God's D-Day

Things were pretty messed up in the world into which the Savior was born so many years ago. The nation of Israel was under the oppressive boot-heel of the Romans. They had no rights, they paid oppressive taxes, and justice was non-existent.  But, “when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son…”  (Gal. 4:4)  The world was a mess, but God was working out His eternal plans.

God is working out His eternal plans right now, in 2015.  He has not been caught off guard. In fact, the plan He is at work in executing today, is the exact same plan He initiated more than 2000 years ago. Here is the plan:

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of His government and peace

There will be no end,

Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,

To order it and establish it with judgment and justice

From that time forward, even forever.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.  (Isaiah 9:6-7)

These are not just comforting words that appear on Christmas Cards. The whole idea of Christmas is not quite as peaceful and tranquil as the sentiment of the season might indicate.  Yes, we rejoice, yes we take comfort, yes we receive hope because He has come.  But, this coming that we celebrate each December was God’s D-Day invasion on the shores of a world held under the control of an evil power. It was the beachhead by heaven that would soon spread to the whole world. Our Champion, Jesus Chris, came to do mortal combat with the enemy and win our freedom.   A child is born (Mary’s child, a man), a Son is given (God’s Son, Emmanuel), and THE GOVERNMENT shall be upon His shoulder.  Do you see it?  The Kingdom of God is a government headed by Jesus Christ our Lord! After the description of Him, and how this Kingdom would be far different than the oppressive government of Satan, we read: “Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” (Isaiah 9:7)

He is still the Lord!  He is still on the throne. The difference is that His ever-expanding Kingdom is bigger now than it has ever been before. Of the increase of His government and peace…there will be no end! The guarantee of this is the zeal of our very own Lord. He will do what He says He will do.

We are, it would seem, nearing the end of the struggle of the ages between the Kingdom of Light and the kingdom of darkness.  The outcome is sure. Though nations rage and people imagine vain things, He remains our Champion, our King and the Lord of all lords.

Child Likeness

I love reading the gospels. There are so many profound statements that Jesus made. One of these is found in Mark 10:15 - "Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
We need:
Simple & unwavering faith that is uncluttered.
Simple love that is unconditional.
Simple hope that believes all things are possible.
Simple trust in the father's love and security.
Simple eagerness to please the father.
Simple wholeheartedness - not holding back.

QUENCHING THE WORK OF GOD

In Mark 5:1-20 - We find a story where Jesus delivers a man from demon possession and sends the evil spirits to go into a herd of pigs that results in all the pigs being drowned.

After the people of the area see this great power displayed, they ask Jesus to leave their area because they were fearful. I believe they were fearful on two levels. The first being that they couldn't comprehend the power and workings of Jesus. Secondly, they feared further loss. As result, instead of embracing the work of Jesus and rejoicing in the mans deliverance, they rejected it.

Many non-believers and believers do the same thing. When God (Holy Spirit) does something that doesn't fit into their theological belief (box), they quench the Holy Spirit or out right reject it as not being from God. Also, when it is uncomfortable to them or inconveniences them, they don't accept the work of the Lord. If it is going to disrupt their personal life or hinder them from accomplishing their personal objectives, they ignore the work of God or out right reject it.

We must be open to the work of God and embrace the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We must not be fearful, quench or reject the work of the Lord when:
- we don't understand the work.
- it does not fit into our nice little belief box.
- it disrupts our life.

Choking The Word of God

In Mark 4:1-20, we find the parable of the sower who sows the Gospel message (Word of God) and the different responses and effects of the Word on the hearts and lives of those who hear it. Yet, I would like to focus only on one of the results which we find in verses 7,18-19.

v. 7 - "Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain."
v. 18-19 - " Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; ¹⁹ but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.


Let us first look at the worries of life. How can the worries of life choke the Word of God in our lives?
Worries will cause us to look at our problems which in turn will cause us to lose our focus on God. The end results are: less time in God's Word and meaningful prayer, our faith and hope in God is choked, our strength is sapped.

