Overwhelmed By Giants? Blocked By Mountains?

Are you going through a very tough time? Are you having a relationship problem? Is your health going through a beating? Is the medical report really bad? Are you out of a job? Are you having a financial crisis? Are you having lots of stress in your job? Is your spiritual life stagnant? Are you being overwhelmed by too many giants? Is your path of progress blocked by countless mountains?

Many cannot kill their giants or move their mountains because they have so little faith. The giants or mountains may seem to grow larger when their faith is shrinking. Their situation seems impossible and fear grows out of proportion. What can be done when faith exits your life? How to turn situation around when fear rules supreme?

Recognise that giants will not remain forever. Realize that the mountains cannot grow any larger.They are only there for a season. And God will use this opportunity to strengthen your faith as you engage them. 

Giants can be killed and mountains can be moved! Who were those ordinary people in the Bible who proved that the promises of God were more powerful then all their problems, obstacles and barriers?

Moses proved that the promises of God were more powerful when he rescued thousands of slaves from under the nose of the hostile Pharaoh. Joshua proved it with his conquest of Jericho and the most parts of Canaan. Gideon proved it by routing the large Midianite army with a handful of men. David proved it with his sling and stone against Goliath.

Gideon and his 300 valiant warriors

Every one of these people had worst situation than you would ever faced. They had believed and overcome their adversaries. This is now the the season for you to trust and believe that God's promises are far greater than all the giants and mountains combined.You simply have to accept this truth! 

Every fear situation is subjugated by the "Faith Promises" of God. The life of faith begins when you refuse to give yourself any excuse to fear and fail. God has given you more than enough "Faith Promises" to exercise your faith to conquer and overcome all giants and mountains! Every one of these promises is found in the Bible. Read your Bible carefully!

Begin today by laying all the thoughts of defeat and fear at God's feet. Ask God for a vision of victory. His vision will give you a schedule of success. Then ask Him for wisdom and strength to overcome all doubts. Remember that nothing happens outside of you until a spark of belief happens inside.

Request that He sends you people and situations of favor. Pray with faith! Pray with belief! Then command all these hindrances and fears to go... in the mighty name of Jesus! You will see your Red Sea open and your Jericho walls crumbling down. One act of favor from the Lord is worth more than tons of worries and fear!

When you trust in His promises and activate your faith, miracles are standing at your front door, waiting for you to invite them in. Do open and let them in!

"All things are possible to those who believe." 

(Mark 9:23).

"I can do all this through him who gives me strength." 

(Philippians 4:13).

Albert Kang

Becoming the Person that God wants You to be!

No one can stop you from becoming the person that God wants you to be... except you. 

King Saul was appointed by God to be the first king of Israel. He did not serve God accordingly and decided to be "the person that he personally wanted to be" (1 Samuel 15).  That was when all the blessings stopped and his calling as the king was passed on to a young shepherd boy named David. 

It's important to know your calling and be faithful at what God has called you to do and to become. 

No matter how famous or popular you have become, obedience is still the key to God's heart. 

It is only in pursuing after the will of God in your life that you'll find true spiritual fulfillment and joy of service. 

Rev Albert Kang

Unaffiliated To Any Religions

A 2012 survey of US Millennials—ages 18 to 24— uncovered an interesting trend. The study, led by the Public Religion Research Institute, revealed that one in four young adults chose “unaffiliated” for their religious commitment. But 55 percent of that group had “identified with a religious group” when they were younger. They had simply walked away from the faith they once embraced.

Sadly, many believers in Jesus turn away from their “first love” (Revelation 2:4 NKJV). Knowing that the people of ancient Israel were prone to wander away from God, Joshua called together the “eastern tribes” to commend them and give them counsel. He commended them for faithfully following God’s commands as they helped to clear Canaan (Joshua 22:2-3). The Promised Land had been claimed and was now prepared for God’s people.

But as he sent the three tribes (Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh) back to their homes on the east side of the Jordan (Joshua 22:4), Joshua also had some instructions for them (Joshua 22:5):

• “Love”—To maintain their relationship with God, they needed to love Him deeply.

• “Walk”—To stay in step with God, they needed to follow His ways completely.

• “Obey”—To honor God, they needed to obey His commands unceasingly.

