John 14 (Three) Do You Know Him?

Good morning

For as long as it takes we are going to study the gospel of John chapters fourteen to seventeen. Some of it will be what I have already written and some will be new. Therefore it may sometimes appear that I leave off in the middle of a topic to be continued, since I have reached my daily word count limit. We will also return to placing a blog posting daily for the time being.

In order to follow this you ought to have read from the first posting in the series – John 14 (One).

 

When Jesus told the poor disciples where He was going, they had not yet understood. They still relied on their physical senses. Up to then everything they observed had to be seen or heard. They still expected Jesus to become their physical king. I can therefore imagine Thomas thinking in terms of the geographical map of the Middle East. I can picture him paging in his mind through all the possible places in the surrounding areas where Jesus’ Father’s house possibly could be. He might even have thought of Joseph as Jesus' father - who knows. So he asked the most logical question, “Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way? (John 14:5)” to which Jesus answered: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him (John 14:6, 7)."

Did the disciples really attempt to know and understand Jesus or were they just focusing outwardly on His works and their own concerns? It’s difficult to say. We do find much evidence in the Bible of their carnal thinking and their anticipation of Jesus as an earthly king. Think of their reactions when the children wanted to come to Jesus, during the multiplication of the food, when the blind man called after Jesus, when Jesus was glorified with Moses and Elijah, and so on. Their response was protecting Him physically, caring for His physical needs. They saw the physical miracles, but did not connect it to a spiritual Kingdom. They simply didn't have an idea of who He really was and why He came to earth?

Do we take trouble to get to know Jesus? Do you, dear reader, know the Way? It is not whether you know about the Way, whether you heard a description of the Way or an explanation of His character or His abilities. Have you personally experienced the Way?

If one travels a road for the first time, one carefully follows the instructions given you and looks out for road signs and turnoffs, but by the second and third time you have established beacons and eventually have no difficulty finding the place. 

In your relationship with the Lord, do you know how He would react to some of your behaviour? In an earthly relationship we eventually know our friend/spouse/employer so well that we know what turns her on and off, what irritates her and what frustrates her. We know when she is happy and what makes her sad. Do you know this about your Saviour and Master? Jesus actually said to Thomas: “If you know Me and are one with Me you would have no trouble to relate with my Father because we are the same”.

Why did Jesus say He is the way, the truth, and the life? Why did He not only say the way, in other words the door to the Father? He had already answered Thomas’ question. Why did he carry on saying “If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well?” I believe it is because He wants us to know His way of doing things on a daily basis, what He truly is like (the truth about Him) and the life that is in Him. He wants to show Himself to us; what it's like to have the right purpose and direction (Psalm 32:8), how to live in truth (John 8:32) and how to live life to the full (John 10:10).

The disciples knew Jesus very well. They walked very closely with Him every day. They, however, according to the record in the Bible, had no experience of His spiritual relationship with His Father. They were not there when He prayed, they could not hear when His Father answered back and they could not hear the Word of Knowledge and Wisdom that Jesus received whenever He needed it in His ministry. In fact, when He invited them to pray with Him during His time of anguish in Gethsemane, they were so bored they fell asleep. They just did not have any insight into the spiritual realm.

How many modern day Christians have understanding of the spiritual realm? My observation is that too many only see the physical. We tend to focus on our physical needs and outward worship activities, don't we?

But the disciples would, once they received the Holy Spirit, know that side as well, which is why Jesus said: “From now on, you do know him and have seen him”.

The Holy Spirit is the connection between the Father and us. Through Him we view Jesus and therefore Father God. It is impossible to get to know everything about a person by reading about such a person. The only way you get to know someone is by living with him.

Lord, help me to obey so you could reveal yourself to me.

Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

We support a mission. Have a look at the work, which you may become a part of HERE. You may also want to look at the Website.

Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.

