Redeemed

Galatians 3:13-14 (NKJV)
Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Redeemed. Purchased back

There was no spiritual death in the garden before the fall. There was no sickness. There was no debt or lack.

Neither spiritual death, nor sickness, nor debt nor lack could overcome Jesus.

There is no spiritual death in heaven. There is no sickness. There is no debt or lack.

Christ died to reinstate us to the place where man was before the fall – the place of authority, the place free from the curse of the law.

Whenever we pray the Lord’s prayer, we pray “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Lord, show us how to walk in that will!

Doug

Perfect love casts out fear

1 John 4:18 (NIV) There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment [torment - NKJV]. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

How convinced are you that God loves you unconditionally, in spite of your faults, your past conduct, or anything else?

If you’re convinced that God loves you, you don’t expect that He’s going to punish you in anger. God’s not in the business of putting diseases on His kids, taking family members away prematurely, or burning down their houses. On the other hand, if you believe that God may be angry with you, you’ll question His love whenever something bad happens.

- Yes, He will correct us when we’ve gone wrong – that’s what the Holy Spirit convicts us of.
- Yes, He will let us reap what we’ve sown, good or bad (Galatians 6:7), but even then, He’s given us the grace system (His undeserved favor) to lessen or reverse that impact when we turn to Him.

My favorite verse on God’s love for us – besides John 3:16 of course – is John 17:23:

John 17:23 (NIV) I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

See that? Jesus is praying that even the world – those outside of the church – can see that God loves us as much as He loves Jesus. Who can fear (in the anger and judgment sense) a God like that?

Doug (on vacation this week)

Reconciled with God

The word reconciled means:
- won over to friendliness – ie reconciliation between enemies
- to settle a quarrel
- to bring into agreement or harmony (reconciling different views)
- to restore to fellowship

2 Corinthians 5:18-19 (NIV) All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself [NLT: brought us back to himself] through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

So many people have this view that God is an angry judge ready to pour out wrath – much like Jonathan Edwards’ sermon “Sinners in the hands of an angry God” that compares us to spiders held over the fire, ready to be dropped in at any moment. They see Jesus’ intervention as what is barely holding back that anger.

That wasn’t how Jesus represented the Father – he said “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). God gave Christ the purpose of bringing us back into fellowship – they’re not working against each other, each holding back the other’s intentions. Jesus is the mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5). Jesus went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil, because God was with him (Acts 10:38).

As verse 19 says, God is no longer hold our sins against us like a grudge. Yes, they are like the wood, hay and stubble that would be burned in judgment, but we will endure. Our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Although it is a fact, it is not good news to tell someone they are going to hell. It is good news to tell them Jesus is the way to the Father. This is the message of reconciliation.

Doug

Are you God-inside minded?

Do you think about the fact that God (Father, Son and/or Holy Spirit) is inside you?

1 John 4:4 (NIV) You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

The “them” in this verse is, from context, spirits that deny the Lordship of Jesus. These are the spirits that sit on your shoulder telling you God doesn’t care about your problem, God can’t fix your problem, or that God doesn’t want to fix your problem. Those are lies! We know that because Jesus went about doing God’s will, and that was sharing Good News of the Kingdom of God, healing people and destroying the devil’s works (Acts 10:38, 1 John 3:8). Jesus healed everyone that came to Him.

Knowing that Jesus is Lord over all can change your circumstances. Knowing that the Holy Spirit, who raised Christ from the dead, is inside you (Romans 8:11) can give you new confidence. The One that is inside you is greater than the disease working in your body, the lack in your bank account, the sin affecting your kid’s lives, or the hopelessness you sometimes feel. The Holy Spirit inside of you is touching people through your body when you pray for someone, for we are “the body of Christ” (more on this below).

Here’s a similar verse:

Colossians 1:27 (NIV) To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

The “them” in this verse is believers – God is making known to us that Christ inside of us is our hope of Glory. Let’s break this verse down, the three really relevant words are “Christ”, “hope”, and “glory”.

What does Christ mean? It’s not Jesus’ last name, it’s His title. In Greek the word Christ means “the anointed one”, and corresponds to the Hebrew term “messiah”, so Jesus Christ is “Jesus, the anointed one”. A Christian is not just one who adheres to Christ’s teachings – but this is what we’ve often reduced Christianity to. A Christian is “a person with Christ inside them” – and so therefore “a person that carries the anointing”. Think about that. This corresponds to what we read in 1 John 4:4 above. We don’t realize what is inside of us, and the capacity we have to reach out to others. So “the body of Christ” is “the body that carries the anointing”. The church – and the individual believers that make it up – are Jesus’ hands, feet and voice in this earth, carrying His anointing to others.

What is hope? In the New Testament, “hope” is not a wish – it’s not “maybe it will happen, but it probably won’t”. Instead, New Testament hope means “confident expectation”. You expect that God will reward you for diligently seeking (Hebrews 11:6, Matthew 7:7-11). You’re convinced that what you seek will happen.

