Present Truth

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noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 16:26:00 +0000

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Paul's Teaching on Giving ; 2 Corinthians 8:6-13

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 17:19:00 +0000

The apostle Paul was not bashful to teach on Christian giving for the cause he was involved in. In the 2 Corinthian letter, he was specifically encouraging the Corinthians to participate in systematic giving to the offering that he was planning to take to the Jerusalem saints. We can learn several principles from his teaching:

1. All giving should be done cheerfully and not grudgingly, for God will bless the cheerful giver (v. 7)

2. We want to sow bountifully that we might reap bountifully. This nullifies the "Christian giver" argument some make of giving without expectation of a return on our giving from the Lord (v. 6)

3. Consistent givers will come to have an abundance (more than enough) for every good work (v.8). God wants them to expect this from Him in faith.

4. God is the supplier of the seed to the sower, and He multiplies the seed you have sown (v. 10). In other words, we sow/give in seed form, trusting the Lord to multiply our giving for both the cause in which we give, and the fruits of righteousness in the giver.

5. The giver will become enriched...for all liberality (v. 11). It is God's plan to enrich the giver to make them a liberal giver as a lifestyle.

6. Liberal sharing should be the definition of a liberal in our country. This shows that the church of Jesus Christ has failed in it's giving in the U.S, for a liberal in our country has become known as a taker of involuntary taxes who is a conservative giver in the church. A conservative has become known as someone who wants to lower involuntary taxes and give more in the church. When the church of Jesus Christ in America is giving according to the apostle Paul's teaching, a person who increases taxes for government programs will become known as a conservative in Christian giving, and a person who campaigns to lower taxes for greater voluntary Christian giving will become known as a liberal, according to the apostles definitions.

by by Pastor Benjamin Davis, Senior Pastor

Resting in Promised Land Living

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 12:29:00 +0000

by Pastor Benjamin Davis

The book of Hebrews speaks of God's rest for His people. It makes a comparison between the children of Israel entering the promised land of Canaan and God's children in Christ entering into the promised land of the finished work of the cross.

For if Joshua had given hem rest, then God would not afterward have spoken of another day. There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His (Hebrews 4:8-10).

Promised land living for the believer in Christ is successfully living above the power of sin. Sin is the source of all poverty, disease, broken relationships, and despair. It is the one thing that can prevent God's people from prospering in the way that He desires for them.

The good news is that through the cross of Jesus Christ, God's people can live above the power of sin. To do so, we must learn to rest in the finished work of the cross rather than work from our own resources in overcoming the sin that besets us.

In the cross of Jesus Christ, God condemned sin, but gave grace to the sinner. That grace empowers God's children to identify with Christ's death, and indeed become dead to sin. Once we are dead to sin, it no longer has any power over us.

The law is useful for educating the conscience about what sin is, but it is powerless to help the believer in Christ overcome that sin. Therefore, the Hebrew author encourages God's people to cease from their work and trust in the cross of Christ for the victory they need.

The amazing thing about experiencing God's rest in the cross of Jesus Christ is that it will produce a work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope (1 Thess 1:3) that is greater than any work, labor, or patience that we could produce on our own through law and our own attempts of serving the Lord.

Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest...for promised land living in Christ (Hebrews 4:9).

Resting in the Fear of God

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 18:28:00 +0000

by Pastor Benjamin Davis

God's desire is for His children to experience His rest. His rest comes from obedience to His Word, His Spirit, and His leading in His people.

In the days of Moses, they sent spies into the land promised to them by God, but the majority of the spies came back with a bad report, saying,

There we saw the giants ; and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight. (Num 13:33)

They spread their grasshopper mentality and fear to the rest of the congregation, and the result was disobedience to God's word through Moses.

Scripture's commentary on this event was that those people never entered God's rest that comes from obeying His Word. The good news is that we as believers can enter that rest today.

Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. (Heb 4:1)

The key error they made in Numbers was fearing the giants in the land more than they feared the Lord. A healthy, reverential fear of God will make you unafraid of the giants that are out there because you believe in God's omnipotence (all-powerful), omniscience (all-knowing), and omnipresence (everywhere all the time). When you combine these attributes of God with His personal leading, it gives faith to obey, face the giants if necessary, and enter into His rest of obedience.

There is no rest in a grasshopper mentality, but there is the divine rest of God in hearing and obeying His voice to fulfill all His calling in our lives.

Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience (of the children of Israel in Moses' day). (Heb 4:11)

Pastor Davis is Senior Pastor of Abundant Life Covenant Church

Secure in a Healthy Fear of God

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 14:00:00 +0000

By Pastor Benjamin Davis

The fear of God is not a very popular subject in American Christian circles anymore, but it should be. Properly taught and applied, a healthy, reverential fear of God will not produce anxiety, but security in the life of the believer.

In Philippians 2:12-13, the apostle Paul wrote:

...work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

Paul is encouraging the Philippians to work out their own salvation with a healthy, reverential fear of God because their faith is greater than a work of man. It is a work of God in them. It is not according to man's good pleasure, but God's good pleasure.

This truth is also found in Ephesians 1:5:

...having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.

A healthy, reverential fear of God is based in what I call the "omnis" of God. God is Omniscient (all-knowing), Omnipotent (all-powerful), and Omnipresent (all-present and everywhere all the time). This same "omni" God has initiated a work of grace and faith in the believer's life according to the good pleasure of His will. Knowing that the grace and faith we are experiencing in Christ are a work of God for His good pleasure brings security in Him when we are yielding to His work. It only produces anxiety when we are resisting His good work in us.

We Americans have at times chosen to replace the security that comes from the work of His good pleasure in us with other systems of security. We can find security in things such as Social Security (security in retirement), family (security in relationships), healthcare (security in insurance), or even denominational structures of our churches. None of these things are bad in and of themselves, but they can never replace the security that comes from experiencing the work of His good pleasure in us.

God's children who come to understand His "omnis" and the work of HIS good pleasure will have a healthy fear of God and become very secure in Him.

Pastor Benjamin Davis is the Senior Pastor for Abundant Life Covenant Church

Inch by Inch

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:00:00 +0000

By Garrett Pratt

As a senior in high school, I am at a seemingly bittersweet point in my life. Despite the excitement of the future and the fun rituals of senior year, reality also sets in as I determine what this future I have been dreaming about for so long is going to look like. Even at the beginning of the school year, I am making decisions that will affect my future, whether it be which colleges (if any) to apply to, what career I should pursue, and more immediately how I can have a successful senior year. BUT GOD has already been faithful in preparing me for these decisions so that there is no fear as I plan for the future and can experience his peace and his best for me right now.

Already, I have seen many of my classmates fret over their future. They believe that they stand outside a vast and dark abyss in which their future lays, and they have no idea how to walk assuredly. Thankfully, all believers in Christ have assurance for a safe and prosperous future. Jeremiah 29:11 (New International Version) reads, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not harm you; to give you a hope and a future.’” The question then is how do we access this promise?
First, it is above all necessary to get into a habit of spending time with the Lord daily and meditating upon His Word. Joshua 1:8 (New King James Version) states, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” With every promise that God gives, there is always a reward. God calls us to spend time seeking Him daily, so that we gain a deeper revelation of who He is, who we are, and how we can partner together to live out life successfully. For me, a great change in my thinking had to come in order to realize this truth. I had always known God had a calling on my life and that He would show it to me, and this summer He began to reveal that calling. What I did not know, however, was what to do after He had revealed it. For so long I had waited for His confirmation that I was unsure what to do after I received it! Thankfully, the Lord put people in my life to keep me focused on the path I am on today. During a discipleship meeting with my youth pastor this summer, we discussed how God began to speak to me concerning a future career as an attorney, and I was excited! Pastor Clark admonished me, telling me that in order to live out this future calling, I have to be sensitive and listen to how the Lord moves each day. “Life’s hard, yard by yard; but inch by inch, life’s a cinch!” He spoke this wisdom to me and it has stayed with me ever since. Daily, I have to lay down all the things the Lord has called me to and I have to submit them to His leading, regardless of my opinion. As I get into this God-given mindset, I have learned that if I seek His guidance and then do it, my way is made prosperous, far more than if I had tried to do things my way.
Spending time with the Lord is critical for all success (spiritual, emotional, relational, financial, intellectual, etc.) but then in order to achieve the benefits of the things He speaks in the dark (in your quiet time with the Lord, Matthew 10:27) we must go out into the world each day and do the things He leads us to. Ecclesiastes 11:6, “In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not withhold your hand; for you do not know which will prosper, either this or that, or whether both alike will be good.” God calls us to sow the seed He has given us so that we may reap the benefits of His blessings. I have found this Scripture to be true in all areas of life. I need to sow good seed in my studies at school, in my relationships with friends and family, and in my attitude and thought life. As I go about diligently sowing my seed for the Lord, I receive the blessings I expect from His promises. In the time that I have entered into this sowing and reaping lifestyle, I not only am more successful with the things I do, but I also enjoying doing them. I have learned to take pleasure in reading assigned texts for school (even Russian literature!), for mowing the lawn and spending time with those that I have difficulty sometimes being around. Most outsiders who view my workload might think that I do not have time for fun with all that I do. They are sorely mistaken! God blesses every hour of my time and as I seek His ways, I enjoy every minute of it! That is not to say I have perfected this lifestyle, but as I release faith and believe all that is in my life is good and works for a greater good (Romans 8:28-29), I have nothing to fear and can enjoy the life God has given me today. It is by far the greatest philosophy of life and feeling anyone could experience!
As I have discovered this way of living fear-free and joy-FULL, it is my prayer that you too find this path of peace and prosperity He calls all of His children to. All you have to do is turn aside to seek Him (because He is speaking to you today; you just have to open up and listen!). Then, begin to spend time with Him daily and then diligently sow your seed in all that you do every day. Once you begin to realize these things, the fear of an uncertain future fades quickly away and God’s best is there to stay.

Garrett Pratt is a Senior at Central High School, Springfield, Missouri

Who God Is | JeremiahYouth.com

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 01:43:00 +0000

Who God Is

Most people know that God is omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing), and omnipresent (everywhere present at once). While this is a great place to start from, we need to come to a place where we know that God isn’t only HUGE, but is also very personal and involved in each of our individual lives. Who is God to each of us individually?

Jehovah-Tsidkenu: GOD IS our righteousness
…Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS ~Jeremiah 23:6
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. ~II Corinthians 5:21
Jehovah-M’Kaddesh: GOD IS our sanctifier
“…Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you…” ~Exodus 31:13
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless… ~I Thessalonians 5:23
Jehovah-Shalom: GOD IS our peace
So Gideon built an altar there to the LORD, and called it The-LORD-Is-Peace… ~Judges 6:24
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace… ~Ephesians 2:13-14
Jehovah-Shammah: GOD IS always there with us
“…and the name of the city from that day shall be: THE LORD IS THERE.” ~Ezekiel 48:35
Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” ~Hebrews 13:5
Jehovah-Rophe: GOD IS our healer
“…I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.” ~Exodus 15:26
…”He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.” ~Matthew 8:17
Jehovah-Jireh: GOD IS our provider
And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided.” ~Genesis 22:14
And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. ~Philippians 4:19
Jehovah-Nissi: GOD IS our banner/victory
And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-LORD-Is-My-Banner. ~Exodus 17:15
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb… ~Revelation 12:11
Jehovah-Rohi: GOD IS our shepherd
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. ~Psalm 23:1
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” ~John 10:11

posted from Jeremiahyouth.com

Stable Benefits

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:00:00 +0000

By Jonathan Clark

My wife and I became business owners overnight. When we decided to buy a medical practice instead of working for one of the hospitals, we became instant “owners.” Our education in business was about to begin!