John 14 (Two) Intimacy in Preparation

Good morning

For as long as it takes we are going to study the gospel of John chapters fourteen to seventeen. Some of it will be what I have already written and some will be new. Therefore it may sometimes appear that I leave off in the middle of a topic to be continued, since I have reached my daily word count limit. We will also return to placing a blog posting daily for the time being.

In order to follow this, you ought to have read from the first posting in the series - John 14 (One).

We concluded our last message by saying that Jesus’ preparation of the rooms in His Father’s house is continuous.

Father is holy and man not, so the preparation task of Jesus at the Father’s side involves first: “God exalted Him to his own right hand as Prince and Saviour that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel” (Acts 5:31). And second: “Christ Jesus, who died - more than that, who was raised to life - is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us” (Romans 8:34). He has to see to it that man is saved and then, as the Holy Spirit prepares man for holiness, Jesus intercedes for man. Jesus sees to it that man is ready to come into the Father’s presence -- the place (house) where He (Jesus) is. Through the Holy Spirit He must see to it that man enters the Kingdom – “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Mathew 7:21).

Usually the Father gives a command and the Holy Spirit converse it to man who is supposed to obey so God’s Kingdom can grow. When man does not do what the Spirit tells him to, Jesus intercedes for man while the Holy Spirit tries to convict man of his sin. The whole purpose of their effort, in their great love for man, is to keep man in right standing with the Father (righteousness) so man can be with God.

For what it’s worth, I would like to explain a revelation. I don’t make a doctrine of it, although it does make sense and answers some questions. I realise I have explained it before, but not everybody may have seen it.

I once said to the Lord I don’t think it's fair that all Christians go to the same heaven, for some live only a mediocre Christian life, being more concerned about their comfort than Kingdom issues, while others sacrifice their lives for the sake of the Kingdom, keeping nothing for themselves.

The Lord then showed me three passages in the Bible.

1. If you confess with your mouth that “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved (Romans 10:9). This passage and a few similar ones in the New Testament indicate that to be saved, we need only to believe in Jesus.

2. “In reply Jesus declared, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.’ ⁵Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit,’” (John 3:3 and 5). This passage indicates that the only way to see or enter the Kingdom of God is by being born again, in other words the miraculous renewal of the spirit when one accepts Jesus as his Saviour.

3. “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord,” (Hebrews 12:14).

 

In light of these passages, I believe I received a picture of Jerusalem, as it was in the Bible times, as an illustration of heaven. Farms and villages surrounded the city of Jerusalem. The king’s palace, with its buildings and gardens, was inside the city. In the centre of the palace were the king’s courts and throne room.

I believe the Lord revealed to me that some will simply believe, but will not show much interest in knowing the King. These will live in heaven's villages or the countryside as per the illustration. They will not see the King. Those who are born again will see and enter the palace (the Kingdom), but only those who pursued holiness, whilst on earth, will live in the courts of the King and see Him face to face. The degree of intimacy we have with God on earth, therefore, will determine how close we will be to Him in heaven.

In this final teaching of Jesus, as recorded in the book of John chapters 14 to 17, He gave intense attention to this aspect of closeness to the Father, because He knew that intimacy on earth will mean eternal intimacy.

Lord, please help me to be intimate with you.

Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

We support a mission. Have a look at the work, which you may become part of HERE. You may also want to look at the Website.

Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.

John 14 (One) The Godhead

Good morning

For as long as it takes we are going to study the gospel of John chapters fourteen to seventeen. Some of it will be what I have already written and some will be new. Therefore it may sometimes appear that I leave off in the middle of a topic to be continued, since I have reached my daily word count limit. We will also return to placing a blog posting daily for the time being.

