Heritage

 

Heritage is something that intrigues us all, we all like to know our history when it come to our ancestry. The “Black lives Matters” movement that is now in full swing has piqued the interest of many. Samuel L Jackson has now travelled down a road seeking out his origin; Gabon in West Africa and this documentary can be viewed on many platforms. I am told that I come from the lineage of a Prime Minister, on my mother’s side. My grandfather’s father’s bother was supposedly Louis Botha, South Africa’s first Prime Minister. The truth be told, there is something that the flesh loves about the boast of a legacy. My step brother Mike, traced his linage back to William Wallace of Scotland, better known to most as Brave Heart, in fact, he even framed a placard that paints his wall. But all of this heritage ride on the wave of death, all of those individuals are now dead. Seventy years or there a bouts and then the end for all. What a dismal hope when viewed laterally against eternity, the part we do not see, and yet somehow we all know exists, time without end and all that entails, our eternal futures.

 

Our souls will live on beyond the end of days, whether we embrace a blissful existence or cursed torment, all depends on our spiritual heritage. This now become a fundamental truth that we daren’t miss. God sent his only begotten Son the Lord Jesus Christ to defeat the curse of sin, and the way in which he achieved that was to live a life of sinless perfection and then pay the price for the sins of many, by being sentenced to death by crucifixion as if he had sinned. It was his sacrifice that opened a way for sinners, you and me, to re-establish the connection Adam had with God in the beginning. This amazing attrition of love from Jesus Christ, the One who laid his life down for his enemies. He was buried and on the third day, God raised him from the dead, and there are many eye witnesses to verify this truth. Those who saw him alive and well after being buried in a tomb. Then the time came for his ascension and he ascended back into heaven and is now seated at the right hand of his Father, where he arbitrates for all those who rely on Him, every born again believer. Kapow! Now that’s the heritage that excites me and my boast is most certainly in HIM…

 

Our bodies will all face death, but He has conquered death, He rose again! Our initial heritage, we all children of the devil because of our own sin, but HE has conquered sin! All those who rely on the finished work of the cross, will receive glorified bodies, just like His, a body that will take us into eternity and beyond. But for those who reject and turn their noses up to our blessed Redeemers accomplishment they will face the Lake of fire and torment will be their lot into endless hopelessness…

 

For all the fence sitters, and those who still breathe the oxygen God has afforded them to sustain their mortal bodies, there is great news, pay very careful attention! “For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”” (Roman 10:13) – But call you must, your future depends upon it. As for me and my household we will serve the Lord...

 

Signing out

 

Tyrone

Our response to God's call...

 

An ineffectual call will always land on deaf ears, but an effectual call will always reap its desired result; salvation in and through the finished work of the cross. All glory, will always, into the ages of eternity, belong to our blessed Redeemer, the Great, the One and only Lord Jesus Christ, the One in whom I will boast. Amen and hallelujah!

 

Election; those who God has and will save, from the vilest of the vile, the meekest of the meek and those in a deep hole of desperateness, they will be turned, for when it happens, it highlights the brilliance of God. Why does the same message save one and not another, think about it, two people in the same room under the exact same conditions and only one responds favourably. Why is one hardened whilst the other laps the message in like a dry sponge soaks up water? It is a rather simple answer, the call was either ineffectual or effectual, pay careful attention; Think on it like this, two cars parked in a garage, the ineffectual cars battery has run flat, the is no power to crank the engine, there is no spark! The effectual cars battery is primed by the Spirit of God and turns over with ease. One is capable of response whilst the other isn’t. No matter how hard we try to convince someone to believe, if they haven’t been elected it is a fruitless exercise, of this I am now convinced!

 

The hour when the Spirit of God works in the sinners life, the day when someone openly declares; “I believe, I can see, I can see”, is a miracle. It’s only when we start to humanize the process that we get bent out of shape, remember the Lord’s words to Nicodemus; “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:6)

 

How do some get saved and others not, and I’m not talking about those who come along for the ride for a time and then bail out, they were never truly saved. Read John Bunyan’s Pilgrims Progress… or the parable of the sower also illustrates this well. But those whom God has chosen from before the world began, they are the elect. The twelve disciples, hand-picked before they were even born. Jesus selected them individually to teach them the way. Look at Peters explanation; “So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.” (1Peter 2:7-8) – The gospel they heard was ineffectual. On the flip side those effectually called, case in point, the Apostles. He said follow me and the account reads: “immediately they left their nets and followed Him.” Other encounters with men in scripture tell a different story, one man wanted to first go bury his father and then he would follow the Lord. When the Spirit of God works in a person’s life, nothing will and can take preference over that call. When God said let there be light, it’s not as if the light debated whether to shine or not.

