Supernatural is normal

I was saved in a Baptist church in 1995. I received good teaching, made good Christian friends and enjoyed a good 'introduction' into the Church. I was loved, encouraged and very happy. A time came when the Lord moved me on and I joined another Christian family where more life long friends were made, I received more valuable teaching and encountered the Lord in new ways.

I've been a believer for 17 years; but it wasn't until about 7 years ago that I really believed that there was MORE to the Christian life than what I had. Up until that point, to me, Christianity was more theoretical and doctrinal than experiential. I loved the study of the Bible, I still do. I would stay up for hours at night ravaging the scriptures; learning, reading, interpreting, soaking and eating the word like my life depended on it. It was an unsatisfied hunger. It was great. It was good. It was right. But a time did come, when I thought "Ok, this is good. But now what?"

The Holy Spirit spoke to me and said "Value revelation more than information." And I can speak and write volumes just on that sentence..........but I won't. :-)  But the point was quite simple. And I understood. What I also understood is that Christianity was never meant to be just information; but experimental. Christianity that works manifests in experiences. If I am really saved, I will experience manifestations of fruit that confirms my Christianity. If God really heals the sick, then the sick will be healed when I pray. Prays are answered and if you've been a Christian for any length of time, you will realize that a time comes when you can no longer write things off to coincidence....but rather God interventions when we prayed (and sometimes when we didn't); God moves in our lives and we experience it!! Real Christianity manifests into REAL life, REAL living.

And so, on this journey I've realized that there is a lot of experiences that God has given Christians and wants to give more Christians who desire them.....I guess it's maybe a question of 'Who want's it?' Jesus loves to do things for us. And He's very creative. I mean, we talking about Jesus here. He walked on water. He walked through walls. He fed 5000 people with a handful of food. He raised dead people. He healed the lame, the deaf, the blind and the mute. He loves to do stuff out of the ordinary. And the best part of Christianity is that those who are His are given permission to play the game too; and do the stuff with Him. Yay!! It's not just reserved for those with leadership titles or 'special Christians'. It's for anyone who believes.

Are you keen to move out of your Christian box of what you know of 'traditional' Christianity and believe God for more??? Are you hungry to push the boundaries of what's possible in Jesus?? Read below and see what I mean:

TRANSLOCATION
Translocation is biblical. It happened to Paul and Phillip. It happened to Elisha and Enoch. There are testimonies of it happening to believers today.
Check out:  www.blogtalkradio.com/preachlikepaul/2012/12/05/translocation-and-the-supernatural-kathryn-and-derek-east
Imagine being in a prayer meeting, your eyes closed, and then suddenly you open them and you're somewhere in China, in a family's home, in their lounge, and you get to share Jesus with them and lead them to Christ and then suddenly you back in the prayer meeting.
Imagine your car breaks down on the way to a city you're traveling to, 300km away, you're late for a meeting, and then when your car starts; and you begin driving, you arrive in that city within 5 minutes. What should of taken you 3 hours has taken you 10 minutes.

HEALING
Check out: http://healingherald.org
Wouldn't you like to pray for a blind man and to see his eyes open? Wouldn't you like to pray for a guy with one amputated leg and see it grow? Wouldn't you like to pray for a lady in a wheel chair and see her walk?
Healing is increasing and happening more frequently around the earth today more than ever. More Christians are realizing that they too can pray for the sick and diseased and see the kingdom come in their lives!

ANGEL VISITATIONS
Check out: www.jesusculture.com/m/testimonies/angelic-visitation-jordan-dimarco
People get very nervous when believers speak of angels. Hahaha. They think those believers are slipping into 'New Age' stuff and rather distance themselves from those weirdos! The fact is that angels are quite evident throughout the New Testament. There are many accounts of interactions, appearances and visitations in the book of Acts.
Just imagine with me....Imagine you're walking through a shop and you see an angel standing behind a cripple woman in a chair with a sign in it's hand saying "Pray for Her"? Imagine you're driving alone to a city and suddenly an angel appears in your passenger seat and begins to speak to you about Jesus, heaven and salvation for the nations?
Check out: spiritlessons.com/dreams_and_visions/Angelic_Visitation.htm

There is a great fear in the Church of deception and the fear of being lead astray; and this has resulted in Christians being content with where they are. Instead of expecting encounters, living in the supernatural; they are power-less and experience-less. Their Christianity is mere memorization of scripture and church attendance. But there is so much more...

Am I advocating that we chase after experiences? No. I'm advocating that we meed to chase after Jesus and expect Him to demonstrate the impossible in our lives. I'm advocating that we move from stale bread, mundane religion INTO a Christianity that is saturated with experiences, power and the glory of God. Jesus gets no glory from the mundane.

I am hungry for more. I believe heaven is full of stuff we can't even think of or imagine. Jesus told us to pray for heaven to come on earth. For heaven to invade earth. What do you think that means?? Do you think there are angels in heaven?? Do you think there is healing and health in heaven?? Do you think we travel by foot only in heaven?? Hehehe....

Let's go big!
 

Chase the ultimate pleasure!!

This is going to be a really quick post, but a very thought provoking one....

It amazes me as to how many Christians believe that the more depressed and unhappy they are, the more spiritual they are. It's like...the more they subject themselves to things that make them unhappy and miserable, the more they feel like God's pleased with them. It comes from an unbalanced sadistic view on the whole 'die to self' thing that Jesus spoke about.

Listen to me! When God created Adam, he put him into the garden of Eden. EDEN!!!!! Eden means (and please look this up so you know I'm not making this up!!): Bliss, Pleasure, Ultimate Happiness, Paradise. God created man (whom he made to have desires for pleasure) and put him into a ready made place of ultimate pleasure and bliss. God's desire is for you and I to be totally and 100% pleasured, happy satisfied and living a life of bliss. If he didn't, then the beginning would have started very differently. (I know what you thinking....and no, I'm not going there.)

John Piper has a great quote. He says "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." I just love that! When Jesus is the most desirable thing to us and that we find ultimate pleasure and happiness in His presence, on His lap, in Him....then God is most glorified. 