What is glory? My best simple description is “the presence or manifestation of God”. When God showed His glory in the Old Testament, it was a light to the Children of Israel at night, but it was also what separated them from the Egyptians until they’d finished crossing the Red Sea (see Exodus 14:19-20 and following). When God showed up in His glory at the temple dedication, it was so overwhelming they couldn’t stand (2 Chronicles 5:13-14). When Jesus showed God’s glory, people were healed, delivered and set free. When the glory showed at the transfiguration (Matthew 17), they saw what was really inside Him – and what is now really inside of us. We not only carry the anointing, we carry the glory of God inside us.

So we can translate this verse: “Christ, the anointed one, is inside us, so we have confident expectation of the manifestation and presence of God.”

How does this change your life? How does this change your thinking?

Doug

Do you want success, or order?

I’ve heard several teachers I respect refer to Proverbs 14:4 recently.

Proverbs 14:4 (NLT) Without oxen a stable stays clean, but you need a strong ox for a large harvest.

Bill Johnson of Bethel Church paraphrases this verse this way: There are no poopless cows. The way to not have to clean up after the cows is to not have cows in the first place – but then you don’t have the milk, you don’t have the beef, you don’t have whatever benefits come from owning a cow. My grandfather at one time raised cows for milk. I remember how large the manure shovels were, and how nasty it was to clean up after the cows each day.

If we want God to move on our behalf, to welcome Him to show up in healings, deliverance and the other things the Kingdom of God has to offer, we have to understand that it could interfere with our nice, pretty, structured church order.

Letting the man down through the roof in Capernaum (Mark 2:1-12, Luke 5:17-26) was disruptive, and the religious people got all aggravated, but the man got healed.

Consider this story from Mark 3:

Mark 3:1-6 (NIV)
Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”
Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.
He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

The pharisees wanted to kill Jesus because He defiled their pretty sabbath service with a healing. How many pastors have tried to lead their church into changes, at the cost of their jobs? More than I care to count.

Working in IT, I’ve always focused on “getting the process correct”. But in ministry and in churches, “ministering to people” has to be more important, although there still needs to be some level of “decency and order” (1 Cor 14:40). Let’s not interpret “decency and order” as “rigid and inflexible compliance”.

Finally, we read:

1 Corinthians 14:33 (NLT) For God is not a God of disorder but of peace, as in all the meetings of God’s holy people.

When Paul wrote this, he was writing in Greek to the Corinthian church. But thinking as a pharisee, he knew what peace meant: Shalom. Peace, prosperity, wholeness, well-being and success. Nothing missing, nothing broken. So Paul wasn’t just looking for a calm, peaceful church order, but a church order where God is welcomed to move and visit and show Himself strong and touch His people.

Doug

A vision of mercy and healing

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
Psalm 136:1 NKJV

The Lord is gracious and full of compassion,
Slow to anger and great in mercy.
The Lord is good to all,
And His tender mercies are over all His works.
Psalm 145:8-9 NKJV

In the book Power Healing, John Wimber shared this story on page 52:

Suddenly in my mind’s eye there appeared to be a cloud bank superimposed across the sky. But I had never seen a cloud bank like this one, so I pulled my car over to the side of the road to take a closer look. Then I realized it was not a cloud bank, it was a honeycomb with honey dripping out on to people below. The people were in a variety of postures. Some were reverent; they were weeping and holding their hands out to catch the honey and taste it, even inviting others to take some of their honey. Others acted irritated, wiping the honey off themselves, complaining about the mess. I was awestruck. Not knowing what to think, I prayed, “Lord, what is it?”

He said, “It’s my mercy, John. For some people it’s a blessing, but for others it’s a hindrance. There’s plenty for everyone. Don’t ever beg me for healing again. The problem isn’t on my end, John. It’s down there.”

A couple of things we can take away from these verses and this vision:
- God’s mercy is always available to us, and it’s in unlimited supply.
- If we’re not seeing healing in our lives, why is it? Unforgiveness? Unbelief? Resentment?
- Don’t let what God’s doing be a hindrance to your faith or cause you to be offended.

Doug

Two commissions

God gave this commission to Adam and Eve:

Genesis 1:28 (NIV)
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

God blessed them (empowered him to prosper in the affairs of life). They were to “multiply” (NKJV) by reproducing, and to take charge of the earth (which had been corrupted by Lucifer’s fall) by expanding the garden. Adam and Eve walked with God in the garden on a regular basis, it appears (Genesis 3:8).

Jesus gave the church (us) a new commission:

Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV)
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Mark 16:15-18 (NLT)
And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”

Notice how similar this commission is to what God gave Adam and Eve.

Jesus gave us His authority (“go therefore” – that is, “go in that authority”). He told the disciples to multiply by preaching the gospel and making disciples. He instructed them to undo satan’s works by casting out demons and praying for the sick – exactly the same way that He ministered (Luke 9:1-2, Matthew 4:23-25). Jesus said He is always with us, by the presence of the Holy Spirit within us, and that He will never leave or forsake us, fail or abandon us, or leave us helpless (Hebrews 13:5 – see NIV, NLT and Amplified).

(Thanks to Bob Johnson for mentioning this “in passing” in a message on another topic).

Doug