We did not have any real training in how to run a business other than the catch-phrase that my pastor often used to say: “If your out-go exceeds your income, your overhead is your downfall.” Our business plan was clear—we would take over the highly successful business and keep the business practices “as is” unless/until we found something that needed changing. The business already had a retirement plan in place, so we kept the same plan and began contributing to it regularly.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

And forget not all His benefits… (Ps. 103:2).

Our business was very successful—we were very busy! However, at the end of most years we found ourselves having to borrow a little money just to keep the business afloat. As I mentioned before, I didn’t have much business training, but something seemed wrong with a highly successful business not being able to pay all the bills easily. Apparently our out-go was exceeding our income.

One day, as I was pondering our dilemma and discussing it with my pastor, the Spirit of the Lord spoke the following in my spirit:

“Your yearly deficit is how much?”

“Approximately X amount,” I mused.

“How much is the business contributing to the retirement account?”

“Approximately Y amount,” I reflected.

Then I realized what the Lord was getting at—X and Y were the same amount! Our business budget shortfall was due to the fact that we were contributing to the business retirement account. Now, I was aware that contributing to a retirement plan was not wrong (not a sin), but the Lord took this teachable moment to give us specific direction (faith) to dissolve our defined-benefit retirement plan and begin a deeper walk of faith concerning our financial future.

For we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7).

Not only did the Lord lead us to dissolve our defined-benefit retirement plan, but He further led my wife and me to liquidate the money that we had accumulated in the plan (an action which incurs a tax penalty) to pay that year’s shortfall.

That was one of the first major lessons in business that the Lord gave us. As we obeyed, the regular shortfalls ceased! His message to us was clear: I AM your business manager, and I AM your retirement planner…I AM your financial future! More lessons were to come (and are still coming as we have successfully owned/operated the business now for 14 years). He has led our business in directions that often were opposite of most other companies. One thing has become clear to us over the years: in business, entrenched patterns are often focused in the wrong direction (asking the wrong questions, so to speak).

By the Lord’s leading, my wife and I have grown very secure in trusting Father God’s benefit plan for all our “benefits needs” (retirement, health insurance, vacations, time off, etc). He shows us how He wants us to plan and save for the future.

Trust in the Lord with all of your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding;

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He shall direct your paths (Prov. 3:5-6).

Jonathan Clark is associate pastor of Abundant Life Covenant Church and a physician in Springfield, Missouri.

Thanks in the Middle

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 14:00:00 +0000

by Cassandra Walker

As I was thumbing through my Bible recently, I saw a Post-it note marking Luke 4:18-19:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,

Because He has anointed Me

To preach the gospel to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the capitves

And recovery of sight to the blind,

To set at liberty those who are oppressed;

To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.

Jesus is quoting this passage from Isaiah, illustrating that He is the fulfillment of it. On June 23, 2004, I felt in my spirit that the Lord wanted me to consider this passage my calling as well. So, on my note I wrote, "This is why I woke up this morning. This is why I draw my next breath. This is why I'm granted another heartbeat." I like to review the note from time to time because it helps keep me grounded. I may have the daily circumstances of being human on this planet swirling around in my brain, but I can read this and be snapped back into the proper perspective.

Recently, when I reviewed this passage again and its application to me personally, I thought about the time of testing through which I've been going, and I did something that I have never done before-- I thanked Father God for the test as I was experiencing it. I rehearsed in my mind the past trials that the Lord has allowed me to experience and started thinking about how every time I leaned on him for guidance, there was always a reward on the other side. I began to realize that the Lord desires to give me something, so He is moving me towards what He has for me. For the first time I thanked the Lord out loud for the current test I was experiencing while i was still experiencing it. I believe that it was the grace of the Holy Spirit to lead me to do this. This isn't something with which I could have come up!

After I did this, my trial did not instantly ease up. In fact, it pretty much stayed the same. However, the trial was easier to face knowing that it was designed to equip me to fulfill my calling. Thanking Father God while it was still going on helped me to maintain more of a thankful attitude even though the stress level remained the same.

It seems the Lord tests me in three areas: money, relationships and health. Father God has tested all of humanity in these same areas regardless of whether they are Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, Universalist, atheistic, Christian, etc. Knowing that I can't escape the trials of life, I desire to accept this and learn how to go through them well. My pastor has said, "You can get there in a beat up Volkswagen Bug, or you can get there in a Cadillac." I would like to learn how to keep peace in my heart during all of life's experiences, whether it be tests or times of refreshing that come after the trials are resolved. Only the Holy Spirit of the God of Abraham, poured out by Jesus Christ, can show me how to continue to experience joy in the middle of a trial.

Cassandra Walker and her husband Gavin own MedTech Medical Management Systems in Springfield, Missouri and Lead the Amazing Graceland Children's Ministry for Abundant Life Covenant Church.

GARDENING WITH GRACE

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 14:00:00 +0000

By Shari Tyson

A few mornings ago, I approached the subject of finances with my son. I knew before I started that I wasn’t picking the right moment to have the conversation, but I decided to go ahead and pose a question regarding something I thought he had purchased. It was just a question, but there were certainly implications behind it, and though he answered, I could tell I had put him on the defense.
I had blown it, and I knew it. There weren’t any harsh words spoken. It was a single, simple question, but he sensed the judgmental atmosphere I had set by the way in which I asked the question. I didn’t pursue it any further but waited for a few minutes and then spoke to him with words that were “good for necessary edification, that (they) may impart grace to the hearer” (Ephesians 4:29). The conversation was productive, and I was able to salvage the moment and encourage my son.
As my son kissed me goodbye, Holy Spirit gently whispered into my heart, “Your heart hurt because I have only asked you to plant and water; not pull weeds.” I immediately thought about something our pastor had said several months ago in one of his messages. It was basically this: if you focus upon making the grass healthy, you will crowd out the weeds. I actually googled controlling weeds and found this very statement, “Just keep your conditions right for grass, keep the blades on your mower set higher so the grass can be the dominate plant type, and you’ll watch weeds slowly get outnumbered.”
“Keep the blades on your mower set higher.” See with grace, speak with grace, and the “weeds” will be outnumbered.
I picked up my Bible and turned to the fourth chapter in Ephesians. Holy Spirit used verses 29 and 30 to re-emphasize the importance of letting “no corrupt word proceed out of (my) mouth,” no matter how subtle that word might be. Of course, there will be times I have to bring correction, but that can always be done with words that edify and impart grace…ALWAYS. Verse 30 explains why I must do that: “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God.”
If, in fact, my son had made an irresponsible decision with his money, that is not what was going to grieve Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit is very confident in His ability to conform my son into the image of Christ. The words that I had first chosen to address the situation were what grieved Him because they were judgment disguised, and they shut the door of my son’s heart when they should have been words of grace which would have opened that door. “(Parents), do not provoke your children to wrath” (Eph. 6:4).
The woman caught in adultery would have not had the ability to “go and sin no more” if she hadn’t first heard the words, “Neither do I condemn you” (John 8:11). If my children or grandchildren hear even the slightest condemnation in my words, I have put them at great risk of further rebellion. They must always hear words that impart grace because only grace plants and waters in a way that crowds out all weeds.
Thankfully, it’s never too late to develop a “green thumb!”
Shari Tyson leads the nursery ministry at Abundant Life Covenant Church.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 23:03:00 +0000

Coming Back Home

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 15:55:00 +0000

By Craig Sifferman

I’m the last of a dying breed. I have worked for the same company for over 30 years. In January 2008, I received the news that the executive director I directly reported to was moving from the core wire line division of AT&T to the mobility division and would not be replaced. My position was his chief of staff, which meant I didn’t have anyone to report to any longer. Within a few days, I found out I would report as part of the vice president’s staff (the vice president is two steps up from executive director). In the following months, our company began a major transformation, and I felt out of place.

An opportunity became available for me on the mobility side of the business, and having seen my former boss make the move, I felt this was probably a positive direction—and I also had deep concerns about my longevity in the position I was assuming on core wire line. As you know, many customers are “cutting the cord” and going strictly wireless, which means headcount reduction on the core wire line side.

I prayed and asked the Lord what He would have me do. I was losing my peace regarding my employment and sensed the Lord was letting me know I needed to move to mobility. However, that meant I would be driving 70 miles each way to and from work each day (from Springfield to Joplin, Missouri, and back). I talked to my new vice president, who indicated it was probably a safe move and that things were very uncertain for me where I was.

As these ideas were birthed, my wife was concerned I was making a decision based on fear rather than faith. I did not receive this from her and was receiving different counsel from another person who told me if I wanted to make the change, I should. I got the job with mobility quickly and started making the drive.

At first, it was liberating to enter a facility of 600 people that was hiring left and right and had no regard for expense control or headcount reduction. Within about three weeks, however, something down in the pit of my stomach did not feel right. This was not an emotion; it was a shaking of my spirit. Within a few days God showed me the counsel I received did not point me to the Word and the Spirit of God; I didn’t follow the convictions in my spirit. Basically, I listened to the words of a man instead of seeking God on my own and sought that man’s approval rather than God’s. Even though I know God is sovereign and allowed me to go through all these things to deepen my relationship with Him, at the time, I felt I’d made a mistake. I began a downward spiral of emotional turmoil.

Over the next few months, I struggled in every aspect of my being: emotionally, psychologically, physically, socially, and spiritually. Finally, I began to realize God had allowed these events to flush out an error in my faith. God spoke to me deep in my spirit. It was not an audible voice, but it was very clear. I heard Him say, “This did not just happen.” The very next day, He said, “Just wait for it.” I shared this Word from the Lord with the rest of our church during one of our Sunday morning services. I didn’t know everything it meant, but God was beginning to expose my heart, faults and all, and allowing me to return to relying on His Word.

God showed me this past fall that He was going to return my employment to Springfield, and I would no longer be driving 70 miles each way to work each day. I had no idea how this could possibly happen because the jobs with AT&T back in Springfield were shrinking. One morning during my quiet time with Him, God clearly directed me to check the job postings with AT&T that listed one opening with multiple cities. This typically means the job can be performed from anywhere (virtual location). Sure enough, I found several job postings—one of them was for the staff job reporting directly to the same vice president I had reported to when I left Springfield. There was a very strong witness in my spirit that God had shown me this opening, and I submitted my interest in the job, plus a personal note to the vice president. I had lunch with one of our pastors and discussed what I felt God was showing me. He confirmed in the Scripture that I was hearing from God. With the Scripture and godly counsel, I began to move from faith in God to the faith of God. This was brand new to me as I was encouraged to speak what God was showing me in Scripture, that He “calls those things which do not exist as though they did” (Rom. 4:17b).

Within a few weeks, after some work assignment tests and a couple of interviews, I was offered the vice president staff position, which included an extra bonus of not only being able to work from Springfield, but from my home when I want. As an extra surprise, I got a raise. It was such a humbling experience to realize God would actually go to all this trouble for me in order to honor who He is and stay true to His Word.

The most recent passage of Scripture God showed me starts with something I’ve read and heard a thousand times, but I never read past the first verse. My jaw hit the floor when I read these verses and pretty much found in the Bible exactly what God had planned and done on my behalf (and to further His kingdom)!

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity (Joplin). I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you (Joplin),” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile (Springfield)” (Jer. 29:11-14, NIV).

Craig Sifferman is the Sales Execution Manager-VP with AT&T in Springfield, Missouri.