• “Hold”—To stay strong in their faith, they needed to hold firmly to God uniquely.

• “Serve”—To live out their faith, they needed to serve God sincerely.

To make sure you don’t begin moving away from God—slipping from unashamed believer (Romans 1:16) to unaffiliated nonbeliever—consider the five words Joshua spoke to the people. As we love, walk, obey, hold, and serve in our relationship with God, our hearts will stay rooted in Him (Joshua 22:5).

Godvine

Daniel's Gloves

 

Daniel's Gloves

I sat, with two friends, in the picture window of a quaint restaurant just off the corner of the town-square. The food and the company were both especially good that day.

As we talked, my attention was drawn outside, across the street. There, walking into town, was a man who appeared to be carrying all his worldly goods on his back. He was carrying, a well-worn sign that read, 'I will work for food.' My heart sank..

I brought him to the attention of my friends and noticed that others around us had stopped eating to focus on him. Heads moved in a mixture of sadness and disbelief.

We continued with our meal, but his image lingered in my mind.. We finished our meal and went our separate ways. I had errands to do and quickly set out to accomplish them. I glanced toward the town square, looking somewhat halfheartedly for the strange visitor. I was fearful, knowing that seeing him again would call some response. I drove through town and saw nothing of him. I made some purchases at a store and got back in my car.

Deep within me, the Spirit of God kept speaking to me: 'Don't go back to the office until you've at least driven once more around the square.'

Then with some hesitancy, I headed back into town. As I turned the square's third corner, I saw him. He was standing on the steps of the church, going through his sack.

I stopped and looked; feeling both compelled to speak to him, yet wanting to drive on. The empty parking space on the corner seemed to be a sign from God: an invitation to park. I pulled in, got out and approached the town's newest visitor.

'Looking for the pastor?' I asked.

'Not really,' he replied, 'just resting.'

'Have you eaten today?'

'Oh, I ate something early this morning.'

'Would you like to have lunch with me?'

'Do you have some work I could do for you?'

'No work,' I replied 'I commute here to work from the city, but I would like to take you to lunch.'

'Sure,' he replied with a smile.

As he began to gather his things, I asked some surface questions.

'Where you headed?'

'St. Louis! '

'Where you from?'

'Oh, all over; mostly Florida ...'

'How long you been walking?'

'Fourteen years,' came the reply.

I knew I had met someone unusual. We sat across from each other in the same restaurant I had left earlier. His face was weathered slightly beyond his 38 years. His eyes were dark yet clear, and he spoke with an eloquence and articulation that was startling He removed his jacket to reveal a bright red T-shirt that said, 'Jesus is The Never Ending Story.'

Then Daniel's story began to unfold. He had seen rough times early in life. He'd made some wrong choices and reaped the consequences. Fourteen years earlier, while backpacking across the country, he had stopped on the beach in Daytona. He tried to hire on with some men who were putting up a large tent and some equipment. A concert, he thought.

He was hired, but the tent would not house a concert but revival services, and in those services he saw life more clearly. He gave his life over to God

'Nothing has been the same since,' he said, 'I felt the Lord telling me to keep walking, and so I did, some fourteen years now.'

'Ever think of stopping?' I asked.

'Oh, once in a while, when it seems to get the best of me But God has given me this calling. I give out Bibles That's what's in my sack. I work to buy food and Bibles, and I give them out when His Spirit leads.'

I sat amazed. My homeless friend was not homeless. He was on a mission and lived this way by choice. The question burned inside for a moment and then I asked: 'What's it like?'

'What?'

'To walk into a town carrying all your things on your back and to show your sign?'

'Oh, it was humiliating at first. People would stare and make comments. Once someone tossed a piece of half-eaten bread and made a gesture that certainly didn't make me feel welcome. But then it became humbling to realize that God was using me to touch lives and change people's concepts of other folks like me.'

My concept was changing, too. We finished our dessert and gathered his things. Just outside the door, he paused He turned to me and said, 'Come Ye blessed of my Father and inherit the kingdom I've prepared for you. For when I was hungry you gave me food, when I was thirsty you gave me drink, a stranger and you took me in.'

I felt as if we were on holy ground.

'Could you use another Bible?' I asked.