Jesus spent a lot of time teaching. If we ignore His directions, He has wasted his time and energy to come to this earth. He did not just come to die for our sin as some tend to believe. He came to enable us to make a difference in this world. He said in Mark 16:15 “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation” and in Matthew 28:19 and 20 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

Doing and teaching His commands are very important. George Müller made an amazing difference in his time early in the 19^th century and his work is still going on even today, more than a hundred years later. He had an amazing faith, which caused, in today’s terms, millions of pounds to go through his hands without him having to have done a single business deal or ever having to have asked for money. He simply prayed and believed. His secret – he read through the whole Bible more than 300 times during his seventy years ministry! “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).

Let’s open the Word at John 14. We are going to focus on John 14 to 17 - Jesus’ final words to His past and present disciples and His prayer for all of us.

 

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going,” (John 14:1-4).

The teaching in these four chapters revolves around intimacy with the Lord. Before we proceed it is important to understand the Trinity of the Godhead. I have heard quite a number of explanations, but the one most logical to me, I believe the Holy Spirit revealed to me.

We must always remember we were created in the image of God. The systems by which man therefore functions are actually systems God designed and also lives by. One can therefore see the Godhead as a Company, such as in a business. The Company’s name is God. The Managing Director of God is Father. He does all the planning, directing and commanding. Another ‘Director’ is Jesus Christ. Since the creation of the earth He was in control of every interaction with man and usually manifested to Old Testament people, such as Abraham and Gideon, as ‘The Angle of the Lord’. From His birth as a man until His ascension into heaven He was directly involved with mankind. After that the third ‘Director’ of God, the Holy Spirit became involved with mankind until today.

One can also see the Trinity as a family unit with the surname, God where Father God is the father and Jesus and the Holy Spirit are the two sons doing the father’s bidding.

When we therefore talk about God we mean the Godhead or otherwise we will call the individual ‘directors’ by name. The Bible, however, often refers to the Father as God, since He is the head. In these chapters of John, Jesus gives clear direction concerning each of these ‘directors’ future involvement with those who follow Him.

From the above passage we first of all learn that our heavenly house belongs to the Father and in that house are enough rooms for all who want to be there. We also learn that these rooms need to be prepared by Jesus himself so His disciples could be where He is. But where is He? He is at the Father’s side, at His right hand. “But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God” (Luke 22:69). What does this preparation of Jesus entail? These words of Jesus regarding the preparation were written in the present tense. In other words the process is continuous.

Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

We support a mission. Have a look at the work, which you may become part of HERE. You may also want to look at the Website.

Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.

Controlled by?

Good morning

I would just like to mention that due to my current working hours, this message will not go out at the regular times as it used to go out, but I will make every effort to let it go out on the days it should go out.

The last two acts of the sinful nature that we are going to discuss from Galatians 5:19-21 is drunkenness and orgies.

Outrageous, you may exclaim, we don’t even think along these lines in Christian circles. Do we not? What is drunkenness? Is it not an addiction – people being controlled by something that affects our relationship with either or both the Lord and people around us. What can we be addicted to that prevent us from being completely free to serve the Lord with all our heart? We can be addicted to work, hobbies, sport, money, a certain lifestyle, comfort, a certain image we have to maintain, television, social networking and you may continue naming anything you can think of that controls our time and effort.

But these things are nothing like alcoholism! Are they not? How pleased is your spouse if you spend too much time at work or on your hobby, inclusive of social networking? How pleased is the Lord if we work so hard at filling our pockets that we do not have time for obeying the promptings of the Holy Spirit. In the same breath we can mention pride, position or image, and lifestyle. These things are worldly and does not contribute to the Kingdom of God, even if we give a little of our time to be religious. Drunkenness or alcoholism is a selfish act that holds one under its control, affects those around one and keeps one from becoming what you should be in the Kingdom of God.

The rich young man came to ask Jesus: “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” Jesus asked him whether he actually obeyed the law, which is equal to us obeying the Holy Spirit, and which he confirmed. Then Jesus said: “‘If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’ When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions,” (Matthew 19:16-22).

