience for a variety of reasons: (1) You are not a spiritual person; and/or (2) You aren't hungry for God, for His ways and His leading. To you, I can only say this: If you would be a man or woman of faith, you must first come to know the Giver of faith.
You must come to that point in your life when you accept and believe the following: that the sacrificial blood offerings of animals for sin which was practiced by the Hebrew religion for thousands of years and which was mandated by God, culminated in a sacrificial blood offering of a man, a perfect man, a Hebrew man, offered up for the sins of all mankind, once and for all and for all time. That man, that "lamb of God," was and is Jesus, called the Messiah, the Christ. It is this Messiah to Whom you must now look for faith, for faith unto salvation. It is this Christ to Whom you must turn, from your sin and to holiness, to salvation. As it is written: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9. Not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9.
If you do not cross this "river," you shall never enter the "promised land." And I assure you, this "crossing" is one of faith. It is not an intellectual venture. You do not gain the other side by wisdom, nor knowledge, nor understanding, nor status, nor riches, nor poverty, nor works of great goodness and virtue. It is by faith alone. It is no less a miraculous crossing than was the crossing of the Red Sea by the Israelites. It is a crossing made possible by the finished work of Jesus Christ alone. Nothing else can get you into the kingdom of heaven. Nothing else can gain you the favor of God. Nothing else can make it possible for you to escape the wrath of God, for make no mistake, God is angry every day with the wicked, and will punish those who have rejected Him and have counted as nothing His great sacrifice.
Before I move on to those of you who are professing Christians, let me finish one thing for those of you who may be reading this and who have never crossed that river of faith into the land of salvation. You have, no doubt, heard of the cross, heard of Jesus Christ, and have heard the story of the execution of Jesus Christ on that cross. But I doubt you have really heard the true story. I doubt most of you have considered it from a perspective that is somewhat unearthly. You've looked at it from a human perspective. And I cannot blame you, for many if not most Christians look on the cross and the work done there from a human perspective, never quite comprehending the magnitude of that event. The Jew has yet to begin to comprehend it.
Here is just a sliver of a different perspective for you.
Consider this story. A man, a good man who had a family, came to another country. Once there, he settled in and began to work. Among other things he did, this man made repairs to some of the many dikes in the land. You see, this was a land surrounded by water and which required much upkeep and maintenance of those dikes. This good man worked doing the repairs for some years and one day, he noticed a particular dike in which the foundation was crumbling. He immediately brought it to the attention some of the others in the dike repair business. It was his considered opinion that unless another dike were built behind this one, that one day the present dike would completely collapse and many would perish. He also noted that the location of the dike was built upon a shale ledge that was eroding. It should have been built further inland on more stable ground.
Soon, his story came to the attention of leaders of the maintenance of the dikes. They looked at it and discussed it amongst themselves. But they could not agree. Some said the good man might be right, others were not sure. They discussed the costs. And then they discussed the fact that the people would be greatly upset if they were taxed for such a large undertaking when there had been, for many long years now, such a lauding of the current dike and its workmanship. Indeed, some of the builders and architects of the current dike were now leaders.
Soon they decided that this man's talk had to be stopped. They could not afford to admit that they'd been wrong in building the current dike in the wrong place. So they began a campaign against him, to destroy his credibility. Soon whispers began about the man. They spoke in quiet tones of bad things he did on the job. Stories were circulated around that his work was shoddy. They told other stories about him and his family. One story was told about how he cheated on his wife. Another story told of his having to leave this other country because he murdered a man. None of these stories were true. And then a story came out that was too devastating, too venomous, too heinous to simply ignore. A woman came forward and said that this man had attacked her child in a brutal fashion and had slain the child, hiding the child in a large repair near one of the dikes where the good man had worked previously, though he said he'd never made any repairs in that region and others who'd oft worked with him, agreed he had not worked there. But by now, no one was willing to listen for the truth. There were not interested in the truth.
A group of folk came to the repair and began digging. Soon, they uncovered bones and some clothing. They dug out the remains of what appeared to be a child.
The man was found guilty and sentenced to die. After the trial, the man's wife came to him and spat in his face, telling him many terrible things that broke his heart. The man's father came to him and in a ritual peculiar to his heritage, slapped his son across the face twice, spoke loudly the word: "Disowned!" turned his back on the son and marched off, ignoring the son's pleas and tearful cries.
The man was hanged in a public square.
And in the third year, the dike burst and the entire valley was submerged in deep, dark waters and virtually everyone perished, save those who'd believed the story of the good man and had moved from the valley.
Think just a moment with me. The man endured criticism. He endured loss of reputation. He was falsely accused of doing things that were beyond his character, beyond his nature. The heartache was certainly great. But this was nothing compared to his own wife deserting him. And then, the disowning of his father was a blow that one can only imagine. His own father believed the lies about him. His own father believed he was all those things. How could this be? Do you not think that this man went to the gallows with a heart broken, and with his mind careening with pain and anguish? Death was surely welcomed by this man.
This is the story of Jesus.
You see, when man rebelled and ignored the commands of God, because of that sin, the righteousness of God demanded a sacrifice, a blood sacrifice, for sin. It was decreed from the beginning, from the days of Adam, that a blood sacrifice was required for sin. But the blood of goats and calves was not sufficient. These sacrifices were but a prelude, a teacher to educate mankind, particularly the Jew, of the need for a blood sacrifice. And every Jew knew that God demanded always, from them, their best. God wanted a lamb without blemish, not the spotted ones, not the ones with disease, not the halt or the lame. God wanted a perfect lamb. He was establishing a pattern for the sacrifice to come. His message to the Jew was: In order to satisfy my perfect demand for justice, you must offer me perfection.
