You must be "Born Again"!

(John 3:7) “Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.”

There is a lot said about not much, “much to do about nothing”, people are opinionated and all need to be heard in some form or another, this equation adds up to the acceptance of ones self-worth in our own reckoning. But there is only one hope for mankind that will eventually excuse him from the wrath of God and His Eternal Judgement. The question we must ask is whether or not our name is found written in the Lambs Book of Life. Opinions will no longer count but only those found in that role call register will excuse those from a very daunting judgement.

“Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:12-15)

Unless a man is born again and sure of the fact but if doubt remains then be sure to wrestle with repentance in and through the Lord Jesus and His finished work on your behalf, until you are certain of the fact, let no sleep fill your eyes until you find assurance in Him! Maybe’s do not exist in the spiritual realm, neither does what others have to say to you on the subject, we either are or we are not born again, it cannot be, Yes and No! Or I think I am because someone says I am. I feel that yes maybe I am today but then tomorrow I am no longer certain! Salvation is a free gift; God gives it freely to those who receive it. But we must also be sober when considering salvation; as many will claim the right to God’s mercy on Judgement Day and sadly for them, these words will ring true, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” (Matthew 7:21-23)

God will not be mocked and He will have His vengeance, there is a day coming that will be frightening and yet glorious. Our great Saviour will be glorified and all His enemies cast into the Lake of Fire! How will we know for sure whether or not our names are written in the book of life, whether or not we have been truly born again?

These are thoughts on the topic by Spurgeon about 130 years ago...

“Ye must be born again.” – “Regeneration is a subject which lies at the very basis of salvation, and we should be very diligent to take heed that we really are “born again,” for there are many who fancy they are, who are not. Be assured that the name of a Christian is not the nature of a Christian; and that being born in a Christian land, and being recognized as professing the Christian religion is of no avail whatever, unless there be something more added to it-the being “born again,” is a matter so mysterious, that human words cannot describe it. “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” Nevertheless, it is a change which is known and felt: known by works of holiness, and felt by a gracious experience. This great work is supernatural. It is not an operation which a man performs for himself: a new principle is infused, which works in the heart, renews the soul, and affects the entire man. It is not a change of my name, but a renewal of my nature, so that I am not the man I used to be, but a new man in Christ Jesus. To wash and dress a corpse is a far different thing from making it alive: man can do the one, God alone can do the other. If you have then, been “born again,” your acknowledgment will be, “O Lord Jesus, the everlasting Father, thou art my spiritual Parent; unless thy Spirit had breathed into me the breath of a new, holy, and spiritual life, I had been to this day ‘dead in trespasses and sins.’ My heavenly life is wholly derived from thee, to thee I ascribe it. ‘My life is hid with Christ in God.’ It is no longer I who live, but Christ who liveth in me.” May the Lord enable us to be well assured on this vital point, for to be unregenerate is to be unsaved, unpardoned, without God, and without hope.” (C.H.Spurgeon)

A question I will leave with you, do you above all things wrestle with this truth, are you totally persuaded that God is your Father and that you have been adopted into His family, have you received His Spirit and not some funny esoteric all encompassing spirit that you claim as your saving grace. That will be of no use to you on the majestic Day, the Day when God will expose the secrets of men’s hearts, without Christ’s covering all will fall short of the glory of God and be stripped naked of any self-worth they may have thought would have been of value to them before a Holy God. Without the covering of the blood of the Lamb, without any other confusing possibilities or permutations’ of “this and that”; the truth be known, they will all have the same result, failure before a Holy and Righteous God, and then every knee will bow and confess Jesus as lord! The trickery of the devil and the exploits of men will all be exposed as lies on that day, and be found wanting! And all who claim those practises will be cast into the “Lake of Fire”, where there will be a gnashing of teeth!

I encourage all to wrestle with repentance until adoption is sealed, until you are assured by God the Holy Spirit that you belong to God’s family, only when your love for Jesus and His accomplishment is as real as your necessity for regular daily meals can we with that man who was once blind, say “we can see”! It can never be guess work; we all need assurance of salvation! How would a child respond if one day his father disowned him and then the next day reclaimed his responsibility to him? In like manner where does any responsibility lie upon a father if someone else’s child needs discipline, it doesn’t! In fact if I was to discipline another man’s child I could well be brought up on a charge! In like manner God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to pay the price for sinner, but not for those outside of His family, only those who belong to Him will be lookout for by Him. Reject the Lord’s sacrifice and God will reject you, it is as simple as that! Let no opinion beguile you to think that hell is not a real place, it is a very real and all those who do not bend the knee to the Lord Jesus in this life will end up there!

The invitation to all is on the table, “whosoever will to the Lord may come He will not turn one away”, what will you do with it? Wrestle and cry out until you are heard for you will be heard, only cry to no other! THE LORD JESUS ONLY CAN SAVE!

Signing off

Tyrone

Do Not Be Anxious!

(Matthew 6:31) “Therefore do not be anxious...”