Why was the young man sorrowful? His possessions had control over him, just like drunkenness. What is it that controls you? What is it that prevents you from following the Lord wholeheartedly? “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory,” (Colossians 4:1-4). Are we setting our minds on things above all the time? No we don’t. Some of us may, but most of us are controlled by desires of the sinful nature that keep us tied to earthly interests such as status, image (also within the church), money and the like that we have mentioned above.

The other act of the sinful nature is orgies. The Galatians were a church that came to being because raw pagans started to believe in Jesus, and Paul had to teach them that sexual orgies are not exactly what Christians do anymore. In Christ life is different. Jesus told the crowd in the Sermon on the Mount:  “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart,” (Matthew 5:27-28). Orgies are mass adultery in God’s eyes. According to Jesus’ standards, if men look at women the wrong way, and if women cause men to do that by the way they dress and lure men with their manner, it boils down to the same – mass adultery.

Can you see that Satan and the carnal nature are out to cause us to have so much baggage that we do not have time, or the right standing, to effectively serve the Lord? I challenge all of us to look into our hearts and get rid of anything that takes the place of the Lord in our lives, even if we think that it is Christian and noble, such as a position of authority in church. The Lord’s most powerful people were of no esteem in this world – Moses, Elijah, Jesus, John, James, Peter, Paul and many more. They had nothing and were severely persecuted.

Paul cautioned the Ephesians: “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,” (Ephesians 5:18). Shall we rephrase it? Do not get shamelessly controlled by your selfish desires, but be controlled by the Holy Spirit.

 

Thank you, Lord for helping me.

Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

We support a mission. Have a look at the work, which you may become part of HERE. You may also want to look at the Website.

Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.

Dealing with Anger

Good morning

From Galatians 5:19-21 we are looking at fits of rage or anger today. Have you noticed it said ‘fits’ of anger? To get angry is natural, and healthy anger is good, especially if it is holy anger; which is getting angry at all the unrighteousness we see in the world today.

Anger usually prompts action in us and this is where the crux of the matter is. What action does the anger cause? If we for instance get angry at our child’s behaviour that is constantly out of line, and we take controlled steps from a temperate demeanour to correct their behaviour, our anger had a positive outcome and we have acted in the fruit of the Holy Spirit. However, if we lose control of our reaction and shout, scream and become violent in response to their behaviour, we are acting on the sinful nature’s prompting. Also, if we get onto our hind legs for every small thing that goes wrong we also act in fits of anger.

 

I am quite sure I have probably not given you any new information, but we need to have a look at the root of the problem. Paul listed to the Galatians the acts of the sinful nature, or the flesh, as compared to the fruit of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is perfect and the fruit mentioned manifests if we allow it to. In John 15:1-8 Jesus also spoke about fruit. In verses 4-5 He said: “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

 

Where are we rooted? Are we actually rooted in Jesus or do we just say so to make it sound good and create a good impression with our peers. If we as branches are rooted in the sinful nature, the acts of the sinful nature will be our fruit. Therefore if we find we act too much like the sinful nature, we need to humble ourselves and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us in what area we are rooted in the sinful nature, and then deal with it under His guidance. “So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit,” (Matthew 7:17-18).

 

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come,” (2 Corinthians 5:17). We can choose to have the new nature diseased with the old nature. The old nature has a tendency to infiltrate the new nature. Paul put it like this in Romans 7:19-20: “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me,” and in Galatians 5:17: “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”  

 

How do we therefore get rid of fits of anger? I take it you know what I am talking about – the ‘road hog’ in the other car, the %$£&* politician doing stupid things, or my neighbour’s dog barking at night. Maybe you are perfectly cool and calm all the time, so I am not really talking to you, but definitely to those of us struggling with the irritating flesh that flames up when we would have loved to stay calm and collected.