And so it was, that God had to come Himself, down to earth, to be that perfect Lamb, to be that perfect sacrifice. God became human. Jesus became that lamb of God without spot or blemish.
But wait. Do you understand that when Jesus hung on the cross, Jesus became, in the eyes of God, guilty of every sin of every man, and that these sins were laid on Jesus Christ, by God. He became the blood offering. He became sin, as it is written:"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." - 2 Corinthians 5:21.
Can you imagine the pain, the anguish, the torment and the terror that must have entered into the heart and mind of Jesus at this? He comprehended it, for in the prelude prior to the cross, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed the following, strange, but poignant words: "And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." -Matt. 26:39. And then again, for the second time, Jesus, in great anguish of soul, prays once more: "He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done." -Matt 26:42
Do you think that Jesus was shrinking from the physical agony he was about to face? Hardly. Oh, that is not to say he was not apprehensive about it. The flesh would naturally shrink from being tortured. But many, many men and women have approached death as bad and even worse than the physical death confronting Jesus and walked to it unafraid, bold, their head held high. One need only read of the saints in Foxe's Book of Christian Martyrs to know this. So Jesus was not shrinking from the physical pain and suffering. He was shrinking from the agony of becoming sin in the eyes of His Father.
Jesus Christ became sin in the eyes of God. Listen to the words of Jesus when God, who cannot look upon sin, turned His back on His Son. Hear the cry of Jesus on this event: "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" -Matt 27:46
This was the great pain, the great anguish. It is the cry of an innocent man who has been accused of the most horrible crimes imaginable and the accusations were taken as true by his own father. God the Father accepted Jesus as becoming guilty of all those crimes, of all those sins. God the Father accepted the Lamb without blemish. And in that instant of time, several monumental events occurred. First of all, God the Father turned away from Jesus, called the Christ. And Jesus cried out in agony because of it. But it was necessary for a blood sacrifice, a perfect "lamb" be offered.
The Jewish Bible predicted this event with stunning accuracy. Listen and realize this was written hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus:
(Book of Isaiah 53) "Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? {2} For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. {3} He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. {4} Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. {5} But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. {6} All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. {7} He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. {8} He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. {9} And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. {10} Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. {11} He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. {12} Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."
Listen to what the scriptures say in the Book of Hebrews, chapter 9 & 10:
7 But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:
8 The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:
9 Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;
10 Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.
11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
16 For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
17 For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.
18 Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood.
19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,
20 Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.
21 Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.
22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
CHAPTER 10
1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.
3 But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.
4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;
9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.
10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
--Hebrews 9:7-28 & 10:1-14
So I say to you who read this missive and who are without faith: This is the first step. For some of you it will be a stumbling block, as it is written: "Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. 7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, 8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed." --1 Peter 2:6-8.
But if you do not take the first step, if you don't accept Jesus Christ as the Messiah, as the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world, then you cannot grow your faith.
You've stumbled.
GROWING FAITH FOR THE CHRISTIAN
IT IS A PROCESS
Faith for the Christian is a process. There are no "magic bullets" wherein suddenly you become this giant of faith. As a tender plant grows in the ground and matures, and eventually bears fruit, even so the Christian begins his or her new life with a measure of faith that may, at times, be extraordinary, nevertheless, it is not a mature, steady and resolute faith. Such faith does not come in a night.
Moses had the faith of a giant. But, not in the beginning. At the first, even though he saw the evidence of God in the burning bush, even though Moses heard the voice of God, and even though Moses saw miracles at the hand of God, Moses did not trust that God could be with his mouth. He wanted someone else to do the talking. As he said to God: "And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. {11} And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? {12} Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say. {13} And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send. {14} And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart. {15} And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do." Exodus 4:10-15.
Moses didn't comprehend at that time, that God was ALL powerful, even able to overcome his slowness of tongue. Moses did not understand that all of his accomplishments depended upon God, not Moses, nor Moses' ability to speak well. Moses didn't have enough faith that God was able to overcome his weakness.
And some of us are the same. We don't have faith enough in God to believe He can overcome our weakness and use us in spite of ourselves, in spite of our weaknesses.
FAITH GROWING IS A SPIRITUAL PROCESS
The Bible says faith "cometh by hearing and hearing, by the Word of God." -Romans 10:17.
This means that one must be able to "hear" before they can have faith. Hear what? The Word of God. It is the Word of God that enables one to "hear" spiritually, and it is the hearing of the Word of God that brings faith. Thus, a new Christian is a fool if he or she does not immerse him or herself in the Bible. The Bible is food for the Christian. It is food that will cause one to grow in grace, in faith and will cause one to understand the things of God. You see, the more you learn about God and about how He operates, the more you learn of the principles of God, then the greater will be your faith. So the Word of God is an absolute starting point.
Look at it logically for a moment: (1) One must first be able to "hear" before one gets faith; and (2) One cannot "hear" except by the Word of God; and (3) only after one "hears" the Word of God, does one get faith; and (4) in conclusion, if one does not listen to the Word of God, does not read it, does not receive it, one will not have faith. It's that simple.