With any mammoth task the initial thought can be overwhelming, but when small pieces are tackled at a time, before you know it the task is accomplished. I recall seeing a documentary of two mountain climbers as they had partnered up and were reliant upon one another to conquer some very tricky conditions. There was lots of snow and they were moving at a rapid pace, they had already conquered the summit and were on their way down. There is a big warning for us who in principle must take heed when we become arrogant and proud within ourselves, even if it remains a thought and we do not voice our miss-guided confidence. We must take heed; “Wherefore let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” (1Corinthians 10:12)

I am acutely aware of this truth this morning and it would seem that God the Holy Spirit is pressing home His point. When I am hard-pressed and God makes a point it would be good for us to reflect on the highlighted indicator and then examine ourselves with the Word of God as our yardstick and not with opinions.

They were a little careless, they may have thought we have done this many times and nothing has befallen us before, they still had all their safety ropes in place and then it happened without warning, the ledge gave way, there had been an icy build up on one of the mountain ledges, the over-hang gave way as one of the climbers now dangled helplessly in midair attached to his buddy. After what seemed an eternity, every effort made to get him to safety was in vain. The exhausted man who was anchoring his friend was left with no choice but to cut the rope which was securing the man from a treacherous fall. I say he had no choice if he wanted to stay alive; they would have both fallen to their death! So he cut his friend loose! Leaving his friend for dead, he made his way down the mountain alone, which in itself was a monstrous task, but he eventually made it to base camp. However the now injured man was not dead but fighting for his life, he had broken a femur and could only crawl, but the pain he now faced was excruciating. This is his story; although he was miles from base camp and the terrain was rocky and it was hard enough to cross as a healthy man on foot, he began to focus on the rock in front of him as he set goals in his mind, one rock at a time was his motivation. Each time he reached his rock he felt as if he had achieved victory, until eventually he made it to base camp and was then rescued and airlifted to safety. He survived this ordeal! But as I listened to his interview, there was a hint of pride to his tone. There is much we can learn from this account! Firstly let us look at what principles we can draw from his misfortune and then how we can apply ourselves to the application of those principals using the Word of God as our guide.

If he had considered his objective and the distance he had to cover to make it to base camp where he knew there would be help on hand, in its totality, he would have been defeated before he even started. But because he bit off chunks at a time it was now a reality to him as he thought it may just be possible. What he did was relied on his own ability, and eventually made it to safety. That is not what God expects from His children, we must learn to lean on Him! Faith operates in a different realm to the natural! This is the lesson that faith teaches, we must rely on God's ability and not our own!

Let us look at our lives and our objective; we all hope to make it to heaven as that will be our final destination. But when we look around us and see all the rocks and the taunting obstacles in our paths it seem impossible at times. But if we were to draw guidance from the Word of God and we take heed to the instruction of our Master, the Lord Jesus, it not only becomes a reality, but the burden then becomes light. What instruction does he give us? “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:31-34)

Therefore in application wherever we find ourselves without exception, we must live one day at a time looking to Jesus for all our sustenance. If we become careless and overlook this truth, we could find ourselves dangling from a rope, and we will eventually be cut loose. Never to the extent of no return, but possibly with serve consequences and the many scars will we carry, sheepishly and to our own shame. It is not necessary! We must not embrace worldly wisdom and all their psycho-babble, all that will do is leave us with a hint of pride and we know what that will mean; “But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." (James 4:6)

Regardless of the mountains in your life, we (sons of God) have a hope that will eventually arrive, it took the Israelites forty years to cross the wilderness but they eventually arrived in the Promised Land. It will be no different for us, we too will arrive in our Promised Land, and heaven will eventually be our home for all eternity. May that thought captivate our hearts to lose our lives and rely solely upon the grace and mercy of our Father and may we depend on Him with totality trusting Him to get us home. Let us not reason with worldly wisdom, but let us put on the mind of Christ. Let David remind us; “The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.” (Psalms 25:14)

I will leave you with this truth; “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2Peter 3:9)

“There are many ways of promoting Christian wakefulness. Among the rest, let me strongly advise Christians to converse together concerning the ways of the Lord. Christian and Hopeful, as they journeyed towards the Celestial City, said to themselves, “To prevent drowsiness in this place, let us fall into good discourse.” Christian enquired, “Brother, where shall we begin?” And Hopeful answered, “Where God began with us.” Then Christian sang this song-“

“When saints do sleepy grow, let them come hither,

“And hear how these two pilgrims talk together;

Yea, let them learn of them, in any wise,

Thus to keep open their drowsy slumb’ring eyes.

Saints’ fellowship, if it be managed well,

Keeps them awake, and that in spite of hell.”

“Christians who isolate themselves and walk alone, are very liable to grow drowsy. Hold Christian company, and you will be kept wakeful by it, and refreshed and encouraged to make quicker progress in the road to heaven. But as you thus take “sweet counsel” with others in the ways of God, take care that the theme of your converse is the Lord Jesus. Let the eye of faith be constantly looking unto him; let your heart be full of him; let your lips speak of his worth. Friend, live near to the cross, and thou wilt not sleep. Labour to impress thyself with a deep sense of the value of the place to which thou art going. If thou rememberest that thou art going to heaven, thou wilt not sleep on the road. If thou thinkest that hell is behind thee, and the devil pursuing thee, thou wilt not loiter. Would the manslayer sleep with the avenger of blood behind him, and the city of refuge before him? Christian, wilt thou sleep whilst the pearly gates are open-the songs of angels waiting for thee to join them-a crown of gold ready for thy brow? Ah! no; in holy fellowship continue to watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation” C.H.Spurgeon

Signing off

Tyrone

How we need Grace!