God made us with the desire for pleasure. We all desire pleasure. Our flesh craves counterfeit pleasures all the time....sex, more money, bigger house, fancy car, bigger TV, nicer food, whatever....the world is full of so-called 'pleasures' that promise to satisfy the thirst of every man, woman and child. But all these worldly pleasures are really empty. They leave people feeling totally and utterly unsatisfied! WHY?? Because those temporary things were never made to satisfy us. Jesus is the only thing that satisfies a thirsty heart!! (See John 7)

The cool thing is that not only does God want us to find ultimate happiness, fulfilled bliss and pleasure in Him; but we bring Him pleasure and happiness! He loves you. He is crazy about you. He loves to be with you, hang with you, speak with you, garden with you, drive with you, listen to you....He finds His pleasure and happiness in you!! Why do you think God walked with man in the beginning?? To check on Adam? To make sure he was looking after creation?? No way! He walked and talked with Adam and Eve cause he enjoyed it. It warmed his heart. He loved hanging out with them.

If you're a person that chases pleasure, whether you're a believer or not...sooner or later you gotta meet Jesus. There's no high like the Most High! His desire is for you to live in Eden daily, every moment of every day; communing, being, hanging with Him and being eternally and forever satisfied. Aahhhh.......

Go after the ultimate pleasure! Go after Jesus! Enjoy His bliss!

The Credit Card is maxed out!

"There is definitely more month than money at the moment." - a reality that's hit more families in the past year than I think in the past 20 years! 

I had a chat with an old school friend of mine the other day and he was really battling to find a job. It's not like he's not qualified. He has a tertiary diploma. It's not like he has no experience. He has 7 years in the restaurant industry and 2 years in retail. He's a likable chap, speaks well and has a fair intellectual capacity. But he's sat at home for the last 5 months. He's CV was out there; he went for interviews. But nothing. This obviously put stress on his wife and his family. Financial stress is the major cause of divorce I've been told and I can see why. They've drained their savings, they've maxed they credit cards and they are in the financial poo.

And this story seems to be a similar story around middle class families in South Africa at the moment. Electricity has increased by 30% over the past 2 years; Fuel is at a record R11.95 a liter, food prices have soared, a basic 2 bedroom townhouse is rentable at around R4,300 a month while a bond on small 3 bedroom townhouse is at around R10,000. And all these increased living expenses have been happening while income increases have been around 5% - while some haven't had an increase in over 2 years. To put it bluntly: It's bloody tough out there! Living has resorted to surviving. Most middle income earners are living (buying food, fueling their cars, etc) on their credit cards from the 5th of each month. And some have even admitted that they've reached their credit limit on their credit cards and there's just no more money they can draw. It's sad. But it's fact.

South Africa's unemployment rate is sitting at 29.8% (It was 25% in 2009). That means only 70% of the country is working. And of that 70%, only 5% pay tax. That 5% has to carry 100% of the country's expenses. No wonder it's getting tougher. Less people are working and more people are becoming desperate - it's tough out there guys.

It's amazing how we sometimes believe that we're the only ones who are battling. The next door neighbors seem to have it altogether - the fancy car, DSTV, nice clothes, etc. "Why are WE struggling?" The truth is that more people are living off credit now than ever before. Families want to maintain their lifestyles during these tough financial times and so living off loans, credit cards and clothing accounts are a means to an end. Except, the dog will bite sooner or later. Don't kid yourself. That BMW is on HP at R8,000 a month - it belongs to the bank, the DSTV is more than likely being paid by credit card and the new Nike clothes were bought on account. We're all in the same boat; it's just others seem to live in denial while others realize the state they're in and are making huge efforts to cut back where they can. I, for one, switched my DSTV off a few months ago and we've had to eat more peanut butter sarmies for lunch and more instant noodles for supper than we ever have before. But that's life. We're weathering this storm the best we know how.

I think the smart way is to man up to your situation. Realize that it's not just you. Cut back where you can. Choose the must-have's over the want's and prioritize correctly. And for those who believe in God - trust Him for increase, trust Him for unusual blessings and trust Him for financial miracles. I know I did. And just the other day I was able to fill up my car with cash, bless another family with some cash and we had left over for some Chinese food.

Like most things in life. You have ups and you have downs. Don't give up and throw in the towel when the going gets tough. Stick at it, keep your integrity and trust the Lord. I do believe that better days are ahead.

Keep the faith :-)

Can a believer in Jesus lose their salvation?

As the person who is writing the article, let me be straight forward and open from the outset. This article will use scripture and argue that ‘NO’ a believer cannot lose their free gift of salvation. I will call on many scriptures penned by Paul and other writers to prove the consistency of this truth. Let me begin:

Firstly, to be born again, one is choosing to believe. We understand that becoming a believer is independent of good works of obedience and cannot be achieved through any righteous acts whatsoever. Salvation comes purely to those who would receive God’s grace ALONE, through faith ALONE because of Christ ALONE. It is putting your trust in Jesus and his finished work on our behalf (Romans 3:22-26). Jesus himself said that no one comes to the Father but through Him. So, we understand that the ONLY premise by which we are born again is by believing and receiving a person – Jesus. It’s not through ‘understanding’ the Bible or through the obedience of Christian ordinances or through praying a ‘salvation’ prayer. A person becomes a believer by BELIEVING in Jesus and RECEIVING HIM.

It’s on this note that I say a person who begins by believing in Jesus can rightly come to a point (although I don’t know why or how) where they REJECT JESUS, and by so doing, they reject his salvation. This is through a willful turning away and going in another direction altogether. Calvinists would never believe this as its contrary to the ‘perseverance of the saints’ point but if there had to be ONE way that a person loses their salvation it would have to be by REJECTING THE PERSON OF JESUS because by receiving His free gift in the first place, is by receiving HIM.

Secondly, we understand that we are under a new covenant. By that, we need to remember that we are no longer under a covenant of works but a covenant of grace. Under the covenant of works, obedience was the currency to relating to God, receiving from God and pleasing God. If I obeyed, God blessed. If I disobeyed, God cursed. Under the new covenant, God has instituted a covenant that is based on faith. Paul was clear when he said ‘the righteous shall live by faith’ and ‘Without faith it is impossible to please God.’ Faith is the currency of the new covenant and is in direct opposition to the old works based covenant. Under the old, men would be required to obey the rules in order to be declared righteous before God. Under the new covenant, men receive the righteousness of God as a gift and are made acceptable to God through Jesus’ blood. It has nothing to do with performance but all to do with faith alone in Christ alone because of his grace alone.