He said he preferred a certain translation. It traveled well and was not too heavy. It was also his personal favorite.. 'I've read through it 14 times,' he said.

'I'm not sure we've got one of those, but let's stop by our church and see' I was able to find my new friend a Bible that would do well, and he seemed very grateful.

'Where are you headed from here?' I asked.

'Well, I found this little map on the back of this amusement park coupon.'

'Are you hoping to hire on there for a while?'

'No, I just figure I should go there. I figure someone under that star right there needs a Bible, so that's where I'm going next.'

He smiled, and the warmth of his spirit radiated the sincerity of his mission. I drove him back to the town-square where we'd met two hours earlier, and as we drove, it started raining. I parked and he unloaded his things.

'Would you sign my autograph book?' he asked... 'I like to keep messages from folks I meet.'

I wrote in his little book that his commitment to his calling had touched my life. I encouraged him to stay strong. And I left him with a verse of scripture from Jeremiah, 'I know the plans I have for you, declared the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you; Plans to give you a future and a hope.'

'Thanks, man,' he said. 'I know we just met and we're really just strangers, but I love you.'

'I know,' I said, 'I love you, too.'

'The Lord is good!'

'Yes, He is. How long has it been since someone hugged you?' I asked.

A long time,' he replied

And so on the busy street corner in the drizzling rain, my new friend and I embraced, and I felt deep inside that I had been changed.. He put his things on his back, smiled his winning smile and said, 'See you in the New Jerusalem.'

'I'll be there!' was my reply.

He began his journey again. He headed away with his sign dangling from his bedroll and pack of Bibles. He stopped, turned and said, 'When you see something that makes you think of me, will you pray for me?'

'You bet,' I shouted back, 'God bless.'

'God bless.' And that was the last I saw of him.

Late that evening as I left my office, the wind blew strong. The cold front had settled hard upon the town. I bundled up and hurried to my car. As I sat back and reached for the emergency brake, I saw them.... a pair of well-worn brown work gloves neatly laid over the length of the handle. I picked them up and thought of my friend and wondered if his hands would stay warm that night without them.

Then I remembered his words: 'If you see something that makes you think of me, will you pray for me?'

Today his gloves lie on my desk in my office.. They help me to see the world and its people in a new way, and they help me remember those two hours with my unique friend and to pray for his ministry.

'See you in the New Jerusalem,' he said. Yes, Daniel, I know I will...

'I shall pass this way but once. Therefore, any good that I can do or any kindness that I can show, let me do it now, for I shall not pass this way again.'

This prayer is powerful and there is nothing attached. Prayer is one of the best gifts we receive. There is no cost but a lot of rewards.
Let's continue to pray for one another. God bless and have a nice day!

'Father, I ask you to bless my friends, relatives and e-mail buddies reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask you to minister to their spirits at this very moment. Where there is pain, give them your peace and mercy. Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence through your grace, In Jesus' precious Name Amen.'

Do Believers Need Christ To Obey On Their Behalf?

Do We Need Christ to Obey On Our Behalf?

By Albert Kang

Some people claim that once they are saved and justified, they are also simultaneously sanctified. They do not see the difference between Justification and Sanctification. In fact, in their belief, they can do away with Sanctification all together.

They believe that it is purely the one-sided work of God without the need for man to respond or be accountable. This is because of the misunderstanding that if man is made responsible then it means ‘work’is involved. "Work" is a bad word in spite of what James stated, "But someone will say, 'You have faith, and I have works.' Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. (James 2:18).

There is confusion between the "works of the flesh" and the "works of faith". The first one depicts that we have to work for our salvation. The second means that because we have been saved by accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior through faith, then the result of this redeemed life is receiving the empowerment to obey God and unto good works. These 'works' mentioned here have nothing to do with our salvation. In our justification, it was Jesus plus nothing. No amount of human efforts or works can bring forth our salvation. 

James was very clear when he said that 'HE' will show 'HIS' faith by HIS “works". He was declaring that he was fully responsible for how he serve God. So whatever works that James did, it was his own works and not that of Christ. Christ did not do for what James was supposed to do. Christ did His works so that we now can do our works. That was why Paul said that a workman needed not be ashamed. Of course, he was being empowered and helped by the Holy Spirit but those works were still his own.