 

The secret is that the old has passed away in Christ Jesus. It is dead in Christ Jesus. All we need to do is to get into Christ Jesus and then we will automatically be dead to the sinful nature. Living by the Holy Spirit will solve the problem, but that means we have to die to self and accept whatever He asks us to do and be. Our own ambitions should go out the door, since it is when we want to do what we want that the sinful nature jumps up and delightfully exclaims: “Here I am, I could help you get there!”

 

Jesus said in John 15:7: “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” Would we not want that?

 

Lord, help me to abide in you.

 

Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

We support a mission. Have a look at the work, which you may become part of HERE. You may also want to look at the Website.

Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.

How Do We Act?

Good morning

The next group of the acts of the sinful nature we would like to discuss from Galatians 5:19-21 are hatred, discord, selfish ambition, dissensions and factions. Fits of rage is mentioned in between and is relevant to this list, but I would like to discuss it separately, and jealousy and envy we have touched on earlier.

Again we need to remember that this church in Galatia consisted of converts from paganism where these practices were the order of the day in a rather uncivilised society. When it comes to moral values though, the secular society of today is not really civilised either, but at least the church has been around for many years and does not really have these practices in their explicit form so much anymore.

If we, however, look at these practices more closely we need to ask ourselves some questions. All the acts mentioned in this list are related and as I discuss them, I would like us to search our hearts for strands of such behaviour, because if we find some of it in our hearts it means sections of our heart is not controlled by the Holy Spirit, but by the sinful nature and it needs to be dealt with. “For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want,” (Galatians 5:17).

We consider hatred harsh and do not easily say ‘I hate’. But how do we actually feel and what do we think if someone really annoys us? Do we still do acts of love for them and do we still pray for them, or do we ignore them and shift them out of our lives? How do we react when such a person contact us, or appear on the news (if they are a public figure, another race or a leader in government)? Do we roll our eyes, grit our teeth, make remarks under our breath or gossip about them? These are all expressions of lovelessness and the opposite of love is hatred. Jesus said in Matthew 5:44-45: “But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you [including those who make life hard for us], that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” If we act as described before this passage, do we love them? Do we pray for them? Do we not essentially hate them?

Even hardcore sinners such as abortionists, rapists and murderers need to be loved and prayed for. Jesus prayed a significant prayer on the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing,” (Luke 22:34). These people do not really realise what they are doing. Through circumstances, the influence of peers and the power of sin and money they have been set on a way of sin and will be able to get off of it if we pray for them. The more we allow the Holy Spirit to rule in us, the more the love of Jesus will manifest in us and will we be able to talk and think like He did.

No one had more reason to hate than Jesus had. He only did good, but look how He was treated. How would you have reacted if you were in Jesus’ shoes? Any continuous antagonism or ill feelings against anybody means we could have a root of hatred in us and it needs to be repented of and be replaced by the Holy Spirit’s presence. Just remember that this is not something to feel guilty or condemned about, since we are all on a journey, but we should constantly monitor our lives for these kinds of roots and deal with them if we want the Holy Spirit to be in control and not the sinful nature.

Discord, dissensions and factions are all the fruit of selfish ambition. What is the motive of your heart? Be honest? As a leader, why do you for instance want your church to grow? Is it for God’s glory or is it for your own benefit? Why is the church so divided? The Bible is not confusing in its teaching; in fact it is quite clear about certain doctrines that cause division within the church. The question is: Who is in control of denominations within the global church – the sinful nature or the Holy Spirit?

Lord, please give me and your church grace to walk by the Spirit and not by the sinful nature.

Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

We support a mission. Have a look at the work, which you may become part of HERE. You may also want to look at the Website.

Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.

What Do We Say?

Good morning

The next group of the acts of the sinful nature that is mentioned in Galatians 5:19-21 is idolatry and witchcraft. We have discussed idolatry extensively before. Do I hear you say we are certainly not involved in these kinds of things? Are we not?

