More than a Song

As I journey through this life, Your statutes are my song. (Psalm 119:54)

“I don’t know how to love him...” (from Jesus Christ Superstar)

Andrew L. Weber doesn’t even know Him (Jesus), so how can he write a love song about Him. However, the character represented (Mary Magdalene) knew the love of Jesus and responded with such love that she held up his ascension into heaven when rising from the grave!

When the music fades, all is stripped away and I simply come,
Longing just to bring something that's of worth, that will bless your heart.
I'll bring you more than a song, for a song in itself is not what you have required.
You search much deeper within, through the way things appear,
You're looking into my heart.
CHORUS:
I'm coming back to the heart of worship,
And it's all about you.   (By Matt Redman)

Intimacy with Jesus is not a song! It is life. (Not a life-style either). It is not a supernatural anointing, but it will affect our life in supernatural ways. It doesn’t come about by singing, but songs will flow because of it. You cannot be busy doing things “for God” and remain in intimacy (if you even have an intimate relationship with Him in the first place). You must take time to quiet the soul enough to find His peace, His joy, His comfort, His words for you.

We live in a world full of promises. ALL FALSE! Yet this world has most peoples attention, including those who belong to Jesus. Many who belong to Jesus have joined themselves, or remain joined, to the world, resulting in little appetite for “The WORD”. Like Adam, they eat of the wrong fruit. They can only cope with entertainment!

David Diga Hernandez has certainly found the life. Check out this youtube video and website

Faith by Grace or Faith through Works – you be the judge.

This post is a result of a number of conversations with people who prefer to “make their own mind up” regarding God, sin, judgement, the way of salvation, heaven, hell and where they will or won’t spend eternity. (Whatever you choose - Eternity does NOT go away).

³⁶“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” ³⁷Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” ³⁸Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹“For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” ACTS 2:36-39

⁵And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, ⁶as well as... were gathered together at Jerusalem. ⁷And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?” ⁸Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: ⁹“If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, ¹⁰“let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. ¹¹“This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ ¹²“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” ACTS 4:5-12

The parable of the sower is found in Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-20, Luke 8:4-15

“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.”

Regarding this parable Mark tells us: He [Jesus] said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?”

This is an important question for us and requires an honest appraisal of our attitude towards God and His sovereignty on the one hand, and the condition of our heart on the other.

Right now, people in our society are trying to make anything, written or spoken, that would prick the conscience, a crime. To say homosexuality is wrong, that marriage can only be with a man and a woman, results in people being taken to court. Their crime – pricking somebodies conscience. Current trends in government are to pass laws suppressing anybody that would say or do anything, no matter how innocent, that would prick another persons conscience. Laws surrounding abortion are another case in point. Just because the baby is in its incubator, though it is alive, it has no right to life, and by writing this I become a criminal merely for having an opinion!

In any activity, be it sport, work, games, socialising, there are rules (written and unwritten-ruled by conscience) to keep the activity workable, enjoyable, actionable etc. When the “rules” are broken, the game or the activity falls apart – oftentimes leaving people hurt. THAT IS WHAT SIN DOES! It hurts people, and it does not happen by accident. If you say some evil force made me do it, you may well be right, but somewhere, somehow, you gave into that evil – YOU sinned!
Sin is not cleansed by removing the notion of it. Neither will that remove the sense of guilt. There are two reasons to be considered here:

1. Jesus speaking of the Holy Spirit - ⁸“And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement: ⁹“of sin, because they do not believe in Me; ¹⁰“of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; ¹¹“of judgement, because the ruler of this world is judged. John 16:8-11
2. ¹Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, ²speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, ³forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 1 Timothy 4:1-3

Here we see Holy Spirit (God) convicting one group of people in order to turn them form their waywardness, while another group cannot be convinced under any circumstance. It is this second group that is pulling our children down their path through the twisted “safe schools” program, gender bending material like “The Gender Fairy” book and teaching them to rebel by taking a time off school to jump up and down about some cause they have been ill-informed on. I cite these real life examples as they show what the says is true.

Sin is rebellion against God.

The wages of sin is death – it hurts, even kills others, and unless the SINNER repents, there is no escape from this.

Mark my words – ETERNAL LIFE through Jesus, the Christ, is on offer. For those who refuse it, the only thing available is to remain in that death – FOREVER! You choose.

Hebrews 10:10 tells us “Christ died once for all.” Does this mean ALL people are automatically saved? The verses after this answer very clearly – for example:

²⁹Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” ³¹It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Hebrews 10:29-31

Hebrews explains how SIN was dealt with for the believer. We see that it was not glossed over, but instead was placed on the true sacrificial lamb, the one spoken of in Isaiah 53, the one we celebrate at Christmas and Easter, the one who will soon come to rule with iron rod as King of Kings, Lord of Lords. It was He who bore our SIN. It is because our SIN was DEALT with through the torture He went through on the cross, that we who have appropriated the GIFT OF GOD, that sacrifice on our behalf, that we no longer need be weighed down by a guilty conscience, but rather, carried into the everlasting arms of our Heavenly Father, seated with Christ in Heavenly places with a CLEAR conscience...