The Galatian believers fell into the trap of beginning in grace (by getting born again) and then reverting back to commandments in order to STAY saved. Paul rebuked them harshly and called them bewitched. (Galatians 3:2-5) Justification is grace alone through faith alone (Romans 3:26, 4:24-25) Sanctification is by grace alone through faith alone (Galatians 3:2-11). We begin in grace through faith and we finish the race in grace through faith. In no way do we revert back to performance, effort and works in order to keep, maintain or solidify our salvation. Paul was very clear on this point and its truth is very consistent throughout the NT.

What happens at the point of conversion? A person comes to a realization through revelation by the Holy Spirit that they are a sinner, an enemy of God. They need a savior or else they will be lost to hell forever. They realize their desperate need for a savior. (Romans 3:10-20) Faith arises to the point that they believe in Jesus to be the one who can save them. They call out to Jesus to save them and they receive Him (Romans 10:8-13). 

At that very point, by the Holy Spirit, the person is born-again, their old nature is crucified and buried; their new nature rises to new life in Jesus (Romans 6:2-7; 2 Cor 5:17), the Holy Spirit comes and lives in them and with them (2 Cor 1:22) as heaven’s deposit that they now belong to God, they are placed in God’s hand where no one can snatch them out (John 10:26), they become God’s son (John 1:12-13), they receive His gift of righteousness (Romans 3:22), they are justified before the Father (Romans 3:25) and all their sins are forgiven (past, present AND future) (Colossians 2:13, Romans 3:25, Romans 8:1-4, Colossians 1:14).

That person is qualified by God (Colossians 1:12) and is transferred by God from the kingdom of darkness INTO the kingdom of God (Colossians 1:13-14). God transfers us from ‘in Adam’ and places us ‘in Christ’. He are now been hidden with God in Christ. Not only that, but by His grace we are being made perfect and being made holy (sanctification) forever by His power (Hebrews 10:14).

We have now been given a position in Christ and we are now God’s son. We are His. The Holy Spirit is heaven’s seal on us that we belong to Him. He saves us by his power by faith alone; totally independent of my performance.

So the question is: If it could take no good deeds, no matter how many I did, to get born again; then what makes us think that it can take bad deeds to get un-born-again?  

I mean, if we apply some genuine logical doctrine to this question, the answer has to be a resounding: Nothing I DO can make me un-born again, lose the Holy Spirit, un-do God’s work in my life and take my gift away which I never earned in the first place! If I did NOTHING to get it; then what makes me think I can do SOMETHING to lose it?? It doesn’t make sound doctrine sense.

No one can tell me or give a straight answer as to when a Christian back slides to a point of losing their salvation. Is it after 2 affairs? Is it after 1 affair and 3 swear words? Or rather 3 affairs, 10 swear words and 23 lies??? Whatever the combination, the believer who believes that salvation can be lost does it on a ‘performance based’ theology. You have to DO a number of bad things to lose the gift. But why? You never did a number of good things to get the gift. So now why can a person suddenly lose it through ‘doing’ when they got it by ‘believing’?  It doesn’t make sense and is a clear error in Biblical theology.

The reason why believers resist this truth is quite simple. One word: licentiousness. If we preached a message that as long as you believe in Jesus and have faith in Him, then that person can sleep around, murder, steal and live the way they want to with complete license because  God’s grace will just forgive, forgive and forgive. Paul was tackled about this very point. And his answer was also: FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE – NO!! Does this mean we can just sin without consequence and misuse God’s grace?? NO!! (Romans 6:1-2) The good news is that God’s grace teaches us to say no to fleshly desires and it teaches us to live lives worthy of God’s call. (Titus 2:11-13) Grace has come to deliver us from sin, not empower us to sin (Romans 6:14).

By living from a position of eternal security and assurance of salvation; we are empowered not to live in fear of hopefully missing the mark; but to rather go BIG for God and live BIG for the gospel. Let us walk in a worthy manner of Christ and demonstrate the King in the way we live. 

Grace empowers living....not excuses it

I'm a Christian. I have been for 17 years now. I am passionate about Jesus. I love Him and revel in what He has done for me. I believe He holds the world on his little pinkie, he is all powerful and that he knows how each day of my life is going to unfold. I know that He loves me and I know that He has saved me from hell.

I believe that my sins have been washed away - completely. Past, present and future. All my sins were nailed and punished on the cross. I am seated in heavenly realms. When I die, I will go to heaven. I have been made perfect forever because of Jesus' finished work. God declares me NOT GUILTY because of Jesus' finished work. I have been 100% justified because of Jesus' finished work. I never have to worry about losing my salvation. Never. It's not mine to lose. It's His gift to me. Free. No cost needed. Obedience to commands could not have earned it. If my salvation depended on 99% God and 1% me, then my salvation would only be 99% - because I'd mess up every time. (Col 1:12-14; Romans 4:23-25; 6:23; Hebrews 10:11-12)

So far so good. At this point the 'Grace' believers are high fiving each other and screaming 'Amen brother, preach it!' I'm a believer. I believe in what Jesus has done and accomplished on my behalf. But also, as a believer, I'm also very aware that it doesn't stop there. WHAT?! No it doesn't. Doing nothing with the position that Christ has given us is quite selfish and against what Jesus command us. "Go into the world...."
The mandate is quite simple: I've made you a son, I've given you an inheritance, I have given you access to unlimited power, you have ME inside you - Go now....AND CHANGE THE WORLD....bring heaven's realities into this one!

Jesus is the foundation upon which I build. His finished work is the only thing I can build upon. (1 Cor 3:10-15)

Most often, in my 17 year experience, people are influenced by Christians because of what they do - not really but what they say. It surprises me the amount of people who call themselves Christians but allow such filth to come from their mouths, such greed in their business ethics and walk in such low levels of love and compassion towards people. It's no surprise that many people are turned off Jesus because of His 'followers'. Why would I stoop so low to allow such swearing and cussing to come out of my mouth when I know I am a child of the King? Why would I compromise my integrity when my Father owns everything?

Jesus has saved us. Done. The foundation is laid and nothing can take that gift away. But how we build upon that foundation is up to me and up to you. He has given us a place of eternal security, of fellowship, of forgiveness, of love and intimacy. Why would I use that position to compromise the way I live?

May we receive our Father's abundance of grace to enable and empower us to live lives worthy of calling ourselves Christians. Our God has qualified us! Why do we live lives that make us look disqualified??

Pressure....we all have it.

It's like being strangled. Slowly. The phone calls. The emails. The demands. The dead lines. The requests. The responsibilities. Some mistakes are made. Some victories are won. But the pressure's still on.