Jehovah-Jireh My Provider

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 14:00:00 +0000

By Christa Clark

When his beloved son Isaac asked him where the lamb was for the sacrifice, Abraham spoke in faith: “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering” (Gen 22:8)

When God tested Abraham’s faith by asking him to sacrifice his son Isaac, Abraham responded with immediate obedience. The Bible says that he
…rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his
young men with him and Isaac his son…and went to the place of which
God had told him (Gen 22:3).

Even though Abraham didn’t hesitate, I’m sure he had deep turmoil of soul. When his beloved son Isaac asked him where the lamb was for the sacrifice, Abraham spoke in faith:
“My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering” (Gen 22:8). As we know, God did provide a ram in the thicket, and Abraham named the place of God’s provision “Jehovah Jireh, The-Lord-Will-Provide.”

I have my own story about Jehovah Jireh and livestock. Early in our marriage, Jon and I had some financial tests, and the Lord would always require us to put His tithe first. As we gave in faith, we praised Jehovah Jireh, knowing God would meet all our needs. One particular month when the rent was due in a couple of days, and our bank account did not contain enough money to pay the bill, God did what I call a “nifty”. I went down to my parents’ house to do some laundry, and my dad handed me a check for more than the amount needed for rent.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“We sold your last cow, and that’s what we got for her.”

Back several years before, my grandfather had given me a cow, and al of her offspring were mine. Those cows ate grass and hay from my dad’s farm, and I simply reaped the benefits when they were sold. I didn’t know I even had any cows left when my dad gave me the check. It came at the exact time that we needed it. I saw it as a tithing miracle.

Back before Christmas this past year, I had a few days in which I let myself become somewhat stressed about my lack of time. During my devotions one morning, the Holy Spirit spoke to my spirit to tithe my time and my thoughts. I know He wanted me to put God first and spend quality time with Him in the mornings and then put my ministry obligations before other things. Iw as reminded of a Scripture verse:
Bring all the tithes…try Me now in this…If I will not open for you
the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it (Mal. 3:10)

As I gave the Lord my best time in the morning and kept my mind on Him throughout the day, miracles started to happening. Buying gifts, baking, making plans--everything went smoothly. God was proving Himself to me yet again through tithing miracles.

In this time of economic uncertainty, God wants His people to test Him and let Him prove He is a sure thing.

Christa Clark and her husband Jonathan serve as pastors at Abundant Life Covenant Church.

God’s Plan for Redistribution of Wealth

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 03:28:00 +0000

As the political election season approaches, both Republicans and Democrats are heating up the rhetoric of accusations about using taxes and government policies to redistribute the people’s wealth. Republicans accuse Democrats of using taxes and new laws to take wealth from the hard-working middle-class and wealthy Americans to redistribute it to the poor. Democrats accuse Republicans of tax policies and laws that allow the wealthy to take from the middle-class and poor and redistribute it to themselves. In truth, all government taxes are a form of forced redistribution of the people’s wealth (but Scripture admonishes God’s people to pay them anyway—Matt. 22:15-21).

God has a plan for redistribution of His wealth that He has repeatedly fulfilled throughout history. That plan was best exemplified in the person of Jesus Christ.

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich (2 Cor. 8:9).

In the person of Jesus Christ, God took His own wealth and purposefully redistributed that wealth to His church. Man often limits the meaning of wealth to the concept of money, property, or holdings. God includes these things in the wealth that He transferred to the church through the person of Christ, but the foundation of His wealth is not material; it is His knowledge, revelation, grace, character, and the like.

Scripture reveals characteristics of God’s plan for redistribution of wealth.

1. He works through the willing.

In contrast to the government tax of forced redistribution of wealth, God works in the lives of His people to make them willing to give. “For if there is first a willing mind,” says the apostle Paul when asking the Corinthians to give away from their monetary wealth to meet the monetary needs of Jewish Christians in Jerusalem (2 Cor. 8:12). He continues the thought with,

So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:7).

2. He imparts abundance, that it may supply the lack.

When Paul wrote to the Corinthians encouraging them to give to the need in Jerusalem, he said,

For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened; but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack — that there may be equality (2 Cor 8:13-15).

The Corinthians had an abundance of money but a lack of faith for godly living in Christ. The Jerusalem Jewish Christians had an abundance of faith for godly living, but their faith cost them their family inheritance and ability to participate in the marketplace of Jerusalem. Paul believed he had the mission from God to supply the lack in the Jerusalem church with a willing gift of money from the Corinthian church. He also believed the faith for godly living in the Jerusalem church could supply the lack of such in Corinth that he was trying to impart to them. The end result of each church’s willing giving would be equality.

3. He uses the principle of seed-faith to encourage expectation in the giver.

Paul’s passion was to help the Corinthians see that their monetary giving was like a seed that they would sow, not a debt or obligation that they owed. He wrote,

Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness (2 Cor. 9:10).

When a believer willingly participates in God’s plan for redistribution of wealth by giving away from their time, money, character, or revelation knowledge of God, they are planting seed. This seed is not only at work in the lives of the recipients, but also in the lives of the givers. God causes that seed to grow into good fruit of time, money, character, and further revelation of His knowledge.

I believe that any government law or program that forcibly taxes one to redistribute to another is a hindrance to God’s plan for redistribution of wealth through His church. I also believe God is calling His children to a life of willing redistribution of their imparted wealth in Christ.

by Benjamin Davis, Senior Pastor of Abundant Life Covenant Church

ASSURANCE OF MY REWARD

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:00:00 +0000

By Shari Tyson

I enjoy reading various translations of Scripture. I appreciate the different ways people interpret the Word, knowing I can trust the Author, Holy Spirit, to lead me into the full truth of what He intends. The other day, I read Ephesians 2:8-10 from the New Living Translation. It says,

“God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”

My heart grabbed hold of “Salvation is not a reward for the good things you have done…”

Therein lays the beauty of grace. God’s salvation—His peace, well-being, prosperity, health, wholeness—is a gift to me. Nothing I do can qualify me to receive it. It is never dependent upon what I did or do; it is and always will be dependent upon what Christ did.

That made me think of Hebrews 11:6, “…he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

How easily we can mix law with grace. If I think that I have to go to church, tithe, pray, read the Bible, don’t cuss and chew and run with those who do, WHATEVER, to receive God’s blessings, I have mixed the law with grace. I used to mix law with grace in my understanding of Heb. 11:6, but Holy Spirit has graciously interpreted this verse to me and given me a “grace perspective.”

If I am going to be able to diligently seek God, to draw near to Him, I am going to have to believe two things. First, He exists and He is who He says He is…LOVE. Second, He has reward in His heart and hands for me, not judgment. I will only be able to get close to Him when I believe He is good and has good in store for me.

Under law, God’s blessings depended upon the people’s obedience. Under grace, His blessings are dependent upon Christ’s obedience. I believe that’s why we are exhorted to bring our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5). If I look at my obedience, I will condemn myself because I see my failures. But if I look to His obedience, I see perfection. When that revelation is mine, my heart’s desire is to fellowship with my church family, give from the finances with which He has blessed me, talk to Him in prayer, and meet Him in His Word.

Grace frees me to see God as the rewarder He truly is and allows me to rest in the obedience of Christ for all the blessings of the covenant. It pleased Him to bruise His Son (Isa. 53:10) because it is His pleasure to give us the kingdom (Luke 12:32)…no strings attached…except that I confess with my mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in my heart that God raised Him from the dead.

Isaiah 32:17—“The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.”

Shari Tyson leads the nursery ministry at Abundant Life Covenant Church.

Faith IS…Or Faith ISN’T

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 14:00:00 +0000

By Shari Tyson

I think two of the most powerful words in Scripture are in Hebrews 11—“Faith IS.” Faith is always in the present tense, or it isn’t faith. Faith cannot be something that was or will be. If faith is to be “the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen” (Heb.11:1), it must be NOW.

Faith is what I have in what God has already done. Faith moves me. Faith pleases God, but it does not move God. God already moved at the cross. Now I must develop the faith already resident within my regenerated spirit to appropriate its current and victorious quality.

If I ever find myself feeling discouraged or frustrated with any circumstance of my life, it is because faith no longer IS in my life. Discouragement, frustration, fear, and unrest cannot exist in an atmosphere where faith IS. So, if I find myself experiencing any of those negative emotions, it is the first indication that I have moved from the realm of faith into the realm of physical senses, and that’s my cue to change.

Feeling negative emotions is never a bad thing unless I let them control me. In fact, negative emotions can serve me well if I realize their proper function in my life. If I had no sensation of pain, life would be a perilous journey. Just the simple task of making dinner could be tragic. I could accidentally place my hand onto a hot surface and critically burn myself if I didn’t have the sensation of pain to cause me to withdraw my hand quickly.

Likewise, feelings of discouragement or fear or frustration or anger are cues that I am doing something that will harm me. Rather than be defeated by them, I should use them to my advantage by allowing them to let me know that I have moved from a place where faith IS to a place where faith ISN’T. Just as the pain that registers in my hand causes me to withdraw from that hot surface and keeps me from destruction, so the negative feelings I experience should cause me to withdraw from the sensual realm back into the realm of the spirit, where I belong. Kept in their proper place, negative emotions will actually keep me from destruction because they awaken me to the knowledge that I have left the overcoming place of NOW faith.

When my faith IS, anything that might trouble me WAS!

Shari Tyson leads the nursery ministry at Abundant Life Covenant Church.

Interviewing God, Part VIII

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 14:00:00 +0000

Members of the Christian community often have questions about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Most of us have either said or heard someone say, “When I get to heaven, the first thing I want to ask God is ….” In aggregate, the pool of questions becomes quite large. The drama, INTERVIEWING GOD, depicts a female news correspondent in an informal setting asking God a number of questions. The answers she receives are from His Word, which the Lord inspired the prophets and apostles to write. Scripture references are given throughout along with the author’s personal notes. The interview was lengthy as one might imagine, so here it is broken into parts. In the initial posting, God used a stage play analogy to answer the ultimate controversy of the universe question – “Who’s in charge?” He upheld the inerrancy of the Bible, or as He terms it, “the introductory remarks.” In the second posting, God revealed both the origin and the purpose of suffering. In the third, God explained key elements within the creation of man plus the devastating fall of man. He disclosed the choice to continue, nonetheless, making covenant with certain individuals and unveiled a restorative seed principle. In Part IV, more truths were mined concerning the use of parables, the essence of true learning, plus the principle of authority was revisited. That part ended with the interviewer “tipping her hand” a bit, asking ever so shyly about the second coming. In Part V, God plunged headlong into the study of the time of the end – or eschatology – debunking the most common views of our time. In Part VI, some of God’s answers given in Part V were brought into question via the interviewer bringing up His long ago promise to Abraham. This became merely a catalyst for God, revealing His true Israel. In Part VII, the Lord continued to discredit the popular “end times” teachings of our day, plus He brought clarity to those concepts of the thousand year reign, the rapture, and the resurrection. Here the interview concludes as God reveals some key elements of the Incarnation plus unveils the ongoing plan involving His church to ultimately bring about the transformation of the world as we know it.

INTERVIEWING GOD

Michael A. Lawrence

Part VIII

“The Best is Yet to Come”

THE PHYSICAL RETURN OF YOUR SON DOES NOT NECESSARILY NEED TO HAPPEN? IF THAT IS TRUE, WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT FOR MANY.

I must answer your question in this manner. Remember, I have been emphasizing that my son is the pattern for all the sibling troupe. At the fully appointed time, he became a man – laid aside his privileges forever to live life as a man.[1] He remains a man. As such, he has never seen me, no man has.[2] He was intimate to the point of being one with me and my spirit. We could live our life through him as a man.[3] He trusted in the invisible me to the point of doing all our bidding – even to the laying down of his life in the cruelest manner imaginable to a man.[4]

YOUR SON PERFORMED THE MIRACLES AS A MAN?