FAITH GROWN BY EXPERIENCING ADVERSITY
But faith, once begun, can be grown in a number of ways. Faith can come with adversity. Peter talked about a "trial of faith" wherein one is made stronger by the test, the trial of one's faith. The Bible teaches that we must endure tribulations and troubles with patience, and that our faith must remain sure and strong. One of my favorite stories is about the three Hebrew children who faced a white hot fire that was so terribly hot that the heat it radiated killed the guards who threw them into the furnace. But, I love what they told the king just before they were thrown into the furnace. " Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." --Daniel 3:16-18
You see, these three young men knew they were in the hands of THE KING and not the king. They knew who had the REAL power. And they were not confident that God would deliver them from death in the furnace. They were confident that God would do whatever God wanted to do, and the furnace was no big deal to God. In other words, their faith went something like this: We belong to God. We are his children. He has all power. He knows about our plight. He hears prayer. He has heard our prayers. We cannot betray God. If we must exit this life, then that is the will of God, and that is a good thing. We are therefore happy to surrender to the will of God in this matter.
It is not a fatalistic view of life. It is an acknowledgment of Who is really in charge of one's life. If God is in charge, then we can rest comfortably that God will do with our lives as He will. Our bodies belong to God. As it is written: "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's". --1 Corinthians 6:19-20.
FAITH GROWS BY KNOWLEDGE and UNDERSTANDING
There once was a farmer who lived in a valley and who came upon a little book. In that book, he discovered a very interesting piece of information. The writing said: "When you hear the scream of the wind coming through the split rocks in the pass reach a level where you can hear the sound even with your door shut, then know that terrible hail will soon follow. You must put your lifestock in shelter and your goods and your family."
Soon after, he heard the winds and did as the little book had instructed. In the valley, most of the animals perished on the other farms. This farmer has saved his animals and managed to save some of his crops by erecting huge sheets propped up to deflect the hail. All were amazed that he'd been able to do this. He told them of the little book. Thereafter, all in the valley paid heed to the instructions that had been written a hundred years before by someone who had learned the secret of the screaming wind.
If you come to understand certain things about God, and the way He works, and of some of His attributes, then your faith will grow. For example, if you come to understand about the faithfulness of God, you will begin to rely on that faithfulness. Your faith has grown by knowledge of one of God's attributes: faithfulness.
If you understand that God cannot lie, this also will be a piece of knowledge that will grow your faith because you will read the Word of God differently. You will read His promises with the knowledge that God is not just faithful, but if He made a promise, He is unable to break that promise. He cannot lie.
There are many, many other important pieces of knowledge that can only be found in the Bible. This is why it is vital to your spiritual growth of faith to read the Word of God. If a Christian does not regularly read and study the Bible, he or she will not grow very much in their faith.
YOU ARE NOT YOUR OWN BUT BOUGHT WITH A PRICE
This is such a foundational piece of knowledge for the Christian. So many Christians do not understand its implications.
Suppose you owned a diamond worth ten millions dollars. What would you do with it? Would you leave it unattended? Would you permit it to be stolen? Would you guard it? Would you take steps to insure that it remained in your possession?
Of course you would.
Why then do we think God would do any different?
Listen to these words again: "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? {20} For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.
So what was that price? What was the payment? "Oh, that was the death of Jesus," you say.
Well, simply put, yes, but it was far more than that. Far more.
"Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; {19} But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:" 1 Peter 1:18-19.
Think about it. A perfect, sinless man, in whom there was no blame, was placed on an altar of wood formed into a cross and there offered before the Jews and before God. And God accepted that offering made by Jesus Christ, as the Lamb of God; and thus this perfect being was made to be sin in the eyes of God. Jesus became guilty of the vilest of sins done on the face of the earth. It was this moment from which Jesus shrank when he was in the Garden praying and asked the Father if it were possible, for Him to take this cup from him. Jesus did not want to become sin. It was a thought too extraordinarily heinous to contemplate, to know that in the eyes of God the Father, he would be guilty of sins which he did not commit.
But Jesus knew it had to be so.
And so, Jesus prayed that not his will be done, but God's will be done.
And while on the cross, Jesus, being in great agony of mind and body and spirit, the hour he dreaded came upon him: the hour in which the Father turned away from Jesus because God could not look upon sin."And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Mark 15:34.
Tell me, Christian, are you precious in God's sight?
How precious?
You cannot calculate the value.
If you are so precious then, I return to my earlier query: Would you lose a precious diamond? Would God ever lose one so precious as you? Would you guard a precious diamond? Would God guard someone as valuable as you? Would you take steps and measures to insure that your precious diamond was safe from being stolen? Would God take steps and measures to insure that you are not stolen?
FAITH GROWS BY EXPERIENCE
I used to spend hours at the pool diving when I was a youngster. Eventually, I got to where I was pretty good. My experience in the pool and on the board had grown my confidence in my abilities to do certain things. I knew what I could do. I knew by experience, I could do certain things.
As a Christian, you will know by experience, certain things. You will learn God's deliverance at times. You will by experience come to know God's mercy and God's tenderness. God will also teach you, by experience, His discipline upon you. Thus, your faith will grow as you experience chastening from the Lord.
David spoke of this rather eloquently. Listen to the story when he is explaining to King Saul why he can defeat the giant, Goliath: "And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. {33} And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. {34} And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: {35} And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. {36} Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. {37} David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee." 1 Samuel 17:32-37.