There is a personal responsibility and personal obedience involved here. Our good works are the result of God's power working in and through us. We cannot blame God if we do not obey and do good works. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10). In Ephesians 6:8, Paul added, “… because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.” Here we learn that after our salvation, our good works are important and that God does reward those who are faithful in carrying out His instruction.

The new teaching states that whether we produce good works or not, it does not matter to God. There is no condemnation and there is no reward. Therefore, no matter what man does, God does not care or at least He is not concerned. Why? That, according to them, is because God only looks at the obedience and works of Christ and not that of the believers. This misconception totally absolves all believers of any need for personal obedience and holiness. 

One adherent of such belief told me that because of the 'obedience of Christ' - that is Christ obeying on his behalf, it subsequently resulted in this man being grateful to God and so now he does not live in sin.  That, I said, also happened to all us when we first encountered Christ and believed in Him. We have been 'Born-Again' and are also very grateful and do not live in sin too. A sense of gratitude is great but ultimately it is the Holy Spirit who helps and empowers us to overcome all temptations.

We should know that even though during our conversion, God accepted us as who and what we were, but He still wanted to change us by the Holy Spirit to become more and more like Christ. Paul wrote, “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Why are the adherents of this belief asked to go back to the cross again and again? Why do they need Christ to obey for them when they can now do so? This understanding has come about because such group teaches indirectly that all believers are totally depraved and have no ability or capacity to obey. Even if they were to obey, their obedience is tarnished and thus cannot be acceptable to God. Ultimately, the under-lying understanding is that since the believers have to be ‘justified by obeying the law’, and they are never able to do so, they then have to perpetually depend upon Christ to obey for them. 

This belief is absolutely against justification by faith which is ‘apart from the law’. Paul said, “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law”. (Romans 3:28). Are we, the believers, still under the law so much so that Christ has to keep obeying for us? If not, then why is this group constantly referring back to the finished work of Christ whenever they sin? The finished work of Christ is ‘Gospel’ or ‘Good News’! If you have preach the Gospel to yourself every time you sin, then are you really free from the law?

We believe that by faith we are saved and law got nothing to do with our salvation. Once we are being set free we are ‘free indeed’ (John 8:36). Then after being set free, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to produce good works – just like what is found in James 2:17-18 - it is not possible to have faith without producing good works. God has given us the Holy Spirit who in turn grant us the capacity to obey because He has made us new creatures in Christ, totally Born Again, free from the condemnation of the law, and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Our emphasis now as redeemed people of God is not to keep running back to the cross but move forward by the Holy Spirit promised by our Lord. Calvary cross is meant for justification but the Holy Spirit is given for the work of sanctification.

Paul emphasized in 2 Corinthians 3:18 – “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” The Holy Spirit enables all believers to lead holy lives, dedicated to the service of God and conformed to the likeness of Christ.

We can now personally relate and talk to God because He is our Father in heaven. We can also please God as an individual. We can offer ourselves as ‘living sacrifice” ( Romans 12:1-2). We can love God as a true child of His. And God will reward our obedience and also our efforts to serve Him faithfully (Matthew 19:29). And daily, through the sanctifying process, we are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory. Yes, we have Jesus. It is His obedience that saved our souls and now He has given us the Holy Spirit so that we can be like Him, living in the obedience to God.

According to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. (1 Peter 1:2).

What’s in the Word, ‘Obedience?’

Introduction to the Book of Romans: “What’s in the Word, ‘Obedience?’” Romans 1:5

Once again, in Paul’s opening portion of his letter to the Christian’s in Rome, we have a powerful, and astounding sentence in chapter one, and verse 5:

Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake.

Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles. The fact that he was a Jew’s Jew and greatly respected among the Pharisees factors into that in a big way. We must remember that the “church” was predominantly Jewish for several years after Pentecost. The “church” was a splinter group from historic Judaism that recognized Christ as the Messiah. One of the greatest myths of our day is the idea that the “church” is uniquely Gentile and replaced Judaism. Nothing is further from the truth, and the Reformers are mostly responsible for eradicating Jewish heritage from the “called out ones” translated “church” in the New Testament.