(2Corinthians 12:9) “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”

What I have notice in character amongst believers is the attribute we all share in one form or another, to a lesser and larger extent depending upon ones theology, we all like to take verses from the bible and make them our own. I remember years ago when there was a quote that seemed to captivate most of the charismatic population throughout the world, it was a best seller, the book was about a man’s request to God and everyone jump at the idea that they too were now entitled to the same promise. Because God favoured Him does not mean we all have the same right by laying claim to the same promise. Principle throughout scripture must however remain constant for all. “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;” (1Corinthians 12:4)

But the actual gifting that God imparts to us as individuals must differ as it does. We are encouraged to desire the best gifts and so as a rule it would be good if we all found a measure of zeal to serve God and to honour Him by glorifying His name. Some have been blessed with money others are not as blessed, but if we were to go around looking to be as wealthy as our neighbour, it would make us ungrateful for what we have already received and therefore we would become idolaters and in danger of the snare of the devil in that area of our lives. “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.”(1Timothy 6:10-11)

There are constants that the believer must pursue, but money is not one of those constant, with food and raiment therewith be content! We must not be driven by money or with the false sense of the security it promises.

Every Believer must pursue “righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.” It would be good for us to examine our hearts in these matters.

Having said that God is at work with all His children, and He will achieve His purpose in our lives, He is so brilliant that I cannot wait to kneel in heaven as I will see Him as He is; when we all get together, what a glorious day that will be and our eyes behold His beauty. As brilliant as that will be, there will be another side to Him that will leave us gobsmacked with awe as we will understand His master plan as He will leave no stone unturned as we witness and then understand How great He really is. How I long with the twenty-four Elders to cry “And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, "Amen. Hallelujah!" (Revelation 19:4)

My point is that we would not waste energy chasing the wrong things in our lives, everything that drives us must make us more like the Lord Jesus, having said that I also understand the frustrations of life and the disappointments I face on a daily basis, how often I find myself falling short of my Saviours example.

Charles Spurgeon unpacks a thought that Paul also experienced and I think that will be helpful for us; this is what he has to say on the topic of Grace...

“If none of God’s saints were poor and tried, we should not know half so well the consolations of divine grace. When we find the wanderer who has not where to lay his head, who yet can say, “Still will I trust in the Lord;” when we see the pauper starving on bread and water, who still glories in Jesus; when we see the bereaved widow overwhelmed in affliction, and yet having faith in Christ, oh! what honour it reflects on the gospel. God’s grace is illustrated and magnified in the poverty and trials of believers. Saints bear up under every discouragement, believing that all things work together for their good, and that out of apparent evils a real blessing shall ultimately spring-that their God will either work a deliverance for them speedily, or most assuredly support them in the trouble, as long as he is pleased to keep them in it. This patience of the saints proves the power of divine grace. There is a lighthouse out at sea: it is a calm night-I cannot tell whether the edifice is firm; the tempest must rage about it, and then I shall know whether it will stand. So with the Spirit’s work: if it were not on many occasions surrounded with tempestuous waters, we should not know that it was true and strong; if the winds did not blow upon it, we should not know how firm and secure it was. The master-works of God are those men who stand in the midst of difficulties, stedfast, unmoveable,-

“Calm mid the bewildering cry,

Confident of victory.”

He who would glorify his God must set his account upon meeting with many trials. No man can be illustrious before the Lord unless his conflicts be many. If then, yours be a much-tried path, rejoice in it, because you will the better show forth the all-sufficient grace of God. As for his failing you, never dream of it-hate the thought. The God who has been sufficient until now, should be trusted to the end.” (C.H.Spurgeon)

Signing off

Tyrone

Remembering our First Love!

It has often puzzled me to see the commitment some woman put into scrap booking. I am not for one second belittling their efforts but rather want to draw a parallel from it, a positive one at that! Even the Lord himself reminds us not to get lost within ourselves that we happen to overlook our first love. “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.” (Revelation 2:4)

We must go back with our memories and remember events like the day we were saved; it will keep us mindful of His work and not our accomplishments, if we have any achievements we might want to claim as our own. It will always be about what He has done and not about us; we must call to memory all His accomplishment on Calvary!