Now, if you got nothing else from that little story, you should have gotten the idea that David had confidence in God. But why? Clearly, from his experiences with God. David knew what it was like to be delivered by God and to be strengthened by God and to be made fearless by God.
And so will you...provided you step out in faith. He that comes to God must come in faith. You can't come with a double mind. You can't come with a faithless heart.
FAITH COMES WITH PRAYER
"Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. {3} Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." James 4:2-3.
If you don't ask, you won't get. And why do you want more faith? Is it to be a "great Christian?" Not likely a prayer God will answer. That's prideful. Is it to do great works for God? Why? Is it to have a reputation? Is it to be known as a great warrior for God? Again, you ask amiss.
Ask to glorify God. Ask that Jesus will be lifted up. Ask that God's purposes in your life and in the lives of others shall be accomplished. Ask to be enabled to walk with God and glorify Him with your life.
"Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established." Proverbs 16:3.
Are you having trouble thinking about how to ask or what to ask? Commit thy works unto the Lord. In other words, commit, commit, commit yourself, your life, your mind, your body, your soul, all that you are, commit to the Lord. As it is written:"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. {2} And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Romans 12:1-2.
MORE FAITH IS SOMETHING YOU CAN ASK FOR
"Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong." 1 Corinthians 16:13.
Be strong how? Physically? Hardly. That verse is talking about faith. Strong faith.
Listen to what Paul said about weakness.
"And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. {8} For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. {9} And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. {10} Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.
Do you comprehend the significance of those verses? Do you understand that Paul is here talking about something in his flesh that actually weakened him? It made him, in his mind, less effective for God. He did not comprehend that God had to weaken his flesh [so the flesh would not get in the way, nor claim the glory]. Once he understood, he became elated that he was weakened. He gloried in it, for he understood that it was because of that weakness that the power of God was upon him and he understood that so long as he was weak, he would be strong {in faith} and in the power of God.
You see, when we can do it ourselves, we are not likely to depend on God. You doubt? Ok, let me ask those of you who have a full refrigerator and a healthy bank account, whether you opened the fridge today and said: "Oh God, please give me something to eat! Oh God, please supply my needs for today. Give me bread today, Lord!" Pray that prayer, did you? No?
I didn't think so.
We are too self sufficient. We have abundance. We don't need God to supply our daily bread so we don't pray that prayer. My point is the same one God made to Paul: Our weakness causes us to be strong, brings us to God in faith, crying out for strength and help from above.
IF STRONGER FAITH IS GOD'S WILL, WHAT PREVENTS US FROM HAVING IT?
The answer is simple: no confidence in God. Or, if we have confidence in God, we lack confidence in ourselves. And that is a bizarre position to take. But, too many Christians take it. They fail to realize that there is only one way they can get to God, and it does not depend upon their righteousness nor their good deeds. One verse in the entire Bible lays the perfect foundation to your entry, your qualification for coming before God.
Listen: "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus," Hebrews 10:19.
Did you get it? You can enter into the holy of holies, right into the presence of God, "by the blood of Jesus." That's it. No other way. Nothing else qualifies. God does not hear you because you're a good man or woman. God does not hear you because of your good deeds. He hears you because God always hears the prayer of the righteous. And you are righteous. Why are you righteous?
"For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. {4} For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." Romans 10:3-4.
You are made righteous by faith in Christ, in His finished work. You are a work of righteousness. And thus, God hears your prayer for it is the blood of Christ that was sprinkled on the altar which cleanseth your soul and makes you acceptable and justified and perfect before God.
So then, if you can come to God, and you can, why should you come?
Well, of course as has already been mentioned, if you don't ask, you don't get. But you should come because you are commanded to come to God:
"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:16.
So what's your need?
More faith? Stronger faith?
Well, hear this:
"And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: {15} And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him." 1 John 5:14-15.
Is it God's will you have a stronger faith? Does God want your faith to grow?
Of course it is God's will that your faith grow!
Then guys ask for it. And ask believing.
God cannot lie.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL
Lawrence & julie
22 Now on one of those days Jesus and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they launched out. 23 But as they were sailing along He fell asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended on the lake, and they began to be swamped and to be in danger. 24 They came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm. 25 And He said to them, “Where is your faith?” They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?”
Growing faith
Most humans have within them a desire to achieve, to succeed. Ted Turner certainly is an excellent example of someone driven to achieve, to succeed. His story is pretty incredible on the human level of achievement. He had some ideas about news broadcasting. He took those ideas, placed them at work in the marketplace and in a few short years had the most successful news organization on the face of the entire planet.
We've all seen folks who have undertaken some monumental task in life and managed, against all odds, to achieve a successful resolution or has risen from some insignificant level of impact on others to a level that impacts hundreds or thousands of lives. And when we've seen or heard these stories, we've said (to ourselves), "Wish I could do that." Or, "I could never do that...but I wish I could."
I don't know of a single person who calls him or herself a Christian who doesn't want greater faith. In a room of ten thousand Christians, I believe that if you asked every Christian there who wants to increase his or her faith to raise a hand, there would be ten thousand hands raised. Who wouldn't want greater faith?
The really sad thing is that out of those ten thousand Christians, probably not a dozen will actually see their faith grow significantly. Most will live stunted lives, faith small, works minuscule and goals lofty. I say "goals lofty" because most of us have lofty goals. We all want to be achievers. We all want to do great things. Every Christian wants to be a great man or woman of faith. But few will make it.