Yes he did. My, how bright you are. Of course, we directed him, but faith is the only thing that pleases us to the point of being moved to action on one’s behalf.[5] We would empower him as he proceeded as a man by faith in the invisible. He was the pattern.

IN WHAT WAY?

My son was disappointed with some in his inner circle when they refused to believe the reports of his resurrection from those who had seen him. They demanded physical evidence in order to believe. They behaved much like those who had demanded that he come down from the cross to cause them to believe that he was whom he had claimed to be.[6] Of course, those in his inner circle were distraught about how things had seemed to turn out and that their own agenda had not been fulfilled. We chose to cut them some slack.

YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT DOUBTING THOMAS?

Yes, plus some others before him. However, we were able to use the occasion of Thomas’ disbelief to put forth a timeless principle during a subsequent appearance by my son.

WHEN WAS THAT?

When he said to a doubting Thomas and, I might add, to all those future generations adamant for his personal physical return: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”[7] That was the way he had lived his life as the “God-man,” as a pattern for all his siblings to follow.[8]

YOU KEEP SAYING, “THE BEST IS YET TO COME.” WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?

I can’t say enough about “those who are of the household of faith.”[9] They are not some parenthetical “plan B,” as many in error would have you to believe. They are my uniquely endeared ones who have been in my heart and mind all along. They are our primary agency by which all the ills of society as you know it will be rectified. I know it seems at present as if so many are trying hard not to act like it, but we will turn that around. We continue to raise up voices which are causing more and more to awaken from the stupor of false doctrines of men.[10]

I MUST ADMIT THAT MUCH OF WHAT YOU HAVE TOLD ME IS INCREDIBLE. IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE “HOUSEHOLD” BELIEVE SOMETHING ELSE. HOW COULD YOU HAVE ALLOWED THAT TO HAPPEN? HOW COULD SO MANY BELIEVE SOMETHING AND IT STILL BE FALSE?

I like your spunk. You ask good questions. You display an unmistakable desire to know my ways. The truth is, we’ve been up against these odds before and were not unduly hindered.

WHEN DO YOU MEAN?

When we had Moses send spies into Canaan, how did that go?

NOT VERY WELL, THE WAY I REMEMBER IT.

Why not?

A TEN-TO-TWO MAJORITY WERE AFRAID TO TAKE CANAAN, AND YOU LET THEIR VIEW PREVAIL.

And they were wrong?

YES.

That generation – did they experience the good life in Canaan?

JUST THE TWO WHO HAD BEEN IN THE MINORITY.

The faithful?

I HADN’T THOUGHT OF IT THAT WAY, BUT YES.

We proceeded with the two plus our next generation into the next phase of our production. I rest my case.[11]

I DON’T KNOW IF MY BOSSES AT THE MAGAZINE WILL WANT TO PUBLISH THIS. THEY DO HAVE A WHOLE LOT RIDING ON THAT OTHER SCENARIO.

Whatever. We’ll get the word out. Don’t assume that Abram was the first one I asked to leave Haran for Canaan. He was the first to obey, that’s all.[12] That’s all.

[1]Unless noted otherwise, all scriptural references are from the New King James Version. All parenthetical items contained within scriptural references are my emphasis.

“(Christ), although He existed in the form (essence) of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant . . . (coming) in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:6-7, New American Standard).

[2]“No one has seen God at any time” (John 1:18a). “. . . who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see” (1 Timothy 6:16a).

[3]“”I and My Father are one. . . . If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him” (John 10:30, 37-38).

[4]“And being found in the appearance of a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8). “. . . I lay down My life for the sheep. . . . No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself” (John 10:15b, 18a).

[5]“But without faith it is impossible to please Him . . .” (Hebrews 11:6a).

It’s the author’s belief that only our behavior that is activated by or in response to faith is pleasing to God to the point that He will be moved to engage Himself on our behalf in our endeavor, trial, etc.

[6]“Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe” (Mark 15:32a).

[7](John 20:29b) “Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer” (2 Corinthians 5:16b).

[8]“He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked” (1 John 2:6).

[9]“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10).

[10]“. . . (Why) do you subject yourself to regulations . . . according to the commandments and doctrines of men?” (Colossians 2:20b, 22b). “And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7). “If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or I speak of my own authority” (John 7:17). “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42).

[11]“Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them. . . . And they returned from spying out the land after forty days. . . . Then Caleb . . . said, ‘Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.’ But the men who had gone up with him said, ‘We are not able . . .’ and they gave . . . a bad report . . . saying, ‘The land . . . devours its inhabitants . . .’” (Numbers 13:2, 25, 30-31a, 32).

“So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept (and complained) that night. . . . But Joshua (and Caleb said), ‘The land . . . is an exceedingly good land . . . (and) the Lord

. . . will bring us into this land and give it to us . . .

“The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ‘. . . The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness . . . except for Caleb . . . and Joshua . . . (and) your little ones . . . (whom) I will bring in . . .’” (Numbers 14:1, 6a, 7, 8a, 26, 29a, 30a, & 31a).

[12]“And Terah took his son, Abram (and company) . . . and they came to Haran and dwelt there. . . . and Terah died in Haran” (Genesis 11:31, 32b).

“Now the Lord had said to Abram: ‘Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you.’ . . . So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him . . .”

(Genesis 12:1a, 4a).

God-Inspired

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 14:00:00 +0000

By Patricia Frater

I have been in various art classes over the years. All of them were a lot of fun. There was always the time where we would go around the room to see everyone’s progress or go up to the front of the room with our art for critique. If others did something different or their designs were pointed out by the teacher as being amazing, then I would immediately say to myself, “Wow! Hers/his is so much better than mine.” Then I would look at mine and think, “Mine is no good. I’m horrible at art.” I would immediately think of the negative side.

When I was a senior in high school, I realized that I was having a bad confession and a bad attitude about my art. I had an assignment to sketch something, and I didn’t know what in the world I was going to sketch. The Holy Spirit inspired me to go out and sketch a tree in my backyard. I put on my headphones, turned on some worship music, and started to draw. It was like the Holy Spirit was in my hand drawing. I remember while I was sketching thinking that the lines on the tree were so unique. It was relaxing, and the finished product was something inspired, drawn by God through me. I gave it to the teacher the next day, and she loved it! She said she would like to see more of these. That was God. It wasn’t my talent that drew that tree; it was God.

Now I am going to Ozarks Technical Community College to get my Graphic Design degree. I get to work on computers instead of drawing and creating stuff by hand (although I do draw out my designs on paper before they are put on the computer). I started out the first semester with a pretty basic class and an Illustrator class. Many people in my Illustrator class already knew the software, and after a few projects I would look at what people created and think how good they were. I thought, “Wow, these people are good. How could I ever do that?” I talked with my mom, and it was the same issue from high school. I needed to renew my mind. God provided for me to go to OTC, it was His plan for me to go into the Graphic Design, and it was God who inspired me.

At the beginning of the second semester when I was walking to my car, my bad confession came up in my mind again, “Their designs are so cool; mine’s nothing compared to theirs.”

God caught me right there and impressed on me, “This is my work. Don’t dis it.”

I changed my thinking right there and said, “Thank you that You, God, came up with all of the designs, and it’s You who makes me successful.” So now when I see others’ designs, I stay focused on remembering those are their designs; my design is God-inspired.

Patricia Frater is a Glendale graduate continuing her education at OTC.

GIVING AND RECEIVING

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 14:00:00 +0000

By Angie Gibson

I was taught about tithing from the time I was a very small child. The most vivid memory I have about it was when my father sat me down to teach me how to use a checkbook. I had started my first real job, summer babysitting for a neighbor. I will never forget how he told me that I was to always give the tithe first, then put money into savings. Spending money was last on the list. So from then on I never questioned whether a tithe would be given; I just always did it.

After I got married God tested us. We made very little money, but we were determined to be faithful. We were definitely making below the “poverty” level. God impressed on us at that time to make our “tithe” more than ten percent. We were being faithful in the little things, so God could give us more to be faithful with. And He did.

Obedience to God brings security. As we had children, we believed I was to stay at home. Once again, we were tested. The tithe was never touched. God always provided. We never missed a bill, even though, strangely, there were a few years where we were operating in the red. We never asked for assistance, but God did provide assistance from others at times.

God is looking for those who love Him more than money. He also wants us to see that everything we have came from Him, so essentially, it is His to do with as He chooses. Even in the years where God began to bless us abundantly, and tithing was just a drop in the bucket, He began to show me that no matter how much we made He knew how to get my heart. He required us to use restraint in spending and also gave us specific assignments as to how He wanted us to use/give His money.

About two years ago, I was sitting in church, and our senior pastor read familiar verses before the offering. Malachi 3:10 says,

“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,

That there may be food in My house,

And prove me now in this,”

Says the Lord of hosts,

“If I will not open for you the windows of heaven

And pour out for you such a blessing

That there will not be room enough to receive it.”

During the few years that led up to that day, I felt like God had more than abundantly blessed us. I was surprised that day when God revealed to me, “You have not yet been blessed like this,” meaning to me that day was still coming and He wanted me to have expectation for it.

A holy sacrifice given to the Lord must be one without blemish—it must be our best (Malachi 1:6-14). “For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:38).

Angie Gibson is a homemaker in Springfield, Missouri.

Interviewing God, Part VII

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:00:00 +0000

Members of the Christian community often have questions about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Most of us have either said or heard someone say “When I get to heaven, the first thing I want to ask God is ….” In aggregate, the pool of questions becomes quite large. The drama, INTERVIEWING GOD, depicts a female news correspondent in an informal setting asking God a number of questions. The answers she receives are from His Word, which the Lord inspired the prophets and apostles to write. Scripture references are given throughout along with the author’s personal notes. The interview was lengthy as one might imagine, so here it is broken into parts. In the initial posting, God used a stage play analogy to answer the ultimate controversy of the universe question – “Who’s in charge?” He upheld the inerrancy of the Bible, or as He terms it, “the introductory remarks.” In the second posting, God revealed both the origin and the purpose of suffering. In the third, God explained key elements within the creation of man plus the devastating fall of man. He disclosed the choice to continue, nonetheless, making covenant with certain individuals and unveiled a restorative seed principle. In Part IV, more truths were mined concerning the use of parables, the essence of true learning, plus the principle of authority was revisited. That part ended with the interviewer “tipping her hand” a bit, asking ever so shyly about the second coming. In Part V, God plunged headlong into the study of the time of the end – or eschatology – debunking the most common views of our time. In Part VI, some of God’s answers given in Part V were brought into question via the interviewer bringing up His long ago promise to Abraham. This became merely a catalyst for God, revealing His true Israel. Here in Part VII, the Lord continues to discredit the popular “end times” teachings of our day, plus He brings clarity to those concepts of the thousand year reign, the rapture, and the resurrection.

INTERVIEWING GOD

(Serialized Version)

Michael A. Lawrence

Part VII

“A Rapture, a Resurrection, a Thousand Year Reign”

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE RAPTURE AND THE THOUSAND YEAR REIGN? HOW DO THOSE FIT WITH WHAT YOU ARE TELLING ME?

We’ve been talking about prophets, so I’ll answer the thousand-year question first. Prophets of old had a way with words that is even referred to by some as “the language of the prophets.” What if I declare that a play will run for two years and then fold, having completed its purpose? I can see the headline now if a prophet predicted its run. GREAT NEW PLAY IN TOWN – WILL RUN FOR A THOUSAND YEARS. Remarkably, because of his particular lingo, we both have described the same situation.