The most enlightened day of my life I can equivocally say was the day my eyes were opened and I cried out, “I can see”. When I fell in love with my Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ, what a day that was, it was the year 1987, I had just returned from a travelling working holiday abroad, as a young man with the world as my ouster, or so I wanted to believe. I was 21 years old and was going to get my fill from life, whatever I could get my hands on I would be claiming, the lust of my flesh would be satisfied, that is what motivated me as a young man and I was no different to many other young men around me. We were all blinded by sin and the decoys of life that ensnared us with such ease. Yet the process that began to unfold in my life near the end of my working holiday the lust of life and its doors began to shut in my face. I no longer found it going my way but rather life began to travel in the opposite direction, it made no sense at the time! My life was no longer about me and my desires, but a seed had begun to germinate in the soil on my mind as it was now being prepared for what was to come back in South Africa. Doors, and I mean sin and their opportunities began to no longer act in my favour as I sought out my next fix or party. The mercy of God begun to tap into my life, it had nothing to do will my own will, yes I did constantly question everything around me, but it is obvious I did not generate that initial thought, God in His mercy placed the seed in my mind to seek out answers. And what did happen along the way with the decoys of life which had previously robbed me of such deliberation, were no longer as freely available as they once were, nothing had changed with my surroundings although everyone else seemed oblivious to what was happening to me and how could they know as this was now my journey. God the great Jehovah had now begun in the process of time to prepare me for this great gospel message, that Jesus Saves! He also gives sight to those who are blind, I was so blind at the time that I believed wine, woman and song was where it was at! But for the grace of God in my life I would without question still hold to that life style. During this time in my life and for many years afterwards I did not really understand salvation and how it works, but now I have a much clearer picture on what happens and how. “Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.” (Ephesians 1:4-6)

It is important to get this, to understand it, as I believe it will free us up to serve Him with less confusing moments in our lives. Read the account of Samson and you will see that He never doubted his calling from God, yes he may have toyed with it at times, and yes he paid a price for his disobedience as many have, the philistines blinded him, but he never gave up hope, even without his sight his hair began to grow, we can learn a lot from this man, I have! You see the case in point was about God’s will and not man’s will. The enemy seeks to destroy all those involved with the building of God’s kingdom. He used a woman to bring Samson to his knees a man of great renown was no longer a hero amongst his people and the enemy but rather the joke of the hour! If it was about men and their abilities alone as men no one would be standing today. Reference is made of Noah, Job and Daniel as upright men as they have outshined many in faith and with their obedience and were so noticed by God, yet without Christ they too would be found wanting.

Firstly God is love, so in love He places a call on individuals throughout the world and amongst every tribe and nations He elects those whom He will save, and this He did prior to creation. In others words He makes a list of the sons prior to creation and through the process of time men and woman whom He has elected will be welcome in to His family and the means in which He does it is through adoption. No different to a family adopting an orphan. The orphan has no choice in the matter; it is up to the adopting parents to welcome the child into their family. I once thought that I chose God, but I was seriously mistaken. I heard a man preach and I did raise my hand acknowledging that this Gospel message was for me, or so I thought! Where it becomes confusing is that we must choose, and we do! Firstly what I didn’t understand is that God is the One who opens our eyes and then only do we see the answer to life in the person of Jesus Christ. “He predestined us” without that act of mercy we would never be able to respond to the gospel, there are many that respond to the “Social Gospel”, but that is not true salvation. That is more of a fad; try it for a season and maybe you will like it and if you don’t move on to something else. A man-centred message but it has nothing to do with the will of God within the realm of His adoption plans. Once we understand that God has willed us to be saved and conformed into the image of His beloved Son, then I suppose it will be much harder for us to doubt our salvation; “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31)

This thought process then alleviates any pressure we may place upon ourselves to make it to heaven. Yes, of course we have a responsibility to please our Father and abide within the rules of his house, which goes without saying. But now that I know I belong to His household and am entitled to His blessings the guess work of salvation is now removed. It frees me to serve him!

In 1987 I had heard a man preach on the saving grace of our great Redeemer, it was a simple message, but I cannot remember a word from his sermon. Although I felt the need to respond to his alter call by raising my hand, I expected more out of the experience, I anticipated seeing lightning bolts and hearing thunder roar throughout the room or at least that is what I had hoped for. It never happened, and it left me feeling confused. I remember it was as if I had no control over my arm, let me explain, I remember being absorbed by every word that my ears now heard, this type of experience was very foreign to me as I never paid much attention to teachers teaching, I was always wanting to play on a sports field and not be taught history and the like. My mind would wonder in the classroom, but now wondering was far from my mind, I was plugged in to this burly man as he spoke with authority and what he had to say was hypnotic, or so it seemed. After the service I walked up to him, looked him in the eye and said “you have just confused me, I do not know what I have just done”. For a couple of days my decision confused me and I was restless. Those around me kept reassuring me that I was now saved, but I was having none of it! Until one day in the lounge and alone on my knees I think, I prayed a prayer that went something like this, “I know that Jesus paid the price for my sin and I believe that,” it was then I saw lightning flash before my face and heard thunder crack as my heart was filled with emotion, something I had never before experienced as the tears ran down my cheeks and I cried, “I can see!” It was so wonderfully real that I had an urgency to tell everyone what the answer to life was, it was the Lord Jesus and His finished work on Calvary that people had to embrace and if they did they too would see!

You tell me how then I chose God, did I conjure up the faith within myself to manufacture an understanding to something I could not understand? That would be impossible.

I hope this will help all those who struggle to understand whether or not they have been called or not. If you ask the question then I suggest that God has placed the thought there, so turn to Him cry out to Him and then you will see! I will leave you with this thought that the Apostle Paul penned in the book of Romans; “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13)

Signing off

Tyrone

"Behold, all things are become new".