 

This does not detract from the gospel message going out to all… “If Judas had not been an apostle, he could not have been a traitor; if men had known the way of righteousness, they could not have abused it.”  (Matthew Henry)  

 

Think of it like this, a writer pens a novel and he/she creates the characters in the book, some are villains and then there’s the hero. God scripted His plan and it is now working itself out exactly as He has willed. Do not be fooled into ever thinking that God can get caught off guard. Through the chaos of life, He has ever “T’ crossed and every “I” dotted. Did you know that even Judas Iscariots betrayal was predestined? In other words scripted in Gods manuscript, someone had to hand over our Saviour. The Arminian (the free will thinker) believers accept as truth that he has a choice, did pharaoh have a choice or was his heart hardened to glorify the brilliance of God’s deliverance for the enslaved Israelites? Think it through, you decide. I am not here to sway your decision, I have settle on what I believe. The next objection we need to address is this, “then God is unfair!” But the Apostle Paul silences that thought very smartly; “So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—“ (Romans 9:18-23)    

 

How does this play out in the lives of so many that claim Christianity as their own; it’s the love of money that sways them to place their greed above the true gospel message. They twist the Word for self-gain. Judas Iscariot in a manner is the father of such men and woman. Beware of the love of money, because from such a mind-set, springs the root of all kinds of evil. True Christianity encapsulates the will of God, whilst a deceiver rides on the back of the gospel as a means for self-gain and sadly there are many who have travelled this path. “The blind leading the blind and both fall into the ditch.”

 

Christian let us be as wise as serpents and yet as gentle as doves; “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” 

 

Signing out

 

Tyrone              

 

Just as...

Luke 17:26 “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man.” 

A day just like yesterday for most, but when Noah entered the ark and the gang plank was hoisted, water started falling from the sky and need I remind you this had never happened before, vegetation was water from the ground up, that the day where God opened the heavens and then what followed is almost too drastic to deliberate, but envisage it we must, so that we can learn from it; the flood came destroying them all, save Noah and his family, who were safely tucked away in the Ark. Imagine young infants clutching onto their mothers arms as the water sucked them under, their last hope of survival snuffed, their fathers unable to save them, whatever dad tried was in vain, “if only” flashing through their minds as they watched the boat bop up and down safely on the waters. God’s judgment had found them out, exposing the issues of their hearts and they now witnessed the fierce wrath of God as they were on the receiving end. Why had God done such a thing? The text is clear; “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” – Complete defiance towards God was the issue of the day, God had had enough! He determine that enough was enough and total destruction followed. Sinful practices needed to be squashed there and then. God determine to eradicate the rot in its tracks and so he brought devastation through a flood.  

 

Let us unpack this thought for a while, think about all those that you despise, everything that you perceive to be fair and just. In spite on the fact that we (the human race) always have our judgements slanted by sin, for we are sinners by nature. We never train a child to lie, but put them in a corner and see how quickly they adapt to avoid a situation, a case in point. We always look out for number one, self! It’s who we are. God on the other hand will never be effect by sin, He is holy! The problem most have is they do not believe it. They do not see God as righteous and they think they know better, they would be wrong! Be that as it may, the potter always has power over the clay. He created the universe and has allowed us to find His will for our lives in the finished work of the cross, Jesus Christ, the man who knew no sin paid the price to free sinners from judgment. If only we would call out to Him while we have a chance. The day is coming when that option will no longer be a possibility. Just like it was in the days of Noah…

 

There is an opening and this is what we all need to do to escape God’s fierce wrath; “For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”” (Romans 10:13) – Sadly only a handful will respond favourably, the question I have for you, will you be amongst that number? You see, just like it was in the days of Noah, they were eating and drinking, getting married, it was just another day for the sun had risen like it had done the day before and Noah’s message could never be believe, but believe it we must. There is a day coming when the trumpet of God will sound, the event we refer to as the Rapture, will happen and then it will be too late. Act now while you still have the opportunity to respond favourably. Because the day is coming when that prospect will have passed. How do you view Gods purpose for your life? Is He just an aggravation, or do you want to find His will in your lives? Are you amongst the number that believe the Bible is filled with fairy tales, or do you believe what has been penned is fact? I am persuaded and "as for me and my household we will serve the Lord."