Paul delves into this issue in great detail in his gospel treatise to the Romans, and further along in this study, as free Bereans, we will see for ourselves what God would have us to know about it. The Gentiles were the outcasts in the church; as can be seen clearly in Acts chapters 10 and 11, they were received into the church with much consternation. Therefore, Paul’s introduction to them begs their understanding of why he didn’t come to them sooner, and the fact that he was obligated to them before God:

1:5 – Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. 6 And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. 9 God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.

11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— 12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.

14 I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.

Yes, the Gentiles were called to the gospel as well, but there is a dire need in our day to note what Paul calls the gospel in Romans 1:5; “the obedience.” This designation, as well as many others, is used interchangeably throughout the Scriptures in referring to the gospel and tenets of the gospel. The death, burial, and resurrection is a wonderful tenet of the gospel, but “the gospel” is also a designation for the full counsel and callings of God to man. Hence, man is called on to “obey the gospel”:

2 Thessalonians 1:8

He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

Hebrews 4:2

For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.

1 Peter 4:17

For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

John 8:51

Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”

John 14:23

Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.

John 14:24

Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

I think God has taught me something new in this study. In our 2012 TANC conference, there was much discussion about how the “first gospel wave (circa 1950-1970)” emphasized getting people saved and deemphasized discipleship. Of course, people were saved by believing in “the gospel”; ie, that Jesus died for our sins and rose again on the third day, and that we are saved by faith alone in this truth.

However, as you know, I am a why guy. Why did this happen? Whatever happened to discipleship? Why are troubled Christians sent en masse to the secular world to solve their problems? Do we really worship a God that saves our souls, but can’t save us from trouble in this life? I have been haunted by the why since the conference. The reason this happened is one of those truths that is missed because it isn’t hiding. Basically, two reasons. The gospel was (and still is) presented as, “Christ died for our sins”; ie, the infamous five word gospel.

But that’s not the whole gospel. The gospel that was preached, and still preached today, yields the results of the message. We are saved, Jesus is therefore wonderful, please pass the fish. That gospel is a calling to be saved, not a calling to obey the whole counsel of God. It is a calling to salvation only, not a calling to discipleship. When you call people to be saved, all you get is saved people and not disciples. This point is driven home in our minds when we consider Christ’s very own official mandate to the church to proclaim the gospel:

Matthew 28:18 – Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (emphasis added).

The gospel call MUST be a call to discipleship if we want disciples. If we only call people to be saved, that’s all we will get, and frankly, is what we have accordingly.

Secondly, the other reason is also clarified via two additional words in Romans 1:5; “from faith.”  Not only was Paul’s apostleship designed specifically to “bring about the obedience,” the obedience is faith. The two can’t be separated. Faith is obedience. If faith is alive, and it is, its inclination is to be concerned with obedience. The gospel call is to believe and demonstrate that belief; first by baptism, which is also recognizing the call to the full counsel of God. Obedience to baptism is our first declaration of the heart that we have also answered the call to be Christ’s disciples. Like marriage, it is a public proclamation of love and commitment in the unseen heart. Why we don’t do that perfectly—why it is our direction and not our perfection, is explained by Paul in other parts of his gospel treatise to the Romans.

This second point is driven home by the Lord Himself:

John 3:36

Whoever believes (pisteuo) in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey (apeitheo) the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Therefore, the cursed mantra from the five word gospel, “The same gospel that saved you also sanctifies you,” must be traded in for, “The same obedience to the gospel that saved you, also sanctifies you.” A partial gospel leads to a partial spiritual life. This is the power of God’s word: the world lays crippled because of a disregard for a few of God’s sentences.

But what is the nature of this obedience from faith that saves us? The commitment of faith saves us. One is not married by being committed and carrying out the commitment as a spouse. The commitment determines whether one is married or not. The wedding ceremony announces the commitment, or covenant, and calls on the gathered friends and family to help the couple stay faithful to the commitment. Of course, in our culture, that aspect of the marriage ceremony has been completely lost in both secular and Christian circles. But moreover, what we do in our marriage doesn’t make us married, the heart commitment is what married us, and the ceremony was the public proclamation thereof.