(2Corinthians 5:17) “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

I remember as a newly saved believer I heard murmurs about bloodline curses and ancestral sin being echoed in the shadows, as reference is made to these judgements in the Old Testament within certain circumstances. "See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: (Deuteronomy 11:26)

Moses concludes his general exhortations to obedience; “He sums up all his arguments for obedience in two words, the blessing and the curse that is, the rewards and the punishments, as they stand in the promises and the threatening, which are the great sanctions of the law, the purpose behind this was to ignite both hope and fear in order for them to chose wisely, if not there would be consequences. So now in the fullness of time God sent His Son to do what the law could not do, that is save us from the wrath of God. The law, which is good and describes the attributes of God, was there to teach us that we needed a Saviour; “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”(Galatians 3:24)

Therefore without a Saviour we would all have to face the wrath of God and that meant without exception! Everybody ever born would have ended up in hell if God had not shown mercy by sending the Lord Jesus to live on this earth without every breaking one of God’s laws given to mankind through Moses and then paying the ultimate price by dying on a cruel Roman cross on the hill of Golgotha. God judged His Son because of our sin! Now because His wrath has been satisfied by His Son’s sacrifice, we (all who believe) can go free! "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:16-17)

Now for some to suggest that after we have believed and been adopted into God’s family that we are still subjected to the sins or the fathers, is ludicrous! Let us reason as men and then we will look to prove the point by scripture. Let’s say we adopt an orphan into our family as he lost his mother and His father was executed for a murder he committed. Would we as his new parents now hold that to his charge! Would we say to him every time he was disobedient that we would punish him because of his father’s sin? Never, not if we understand the laws of adoption, the child now carries our surname, we are now his new parents and even if his parents were still alive they would have no claim to his life as he now belongs in our family. He would be entitled to every right and blessing of our other children. This is what the law teaches, how much more we are now entitled to with the only true and Holy God as our Father. He is far more just! This is exactly why the Apostle Paul teaches us; “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” If I was once subjected to the sins of my father, yet I have now found forgiveness and repented by believing on Him, by default that curse falls away, it must! There is a new beginning for every regenerated believer; this is what it means to be born again!

I have recently read how that by implication a believer must find keys to bind and lock the principalities of darkness from having access to us. Let me reiterate with a clear statement, Satan and His demonic forces are subject to God’s Sovereignty and that is without exception, he can do nothing without God’s permission. I am not for one minute excluding the “sins of the father”, but what I am saying is that after salvation they no longer have any bind on the believer, if they once did! If anyone suggest otherwise they do not understand the work of the cross and what He accomplished on our behalf. As the Lord Jesus hung on that cross, weak in the flesh as He battled to breathe having to push done on the nails through his feet in order to get the next breathe of air to fill his lungs, He said “IT IS FINISHED”. Our great Saviour overcame hell, death and the grave. Do you remember the man chained and demon possessed with many demons, known as Legion? He was in such a mess prior to his meeting with the great I AM, but after that encounter he was as gentle as a dove! “Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked. When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country. Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.” (Luke 8:33-35)

He now was a new creature in Christ, old things are passed away; behold, all things had become new for him. It is like that for all who have been touched by the hand of God, if not, then we need to examine our birth certificate and if we are convinced that it is in order and we still hold to the thought of curses having an effect on our lives then we need to change our diet and feed upon sound doctrine and the Apostles teachings. We need to eat from God’s word and not peoples opinions. Get away from that type of teaching and fast!

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:31-39)

That would include ancestral sin, bloodline curses and the like! Let no one teach you otherwise, they may mean well, I know not their hearts, but God knows! Let us never undermine the accomplishment of our great Saviour and what he achieved on the cross for all of us who now have been given sight to see and now confess him as Lord and believe in His resurrection.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2Corinthians 5:17)

“Some read it, Let him be a new creature. This ought to be the care of all who profess the Christian faith, that they be new creatures; not only that they have a new name, and wear a new livery, but that they have a new heart and new nature. And so great is the change the grace of God makes in the soul, that, as it follows, old things are passed away - old thoughts, old principles, and old practices, are passed away; and all these things must become new. Note, Regenerating grace creates a new world in the soul; all things are new. The renewed man acts from new principles, by new rules, with new ends, and in new company.” (Matthew Henry)

How then would He still leave us handicapped to do His will? He wouldn’t and he doesn’t! All things are new! We start with a clean slate and all because of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. What we must now do is put on the Armour of God, and having done all we must stand in Him. We have no armour for our backs, because He has our back! He is the Great Shepherd! Praise His name, all honour and glory belongs to Him.

Signing off

Tyrone

Be Vigilant!

(Psalm 142:3) “When my spirit faints within me, you know my way! In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me.”