All of us. Everyone. In different times in our lives face pressure. Pressures! My time is now. It's tough. It's hard. I feel a bit deflated. A bit hard done by. I feel flat. It's unlike an energetic, positive, always the optimist like me. But that's life. A few years ago, in my real "holy charismatic" days, I would genuinely believe that Christians should never feel life like this. We should consistently be the head and not the tail, above and not beneath, full of joy, full of laughter, never down, negative or dare I say it....."depressed".

Life is an amazing journey. Time, too, an instructor. Pressure is part of life. It happens to all. We, all, no matter who we pray to or chose to believe in, are participants of life. And life happens to all of us. Pressure is part of that life.

I'm very grateful for my wife who constantly blows kisses in my direction and tells me she loves me. I'm strengthened by my friends' real care and genuine love. I'm encouraged that I serve a savior, who also knows all to well, what life is about. He lived it for 33 years and he experienced pressure; worse than I did. He sympathizes and he cares. On my good days and also on my bad, I know that I know my Jesus is carrying me, saving me and he's got my back. 

Pressure happens to you too. Some smoke, some drink, some spend money and while some of us eat. However you choose to handle your pressure, remember that there is a God who understands. He really does. And he doesn't disqualify you or think you're any less spiritual because of it. 

That's my King!

My King was born King. He’s the King of the Jews - that’s an Ethnic King. He’s the King of Israel - that’s a National King. He’s the King of righteousness. He’s the King of the ages. He’s the King of Heaven. He’s the King of glory. He’s the King of kings and He is the Lord of lords. Now that’s my King.

There are no means of measure that can define His limitless love. No far seeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of the shore of His supplies. No barriers can hinder Him from pouring out His blessing.

He’s enduringly strong. He’s entirely sincere. He’s eternally steadfast. He’s immortally graceful. He’s imperially powerful. He’s impartially merciful. That’s my King. He’s God’s Son. He’s the sinner’s saviour. He’s the centerpiece of civilization. He’s unique. He’s unparalleled. He’s unprecedented. He’s supreme. He’s pre-eminent. He’s the grandest idea in literature. He’s the highest personality in philosophy. He’s the supreme problem in higher criticism. He’s the fundamental doctrine of historic theology. That’s my King.

He’s the miracle of the age. He supplies strength for the weak. He’s available for the tempted and the tried. He sympathizes and He saves. He’s the Almighty God who guides and keeps all his people. He heals the sick. He cleanses the lepers. He forgives sinners. He discharged debtors. He delivers the captives. He defends the feeble. He blesses the young. He serves the unfortunate. He regards the aged. He rewards the diligent and He beautifies the meek.

He’s the wellspring of wisdom. He’s the doorway of deliverance. He’s the pathway of peace. He’s the roadway of righteousness. He’s the highway of holiness. He’s the gateway of glory. He’s the master of the mighty. He’s the captain of the conquerors. He’s the head of the heroes. He’s the overseer of the overcomers. He’s the governor of governors. He’s the prince of princes. He’s the King of kings and He’s the Lord of lords. That’s my King.

His promise is sure. His light is matchless. His goodness is limitless. His mercy is everlasting. His love never changes. His Word is enough. His grace is sufficient. His reign is righteous. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. I wish I could describe Him to you . . . but He’s indescribable. That’s my King. He’s incomprehensible, He’s invincible, and He is irresistible.

The heavens of heavens can’t contain Him, let alone some man explain Him. You can’t get Him out of your mind. You can’t outlive Him and you can’t live without Him. The Pharisees couldn’t stand Him, but they found out they couldn’t stop Him. Pilate couldn’t find any fault in Him. Herod couldn’t kill Him. Death couldn’t handle Him and the grave couldn’t hold Him.

He always has been and He always will be. He had no predecessor and He’ll have no successor. There’s nobody before Him and there’ll be nobody after Him. You can’t impeach Him and He’s not going to resign. That’s my King!

(Preached by Rev S.M. Lockridge 1976) 

The Good News

Man is evil. Man doesn't want God. Man cannot save himself. God loves man. Only God can save man. God becomes man and enters into man's world. God lives as a man. God dies as a man. God takes all of man's sin upon himself. God pays the penalty and is punished for man's evil. God reconciles man back to himself. Through God dying for man He displays his love for man. Some men turn to God and trust him to save them. Even the faith that man had in God to appropriate this salvation was a gift given by God. Through that trust, man's sins are forgiven, man's relationship to His creator is set right and he is given right standing with God forever. Forever saved, forever secure, forever kept. God has given this to man as a gift. Saved men did nothing to earn this. Saved men can do nothing to dis-earn it.

Election. Predestination. Let's talk...

There's a Christian doctrine held by the Calvinists, the Reformed, that preaches that before the creation of the world, before the creation of this age and dispensation of human history, God chose a specific group of people that would be His. They would be born during the course of history and time. They would have faith given to them as a gift, given so that they would be able to turn to God, believe in His existence and follow him. They would live their lives on earth, accomplish what they desired, whether for God or not, and upon their death they'd go to heaven. That's God's plan for these chosen people. And not even they could "not chose" God. He had chosen them, He would keep them, He would save them. Scripture is full of references that have been interpreted to back up this very popular belief. Read John 10. Theological scholars throughout the ages and even ones today hold onto this particular belief (John Calvin, John Edwards, John Piper, Mark Driscoll).

Let's assume for a moment that this is right. Let's assume this is the case. My question would be?? What about the unchosen?? Like.....what the hell is the point for them actually being born, existing, living...?? Why?? Just so that they can spend an eternity in hell?? Were they just props on earth, bobbing along and around the 'frozen chosen'?? If I were an 'unchosen' I'd rather not be born thank you!! Destined for hell....and I had no choice in the matter?? I didn't even have a right to chose?! A loving God's plan?! Give me a break!

Then there is the other view in scripture, in the same pages of the Bible, that says "whosoever" would believe....In other parts of scripture, it says that "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." This now propagates that the opportunity is open. Anyone and everyone has the option, the CHOICE, to choose God! No one has preference. No one has a "one up" on anyone else. We are all equal and everyone gets to choose for themselves to follow God or not. I like that. I like it better than what the Calvinists believe.