Secondly, let us look at the deceitfulness of wealth. The desire to have more money and things often distract us from spending time in church and our personal devotional life. Also, those who allow this to dominate them will often ignore certain truths in God's Word in order to obtain these things. Often they will put things above relationships. If your primary goal is the pursuit of things, it will lead to worry and have a negative impact our spiritual lives.

Thirdly, the desire for other things. I put this separate from deceitfulness of wealth because it encompasses more than this. It includes the desire to obtain status, position, honor and to be in control. The scripture says that He opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. If these things reign in our hearts it will choke the spiritual life out of us. It will cause us to compromise God's Word to obtain them. Also, it is a desire for ungodly and unhealthy relationships, which will stifle the Word of God in us and cause us to do things contrary to God's Word.

When we allow these things to wrap around our heart, it will choke Jesus, the Word of God in our lives. We will not bear much fruit or any fruit. These things stifle hope, faith and love which are the only things of lasting value.

Sound Doctrine

As the church of the living God, we are to be the pillar and foundation of truth. (I Timothy 3:15) The world is preaching tolerance & pressuring us to compromise the truths in God's Word. In church history, you will see at times the church has put great importance on doctrine and other times a total neglect of doctrine.

I find that many churches in the United States are no longer putting enough importance on church doctrine and teaching in the name of love and tolerance. In the name of freedom and free choice the church often neglects sound Bible teaching. Every one has the right to believe and act as they feel God would lead them. (key word here is "I" and "Feel") In fear of hurting people's feelings or God forbid that they might leave the church because they don't agree or feel uncomfortable, we often tone down strong teaching and give water downed preaching.

We in the church have often fallen into the western trap of individuality and independence void of sound doctrine. Some believe it is all about me, God, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus as my buddy.

I Timothy 4:1 - "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons."

I Timothy 4:16 - " Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers."

The word "doctrine" is mentioned 6 times in the Epistles and the word "teach or teaching" is mentioned  54 times. The word "instruction" is mentioned 13 times.

Let us as a church watch our lives and doctrine closely. Right living is dependent on sound teaching and doctrine accompanied by the Holy Spirit.

BECOMING A SPIRITUAL BEGGAR

Blessed are the poor in spirit. Matthew 5:3

One who is poor in spirit has complete dependency on God.

I. Spiritual beggars are:

            A. Ones who do nothing on their own. John 5:19

            B. Ones who only does what the Father does.

            C. Ones who remain in Christ. John 15:5

            D. Ones who know that good itself does not dwell in him. Romans 7:18

II. When we present ourselves empty to God, he fills us up. 2 Kings 4:1-7

            A. More emptiness, more heaven resources.

            B. When your emptiness stops, so does heaven resources.

III. Take what you receive and share with others.

Dan Carl Message

Gifts without Presence

There is a different between gifts and God's presence. You can continue to use the gifts for a long time after the presence of the Lord has already left. Saul lost the presence after 2 years and continued serving as king for another 40 years. You can continue in the calling and ministry God gave you without His presence. You can even have good results, but in the end you will be judged by God.

We do not have to prove ourselves.

As I was reading the story of Christ's crucifixion in the gospel of Matthew, I was struck by the fact that the bystanders were mocking Christ's authority and asking Him to prove himself by coming down from the cross.

The Lord spoke to me that we do not have to prove ourselves when we are being obedient to God. We don't have to answer to others but God alone. It sure would have been tempting for Christ to show his power.

If Jesus had listened to their mocking and encouragement to rescue himself, he would of disobeyed His Father and we would not have been saved from our sin. Oh yes, if he had come off that cross many would have believed in Him and followed Him, but provision for our salvation would not have been made. It would have been a short won victory. It would have been a short term gain, but a long term lost.

Let us be careful not to be led by the crowd or choose the path of less resistance. Let us be careful to not let our pride cause us from being obedient to Him. There are many voices out their pulling at us, but there is only one voice that we are to listen to. The idea may look good in our eyes and/or in the eyes of others, but there is only one path. There is no short cuts with God. There is no plan two. We must stay the course.

No Godly Knoweldge - No Godly Power

Matthew 22:29 - " Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God."