The so-called “thousand year reign” began when my son received his anointing for ministry at the Jordan River. It ended at his appearing at the fall of Jerusalem. In the language of the prophets “a thousand years” means a completed period of time. The return in judgment marked a completion of all that he was sent to accomplish for us. “The age to come” had come.[1] Conversely, a literal interpretation of the prophet’s time words spring from again the revolving door of endless circular reasoning by those in error when it comes to these matters.[2]

ARE THEY WRONG ABOUT THE RAPTURE TOO? THE WAY THINGS ARE GOING, MANY ARE HOPING IT WILL TAKE PLACE ANY DAY NOW.

That’s not a healthy attitude. Sadly, it comes via more circular reasoning from a flawed equation. Besides, they should be more interested in growing up than in going up. I have always been more concerned with development than I am with deliverance. The concept of a future rapture? It’s still two plus two equals five. Even so, a rapture deliverance did occur in conjunction with a part of our progression of the resurrection and just prior to the aforementioned siege of Jerusalem. But the futurist rapture theory? It has led many astray and blurred the focus of our production, if you will.

HOW DO YOU MEAN?

While we’re concentrating on building a company of performers with family resemblance who change their culture for the better, what are they doing? They’re intent on getting as many in the fold as possible, using scare tactics if need be, before everyone in the fold is magically whisked away, leaving the other poor suckers to face would-be disaster. It’s a mess. They have completely written off a culture that we are intent on transforming. Where’s the faith in that?[3] They are majoring in negativity and fear and

don’t even know it. They are merely following their natural impulses – the negative ones they still had at audition.[4] Some have good intentions, but in their sideshow they have a GREAT BIG DEVIL and an itty-bitty god. What a shame. They call it “hope.” People wonder why things seem to be getting worse and worse without fully grasping the impact of their very own words. They are unable to see that their negative words have the potential, if left unchecked, to edge the culture near the abyss of self-fulfilling prophecy.[5]

A PROGRESSION OF THE RESURRECTION – JUST WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

We phased it in step by step, starting with my son and then quite a few others. We had directed the people toward it for hundreds of years.

HOW’S THAT?

The concept was within the law we gave them through Moses – in the fine print. Paul discovered the link. I can’t emphasize enough the importance of being committed with all of one’s heart.[6] Paul was a consistent zealot – before, when he had been in error – and after, when he was apprehended and placed on the road to freedom.[7] He was chosen for his tenacity as much as anything. No one takes his stewardship of the truth to heart more than that dear man.[8] We could share previously unfathomable mysteries with him. Of course, he experienced a great deal of frustration trying to pass on the truths that we had allowed him to discover.

SO WHAT DID HE DISCOVER ABOUT YOUR RESURRECTION PLANS?

Everything. It’s not that complicated. We had the concept of “firstfruits” spelled out in the details of the old agreement. They were the first to spring from the ground – thus, the first to produce fully ripened heads of grain to be harvested and presented to me as a sacrifice. In our analogy, my son was the first of the “firstfruits”[9] when we brought him out of the ground. That was step one. Full heads of grain – numerous people of ours who had proceeded him in physical death – were harvested along with him from opened tombs, so to speak, in bodily form and came into the city to be seen by many.[10] That was step two. They were the remaining portion of our “firstfruits.” The best was yet to come.[11]

WHEN WILL THAT BE?

You’ve gone futuristic on me again. We’re back to your end of the world question. To be able to understand what I am saying, one thing has to become established in your thinking. The earth remains forever.[12] We must revisit the end that my son talked about, including the siege and fall of Jerusalem, when we put an end to that old system, replacing it with a new and better way.[13] One day shortly before that siege was the last day when we consummated our resurrection or, to use our metaphor, harvested the rest of the grain. That was “the end of the days” which we had promised centuries before in a vision to our servant, Daniel. On that day he would be resurrected from the dead into a new body – along with all the others who had “fallen asleep,” whose bodies had previously expired.[14] That was step three. And being true to our analogy, they would merely come to us and not be paraded among the living. All the grain was harvested, but only the firstfruits were presented to me publicly.[15]

THE RESURRECTION HAPPENED ALREADY AND I MISSED IT?

Yes and no. You are included in step four, but there was more to step three which I haven’t told you.

“IT’S NOT COMPLICATED?” JUST WHAT DO YOU MEAN?

Unless you can lay aside your preconceptions, this all may sound to you like “the Great Pumpkin arising out of the pumpkin patch on Halloween night.” It takes courage to be able to hear and believe the truth.

Paul explained our steps in a letter to a group of his charges. Through circular reasoning, some now mistakenly conclude that some of his words refer to a future rapture. The rapture you speak of was also accomplished on that last day return of my son as the old agreement was on the verge of being consumed by the new. It was truly accomplished a moment after the physically dead received a new body just like my son’s and also came forth to us.

The “last trumpet” had surely sounded and our people who remained alive were forever changed in like manner, just as Paul had predicted.[16] Our power that had raised my son and all the others had changed and translated them into the heavenly realm just like Enoch of old.[17] What’s more – from that day forward the words they left behind would reproduce, spiritually speaking, after their own kind throughout all future generations. From that point on, whoever came into the fold because of their word would get our package deal of complete redemption, including resurrection life.[18] That completed step three.

THAT SET UP STEP FOUR?

You got it. Paul understood the order of things. First, my son plus the rest of the “firstfruits.” Then the rest of the dead and those still alive at his rapture/resurrection coming – to be followed in years to come by each who died in his own order.[19] Everyone of ours would now experience a rapture/resurrection into a new body simultaneous with the expiration of their old body.

SO WE’RE NOT WAITING FOR FUTURE RETURNS OF YOUR SON IN ORDER TO EXPERIENCE EITHER RAPTURE OR RESURRECTION?

Death has been defeated for our worldwide troupe. This takes place for real in the unseen realm, not in your visible natural realm. Our life is accessed by faith, not sight.[20]

End of Part VII

Coming soon: Part VIII (The Finale), “The Best Is Yet To Come”

[1]Note: Unless otherwise noted, all scripture references are from the New King James Version. All parenthetical items contained within scriptural references are my emphasis.

“Then I saw an angel (Christ) coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished (at the end). But after (at the end of) these things he must be released for a little while (Spring of A.D. 66 to late autumn, A.D. 70*, the “Great Tribulation”). And I saw the thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was coming to them. I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshipped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned (were reigning) with Christ for a thousand years. (See Revelation 2:7, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, & 21.)

But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This (those I just saw) is the first resurrection. (Reborn “over-comers” translated at physical death into the heavenly realm.)

Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such, the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign (were reigning) with Him a thousand years.

Now when the thousand years have expired (are at an end), Satan will be released from his prison (for the “Great Tribulation” time period; see above*)” (Revelation 20:1-7).

[2]“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from (such) evil” (Proverbs 3:5-7).

[3]“But without faith it is impossible to please Him . . .” (Hebrews 11:6a). “So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:8). “ . . . that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:5).

[4]“For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:6).

[5]“Death and life are in the power of the tongue . . .” (Proverbs 23:7). “I believed, therefore I spoke, ‘I am greatly afflicted’” (Psalm 116:10). “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). “. . . out of the abundance (or poverty) of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34b).

[6]“. . . because you are lukewarm . . . I will spew you out of My mouth” (Revelation 3:16).

[7]“He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay; and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm” (Psalm 42:2, New American Standard).

[8]“. . . woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! For . . . I have been entrusted with a stewardship” (1 Corinthians 9:16b, 17b). “ . . . consider us . . . stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:1-2). “ . . . when they saw that the gospel . . . had been committed to me” (Galatians 2:7a).

[9]“. . . He (Christ) would be the first to rise from the dead . . .” (Acts 26:23a). “And He is . . . the firstborn from the dead” (Galatians 2:7a).

[10]“. . . graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many” (Matthew 27:52-53).

[11]“Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth – those who have done good, to the resurrection of life” (John 5:28-29a).

[12]“One generation passes away, and another generation comes; but the earth abides forever” (Ecclesiastes 1:4).

[13]“. . . a better covenant, which was established on better promises” (Hebrews 8:6b).

[14]“But you go your way till the end; for you shall rest (fall asleep), and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days” (Daniel 12:13). “. . . eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:23b). “. . . to redeem those that were under the law that we might receive the adoption as sons . . . Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir (inheritor) of God through Christ” (Galatians 4:5, 7).

[15]“Three times you will keep a feast to me in the year . . . the Feast of Unleavened Bread . . . the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field . . . (in which) the first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God . . . and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in (all the rest of) the fruit of your labors from the field” (Exodus 23:14, 15a, 16a, 19a, 16b).

“ . . . When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord . . . the sheaf of the wave offering” (Leviticus 23:10b, 11b, 15b).

[16]“Behold I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed – in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).

[17]“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die’” (John 11:25, 26a). “He who has the Son has life . . .” (1 John 5:12a). “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Christ from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:11). “. . . when He is revealed, we shall be like Him . . .” (1 John 3:2b). “For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God” (Romans 8:19).

_ It’s the author’s belief that in the midst of an unprecedented tribulation period

(AD 66-70) but prior to God’s wrath being unleashed and soon culminating at the AD 70

Fall of Jerusalem, all those still alive and in spiritual unity with Christ were instantly

changed. They were translated from the visible physical realm into the spiritual realm

just like Enoch of old – having involuntarily exchanged their earthly body for their new

everlasting heavenly one, never to be heard from on earth again. Less than a moment

before, others in spiritual unity with the Godhead by faith who had already physically

died were made alive and translated to heaven in like manner. Just like that, the multi-

prophesied and earnestly expected rapture/resurrection event had been accomplished by

an omnipotent God. Also as prophesied, an unbelieving apostate nation would be left

behind to experience the wrath to come.

[18]“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word” (John 17:20). “That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6).

[19]“But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the (first of the) firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ, (the rest of) the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming” (1 Corinthians 15:20-23).

[20]“Behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4). “For in it (the gospel) the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith’” (Romans 1:17).

FINDING YOUR PASSION

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 14:00:00 +0000

By Jonathan Clark

While attending a recent high school graduation, I listened as one of the speakers encouraged her fellow graduates to find their passion in life and discover and pursue what they were truly passionate about. She was exhorting them not to get caught up in the usual trivial pursuits of life—greed, the rat-race, the ho-hum—but rather, to “make a difference” by pursuing their passion.

I have, of late, been thinking quite a bit about passion. It seems that “passion” has become a theme among inspirational speakers and writers—and for good reason. Pursuing a passion not only involves direction and focus; pursuing passion involves motivation and purpose. We all need purpose and meaning in our lives. A worthwhile purpose motivates us to get out of bed and spend our time in pursuit of it. Each of us must have purpose and motivation, truly believing that our lives have meaning and value—that we are “making a difference.” This is man’s deepest need.

Jesus found His passion: “For I have come…not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:38). Jesus had discovered the key, the secret to His earthly life—to daily please the heart of His Father (John 4:34, 5:30; Matthew 26:39). He wasn’t interested in pursuing His own agendas. He knew that self-motivated goals would be empty and unfruitful and lead to a life of burn-out. He had found what motivated Him to get out of bed every morning. He was passionate about pleasing His Father.

Over time, I have discovered my passion. I have found what motivates me to get out of bed in the morning. My passion has become what was Jesus’ passion: to get up each day and spend time with the Lord, discern His plans for my day, and go do it with the strength He supplies! Jesus was a Father-pleaser, and His passion is my passion: “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked” (1 John 2:6). Pleasing Father God’s heart satisfies my heart. Passionately pursuing God’s agenda for my day motivates me and renews my vitality. Serving God’s purposes allows me a path in which to serve others, not myself. Without sounding cliché, discovering and fulfilling God’s plans for my day is “my calling,” my reason to be. This passion—His passion and now my passion—is a sustaining motivator. It has been well worth it for me to take the time to find and fulfill God’s passion for my life!