The only problem is....well....man is inherently evil. Our hearts are wicked. Our propensity is towards satisfying our desires....sexual, greedy, jealous hearts! Who in their right mind would choose a holy, righteous, moral living God? The Bible goes as far to say that all hate God, no one seeks Him or wants Him, no one desires Him or longs to walk in his holy ways. Well, just turn on MTV or Jerry Springer. Pornography is a multi-billion dollar industry in USA alone and growing year on year. Human trafficking, drug smuggling and human violence is on the annual increase. Every thing in our world screams at the fact that yes, the Bible is quite right, about the human heart and its intent NOT to desire Jesus. So free will, hoping people would choose God.....? Who will?? No one. Without God's help....no one would choose God. God, out of his mercy, chooses us. But then, we right back to Calvinism.

I'd be interested to hear what you think.

Be the Encounter

About 11 months ago my son, Michael, was in hospital with terrible pneumonia. He was 3 months old. While he was sleeping I took a walk through the maternity ward and saw a nurse measuring the blood pressure of an 11 year old boy. His blood pressure was far too high and it needed to come down. They had done all they could but there was little improvement. I asked the nurse if I could pray for him and she said ‘Go ahead.’ I took his hand and released healing and asked Jesus to intervene. About 15 minutes after praying for him the nurse again checked his blood pressure. It had normalized. The nurse almost fell over with excitement. Right next to the boy was a mother sitting next to her younger son who was also ill. I asked her what was wrong and asked if I could pray for him. While she was telling me the condition of her son, the Holy Spirit showed me that the mother’s back was painful and that she too needed to be healed. I told her what I felt the Lord was saying to me and she was stunned. ‘How did you know?’ was her reply. I prayed for her, released the Kingdom, and instantly her pain subsided and left.

The mandate for every Christian is that we have been called and empowered by Jesus to be encounters to people. When people come into contact with us they have an opportunity to encounter Jesus and His kingdom. Kingdom means ‘The king’s domain’. When we pray ‘Let your kingdom come’ we are praying ‘Lord, let your heavenly realities invade this one. May your Lordship and power extend over this place in which we are praying.’ By praying for God’s kingdom to come onto a sick person, we are praying for God’s domain (healing, wholeness, relief from pain) to manifest over that person’s sickness and pain. They encounter God and His kingdom through us. When Jesus taught his disciples to pray he told them to pray ‘Let your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.’ He was commissioning them, as He is us, to continually contend for heaven’s purposes and heaven’s realities to become evident on the earth. Where there is sickness we have authority to release healing.  Where there is darkness we have authority to release light. And this isn’t just for some believers; this is the mandate on all believers in Jesus. He has filled us all with His Spirit. He has commissioned all of us to be encounters to the lost.

Jesus made a statement which we seem to forget. He said ‘As the Father has sent me so I am sending you’. What was Jesus sent to do? 1 John 3:8 tells us that Jesus came to destroy the devil’s works. And how did Jesus do that? He came to re-present His Father to this world and to release heaven’s realities into the earth through demonstration. What has he sent us to do? To re-present Christ to the world through proclamation and demonstration; to release heaven’s realities into this one. He has given us His Spirit to lead us into where he wants us to go and to empower us to fulfill his call on all of us.

Will you step out the boat and walk on water? Will you step out in faith and walk into the mandate He has on your life. Release His kingdom. Be the encounter!

Changing atmospheres

I really like believing the reality of WHO is in us! To those who believe in Christ, there is an amazing truth here. Let me use an analogy: If I wanted to buy a BMW at the end of the month, the dealership would ask me to put down a deposit to book the vehicle. By me, the soon to be owner, putting down a deposit for that BMW, means I am coming back for that BMW. I have booked it. In my mind it's mine. No one has any rights to that vehicle except me; coz I'm the one who was prepared to put a deposit down for it. In the same way, God has given us the Holy Spirit as a DEPOSIT, guaranteeing what is to come. The fact that I have been given the Spirit of God is testament that God is showing his ownership and right to me. No one has the right to me any more. I am HIS. And he is mine. His Spirit is in us, He empowers us, He loves us, He speaks to us and He wants to change the world through us. 

The thing is: the Holy Spirit is like a prisoner in most believers; and He wants out! He wants to change the world around us. He wants us to BELIEVE what He can do through us! He wants us to truly believe that because we have HIM, we can effect atmospheres around us, release the supernatural and impart heaven's realities into this one. The cool thing is that the Holy Spirit gives US the choice. "The righteous shall live by faith." Paul writes. Just how much faith we have in what HE can do THROUGH us is the billion dollar question. If you believe he can open blind eyes through you, he will. If you believe he can raise a dead person through you, he will. If you believe he can release joy through you, he will. "Be it unto you according to your faith." "Call the things that are not as though they are." "With God all things are possible." Yes, these are promises in the Bible which we say we believe. I think it's time for all of us to believe: YOU, my friend, are a walking revival just waiting to break out!!

The Spear of controversy.

"Wow! Okay. Sjoe. Hectic. Mmm.....not sure if that's right." It was pretty much in that order that my mind reacted to Zuma's painting by Brett Murray. At first I was shocked that someone actually did it. Then I realized that someone had actually done it. And then I was left wondering if someone should have actually done it? 


Gareth Cliff has said "If you don't have an appreciation for art, you have no business claiming it offends you. Just because something is in bad taste does not mean you can ban or censor it. Especially if you're just some politician." 
It's just that, I wonder if Gareth would say the same thing if Brett painted his penis for the whole world to see? Or what if it was Gareth's dad or mom?? Would he be so damning on the people who are offended?? 


I wonder what action would be taken if Barak Obama was painted in the same way? Or Margret Thatcher mind you?? Would those countries' authorities leave it and write it off as freedom of speech or would they have the painting removed and destroyed??


I'm not sure the answer to the above, and not sure how our politicians are going to work all this out, but I have am forced to consider the following thoughts:


Firstly, I, like all South Africans, know the shenanigans that Mr Zuma has been involved in. Most of which are unacceptable for the head of any state. Still not sure if a country like USA, Australia or even Mongolia would have elected a man who was linked to charges of rape and corruption. We all have our own feelings towards the current SA president. BUT!!! And this is a BIG BUT...! BUT, the man's private parts have been interpreted, painted and have been put on display for the entire world to see. Without his consent. Guys....WITHOUT....his consent. Is that fair? Is that right? As a human being, are not his human rights even considered here? 