If you follow along, I can show you how you can build your faith, how you can become a Christian man or woman of faith. (Notice I did not say "to become a great Christian.")
It is a simple matter in one respect, but I must tell you also that it is a thing that is hid to most. Indeed, I fully recognize that many will read this and will not discern the truths given here, will not comprehend spiritually, though they may nod assent intellectually. Spiritual truths are for those who are spiritual. God opens eyes as He will and reveals to each of us as He chooses. I know that some of you reading this will "see" some truths you've not seen before. Some of you will understand what you read.
But some of you will, though you agree with every truth given, really not understand it. You will not have that sudden insight, that flicker of comprehension that comes from deep within and which grasps your mind and heart and soul suddenly and will not release you. You won't have that experience.
You won't have that experience for a variety of reasons: (1) You are not a spiritual person; and/or (2) You aren't hungry for God, for His ways and His leading. To you, I can only say this: If you would be a man or woman of faith, you must first come to know the Giver of faith.
You must come to that point in your life when you accept and believe the following: that the sacrificial blood offerings of animals for sin which was practiced by the Hebrew religion for thousands of years and which was mandated by God, culminated in a sacrificial blood offering of a man, a perfect man, a Hebrew man, offered up for the sins of all mankind, once and for all and for all time. That man, that "lamb of God," was and is Jesus, called the Messiah, the Christ. It is this Messiah to Whom you must now look for faith, for faith unto salvation. It is this Christ to Whom you must turn, from your sin and to holiness, to salvation. As it is written: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9. Not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9.
If you do not cross this "river," you shall never enter the "promised land." And I assure you, this "crossing" is one of faith. It is not an intellectual venture. You do not gain the other side by wisdom, nor knowledge, nor understanding, nor status, nor riches, nor poverty, nor works of great goodness and virtue. It is by faith alone. It is no less a miraculous crossing than was the crossing of the Red Sea by the Israelites. It is a crossing made possible by the finished work of Jesus Christ alone. Nothing else can get you into the kingdom of heaven. Nothing else can gain you the favor of God. Nothing else can make it possible for you to escape the wrath of God, for make no mistake, God is angry every day with the wicked, and will punish those who have rejected Him and have counted as nothing His great sacrifice.
Before I move on to those of you who are professing Christians, let me finish one thing for those of you who may be reading this and who have never crossed that river of faith into the land of salvation. You have, no doubt, heard of the cross, heard of Jesus Christ, and have heard the story of the execution of Jesus Christ on that cross. But I doubt you have really heard the true story. I doubt most of you have considered it from a perspective that is somewhat unearthly. You've looked at it from a human perspective. And I cannot blame you, for many if not most Christians look on the cross and the work done there from a human perspective, never quite comprehending the magnitude of that event. The Jew has yet to begin to comprehend it.
Here is just a sliver of a different perspective for you.
Consider this story. A man, a good man who had a family, came to another country. Once there, he settled in and began to work. Among other things he did, this man made repairs to some of the many dikes in the land. You see, this was a land surrounded by water and which required much upkeep and maintenance of those dikes. This good man worked doing the repairs for some years and one day, he noticed a particular dike in which the foundation was crumbling. He immediately brought it to the attention some of the others in the dike repair business. It was his considered opinion that unless another dike were built behind this one, that one day the present dike would completely collapse and many would perish. He also noted that the location of the dike was built upon a shale ledge that was eroding. It should have been built further inland on more stable ground.
Soon, his story came to the attention of leaders of the maintenance of the dikes. They looked at it and discussed it amongst themselves. But they could not agree. Some said the good man might be right, others were not sure. They discussed the costs. And then they discussed the fact that the people would be greatly upset if they were taxed for such a large undertaking when there had been, for many long years now, such a lauding of the current dike and its workmanship. Indeed, some of the builders and architects of the current dike were now leaders.
Soon they decided that this man's talk had to be stopped. They could not afford to admit that they'd been wrong in building the current dike in the wrong place. So they began a campaign against him, to destroy his credibility. Soon whispers began about the man. They spoke in quiet tones of bad things he did on the job. Stories were circulated around that his work was shoddy. They told other stories about him and his family. One story was told about how he cheated on his wife. Another story told of his having to leave this other country because he murdered a man. None of these stories were true. And then a story came out that was too devastating, too venomous, too heinous to simply ignore. A woman came forward and said that this man had attacked her child in a brutal fashion and had slain the child, hiding the child in a large repair near one of the dikes where the good man had worked previously, though he said he'd never made any repairs in that region and others who'd oft worked with him, agreed he had not worked there. But by now, no one was willing to listen for the truth. There were not interested in the truth.
A group of folk came to the repair and began digging. Soon, they uncovered bones and some clothing. They dug out the remains of what appeared to be a child.
The man was found guilty and sentenced to die. After the trial, the man's wife came to him and spat in his face, telling him many terrible things that broke his heart. The man's father came to him and in a ritual peculiar to his heritage, slapped his son across the face twice, spoke loudly the word: "Disowned!" turned his back on the son and marched off, ignoring the son's pleas and tearful cries.
The man was hanged in a public square.
And in the third year, the dike burst and the entire valley was submerged in deep, dark waters and virtually everyone perished, save those who'd believed the story of the good man and had moved from the valley.