Many people are in error because they do not know the Bible or the power of God. It is through faith in God's Word's that we can know the power of God. Yet, there are those who know Scripture but don't know the power of God because they have not yielded to the author of the Bible who is the Holy Spirit.

How are we to live as God would have us to live if we don't know and understand His Word? How can we have the power of God if we don't believe in the Bible and apply it to our lives?

Let us know longer live in ignorance and powerless. Let us decide this day a fresh and a new to know God's Word, act on His Word and yield to the Holy Spirit's power.

A Crumb from the Lord's Table

A crumb from the Lord's table is better than a feast at the worlds or devils table.

Matthew 15:27-28 - "“Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” 28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment."

The context of this verse is that a woman came to Jesus with a demon possessed daughter to be healed by Jesus. Jesus wasn't interested in healing her being that she was a gentile. He states his mission was to go to the lost sheep of Israel. Yet, because of her persistence, wisdom, humility and faith, Christ heals her.

She asked only for a crumb of God's mercy and power. That little crumb that fell from the Lord's table broke the power of the devil and brought healing. Wow! A morsel of God's grace, mercy, love and power is more than all that the world or the devil can give us.

Teaching Out of Authority

Matthew 7:29 - "because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law."

Jesus taught as one who had authority. Where did Jesus get this authority? How can we teach out of authority.

Jesus got his authority from the Father and the Holy Spirit. Our teaching has authority when we have a strong relationship with Christ. Our authority comes out of spending quality time with the Lord. Our authority comes as we allow the Holy Spirit to speak through us. 

Jesus got His authority from a life of obedience and righteousness. In the same way, we will teach with authority out of a godly life. The reason being is that we will be in favor with the Lord. The reason being is that we will have already taken the speck out of our own eye before removing what is another persons eye. Our authority will come from our credibility and life experience.  People will accept our teaching more readily when they see that we live what we teach. We are able to teach with greater authority when we can speak out of life experiences. 

The teachers of the law did not teach with authority because they did not have a true relationship with the Father. They did not teach under the power of the Holy Spirit. People heeded John the Baptist's preaching because he spoke under the power of God's Spirit. The teachers of the could not teach with authority because the were hypocrites. They could not teach from life experience. Although they were well versed in the law, they focused on the letter of the law instead of the Spirit of the law. They taught as philosophers, and focused on man made laws.

Finally you can only teach with authority when you are under Christ's authority and the authority has been given to you from God.

Satan's Attack On Sonship

Galatians 4:4-7 - "But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. ⁶ Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” ⁷ So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

Because of what Christ did on the cross for us, we who believe in Him are now His sons. As sons, we have received the Spirit of God. It is this very Spirit that identifies us as God's sons and allows us to have the fulness of God in us. We have His character (DNA), authority, and are heirs with Christ. It is the very elevated position of honor and authority that Satan will attack.

In Matthew 4:1-11 where Jesus was tested by the devil, it is this very thing that Satan attacked and tried to discredit. Two times Satan tested Jesus by saying, "if you are the Son of God". The third time Satan came to Him. He tried to make Him give up or away His authority. If Jesus had fallen prey to one of these temptations, Satan would have the victory over him and render Him powerless to accomplish the mission His Father had sent Him on.

In this same way, Satan will attack our on sonship. If he can make us doubt our sonship, and the lofty positon we have in Christ, we have given him authority in our lives. If Satan can make us give up or give away our authority, he has won the battle. If we continue to yield our position, he will have the victory. If he can make us doubt our position in Christ or cause us to yield out position of authority, he rends us powerless to accomplish His mission through us. 

Remember Jesus said that God had given Him all authority, and in the same way he has given us all authority over sin and every work of the devil. (Matthew 28:16-20) The Bible says, that we are more than conquerors through Him. (Romans 8:37) The Bible says, we need to stand our ground and position that Christ has given us. (Ephesians 6:13) The word "stand" is commanded over 7 times in the epistles. Also, in over 8 other places, it tells us to "stand firm". Therefore, let us stand in what Christ has given us.