Secondly, this isn't just any man. This is JACOB ZUMA, the President of South Africa. Yes, yes, he has done a lot wrong and many of his moral practices are questionable.  Yes, we've heard that in the press! But surely, there is a certain amount of respect that the office of the president of a country holds?? The position alone needs to be respected. He's the president of our country for goodness sakes??!! There must surely be a level of respect that one gives to the man that holds that office; one which certainly doesn't allow a graphic nudist painting to be hung up and dislayed for the world to see....WITHOUT his consent?!


In my opinion, and this is just my opinion, I think the whole freedom of speech argument is a bit lame for this one. It was stretched by Jonathan Shapiro a few years back (The raping of Lady Justice drawing). It's been broken by Brett Murray. Does my freedom of speech allow me to paint a picture of you with your penis hanging out and post it on Facebook?? Why should it allow an artist to do that with someone else? Even if he is Jacob Zuma...

My Fire and Brimstone Sermon...

I remember preaching a message way back when I used to pastor and preach. To me it was a 'cooker' of a sermon. It would tackle lukewarm Christians and get them into shape. It would challenge the Christian living of many believers and would challenge them in very strong words to change.


I would start by sharing a joke about a golf game between Moses, Jesus and the Father. It was a really funny joke! And it would end with the Father winning! My catch phrase at the end of the joke was spoken in a slow but serious tone....and it went like this "Do not.......play games.......with God." I would then turn to Revelation 3:15 and speak on how believers need to decide whether they want to follow God or follow the devil. You cannot have one foot in the church and one foot in the world! It was time for hypocrisy to stop and that we had to get serious in our relationship with God. It was time to fully commit and to stop living for Jesus only on Sundays and living for the world from Monday to Saturday. It's either all for Jesus or all for the world. 


I thing is...what I didn't know at the time, is that I was disqualifying believers right there and then based on their life style, whereas God had qualified them based on their faith in Jesus. I wasn't speaking to what Jesus had done, His finished work and how God sees them! The gospel is a redemptive message. It brings redemption to all of us. We all need a savior! The world isn't filled with good people and bad people. We're all bad and we all need a savior. The gospel brings that truth and brings faith to a person who needs Jesus. My sermon did exactly the opposite. It showed Christians why they are disqualified, why God is angry with them and put the onus on them to change in order to qualify themselves in order to be in right standing with God. It was a different gospel. And you know what....deep inside, I truly believed that I was preaching 'God's word'. I truly believed that I was being lead by the Spirit and saying what he's saying. Thank God for His grace!


That's why we, those who've been given a revelation of the finished work of Jesus, shouldn't turn into grace pharisees and be hard on those who speak to people's condition rather than to their position in Jesus. May we excel in love and patience with those who are still coming around.


I thank God that he is saving us all. Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin for us so that we might receive his righteousness and know that all our sins, past, present and future, are forgiven and they have been washed away! I thank God that he has transferred us who believe, from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. Jesus has made us right with the Father forever those who believe and walk in the faith he has given us. Christians are no longer sinners. Our sinful nature, the sinner, was crucified with Jesus on the cross. It was buried with Him. We are now new creatures, our new natures were born again when we believed and we are now saints, holy and righteous, partakers of the divine nature in which we have been placed because of Jesus. We are hidden with Christ in God. May our minds be renewed to who we are in Jesus, to how much Father loves us and may we walk and live lifestyles that are full of Christ's finished work, full of mercy and full of grace!

I saw a REAL revival. I did.

He walked by me and I just knew he was different. I felt the evil. He wore black. He never smiled and looked at anyone of us. His black leather jacket with his black jeans and black boots made a statement that was quite evident. I later found out that John (not his real name) was not allowed into our school grounds, but he came anyway. John came as he pleased and recruited ignorant teenagers into the religion of Satanism. This was my Grade 11 year at Port Rex. I was 16 years old.  It was 1997. Satanism wasn’t really spoken about amongst youngsters. It was more like something you saw on television and experienced in the movies. What did I know about Satanism? Not much really. All that I knew was that they didn’t like God; they hated Jesus and wore a lot of black clothing with pentagrams around their necks. That was it. Little did I know, but our city of East London was one of the satanic hot spots in South Africa and this guy was pretty high up in the ranks. I’m not sure how high, but he wore a lot of black.

At the same time, our Student Christian Association (SCA) at the school was a growing one. We had roughly 30 to 35 teenagers that gathered weekly to sing some songs and to hear one of the leaders share a message. But one afternoon, a group of the SCA members did a Jericho walk around the school. Donny, who was one Christian guy that I really looked up too, lead the charge that afternoon. I wasn’t there, but I heard that they did some warfare and claimed the school for Jesus. It sounded like a cool thing to do. I’m sorry I missed it.

Some months went on and rumours started to circulate that some of the girls and guys in Grade 11 and Grade 12 were involved with this Satanist named John. They were gathering at certain times outside of school hours and doing a lot of ‘satanic’ things. One of the instances reached the local newspaper. A black guy was murdered with an axe and it was John’s name that appeared in the newspaper as the murderer. Rumour has it that it was a botched sacrifice to satan. They were supposed to take the man’s head, but things went wrong and John was arrested. The police questioned some of the guys at our school that John hung out with and even some went for counselling. Whether they were directly involved, I don’t know, but it did have a serious effect on them.