Think just a moment with me. The man endured criticism. He endured loss of reputation. He was falsely accused of doing things that were beyond his character, beyond his nature. The heartache was certainly great. But this was nothing compared to his own wife deserting him. And then, the disowning of his father was a blow that one can only imagine. His own father believed the lies about him. His own father believed he was all those things. How could this be? Do you not think that this man went to the gallows with a heart broken, and with his mind careening with pain and anguish? Death was surely welcomed by this man.
This is the story of Jesus.
You see, when man rebelled and ignored the commands of God, because of that sin, the righteousness of God demanded a sacrifice, a blood sacrifice, for sin. It was decreed from the beginning, from the days of Adam, that a blood sacrifice was required for sin. But the blood of goats and calves was not sufficient. These sacrifices were but a prelude, a teacher to educate mankind, particularly the Jew, of the need for a blood sacrifice. And every Jew knew that God demanded always, from them, their best. God wanted a lamb without blemish, not the spotted ones, not the ones with disease, not the halt or the lame. God wanted a perfect lamb. He was establishing a pattern for the sacrifice to come. His message to the Jew was: In order to satisfy my perfect demand for justice, you must offer me perfection.
And so it was, that God had to come Himself, down to earth, to be that perfect Lamb, to be that perfect sacrifice. God became human. Jesus became that lamb of God without spot or blemish.
But wait. Do you understand that when Jesus hung on the cross, Jesus became, in the eyes of God, guilty of every sin of every man, and that these sins were laid on Jesus Christ, by God. He became the blood offering. He became sin, as it is written:"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." - 2 Corinthians 5:21.
Can you imagine the pain, the anguish, the torment and the terror that must have entered into the heart and mind of Jesus at this? He comprehended it, for in the prelude prior to the cross, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed the following, strange, but poignant words: "And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." -Matt. 26:39. And then again, for the second time, Jesus, in great anguish of soul, prays once more: "He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done." -Matt 26:42
Do you think that Jesus was shrinking from the physical agony he was about to face? Hardly. Oh, that is not to say he was not apprehensive about it. The flesh would naturally shrink from being tortured. But many, many men and women have approached death as bad and even worse than the physical death confronting Jesus and walked to it unafraid, bold, their head held high. One need only read of the saints in Foxe's Book of Christian Martyrs to know this. So Jesus was not shrinking from the physical pain and suffering. He was shrinking from the agony of becoming sin in the eyes of His Father.
Jesus Christ became sin in the eyes of God. Listen to the words of Jesus when God, who cannot look upon sin, turned His back on His Son. Hear the cry of Jesus on this event: "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" -Matt 27:46
This was the great pain, the great anguish. It is the cry of an innocent man who has been accused of the most horrible crimes imaginable and the accusations were taken as true by his own father. God the Father accepted Jesus as becoming guilty of all those crimes, of all those sins. God the Father accepted the Lamb without blemish. And in that instant of time, several monumental events occurred. First of all, God the Father turned away from Jesus, called the Christ. And Jesus cried out in agony because of it. But it was necessary for a blood sacrifice, a perfect "lamb" be offered.
The Jewish Bible predicted this event with stunning accuracy. Listen and realize this was written hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus:
(Book of Isaiah 53) "Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? {2} For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. {3} He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. {4} Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. {5} But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. {6} All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. {7} He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. {8} He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. {9} And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. {10} Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. {11} He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. {12} Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."
Listen to what the scriptures say in the Book of Hebrews, chapter 9 & 10:
7 But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:
8 The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:
9 Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;
10 Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.
11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
16 For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
17 For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.
18 Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood.
19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,
20 Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.
21 Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.
22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
CHAPTER 10
1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.
3 But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.
4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;
9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.
10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
--Hebrews 9:7-28 & 10:1-14
So I say to you who read this missive and who are without faith: This is the first step. For some of you it will be a stumbling block, as it is written: "Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. 7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, 8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed." --1 Peter 2:6-8.
But if you do not take the first step, if you don't accept Jesus Christ as the Messiah, as the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world, then you cannot grow your faith.
You've stumbled.
GROWING FAITH FOR THE CHRISTIAN
IT IS A PROCESS
Faith for the Christian is a process. There are no "magic bullets" wherein suddenly you become this giant of faith. As a tender plant grows in the ground and matures, and eventually bears fruit, even so the Christian begins his or her new life with a measure of faith that may, at times, be extraordinary, nevertheless, it is not a mature, steady and resolute faith. Such faith does not come in a night.
Moses had the faith of a giant. But, not in the beginning. At the first, even though he saw the evidence of God in the burning bush, even though Moses heard the voice of God, and even though Moses saw miracles at the hand of God, Moses did not trust that God could be with his mouth. He wanted someone else to do the talking. As he said to God: "And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. {11} And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? {12} Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say. {13} And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send. {14} And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart. {15} And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do." Exodus 4:10-15.
Moses didn't comprehend at that time, that God was ALL powerful, even able to overcome his slowness of tongue. Moses did not understand that all of his accomplishments depended upon God, not Moses, nor Moses' ability to speak well. Moses didn't have enough faith that God was able to overcome his weakness.
And some of us are the same. We don't have faith enough in God to believe He can overcome our weakness and use us in spite of ourselves, in spite of our weaknesses.
FAITH GROWING IS A SPIRITUAL PROCESS
The Bible says faith "cometh by hearing and hearing, by the Word of God." -Romans 10:17.