Jonathan Clark is associate pastor of Abundant Life Covenant Church and a physician in Springfield, Missouri.

God-Inspired

Interviewing God, Part VI

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 02:57:00 +0000

Members of the Christian community often have questions about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Most of us have either said or heard someone say “When I get to heaven, the first thing I want to ask God is ….” In aggregate, the pool of questions becomes quite large. The drama, INTERVIEWING GOD, depicts a female news correspondent in an informal setting asking God a number of questions. The answers she receives are from His Word, which the Lord inspired the prophets and apostles to write. Scripture references are given throughout along with the author’s personal notes. The interview was lengthy as one might imagine, so here it is broken into parts. In the initial posting, God used a stage play analogy to answer the ultimate controversy of the universe question – “Who’s in charge?” He upheld the inerrancy of the Bible, or as He terms it, “the introductory remarks.” In the second posting, God revealed both the origin and the purpose of suffering. In the third, God explained key elements within the creation of man plus the devastating fall of man. He disclosed the choice to continue, nonetheless, making covenant with certain individuals and unveiled a restorative seed principle. In Part IV, more truths were mined concerning the use of parables, the essence of true learning, plus the principle of authority was revisited. That part ended with the interviewer “tipping her hand” a bit, asking ever so shyly about the second coming. In Part V, God plunged headlong into the study of the time of the end – or eschatology – debunking the most common views of our time. Here in PART VI, some of God’s answers given in PART V are brought into question via the interviewer bringing up His long ago promise to Abraham. This becomes merely a catalyst for God, revealing His true Israel.

INTERVIEWING GOD

(Serialized Version)

Michael Lawrence

PART VI

“God’s Israel”

I STILL HAVE A PROBLEM ABOUT ISRAEL. HOW CAN YOU JUST WRITE THEM OFF? DOESN’T THAT MAKE YOU A LIAR AFTER WHAT YOU PROMISED ABRAHAM?

You remember your student days. Well, it might help to think about eschatology – the study of end time events – as if it were a giant mathematical equation on the blackboard. What if in the midst of all those figures there was a slight error like two plus two equals five? That would lead whatever followed in the equation to a false conclusion – no matter how elaborate or impressive those subsequent figures might be. That illustrates just what happens to those who rely mostly upon their own understanding and therefore stray from the simplicity of my son’s remarks concerning these matters.[1] They get caught up in some rather complicated and bizarre scenarios that are fraught with endless circular reasoning. The blackboard can get quite messy in the process, and they exhaust themselves while leading many others to the same false conclusions.

SO HOW ARE THEY TO GET OUT OF THAT REVOLVING DOOR AND BACK ON TRACK?

That involves going back to where two plus two equals five, but that means erasing all those pretty figures they have amassed. That involves humiliation and suffering. Not many opt for that, even though it’s the only way to get on the path to be guided into all truth. Like I said before, I don’t reveal myself to casual passers-by. They must invest in intimacy and trust – lay aside their own preconceptions. Their equations become subtle attempts at control. I am in charge, remember, and there are no shortcuts to reality.[2]

WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ISRAEL AND YOUR PROMISE TO ABRAHAM?

Everything. Shortly after my son had ascended back to us and before we sent him back in judgment, there was a great deal of friction between those followers of our new covenant and the sticklers to the old one who were unable to discern what had happened. One particular fellow from the old camp, an intellectual zealot whom we had been grooming for some time to enter the new way, was wrecking great havoc on our fresh charges. At a critical point, my son knocked the unruly fellow of his ride, blinded him, and told him where to go. The man was converted to the new way in the process and would become one of our chief spokesmen.[3] So much for “free will.” I meddle – both inwardly and behind the scenes.

Also, can you see a pattern here? How we use donkeys, horses, camels – various rides – in the production? It’s quite colorful and the audience loves it.

THE UNRULY FELLOW WAS SAUL OF TARSUS WHO BECAME THE APOSTLE, PAUL?

That’s right, but there is something that I want to reiterate here. My long suite – taking something very bad and recreating the same into something very, very good. Think about the introductory remarks and those whom we enabled and inspired to write them. The major portion of those writings was penned by former murderers or accessories to murder. Moses killed the Egyptian taskmaster.[4] David saw to it that his paramour’s husband would not return alive from battle.[5] While an angry mob of legalistic zealots stoned a chosen young man of ours, a consenting Paul – known as Saul at the time – guarded their coats.[6]

THAT’S AMAZING. I NEVER THOUGHT OF IT THAT WAY.

Nonetheless, Paul became a key player, and we became quite intimate. I was able to reveal much to him. He came to understand just whom my true Israel had always been and will always be. It’s not those of Jewish ancestry who continue to migrate to the tiny nation of Israel which many of our people are mistakenly fixed upon these days.

YOU’VE ALWAYS HAD SOMEONE ELSE IN MIND?

That’s right, and Paul revealed this to his various charges through his correspondence with them. We’re back to the seed principle.

HOW’S THAT?

My promise to Abraham was to him and to his seed. While there was by necessity a natural lineage involved, what we primarily had in mind was spiritual lineage. Our spokesman, Paul, was allowed to discover that my son was the seed in question. Paul had studied what was then the available portion of the introductory remarks. He saw my record of continually making covenant with key players. Through the lens of covenant, he detected that my Israel had always been spiritual in nature.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN?

Paul recognized that those key players and their remnant followers were just a covenant-keeping nation within a much larger nation of merely natural descendants.[7] Through his seed – my son – Abraham became the spiritual father of all who would allow faith to cause them to obey me.[8] Paul saw that it was to be through the faithful that my promise to Abraham would be fulfilled. Of course, that’s what I had in mind all along. My work has always been about relationships – the union of hearts, if you will.[9] It was never just keeping a bunch of rules or being of natural lineage. True family resemblance status cannot be accessed via those things. They are a hindrance, more often than not.

SO, IT’S THOSE WHO OBEY YOU WITH A HEART OF FAITH – THEY ARE ISRAEL?

You got it.[10] That’s my Israel, the only one – always has been. Of course, my son got it too. When told that his own mother and brothers were trying to get through the crowd in order to see him, he asked the rhetorical question, “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?” Taking full advantage of the teachable window, he supplied the answer as well. Whoever was hearing from me and obeying my voice from a faithful heart was his real brother or sister or mother.[11] Many continue to stumble over that bedrock of truth.[12]

Paul had no idea that he was contributing to the introductory remarks when he wrote to his various charges about these foundational matters. Remember, we’re talking covenant here. That remains foreign to the thinking of a majority of our own troupe. Discernment is a wonderful thing. Abraham knows that I haven’t lied to him.

End of Part VI

Coming soon: Part VII, “A Rapture, A Resurrection, A Thousand Year Reign”

[1]“But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3).

[2]“The humble, He guides in justice, and the humble He teaches His way. . . . The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant” (Psalm 25:9, 14).

[3]“Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples . . . (gained authority to search them out at Damascus so that) he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he journeyed . . . suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground and heard (Jesus’) voice . . . So he, trembling and astonished, said, ‘Lord, what do you want me to do?’ Then the Lord said to him, ‘Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’ Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one . . . (and) was three days without sight . . . . (Simultaneously) the Lord said in a vision (to) . . . a certain disciple named Ananias (that he would be) ‘putting his hand on (Saul) so that he might receive his sight.’ (Ananias expressed fear.) But the Lord said to him, ‘Go for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel, for I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.’ . . . Ananias . . . lay his hands on him . . . and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized . . . received food . . . was strengthened . . . spent some days with the disciples at Damascus. Immediately, he preached Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God” (Acts 9:1a, 2-4a, 6, 8a, 9a, 10b, 12b, 17a, 18b-20).

The author acknowledges that according to Scripture, Saul of Tarsus may have very well been on foot when he “fell to the ground” in awe. However, in this interview, God makes it clear that he was atop some conveyance of the time.

[4]“So he (Moses) looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand” (Exodus 2:12).

[5]“And he (David) wrote in the letter (to his general, Joab), saying, ‘Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck down and die’” (2 Samuel 11:15).

[6]“Then they cried out . . . ran at him (Stephen) . . . cast him out of the city and stoned him . . . (laying) their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul (who, thereby) . . . was consenting to his death” (Acts 7:57-58, 8:1a).

[7]“For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; neither are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants . . . That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise (covenant) . . . not from among the Jews only, but also from among Gentiles, as He says also in Hosea, ‘I will call those who were not My people, MY PEOPLE’ . . . Of the sons of Israel . . . it is the remnant that will be saved . . . a remnant according to God’s gracious choice” (Romans 9:6b-7a, 8a, 24b-25a, 27b; 11:5b, New American Standard).

[8]“(While) Gentiles . . . did not pursue righteousness . . . (nonetheless, they) attained . . . the righteousness (which is) of faith; (natural) Israel pursuing the law of righteousness . . . has not attained (it) . . . because they did not seek it by faith . . . (but) stumbled at the stumbling stone (Christ) . . . (and) because of unbelief they were broken off” (Romans 9:30-32; 11:20a) . . . Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. . . . And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise (covenant)” (Galatians 3:7, 29).

[9]“’But this is the (new) covenant . . .’ declares the Lord, ‘I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will right it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people’” (Jeremiah 31:33, New American Standard).

[10]“. . . to obey is better than sacrifice” (1 Samuel 15:22b). “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart” (Psalm 51:17). “Bondservants, be obedient . . . in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; not with eye service, but . . . doing the will of God from the heart” (Ephesians 6:5, 6).

[11]“Then His mother and brothers came to see Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd. And it was told to Him by some, who said, ‘Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You.’

“But He answered and said to them, ‘My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it’” (Luke 8:19-21).

[12] “(Either) He (and what He says) will be as a sanctuary (or as) a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense . . . “ (Isaiah 8:14a).

Interviewing God V

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 14:00:00 +0000

Members of the Christian community often have questions about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Most of us have either said or heard someone say “When I get to heaven, the first thing I want to ask God is ….” In aggregate, the pool of questions becomes quite large. The drama, INTERVIEWING GOD, depicts a female news correspondent in an informal setting asking God a number of questions. The answers she receives are from His Word, which the Lord inspired the prophets and apostles to write. Scripture references are given throughout along with the author’s personal notes. The interview was lengthy as one might imagine, so here it is broken into parts. In the initial posting, God used a stage play analogy to answer the ultimate controversy of the universe question – “Who’s in charge?” He upheld the inerrancy of the Bible, or as He terms it, “the introductory remarks.” In the second posting, God revealed both the origin and the purpose of suffering. In the third, God explained key elements within the creation of man plus the devastating fall of man. He disclosed the choice to continue, nonetheless, making covenant with certain individuals and unveiled a restorative seed principle. In Part IV, more truths were mined concerning the use of parables, the essence of true learning, plus the principle of authority was revisited. That part ended with the interviewer “tipping her hand” a bit, asking ever so shyly about the second coming. Here in Part V, God plunges headlong into the study of the time of the end – or eschatology – debunking the most common views of our time.

INTERVIEWING GOD

(Serialized Version)

Michael A. Lawrence

Part V

“The Return”

SO YOU’LL TELL ME ABOUT THE RETURN OF YOUR SON?