We may not consciously do witchcraft as a practice, but one of the core practices of it is the speaking of curses. A curse is the declaration of something negative with the intention to make it happen, in other words the opposite of a blessing. How many curses to we speak over ourselves daily? We boast about our illnesses, making it our identity, declare unbelief, declare fear, we curse our neighbours by means of gossip, we curse the church by saying condemning things about her, and so on.

In Romans 4:17 we read: “...God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.” Instead of identifying with the negative, making it our own and declaring it over ourselves and others, should we not in the name of Jesus, together with God declare those faith things that are not as though they were? Jesus said in Mark 11:24: “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” If we really believe we will receive what we asked for, we will talk as if we have it, but how often do we cancel our own prayers by thinking and saying ‘what if’? Our words have power. They give mandate to the Lord to meet our needs and do miracles for us, but they also give mandate to the evil forces to kill, steal and destroy.

How many lives have been destroyed by the words ‘you will never amount to anything’ and how many successful people have been created by the words ‘I know you can do it’? David prayed in Psalm 141:3-4: “Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips. Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in wicked deeds with men who are evildoers [which include gossip],” and in Psalm 1:1-2: “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” Solomon said in Proverbs 21:23: “He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity.”

Do you get the impression that there is power in the tongue? Part of the fruit of the Spirit is self-control. Just as we have to exercise control not to hit somebody when they anger us, even though every nerve in our body calls for it, or not to smash the computer against the wall when it refuses to do what we want it to do, we need to watch what we say. It is much easier to let a curse slip from our lips than to hit a person, but it does even worse damage. The evil forces wait eagerly for a mandate to hurt somebody and the moment we speak it through gossip or a spurt of anger, they have it. David prayed and gave good advice in the Psalms quoted above. If we keep away from the temptation to speak curses, in other words we do not mix with gossips and mockers, but focus on the word of God that brings life, we will speak life.

It is not easy, but possible to stop halfway through a sentence when we realise we are about to curse somebody or ourselves, and to walk away from a gossip party or at least silence the gossips by telling something good about the person being gossiped about, or telling them to rather go and talk to the person.

“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone, (Colossians 4:5-6).” We need to keep the end result of our words in mind. “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think [and speak] about such things,” (Philippians 4:8).

Lord, please help me watch my mouth.

Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

We support a mission. Have a look at the work, which you may become part of HERE. You may also want to look at the Website.

 

Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.

What would he say?

Good morning

In Galatians 5:19-21, the acts of the sinful nature is grouped together. If we look at the first group, we see sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery. The sinful nature wants to please self. The body constantly cries out to have its needs met in the most basic way and it is up to the spirit, moral values and self-control to determine how much of its desires we will allow the body to have. When the church in Galatia was founded, the people were raw Christians who came from a background of living-like-they-pleased, very much like the world today. They had sex whenever they wanted with whoever was available and did it in perverse ways, just like today.

It was only through Christianity that moral values started to exist. Previously the Christians had to teach the primitive people to dress properly, and today the modern people get undressed again in public as Christianity is ignored in countries previously Christianised.

To be pure means to be free from impurities that will not be good for one. There is a certain standard to purity. In the manufacture of foods and medicines, for instance, quality control sets standards to the amount of impurities allowed in the end product. In the Bible the Lord set standards of what is supposed to be in the lives of those who call themselves Christians, and the impurities are usually not good for our relationship with the Lord and for His reputation. What do I mean? How we act do not only affect our relationship with the Lord, but also His relationship with His enemies, whether it be human or spiritual.

When the Lord sent Nathan to David after he had sinned with Bathsheba, David repented, but Nathan told him in 2 Samuel 12:14 “Only, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of Jehovah to blaspheme, this child born to you shall surely die.” Another translation mentioned that David gave God’s enemies great occasion to ridicule Him.

 

Why do you think sexual temptations are so rife today? One cannot open a newspaper, magazine, the Internet or even your eyes outside your house (providing your television is switched off) and not be tempted. Everywhere the poor male sex is exposed to half naked women, and even completely naked women that are too easily accessible. The women of the world love to have men’s attention on them, and therefore make sure they draw their attention by their appearance and the way they look at men. It is aimed at humiliating God.