This means that one must be able to "hear" before they can have faith. Hear what? The Word of God. It is the Word of God that enables one to "hear" spiritually, and it is the hearing of the Word of God that brings faith. Thus, a new Christian is a fool if he or she does not immerse him or herself in the Bible. The Bible is food for the Christian. It is food that will cause one to grow in grace, in faith and will cause one to understand the things of God. You see, the more you learn about God and about how He operates, the more you learn of the principles of God, then the greater will be your faith. So the Word of God is an absolute starting point.
Look at it logically for a moment: (1) One must first be able to "hear" before one gets faith; and (2) One cannot "hear" except by the Word of God; and (3) only after one "hears" the Word of God, does one get faith; and (4) in conclusion, if one does not listen to the Word of God, does not read it, does not receive it, one will not have faith. It's that simple.
FAITH GROWN BY EXPERIENCING ADVERSITY
But faith, once begun, can be grown in a number of ways. Faith can come with adversity. Peter talked about a "trial of faith" wherein one is made stronger by the test, the trial of one's faith. The Bible teaches that we must endure tribulations and troubles with patience, and that our faith must remain sure and strong. One of my favorite stories is about the three Hebrew children who faced a white hot fire that was so terribly hot that the heat it radiated killed the guards who threw them into the furnace. But, I love what they told the king just before they were thrown into the furnace. " Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." --Daniel 3:16-18
You see, these three young men knew they were in the hands of THE KING and not the king. They knew who had the REAL power. And they were not confident that God would deliver them from death in the furnace. They were confident that God would do whatever God wanted to do, and the furnace was no big deal to God. In other words, their faith went something like this: We belong to God. We are his children. He has all power. He knows about our plight. He hears prayer. He has heard our prayers. We cannot betray God. If we must exit this life, then that is the will of God, and that is a good thing. We are therefore happy to surrender to the will of God in this matter.
It is not a fatalistic view of life. It is an acknowledgment of Who is really in charge of one's life. If God is in charge, then we can rest comfortably that God will do with our lives as He will. Our bodies belong to God. As it is written: "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's". --1 Corinthians 6:19-20.
FAITH GROWS BY KNOWLEDGE and UNDERSTANDING
There once was a farmer who lived in a valley and who came upon a little book. In that book, he discovered a very interesting piece of information. The writing said: "When you hear the scream of the wind coming through the split rocks in the pass reach a level where you can hear the sound even with your door shut, then know that terrible hail will soon follow. You must put your lifestock in shelter and your goods and your family."
Soon after, he heard the winds and did as the little book had instructed. In the valley, most of the animals perished on the other farms. This farmer has saved his animals and managed to save some of his crops by erecting huge sheets propped up to deflect the hail. All were amazed that he'd been able to do this. He told them of the little book. Thereafter, all in the valley paid heed to the instructions that had been written a hundred years before by someone who had learned the secret of the screaming wind.
If you come to understand certain things about God, and the way He works, and of some of His attributes, then your faith will grow. For example, if you come to understand about the faithfulness of God, you will begin to rely on that faithfulness. Your faith has grown by knowledge of one of God's attributes: faithfulness.
If you understand that God cannot lie, this also will be a piece of knowledge that will grow your faith because you will read the Word of God differently. You will read His promises with the knowledge that God is not just faithful, but if He made a promise, He is unable to break that promise. He cannot lie.
There are many, many other important pieces of knowledge that can only be found in the Bible. This is why it is vital to your spiritual growth of faith to read the Word of God. If a Christian does not regularly read and study the Bible, he or she will not grow very much in their faith.
YOU ARE NOT YOUR OWN BUT BOUGHT WITH A PRICE
This is such a foundational piece of knowledge for the Christian. So many Christians do not understand its implications.
Suppose you owned a diamond worth ten millions dollars. What would you do with it? Would you leave it unattended? Would you permit it to be stolen? Would you guard it? Would you take steps to insure that it remained in your possession?
Of course you would.
Why then do we think God would do any different?
Listen to these words again: "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? {20} For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.
So what was that price? What was the payment? "Oh, that was the death of Jesus," you say.
Well, simply put, yes, but it was far more than that. Far more.
"Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; {19} But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:" 1 Peter 1:18-19.
Think about it. A perfect, sinless man, in whom there was no blame, was placed on an altar of wood formed into a cross and there offered before the Jews and before God. And God accepted that offering made by Jesus Christ, as the Lamb of God; and thus this perfect being was made to be sin in the eyes of God. Jesus became guilty of the vilest of sins done on the face of the earth. It was this moment from which Jesus shrank when he was in the Garden praying and asked the Father if it were possible, for Him to take this cup from him. Jesus did not want to become sin. It was a thought too extraordinarily heinous to contemplate, to know that in the eyes of God the Father, he would be guilty of sins which he did not commit.
But Jesus knew it had to be so.
And so, Jesus prayed that not his will be done, but God's will be done.
And while on the cross, Jesus, being in great agony of mind and body and spirit, the hour he dreaded came upon him: the hour in which the Father turned away from Jesus because God could not look upon sin."And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Mark 15:34.
Tell me, Christian, are you precious in God's sight?
How precious?
You cannot calculate the value.
If you are so precious then, I return to my earlier query: Would you lose a precious diamond? Would God ever lose one so precious as you? Would you guard a precious diamond? Would God guard someone as valuable as you? Would you take steps and measures to insure that your precious diamond was safe from being stolen? Would God take steps and measures to insure that you are not stolen?