Yes, but brace yourself. The truth is, he returned already. He didn’t come sauntering in on some donkey colt, though. No, he was atop a mighty stallion, or I should say many mighty steeds which were outfitted for war. He came just how he had predicted he would, did just what he said he would do.[1] Those of his own generation, who had studied what there was of the introductory remarks at the time and had not only seen my works but had learned my ways – they knew what a return in judgment was supposed to look like. I had documented many examples for them in the rough drafts.[2]

WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? WHEN DID HE RETURN?

About forty years after he ascended back to us. It was what secular historians would call “The Fall of Jerusalem.” We manifested our judgment in the Roman army, not at all unlike we had done so often in the past. We “rode in” on those magnificent war horses and laid waste to an already debauched city. We flattened a corrupted temple and rendered inoperable a whole way of life.[3] We made way for a better way.[4]

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE GREAT TRIBULATION? WHO WAS THE BEAST? WHAT ABOUT THE ANTI-CHRIST?

Don’t go bailing out on me now. It takes courage to believe the truth – especially when you have a lot invested in something else. Great tribulation? You want to know about great tribulation?[5]

About four years before Jerusalem fell, what historians would tag “The Siege of Jerusalem” would begin. Conditions became so bad that I don’t even want to discuss it here. You’ll have to read it for yourself, but let me warn you – it isn’t pretty, and they didn’t tell the half of it. The beast and the anti-Christ? Both the same fellow. Came on the scene and left the stage just prior to the siege – just as my son’s close friend had seen in a vision. It’s all in the introductory remarks, submersed in a lot of symbolism.[6] We had to do that to protect the innocent, a remnant we would use to carry on the production from there. My spirit guided them past the murkiness and into the truth as need be.[7]

WHOA! YOU’RE LOSING ME. THE BEAST AND THE ANTI-CHRIST THE SAME GUY? AND JUST WHOM ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?

He’s a well-known and rather infamous historical figure, as one might imagine. I’m sure you’ve heard the expression: “He fiddled while Rome burned.” That was the guy – as nasty a critter as ever came down the pike. He wasn’t nicknamed “The Beast” for nothing.

SO YOU’RE SAYING THAT EMPEROR NERO WAS THE BEAST AND THE ANTI-CHRIST ALL ROLLED INTO ONE?

Yes.

THAT'S INCREDIBLE.

Not to the folks who had to put up with him.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE END OF THE WORLD? YOUR SON WAS RATHER EXPLICIT ABOUT THAT. WHEN WILL THAT HAPPEN?

What a question – two questions actually. Let me put it this way. The end that you’re talking about? Never. I have seen to that. My play runs forever – keeps reinventing itself in perpetuity.[8] The end that my son talked about? That happened back in Act II, Scene 5 – the very juncture we have been discussing. With the fall of Jerusalem, we put and end to that world, allowing the new one that we had created to fully kick-in. That covenant with Abraham and his progeny that I mentioned earlier? We replaced it – I should say, absorbed it into the one that I made with my son and his future siblings.[9] That was the plan all along. Just a tad difficult to explain, but when I made that earlier agreement, I had the future one in mind. They were one in the same, actually – sort of like the beast and the anti-Christ.

HAVEN’T SCIENTISTS DISCOVERED THAT THE EARTH IS SLOWING DOWN? DOESN’T THAT MEAN THE END IS INEVITABLE?

Be careful not to forget who controls it all, who invented science for his own purposes. That’s me. Earth winding down – just one result of the usurper’s rebellion and the judgment which followed. Tilting the Earth is another.[10] No need to fret about those things. We can fix it all when the time is right. The best is yet to come.

It is helpful to be actively engaged in possibility thinking.[11] You recall that I mentioned audience participation. We called our servant Gabriel from the audience to inform the mother we had picked for my son of her impending miracle. Do not forget he conveyed to her that with me nothing will be impossible.[12]

BUT WHAT ABOUT ISRAEL? IT’S NOT JUST A COINCIDENCE THAT THE NATION WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1948, IS IT?

There are no coincidences. We allowed that. Even so, it became a “straw dog” and now serves to separate those who use their intellect, at times, to interpret the introductory remarks from those who rely on my spirit to discern each facet of truth from those remarks.[13] It has worked remarkably well in that regard. The same holds true for a remnant of the old temple wall which we allow to remain standing to this day – the “wailing wall.” Just another dog with the same spots. Not a problem for the discerning but a definite stumbling stone to the intellectual elite.

WAIT A MINUTE – I JUST REMEMBERED SOMETHING. MY COUSIN’S A MINISTER, AND HE SAYS MOST SCHOLARS BELIEVE THAT JOHN’S VISION, THE BOOK OF REVELATION, WAS WRITTEN ABOUT A.D. 95. HOW COULD JOHN BE WARNING THE REMNANT ABOUT A FALL OF JERUSALEM WHICH HAPPENED 25 YEARS BEFORE?

A late date for the last book from the introductory remarks – how can I put it? No disrespect to your relative, a fine man, but the scholars are grasping at straws. No, late-dating those closing remarks – another pup from the same litter, like national Israel and the wailing wall. Any formula for understanding our introductory remarks which relegates my spirit to the orchestra pit is flawed. It’s their own creation – Exegesis 101 straw-grasping, yet they’re quite proud of it. Apart from allowing it to develop, we had no part in it. When compared to spirit-taught truth, all natural learning or systematic theology, if you will, shrinks to insignificance.

SO, YOU’RE SAYING THEIRS IS A POOR ARGUMENT?

In the first place, their case rests primarily upon a small bit of evidence outside of the inspired remarks – shaky evidence at best. Even on an intellectual level, it will not stand the test of merely being placed alongside all the contradictory historical external testimony. The evidence within those inspired writings blows their argument out of the water altogether. Although they are sincere in what they believe, what they have is a house of cards, built on sand.

YOU’RE SAYING THAT THERE IS BIBLICAL EVIDENCE FOR AN EARLY DATE?

Yes. It’s everywhere you look. For example, certain folks within our troupe were concerned that they had overslept and missed my son’s return in judgment.[14] Think about that. How could they have believed such if the return was to involve the visible destruction of the planet?

OKAY. SO WHAT HAPPENED?

We had a certain delegated authority of theirs, whom they highly respected, send them a letter to remind them of a few things and ease their fears. We included it in the introductory remarks.

REMIND THEM OF WHAT?

The chain of events we had set in motion. It involved a politically compromised priesthood which served to keep in check an evil individual – unknown to our charges at the time. The dastardly fellow was a fallen-away leader who was soon to arise from within a splinter group which was violently revolting against the ruling government. The third link in our chain would be that very government’s armies. Our emissary reminded those folks in his letter that first the vicious leader must violate the temple, just as Daniel and my son had both predicted. The evildoer would eliminate those restraining and tilt the political scales, thus, becoming our catalyst for the destruction of the temple at the fall of Jerusalem. Our charges were reminded that they already knew what was holding back the mystery man. That evil man, his restrainers, our fearful charges – all served the same generation.[15]

WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH THE DATING OF THE FINAL BOOK OF THE BIBLE?

Both our man’s letter to his fearful charges as well as the recorded vision that you are referring to attest to the very same temple which was yet to be destroyed.[16]

End of Part V

Coming soon: Part VI, “God’s Israel”

Unless otherwise noted, the scriptural references are from the New King James Version. All parenthetical items contained within scriptural references are my emphasis.

[1]“. . . His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, ‘. . . Assuredly I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down . . . . Immediately after the tribulation of those days . . . the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven . . . and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. . . . Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all these things take place’” (Matthew 24:1b, 2b, 29a, 30, 34).

[2]“The (prophecy) against Egypt: ‘Behold, the Lord rides on a swift cloud, and will come into Egypt . . . ‘ Then the Lord said, ‘. . . the king of Assyria (will) lead away the Egyptians as prisoners . . . to the shame of Egypt’” (Isaiah 19:1a, 20:3a, 4). “. . . the day of the Lord is near; it will be a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations. And a sword will come upon Egypt . . . (when) her foundations are torn down. . . . when I break there the yoke bars of Egypt . . . a cloud will cover her . . . thus I will execute judgments on Egypt’”

(Ezekiel 30:3-4, 18-19a, New American Standard). “For the day of the Lord is coming, for it is at hand . . . like the morning clouds spread over the mountains, a people come great and strong . . . surely nothing shall escape them . . . “ (Joel 2:1b, 2, 3b).

It’s the author’s belief that most modern-day theologians try to explain away the time statements which Jesus made to His contemporaries about His return, because they have not yet grasped the true nature of His promised return in power and judgment. They have confused a cataclysmic end to our world with the fall of Jerusalem/destruction of the temple/end of sacrificial Judaism historical phenomenon.

The author believes that Jesus returned when He said He would to accomplish what He had prophesied in just the way that those who had heard and understood expected Him to. New Testament authors were not mistaken when they declared: “For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay” (Hebrews 10:37, New American Standard); or “. . . the end of all things is at hand” (1 Peter 4:7); or “. . . the coming of the Lord is at hand” (James 5:8). They knew that when Jesus said, “This generation will by no means pass away until all these things take place” (Matthew 24:34), He meant their generation – not some future generation or age to come.

The apostles knew that Christ’s “coming on the clouds” metaphor (Matthew 24:30, 26:64) was analogous to all Old testament language depicting God’s calamitous actions to bring judgments to nations. Throughout their history, God had acted invisibly through the armies of man or via natural phenomenon to achieve His will rather dramatically.

Like Father, like Son – an unseen Jesus employed Roman armies and came “on the clouds” to effect a “great tribulation” final siege, the fall of Jerusalem, and the subsequent destruction of the temple as promised. Paul had predicted that “the form of this world is passing away” (1 Corinthians 7:31). The only “world” that most first-century disciples had known was gone. The “new creation” world that they had only begun to experience had fully come.

[3]“A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. . . . Therefore say I to you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof” (Matthew 7:18, 21:43, King James Version).

[4]“In that He says, ‘A new covenant,’ He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away” (Hebrews 8:13). “. . . the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining . . .” (1 John 2:8b). “For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious” (2 Corinthians 3:11).

[5]“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened” (Matthew 24:21-22).

[6]“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. . . . I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day (when) . . . I turned to see the voice that spoke to me. And having turned I saw . . . out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword . . .”

(Revelation 1:3, 10a, 12a, 16a).

[7]“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come” (John 6:13).

[8]“Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end, Amen” (Ephesians 3:21, King James Version). “One generation passes away, and another generation comes; but the earth abides forever” (Ecclesiastes 1:4). “And He built His sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which He has established forever” (Psalm 78:69).

[9]“For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us”

(2 Corinthians 1:20).

[10]“He shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars (axis) tremble” (Job 9:6).

[11]“Now faith is the substance (seed) of things hoped for, the evidence (seed) of things not seen. . . . by faith the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which are visible” (Hebrews 11:1, 3).

[12]“. . . the angel Gabriel was sent by God to . . . a virgin . . . (whose) name was Mary. And . . . the angel said to her, ‘. . . with God nothing will be impossible’” (Luke 1:26-28a, 37). “But Jesus looked at them and said to them, ‘With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible’” (Matthew 19:26). “Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and the outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You” (Jeremiah 32:6).

[13]“Be diligent to present yourself approved of God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:16). “But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but . . . the same anointing teaches you concerning all things”

(1 John 2:27a).

[14]“Now brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together with Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from one of us, as though the day of Christ had come” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2).

[15]“Paul (and company), to the church of the Thessalonians: Grace to you and peace . . . (for) it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels . . . when He comes that Day. . . . (But) let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God . . . Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming” (2 Thessalonians 1:1a, 2a, 6-7, 10a; 2:3-8).