One girl named Janet (not her real name) who was involved with this crowd asked the school principal if she could read a scripture out of the Bible at the school’s daily devotional. Daily devotionals happened in front of the whole school every day before school began. Janet got up in front of the school and read a scripture that still to this day I cannot remember. After reading a few verses she looked up and said to the school that she had realised that through her experiences with the ‘wrong crowd’ (i.e. John and company) that satan was a liar and that Jesus was the only true God. She has realised that she needs to get right with God and she needed to do it today. By now she had started to cry. She asked the SCA committee to come to the front and pray with her to receive Jesus so that she could be born again. We went to the front and stood on the stage with her. By now she was bawling and so were some of the teachers. Many had no clue what was happening. We lead her in the sinner’s prayer right there on the stage in front of the entire school of around 1100 students and 30 odd teachers. By the time she had finished praying, everyone knew what was happening and even some of the students were crying. Our chairperson announced that straight after the devotional time the SCA committee would be in the hall to pray with whoever wanted prayer. About 300 students and about 10 teachers came. All this happened on a Friday at around 7:45am. At 9:15am, it was time for the ‘Life Skills’ period. SCA held a mini church service during this time every Friday. We would normally use a classroom that seated up to 40 students. That day we used the hall as we had over 400 students attending. None of us knew what to do! We had never seen such a big crowd before and we now had to entertain them. As it so happened, it was my turn to speak to the SCA that day. I had prepared a cute 10 minute sermon that I had hoped I would speak to as little people as possible. Why you may ask? Because this was the first time that I was going to speak publicly and 30 to 40 people was more than enough for me. (What was that quip about God having a sense of humour?) I went to Donny and said ‘Bru, I cannot do this. You do it man. I can’t speak to 400 people about Jesus. I’m too nervous. Why don’t you do it?’ Donny looked at me and smiled. He said one thing to me that smacked me right between the eyes. He said, ‘Ross, the Bible says that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.’ I don’t know how to explain it but a supernatural peace came over me that I could not explain. The nerves that I had and my shaking hands came under control. I walked into the hall with Donny. The praise and worship had started and there was around 400 students in the hall, students that I had seen everyday on the sports fields and in the classrooms, singing songs to Jesus! It totally blew my mind as to what God was doing. The singing finished and I was introduced after Donny had prayed. I remember that I had prepared a message on salvation and that God was not judging us but instead drawing us by his love. It was a simple message about Jesus. I gave a call for people to stand up if they wanted to receive Christ as Lord of their lives. Close on 400 students stood up that morning and I had the privilege of leading these guys and girls in a prayer for the gift of salvation. Still to this day, I regard this as the biggest honour given to me by the Lord.

From that day, our SCA meetings grew from 35 students to close on 200 on a regular basis. The Holy Spirit was using a bunch of Baptist believers to usher in revival that year. From 1997 to the end of 1998, we saw the Holy Spirit save students who were heavy into porn, drinking and partying. The guys that I thought would never get saved, started coming to our meetings for one reason – to get saved. One guy, who is still serving the Lord today walked into a prayer meeting at break time. I thought he was lost. I said , ‘What you doing here?’ He said, ‘I don’t know. I just know that I have to get inside here.’ I had the privilege of leading him to Jesus at that prayer meeting. He is still serving in the worship team at his church. We had students getting baptized in the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues. We had students getting filled with the Spirit to the degree we had to take them to ‘sick bay’ after the prayer meetings as they couldn’t go to class in a drunken state. My friend, Donny, and I were called to the principal’s office twice to tell us to calm down and some students and their parents were worried at the religious frenzy going on. We assured him that we were not doing anything, but praying for the kids. The frenzy was God’s fault. Thank God he was a believer. He just smiled and asked us to be careful.

There is one thing that I have seen in the life of many boys, girls, men and women; and that is that Jesus changes lives! I have experienced in my own life how Jesus can change a person who is completely surrendered to Him. There is nothing Jesus cannot do with a life that is devoted to Him. And I love it! Jesus is really cool.

If you take some time to read the story of creation, you will notice that when God created the fish of the sea, he didn’t speak to himself. He spoke to the sea. And out of the sea came fish. When God created the plants and trees He spoke to the ground. And out of the ground plants and trees came. The sea became the source of the fish. The ground became the source of the plants and trees. That’s why if you take a fish out of the sea it dies. It dies because you are removing it from its source. If you remove a tree or plant from the ground and throw it into the sea it will die. That’s because the source of the tree and plants is not the sea, but the ground. If you remove it from its source it will die. When God created man, he did not speak to the sea or ground. He spoke to himself. And out of God came the spirit of man. That’s why sin is so dangerous. Sin separates you from your source – God. And what happens if you remove something from its source? It dies. That’s why the Bible says the wages of sin is death. It’s because it removes you from your source. Jesus came so that sin may be done away with in order that we, as God’s creation could be rejoined to our source – God! That’s why salvation (life) is found only in Jesus. He is the way, truth and the life. We come to the Father through Jesus – Jesus is our way back to life – back to our source – back to God! The devil doesn’t care if you worship him or not. The devil’s only purpose is to steal from you, kill you and destroy you. His chief purpose is to keep you from God, because that’s the only way you will find life. It doesn’t matter to the devil that you serve a hindu idol or worship money. The only thing that matters to him is that you do not find Jesus; because if you find Jesus, then you will find your source and when you find God, you ultimately find life.

This might shock some people to hear this, but the most natural thing a person can do is to make peace with God and enter into a relationship with him. People think Christians are weird! Actually, it’s quite natural. If you speak to a person who has been united with God, they’ll tell you how fulfilled and complete they are. It’s like an emptiness has been filled that money or pleasure or porn or sex or alcohol or parties or their career just could not satisfy. Every person is searching for fulfilment. What many don’t know is that what they are actually searching for is the reconnecting with their source. Once the plant is in the ground and the fish is in the sea, they are satisfied and can grow from there. Unless a person is connected with God through Jesus Christ, they’ll live unsatisfied, unfulfilled and frustrated lives searching for things that will quench the thirst of their souls that only God can fill. Coming into a relationship with God is the most natural thing to the human being! To be separated from God is unnatural in all matter of speaking.

You are Righteous....yes...YOU!

Gavin Cox has this saying that I have written down and memorized because it's become the founding thought for my framework of the Gospel of Jesus. It goes like this:

Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone because of Christ alone.

The good news is that I don't save me and you don't save you. Not even a little bit. Jesus saves us. He begins the work and He finishes the work. It's by His grace towards us alone. All we do is receive it. Our job is to open our hearts and embrace the finish work of Christ. That’s about it.

There was a company in the USA that brought out a revolutionary cake mix in the late nineties. All that the person needed to do was add milk and mix. Place in the oven and presto! They had a cake. They launched the product to market and you know what happened. The stock sat on the shelves for weeks. The few people that tried it never bought it again. After a few months the company took to market to conduct emergency market research and found out that 99% of the consumers didn't want to buy it for one reason: there was nothing for them to add. They felt it was too easy.

  

The company changed the recipe and made the process a little harder for the baker: they now had to add 2 eggs to the mix before the milk. They re-launched the product to the market and sales went through the ceiling and broke all expectations.

Its funny how, as human beings, we feel we have to add to something or else it doesn't quite feel right. Surely there has to be work involved before reaping a reward?? This why we find it difficult to receive the 'finished' work of Jesus as a gift.

We don't feel quite right do we? It's almost too easy. Surely there’s something we've got to do. It surely must be Jesus + prayer or Jesus + church attendance or Jesus + good living or Jesus + witnessing??