 

God could have done exactly what He felt like doing at the time, destroying mankind from the face of the earth, but He was gracious, saving Noah and his family, if not, mankind would be extinct. But by the grace of God here we stand. Arrogance of the highest order, so many people not giving God His rightful place in their hearts. But He gives more grace and offers more time for people to come to their senses. Praise the name of Jesus!          

 

Likewise, as it was in the days of Lot; they ate, drank, bought, sold, planted, and built lavish homes and with sexual tolerance as a right to their “liberal thinking”, just another excuse to accommodate sin; I detect and hear the sound of that particular bell, do you, can you hear it?  But the same day that Lot was saved out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed the city and all that lived there. Another fairy tale or not? Just before the angels saved Lot from the city, what were the onlookers trying to achieve? Their sexual orientation was out of whack, they even declined Lots virgin daughters, sexual desires and their conduct toward it had spiraled out of control; “if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked.” (2Peter 2:6-7) – The mind-set of today is tolerance, let people decide! God will have the final say and best you be on the right side of that decision or suffer the consequences.    

 

Here is the cruncher, which may affect some alive today, we may be part of the history books that tells the story of how God appeared in the clouds and saved all who believed from the wrath to follow. Jesus is coming to rule the earth with a rod of iron. The rapture will happen and where will we end? Heaven and all its glory or running around trying to dogged hundred pound hail stones and making sure you don’t step on scorpions...

 

Signing out

 

Tyrone   

Understanding Salvation

Just the other day I was asked, “How did I realise that Jesus was the answer?” The implication behind the question was how and who influenced me to take the plunge? I suppose we all play our part in leading an individual to the feet of Jesus but its God who saved, no one else can make that happen; “God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth…” We must never make the mistake and think we decided to follow Jesus because of who we are and what we may have done. “It’s the goodness of God that leads a man to repentance”. He initiates the will in us to cry out to Jesus and seek forgiveness for our sins. He gives life, we do not chose life. This is a crucial fact we need to make our own. From start to finish it’s all because of the finished work of the cross that we are number amongst the saints of God, period! It took me a long time to understand this.

 

Here is a brief version of my testimony…

 

I responded to an alter call many years ago by raising my hand on the preachers request. The following couple of days confusion reigned in my life, I was tangled, and everyone tried to convince me that I had been saved, but I remained unconvinced. Then it happened, after struggling alone in a room and wrestling with my decision, reading the Bible and through prayer God brought me to a place of understanding, I was a sinner and needed a Saviour to cover my sins. Once I realised that Jesus had paid the price for my sin, I confessed and I now understood that I had been miraculously saved. The flood gates of joy opened and unstoppable tears saturated my face, such joy had now captivated my soul and I needed to tell someone the good news. I ran into the study and picked up the phone and called my travelling buddy Sledge. The conversation went something like this, “Sledge I have found the answer to life, Jesus is the answer”, there was a deafening pause of silence and then came the retort, “Huh”. He had no clue what I was talking about, God had not opened his eyes but mercifully He had opened mine. Prior to this event, we had run in the same circles and found pleasure in similar things. Why me and not Him? Why is one man saved and another not? This remains a mystery, but all I knew is God had saved me and I needed to tell the world. We cannot claimed favouritism because of who we think we are in the work of our deliverance, what was the difference between me and Sledge, I certainly didn’t behave better than him prior to salvation.

 

On further study the Bible makes this very clear and the answer is found in the text; “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  (Ephesians 2:1-9)

 

Christian we have much to be thankful for…

 

For four years or so my life had turn on its head, wine, woman and song no longer had a hold on me and then things began to change and I found myself once again dabbling where I shouldn’t and before long I was behaving like I once had, and sadly disobedience had now become a way of life. Three car accidents in a month and then in 1993 I found out that I had been infected by the HIV virus. It took these server blows to my body to once again bring me to my senses, the love of God had brought discipline into my life to wake me up, (see Hebrews chapter 12) and I thank God for his love, without His intervention I would be in some gutter somewhere with a needle dangling from my arm and begging bread. But God! My Father was and still looks out for those who belong to Him. All glory belongs to Him! There is a lot more to “my story” but time does not permit…

 

“To the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.” 