Safety checks are needed prior to ones departure whether it is by plane bus or train; even our cars are given a better inspection before a long trip. I think I check the pressure in my tyres only when I go away on a holiday. But it must be done on a regular basis. Let’s say, yearly I travel by car to the Eastern Cape. Without exception I do safety checks on my car before departure, it may not be a full service but nevertheless I check the basics and make sure I am prepared for my journey. Sin is a treacherous trait to have been exposed too; we are all partakers of its fruit because of Adam’s sin. We are born into the wickedness it manufactures. Reflecting on my life this morning I am concerned about my casualness in particular areas of my life, I lack discipline and therefore lack obedience and I am caught off guard at times, in fact far to often I am left pondering the outcome as I say to myself, “enough is enough”! This morning I sincerely want an answer on where I am going wrong and I now wait in reliance of God the Holy Spirit to point me in the right direction. I am convinced I will be fed this morning and my rudder trimmed. It is the Word which gives life and so I now seek its direction! “Walk in the spirit and you will not fulfil the lusts of the flesh”. It is imperative for us all to seek out God’s face and His will for our lives on a daily basis. It must be daily, remember the children in the wilderness, they were fed manna from heaven but were not permitted to collect for the next day, and if they did, it would rot and be inedible. Everything they went through and all that they experienced was for our admonition. Let us draw some parallels from this text:

“And the people of Israel did so. They gathered some more, some less. But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. And Moses said to them, "Let no one leave any of it over till the morning." But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. (Exodus 16:17-20)

We can never gather to much of God’s word for our lives, we will always exhaust all of it, it is not as if we will ever get indigestion from God’s Word, like perhaps we find might happen when we over indulge in the wrong type of food. But it is also imperative to understand that we cannot gather today for tomorrow, it will not be sufficient for us to stand against the wiles of the devil if we have that mindset. We must search out the riches of His grace and it must be done daily!

I think it is important for us to understand that God does not want to squeeze us for the sake of righteousness to the exclusion of our love for Him. God happily blesses His children with that which is good. God gives us of the good things of this life, not only for necessity, but for delight, that we may not only serve him, but serve him cheerfully. This is the thought we must begin with in order to for us to lay down our lives cheerfully, if not our lives will be full of misery. The Apostle Peter has this to say; “For it stands in Scripture: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame." the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone," "A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense." They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.” (1Peter 2:6-8)

Having said that all of God’s children have eyes with which they can see, we know when we are walking in obedience or disobedience. We need that no one tell us if what we are doing is right or wrong before the eyes of God. Unless of course we are still infants, and then they often show us up by their example anyway.

I am so tired of the disappointment in my life in certain areas of application that I am often left feeling rather weary, but why do I feel like this? The answer is simple and yet why do we lack application to it. Let us now consider the pattern we should follow on a daily basis. So for all who have tasted that the Lord is gracious let us take note; malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander is what hinders our growth in Him, we are instructed to put it off, as these are such sins as both destroy charity and hinder the efficacy of the word, and consequently they prevent our regeneration. We must not sit in the seat of the scornful as “bad manner corrupts good morals”. His (Peter’s) advice is to lay aside or put off what is evil, as one would do an old rotten garment: “Cast it away with indignation, never put it on anymore.” Now our flesh and the devils objective is for us to continually wear that old rotten garment. I am persuaded that if we find that we still wear it at times then we are doing something wrong, as it is no longer needed in our lives. I am reminded of Pauls instruction to the saints at Ephesus; “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11)

We are at war beloved; let no one convince you with any other lie. A good soldier must put on the mind of Christ and we must not make the mistake that I have so often made, I have in times past thought that because I have understood a principle in scripture I can tick it off as tried and tested. We must and on a daily basis put on the WHOLE “ARMOUR OF GOD”, if we fail to do this we will be vulnerable to the wiles of the devil and the weakness of our flesh. I am convinced that if we do not seriously take time to put on the armour of God we will fall into sin, whatever that may look like for you. I know my weakness and where I fall! We must do whatever it takes for us to put on the “Amour of God”, if that means that we need to get up an hour earlier, then that is what we must do! This battle is fierce, I am aware that the Lord Jesus has overcome and we stand in Him, but we still need to stand in Him clothed with His armour and not our old filthy garments.

“Make use of all the proper defensitives and weapons for repelling the temptations and stratagems of Satan - get and exercise all the Christian graces, the whole armour, that no part be naked and exposed to the enemy.” Observe, Those who would approve themselves to have true grace must aim at all grace, the whole armour. It is called the armour of God, because he both prepares and bestows it. We have no armour of our own that will be armour of proof in a trying time. Nothing will stand us in stead but the armour of God. This armour is prepared for us, but we must put it on; that is, we must pray for grace, we must use the grace given us, and draw it out into act and exercise as there is occasion. The reason assigned why the Christian should be completely armed is that he may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil - that he may be able to hold out, and to overcome, notwithstanding all the devil's assaults, both of force and fraud, all the deceits he puts upon us, all the snares he lays for us, and all his machinations against us. This the apostle enlarges upon here, and shows,