The good news is that the salvation God is giving to us is a perfect one. It's a completed one. We don't have to add anything to Jesus' finished work. It's finished. All we need to do is respond to His goodness and believe!! That's it. No effort, no work, no performance, nothing can add to His perfect salvation that saves us!!

However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: 

 "Blessed are they
      whose transgressions are forgiven,
      whose sins are covered.
 Blessed is the man
      whose sin the Lord will never count against him."

-     Romans 4:5-8

It amazes me how many Christians don’t believe that they are righteous. They still believe that their church attendance, their prayer times, their Bible reading, their kindness shown to others, their feeding of the poor, their witnessing to unbelievers, their abstinence of smoking and drinking, their refusal to indulge in sin,

their refusal to have piercings and studs and their refusal to think bad thoughts can make them acceptable to God and make them righteous in the eyes of the Lord. Is it right to read our Bibles and pray? YES! Is it right to refuse the indulgence of sin? YES! Is it right to feed the poor? YES! But, none of the above can make you righteous. Righteousness is a free gift given by God to those who believe in Jesus Christ. Righteousness is never based on your performance, whether good or bad. Why? Because it’s a gift from God. You can do nothing to deserve it or earn it.

  

Imagine a child doing chores on Christmas Eve. His mother asks him ‘Son, why you vacuuming the floors and washing the dishes?’ and the son answers her ‘Mom, because I want some presents for Christmas.’ It’s ludicrous! A mother and father give gifts to their children because they love their children, not because they have worked for them and earned them.

If you have a look the world’s main religions, including some parts of Christianity, our human effort and obedience to God’s commands is central to our acceptance and right standing before God. Blessings are then rewards based on obedience to the commands set out in the sacred book of that particular religion.

“But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. ²²This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.”

Romans 3:21-22

Paul is very clear that the righteousness that comes from God is apart from the law. In other words, it is not dependant on any laws, commandments or ordinances. This righteousness that comes to Christians comes by faith alone and through Christ alone.

Before I made a decision to follow Christ I remember hearing the Gospel on a few occasions. I remember hearing that we are saved by grace.

  

I remember hearing the preacher saying that good deeds cannot get people to Heaven for our good deeds are like filthy rags before the Lord. No matter how good I live or how much money I give to the poor, there is no way to make it to Heaven or enter the Kingdom except through faith in Christ. Well, I made a decision for Christ and decided to follow him. I experienced the new birth and knew that something had happened in me. After a few months of church attendance and hearing ‘solid Christian teaching’ I soon realized in order to keep God happy and to experience His acceptance and blessing in my life I needed to live a certain way. And the underlying message, which was quite subtle in most ways, was that if I did enough things wrong I could actually lose my salvation and would fall into the unbelieving/non-Christian class again.

For many years, the church has taught that we get saved by faith in Christ BUT in order to keep our salvation we need to obey the commands of God in order to keep that salvation. It’s really scary that we’re told that good works can’t get you into the Kingdom but we’re told that bad works can get you out. We start in faith, but we revert back to law. It’s a total perversion of the gospel.

You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?

                                                                                      - Galatians 3:1-3

 Paul uses an extremely strong word here: “bewitched”. That means witchcraft. Paul’s strong language suggests that the Galatian Christians have fallen under an occultic spell of witchcraft by believing this. What do they believe? “After beginning with the Spirit; are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?”

Being born again is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. At the moment of believing in Jesus, the Bible teaches that there are a number of things that happen in that very moment.

Some of these are following:

·       Our sins are forgiven (Romans 4:5-8)

·       We made into a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17-19)

·       We are seated in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6)

·       We become God’s legal child (John 1:12)

·       We receive the Holy Spirit (John 14:17)

At exactly the same time, we are made the righteousness of God and we receive His gift of righteousness

This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness." The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.

Romans 4:22-24

 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5:21

At the moment we believe in Jesus, we are made righteous and we receive His gift of righteousness.

Why then, Paul asks the Galatian church, do you revert back to human effort after beginning with the Spirit? It’s amazing how the church has been bewitched today in believing the same thing!

We have heard it taught on Christian television and preached in Christian churches for years. It has been done with godly intentions but the message is destructive to the truth of what Jesus accomplished on the cross. 

For years I thought, believed and taught that the key to a successful Christian life was obedience. I believed that obedience was the catalyst to receiving God’s blessing, keeping my salvation, maintaining a right standing with God, maintaining my acceptance before God and walking in miracles, signs and wonders.

Everything hung on my obedience. If I didn’t pray everyday, read my bible everyday and attend enough church meetings and prayer meetings, then I couldn’t expect God to bless me or bless others through me. The sad thing is that the only thing this type of living leads to is the following: Pride or Condemnation.

If I manage to live like this for a few weeks or even months, I have a higher opinion of myself compared to other Christians and I believe that God blesses me because of my effort and my lifestyle. That’s called pride. When I eventually miss my quiet time or skip a prayer meeting, condemnation and despair comes on me because I am not living up to the standard that I think God requires. This lifestyle will never lead to true Kingdom living: Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Spirit. I will be consumed in my self righteousness based on my efforts.

I won’t have peace when I mess up and I will never experience true joy because I am always comparing myself to others – and either I’m beaming with pride or I’m condemned – I will never walk in true Kingdom joy!

God appeared to Abram, who was an Iraqee pagan. He had never been to church. He had never prayed to the Lord. He had no desire to seek God or know him. But God appears to this pagan unbeliever and tells Abram that He wants to bless him. Abram did something quite extraordinary.  He said “okay”. He believed God. He trusted God and believed that God wanted to bless him. God never spoke to Abram about holiness or righteousness.

God spoke to Abram about blessing him. When Abram believed, God credited righteousness to him. The word ‘credited’ translated correctly is used here as an accounting word. Abram’s ‘spiritual account’ was credited with God’s righteousness. How did he receive that? He believed that God wanted to bless him.

What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? ²If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. ³What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. ⁵However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.

-     Romans 4:1-5

Paul is making it plainly clear that Abraham was not declared righteous because he obeyed works. He was credited with righteousness because he trusted God’s words and believed. It was by faith alone.

The point is that the moment a person believes in Jesus, one of the things that take place supernaturally, is that God’s righteousness is credited to their spiritual bank accounts. We become the very righteousness of God in that very moment.

And because we never received it based on our performance, what makes us think that we can lose it based on our performance? Once you put your faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life, you have every confidence in God’s finished work to declare yourself righteous. You are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. He has freely justified you by faith because of Christ.