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone

Typology

 (Act 8:9) “But there was a man named Simon,”

 

As my thoughts penned yesterday were on the warnings we receive from the Lord Jesus on deceiving men and all those that lie against the truth, I thought it may be good to look to the bible as it could give us some warnings and what those types of men and woman may look like. The bible is full of typology and we will often see the same pattern throughout time and through passing generations. The events of the Old Testament often depict similar events in the New Testament; you could say it is the silent voice of God giving us clues on what will happen in the future. In other words Typology (a.k.a. figura in Latin) in Christian theology and Biblical exegesis (a critical explanation or interpretation of a text) is a doctrine or theory concerning the relationship between the Old and New Testaments. If we look closely enough we will see repeat patterns throughout the bible, let us use an example to amplify the coming of the Lord Jesus; the Lord teaches us that in the days of Noah. “They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.” (Luke 17:27)

 

In like manner, people will be doing exactly the same things in the days of the coming of the Lord; we must pray for strength and grace not to be those who would be deceived into believing lies and  chasing false doctrine.

 

Now if we look at this man Simon the sorcerer, we see a pattern that people from that time admired him and they gravitated toward him. So why did they admire him and call him a man of God.

“They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is the power of God that is called Great. And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic.” (Act 8:10-11) - Let us not confuse false signs and wonders as the work of the Spirit.

 

To him they had regard (and perhaps the more because the time fixed for the coming of the Messiah had now expired, which had raised a general expectation of the appearing of some great one about this time. Probably he was a native of their country, and therefore they embraced him the more cheerfully, that by giving honour to him they might reflect it upon themselves. 2. They said of him, This man is the great power of God - the power of God, that great power (so it might be read), that power which made the world. See how ignorant inconsiderate people mistake that which is done by the power of Satan, as if it were done by the power of God. Thus, in the Gentile world, devils pass for deities; and in the antichristian kingdom all the world wonders after a beast, to whom the dragon gives his power, and who opens his mouth in blasphemy against God, Rev_13:2-5. (Matthew Henry)

 

The anti-christ will have the same effect on the world; he will appear as an angel of light and deceive the nations. Simon was a type of the anti-christ! His luring tool was the magic he was able to perform, but the anti-christ will have false religious people backing him all the way. People had expected the return of the Lord, they may have been growing impatient, and it will be the same in the days of the Lord if He chooses to delay to his return; “But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed,' and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know.” (Matthew 24:48-50)

 

People will be looking to advance His return then they will say he is the christ! Remember the Lord’s warning to his children; “Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There he is!' do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.” (Matthew 24:23-24)

 

He will use signs and wonders to deceive even the elect, if possible! That will not happen as God’s children have understood as He has given them eyes to see and they know their masters voice. But this lure will be so great that it will rock the world as they bow done and worship him as God.

 

In the city of Samaria Simon Magus had been busy there, and had gained a great interest among the people, and yet they believed the things that Philip spoke. Phillip had just declared the wonderful truth of the gospel and people had believed his message and people had been saved. The same people that once were taken up by Simon’s magic and been bewitched by him.

 

“We are told how strong the delusion of Satan was by which they were brought into the interests of this great deceiver. He had been for some time, nay, for a long time, in this city, using sorceries; perhaps he came there by the instigation of the devil, soon after our Saviour had been there, to undo what he had been doing there; for it was always Satan's way to crush a good work in its bud and infancy, 2Co_11:3; 1Th_3:5. Now, First, Simon assumed to himself that which was considerable: He gave out that he himself was some great one, and would have all people to believe so and to pay him respect accordingly; and then, as to everything else, they might do as they pleased. He had no design to reform their lives, nor improve their worship and devotion, only to make them believe that he was, tis megas - some divine person. Justin Martyr says that he would be worshipped as prōton theon - the chief god. He gave out himself to be the Son of God, the Messiah, so some think; or to be an angel, or a prophet. Perhaps he was uncertain within himself what title of honour to pretend to; but he would be thought some great one. Pride, ambition, and an affectation of grandeur, have always been the cause of abundance of mischief both to the world and to the church.” (Matthew Henry)

 

What amazes me with this account is how much emphasis is placed upon the power of the Holy Spirit; He offered to pay for its power! Money and the Holy Ghost when accompanying one another should get us to at least sit up and pay attention. It should at the very least get us to examine what is being preached! I am thankful for the strength and the power of Divine grace, by which these new converts were brought to Christ, who is truth and will unarm the works of the devil. Grace works in the lives of those who were once captivated by the power of Satan but now is brought into obedience to Christ. Where Satan, as a strong man armed, kept possession of the palace, and thought himself safe, Christ was stronger than him and freed the captive, praise His name! He led captivity captive, and made those the trophies of his victory that the devil had once triumphed over. Let us not despair of the worst, when even those whom Simon Magus had bewitched were brought to believe. If we have been hoodwinked into believing the lies of the false prophets and the false teachers lets us repent from the errors of our ways and cleave to the finished work of Calvary.