Though this example breaks down at some point—its close. As we shall see in our study of Romans, our spirit of obedience to the gospel saves us, but not the obedience in our Christian life because God separates the two. The commitment is a settled issue and announced by the ceremony, but the carrying out of the commitment is separate. The ceremony is the first act of an already settled issue in the heart. A married couple doesn’t get remarried every day, but rather invests effort in the commitment. That investment doesn’t make them any less or more married. Whether good or bad, they are still married.

Married life can have an element of overemphasizing romance over commitment. Initially, God infuses the couple with an emotional jump-start in the same way that He does in our salvation:

1Thess. 1:5

Insomuch as our message of good news came to you not only in the form of discourse but also in the sphere of power and of the Holy Spirit and in much certainty and assurance (Wuest: New Testament Expanded Translation).

That’s the marriage. That’s our initial infusion of power when we are saved. But in our Christian life, we are exhorted to add things to our faith/commitment/ obedience to the gospel that make our calling and election sure (2Peter 1:5-11), stir up our gifts (2Tim. 1:6), beat our bodies into subjection (1Cor. 9:27), do “more and more” in the way of obedience (1Thess. 4:1), and not lacking in zeal (Romans 12:11).  Adding love to our marriage (investment and often hard work) does not make us married, it determines how we experience marriage, and obedience in salvation does not save us, but likewise, determines how we experience our salvation—whether in power and assurance, or in weakness and doubt.

This flies in the face of today’s gospel that seeks a honeymoon every day; a romantic gospel that equates feelings with every act of “sincere love.” Since our love for Jesus should be easy for us it must flow from a contemplation regarding how wonderful His personhood is. Searching the Scriptures for an understanding of who Jesus is rather than what He commands us to do makes our “obedience” flow from our appreciation for Him. Supposedly. Since we often recoil in response to biblical commands, jumping from the imperative to action could not be true loving obedience; it must come from knowing more of Jesus. As one reader of my blog commented:

It’s not what the word supposedly tells us to do, Jesus is the word….It’s not a precept—it’s a person.

Problem there would be, in Luke 11:28, we have Jesus calling Himself, “it”:

But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

This was Jesus’ reply to a person who was in the midst of worshiping who he was.

The nature of biblical obedience is to die to self. The very word “obedience” itself implies necessity. Often, the level of disdain determines the level and depth of self-sacrifice; a denial of self in exchange for pleasing God. Christ was “obedient” to the cross (Phil.2:8)—“despising its shame”(Heb.12:2). This was the paramount act of love in all human history. The Hebrew writer encouraged the saints that they had not resisted sin to the point of blood (Heb.12:4). Biblical obedience indeed hears the word of God and “puts it into practice” (Matthew 7:24).

The fact that God gives us the will to obey isn’t the point here (Philippians 2:12,13); that just means we have no excuse. God working in us doesn’t equal let go and let God. Sanctification is like traveling around the world in a rowboat. We will experience all of the exertion and fears associated it: the giant waves in the midst of storms and huge sea creatures harassing the small vessel. And if we give up, the trip will not be completed. But at the end of the trip we know full well that no person can completely circle the world in a rowboat. God obviously enabled us, but we are no less fully involved in the experience. Let us also remember that God expects a return on His gifts. Those who think they enter the kingdom life as “lazy wicked” servants are no true servants at all (Matthew 25:14-30).

Another thing I think I am learning here is that applying God’s word to our own lives and teaching others to do the same is really the essence of what we think of as “biblical counseling”:

Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Having a life built upon a rock by learning God’s word and “putting into practice,” and teaching others to do the same has great reward. It is interesting that throughout the New Testament incentives are given for our obedience to the full-orbed gospel—God’s truth; the word.

This brings us full circle to a major theme of Romans that will require the determined obedience of the gospel that Paul calls for: there was a formidable caste mentality between the Jews and the Gentiles. Caste systems dissect the bodies various parts in their contribution to the whole (1Cor. 12:12-26), thus crippling the body. We are naturally inclined to be uncomfortable with those who are different. Left unchecked, those feelings will lead to intentional preferences. This is another area where feelings must yield to the will of God leading to true love from the heart:

Romans 1:14, 15

I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.

Romans 12:9-16

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor…. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality….Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.

Genuine love follows right doing. Through our obedience to the gospel, we can choose what God calls good and shun what is evil. This is learn and practice in what we think, say, and do. By this our love is genuine, and we have peace with God (Phil. 4:9).