FAITH GROWS BY EXPERIENCE
I used to spend hours at the pool diving when I was a youngster. Eventually, I got to where I was pretty good. My experience in the pool and on the board had grown my confidence in my abilities to do certain things. I knew what I could do. I knew by experience, I could do certain things.
As a Christian, you will know by experience, certain things. You will learn God's deliverance at times. You will by experience come to know God's mercy and God's tenderness. God will also teach you, by experience, His discipline upon you. Thus, your faith will grow as you experience chastening from the Lord.
David spoke of this rather eloquently. Listen to the story when he is explaining to King Saul why he can defeat the giant, Goliath: "And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. {33} And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. {34} And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: {35} And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. {36} Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. {37} David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee." 1 Samuel 17:32-37.
Now, if you got nothing else from that little story, you should have gotten the idea that David had confidence in God. But why? Clearly, from his experiences with God. David knew what it was like to be delivered by God and to be strengthened by God and to be made fearless by God.
And so will you...provided you step out in faith. He that comes to God must come in faith. You can't come with a double mind. You can't come with a faithless heart.
FAITH COMES WITH PRAYER
"Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. {3} Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." James 4:2-3.
If you don't ask, you won't get. And why do you want more faith? Is it to be a "great Christian?" Not likely a prayer God will answer. That's prideful. Is it to do great works for God? Why? Is it to have a reputation? Is it to be known as a great warrior for God? Again, you ask amiss.
Ask to glorify God. Ask that Jesus will be lifted up. Ask that God's purposes in your life and in the lives of others shall be accomplished. Ask to be enabled to walk with God and glorify Him with your life.
"Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established." Proverbs 16:3.
Are you having trouble thinking about how to ask or what to ask? Commit thy works unto the Lord. In other words, commit, commit, commit yourself, your life, your mind, your body, your soul, all that you are, commit to the Lord. As it is written:"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. {2} And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Romans 12:1-2.
MORE FAITH IS SOMETHING YOU CAN ASK FOR
"Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong." 1 Corinthians 16:13.
Be strong how? Physically? Hardly. That verse is talking about faith. Strong faith.
Listen to what Paul said about weakness.
"And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. {8} For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. {9} And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. {10} Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.
Do you comprehend the significance of those verses? Do you understand that Paul is here talking about something in his flesh that actually weakened him? It made him, in his mind, less effective for God. He did not comprehend that God had to weaken his flesh [so the flesh would not get in the way, nor claim the glory]. Once he understood, he became elated that he was weakened. He gloried in it, for he understood that it was because of that weakness that the power of God was upon him and he understood that so long as he was weak, he would be strong {in faith} and in the power of God.
You see, when we can do it ourselves, we are not likely to depend on God. You doubt? Ok, let me ask those of you who have a full refrigerator and a healthy bank account, whether you opened the fridge today and said: "Oh God, please give me something to eat! Oh God, please supply my needs for today. Give me bread today, Lord!" Pray that prayer, did you? No?
I didn't think so.
We are too self sufficient. We have abundance. We don't need God to supply our daily bread so we don't pray that prayer. My point is the same one God made to Paul: Our weakness causes us to be strong, brings us to God in faith, crying out for strength and help from above.
IF STRONGER FAITH IS GOD'S WILL, WHAT PREVENTS US FROM HAVING IT?
The answer is simple: no confidence in God. Or, if we have confidence in God, we lack confidence in ourselves. And that is a bizarre position to take. But, too many Christians take it. They fail to realize that there is only one way they can get to God, and it does not depend upon their righteousness nor their good deeds. One verse in the entire Bible lays the perfect foundation to your entry, your qualification for coming before God.
Listen: "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus," Hebrews 10:19.
Did you get it? You can enter into the holy of holies, right into the presence of God, "by the blood of Jesus." That's it. No other way. Nothing else qualifies. God does not hear you because you're a good man or woman. God does not hear you because of your good deeds. He hears you because God always hears the prayer of the righteous. And you are righteous. Why are you righteous?
"For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. {4} For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." Romans 10:3-4.
You are made righteous by faith in Christ, in His finished work. You are a work of righteousness. And thus, God hears your prayer for it is the blood of Christ that was sprinkled on the altar which cleanseth your soul and makes you acceptable and justified and perfect before God.
So then, if you can come to God, and you can, why should you come?
Well, of course as has already been mentioned, if you don't ask, you don't get. But you should come because you are commanded to come to God:
"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:16.
So what's your need?
More faith? Stronger faith?
Well, hear this:
"And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: {15} And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him." 1 John 5:14-15.
Is it God's will you have a stronger faith? Does God want your faith to grow?
Of course it is God's will that your faith grow!
Then guys ask for it. And ask believing.
God cannot lie.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL
Lawrence & julie
Sunday, June 1, 2008
But you will receive power when the holy spirit comes upon you
Until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:
“‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams;
even on my male servants and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
And I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
the sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
And it is a promise for you so let god fills you up with his spirit and power, ask him to send his anothing of his holy spirit upon you right now
God bless you
Lawrence & julie
4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:
“‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams;
even on my male servants and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
And I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
the sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
And it is a promise for you so let god fills you up with his spirit and power, ask him to send his anothing of his holy spirit upon you right now
God bless you
Lawrence & julie
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