1. What our danger is, and what need we have to put on this whole armour, considering what sort of enemies we have to deal with - the devil and all the powers of darkness: For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, etc. The combat for which we are to be prepared is not against ordinary human enemies, not barely against men compounded of flesh and blood, nor against our own corrupt natures singly considered, but against the several ranks of devils, who have a government which they exercise in this world. We have to do with a subtle enemy, an enemy who uses wiles and stratagems, as Eph_6:11. He has a thousand ways of beguiling unstable souls: hence he is called a serpent for subtlety, an old serpent, experienced in the art and trade of tempting. (2.) He is a powerful enemy: Principalities, and powers, and rulers. They are numerous, they are vigorous; and rule in those heathen nations which are yet in darkness. The dark parts of the world are the seat of Satan's empire. Yea, they are usurping princes over all men who are yet in a state of sin and ignorance. Satan's is a kingdom of darkness; whereas Christ's is a kingdom of light. (3.) They are spiritual enemies: Spiritual wickedness in high places, or wicked spirits, as some translate it. The devil is a spirit, a wicked spirit; and our danger is the greater from our enemies because they are unseen, and assault us ere we are aware of them. The devils are wicked spirits, and they chiefly annoy the saints with, and provoke them to, spiritual wickednesses, pride, envy, malice, etc. These enemies are said to be in high places, or in heavenly places, so the word is, taking heaven (as one says) for the whole expansum, or spreading out of the air between the earth and the stars, the air being the place from which the devils assault us. Or the meaning may be, “We wrestle about heavenly places or heavenly things;” so some of the ancients interpret it. Our enemies strive to prevent our ascent to heaven, to deprive us of heavenly blessings and to obstruct our communion with heaven. They assault us in the things that belong to our souls, and labour to deface the heavenly image in our hearts; and therefore we have need to be upon our guard against them. We have need of faith in our Christian warfare, because we have spiritual enemies to grapple with, as well as of faith in our Christian work, because we have spiritual strength to fetch in. Thus you see your danger.

2. What our duty is: to take and put on the whole armour of God, and then to stand our ground, and withstand our enemies.

(1.) We must withstand, Eph_6:13. We must not yield to the devil's allurements and assaults, but oppose them. Satan is said to stand up against us, 1Ch_21:1. If he stand up against us, we must stand against him; set up, and keep up, an interest in opposition to the devil. Satan is the wicked one, and his kingdom is the kingdom of sin: to stand against Satan is to strive against sin. That you may be able to withstand in the evil day, in the day of temptation, or of any sore affliction.

(2.) We must stand our ground: And, having done all, to stand. We must resolve, by God's grace, not to yield to Satan. Resist him, and he will flee. If we distrust our cause, or our leader, or our armour, we give him advantage. Our present business is to withstand the assaults of the devil, and to stand it out; and then, having done all that is incumbent on the good soldiers of Jesus Christ, our warfare will be accomplished, and we shall be finally victorious.

(3.) We must stand armed; and this is here most enlarged upon. Here is a Christian in complete armour: and the armour is divine: Armour of God, armour of light, Rom_13:12. Armour of righteousness, 2Co_6:7. The apostle specifies the particulars of this armour, both offensive and defensive. The military girdle or belt, the breast-plate, the greaves (or soldier's shoes), the shield, the helmet, and the sword. It is observable that, among them all, there is none for the back; if we turn our back upon the enemy, we lie exposed. [1.] Truth or sincerity is our girdle,” (Matthew Henry)

May God equip us to be vigilant in Him and find grace in time of need and may we remember that blinkers where designed for race horses and not for humans.

Signing off

Tyrone

True Faith!

(Hebrews 11:1) “Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen.”

The word of God, the Bible is available for most to enjoy, even in communist countries like China and the like, bibles are obtainable if sincerely sought out. For us living in South Africa they are freely available. It is the greatest seller of all times and it is full of wonderful truths. It helps us find answers to the pressing questions of life. Did you know that everything you need for life can be found in the Bible? Faith is found in the bible! Faith is not something we apply to ourselves as we learn to repeatedly tell ourselves we must believe and convince ourselves that we believe in something that is false. Faith gets us to believe in that which is unseen. I was told that I have HIV, which is true and then I am told not to believe the diagnosis as it is a lie, yet the virus is evidently in my blood, I have the virus! I am then told that there is sin in my life because I am HIV positive. The problem with this theory is the bible clearly teaches that God uses our bodies to get our attention and ultimately walk in obedience to Him. He often uses it to help us look to Him as we examine our walk with Him. Our bodies are a tool He uses to get us to sit up and pay attention. “For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged.” (1Corinthians 11:29-31)

So sin is forgiven through the Lord Jesus and His completed work on Calvary’s hill, the reason I am HIV positive is because of my own sin and God’s judgment, but I have now been forgiven as I have found forgiveness in and through Him, the Lord Jesus. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”(1John 1:9)

I found forgiveness and I was also restored to active fellowship (membership) within the body of Christ that I was then in fellowship with. Although I was once committed to Satan for the destruction of the flesh my discipline had now been lifted, I had to serve my sentence with one purpose in mind, I needed to sit up and pay attention to my lifestyle, it was there to teach me to fear God and walk circumspectly before Him. No different to someone who was found guilty for stealing and going before a judge and the after pleading guilty for that crime, a sentence was served to that individual and then carried out. The slate was now clean as the sentence for that crime had now been paid. I found forgiveness, nevertheless I still live with the HIV virus in my body, and it still has one intention and that is to destroy my white blood cells. It wants to take me out! This has nothing to do with faith! We must not confuse forgiveness with consequences. If we confess we will be forgiven, but the reaction to our action will and must still run its course. If I get cancer faith teaches me not to use all my energy to be healed as I am obsessesed with the illness but rather learn through my illness to glorify God. I may well seek healing for my body but if it is required that I live with the cancer/HIV then so be it, my hope shifts from me being obsessed with having my body healed but rather finding excitement that I may even sooner be in heaven with my Lord if he wants me home. That is true faith and the bible is our instructor, the Holy Spirit takes what is written and then inscribes it on our hearts, only then can we say we believe, it is a lasting work of God and not a man-centred futile effort to conjure up false faith. “Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