This completes the introduction to our study in Romans. Next week we begin Paul’s gospel presentation to the Romans.

Paul Dohse

http://paulspassingthoughts.com/author/paulspassingthoughts/

The Toughest Sermon To Prepare

Preparing a sermon is easy and yet it is not. It's easy because the Holy Spirit is actively helping me to prepare it. It is tough, because the same Holy Spirit is convicting me of the very things I would be admonishing others to do or not to do.

For example, the sermon that I preached last Sunday at High Praise Church. After the service, most comments from the congregation were good because it spoke to their hearts. Even Grace said it was a good sermon because it ministered to her. However, my dear wife knew the 'anguish of soul' that I had to go through just to get this sermon out. Let me explain - the sermon was about becoming a Grace Giver. 

Apparently, the topic was not a problem because having been a recipient of God's grace,it should be an easy task to produce an acceptable sermon. As the sermon preparation progressed, my heart became heavier and heavier. The Holy Spirit was not telling me what to say to the congregation but was dealing with the discrepancies in my own life. Every word that I penned became sharp arrow of conviction. There were so many long pauses for prayer in between the preparation, so much so, that it took a much longer time to complete the sermon.

Being a recipient of God's grace many times over, I should be the most gracious person. The Holy Spirit showed that it was not the case - I was seldom as gracious as I should be. In many relational encounters, my inner spirit was more adversarial and not at all loving. It was warlike and lacked the ingredients for peace. It was only through self-control, social graces and the ability to mask this innate struggle that made me looked and sounded like a peace-loving person. The Holy Spirit had nothing to do with pretense and fake stuffs. 

The danger of having pretended for a long time was that I somehow thought the pretense was the genuine product. It was like a story that I heard in Cambodia about the Cambodians drinking fake whisky of a particular brand for so many years that when the real whisky arrived, they rejected it. 

This was not the first time that the Holy Spirit used my own sermons to convict me of sins or mistakes in my life. I remember one occasion that I had to pull off the highway so that I could weep and repent. It happened after listening to the recording of my own sermon about the difference between a 'driven person' and a 'called person'. King Saul was such a 'driven' man that he failed in fulfilling his call to be the leader of Israel. David, on the hand, was a 'called' man who took his call seriously. Even though he made many mistakes and committed serious sins, he always returned to His God for help. Acknowledgement and repentance were the first steps David took to receive forgiveness and then to his spiritual recovery. Driving that drive, the Holy Spirit revealed that my 'driven' life had to be replaced. I had wanted my church to become a mega-church that I stopped at nothing to achieve it. The Lord was not happy about aht and He wanted me to repent of that. Alone in the car, by the side of a busy highway, I sought His forgiveness.

It was because of God's grace that He allowed the Holy Spirit to reveal the present discrepancy. God had nothing to do with my pretense and wanted to remove the false display of peaceful attitude, intentions and motives. They had to be genuine or God could not do a deeper work in my life. 

I should not live a lie any more. This hypocrisy had to be overwhelmed by truth. His grace and mercy provided that revelation of truth which made it impossible for me to hide behind any excuses. The light of His loving truth was powerful. It shone through every dark corner of hypocrisy and self-deception. 

It was humbling but not humiliating. It was redeeming and not destructive. It a surrendering of one's will to the One whose will provides a much better proposition. It was a confession unto the grace of God and not the judgement of God. 

He had reprimanded me so that I could be a better servant. He had accepted me as who I was when He saved me but now He is changing me to be like His Son. The conviction was not for the purpose of crushing my spirit but transforming it. 

This overpowering experience does not mean that the Holy Spirit is done with me. No, He is not leaving me alone. Sad would be that day if He would no longer speak because I no longer have the capacity to listen. As my relationship with Him is dynamic, He will continue to guide, correct and adjust me on my pilgrimage. The journey of being more like Christ continues. 

The grace provided is also dynamic and it will carry me through. This is a good feeling. I know that my Redeemer cares enough to teach and guide me. I am thankful that my experience of His grace is not just at the point of my salvation but an ongoing experience that brings joy of transformation. 

"Dear friends, we are already God's children, but He has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we know that we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He really is." (1 John 3:2)

Rev Albert Kang
20 August 2012