 

The sad part of this is that even within the church the way the women dress and act towards men is often not much different from the world, and men are therefore often not even safe within the shelter of the church. Peter told his readers in 1 Peter 3:3-4: “Do not let your adorning be external--the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewellery, or the clothing you wear--but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.” For the protection of men against sexual sin in their hearts this should be taught in pulpit messages, and ladies should consider what they expose.

The word debauchery means wantonness, immorality and shamelessness. It depicts a looseness of morals and unrestrained living. As Christians we are restrained by the Word of God, and should help one another not to sin by supporting each other’s weaknesses and not tempting one another to sin.

The Lord will deal with sexual sin. Although it cannot always be seen by the rest of the church as Christians often hide it in the heart, it does affect the Lord’s reputation in the spiritual realm where little of our private actions are hidden.

 

In Job chapter one the sons of God met with Him and Satan was there as well. In verses 7-8 “The LORD said to Satan, ‘From where have you come?’ Satan answered the LORD and said, ‘From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.’” What did Satan do going around the world? He looked for opportunity to find fault with God’s people so he could ridicule the Lord. “And the LORD said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?’”

 

What will Satan tell God about us?

 

Lord, please give me grace to be morally godly.

Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

We support a mission. Have a look at the work, which you may become part of HERE. You may also want to look at the Website.

Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.

The Lord in Action

During the last few weeks we had a call on each of our blog posts to support a ministry called Change Makers. We haven’t received much response though, but I believe you have prayed faithfully for this work of God among the gangsters in South Africa. Thank you for that. 

Today I felt that the Lord led me to place their latest newsletter on my blog. If you sign up HERE you will receive all the previous newsletters one at a time, which are quite revealing of what happens outside of our generally comfortable lives.

Jesus had an uncomfortable life for the sake of sinners, including us, the apostles had equally uncomfortable lives for the sake of the down and outcast of the time. All we need to do is exercise our Romans 12:6-8 gifts: “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.”

We are all born and equipped with one or more of these gifts. The Change Makers serve, encourage, teach and show mercy to these gangsters. They have a vision to expand and make their ministry more effective. Maybe you are called and equipped to give generously. Click HERE to learn more about it.

 

Following is the Newsletter:

Changing the Heavenly Realms Over Worcester

“I felt cold shivers going down my spine. Anock was coming straight at me. It was open space around us. There was nowhere to flee. As he came right up to me, I was about to freeze, but then I saw a huge Bible under his arm. He asked if he could pray for me.” We all sat mesmerized, hanging on every word as Raymond told us what happened to him during the weekend. Right there in the open plain Anock lay hands on Raymond and prayed for him. Anock, a feared gangster with a high rank, had come to know the Lord and instead of walking around with a gun, he was now armed with the Word of God.

Something quite significant had happened the previous week. Raymond made a choice to pray for all those gangsters who had constantly terrorised, threatened and attacked him. He not only prayed for them, but also forgave them their deeds against him. In the spiritual realm, this has great power. Forgiveness is one of the strongest weapons we have. Something was stirred in the heavens over Worcester.

We are living in a town where gangsters are becoming increasingly violent, evil and cruel. May God break into hearts and minds, one by one, as He did with Raymond and Anock and anoint them to walk free from the effects of gangs, by walking in obedience to God, under the shelter of His blessing.

On the one hand, we have hardened gang leaders who decreed that this would be a season of much blood being spilt, and yes, we have had too many cold blooded murders during the past couple of months. And then we have those gangsters who are discovering redemption in Christ, one by one. They are now being sent by the Lord with His purpose, and are mobilized to face their enemies and to become conquerors.