²²let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. ²³Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. ²⁴And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, ²⁵not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:22-25

Our conscience is a barometer for the soul. Like any barometer, it needs reference points to give a meaningful measure. We see a certain group of people using the Quran as the reference for their soul, and what carnage results! I see many Christians working (for example) amongst the poorest in the nations delivering healing, justice, wholeness to others in Jesus’ name because they have a right heart with God, and their souls are referenced against scripture (the Holy bible). I also am grateful for the many Christian men who fought alongside their fellow countrymen to keep our nation free from invasion and died even for their allies far away.

Doing away with conscience only makes it necessary to make more laws. Having a new heart given by the one who made us, and a right Spirit is the way to a clear conscience and a straight walk along the narrow way. Jesus said few would go that way.

Finally…

²⁸Then they said to Him [Jesus], “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” ²⁹Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” John 6:28-29

P.S. for Atheists and alike...
Remember when you was a little child, you would play hide and seek – you cover your eyes and say “you can’t see me”.
Well…
          GROW UP!

The Sting of Apathy

Racism, as you would know, is something a person learns, usually from their parents, from a very young age.

I will demonstrate that Apathy - A-Pathos (without feeling) is learnt the same way, especially in the church. I will ONLY use examples from personal experience with fellow Christians.

Example 1:

Ever since being old enough to discuss the subject of Evangelism, over forty years now, the first thing I would hear back then is how it is more important to "live the life than preach or talk about it". (Note also the Aussie saying - Never talk about religion or politics.) Nowadays people respond with fable that "Francis of Assisi said: 'preach the Gospel and if necessary use words.'" Is that what Jesus taught? Of course not, not even to the demonised lunatic (who had BIG ISSUES!) that ran naked among the rocks! He was sent straight home to the TEN cities to tell of what Jesus had done. He had not even had a discipleship training class.

The main point here - we change scripture to suit our temperament and nullify the command we are to follow. Apathetic to doing what God tells us to do. (see Acts 10:42)

Example 2:

Let's take a look at Mark's gospel ch 6 Vs 7-13. (Mark 6:7-13)

Vs 7 says "And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits."

Vs 8 "Take nothing for the journey." (This ensures they will rely on vs 7!)

Vs 12 So they went out and preached that people should repent.

Now how did they know to do that? Well they preached what Jesus had taught …

"Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel." Note what the Gospel is at this point in time - the Kingdom of God is at hand. At this point Jesus had not been to the cross, and the disciples had no appetite for it (the cross).

Think about this definition for Repent:

Change your view and opinion about God with a view to changing your purposes and actions.

In verse 13 we see the demonstration of their message … "And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them." WHAT RESULTS!

When verses 7 and 13 do not fit with the theology we have been brought up with or our experience, we erase them by not speaking of such things. In fact there are quite a few subjects in that are taboo nowadays (Heaven, Hell, Holiness). Such is the onslaught of satan's lies amongst the dignified ranks of Christendom.

So we go paralysed to do the works of God, left to struggle in our meagre human resources, when "the weapons of warfare are mighty to pulling down strongholds" etc. and the bound STAY BOUND, the sick SUFFER and/or DIE because we refuse to accept scripture and hide it. Because it is hidden, we are apathetic to redeeming power in the gospel and leave the work God gave US to do, undone.

Example 3:

Let's talk about "spiritual Warfare". The way we Christian Westerners live, you wouldn't think there was such a thing, but I let me remind you, Satan and his horde are still here and active. Jesus has not yet expelled him and the evidence is loud (listen to the music) and clear (so much on display nowadays) besides all the abuses going on in our towns, cities and so forth.

Imagine Winston Churchill in the war room with his Generals during the war. What would they be doing? If you mention "Germany" or "Hitler" would the room go silent as if someone had cursed? I think not! However, we don't mention words like Hell, Demon in church nowadays because they upset the hearers. No, we don't want to give satan glory, but how do you win a war if you do not understand your opponent. How do you preach salvation if you leave out sin and its wages?

Meanwhile, the most commonly heard phrase today regarding spiritual warfare is "Satan was defeated at the Cross". This is true, however the context used is generally false and leads us to concluding there is nothing more to be done. The same way satan used scripture to tempt Jesus, he uses it on us, only we seem to lap it up.

The WAR IS NOT OVER. We must continue to battle for souls until Jesus' return. Unfortunately, misplaced scripture anaesthetises us, and apathy rules again.

Conclusion:

As you can see, these are all learned situations. We look to our pastors, teachers, read our sweet books, sing our emotional songs only to find that we must heed the voice of Jesus, who said "beware the leaven of the Pharisees" and later passages warning of human philosophy and doctrines of devils and demons.

May we return to fullness of the Word of God, so we can get back to proclaiming the Gospel, demonstrating the Kingdom of God is near, even upon us - in power, and find the perishing turning to Him who loved us from the beginning and poured His life out for ALL who would be saved.

Romans 10:14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?

Amen