We must remember Noah’s example; by faith Noah was warned of the upcoming judgment, we in turn must find grace in time of need to mimic him; “By faith Noah, being warned of God concerning things not seen as yet, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” (Hebrews 11:7)

We have not yet seen the “Rapture” but it will happen, God has declared it to us through his Word. Therefore let us not look to this event with intrigue but rather heed the voice of our great Saviour as we attentively heed His warnings on these upcoming events and be on guard against the error of our times.

Even so, we cry to you our God as we beckon your return, come quickly Lord Jesus, we long to behold your glory and bow down and worship you, our great Redeemer and High Priest, Jehovah God we will worship you and you alone, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

 

Inheritance

The portion of one’s inheritance is not up to the individual but rather up to the one who has the power to pass on the legacy. This is an obvious truth that so many of us miss when it comes to salvation, why? I suppose our default action always stems from an attitude of self-worth. We put in the effort and therefore we deserve what we get. It’s the hope we have that drives us forward. We set goals and set monies aside to achieve those goals, our end of the year holidays an obvious exponent.

 

Stay with me here, salvation in Christ, ask yourself the question did you choose Him or did He choose you? The hope of the Christian, isn’t it saturated in God’s inheritance? It sure is, it has to be, lets us think this through. As parents, do your children determine their portion of their heritage? Or do we decide who gets what once we pass? Sure, there is often manipulation involved by siblings to get the most from their parents, it’s just the landscape of who we are, we are sinners by nature and therefore we always look out for number one, ourselves. However once we settle on the brilliance of our Saviour’s achievement and commitment to His finished work, everything changes and He receives all the glory. Salvation has nothing to do with us, we must get this through our rebellious independent streaks for it to resonate, we need the Spirit of God to break this suborn shackle in our lives. Until then we will always be looking to help God with what we do in our lives. On the cross the Lord Jesus uttered these words, “it is finished” and that’s exactly what that means.

 

I want you to look at what Charles Spurgeon has to say, not on election per se, but do me a favour, read between the lines to get the full picture of the finished work of the cross. Rest in Christ and give God praise for choosing you, remove your initial involvement from the equation and see the beauty of it all. Sure, we act in response, because He first loved us. But get it the wrong way round and we will always have something to boast about, even if we deny the claim. The Apostle Paul makes this very clear; “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  (Ephesians 2:8-9) 

 

"The Lord is my portion, saith my soul." — Lam_3:24

“It is not "The Lord is partly my portion," nor "The Lord is in my portion"; but he himself makes up the sum total of my soul's inheritance. Within the circumference of that circle lies all that we possess or desire. The Lord is my portion. Not his grace merely, nor his love, nor his covenant, but Jehovah himself. He has chosen us for his portion, and we have chosen him for ours. It is true that the Lord must first choose our inheritance for us, or else we shall never choose it for ourselves; but if we are really called according to the purpose of electing love, we can sing-

 

"Loved of my God for him again
With love intense I burn;
Chosen of him ere time began,
I choose him in return."

 

The Lord is our all-sufficient portion. God fills himself; and if God is all-sufficient in himself, he must be all-sufficient for us. It is not easy to satisfy man's desires. When he dreams that he is satisfied, anon he wakes to the perception that there is somewhat yet beyond, and straightway the horse-leech in his heart cries, "Give, give." But all that we can wish for is to be found in our divine portion, so that we ask, "Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee." Well may we "delight ourselves in the Lord" who makes us to drink of the river of his pleasures. Our faith stretches her wings and mounts like an eagle into the heaven of divine love as to her proper dwelling-place. "The lines have fallen to us in pleasant places; yea, we have a goodly heritage." Let us rejoice in the Lord always; let us show to the world that we are a happy and a blessed people, and thus induce them to exclaim, "We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you."” (Charles Spurgeon)

 

 

Signing off

 

 

Tyrone