Something to Celebrate? – Part Two

In part one we saw how wonderful it is for us to celebrate things in our lives. Our spiritual lives should be the same. We started to explore two incredible truths that are really worth celebrating. We looked at the first truth of Jesus giving up His life so that our sins may be forgotten and how to celebrate this fact. Now we will move on to the other truth and see how to celebrate real life!…..

Truth Two (of many):
Paul the Apostle in the book of Romans, explains to us that not only were our sins forgiven (by the shedding of the blood), but that our sinful NATURE was buried with Jesus, NEVER to return. This in order that we may no longer be a slave to our sinful nature. Reason to celebrate? – most definitely.

How do we celebrate this wonderful gift?

Jesus on the night He was betrayed broke bread and said, “This is My Body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” As we break the bread and proclaim His death, let us remember this powerful work that was done for us – our sinful NATURE was removed. We can now walk in the newness of life knowing that we do not HAVE TO sin anymore!

Surely, in two amazing acts that Jesus performed, we have reason to celebrate. Next time we sit with friends around a table and have communion, let us focus and be truly grateful for the freedom we have received – our sin has been forgotten, and our sinful nature removed – forever!

Yet another celebration…
What an exciting revelation – Jesus took our sinful nature into the grave with Him and when He was raised from the dead, we too, were raised together with Him, into the newness of life…” and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” Notice here that the scripture speaks in the past tense! 

Such a great sacrifice and work that it is, the Lord did not intend for us to focus so much on the death of Jesus as much as on His resurrection. For it is in the resurrection of life that our ability to overcome sin is found. Seriously – if we could truly appreciate that our sinful nature has been taken away – that engine that drives us towards sin – how different our lives would be. No more being a slave to do the things I do not want to do. Reason to celebrate? – Absolutely!

Once again, what better way to celebrate this truth than to demonstrate an outward sign of what we have understood inwardly – going into a pool of water, being submerged and rising up in ‘the newness of life’ for all to see. This simple act tells the world that we understand and believe that our sin nature was removed by Jesus at His death on the cross. Of course, there is little point in celebrating something unless we understand and believe it.

Yes friends, we have many reasons to celebrate in our worldly lives, but how much more do we have reason to celebrate our spiritual lives which will last forever!

Jesus intended us to live a burden free life. Forget the things of the past – as He has – and walk in a new understanding that our natures have been renewed. Reason to celebrate – most assuredly!

From: “…time with the Master…”

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How do I hear God

“One thing I’ve learned about relationships is that I tend to become more like the people I spend the most time with”.
Motivational speaker Jim Rohn famously said that we are the average of the five people with whom we spend the most time.

Considering the above statement by a person who is  generally promoting personal experience and scientific information, we need to accept that if we spend a lot of time with God, we will become like Him and be able to live a life of health, wealth, peace and power on this earth even as did Jesus

A New Hope

 

As we look around today there are many things which do not give us any hope…. the economy, our work situation, debt that we find ourselves in, to name but a few. If we focus on these negative situations we will eventually become very disheartened.

A Timeless Tale – Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven: Living a Life in the Kingdom of God

“You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts will take you”.

James Allen –  1864-1912

It is a scientific fact that the management of your thoughts will result in the state of your being and this will be the biggest influencing factor in the direction and outcome of your life, both here on this earth and in eternal living.

A Timeless Tale – Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine: Entry To and Living in the Kingdom of God

You will recall from the previous teaching that we read in John 3.3-5 that once we become ‘born again’, we can see the Kingdom of God. When we are ‘born of water and The Spirit’ we are able to enter the Kingdom of God.

Good. So you might ask, “Where is the Kingdom of God”?

The Kingdom of God [1]begins here on this earth. It was established by Jesus the Christ and confirmed by His death on the cross.

A Timeless Tale – Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight: Essential Keys to Unlocking the Power of God in this Life.

As a basis for this teaching, let us consider the words of Jesus:

New Living Translation: “For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up“.

New Living Translation: Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me”.

Before I set about explaining the beautiful revelation in the words of these scriptures, I would like to raise a few points that I have mentioned to you in previous chapters.

Hope you don’t feel that I’m repeating myself; but I firmly believe in what my theology teacher told me so many years ago: “Repetitio est mater studioram or Repetition is the mother of studies”.

We must never lose sight of the fact that Jesus was not a ‘Christian’ but in every perfect way, he was a Jew and via Joseph, his earthly father, of the royal line of King David.