“There is an interaction between the powers of darkness and the sins of a society. When Israel was in obedience to God, the Spirit of God ruled the heavenly places over Israel. When the Jews were in rebellion, the enemy gained control of the nation through the sins of the people. Evil ruled in the spiritual realms over Israel” Francis Frangipane.

May God give us grace as we yearn for the hearts of gangsters to come to know God and to love Him, to turn to Him and to follow Him whole-heartedly. Oh thank You Jesus for the Raymonds and the Anocks who have broken free from the bonds of captivity and who are now walking in the shadow of the Almighty.

A special word of thanks to Jim and Elaine Stoppenhagen who pour out their lives as a living offering to serve our people and who are walking side by side with our Change Makers and gangsters during a five week visit to us. Their visit is affecting the heavenly realms over Worcester.

Erena van de Venter
Social Worker
Change Makers Coordinator

Desires (Two)

Good morning

We started our teaching on desires on 29^th December, but had New Year in between. Therefore you may quickly want to recap on the blog post of 29^th December 2012 to get reminded of the topic we are discussing.

If we look at Galatians 5:19-21, we see the acts of the sinful nature listed, which start off with desires as mentioned in our previous message. We are going discuss these individually so we could know our enemy that we are dealing with: “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

A key in this passage are the words ‘those who live like this’. Being tempted with these desires and occasionally falling for the temptation whilst we actually resisted it up to a point, does not mean we live like that. There is a fine line in this and if we walk by the Spirit, discussing our weaknesses with Him, getting to understand how He thinks about our weaknesses and work together with Him to overcome them, we will be in line with the Lord’s will. We all have certain sins we struggle with and how we deal with it determines whether we ‘live like this’ or whether we live holy lives. Take for instance jealousy. Some of us may be materially orientated and therefore experiences regular envy, but do not resist it. We actually enjoy being jealous. If we allow this to control us, we live like it and therefore, according to this passage, will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

If we, however, resist it and fight the desire and temptation whenever they come, confessing our sin as we do it, we have an attitude holy and pleasing to the Lord. Paul had this problem: “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me,” (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).

Note that Paul pleaded that the Lord would take these temptations away, these torments of the flesh that put pressure on him to sin and displease the Lord. He did not want them, but the Lord allowed them so Paul would realise his dependence on the Lord and stay humble. One of the major weaknesses that man has, which the worldly people confuse with strength, is pride. The moment we think more highly of ourselves than we ought (Romans 12:3), we need grace. Therefore at least one of these acts of the sinful nature mentioned above will be a weakness to us, so we can stay dependent on the Lord for His grace.

We have mentioned jealousy as an example. The root of jealousy is in self-centredness. If we are mainly concerned about our skills, our benefits, our possessions and wealth, our image and what people think of us, jealousy is likely to become a problem to us. When we become born again, the sinful nature does not automatically go away – it actually becomes our enemy and we need to “to work out our own salvation [from our weaknesses] with fear and trembling,” (Philippians 2:12). If we sense that we are jealous about someone, a red light should flash and we should establish why we are jealous. Is it something they have that we do not have, or something they do better than us? Then we consciously have to look into our lives for a root of pride that causes us to be competitive, materialistic and self-centred, and we have to make peace with the fact that in Christ we do not matter anymore, but Christ alone through us. Then we have to decidedly shut out that jealousy and do so every time it surfaces, confessing our sin to the Lord and calling on His grace to help us overcome. Note that this is a conscious and intellectual exercise.

Lord, please help me overcome jealousy and give me grace when it attacks.

Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

We support a mission. Have a look at the work, which you may become part of HERE. You may also want to look at the Website.

Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.

New Year’s Blessing 2013

Jesus Christ has been chosen and predestined, and everyone who believes are chosen and predestined together with Him. Therefore may Ephesians 1:1-14 be your portion for this New Year 2013.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will— to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves.

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfilment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of His glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

May this year be a year where you seek the Lord, discover more of Him and become what He has dreamt you to be.

Every Blessing

Henry, Julia and Family