If we have hope as Christians in this life only then we will be miserable! “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.” (1Corinthians 15:19)

Heaven must captivate us in its entirety! We must always be looking beyond the now and we must look to the hope we have for then, it must be what drives us on a daily basis. Let no one tell you that you are sickly because you have sin in your life, it may well be true and it is a good place to start with self examination but if you have sincerely repented and found forgiveness and illness remains then find grace from the throne room of grace to look heavenward and that in turn this will ignite our hope for heaven. Let no one lie to you and leave you living in a condemn state, that as a bruised reed you feel there is no longer any hope for you, there is hope and His name is Jesus, only do not hope for healing in this life only but rather be captivated by the hope to come - heaven. If you are frail and your body is weak remember that one day you will receive a body, a glorified body that will not know pain, it will never age and it will be similar in makeup to the Lords glorified body, what a hope we have! This is the correct understanding of faith and this is what the bible teaches. I have not done this topic any great justice with any accurate expository unpacking of extended consideration to the subject, but it is the principle that I want us to understand and with that understanding I trust we can live in faith and apply our minds to God and find His will for our lives. Be aware of the decoys that are sent to trip us up. If He has begun a good work in us, he will complete it! I have been told that a true Christian cannot have illness in his life, which is a liar. I will prove that to you, Elisha the prophet who receives a double portion of the Spirit than that of Elijah died of a sickness. “Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness of which he was to die...” (2Kings 13:14)

Remember it is the Word of God, the Bible where we find all the answers for our lives, feast upon it and find everlasting life.

Signing off

Tyrone

“You cannot serve God and money”

(Matthew 6:24) “You cannot serve God and money”

We all have dreams, hopes and ambitions but most of the time that is all man centred; it is all about self! But this is another great lie that the devil has sold us as an honourable attribute to have. Let me explain; without going into any specifics and singling out any pet subject let me rather speak in broader terms and leave the interpretation to your own consequence and the work of the Spirit in your lives. If grace has fallen on us as it has for some, our eyes have been opened to the message of the glorious gospel. Jesus Christ is real in our lives and we have received His Spirit and the Holy Spirit now lives within us, He is alive in us. “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.” (Romans 8:9)

Think of it like a man occupying a house, prior to his occupancy the house stood empty, but now it has a tenant. We were all blinded by sin and walked around in the dark groping at the crumbs of life, yes even when we won best sportsman or the top academic award. All that type of achievement does is stroke ones ego, just another decoy in life to try and keep you away from the truth and living in it! Anything and everything that is man-centred is exactly what is says, it is about man and about self. The way we like to reason and I have heard these types of remarks made; “but it is not a sin, it is a good thing to be a doctor you are helping people” or “he has such talent I think we must send him abroad to develop that talent.” You are right if you say that on the surface none of those ambitions or goals is sin, however what we must examine in our lives is the difference between that which is man-centred and that which is God-centred. Anything that we do and I say anything or everything without God in the forefront of our minds is man-centred and therefore it is sin in itself. We all need daily bread to sustain our mortal flesh, if we do not eat we will eventually die, so we must eat, but when I take what I eat for granted, when I think as a man and believe I have the right to my daily bread and I overlook the grace of God in my life it is all about me and not about my great heavenly Father. “Give us this day our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11)

We reason like this, “I work hard you know, so therefore I am entitled to a treat.” I hope you see the subtle deception with this kind of reasoning. We have been exhorted to imitate Paul as much as he imitates Christ, we pray on a daily basis; well I hope we do have a desire to be more like our Saviour. Man has invented many clever snares to trap the animal they hunt and with great success. Satan goes around like a roaring lion; with subtle deception attempting to ensnare those that now confess Jesus as Lord. Do not be fooled everything that is man-centred is not from God. All we need to do to confirm this to be true is to look at all the examples through scripture that pleased God and He got men through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to pen those accounts. Let us look at the greatest faith chapter in the bible, Hebrews 11...

“By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.” (Hebrews 11:3-14)

These are all great examples of God-centred faith and they are there to help us understand how we should also live, if we want to be great, then we must lose our lives so that we may find it in Him and we must live in accordance to His will and not our wants. We must lose all our human endeavours wherever and whenever they rob us of our relationship with God our Father no matter how honourable they may seem. It is about heaven and our lives there and not about our lives here on earth. I know I have struck a nerve, nevertheless ask yourself this one question, what is of importance to you, this life or eternity? Whatever the answer will be will determine how we live. Let us not say both because we cannot serve two master; "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” (Matthew 6:24)

If and when I do anything in my life before I consider His will for my life, I walk according to my own lust and not His will! And if I am honest with myself I am guilty in so many areas of my existence, however this must not be excused as acceptable but rather let us repent of this type of reasoning and seek out grace to lay down our lives as Christ laid down His life for the church. I will end with the words of our great Saviour, “You cannot serve God and money”.

Signing off

Tyrone