The word, “Christian” was born in Antioch in AD 34, and from that time the followers of Jesus were referred to as “Christians”, previously they were referred to as “The Way”.

History also tells us that in the reign of the Roman Emperor, Constantine, in AD 300 there was an alliance formed between the state of Rome and the Christian movement at that time. This was the origin of the Roman Catholic Church.

Born out of this arrangement was the myth that if you follow Jesus and His teachings, you are a Christian. You should now see clearly, that this is not the case.

We can be followers of Jesus and His teachings and choose to join the Christian religion, or we can choose to follow Jesus and His teachings and not be members of the Christian religion. It is a matter of personal choice.

Now, let us get back to the scriptures above.

Jesus points out that nobody can take hold of His accomplishment on the cross and the benefits of Godly power in this life, unless God chooses them to take part in these benefits.

Then He says that the only way to God, in the eternal sense, is by taking hold of the benefits of Godly power through His crucifixion and applying these to our lives, on this earth.

I say it to you once more: no amount of good, kind, gentle or disciplined living in this life on earth; no religious practice or traditionalism can give you what Jesus is saying in the above two scriptures.

Only this will work:

• God chooses the one’s to whom He gives the benefits resulting from the crucifixion of Jesus.
• You alone can accept His choosing and apply these benefits to your life on this earth.

Let me explain these two statements in plain contemporary English:

The only reason for God choosing you will be because you want to be chosen. He won’t choose you otherwise. Would you choose to befriend someone whom you know for sure does not want your friendship – no, of course not.

You know you want to be chosen, so you say to God, “Even though I do not fully understand all that I have been told here – I accept.”

Good! Now on this basis you are under way to your new life, drawing to yourself health, wealth, power and peace on this earth and immigration requirements for the life after your body dies.

Congratulations and well done!

I need to explain the issue of, “…I do not fully understand…”

Never in our relationship to God are we ever called to understand. We are only told to accept Him and what He says.

When I was eighteen, I understood everything and was wary of accepting anything.

As I have grown older I understand much less than I did then, but I accept all of what God shows and tells me now.

Another word for this condition is a wonderful gift called faith. Remember my definition: “Faith is believing that something exists even when all my senses say it doesn’t”?

Let me share something else; my faith has led to my trust in God’s plans and this has led to my hope in His promises.

Whilst I will appreciate that you might be a little fuzzy about all of this in your mind at the moment, I feel very safe to tell you that If you have read so far, you are on your way to a glorious life of health, wealth, power and peace on this earth and are booked on the flight to eternity with all your documents in order.

I am going to conclude with the explanation of two last verses of scripture:

New Living Translation: Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

New Living Translation: Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.

For the most part the scripture of John 3.3 has been a password in certain Christian Churches and movements. You may have heard the expression: “You need to be born again if you want to go to heaven”. Nobody could ever give me a reasonable explanation of what ‘born again’ really meant, apart from some very spiritual explanations, that I truly could not understand.

I eventually found that historically speaking, it was during the Azusa Street Revival, Los Angeles, California in 1906 that the expression became the password as the Pentecostal Movement came to know its birth.

In his wonderful book, a Christian best seller, “Born Again” Charles Colson, helped to fuel this password fire to the entire world.

What was even more wonderful for me was the revelation that one cannot use the scripture of John 3.3 without coupling it to John 3.5.

Let me explain to you what this means.

Firstly there are two positions that John speaks about here. The first is ‘see’ and the second is ‘enter’. One cannot enter without ‘seeing’ and one cannot see an entry point without it being there. So these two positions are interdependent on one another.

Let me give you a practical example of this: One day I am piloting an airplane to a city in our country called Cape Town. At ten thousand feet above sea level and the visibility is clear as crystal, I can see Cape Town ahead and in fact even the airport, for that matter. But the motor car below me has at least seventy miles to travel before it reaches Cape Town.

At this point it comes to me; I can see the big city and her airport, I have not entered it. The conditions to entering are another thirty minutes of flying and a safe landing.

Jesus is saying, “You will have to go through the experience of being chosen by God and accepting He has chosen you; then you will be able to SEE that God has got a new life for you on this earth.

When you believe what I did on the cross for you and how it is going to put you on your way to a glorious life of health, wealth, power, peace on this earth and booked on the flight to eternity with all your documents in order, then you have ENTERED.” (my translation)

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