“Therefore, when you see the ‘abolition of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place [whoever reads, let him understand], then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains” (Matthew 24:15-16).

“And the forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation” (Daniel 11:31).

It’s the author’s belief that the “man of sin” is identified in Jewish historian Josephus’ account of the horrible destruction of the temple as one John, the son of Levi, from the provincial area of Gischala. This man meets all the criteria. He led a Zealot faction’s revolt (“the falling away”) against Rome, persuading the people of Jerusalem to make war with the Romans. He usurped all that represented God in the temple. He ordered the removal of the priesthood (“what is restraining”) and the death of the high priest, (“he who now restrains”), Ananus (“until he is taken out of the way”). A treacherous man – he had the throats slit of anyone he surmised might be in allegiance with the Romans. He denigrated the temple, melting down many of the sacred utensils. Daily sacrifices were ended. Josephus wrote that “the death of Ananus (who “preferred peace” with Rome “above all things”) was the beginning of the destruction of the city” (Josephus: Wars VI, p313). The entire siege took three and one-half years.

[16]“Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, ‘Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months’” (Revelation 11:1-2).

Interviewing God IV

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 26 May 2010 14:00:00 +0000

Members of the Christian community often have questions about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Most of us have either said or heard someone say “When I get to heaven, the first thing I want to ask God is ….” In aggregate, the pool of questions becomes quite large. The drama, INTERVIEWING GOD, depicts a female news correspondent in an informal setting asking God a number of questions. The answers she receives are from His Word, which the Lord inspired the prophets and apostles to write. Scripture references are given throughout along with the author’s personal notes. The interview was lengthy as one might imagine, so here it is broken into parts. In the initial posting, God used a stage play analogy to answer the ultimate controversy of the universe question – “Who’s in charge?” He upheld the inerrancy of the Bible, or as He terms it, “the introductory remarks.” In the second posting, God revealed both the origin and the purpose of suffering. In the third, God explained key elements within the creation of man plus the devastating fall of man. He disclosed the choice to continue, nonetheless, making covenant with certain individuals and unveiled a restorative seed principle. In Part IV, more truths were mined concerning the use of parables, the essence of true learning, plus the principle of authority was revisited. That part ended with the interviewer “tipping her hand” a bit, asking ever so shyly about the second coming. In Part V, God plunged headlong into the study of the time of the end – or eschatology – debunking the most common views of our time. Here in PART VI, some of God’s answers given in PART V are brought into question via the interviewer bringing up His long ago promise to Abraham. This becomes merely a catalyst for God, revealing His true Israel.

INTERVIEWING GOD

(Serialized Version)

Michael Lawrence

PART VI

“God’s Israel”

I STILL HAVE A PROBLEM ABOUT ISRAEL. HOW CAN YOU JUST WRITE THEM OFF? DOESN’T THAT MAKE YOU A LIAR AFTER WHAT YOU PROMISED ABRAHAM?

SO HOW ARE THEY TO GET OUT OF THAT REVOLVING DOOR AND BACK ON TRACK?

WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ISRAEL AND YOUR PROMISE TO ABRAHAM?

Also, can you see a pattern here? How we use donkeys, horses, camels – various rides – in the production? It’s quite colorful and the audience loves it.

THE UNRULY FELLOW WAS SAUL OF TARSUS WHO BECAME THE APOSTLE, PAUL?

THAT’S AMAZING. I NEVER THOUGHT OF IT THAT WAY.

YOU’VE ALWAYS HAD SOMEONE ELSE IN MIND?

That’s right, and Paul revealed this to his various charges through his correspondence with them. We’re back to the seed principle.

HOW’S THAT?

WHAT DO YOU MEAN?

SO, IT’S THOSE WHO OBEY YOU WITH A HEART OF FAITH – THEY ARE ISRAEL?

End of Part VI

Coming soon: Part VII, “A Rapture, A Resurrection, A Thousand Year Reign”

Unless otherwise noted, the scriptural references are from the New King James Version. All parenthetical items contained within scriptural references are my emphasis.

[1]“But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3).

[2]“The humble, He guides in justice, and the humble He teaches His way. . . . The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant” (Psalm 25:9, 14).

[4]“So he (Moses) looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand” (Exodus 2:12).

“But He answered and said to them, ‘My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it’” (Luke 8:19-21).

[12] “(Either) He (and what He says) will be as a sanctuary (or as) a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense . . . “ (Isaiah 8:14a).

Joshua and Moses

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 20 May 2010 14:00:00 +0000

By Russ Cook

On July 17, 2009, while on a bike ride, my wife and I received a call that our Pastor had “put off his tent” and transitioned to be with the Lord. We learned he laid down for a nap and awakened in the presence of Christ. Wilson Phillips had for many years been my spiritual leader but had become much more; he was always a steady and sure rock for me and for my family to run to and rely on. I never really thought about life without him. He married Tara and me and helped us through many struggles. He was with us when we lost a child, when our twins were born early, when we changed careers, at graduations, sporting events; nearly every significant event in our lives as a family, he was a light of guidance through turmoil, my friend. Even though I knew he was now with the Lord and hitting golf balls almost as far I do (he will get that joke), I had a deep sense of loss and hurt.

Our ride had taken us farther from home than we realized or wanted to be. As we rode I felt numb. After we were home, I received a call from my friend Ed, asking if we were still going to have the Men’s Breakfast, which I was supposed to lead. I had not even thought about the Breakfast. My initial response was that we should continue with it, but I was not sure. I wanted to talk to Pastor Davis to confirm my thought. Unable to reach Pastor Davis, I began to pray and reflect. I believed immediately that God put faith in my heart to go forward with the breakfast, but I had no idea what to say or do. God led me to read in Deuteronomy about the death of Moses. As I read, the Scriptures came alive, and even in my state of weirdness, faith was in my heart to have the breakfast with the words God gave me to speak. When I reached Pastor Davis, I told him what I believed we should do and what God was beginning to show me. He agreed, so the breakfast was on.

As I prepared to speak, I continued to read about Moses. The Word says that “His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished” (Deut.34:7), and that there was no prophet like Moses “whom the Lord knew face to face” (Deut.34:10). That sure did sound like Bishop. His life was abundant, and it was clear that he knew God in a deep and intimate way. These words comforted me. As I re-read and meditated on the Word, I read how the children of Israel wept for Moses. I certainly felt their pain. Then it said that “So the days of weeping and mourning for Moses ended” (Deut.34:8). I was not there yet, but a seed of faith entered my heart. I read on to verse 9 which said, “Now Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him,” and it hit me clearly how and why we must move forward. To honor Bishop, his life and work, I/we must continue. We must build upon the foundation he laid and increase. There was certainly a time of mourning and loss, but I had this seed of faith that helped me believe that it would end and had clear direction that we must continue in the direction he set on the foundation he laid and move ahead. I realized God was not surprised by these events. He had prepared Bishop, like Moses, AND he had prepared Pastor Davis, like Joshua. It was clear that we, as a church body, were to follow Pastor Davis “as the Lord had commanded Moses (Bishop)” (vs.10). This is the message I felt God wanted me to speak at the breakfast.

I turned the page and began to read Joshua. After the death of Moses, the Lord spoke to Joshua to speak to Israel and lead them to cross the Jordan. The Israelites had been camped, waiting to possess their promised land for some 40 years. As soon as Moses died, God told Joshua to take them in. I am convinced that these people were very uncertain about Joshua. Even though Moses knew him well, many if not most of the people only knew him as Moses’ assistant. God, possibly anticipating this reaction, set into motion a plan to establish Joshua as their leader. Towards this end, God spoke to Joshua to lead the people into the land God had given them. He promised that no man could stand before him and that God would not leave him. Then God instructed him to be strong and very courageous so that he could do everything as Moses had commanded. Moses had given Joshua and the people clear direction and clear vision, and Joshua was to lead them as he had been taught by Moses in that direction to accomplish the vision God had given Israel through Moses. That vision was to go in and possess the land.

So they crossed the Jordan. The first challenge was the city of Jericho. It was a city surrounded by massive walls. The Bible says that the people of Jericho had heard of the Israelites and that “the terror of you (Israel) has fallen on us” (Joshua 2:9). The Israelites had been camped a few miles away from Jericho for many years. Those in Jericho had no doubt heard how Israel’s God had plagued Egypt and in one fell swoop wiped out the world’s most powerful army. No doubt the walls of Jericho had been built bigger and stronger in this anticipation. At that point in time, Israel was not really battle tested; they had no real fighting force, chariots or other significant weapons to take on Jericho. They did not even have the element of surprise. They had been camped near Jericho 40 years. To a smart person this coming battle must have looked really stupid.

But God had a purpose. He spoke to Joshua and said, “This day I will begin to magnify you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you”(Joshua 3:7). Then he gave Joshua a plan of attack to take Jericho. The plan made no sense to the natural mind. I am certain Joshua knew this, and I suspect had some reluctance in presenting this plan to the people. I suspect he shared the plan first to those he trusted so he would have their support when he was challenged by those who thought they knew better. I suspect many thought that the plan not only would not work but was crazy and would get the whole nation wiped out.

But God strengthened Joshua and exalted him in the site of all Israel. So they attacked Jericho by walking around it six days. Not much military might on display. I do not know what the people of Jericho were anticipating, but I am certain they were shocked. But wait; on the seventh day the Israelites really let them have it. The people marched around the city not just once but seven times, wow! Then their secret weapon…the priests blew trumpets, and the people shouted. Imagine the awesome military might, priests blowing trumpets and people shouting. Low and behold, the walls came tumbling down. God demolished their city. Many purposes of “Joshua’s ridiculous” plan were obvious. Dependency and trust in God were clear, but it also built faith and trust in the people for Joshua and put fear in the other nations. “So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout all the country”(Joshua 6:27).

Ai was next. Ai was much smaller than Jericho. It was so small that Israel attacked with only 3000 men. However, Israel was defeated. At Jericho, God defeated a massively walled city, but Israel’s army could not even defeat a small foe. The problem was that there was sin in the people. God used Joshua to find and root out the sin. Then God gave Joshua a plan to defeat Ai, using the previous failure. Israel attacked like before and then began to run away like before, as if they were defeated again. However, according to the plan given by God to Joshua, when the army of Ai pursued Israel, no doubt thinking another rout was in order, another group of Israel’s army snuck in behind and took the defenseless city. Again, Joshua was exalted in the eyes of the people of God.

As I read these stories and meditated on them, I saw the parallels between Bishop and Moses and Pastor Davis and Joshua. God spoke to me that just as God had spoken to Bishop he was speaking to Pastor Davis and that all of the vision, promise and direction given by Bishop to us is to be carried on and fulfilled with Pastor Davis just as with Moses and Joshua. God gave us these stories in the Bible to reveal His character and nature and give us host of many witnesses to prove both Himself and His Spirit in others to give us faith, hope, and peace. This should also give us comfort for our loss, and strength and confidence in God and His chosen leaders.

As I read these words over again and meditated, my sense of loss was turned to purpose and hope. Not that I did not miss my father, but I saw how his vision, dream, and passion were to be carried on. For me not to join in and support “Joshua” was to ignore and defame everything Bishop taught me.

The next morning as I shared this message with the men at the breakfast, my heart was lifted and God expanded even more on what He was teaching me. I saw how God honored Moses as he spoke to Joshua, who also honored Moses as he spoke to the people and carried out the plan. God did not leave us alone. He was not surprised. We are well cared for. He has provided, ordained, and anointed for us a leader in Pastor Davis. Our job is be strong and courageous, to step into the water, obey God by accepting and embracing his leaders, and remember “every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon, I have given you, as I said to Moses (Bishop)” (Joshua 1:3).